Arkansas Showers

Bill and I were given two great showers in Arkansas.  It was so wonderful to see everyone and share the happiness that just exudes from the anticipation of pregnancy and baby Evan's arrival.  First, here are a few pictures taken of the shower given by Bill's sister Amber and cousin Candice.

The last two pictures are of Amber, Heather and myself.  Our family is expanding rapidly and Evan will have two cousins with very close birthdays.  Amber and I were actually due one day apart, but her sweet little Bailey decided to come early on November 29th.  Heather's sweet little girl, Payton, will be here on or before Thursday, December 22nd.  Life should  be fun with three little ones.

Next up are pictures from the shower given by Bill's mom, sister Courtny, and my friends, Ailini, Candice, Nikki, and Valerie.   As with the other showers, everything was perfect!  We are so lucky.

Induction

Tomorrow, Bill and I will check into the hospital to be induced.  After waiting 41 weeks, we have decided that enough is enough and it is time to evict Evan.  Right now, I am not even sure what emotions I am feeling. My emotions change every five minutes, so it is hard to track down just one.

Mainly I am feeling anxious and nervous about the labor and delivery process.  I will be getting an epidural and trust the nurses and doctors, so that helps.  But, I know it will be painful.  Or as my friend Beth puts it, it will be labor, and labor = hard work.  Perhaps it is because I have yet to feel a true contraction, but the anticipation of contractions make me nervous.  The best way I know how to describe it is as if someone wanted to pay you $1,000.00 to slap you across the face or hit you with a rubber band.  Sure, I would take the bet knowing the pain is temporary and who doesn't want a $1,000.00, but that doesn't mean I am not going to flinch every time that person comes close to me.  I just hope I remember to breath!

Aside from just beginning the process, I am not really nervous about anything else that will take place in the hospital.  Maybe the hospital is like a safe zone.  No matter what I happens, I know I will be in good hands.  I could go one for days about the various things I am nervous about once we get home, but one day at a time right. :)

Bill and I have hired a photographer to document the birth of baby Evan.  My hope for this is that not only will Bill and I be able to have these pictures to reflect back on perhaps the most important day of our lives, but also that our families who were not able to travel for Evan's birth will feel, at least in a small way, that they were part of this amazing experience.  The photographer will make a slideshow of Evan's birth (I promise it will be G-rated), and I will try to email it to everyone as soon as possible.  

Work Shower

Here are few pictures from my work shower.  Bill and I had a great time and were blessed with so many great gifts.  Unfortunately, we did not get one picture with all the gifts, so you are just going to have to take my word for it.

Pride

I used to have it.  Now, well now I just have stretch marks!  Truth be told, I haven't been posting pictures on here because, well, I would rather not look at them. There is a reason why pregnant women cannot see below their belly button.  It is frightening, that is why!  I am thinking I will continue taking weekly or monthly pictures after Evan is born, hopefully tracking my progress as I get smaller.  That sounds like a lot more fun!  Because I have lost all pride, here are the last 3 months of pictures.  Yes, I stopped taking weekly pictures and resorted to once a month. Sorry, it was all I could get myself to agree to.

As you can see, during months 8 and 9, I was big.  But at least at the beginning of month 9, I did not have any  stretch marks.  I thought I was in the clear.  It gave me a false sense of security.  Sometime around 37 or 38 weeks, I was attacked by a tiger in my sleep.  I have no other explanation.  Below is the 40 week picture.  It is from the side, so you can only see a few, but just imagine that all the way across to the other side.  Yay me! 

Hopefully they will get smaller and disappear with time.  If not, there is always surgery. :)

Baby Showers

WOW, Bill and I are truly blessed.  Through work, friends and family, we had four, yes four, showers.  Evan has everything he could possibly need and more.  Now that the showers are complete and we are just waiting on Evan to make his appearance, I thought I would share some photos from each shower.  Here are pics from our first shower given by my family in Louisiana.  Thank you so much everyone for making this time in our lives extra special.

