Free Christmas cards? Yes, please!

Eric and I have never been good at sending out Christmas cards, but now that we have Maddie we feel a little more pressure to mail them to our loved ones. After all, who doesn’t want Maddie’s sweet face hanging on their refrigerator door?  :)

When I heard that Shutterfly is giving 50 free Christmas cards to any blogger that creates a post about the deal they are offering this holiday season, I couldn’t resist. Knowing that we want to include a picture of our family on the card, I went straight to Shutterfly’s Christmas photo cards and began browsing. There are so many choices, but I think I’ve narrowed it down to two or three. Eric will have to make the final decision for me.

If you’re on the ball and have already sent out your Christmas cards, you might want to take a look at Shutterfly’s photo calendars. Talk about a great gift for parents and grandparents!

Before I left Shutterfly’s site I couldn’t resist looking at their birthday cards. Maddie’s birthday might not be for another eight months, but there’s no harm in getting a head start, right?  :)

One Year Ago Today

We had an exciting morning,

followed by an eventful evening.

What a day!

She Looks Like Me When I was a Baby!

As I drove by the school where I used to teach, I saw an old co-worker of mine at the playground.  I decided to stop for a quick visit since she hadn't seen Maddie in a while.  Several of the students who were outside having recess wanted to check out Maddie as well.  After taking a peek at her, one little black girl told her friend, "She looks like me when I was a baby!"  :)

In all seriousness though, here's a picture of me at 2 months as well as a picture of Maddie at 3 months.  At first I thought we looked identical, but now I'm not so sure. . . .

"Are you the one. . . ?"

My fourth grade class of 2009 just started middle school, which means Eric sees them on occasion.  Today he met two of my former students when he visited the Robotics teacher's classroom.  After realizing that Eric is Mr. T, one the boys innocently asked, "Are you the one who got Mrs. T pregnant?"  It was all Eric could do to not laugh, but he did manage to say, "Well, I am her husband."  Haha!  Sometimes I miss being around big kids and hearing the things they say.  :)

This is totally off topic, but I finally ordered the Kiley carrier from this post and it came in the other day.  Several of you recommended the Clarice, but it was out of stock.  I'm happy with the one I got though, and with a little more practice buckling Maddie in I'll be a confident baby wearing mama!

A Few of My Favorite Things

Sorry to all of you Facebookers for the repeat of pictures, but here are some things I've been loving lately:

I love how Maddie looks so peaceful when she sleeps.

I love her sleepy smiles. 

I love how she stretches her arms around my sides as if to give me a hug when she is asleep.

I love the alertness she shows with her big, beautiful eyes.

I love seeing how much Eric loves her.

I love the frown and pouty lip that she shows us when she is being dramatic.

I love how she lays in a cute little froggy position.

I love being her mommy.

An Update and a Decision

Thank you for all of the sweet comments on the last post!  Some things we have learned in the past couple of weeks as we've adjusted to life with a baby:

• We can't just hop in the car and drive to Dairy Queen to get a blizzard.
• I can function on much less sleep than I realized.
• Germs are EVERYWHERE!!!!  I have become paranoid.
• Life must be planned in two hour increments.  If it can't get done in two hours, it's not happening.
• Owning a dog is NOT good preparation for having a baby.

Maddie is officially two weeks old today.  We call this her "ooohhh" face.

Monday is Eric's first day back to work.  I'm so glad he's had these two weeks to bond with Maddie.  He used to be terrified about the idea of holding a baby and used gloves to change her first diaper, but now he handles everything like a pro. 

Since Eric is going back to work, that leaves me the task of hauling Maddie around.  I've tried carrying her in her car seat, but it takes up a lot of room and is INCREDIBLY heavy.  Because of this I'm planning to get a carrier, but I can't decide which one to buy.  I really like the patterned ones, but I think a solid color would be a better option so I don't have to worry about a patterned shirt totally clashing with the pattern on the carrier. 

Clarice

Kiley

Chocolate

What do you think?  Should I buy a patterned carrier and not care about clashing or should I buy the solid chocolate one which would go with almost all of my clothes?  Hmmm. . . .

