All About Asher

4th of July

2011-07-07T14:52:00.001-10:00

Here's a look at our first 4th of July as a family of three...

It started with a 5k Fun Run on base at 10am. I ran it in 22:30, which was about a 7:20 mile- the fastest I've ever run before! Then, to make up for all of those calories I burned, we got McDonalds and enjoyed the nice weather while we ate...

I was runner number 194. Here it is pictured with my Filet-o-Fish meal, haha!

Asher's first look at French Fries

Didn't get a picture in my running gear...

Waiting for the fireworks to start! It was Asher's bedtime, but he was more than happy to be out!

He loved them, he stayed awake for the entire show.

And that was our first 4th together! Next year Asher will probably either love the fireworks again, or be afraid of them- who knows?

Recent Milestone Update

2011-07-06T07:18:00.000-10:00

July 5th
We've begun to notice Asher grabbing and holding both of his feet while on his diaper changing pad.

July 4th
Asher saw his first fireworks and loved them! He stayed awake for the whole show on Fort Knox, KY, and the loud noises didn't bother him. We had a blast!

4 Months & Growing

2011-06-27T04:44:00.000-10:00

Asher had his four-month Well Baby appointment this past week. He passed every milestone test with flying colors! He was able to "stand" on his legs, push up from his tummy, and charm the pediatrician with his big gummy smiles. (She wanted to take him home). Here are his stats-

Weight: 19 pounds 3 oz, 100th percentile

Height: 26 inches, 93rd percentile

Head Circumference: 41.7 cm, 48th percentile

His most recent activities include his new Jump & Go:

Which he falls asleep in...

A lot. Ha!

He really likes his rattles now, see him holding onto this one as he sleeps?

He got a few snazzy new outfits from his Aunt and Uncle Tatz in New York. Look at him sporting Under Armor!

He also got three new diaper covers, yay! Mommy's more excited about them than Asher is though... they make her job easier :)

We had you guys vote on his 18 week picture, and this is the one you chose!

Jump over to Modern Ranch to see it with the 18 Week graphic in Sweet Pea Weekly!

Asher Masters His Pea!

2011-06-18T05:28:00.001-10:00

Asher's 17 weeks old and still weighing in just shy of 20 pounds. It appears that his fast growing has finally slowed down, as he's held the same weight for about three weeks now. This is his first weekly picture that showcases him holding his pea! He's getting quite good with his hands!

Hop on over to Modern Ranch to see all of his weekly pictures!

Playground Happenings

2011-06-17T07:04:00.001-10:00

Here's a little peak at our evenings with Asher. Once the sun is low and the temperature's cooled off, it's into his Jeep carrier and off to the playground we go! Although I think Thane and I have more fun on the swings and slide than Asher does...ha!

Thane and I take turns wearing him. Not only to "share the load" haha, but because we both want turns with him! Sometimes Thane will have me give him to him just so that I can see the cute things he's doing with his mouth. For instance, he gets working on his carrier like it's a piece of dessert!

We also take a walk through the scenic neighborhood that's near our hotel complex. Asher loves getting outside to see the sights. We've learned that if we don't get him out after a long day of being in doors, we're in for a rough evening.

We've been blessed with a beautiful area surrounding us! Who knew Fort Knox had this hidden gem?

A Mere Infant & Already Rivaling Buddha

2011-06-17T04:05:00.000-10:00

I can't look at this picture without laughing! This was taken during our trip to Virginia when Asher was 12 weeks old. I believe he was about 16 or 17 pounds at this point. Last week he was just shy of 20. I can't wait to see what he weighs at his four month appointment on Monday!

Asher Eats Grown-Up Food!

2011-06-13T10:48:00.001-10:00

Here we are at a very exciting milestone- Asher's first solid food. (If you don't count the tiny bit of cookie dough Thane slipped him about a week ago- he can't help spoiling dogs, and clearly he can't help spoiling Asher either, ha!)

I'm proud to say that this little boy loves his veggies...or should I say "veggie" (singular), since he's only tried one? We may crash and burn with the green ones, only time will tell. This was one was super simple to make, I did ZERO research on it, just baked the sweet potatoes and then used mixers to puree the insides. I didn't even add milk to it like planned since it was so creamy by itself.

Can't wait to try this with other veggies and fruits! Anybody have any suggestions for me? I'm thinking of trying peas next...

