This little gal used to have a certain favorite spot curled up in a "famous ball" (like a cat, but don't tell her, she hates cats) on my lap. These days, she has been literally bumped out of her spot and tries like hell to still fit. I tell her soon she will fit again... But she will probably have to fight another certain someone for lap time! She's such a good BFF.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Bump
This little gal used to have a certain favorite spot curled up in a "famous ball" (like a cat, but don't tell her, she hates cats) on my lap. These days, she has been literally bumped out of her spot and tries like hell to still fit. I tell her soon she will fit again... But she will probably have to fight another certain someone for lap time! She's such a good BFF.
Creations for Baby D: Burp Cloth Gallery
Since my camera and computer have stopped corresponding for the time being, (and because I've hit the end-of-pregnancy wall where I just feel exhausted most of the day, AND because I'm lame at posting and keeping up to date here), I have still not posted any pics of the adorable yellow and white polka dot baby shower my sister and mom threw for me at the end of June. It was perfect and so much fun! Hopefully I'll get some pictures loaded soon and do an even later post, but the memories are not forgotten. It was such a fun day with some of my best friends and such a special treat my mom and dad could be in town!
As part of the shower surprise, Lize sent a burp cloth with each invite and asked guests to add their own touch. She had some hanging on a cute little clothesline on display. Others were wrapped with gifts and the shower assistants Jadyn and her friend added them to the line as they were revealed. It was so much fun to see what these talented ladies came up with! She even sent some to long distance guests who were not with us phsyically. Some arrived for the shower and others have been trickling into my mailbox ever since. It is so exciting to receive new ones in the mail!
One of my goals has been to capture some photos these super crafty and special 'burp' cloths- wanted to get some shots before they are in use. I will never forget who made which one, as they all have so much character and meaning. How can I even use these gorgeous creations for spit up?
Aunt Terry
Aunt Charlotte
Nicki
My mom, Nana B
Carly
Liza
Michelle
Cheri
Ali
Kate
Melissa
Julie
As part of the shower surprise, Lize sent a burp cloth with each invite and asked guests to add their own touch. She had some hanging on a cute little clothesline on display. Others were wrapped with gifts and the shower assistants Jadyn and her friend added them to the line as they were revealed. It was so much fun to see what these talented ladies came up with! She even sent some to long distance guests who were not with us phsyically. Some arrived for the shower and others have been trickling into my mailbox ever since. It is so exciting to receive new ones in the mail!
One of my goals has been to capture some photos these super crafty and special 'burp' cloths- wanted to get some shots before they are in use. I will never forget who made which one, as they all have so much character and meaning. How can I even use these gorgeous creations for spit up?
Aunt Terry
Aunt Charlotte
Nicki
My mom, Nana B
Nana B's was double sided!
Carly
Liza
Michelle
Cheri
Ali
Kate
Melissa
Lize again
Julie
Monday, August 8, 2011
Feathering the Nest
36 weeks
35 weeks
Jordan mentioned last night while getting into bed that this weekend seemed like a vacation. That's what happens when you spend the last year(s) not ever really getting a full two-day weekend together sans work! It honestly felt like our honeymoon or something! We had such a great time together.
Highlights include- hanging valances, dreams about hanging pictures and then doing it, watching my stomach as the result of someone doing acrobatics while outgrowing their space inside, dinner in Silver Lake at one of our old faves, movies (again!), crying at the movies, remembering where our car was parked, snuggle time with our Cuddle Hound, making freezer meals, picking out wedding gifts, trips to the dog park, irritability broken up by a trip to Radio Shack and a killer mail day, a quick over-the-gate chat with our bffs, swollen feet pregnant lady pedis as a last hurrah before moving day, learning our baby is now a watermelon!, sleeping in, rides on the new swingset at the park, watermelon sorbet, to name a few..
We have three more weeks until our due date and are definitely excited (and nervous)! We are also soaking in all of our 'us' time and are really enjoying each other. Getting ready for our little world we have been in for the past ten years (or so) to get rocked!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Bellllly
32 weeks
33 weeks
Same shirt, new week!
Time is really movin'. We have completed our first class, "Newborn Care", and while I am pretty confident in my diapering abilities, it was fun to watch "Dad DeVries" find his way around a baby doll and a disposable diaper. So cute. After a few times, he got the hang of it (front v. back and why it matters)! He can also swaddle like no one's business. We loved our teacher and I wish she could come home from the hospital with us.
Last night we took our Labor and Delivery tour of the hospital where I will be laboring and delivering. It was all so real! I found my eyes welling with tears so many times. It is just so dang emotional for me. Not sure if it's a "I really have to go thru this scary stuff to hold my little one" or "I can't believe we are going to have a little one here so soon", or a little of both...but I could barely contain myself.
