34 Weeks!

Can you believe we're 34 weeks along?!?!

We had our check up yesterday and everything looks great. My blood pressure is "great", my belly is measuring "just right", Emersyn's heart beat is "perfect" and we're still on pace to have a 7 1/2 lb baby at 40 weeks... We still really think that Emersyn will be here before August though. Oh, we did ask about my swelling and the doctor says that "it's not anything to worry about". He says there's no toxins or protein "leaking out" into my body, and since my blood pressure looks good, I shouldn't worry about; it's just normal swelling. Apparently, so people just swell more than others, some notice it more than others, and stuff like that. I was told to get some more rest although he had no suggestions for how to do that when I'm quite uncomfortable at this point!

Anyways, I'll have to get back with a picture later... I totally hit a brick wall this week and I have a hard enough time staying awake at work, much less after I get home to take a belly picture. Rest assured, it has grown since the baby shower though! :)

Emersyn's Shower

Saturday was Emersyn's shower and it could not have been more perfect!!! My mom seriously went beyond what we could have ever imagined... it was so great. Just to have such amazing family and friends, that so many people came to celebrate our daughter, was a great gift in itself. Emersyn in genuinely blessed to have such truly wonderful people love her!! Seriously, it was so great just to see everyone... Of course everyone went overboard with the presents! Even I - the worrier who was having dreams about Emersyn coming home when we didn't have anything but diapers, cute outfits and a sheet saver for her - can honestly say that I have no more worries. I don't think she'll have the same outfit on for more than an hour or two in the first 6 months of her life, but Emersyn will definitely have everything she needs when she comes home... and then some! There really are no words to convey how much we appreciate everything. I mean, we just sat in awe in the middle of the nursery Sunday morning looking at everything, just stunned at how much everyone did for us and for our daughter!! It's beyond words, honestly.

(Before I start to tear up again...)The shower itself couldn't have been more fun though. With such wonderful people, it's hard to imagine anything but the best... Cameron had so much fun with the boys playing in the pool and using his new bug sucker - the little bug vaccum we got him so he can add bugs to his habitat thingy he loves so much. My mom had really cute games, that were only enhanced by the fact that she forgot to put the winning cards in with the other cards for the scratch-off game and the bottle-pull game! We did a "who knows mommy best" game where we all found out that I use Crest toothpaste even though I thought it was Colgate... which was pretty funny... There was a rubber duck pond where Denise got the magic number duck - 10 for Emersyn's due date. Deb suggested that we could also play a game where everyone guesses how many squares of toilet paper go around my belly... For the record it's 11 1/2 and only about 3 of the guests stayed off my list with their guesses! Just kidding, everyone's guesses were close but Lissa won with a guess of 11!! Oh and the bathtub game (that's what I'm calling it anyways) where people brought little goodies with a baby picture on it, put it in Emersyn's tub, and I had to guess who the picture was of... Everyone was so cute, I don't know what happened to them as they grew up... Kidding!!! That was another really cute game though.

The cake was soooo cute too! I'm told that Chris was the mastermind behind the design, but Shona made it happen. It was all pink and green and white stripes with little while bubbles around it and a rubber duck on the top!! And it was chocolate cake, so you know that just made it even more perfect! I'm told that pictures were taken of it... We'll have to wait until we see everyone's pictures though. Chris and I kind of forgot about our camera for a while so we only got a couple pictures. Denise promised she'd send hers when she got a chance though... and of course anybody else who took some, we would love to see them!!

Speaking of pictures, we only took a few like I said, but they are on snapfish; as we get more, I'll add to the album and keep things updated...
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1223400009/a=77264276_77264276/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Well that's it for now... Don't forget to keep checking back since we post updates often!! We'll have another Emersyn update soon - our next doctor's appointment is this afternoon so we'll have a 34 week update and belly pictures!

Just one more HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who made Emersyn's shower so wonderful!! Believe me when I say that "thank you" just does not cover the immense appreciation we have for everything that you all did for us and for our daughter. We are beyond blessed to have such amazing family and friends around us!! Thank you!!

Best Husband Ever!!!