Just a cute shot of Asher pretending to nap with daddy...see the little grin on his face? He knows he's fooling somebody... :)

All About Asher- The New & Improved Baby Blog

2011-06-11T01:58:00.001-10:00

Hey there family and friends! You might have noticed that we've been slacking on the baby blog lately... I guess it felt more like a pregnancy blog, and well, that phase is over! So welcome to this new and improved space that's "All About Asher", dedicated to keeping you up to date on this fast growing monkey of ours. Since we're all over the place (Georgia, Kentucky, Nebraska, Virginia...), we hope this will be a fun and effective way to stay close. So follow along, it's bound to be an adventure.

Notice a few new features to the right, under the "Pages" category. For instance, "Asher Cam" will hopefully have videos coming soon, "Sweet Pea Weekly" will link you to his weekly photo, and the "Milestones" page will be updated frequently as he learns and grows and has all kinds of fun new experiences. It will also feature relevant links to posts and photos so that you don't miss any of the details.

Here are just a few photo highlights from past weeks, and there are many more to come!

Lounging in his robe.

His favorite outfit

Look at that beautiful skin :)

The Traveling Gnome

Remember the photos of me sleeping on the green couch, mom and dad?

Working on sitting up...he holds his head up like a master.

This was the first time he ever held a rattle!

Enjoying the port-a-crib and Busy Box in Virginia- thanks Great Grandmother!

If you see a photo you'd like, just let me know by commenting on the post and I'll send you the file! Love you and miss you all!

Nicki's Diapers: Nicki's Weekly Giveaway: Best Bottom Diaper

2011-04-25T12:17:00.004-10:00

Win one of my favorite diapers! Just check out the following link to enter:

Nicki's Diapers: Nicki's Weekly Giveaway: Best Bottom Diaper: "Ready for your chance to win a Best Bottom Diaper ! Your choice of Snap OR Hook & Loop Closure. Nicki's Diapers will choose the color base..."

We are loving cloth diapering! I would definitely recommend it for anyone interested in trying it out. As long as you've got a good system, I think they're just as convenient as disposables. Now, getting a good system down has taken a little trial and error, but all in all I've had a great experience with cloth from the start. I use the one-size BestBottom brand. It's considered a "hybrid" diaper- a shell + an absorbent insert that snaps into the shell. The cute colors and prints make it so much fun, and there's something really satisfying knowing that we're saving money and being eco-friendly all at the same time.

We have five shells so far (eight to ten are recommended). I'd love to have more since they're so darned cute, but for the time being we do well with these. Generally they stay clean, but if they get a little messy on the inside I just rinse them with some soap and they're good to go again. Otherwise, they get washed every two or three days. We have sixteen medium sized inserts that snap into the shells (18 to 24 are recommended). I skipped the small size since we weren't planning on using them right away (we weren't sure if he would fit into the shells until he was older). But surprisingly, they fit him well pretty early on! I just tried one on one day for the fun of it, not expecting it to work, but it did! They seemed a little bulky at first when compared to newborn size disposables, but we've gotten used to them and he's growing every day.

When I change Asher, I unsnap the dirty insert and throw it into a wetbag to wait for washing. The wetbag is great for storing them and for keeping the smells away. I just ordered another one so that I'll have one for dirty diapers only and a separate one for wet diapers only. That way, the dirty diaper bag can get thrown straight into the wash with the rest of the load, while the bag for the wet ones can just be wiped down from time to time. (I don't want my hand made Joel Dewberry bag to fade and/or leak color in the hot washes). The shells go into a mesh bag so that they're always airing out and able to dry if I've had to rinse a little leak out of them.

Surprisingly, I don't even mind this whole laundering process. Maybe it's the diaper sprayer that makes it so easy and convenient. It only takes about 10 or 15 minutes every two days, and will be less once he gets older and has solid #2s. Being at Knox and not having a personal washer and dryer might make it a little more challenging. But after all, it's only four months, and I just can't see myself switching to disposables after seeing how much I love cloth. (Especially for the fact that disposables seem to give Asher really bad diaper rash...maybe he has extra sensitive skin.)

I also use cloth wipes, which work just as great as the diapers. I make my own wipe solution with a lavender essential oil concentrate and water, soak the wipes in it, then put them into the wipes warmer just like you would with regular wipes. They stay nice and moist and are very gentle, since they're chemical-free. Also, lavender is naturally anti-bacterial and smells great.

