Pregnancy Pics: Weeks 23-40

Amazingly enough, I'm actually writing this blog BEFORE Evelyn's arrival. I'm shocked that I managed to get this done before I went into labor, but having a baby right after a 3-day weekend has its perks. We've been so busy getting prepped for the big day, and I've had lots of extra time to get everything done! It's refreshing to feel so ready. 

Here are all the photos we've taken of my pregnancy progress (actually, NOT EVEN CLOSE to all of them...Chase was ambitious with the weekly photographs). Weeks 32 and 33 are missing because we were in Vegas, and then took maternity pictures.

And from above:

I ran out of energy to do a collage from start to finish, but I included the pictures from my previous post for comparison's sake. Culling through and choosing which pictures to use, and then actually making the collages took about three hours. That's a lot of swelling time for my cankles.

Pregnancy is so beautiful, and I loved every moment...right up until the first moment of my third trimester. I may have "birthing hips," but my rib cage is another story. I've had this nerve pain on the right side of my ribs for the last ten or so weeks. The more I sit, the worse it gets. Sleeping? What a joke! I've been cranky and fatigued and a downright pleasure to be around, I'm sure. My sweet husband...he needs an award for putting up with this hot mess. Oh, and hot, I forgot to mention hot. I've never been hot this much in my life! I'm one of those people who takes a sweater everywhere. Not. This. Summer. Oh, right...back to Chase. Could any man be more tolerant and long-suffering? I mean, I already knew this because he married me, but he's been even MORE obliging and gracious. I won the husband lottery, and I hope he knows how much I'm thankful for him!

Really, I am thankful for such a smooth, drama-free pregnancy, but this emotional desire to be free from this weight on my chest runs much deeper than logic. It's hormonal. 

It really helps when strangers at the grocery store ask if you're having twins, too. 

Dear, sweet, beautiful Evelyn. COME OUT, ALREADY! It's much more fun out here!

Nursery

If you know anything about me, you know I like to be original. Taking ideas from others and making them my own is fun for me, and once I get an idea in my head I don't stop until it happens. For our nursery, I wanted it to be a room I enjoy, and I wanted it to be personal. Themes are scary. You tell one person you're doing a "Nursery Rhyme" theme and it's OVER. I was careful to never say that because the room is so much more. Inspiration came from your favorite site and mine: Pinterest. At first, I was lost, which is unusual for me. And then I found this:

It's called Nursery Rhyme Toille, it's gender-neutral (one of my requirements), it's traditional, and it's everything I love about children and childhood without being cheesy. Words, books, songs, rhymes, and scripture are all extremely important parts of childhood for me. I have had the great joy of attending infant and toddler music classes as part of my job as a nanny. I have noticed that many of the songs being taught in these classes are vaguely memorable from my childhood. Poems and songs introduce language and knowledge in a fun and engaging way. I can't emphasize how important they are for development, and I want our Evelyn to be surrounded by words and music.

Everything in this nursery has special meaning from a family member or friend. I loved every second of planning and preparing it, and I'm especially thankful for all the help I got...including some extreme, late-night contributions from my mom and mother-in-law.

We have some very talented friends who live down the street who helped us with several aspects of Evelyn's room. Julie taught me how to sew, and we spent some late nights making the crib skirt. For my first attempt at using a sewing machine, it turned out great (if I do say so myself). Thank you to my spectacular teacher!

My sister-in-law Michelle is amazingly gifted in many areas. She crocheted this beautiful (and SOFT) blanket for Evelyn, and it is a treasure.

My sweet mom worked with her neighbor to make rail covers with some of the leftover fabric, and they are perfect! She even used the extra ribbon from the blanket that Michelle made.

I found inspiration for this collage on Pinterest, and casually showed it to my mother-in-law one day. She responded, "Oh, yeah, we can do that. We just need to..." That was that. We labored several hours piecing, pasting, and painting this masterpiece. She put in much more time than I did, and it shows how attentive she was to detail. The cards, a family tree, favorite hymn music, scripture, and a picture from the cover of Chase's baby book make it personal and beloved. One day, I know Evelyn will realize how special this piece is for all of us. Thank you, Donna!

