Only 5 days to go...Yikes! ;)

So wow, we are definitely in countdown stage now.

Only 5 days left, I cannot believe it!

We are both so excited and anxious by turns, and at the moment scrambling to get all the last minute things done. I am still needing to pack our bags for the hospital, but at least I have it mostly done. It is my top task for today. Just finishing up some laundry so I can have the things I want all ready to go. We need to install the car seat base this weekend and have it inspected so thats taken care of. Then general cleaning before the family arrives. Hopefully I can get a few small things done today without overdoing it. ;) wish me luck on that one!

We had a visit to the doctor yesterday and found that we are now 2 1/2 centimeters dilated from not even 1 last week, which is super exciting, and means that we do not need to go into the hospital the night before our inducement to get things started! Yeah! Of course the exam left me more than a little sore and cramped all day yesterday, but seems to have subsided mostly today.

I also go to get a mani/pedi yesterday and my brows done, so I feel ready to face just about anything now :D It was very relaxing and helped to rejuvenate me a bit.

Jamie has been super busy painting the house and changing out the batteries in the smoke detectors. The paint looks great! We chose a bright marigold for the kitchen and have started off by doing 2 accent walls for now to brighten things up. We will eventually do the rest, but for now it looks great!! He also did the 2 remaining walls in the master bedroom, and it looks so warm and cozy. He has one more coat to do on those two walls before they are done, but will do those this weekend while Im at the final baby shower. He and dad even moved our thermostat panel upstairs last weekend so that the room temperatures weren't so drastically off base. It has been a blessing this week to not be freezing or melting depending on the time of day!

All in all, things are coming together nicely. We are as prepared as we can be for our new addition. So here's hoping for a smooth delivery and a healthy baby!! We will do our very best to notify everyone once the baby arrives, and post when things get settled a bit. All our love to you all. Speak to you soon.

Love, Ally and Baby

The Date is set... Hopefully

Good morning all, Happy Sunday.

We have requested our date for inducing for Wednesday January 27th. We still need to get a confirmation from the hospital that there is space available, but are very hopeful that it will be a go. Keep your fingers crossed!! We are so very excited and cant wait to meet our newest addition.

The visits at the doctor have been going well. Im not a huge fan of the internals as there has not been much activity yet and so are quite painful. The ultrasounds however are wonderful!! Getting to see baby and see the heart beating and hands or feet moving around is so fantastic!! And baby has hair!! yeah! This coming Thursday we will be measuring baby's size for an estimated weight for birth the following week. I cant wait! So far the size does not appear to be too large so that is a HUGE relief!!

The baby has dropped and I think this last week has by far been the most uncomfortable, not bad, just really different from everything so far. Lots of pressure on my hip bones when I sleep, lots of pressure on my pelvic bones when I stand or sit, and of course as baby has quickly discovered, lots of room to stretch those little feet right up into the side of my ribs!! sounds like fun ;) Allergies here in Texas have also been miserable this week so that has not helped the breathing thing, and makes me even more tired than usual. But, no complaints really, every movement from baby is still so darn thrilling that it just doesnt matter about the rest.

We are in major nesting mode, both mommy and daddy to be, picking out paint for several spaces in the house, hanging shelves, organizing the laundry room for a nifty new drying rack, making curtains, prepping all baby things, hanging pictures, etc. It is great to get a lot done, but as Im carrying an extra load, it takes much longer and much more energy than usual, so I tire much faster. Jamie is doing most all the work really, I just get to pick and choose and supervise... ok seriously not complaining there, excellent job for me :)

I am getting in a bit of pampering time though too, so that is great! I got my hair done on Friday, no more roots, yeah! I also plan to get a mani/pedi next Thursday afternoon so I'll be all set and prettied up for the big day. Ok so I totally know there will be no looking pretty during labor, but at least I will know I have cute toes for after :D

Other than that, just making lots of freezable dishes so I dont have to cook too much at first, getting all the plans sorted out with visitors and getting soo anxious and excited! I cant wait to see all our visitors soon, and hope you are all excited as the big day gets closer!!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Much love,

Ally and Baby

Happy New Year!!

Hi and a very Happy New Year to all!

We have been busy nesting these past few weeks and feel like every day has just flown by. We are trying to get the last minute things done before baby arrives and finding that it is taking longer than planned. I am getting much more tired, much faster than I am used to and thusly am over doing it some days... big surprise for me ;)

Well at least we are getting there. The nursery is pretty much ready, we are still in need of some of the basics; sheets, bathing products and diapers, but have all the big rocks taken care of so we feel pretty good about it. The ladies in my office are throwing me another shower and so we dont want to buy too much more before then. I also took some time this last weekend to wash everything for baby so that is done too, and it is all hung or folded in the nursery ready to snuggle over our little one :D We are so thrilled and can hardly wait for the arrival!!