Today is officially our 1 year anniversary... It's hard to believe that one year ago today, we were just saying our vows and being joined together forever as husband and wife. On one hand, it feels like it was just yesterday that we got married - that we walked down the isle, that we danced the night away at Turf Valley, that we drove (with a 3 month old Cuya) to Myrtle Beach... On the other hand, it seems like we've just always been together, like Chris has just always been by my side helping me get through life. But, one whole year it's been none the less!!!

In honor of our anniversary, my husband has outdone himself!! Planned weeks ago in secret, Chris booked our anniversary stay in one of the suites at Turf Valley (where our reception was) and got our cake from my parents' so that we could eat it in our room as is tradition! He wanted to pack for me too, but in this condition it's hard enough for me to pick what I'm wearing... Anyways, once we were settled in our room, Chris said I could have one more surprise that night; a gorgeous pink sapphire necklace!!! After wandering the ballrooms, checking out our room and peeking at others, we had a fabulous dinner in their restaurant and then Chris proceded to take me to thier spa where he had booked a Mommy-to-be Facial for me! I've never had any facial-massage-spa-ish things before so this was a huge treat... He was waiting for me when I got done and wouldn't tell me anything about the price. We went back to our room and relaxed the rest of the night in the super cold room... which was another bonus because we got to turn the air down really, really low so that I could sleep under the covers and we even got to cuddle because I wasn't hot at all!!! (Of course, our room was a nice 62 degrees when we went to sleep and just continued to drop through the night until we turned it off at 56 degrees Saturday morning!) We got up, got ready (I adore their giant shower since I can actually move around in there without rubbing my butt or belly along the wall), and Chris gave me my 3rd surprise - beautiful pink sapphire earrings!!! After promising me he didn't spend too much, we went down for breakfast... where I got my waffles as part of the greatest breakfast I've ever eaten!! Chris thought it was funny, but I swear even Emersyn was full! So then, I got to go to my last surprise... a pregnancy massage! Again, Chris was waiting for me when I got done and he already had the car packed and ready to go...

He told me that he wanted to do the facial because I keep saying how crazy my skin is because of the pregnancy, and this way I would even be beautiful to my eyes for the baby shower... or just more glowing and beautiful to everyone else!! That comment alone was beyond any present I could have asked for!!! LOL!! Then Chris told me that he wanted me to have the massage because not only would it make me feel good, it would relax me and make it easier to enjoy the shower without any pains or aches!! Seriously, how amazing is my husband!!!

And all this on his own, in secret, for weeks!!! He even checked to make sure that Turf Valley had waffles on their menu because I have been wanting some for about a week or so... but just in case they didn't, Chris also found that there is an IHOP just up the street that serves them! Seriously!!!

Even without the shower today, this is already the best weekend ever!!!! Now you can all see why I always say that I'm the luckiest girl ever!!!!!!

Surprises and Showers!!!

Tomorrow is our very first wedding anniversary!!!!!! And what better way to celebrate than by having a party in honor of our little miracle, our baby that's on the way?!?!?!

Yup, Emersyn's shower is on our anniversary... Chris was not going to be outdone though.

So he has, as he tells me, 4 surprises for me between today and tomorrow - not counting the shower. Of course, he won't tell me anything! A few weeks ago, I was told that today - the 26th - I was too leave work at 2 pm on the dot. That was it. After a lot of questioning, this week Chris finally told me that we were boarding the puppies tonight. Wednesday, he gave in and told me that we're going to Turf Valley tonight - the resort where we had our reception and spent our first night as husband and wife. I finally got him to get over the idea that he was going to pack for me... not that it wouldn't be totally sweet and really cool, but in my current state it's just better for everyone that I pack for myself - even if that means taking way too much so that I'm prepared for whatever surprises Chris has in store.

This morning, Chris tells me that today is Surprise Day 1 and that I will get one surprise today... Dinner doesn't count, Turf Valley doesn't count, boarding the puppies doesn't count - I asked. A little while later, he did tell me that today's surprise will be promptly at 6:45 tonight and that it is at Turf Valley. I'm so lost but I'm so excited!!! I mean, besides this being so awesomely romantic and fun, this is seriously the first time in months that I feel like more than just Emersyn's Keeper...