A BIRTH Day Post

Wow, it's amazing how quickly life can change!  For those of you who are not aware, a very healthy Maddie Ann was born 10 days early on the morning of July 31st.  Eric and I have talked several times about the fact that we never knew we could love someone so much, so fast. 

As soon as we arrived at the hospital, Eric began documenting Maddie's birth story (in bold).  I've added my own commentary for those of you who really care to know more. 

Without further ado, here is our sweet baby girl's birth story:

JULY 30, 2010

8:57 PM-Mommy’s water broke at home.  Daddy got the phone call on his way to a softball game.
I had absolutely no indication that labor would be starting.  In fact, I was passing time by playing Mario Kart until it was time for me to head to the softball game.  As soon as my water broke I called Eric, who thought I was kidding, and then I jumped into the shower.  While I was showering Eric made some phone calls and hastily finished packing our bags.

9:47 PM–Mommy and Daddy arrived at the hospital.
We weren't the only ones to show up at the hospital, our families came as well.  I guess that's what happens when you all live in the same town.  To get to Labor and Delivery I had to walk through the ER with a towel wrapped around me.  I felt super cool.

10:00 PM–Mommy and Daddy were admitted to the hospital and taken to a triage room to be checked out by a resident.
The resident had to do a test to verify that my water had broken, as if the constant leak of fluid wasn't enough evidence.  He also checked to see if I was actually in labor and sure enough I was, despite the fact that I hadn't experienced any major contractions.

10:47 PM–We were moved into our Labor and Delivery room.
By the time we finally got into our room, my contractions had started BIG TIME and I requested an epidural.

JULY 31, 2010

1:00 AM–The anesthesiologists finally showed up to give Mommy her epidural.
Nearly two hours after my request and two attempts later, I finally got some relief from my contractions.  By that point I was contracting with little to no break in between.

1:43 AM–The Grandmas and Rachel say goodnight to Mommy.
It turns out our family spent the night in the waiting room.  They may have had a little too much fun.

2:00 AM–Mommy and Daddy settled in for a nap.
Eric and I figured we still had several hours before active labor, so he changed into pajamas and I took out my contacts.  We wanted to be well rested for Maddie's birth.

2:10 AM– The residents checked Mommy and said that you were ready for your grand arrival.
No sooner had we turned out the lights, there was a knock on the door.  For anyone who has ever spent the night in the hospital, you know that this is routine procedure.  After one resident checked me out, he had his partner check.  They didn't have good poker faces so I could tell something was going on.  We were told that I had progressed very quickly and it was time to push.  So much for the nap!

2:20 AM–Mommy started pushing.
Not fun.

3:50 AM–Mommy was still pushing, but the nurse called for the doctor saying it wouldn't be long.
Even less fun.  It was at this point that I asked if they had secretly turned the epidural off, but they said no.  Through all of this Eric was a fabulous coach.

4:16 AM– You arrived--all 8 lbs, 9.5 oz and 20 inches of you!!!!
My room had a reflective ceiling tile above the bed, so I was actually able to see Maddie's birth.  Gross, yet cool at the same time.  After the delivery Maddie was taken over to the side of the room to get checked out and cleaned up.  I don't think Eric left her side.  I had the pleasure of being stuck on the table while I got "fixed up," but I did have a good view of Eric and Maddie.

We have a LOT more pictures, many of which can be seen on Facebook.  I'll leave you with a picture that I don't like very much, but it IS our first family picture so I guess I'll have to learn to like it.

P.S. Congratulations to Emily for winning the baby pool!  Who knew the day I planned to lock it would also be the day that I'd go into labor?

Eviction Notice

Thank you for your consoling comments about losing the baby weight.  I know it can and WILL be lost, and I can't wait to get started on it!

