Dreaming...

Now that I'm so advanced in my pregnancy (15 days to go!), I'm starting to day dream about things I can do after the baby comes. I've been letting Tim know the meals I'd like to eat so he can make sure he knows how to make them. :)

I miss egg yolk. Like you wouldn't believe. I had no idea this would be the item that I wanted the most, but I have made Tim swear that the first meal I have will be a perfectly poached egg on toast with asparagus, prosciutto and feta cheese. My mouth is watering. Yum.
I'm also missing my clothes. Maternity clothes were fun for awhile, but how many times can you wear the same 5 outfits before you are just plain bored?

I'm most looking forward to wearing:

My suede boots! Yes, they fit, but walking with any extra height is an extremely dangerous game when 1) you're clumsy to start with; and 2) you're pregnant

My leather motorcycle jacket...so pretty, so soft, so small...
My favorite jeans ever.
My pretty detailed tops.

As well as so many others...oh clothes (and egg yolk). How I miss you.
(All the clothes are of the recently deceased Martin + Osa variety. Hence, no links.)

Dear Blog,

Since this is about the time of year I start craving Christmas (this year is no exception, I'm sipping cinnamonny chai tea as we "speak", I'm wondering what this little lady should wear for her Christmas debut...we may have to have wardrobe changes throughout the day. Here's a few options found at Carters:
How adorable would she be opening her first ever Christmas presents (or, to be more accurate, sleeping through us opening her first ever Christmas presents) in this little ditty?And traveling to Papa's house as a prettier version of St. Nick?
Just look at the feet on these...we do tend to celebrate on both Christmas Eve and Christmas...this could work.And, of course, I already have a few tid bits:
Cause every little girl needs some Christmas underclothes. It's just how it is.

T Minus 21 Days

Three weeks from right now, our little girl will be here. Due to some minor complications, she's unable to turn her little body over, so she's stuck in a breach position. As a result, we're having a C-section on the 29th...sooner than we expected, causing a little bit of panic, but I'm sure we'll manage to get everything ready on time. How crazy to think that in exactly three weeks, we'll have our little girl, we'll know what she looks like, we'll announce her name, she'll be meeting her family...wow.

Any tips for what to pack for the hospital, or must haves for when we get home a few days later?

A Shower

On Sunday, some of the wonderful women I grew up under threw me a shower. It was such a great time to spend time with these women who knew and loved my mom so well, and who watched me grow up and helped shape who I am.

Although Debbie couldn't be there, she sent a prayer that she wrote for Tim, me and the little one to come.

Lord Jesus, we bring before you your precious child, Erin and her new little baby girl. What a wonderful and amazing miracle this is. We know that you have knit this little one together, and you already know every hair that will be on her head, the color of her eyes, the tilt of her chin. You know her hopes and dreams, her gifts and talents, her strengths and weaknesses. You have formed her amazing little personality to your precise specifications (which Erin and Tim might need some reminding of as the years go by).

Lord, Thank you for the awesome gift you are about to place in Erin and Tim's hands. May you give them the strength, love, wisdom, joy, peace and sense of humor that they will need as they raise this little one in your magnificent love and faithfulness.

We place this precious baby girl in your hands knowing that you will never leave her, that you will be beside her all the days of her life. Thank you for this promise from your word.

And Lord, I want to thank you for Erin's loving mom, Ellen, who was such a great role model for a mother that faithfully loved, nurtured, guided, and taught your promises to her children. Thank you for the friend she was to all of us and the way she touched each one of us in her unique way. If possible, let her know how much we love her and miss her, and will be seeking her again one day.

I pray as her friends, we will take seriously the task of encouraging and loving her daughter Erin, her son-in-law Tim and this new little life that is about to come into the world.

Thank you for the blessing of new life.

In your name we pray, Amen.

What an amazing start to a wonderful day. I am so grateful for these wonderful women.

What an amazing day. I am so thankful for these godly women in my life.

Mmmmm, Autumn...

Don't get me wrong, I still determinedly want it to be summer (I need another month to prepare before the baby comes!) but today feels distinctly Autumny. I drove to work in the rain - which has been quite sparse this summer in Seattle, mind you, yesterday was in the 80's-and treated myself to a "so you have to work on a Saturday" Starbucks treat. Guess what's back?The Pumpkin Spice Latte has made it's fall appearance! And I am enjoying my first of this delectable treat right now. Yum.

That's about all I had to say.

A Work in Progress

We've been feverishly working on the nursery. It took us a bit of time and several paint samples to pick a color, but we finally settled on River Mist by Martha Stewart. Here are some shots of the freshly painted room.

Pay no attention to the overly full closet.

We picked up our IKEA furniture and set to work assembling (thanks Dad, for the ride and the crib!) The rocker glider, by the way, is not IKEA...rather a Best Chair, which was our one nursery splurge.

Tim discovered this cool wardrobe system, and since the nursery closet is currently our storage closet, this seemed like a good, affordable solution. Disregard the little dots on the bottom, those were an experiment we ended up nixing.

The inside of the closet...Top is hanging space, bottom is drawers. And, yes, I know we have an absurd amount of clothing, and yes, I have been put on baby clothes shopping restriction.

The coolest part of the room by far is the mural Laura and I put together...look what a little elbow grease can do! (Thanks Laura!)

All we have left to do is spray paint some picture frames and our curtain rod, hang our pictures and curtains and clean up! I'll show you pictures of the changing table Tim made soon.

Through the months

A walk through of the last eight and a half months as told by my belly.

The first test I took was Kroger brand...I wasn't convinced it was reliable, so I took two more First Response...there was no denying it then.

The day we found out (late January). About 5 weeks pregnant. (I miss wearing those jeans)

I don't have dates on me, but this was about 10 weeks, I believe. This is when yoga pants and stretchy shirts became a staple for me.

Sometime not too long after...vague, I know.

Around 20 weeks or so. When yoga pants and stretchy tops were no longer an option.

A new haircut for a new week...around 25 weeks.

At 33 weeks with Zib, who was about 6 months with her little boy.

35 weeks...almost to the end! Notice the weird shaped lump? That, my friends, would be feet. Or knees. Not 100% on which.

35 weeks from the other side. Just to give you the full picture.

That brings us to the present. 35 weeks with a constantly wiggling belly. About a month to go!