I’ve realized recently that I have not updated the world on the craziness that is Ella! So, here are some tidbits on our sweet Ella girl!

–Little Miss is a take charge, independent, and vocal thang! I wish I could say I don’t have a clue where she gets it from, but, more times than not, I see myself in her (scary and cool at the same time!). She is what we like to affectionately call a screamer. I, in no way, mean that to sound like a bad thing. But, she just screams a lot, haha. The second night we were in the hospital she screamed all. night. long. Not a few whimpering cries as we heard from our neighboring babies, but full-out cried for hours on end with no ceasing. I remembered sitting there thinking I had never seen a baby like it after all of my years of babysitting and nannying, haha. Because of this, I have the feeling she is going to be a non-stop, loud talker! Once again, I have no clue where she gets that from…

–I must admit that a lot of Ella’s screaming has piped down since I cut out all dairy from my diet (can you say hardest thing ever after being nauseous for 9 months??). Her eczema is gone (I wish we would have taken some pictures at it’s worst, because it was pretty yucky), she doesn’t scream all the way through eating now, she actually wants to eat, and overall just seems much happier. Time will tell if it’s a true allergy, but for now, no dairy has worked wonders for our family!

–Ella said her first word a few weeks ago! Drumroll please…it was mama! Now, let’s be clear, she says it everyday (usually while crying), but she doesn’t have a clue in the world what it means. And, I am sure my incessant, “mamamamama” all up in her face had nothing to do with her learning how to say it

–She HATES tummy time. The fastest way to hear how loud she can scream (once again, I have no clue where she learned volume control…) is to put her on her tummy. It’s like she screams to tell us that she knows we are sending her to her doom. So, she gets most of her tummy time right before bedtimes because we can send her straight to bed where she’ll snuggle up, calm down, and fall asleep, rather than spend 30 minutes during her waketime trying to reassure her that we won’t send her back on her doomful tummy.

–She’s officially rolling over from tummy to back! John and I pretty much cheer like freaks when she does it. Maybe that’s why she’s scared of tummy time? Hmm. Also, we firmly believe she can roll from her back to tummy, but refuses to do so because why would she throw herself in the position she hates?? Seriously, she gets like a half-inch from rolling to her tummy and instantly pulls herself back. She knows, that little booger, she knows. And, if I try to help her in that mid-roll to her tummy, with all of her might, she pulls herself to the opposite direction, keeping herself firmly planted back to the ground. But, really, I have NO idea where she gets her strong-willed nature…

–She officially turned 5 months this past Friday! She’s almost a half a year!

–She is slowly growing out of her 3-6 month clothing and is already in some of her 6-9 month stuff! She’s a long little girl!

–Her laugh is SO contagious! Once she gets going, it’s like she can’t stop. Her whole face squishes up and she laughs to the point where then it gets hard for her to breathe, haha. We took her to see Tangled and she loved at all of the funny parts!! John and I were just cracking up, because she even laughed at the funny parts before the crowd started in. Any time there was physical comedy (when the guy gets hit on the head, etc) she was cracking up! I don’t know that John and I have ever been more proud of our daughter than when we realized she understands humor :o)

–She loves her some Mickey and Minnie Mouse! If she’s screaming past the point of any solace, we turn on the TV to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and she is g-l-u-e-d. As soon as Mickey invites her to his clubhouse, she’s trying to dry up the tears.

–Anything she can get her hands on, goes in her mouth. There’s two spots in her mouth where I have thought for sure that a tooth would come bustin’ out soon. But, nothing so far! But, she loves to chew on any of her toys, her hand, my hand, her pacifier, and even her clothes if she can grab a piece of it, haha.

–I am falling more in love with her every day. One thing I didn’t realize as being a new parent is that sometimes it takes a little while for the bond to mature, and that’s okay. Don’t get me wrong, I loved her from the beginning, but now that she’s blossoming into her very own self and not just a screaming bump on a log (I mean, seriously, newborns have always been kinda bump on the log-ish to me), I am loving her beyond what I thought I could. Every day that love for her grows a little more. I just wish I could hold her and squeeze her all the time! I didn’t want to put her down for her morning nap today because she was just so yummy (John doesn’t understand that term, but whatever). Under all of that strong-willed personality, she is just the sweetest little baby that loves to giggle, smile, and hold on tight for a good hug. We are so glad the Lord gave us her, even on the tough days!!