We sat in a labor room and also spent time in a recovery room. To picture our little bundle occupying the empty hospital bedside bassinet and the familiar faces and love of our friends and family filling the room, first bonding time as a family of three (or four if we can smuggle the furry one in- ha!), it is all so real, yet so surreal. And hitting me like a ton of bricks in these last few weeks. Standing in that room thinking, "this could be our room, this is the door we will go through to complete this process, this is where we will forever change, literally, this is where we will feel those feelings indescribable unless felt them for yourself, where we will hold and meet this squirmy growing little one we have spent all these months caring for from the inside (or outside)"..
We were talking on the way home about how this has all gone so fast. Like the incredible journey in fast forward. Just when you digest that it is really all happening, it's almost over. It really is just a little blip in time, especially in the big-picture-permanent change that is among us. It's really hard to grasp. I would imagine with second, third, subsequent pregnancies you may have a better idea what to expect..but on the first go 'round nothing is normal or routine about it, even if you do read "What to Expect". Everything is uncharted and mysterious. Every day brings something new. It has been such a ride for us. And something I would never trade.
I never (even at the beginning of my own pregnancy) could wrap my head around those people who 'loved being pregnant' and 'never felt more beautiful'. And, while I am not feeling the physical beauty part as much (veins and congestion, blotchy skin and bloody noses), I have really enjoyed this ride. We are actually far from done, as we hopefully go full term and have six more weeks to enjoy, but so far- it has just felt like a little vignette of a miracle. Unfolding in our arms, in our home, in our little family unit- bonding us and bringing us closer together. It has felt like sharing something that is so intimate and personal to us, even though people go through it every day.
I am not sure if I will miss being pregnant or not, but I have never gotten tired of the pokes, karate kicks, krav maga, rolls, little heartbeats, patting my big old belly or placing baby's Daddy's hand in position to feel a big movement. Haven't gotten tired of bringing this little one everywhere with me, conveniently packed away inside, as to not to worry about lugging a carseat or carrier!
That being said, our little daydreams of an occupied bedside vintage bassinet, snuggled clean little body in a hoody towel after the countertop sponge bath we have practiced giving, full car seat in the back of the car, ready for a road trip, a little being finally filling out the mini-sized red Adirondack chair on the deck with a smushed PB&J in hand... knowing that living the actual experiences of these daydreams will be so much more amazing than we can picture now...
We are anxious and excited to meet this little baby D. Seeing that little one in the hospital nursery last night has never hit home harder for me. Watching my husband linger at the window to get one more last peek, I know I am not the only one.
Last night we took our Labor and Delivery tour of the hospital where I will be laboring and delivering. It was all so real! I found my eyes welling with tears so many times. It is just so dang emotional for me. Not sure if it's a "I really have to go thru this scary stuff to hold my little one" or "I can't believe we are going to have a little one here so soon", or a little of both...but I could barely contain myself.
We sat in a labor room and also spent time in a recovery room. To picture our little bundle occupying the empty hospital bedside bassinet and the familiar faces and love of our friends and family filling the room, first bonding time as a family of three (or four if we can smuggle the furry one in- ha!), it is all so real, yet so surreal. And hitting me like a ton of bricks in these last few weeks. Standing in that room thinking, "this could be our room, this is the door we will go through to complete this process, this is where we will forever change, literally, this is where we will feel those feelings indescribable unless felt them for yourself, where we will hold and meet this squirmy growing little one we have spent all these months caring for from the inside (or outside)"..
We were talking on the way home about how this has all gone so fast. Like the incredible journey in fast forward. Just when you digest that it is really all happening, it's almost over. It really is just a little blip in time, especially in the big-picture-permanent change that is among us. It's really hard to grasp. I would imagine with second, third, subsequent pregnancies you may have a better idea what to expect..but on the first go 'round nothing is normal or routine about it, even if you do read "What to Expect". Everything is uncharted and mysterious. Every day brings something new. It has been such a ride for us. And something I would never trade.
I never (even at the beginning of my own pregnancy) could wrap my head around those people who 'loved being pregnant' and 'never felt more beautiful'. And, while I am not feeling the physical beauty part as much (veins and congestion, blotchy skin and bloody noses), I have really enjoyed this ride. We are actually far from done, as we hopefully go full term and have six more weeks to enjoy, but so far- it has just felt like a little vignette of a miracle. Unfolding in our arms, in our home, in our little family unit- bonding us and bringing us closer together. It has felt like sharing something that is so intimate and personal to us, even though people go through it every day.
I am not sure if I will miss being pregnant or not, but I have never gotten tired of the pokes, karate kicks, krav maga, rolls, little heartbeats, patting my big old belly or placing baby's Daddy's hand in position to feel a big movement. Haven't gotten tired of bringing this little one everywhere with me, conveniently packed away inside, as to not to worry about lugging a carseat or carrier!