Advice

During my showers, Bill and I asked everyone to write down advice they had for us as parents. The things written were so sweet and we wanted to share them with you.  So, here it goes:

Always put socks on a baby.  Give lots of love, have patience, especially with toddlers.  Let him be a boy, i.e. get in the mud, collect bugs, etc., but if he likes dolls, dishes, cooking, etc., then let him do that too.  ~ Aunt Deloris

Don't sweat the small stuff - Enjoy each phase of childhood.  Pray for him each day.  Speak blessings over him each day.  Always keep in extra set of clothes for him with you (at every age :) ) ~ Mom (Dianne Hantz)

Sleep when you can.  Love every minute of every day. . . It goes by so fast! ~ Valerie

(1) Buy lots of batteries for toys, monitor, etc, (2) you can never have to many socks, burp cloths, bibs; (3) you will get it as you go along.  I know you will be great! ~ Lini

You will be amazing parents ~ Candice

Well, I'm not much for parenting advice, so. . . call me if you need help with his medicine. ~ Nikki

Sleep when the baby is sleeping.  Always encourage.  Hugs & kisses always.  Rock them as much as you want! ~ Nana (Dianna Yarbrough)

Give Evan lots of love.  Always let him know how special he is.  Teach him about Jesus and that he always has a friend in Him.  ~ Tracey

Try not to let them start sleeping in your bed.  It is hard to break the habit once started. ~ Anonymous

Feel free to be mean when you discipline him.  He will love you for it later.  ~ Anonymous

Do the best you can.  Treasure every minute. They grow so fast.  ~ Grandma Hickox

Give him lots of love.  Have patience.  Take them to church and teach them about the love of God and to always trust Him to see them through an situation.  ~ Granny Cole

Listen to what they are saying -- Be a mother and a friend.  ~ Marsha Cole

Cherish every moment.  They grow up so fast.  Make sure to always have family time and try to be consistent.  It is hard sometimes.  Not to worry, you will be great parents. ~ Amber and Franco

Love every minute while he is little and spend as much time with him as possible.  They grow up way too fast. You guys will be great! ~ Candice Palmer

Try to always remember that Evan will only be small for a short amount of time in comparison to a lifetime. . .enjoy all the good and not so good because one day you will miss them both! ~ Ashley

Rock your baby -- don't worry about spoiling him.  The time you spend rocking will not be wasted - soon he will be running and busy on his own buy you will always be a welcomed, loving spot for him.  Also, make up silly songs - they love it when they are small and you can drive them crazy with them when they are teenagers. ~ Mimi

Keep his diaper clean. ~ Granny Hantz

Love this baby Evan and enjoy him.  Teach him to love Jesus and read to him everyday. ~ Jayme Martin

Show Daddy how to change his diaper.  Have lots of patience and pray often.  ~ Mawmaw

Be the boos and train him young. ~ Savanna, John and Eli

Speak blessings over Evan everyday.  Speak words of purpose and based on the promises of God.  Your affirmation will reassure him of his Heavenly Father's love & acceptance.  ~ Aunt Liz

Take time and enjoy him.  He will grow so fast.  Get a housecleaner! ~ Mandy

Thanks for all the great advice everyone!

My sweet baby

Bill and I were able to see Evan in 3d today.  He melts our hearts and we think he is just so perfect.  Here are a few pictures:

Evan's Belize trip

In August, Bill and I went to Belize with my parents, John and Savanna.  I just thought I would share a picture to prove that yes, Evan had a great time.  In this picture he is fishing and likely wishing he was with his dad since his mom really sucks at fishing.

DISCLAIMERS FOR ALL FUTURE POSTS

I would just like to advise everyone that the extreme tiredness of the third trimester has officially kicked in.  Thus, I make no promises that future posts will be free of spelling errors. Heck, I am not even willing to promise that the posts will make any sense.  Such is life for me right now.

Music to my ears!

Ever since Evan's movements have been visible from the outside, Bill and I have felt that he is rather shy.  He will move and move for me, but the moment I tell Bill to come feel, he stops movement.  Bill thinks Evan likes to make me look silly.  Maybe so.

Anyway, over the past couple days, Bill has started playing music from his iphone and holding it up to my belly.  Frank Sinatra seems to be his current favorite.  It is so hilarious when the music starts playing. Evan moves in what I call the "amoeba".  Basically, it is not so much sharp kicks, but instead he makes my entire belly move like one big amoeba.  Although yesterday, he did kick Bill in the face.  It was priceless.   Bill was playing an instrumental song and making up the words while laying his head on my belly.  After about thirty seconds, Evan issued a strong kick right in Bill's face, as if to say "No Dad, you stop that! You're ruining the song."  Bill and I laughed so hard.  At least I know I am not the only one who gets annoyed by Bill making up lyrics.

