Baby Shower!!!!!!!

Well, I had my long awaited baby shower this weekend and it was wonderful! I had so much fun and feel so blessed by all the darling little girl gifts we received. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend and thank you to my wonderful hostesses, my sister-in-law Hafida and family friend, Arlene. We are definitely down to the nitty gritty with the pregnancy and the time is ticking before Elizabeth Reese makes her debut! I have been  busy sorting, organizing, and washing all of the new gifts we got yesterday. Keith vacuumed the inside of the car out today and promised me he'll get the car seat bases in both vehicles soon. My mama bird nesting instinct is kicking in heavily right now and I am getting frantic about getting everything done! We are so excited and I am trying to relish every moment of these last few days and weeks, in case this really is our last pregnancy. Part of me is nervous about labor, but another part of me is so excited for it to get here so we can DO what we've been talking about for months now. It's hard to believe the next time I see my mom I will be in labor! :-)  I have been having alot of Braxton Hicks contractions lately (it was kinda freaking me out last night with the full moon, ha ha!). I have no idea if I'm dilated or effaced at all; my doctor's office doesn't start vaginal exams until 39 weeks, basically because it's non-indicative of when labor will actually begin. I'm fine so far, labor will happen when it wants to. I'd almost rather not know if I'm walking around and am 3 cm and I still haven't packed my bags, and I'd rather not know if I'm a zero and have been having tons of BH contractions.... I'd either be on pins and needles and (psychotic!) or really disappointed! Anyways, here are a few pictures from the shower. I will post a picture of Elizabeth's room when I get the curtains hung.

diaper cake that Hafida made for me!

cake made by me :)

me and belly, 37 weeks  

Hafida, Arlene, me      

baby girl update

Well, an update...... Keith and I were talking the other night and I admitted I wasn't totally in love with the name we had chosen for the baby (Alexandra Grace). Keith gave me the green light and said "It's not too late if you want to change it, we can!" So, after much deliberation, we went back to something that was on my original list of "favorites". We have chosen Elizabeth Reese (or Reece, not sure yet on the spelling....). It sounds similiar to Alexandra Grace, but we think it flows better. So, monogram away if you were considering doing that for a shower gift and hope to goodness this wiggleworm in my belly really is a girl! The nursery is getting a nice, thick coat of pink paint on it tomorrow....

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Yee-haw Cowboy!!!

Ah, well, another Christmas is behind us. This was, by far, my most favorite Christmas with Bradyn. He has been a riot this year with everything, from shopping to wrapping presents to making cookies to singing Christmas songs. Since he just had a birthday and got to open presents, he assumed it was everyone else's birthday since everyone had presents under the tree. He would sing (VERY loudly!), "Happy Birthday to you Momma! Happy Birthday to you Daddy!....and Nana, Papa, Nona, and everyone else he could think of. It was hilarious! Of course we laughed, but then we explained to him the reason we celebrate Christmas is actually because it's Jesus' birthday. So he changed his song to "Happy Birthday to you Jesus!" Bradyn's "Jesus" sometimes comes out as "Geez-us". I love my little boy so much. He's a stinker, but gosh..... who could NOT be happy with him around?!? :-)

Traditionally, we spent Christmas Eve with the Beckers, but it was quite different this year with Grandpa Becker being gone and Grandma not at the house anymore. We relocated the get-together to my mother and father-in-law's house. It was so wonderful to spend time with the family and everyone had a great time. It was different though (and that's coming from me, someone who's only been in the family for 4 Christmases, I can only imagine everyone else).... If there's one thing I've learned though, it's that things change. You have to pick up and keep going..... 

We came home and left Santa milk and SEVERAL cookies (of which this Santa couldn't eat because I was stuffed from the Becker Christmas dinner!). We got Bradyn to bed so Santa Claus could visit. We were thinking about getting Bradyn a Power Wheels jeep, but we changed our minds and got him a Radio Flyer Spring Horse with sound. It's awesome! When Bradyn goes to his Nana and Papa's house, he rides this little wooden rocking horse with a cowboy hat on and says, "Yee-haw cowboy!" and tips his hat! It's hilarious of course, so I thought he'd really enjoy this toy. Keith had to put the thing together and it made me very glad I had a husband, LOL! I try not to be a bimbo, and I make every attempt to be a self-sufficient woman (for the most part), in the event I were ever on my own, but some things, like putting together the darn spring horse, GEEZ!!!!!!!!! It took Keith an hour and a 1/2 to put it together; it would have taken me all night! He's my hero! We finished stuffing Bradyn's stocking and then stuffed each other's and got to bed... after "eating" the cookies and "drinking" the milk.