Then, tomorrow is Surprise Day 2 and before Emersyn's shower I get 3 more surprises!! 3!!! That's not counting the shower and the wonderfulness that is our loved ones getting together to celebrate our daughter!! Seriously, how insanely perfect is this?!?!

I'm still kind of paranoid that Emersyn is going to come and only have super cute summer outfits to wear with the diapers that we've been stocking up on, but no bottles to eat out of and will be sleeping on the floor with only a sheet saver and a Swaddler... but Chris promises that we'll handle that on Sunday if we have too! (He's such a good husband... see how well he handles the crazy?!?! LOL!) But I seriously can't wait to see everyone tomorrow. I don't know who all is coming, just a few people that my mom has mentioned to me, but any of our friends and family getting together to celebrate Emersyn is just the greatest thing ever!!!

Now if only time would go a teeny tiny bit faster so that the Surprise Weekend can get started already... Really...

Um, Awkward Much?!?!

This is another one of those "fun" pregnancy stories, the kind that mothers can all relate too but it's on the secret list of things that women can't tell anybody until that person is already pregnant...

I'm at work, and once again I run to the bathroom feeling like Emersyn is about to completely pop my bladder. Without thinking, I just go right into the stall; being the size of the house now, I've resorted to using the handicap stall because I can actually move in that one, but in my haste I forgot. So now, I'm about to pee my pants, I'm in a teeny tiny stall that I could swear is shrinking by the second, I'm getting beat up from the inside out, I'm trying desparately to maneuver around the toliet paper holder in the stall that's just belly level, and I'm struggling (as is the norm lately) to actually get my pants down. Between all my organs being smushed up inside me causing me to take shorter and more shallow breaths already, Emersyn has moved to kicking my lungs while using my cervix as a punching bag, bringing a couple tears to my eyes, and I'm now breathing heavily... Then I hear the bathroom door open and a woman walk in... I'm seriously concentrating on not grunting or making other such noises, as my daughter abuses my internal organs but I'm apparently still making enough noise that I can actually see the woman's feet stop and turn towards my stall, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is wondering WTF is going on in there!! Luckily, she decided not to ask and left after taking care of her business quite quickly... I decided to just wait it out before I started the fight to pull my pants up and escape the still shrinking stall, figuring that there are some things better left unknown --- like the face of the person making odd noises in a stall when you go to use the bathroom, or the face of the person who walked into the bathroom while you were making odd noises in the bathroom stall.

Seriously, this is the kind of thing that someone should warn you about, even if it is only when you get pregnant! I mean, what's the proper etiquette here?!?! Do you say "sorry, I'm just pregnant, the stall is really tiny and the baby's attempting to destroy every organ inside me"? Do you say nothing and just hope the person doesn't recognize your feet? This is the kind of thing that should be in those pregnancy books... right along with the instructions on how to tie your shoe when you can barely touch your feet with the tips of your fingers!!

Dobislaw the Great

We knew that we were getting intelligent dogs when we decided to get Boxers. The breed is known to be one of the smartest, so it wasn't any surprise to us when Cuya picked up commands within minutes... and, despite our grief about it, when Cuya taught herself how to open doors in the house with the turn-style handles we chalked it up to the breed being so human-ish. Dobie was a slight surprise since he doesn't really show the Boxer energy - he's content to lay around and relax all the time - except when it comes to his favorite past time of cat chasing. But still, Dobie picked up the commands quicker than most dogs, although he wasn't as cunning as Cuya.

Boy were we wrong about that...

Last night, Chris went to call the puppies in - it was getting late and we figured they'd been out for long enough to get their fill. He noticed that Cuya was standing at the corner of the yard by the mailbox and she was barking at something that he couldn't see... He called her and she just kind of just looked at him before turning back towards the fields and greenhouses, continuing her barking. So Chris whistled, which normally brings Dobie running right to him and Cuya tends to follow... sure enough, Dobie came running... from beyond the greenhouses... which, in case you don't know, are not inside of our fenced in yard!!!

