FROM BUMP TO STUMP

Little Turkey

2010-12-05T06:41:00.000-08:00

I'm the WORST at updating this blog! Kate is crawling and pulling up on everything so its a full time job just following her around on her adventures! When she naps I run around the house like a crazy person trying to get things done and then before I know it, she's up again and we're back to playing!

I just love being a stay at home mommy! She is changing so much every day and it is such a blessing to be able to enjoy every minute.

Kate had a great first Thanksgiving! She is trying to self feed more and more so we let her go to town on a sweet potato. She thoroughly enjoyed eating it and wearing it.

Here she is with Honey. She loved spending time with her only aunt. She kept looking back and forth between us like maybe my sister was Mommy 2.0! :)

Looking thoroughly impressed with her first nativity set. That I painstakingly set up perfectly and she tore through like a little godzilla. A process we've repeated countless times to her delight.

A lucky little girl! Honey brought her a gift straight from FAO Schwarz in NYC! She enjoyed the wrapping far more than her first doll...but I guess that will change eventually. :)

Storytime with Gigi. It was so great having mom and dad and Courtney here for Thanksgiving and to start the Christmas season!

Looking forward to seeing Mimi and Poppy soon too!

Ladybug Costume!

2010-10-26T16:34:00.001-07:00

Jake's office had a supercute Halloween party last weekend for all the kids so we got to debut Kate's ladybug costume (Thanks, Gigi!)

She LOVED the party! The wings and antennae stayed on the whole time (I eventually took off the antennae because I always get headaches from headbands)! She was just smiling away at all the other kids and smiled the whole way home in the car while kicking her feet (a phenomenon she displays frequently that has now been dubbed "happy feet").

They had some trick or treating around the halls of the office for the kids so Jake and I took Kate through a little early because we thought the big kids might get rowdy diving for candy since it was basically a free for all. We ended up leaving with an embarassing amount of candy considering Kate can't eat any yet. Even more embarassing is the fact that it is pretty much gone already. Oops.

Kate's smile quickly disappeared when we explained she would not in fact be able to enjoy any Twix or KitKats this year...

Pumpkin Patch!

2010-10-09T10:37:00.001-07:00

Personalize your own free photo slideshow

Daddy's Girl

2010-09-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

Kate's a daddy's girl...trust me, it takes one to know one. I was just uploading Kate's 5 month (!) photo shoot pics and flipping back through older shots marveling over how much she has changed already. And the pictures that I always linger a little longer over and that just make my heart bubble over are the ones of my daughter and her daddy. These are just a few of my favorites.

This was the first time he held her...

I'll never forget the look on his face. I had the privilege and blessing of watching my husband fall in love with our daughter at first sight. The memory of that moment still makes my eyes fill up.

Sleep was hard to come by in those first weeks filled with our new baby and new life as a family. Kate found no trouble finding a comfortable place to crash though...just look at her sweet baby smile. It's amazing how God makes tiny little baby bodies fit perfectly in daddy's arms.

First Father's Day...I just love this picture. Anyone that knows my husband knows he's a "man's man." I love seeing him holding his dainty little girl in a lacy yellow dress...with her teeny tiny feet cupped in one protective hand.

A shot of just an ordinary day and ordinary things...he's reading "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters" because he takes his new role seriously and wants to be the father that God wants him to be. Even though she's still small, there's an urgency to this parenting thing...because like it or not, we're on the clock and have only so long to live as a family all under one roof. The way we love her (and each other) matters so incredibly much...in the ordinary, every day moments that will become her childhood, adolescence and beyond he makes sure he is intentional in loving her well and pointing her towards her heavenly Father.

I really love this one. He has broad, tough guy shoulders...that make the perfect headrest for a fabulously pink headband.

She looks just like him. I'm sure I must be in there somewhere but I love seeing him in her wide smile and her bright hazel eyes. These are the hands that first held her...that will hold the back of her first two wheeler bike until she says "let go"...that will teach her how to swing a softball bat...that will fold in prayer daily for this incredible gift...that will one day, Lord willing, walk her down an aisle and place her hands in the hands of another man. A man that I hope and pray is just like her daddy.

And this...this is the face of a content, and well-loved little girl. She can't exactly sit up on her own yet...but even long after she can, I think she'll always know who she can lean on.

Solid Foods

2010-08-19T16:52:00.001-07:00

We started Kate on some rice cereal recently and she's doing great! Most of it ends up in her mouth so I think that counts as success! She doesn't seem overly crazy about it...and I can't say I blame her after trying the stuff. We're planning to try sweet potatoes this weekend so that's got to be a step up from cereal in the taste department.

"I'll take it from here, mom..."

Everyone had warned me about how messy meal time can be. I thought we were doing pretty well in keeping the mess contained until this morning. This morning one tiny foot connected perfectly with the cup of cereal I was holding and it went EVERYWHERE. And I mean everywhere. It was even on Deacon (who incidentally seemed to enjoy the rice cereal and helping with clean up). I think Kate is trying to tell me enough with the cereal, bring on the good stuff!

The last few days, I've really intentionally cherished every moment with Kate...even the ones where I'm on hands and knees cleaning rice cereal...or changing my outfit because of spit up that opportunely accessorized my clothes right before we hit the door...or tired and cranky at 5am when I have to get up and start the day long before I'm ready. Friends of one of my dear friends are dealing with the tragic loss of their little boy and it just has made me so grateful for every moment that God has given me this little lady to mother. Please take a minute to go here and let this sweet family know that there are lots of prayers lifting them up. Pray that our Heavenly Father, who knows what it feels like to lose a Son, will comfort them in the way that only He can.

And if you are a mommy, I highly recommend my friend Keli's blog that I linked to above. She writes beautifully about being a mom and I am always encouraged and challenged after reading her posts.

