nora ~ 1 week

Our little Nora is one week old today!  It is sometimes quite hard for me to grasp the reality that she is really here.  Last week I was at work, waiting for her to arrive and then finally (after a lot of quality time in the hospital) she arrived and our lives have definitely been forever changed.

Nora's favorites:

eating

pooping

sleeping

eating

tummy time (not really but we're working on it) 

car rides

eating

pooping

sleeping

It seems we spend a lot of quality time on the changing pad and in the recliner to nurse.  She has been a great eater and for the most part, a great sleeper.  We've started trying to keep her up for a few minutes at a time during the morning, afternoon, and night.  We work on tummy time, do some pull ups, and dance (well, mommy and daddy move my arms and legs, but I am a dancing machine).

{click Nora's photo above to view other 1 week photo outtakes}

I hope to post more pictures and a little run down on her arrival very soon.  Time goes so quickly and I haven't made the blog a huge priority.  Someone very cute has been demanding my time.  Currently she's spending some cuddle time with her dad, giving me some time to publish a post!

and finally...she's here

ora Courtney joined us after a LONG wait on Thursday, August 19 at 1:49 pm. She is healthy and beautiful! I will be back later to fill you in on her arrival and to share some photos.

short sign off

Will be gone for a few days as we have this baby and settle into our new family.  I'll be back with pictures and I'm sure, a good story!

month by month

For quite sometime I've been looking for a cute way to document the Babe's monthly milestones.  I've seen some cute onesies via All Things G&D but wasn't sure about having to predict the needed size of a onesie each month and even though they are very cute, in all honesty, I couldn't imagine paying that much for a onesie to be worn on one day.  As luck would have it, this past weekend I was checking out my blog roll and saw that the author of All Things G&D was being featured on another blog, The Domestic Wannabe.  I love to find new blogs so I was perusing hers and landed on this post about her score from Etsy.  I clicked over to find just what I had been searching for.  A fun {and cheaper} way to document the Babe's months - monthly onesie stickers.  How cute are these?

These cuties are made of transparent sticky paper.  All I have to do is peel them off and stick them to a onesie.  Super easy!  I'm so excited to find these and of course, am even more excited to see their full cuteness on a tiny onesie!

To visit pickysticky's Esty store and to see what else she has created, click on the adorable picture below:

we're ready...

Groceries have been bought, laundry has been washed, lawn has been mowed, house has been cleaned, bags are packed, goodies have been baked, jalapenos have been eaten, we're 4 days past due...we're ready Babe!

Today is the day both Hubby and I predicted the Babe will arrive.  I'm crossing my fingers our intuition was correct!

summer storm

It's been HOT here.  And hasn't rained in weeks.  It hasn't even been in the forecast.  So, you imagine the surprise yesterday when a random clap of thunder boomed, the sky darkened, the wind raged, and the rain poured.  Quite a site.  I didn't think too much about it until I drove home from work.  As I got closer to my neighborhood I noticed there was quite a bit of debris in the street and saw many yards with limbs and trees down.  Feeling that all too familiar feeling of losing a tree two years ago, I knew we would find a mess at home.  And I was right.

{I like how you can see through the shed now}

{Hubby always wanted to climb this tree}

Not the best thing to come home to and I'm not really looking forward to shelling out money right now to take down the tree, however, there are positives...no damage to our home or neighbors' homes, our fence and deck are still intact, and we were planning to take out this tree next summer, and hated our shed and wanted to get rid of it.  So, problems solved!

hubby, me & babe ~ week 40

Well, we've made it to 40 weeks today.  When we found out we were having a baby back in December, August 11th seemed so incredibly far away.  But as is life, time flew by and here we are, 40 weeks later, waiting for our baby girl to arrive.

This summer has been so busy preparing for her, enjoying many final "hubby and me" moments, getting ready for a new school year that really, I cannot believe the time is actually here.  We're both more than ready to meet her but part of me will miss having her with me all the time.

My last few appointments at the doctor have shown very little signs of progress.  We go again tomorrow so we will see what that appointment will hold.  The doctor will most likely talk to us about planning an induction - something I really did not want to have to do but it's now looking like we might not have a choice.  And who knows, she may just surprise us yet and show up when we least expect it.

A few notes about me at week 40...