Stunned, Chris went to the gate but it was shut and the latch was down... he let Dobie in and walked the permiter checking the fence, just doing a quick look since it was getting dark. There was no holes, no spots were the fence looked tampered with... no sign of how Dobie got out of the yard. But, we've learned with the baby gates in the house, Dobie likes to go under things while Cuya likes to go over; so for Cuya to be in the fence while Dobie was out, it means the escape route was low. I went out to help look, and neither of us could find any weak part of the fence in our fast glance over...

Then this morning, Dobie did it again. This time, he came back with a squash from the fields!! So Chris starts walking the fence again... and, smarty pants that she is, Cuya decided to rat out her baby brother. We figure she was a little tired of being the one who had to stay behind so she nicely led Chris to Dobie's gettaway spot. Apparently, with all the rain we've had, the very far corner of the yard, where it slopes into the drainage ditch at the county property line, a tiny part of the land had erroded away - just enough to loosen our part of the fence at the very bottom. We're pretty sure that as Dobie escorts the farm workers off the farm each day (another one of his favorite activities), the puppies found the weak spot and began "playing" with it.

We're not sure how long this has been going on, but apparently it's been at least a few days since the guy who runs the whole farm stopped by this morning to let us know that one (or both since he wasn't sure) of our puppies has been roaming the fields... He was more concerned with cars coming and going, not looking for a puppy running around than Dobie's escapades with the crops, but he wanted to let us know. The more we thought about it, the more we realized that Dobie's crop hunting could be the cause of quite a few things too... both the puppies have had gas despite the yogurt that was canceling it out; they seemed to want to be outside a lot more than normal considering the heat; neither of the puppies were eating as much as they normally do; we often caught them sharing "toys" in the yard when we would check on them...

So we were highly mistaken when we thought Cuya was the only one who was cunning or daring enough to figure things out... Of course, Chris fixed the fence immediately this morning (and we also found a half eaten squash, zuccini, and other unknown veggie in the yard), but it still leaves you wondering what else they do when we're not looking, and what else they know but don't let us know they know...

Speaking of Furniture...

It's like Furniture Spirits have smiled upon us these last few days... or maybe Emersyn is just lucky for us... whatever it is, it's nice!!!

Buy Buy Baby called yesterday afternoon to let us know that our chair and ottoman are in and we can pick them up whenever!! This is the very last piece of Emersyn's nursery... aside from cleaning/organizing and putting up a couple decorations that we have (ah-hem, Chris, her name is still in the sun room)... I'm so excited because I seriously love this chair!! Chris is going this afternoon to pick it up and (woo hoo) he's going to order our playard (play yard/play pen/pack n play/whatever) so with any luck we'll have that in a little while too.

Ugh, it's such a relief to have the chair and be (almost) completely done with the nursery! And, to have the playard on the way since we're using that when she comes home as a crib/basinette downstairs during the day... But seriously, it's like furniture overload and we just know that my dad is going to stop answering his phone very soon since we keep asking him to come help us with furniture - Emersyn's furniture, the new living room furniture, now the chair and ottoman!

Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day!!!

I hope all the Dad's out there have a wonderful, and undoubtedly well deserved great day!! We're lucky enough to have some amazing friends, who are just fabulous father's and I truely wish them the best day ever...

Chris will be getting his very first Father's Day present today and I'm super stoked about it. I found an Ohio State Daddy Diaper Bag and, as a special bonus for Chris, I even got it on sale... LOL! It's completely fabulous and I can't wait until he opens it... First off, it's Ohio State so it totally rocks. Secondly, it's actually made for a man with wider straps and everything. Thirdly, this bag has more little pockets and accesses into the bag than James Bond could ask for! I mean, it's seriously awesome. I figure what better way to welcome him into the world of fatherhood than with his very own, manly diaper bag?!?!

So anyways, I hope everyone got something super cool too and that the day is just perfect!!! :)

Surprise Buy

Now, let me preface this by saying that we really do have great dogs. They're both smart, loving, and usually pretty well behaved... but they are still puppies and sometimes they do things that we wouldn't really want them to do - like when Cuya decided that we needed a new camera by eating the one we just bought.

And, I have to say that my parents had given us their old furniture that is now about 22 years old. Granted, it wasn't used very often before we got it, but that's a hell of a long time for furniture. Plus we did finally get a new coffee table - so that Dobie wouldn't go through the glass when he stood on it despite our constant attempts to keep him off of it - and the new one actually fits our taste as opposed to my mom's 1988 decor of choice...