Shades

2010-08-19T16:46:00.000-07:00

Kate's Gigi got her a pair of snazzy sunglasses for her first trip to Virginia Beach! They are ridiculously cute!

They are the perfect accessory to a tutu bathing suit.

Let me know if you want Elton John's autograph...I think he might actually have this exact outfit.

4 Months Old!

2010-08-19T16:37:00.001-07:00

Gone are the days of plopping Kate down for a billion photos while she happily complies because she isn't fully in control of her limbs...

Poor bear didn't even see it coming...

At Kate's 4 month appointment she continues to hit the top of the charts for height and weight at the 95th %tile for each. 16lbs 3 oz and 25 3/4 inches long! She was a bit harder to examine this time because all she wanted to do was show the doctor what an expert roller she is! :)

Eyebrows

2010-08-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

She may just be 4 months old, but Kate knows how to use her eyebrows. I think these pictures pretty much sum it up:

I think there's a bit of mischief in that last little grin!

Air, Land & Sea

2010-08-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

Kate went on her first trip last week...and she travelled by air, land, and sea in the process!

Kate took her first plane ride to Virginia Beach! You can tell she was happy to see that her doll, Heidi, made the trip too!

At about 30,000 feet the white noise proved to be too much for those heavy eyelids...

And here she is on her first boat trip over to Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay! She was a trooper on the car ride up the shore to Maryland where we caught the boat and she was happy chatting with her Gigi on the boat ride over.

Overall, the trip went so smoothly! Kate is such an easy going baby and she was just content no matter where we were or how we got there!

We had travelled home to Virginia Beach for a "Sip & See" since my shower back in January had been snowed out! I'm actually glad it worked out this way...it was so great to see everyone and to introduce Kate to so many dear, lifelong friends! Here she is in her party dress:

Kate loved the attention...and even squeezed in one of her cat naps during the party! :)

Ladybug!

2010-07-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

Since she came home, one of our favorite nicknames for Kate is "Katybug" or just "bug." So when I spotted this ladybug beanbag chair there was no doubt she was coming home with us! Kate is clearly as excited as I am about this purchase...

Kate is rolling from back to tummy now! She started rolling tummy to back a couple days before she turned 2 months and the past few days has been all about getting to that tummy. Which is funny because when I try to get her to do tummy time she has little interest...but when she turns herself she's just content as can be with her new point of view! She first rolled over a couple nights ago...I checked in on her on the video monitor and she was on her tummy! I was so excited to see her repeat it the next day when she was awake...and I didn't have to wait long because now I can't lay her down on her back without her turning right over.

This mommy stuff is so exciting! :)

Teething

2010-07-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

We think Kate is starting the whole teething process. These days she is a drooling machine and can't keep little fingers out of her mouth!

I've started putting Kate in her playpen for a few minutes a day with some fun stuff to look at so that will be another fun place to her to hang out. She doesn't nap so well (though we're doing much better in that department!) so I've got to come up with other options so I can eventually get stuff done around here! :)

She really seems to be enjoying it her little space!

She LOVES that Laugh N' Learn Puppy pictured above. She'll spot him on her bookshelf and just start smiling before we even start playing with him. That's definitely her favorite toy right now so we spend lots of time playing with him...and I live with those little songs in my head constantly! :)

Party Animal

2010-07-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

I had a birthday last week. I guess it's considered a big one since it ends in "0"! :) Kate got all dolled up for the occasion...

Something about babies in animal print cracks me up. Not to mention the comically large flower headband. The whole thing just works, no?

Kate looks less than amused in this one:

She still has big, beautiful blue eyes! They've lightened up from the steely blue newborn eyes, but I think she'll probably end up with the greenish/brownish eyes Jake and I both have. You've probably also noticed her little birthmark on her arm. The technical term is hemangioma (or something like that). It wasn't there at birth but appeared a couple weeks later. According to the pediatrician, it will grow until she is about 9 months and then start shrinking until it disappears about the time she turns 3. Crazy! For now, I just call it a little angel kiss because it looks like a lipstick mark!

3 Months Old!

2010-07-09T17:01:00.000-07:00

Kate turned 3 months old on July 5th! She's surpassed the bear in size now! :) I think she is between 14 and 15 lbs...and she's not quite tall enough for her jumperoo yet. We've tried it out and those little legs just don't quite touch! We'll get her official stats again at her 4 month appointment.

Kate is just such a joy! I just love being a mom and it truly gets better everyday. I love watching her discover new things and love seeing her face light up when she sees her daddy or a favorite toy.

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-09T16:54:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July! (I'm still a little behind, but I think my lag time is improving! :) )

We had a nice 4th. We drove over to Sanford, FL for a little daytrip. It's just about 20 miles away and they have a cute downtown that was fun to walk around. It's also home to a really great German restaurant. Because nothing says 4th of July like eating German food. We just figured we should put Kate in touch with her roots early since we are both of primarily German descent.

This was Kate's expression when I told her our plans for the day. Luckily, she seemed to enjoy herself. :)

We just love her little smiles! She has starting laughing now too and it is just the sweetest sound in the world. She was giggling up a storm a couple days ago when I kept showing her reflection to her.

Of course, Kate had a holiday appropriate outfit. I'm beginning to think that dressing little girls is the most fun thing in the world. I'm also pretty sure every time I shop Kate scores something and I come out empty handed.

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!!

Special Buddies

2010-06-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

Three posts in rapid-fire succession...must be naptime! :) Kate is a great sleeper at night (10hours!) but not so into napping. I'm lucky to get 3 naps out of her each one lasting no longer than 40 minutes. She's a big fan of the 10-20 minute power nap and then she's ready to get back to playing!

Deacon and Kate are really enjoying each other these days! Deacon was always a big fan of Kate but she's really starting to notice him now too. Love at first sight for Deac...

Deacon makes sure he's always close at hand in case Kate needs anything.

And I mean close...

Just try to get a family picture without him...

