Ok, it's official... I'm ready to do this thing. C'mon out Elizabeth, let's get this show on the road already :P

If she came today, Lizzie would share a day with National Puzzle Day. Hmmm, a puzzle.. maybe that would make time go by a little faster....

If she came on Saturday, she would get National Inane Voicemail Message Day.

Sunday brings with it Backwards Day.

Ghost Writer

I was sitting with my laptop a few weeks ago when Micah ran over wanting to give some lovins. Well, we never turn down Micah's lovins... we always take them, drool spots on our clothes and all :) After administering the lovins, Micah was distracted by something shiny and ran off. I looked down at my email and..... it wasn't my email. I was on some random website I had never seen before and I had apparently been typing into a box on the page. Ummmm, ok?

And then it hit me... Lizzie had been controlling my computer. That's right folks, my big watermelon belly had clicked on several links and even typed letters as I was playing with Micah. Oi. Now whenever I try to sit at a right angle while on the computer (or forbid I try to reach for something in front of me) my belly happily clicks away on my Dell..... it's officially time to get this little girl out :P

Speaking of which, if Elizabeth comes today, she will be born on National Blueberry Pancake Day, Daisy Day, and National Kazoo Day... love it! Gerbera daisies are my favorite flower and who can resist a kazoo? I mean, it's the musical instrument for people with absolutely zero musical talent... it's an equalizer :)

Couldn't Wait :)

Kelli gave me a fun idea, and I couldn't wait until tomorrow to post about it.... so consider this my Wednesday post :) She suggested I add a poll to the blog where you get to vote on when you think Elizabeth is going to come. Being the highly original, inventive person I am I totally took her idea and ran with it! So place your bets on the date of your choice off to the side. Every day between now and her due date is up there and if need be, I can always add more dates later :)

Seeing as how this is "Wednesday", I'll also let you know that if Lizzie is born on the 27th, she would share a birthday with National Chocolate Cake Day and Punch the Clock Day.... Cake and punch? That says birthday to me :)

Feeling Festive

I figured out a good use for my super high, hard to accessorize kitchen shelf... Can everyone say random holiday decor? I made some paper letters and flowers and plunked them up there as an homage to Valentines day and I have to say...I'm loving it! Usually the only holiday I decorate for is Christmas, but it's fun to do just a touch of decorating on my nifty shelf :) Plus, due to MOPS dum dums and paper that Devon gave me because she rocks, this whole display cost me exactly NOTHING. I'm looking forward to an Easter shelf next :) (it's cuter in person, but that shelf is really hard to photograph due to AWFUL lighting :P)


If Lizzie was born today, she would share a birthday with National Peanut Brittle Day and Australia Day! An update from the doctor yesterday... I am 3 cm dilated, 80% effaced (yay!) and Group B Strep positive (BOO!). In her words, "I would be shocked if you didn't have the baby this week!" at the same time, I was 3 cm and 80% with Micah at 37 weeks and he had another week and a half to bake.. so we'll see. BUT, there is a full moon this Saturday and the days surrounding it are known for increasing odds of going into labor.. it worked for Micah :)

37 Weeks

Woo Hoo, full term! Way to go Lizzie! Sooo, I had a REALLY interesting experience at church yesterday filled with lots of "I thought you would have had her by now!", "You look about ready to pop", "She should be here by now, she's SO low!" and "I didn't think we'd see you here this week!". I love our new small church and the fact that we know everyone there, so I don't mind the barrage of these comments.... I just think it's really funny how nobody thought I'd make it to yesterday based on how I looked. I just kept saying, I'm not even 37 weeks yet! Well.... now I am :)

Elizabeth is just sitting tight at this point and practicing her Tai Chi and breakdancing moves... this kid moves SO differently than Micah did! She is now the size of a watermelon (which explains my ginormous belly :) and is likely between 18 and 22 inches long and weighs somewhere around 6 or 7 pounds. Way to grow, Lizzie!

If Elizabeth was born today, not only would she be born on Opposite Day (elementary school flashbacks, anyone?), she would also have the honor of sharing her birthday with her cousin Elena... Happy 4th birthday, Elena!! I can't believe how big you have gotten! We love you very much and hope that you have a wonderful day!