Bradyn woke up the next morning and came and crawled in bed with us. He laid there a few minutes and it was obvious he didn't remember what was going on. Keith and I asked him who came last night and then it dawned on him! We got the video camera out and caught the whole Santa thing on video. It's priceless! He ran down the hall at first and when he rounded the corner and saw the giant horse sitting in the living room, he just stopped! He slowly walked over and, ignoring the horse, started sifting through his stocking. He picked up a plastic candy cane filled with M&M's and goes, "Oh my gosh! Candy!" We were like, "Yeah! Look at the horse!!!!!" It took him a second to warm up to it, but he soon climbed on and went to town on it. He named his horse Woody.

Leaving Santa milk and cookies

Bradyn checking out the goods......

My little cowboy!

   

Bradyn's big gift from momma and daddy.

And last, but not least, a belly shot... taken on Christmas day.

Almost 35 weeks. Of course Bradyn had to pose with me!

The day after Christmas my mother, Granddad, Jenna, Zach, and Zach's girlfriend Katie came to our house for a few days.  It was neat.... Christmas was technically over, but it wasn't! We all had a wonderful time.  We weren't supposed to open gifts with David and Hafida until Sunday or Monday, but they had a change of plans so we did it Saturday afternoon. Mom and Granddad went home but Jenna, Zach, and Katie were still visiting.  The kids went to the mall while we opened our presents because Zach wanted to look for a pair of jeans. You could not have paid me to go to the mall the Saturday after Christmas!!! Since plans changed and we were going to be free Sunday afternoon, Keith and I decided it would be a good day to go take a tour of the hospital I will be delivering at. Nana watched Bradyn for us and we went. North Austin just opened a new delivery ward and it was very nice! The rooms are HUGE and still sparkling! I was pretty impressed. The postpartum room was much smaller (they have plans for a new postpartum wing, but it's not done yet). It was older, much smaller, and it had a tiny, puny little loveseat in it, I guess for Keith. I am fine with old and small, but was quite disappointed in the accommodations made (or rather, NOT made) for my coach. Oh well, we'll get through it somehow. I suppose if one is tired enough, it is possible to sleep anywhere.  :-0

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!! 

Singing in Labor

Just had to share this and you'll see why....... I don't expect that I'll be this calm during active labor and I sure as heck won't be singing (grunting and moaning maybe.....), but WOW! It's a beautiful song (Psalm 23 by Michael Olson) and the woman singing is amazing.

Our Bradley childbirth classes are officially over! At the end of our last class the other night, I kind of felt like a little baby bird leaving the nest. Our instructor taught us pretty much everything she could, now it's up to Keith and me to go out and have this baby! I'm so glad the holidays are here to keep me busy. I've found myself getting very anxious and ready for January to get here! I'm so ready to meet my baby girl.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday. Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!

Full of Baby!

Phew! The picture is from Saturday, December 13th, 33 weeks pregnant. I'm feeling decently good but....(I've gotta gripe a little bit, c'mon!) It is becoming increasingly more difficult to take a deep breath, especially if I am sitting down. I also cannot eat as much as I used to without being stuffed as a tick for several hours. I'm going to try not to complain too much these last few weeks, but wah!!! Sometimes this little girl pokes and kicks me so hard I think her foot may pop out or she might break my ribs! This pregnancy has been so much different than when I was pregnant with Bradyn; he never moved this much! This uncomfortable, full of baby feeling is quite familiar though. Well, one thing I'm NOT going to complain about is I am still sleeping good. Sometimes my hips and back hurt in the morning, but I still sleep like a rock for the most part. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad.... it might be a rude awakening in a few short weeks when baby girl gets here and I'm having to get up 3-4 times per night!!! I can tell I have been having a little bit more trouble the more weeks preggo I get. Last night I think my hands were swelling (or fell asleep) and then I got calf cramps. My left hip was very sore. I got my nap in today though, so I'm good. :)

