Baby Grace's First Gambling Experience

Blake's office has always been known to have fun, and this is just one example. I'm guessing that Blake didn't pass along the message that at her 37 week appt, she already weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. Several people are already out of the game!!! What's your guess?

37 Weeks & Nursery Pics!

Today we are full term! Yay! We had an ultrasound this morning before our regular appt to check on Grace's position, and I'm happy to report that she's head down! Not sure if it's due to the "breech dance" my mom taught me or if she was headed that way on her own, but it doesn't matter to me how she got there, as long as she's there!

After taking her measurements, they estimate she weighs 7 lbs 1 oz right now, +/- 7 oz. With three weeks to go and no progress on my end, I'm getting a little nervous about what that final weight may be, but happy that she seems to be doing so well!

My mom came in town this past weekend to help me get everything ready to go, and Blake got home from his travels yesterday and FINALLY got to see her room. When I laid down on the couch and Blake came over to say hello to Grace, she started squirming like crazy! I think she missed hearing from her daddy just as much as I did!

Just about everything is done, except that we're waiting to get her rocking chair back from my PawPaw and the new cushions for it are being made and should be ready next week as well. I'll be sure to update the pictures as we get more stuff in, but everything is just about ready; all we need now is that baby!
The butterfly mobile hanging on the window will be hung from the ceiling, and the rocking chair will go where the stroller/swing are currently sitting.

Yes, there will be another drawer there, but I sent it with the chair PawPaw refinished for us so that he could match the stain.

We are so grateful for our little miracle from God, and can't wait to meet her!

Thanks to James and Lisa Buchanan for this oh-so-cute painted canvas for Grace's room! It fit perfectly in it's spot!

36 week appointment

Today was our 36 week appointment, and it appears that Grace is extremely comfortable hanging out in my belly and is not preparing to make her way into the world just yet. We've got an ultrasound scheduled for next Friday (when Grace's daddy will be home from the levees FOR GOOD) to determine her position and see what our next steps are.

Now, I'd be proud for her to inherit some of my traits, but stubbornness is NOT one of them. Come on, Gracie! Help us out here! We want to meet you!

Grace's Rocking Chair

We received this glider from my dad's aunt "Aunt Marcy" who passed away earlier this year. She had it in her home, and it was a light brown color. My mom's dad, my PawPaw Pete, who is a woodworker and an excellent craftsman, sanded it down and refinished it to match the color of the wood in her nursery. It was one of the hardest jobs he'd ever done, and was such a labor of love! We're getting new cushions made that match the nursery, and I love that it's got a family history and a story that we'll get to tell Grace one day, so she'll always know how much her whole family loves her and that she's got a great family legacy!

The letters were hung in the nursery with care...

We spent the majority of this past weekend getting the nursery ready to go. I'm waiting for my bedding to come in to post pics of the entire nursery, but here's a sneak peek with the letters up on the wall! The bedding is supposed to 2-day ship by the end of the month, which is Saturday, so it should be here early next week at the lastest.

Cute Alert!!!

So my bedding has not yet come in, but this is the next best thing! Our good friends Ben, Carmen, and Allie Ross just gave us these wall letters to go above Grace's crib, which match her bedding. Are these not the cutest things you've ever seen? I can't wait to get them up on the wall! We provided fabric swatches of Grace's bedding (see in a much earlier post), and the lady that made these actually hand paints them to match anything. They are basically an EXACT replica of the fabric, so much so that it looks like she just stretched the fabric over the letters.

Many thanks to the Ross family!!!

33 Week Appointment Update and Picture

So I won't technically be 33 weeks until tomorrow, but you get my update today because I have time! We had an appointment today, and Dr. Cheree said that I'm the perfect patient (in terms of stats)! Good blood work, blood pressure, weight gain, etc. She also said I'm excused from walking the lakes because it's getting too hot! We'll see about that; I try to go early while it's still cool, but it's been getting tough lately. Not because it's hot, but because I need a bathroom break before I can make it two miles! So maybe a condensed route that stays closer to the house is in order. Below is a picture of me this afternoon. Wow, where did that belly come from?!?! I can tell she's packing on the pounds these days, because I'm growing outward at a much faster rate than ever!
At our last ultrasound, Grace was head up, feet down, and completely not prepared to make an entrance to this world. While we don't want her to come early either, we WOULD like for her to make her way into a head down position sooner rather than later. Today I asked Dr. Cheree to make an educated guess, and she thinks she might have turned. The sharp blows to my ribs at night suggest to me that might be feet, so I'm hoping she's right!

