Ainsley is Loved

First things first. For my own record keeping (and for those of you who care), here are some of the stats from my doctor's appointment a week and a half ago (3/24/10).

~30.5 Weeks~

Ainsley's Heart Rate: 148-153

Weight gained since last appointment (4 weeks prior): 1 pound

Total Weight Gain: 14 pounds

I was so anxious to see how much weight I'd gained since my last appointment because I've been eating SO much more than normal (and not "good for me" nutritious food either). I get so hungry at night and want to sit there and eat when we are watching our shows. To my surprise, I only gained 1 lb. I could not believe it, but I'll take it! Also, my blood pressure was great and Dr. Draughn confirmed that I passed my glucose test and I do not have anemia. So that was all good news too! My next appointment was scheduled for 3 weeks (from that visit) and then I will be going every 2, which by then will be only one time before I start going every week! If that makes any sense. Anyways, on to the fun stuff...

Last weekend my Mom and I headed to Memphis for my first baby shower. I was so excited to see everyone! It was a really great turn out and friends did a FABULOUS job preparing for it. The decorations were so cute and the theme was perfect: Precious Moments. I used to collect Precious Moments growing up. Mrs. Denise, Erin, and Kelsey know me so well! I also got a taste of Muddie's cupcakes, which I've heard about from several people. They were definitely delicious. Thanks Kara and Morgan! I enjoyed my shower so much and hated that I didn't get to talk with people even more. It's difficult being the person whose shower it is because there is so much going on and you don't feel like you get to see everyone or talk to them much. It was especially hard because these are people I don't see very often and they were there for me. It kinda made me feel bad. But I'm at least thankful that they all came and even if it was for a short while I was able to see their faces. Everyone was so thoughtful and showed both Ainsley and I much love. I thank God for placing such wonderful people in my life.

Below are pics from my shower and other baby items we have received over the last 6 months or so. It's so fun having all of this adorable stuff for my baby girl. She will be one styling little chic! Also, consider these pics to be my 31 week belly shots. I will get around to posting 32 week pictures at some point. Brantley and I had some maternity pictures taken this weekend and when I am able to I will post some of those. They are going to be great!

Ainsley's car seat and stroller travel system I picked out a while back. We were so thankful to get it for Christmas from Brantley's parents! So that is why you may see our Christmas tree up in the background. I promise it's not still up right now! I absolutely LOVE it. Thanks Kenneth and Patty! We can't wait to use it to bring our sweet baby girl home!

Test drive around the house with Bella. She wasn't a big fan of this, but went along with it.

High chair that matches my car seat and stroller, from Mimi and Papa.

The guest book at my shower was a Precious Moments book. What a cute idea!

I LOVE all of the pink EVERYWHERE!

Cute corsage made from baby socks

Sporting my Pink

Morgan and Me

Kara and Me

Tatum (my cousin)

Ashley and Rebecca

Shannon

(A mentor of mine throughout jr. high/high school.)

Kelly

(We are due the same week both with girls!)

Erin

Erin was my Maid-of-Honor over five years ago now. The day of my wedding shower at church she was really sick and was not able to be at it and sit by me and be my gift "record keeper". I'm so thankful she was there to do it this time.

Shedding some tears...from the get-go!

Of course the VERY FIRST gift I open was a tear jerker. It was from my Mimi and she had written me a little note that said to open the card first. Inside the note was written, "I hope you enjoy dressing your little girl in these as much as I enjoyed dressing your mother in them."

(*Insert waterworks here*)

I lost it. Then my Mom lost it. And Erin shared with everyone why were losing it.

What an amazing, special, most memorable gift I could have ever asked for. Included were three dresses with slips and a baby bonnet. They are still in perfect condition (which anyone who knows Mimi would not be the least bit surprised about) and exactly the same taste I have in baby clothes today. Classic and simple. I am most excited about dressing Ainsley in these dresses, showing her off, and taking lots of pictures of her wearing them! And hopefully one day being able to pass them on to her and share with her why they are so special.

Blanket from my Mom. She gave a good family friend a blue one recently for her baby boy and I was in love with it! She came across a pink one and got one for me too. I LOVE baby blankets and this one feels heavenly and is perfect for Spring/Summer/Fall.

The Pack-n-Play, from Grandma and Grandpa.

Our bassinet/cradle and baby monitor, from Nanny and Grandad.

Thanks to Mrs. Denise, Erin, and Kels I finally got my crib mobile. What a great surprise! I had mentioned to Kelsey a while back it was one piece of the nursery set I loved, but would probably not get to buy. This will definitely help in completing my nursery!

"God's Little Princess Lullabies" CD

Baby blanket made by Ashley. This will be a great play/floor blanket!

Crafty Kelsey

Kelsey is who helped us get started with the process of refinishing the dresser for the nursery. She is so creative and everything she does turns out so cute! She made Ainsley this picture frame for her nursery using the same colors we did on the furniture.

Precious Pink Sweater (with a story of course)...

My brother and Emily got married at a little historical Church of Christ, Owen Chapel, here in Nashville back in February. It's a one room church that has been around for 150 years. A sweet older lady, Ms. Margaret, is who runs events at the church and books any weddings. She has an amazing life story of her own. I met her for a couple of hours last Fall when we went to take a look at the church. A couple of months later she called my mom to let her know she had something for her. Ms. Margaret had crocheted her a baby blanket. She does makes these blankets for a charity and wanted to make my mom one too. Next thing you know a few months later, she called my mom to let her know she had something for me. She had crocheted this pink baby sweater and my mom wrapped it and brought it for me to open at the shower! It is the most precious thing ever! What a sweet thoughtful lady.

