He's got bedding!

Whew!  What a task!  What should have been an easy selection, proved otherwise.  We've been looking for bedding for some time now but we really couldn't find anything we liked.  So much of the bedding was themes and I knew I didn't want theme at all.  There were trains, trucks, animals, safari, stars, disney- and none of that was striking a cord with us.  We were trying to mix and match but couldn't seem to get that to work out either. We looked at fabric, bolts and bolts of fabric, only to decide there were too many choices- way to many choices.

So...after much searching I click on The Land of Nod and find this adorable bedding.  Perfect for my little one and his nursery!  Not themey with all shades of blues and greens in different prints- I think I'll take it!   

I got online yesterday morning to order it, and guess what...bumper BACK ORDERED TILL MAY!  Good grief!  So, I ordered the quilt, the skirt and the pillow.  I sent Lance an email letting him know the bumper was back ordered and that we'd have to just do solid blue or green instead.  About an hour later, he calls back and he's called The Land of Nod Corporate Office and tracked down a bumper.  It will be coming from Chicago and should arrive in 5 days!  Major brownie points for Lance.  I think I'll keep him.  ;) 

We've been hard at work on the nursery.  I can't wait till its completed so I can show you all of our hard work.  This weekend, we wrapped up the painting of the paneling, Lance put a dimmer switch on, we moved the old dresser out of the closet and replaced some outlets.  The dresser is now in, but in the middle of the floor.  Once the bedding comes in and we can pick a green paint to go with it, the rest of the room will be painted and we can move the bed in!  It's coming together and I'm getting very excited. 

32 weeks today!  8 more to go!

Every good and perfect gift is from ABOVE James 1:17

What a day of rejoicing it has been!

This morning at 5:30am, Brooke went into the hospital to deliver her second baby girl.  Shortly after 7 the Pitocin began.  I got to the hospital around 7:30.  They started her epidural around 8:30.  After a few checks, she was holding steady at 5cm. 

We were just getting settled in, Aaron on his laptop with music pumping in his ears, Brooke on her side preparing for a power nap, Bev with her magazines, and me with crochet in hand, working on Easton's baby blanket.  Aarons parents arrived shortly after 10 and he went out to meet them in the waiting room.  About that time, Brooke decides she's ready to push.  My thoughts...what? we've just gotten settled- you were just at a 5!  But, we called the nurse in, she checked and sure enough, she was ready to push! 

Where's Aaron?!?!?!?  Bev ran to the waiting room and I assumed my role... clean up. Yeah, its what I do.  I go into superwoman mode and start getting everything together to head to the waiting room to do our waiting, put things in their place, make sure Brooke was ok, pull her hair back, get chapstick, etc. 

We were about to head to the waiting room when she chirped up and asked us to stay-

WHAT? WHO ME?  STAY IN HERE while you deliver your child?  Oh dear, I'm feeling hot- I think I might faint, what if I fall out while SHE is pushing- oh me, oh my, oh me, oh my...get it together Ann, this is going to be you in 2 short months...oh dear, hotter...But... Certainly...I wouldn't miss it for the world!  I would be absolutely honored! 

So, that we did.  We stayed!  About 10:35 the pushing began and by 11:03 we were welcoming a beautiful baby girl into this world.  At 6 lbs 3 oz and 19 inches long, she is both good & perfect.  AND- I saw every minute of it- didn't miss a breath, nor a count, nor a contraction! 

Londyn Zoe has a head full of dark hair.  She's got the sweetest pouty lips I've ever seen and her mommy's nose.  We've yet to check the feet yet to see if she's got her daddy's toes like her big sister got- but she's a good mix of both.

Welcome Zoe!  Auntie Ann can't wait to watch you grow up just like little Reese.  I love you!

 

Weekend Wrap-Up

"When are we ever going to get to relax again?"  This was the question that started off the weekend.  The answer---I'll let you know when we get there, because this weekend was sure not the weekend for that!