I'm happy to have Blake home for a full week, and hopefully by next weekend we'll have pictures posted of the nursery for you. The only thing we're missing is the bedding, and my grandfather is refinishing a rocker/glider for us, so that won't be in the pictures either. The lady who is making our bedding lost her mother unexpectedly, so all of her orders have been pushed back a few weeks.

I think my next update will probably be in two weeks, when I'll post pics of the two baby showers I'm having. Time to go have dinner with our friend Carmen and her baby Allie (Grace's future friend). Mmmm, barbequed shrimp pizza!

Back up 4 weeks to Minden Baby Shower

Back up a month to June 5th, and this was my first baby shower! My camera wasn't working, so my mom took all of the pictures, and we weren't very talented at transferring the pictures from Longview to Baton Rouge. Now, almost a month later, I'm ready to share them with you!

My sweet aunts threw me a baby shower during the Annual Wren Family Reunion in Minden, Louisiana. All the girls had a great time while the boys rode four-wheelers, shot guns, and did other manly things!
Below is Mama Gay (my dad's mom), me (and Gracie), Mimi (my mom's mom), and my mom! There probably aren't too many times when all "5" of us will ever be together again, so this was a very special time for us. Check out my awesome diaper cake and the "stroller" cake that Aunt Kathy's sister made for the shower. It was adorable, and delicious!

Below is me with my hostesses, Jill, Aunt Ellen, (me), Aunt Kathy, and Aunt Liz. I learned the ropes of child care from these women, as my Aunt Kathy had twin girls, Morgan and McKenzie, when I was 10, and I most certainly thought they were my little children! Aunt Liz had Samantha soon after, and we had a blast keeping her while my aunt and uncle went on vacation.

This picture cracks me up! It is the Boppy newborn lounger, which my sister Lauren gave to me, but in the picture it looks like there's a real baby sitting in it!

These are the above referenced Morgan and McKenzie, of whom I have very fond childhood memories. From the day they were born, my sister Lauren and I decided they were our children, and every time we were with them, they never left our sight! It's been a lot of fun watching them grow up, and they were candlelighters in my wedding (almost 5 years ago)! They gave me our favorite movie growing up, The Land Before Time, so that Gracie can watch it too!

After the shower was over, some of the boys decided to come check out the loot, and more likely get some of the delicious cake! Seated below are Blake, cousin Ben, PawPaw (my mom's dad), Uncle Jim, my brother Justin (Gracie's god father), my Dad "Pops", and Granddaddy (my dad's dad). My mom's side of the family drove in for the shower from Tyler, TX, and Shreveport.

All in all, it was a great shower, Gracie got lots of good stuff (pack 'n' play, swing, infant seat, lounger, LOTS of clothes, bathtime gear), and the list goes on and on! Thanks to everyone who made it such a special day for all of us!

Fourth of July

We had a great Fourth of July weekend! Blake got the Arkansas portion of his project wrapped up and came home on Wednesday night. On Friday afternoon, we headed up to Lake Bruin to spend the holiday with Blake's family. Everyone had a great time! Below is a picture of Blake and me, and I'm pretty sure it adds about 10 pounds to me (of course Blake is looking as thin as ever, so I don't know if my theory hold up well). Saturday, July 3 marked the start of my eighth month. Just 2 left!
Aunt Erin did what she does best, and what she'll have to teach her God-child to do, fishing! That's Mr. John hanging out with Erin on the swing.

Here's Blake, cousin Brandon, and Uncle Ryan hanging out on the pier on Sunday afternoon. Next year Blake won't look quite so relaxed when he has a 10 months old crawling around! He got a little taste of the demands of fatherhood when all of Brandon's kids wanted boat rides all morning while he was off golfing, so Blake got to fill in (he didn't complain about driving the boat around all morning). Of course, Blake and Uncle Ryan have already started making plans for camps and boats and piers of our own! Stay tuned for more details (but not anytime soon)...it's only money, right?