Once again, I love all things old, traditional, and special. I found this mobile online after I had decided to go with the books/rhymes/music/words "theme." It's designed and made by Irmi, and my mom hunted down one that is in working order with all the pieces. It's very important to me that mobiles spin and play a song, and this one does both! Thanks, mom, for finding and procuring it! Evelyn will spend hours gazing at it, I'm sure!

This little tree has fingerprints from the people who came to two of Evelyn's showers, and it was drawn by my mother-in-law. Such a sweet reminder of all those who love our little girl already!

Listen, God knows what we need before we do. He blessed us this summer with Alina, a precious girl who lived with us this summer. I think her love language is doing the dishes...and she did a LOT. I'm not sure she knew what she was getting into by moving in with a lady in her third trimester of pregnancy, but we're so glad she did. Another talented contributor to the nursery, she painted the picture on the right from the artistry in a book of nursery rhymes. I told her that this specific lullaby is one my family has always sung, but that the two verses in the book were not the right words. She surprised me at a shower with this amazing painting. Thank you, Alina, for your care for our family, and this precious piece that will remind us of you forever.

In my neighborhood, there is a group of ladies who have adopted me as another child (and Evelyn as a grandchild). One of those sweet ladies made this beautiful blanket, and it goes perfectly with all the other parts of the room. Thanks, Kathleen!

This little photo bomber loves Evelyn's room already...TROUBLE.

Chase made these bookshelves for the room. They look exactly how I wanted them to look, and he did such a great job!

These two pieces are my "alley finds" along with the window hanging on the other side of the room. Eric and Julie over at Davis Wood Design fixed up the little chair and a highchair we bought. They did a fabulous job, and we are so thankful for their help!

My sweet husband (with some help from my mom) gave me these two frames for Mother's Day this year. The plan is to restage the picture with Evelyn when she gets here. He is a thoughtful gift-giver. Thanks, honey!

We simply cannot wait to bring our precious girl home to this room that's filled with love from friends and family! Hopefully the wait won't be much longer!

Maternity Photos

We have the most amazing neighbors in the world. Hands down, ours are better than yours. They're our family. Matt also happens to be an AMAZING, TALENTED, and GIFTED photographer. His photographs need absolutely no words, but I'm me, so let's get real, I'm going to write a few.

I knew I wanted something comfortable and sweet (you know, just like pregnancy). I wanted the pictures to capture us in our "normal" state. Matt kept laughing at me because the nature of maternity pictures is that they're NOT NORMAL. We don't sit around talking with Chase's hand on my belly. Nobody does. Nor does anyone stare tenderly and longingly at their belly. Nonetheless, Matt was able to get the perfect shots of us, and I'm in love with them. Seriously, I can't stop looking at them. I didn't want to fancy them up with anything, so I'm leaving them without any kind of arrangement.

Normalcy in our house often involves a cat or dog in your face. We're those weird people who have both, and they're both pests...that we love. I had to include these because they made me laugh so hard when I saw them!

This one is my personal favorite. I just like the expressions we both have, and how natural it looks. Of course I love that they're in our kitchen into which we poured all of our blood, sweat, and tears for 2 months! I also now find it humorous that I'm barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen...the perfect wife, right?

I could not be more pleased. Matt, thank you so much for capturing this special time for us. 

36 Week Letter to Evelyn

I wrote this on Monday morning, more for me than anything. If I wait much longer to post, it won't be relevant so I'll save pictures for another day...

Sweet Evelyn,

I'm 36 weeks along which means just 4 more weeks until I meet you... Maybe sooner! Your daddy and I can't wait!

I woke up at 5 today because my ribs hurt. Why? Well, we saw you on a sonogram last week and you already weigh six pounds. Being horizontal for more than 6 hours has become basically impossible. I told Daddy that you're probably the only one who truly understands my discomfort since you're all squished in there. I also can't go back to sleep because you have the hiccups. You get them about three times a day. Since the day I started to feel you moving, you've rarely stopped. I guess your hiccups woke you this morning because it feels like you're having a party in there now! I have a feeling I'm going to frequently see 5:30 AM in the coming months...