Well, when we got up this morning we had every intention of going to church, but I felt rough and Bradyn was still asleep when we should have been getting ready. We wussed out, and come to find out, that was a good thing. Bradyn got up and his eye had some little yellow eye boogers on it. I wasn't too worried because it's done that before, and we just attributed today to allergies. I cleaned the crusties off but noticed his eye was still pretty red. I gave him a Zyrtec thinking that should help him. I then proceeded to make homemade cinnamon rolls (YUM!!! very time consuming but well worth the wait!). Bradyn was playing and we weren't paying too much attention to his eye. Keith and Bradyn were supposed to go Christmas shopping for me today and Keith was about to get him ready when we noticed his eye was gooping up again and was redder than it had been that morning. It's gotten worse as the day has gone on. Obviously it's some type of pink eye, so we're off to the doctor again tomorrow. Sheesh! We can't catch a break money wise. It's always something!

I'm sure I have other things to write about, but I'm tired and it would probably be wise to go to bed. Goodnight!

Sorry it's been a while!!!

I've been slacking with my blog, I admit. We have been so busy though; the days seem to go so fast that I can't keep up sometimes! First let me post a picture of Bradyn from Halloween since I never put one up:

He was Mr. Incredible this year and he had the BEST time helping me carve our pumpkin and trick-or-treating. He was hilarious; he would go up to people, hold out his container, and say, "I need candy!" Ha ha ha ha. He said that about 1/2 the time and "trick-or treat" the rest, but my sweet boy always said "thank-you".... such good manners! It was fun to watch him this year!

We whirled into November and through Thanksgiving and headed right into Bradyn's birthday party, which we had on Saturday, November 29th. Thank you to all who were able to join us in celebrating Bradyn's 3rd birthday.

You have no idea how happy you made Bradyn, or how much it meant to me to be able to do this this year, especially with the events surrounding this time last year. Preparing for Thanksgiving and the party was bittersweet; Thanksgiving and the Friday after being the last time I saw my dad, and December 1st and 2nd being when everything happened in the midst of what should have been a happy time. I told someone the other day it's weird how one of the happiest days of my life (the birth of my first child) can also be one of the worst days of my life (finding out about my dad). It was definitely a good decision to have the party when we did; I'm thankful I was kept busy so I didn't have so much time to think about everything. My brother and sister stayed with us a few days after the party, Zach went home to Brownwood, and then Bradyn and I went home to Kyle with Jenna to stay a couple of days. The dreaded anticipation of the one year mark was much worse than the actual day itself, thank goodness, but there were times though that I would stop what I was doing and think, this is the day it happened, this is the day we found out, visitation in Brownwood, visitation in Tahoka, day of the funeral, day of the burial, etc. This has for sure been the hardest, most difficult year of my life. I've been tested in so many ways, with my faith, patience, forgiveness, love, understanding, and guilt, on a level I could never explain to anyone; sometimes I don't understand it myself. This year I have truly had to take it one day at a time. While there are plenty of good days, some are simply overwhelming....

Well, on to happier things..... Bradyn's having a wonderful time with the holidays this year! He loves our Christmas tree, Christmas lights on the houses when it gets dark, Christmas movies, and going shopping and keeping surprises from daddy. Surprisingly, he's not too concerned with the presents under the tree. I know he can't wait to make Christmas cookies with momma!