It was a great weekend, and I enjoyed every minute that I got to spend with Blake and the rest of the family. Yesterday afternoon I dropped Blake off at his office for Round 3 of his levee inspections, where he'll be for the next 10 days. I packed a little surprise in his suitcase that he found last night once they arrived. One of the sweet Daddy Loves Me bibs will hang out with Blake to remind him that his little girl loves him and can't wait to hear his voice again in 10 days! On that note, as the tears of joy and excitement start to sting my eyes, I'm going to sign off!

Stay tuned for more updates as the count-down until D-day arrives!

31 Weeks Down, 9 To Go!

Yesterday we went to see Dr. Cheree for our 31 week appointment, and Gracie is doing great! However, the nurse made us nervous with her comments. She said that Baby Grace was constantly shoving the Doppler machine off the appropriate location to get her heartbeat, and that she is likely to be a very fiesty little girl. She even said the name Grace may not be appropriate because she is so strong willed! Now obviously, this was a joke, but I think I'm going to start playing meditation music to calm her down!

Blake got to come home on Wednesday night and will be here until Monday, and he is having a ball seeing how much more active and pronounced her movements have gotten. She really doesn't stop moving very often, and every now and then my stomach looks like it's doing the wave or the worm, whichever you prefer!

We're headed out to Lake Bruin for a nice, relaxing weekend, and *perhaps* I'll post some pictures from our weekend when we get back. Depends on what I'm looking like in my maternity lake-wear!

We've gotten all of our furniture for the nursery, but it's pretty much all haphazardly stored in there, so once we get some organization to it I'll post pictures of that as well.

That's all for now; everyone have a safe and happy Fourth of July weekend!

28 Week Update

Lots happening this 28th week of pregnancy! Our good friends Ben and Carmen welcomed their little girl, Allie Parker into the world on Friday, June 11th, which was also my good friend Jessie's birthday! Unfortunately, my allergies are acting up and I haven't gotten to meet little Miss Allie yet. Look how cute she is with Uncle Blake!!! I think she looks like her Daddy!

Then on Sunday, Blake left for his levee inspection project that we've been anticipating for several months now. Blake's sister Erin, and her husband Ryan, have moved in with me while Blake's out and they're building their beautiful new home. The day Blake left we went to the pool for the afternoon and then grilled steaks, so they're taking good care of me! Poor Blake is working out in the heat in the worst part of the summer, but the best part is when he's done his little girl will be right around the corner! Here's me at 28 weeks (and about midnight)!

So I'm now an expert on all things baby!

Well, the word expert is probably a bit strong, but at least I'm not clueless anymore! We just completed a two day class that we contemplated whether or not we should take. I mean, I've been around plenty of babies and have a moderate level of confidence about being prepared for my own. But then again, I don't think you're ever really prepared for that first baby. There's a pretty whopping big difference between holding, feeding, and playing with someone else's baby and doing EVERYTHING for your own (including the not so fun stuff).

Quote of the night from Blake (only half-way a joke): "Babies are gross!"

We were concerned that this ABC - After Baby Comes class would be full of the most obvious information and a waste of our time, but I found that it was very helpful! I can now swaddle, sponge bathe, take temperatures, etc., knowing that I'm doing it the right way and not guessing.

One really helpful section was on bottle care and cleaning, knowing when you have to boil and when the dishwasher's sani-cycle or just handwashing will suffice. I know that I need to wash pacifiers every day or so (does anyone really do that?), and the fact that microwaves are a big no-no for everything baby.

Did you know that you can reduce colic and ear infections if you hold the baby in a slightly elevated position rather than totally horizontally? In the middle of a crying spell, if you'll place your hand somewhat firmly on top of their head and apply just a little pressure while holding their head near your heart, they'll feel like they're in the womb and calm down. And that leaving your hands under baby when putting them in the crib for an extra second will drastically reduce the times they wake up immediately and start crying, since you reduce their startle reflex?

