Grahams Thoughts: Issue 5

I can not beleive how fast this year has gone by. I remember in April, when we found out that we were expecting, thinking that December was going to feel like it was light years away. I've never quite understood when I heard "older" people talking about how time flies until now. I blinked and it is almost time for him to be here. I am so glad we decided to do the 4d sonogram lastweek. To see him move and pucker his "Sara" lips makes me smile. It is amazing that he already has me wrapped around his little finger. I HAVENT EVEN MET HIM YET!!!! To see him open his eyes and bite on his funny little arm is just such a miracle. He even has hair...HAIR!!!!
This time of year has always been Sara and I's favorite time. We absolutely love halloween and getting into our awesome costumes(Always saras ideas!) and spending time with our friends. When he gets here things are going to change but I think this process has made both of us better. I am going to miss staying out till 5 am on halloween and hanging out with a bunch of cross-dressers at the Waffle House. But knowing that he is almost here I can only think about the years of him getting to wear silly costumes and taking him out to Trick or Treat. I dont know when I changed but I have. I guess my thoughts are more just rambling this time but I am so excited...most of y'all already know that. I love little g. I love that Sara is willing to through this for and with me. Its going to be life changing...but..I am totally ready for that. Is it Decemeber yet??!!

Bride-Associates Baby Shower

Last Sunday, the girls I work with threw me a "Pamper The Prego" baby shower! It was so much fun. We had fun playing dress up, drinking tea, eating tons of sweets and I received some great spa gift items (for Mommy-time after Little Graham arrives).

Thanks girls for a great Sunday afternoon. I love you guys.

Gretchen, Sarabeth, Chelsey, Caroline & Suzann

All Dolled Up!

Beautiful Tablescape

We had fun making door hangers as one of the games we played!

Delicious Treats! Cheesecakes, Brownies, Cookies, Creme Brulee, Espresso Creme Cups!

 

Tea-Time! Look at how cute the table is!!!

Thank you also to PattyCakes and A Twist of Tea for your great hospitality!

Sono-Graham

YAY... we had our 4D "sono-graham" today!!  We loved seeing our little guy and we think that Little Graham has a lot of both of us in his face.

Like his mommy, Little Graham's face is perfectly split in half....
From half of his nose up to his forehead: Graham (Daddy)
From half of his nose down to his chin: Sara (Mommy)

It's amazing to me because this is exactly how I am with my parents. From my nose up, I look like my Dad. From my nose down, I look exactly like my Mom.

I love how Little Graham has Graham's beady eyes, cro-magnon and forehead.
I love how he has my detailed upper lip and round chin AND chubby cheeks.

It was so nice to see him -- it's been since 18 weeks!!!  We can't wait to meet him in person.

To watch the videos, simply click on these links:

Sono-Graham
You can see his face -- the cord is in front of it.

Sono-Graham Part II
Face again

Sono-Graham Part III
Face with lots of movement -- he opens his hand and you can see his whole arm.

Sono-Graham Part IV
Face with him sucking on his arm... I don't know if he's found his hand yet. 

Sono-Graham Part V
Little Grahams foot -- who's toes does he have? We think he has a slightly longer second toe than his big toe... but NOT as long as his mommy's. 

Enjoy! We can't wait for him to meet all of you.

My *AWESOME* Win!!

So, last night I attended the Metroplex Baby Best & Hottest Products Event. This event is for DFW mom's to go and check out products before they are released to the general product (some product have already been released). The cost to attend is $65.00 for VIP in which you get more items in your gift-bag, you get in earlier (to check out the items) and you get the choose your numbers first.

So, they let us in at 6pm (on the dot -- the doors were literally locked until then). We (Dena and me) check in and get a VIP name tag. Then we go and check out the goods. They have some really great things, but we were already pretty familiar with the products because you can view them on their website here. Then, we wait for about 45 minutes, until the other mom's are let in to the event.

