reading and such

Growing up I loved books. One of my favorite past times was reading. As I got older and life got a little more busy I didn't find as much time for pleasure reading. Now that I'm expecting I look forward spending time reading to her. I had my mom gets some of my old books down from their attic. I was excited to dig through the box and search out my favorites. The one I was most excited about was "Mr. Bell's Fixit Shop". I had searched for it online only to find out it was of course out of print. I found it on a few websites for $20-$30 but that seemed a tad steep for a children's book. The book was in the box from the attic. Sadly it has seen better days. The front cover is tattered and the back cover is missing, but all of the pages are there. I have been reading "Oh, Baby, the Places You'll Go!" to Lucy. People may think I'm crazy but she starts moving when I'm reading. My aunt who works with an early childhood program, said that they give that book to all the expecting moms. One lady said that when she read it to her baby after it was born it responded. How cool is that. Sure it could be a coincidence but research shows that babies do hear in the womb so maybe there is something to it? Whatever the case may be, I am enjoying bonding with her through reading.

In other news I had my monthly Dr.'s appointment on Wednesday. They did another ultrasound to take a look at her heart and face since they didn't get a good look last time. She appears to be perfect. I asked my mom and grandma to go along since Tommy went last time and we really can't afford for him to take off work. We had a good time and did a little shopping after the appointment. It hit me that there were 4 generations on that little trip. One of them was in my belly, but she was there. I look forward to many more days like that.

*Blogger is being contrary right now and is not letting me move my pictures, so I guess they will both have to stay at the top of the page. Annoying.

little. cute. clothes.

Tonight I pulled out a few of my favorite outfits that I have bought for Lucy. I thought I would share them.
So there you have a little glimpse into Lucy's wardrobe so far.

little flutters

Around Thanksgiving I started to feel little flutters in my belly. I wasn't sure if it was Lucy at first. Now I am feeling her on a regular basis. The movements are still not that strong, but it is for sure baby. Tommy has been anxious to feel her as well. Every night he puts his hand on my belly hoping for something. On Tuesday night she was really moving around. I told Tommy and he quickly put his hand on my tummy. It wasn't long before he felt his daughter move for the first time. It was magical. We looked at one another and smiled. What a wonderful little moment in our lives. For that one little millisecond everything was okay and life was good.

Not a day goes by when I don't thank God for the miracle that is growing inside of me but I can't help but rewind to this time last year. I was pregnant. Life was good. I did not know what the future held. Today I was doing a yearly home visit with a client. One of the first things she said when I sat down was, "You had a baby right?" Wow, I was not prepared for that one at all. I was shocked that she even remembered. I went on to explain what had happened and that I was again expecting as I gently rubbed my expanding tummy. I am constantly amazed at how sharing my experience can actually be comforting. I have had several clients tell me about their own experiences of loss. We are generations apart but we are women talking about a very tender time in our lives and I find comfort in that. So, while I am over the moon excited about the little one fluttering in my tummy I still think about the other child that was once in there and I never got to hold. Life is full of changes and surprises around each and every corner. I am trying to learn to embrace these surprises and changes and to not let them rock the boat too much.

room update

Tommy was right, he did a wonderful job painting the room. He got it done quickly too. It is so nice that it is painted and the crib and furniture are in there. Now I just have some finishing touches like artwork and a rug to find. Oh, and we need to decide on a rocking chair as well. I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I love the paint color. Generally I'm not very good at picking out colors. This time I took a piece of the bedding to the paint store and had them match the color. So easy and much less stressful. I bought 2 gallons and we only ended up needing 1. Like I said, I'm not so good at picking out paint. The pictures really do not show the color very well though. My photography skills are not up to par when it comes to capturing indoor shots. So, if you want a better idea of what the room looks like and you live close, or even if you live far away and are up for a road trip, stop on by and check it out. There are also a few more pictures on my Flickr account.

Her room is quickly filling up with clothes. I need to separate them out by size to see what we actually have. I have only bought a few things, the rest is all my mom. Tomorrow my mom and I are going to try to go shopping to check see if we can hit some good sales. I'm hoping to find a few things for myself as well. I'm noticing that some of my pre-pregnancy shirts are not fitting so well. I'm also in need of some "comfy" pants. If you know me well you know that as soon as I walk in the door from work I'm in lounge wear. I must say that my belly is getting bigger even though I'm still pretty much at my pre-pregnancy weight. At least two or three times a day Tommy looks at me and kind of giggles and says, "You have a pregnant belly." That I do. Here is a picture of me at 19 weeks and 5 days.