Seeing your chubby cheeks last week makes the waiting practically unbearable! My doctor says you're developing perfectly! We could see your hair floating and waving in the sonogram. You're facing perfectly toward my back which means that we couldn't see your face much, but we did get to see you open and close your eyes a few times. You are just beautiful, my sweet girl!

I've been so busy preparing for you. Yesterday I washed your carrier and all the parts. Daddy is so anxious for me to "pack a bag." I think it's one of the things he knows we have to do, and he wants to help. We finished your nursery last week and started ordering all the other things we'll need for your arrival. There are so many special little gifts in that nursery from all the people who love you! It's so neat to have shelves and paintings and a collage crafted just by people who can't wait to meet you! It's filled with words and pictures to teach you about the greatest love you'll ever know!

I think about you constantly. Will you look like me? Will you talk a lot like I do? Will you have your daddy's eyelashes? His eyebrows? Don't worry, I'll teach you how to tweeze and tie your shoes before kindergarten if you do. Most of all, I wonder if I will be a good mommy to you. Will I give enough grace? Will I have enough patience? Will I teach you to trust and depend on God instead of yourself? I can't do it with my own strength. I hope I can be a prayer warrior like your Nana and a servant like your Daddy and Grandma. I realize more everyday how big this parenting job is. It humbles me and drives me back to the best Parent I've ever known. He's a Good Father who gives good gifts to His children. He's given me you...a precious little one to be cherished and nurtured. I pray for grace to do it well. He promises that His grace is sufficient for me because His power is made perfect in my weakness. What a relief to know that I don't have to be perfect...or even close. What a peace is mine to lean on the everlasting arms!

Halfway-ish Pregnancy Update

Our little angel is growing! There's a lot I haven't shared on the blog yet. I have no excuses!

I still plan to share about how we told our families we were expecting and how we revealed baby girl's gender.

Today I want to share some pics of my growing belly and some things I want to remember about the pregnancy.

First, the good stuff.

We definitely are not professional photographers in this house, but Chase has been having fun making sure we take a picture every week.

Now how she looks in there at 21 weeks.

We are so ready to kiss that gorgeous face! Pregnancy has been good to me. I haven't been sick much at all, and I'm thankful for that. I've had some odd things going on as the little alien has taken over my body for her home: heart palpitations, which are apparently quite common during pregnancy, round ligament pain, and dill pickle cravings, to name a few. I won't even begin to tell you about the increased consumption of Blue Bell Ice Cream in this house! I know I should be healthy, but I swear that there's a Blue Bell truck on my commute every morning lately just to taunt me. With every new symptom, I'm Googling whether or not I'm normal, and I've discovered something: pregnancy brings along some crazy stuff! Pretty much, if you're pregnant, it can happen...no matter what "it" is.

I started feeling her move at around 18 weeks. It is, of course, the most amazing feeling in the world! Last week, she found her groove. She either enjoys trashy reality television like her mommy or she's appalled at my laziness and wants me to get moving like her daddy! Either way, I love feeling her kickboxing and yoga classes in my belly. It is a strange, terrifying, confusing, and wonderful experience. No wonder pregnant ladies are emotional! I wouldn't trade a single second.

Letter to My Little One

I wrote this the day I found out I was expecting, and have had it ready to post since then, but just haven't actually done it. I'm so glad I wrote this that day as even now it's hard to remember how I was feeling!

An unseasonably warm December rain fell the day I found out you were coming to us. I was doing laundry, preparing for our upcoming ski trip, and watching Christmas movies in bed. I got to keep you a secret...all to myself... for hours that day. You see, I planned to tell your daddy a special way, and I had to be sneaky to do it.

A long time ago, he was sneaky first. He asked me to marry him with a stuffed cat. That sounds silly, right? Well, it's not. It was perfectly calculated just like everything else your dad does! Grandma, Papa, Aunt Michelle, and Uncle Dustin were in on it too. Dad let me think I was planning his birthday surprises, but he secretly knew them all! At dinner on his birthday, he got a very special present. You guessed it! The cat.