Kidney Stones

It's official, I must have passed the kidney stone and not realized it.  I am not sure what that says about me other than the drugs must have been working.  For those who do not know, last Sunday night I began to have bad pain in my lower back on the right side, which radiated to my hip.  After having the pain for 5 hours straight and not being able to sleep, I called the women's center associated with my doctor's office and asked for something stronger than Tylenol.  My doctor called in Tylenol with codine and Bill and I filled that prescription at 1:00 a.m. or so Sunday night.  Not only did this not make me feel better, but made me feel much worse, causing me to throw up several times. 
At 5:00 a.m. Monday morning, Bill had enough and ship my butt to the hospital.  We stayed there until noon Monday and I was pumped with lots of drugs.  To be honest, I was miserable until the IV and drugs were in place.  After that, I was so content.  The drugs were working, the bed was comfortable and they have cable - Hello HGTV, I have missed you!! I could have stayed there longer, but Bill was tired of trying to sleep in a lazy boy after having not slept all night and I think the nurses wanted their space back. So, I reluctantly agreed to go home.

The urologist, who we met with Tuesday morning, told us that if a week went by with no more pain, we could safely assume that I passed the kidney stone without knowing it.  So, I am calling it a success two hours early.  Here's to no more kidney stones for the next eight weeks!

But I was the first child!!

Evan's mattress came in on Thursday.  I'm afraid Baxter is going to be in for a rude awakening.  

Maternity Clothes

I wore my first maternity shirt to church last Sunday.  Although I am not a huge fan of maternity clothes, I thought it only fair that I include it on the blog in the interest of full disclosure. 

Again, sorry for the sideways shot. I do not know why it keeps doing that, and to be honest, I am too lazy to figure it out. :)

The Name Game

Deciding on a name is hard work.  We thought of and looked through literally hundreds of names and nothing sounded right.  Mostly this was because you have to choose the right combination of a first and middle name. However, name picking is one of those things that you just know it when you hear it.  If I knew then what I know now, I would tell myself that if the name doesn't sound right immediately, then it is not the right name.  When I heard both the first and middle name, I knew immediately that it was the right choice.  And just like that, it was finished, the baby has a name:  Evan Wesley Cole.

Nursery Progress

Bill and I have been working on the nursery over the last few weeks.  So far we have painted, assembled Evan's dresser and began making one of the many DIY projects we hope to complete for his room.  Here are just a few pictures of the progress. 

The paint.  It is gray, although it looks a little blue in these pictures.

Sorry for the sideways shot:

There is the sneak peak and a little hint of what we are building.   Hope to finish this project this weekend.

Have a great weekend everyone!

PIcture time!

Sorry, I have been a little behind on the pictures.  We have been diligently taking them, I just am not that great at putting them on the blog.  Please forgive me if I do not think posting pictures of my expanding belly is my idea of a good time.  Although, it is probably better this way because you guys can see how much Evan has actually grown over the past month.  It is simply amazing to Bill and I. 

Are we sure there is not 2 babies in there!! Holy crap my belly looks big.  Also, did anyone else notice that I have less than 100 days left?  Woot Woot!

Bring it on Month 7

Monday, August 29th, started month 7.   I am hoping that this month will go better than the last.  I am learning what not to eat/drink to prevent heartburn (no milk in the morning people!).  On the down side, I will likely have to go maternity cloths shopping this month.  BUMMER!! I really do not want to spend the money, but I know it is a must. 

This month will likely go by extremely fast.  This weekend, Bill, Evan and I will be walking in a 1 mile fun walk to raise money in honor of a friend of a friend who is battling ovarian cancer.  The weekend after, Ashley and Mattox will be visiting Oklahoma and I am sure several nursery/craft projects will be completed that weekend.  The weekend of the 23 - 25, both Bill's mom and my mom will be coming up and it is nursery bedding making time.  We will also be getting a 3d ultrasound that weekend.  I can hardly wait.  Then, the grand finale of September -- EVAN is going to trial people.  That's right, me and my pregnant self have trial on September 26th.  I could not be more excited about the prospect of going to trial and more terrified about the idea of buying a suit that I may never fit into again. 

I guess it does not matter whether month seven will be smooth or difficult, because it sure as heck will go by fast. 

Adding to the clothes collection

Bill and I saw this onesie on zullily.com (great source of discount items) and could not resist getting it for Evan.  So adorable!

