Saturday Morning, 7:35am

She's here.

My beautiful baby girl is here.

She joined us Monday at 3:56pm. I'll post her whole birth story another day, but, in the meantime, I wanted to announce her arrival and show you some beautiful pictures :)

Here she is:

Ellie Paige

Born July 16, 2012 at 3:56pm

7lbs, 1oz. 

20.5 inches long

Her first experience with a head piece. I think she was a little unsure!

I could melt.

Me and my girl

Going home!

We are exhausted beyond words. I have so much more to share. I can't explain how much I love my Ellie Paige. She's pure delight and practically perfect in every way!

The Last Day Without Her

In just a few hours, we will head to the hospital.

And, Lord willing, sometime tomorrow our daughter will be born.

Tomorrow.

AI almost can't remember what it's like to not be pregnant. As I type this, Ellie is kicking and rolling and I can't believe that in just a matter of hours I will be holding her in my arms.

We've had such a nice day. Unfortunately, both Grant and I have a sinus infection. We're both on antibiotics and they are working, but we aren't feeling 100% ourselves. We slept in, laid in bed, laughed, messed with the dog, had brunch, ran a few errands, and came back to the house to do our normal Sunday afternoon activity: watch golf while taking a nap.

I had a weepy moment the other night. I got sad realizing that this chapter is over. This chapter of just the two of us. Our routine, our daily life, our normal is going to change. And that's okay. And I know it's going to change for the better. But I have loved this season. I have loved this time with my darling husband. It's been five and a half years of learning, loving, and laughing together. And now it's going to be different. Our morning routine will be different. Our bedtime rituals will be different. Getting in and out of the car will be a whole new world :)

My mom likened it to the feeling she had when she moved out of the house I grew up in. She knew she was moving to a bigger house and a better house, but the house she was leaving was the house that all of us were babies in.... and she was sad to leave it. What she went on to was better, but saying goodbye was a very sad thing. And that's what I was feeling.

Many people have asked me if I'm nervous. I am. I'm nervous about labor. I'm nervous about delivery. I'm nervous I might have to have a c-section. I want her to be okay. I want Grant to be okay (he's squeamish in hospitals) and I'm nervous about breast feeding.

But I'm excited. I'm excited to see her, touch her. To kiss her face and hold her. I'm excited to see what color hair she has and who she looks like. I'm excited to see all the friends and family that are traveling in as I type this to meet her. It'll be a fun week.

And I know I'm going to be tired. I know that life is about to get really hard. But it's also about to get very purposeful and meaningful and I just can't imagine what a drastic change the next 24 to 48 hours has in store for me.

The Lord is in control. He already knows the minute she will be born, and how she will be born. He already has every minute of her life planned out. I'm just the vessel to bring His daughter into the world and raise her to love Him. And I plan on doing just that.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated in the hours, days, and weeks to come.

BIG NEWS and the Sunday School Shower

Yesterday afternoon I went to my doctor's appointment as usual. I mentioned to my doctor that Ellie has not been moving quite as much. She's still moving, I do feel her, but she is not just not moving as much as she normally does. My belly has also not grown that much in the last few weeks, so my doctor decided that I should go have a quick ultrasound. 

I was kinda excited. I love ultrasounds. Any excuse to see my girl is fine by me! She's still head down. Getting pretty squished in there. I got to see her little profile. Isn't she cute?

The ultrasound tech told me that she is right around 7lbs even and looks very healthy!

After the ultrasound, I went back and met with my doctor. I like her. She's a real straight shooter. Low drama. Tells it like it is. She walked in to the room and asked me the following question:

"So, how would you feel about becoming a mom on Monday?"

"Huh?"

She went on to explain that Ellie isn't moving as much because her fluid levels are getting low. And they will continue to decrease. In other words, her living environment is slowly declining and it is time for her to be "evicted". Again, she asked "So, would you like to become a mom on Monday?"

"As in.... Friday, Saturday, Sunday.... MONDAY?!??"

"That's usually how that goes"

"Um.... okay?"

So that's where we're at. We're being induced. Grant and I will check into the hospital late Sunday night and will likely deliver Ellie girl sometime late Monday. I'm in shock. I'm overwhelmed. I'm excited. I'm running around taking care of all kinds of things around the house and making sure I have everything ready.  It's kinda nice to be able to plan and call our family that live in Louisiana and let them know that they should head down on Sunday or Monday. It's crazy to be able to know when she's coming! 

Our little girl will very likely be born on July 16, 2012! 

In the meantime, I need to post these pictures! Grant and I have been beyond blessed to be a part of a Sunday School class at our church since 2008. Okay, so the church calls them "Life Bible Studies" but I still call it Sunday school :) These people have become family to us and we are so thankful to be able to "do life" with them. The ladies threw a GORGEOUS shower at Elizabeth's house back in early June. I'm so glad that one of the hostesses also happens to be a fabulous photographer. These beautiful photos don't do the shower justice! Everything was just lovely:

Delicious food

I loved all the beautiful details

Part of this banner is now used in Ellie's nursery!

The front door

My sweet niece, Grace, holding newborn Avenleigh!

Oh, yummy bundt cake!

This vase is also part of Ellie's nursery!!

Please excuse my puffiness. But my goodness, could that little strawberry onesie be cuter?

