Texas!

We have been traveling!

We spent 4 days in Little Rock, AR with Mitchell's family and now we are in North Texas with mine and will heading to San Antonio in less than a week to see the rest of our family.

I am loving being able to share my pregnancy with my family!

Grace was able to feel Adelaide hiccup on Wednesday (I was excited to share that with her because she didn't start hiccuping until this Sunday)

I had my first Braxton Hicks contraction on Tuesday while we were walking around the Old Mill in Little Rock.

I will post pictures soon. Baby is just growing and growing.

I am now almost 28 weeks and tomorrow I will be entering my THIRD trimester! Adelaide will be here so soon!

25 weeks! God's timing is perfect!

I've just been busy growing a baby! I had the glucose tolerance test yesterday and felt yucky the rest of the day. I didn't go to Bible study because of how yucky I felt and I was pretty bummed about that. We were supposed to read Luke 1-10 this week. I was reading it and in the first chapter I was absolutely floored! I am currently in my sixth month and all the time I am reminded that God's timing is perfect. Check out these verses that I came across

"And this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible" Luke 1:36b-37

I got goose bumps reading that. God is so good, not only did He bless with this amazing gift but He reminds me of His love continually! After struggling for 15 months to get pregnant with no meds working and having PCOS confirmed for a third time and being tested for premature menopause and and having xray solution shot up inside of me and then prayerfully deciding to stop trying to get pregnant and start trying to build our family another way, it feels so unreal to actually be experiencing pregnancy.

Tonight I am going to the Women's Bible Study Christmas Party and this is the gift that I am bringing for the exchange. The nail polish is Essie "Rasberry" and I am totally in love with the shade and may go get myself some for the summer! Getting together "beauty supplies" made me think of another verse.

" Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised"

Proverbs 31:30

It can be so hard to remember that. Truthfully, I don't know if I have ever felt prettier than now, being pregnant. I think that waiting on the Lord and receiving His blessing just makes me feel beautiful from the inside out... okay now I am just talking.... How about some more pictures?

I have been working on some more of Adelaide's things.

Her closet is slowly coming together. You can see one of her vintage dresses hanging in the closet! (Almost all of the stains came out of the dresses) You can also see her elephant mobile that I need to get the attacher-thing to attach it to her crib.
I finished her bed skirt and put her "library" bucket and toy bucket under the crib.
This is the next space that needs TLC. Mitch has offered to sand and paint the dresser and then I need to turn it into a diaper changing station. I also need to clear out some other stuff and I think that I am going to add little rosette flowers to the lampshade to cute it up a bit! On the ground, to the left of the dresser, is a quilt that belonged to my great grandmother that I need to sew some new patches onto. I am hoping to use it on Adelaide's big girl bed, when that time comes.
I have cleared out a lot of junk around the glider. We still need to move a side table in there and put a lamp on it.
It is coming along, slowly but surely. I still need to put stuff up on the wall.

What do you think?

Things are coming together for Adelaide Lillian

I thought all of you might like to see what I have been busy doing up here in the Burgh!

I made this cute "A" for her diaper bag. It is made from tapestry samples that Karen gave me!

Here is the close up. I am going to put a grommet through the top.

Here are her swaddlers and a whole bunch of burp cloths that I have made. My favorites are the ones with the African wax fabric.

These are her little bitty 0-3 month clothes with the moccasins that Mitchell bought her. The knitted things at the top of the drawer were my bonnet and booties.

Here are her bigger clothes, extra sheets, and a cuddly blanket for her.

I found this little dress at Nordstrom on great sale! I have a FuzziBunz diaper that perfectly matches this dress. The color is called "crushed berry"

This is the small FuzziBunz in Cotton Candy next to the one size adjusted to the smallest in Crushed Berry. Based on how small this adjusted we decided to register for the FuzziBunz one sizes!

This is my diaper stash so far. I have two Lil' Joeys by Rumparooz (the two in green) They are for newborns and fold down around the umbilical cord. The Lil' Joeys are all in ones, meaning that it is super simple to use, no special folding, no inserts. There are three FuzziBunz (two small and one one size) I have a fourth FuzziBunz that is an XS in light green, it is currently at my friends' house adorning the little bum of Selah Joelle Dutra. The striped one is a Thirstie Duo Wrap in size 1. It will go over a prefold or a kissaluv for the newborn period!

