Baby Showers

Two blogs in one day!!!  I'm trying to catch up!

The girls at work threw me a very sweet baby shower.  We had breakfast from Chick-fil-a.  It was delicious and so much fun!


I didn't even think to bring to a camera so my coworker snapped these with her phone so the quality is not great but I had to post them.

Such cute stuff and such nice people to work so hard for such a nice shower!  It was very special to me!

Clint's friends and family also threw us a wonderful shower.  It was a non traditional shower and had to be rushed along a little since Chloe is coming early.  We received the gifts this week and got to open them in our home.  They truly blessed us beyond belief in their generosity and  thoughtfulness.  We received some very special things and some things that we needed very much.  We are very blessed to have people that care for us and helped us get ready for our little girl's arrival.

Thank you all so much!!!  We are extremely grateful!!!

November

Well time just keeps flying by and I still can't keep up.  How is it possible for time to be flying so fast?!

A run down of what is going on:

Here we are at 36 weeks and 3 days.  Starting to get big!

We started going to the doctor every week and having my fluid checked.  I have had low fluid since 32 weeks and the doctor wanted to keep a close eye on it as the baby got bigger.  At about 37 and a half weeks (October 31st) he sent us to the hospital for a NST to make sure the baby was still handling everything ok.  He saw a very low amount of fluid and was concerned.  Chloe passed the test though and we were allowed to go home. YAY! He told us he wanted to induce labor on either Friday (November 4th) or no later than November 9th. He also wanted to start seeing us twice a week to make sure everything was good.  I pushed for having baby on the 9th.  I wanted her to bake as long as possible!! So we went back to the doctor on Thursday (November 3rd) praying that we didn't have to have a baby that weekend.  Thankfully he was able to find a little more fluid and we were able to continue to wait.  I guess the 2+ liters of water I have been drinking a day along with the resting I have been doing helped!

Here we are 1 day before 38 weeks.  I snapped this picture before the doctor visit just in case it was my last day to be pregnant.  Still growing!

We head back to the doctor on Monday (November 7th) to be checked again.  I am assuming that will be our last visit and then we head in to have a baby on the 9th.  We will wait and see what the doctor says but that seems to be the plan right now.  I can't say that I will miss the doctor visits.  These last few have been quite a bit less than comfortable.  Sometimes I am quite ready for Chloe to be here so I can actually see her little face.  Some days I am excited to not be pregnant any more.  It will be so nice to be able to stand up without help and bend over to pick things up....  Other times I know that I will miss her little movements and feeling her wiggling around inside.

We have been settling in to our new apartment. We are mostly unpacked.  I have a few little things I am still finding homes for and finishing the decorating.  It took Lucy a while but she is finally settling in too.  She hid under the bed for a few weeks only coming out at night when we were all in the bedroom with the door shut and the lights off.  She feels quite at home now though. 

She likes to watch me wash my face.

We have also been busy trying to get the nursery set up.

I love the bedding.  My sweet Aunt and Uncle gave us the bedding and I think it is just beautiful.  It is full of texture and so sweet.  Clint picked it out and I think he did a great job.  We are still waiting on her dresser and I haven't hung the curtains, so pretty much all that is done in the room is the bed, but that is ok.  That's all I needed for the baby right at first and I hope to finish getting the room set up when my mom is here after Chloe is here.

Lucy even tested out one of the blankets to test its softness.  Don't worry, I washed it and it safely put away, but I am afraid I am going to have to keep my eye on her She loves soft blankets and I think she might try to steal Chloe's soft blankets.

This week I have gotten a few meals put in the freezer, our bags packed for the hospital and most of the thank you notes written.  I feel like I could be prepared for a baby now when it's time.  I still need to go to Target and finish getting the things we need for Chloe.  I hope to do that in the next couple of days, but if I don't I can still bring a baby home and be just fine for a little bit.  Now I just need to work up my courage for labor and delivery. :)

I'll try and update again after our appointment on Monday, but if not the next big update will have pictures of a baby!!! I can't believe it!!!!

A Little Update

Whew! its been a busy few weeks at our house!  Where do I start?

Baby:

We hit 30 weeks yesterday. Wow! How time flies!  Only 10 more weeks and I don't feel prepared AT ALL!  I need a more recent picture but here we are at almost 28 weeks.