I am quite large. 

Two of my favorite girls! Grace Parker and my little friend Lily. 

The amazing hostesses! Kyndall, Sarah, Lynn (and her VERY newborn baby Caleb!), and Elizabeth. Thank you so much for making this shower so special!!

Elizabeth and Sarah

 It was a beautiful day. I can't believe that my little girl is going to be here SO SOON. I'll keep the blog up and running as much as I can!! 

Ellie pictures coming soon :) 

38 Weeks and Ellie's Nursery

So much for blogging more in July! Things have been going well and I just haven't sat down to write anything. My apologies!

What's been going on around here? I've been very thankful as we have had some relief from the heat. The Houston area has been pounded with rain and the blazing sun has been hiding. While the kiddos in the area are missing the pool time, I'm enjoying not dying of heat stroke! 

To be honest, I've had the best week. I feel like God has blessed me so much with a calm, relaxing week. I know these times of peace and quiet are about to be few and far between. The fact that I can sit at my kitchen table and drink a cup of coffee and do my Bible study and keep up with chores and listen to the rain is something I am not taking for granted. Things are about to change around here! 

I've been feeling pretty good! Things are feeling pretty tight in my belly. I feel like my sweet girl is not moving as much as she used to. More rolling and bulging than kicks and punches. I have a bit more energy this week than last week. I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing too painful just yet. I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon so we'll see if I have made any more progress. I'm still crossing my fingers that our girl will make her arrival a few days early. I'm very ready to meet her! 

There are still two baby showers I need to blog about... but I'm gonna go ahead and post some pictures of Ellie's nursery today! I had so much fun putting this together. I was dealing with a VERY small room so that really restricted the size of the furniture. I left the walls the color they were, a very neutral "Whole Wheat" from Sherwin Williams. I decided to go with white furniture, tan and cream bedding, and pops of turquoise. Turquoise has quickly become Ellie's signature color. :) 

I wanted Ellie's room to have something personal and meaningful to me and Grant. Our first date was a John Mayer concert, so I took a lyric from his song "Daughters" and had my friend Sarah use her magnificent talents to turn it into a poster for her room. 

Here's what she came up with (ISN'T IT AWESOME!?!)

I just love it. I feel like Ellie could have it in her room for years and years. I had it framed and it's just what I imagined. 

Here's a few more pics of her room! 

The furniture is from Baby's 1st Furniture on Richmond near the Galleria. The rug and the curtain are from Target. The medallion on the wall and the butterfly mirrors are from Hobby Lobby. 

The pillow is a gift from my sister! I think she got it from an Etsy seller. 

The bedding is from Pottery Barn Kids. The "e" is from an Etsy seller I found. It was the first thing I purchased after we decided her name is Ellie!  The "ellie" letters are from a banner used at a baby shower (more pics of that shower to come!) My friend Elizabeth had the banner made from someone on Etsy. I took the letters off and my mom helped me re-string them and hang them over the crib. 

The vase on the ledge is also from the shower at Elizabeth's house. She had it filled with flowers at the shower, but mom and I went to Hobby Lobby and found those little sticks ($1.99 each) and thought it added a fun flair to the room!

There are a few more photos of some little "happies" but I'm having a hard time getting my phone to email the photos. I'll post more later. Pray for progress at the doctor today!!

July

Oh my goodness. It's July.

JULY.

Quite possibly our daughter's birth month.

Yes, it is quite possible that she could delay her arrival until early August. Our due date is July 27th so an August birthday is not all that far fetched.

Still, there's something very momentous about the fact that today is July 1st.

Little girl. Our sweet little girl. The little girl who is quite unsettled, tossing and turning within me at this very moment. She's almost here! Her clothes are washed. I've packed her things for the hospital in case she decides to come early. This week I will be 37 weeks. I'm already 80% effaced and the Braxton Hicks contractions are in full swing.

Most nights I don't sleep very well. I just can't get comfortable. I think it's just preparation for the lack of sleep that is about to be a major part of my life :)

We're just so excited. Lately I've been having a little bit of nerves regarding labor and delivery, but the nerves are greatly outweighed by the sheer joy of knowing that I get to hold our Ellie girl so very soon!

This trimester has been hard. I've been very uncomfortable, often in pain, and experiencing all kinds of new symptoms that I had no idea were even related to pregnancy. From numbness in my hands and fingers to a constant metal taste in my mouth... even a recent occurrence where it feels like my whole back is vibrating.... (WEIRD, I KNOW), this has just been a rough trimester. On top of that, the fatigue is something I have never ever experienced before. I am EXHAUSTED all the time. I nap every day, which is good since I'm not sleeping well at night. So, if Ellie wanted to come a little earlier than her due date, I wouldn't complain too much about that :)

In the mean time, I've been trying to enjoy the little things. Long walks with my husband and my dog. Watching TV and going to lunch with friends.... all without the interruption of an infant. While I'm excited for Ellie to be my new little companion, I'm well aware that there will be days where I will miss this season of life.... the season of not being responsible for someone else at all times! So I'm just trying to "live it up" before I start a new chapter. Mommyhood.

I am going to try to blog a lot this month. Who knows if I will actually accomplish that, but I just want to document all of these thoughts and feelings in my final weeks of pregnancy and life as I know it!