Only 4 weeks to go!! the countdown is really on now, and of course I could pop at any time so its all a guessing game, though I have been given strict instructions to keep my legs crossed until Grandma arrives, so here's hoping!! We have our big 36 week visit on Friday. Hopefully an update will be forthcoming, or at the least another ultrasound picture.

In other news, I picked up some bins at Ikea yesterday and organized our pantry a little bit better. Now I just need to get some better snacks! I still need to find some inexpensive risers for my spices, and some cute labels and I think we will be well on the way to a quazied organized pantry ;)

We also had some preggy pictures taken yesterday and they turned out so cute!! We need to find a color scanner so we can make copies and send them out to everyone. We are trying to get a sunny day around here so we can take some ourselves then we will be able to share a little better. Will keep you posted.

Well have a great first week of the new year and I will post again after the visit on Friday.
Much love,
Ally and Baby

Merry Christmas to all!

Hi Y'all,

Hope you had a very Merry Christmas and that you are looking forward to a great new year!

We had a very relaxing 4 days off together over Christmas and it was great to not have much planned out. We enjoyed a deep fried turkey for the first time with our neighbors, Ben and Jess and their family. So moist and so quick!!! Spent Boxing Day with the Lovell family, watched movies and just vegged out!!

Jamie and I decided on a family gift this year instead of lots of things for one another, so we got ourselves the Wii and Wii Fit and then a Digital SLR for when the baby comes. We have been enjoying both so much, we use them every chance we get! The camera takes amazing pictures and it is so nice to be able to be sure the shot we got was great each time instead of developing film and ending up with only a hand full of good pictures.

We also had a visit to the doctor last week for another ultrasound and exam. Things are looking really great!! Baby is 5 lbs and growing, everything looked healthy, got a great picture of the footsies and saw the heart beating too! We are at 35 weeks this week and planning a big doc appointment next week. We will do several exams and try to determine my progress. More pictures and updates to come.

Momma update:

Still super itchy this week, my belly has been a bit less terrible, but my arms and legs are taking their toll on me. many creams and body butters later, still trying to ease the itch!! Will be very happy when that dies down a bit!

Baby is kicking so much it is crazy!! I have yet to have to worry about my daily kick count as I get so many, so quickly, I loose count. I absolutely love it though, even the slightly uncomfortable ones. It keeps me assured that baby is doing well and growing strong. yeah, no doubts about the strong part ;) Baby definitely takes after daddy...stays up late, sleeps in late and is constantly on the move! Cant wait to see if daddy can keep up with the baby! hah!

Getting tired more easily now and finding that I am tired longer in the morning and sooner on an evening. Still a good amount of energy in the middle of the day though so I try to get my important things done then.

Quiet at work this week, it is giving me an opportunity to get a few things done. I am trying to catch up from the last two weeks of crazy so it helps.

Well, need to get dinner finished so gotta run. Will update again soon. Have a great night.

Much love,

Ally and Baby

Ok, so slacking on the blog seems to be a theme of late

Hi again, its been a while.

Things have understandably been crazy! It is the holiday season after all!

Our visit to California was great! Got to spend time with the family. Had a super yummy Thanksgiving dinner. Got to feed/walk moms horses and see the barn and all the barn friends. Had a wonderful baby shower and saw lots of family I haven't seen in years!! Great fun!

Got Home and had a visit with Auntie Lynn. SO great to see her. We had a super fun shopping day and lunch, just the girls. Had a 2nd wonderful baby shower with all our friends here in TX. Went to see the playoff game for UT at Pluckers!! Go Horns... way to give us all heart attacks!

Busy busy busy!

This week and last at work I have been tying up loose ends for the holidays - party plans, cards for our customers, gifts for our customers, decorating the lobby, and training my future coverage. No breaks for the weary, but it is fun!

We had another two visits with the doctors the last two weeks and things are looking great for the baby. Baby weighs around 4 lbs, 2 oz currently and is looking very healthy. we have been having LOTS of kicks and rolls and an occasional stretched foot or hand that makes my belly misshaped. There have also been some strange looking/feeling rolls across the tummy, too weird! Momma has unfortunately developed a terribly itchiness on my lower belly and just above my belly button. I have lots of medicated creams and body butters to sooth the pain and itching, so we are looking forward to that part calming down a bit. Otherwise things are great. I feel really good. I am getting tired more easily, and notice that things take much longer to accomplish, such as the decorations at work. what would normally have been a few hours, took the whole day and left me very tired at the end, but the result was so pretty, I cant really complain. And of course, my very favorite thing about being preggy so far are the baby kicks! What an amazing feeling, knowing that this little person is in there practicing all the moves they will need when they are born. Reacting to my touch and reminding me that things are going well. This is one very active baby! Not that I am the least bit surprised, considering how daddy is and can never keep still. Baby even has daddy's love of sleeping in late in the morning and staying up late! Lots to look forward to for a girl who's bedtime is never much later than 10! Hah!!