At about 6:45pm they let us know how we will be picking our order. OH, in order to go and pick a featured item, you get a number from 1-105 and that is your choosing order. So, they say that they will release us by table to go and pick a ballon. Once we pick a ballon we have to WAIT to open it... we go and get dinner that was provided. Once everyone is through the food lines we get to open the package that is holding down the balloons. Inside there is 4 different mini candy bars with numbers on them. They spin a wheel and what ever picture the wheel lands on is your number. The wheel stopped on a Special Dark Candy Bar and I was number 22 -- WHICH IS AWESOME (because it's out of 105).

So, then they take mom's up to pick their items in fives. I had previously made a list of the items we'd wanted but I was sure because I was number 22, my number one item, a Britax Infant Car Seat would be taken. Sooner than I know it, it's my turn!!!  I go up with 5 other women and the woman in front of me is pregnant too and the car seat is still there, so I'm pretty convinced that she's going to snag it... but NO... she goes for the baby monitor!?!?!?  My number is up... I walk over to the Britax Infant Car Seat and ask if it's been taken and....

IT WASN'T!!! YAY...

We officially have a car seat now... and can stop worrying about it. I also got some great things in my grab bag, so over all it was totally worth $65.00. Our car seat is the Britax Infant Chaperone Carrier and normally retails for $229.99. It is one of the best car seats in the market (the only reason we didn't register for it to begin with was the price). We are SO excited... now we just have to figure out how to install it but Graham is going to take it up to the station one day because they have an officer reserved for checking these things out.

Here are some additional photos from the evening:

My friends - Dena & Stephanie at the event with what they choose!

Our Co-ed Baby Shower

This past weekend was our co-ed baby shower, that was graciously hosted by my best friend Sybil and her mom, Mrs. Moore! It was SO much fun... the food was amazing, the game was on (for the guys) and Sybil even made Graham participate by putting on a baby outfit (see photo below).

It meant more to us that everyone was there to celebrate with us! We got some adorable outfits for our little guy and some other great gifts as well.

We have two more to go... one is being given on Sunday to us by the girls I work with and then my girls-only, family shower will be on November 7th and is hosted by my sister-in-law, Cheri. I can't wait!!!  These are so fun but also exhausting.

The "preggo" girls! 

My husband never ceases to amaze me! I would have never thought he would have done this... he is so fun and adorable!

Maternity Photos Password

So, Natali has posted MOST of our maternity photos from mine and Graham's State Fair Day and some fun ones from our private in-studio shoot too!!  I think the only one that is missing is the "cravings" photo that I did... it is adorable but she didn't include it (so it may not have turned out very well).

Here's how to log in and check them out:

****NOTE: If you are at work... turn down the volume as the website has music****
Step 1: Enter www.natsphotography.com to the search bar above.
Step 2: Click on the "Enter Site" link on the far left of the main page
Step 3: Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "Clients"
Step 4: Enter the password "babyq" in the box and then hit submit.

There are 68 photos on now.... so you can sit though them, or scroll through them by waiving your mouse over the main photo and a scroll list will be on the right.

My favorites are:
8, 11, 22, 26, 32, 35, 41, 48, 52, 54, 58, 60, 64, & 65 -- although I love all of them! These are especially special!

What are your favorites... please reply to this post by hitting "comment" and let us know?!

Sneek Peak of Maternity Photos!

So, Natali was gracious enough to send me a few maternity photos from the State Fair... as a sneek peak for all of you! I've seen a few more than what I'm posting but they will all be uploaded on Friday and I will post the link with the password then. We're doing two seperate galleries, one will be for the public to view (which I'll post on Friday) and one will be for my girls-only crowd - which I'll share privately with everyone at my girls-only shower.

We have had such a great week and I love being pregnant this week... what a change from 20 weeks ago... when I couldn't stand it!!

His furniture is here and Sybil and I put together his crib and were very successful!!  Graham and I are putting together the rest of his room tonight and will post finished pictures soon.

32 Week Update!

Wow... we are almost at 50 day's left. I remember when we were excited about 100 days left. I can't believe he'll be here in almost 2 months. Wondering what vegetable our baby is most-closely weighted towards (pictured above)? It's a Large Jicama... what ever that is?!