In the meantime Eric and I went to our 38 week appointment yesterday, which turned out to be more interesting than normal.  Since my doctor is out of town, I had to see a nurse practitioner.  She became very concerned when I told her the baby wasn't moving as much as she used to, and the fact that I haven't been doing kick counts didn't help the situation.  Before she allowed us to leave the hospital she ordered a non-stress test for the baby.  The test monitored Maddie's heart rate (perfect), movements (good), and my contractions (steady).  After that test an ultrasound was done to measure the amount of amniotic fluid.  The tech, who is not a certified sonographer, made us laugh when after a few minutes she asked with a bit of concern, "Has your doctor mentioned where the baby's head is?"  She had looked all over the upper part of my belly, over Maddie's legs and torso, and couldn't find her head.  Once I told her Maddie was head down, she was able to find her head and was relieved to know I wasn't carrying a headless baby.  :)

I found this cartoon and it pretty much sums up how I'm feeling these days, but my doctor assured me he has never had a patient that has stayed pregnant forever.

P.S.  I'll be locking the baby pool on Friday, so if you want to put in your guess do it soon!

So Call Me a Hypocrite

A blogger friend recently wrote a post about her concern with her weight gain during the first half of her pregnancy.  Here was my comment in response:

Scary, isn't it? Don't stress over it though; it doesn't accomplish anything. If your doctor's worried, he'll let you know.

I haven't recorded my weight, so I don't have a clue what I weighed at 21 weeks. I just know where I started. What makes me giggle is the fact that my doctor must have recorded my weight incorrectly at some point because he seems to think I've gained 10 pounds less than I actually have. I'm not going to correct him. :)

Well I'm not giggling or :)ing anymore.  I have just a little over 2 weeks to go and I have no self-control when it comes to eating.  Does that mean I'm eating excessive amounts of healthy food?  NO!  I'm eating cookies, brownies, cake, candy, and ice cream. 

All of the pregnancy books say that a person of average weight should gain between 25 and 35 pounds.  My original goal?  25 pounds.  After I exceeded that I told myself I wouldn't gain more than 30 pounds.  Then my goal became 35 pounds.  Well I have very successfully passed that goal and yet I STILL eat without abandon!

I hate the scale, I hate my lack of self-control, and I hate to think how this is going to affect me after the baby is born.  Will I relearn self-control?  Will I be able to lose this weight?

Sorry for the rant.  Just had to get it out.

It's Baby Pool Time!

So I found this website where you can set up a baby pool and with Maddie being less than a month away, I thought now would be a great time to get it up and running.  This game was designed so you can join in the excitement and anticipation of our soon-to-be-born baby girl.  There is no registration involved.

Simply click on this Expectnet.com link or on the icon on the right side of the page and enter your guesses.  Please know that Eric's and my guesses are simply that--guesses.  My doctor has not predicted a weight or length for Maddie, nor has he predicted that she'll be born early.

Please participate by entering your guess!  Don't forget to check back after Maddie is born to see if you are the overall winner.

35 Weeks

Five more to go!

Oh-So-Pretty Baby Shower

Last Saturday this lovely group of ladies got together and threw a shower for baby Madilyn.

The shower was so much more than I imagined!  Lots of family and friends showed up, including Emily, one of my high school friends who flew in from Georgia.

After munching on some yummy brunch food, games were played.  Knowing that I don't like to be the center of attention, they had Eric be the "star" of the games.  Eric's first challenge was to beat two other people of his choice in a diapering competition.  Not only was Eric the last one to get the diaper on the doll, but he slammed the doll face down on the table in his eagerness to get started.  I think he's going to need a little more practice on a Cabbage Patch doll before Maddie arrives.

Eric won the next competition to see who could put a bottle together first, but lost the last two--a baby food tasting challenge and a swaddling challenge.  After watching his attempt at swaddling, I think Eric's going to need even more practice with a Cabbage Patch doll.  Swaddling to him consisted of wrapping the doll up like a burrito, leaving her arm bent behind her back.

After games were played it was time to open gifts and, oh my goodness, there were a lot to open!  I think Maddie got just about everything she needed, plus some extra fun stuff.  We are so blessed!

We finished off the shower by eating some yummy cake and coloring letters for Maddie's ABC book.  You can see come of the completed letters hanging in the background.

Eric and I couldn't have asked for a better shower!  To see a few more pictures you can go to my "Oh Baby!" album on Facebook.

P.S.  As of my Tuesday doctor's appointment this week, there is no stopping labor once it starts.  Maddie could be here anyday, but I'm hoping she'll be content to stay where she is for a few more weeks!