The only downside I've found with our cloth diapers so far is the fact that Thane's brain automatically shuts down when he attempts to handle one. (Sorry Thane, but it's true.) So, because I don't want him slapping a disposable on him all the time (we always keep a few around), I end up doing the vast majority of the changing. But I don't mind it in the least, I actually enjoy it- never thought I'd say that! And besides, Thane is quite handy at other things, like putting food on our table (which is kind of important). So I'm more than happy to take care of all the baby duties. (Just for the record, I should mention that during Asher's first two weeks Thane was a diaper changing machine. We were using disposables at that point and he was extremely helpful.)

Asher says "go BestBottoms!"

9 Weeks

2011-04-23T09:36:00.000-10:00

8 Weeks

2011-04-23T09:34:00.002-10:00

Asher's First Army Move

2011-04-09T09:26:00.002-10:00

Well, Asher had his first taste of the army life at six weeks and five days old. Haha, of course! There's no such thing as "normal" for this family! (The rest of you military wives can sympathize.) But we're happy to be with Thane/daddy again. Since there are times when we're forced to be separated, we'll do what's necessary to be together when we can. Especially in Asher's first precious months of life!

Asher and I made the nine hour drive up to Fort Knox two days ago, which went amazingly well. I actually enjoyed the trip, and he was very happy up until the very last several minutes. So, all in all, it was great! And by the way, I haven't been forced to use a single disposable diaper since we left home in Georgia- just another testament to how easy and convenient they really are. The worst part of this whole transition by far was getting packed and organized before coming. With Asher keeping my hands full, that was a difficult task to take on by myself. Although the Swans were a huge help- thanks you guys! And we'll miss you! :(

We're pretty much settled in now, and our "home" this go around is much nicer than what Thane and I lived in our first time when we were here for Armor school about three years ago. It's the same type of living, a furnished apartment with maid service. But this one is much newer and nicer, and has a bigger kitchen to include a nicer fridge than the one we have in our place at Benning. (One of the modern ones with the freezer on the bottom.) Oh, and there's a flat screen HD TV with cable, oh boy! Haha, so, we're pretty well off, praise God. Asher even has his own room, which was our main concern. Thane will be working very long hours, (with early mornings as usual), so the extra space will prevent him from being woken up too much in the middle of the night.

But more important than our living accommodations is finding a good church. Thane visited one last Sunday before I was here, and we're trying another one this week. Hopefully God will lead us to a great one with good teaching and plenty of young couples. Even though we'll only be here for four months, we want to make the most of this time and get plugged in as much as possible.

By the way, Asher weighs 13 pounds this week. He's getting so big!

Cloth Diapering; I'm in Love!

2011-04-05T12:28:00.002-10:00

We (well, mostly me) are loving cloth diapering! I would definitely recommend it for anyone interested in trying it out. As long as you've got a good system, I think they're just as convenient as disposables. Now, getting a good system down has taken a little trial and error, but all in all I've had a great experience with cloth from the start. I use the one-size BestBottom brand. It's considered a "hybrid" diaper- a shell + an absorbent insert that snaps into the shell. The cute colors and prints make it so much fun, and there's something really satisfying knowing that we're saving money and being eco-friendly all at the same time.

Asher says "go BestBottoms!" :)

6 Weeks

2011-04-04T16:00:00.000-10:00

Our little sweet pea is growing up! On his six week "birthday" he weighed exactly 12 pounds, and today when I picked him up he was noticeably heavy. Part of me can't wait to see what his personality is like when he's a little older, and the other part of me wanted to freeze him when he was at week one and never let him grow up.

We've had a very busy few days as we get ready to move (yet again) to Kentucky for Thane's new job. Praise God that He's providing us with a nice, modern two bedroom apartment with a full kitchen (minus a dishwasher...). But we'll take it, especially in light of where we stayed the last time Thane and I were at Fort Knox together...(the infamous Craig Apartments, for all of you fellow army people who've had the pleasure of the experience.) Thursday is the big day that Asher and I drive up together, pray for us please! Haha, I'm sure it'll go just fine. And believe it or not, I'm excited to get to Knox and I'm convinced that this go-around will be infinitely better. I'll have my hands full with full-time mommying (and dishwashing), so I doubt I'll get as bored as I did before. And after all, the good Lord always has a reason and plan for everything, so we're excited to see what that may be for these next four months! But even if it's not obvious, we're trusting that He'll use it for good. After all, He's faithful and true and has never let us down before, despite our many many shortcomings. So thank you Jesus, and please just let Asher learn to sleep through the night! Haha, I forsee many single soldiers being less than thrilled to get 3am wake-ups.