I think those are enough Ella tidbits for now! I need to do better at keeping up with some of her shenanigan’s on here, so I can remember them!

Well, here I am, officially in the mere days countdown of the due date. No more weeks left, just days. It was so weird to look at my little countdown today and only see 6 days. Whoa. Back in January-April, I thought September would never get here. Of course, those days were a huge blur anyways with all of the crazy, crazy amounts of sickness. While the morning sickness never fully went away, those four months were the most brutal for sure. And. believe me, September felt like an eternity away. But, here we are!

Other than dealing with false labor, and just the sheer inability to know when D-day is gonna hit, I am doing pretty good. Sure, I have any physical complaints that a pregnant woman of this stage in the game would have, but nothing extraordinary. I feel a bit like a ticking time bomb…with a broken ticker, hehe.

But, I have been meaning to share something I read in a guided journal I’ve been keeping for the little one. There are several different sections that correspond to the different stages of pregnancy and through the first year or two of life for baby. At the beginning of each section, it shares a Bible verse or two and then gives a little food for thought.

The current section I just finished writing in is the Waiting section. Then, it talks about the very first woman that had to sit around wait…Eve. And, it got me thinking to ideas that had never crossed my mind before. She was the first woman ever to be pregnant. She had just been told how painful and terrible childbirth would be. She didn’t have the medical information we have now. She didn’t know, “You won’t be pregnant forever” or she didn’t know how to naturally or synthetically induce her labor.

Could you imagine the thoughts that ran through her head?? When there were little baby feet kicking her tummy, did she wonder if the baby really was going to bust right through her abdomen? Was that the pain God was talking about? How about the heartburn? Did she wonder what in the world was going on that each time she had a bite of food her throat felt like lava? And, she didn’t have a due date. She just kept getting bigger and bigger and more and more uncomfortable with no foreseeable end in sight. I mean, talk about miserable! Oh, to read her mind during that waiting time. And, I don’t even wanna know what she thought when labor and delivery actually hit! Ouch!

So, whenever I start to think, “Am I ever gonna get to hold this baby??”, I just remember Eve’s story. And, I am ever so grateful for modern medicine and the ability to know what is actually going on in this body of mine!

Okay, that’s enough on the spiritual stuff…COME OUT ALREADY, BABY!! :o)

John and I before heading out to my birthday dinner! 34 weeks pregnant here!

Okay, since I posted last, I am officially 25 years old and I’m 35 weeks pregnant! So, my birthday last year, I had been married for 2 weeks and little did I know, I was a week away from being pregnant with my first baby! It’s so hard to believe that I have now had TWO birthdays as a married woman. And, John did an extraordinary job this year at making me feel special on my birthday. He came home from work at lunch time and we went out to lunch (at McDonald’s…I know, I know, don’t talk to me, tell this baby that a double cheeseburger meal is ridiculous. Droooool). Then, thanks to some birthday money and a coupon I found for a free bloomin’ onion, we enjoyed some Outback Steakhouse! We had a great time hanging out! Plus, John got me flowers and a yummy peanut butter chocolate pie. Good man, good man.

Two sweet ladies here in Georgia threw me a baby shower! It was so sweet of them and of so many ladies to bless us with gifts! It was a women’s only shindig with church staff ladies, church staff wives, tech team volunteers, and tech team volunteers wives. It was so fun to have a more traditional shower and I loved being able to open so many great gifts! We played baby bingo and everyone had a necklace on where they would lose it if they were caught crossing their legs. I lost my necklace pretty fast! Everyone was so sweet to buy us such awesome gifts, especially since we haven’t even been in Georgia very long! After this shower, we are officially set and ready for this baby to get here! I actually crossed off the last item on my essentials list this past Friday. Now, we just need a precious little baby to welcome :o) Thank you to Holli and Becky for throwing such a beautiful, fun shower! And, thank you to all of the ladies for such awesome gifts!! Here are a few pictures from the shower:

The gifts!! We got so many seriously awesome gifts!

Opening gifts!

I look a little confused here, haha. But, I think this was when everyone was enjoying the yummy food!