The nursery is full to bursting at the moment from all the fabulous gifties from the baby showers and all that packaging! Thank you to everyone for all their generosity! We are just overwhelmed to be surrounded by such wonderfully loving family and friends!

I really should head in there now and see what progress I can make before Jamie gets home from work. Until next time, which I desperately hope is not so long, have a wonderful weekend!

Much love,

Ally and Baby

Updates... sorry its been a while

Hi all,
Sorry its been so long since i posted, the past few weeks have been a total blurr!!
Here are some of the latest details for you:

Most recent baby doc visit, last Friday, 29 1/2 weeks. baby is doing great, strong heartbeat and growing at a good pace. We are now at week 30... 10 weeks and counting!! YEAH!

We have started and are almost done with our birthing classes, just one left. The classes are at the hospital so we are getting familiar with the location and the people, our instructor is one of the labor and delivery nurses which is kind of neat. The first class focused on breathing techniques and relaxation tools. It was a good class and the information seems to be helpful and aeasy to use... we'll see how much I remember when the active labor phase starts. Thats Jamie's job, to remember my breathing techniques ;)

The next class we had to watch aweful live birth videos, ughh! I am of a mind that I do not need to see what is going on down there thank you very much. I will have a chest to belly and knees view and not a bit more! It was all helpful, but TMI!

The most recent class was all about the types of available medications for the birth, and a tour of the Birthing wing. It is so beautiful in the delivery room, like a really nice hotel! Cherry wood built in cabinets, a full size couch that chages into a sleeper, in room baby care unit wth cherry wood drawers and a radient warmer a glider shower and bath. Really, really nice! We are looking forward to that part. Of course the post partem rooms are not as nice, but they still have temper pedic matresses, gliders, a full shower and vanity area. Not half bad :D

Next weeks class is all about caring for baby. Diapering, health, bathing, etc. I am most looking forward to that class. It should be a fun one! Will let you know how it goes!

Our other baby, Dodge has been to his first puppy training class last week also. He was very well behaved and we brought home a few techniques to try with him from week to week. He goes again tonight, then over to Auntie Angela's for his visit while we are in California for the holiday week. We will miss him so much, it is the first time he's been away from us since we brought him home!

I have been very busy at work planning the Holiday Party and getting everything ready for when I go on leave. The party is shaping up really nicely, and the customer gifts are chosen, the cards are here and awaiting shipping. Just a few things left to do upon my return next week.

Jamie has also been very busy at work. He had a branch meeting, a manager meeting and a presentation to do all last week. We have both been running around like crazy people!

We had our good friends over for dinner this last weekend for a pre- thanksgiving dinner. It was great! Great food, great friends and lots of laughs! I did a roast pork loin, and apple pie, and everyone brought sides, it worked out great! I of course forgot to take any pictures which I am totally bummed about, but we still had a great time!

We are off to California tomorrow to visit the family! Should be a great time! Will write again when I can. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Much love,
Alicia and Baby

Most recent Doc visits

Good Morning all!

We had our 27 week visit yesterday and baby is doing great!

2 lbs, 10 oz. and moving right along!

Here is the most recent photo. It is of the front of the face with the eyes closed and mouth is a bit open, I think end of yawn ;)

We have been having lots of big soccer kicks this week and are getting on a more regular schedule, though the time change has thrown us off quite a bit. Other than that my belly is growning a little bit every day, but fortunately not too quick!

We also had our first lamaze class last night. Learned a little about the breathing techniques, the instruction was a bit all over the place though so it was hard to really focus on the task at hand. Lots of counting tho! We learned a few stretches and relaxation techniques too, so it was interesting. Next week are the dreaded videos!!! Not sure how much Im looking forward to that part, but maybe we will learn something so keeping an open mind.
Jamie has the weekend off so we get to spend it together and Im so thrilled! It has been a while since we got two days in a row together.
Margaret, a very dear friend of ours from California, is in town through tomorrow so we are going to meet her for brunch at ZTejas! I cant wait, I have not seen her since we moved to Texas and miss her terribly! It will be so great to catch up. We used to dance together at West Valley and now im itching to get out my tap shoes ;) I wonder if baby would like that... probably not, might be too loud!!
Hopefully the rest of the weekend will be nice and relaxing. Maybe we'll take Dodge to the creek again. He just goes crazy to chase sticks in the water! Im sure that would be a blast as the weather is supposed to be super nice tomorrow afternoon, as it has been all week, but now we wont be stuck in the office.
Well more soon. Have a great day and a wonderful weekend if I dont post before then.
Much love,
Ally and Baby