Still it wasn't exactly pleasant when Cuya and Dobie chose to let us know that they thought we needed new furniture by eating both the cushions on the love seat... or by starting to pull up the fabric under the cushions on the sofa, you know the part that actually holds the cushions up... Truth be told, our sofa has been starting to make some pretty interesting noises whenever you sit on it too. I mean, it's been getting to the point where something poking out wouldn't have surprised us much. So, despite ourselves, we decided to go check out some stores to see what kind of options we had that we could consider over the next couple weeks.

Surprise - we brought home a sofa and loveseat... even though we were both adament that we were not buying anything today, we found our new furniture on (insanely discounted) clearance and had to have it. For the first time ever, we have new furniture for us... furniture that we really like... that actually fits our style (or mine at least, but we have an agreement)... that's soooo comfortable... and it's OURS!!!!

I'm very excited about this in case you can't tell! Oh, and the puppies now have some very nice and very firmly stuffed "pillows" to lay on while they're on the floor and not on our new furniture!! :) I'm totally going to take a picture, so be looking for it... I'm just too lazy to do it right this second because all I want to do is go lay on it and watch t.v. as soon as Chris and my dad get it all inside and the old stuff out!!!

Shower!!

My girl at work, Angela, put together a little baby shower for us today!! It was so adorable and it was so nice to have everyone just sitting together, relaxing and talking... She got the cutest cake ever too --- it was a cake made of cupcakes, where the icing was all one solid piece but it was cupcakes instead of one big cake! So cute and really delicious too!!

A bunch of the guys here pitched in and paid for the pizza, cake and the rest went to a Babies R Us gift card which will definitely be put to good use very soon!! One of the instructors didn't think she was going to be here, so she actually sent us a present a couple weeks ago... 2 swaddlers and 2 sheet protectors! And another instructor who couldn't be here today gave us two gowns with green stars and little ducks on them, and a little Finding Nemo book! One instructor actually hand made Emersyn a pink and white quilt! I couldn't believe it!! Not only to think about doing something for us, but to hand make something is just so touching I could have cried!! Oh, one instructor gave Emersyn the blanket that I love and had to register for because it's so soft and matches her room exactly. And another instructor got the "walking wings" that Chris wanted... I don't really know how to describe the "wings" other than it's kind of like those bouncy swings that you can hang in the door way, but it has handles so that you hold it while the baby is in it; it's basically like instead of holding Emersyn's hands when she starts learning to walk, we'll hold these straps and so we'll be standing upright and it's supposed to help her with her balance and everything too...

I'm just so surprised and so happy that so many people came and got to hang out for a little while. It was soooo nice to just sit back and carry on! The presents are bad either... :-P

Ripples and Hiccups

As much as I hate driving in the rain, it's so much fun to see Emersyn dance around to the storms... and I do mean "see" her! My belly is rippling more than Santa's belly jiggles! It's not the most comfortable thing in the world being that she's getting really tight on space now, but I can't help but be absolutely amazed with every little ripple...

Oh the hiccups are hysterical too!! It's so adorable because I think Emersyn gets frustrated when she does it for a long time. I'll feel them going for a while and then she starts squirming around like she wants them to stop... It's great! I'm so happy that the hiccups have started to be strong and more frequent too. I was getting a little worried since it's a sign of lung development...

I just had to share because everyone seems so down about the rain... the buckets and buckets of rain that just won't stop... So I thought I'd share my happy thought, my simple pleasure!!!

32 Weeks Down

It's official, we're 32 weeks along!! As of tomorrow, we're in the safety zone where if Emersyn does decide to come she has a majorly huge chance of survival with little to no complications... besides being a pretty tiny.

We had our check up yesterday and the doctor says everything is still right where it should be. My weight - although I'm beyond conscious and still not quite comfortable with it - is good, blood pressure is good, and even the bump is measuring right where it should be. Emersyn's heartbeat sounds "great" and she's flipped "into position" with her head down... which only further supports my idea that she's going to be a dancer because her feet really are what's going a mile a minute, all the time, in my ribs! Of course, we also think that she could be a boxer since while her feet are going crazy Emersyn gets one or two good punches in and she's always "protecting" her face... LOL!

