Elle is HERE!!

Wow...what an amazing past couple of days. Elle Suzanne was born at 9:25 am on Thursday morning and weighted 7 lbs. 1oz. She was 19.5 inches long and is absolutely precious. I was so excited to discover her red/strawberry blondish hair. My heart has totally stretched in ways that I never imagined and I am completely amazed at how in love I am with both of my sweet little girls. My heart is just so full! We are tired and recovering, but I wanted to get a few pictures up to show you Elle and big sister Kate.

13 Hours...

Wow...just 13 more hours until we get to see our sweet little Elle. I'm so excited and so nervious all at the same time. It feels like Christmas again! My friend Courtney and I went and got Pedi's today and mexican food. We both got pink toes in honor of Elle. Then I had to go for my pre-op where they make you sign every piece of paper you can imagine that basically lets the hospital off the hook if you die for some strange reason.

I can't wait to hear that sweet little cry and hold our beautiful new baby girl for the first time. I just want kiss her all over and I WILL...so soon!!

Say a little prayer tomorrow at at 7:30...that's what time we go into the OR and she should be here by 8am. I don't think I am going to be able to sleep tonight...

2 More Days...

So I guess we are as ready as we can get. The house "to-do's" are done, the last minute things are purchased, and now it's just getting through the next 2 days of anticipation! Josh and I went out Friday night for our 7th Anniversary...our real anniversary is Jan. 26th, but we knew that day/night would not work for a date night. We ate at Terilli's off of Greenville and then went to Al Bernauts for dessert. We had a wonderful time and appreciated my mom watching Kate. It was nice to go out and enjoy eachother before life as we know it gets a little more hectic.

So as promised...here are some belly pics and a few pictures of Elle's nursery. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law helped me make all of the bedding/curtains and Josh did a FANTASTIC job of painting. He is such a good daddy!!

Honest Scrap

My friend, Jennifer Watkins (Kohl), whom I've known since 2nd grade tagged me for a game called Honest Scrap. I figured this was a good way to pass time while Kate is napping and it is FREEZING outside...what better thing to do than blog?!? Really I can think of about 100 other things I could be doing, but blogging is a wonderful way to procrastinate when you have "real" stuff you need to be doing!

Here are the rules: you have to list 10 random things about yourself that are true and then tag 7 other people to do the same. So onto the game:

1. I eat one thing at a time on my plate...like all my beans, then all my potatoes, then all my meat, unless I'm having Mexican food (like to combine my rice and beans). I usually eat my meats last and veggies first. I also don't drink anything until I'm done with my plate, unless the food is just really spicy.

2. I LOVE Kate's Monday nap time because I lay on the sofa and watch my tivo'ed Desperate Housewives from the night before...such a fun little treat for me every Monday!

3. I am constantly adding, multiplying, and dividing numbers. My good friend Lauren (from DTS) used to make fun of me because I constantly had math problems along the edges of my notes from class. I also remember numbers really well...I have most of our account numbers memorized without even making an effort to do so...they just stick with me.

4. I HATE terminix. I have had many an argument with them over the phone for double charging me over and over. I can't even see a Terminix commercial on tv without feeling hate towards them. NEVER use them...they are not a good company to work with AT ALL!!

5. I am a news Junky...I LOVE to watch the news and read up on the latest events online. From the Today show at 7am to the 10:00 news...I'm totally going to be one of those old people who just watches the news in my rocking chair all day.

6. I love to clean out my ears, Josh's ears, Kate's ears and whoever else will let me. I even used to check our dog/cat's ears to see if they needed cleaning.

7. I am addicted to coffee in the am. I can't function without it and will go to great lengths to get it. I feel pretty agitated when it's not made correctly (too weak) and will do whatever it takes to get a good cup EVERY morning. When I'm not prego I ALWAYS have 2 cups.

8. I love to watch the Food Network. I want Paula Dean to come cook for me one day!

9. I'm excited about not being pregnant for the next 3-4 years so that I can "get my body back." Not that I'll ever have my high school/college body after having 2 kids, but I just want to be able to work out and not feel like it's all in vain because I'm just going to get pregnant again! I will miss eating whatever, whenever...but the trade off and better self confidence will be worth it!

10. I got a tattoo on my hip while living in Australia during college. I was there for 3 months on a mission trip and called home to ask permission after the deed was already done. My mom said "no" but it was too late! Most of my friends are SHOCKED if they accidentally see it, but I didn't get it for everyone to see...that's why I chose my hip and not my arms or legs. I figured that wouldn't look good for job interviews or for my profession later on in life.