I'm sure all of the experienced moms and dads out there know this stuff like the back of their hand, but hopefully one of the moms- or dads-to-be got something helpful out of my baby care book report!

There is something to report!

While looking over my blog, I saw that there is something to report. Grace is due 100 days from today!

Hiccups!

Nothing to terribly exciting to report, except that we had our first case of true hiccups a few nights ago. At first I thought she was kicking, but it was extremely regular. Then I thought it was one of our heartbeats, but I knew it was too slow for hers, and when I checked my pulse, it was way too slow to be mine! So I was like, what the heck is going on, and then the light bulb went off. Must be hiccups!

I think she was trying to make them stop, because she kept flailing her arms and legs and flipping over, but nothing was going to make these hiccups stop except time. About 15 minutes later, they finally stopped, she settled down, and we both went to sleep.

Of all nights, Blake was out of town on business so he missed our fun little episode. Hopefully it'll happen again before he leaves us in a week and a half for almost the rest of my pregnancy.

Yep, you read that right. Blake's company is doing a levee inspection of the Mississippi River levee from Vidalia, LA, to somewhere in Arkansas. It's a 200 mile trek that he gets to make on foot. He'll be coming home to the ladies in his life (and of course Mr. Bociphus) every other Thursday through Sunday. We've decided to make a recording of his voice so that I can play it for her every night. Luckily for me, Blake's sister Erin and her husband Ryan are building a new home and have agreed to move in during their construction to keep me company until Blake's "tour" ends on August 15th, 18 days before Gracie should be gracing us with her presence! Please keep us in your prayers that the weather cooperates, Blake gets home on time, and Gracie stays put for as long as she's supposed to!

Mother's Day Belly Pic!

We decided to take a picture on Mothers' Day because it was a special day and, well, we have been really bad about taking belly pics! This was taken at 23 weeks, 2 days. Hope all of the mothers and mothers-to-be had a wonderful day!

23 Week Ultrasound Pictures

Here's our little angel this morning at her photo shoot. The pictures are so hard to see, but it's actually a really good shot. She's measuring in the 58th percentile, weighs about 1 lb 5 oz, and is growing right on track. The doctor took a look at all of the chambers of her heart, which are forming exactly as they should, and her brain is making lots of connections which showed up like little flashes of red and blue on the screen. She started getting fiesty (as she always does), and the Dr. said we must have a little athlete on our hands. OK with me, as long as she's happy and healthy! Can anyone say soccer mom (but I'll hold off on the mini van for a while)? Baby Grace!

Baby Bedding is on its way!

We placed our order today for our sweet pea's bedding, and I thought I'd share with you all! We're going to use the stripes (#7) for the bed skirt, piping and ties, and probably a pillow that we'll get monogrammed once we have a name, #6 for the outside of the bumper, # 5 for the inside of the bumper. Then we'll probably get a couple of fitted sheets with these colors in them so we can switch it out.
Below is the design we're modeling the bedding after, so you can see what the bedskirt and bedding will look like with our fabrics. THIS is why I'm happy we know it's a little girl! Going to love her room!

The lady that's making these has a e-store on a website named Etsy, which is like Ebay but for custom, handmade items. Her store is called CustomHouse Baby, and she's awesome!

Sneak Preview!

So I needed to get a few pieces of maternity clothes, and in the dressing room was a 7 month baby bump, and of course, I couldn't resist! At first I thought about posting these without letting anyone know it was a fake to see what the reaction would be, but decided to be nice. Please forgive the messy hair, I wasn't planning on having a photo shoot that day and had pulled on 20 or so pieces of clothing!

Belly Pic - for those who have been requesting!

I'll be 19 weeks tomorrow, and this is my first published belly pic. I've gained about 8 pounds since the beginning. Hopefully we'll keep a moderate, healthy weight gain going!

19 week ultrasound!

Look at that cute little profile picture! She was so active, it was hard to get good shots of everything they needed to measure. She's actually a little bit ahead of schedule on her leg length and tummy size, and weighs about 10 oz! The doctor said everything looks great, and we'll go back in a month for another peek!