This past Friday, we had our 34 week appointment. Everything is looking great and it seems like baby is starting to measure more on the average track! At the 32 week appointment I was measuring 34cm and this one I was measuring 35cm. So, for now, there’s no need for another ultrasound. As much as I would LOVE to see the baby again, I’m afraid to see, um, private parts on the screen! Haha! It’s a pretty irrational fear because the tech at our office is really good about not exposing what we don’t want to see, but I am just afraid somehow the gender would slip! And, it would stink to make it this far and have the surprise ruined. We will know whether there is a lot of pink or blue in our future, in just a few short weeks! This has been such a fun surprise and waiting game! Next appointment is in 2 weeks (Aug. 20th) and after that we will be at the doc’s every week until we have our precious baby! Oh, and on the contraction front, I only had 2 rather intense contractions about a week ago. The doctor said at this appointment I am out of the woods as far as he’s concerned for pre term labor, so whatever happens happens at this point!

For those out there that want to know how to pray for us and baby, here are some things we’d love for you to lift up if you want to! Most importantly, we are praying for our baby to develop safely and healthily. And, for our baby to arrive safe and sound on delivery day for us to hold and take care of for the rest of our lives! Also, we are praying for baby to stay head down and for an uncomplicated labor and delivery. We have also been praying that I could labor and deliver drug-free, with no need for a c-section. And, that the labor and delivery would go quickly! If you wanna, feel free to pray with us! We can hardly believe that the time is almost here!! So excited for that day!

We had our 32 week appointment just the other day with one of the partners in the office. Next appointment I return back to my regular doctor for the duration of Operation: Baby. I really do love this office and so far they have been great. Every appointment the doctors have taken their time with us and I always just feel like I am hanging out with a good friend. A good friend that I have total confidence in for taking care of me and my baby.

For those that are keeping track of the unfolding story concerning this baby growing like a mad child, I measured 3 weeks ahead again. Every single time I have measured 2 or 3 weeks ahead. They’ve told me that +2 is completely within the normal range but the +3 is what makes them want to take another little sneak peek at the child either next appointment or the appointment after. It seems like all of the doc’s are guessing an 8-pound baby. Not that I’ve ever pushed a full term baby out of my Nether regions, but 8 pounds seems doable to me. I try to explain to the baby that 7 pounds is a good number, but for some reason, I don’t think the baby understands a word I am saying…

Well, this past week, the Braxton Hicks contractions decided they wanted to begin revving up. Which, hey, I am all about because it’s comforting to know that my body is getting ready for the process. But, on Monday night, I had 7 contractions in an hour. For those pregnancy illiterate (like myself before I had a child in my uterus), 4 or more contractions in an hour can be a sign of preterm labor. I did all of the special little things that are supposed to make them stop if it’s just Braxton Hicks and none of it worked. Well, I finally decided if I had one more, I was going to call the doctor and bam, they stopped. I had one more about 45 minutes later, but that was it. The rest of this week I have had Braxton Hicks on and off, but nothing consistent again. I’ve also been having some pressure (sometimes feels like a lot, sometimes it’s not as noticeable) and feeling crampy (sometimes a lot, sometimes not).

At my appointment, the doctor just emphasized lots of rest and water. And, more than once she said, “I just want you to get 34 weeks, after then, you can let your body do whatever you want”. SO, that’s where we are now. The last few days have been me laying on the couch or bed and telling the baby to not arrive until my birthday (the day I turn 34 weeks, August 2nd) or later. John cleaned the whole house and did the dishes and finished the laundry and mowed the lawn and made dinner and so forth the last few days. (Awesome man, hasn’t complained once!) It is so against my entire personality to sit around and not be able to do my normal activities. But, I think I can handle taking it easy the next week and 2 days. It’s already been amazing how much extra rest really has calmed the contractions and pressure.

Part of me wants to laugh in thinking that we’re trying to do whatever little things we can to ensure the baby stays in and that when it comes the appropriate time for the baby to come out, the kiddo probably won’t budge. I sure hope that’s not the case, but I am learning how unpredictable all of this pregnancy stuff can be. But, the baby is currently head down, which is exciting to know that one more piece to the puzzle is falling in place!

So, there ya have it! Looks like we’ll have a baby in 7 weeks or less from now! :o)

We had the 30 week (oh my goodness gracious, 30 weeks?!?) appointment this morning. And, let me just say, this baby cracks me up every single day. I am convinced this child is the biggest wiggleworm in the whole world. The baby doesn’t care to slow down for the doctor either.