Lance had to work late Friday night so I decided to tackle the master bathroom painting.  I got one coat of trim done.  There are so many things to trim around in the bathroom.  I prefer large square rooms to small tedious rooms!  It makes rolling easier, but trim is another story.  Saturday morning, I got up and did a second coat of trim while Lance installed our new kitchen light.  It's a monster!  It's beautiful though.  We wrapped up our housework around  noon and headed to our Childbirth Education Class.  I'll have to say I was quite anxious about these classes.  But, much to my surprise, they weren't bad at all.  They were very informative.  It definitely brought up lots of questions/thoughts for Lance and I and topics to discuss later. 

• Rooming In
• Cord Blood Banking
• Regular or Premium Suite- post delivery (I'll tell you Lance decided fairly quick that the Premium Suite was a must- complete with Titans or Predators Decor and Room Service for dad too, plus a bigger room!!)
• Certain shots that you can decline or put off
• Selecting a Pediatricican
• Car Seat\Stroller selection
• Bumper Pads on the crib- who knew that the "new" thing was to leave them off---it's highly recomended that you don't use them...instead use Breathable Bumper Pads...who knew?!?!?!
• etc, etc, etc, etc. 

Just to name a few of the topics on our list to discuss.  We learned so much and I feel a lot more comfortable about having Easton and bringing him home. 

Saturday night after our classes, I got 1 coat of paint on the bathroom and we watched some football and ate Pizza- healthy I know. 

Sunday morning, I got up early to get the final coat of paint on the bathroom before we went to church.  After church we grabbed some lunch and headed to our final day of classes.  We took a tour of the hospital starting from where to park when I do go into labor and ending at the Nursery.  This was very helpful to walk the halls that we will be walking in a few short months.  I'll have to say, they have spared no details, they've covered it all.  Moms get room service AND a FREE MASSAGE!  Sign me up!  Not to say that I don't still have nerves or anxiety about the whole process but I do think most of my concerns were eased by these classes.  If you are a first time parent, I highly recomend these classes!  We finished off the day learning about baby- bathing, sleeping, feeding, changing, swadling, etc.  All in all, a very successful weekend. 

On a funnier note- early in the day on Saturday our instructor was asking the dads if they had experienced any "symptoms" along with mom.  Out of 19 couples, 1 brave man raised his hand.  Yep, you guessed it; it was Lance!  She said "what was your symptom?"  He said "I've been nauseaus from the beginning."  Then she asked me if I'd been sick too and maybe that's why he was feeling bad but I informed her that I've felt great, that he took my sickness for me.  That broke the ice pretty good for the class.  Surely he wasn't the only one...but he was the only one to speak up!

Last night I got the bathroom back in working order.  Lance got one coat of primer on the nursery walls.  It's taking shape- slowly but surely.  Hopefully we can get the paneling painted this week and at least get the crib and dresser put together soon.  I'm tired of having my 2 spare rooms out of order!  So now, all the rooms have been painted and our main focus is on the nursery!  We ordered a quilt but I cancelled the order because I don't think it's what I really wanted.  So now, back to square 1.  This nursery is a lot more difficult then I thought it would be.  But, we'll get it figured out- I'm certain! 

Hope you all had a great weekend.

31 weeks tomorrow!  9 more to go!

My First Baby Shower!

Yesterday was my first baby shower!!! My two best friends hosted a shower for me.  Brooke had the shower at her house and Bridget came up from Birmingham to help her.  We had a pretty good snow shower for Tennessee so not everyone was able to come but we had a good turn out and a great time.  Easton got lots of good things! We are truly blessed with some wonderful friends.

Below are some pictures of the day and some of the wonderful gifts that we got!

Cake & Cookies from Publix!  Rush out and get these for your next baby shower! 

These little cookies were ADORABLE and delish at the same time!

The Lovely Hostesses

Bridget, Brooke (due Jan 26th) and me (due March 22)

3 Preggo's in one room! SO FUN!

Leslie (will deliver Jan 19th if not before)

Brooke

Me

My beautiful sister Ali and mom (aka GG)

Perhaps I should go dark chocolate brown to match these two lovelies :) 

AND---can we say I"M READY FOR SUMMER!  I hate being this pale!