So there you have it...my Honest Scraps! I now tag:

Courtney Warren
Amy Tyner
Katie Brittain
Jami Smith
Lauren Smith
Tracy Howard
Allison McNeely

Alrighty...get going!!!

6 more days...

So last night it hit me...Kate is not going to be my only baby in a week. I've known this as a literal fact, but the emotional impact of it was really hard to take in. For the past 2 years she has been our baby girl and everything we do rotates around what is best for her. I can't imagine her having to share that pedistool with anyone else, but maybe it's time she did. She gets so much of my undivided attention and I'm afraid that she will start to feel like #2 when Elle gets here. Josh was super supportive of my crying, snotty (i have a real snot problem when I start crying...I can put away almost an entire box of Kleenex), meltdown that I had last night, and talked about ways we can be sure to show Kate that she is still our top priority, but that Elle is too. Have I said what a wonderful man he is...he really is the best husband in the world!

I have heard my friends talk about the fear of not being able to love your second like your first and I am now experienceing that for myself. I know that when she gets here I'll be so completely in love with her (that's how we felt with Kate), but it's hard RIGHT now because I can't wrap my mind around how I will love 2 the same.



I guess I'm having fear and anxiety at this point. I think it's normal, I think it means the reality of all of this is finally setting in for the first time, and I know that the Lord is faithful and will get me through this.



The countdown continues...

7 More Days...

We are officially going in to have Baby Elle on Thursday, January 22, at 7:30am. It is SO NICE to have a date and be able to count down until the big day. It's very different from when we had Kate because we had NO IDEA we would end up in the OR with a c-section. Going in for a scheduled c-section is a little bit scary, but I know I'll be just fine! Its good that I know what to expect and what the actually surgery/recovery is like.

I will get belly pics up soon, Allena...but I'm not putting how much weight I've gained like you did! Two weeks ago at our sonogram she was measuring 7lbs. and he said she can gain .5-1 pound per week. I am thinking this baby is going to be big because she takes up SO MUCH room inside my belly. I really can feel her wrapped around all the way to my hip bones (I guess those are still in there somewhere), and sometimes beyond. I keep wondering if shes going to make it into my back before next week.

Ok...off to do some more cleaning...I only have 7 more days to knock out my "to-do" list around the house!

Final Count Down

Wow...I haven't blogged in quite a while...I guess that just represents how busy things have been and how tired I've felt during my down time. I am 37 weeks and 2 days pregnant today! My doctor has decided to move up my c-section to NEXT WEEK...either Thursday or Friday. I'm trying to take it in that this is my last full week before life gets really crazy again!

Things I'm being intentional about this week:

Spending lots of time with Kate...just that fun one-on-one mommy/Kate time that we are both so spoiled with...she's so fun and makes my days so bright!

Soaking in what it feels like to be pregnant, or at least the positives of being pregnant. I'm not one that LOVES pregnancy, but even I can appreciate the miracle of having those tiny elbows and feet rolling around inside of me. I won't feel this again for a long time, and maybe not ever again, so I want to be sure I don't take it for granted.

Spending quality time with my wonderful hubby and going on dates. I remember that after Kate was born we were both so worn out that our marriage sort of went back burner for about 8 weeks. We are normally great communicators, but with rotating shifts around the baby's schedule we were on opposite schedules for several weeks. We know that we just have to give ourselves some grace those first 8-10 weeks and be secure in our marriage, knowing that this difficult season will pass, and we will spend quality couple time together again one day!

Appreciating a full night's sleep. My sleep may not be perfect right now, seeing as how I can't get comfortable and my legs go numb, but at least I'm not up every 2-3 hours for a hour at the time. I am going to soak up the night of 6-8 hours of deep sleep that I get right now!

Lastly, I am taking FULL ADVANTAGE of this nesting feeling! I know I won't be this motivated to clean out all the junk drawers, organize all the piles in the office, and sort through my t-shirt drawers once Elle arrives! I am in a place right now where cleaning out stuff feels exciting and I almost can't help myself...this is SO not the normal me. I plan to use this "gift" to the fullest over the next 2 weeks...after all, she can't possibly come into a home with junky drawers and piles of old magazines, right?!?

So we're in the home stretch...I can see the light at the end, and I'm really excited about holding my sweet baby girl in less than 2 weeks! It's going to be SO DIFFERENT having 2, but I'm looking forward to the weeks ahead!