Here they all are in their drawer! Cloth diapers are so cute!

This is my glider (Thanks Aunt Lisa) with my ottoman. Draped over the arms is Adelaide's collection of vintage dresses that I need to clean.

Here is her little library!

This is how the room is looking! I love the patchwork feel of it all.

Another view. The blankets over the side are from Uganda.

Here is a close up of the contents of her crib. I made the doll for her way back during TAMS. She is all hand sewn and Mitchell helped do some of the stitches on the heart. The little bear was brought back for Adelaide from Scotland by soon-to-be-Aunt Caroline! The little dog was my toy "Ruff Ruff".

Still on my to-do list:

Get stuff that doesn't belong in the nursery out of there

Clean the vintage gowns

Finish the dust ruffle

Make her a quilt (I already have the fabric and it is fabulous)

Grommet her "A"

Sew some pillowcase dresses

Put up some wall art, including a fabulous giraffe print from Uganda

Hang her mobile, African elephants!

I hope all of you like it!

Weeks 23 & 24

Slowly but surely we are getting closer to March! She has been so wiggly lately.

On Friday we had to get the car worked on and spent 4 hours in the waiting room... that was fun.

I have put up our Christmas decorations. My favorite part of the decor has to be ornaments and all of the nativity scenes. Christmas is probably my favorite time of the year. I love all the songs and hot cocoa and I love that it means family!

Please continue to pray as Adelaide Lillian continues to grow. This week she is growing her real hair! That is so crazy to me.

Also, I think I have finally perfected our baby registry.

Update and such not!

Everything is going great. Adelaide Lillian has been kicking and wiggling a lot. She swiveled around to the back in the last couple of weeks so I think that my tummy looks a little bit smaller than it did when her bum was right up front.

It has now snowed twice here... I have been listening to Christmas music and am getting the house ready to be decorated. We have also been planning out our Christmas vacation plans. I can hardly wait to see all my family!

I feel so blessed to be on this journey. Adelaide is most active in the morning while I am still lying in bed. This morning she was very funny. If I would poke her on my left side she would kick back. She even kicked Mitchell after he poked her.

Mitchell went to the AISES national conference. I didn't go this year but I will go again next year! While there he bought some very sweet hand made, beaded moccasins for Adelaide. They are amazing and I can hardly wait to put them on her.

Please continue to pray for us. Adelaide should be here in about 4 months. Please pray as we continue to plan and get everything in order.

20 weeks

You can see from the top pic that my belly button is now out!!!

I am really enjoying this pregnancy. My energy is really high now and I am getting a lot done.

Mitchell has been really busy this semester so I don't get to see him as often as I would like. Please pray for us as this semester winds down.

Please pray that Adelaide continues to grow strong. My momma-worry-mind keeps me up a lot at night and I would really like some sleep :)

Weeks 18 & 19

Adelaide has been on the move. Since Friday I have felt her move everyday. It is so exciting to me. During our ultrasound we could see her move and her beautiful face and beautiful feet and sweet hands and strong heart. I am so in love with the child growing within me.

By far, my favorite thing about the ultrasound was watching Mitchell watch his daughter on the screen. He has said from day one that this bump was a girl and he was right. His face was so bright and his smile so big with every little move that she made. At one point in time her little mouth moved and he laughed out loud. A love between a daddy and a daughter is so important; I love that Daddy and Addy are starting out on a great foot!

Please pray for Mitchell and me as we prepare to parent our daughter!

Gender Reveal Party!!!

This was the set up for the shin dig! Our guests either could wear a mustache if they thought our bump was a boy or a bow if they thought it was a girl. We also had tasty cupcakes.

Most people chose bows except for two people that had just come into the country and one or two others. I also wore a mustache. Mitch and I each wore our morning guesses!
I used my dad's old Charlie Brown book for the boy's side.
The cupcakes were very tasty! We had chocolate and vanilla. YUMMY!

The dogs came too! Theo was his usual hospitable self, while Wilson was a little bit excited to meet so many new people!

I had a lot of fun setting up for the party.
One of my cravings has been sushi, but I can't eat sushi sooooo I made some "sushi" from rice crispy treats, swedish fish, and fruit roll ups.
Well!!! I guess you are all dying to know what the ultra sound told us! From day one Mitchell has told me that he thinks it is a girl. We have always thought it would be so neat to have a little girl first. Lo and behold! It is a GIRL!!!

