This was Chris' toy box when he was little. We sanded and painted it for the baby's room
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Baby's Nursery
This was Chris' toy box when he was little. We sanded and painted it for the baby's room
The Bestest Baby Shower Ever!!!
My sister Laura threw me a baby shower on Sunday, August 2. It was PERFECT!
Look at all these gifts!
My mother just had surgery a couple of days before this. Doesn't she look good?
My wonderful mother in law!
Chris prayed for the food at the beginning. Then he fixed himself a plate and took off! : )
My wonderful Grandma prepared all of the food. It was such a feast, and beautiful to look at.
The Willis Women.
The Bread of Life Ladies- I worked with these gals for 5 years at a Christian Bookstore.
This cake, in my opinion, is one of the cutest I have ever seen!
My pregnant belly measures 44 inches!! Can you believe it?
I opened so many wonderful gifts.
Clothes galore!
My sweet sister planned this entire shower and did all the wonderful decorations.
Many of the gifts were home-made and personalized.
Chris came back at the end of the shower to help clean up and kept himself busy by immersing in deep conversation with Courtney.
This baby shower was so wonderful! It was very unique and special, I think. Everyone did a wonderful job with the decorations and the food. The gifts were all wonderful. I have already unpacked most everything, washed ever little baby bootie, and set up the nursery. I can't thank everyone enough!
Look at all these gifts!
My mother just had surgery a couple of days before this. Doesn't she look good?
My wonderful mother in law!
Chris prayed for the food at the beginning. Then he fixed himself a plate and took off! : )
My wonderful Grandma prepared all of the food. It was such a feast, and beautiful to look at.
The Willis Women.
The Bread of Life Ladies- I worked with these gals for 5 years at a Christian Bookstore.
This cake, in my opinion, is one of the cutest I have ever seen!
My pregnant belly measures 44 inches!! Can you believe it?
I opened so many wonderful gifts.
Clothes galore!
My sweet sister planned this entire shower and did all the wonderful decorations.
Many of the gifts were home-made and personalized.
Chris came back at the end of the shower to help clean up and kept himself busy by immersing in deep conversation with Courtney.
This baby shower was so wonderful! It was very unique and special, I think. Everyone did a wonderful job with the decorations and the food. The gifts were all wonderful. I have already unpacked most everything, washed ever little baby bootie, and set up the nursery. I can't thank everyone enough!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Florida Fun on Okaloosa Island
Chris and I went to the Gulf of Mexico for one last little trip before our lives are changed forever when our baby boy arrives!!! We had a great time. Good food, beautiful beaches, baseball. It was terrific.
Destin Beach! (I am 26 weeks pregnant, btw).
Gulf of Mexico!
Workin' the maternity swimsuit!
Naval Aviation Museum. He's a good lookin' Blue Angel!
Pensacola Pelicans!
At the wharf, looking into chartering a fishing boat.
Sans straps for tanning purposes.
Chris paused only long enough for me to take his picture. This Greek buffet was delicious!!
Yummy!!
Okay, so I am a goober.
The view outside our resort hotel room.
At our resort.
Destin Beach! (I am 26 weeks pregnant, btw).
Gulf of Mexico!
Workin' the maternity swimsuit!
Naval Aviation Museum. He's a good lookin' Blue Angel!
Pensacola Pelicans!
At the wharf, looking into chartering a fishing boat.
Sans straps for tanning purposes.
Chris paused only long enough for me to take his picture. This Greek buffet was delicious!!
Yummy!!
Okay, so I am a goober.
The view outside our resort hotel room.
At our resort.
Monday, May 11, 2009
My Healthy Baby Boy
I got the phone call no expectant mother wants to get. "We saw and abnormality on your last ultrasound. It's called "echogenic bowel," and it can be a soft marker for some genetic diseases."
My world froze for a moment. I was at the Baby Depot in Burlington Coat Factory, looking at diaper bags. I slowly put down the bag I was holding, gripped the cell phone to my ear, and wait for the nurse's next words.
She promised someone would contact me from the hospital's Fetal Medinice and Genetics center to schedule another ultrasound. And though she tried to reassure me that most of the time this means nothing, it is only human to say, "But what about the other 10 percent?".