Shes growing!  I don't think she ever sleeps.  She is so active during the day especially when I am working.  All her flips and kicks are kinda distracting while I am at work. They have gotten a little painful at times too so I know she is getting stronger.   I have started craving sweets a little more lately which is probably not the best thing, but they sure do taste good!  I have started having a hard time sleeping and getting comfortable at night, which my Dr. tells me is nature's way of preparing me. Chloe does not like to be squished either so if my pants are too tight, I sit too close to the desk or lay the wrong way she lets me know for sure!  We go back for our last ultra sound in a week.  I am pretty excited to get to see her again.  It has been quite a while since we have looked in on her.

Work:

We finally settled on a day to be my last day at work.  I will work through the end of October, which is about 2 weeks before the baby is due to arrive.  I have been working really hard trying to get some projects done there.  I have a certain number of things I want to get done so I feel like they are kind of caught up before I go.  I don't know if all the projects will all get done but I am giving it my best shot.  It is bittersweet to be leaving.  They are a great group of people and I have really enjoyed working there.

The Apartment:

Oh where to start with the apartment.... A couple of weeks ago we had record breaking temperatures here in Houston.  The temperatures were 105 or higher for several days and since we are in the middle of a really bad drought right now, there were no clouds or raindrops to cool things off.  Those kind of temps make a pregnant girl go a little nuts.  Saturday morning of the heat wave, our air conditioning decided to stop working.  After a call to our emergency line and a visit from the maintenance man it was decided that they could not repair the unit over the weekend so they gave us a window unit in the mean time.  Poor little thing couldn't keep up with the temps and we were forced to endure a long hot weekend.  Monday finally came and they said that we needed a whole new unit which, thankfully, was installed that day.  Yay!!  I was one happy girl!! 

 Poor Lucy was so hot!

Now I am deep in the process of getting us ready to move.  Our big move is just one week away.  September 16th.  We are moving to a two bedroom apartment in a little city called Texas City.  We are all so excited to be moving out of the big city and a little closer to some family.  We will have to drive further to work but, Clint doesn't mind and I only have to do it for about 5 weeks so I think I can handle it.

 Ahh the joys of moving.

Well I guess, that is about enough for this post.  Don't want it to get too long and I am hungry again so I guess I better find some cereal or something. Yummmm....cereal....

Hello!

Once again, my how the time has passed.  Life gets busy and heavy and time gets away.  There really isn't a good excuse for my lack of posting except life.  I have been told that for little Chloe's sake I needed to update here [Hi Meagen! :)]

What's that?  Who's Chloe?  Hmm.  I guess I should back up a little.  Big changes are underway in our little world.

We spent a year and a half trying to get pregnant, experienced some heartbreak and some pretty painful life lessons.  None of these things were pleasant, but as I look back now I can see how these circumstances were necessary to get us to this place and how we definitely did not need a baby during that time. God's timing is perfect.

In February we got quite a surprise.

 
Yup, that's right.  I was shocked.  After so many negative tests it is quite shocking to finally see a positive.  I was excited, I was terrified, so many conflicting emotions.

Time passed, sickness and yuckiness came, mostly in the evenings, chocolate milk was my friend, I found that I was starving all the time.  I needed at least one nap a day, although I didn't always get one.  We told our families first thing and made the announcement on Facebook.  I had a couple of little things come up that were not quite normal right off the bat so we decided to wait until our first trimester was over to let all of our co-workers in on our little secret.  It was one of the hardest secrets I have ever kept. 

Here is baby at about 16 weeks.

Just starting to make an appearance. 

The second trimester finally came.  We broke the news to our co-workers.  I finally started feeling a little better and got some energy back.  Although the past couple of weeks I have felt like I am back in my first trimester.  Where has my energy gone?  I have been so tired.  I finally started feeling baby move around week 19.  Our baby is a very active little one.  She has lots of fun in there.  On week 20 we found out we were having a little girl.  We were both super excited to be having a girl. Our unusual complications cleared up.  So far our second trimester has been a super busy one. We have been looking for a bigger place to live, make decisions concerning work and the future and trying to find the perfect name for our little one.  We are slowly crossing things off of our to do list.  Hopefully soon we get to do some fun things like registering for baby stuff.  I am super excited for that. :)


Meet Chloe Michelle (at 12 weeks)

Here we are at almost 23 weeks.