And they still say that they see no reason why I shouldn't go full term... to August... mid August... We're still pretty doubtful though. So far the newest bet is that I go in 4 weeks (14 July -ish), Chris is sticking to 27 July, one of the instructors at work has decided Emersyn's birthday is 22 July and I still think I'll go into labor at the Harry Potter movie on 15 July... But, only one person knows and He's not telling so we'll have to wait and see.

Oh, here's a couple new belly pictures... It was late, I was really tired, and pretty uncomfortable so just ignore my pj pants... and my face... :)

New Emersyn Pictures

So yesterday we went to That's My Baby 3D Ultrasound in Bowie and got some more pictures of our little (chunker) girl!! It was so not the experience we had last time we went, and lets just say that if my daughter wasn't that stunning I would have thrown a fit to rival a toddler's over-tired-sugar-high-crashing-not-getting-the-toy-they-want tantrum!!!

There's not nearly the amount of pictures we got last time. Emersyn was sleeping after waiting over an hour for our turn - oh she was going a mile a minute from our little Emersyn-dance-kit (Cool Ranch Doritos, Sprite and a 3 Musketeers) when we should have been doing our pictures and dvd, but when our 11 am appointment started at about 5 after 12 my baby was sleeping. Oh Emersyn was none to happy to be woken up either when the woman (a different one from the wonderful lady we had the first time) jiggled my belly like she was trying to create a tidal wave to wash the baby right out!!! There's no clear shots of her face, like at all. And the little movie is set to these generic lullaby's because the girl completely ignored Chris when he asked if she needed our music for the dvd before we even started.

Anyways, as soon as we can figure out how (we keep getting error messages when we try to use the dvd on our computer), I'll post the little dvd. It's pretty much just Emersyn getting shaken and then yelling about it as she tries to hide her face so she can sleep, but it's my baby and I'm still just in awe that she's in there doing all that!! The link to our snapfish to see the pictures is below, and then there's a couple of my favorites...

We have our 32 Week appointment on Monday (15th) so I'll update everyone again soon!! :)
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1070698009/a=77264276_77264276/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Seeing Emersyn!

This time tomorrow, we'll be sitting in the waiting room (im-)paitiently waiting our turn to get Emersyn's 3D sonogram!!! I can't wait to see her perfect little face again. My mom is going with us and we're doing the DVD to music too... Emersyn, already being spoiled, picked her own music. She'll be "performing" to her two favorite songs, Sweet Child O' Mine and Patience by Guns 'n Roses. No, I'm not kidding. I'm dead serious when I say that the child goes nuts in my belly when those songs come on - more so for Sweet Child O' Mine ironically enough! So we figured if that's what Emersyn wants, that's what she'll get for her very first movie. But it's going to be so great. Since we're 31+ weeks, she's going to look just like she will when she finally arrives only a little thinner! Chris is praying she looks like me, and my mom thinks that since I look so much like her, my daughter will naturally look like me... I don't really care as long as long as everything is still there. You know, like she didn't lose an ear or suddenly decide she won't be needing her nose or something like that. (Yup, these are the things that I think about.) Ugh, it's going to be so great to see Emersyn!!!!

Screw Charlie and His Horse =P

I don't know who Charlie is or what his horse had to do with anything, but they both apparently pretty hated in their time to have their name placed on such a miserable feeling... I mean seriously, the Charlie Horse sucks! And I'd really like to know why I not only get to wake up with the sensation that someone is stabbing me with a red hot steak knife in my calf, that twists and turns and pulls, and that I can't even reach easily because of the watermelon that sits in between me and my calf, but also why I get to feel a small sharp pinching in the same spot for days after Charlie wakes me up!! Charlie, his horse and that Braxton Hicks guy are on my list... =P

A Thought...

I don't think I want to give birth. I realize that this is a little late to be thinking about the whole giving birth thing... Still, I don't think I want to give birth. I think that we should just pick a day and the doctors should should do that epidoral thingy all over me, then hand over my baby without me actually having to do the contractions or labor thing... Yeah, I don't think I want to give birth. It'd be better for Emersyn if she just magically appeared instead of me having to do all that work to get her out. I mean, after all, haven't the last 31 1/2 weeks been enough work? Surely that's been enough to earn my daughter... The whole labor thing just doesn't sound like it's for me. Really.