I have always been good at dealing with crisis. I think I gained the coping tools and mechanisms through a sometimes- tramautic childhood. And I knew this would be no different. I would resolve to take it one step at a time, to not worry about things I cannot control, to stay calm and even and steady and all those things that I usually revert to when things fall apart.
But it was different this time somehow. I stayed calm, sure, but the anxiety and fear were of a different caliber. This is my baby, my child, my son. I would die before I let anything happen to him. I wouldn't hesitate to give my life for his well- being. The mother lion was roaring inside me, roaring against a threat I had no knowledge or understanding of, and certainly no possible way to defeat. I roared inside, but externally, I meekly agreed with the nurse to go the next ultrasound and to "try not to worry."
The next several days were filled with lots of "trying." Trying not to worry, trying to be calm, trying not to race to the internet and torment myself with endless possiblities of worst case scenarios. Trying not to show my weak moments to my husband. Trying to keep my mind away from the "what if" spiral. Trying to enjoy the punches and kicks that I now not only feel, but also see from the outside. Trying to maintain the even-keel, quiet peace, confidence in crisis mode that people have come to expect from me. And it worked, for the most part.
This morning, I met with a genetic counselor who informed me about an array of genetic diseases that this "possible soft marker" could might maybe perhaps possibly indicate. I got an earful of worst case scenarios- like short life expectancies, mental retardation, and other various horrible things- and then I was sent to the ultrasound room to re-evaluate whether or not I even have this soft marker that could might maybe perhaps possibly indicate a chance of these scenarios.
My son was a busy bee again during this ultrasound, weighing in at 1 lb and 4 oz- in the 70th percentile of weight for age. He seemed healthy and active. His measurements were all excellent, his organs all healthy. His blood flow and heartbeat were all great. The placenta and umbilical cord were great. And... no echogenic bowel. No soft marker, no white spot, nothing abnormal at all.
Dr. Hughes met me afterward to confirm these findings- or lack of. She semantically communicated that I have nothing to worry about, but that if I want to worry, I can have a few more tests done that may or may not give peace of mind. She indirectly conveyed that I have nothing to worry about. Not the resounding, "There is absolutely nothing wrong with your baby, and he is going to be fine," that a mom would prefer, but I guess that's as close as it gets.
I was offered amniocentesis, which I am not interested in. I was also offered a blood test that could tell me if I am a carrier for 36 out of 100 strains of cystic fibrosis. If I am positive, and Chris were positive too, then our son would be in trouble. But something inside me warned that if I did have this blood test, it wouldn't stop there. I could test and test and test the rest of my pregnancy and still not have the conclusive answers I desire. And all that testing wouldn't change things if my son does have some illness. I just don't see the wisdom in perpetuating this any further.
It is time to set aside the fears and concerns and just enjoy being pregnant with my first child. To celebrate it when he kicks my bladder, to laugh when I see his punching through my shirt, to laughingly groan at how much pain he is causing my aching hips. I want to pick out baby bedding and clothes, to dream about him being an athlete like his daddy. I want to picture his impish smile and his probably huge feet and his probably curly hair. And I want to feel all the excitment an expectant mother feels as her dreams for a child are coming true. It is time to put fear aside and be thankful I have even experienced this much of motherhood, and to look forward to more years of laughter to come.
My world froze for a moment. I was at the Baby Depot in Burlington Coat Factory, looking at diaper bags. I slowly put down the bag I was holding, gripped the cell phone to my ear, and wait for the nurse's next words.
She promised someone would contact me from the hospital's Fetal Medinice and Genetics center to schedule another ultrasound. And though she tried to reassure me that most of the time this means nothing, it is only human to say, "But what about the other 10 percent?".
I have always been good at dealing with crisis. I think I gained the coping tools and mechanisms through a sometimes- tramautic childhood. And I knew this would be no different. I would resolve to take it one step at a time, to not worry about things I cannot control, to stay calm and even and steady and all those things that I usually revert to when things fall apart.
But it was different this time somehow. I stayed calm, sure, but the anxiety and fear were of a different caliber. This is my baby, my child, my son. I would die before I let anything happen to him. I wouldn't hesitate to give my life for his well- being. The mother lion was roaring inside me, roaring against a threat I had no knowledge or understanding of, and certainly no possible way to defeat. I roared inside, but externally, I meekly agreed with the nurse to go the next ultrasound and to "try not to worry."