Seriously...

He was pretty sure there was just enough room for him in between Jake and me.

Deacon has always been really attached to us and it is fun to see how much he loves Kate. From the time we brought her home he got in the habit of checking her playpen and crib for her...he starts wagging his tail in anticipation of seeing her before he even gets to her room.

She is starting to return his affection...

He hates it when she really cries...he joins in with her and starts howling. Which I think is his way of trying to comfort her (and it actually does work sometimes) but it could be he's complaining about the noise (he has headed for the back door a couple times when she was really inconsolable).

I'm pretty sure Deacon is already expecting good things to come his way via this highchair!

So Big!

2010-06-30T07:01:00.000-07:00

This little munchkin is growing up fast! This outfit with the little shorts cracks me up. Apparently it does the same for Kate.

This week she tried out her bebepod and was able to sit there all by herself! I've been putting her in there every now and then but have been helping her out with the head support but now she's pretty much got that mastered.

Here's Kate trying out her highchair for the first time. She seemed to like having her own seat at the table. And I enjoyed having a meal without a little one in my lap and little fingers in my food!

Four Generations

2010-06-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

Hurry and check out this picture because Jake is gonna make me take it down as soon as he sees it! :) I just couldn't miss the opportunity to get a picture of 4 generations when we had family visiting this past weekend!

Here's Kate and her great grandmother! She's lucky enough to have 2 great grandparents!

Lovie

2010-06-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

Kate has just started to hold and hug her lovie doll during story time...so cute!

She coos and babbles to her...likely offering her editorial review of "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?"

And finally decides she'd better have a taste in case the lovie is remotely edible.

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T17:56:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's Day to all the daddies out there! Kate and I had fun doing a little photo shoot so we could fill up the digital frame we got for Jake. I think they turned out so cute!

This last picture just might be my favorite one so far! I think she already look like a little girl in it and just love her little smile and chubby legs!

We had a great time celebrating Jake's first father's day today! Kate already realizes her dad is hilarious and just can't help but smile whenever she sees him. She does this really cute thing too where she catches his eye and smiles and then turns her face like she's playing with him. I just love seeing the two of them together.

Two Months!

2010-06-18T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit late with this post...I guess that's life with a newborn for you! Kate is now almost 11 weeks, but here are the photos I snapped when she was 2 months. At her 2 month appointment she was 24" long and 13 lbs...95th and 90th percentile respectively for those of you keeping track at home.

Kate loves playing on her activity mat now...it is so fun to watch her notice things around her. Two days ago she really started noticing Deacon and now she just smiles and smiles whenever he comes into her view. Kate rolled over for the first time just before she turned 2 months...I think that 95th percentile sized head got slightly off center during tummy time and over she went! She's repeated it several times since but never when I have the camera on her of course! :)

She still loves her bath and it is an essential part of our bedtime routine. She sleeps like nobody's business at night...usually 10-11 hours. But the trade off is she only cat naps during the day...usually when we're in the car and for 20 minutes at a time at most. She just doesn't want to miss any of the action I guess!

Kate started a little music class at our church 2 weeks ago and it is super cute. She really seems to enjoy the music and people watching the other little babies in the class. Here she is before class yesterday.

She's just an amazingly easy going baby so far. I think morning is still my most favorite time of day with her. I love peeking over her crib and seeing her smile widely when she sees me. Her stretches after she is set free from the swaddle are just precious. She doesn't normally cry when she wakes up in the morning...I usually have to just keep checking the video monitor and sure enough, when she's ready to get up there she is just looking into the camera like "come on in and get me!"

Kate and I are really looking forward to Sunday and celebrating Jake's first father's day! He's such a great daddy!

Sunday Best

2010-06-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

We've taken Kate to church the past 2 Sundays and I'm having the best time getting her ready! She sleeps through the entire service which is probably a good thing at this point...she's likely exhausted after I get her dressed and take a thousand photos before we head out the door! :)

This little dress was mine when I was a baby. I'm really glad my mom held on to some of my little dresses because it is so fun to put Kate in them! She obviously is having the time of her life:

A little happier in this ensemble. The bonnet didn't last long because I was fairly sure it was choking her. She has a neck in there somewhere I promise.

Here I think she's probably contemplating what in the world I'm going to make her wear next!

The Elusive Smile

2010-05-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

Kate smiles all the time now (which works out well since my sole purpose these days is getting her to smile! i'm crossing new boundaries into the utterly ridiculous when it comes to silly faces and antics to keep that smiling coming!). As much as she smiles it seems IMPOSSIBLE to catch it on film. What I end up getting are a lot of half smiles that make our little princess look more like little Popeye!

For example:

And another favorite:

I think she was actually crying in this one:

Seriously, she'll be smiling like there's no tomorrow and then the camera comes out...and so does this face:

She's quite the little tease! And clearly relishes every second of it:

Taking after Mama...

2010-05-28T13:03:00.001-07:00

I think Kate shares my obsession with cupcakes...though admittedly it may have been forced upon her at first (see below).

But her current fascination with her cupcake mobile is all her!

I LOVE the expression in this one:

I may or may not already be thinking of cupcake ideas for her first birthday (not that I'm wishing away any of these precious seconds with her!)

Party Girl

2010-05-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

Kate was invited to her first party this past weekend! She got all dolled up for her buddy Bishop's first birthday!

Here she is ready to go! And wide awake which had us nervous!

She dozed off as we walked into the party and slept for a while. But once she woke up she really seemed to like all the activity around her. I'm pretty sure she wanted a piece of the giant cupcake Bishop was enjoying!

It seems like yesterday that Bishop was about this size which makes me realize yet again just how quickly time flies by. I know we'll be celebrating Kate's first birthday before we know it so I'm just trying to soak up every minute of this special time while she's so small!

Funny Dreams

2010-05-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

I wish I knew what she was dreaming about...

