The List

I have a list of things a mile long that I would like to have done before this baby comes.  But recently, the list is not my priority, I just want to hold my little girl and love on her all day long.  All the things on my list can wait, I just wish that August would get here soon!  Unfortunately I still have 6.5 weeks left so I'll just have to be patient because I want this little girl to grow as much as she can and be as healthy as possible.  So since I've got the time...I'll have to pull out that darn list and get to work!

Celebrating Baby

Saturday was my baby shower.  A big thanks is in order for my sister Caitlin.  She did an amazing job planning and organizing the shower.  She spent a ton of time making decorations, planning games and food, and setting everything up.  I love her and I'm so grateful to have such an amazing and talented sister to help out with fun things like this!  The shower went wonderfully and it was so great to spend time with friends and family as we celebrated the little girl who will be coming to our family soon (only 8 weeks left!).  When I first started thinking about what I wanted to do for my baby shower, the biggest thing on my mind was that, no matter what, I wanted my Mom to be there.  Here is what I wrote in a journal I've been keeping about this pregnancy,

"I really, really, really want my mom to be there!  I can’t imagine having that party without her!  So that’s kind of priority number 1.  I need to work with my dad to see if we can do it as a surprise somehow.  I think she would love it.  I don’t want her to miss this, so I need to do all I can to get her out here!  She my mom!  I want her to be a part of my journey to becoming a mom."  

So, from the beginning I was really hoping that she could come out for the shower.  After we talked about it quite a bit it became apparent that it would be really tough for her to get off work and to get a reasonably priced ticket.  Especially when we have a family reunion coming up, and she'll definitely be out here once the baby is born, and then my dad wants to be here for the baby blessing.  It's just a lot of travel, a lot of tickets, and too much money!  So I settled for Skyping with my mom during the shower.  It was not ideal but I thought that even if she couldn't be out here she could at least still be a part of it in some way! 

So I showed up at my grandma's house for the shower on Saturday morning and Caitlin was showing me around and letting me see all the cool decorations that she had set up.  While I was busy looking at something, I got a big hug from behind. When I turned around, I was blown away to see my mom there, it was the biggest and greatest surprise that I could have ever asked for!  It was perfect.  Just the night before I had been telling David that I really wished we could have found a way to get her out for this and that I was going to miss her, there may have been a few tears.  David, of course, knew that I was in for a big surprise, but he is very good at keeping secrets.  

It made my day that my mom could be there for that special day.  I have a wonderful mom, she has taught me so much and been a great example to me.  We live far away now, but I always want her to be a part of my life.  It was a great blessing to have her with me this weekend, and it meant so much to me that she would do that!  What a great mom I have!  

Here is my Momma!  Can you tell I love her?

I don't know if anyone stopped to read this little poem, but this was kind of my theme for the shower.  It's called, "When I grow up I want to Be a Mother."  This is a song my mom taught me when I was younger about how fun it is to be a mom.  You get to tell your kids stories, cuddle them when things go wrong, feed them cookies and milk and give them yellow balloons.  I've always loved that song so for the shower we had cookies and milk (that accidentally never got served - oh well!), and yellow balloons.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some of the cute decorations that Caitlin set up.  That long dress was my baby blessing dress, we might end up using it for our little girl as well.  

Of course, Grandma Creek made a quilt for the little bug!  It is super cute and I love the colors!

Me with my lovely sister!  Thanks Caitlin for all you did to make this a beautiful and special day!  You are amazing!

Thanks to everyone who came!  This was a great day for me and being with all of you is what made it so special.  I can't wait to let our little girl know how much she is loved by us and by all of you!  Thanks for your presence and your generous gifts!  We love and appreciate you all! 

28 Weeks

Mother's Day..For Me? I guess so!

So I've gotten a flower or treat or whatever they hand out to the ladies at church on Mother's Day.  But this time around it was for real!! I cried during the songs that the primary children sang like my own little girl was up there screaming the words with the rest of those crazy kids.  It was adorable and touching.  My sweet husband took care of me too!  He sent me flowers at my office, cleaned the whole house, and made me dinner on Sunday. 

This box arrived at my office.

They came like this.

Then blossomed into this beautiful bouquet of lilies!

Beautiful!  Thanks David! xoxo

We're Growing More than Babies Around Here! :)

David and I are trying out gardening this year.  Our landlord let us have little spot.  We plan to grow peas and beans as well as ingredients for salsa: tomatoes, peppers, and onions. 

That Tickles!

What tickles? you might ask.  That would be my baby girl.  I think she's running out of room to flail her arms and legs.  So I used to feel kicks and punches, which are just fine.  But now I can feel her shifting around, rubbing against the walls of her small little home.  And this, my friends, feels like being tickled from the inside!!  Which is a strange feeling (not bad, but different for sure) and a little unsettling for someone who is frightened of being tickled.  I can't tell her to stop, I can't get away from her, and it's not like I can see her coming at me with her tickle fingers...so I have no idea when the tickling will strike!  David thinks this is pretty funny, "That's my girl!" he says.  But that's because he loves to tickle me and he knows how much I don't like it.  I think he's been whispering to her while I sleep and teaching her to tickle me!  Just another of the crazy and fun things I get to experience being pregnant.  For the record, I wouldn't have it any other way, I love this little girl!

When's that baby due?

Well, we have 91 days left until the due date.  When this little girl decides to actually arrive will be a different story I'm sure, but we're getting there.  There is still SO much to do before we're ready to bring her home, so hopefully she doesn't decide to be an early surprise.  I've got a "to do" list that just keeps getting longer and longer.  Sometimes I feel like I have plenty of time, sometimes I feel like I'll never get it all done!  Now that we're getting closer I often find myself wondering if David and I are ready for all this.  I can probably say no to that question.  Who is ever really ready for such a life-altering change?!  We are entering uncharted territory here.  We've never been parents before so we'll just be making it all up as we go.  Luckily I think that's how it is for all parents.  I just hope our little girl will be patient with us as we try to figure things out.  There are a few things I am sure of, 1) I love this baby! I can't imagine what it will be like to actually have daughter, but whatever happens, I know I'll love her so much, 2) Feeling little baby kicks is one of the coolest things I've ever experienced,  it's so fun to be able to feel this little miracle inside me and to feel her getting stronger and bigger, 3) I've got a great partner in all of this and as long as I've got David on my team we'll be able to make it through whatever this precious baby brings us. 

Also, it's so great to have good examples of parenthood all around us.  Our own parents of course taught us so much and are always available for advice.  I've got so many cousins who are great parents.  And our own siblings who have children are teaching us about what it takes to be a good parent and to simply enjoy your children and the great experiences that they bring to your life.  We were happy to spend time with my brother Brandon and his wife Laura and their son Landon last week.  We don't get to see them too much because they live in San Francisco, but it was so good to see them for a few days!  Watching Landon makes me so excited to be a mom.  Brandon and Laura are doing such a great job with him.  He is growing and learning so much, so fast.  He's an adorable, happy, smiley little guy.  I'd love to snuggle him all day long, but he is definitely a wiggly guy!  

Here is the latest picture of our growing baby girl. This was at 25 weeks, we're now at 27.