Game Time!

We played a really cute game where I had to take a roll of toilet paper and wrap it around the largest part of my belly. I tore off where it ended and counted how many squares long it was. Then everyone else had to wrap it around their waists and (after increasing the size) guess from their waists how many squares long they thought I was. There was a variety of answers, but the final winner was Erin Coley! I was 11 toilet paper squares around and she was the only one to guess correctly.

I think Mom had 15 and 1/2 (she was a tad bit off!)

Group Shot! (Minus a few that had to leave a little early.)

Ashley, Reena, Me, Erin, Morgan, and Coley

Mrs. Denise ("Nonny"), Cole, and Mom

Ainsley and her (future) friend/boyfriend/husband, Cole, Erin's precious baby boy. He and Ainsley will be about 10 months apart. Erin and I have always been determined to be part of the same family, since we practically have been already. We believe now's our chance! I'll get back to ya in about 20 years and let you know how it's going.

Life-Long Friends

I have known these girls their whole lives. I say THEIR whole lives because I was born first. My Mom and Dad took me to the hospital to meet Erin when she was born and I was only 1 and 1/2 months old. And Kelsey and Michael are only 6 days apart. We have gone on many family vacations together, made many memories, and grew up within at least five minutes from each other at all times. What a special a friendship I have with these girls. They are like sisters to me. Thank you for providing me with such a wondeful shower! It was such a special day for Ainsley and me!

"The Loot in the Living Room"

And yes it is still there and will be until I don't feel so overwhelmed and can figure out what to do with all of it! But it's not all spread out like this anymore. That was just for the picture.

Thank you to all who have provided our family with such wonderful gifts to kickstart our lives as new parents. We could not be more grateful. You all hold special places in our hearts. We love you all and cannot wait for Ainsley Sue to meet you!

30 down 10 (or so) to go...

Last weekend my good friend, Morgan, and her husband, Brandon came to Nashville for a short visit before heading to Gatlinburg for Spring Break. I hadn't seen her in months, so it was great getting to spend some time with her and have a shopping buddy for the day! Unfortunately, I didn't think until after the fact that I didn't take any pictures. I was so mad because I had intended to at least take one of Morgan and me. There's always next time!

The rest of the week was EXTREMELY tiring. I had a substitute with me all week which meant I did most of the work. And being in a small room full of 8 one and a half to two year olds, that can really stress a pregnant lady out! This past week I really started feeling the backaches and leg pains from bending down and standing up constantly throughout the day, which made it even worse having a sub. People began noticing at the end of the day that I was not walking normally. I was doing a lot more wobbling down the hallways than normal! I've also really started feeling the weight. It's definitely strange to feel so much heavier and off balance than normal.

This weekend we focused on refinishing the dresser for the nursery. This has been a very long process and taken a lot more time than we had expected. However, people tell us that we will always be so proud of it when it is finished. And I'm just excited to be able to bring the style of furniture I want into the room and and it will have been something we did on our own. It's taking so long because we work on it as much as we can stand to on the weekends because when I get home at night during the week it's the last thing I want to do. This weekend we were able to get a majority of it completed. My goal was to finish the entire thing because I am so sick of thinking about it! It's on my mind all of the time. We worked on it until 1:30 in the morning Friday night and then I had a dream about it. I'm just ready for it to be finished because I don't know how much longer I can handle sitting in the floor for longer amounts of time and also the nursery is a disaster zone! Blankets, painting/staining/sanding equipment, and the dresser are consuming the entire room. I'm ready to be able to have the crib assembled which has been sitting in our living room floor still in it's packaging for a few weeks now. So by the time I write my next post, the dresser better be finished or it may not get finished!

This Wednesday is our next doctor's appointment. I can't believe I'm at 30 weeks! It's a scary feeling when you know what is going on every weekend between now and the baby's arrival. And this coming weekend is my Memphis baby shower! I'm so excited! I'm so thankful to be able to have a shower in Memphis since this is where my past is and so many people I care so much about and grew up with are going to be there. I can't wait to see family and "old" friends. It is going to be so much fun! So, next time I will have way more pictures to post and much more entertaining things to write about, but until then here are my belly pics from the past couple of weeks.

~29 Weeks~

~30 Weeks~

28 Weeks

Not much going on around here. This past weekend I reached the 7 month mark and we got our nursery painted (thanks to my dad), so that was really exciting! But it is all still a work in progress, so you will have to hold your horses for pics of Ainsley's room! (There's really not much to see quite yet.) I really just wanted to get these new belly pics up from this past Saturday. It's 9:30 and I'm so tired. It's like the first trimester all over again except Ainsley has grown a lot since then and is taking up more space meaning less "good" night's comfortable sleep for me! Not to mention the head congestion, headaches, coughing thing I have going on right now. So, I've been going to bed pretty early knowing I will be up quite a bit throughout the night. Just getting prepared for what's to come I guess! Goodnight y'all.

7 months, 28 weeks, or 81 days to go

Okay, so here is an early nursery preview...