IT'S ALL COMING TOGETHER!!

I helped clean the room and took all the hardware off the wall.
David hard at work painting her room. Doesn't he look excited!
Putting together her box spring.
Her crib is almost complete. Can you tell how tired I am?
But now her crib is complete so I am happy!!

May 8th - 11th: First let me say Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's. I appreciate all the hard work you have done and continue to do. As I am about to become a Mom myself I realize the hard work that must be involved. I'm sure I will really understand it all this time next year.

David and I finally have the nursery mostly done. David did most of it himself so I have to give him all the credit. Thursday he painted her room a pretty shade of pink, which he picked out. David (and I) hates to paint but I think he secretly enjoyed painting his baby girls room. Friday he put up a cute and colorful ceiling fan, which he also picked out. If she is anything like her Daddy, that fan will be on all year long. Saturday was the most exciting day of all. David and Uncle Frank picked up her furniture. We have been waiting for this day for a couple of weeks and I was so excited. Saturday night, after a long day, we put together her crib and arranged the other two pieces of furniture. They sure did look a lot smaller in the store. Finally, on Sunday we washed and ironed her bedding (which David also picked out) and put it on the crib. Everything looks so cute. I can't wait for her to see her room. Now all we have to do is finishing touches like picking out pictures, hanging shelves and stocking her drawers.

New York Yankees Newest Fan

Although she doesn't know it yet, our little girl will be the New York Yankees newest and littlest fan. By the time she is born, this year's baseball season will only be about halfway over. That means there will be plenty of bonding opportunities between us. Nothing says "America's favorite pastime" like getting slobbered on and spit up on and changing diapers while watching the game's greatest franchise. I figured if she was going to learn to love the Yankees, she would need some fan gear. I'm hoping these two sets will be the first of many to come. (written by Daddy)

RALEIGH SHOWER

These are the ladies who attended my shower and of course sweetie dog was there!

Baby girl got so many cute clothes. I can't wait to see her in them.

The cake was so cute and yummy!!!

Mom and I at my photo shoot.

My belly at 32 weeks. I just love having a big belly, well except for whenI try to shave, put lotion on my legs or tie my tennis shoes.

April 25th - 27th - I went home for the last time pre-baby. My Mom met me in the airport and as soon as she saw me she started crying. She couldn't believe how pregnant I was. On Saturday she gave me a shower with some of her good friends that I have known for a long time. We had such a good time and it was so good to see these women again, plus we had cake, which is a must for my Mom and me. My friend Terria was unable to make it to the shower so she came over that evening and brought her son Nkosi, who is 11 months old. I had not seen Terria since my bridal shower 4 years ago and this was the first time I got to meet her son. He is so cute!! We had a great time catching up and I really think Nkosi and Richard hit it off. On Sunday I had a photo shoot with my expanding belly. Thanks Richard!!

ITS OFFICIAL

April 21st - 63 days left to go and I can't see my feet. I was in the shower over the weekend and as I looked down I could not see my feet. I immediately yelled for David and told him the news. He laughed. I was shocked. I thought all those stories of women not seeing their feet was a wives tale or just lies. Well they aren’t because I sure can't see my feet and I'm almost to the point where I can't put lotion on my legs because I can't bend over my growing belly (pictures to follow soon). I informed David he would need to start shaving my legs and putting lotion on them since I couldn't reach. He just looked at me like I was crazy. I mean I can't deliver this baby with hairy and rough legs now can I?

BACK TO SCHOOL

April 16th - Today David and I went back to school. I swore I'd never go back to school after I graduated from Grad school but life has a funny way of allowing you to do things you thought you wouldn't. Today was our first day of birthing class. Before class we went by the nursery to see the babies. We saw a set of twins getting their first bath while the Father watched and took pictures. I almost lost it just thinking about David standing in that room watching his little girl's first bath.

Our class is one night a week for six weeks and then we have a graduation ceremony. I sure hope we pass. When I went to class I always sat in the front row because I felt you could pay more attention in the front row and everyone knows people who sit in the front row make A's. So when we arrived at class I wanted to sit in the front or second row but David was not interested in that so we ended up sitting in the back couple of rows, along with the rest of the class. Our class is small, only about 12 couples.

We learned some anatomy, breathing techniques, how to time contractions and how to pack a relaxation bag. What is a relaxation bag you ask....well it is a bag full of things to make one comfortable during labor, such as massage lotion, a soothing CD, etc. I could not help but wonder if those things really work. Like David is going to get out the massage lotion and start working my shoulders and I'm going to forget all the pains of labor. Somehow I don't see that working but what do I know, this is all new to me. We do have a homework assignment, which is to pack our own relaxation bag and bring it to class on the 3rd night. I didn’t think we would have homework in birthing class.

30 WEEKS

April 14th - Only 70 more days until our little girl arrives!! Our doctor’s visit today was the same as always except we are now going every two weeks. David and I have been very busy over the last couple of weeks. We picked our pediatrician and daycare, which were both very important and stressful ordeals. I absolutely love the pediatrician, who came highly recommended by a lady I work with. Just today we picked out her bedding and can now start looking at paint. Her crib is ready to be picked up and we are just waiting on the other two pieces to arrive. I am in total nesting mode. I have a long "to do" list and half of it includes cleaning and getting things ready for her arrival. I know David thinks I'm crazy, but I want everything ready and in its place when she gets home. I don't know if that is OCD or just a new Mom nesting, I like to think it is the latter.


David is getting so excited he can hardly stand it. I'm excited as well, but a little (ok more than a little) nervious. We start our birthing classes on the 16th and I'm really excited about that. I don't know why I'm so excited to learn how to give birth, maybe I'm hoping it will extinguish some of my fears.

OUR BABYMOON

April 5th & 6th - David and I went to Land Between the Lakes (LBTL) for our babymoon; our last trip before our bundle of joy arrives. I don't understand the whole babymoon term. A honeymoon comes after the wedding but a babymoon comes before the baby. Oh well, that did not stop us from having one. We left Saturday morning from the Big Grandparents and drove an hour to Kentucky. It was a great day for a drive and the drive was really pretty. Our first stop was the visitor’s center where we learned all about the creation of LBTL. Our second stop was the Elk & Bison Prairie. We drove around looking for Elk & Bison. We saw dozens of Elk and 3 Bison up close and personal. We then headed down the trace to the Homeplace, an old village. It was really neat to see how the settlers lived. I don't think I could live without central heat or air, but that is just me. After the Homeplace we drove up the rest of the trace looking for a place to spend the night. We found a hotel in Kuttawa, KY and just spent the evening relaxing, eating and watching the NCAA tourney.

On Sunday, we tried to go hiking on a short trail. After spending 15 minutes trying to find the trail we saw the hill you had to go up and decided against it, there was no way baby and I could make it up that hill. We went down the street and visited the Castle on the Cumberland, which is the KY State Penitentiary which houses only death row inmates. It is one scary looking place; I hope never to visit it. We ended our trip with a visit to Patti's settlement, a settlement of animals, miniature golf and great desserts. All in all we had a great time even though we couldn't do too much since I could not venture to far from a bathroom. It was a relaxing weekend and it was nice to be away and just spend time with each other before the fun chaos begins.