She's growing!
Well that is our big news for now.  We go back to the doctor on Monday so we will have an update after that.  This has turned in to  pretty long post so I will be back soon. 

Where Did the Time Go?

My poor little neglected blog.  It has been a while since I have paid it any attention.  About 6 whole months! WOW! That's a long time!

Sometimes life goes a little crazy.   Sometimes life is hard and tries to give you more than you think is possible to handle.  Sometimes it is all you can do just to get out of bed in the morning and do what has to be done.  There are times that you are just minding your own business, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, life just shows up and knocks ya' down, and while you are down it decides to throw in a couple of kicks and punches too.  That is where we have been.  Struggling to get back on our feet, make sense of circumstances and overall making lemonade out of lemons. 

But then, just as quickly, life can turn back around and the sunshine returns.  We finally make it back to our feet and start to get back on with enjoying life.  Slowly, painfully, but wiser than before.  That is where we seem to be now, at least for the time being. 

I have noticed a trend on my blog though, it seems like when life gets a little crazy the blog is always the first thing I let go.  I need to work on that.  I use this blog as a way to keep track of my life and remember the things that I need to remember along with keeping in touch with family members.  Obviously I am not doing a very good job at writing down our memories or keeping in touch!  So, maybe that is something that I can work on for the new year.  Is it rushing things to already be planning for the new year? Maybe so... Hmm, well then it will be something that I can work on for the holiday season, you know, since Thanksgiving and Christmas are big memory making holidays and all.  Yeah! That's it!  That is something that I am going to work on for the holiday season! 

Ok, so this post is full of odds and ends and ramblings, so I guess its time to wrap it up.  I will be back in a few days hopefully, (when I have my camera) to post a hodgepodge of pictures that I took over my little 6 month bloggy break. Maybe I can document a few of those memories after all....

Psalm 139

I am a worrier.  I think I have always been a worrier.  I think I was born worrying.  I don't know how to stop.

 Many of the tasks that I am assigned at work don't take a lot of concentration.  My mind starts to wander and it never fails that I start to worrying and stressing.  Then it just snowballs.  I spend the entire day worrying and by the end of the day my mind is a mess of mush, my stress levels are through the roof and my neck and shoulders are tense.  I finally decided that I needed something else to occupy my mind during the day because I was trying to lower my stress level and I was making myself crazy.  So, I decided that I would try memorizing scripture.  Any time that my mind was not occupied, and I felt myself starting to worry and stress, I just started working on my verse.

For my first verse I chose Psalm 139.  It was a verse that I started memorizing while I was in high school and never finished.  It took me about a month even with the head start, but I do only work three days a week, at least that is my excuse, it is NOT because I am getting old.

Psalm 139 (NIV)

O LORD, you have searched me and 

you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

You perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue

you know it completely, O LORD.

You hem me in - behind and before;

you have laid your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee form you presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if i settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me 

and the light will become night around me,"

even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for the darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you 

when I was made in the secret place.

when I woven together in the depths of the earth, 

your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me 

were written in your book 

before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are you thoughts, o God!

How vast the sum of them!

Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand.

When I awake,

I am still with you

If only you would slay the wicked, Oh God!

Away from me, you blood thirsty men!

They speak of you with evil intent;

your adversaries misuse your name.

Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,

and abhor those who rise up against you?

I have nothing but hatred for them;

I count them my enemies.  

Search me, oh God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

I really love this passage and it definitely helped keep my stress and worry levels down.  Now that I have finished this one, I am looking for my next passage to work on during the week.  If anyone has any suggestions I welcome them!

The Squirrls Need Somewhere to Sit Too!

While out walking the other night I spotted this tiny little bench.

I fell in love with it because I think tiny little things that look exactly like the bigger version that I usually see are so cool.  Don't ask me why, but I am quite fascinated by these tiny replicas.  Maybe because it kinda makes me feel like a giant....I don't know....I am quite curios why one would need a bench quite so small though.  Maybe at night when all the people go to sleep a little boy squirrel will bring his sweetheart here and they will hold hands and look at the moon.  I know...I am weird....you can stop laughing now....