labor hair

two years ago, i read this story and decided i wanted to do exactly the same. when i go into labor, i want to fill my house with delicious food and drinks and maybe a festive banner {a little something extra for baby's big birthday!} and i want labor hair.

i've been looking for ideas all over pinterest- i even have a board solely dedicated to it. 

my favorite so far is:

 

{picture with curly hair}

i'm still looking, so share your styles/tutorials with me!

baby boy's nursery

i cannot wait to get moved in to clifton manor and decorate baby boy's nursery. i've been looking forward to this since before he was even on his way. 

it's going to be a very low-budget labor of love, and i'm hoping it turns out something close to the vision in my head...

we already have a dresser, a white bookcase that i plan on adding a gray background to, and the rocking chair that i was rocked in as a babe. we were generously gifted some fun storage baskets {see below} and we picked out this crib in white. when we move in, we are going to paint the walls the perfect shade of blue with white trim around the windows, i'll sew the banner and curtains, and i'm on the hunt for a cheap rug and wall-size world map...

what do you think?



dresser here

curtains here

rug here

lion print here

world map here

basket here

pennant banner here

37 weeks is too early to be getting my hopes up...

37 weeks

we had a doctor appointment yesterday {another one?! yep, we go in weekly now, which kind of feels like we're there every day} and when she checked me and said, 'dialated to a one, no change since last week' i said 'oh ok, that's fine' and smiled. it's still three weeks early and i'm fine with waiting this baby out- for once i am determined that my patience is going to beat out my impatience. for 8.5 months i have been conditioning myself to think of this as a 42 week endeavor, and 5 more weeks of pregnancy is totally fine with me.

but.

underneath my smile at the doctor's office, i was terribly disappointed. i had prepared and planned and given myself all sorts of patience speeches. and there i was, still sad that i wasn't somehow going to have this baby tomorrow.

waiting to hold your baby is a funny, fickle thing, i've learned.

nothing has changed. i'm still waiting as long as it takes for him to decide to come on his own. but i'm no longer fooling myself either. i'm not patient, nor am i impervious to this increasingly desperate desire to hold my baby.

and that's ok.

here's to {maybe} five more weeks!

coming soon: the best and busiest summer of our lives

niagara falls 2011

and i thought last summer was crazy...

-we are moving to clifton manor this weekend! this means we are spending our evenings packing {really orlando packs and i issue directions from the couch. i love that man.} and then we are going to spend our evenings next week unpacking at a furious pace because it will be june and june = baby and i don't think i can peacefully birth this child if my pantry isn't unpacked and organized.

-next tuesday morning, bright and early, orlando starts his summer associateship at an amazing law firm here in downtown cleveland. i haven't announced much about this, but i do want to say that we are so incredibly blessed. orlando got one of the best summer positions in the whole city and he loves the firm, the atmosphere there, and the kind of legal work they do. it was that 'best-case scenario' we daydreamed about all winter, and amazingly, it has all worked out like we dreamed it. orlando is thrilled- he'll be working full-time through the beginning of august and have the opportunity to get some real, hands-on attorney experience. it's going to be a great oopportunity for him.

-our list of visitors this summer is long- lucky us! my mom is coming for two or three weeks in june, orlando's family is coming at the end of july, and then my family is coming at the beginning of august. i think we will have only 4 weeks of just the three of us all summer.

-and of course, most important and exciting of all, sometime between today {37 weeks!} and june 26th, baby boy will make his grand entrance and we will be a family of three! we are beyond excited for this one. there will be lots of cuddling and family walks and sleepless nights and adjusting and honestly, it sounds like the funnest thing we've ever done. i can only imagine that it's going to be really busy and crazy and new for us. in all the busy-ness i'm hoping we will get to spend at least a few lazy mornings in bed, just the three of us, admiring and smooching all of baby boy's little fingers and toes and thigh rolls, soaking up all the love in our new little family. this is what i'm most excited for.

-mix in church responsibilities, a baby blessing, law school year two prep, a little free time with friends, and everyday life and we are looking at the busiest best summer of our lives, hands down. i can't wait!

four little fingers

my little piquichito has been incredibly active today. even when compared to his normally super active self, today has been crazy! he has been going going going non-stop since 9 am. he's nice and squished in here, like a little smothered burritto, but that doesn't stop him from stretching out in every direction and bruising mama's organs in the process. but oh, how i love it! i'm really going to miss it when he's finally out. i never want to forget how he feels, with his round little bum always sticking out under my ribs and his constant hiccups.

and then just this morning, as i was poking his little hands and bony elbows back in, i distinctly felt four little fingers push on my hand. four little fingers, poking me back.

it was amazing.

i can't even write how much i love this little one, there aren't words big enough to describe it.