Speaking of sleeping through the night, he's getting there! He only wakes up once between his last feeding of the night at 10:30pm and his first morning feeding at 7:30am. So that's an answer to prayer in preparation for living in a small space with Thane who will have very early mornings and long days. He's done really well on an every three hour nursing schedule since he was about three weeks old, and I'm pretty sure that's been the key to his good sleeping at night. At one point towards the beginning I went off of the schedule for a couple of days, and as a direct result he was up about every hour all night wanting to "snack". So, back to the schedule we went, because this momma does not do well on zero sleep!

5 Weeks

2011-03-26T08:23:00.000-10:00

One Month...My How the Time Flies!

2011-03-24T07:18:00.000-10:00

What a whirlwind of a month! Having Asher and all of our visitors has made for a really fast four weeks. He met Grammy Keller and Great Grandma Tatz this past week. All of our family visits are finished and we have one last week before Thane goes to Fort Knox, and about two weeks before I join him assuming all works out with his living situation. There's just no "normal" for us, ha! But it certainly makes for an interesting life... Anyway, here are some highlights from the past week.

Asher and his Grammy

Thane's 26th Birthday on March 17th, homemade cake and icing (from scratch), compliments of Grammy! And no, this chocolate cake didn't end up upside down on the couch...

Out and about with Great Grandma on a beautiful spring day.

Caught a smile on camera!

Oh, and another highlight of the week was being able to get out and jog again! Now that our visitors are gone it'll be harder with nobody around during the day to watch Asher. But it felt so good to get out into the sun and fresh air and work up a sweat again. I still have my eyes on a pair of pink Vibrum Bakila's...have to be prepared for those gravel roads on the ranch. On a related note, Grandma Tatz treated us to a scale as a housewarming gift, and after weighing myself for the first time since having the baby I see I have some work to do, yikes! Asher's coming along great with his weight gain, as of March 23rd he was up to ten pounds, 2 ounces. He's growing too fast!

Sounds like somebody is up from his nap...so, til next week!

3 Weeks

2011-03-12T06:50:00.004-10:00

I can't believe he's already three weeks old, the time is going way too fast! It's going to be another great week though, his Uncle Rhys arrived last night and his Grandma Keller is flying in this afternoon. Asher's been busy as a bee meeting all of our friends and family. We've been really blessed to have a constant stream of visitors, meals, and gifts. Thank you so much to all of you who've shown us your love and generosity, the Lord has poured out so many blessings onto us!

Asher and Uncle Rhys meeting for the first time!

2 Weeks Old & First Visit from Grandparents!

2011-03-08T08:17:00.002-10:00

Talk about an exciting week- he met Grandma and Grandpa Gonzalez for the first time! And I dare say that he even got a little spoiled by them... :) They made the drive from Virginia and stayed for about five days, I was sad to see them go this morning. It went so fast! And Asher doesn't know it yet, but he (and I) will be sad when he realizes that Grandma is no longer here to walk the floors with him at night when he's wide awake and wanting to explore the house.

We're all doing great. His two week appointment went very well, and he's up to 8 pounds 4 ounces now. So he passed his "weight gain test" with flying colors. He's getting more and more alert as the days go, and seems to enjoy having his eyes open and looking around quite a bit more than last week. The only catch is he likes to be up from about 10:30pm to 1:30am (the time between two of his feedings), and then this morning he decided to stay up again from 5 to 8am. Uh-oh, let's hope this doesn't become the new pattern! That's normally the time when I take him into bed with us and let him sleep on my chest for a couple of hours, (which is usually his favorite place to sleep). And now he's back to his daily routine of napping the day away, ha! Hopefully it won't be long before he gets his days and nights reversed to a "normal" schedule. But until then, we'll be patient! We just hope that he gets on a more normal schedule before our move to Fort Knox in about a month. It'll be rough on Thane if Asher keeps him awake at night while the three of us are living in a really small space together.

Oh, and I'm proud to say that we managed to make it to Sunday school and the regular church service this past week! We got out of the house in an hour, which I didn't think was possible based on the previous weeks experience. But I guess we're adjusting well to life with an infant. I've definitely learned a few important lessons, like never stop taking your Motrin three days after delivering, and always have an extra outfit in your diaper bag in case of extreme pee-pee leak emergencies while out in public, ha!

