She's here!!

Introducing Cecilia ClaireBirthday: July 7, 2010 (5 days early!!)

Weight: 6 pounds, 2 ounces
Length: 20"
Hair: Blonde, and lots of it!

More details and birth story to follow, but for now, I'm too busy enjoying my perfect little Button :-)

Nursery? Check!

Cecilia's room is finally done, done, done! After much obsessing careful consideration about baby bedding, I finally decided on the gorgeous Sophie collection from Pottery Barn Kids. Combine that with the robin's egg blue walls and the butterfly accents, and I'm really happy with how her room has turned out!

This is the best pic of the actual wall color, and I LOVE how her name decal turned out over her crib!!

I learned my lesson the first time around, and got a comfy chair for those late night feedings!

Changing station and a dresser full of diapers and jammies :-)

See?!?!? A drawer full of adorable butt fluff :-)


Toy box, adorable Boppy cover and the great butterfly picture hook I found at PBK!

A closet full of clothes. Thanks to our insanely generous friends, I hardly have to buy anything for Ceci to wear her first year!

And some of the little details that I love:

Butterfly nightlight	Paper butterfly wall decor	Girliest lamp ever!

How is it June already?!?!

Um...wow... has it really been an entire month since I've updated the blog?? And how in the world is it June ALREADY?!?!? It's so surreal, we get to meet our baby girl next month - Cecilia is due in just 37 days :-)

35 weeks pregnant, ready to head out to our fantastic sprinkle!

For Memorial Day, we all went up north to Traverse City to visit Graham's Grammy and Grampy. Graham had his first adventures playing in sand and the lake. And I think it's safe to say he enjoyed both! I don't have any pics of him swimming in the lake, I was too busy trying to keep my little fish afloat, but I did capture some of his grins in the sand:

Enjoying the view of the lake

"Here, Mommy, stop taking pictures and play with me!"

Soaking up the rays after a long swim

(don't worry, he was slathered in sunblock!!)

Another first for Graham was his visit to the zoo with our friends Melissa and Hailey. We had a great time, Graham really enjoyed running around the monkey house and loved the lions. If you ask him what the lion says, he'll tell you "rawr". Ah-dora-ble!!


And for *some reason* the kangaroos reminded me so much of our Maggie and Gibson, I just had to take a picture. Ahhh... nature at its finest ;-)

Baby Bedrooms

We've been working full force over the last few weeks to really give both of our babies a great space that's all their own.

I've already published pics of the nursery in progress already, but we've added a few more touches, so I hope you don't mind seeing the cuteness that is Cecilia's room again :-)

Of course, not to be left out, Graham had to get a stellar big boy room redo as well!! I'm so in love with his baseball themed room, it's by far my favorite room in the house!

Halfway there!

Last Monday marked my 20th week of pregnancy. For you non-preggo types, that's the halfway point, as most typical pregnancies are 40 weeks long. I cannot believe I'm now closer to the end than the beginning - I have no idea where the time went!! So now, as I'm writing this at 21.5 weeks pregnant, we're now counting DOWN to the day we meet our little girl, as opposed to counting UP to the date.

We've been busy, still getting the house in order, painting, light construction and updating. And one of the rooms in desperate need of paint is the nursery. It was a gawd-awful shade of banana peel yellow (I wish I would have taken a picture of it in all its hideousness). And I just couldn't look at it any longer, especially since we had the furniture all in and set up. So last weekend, while Erik was in Miami on business (rough life, huh?), I got ambitious and decided to paint. And I have to admit, it was a little nerve-racking -- it's definitely AQUA. Really, really aqua. But now that I'm over the shock, I love it.




It's serene and calming and I can't wait to see how it looks with Baby Girl's bedding, which is on backorder until May (boo). The nursery is still a work in progress, obviously, and there are a ton of half-finished projects (like the paper mobile hanging above the chair) that'll keep me busy for the next 18.5 weeks. But it's getting there, and I'm loving it. Now it just needs a sleeping, beautiful little girl :-)

Because I've had a couple of requests from friends far away or those I may not see on a regular basis, here's a 20/21 week belly shot. I'm enjoying my pregnant belly much more this time, with Graham I carried much lower and wider, aka "not so cute or flattering". This time around, my bump is higher and definitely protrudes more, and I'm having fun looking pregnant this time around!

So here's hoping the last half of the pregnancy goes as smoothly (and as quickly!!) as the first half did

Grateful

It's February 8, 2010, and I'm sitting here amazed and oh so grateful for everything I have. Two years ago today, Erik and I were sitting in the doctor's office with our fingers crossed, hoping and praying that our IUI would work. We'd undergone testing, injections, and numerous ultrasounds to get to this point, all in hopes of starting our family.

Through it all, Erik's patience, his optimism, and his concern reminded me how incredibly lucky I was to have such an outstanding partner. And today, two years later, I am still so grateful that I get to share the rest of my life with such a wonderful man.

Two years ago today, as we were sitting in that procedure room, I knew there was the possibility that I might never be a mother. And yet, I'm sitting here today watching my toddler waddle around the family room, pulling his wooden puppy behind him and jabbering excitedly to his daddy. My adorable, goofy little boy, the little miracle I prayed and hoped for so desperately two years ago, is more perfect than I ever could have imagined, and I am so proud and grateful to be his mommy.

I'm grateful for my family, even the pain-in-the-butt dogs. And today, I have one more thing to be grateful for. Two years ago today, I didn't know if I was ever going to be a mommy, and today, I can say I'm so profoundly grateful to be mom to one incredible little boy, and his gorgeous little sister.

It's a GIRL!