Kate is definitely smiling responsively now (not just while she sleeps!) which is so fun! And she's doing a lot more "talking" too!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-10T06:22:00.000-07:00

She's only 5 weeks old but my beautiful daughter has already figured out I love flowers and chocolates! :)

I had a GREAT first Mother's Day yesterday! Kate is still too small to take many places but we went for a nice walk around the neighborhood yesterday morning and picked up a special breakfast to bring home. Later on we were driving Kate and Deacon around because they both love a good car ride (and sometimes its the only thing that helps little Kate settle down) and stopped at one of our favorite yogurt places where I got a free yogurt for being a mom! Yay!

Her expression in this picture cracks me up. Sometimes she looks at me quite suspiciously.

And this one is either a fist pump because she's excited I'm her mom (please don't let her be a Jersey Shore fan) or she's ready for the photo shoot to be over and is unleashing tiny fists of fury. I'll let you decide.

I think I still look pretty sleepy in these pictures despite getting the best mother's day gift ever...Kate slept for 7 hours at night!! She's done that for the past 3 nights and I'm trying not to get too spoiled! But it is a pretty awesome feeling to be up before your 5 week old. My schedule and internal clock is so off these days that I was up at 4:30 so I took advantage of that time to clean the kitchen! :)

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there!

1 Month Old!

2010-05-05T09:40:00.001-07:00

Happy One Month Birthday to Kate and Happy Cinco de Mayo to everyone else! Here are some recent pics!

I can't believe how quickly a month has gone by! I feel like Kate has already changed so much! It doesn't seem like a whole month ago we were bringing her home. I think we've gotten some real smiles out of our little girl and they just make us melt. She's started cooing some and loves watching the bear mobile above her swing. She naps most of the morning away but then is up pretty much the whole afternoon and evening until bed time. Kate LOVES her bath and fusses when it is time to get out of the water. She also really likes looking out the window next to her changing table...lucky for her we seem to spend a lot of time there! :)

Deacon, of course, had to get a closer look at the photo shoot.

And scene. She was pretty accomodating of my thousands of pictures but then she was over it. I think her little frown is too cute!

And lastly a little Cinco de Mayo siesta! :) At least one of us around here is getting some sleep! Actually I think Kate's size has helped her be a pretty good sleeper from day one. She only wakes up once at night now so we're getting a pretty good 5-6 hour stretch of sleep most nights.

Lessons Learned

2010-04-19T06:36:00.000-07:00

We have a whole 2 weeks of experience as parents...but we've already learned some valuable lessons.

For one, every girl looks great in leopard print:

Secondly, it's tough to keep these cute outfits clean! It's a good idea to make sure your baby is really done pooping before you attempt to change her diaper (by the way, I had no idea it was possible to talk about poop as much as we have over the last 2 weeks...it's pretty much all we talk about).

I thought I was on the ball with this one...I'd give her some time after the telltale red faced, leg pumping action and then painstakingly pull up the onesie and remove the cute socks so nothing would be tainted. She has these really adorable Winnie the Pooh socks that are about the only ones we can keep on her so I'm particularly careful with those! Well, lets just say that once you remove the socks, you may also want to consider the trajectory and path a good projectile poop may take...I wish someone had noted that in all the pregnancy/preparing for baby books I read. We may have been able to avoid this:

Believe me, the irony of the above picture wasn't lost on me even in the middle of the night.

She's Here!!

2010-04-19T06:23:00.000-07:00

Kate Elizabeth arrived at 7:22 am on Monday, April 5th! It was a looooong labor but so worth it once we were able to meet our little girl! She was a whopping 9lbs and 12ozs and 21 inches long (which might help to explain why the labor was quite difficult...we were all shocked at her size!). But she's perfectly healthy and wonderful in every way and we're just overwhelmed by how much we adore her! She's 2 weeks old today and while we are totally sleep deprived, I can't believe how fast the time is going.

Here she is at just a couple minutes old! She was so alert when she was born and just seemed content to look around and take everything in. She seems to be pretty calm overall so far...though she can get a cry going that sounds like goat boy if she's good and hungry!

First car ride home from the hospital!

All dolled up for her first doctor's appointment. I love this little smile and her roly poly arm!

I can't get enough of the hairbands and bows. Jake is concerned that they are getting larger every day!

This was my bonnet when I was a baby. Kate is a great sport and let my mom, sister and I play dress up with her!

We're still trying to figure out who she looks like...she definitely has my long fingers and her daddy's long toes but other than that the jury is still out. Some people think she absolutely looks like Jake and others think she absolutely looks like me so I guess we'll just have to wait and see as she gets older!

Predictions & Presidents...

2010-03-25T07:02:00.000-07:00

...the stuff really good pregnancy dreams are made of!

It's been a while since I've posted about the crazy dreams I've had since being pregnant...but that by no means indicates that they've gone back to "normal."

A looooong time ago, like 4months or so I would say, I had a dream that we got a letter in the mail from our OB. And the letter was pretty much just to go ahead and let us know that our baby would arrive at 4pm on March 25th. Wouldn't it be nice if you could plan it out that way?! Well, guess what today is? :) If Kate is making her debut by 4pm, she'd better get going!

Just a couple nights ago I had a dream that I, in all my 9 months pregnant glory, single-handedly thwarted an assassination attempt on George W. Bush. You're welcome, world. I was like the toughest secret service you've ever seen, just incredibly pregnant. I woke up after W was safe and sound along with Mama Barbara and daughter Barbara...no idea where Jenna was. I was laughing and telling Jake about it saying "you know, I really thought he would have had more of an idea of what to do being a past president and all but I really had to hold his hand through the whole ordeal." I'm sure he was quite grateful for my expertise. I promise I haven't even watched a single episode of 24 yet this year (we're saving up for a post baby marathon) so I have no idea where that dream came from!