Today we had another appointment with our midwife, Cherie. Everything sounds great and he is a big guy. I have officially gained 20 pounds for a total of 150, as of today. It's amazing how exhausted I get carrying around this extra weight. Today I talked to Cherie about going in to labor at 37 weeks (which is technically "full-term" and would not be an emergency). Our concern is that the birthing center is going off our originally due date of December 16th -- but we are going off our first-trimester screening measurement of December 8th. This means that if we go in to labor at OUR 37 weeks (from the Dec 8th due date) we could be considered "early" since by the birthing centers date we would only be 36 weeks. But, our midwife assured me that they would have me come in and they have some tests that they could do to determine if it is actually "pre-term" labor or if he is just a little early, but still full term at 37 weeks. This makes me feel much better knowing that if this happens they won't just automatically send us to the hospital.

We had our together maternity photos at the Texas State Fair yesterday. We really had a great time with Natali and the ONE PHOTO she did show us we loved. I can't wait to see more of them... but Natali wants to make sure they are perfect. If you are coming to Graham's shower this weekend, then we will have them to show you then.

Everyone keeps asking me why I would want to take our maternity photos at the State Fair and the main reason is that I have such special memories of attending ALMOST every year of my life with my mom. I loved waking up early, getting breakfast together, getting there before the park opens, walking around all of the exhibits, having a picnic lunch and riding the Scrambler with my mom. I can't wait to share these special memories with Little Graham! But, other reasons include that it is typical "Dallas" -- the city we love so much and that they were so fun and different than boring 'in-studio together' maternity photos.

We've almost finished his room! The walls are painted, the ceiling is complete with painted clouds and an awesome cloud light from Ikea, the dimmer switch is installed. His furniture comes in tomorrow but we'll pick it up on Thursday. My dad is sewing our curtains from our perfect-green matching fabric we found for a steal at Ikea. We just steamed cleaned his carpet yesterday. So, everything is ready to set up when we get his furniture on Thursday! I will post pictures PRONTO... I promise because I am so excited to show you.

I'm losing sleep because this weekend is Graham's co-ed shower and Nina is coming in town all the way from California to celebrate with us. We can't wait to see everyone!! 

There's An Interactive Doll Inside of Me!

Recently Graham and I visited www.spinningbabies.com which is the coolest website to Belly Map and find out where you baby is located (like our midwife does). Once again, we have to do this because we don't get to see our little guy each appointment via sonogram. So, we found out that he is Left Occiput Anterior... which is exactly where he is suppose to be right now. Granted that he could turn and move more because I am told that he won't move in to his permanent position until about 33-34 weeks. Let's cross our fingers and hope that he stays where he is!!

Now that we know where lowercase g is located, I know that when I feel a huge buldge coming from my left side near my lungs, it's his hiney!!  Graham taps on the emerging bulge and says "I'm spanking your butt"... haha; such a goof. The biggest surprise is when I rub on the left side of my belly this now wakes him up and he starts kicking on the right side near my lungs. It kinda makes him cranky but it's SO neat knowing that he reacts to my rubbing and is interactive now!!! 

We have been working hard on getting his room finished before company comes to see it next weekend for our post co-ed shower party (and for Nina coming in town). We have it painted and the furniture comes in next Wednesday and we have to go get it in Flower Mound. We still have to paint the clouds on his ceiling, which I'm a little nervous to do, and get in the cloud light that I ordered off Ebay. The playroom is coming along nicely too... I'll post photos soon... I promise!

Finally, I took my private in-studio photos yesterday with Natali! They were SO much fun and I will post these the link once I receive it from her. I know I'm doing them a little early BUT I didn't want to risk getting stretch marks or being tired (which hasn't caught back up to me yet) or take the risk of feeling any less beautiful because I'm gaining so much weight. Graham and I take our maternity photos together at the State Fair on Monday. Let's cross our fingers that it doesn't rain.