We are naming her Adelaide. This is our baby girl dancing around inside!

I wanted to make pink icing to put inside the cupcakes so I added some jam to regular icing and mixed it together! It looked really pink in the kitchen but in the overhead lighting during the party it looked more white than pink... o well! :)
After I filled the cupcakes with the "pink" icing I sealed them shut with a little icing then went back through and decorated them.

Wilson really liked the camera!

And now, since we know it is a girl, I have started crafting stuff for my daughter. Yesterday I mod-podged scrapbook paper into plastic drawers to make them super cute!

We are so smitten and feel so blessed. We are so excited to start planning for little Adelaide and dreaming about the future!

Horton Hears a Who

Well... I guess it should be titled "Mommy Feels a Baby."

On Tuesday morning I felt the tiniest little "poke" from within me. It didn't feel like a flutter or a jab or anything else that I have ever heard described. It really felt like someone was ever so gently poking me from the inside (about an inch below my belly button) with the softest of touches.

The more I thought about that little poke the more I though about "Horton Hears a Who." Towards the end, to save themselves from a bad kangaroo, the Whos have to make themselves known from their little speck. They chant "We are here. We are here. We are here." I could just imagine my strong, little baby chanting "I am here. I am here. I am here."

Of course, that brought on a whole slew of "Horton" quotes: "A person is a person no matter how small" and "An elephant is faithful 100%" (and yes, sadly, in this analogy I am the elephant)

I feel so blessed to be chosen to faithfully protect my little, "small person." I now, kind of, visualize my pregnancy as me as Horton, my baby as that sweet little yellow speck on the clover, and the journey to delivery as Horton's journey to find that speck a safe landing space! I just can hardly wait to see my little Who's face!

Maybe it is all kind of silly but, who doesn't love a good Seuss reference?

Week 17

I feel so energetic. This weekend Mitch and I went for a long hike through Schenely Park and took Theo. Theo absolutely loves the park because of all the wonderful things there are to smell. It is so fun to watch him stick his little nose into any crevice he can find in hopes of discovering a chipmunk or a squirrel. :)

I feel so incredibly blessed to be on this journey of bringing a child into the world. The thought that God has trusted me with a little life is so humbling.

Mitchell and I have been wrestling through all kinds of ideas about how we will parent. With truly healthy families becoming more and more rare we feel that it is our responsibility to raise our children in a loving environment in which they can thrive. One day our child will be grown and one day our child will have children of his or her own. I pray that they can look back on the love that was poured out on them and choose to pour it out onto their children just like Mitchell and I have chosen based on the love that was given to us by our families.

I love the book of 1 Thessalonians. The very first time I read the book I was probably 16. I was a new in my faith but God used those words to speak to me. Even though I was young I knew that those words were what I wanted to teach my children. The book is full of encouragement to love one another and to praise the Lord. It encourages faith to grow and it tells those to whom the letter is addressed that "Indeed, you are our glory and our joy" (2:20) (Bonus: It is only 5 chapters so you can read it in no time flat!)

If my children know to love God, to love others and that they are precious to me I think I will have done a pretty good job as a parent.

Pictures and Updates

Everything has been going well. My energy is coming back and my house is (slowly) getting back into order after the tiresome first trimester. We scheduled our anatomy ultrasound for October 21st. Only two and a half more weeks until we know if this bump is a he or a she!

If you are interested, there is a link to our baby registry (a work in progress) at the top of my page. Anything gender specific is just stuff that I like and wanted to remember where it was. Babies really don't need much so you will notice that we pretty much only registered for cloth diapers.

I am now wearing all of my lovely maternity clothes from my Mimi, Granny Kay, Meemaw and Mom. (I have a lot of ladies in my life that love me... these are just a few of them) The rubber band trick no longer works for my overstuffed jeans :)

And for your viewing pleasure.... because I am so incredibly good looking when morning sick and not wearing any makeup. Bahahhaha

Our first pregnancy craving run together. The results: Cookie dough ice cream, oreos, and sour gummy worms, which I ate all together.

My Granny Kay took me to look at baby things and we parked in the expectant mother's spot!

Theo wanted to take picture with the bump too. (Theo has since had a haircut and looks less scraggily) I think my belly button is going to pop out within a month or so. It is dangerously close!