39 week belly

2010-03-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

I'm 38 weeks and 4 days so I'm into my 39th week! And here's what a 39 week belly (and one tired mama) looks like...

I don't know why I got so many striped maternity shirts. Horizontal stripes are not a big belly's friend! The pressure I'm feeling now makes me think she has dropped but I don't think you can really tell from the pictures. And complete strangers still insist I'm having a boy since I'm carrying all up front...if that's the case, he'd better like pink!

So far I've opted not to have any internal exams and hope that curiosity won't get the best of me and I'll just be patient for labor to start whenever that may be! Friday is my last day of work before I officially become a stay at home mom...I'd love to have some time to rest and get ready next week but we'll see what little miss Kate has in mind! I'm not really having contractions or increased braxton hicks or anything that makes me think labor is really imminent. My doctor will let me go to 41 weeks (according to a Harvard study the average first pregnancy lasts 41 weeks and 1 day) before talking about induction which would happen prior to 42 weeks. Because we're hoping to go the natural route, we're really hoping we can avoid having to induce labor.

We finished up our childbirth classes last night which was hard to believe. We started them 12 weeks ago and I remember us talking about how they would take us pretty much to our due date. That went by so fast! All 8 couples in the class were able to finish out the series...the first baby is due 3/29 and there are 2 of us due on 4/3 so we'll see who welcomes their little girl first (of 8 couples, 6 are expecting baby girls!).

Hopefully I don't have too many more belly shot posts before a birth announcement! :)

12 Days and Counting...

2010-03-22T06:28:00.001-07:00

I'm still here and still pregnant! We have 12 days til our 4/3 due date! And I'm definitely feeling it. I'm so blessed to have felt so well during this entire pregnancy and really can't complain much now except for a nagging backache and an ailment that can only be described as "shrek feet." Well, they're not green...just puffy!

This is my last week of work and I'm hoping baby girl decides to stay put long enough for me to have a couple days of rest next week before her arrival. We spent most of this past weekend relaxing which was so nice. For every walk we took around the neighborhood with Deacon, I took a nap so that's pretty much awesome. And yesterday after church was a stormy, rainy afternoon so it was perfect for hanging around the house...it was the kind of rain where you could have your windows open and enjoy the sound without the weather coming in...one of my favorite things. We're really trying to soak up as much of this "just the two of us" time as we can while we can.

I'll try to get a 39 week snapshot of the belly on my iphone later to post. Our real camera and video camera are all charged up and packed away in the hospital bags...all ready and waiting!

36 Weeks

2010-03-03T08:00:00.001-08:00

36 weeks has really gone by fast! I can't believe we're at the stage of packing the hospital bags and stocking the freezer with easy meals! We had our hospital tour this past Sunday and that definitely made everything seem way more real. Just a few more weeks til we get to meet our little girl!

How much bigger can this belly get?!

We just have a rocking chair to paint for the nursery and we will be finished. I'll post more pictures of her room once that is done since now we have her curtains hung and cute little things on the walls. We're also hoping to install the car seats this weekend so we'll have time to get them inspected before Kate's arrival! Beyond that and picking up some last minute things, we really are as ready as we're going to be! I had hoped to have the month of March to really just relax and enjoy our last few weeks just the 2 of us. So far so good...we were able to go to dinner and a movie last weekend and then meet friends for dinner on 2 other nights!

Baby Shower!

2010-02-22T08:25:00.001-08:00

Some very sweet friends planned an amazing baby shower for little Kate Elizabeth this past weekend! It was a perfect day for it too...70 degrees (and not a snowflake in sight, thank goodness)!

Aren't these tissue flowers too cute?!

These were the perfectly pink and brown party favors...little boxes filled with pink m&ms! And the frame to the side there was for everyone to sign and then it can be used as the matting for one of her first baby pics! Love that idea!

Me and the lovely hostesses!

And me and my cutie sister and mom!

This picture doesn't do the floral arrangement justice...it was just incredible! As was all of the food! I think baby Kate particularly liked the greek dip...that's my excuse anyway if I lingered a little too long in front of that bowl!

You know there were cupcakes too! These were provided by another sweet friend and were just as tasty as they were cute! I really loved the ones that had frosting that was entirely dipped in chocolate...kind of like a dairy queen dip cone, but a cupcake. Best. Idea. Ever.

It's hard to see in this picture but there are 2 adorable onesies with cupcakes along with a knit cupcake hat that I just can't wait to use! The onesie all the way to the left says "Daddy does my hair"! Love it!

I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends to plan and attend such a fun shower! We are so thankful for all the friends and family that have shared in our excitement as we get ready to welcome little Kate...in just about 5 weeks (give or take!)! :)

This is getting to be more than a "bump"...

2010-02-16T10:08:00.000-08:00

I feel like I'm carrying around a bowling ball these days! And the backache I have at the end of the day further confirms it.

Sorry again for the quality of these photos. We use an iphone app that keeps the pics organized by week and the iphone camera isn't always the greatest.

Here is 33 weeks...

And here's 34...

The number of my weekly belly pictures that feature a cameo by Deacon cracks me up. This furbaby is NEVER far away from the action.

Seriously...he's pretty much always this close:

Kate's Nursery

2010-02-15T06:26:00.001-08:00

I'm so excited that we are making some good progress on Kate's nursery! This weekend was a whirlwind between the final installation of the new windows, having the carpets steam cleaned and getting the baby's furniture picked up and assembled. I feel like our house is a total wreck with the exception of this fabulously pink little space...

Love the pink and brown cupcake mobile from my sister!

You can see she has her very own stuffed "Deacon" to play with...Deacon seems to really like him too.

We don't have anything on the walls yet, still have to paint the rocking chair and find a cushion set we like, and need to put her valances up on the windows but we are getting close!

Deacon was pretty pumped about the new room too. I kept finding him in there yesterday before the furniture was in. He kept disappearing with his toys and I'd find him just hanging out in Kate's room. I wonder what he thinks is going on...a brand new playroom just for him perhaps?

