Update...

Or more like, no update. I went to the doctor on Tuesday and I hadn't progresses any. Apparently, taking time off from work has slowed the whole process. I am officially on maternity leave and I've been able to relax, so I think Elaina has decided to relax with me. I've cleaned the house, all the bags are packed, laundry is caught up, and now we just wait... We are definitely starting to get anxious and we are definitely ready for her to be here. Although, Steve and I are not known to be the most patient people in the world. Steve's mom has finished the glidder cushions and the curtains. And they look incredible! The room has really come together! There's still a couple of little things I want to do in the room, but I'm going to wait until after Elaina comes. I want to get a collage frame for the ultrasound pictures and the maternity pictures. And I want to get a different basket for on top of the chest. Michelle brought me a bunch of baby toys, so I need a bigger basket for up there. I have another doctor's appointment scheduled on Wednesday. They are going to do an ultrasound just to check everything since it will be after my due date, and then I guess we just wait for Friday, February 6th. See, Michelle, she might make her debut on your birthday afterall! :)

Update...

Don't you love how creative I'm becoming with my titles. I just don't have the brain capacity right now to even think about fun titles. Last week was lots of fun. I had two baby showers. The first was at work. We actually have 3 of us expecting. With only 10 employees in our office, that's a pretty high percentage - so don't be drinking the water at my office!!! We got lots of fun things! I didn't get a single picture - it was on a Monday and it's really hard to remember anything on Monday mornings. We got our laundry basket, cute little outfits, our bottle drying rack, and so much more. Then on Saturday, my sweet friends from church threw me a shower. It was so much fun! Once again, I have no pictures. This time I remembered my camera, but not the charged battery pack. Thankfully, Holly and Michelle had their cameras, so I will be able to get some pictures from the day. It was such a great time. We ate, opened gifts and just relaxed and talked. It was supposed to be from 2-4, and most of us ended up staying until after 5 o'clock. It's always so much fun to get together with a bunch of "hens" and just sit and chat. (that puts a smile on my face - Grandaddy always said he was a rooster stuck in the middle of a hen party - even while he was in the hospital he joked about all his hens that took care of him!) I got so many great things at the shower! Lots of cute outfits and blankets. Lots of necessities like bath stuff, diapers, wipes, thermometers, etc. We got our changing table pad and cover, so it's ready to go. I was a bad friend though, I put everything away as soon as I got home without taking any pictures of it all. Sorry! I just was really excited and wanted everything to get put away before Elaina makes her debut. Then on Sunday, Steve and I went to Babies'R'Us to exchange a few things we got duplicates of and we ended up buying our stroller and car seat. It was kind of funny how things turned out. We weren't going to buy on Sunday, we were just going to look at the options and then look at our budget and make our decision. But the stroller ended up being on sale and we had coupons for 15% off the stroller and 15% off the car seat. So, we bit the bullet and bought it. I'm so excited! It's the one I wanted from the beginning. The stroller works just like a travel system and I can use the infant seat in it. But the stroller is a smaller stroller and I will be able to use it until Elaina is Emily's age. So, no more hunching over the umbrella stroller - which makes me really, really happy! So, now for the progress report: Went to the doctor yesterday. I am dilated 1 cm and I am 70% effaced. So, he said I made LOTS of progress in the last week. If Elaina doesn't make her debut before February 6th, that will be the day for induction. But I'm having contractions on and off, so I think it will be before then. In fact when Steve came home last night, he didn't have his house keys, so I had to let him in. I was in the middle of a contraction and he didn't know, so he bent down to kiss the belly and it hurt so bad for him to even kiss the belly. He jumped back as soon as his lips touched my belly and was like - "what's up with the belly - it is super tight". So I had to explain to him what was going on. He was so excited!!! He keeps telling her to come out already. He's so ready to meet his new daughter! I have Elaina's diaper bag packed and sitting in the pack n play in our bedroom along with her boppy (Thanks Michelle!) and now I'm starting to get my stuff together, just in case!

Maternity Pictures and Update...

So, there's really no update. Elaina is getting a little bit more ready, but still no big progress. I go back to the doctor next Tuesday, so we'll see if I have any progress there. This past week we had our friend Regina come over and take some maternity pictures. I wasn't really for sure how they were going to turn out. I'm not one of those women who loves the way her belly looks while she's pregnant, but I really wanted some photos of our family during this stage. I'm so glad we did it! It was stress free because she came to our house and took them. And I absolutely love the fact that it's our house that is the background of the pictures. Here's a link to Regina's blog: http://catch-a-glimpse.tumblr.com/ She is fantastic! So, if you need some photos taken - you should give her a call!

Elaina Update...

Just wanted to update everybody. I went to the doctor this week and her head is down, so she's in position. I've still not dilated any yet. So, it looks like Elaina may be taking after her big sister and stay in until the end. I go back to the doctor next Tuesday and will get checked again. In two weeks, we'll get an ultrasound to check her size since Emily was a 9 pound baby. Sunday we are doing some maternity pictures and I'm so excited! Our friend Regina is taking the pictures and will hopefully do some newborn shots when Elaina makes her arrival. I'll update more later once I've gone to the doctor again.

Elaina's Room...

is almost complete. We got the dresser today, thanks to John and Nikki. John and Steve went to Franklin today and picked it up. Then Nikki and I put away all the clothes and hung some pictures. The only thing that's lacking is the cushions for the glidder and the valance Steve's mom is making for us. Oh, and Elaina. I guess it wouldn't be much of a room without a baby to go in it. Here's some pictures of the progress. There's still a few little things that I want to add, but I'm not going to be stressing over them if I don't get them all complete.

This is a picture of the dresser. We will be using it as the changing table, so we will add the changing pad and the basket holds all the supplies for changing diapers.

Okay, I just had to add this picture. I know the drawers won't stay like this, but I just had to have proof that I was trying to be organized before Elaina's arrival.

This is a little pillow Mom and I found while out doing some Christmas shopping. I couldn't pass it up. I think it is so cute! It, of course, will be taken out once she gets a little bigger. But for now it works.

This is the monogram above Grandaddy's chest. I love the way it turned out! Here's a closer look:

And these are pictures of several of the outfits and things Elaina got for Christmas. I couldn't believe how much she got and she's not even here yet!

I had to put a picture of this bib my aunt Bonnie Jo bought for Elaina. I just love it! It makes laugh out loud every time I see it.

I'm sure by now, you can tell we are definitely getting excited about the arrival of Elaina. Steve even came in to check the room out during the USC/Penn State game today. We're on the final count down!