Baby Shower Insanity

Um, yeah, firstly... I do know about the shower my mom's throwing for Emersyn (Chris and I) because we all know how well surprises work for me...

Anyways things are getting crazy. My mom wants everything to be perfect and beyond wonderful. Who wouldn't want their only daughter's first baby shower to be?!?! So she's working really hard to make it everything Chris and I would want. Yeah, she's fricking cool like that! I mean, even though we're having a daughter, the party's not themed all "It's A Girl" and pink and frilly... So not our style. I have an addiction to rubber ducks, which Chris lovingly puts up with, so my mom is really playing that up. It's really important to us to have the boys and kids there to celebrate Emersyn as well as the girls, so my mom readjusted her original plans to suit what we wanted. And after Chris tried forever to get a very special cake, my mom even got a friend of a friend to make the cake Chris wants - which is as much as I know. Seriously, she's all about this being the perfect shower.

It's so crazy to me that Emersyn is so close to being here that her shower is only a few short weeks away!! Of course, my mom is ensuring that her first granddaughter will be dressed to the nines every single time she needs to be changed for the first 7 years of her life... You'll all see where I get my over-giving tendencies when you see the baskets my mom has put together for Emersyn!! It's unreal but my mom is convinced it's her God given right as a grandmother to go way overboard on presents for her grandbabies! LOL!

I'll tell you though, the insanity has reached a new level when the house gets redecorated for a shower... I mean, new furniture and new paint and a whole new "theme" to the entire main floor of my parents' house!! Not that my mom hasn't been wanting to redecorate for a while and this is the perfect excuse to do it, but she's really painting this week so her new furniture can be delivered this weekend! LOL! I know this will just add to the perfectness of the shower though... She'll be so happy to welcome everyone into her "new" home!!! But tell me that's not a little crazy. =P

So while my mom is busy doing "grandmother's gone wild for showers", I'm busy freaking out that we're going to only get the super cute summer outfits in newborn and nothing else... no sheets, no stroller, no onesies, no sleepers, no bigger sizes, nothing! I know it's irrational because at the very least, we can just go buy the stuff ourselves in the (what my rational side knows is a rare) event that that actually happens, but I still can't help but worry. And not that we wouldn't totally love and appreciate those really adorable little outfits, not by any means!!! I just can't help worrying a little that we won't have anything for her to wear after about 2 weeks because she's outgrown the newborn sizes or the weather changed early or Emersyn won't have anything to sleep in besides the cute outfits... It's a little crazy - and yeah, I said "a little"!! =P

Oh CareBears!!!

My mom found what she's doing for Emersyn at her house...

I know it's kind of zoomed out, but it's so CareBears!!! It's a more pink than she wanted (knowing how much we love pink) but my mom totally couldn't resist the CareBears... I have a small history with them that includes doing a whole CareBear Show with my dad because I'm that cool. So now Emersyn will get the CareBear Experience too!! I mean, even Chris thinks it's worth the pink for the passing of the CareBears... then again, Chris also got the uber pink sequenced peace camo outfit so he might not be the best point to use! (Sorry Chris, I had to slip that in there!) Anyways, I'm so stoked about my daughter getting CareBears since I just adored them so much growing up.

So You Think You Can Dance

Ugh my addiction is back on and in full swing for the 5th season!! Seriously if you haven't ever seen this show, you're really missing out... This is the American Idol of dance, only about a million times better!!

