Happy Friday ~ looking forward to the weekend...

Time to relax, to be together, to laugh, to be still, to enjoy the day - counting and soaking up our many blessings.

I told Seth the other day that if our house had a theme song, "Homebird" would be it. Thought I'd chronicle what I mean in pictures.

Looking forward to time spent w.my "homebirds" - our lil' "nest" will be growing soon enough :)

Happy weekend ~ Love, us

Dear Ella ~ 36 weeks...

Hey there sweet girl :)

I think we're finally getting down to the wire - your presence here in my belly is becoming "larger than life" and I'm getting so anxious to meet you. Anxious, excited, impatient - the list kinda goes on & on!

We went to the Dr. yesterday - they moved that 38 week ultrasound to 36 weeks - which was of course fine w.me! I must say there were some nerves going into this appt. We were told last Monday that you didn't seem to be head down, which was concerning. Also, your aunt Haley (God bless her!) has made me a lil' nervous w.her labor & delivery stories of lil' girls popping out as lil' boys, much to expectant Mommy's & Daddy's surprise. At any rate, definitely looking for some peace of mind in yesterday's appt. And even though I should have been praying/trusting more than worrying, so glad for God's faithfulness - we were nothing short of blessed in that appt.

While waiting, your Deddy was telling me about an engineering "thingy" he was at yesterday - of course, the mundane nature of that was plenty distracting - haha. I've concluded his nerves present themselves in facts and details - he might not agree, but that's my conclusion nonetheless. After his run down, I couldn't hold my bladder any longer and had to go back before we were ever called. I saw the ultrasound tech coming around the other side as I was making my way back to the waiting area - we were almost obnoxious and about jumped up to meet her at the door!

She took us back, gooped me up - it was a lot of goop (my tummy's SO BIG) and exploring she went. It's funny now thinking back, you looked like a big globby mess - we couldn't tell what anything was. It was like one of those pictures that if you stare at it long enough, you eventually see something. When you finally started to come into "focus", it was nothing short of amazing! From top to bottom - you were so complete...your hands, your feet & most of all - that face. Nothing short of beautiful - your lil' mouth, your lil' nose - your Deddy and I both were in awe. And oh, your hair - she said that's what we were looking at floating on that head of yours :). You're gonna have some I do believe!

At the beginning of the ultrasound, she asked if we had found out the sex at that earlier appt. I said yes, but she was welcome to confirm it again (praying silently - please be a girl, please be a girl!!!). She said sure as the world & pointed out your girly parts :) Oh, and she confirmed you were head down right out of the gate - deep sighs and hand squeezes! She measured you and said you were probably weighing about 6 lb 10 oz at this point which puts you in the 53rd percentile. She also moved your estimated due date from the 16th to the 13th.

We then met w.the doctor. She was encouraged/optimistic about everything, as were we. My blood pressure was good, still only slightly elevated. She said if I wanted to schedule a C-Section, it would be totally justified as you would likely be a good size girl, but maybe/probably not as big as John. She talked some about the shoulder dystocia and attributed that largely to John's size - we'd never really heard that perspective before, so that was interesting. She said given the "trauma" that was for me, there was justification if I didn't want to risk that again w.a natural delivery. I told her that given everything we knew at this point I was unequivocally committed to letting this ride out as much as possible - letting nature take it's course was the path I want to be on! John's delivery was rough I guess, BUT being the only one I've ever known, it was manageable. I also have great confidence and assurance in both the hospital staff as well as the OB's - I trust their guidance and decision-making. I also know God's not going to give me more than I can physically handle...I have to believe that!

So definitely feeling great peace after that appt. - excitement actually :) Has put a lil' extra hitch in my waddly giddy-up for sure. Even after a big weekend, I'm feeling pretty good this week. I have good days & not so good days, but all in all, I've felt really good this pregnancy. Very thankful for that!

I've got our hospital bags packed and ready to grab. Your aunt Shannon found your going home outfit and sent it to us. It's the same outfit I wore home and your cousin Taylar wore it home from the hospital too. I couldn't imagine bringing you home in anything else. It's packed w.some other lil' comforts that I wanted to make sure you had right away. Not that you'll notice any of it, but you have a lil' NC State puppy from John, your lil' bunny lovey from me and plenty of socks! Socks were a big thing w.John - there never seemed to be enough of them, so compulsively I've packed several pairs! I also put in some nail clippers so that you won't scratch your face the way John did - he looked like a cat got a hold of him those 1st couple of days :) I've packed your stuff in your diaper bag that Nana made - it's pretty precious & certainly one of a kind.

I think on the agenda next is getting some "gear" ready for you. This includes pulling out the car seat, the pack-n-play and setting up the bassinet. I guess that will mark the official spill-over of all things baby back into the house. For now, it's all been neatly contained there in your lil' room. Speaking of that lil' room - I often find myself in there taking it all in. I try & imagine you filling out those lil' gowns. I've lost count of how many times I've unfolded things just to re-fold them - an excuse to dream, I guess :)

John's taken to stopping in there himself from time to time. He most likes your socks, although he insists on opening each drawer much to my "I don't want to re-fold EVERYTHING" nervousness! But he usually sticks to the socks. He'll pick out a pair, pull them apart & proceed to sit on the floor and try and put them on. "Not fit?!" is usually his conclusion - it's become quite the lil' ritual when he finds a light welcoming him into your room.

I'll go ahead & warn you that your rocker may continue to be a shared seat. I was instructed to "sit there Mommy" the other night to help John read his "All the Ways I Love You" book from Nana. It's really special b/c she's actually "reading" the book - ingenious idea from Hallmark! I think John thinks this is the only suitable place in which to read this book. At any rate, it was quite a "full" moment sitting there listening to her reading, John plopped on my ever-so-shrinking lap and you just a wiggling around. Heart-filling to say the least.

I guess that's it for now. Just full of anticipation for you. Getting to see you yesterday was so surreal - hard to not just want you here to hold & love. But, as I've said before - semi selfishly glad to have you to myself for a lil' while longer. Being able to reach down and know that's you squirming around - and you do a lot of squirming, is nothing short of amazing. Keep growing sweet girl - we're anxiously awaiting you. The joy found in the promise of you will sustain us till we're able to hold you close...

All my love ~ mama

Christ says, "Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete." John 16:24

Happy 4th Anniversary Darlin'...

Make sure & pause the music player!