Today we saw one of the partners in the office and as she first put the little doppler on my belly, the baby was all over the place. My stomach constantly rolls in waves and even the doctor today jumped back with a big “whoa! Oh my goodness!”And, as she looked for the heartbeat, the kiddo kept rockin and rollin. I like to imagine a little Bart Simpson attitude in there thinkin’, “Ha, try to find me now!” With how much this baby was all over she jokingly said, “Are you sure there’s not more than one in there?” To which I responded that John always points to one side of my belly and says “Baby Number 1” and then points to the other side “Baby Number 2”. But, that would be one sneaky baby number 2 finding a place to hide through TWO ultrasounds. That just shows you how funny/out of control this baby moves all the time! It took her a while to find the actual heartbeat because of the wiggling (last appt, my regular doctor didn’t even bother to find the actual heartbeat and said the pulse which we could hear was just fine due to the wiggling!). But, there was the heartbeat, all over the place but around 145.

And, the belly is still measuring 2 weeks ahead! So, all of those haters out there saying I need to eat more, my belly is actually bigger than it should be! Therefore, the doctor wants another ultrasound at 34 weeks to check the growth. We’re hoping it means baby comes a little earlier than September 13th rather than a massive baby right on time :o) But, the doctor seems on top of it all. So, I’m not worried about it at all. Instead, I’m super excited because we are ending up with an ultrasound the week of my birthday! So, we get to see the peanut one more time before it’s birthday!

As far as pregnancy woes are concerned, it appears that the nausea has been kicking in worse and worse lately. Blah. I woke up in the middle of the night last night as sick as could be. I remember just freaking out thinking that the hyperemesis was back. But, luckily things haven’t been that bad. Although, instead of gaining weight this appointment, I actually lost 2.5 pounds. We can go ahead and attribute that to nothing ever sounding yummy to eat. It all makes me nauseous. But, the doctor doesn’t seem concerned at all, so I’m not. I am looking forward to the day when I love to eat again!! Man, I miss enjoying food! :o)

That’s it for today! But, a special congratulations goes out to John’s sister! She just delivered their fourth baby on July 5th. His name is Rivers Joseph and he looks super handsome in the pictures we’ve been able to see! We won’t be able to meet him until Christmas :o( but we’re glad he arrived safely into his new family! Welcome, Rivers!

**Next post will be on our second baby shower in Texas this past week!**

Had the 28 week appointment this morning! So, today included my glucose test to check for gestational diabetes (I’ll find out the results the end of this week or beginning of next) and my RhoGam shot (I am one of the few lucky ones that have a negative blood type!).  Sweet baby was moving and scooting like a mad child (per a usual day) while the doctor listened for the heartbeat. And, the baby punched the doppler! The doctor and I both laughed. I have been wanting to hear the baby do that every stinkin’ appointment, so I enjoyed it :o)

I am officially gaining weight and I think gone are the days of trying to play catch up in that arena! And, my fundal measurements have always measured about a week or a week and a half ahead. Well, today it was 3 weeks ahead! The doctor said it was a measurement of 31 weeks and it took me quite a while to even process that number! He said if I’m still measuring ahead the next appointment, we will have another ultrasound to see quite how big this child might be. I’ve always loved chunky babies, but not really for delivery day…We shall see!

Today, on the way to the doctor’s appointment, John and I were listening to the latest Passion album, “The Awakening”. Right as we were pulling into the parking lot, the song “He Loves Us” sung by David Crowder Band (on this album anyways!) came on. We just sat in the parking space and listened to the rest of the song before we went in. I really had to fight tears through the entire song. It’s one of the worship songs I cried my eyes out to the day after we found out our first baby stopped growing. So, with the baby in my belly, and unknowingly at the time, just a few hours before we had that baby, I sung as loud as I could.

Today, that song has a double meaning. It helped walk me through the sorrow of losing our first child and was used today to remind me how much we’ve been blessed with this baby in my belly today. He’s allowed us to feel little baby kicks, to see pictures of life again on an ultrasound screen, and revived the hope of bringing a baby home from the hospital.

Regardless of the good or the bad, oh how He loves us.