The next several days were filled with lots of "trying." Trying not to worry, trying to be calm, trying not to race to the internet and torment myself with endless possiblities of worst case scenarios. Trying not to show my weak moments to my husband. Trying to keep my mind away from the "what if" spiral. Trying to enjoy the punches and kicks that I now not only feel, but also see from the outside. Trying to maintain the even-keel, quiet peace, confidence in crisis mode that people have come to expect from me. And it worked, for the most part.
This morning, I met with a genetic counselor who informed me about an array of genetic diseases that this "possible soft marker" could might maybe perhaps possibly indicate. I got an earful of worst case scenarios- like short life expectancies, mental retardation, and other various horrible things- and then I was sent to the ultrasound room to re-evaluate whether or not I even have this soft marker that could might maybe perhaps possibly indicate a chance of these scenarios.
My son was a busy bee again during this ultrasound, weighing in at 1 lb and 4 oz- in the 70th percentile of weight for age. He seemed healthy and active. His measurements were all excellent, his organs all healthy. His blood flow and heartbeat were all great. The placenta and umbilical cord were great. And... no echogenic bowel. No soft marker, no white spot, nothing abnormal at all.
Dr. Hughes met me afterward to confirm these findings- or lack of. She semantically communicated that I have nothing to worry about, but that if I want to worry, I can have a few more tests done that may or may not give peace of mind. She indirectly conveyed that I have nothing to worry about. Not the resounding, "There is absolutely nothing wrong with your baby, and he is going to be fine," that a mom would prefer, but I guess that's as close as it gets.
I was offered amniocentesis, which I am not interested in. I was also offered a blood test that could tell me if I am a carrier for 36 out of 100 strains of cystic fibrosis. If I am positive, and Chris were positive too, then our son would be in trouble. But something inside me warned that if I did have this blood test, it wouldn't stop there. I could test and test and test the rest of my pregnancy and still not have the conclusive answers I desire. And all that testing wouldn't change things if my son does have some illness. I just don't see the wisdom in perpetuating this any further.
It is time to set aside the fears and concerns and just enjoy being pregnant with my first child. To celebrate it when he kicks my bladder, to laugh when I see his punching through my shirt, to laughingly groan at how much pain he is causing my aching hips. I want to pick out baby bedding and clothes, to dream about him being an athlete like his daddy. I want to picture his impish smile and his probably huge feet and his probably curly hair. And I want to feel all the excitment an expectant mother feels as her dreams for a child are coming true. It is time to put fear aside and be thankful I have even experienced this much of motherhood, and to look forward to more years of laughter to come.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Kiawah Island, South Carolina
My Dad, sister, and I went to Charleston, South Carolina for a few days. We had a wonderful time. I wouldn't change a thing about our trip. We rode bikes, played Frisbee, went swimming, went on a "ghost tour" of Charleston, and ate tons of delicious food. And my little son had a blast, flipping around in my belly the entire time. It was great!
We stayed on Kiawah Island, which is about 15 miles from Charleston. It was a very pretty, private beach.
We rented bikes and rode them on the beach. I LOVED it!!
Woo-hoo!!
Thank goodness for baskets on bikes!!
Biking along the trails.
We really did see two alligators along the bike paths.
Dinner at the Mustard Seed restaurant.
This at the resort checkout.
Clouds outside the airplane window on the way home.
We stayed on Kiawah Island, which is about 15 miles from Charleston. It was a very pretty, private beach.
We rented bikes and rode them on the beach. I LOVED it!!
Woo-hoo!!
Thank goodness for baskets on bikes!!
Biking along the trails.
We really did see two alligators along the bike paths.
Dinner at the Mustard Seed restaurant.
This at the resort checkout.
Clouds outside the airplane window on the way home.
Monday, April 20, 2009
My Baby Boy!!!
My little boy, 11 ounces and the length of a large banana, at 19 weeks.
He's sucking his thumb!
He's all boy!!!
Heartbeat
Healthy Spine
3-D. He looks like a Willis!!!
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