1 week already!

Thanks to Heather for her amazing photography skills!!

It's all a blur! But I am beginning to forget the labor pains already. Here are a few (I'll admit, somewhat cliche) things I've found to be true after one week of mommy-hood:

I am so blessed to have so much support from friends and family.
Christian is the absolute best daddy in the entire world--I totally scored, people.
I never knew how fast 9 months would go.
I never knew how stinking hard labor is.
I totally forgot what it's like to hug my husband without a big belly.
It feels SO good to sleep on my back....that is when I get any sleep.
Hearing her cry is really really hard.
Watching her sleep is fun and boring sometimes.
Crying when she cries isn't a good idea.
Knowing she is alive and growing means I did a good job!
Breast-feeding is such a cool thing...totally weird, but cool.

I can't imagine life without her--what in the world was that like?

I never knew I could love anyone so much.

Rosemary

Well everyone, she is finally here! No more guessing about when she is coming or what she is going to be called, she is finally here and absolutely beautiful.



I figured the dad should get a chance to announce this for once, although I'm sure Candace will be filling you all in about this much later. And since I only post about the most important things, I thought this was appropriate. So consider this the announcement post part 1.

We have been going back and forth on names for a long time and we just didn't want to commit to any one name. And, since we went to the hospital we've called her everything from Rosie, to little stinker, prissy pants, daddy's girl, and the precious one. We think Rosie fits the best, though we will probably use the others fairly often.

We have been waiting a long time for her to come, I told her she had to come early for daddy, but she didn't listen. I figured she either had my stubbornness or her mother's lackadaisical sense of urgency. We finally found out we would be induced and went to the hospital Wednesday night at 6:00 to have a baby. We asked everyone in the family for guesses on when she would come and most said between 4 and 11 the next morning. Well Candace's dad said 6:45 PM and he was the closest.

26.5 hours after arriving in the hospital and getting into our room Rosie decided it was time to come out. By then all the doctors and nurses had given up on us and were preparing for a c-section. But incredibly Candace kept on pushing and she is finally here. A little inspiration from a Rosie the Riveter picture and some beautiful roses helped her keep going and remember why we were doing this. Of course our Rosie is healthy and beautiful.

 

We were talking about how much trouble this little girl has been as we've waited for her to come the last few weeks, and Candace insisted that Rosie will meet her match in her mother. But I quickly told her that Candace has met her match and that I was in big trouble. I'm already a total pushover for my girls, they will get whatever they want.

My favorite part of this whole experience was when right after birth they stamped her little feet for the card at birth and then proceeded to stamp my arm. Then I got to go and give her a bath for the first time which she loved. I've never really liked the thoughts of a tattoo but that’s one I wouldn't mind keeping. Though probably not right on my forearm, and probably only one footprint. On second though I don't need a tattoo of anything, just a picture is nice.


Finally, as we were getting ready to leave the janitor lady came into our room to take out the trash when she saw Rosie. She gasped and said "It's the precious one!" She saw her in the nursery earlier and had been calling her the precious one and talking about her since she was born. We are inclined to agree with her.

Happy birthday Rosie, we are so glad you made it here! You're dad loves you and can't wait to see who you become, as long as you are my little girl. (Candace is responsible for uploading better pictures to this, so we'll see how that goes ;)

ready or not, she's not here yet!

I woke up this morning to an empty bassinet and very big belly--
 
which means, our little girl is officially late. I really can't blame her though.  I'm kind of late for a lot of things, myself! I guess I'll go tidy the nursery one more time...

 

My dear friend Shirley made our little girl one of her famous "Joy" banners. Isn't it sweet? She recently passed away, and I'm so glad I have something to remind me of her sweet, sassy spirit!  I can't think of a better wish for my little girl than  for her to be able to find joy in her life.  Note:This has been strategically placed above the changing table...so that even when I'm changing diapers all day, I can be reminded of the reasons why it's a JOY to be a mother, too.

POP!

Ok, so my baby belly popped out a while ago.  But I still got strange stares from strangers...trying to figure out if I was awkwardly fat, or if I was pregnant. Now you'd really have to be a dummy not to know I'm great with child, right?

Other things are popping too. We have some pretty tulips in our front garden that finally showed their petals this week! Even with all the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde weather we've been having.

Also--did you know you can make your own microwave popcorn? Well, I haven't tried it yet.  But I think I might.

One last thing...my friend JME posted about builders, maintainers and wreckers. I've been thinking about it all weekend.  She says:

In this world, there are builders, maintainers and wreckers. Builders are those people who make you feel like you’re worth a million bucks – and they mean it! They’re not only complimentative, but they act like they like being around you and enjoy your company. Maintainers are those who don’t tare down but don’t really build up. People that are just, kinda, there.

Wreckers find subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) ways to tare down. After spending time with a wrecker, you may get in your car and think, “wow, I am really stupid,” or “wait, now WHY do people like me?”.

 I think you all should pop over there and read the rest of her down to earth wisdom!

100 days and counting

I'm counting* because I'm excited and because I'm scared out of my mind.

etsy seller

I'm excited because of all the things you might imagine:

• I'll get to eat cake batter and cookie dough again, for one.  (Most other things with raw egg I have been happy to avoid.)
• Everyone will get to meet daddy's little girl and make all the comments like "oh she has Christian's nose!" To which, my dad will most-likely reply, "no she doesn't, she has her own nose." I just hope she doesn't get my nose (but that would fall more in the things I'm scared of category).
• I'll get to stop thinking things like "why does it feel like I'm carrying around a bucket of water...oh because I am."
• I'll finally get to be my own boss and have my dream career. I'll be an entrepreneur--well, a social entrepreneur, anyway. My new business will be full of imagining, telling stories and making pies. And probably a lot of other stuff...but that brings me to why I'm scared out of my mind.

                                         I'm scared out of my mind because:

etsy seller

• I know I'll mess up with some of the little things and not make her practice her piano enough. Or too much. Or she will catch me laughing when she's trying to be serious. Or I will let her cry too long. Or I will cry too long. 
• What if I mess up with some of the big things, too?  Like what if we name her the wrong name? 
• As much sleep as I am NOT getting now, I'm pretty sure in 100 days, I will be getting much less.
• What if my gag reflex never goes away and her first memory is of me gagging while I change her diaper or feed her some awful baby food? (OK, I hope she's out of diapers before her memory kicks in).
• What if she likes Christian more than me? That's pretty clear already because she hasn't once kicked him, and she loves to kick me.
• What if she loves glitter? I really don't think I can handle glitter.

*Disclaimer: I'm not really expecting her to show up right on her due date, since I'm not sure those really mean much of anything anyway.

50 Percent

I'm more than half way there, ladies and gentlemen. Well, I guess I should say my baby is more than half way there! It boggles my mind, and I'm hoping the last half will go as quickly as the first half (I'm guessing, however, that it will not). I've been thinking a little bit about nursery stuff. But mostly just cute little girl shoes. She doesn't need a cute nursery if she has cute shoes, right?  I've been collecting my inspiration on Pinterest. Feel free to check out my pins! I think it's a pretty cool tool.

roses are red. and yellow.

This year, C1 really pulled through for the V-day thing. I can't wait to hang this print in my new creativity room! We had some delicious Crown Burger, too--something I think we should make a tradition!

I loved making these valentines last year and decided to do some more. I've told you all to paint before. But really, I mean it. It's so much fun.

Here are some of my favorites from this year's bunch:

For someone who LOVES giving high-fives.

For someone who had a decision to make (he chose Utah!! yay!!)

For someone who drinks diet Dr. Pepper--like a lot.

For someone who found out we're having a baby girl in August!