Little Asher's First Week

2011-03-01T06:58:00.003-10:00

Happy one week birthday Asher! It's unbelievable how fast it went, and so sad! I don't want him to grow up! He's been such a blessing to us, and needless to say it's been a memorable week. There were a lot of "firsts" for all of us.

First family photo...

First trial run in a cloth diaper- so far so good!

Wearing his hooded towel after his first bath. He wasn't too thrilled with the whole experience, and we have the evidence on video to prove it!

This is him the morning of his first day at church. He did great, didn't make a peep the whole service.

His first little "ride" in his vibrating bouncer. He loves it! It's his new favorite place to sleep.

One of his first few naps on his nursing pillow. Haha, it's so comfortable that he doesn't know whether to eat or sleep on it!

Uh-oh, sounds like he's waking from his nap now! Thanks for checking in, more pictures to come!

Asher's Birth Story

2011-02-24T10:59:00.002-10:00

Friday morning, the 18th, I had my 39 week appointment. I was 2 cm dilated and 75% effaced. It was still about a week before our due date, and I'd stopped entertaining hopes of him coming early. So although it was nice to see that I'd made a little bit of progress, but we weren't expecting anything other than a normal day and went about things as usual.

We took a long walk that morning, and I also did some lunges and a teeny, tiny bit of jogging, on complete impulse- Thane looked at me like I was crazy- ha! Later in the afternoon we did some shopping and then stopped by a museum on post. Afterwards we went home and took a nice nap till about 5pm. I had been feeling extra achy all day and had been having very mild irregular contractions, but nothing different from all the previous Braxton Hicks that had been going on since I hit 36 weeks. I was also having some light bleeding, but that started during my cervical check and the midwife told me to expect it. (On a side note, she had been offering to sweep my membranes, and tempting as it was I decided against it. I wanted to leave it in God's hands and for Asher to come when he was ready.)

But then, to our surprise, I started having regular contractions around 7:30pm that were about 8 to 10 minutes apart. Those lasted for a couple of hours. I think I knew it was the real thing, but didn't allow myself to admit it for a while to avoid disappointment. We decided not to tell anyone just so that they wouldn't be awake worrying all night, but it was hard not to! And that's about when they started getting more painful and coming every 5 minutes or so. Thane and I went to bed and put a birthing relaxation CD on. We were going to try to get some sleep, but I knew I wouldn't be able to since the contractions were getting too intense to ignore. I got up and filled up the tub, hoping that would help. But it wasn't very comfortable, so I showered and packed a few last minute things. Very soon, they were about 2.5 minutes apart and becoming increasingly intense and painful. I didn't know what to do to manage them anymore, so we decided to go to the hospital.

We arrived at Martin Army around 1:30am and I was worried that we were getting there too soon. I'd only been having contractions for a few hours and they'd been pretty mild to medium until the previous 30 minutes. But luckily we didn't wait longer! I was close to transition when we arrived, being 6-7 cm dilated and 90% effaced. The doctor who initially checked my progress seemed impressed that I'd held out that long before coming in. I had to lay back to get the Hep lock and have blood drawn, which took forever and was a terribly uncomfortable position to endure the contractions. The ladies doing it were so slow, even Thane agreed to that. The pain was mostly in my lower back and I had no back support on the bed. My midwife was called in and arrived shortly, it was so good to see her! Unknown to me at the time, the doctor who admitted me went to go get the anesthesiologist to talk about an epidural, but she had enough confidence in me to tell him I wasn't going to need it and stopped him in his tracks. It never entered my mind to ask for one, but I'm glad it wasn't even mentioned to me all the same. (Although at one point I did have the thought that if an emergency arose and I needed a last minute C-section, I would gladly take it, haha!) But beyond that, all I could do was focus on enduring each contraction one by one and attempt to relax and stay sane between each of them. That was hard because my whole body felt jarred even during the breaks and relaxing was pretty much impossible.

After being on the bed in the delivery room for a little while, I got up to use the bathroom and realized it was comfortable to sit on the toilet with my pelvis opened up. I had Thane stand there and I'd hold onto him and pull down on his shirt. That was one of the most helpful things. Not long after my midwife suggested I get in the shower, and so I got in and Thane hosed me off with warm water continually. That really helped too! There wasn't even time for me to consider using the tub like I had planned, but the hot water on my back was probably the best thing I could have had at that point. She offered to break my water, which she said could decrease the rest of my laboring time from four hours to 45 minutes. It was definitely tempting, but before I had time to make any decisions another contraction was there and all my mental capacity was gone again. (But praise God, he was born in 45 minutes without doing it anyway!)