Work Baby Shower

2010-02-11T11:41:00.000-08:00

My sweet coworkers had a baby shower for me today at the office! I was blown away by their thoughtfulness and generosity!

There were cupcakes...of course!

And these adorable homemade "It's a girl!" treats...

Fabulously pink gifts...

And all kinds of cuddly outfits and toys for Kate to enjoy!

I look especially excited about opening this one...and that was before I knew it was her highchair!

Babies sure come with a lot of "gear." We probably should get to work putting some of this stuff together. The UPS man has been at our door pretty much every evening and made some comment last time along the lines of "good luck putting all this together." Now that the painting of the nursery is done (it looks SO cute!) we'll have to start getting into some of these big boxes and assembling!

These pictures also help to confirm my sneaking suspicion that my nose has definitely gotten bigger since getting pregnant! Totally unfair...with everything else getting bigger, the face should be off limits!

Baby Snow Shower

2010-02-01T07:46:00.000-08:00

There was supposed to be a baby shower for little Kate Elizabeth this past weekend in Virginia Beach...but we woke up to this on Saturday AM...

And it just kept on falling...

And falling until we had about 9 good inches of the white stuff.

This type of snow was the stuff of dreams when I was a kid. The kind you hoped for everytime the weather man even hinted at the word "flurries." This type of snow hadn't happened since the year I was born...it must be something in our genes that causes baby girls to bring this type of winter weather to the beach! And as much as I love snow, I couldn't have been more disappointed because it caused us to cancel what would have undoubtedly been the best tea party baby shower ever!

This was the AMAZING cake! It was made by the same lady that made my wedding cake...she is incredible! This one had a yellow layer and a chocolate layer with chocolate mousse and raspberry in between. So good.

And these were the 30 unique tea cups for each guest that they would have taken home with them...

And the cookies...Don't they look amazingly good?!

And this is a real treasure...the lovely hostess had each guest write down some words of wisdom for me as a new mom to be and compiled them. They could be prayers or funny things about life as a mom...really just anything that they thought would be helpful to know once Kate arrives! I just loved reading what other moms treasured about having a child...and I know I'll continue to reread their words frequently!

Thanks to my family and friends who planned such a special shower for me! We'll just have to have a sip and see after the baby arrives...snow shouldn't be as big an issue come spring and summer! :)

Single Digits...

2010-01-25T07:47:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I'm in my 31st week and now have just single digit weeks until our daughter gets here! Unless she decides to stay put past her due date, but still...she'll be here soon!!

We've started making some progress in the nursery but I feel like there is still so much to do! I decided in an ultimate display of nesting that we should get all new windows...so those should be installed this week and then we can get serious about painting and getting our baby girl's room ready! I'll definitely post pictures when it's all ready! We're so thankful for the generosity of family and friends already (my first shower isn't til this weekend but you wouldn't know that by the looks of all the stuff in her room!) and I just can't wait to get it all washed and unpacked and ready!

Here's the 30 week bump! I tend to forget how big I am and still get surprised when someone comments on my being pregnant. I should probably get over that given the size of the bump these days! :) I do find that people are extra nice and accomodating of pregnant ladies which is fun. It makes it a little more bearable when it's Saturday night and you are out with friends at a wine bar sipping on sparkling apple juice because you can at least count on someone to give up their seat for you! :)

In other big news, we've decided on a name for our little girl! She will be named Kate Elizabeth and we just love it! It's funny because we had narrowed the list down to 3 names...none of which were Kate but it just came to us one day and it stuck! Kate means "pure" and Elizabeth means "consecrated to God." Elizabeth is also her only aunt's middle name so that is kind of fun! We're praying this little one follows hard after Jesus all of her days and truly lives a life consecrated to her Creator! We can't wait to meet her!

Third Trimester?!?

2009-12-31T07:18:00.000-08:00

So I'm sitting just 1 day away from entering into the third trimester...and wondering how on earth I got this far along already! Seriously, people, childbirth classes start next Tuesday! I'm starting to realize I'm going to actually have this sweet baby girl in just a few months...we probably should get cracking on the nursery...

We had a doctor's appointment this morning and I just love getting to hear her heartbeat. Even though I feel her squirming around all day long it is just such a sweet sound to hear that rhythmic pulse. I do get hours of entertainment from watching my tummy move these days...it will poke out quickly in one place and then bulge out later in other place where she is settling in. I'm thankful that in all the moving and shaking she has migrated off the sciatic nerve...that was some make-you-stop-in-your-tracks-and-hold-your-breath kind of pain for a couple days.

We wonder what Deacon thinks is going on as I'm starting to take up more and more space on the couch and in the bed. He probably thinks I've really let myself go. He had his head on my tummy the other evening on the couch and the baby definitely kicked him so maybe he suspects something is up! :)

Here's the latest bump shot at 27 weeks. Man, my hair is getting long.

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe New Year's Eve. We are so looking forward to 2010 and welcoming our daughter in to the world!

Santa Baby

2009-12-23T08:32:00.000-08:00

Couldn't resist the urge to accessorize Baby Girl's ultrasound pic for the holidays!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!!

The Baby Bump is Growing...

2009-12-17T10:53:00.000-08:00

Here's my 24 week baby bump picture and you can definitely tell I'm pregnant now! I started getting comments from strangers about week 22 but they still kind of surprise me!

I already feel like my belly is HUGE...I can't even fathom what 40 weeks might look like! At our 23 week appointment, the doctor said she is measuring in the 70th percentile sizewise so she's bigger than your average babe. I hope she doesn't take after her 8lb+ mother when she's born! :)

She moves around quite a bit these days which is always fun...well except for the occasional swift kick to the ribs from the inside...that I could probably do without!