Ball?

Today was my first day working as an aide at a Mother's Day Out program.  I'll be working two days a week through the end of July, assuming Maddie doesn't decide to come early.  My big job is to get snacks ready and for the rest of the time I just go from class to class helping out as needed.

This morning when I checked in on one of the classes, a 2 year old girl came up to me, pointed at my belly, and asked, "Ball?"  I said, "No, baby."  She smiled at me, shook her head, and said, "Ball."  I laughed and moved on.

Later in the morning I went back to the same class and as soon as I stepped through the door the same girl ran up, touched my belly, and exclaimed, "Ball!"  I corrected her again, but she just shook her head and walked off across the room.  As I sat there watching her, she picked up a ball and shoved it under her shirt.  Haha!  Here's a picture of the two of us each with a "ball" under our shirts.  Little ones are too funny. :)

Stroller Question

I know of someone who is selling a $145 jogging stroller for $75.  It is used, but in good shape.  I know that once the baby is old enough I plan to walk a couple of miles around the neighborhood on a daily basis. Will I need a jogging stroller or should I save my money and buy an umbrella stroller instead?

All about Baby, Again

My life is all about the baby now, especially since I'm done with teaching.  Be forewarned that 90% of the posts for the next several months are all going to be about a sweet little girl. :)

This past Monday at my doctor's appointment I was told that I might start feeling more pelvic pressure pretty soon, even to the point where it might feel like if I take too big of a stride the baby will fall out between my legs.  Haha!  Nice image, huh?  I figure that would be easier than actual labor and delivery, so bring it on!  Seriously though, the doctor did say that after my next appointment at 34 weeks if I went into labor they would do nothing to stop it.  What?!  I don't anticipate delivering that early, but knowing that nothing would be done to stop it kind of puts the pressure on Eric and me to make sure things are ready.

Speaking of getting things ready, all this week we've been working on getting Maddie's room put together.  We still have work to do, but here's a teaser:

Last night Stacey and Wes came into town with their not-so-little-anymore baby Makenzie.  She's such a sweet, happy little girl!  We enjoyed spending our short time together and this morning Stacey took some maternity pictures for us.  I'm excited to see how they turn out!

So what's on schedule for today?  Eric and I are about to leave to go see Toy Story 3 in 3D.  I'm pretty excited, even though the last time we went to see one of the Toy Story movies we were the only two non-parents in the theater.  This evening we'll be going to a Round Rock Express baseball game with the family.  I'm not a big fan of baseball, but I do like Dell Diamond.  Hopefully we'll get some seats in the shade and maybe I'll even get to eat a funnel cake.

Weird Dreams

Right before school starts every year I start having bizarre dreams in which I'm NEVER prepared for the first day.  Well since I don't have school to worry about this year, my mind has apparently decided that I should dream about every possible birth outcome!

The first dream I had was lovely; I delivered a healthy, beautiful baby girl and Eric was in LOVE.

In the next dream I delivered a baby BOY.  I don't think he'd like the pink room we painted last night.

My most recent delivery dream resulted in not just one baby girl, but twin girls!  At one point I was holding Maddie and Eric was holding her no-name twin and the babies waved at each other.  Haha!

With two months left to go, I don't even want to imagine any other possibilities!

Feeling Behind

I'm behind in updating, so bullets it is:

• Everything from the hotel rant got worked out. Money has been refunded and we even received a credit of two free nights at any Hyatt in the nation. I'm thinking we might take advantage of those nights sometime after the baby is born. You know, a weekend getaway to catch up on sleep. :)

• The baby shower at school was fabulous! My fourth grade team pulled together a beautiful shower and Eric and I felt totally spoiled by the gifts we received. Maddie's closet is filling up!

• We attempted the 3D/4D ultrasound again. This time our baby girl was more cooperative, although she did start the session off by covering her face with her hands. The tech sent us home with a DVD of the session along with a CD of about 100 pictures. I am kind of disappointed with the image quality, but it was neat to see her moving in real time.

