maternity pictures!

we had such a great time taking pictures yesterday

in downtown Brenham!



i love everything i am seeing so far 

and what else?

we've also been doing a wee bit of remodeling...

on our master bathroom

Charlie has put in his fair share of elbow-grease.

Here he is pouring some cement for the backer board which is

apparently something you need when tiling on a second story.

He also took out our toilet.

Having him do both of those projects saved us in the neighborhood of

$400 clams.

SUH-WEET

Tile will go in tomorrow!

Please note the Whirlpool tub.

I swore I would sleep in that darn thing once it finally arrived.

{there were several back-order issues that held up the whole project}

In the end we didn't get the tub we originally wanted but found a slightly larger

one with more jets. 

Here you can see the paint comparison between our bedroom (waffle)

and the bathroom (water chestnut)

Basically you can say we have come into our nesting season.

Some people might say it's more like nesting "on drugs"

but we like to say we're just thorough.

where have we been?

so i can't deny that i've been a terrible blogger as of late

but honestly we have been SO buys lately.

From hospital tours to birthing classes we have been on the go, non stop.

Busy is good though!

We got to go to a few concerts at the House of Blues and hear our favorite artists

like Tyrone Wells.

Who recently just had a baby with his wife.

After congratulating him on his expanding family,

Charlie told Tyrone that we were getting ready to be in the same boat.

To which Tyrone relied, "Oh, are you trying to have a baby?"

And I piped in with, "Nope we're "5 weeks away from the due date."

You can imagine his surprise when he looked a little further down

and spied the baby bump.

In all fairness, I am pretty short and he is very tall so

I wasn't too surprised by his reaction. 

It was a fun night!

yay for T-Wells!

{those are some tall dudes}

birth class

last night charlie and i went to our first of 6 birth classes with our

dula, Amanda Moore.

We talked about exercise, diet, diaper changing, etc.

She also gave us a breakdown of how a woman gains weight during pregnancy

Amanda compared giving birth to learning how to swim or driving a car.

When we first try something new, we have support people around to guide us along the way.

No parent tells their child as they are learning to swim,

"this is going to extremely difficult for you and you may drown."

The messages are always positive, i.e.

"i'm here if you need me"

"the side of the pool is over here"

"i'll help you through the deep end"

Amanda also said labor and birth can be kind and will speak to us in progressive stages...

"i'm coming"

"i'm coming"

"i'm coming"

"i'm coming"

"I"M HERE"

it's helpful to know there is a process to brith and it will probably be a gradual one

We really like the 4 other couples in the class with us and are looking forward

to the next couple of weeks!

{pic}

No One Else...

one of my sweet co-workers emailed this to me

and i got all teary eyed at my desk!

i just LOVE this!

fun board books!

I am digging these classic board books as new additions for the

bebe's library.

I am already having a great time reading to him before bedtime.

Unfortunately, my cough gets worse at night and I think it makes my voice sounds raspy...

Kind of like the smoking sisters from The Simpsons.

Ah well, smoking voice or not, at least the baby's brain is hearing lots

of stories and music during these last few weeks!

my bearded husband...

i love him...

oh yes, i do

i love it when he gently pats my belly and sweetly says to the baby,

"good job. 

good job for just being"

favorite baby book to date...

I received this precious, heart-warming, honest

baby book on Saturday from my brother-in-law's cousin.

She is so incredibly sweet and gave us this awesome basket full of

baby booty i.e. "gear"

I literally bawled my eyes out the first three times I read it and so

I just have to share a few lines with you:

I am your parent, you are my child,

I am your quiet place, you are my wild.

I am your calm face, you are my giggle,

I am your wait, you are my wiggle.

I am your dinner, you are my chocolate cake,

I am your bedtime, you are my wide awake.

I am your lullaby, you are my peek-a-boo,

I am your good night kiss, you are my I LOVE YOU.

...I have been reading this sweet book to baby Lloyd every night when he really gets to kickin'

and boy does he like to kick and stretch!

ata-boy!

a whopper!

So today I went to my second appointment with the midwives at St. Luke's.

I took my glucose test to see if I have gestational diabetes and to double check for anemia.

Also, on the list of discoveries...I have gained 6 lbs IN A MONTH!!

WHAT THE HEY!

That's --almost-- as much as I've gained the entire first 6 months.

After a few checks, I finally came to grips with the fact that I have gained 15lbs on my 5' frame.

When the midwife asked me,

in not so many words,

"what in the world have you been eating..."

I simply replied...

"well, you see.  we went on vacation and i've been getting over a killer cold."

She smiled and said she didn't need to hear any more

'nuff said.

Between enjoying myself on our California trip

and not being able to work out as well as I usually do,

given the cold, I managed to nearly double my pregnancy weight gain.