Since Friday is usually my day off from blogging, I'm just popping in to give you the weekend breakdown of bizarre holidays. I know, I know... you're welcome :)

If Lizzie comes~

Today~ National Blonde Brownie Day

Saturday~ National Pie Day and Measure Your Feet Day..... mmmm, pie :)

Sunday~ Compliment Day (as in, "you have the most beautiful baby girl EVER!")

Prayer

I have several friends that are truly prayer warriors. They are the types that ask what they can pray for you and you have no doubt that they are praying for you repeatedly throughout the week. These girls have been so sweet this week with one even calling me just to see how I was feeling, to ask me how she could pray and to offer to do my grocery shopping for me :) Anyway, a lot of people have been asking how they can pray as Elizabeth's arrival gets closer. I thought I would post a list of prayer requests that I have for the next couple of weeks because I simply can't imagine having too much prayer :)

~ I have been having trouble with assuming my labor will be super easy, realizing it might not be and then going to the other extreme of being really anxious about it. Please pray that I will find a middle ground of being realistic about the labor without allowing myself to be anxious about it. I want to be where I was before Micah was born when I was resting in the Lord.

~ We are praying for a safe delivery that is free of complications. We pray for God's hand in allowing the labor to occur naturally, without interventions or c-section.

~ We are praying that Elizabeth would be born healthy with every system functioning properly.

~ We pray that, unlike her brother :), Elizabeth will nurse well in this early stage of her life.

~ With Micah's delivery, I immediately started slipping into shock after he was born.. you should see the pictures, not cute :P Please pray that the Lord would protect me from this and that the things we learned last time it happened would help us to prevent it from going as far as it did last time if indeed it does occur again.

~ While I was fine in the hospital, the first couple of days after I got home with Micah, I suffered from the worst baby blues my mom had ever seen. The depression was intense and I lost my appetite completely. Please pray for God's protection during those days against discouragement, negative thoughts and depression. Also pray that I will be able to eat... I couldn't for several weeks after Micah and lived on mostly Ensure shakes.

That's about it :) On an ending note, if Lizzie was born today, she would have her birthday on National Hugging Day and Squirrel Appreciation Day.

The best cure is a pedi-cure

It's bad luck to have a baby without prettifying your feet first. As I say to Amy, the first time you see your feet in 4 months should be a happy experience :) Guess what? The lady who did my toes this time told me I had really pretty feet, then started to list 4 or 5 criteria she used to make that determination... score!


If Lizzie comes today, she will get the best day EVER!! That's right folks, Penguin Awareness Day! Oh please, oh PLEASE let her come today!!

Way to go, Nate!!

This Sunday, Nate finished his first ever marathon! He kept just under his goal pace until he hit the 18 mile mark when he got some wicked cramps.... he still pulled in a "very manly" ,as my dad put it, finish time and now he is psyched to run the Houston Marathon next year and hit his goal of finishing under 4 hours! He was so close this year that I have no doubt he can smash that barrier next year.... way to go, Nate!!

Micah had the best view in the house :)

Nate was looking strong when he passed us at mile 20... I had no idea he was cramping!

Well, when he stopped to stretch them out, that clued me in a bit ;-)

If she came today, Lizzie would be born on National Popcorn Day :)

36 Weeks

Today marks 36 weeks for Elizabeth! It also marks the day when I get to exhale and relax a bit :) As of yesterday, all of the activities I had planned that were more than a half hour from Katy are completed and I am now free to stay in the Katy area until Lizzie decides to come! Today is also only 7 days until Elizabeth is considered "full term" which is a HUGE milestone! Praise the Lord that he has protected and grown Lizzie over these past weeks and now we find ourselves only a week away from every pregnancy's goal of making it to full term!