In the shower I was able to grip onto a bar and lean into each contraction, and that's where I started to feel the urge to push. It was such a strong force that I almost threw up. But I had to hold off to allow my cervical lip to dilate fully. It was such a strong, irresistible force and almost impossible to hold back. Praise God I only had to hold off for a few contractions before I was fully dilated.

It wasn't long before the midwife could tell I was going to deliver soon and got me to the bed before I had him in the shower. Once there, I pushed on all fours for about 20 or 30 minutes, leaning over the back of the bed which was raised up. It was SUCH a relief to push. I pushed with more might than I knew I had. Then she had me lay down on my side and hold one of my knees up and back while she sat at the end of the bed and braced my other foot. I just had to curl and push a few times before she had me reach down and feel his head. At some point around this time my water broke naturally. Another push or two, and I could feel his head almost out. He started to crown and thus came the much anticipated "ring of fire". It was intense, but it honestly wasn't that bad compared to everything else. She told me to stop pushing at the end of the contraction that started his crowning. I remember saying something like "oh man, I hope the next one comes soon!"

And soon enough another one came. I gave another series of huge pushes, felt the head come out, then felt the shape of the shoulders, which felt even bigger than the head. They popped out one by one, and all of a sudden he was on my chest! Moving around, breathing and crying immediately. It was such an incredible thing, I couldn't believe he was born so soon! I always imagined labor being this long, drawn out process where I'd have plenty of time to think and anticipate the actual birth, but it all flew by in such a whirlwind that it was truly hard to believe it was over and that Asher was here. Praise God! It was amazing, definitely the most intense experience of my life. I love thinking back to what it was like those first moments as he laid there on my chest. I'm not sure how exactly to describe it, but it was like nothing else! Just purely wonderful. There he was, just 7.5 hours after it all started back at home. It was so amazing to hold him and to see his face! He nursed almost immediately and we got to spend a whole hour together before the doctor asked if she could take him to do his vitals and weight, which were all done right in the same room.

I had a second degree tear, but mostly on the inside and not in the perennial area. The biggest surprises of the whole experience were seeing how pushing him out was actually a relief compared to bearing through the contractions, and how fast he came. Thane cut the cord and even watched him crown (after some encouragement from the midwife, although now he's probably scarred forever, haha!).

So, after all the months of anticipating and wondering what the whole experience would be like, I have to say that doing it naturally was totally worth it! Praise the Lord for answered prayer and the strength to endure it. Asher is such a little miracle and blessing!

38.5 Weeks

2011-02-14T11:35:00.001-10:00

Here we are, a mere 10 days away from our due date!

After the last two weeks of almost daily pre-labor symptoms, I've put the anticipation of real labor out of mind and I'm just trying to relax. It's hard not to get bored with all of my big projects and baby shopping finished, but it's the perfect chance to spend plenty of quality time with Thane, keep the house tidy, and take lots of naps. And also to get to the gym at least three times a week while trying not to eat all chocolate in sight (I know, I know, those two things work against each other, haha). It's been a wonderful pregnancy, and I've been so blessed to not have any complications or even any major irritations. So far my ankles still look normal, and I'm stretch mark free! My wedding rings fit as well as they did on day one, and I even have one pair of stretchy legging-jeans that I can still wear, (without a belly band). So, I've been very fortunate. Here's hoping my labor and delivery goes just as smoothly!

Speaking of which, I'm so excited to see what it's all about. I'm sure it'll be one of, if not the biggest, physical challenge of my life thus far. But I'm always up for a challenge! A funny thought popped into my mind the other day. I was watching an illustrated video diagram of a baby in the womb, about to pass through the cervix and go down the birth canal. Noticing the huge size of the baby compared to the tiny size of the canal (yikes!) brought a classic verse to mind: "narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life..." Yeah, literally! Haha, the Lord not only has a marvelous, creative, and totally unexpected design for things, but a sense of humor too. Not that I can say what His designs really mean, of course... But I can't help but wonder if He intended the pun on that one :) Anyway, I'm very very excited for the big day, I'm just hoping and praying that God gives me the strength and capability to do it safely, naturally, and unmedicated. But as much as I'm committed to having no interventions, I'm also keeping in mind that I'm not the one who's ultimately in control of it, and I have to remember that the good Lord will handle it exactly as He sees fit. After all, this is His baby, and Thane and I are His as well. And we trust Him!