We heart you IKEA

and we wish you would open a store in Oklahoma.

I have been wanting to make a trip to IKEA in Dallas for a long time.  Yes, it is worth the 3 hour one way drive to shop for furniture.  About a month ago, Bill and I decided that Sunday, August 21st, we would make the journey.  I shopped online in advance, made my wish list, evaluated the cost, and began to set my plan in motion.  Bill, having never been to IKEA, did not really understand what the fuss was about.  I figured if he got there and became bored, I would just check him into the daycare while I shopped.  Luckily, that did not happen as he quickly became as fascinated as I was with the store.  On the shopping list were: living room tables (sofa, coffee and end), and a dresser for Evan.  We also purchased storage baskets to go into the sofa table in the living room.  

Now, let me explain IKEA to those who have never been.  IKEA is not pottery barn.  Instead, the quality of furniture is probably similar to Target, but the selection and price are so much better.   It is like Target on steriods.   However, being that the furniture is inexpensive, one would not want to spend a lot of money shipping items.  That is the thing about IKEA.  Shipping usually cost more than item itself.  For example, the bookcase/dresser we purchased for Evan cost $69.  The shipping: $349.  Yes, it would cost $418.99 to purchase and ship a $70 bookcase.  That is why people do not buy IKEA furniture online.  Instead, you should make a complete idiot of yourself by purchasing four decent size furniture items, load them into your Nissan Sentra, waive at the onlookers and stalkers for the entire 3 hour trip back to OKC, and finally unload your car Mary Poppins style while your neighbors watch in amazement.  That is what we did at least.   Pictures to follow.....

Joys of Pregnancy

Have you ever wanted to massage your butt in public? Have you ever had unbearable indigestion yet still felt hungry?  If not, obviously you have never experienced second trimester of pregnancy.  Many say that the second trimester is considered the "glory period" and the best time in pregnancy.  I don't know where these idiots get their informtion from, but I do not consider rubbing my butt in public while burping uncontrollably with burning acid reflux to be glorious.   Glorious is eating an unlimited supply of cheesecake without gaining a pound.  Glorious could even be sleeping in and watching T.V. all day.  Glorious is not a soccer ball belly, weird butt discomfort, and swallowing your own stomich acid so you do not throw up in a business meeting.  At least not to me.

Do you need any further description on how pregnancy is going today?  LOL!  It could possibly be that my first trimester and the first half of my second trimester were so easy that these past few weeks have completely caught me off guard.  As silly as it may seem, I had become comfortable and actually thought I would sail through pregnancy without a single discomfort.  I am now learning that is not going to happen.   I have reevaluated my goals and am now focusing on learning to deal with the discomfort.  Or at least learning to discreetly massage my left buttocks. 

Daddy Bonding Time

August 15, 2011 - Bill felt Evan kick for the first time.  Well, confirmed anyway.  Last Saturday (August 6th), Bill thought he felt Evan but I was sleeping and he didn't want to wake me up to see if Evan really was moving around.   Last night, however, I confirmed that what he was feeling was absolutely the baby moving.  To say it was exciting would be a huge understatement. 

Cause its all in my head...

and I think about it over and over again.....  For those of you who do not know what I am talking about, you should really get in tune with Nelly (yes, the rapper).  OK, so I guess I am the only Nelly fan "up in here", so lets just get on with it.

I picked out and mom purchased fabrics today.  I am so excited and grateful that my mom wants to purchase and make bedding for little Evan.

In all serious, right now, this is all in my head.  Bill, I know, is just hoping that it turns out semi-OK and I do not make Evan cross-eyed with my pattern choices (yes, he actually told me this.).   As you probably remember, here is the crib we are going with:

If I could photoshop the kid out of the picture, I would. He's a little distracting.  

You probably also remember that we will incorporate these pictures into the room, along with a lot of other great etsy finds that I haven't exactly found yet:

Originally, I wanted the orange to stand out in the room.  Sadly, I was vetoed by Bill.  So, I will just have to incorporate the orange with accessories.

Without further nonsense, here is the fabric:

I really hope the picture does the fabric justice.  Also, although it doesn't really look like it in these pictures, the ABC fabric and striped fabric coordinate well together.

Tomorrow, Bill and I are going to Lowe's for paint samples.  We are currently thinking gray for the bedroom walls and blue for the closet walls (oh, yes we are so going there). I will let you know how it goes. For now, I leave you with this: click me!