I had so much fun with random holidays with Micah, that I thought I'd start telling you Lizzie's possible holidays... c'mon, it'll be fun! If Lizzie was born today, she would share her day with Thesaurus Day and Winnie the Pooh Day... not shabby :)

Since she is so close to that 37 week mark, not a lot is happening in her development. Most likely her lungs are already developed and ready for oxygen at this point and all of her other systems are ready to function outside the womb. My handy tracker tells me that Lizzie is the size of a large cantaloupe which makes her somewhere between 17.5 to 19 inches long and between 5.75 and 6.75 pounds... at this point, babies vary so much in size that the tracker numbers are pretty unreliable. Apparently she is gaining about an ounce a day at this point :)

Anyhoo, I'm going to the doctor this morning and she is going to check me for dilation for the first time... I am trying to prepare myself for either extreme of being much more dilated than expected or not dilated at all so that I won't be shocked or disappointed :P At this point with Micah, I was 2 cm and 80% effaced.... we'll see. If I find anything out of consequence, then I'll tack it on to the end of this post about lunch time... I KNOW you're holding your breath ;-)

Update~ My doctor checked me and I am 2 cm dilated, 80% effaced.... EXACTLY where I was with Micah at this point!

A year and a half

That's how old Micah is today... a year and a half! WOW! He has gotten so big so fast and it's difficult for me to remember what my life was like before he came into it. He is the hardest and absolute best part of our day and I am so thankful to have him in our lives! It's been awhile since I've done a list of what Micah is up to, so in honor of his half birthday, here it is :)

~Micah now gives kisses on the mouth (without being asked) and ends every day by blowing me anywhere from 1 to 30 kisses while Nate carries him up the stairs.

~He laughs... ALOT! He is such a happy kid, especially when he is able to run around freely.... When he is cooped up, however, he can still be quite the pill ;-)

~Micah has finally decided to explore his verbal side and is using more and more words every day! His pronunciation is surprisingly good and his favorite words are eat, tea, more, food, duck, puppy, kitty, shoe, momma, daddy, star and ball. He throws in other words all the time, but those are what I hear the most.... as in constantly :) Oh, and just three days ago, he started putting together phrases.... they have all involved food so far :P (Examples include, "More food!" and "Mama, I want more")

~Micah has been getting better and better at sorting things by color, building with blocks and even occasionally recognizing letters. He loves his new slide and can climb up the steps and slide down all on his own!

~Every time I pick him up from the nursery they tell me, "Well, he just ate and ate the whole time! He never stopped!" Ummm, yeah.. he NEVER stops, ever.

We love you so much Micah and we are thankful to have you every single day of our lives. We can't wait to see what kind of a big brother you are going to be!

I absolutely couldn't resist :)

I woke up this morning to Micah chatting happily on the monitor and I was able to pick out the words, "Mama? Where are you?" several times... you can't hit the snooze on that :)

Give a Hoot

Or in my case, get a hoot :) A friend from church made this little beauty for Elizabeth and I LOVE IT!! It makes me (once again) wish that I could sew or that I had the patience to learn. Well, actually it isn't the patience so much as that fact that I hate non-perfection in myself and I know that early sewing projects would not be up to my standards. Anyhoo, thanks Lara.. I am soooo excited to add Lizzie's owl to her room!

My Nest

I SOOOOOO wish I had traditional nesting urges. I wish I was compulsively cleaning and that my house was spotless and that, like my mother, I felt like cleaning the window frames with a toothbrush. Um, yeah but that's not how I roll :P

My nesting involves more money and does nothing to make my house more presentable. That's right my friends, instead of cleaning, I craft.... obsessively....unceasingly.... sometimes even unconsciously. So last Thursday, I spent several hours cranking out these babies and I have to say... LOVE THEM!

I decided to go a more colorful route than I had originally planned and I'm so glad I did! Something I really, really realized during this project is that Elizabeth has a LONG name.... seriously, it's long :P

Anyhoo, that was the last thing I had on my crafting agenda and now I'm a little worried.... what am I going to do this week?! I'm thinking about maybe getting some felt at Hobby Lobby and start trying to make some really cute hair clips for Lizzie.... Ooooo, speaking of which, she'll need a bow holder... SWEET! Project!! I know I'm sad, but I need SOMETHING to keep me busy until she gets here and what better way to fill Micah's nap time than by producing mounds of crafty goodness? Um yeah, don't answer that ;-)

35 Weeks

Almost full term now! As of today, I am now seeing my doctor every week until Elizabeth comes... I'm not sure, but she may even start checking me for dilation today :) Lizzie has been really active the past week and it's fun to feel her swishing around. She pulled a break dancing move yesterday morning and turned a 360 on her head.... pretty impressive for someone who hasn't even been born yet.

