8 Months and Growing Fast!

As a first time Mom I am constantly in awe of other Mothers who seem to get so much accomplished. Some of my friends have a passel full of children, blog, home school, do lots of crafts, are on Facebook, work out, have social lives and make nummy dinners! Wow!! I am curious how it is all done when I am happy to get showered, do a load of laundry, play with baby, get a nap, run a few errands and make an occasional dinner. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them!

Shahayla is growing so fast. She's 8 months and already wearing a lot of 12 month clothes! Jeff is wondering why I am shopping until he goes to put something on her and sees it is to small. :) He doesn't mind all the stuff I find at bargain rates. I should post some photos - I found some stuff - pants/shirts/hoodies recently at Children's Place for a whopping $2.49 each!!! I love having an outlet mall 10 minutes away!
Shahayla's recent accomplishments: Kissy noises and clapping. She is sooo close to crawling! She has two teeth and I think is working on #3.

Ut Oh...I got caught! ;)

Jeff has been super busy at work. We were fortunate enough to travel with him to San Diego/LA for some training and to see his family. We saw his parents, sister and her family (including newest nephew who was 4 weeks at the time), an uncle, Jamaican Gramma Verna, Meeting Friends and a Good Friend from college and his family. Since then Jeff has been to Alaska, Virginia and Illinois. He leaves again for Alaska soon. I miss him so much when he is gone. The days drag by :(. His office recently moved from a floor with a territorial view to a pond/fountain view. So this week he has been living out of a box at work. We saw his desk yesterday and it is the first time I have seen it messy :P

We have been working on a yard project. Maybe I'll get some before and during photos posted. ;)

Well - we haven't had any out of town company...or any company at all...So if you wanna come visit - give us a shout! I can't guarantee the house will be tidy but I'll make sure you have clean utensils and a clean bed! LOL!

4 Months and Growing!

For those of you who actually read this and are concerned (Esther ;P ).
Shahayla was born January 21, 2011 and is doing great! She is 4 months old already and growing fast. I will try to post here on her progress every once in a while :).

Life has been so busy....I am trying to sleep when she does so everything else is on hold for now. She is eating every 2 hours so you know what life consists of...eat, dirty diapers, sleep. All in survival mode :) Thank goodness I have a wonderful husband who picks up the slack!

Until Later!

"Time is fun when you are having flies"

December has come and gone and I didn't even post once. I am trying to figure out how my friends are so diligent and creative with their blogs. If you have any suggestions let me know because it is only going to be more difficult once little Baby Spice has made her grand entrance!

During the month Jeff and I focused on "To Do Before Baby Arrives" projects. The list was daunting and still is. We found that every week we had to re-prioritize what was important and what wasn't as important. It seems that new projects are continually added and some of these get pushed to the front. Especially being first time parents we are realizing new things that should be done ahead of time! It has also helped us to remember our spiritual clocks as well!

We did take time to take a romantic venture to San Antonio River Walk. It was a wonderful relaxing weekend. We rode the boats through the canals, found ourselves at Starbucks several times and did a lot of reading. The walking was very good for me and it was such a cheerful place to do it.

We spent Christmas with our gooood friends Lambros and Dewi. Dewi's family was here from Holland and Lambros' Mom was here from Greece. It was such an enjoyable evening! The house was very festive and beautiful beyond words. The food was incredible and the company was fantastic!

New Years Eve we tried to decide if we should party like a couple w/out impending responsibilities or party like parents...LOL...We ended up hanging out at the house doing projects and then going to our good neighbors Chris and Allison's. We ate cheese and crackers and had a very nice evening chatting. I got a hug from Jeff at midnight as I was heading to bed! This ol' pregnant lady was pooped. :)

It is amazing to us that it is already the 10th of January and Baby Spice may be arriving at anytime! She isn't due until the 19th and the midwife thinks she could be several days late. I have my 39 week appointment tomorrow so we will see how things have progressed from last week. As of last week I was dilated to a 1 and 50% effaced...not that this means much; she will arrive when she is ready. :)

We have continued to enjoy all the holiday greetings, cards, photos and letters we received. Thank you!

I hope this post finds you safely through the Holidays and into a Happy New Year!