Nursery

2011-02-05T13:34:00.003-10:00

After months of shopping, sewing, painting, crafting, organizing, and then redoing it a zillion times, I can finally say that the nursery is complete! For now at least...haha. I never imagined having so much fun with this!

Fell in love with Joel Dewberry's "Sparrows in Almond" collection, and so that became the theme! Made the bumper cover, crib skirt, decorative pillows, and valence. Thane's Grandma crocheted the little bunny :)

Wanted to incorporate some extra color in the room, so I painted the bird plaques and a added a few other blue accents. I made the little wreaths as well, they were fun :)

Framed the Sparrow washcloths that came from Etsy (they're too nice to use!), spray painted a $1 thrift shop shelf orange, and picked up some wooden crates to use for storage. Also painted the little bird houses and made the pillow. There are just too many fun and cheap project possibilities.

Some details...used wooden CD crates as decorative shelves to match the larger storage crates, and hung a fruit holder to go with the crate theme. Again, those hand-made burp cloths from Etsy are just too nice to use. I also painted the little sparrow plaque to match the fabric. Found the little hanging picture of two birds at a thrift store for $1.50, and painted it to match the room.

Love the Woodland Animals print! Hopefully the baby likes it...

There it is! Now we just need our baby to go in it :)

37 Weeks Down, 3 To Go!

2011-02-04T06:01:00.000-10:00

Very excited to be full term! Now to survive the anticipation of awaiting the big day while trying not to go crazy with excitement. Hospital bags are packed, four meals are frozen, and the nursery is on the brink of being complete (I mean it this time, pics are coming soon!). All that's left is cleaning and organizing the house.

Check out this belly- is that a baby or a basketball under there?

Prepping for D-Day

2011-01-31T05:54:00.002-10:00

My usual Monday morning plans are as follows: Wake up with Thane, tidy up the house, do my bible reading, have breakfast together after his PT, and then head to the gym and commissary. I've decided to put a hold on the gym since last Thursday. My last workout was a lot harder on me than usual, and all the next day and night I had regular Braxton Hicks contractions as well as lower back pain and cramping. Nothing to get excited about, but being a week away from full-term status at that point, Thane cut me off from the gym just for caution's sake. So, no gym until the end of this week at least (that is, if he lets me go back at all...part of me wants to throw in the towel, and the other part wants to keep doing at least a little something other than walking to stay active). Anyway, my commissary plans were thwarted as well at the discovery that my keys were locked in the Escape. So, what better time for a little baby prep and blogging!

Talk about a big check-list of things to do! We still have a few days till this baby is full-term, but it feels good to get things prepped ahead of time just in case he surprises us with an earlier than expected arrival. So, amidst putting last touches on the nursery, getting pre-registered at the hospital, finalizing our birth plan, and all that exciting stuff, here's a few things I've been working on around the house.

Diaper inserts and prefolds washed, plus all the baby's linens and coming home outfit.

Carseat out of the box and installed...would have taken a picture of it in the Escape, but oh yeah, I'm locked out! We'd been putting it off for the sake of Thane's "man-car" remaining manly for as long as possible. But the full day and night of Braxton Hicks got his butt in gear :)

The items for our hospital bag are just about assembled, including change for the vending machines- those check-lists think of everything! (Couldn't decide what would fit the little one better for his big "coming home", so, in true girl fashion, I'm taking a couple of options.)

A few frozen dinners; lasagna, beef & veggie stew, and meat sauce for pasta. I plan to bake a huge batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies today. Can't promise any will make it into the freezer though!

All of this being said and done, being prepared ahead of time is probably the sure-fire way to ensure that we'll have a late arriver. But, if so, so be it! No matter what it feels great to know that we're (almost) as prepared as possible. Of course only God knows this little boy's arrival date, but we're sure hoping it's sooner than later. We're ready to meet you, baby! Oh, perfect timing...Thane just called, he did a "drive by unlocking", haha, so errands, here I come afterall!

Nursery Birds

2011-01-24T11:52:00.001-10:00

Sneak peak at just a few little art and sewing projects for the nursery. The whole room is almost done!