I'm getting excited about meeting her and also a little freaked out that in a month or less I'm going to have TWO kids... whoa baby. Anyhoo, as of today Lizzie is about 18 inches long and weighs between 5.5 and 6 pounds. That's about all I've got! I'll let you know if I get checked today :)

The Reason I'm Freezin

Ok, here's the deal.... I'm cheap. Well, selectively cheap.. but I won't get into that :P Point is, I knew at the beginning of this pregnancy that I would have to invest in a few more maternity items since Micah was born in July (I miss my maternity sun dresses.... they were awesome) and Lizzie is due in February. Trying not to overdo it, I bought two very thin sweaters, a heavier sweater "coat" and a long sleeved shirt from the Gap figuring between those and cardigans / zip up sweater I already owned, I could layer and be just fine... WRONG!

It has been a very atypical winter for Houston this year in that it got cold in November and it has stayed cold.... totally unheard of! Well, during November and December I figured the weather was a fluke and would soon warm up. I made due with adding scarves and wearing coats open (since they wouldn't button) and always being a little bit to moderately cold. As I sit here, looking back on my stupidity, I am dreading the 21 degrees it will be in Houston tomorrow. Of course, it took me so long to believe the weather was going to stay, that now I am only a month or so from my due date and it would be a waste to buy cold weather clothes now! Hmmm, maybe I just won't go outside for the next month ;-)

Couldn't Wait Another Day

The holidays are a great time of year, and I enjoy alot of the things that come along with them... what I don't enjoy is the utter lack of spare time! I have been chipping away at Micah's room decor recently and I have to say, it's looking good! It isn't done, but I love the direction it's going. I've been DYING to paint some canvases to hang on Micah's walls and due to the holidays and then Bunco, I just didn't have the time. Well, I finally got to do them this afternoon and I am a huge fan! It turns out waiting so long to make them helped me come up with a new concept for them.. they are so different than what I originally imagined~

This is my incredible amateur way of paying homage to Andy Warhol, who I doubt ever used ric-rac in his art :P The canvases are each about 14 inches square and these babies are going to hang over Micah's bed where he will no doubt remove them from the wall daily :) Once I get them up, I'll be fairly close to finishing Micah's room at which time I can post a picture of it's awesomeness for all to enjoy :) It is seriously my favorite room in the house now... I can't help but smile every time I go in!

Bunco... Abby Style

Yesterday was my day to host Bunco and I gotta tell you, I'm so happy with how it came out! I did a New Year's theme with all of the prizes having a corresponding resolution (Go on more date nights, cook more... etc.) and all the decor in black and white. Even the food was black and white only... I was so happy with how everything turned out and people seemed to have a good time! I didn't get any pics after people showed up, but here was some of my set up :)

34 Weeks!

No pic... I've been too busy getting ready to host Bunco tomorrow! I'm excited about it and will also be glad when it's over and I have nothing being hosted at my house until March :) Elizabeth, aka little toot, is continuing to fatten up and develop those lungs of hers.... she is now the size of a bigger pineapple at around 17.5 inches long and between 5 and 5.5 pounds.

We had an ultrasound last week to check on Elizabeth's growth and everything is looking good! The tech estimated she was between 4.5 and 5 pounds (exactly right for last Monday) and said that she was measuring at exactly 33 weeks which is great! The reason I called her little toot above is because during the ultrasound, she would be very still until the tech was about to freeze the screen for a measurement and then she would start moving like crazy before the screen could be frozen... the tech was a bit annoyed... I was trying not to laugh. Anyhoo, according to the tech, Lizzie has a big ol' belly and a whole bunch of hair.... that particular description reminds me of a troll doll, but I am weird :P That's about all for now!