November News

Wow - It is almost two months since I last posted! So much has been happening in the last two months. My belly has grown immensely, I am caught up on my reading "What to Expect When You Are Expecting" and I have finally finished reading "Birthing From Within". I think I still have 4 or 5 books to read on my night stand including my bible! We've slowly been working on Baby Spice's room. I am hoping to say it is "finished" by the time we fly out next Friday. Of course that is a lot to hope for when we just got home from a week in Florida and this weekend is birthing class.
We traveled to Florida because J had an oil response training course to attend. While there we drove to see a friend of his that will be 104 in December! She is an inspiring woman. She appears to be only 80 and her memory and hearing are impeccable! We also had the priviledge of spending time with her daughter. The weekend after J's training we headed to the Key's. J has always wanted to take me there and it appeared to be the chance of a life time. I was in awe of the homes but struck by how few beaches they have. If you are going there for beaches - well...just skip it because we have more/better ones here in TX! We then traveled back to Ft. Lauderdale for a wonderful Sunday morning/afternoon with a family Jeff met 6 years ago when he was there for training. They invited us to stay for lunch as well as another couple and their visiting parents. The parents are from Washington!!!
Next Friday we head to celebrate Turkey Day with my family. All the cousins are planning on being there except one living in Sweden. That means about 40 of us. They usually cook 2 birds, a large ham and 20 lbs of potatoes! So you can guess w/all those coming the additional items that will be there to tempt me and Baby Spice!
Today we had a 3D/4D session to see Baby Spice. She is quite adorable and we can't wait to hold her!

Wow Time Flies!

I can't believe my last post was in July! So much has been going on since then.
I have been working full time for a company since May and several weeks ago I started working from home; the commute had been awful. Not as bad as some I have heard, but it felt like every time I went to work or headed home, I was in "near" accidents. I love Texas and it gives me hope that our Country won't go down the drain, but drivers here in Houston can be clueless and reckless. They don't give drivers from other states/countries tests; they just take away their out-of-state license and issue them a TX license. As a result, we have people who are using all different "rules" from wherever they came from! Rarely do people know how to transverse a 4-way intersection, let alone merge when exiting or entering a freeway. Every man for himself- watch out when you come to visit! Needless to say, I sure have enjoyed working from home. It has allowed me more time with Lola and to work on other projects.
Jeff is still working crazy days. His latest schedule is 8 days on 4 days off. This means he is exhausted by day 8 and isn't too crazy to do projects on his 4 recoup days...I must say he does a lot more on those days than I would! He is trying hard to get work done on the Mustang because he realizes come January he won't have much extra time on his hands.
Baby Spice is growing and we are getting more and more excited to meet her. We had a second ultrasound to confirm that we do have a girl on the way. We like to be prepared and knowing if we have a boy or girl on the way helps. I of course have been buying stuff to get ready :) and having fun expanding a baby registry. Oh the things one can find for baby! :) I did quite a bit of bargain shopping - looking for coupons and finding some used stuff. I will try and post a few photos. Baby Spice is still slated for arrival January 19th but she will come when she is ready!
With getting ready for baby and Jeffrey's schedule, we still have a lot to squeeze in before the end of November (when I shouldn't travel far). We have convention, a training trip for Jeffrey to Ft. Lauderdale, a possible trip to CA and WA, Birthing from Within class, sorting and eliminating house stuff, neighborhood garage sale (to make room for baby :P ), and of course other odds and end projects. Feel free to come and visit- we just might put you to work…just kidding :)

We are so excited for this little one! We've already done so much researching and decision making. And to think it is only the begining! One of my good friends teases by saying, "You'd better make a decision right now on the crib. You only have 7 months before you'll need it". LOL

Besides cribs, high chairs, bouncers, pak-n-plays, names and colleges we've had some bigger decisions to make. I have a fabulous OBGYN but after chatting with her and a couple friends that have given birth we were concerned. We weren't concerned about receiving adequate care but feeling we wouldn't receive the one on one care we would like during the labor proceess. After much prayer, research, thought and discussion Jeff and I have decided to go with a birthing center. Nativiti Women's Health and Birth Center

Today I had my first appointment. It was a 2 hour appointment where as the first appointment with my OBGYN took 5 maybe 10 minutes. Most of my questions were answered with out me having to ask them. The Birth Center has 3 nurse midwives. I will meet with each of them over the next 7 months. The one I chatted with today is a new mother herself and she gave birth at the Center just 2 months ago. Among all the information, answers, literature, suggestions there was excitement worth sharing.....I got to hear Baby Spice's heart beat again!!!!! Jeff and I have a feeling we are having a ___________. Oops - I forgot - we are keeping that a secret till next month! :)

My next appointment is August 16th and we may get to see if Baby Spice is a boy or girl if he/she cooperates. Until my next appointment we are assuming the original due date. January 22, 2011

We are Expecting!

We are very excited to announce that we are expecting our first baby! Baby Spice is the "teddy bear" shape at the bottom of the dark heart.

I have been referring to our baby as Baby Spice because of "McCormick" brand spices.

Baby Spice is due to arrive around January 22nd; this means I am 9 weeks pregnant. According to different books, Baby spice is approximately the size of a large green olive. A fact which has intrigued my niece and nephew as well as me! :)