• I turned in my school keys on Friday. I thought that I'd be extremely happy to do it, but instead I left the building feeling like I've lost my identity. I may not have enjoyed teaching, but I knew who I was--Mrs. T, 4th grade math and science teacher. Now I'm left with a weird, empty feeling.

• It is crazy to see the elephant on the ticker at the top of the page getting closer and closer to the end. There are days when I see its movement as exciting and other days when I'm like, "Can someone slow that thing down?!" I know we still have a couple of months and I know we'll have everything ready by the time she gets here, but it's hard to imagine that our little family of two (plus Lucy) is about to become a family of three!

Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?

Not me, I paid for mine!  I totally didn't realize that my school cafeteria account could be refunded, so what did I do?  I bought 14 cookies!  You should have seen the looks I got walking back to class with my arms loaded with individually bagged chocolate chip cookies.

Private Post

I wish there was an option for a single private post, as opposed to having to create a private blog.  If you know the secret, let me in on it.

Hotel Rant

Eric and I enjoyed seeing Sarah and Chuck last weekend at the Rangers game.  Although the Rangers ultimately lost, they had two home runs so I got to see fireworks.  That makes me happy.  After the game we went to The Cheesecake Factory.  That makes me happy too.

What doesn't make me happy?  Our hotel, which we made reservations at, did not have a room for Eric and me.  Apparently hotels purposely overbook, just like airlines, assuming that not all guests will show up.  Guess what?  Everyone showed up!  The manager of the hotel sent Eric and I over to another hotel, promising us that we would not be charged for our stay there and we would be reimbursed for our original reservation.  It has been a week and my credit card is still showing a charge for the original reservation and now Eric's credit card is showing a $180 charge for the alternate hotel.  I've emailed the assistant general manager and will take this to their corporate headquarters if needed, but really!  Have they never heard of customer service?  :(

The Scores Are In

The dreaded day (for me) finally came--TAKS scores arrived. There's a couple of things you have to know to understand why I was scared to see these scores:

1. Only 50% of the students passed their 3rd grade math TAKS test last year. Doesn't really bode well for fourth grade, does it?
2. This was my first year to teach math and on most days I felt like I was just winging it.

As I looked through the list to see who had passed and who had failed, I was shocked to see that some students who I knew were destined to fail had actually passed. It turns out that 73% of my students passed their 4th grade math TAKS test! Now I know 73% doesn't sound fabulous, but considering the fact that only half of them passed their 3rd grade test last year, I think it's great!

The students aren't aware that their scores have come in, but I can't wait to see the surprised look on some of their faces when they find out how they did. :)

If you want to read about the awesome scores Eric's students had, hop on over to his blog.

Maddie Ann

As you've probably seen on Facebook, our baby girl's name will be Madilyn Ann, Maddie for short. We can't wait to meet her!

Baby Name Jumble

Eric's mom figured it out really fast.  Can you?

3D/4D Ultrasound

For those of you who haven't seen it on Facebook. . . .

Turns out instead of looking at us, our baby girl would rather look at my back. We poked and prodded her and fed her a milkshake AND a snowcone, all without success. Thankfully the tech was really patient. We're going back next Thursday to see if she will be more cooperative.

One good thing about our visit today was we were able to get another confirmation that our baby girl is indeed a girl.  Bring on the pink!  :)

Exciting Week and a Half

• 3D/4D ultrasound on Wednesday--Hope she cooperates!
• Possible baby name reveal later in the week--Trying to decide whether or not to take some monetary bribes first.  :)
• Field trip Friday--We're only taking the "good" ones, so it should be fun.
• Rangers game with Sarah on Saturday--A year is too long to wait between visits.
• School baby shower the following Tuesday--Cake and presents, yay!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

It is amazing how much a body changes during pregnancy! Yesterday I realized I couldn't remember what I looked like without a belly, so I pulled up a picture from when I first found out I was pregnant at 4 weeks. Then I had Eric take a picture of me at 26 weeks and 3 days. Wow!

Daddy's Girl

Even though they haven't met face to face, our baby girl already has Eric wrapped around her really little finger. 

About a month ago he picked this out for her:

Then yesterday after an all day school trip he came home with these two:

What a lucky girl to have a daddy who loves her so much!  It makes my heart happy.  :)