I'm still so blessed to be feeling really well and just am loving every minute of this miracle! I've noticed it is getting a little harder to bend down and/or get out of bed or up off the couch...I feel like I kind of flounder around like a turtle on its back and can only imagine how much harder that will get the bigger the belly grows!

Deacon Turns Two!

2009-12-14T06:04:00.000-08:00

Our furbaby, Deacon, turned 2 this past Thursday so of course we had to do it up and celebrate such a milestone! This time last year he was recovering from major hip surgery so it was fun to be able to celebrate sans tranquilizers and pain pills this year!:)

Here are some pics of the festivities...He was hungry for dinner here and unamused at my taking his picture.

This was as far away from the turkey that he ever got while I was preparing his dinner (a Rachael Ray pet friendly meal--it was a sort of pot pie with turkey, gravy and veggies).

Again, looking awfully impatient waiting for me to tell him it was ok to dig in!

Must have been good considering he licked the bowl clean.

And then on to dessert!! A "pup"cake from his favorite dog bakery. He always starts by licking the frosting off...can't say that I blame him.

I captured his opening of his present on our new Flip video camera...and if my voice didn't sound like I was the one turning 2 I just might try to figure out how to upload it here. He got a hedgehog toy that was stuffed with 16 individual squeakers. Yeah, there was a reason it was so drastically on sale months ago when I picked it up...no one else is foolish enough to give their dog such a torturous device! Thankfully, he took it relatively easy on us squeaker wise.

Can't wait for his 3rd birthday when we'll have another little family member to wear a party hat!

The Gift of Grandparents

2009-12-11T10:48:00.001-08:00

In the span of the past 7 weeks, I said goodbye to my sweet grandfather and adorable grandmother (Pock and Nana as we called them). And it's just had me thinking about how blessed I am to have enjoyed those relationships for 29 years.

Pock was named such because when I was a little girl I couldn't say "Pop" and it always came out "Pock." For better or worse, it stuck and all his grandkids called him Pock thereafter since I was the first!

Pock was such a hardworking, strong man...the kind that always made you feel safe. He loved his family and worked all his life to provide for them. My Nana was just as sweet as could be...such a wonderful Christian woman. She didn't have a negative bone in her body and was such a great encourager. We were fortunate to get to see them often when we were growing up and I will never forget just how overjoyed they were every time we came to visit. They really loved us so well!

In the past several years since going off to college, moving out of state and getting married it was harder and harder to make it up to visit them. But this past year I had an overwhelming sense that I needed to go see them and so we did over mother's day weekend. Just a couple of weeks later my Pock's health really started to deteriorate and he was in and out of the hospital for the rest of his life. I'm so grateful God laid it on my heart to go and spend time with them at that particular time. He was the picture of health then and we had such a nice time visiting. I'll always be thankful for those last memories.

Pock passed away 7 weeks ago and his darling bride wasn't far behind him when she passed away this week. God is so good to not have kept them apart for long! My Nana was afflicted with Alzheimers and the past 6 years she was in a steady decline. In some ways we feel like we had to say goodbye to her years ago when we were last able to have conversations with her. It just makes my heart overflow to think that she is in Heaven now, fully restored and able to talk and spend time (eternity!) with my Pock. He must be so thrilled to have the wife of his youth restored!

Grandparents are such a blessing and I know our little girl is going to be so blessed by her 4 wonderful grandparents. (Not to mentioned spoiled beyond belief since she's the first grandchild on both sides!) I wonder what hilarious names she'll saddle them with before too long! :)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

2009-11-30T10:51:00.000-08:00

...to be pregnant! Seriously, elastic waistbanded maternity pants were made for the Thanksgiving dinner table. Plus, I never get that uncomfortably full feeling anymore no matter what I eat which is pretty much the best thing ever. Third helping of sweet potatoes? Don't mind if I do!

Baby Girl is the size of a spaghetti squash now and has hit the 1lb mark! Apparently she'll double in weight over the next 4 weeks to a whopping 2lbs! :) I can feel her moving around lots now, especially after meals. And Jake got to feel a big kick last night which was really cute. You can actually see my belly moving now when she kicks and does her river dancing or whatever it is she's doing in there.

I can't believe this time next year we'll have a little girl to celebrate the holiday season with us!

Here's a belly bump picture from 21 weeks (it's from my iphone so not the greatest quality). I'm 23 weeks tomorrow...we took a 22 week picture this morning but I thought I looked kind of grumpy (and this is my blog so I can post whatever pictures I want)...probably because all the turkey leftovers are gone. :)

First Kicks!

2009-11-17T06:44:00.000-08:00

Jake got to feel our little girl move for the first time last night! I've been feeling little movements for a couple weeks now and was just so excited for him to finally be able to feel it too! She gave 2 tiny little kicks against his hand! It is just the most amazing feeling!

I feel her moving around a lot now which is just so cool. I read somewhere that she's likely sleeping 12-14 hours a day just like a newborn...but it sure doesn't feel like she's sleeping that much!

It's A....

2009-11-14T06:28:00.000-08:00

GIRL!

Baby Girl Stump is on her way!! We are so excited to be expecting a daughter and just can't wait to meet her! The entire ultrasound was an amazing experience. It took about an hour to get all the pictures...baby girl was rather shy in letting us get a pic of her adorable profile. My favorite part of the ultrasound besides seeing that cute profile was seeing the itty bitty hands with teeny tiny fingers! She was moving around so much and it was just amazing to watch! It's amazing the detail you can see...she even yawned at one point! It's tough being 20 weeks old I guess! :) Jake and I both found out we kept holding our breath during the hour long ultrasound! She looks just perfect!

She's grown so much since we last saw her at 9 weeks...from looking like a tiny snowman to a perfect little baby! The ultrasound estimated she weighs around 11 ounces and is growing right on schedule since our due date remains unchanged.