That being said, our little daydreams of an occupied bedside vintage bassinet, snuggled clean little body in a hoody towel after the countertop sponge bath we have practiced giving, full car seat in the back of the car, ready for a road trip, a little being finally filling out the mini-sized red Adirondack chair on the deck with a smushed PB&J in hand... knowing that living the actual experiences of these daydreams will be so much more amazing than we can picture now...
We are anxious and excited to meet this little baby D. Seeing that little one in the hospital nursery last night has never hit home harder for me. Watching my husband linger at the window to get one more last peek, I know I am not the only one.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
I Hope I Won't Forget...
-to be the 'fun mom' I have always dreamed I'd be
-to not take everything too seriously
-to introduce you to the smell and calm of the ocean, often
-that you have your own ideas
-that you are the most divine miracle your dad & I could ever ask for
-that you came to make our family 3 people, in just the perfect timing
-to sing you "you are my sunshine", like "back in our days of getting stuck in traffic, in utero"
-that each stage, phase, day is fleeting and no matter how joyous or how hellish, we will never have that moment again
-that knowing me, I will look back one day on everything and wonder how it flashed so quickly before my eyes
-that you are the one that is making me a mommy
-how much gut-wrenching love I felt for you already, the first time I saw your little embryotic heart beat
-that I can make it thru the day/week/month with less sleep than I would choose
-the first time your daddy felt you kick and his ear-to-ear grin and jaw-dropped expression
-the first time I felt you moving around in my tummy
-that I went ten months without coffee, champagne, sushi, & brie- and for you- it was not a problem at all!
-to let you go/grow at your own pace
-to let you make things with your own hands
-to keep a journal for you
-to remember things
-to know what you are passionate about
-to not be too permissive
-to have family dinners as often as possible
-to take family walks as often as possible
-to get messy and let you get messy
-to play outside a lot
-to always be present and mindful
-to let you find the wonder of this world in the way only you will be able to
-to give you the best life experiences we can possibly give
-that the most important 'thing' we will ever be able to give you is unconditional love
-to not take everything too seriously
-to introduce you to the smell and calm of the ocean, often
-that you have your own ideas
-that you are the most divine miracle your dad & I could ever ask for
-that you came to make our family 3 people, in just the perfect timing
-to sing you "you are my sunshine", like "back in our days of getting stuck in traffic, in utero"
-that each stage, phase, day is fleeting and no matter how joyous or how hellish, we will never have that moment again
-that knowing me, I will look back one day on everything and wonder how it flashed so quickly before my eyes
-that you are the one that is making me a mommy
-how much gut-wrenching love I felt for you already, the first time I saw your little embryotic heart beat
-that I can make it thru the day/week/month with less sleep than I would choose
-the first time your daddy felt you kick and his ear-to-ear grin and jaw-dropped expression
-the first time I felt you moving around in my tummy
-that I went ten months without coffee, champagne, sushi, & brie- and for you- it was not a problem at all!
-to let you go/grow at your own pace
-to let you make things with your own hands
-to keep a journal for you
-to remember things
-to know what you are passionate about
-to not be too permissive
-to have family dinners as often as possible
-to take family walks as often as possible
-to get messy and let you get messy
-to play outside a lot
-to always be present and mindful
-to let you find the wonder of this world in the way only you will be able to
-to give you the best life experiences we can possibly give
-that the most important 'thing' we will ever be able to give you is unconditional love
Friday, June 17, 2011
Dear Baby D
This is your Dad. He loves to grill on the deck. He got to feel some huge kicks and maybe even rolls and tumbles out of you last night. He's pretty excited. He works super duper hard for us and loves to take care of his family already!
This is your dog, Matilda Heart DeVries, but we just call her Tilly. She loves to snuggle and cuddle, and I wonder how long it will take her to get used to another snuggler and cuddler (you)?! I hope you will be the best of friends. We will need to show her how to share her "mom and dad", though, I bet.
She also loves to sunbathe on the deck.
Soon, we will all sunbathe on the deck!
This is your mama's belly at 26-28 (I think?) weeks pregnant with you. You are starting to move a lot more these days, and we wonder what you are doing in there! Sometimes you rest your little feet on my belly and give me a good kick. I love to feel you moving around and can't wait til you're squirming around out here with us.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Busy, Busy Over Here
I've been busy getting ready for Patchwork Indie Arts Festival that already came and went last Sunday. It was so much fun as usual. Jordan wasn't feeling tip top, but Ali came to man the booth with me, as she is my standard craft fair partner. We spent our time selling CT goods and reading baby name books... Trying to get a 'list of likes', but didn't really end up with anything. Still.. It's a tough decision!Sadness struck the Benz family with the passing of my Grandpa Don last Friday. I am grateful I am able to go spend the weekend with the family and be with my Dad at this time. Leaving Tilly to hold down the fort here!
Time seems to be flying by as I booked another baby class for us in July. So excited to meet the little DeVries! The next few months will be spent preparing our nest.
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