So anyway, last night the announced the top 20 ::
Girls ~ Randi Evans, Karla Garcia, Caitlin Kinney, Asuka Kondoh, Janette Manrara, Jeanine Mason, Kayla Radomski, Melissa Sandvig, Paris Torres, Ashley Valerio
Boys ~ Kupono Aweau, Tony Bellissimo, Brandon Bryant, Phillip Chbeeb, Jason Glover, Vitolio Jeune, Max Kapitannikov, Evan Kasprzak, Ade Obayomi, Jonathan Platero

Before the live shows you don't get to see too much of the contestants, but of course I already have my favorites... I love Tony Bellissimo's heart - he seems to try more than anybody else, and even though he's not the best dancer, I think he'll give it more than anybody else. Phillip Chbeeb is just insanely talented and I doesn't seem to have a problem picking up anything they throw at him even though he's never had any training. And there's just something about Evan Kasprzak that makes me like him; I don't know if it's his uncanny ablity to channel the dance style of Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and the men of old or if it's just his personality. I have to cheer on Caitlin Kinney if nothing else than because she's a home town girl, but luckily she's also incredibly talented so that makes it easy. Those are my stand-outs right now...

Ugh, now the countdown to Wednesday night begins!!

Please Pray for the Smith Family

On May 27th the granddaughter of a co-worker of mine passed away. Rob is a wonderful man who is always smiling and never misses a second to ask how I'm feeling or how my baby is... He's a quiet man, but genuinely nice to everyone I've ever seen him interact with. I hadn't seen him for a few days, but as he works for facilities I just assumed he was busy getting the building ready for the summer heat. Today he told me where he's been...

India Nariah Smith was born 30 June 2005 with only 30% of her heart, and was given a pacemaker to survive. Rob tells me she was so active and playful, just a ball of joy. You never would have known that she had a pacemaker. India was going to have an operation this month to move the pacemaker from her stomach, where it was placed because of space when she was born, to her chest where it would remain for the rest of her life. During her check up, the doctor told India's mother that the pacemaker was getting low but would last until the surgery and they'd take care of it then. Rob tells me that it wasn't long after, India told her mom she was tired and asked if she could take a nap in her mom's bed. Her mother laid her down to take a nap and before she could get out of the bedroom door, India started gagging. By the time her mother made it back across the room, India was limp and lifeless. The little girl was rushed to Baltimore Washington Hospital, but the doctors told her family she passed at home when her pacemaker stopped. India was going to turn 4 years old at the end of this month...

As you can surely imagine, the family is suffering with this loss. I can't possibly imagine what they're going through. I know how hard it was, and still is, to deal with the loss of my grandmother - who had lived her life and told us she was ready to go! This is beyond any pain that I can imagine. It is with a heavy heart that ask for your prayers for Rob and India's family... The funeral service was Monday, but the funeral home has a website for India if you feel so inclined to send your prayers or condolences to the family. All I ask, is that when you look at your family, thank God that you have them and ask Him to give the Smith family the strength to keep thiers strong through this tragedy.

If you're interested, this is the website ::
http://www.mccullyfuneral.com/sitemaker/sites/McCull2/obit.cgi?user=india-smith

30 Weeks!!

Today we are officially 30 weeks along!! Woo hoo... only about 10 more until we get to meet our beautiful baby girl!!!

We had our check-up (which is now every other week instead of once a month) and things are great. My glucose test results came back great, my blood pressure is looking good, my weight is where the doctors want it and my bump is exactly on target for where it should be measuring! (Not that any of that keeps people from telling me how big I am at least once a day... oh how I enjoy that!!) Emersyn's heartbeat is strong and healthy too!! She's still on pace to be about 7 1/2 lbs when she arrives, which is still expected to be around 10 August... even though Chris is adament that we'll have our daughter on 27 July and I'm paranoid that with all her kicking she's coming out through my chest any day now!

So, yeah, things are looking good and right on target. Now I just want to know why nobody told me about this whole 24 hours in labor thing that first time mommies usually run...

Now Hand Painted

The vinyl transfer thingy has now become a hand painted quote for Emersyn. After some deliberation about what to do with it - scratch the whole idea, peel it off and try another one (which Chris was very against), get a "nice" one online to replace it, trace it and fill it in with paint, etc, etc - we agreed that Chris would peel the words off after tracing them and then use white acrylic paint to redo the quote. The erasing of the outlines was a little rough since the eraser kept smearing the pencil marks around, but as a whole it looks pretty good. You can tell it's hand done, but I like that. It gives it something special that Emersyn will be able to cherish... well, until we buy a house and move out of the farm house, but still! I think it's safe to say that we're both kind of bitter about the stupid vinyl transfer, but all's well that ends well I guess.