Everything's OK in here mom and dad! Thumbs up! (Or, as the doctor pointed out, it could be interpreted as she already has her hand out! Not our baby!)

Sweet little feet! The sonographer said you rarely get a picture of the feet together like this. Maybe a little ballerina? (or a penguin?)

Baby Roussel's NYC Loot!

I thought we'd show off our treasures from FAO Schwarts in NYC!

Tummy Time! All of the animals make their sounds when you push them, so cute!
Baby's First Outfit! She loves NYC!

FIrst stuffed animal. We named for Ella....can anyone guess why??? We also got one for Allie, Ben and Carmen's baby, because they were kind enough to take care of Bociphus for us!

The Babymoon - Baby's First Trip to NYC!

First things first, we're having a girl!!! We decided to find out so that our lives would be easier and the baby could have a room and wardrobe fit for a little girl, not full of neutrals!
Moving right along, Baby Girl Roussel is one well traveled baby! She's already been to the big apple, riding 1st class all the way! We all had a great time, and came back with her first possessions! I thought I had noticed some movement in the belly the week before we left, but in New York she really got active. I feel her moving around all the time, especially after I drink orange juice. It's her favorite!

Here are some of the sights of New York that we took in.

Phantom of the Opera - it was fabulous!

American Idiot - the Green Day musical - and Green Day was actually in the audience. It was good, but all I have to say is this: I'm glad baby Roussel's hearing is not fully intact. I wouldn't want her learning from this show!

Carousel in Central Park - This one is just for her! We were actually riding in a horse drawn carriage around Central Park, but I didn't get a picture of that! Afterwards we went to FAO Swartz where we got lots of goodies!

9/11 Memorial - it was pretty amazing to think back to everything that happened that day and know that people were standing right there when it happened, and some of them didn't get to go home to their families. May we never forget.

The original torch from the statue of liberty (I think).

View of the Statue of Liberty from the ferry ride.

Can you see it below? At American Idiot, we wrote on the wall "Baby Roussel's 1st Play". There was an entire wall for you to write on; I promise I wasn't defacing property :)

Times Square: Our hotel was 2 blocks from Times Square, and it was truly an amazing sight!

We had such a great time, and hope Baby Roussel did too!

Baby Roussel's Photoshoot!

For all of you who haven't gotten to see Baby Roussel yet, here's his or her first photoshoot for the world to see! As you can see, he/she is just hanging out! The head is on the right, and the crossed legs on are the left. You can even see a hand waving! He/She must have known that we were snapping a few pics to share with the world, and wanted to look cute!

We are now bloggers!

We've decided that with all of our far away friends and family, we'd start a blog to keep everyone up to date on all things Baby Roussel!

To get everyone caught up, we found out on Christmas Eve that we were expecting the best present we could ever ask for - a baby! Nothing has ever been as special as that day for Blake and me. We had a wonderful wedding and have had a great marriage, but NOTHING compares to the day you find out that you are bringing a new little person into the world. We couldn't be happier, and are so looking forward to the day when Baby Roussel will come home with us (and meet Mr. Bociphus, who just knows that something is up, but isn't quite sure what that is)!

Fast forward a few months, and we've now had a few peeks of Baby Roussel (in which he/she is generally napping peacefully, but did a little dance once), and we're facing the decision of whether to find out if we're having a boy or girl! At first, we had decided to keep it a big secret until the very end, where our doctor would announce to the world what we're having. However, that creates the dilemma of having NO CLUE what to buy, and I've found out that I'm not a big fan of gender neutral decor and clothing.

We have about 10 days to decide whether we want to find out, because our next appointment is Thursday, March 25, at which, if cooperative, we should be able to determine if we're going to have a little cheerleader or a little baseball player (or whatever they decide to do)!

Stay tuned, as Blake is going to scan our latest ultrasound picture tomorrow, where you can see Baby Roussel hanging out (totally relaxed, with legs crossed up in the air) from two weeks ago. Hopefully this is indicative of a relaxed and calm baby to come (although I'm not holding my breath)!

Love to all!
Blake, Lindsey, and Baby Roussel (and of course, Bociphus)