The 2 grandmothers! 

Cindy and Mom

They both can't wait to get their hands on little Easton

This little outfit is for Daddy.  Mommy's a Vandy Fan!  :) 

Lance LOVED this little onesie for sure!

Now- aren't these the cutest things EVER! 

Brooke got these for Easton. We are HUGE fans of Etsy and these came from JUST DANDY. 

Rush over and check her out!

I have GOT to figure out how to make these because I'll make them in every color.

They are SO cute and tiny.  I can't wait to see his little feet in these booties.

I organized all the gifts today. 

The nursery is a work in progress so I can't put it in it's rightful place just yet, but we're getting there.

The little hamper is FULL of clothes on the bottom and receiving blankets shoes, toys, boppy covers, shopping cart cover, hooded towels and other little treasures.

We also got his bouncy seat and some Boppy's.

The bathtub is full of some bathtime goodies- soap, yummy baby lotion, toys, the whole works.

This shower was tons of fun! Thanks to all of those who came and celebrated Eastons life with me.

We've been working on the nursery so those pics are to come soon...

8 Years Ago...

8 Years Ago I had no idea how much I could possible love one person.  January 5, 2002, at 19 years young, Lance and I got married.  We spent 1 week together and then he had to leave for San Diego, two weeks later, I joined him.  We lived there for 10 months and returned home to Nashville in October 2002.  We moved into a 1 bedroom apartment upon our return.

Many things have changed since that first year of marriage.  Kirby joined our family, we bought our first house, we have both settled into jobs that we love, we are growing together as a couple with Jesus as our core, we are soon to become parents of our first child.  There have been many emotions shared in these 8 short years.  But after all we've been through, I couldn't imagine my life with anyone else.  Many said we'd never make it, but we've defied all odds and are committed to one another.  I'm in it for the long haul.  Eight years ago, I only thought I knew what love was, but today, I can say that I KNOW what love is.  I love Lance with every thing I have and can't imagine my life without him.

Lance brought home some beautiful flowers and the most priceless card\letter.  We went to dinner at Stoney River and then went driving around downtown.  We ended the night with dessert at the Melting Pot- our local anniversary hot spot.  We normally do the full dinner there, but we decided for a change this year.  I look forward to our 9th year of marriage and all there is to come in this year.

Happy Anniversary!  I love you!

Happy New Year!

This New Year was bitter sweet.  It was our last New Year's Eve without a baby.  Of course, we are so excited, but at the same time, mine and Lance's time as a couple is coming to an end.  We will go from a couple to a family.  It's so strange to think that this time next year we'll have an 8 month old and will have to arrange for a babysitter or have our own party at home.  Of course, once he's here, we'll never look back, but for now, it's so hard to imagine our lives other than just the two of us. 

Yesterday I did some baking---well---sort of.  I made chocolate no bake cookies and chocolate dipped pretzel sticks as well as pigs in a blanket.  I love to spend the day in the kitchen.  We also went to look at fabric for the nursery.  What I liked, Lance didn't.  SO- we did more looking than we did deciding.  It's hard to think about what we want in there.  We don't want it too baby, but not too grown up either. 

Last night we went to Ryan & Emily's house for our Annual New Years Eve Celebration.  We had enough food to feed an army.  It's always fun to get together with the whole gang.  We rang in the New Year with Champaigne and Sparkling Apple Cider for the 3 preggo's in the group.  Of course, the night was sealed with a kiss and I can't think of a better way to end out one year and welcome in another.

Today we finished up some painting in the bedroom- now leaving only the master bathroom and the nursery.  Lance went and played poker with the guys and Kirby and I hung out at home.  We went and saw The Road today.  I'll have to say, it's one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen.  My heart felt so heavy the entire movie.  It was a good movie, a good story, a good lesson, but the movie as a whole was so heavy.  Afterwards we went to moms for some lasagna and football. 

2010 is going to bring many new changes in our world, but I'm anxious and ready for the good things that are in store for us this year!

Happy New Year to you and yours!