So now the fun of buying things that are perfectly pink begins! I'm pretty sure she already has Jake wrapped around her little finger...he already said something about having to buy a pony. Deacon ought to love that too!

I just love knowing what we are expecting and being able to talk about "her" now. I can't wait to get her nursery all ready and have found that I am completely unable to resist buying adorable little girl clothes!

Baby Bump!

2009-11-03T05:22:00.000-08:00

I had Jake snap this picture before I left for Bible study last night because I felt like I actually looked pregnant...and not just chubby which has been a not so fun stage. Hopefully you agree...or the comments could get really awkward. I'm starting week 19 today!

Per the usual, Deacon snuck into the picture just in time too....

1 week and 1 day til we find out if it's a boy or a girl...but who's counting?!

Totally in love

2009-10-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

Today was our 18 week appointment!! I can't believe we're just 2 weeks away from the halfway point. It is definitely going along a lot faster now...I'm pretty sure time stopped somewhere between 4 weeks and 6 weeks because that felt like an eternity!

We got to hear the heartbeat again today at 156 precious beats per minute! I could just lay there and listen to that all day...but the other OB patients might not appreciate that so much! So the old wives' tales would say that fast heartbeat is a little girl...we'll know for sure in 2 more weeks! I just can't wait to buy something that is pink or blue! So fun that we'll know in time for Thanksgiving when we'll be spending time with family too! I'm hoping that finding out the gender will help us get a bit more serious about baby names too...some of Jake's suggestions have been absolutely hilarious. I'm not going to post them in here in case some of you leave comments that you like them because that will just fuel his fire!

I've started to feel the baby move (I think)! It isn't really a flutter like I've heard people describe it but feels more like a bubble popping. But I've been feeling it a couple times a day for the past week and I can't think of anything else it could be so it must be our little acrobat!

I think I've run out of sentences I can finish with exclamation points! :) Look for a pink or blue announcement in a couple weeks! Any guesses before then?? (Thanks to Kara's suggestion I added a poll on the right hand side of the page!)

15 weeks

2009-10-12T07:34:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a fabulous trip to the beach for a nice long weekend. It is still hard for me to believe I was laying out on the beach in mid-October even though I've lived in Florida for 3 years! I should be used to this by now! While I felt like I was definitely starting to have a baby bump in my bikini, the 15 week belly watch picture shown below makes me wonder...I think I see the slightest little bump but I'm afraid it might be wishful thinking! I wake up every morning and check to see if I look pregnant yet...I've been reassured by friends that I will look and feel pregnant for long enough and should just enjoy every minute of it!

While at the beach, I did my best to work on the doctor mandated 4lb weight gain. Hopefully the ice cream cones and dinner at a Japanese steakhouse and one of our favorite Mexican restaurants did their job!

Here's Deacon's 15 weeks shot. He has to be wherever we are and sits right by me for the weekly belly pics so we figured we'd let him be in on the action. He smiled big for the camera in this one! He has no idea what he is in for in April! :)

I did have my first dream where I actually had the baby in my arms just 2 nights ago. It was just the cutest little boy imagineable! :) But it was a little distressing because I'm not sure what his name was...some people were calling him Conner which is nice but other people were calling him Isis which I'm pretty sure isn't even a name. Also featured in this particular dream, was a fish tank which we don't own...and one fish that was able to float right out of the tank and survive somehow just floating around up by the ceiling. It really stressed me out to have a fish floating around the house.

Dreams

2009-10-02T05:54:00.001-07:00

I've been fortunate to experience very few of the not so pleasant pregnancy symptoms so far. I have, however, been having some hilariously strange dreams. You may have thought from the title of this post that I'd be offering up some of our hopes and dreams for our future child here...instead you're going to get a taste of the crazy that has been going on in my head at night! Way more fun, right?

In my favorite dream so far, Jake and I were operating an animal rescue out of our backyard. For those of you that have seen the jungle that is our backyard, it had been totally revamped and looked like a nice habitat you'd find in a zoo or something. Anyway, we were running the rescue for yellow labs, golden retrievers and....one giant male LION. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how hard it is to find a good home for a lion (not to mention the worry he was going to eat your other animals).

In a more recent one, I decided to get 2 tattoos. Because why not? One on each forearm so there was no covering them up. The one on my left arm was my name...but unfortunately it was spelled wrong ("Cihristie"...don't know how that extra I got in there). The one on my right arm was Minnie Mouse. Gorgeous. Have to admit I was relieved when I woke up ink-free from that one.

I wonder what it is about pregnancy that causes strange and incredibly vivid dreams! Those must be some strong hormones!!

We're Expecting!!

2009-09-30T12:10:00.001-07:00

We are thrilled to share the news that we are expecting our first child!! Little one is due to arrive on April 6, 2010 making me around 14 weeks! We are excited beyond words and feel so incredibly blessed. We're so thankful for family and friends that are able to share our joy...it makes this amazing time in our lives that much sweeter!

I've loved reading the baby blogs of friends and hope to create my own here. The foodie blog and cupcake blog might suffer but I'm thinking it will be worth it! :)

Here's our baby's very first picture taken at 9 weeks (isn't he/she the cutest?!). Measuring just 2.4cm (about the size of an olive), I think it is amazing that we could see the little arms and legs! Baby was quite active during the ultrasound and it was so incredible to see all that wriggling around. We could also see the heartbeat at that point but had to wait until today to hear the heartbeat for the first time. In just 4 weeks, the baby has grown from 2.4 cm to 3 inches...or from an olive to a lemon!

Overall, I've felt really well so far with just a bit of nausea that was worse in the evenings (what a blessing since I have to get up and get to work in the mornings!) and a general aversion to food (which those of you that check my food blog have likely noticed since I've posted about 3 times since becoming pregnant).

And don't worry about our four-legged baby...We're getting Deacon used to the idea that he'll have company before too long...he proudly sports his "I'm the Big Brother" collar! :)