YIKES!!

So who hit the gym in a slightly more than serious manner this evening...your's truly.

Of course I'm not trying to loose weight, per say, just maintain.

The midwive, Theodora, said that Bebe Lloyd is head down and the pefect size for his age.

Looks like our little one is gearin' up to be born!

adventures in baby-wearing

our doula Amanda Moore sent this to me in an email

about a workshop for new dads...

cracked me up!

happy as the sun

i love this sweet picture

{even if it looks like baby is chowing down on mama's neck}

i can't wait to hold my little babe

(Photo by Keith Davis Young)



“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephania 3:17

You are a delight

belly buddies

Last night Charlie and I got some dinner with our great friends, Katy-Ruth and Tyler.

Katy-Ruth is due to have her little girl, Melody, any day now!

{Katy-Ruth, 40+ weeks & Kristin 23 weeks}

We are all praying for a safe delivery in God’s timing. 

Hopefully sooner rather than later!

i just couldn't help myself

there's nothing cuter than a naked baby....

 with fat rolls...

that's bald ...

getting bathed in a sink.

7 weeks!

Week 7 has arrived!

I am still feeling great and have been able to continue my usual workout routines.

I am amazed at how much better I feel after a 30 minute run.

Usually, i am pooped after work but I would rather spend an hour at the gym

than waiting in traffic so that's a nice built-in motivator.

I have seemed to get out of breath more quickly and that is frustrating

but I am listening to what my body is telling me.

14 weeks

(just getting around to posting this)

finally getting a little more of the baby bump.

luckily all of my clothes still fit and i've only gained about 3 pounds

but belly is still in that awkward,

 "is she pregnant?" stage

i've got my appetite back but i'm more of a grazer now-a-days.

small meals and snacks all throughout the day are working much better than 3 big meals.

my favorite snacks are:

jolly ranchers

baby carrots

honey bunches of oats cereal

pepper-corn beef jerky

fruit salad

no crazy combinations but definitely a random assortment.

Pregnancy Notes:

-I've been feeling all along that it is a boy.  {this proved to be true :)}
-I really haven't been sick at all and now that we're well into the third month I'm hoping that

-I've been randomly feeling the baby move mainly early in the mornings or if I'm taking a nap

-The heartbeat at our last appointment was 168.  Any guesses on what you think it is? 

Playing Opossum

I went to the doctor on Tuesday for a quick check up because I

hadn't been feeling baby lloyd's kicks as much during the last two days.

Of course, as soon as I  got to the doctor's office, he started rolling

and kicking.

{baby profile, 3D ultrasound}

Sure enough when Dr. Maccato went to take a look, baby boy had just been playing possum.

He even had the hiccups! 

I was so relieved

{baby fingers, his thumb is on the other side of the hand :)}

Just for the record, Australian possums...

are much cuter than

our American Opossums...

YIKES!

parenting...and it starts

so i realized, i've been doing ALOT of doctor planning, gift registering, baby blog searching and my heart is excited but still is seeking more.  more prayer.  more quiet times.  more intentional preparation for what is just around the corner.  i went to one of my favorite websites and sumbled upon this article on parenting and here is a little blurb:

"All I can offer you new moms, who are just beginning this journey of motherhood, is what I tried with all my heart to do over the past 23 years:

Faithfully build character into your children every chance you get. Even if you are not the perfect mom in every way, you can be faithful in that. Here are just a few ways to build and model character while raising those children:

• Nurture a healthy love and fear of the Lord into their hearts.
• Teach them the character qualities of God so they will understand ALL of who He is.
• Be there for them … praise them, hug them goodnight, kiss them goodbye.
• Look directly in their eyes when they speak to you. Listen to them.
• Be humble about your own imperfection, but firmly instill how much you love them.
• Take care of them in ways that are important, let go of the guilt or pressure to be super parents.
• Let them fail and take responsibility for it. Love them through it.
• Teach them to think and reason and make good choices…and model that for them.
• Let your children see that your marriage and family are a priority.
• Teach them to show respect, love and concern for others.
• Model what it means to love your neighbor as yourself.
• Give them opportunities to practice selfless and sacrificial love for others.
• Let them shine in how God created them and cheer them on.
• Challenge them to be who God created them to be even when it is hard work to get there.
• Inspire them for what is possible with God!
• Pray for them.
• Pray with them.
• Remember Who they belong to.
• When they question your wisdom, remind them Who they need to please, above all others.
• Remind them often that being their mom is one of the highest God-given privileges and honors of your life.

Hang in there moms. I pray you will see the rewards of your labor and the joy of watching your kids grow up to be Godly young men and women of character someday!"

where can i find this!?

my imagination is running away with me!

and i'm laughing