We have a nursery!

[caption id="attachment_283" align="aligncenter" width="360" caption="Dan did such a great job getting all the furniture put together. I'm a very lucky wife!"][/caption]

30 Days!

I can't believe we've already made it to the 30-day countdown. I wonder if she's aware that she still has 30 days left in there? Sometimes it feels like she's trying to claw her way out through my rib cage and I have to explain to her that not only is it too early, but she also can't get out that way. :)

We have just a couple of finishing touches to make on the baby's room this weekend, but it's almost all done! World's Greatest Husband is also Baby Furniture Putter Together Extraordinaire! Pictures will be posted soon.

Time to Vote, Again!

But, first, I'll tell you a little story.

Did you know that my grandmother was born on February 2? Did you know that she gave birth to my mother on her own birthday? That said, would you like to take a guess at what my due date was? (That would be February 2, for those of you who don't have time to figure it out.) Neat, huh? 

Now, maybe it's because I've always done things a little differently or because someone was reading me Emily Post so I knew, even then, how rude it is to be late. Maybe it's because I didn't want to steal anyone's thunder by making my first appearance on their birthdays. Or, maybe I just had my little baby checklist completed and had nothing else to do. Whatever the reason, I didn't hold out until February 2. I was here two days early (which isn't too early to be breach the laws of good etiquette, and therefore qualifies as punctual).  Hmm, what do you know? Even as a fetus I was uptight.

Madeline will have not only my uptight, punctual genes but also those of her laid-back daddy. He liked his cozy little womb, where he was curled up on his fetal couch with the remote, watching SportsCenter. He was perfectly comfortable - comfortable enough to stay put for an additional two weeks. Yes, two entire weeks past his due date, he finally arrived. I guess there is the possibility that he was just doing the fashionably late thing. What a trend-setter!

With only four and a half weeks until we're expecting our special delivery, everyone seems to have an idea of when she will come. Her uncle Benjamin (Uncle Willie) and my aunt Sue are both guessing Thanksgiving Day. My dear friend, Nina, wants her to be born on her due date so they can share a birthday. Dan has a whole, elaborate plan worked out in which she will arrive the day after Thanksgiving, AFTER the Alabama-Auburn game, of course.

So, what do you think?  Vote now!

[polldaddy poll=2209595]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

[caption id="attachment_259" align="aligncenter" width="336" caption="Welcome to Head Manor. (Insert howling wind and hooting owl sound effects here) "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_260" align="aligncenter" width="397" caption="Jack and Jill (Mr. and Mrs. O'Lantern) hope you will enjoy your visit."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_261" align="aligncenter" width="420" caption="Aaahhh! It's a gigantic woman! My costume is that of a very pregnant woman, and Madeline is dressed as a fetus. Dan was all decked out as a Wake Forest fan with a cold."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_262" align="aligncenter" width="336" caption="Jenn and Chris stopped by with Addie this morning. "What a cute little ballerina costume," you say. Nope..."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_263" align="aligncenter" width="272" caption="...The Miracle Monkey has been spending her Saturday mornings DANCING! Yep. You read that right. I said Addie is learning to dance!"][/caption]

 Happy Halloween, everyone!

Only 5 more weeks until we see our Madeline!

Things No One Told Me, Part 3

I love books. If you didn't already know that about me, then we've never met. I will read anything with words on it, but books are by far my favorite. I also like to do things ahead of time and be prepared. Naturally, I want to read all I can about the baby and what's going on with her because I believe it will help me to take care of my body better while she's cooking, and be a better mommy when she's out of the oven.

The books that focus on what will happen to both of us during pregnancy have been, for the most part, pretty helpful and informative. I haven't actually been able to read much in the other one - the one about what will happen after the baby gets here - primarily because it's quite terrifying.

Here are some things no one told me, but the book is assuring me will happen:

• Once we come home, I will be in such agonizing pain that I will no be able to walk, sit, go upstairs, or use the bathroom for months - and it may not end there.


• Feeding my child will be such a painful and frustrating experience that I will give up and decide she can find her own dadburn nourishment.


• From the moment Madeline exits my body, she will begin screaming violently and will not stop, even to catch her breath, for at least three years. At that point, she will do nothing but throw angry tantrums, touch herself inappropriately in public, and swear at strangers.


• Dan and I might as well sell our bed because we will not sleep for another 18 years.


• Madeline will not actually fall asleep until she is a toddler, when she will wake up several times a night, every night, because of nightmares and raging fevers.


• Our child will have some sort of illness every single day from the time we bring her home. This one has to be true because there is an illness discussed on every single page in the book.


• Listed among the "Common Childhood Illnesses:"  Chicken Pox. Pinkeye. Ear Infection. RABIES....What the heck?????


• If I do not run a half marathon on a daily basis and if I eat anything other than wheat germ and organic spinach for the rest of my natural life, I will forever resemble a sumo wrestler because of how much giving birth will alter my body.


• The following things will make us bad parents:  having a clean house, watching TV, supplementing with formula, using disposable diapers, and telling her "no."


• I will begin to envy and hate my husband, and he become resentful of my permanent depression and no longer find me attractive.

Whew!! It's enough to make me want to leave her in there! Not once have I read anything, yet, about cuddling her, playing with her, singing to her, or seeing her smile for the first time. They just make everything seem so negative, like having a baby is more trouble than it's worth.

Fortunately, as I said before, I have friends and family to set me straight. I know that Madeline was sent straight to us from God and that the wonderful moments with her will far outweigh the struggles. And, thank God for my incredible, adoring husband who is already the best husband and father who ever lived. Thank you, babe, for doing everything you can to make me more comfortable and allay my fears!

In the meantime, I'm on my way to Barnes and Noble to pick up something a little more lighthearted to read. I'll get something less dismal, like something about the Salem Witch Trials, or the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. (or, not...)

34 Weeks

I had my 34 week check up with the new doc this morning (whom I still really like, btw) and everything is awesome as usual! Baby's heartbeat is strong, I'm healthy as usual, and we only have a little more than 5 weeks left!! Can you believe it??? Only a few more weeks until we get to meet our baby girl! I guess we need to get cracking on putting the nursery together, huh? My next visit will be the first of my weekly visits.

While we wait, and because fall is the nicest time of year with the best holidays, I've been looking at pictures of my friends' adorable kiddies trying out their Halloween costumes, walking in pumpkin patches, and checking out some of the fabulous foliage.(Check out the Henderson and Muldrow families on the right!) While looking at the pictures makes me giggle with delight, it makes me even more giddy to think that next year at this time, I'll be sharing this season with my own baby! I'll be dressing Madeline in some precious little outfit, taking pictures of her in the fall air, surrounded by pumpkins and brightly colored leaves, and wondering how in the world people can look at her pictures without absolutely gushing over her cuteness.

It'll be here before we know it!

Webster and Mrs. Head

Let's have a vocab lesson, shall we?

According to Mr. Webster:

weird (weerd) adj. : strikingly odd or unusual in character; strange.

surreal (suh-ree-uhl) adj: having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream.

 

According to Mrs. Head:

weird (weerd) adj: "There are diapers in my house."

surreal (suh-ree-uhl) adj: "And they're for MY kid!"