He just sat there, frozen like a statue, holding the cat inside the gift bag... until I said, "Chase, just take the cat out of the bag!" That's your mommy... BOSSY! Thankfully for you, sweet angel, it's not hereditary.

Underneath the cat was an engagement ring! Mommy said, "Yes!" because mommy is no fool. I knew your sweet daddy was the only one who would put up with me.

Pristine and white, that little kitty sat on our entertainment center alongside pictures from that night until we started trying to have you! Sneaky Mommy stashed it away in her closet until she could tell Daddy! I was so excited to tell him! I had the kitty all wrapped up in a bag, stuffed with paper, and sitting on the kitchen counter. He opened it as soon as he got home, and he knew right away that you were on your way to us. Wrapping me in a big hug, we were both a little emotional (so emotional that I didn't take any pictures!). We knew you would change us forever, and we couldn't wait to meet you!

Did you guess?

Our Valentine's Day was intentionally planned around certain activities. We wanted to do more, but Singing Valentines kind of chopped up our time. So did you guess? Barbershop, attempt, bottle/berry/bloom, YOLO...

B-A-B-Y!

That's right, folks. And here's the little love nugget...

We couldn't be more excited, obviously. My mom has been DYING for me to write this blog so she can share it with all her Facebook friends. Seriously. Texting. Every. Day. Love you, Mommy! She's just a super excited Nana, and this is her first grandchild born since Facebook (pretty much). 

Adding excitement to the mix, we did a genetic screen at the doctor last week that includes gender results. We should know baby Gooding's gender very soon! Look for lots more posts about baby G (who we call JellyBean sometimes...we're fierce Android lovers, what can I say?). Well, maybe more frequent blogging is a few weeks away...I've roughly written some things, but I'M SO TIRED! I'll have to stay awake long enough to edit! Thankfully, I've not been super sick, and I will take tired over sick and tired ANY DAY.

Ironically, we're due on September 1...LABOR DAY! Can I tell you how much this excites Chase?! A baby and a pun in the same day? Heaven.

Valentine's 2014

My first post in MONTHS...I know, I know. I could give a bunch of excuses, but a wise man once told me, "Excuses are like armpits; everybody has a couple, and they all stink!" Let's leave it at that.

We kept Valentine's Day pretty low-key this year, but that's kind of our style. We're so happy to just be home together...ESPECIALLY when the olympics are on. People, THE OLYMPICS...OK, that's out of my system. Bonus: There's a secret message included in this blog that will be revisited in a future blog post.

Barbershoppers make good husbands (why, what else did you think I was going to say?). Who else got this kind of amazingness for their V-Day gift?!

And this...

Attempting to keep a clean house, and I mean it when I say "attempting," is not my greatest strength. I could write a poem about my house. It would be sparkling and beautiful, unlike my floors. Keeping the couch warm, taking naps, watching Real Housewives of anything, I'm a pro at those things. Heck, I can even make one delicious dinner (aka cruise Pinterest for a couple of hours to find the easiest possible recipe with stuff already in my house so I don't have to go to the store, and follow said recipe). Put a broom in my hand, and I crumble. I'm like a petulant two-year-old...I don't wanna! I knew an attempt to clean house would please my husband more than any other gift on this planet. While he was out filling others' loved ones' days with beautiful harmonies, I attempted. I threw in dinner as well, because why not warm up those leftovers? The result...

Bearing bottle, berries, and blooms, my sweet husband returned home a knight in shining tuxedo! Without discussing it, he'd brought back the perfect complements to my candlelit dinner. Could a gal ask for more?

YOLO! Goodness, I hate that phrase! I can't believe I actually just wrote it in my blog...or anywhere. Thankfully, I'm referencing something I love: The Olympics. It's like a fever in our house. If you don't know this about Chase, he's kind of obsessed with watching every moment of every sporting event...umm...ever. So on Saturday night, we were still making up recorded olympics from Wednesday. We watched the YOLO flip win gold for...

...it's creator and Switzerland. Sorry, Shaun White; at least you still have your band.

There you have it. Our old, boring, married people Valentine's Day. If you didn't see the hidden message, stay tuned...