Weight gain - 25 pounds {and I only share this because I thankfully fell within my recommended limit}
Stretch marks - None yet {although I have heard they can magically appear after you have the baby}
Contractions - Yes, but nothing to write home about
Swelling - Thankfully no, which is unbelievable considering our heat index over the last week has been around 110 degrees!
Comfort - Overall, fairly decent.  I find I'm at my most uncomfortable at night and am celebrating when I have a good night's sleep and don't have to move to the couch.  I just think my body has to be preparing me for the short nights ahead!

And here is hopefully the final baby bump shot of this pregnancy!

{holy cow, she is sticking out there!}

what have I done this summer?

The summer is winding down and another year of work is on the horizon.  On our first day back we always begin with a staff meeting.  Kind of a nuts-and-bolts meeting of sorts but also a time for us all to reconnet.  For some of us, it's been all summer since we've seen co-workers.  We share summer stories with existing co-workers and welcome the new.  It's one of my favorite days.  This year we are to submit photos of summer happenings with family and friends for a staff slide show to be shown during our first staff meeting.  After receiving that news I was sadly taken aback.  What have I done this summer?  I went to my computer files looking for summer photos and find that my "Summer 2010" file is extremely empty. 

I feel like Hubby and I have been quite busy - we did a little mini-vacation to Minneapolis and attended a family reunion but don't have many photos documenting those events.  I had several baby showers but does anyone on my staff really want to see photos of that?  Our days and nights were spent on many other activities:  work in the lanw, prepping for the Babe's arrival, visiting our downtown Farmer's Market and frequenting our favorite breakfast spot, Ginger Sue's, spending a great deal of time compelting work tasks for the summer and my upcoming maternity leave, lots of cleaning and organizing, reading a little, watching some TV and movies...yeah, it sounds like a lot but nothing too monumental.  Hubby suggested he photograph me either lying on the couch or sitting at our dining room table, in my pajamas, in front of my laptop, with a cup of coffee.  Guess that kind of sums up my summer?

Even though I may not have stories or photos of a fabulous trip or can account for many action-filled weekends, I can say that I've had a truly great summer and while it might not be too exciting or monumental to some, it acutally played out just as I wanted it to.

water with a splash

I'm a pretty avid water drinker.  Even though water doesn't have a taste per say, I enjoy how cool and refreshing it is.  In the summer, I like to mix it up a bit and naturally flavor my water. 

Obviously, lemon is a fairly common choice.  Giving it a nice tangy taste, I enjoy adding a few lemon wedges to my summer water glass.

Water with cucumber was first introduced to me in Mexico.  All of the restaurants at our resort served water with cucumber.  At first I wasn't sure of the taste but I grew to enjoy it.  It's definitely a unique flavor and if you haven't tried it, I recommend it especially if you grow cucumbers and have an abundance you don't quite know what to do with.

I'd never thought to try water with strawberries but one of my friends served this fun drink at my baby shower.  It's like Crystal Light without the powder and aspartame and unlike lemon, it really sweetens up your glass of water.

All of these options can be served individually or you can fancy it up with some of these summer drink dispensers:

What other treats have you tried adding to splash up your water?  Now that summer fruits are in season, I'd love to try more! 

3 years

Hubby and I have been married for three years today. 

We've actually known each other for five years and throughout those five years (and three of wedded bliss) we have made some great memories and have had many laughs, dates, travels, and firsts.  We went on our first date, met each others families (slightly nerve-racking for both of us), traveled to England and Ireland, attended friends' weddings, saw some favorite musicians in concert, got engaged, bought a house, traveled to Colorado, married, had our first Christmas in our home, traveled to Mexico, attended many baseball and soccer games, ate a lot of Mexican, sushi, and deep dish pizza, celebrated friends' brand new babies, and now anxiously await the birth of our own baby.

We've both grown and changed a bit over the last few years but I think I can confidently say we enjoy each other more with each new year.

{our first photo - 2005}

{2006}

{2007}

{our wedding - 2007}

{2008}

{2009}

{us + one - 2010}

dressing back to normal

Don't get me wrong - maternity pants are great.  That stretchy elastic is so forgiving and comfortable but I do long for the days when I can easily wear normal clothes again.  I know it won't be an immediate transformation but I'm hopeful that by the time I return to work, I'll be back to semi-normal clothing.  Here are a few ditties I would love to wear courtesy of Loft.

Post Script - Why or why does LOFT have to have their Family and Friends 30% off sale when I'm 9 months pregnant?!?!?!