As for me and this baby girl.... she's definitely grown since I wrote last! There's not much left to this pregnancy except her putting on a couple more inches, many more pounds, and me getting more uncomfortable! I'm having doctor appointments every two weeks now and when I went in last Friday my OB confirmed the baby was head down. There's a chance up until 35-36 weeks she could still flip, but it's unlikely since she's already in a good position. I could not ask for a healthier pregnancy (eh, with the exception of my unsightly varicose veins)... my blood pressure is normal, I have not been swelling, every test I've had has come back normal, weight gain is currently at 21 pounds, and I'm (as of now) still sleeping good at night. I have been very tired lately, and if I don't get my nap during the day, it's all I can do to keep my eyes peeled open past 9pm. My 32 week picture is below:

 

Keith and I only have one more childbirth class to attend and we're done! It's been over the course of 2 1/2 months (10 weeks), and we feel very confident about the upcoming birth. My wonderful husband has far exceeded my expectations in preparing for January 31st (or before, hopefully not after!). Though it is going to be tough for him to see me in pain, I know he's going to know what to do and he's going to be there for me every step of the way. We also met with our doula last Saturday, and kinda reiterated some of the things we've learned in our Bradley classes... good thing, it never hurts to hear it more than once! We also talked about being aware of the fact that sometimes a natural labor and delivery isn't possible for whatever reason and just to be well informed and have answers to all the what-ifs that may pop up.

Keith was in Boston last week. He has one more trip scheduled for this year and Bradyn and I get to go with him! We're only going to Denton, but we're still excited! We leave tomorrow and will be back Friday evening. I'm not exactly sure what Bradyn and I will do all day while Keith is training, but it will probably entail going to a mall and getting some more shopping done!

Well, Bradyn has his first ever school program tonight at Hutto Baptist Church! He and his class are going to be singing 3 Christmas songs on stage. I need to go iron the shirt he is going to wear tonight, so until next time......... ! I'll try to keep up with this better than I have been.  :)

Happy Fall!

Well, it's been about a month since I've been on here. The last few weeks have flown, just like this entire year has! We have been doing good. Bradyn's having tons of fun at school and has been enjoying the fall weather. He is looking forward to all the holidays and his birthday coming up. We had to go to the doctor last Friday because he woke up screaming that his ear hurt, and  just as I suspected, he was diagnosed with an ear infection. He's been on amoxicillin the past few days and he's feeling much better. Bradyn is very excited about going trick-or-treating this Friday; he is going to be Mr. Incredible! Keith has been busy with work (and traveling a little more than I like him to, ha ha), and has even gotten in some rounds of golf here and there. Keith's been having problems with his hands, fingers, and wrists since July and has been to several doctors trying to figure out what's going on. He's been told he has everything from aspartame poisoning to stress to maybe it's related to his heart condition, blah blah blah. He finally went to see a specialist and he definitely has tendonitis and possibly carpal tunnel syndrome or rheumatoid arthritis--they're not sure yet and he is supposed to go back for a nerve test. Wish him luck, from what we've heard, that is not a fun procedure to have done! As for me, I'm still pregnant! I am doing and feeling good, currently 26+ weeks along. I recently changed care providers as I felt my previous OB/GYN did not fully support my decision or desire to have a natural childbirth. We looked into the birthing center here in Austin and loved it, but it was out of network for our insurance and would have cost us way too much money this late in the game. My doula recommended a doctor to me who is very PRO natural birth and she and the hospital were in our network, so it all kinda seemed to work out. I am happy with our decision; the new OB and her policies sound much more in line with what I am looking for. Keith and I are also taking Bradley childbirth classes on Sunday nights and have been having a great time so far and we're learning alot. Even though we're in "class" we have fun and it's nice to be able to spend that time with him.

In other news, we recently had to bid farewell to our lab Max. He is a 90 pound puppy and was too much for us to handle. Keith is gone about every other week  and I cannot walk the dog and Bradyn at the same time, much less when I'm this pregnant. Keith has been having swelling and numbness in his hands for the past 3 1/2 months and has a hard time walking him too. It became pretty apparent that we were not the best owners for Max and we had to make the decision to give him up. It was difficult, but it's best for us and him. We know he went to a good home though; it's one of my sister in law's best friends and her husband, and Keith and I know them. They already have a 6 yr old lab so now Max has another dog to play with. We know he'll be very well taken care of. Next time we get a dog, we'll stay in the 5-20 lb range!!!

I'm going to post a few photos and then I'm off to go get Bradyn from school! Happy Halloween everyone!

 

Bradyn picking out pumpkins at the Pumpkin Patch.

Bradyn in his Halloween shirt my mom got him.

24 week belly shot

 

26 week belly shot

 

My little pumpkin sitting with our giant pumpkin!