Jennifer's Garden

The nursery is almost complete. Although, when doing a project like this I don't think you can ever say it is 100% done as you are always tweaking things. But for the most part the nursery is done and here is your SNEAK PEEK.

A BIG HUGE THANKS to Shelly for hiring the muralist as a gift to us and our little girl. She did a great job of bringing my vision to life.

Shower Pics

Here are some pics from my shower in Palestine. Boy the camera adds 60 lbs these days :-)

Childbirth 101

So we had our first childbirth class this weekend. Part 1 of 2. The teacher for the class made it a lot of fun. She had us laughing and really engaged. Each guy had to introduce themself and say a "dirty" word she had on a card. It was funny. We got to take a tour of the hospital and I am excited to say that they just opened the new wing of the hospital and that is where I will deliver. I think she said they deliver about 4,000 babies a year - so I know I am in great hands. We learned some relaxation exercises and hubby got to give me a great massage. We were told to "practice" every nite this week. Yeah for me. We also learned about signs of labor and what will take place during labor. Then it was time for a film about childbirth.

I was concerned because Simon has a weak stomach. So throughout the film I kept glancing over at him to see that he was ok. (to hear him tell this story is much funnier) somewhere during the middle of the film he seemed like he was ok- and I began to watch more intently. Well before you know it he said the film was over my face was completely ashen, my eyes were open wide, and my mouth hangin open.

Needless to say I am a little freaked out about this whole childbirth thing.

Well I need to be off. We have a doctors appointment Thursday and the muralist comes Friday to put the finishing touches on the nursery!! Yeah. Then on to part 2 of our class. So look for several updates next week.

Have a good one.

Love to All!

It's Shower Time

I am a little behind in posting as it was quite a busy weekend for us. I had my first baby shower this weekend. What fun! My mom's best friend Ann through a lovely shower at her home for my mom's friends. It really meant a lot that they would all come together and do something so nice for me. Sadly, the only thing missing was my mom. She would have loved it all. She always loved baby showers. Almost everyone we invited and expected to come did which was nice.

We got lots of great stuff to get Jennifer started out on the right foot. From a high chair, to clothes, to blankets, and more clothes. This will be a very well dressed little girl. We almost needed a truck to bring it all back. My Aunt drove down from Dallas just for the special day.

Since my mom is gone we thought it would be neat to have everyone in attendance share some advice with us as new parents. Well my sisters in law stole the show on this one, Rachel in particular had the entire group in stitches. Her advice- "Don't stick the thermometer up the baby's butt" Sarah's advice a little more practical- "I can barely take care of myself let alone give advice, but I am free to babysit!!" I found it humourous.

It was a great weekend and I will post some pictures tonite.

We Were Mooned!

So we went for the 3D/4D ultrasound this weekend so excited about getting a sneak peek of what our little girl is going to look like, but she had much different plans. She had her little bum facing out and WOULD NOT move. So all we really got to see was her leg, her butt, her spine, and oh yes we reconfirmed she is a girl. She wasn't shy with those parts which did not make her dad very happy. I could see the look on his face as the tech kept pointing out that she was all girl. They allowed us to reschedule so we did not loose our fee, but I was very dissapointed. As my mother in law pointed out, Tracy here is your first lesson in parenting- "Kids don't always do what a parent wants" So we have rescheduled for May 1st- hopefully JenniAnne will be a willing participant by then.

My last dr appointment on Thursday went well and we are coasting towards the finish line.

Nipple to Nose- Another Initiation Rite

Well we are full steam ahead in this final stretch of pregnancy. We had our first class this weekend- Breastfeeding Basics and Beyond. It was a little overwhelming yet very informative. You gotta love a class when the first words the teacher says are "Hi, please sign in grab a baby and a boob" I thought I was going to have to pick Simon's laughing self up off the floor. We were the first to arrive. The next two ladies came without a support person and Simon was eyeing me intensely with a look of- Ahem do I really have to be here followed with a I will hurt you if I am the only guy. But most other women brought their husbands as husbands are encouraged to attend. We had to hold back laughter at many points.

I took the breastfeeding class first because honestly I am pretty nervous about it. Secondly, I wanted to make sure I registered for the right things as far as feeding my baby girl go. Lastly, you have to start somewhere- right? They went over everything from cream, to bottles, to cleaners, to pumps, to pillows. When I asked Simon if he learned anything he said - Nipple to Nose which is obviously the techinique for proper latching- but I found it hilarious. He is a great sport and will be a great dad!

Nursery Update- the painting is pretty much complete so we started putting the furniture up. Look for the big nursery reveal (Move that Bus) soon.

There are so many things going on right now I will try to keep everyone as updated as possible. I have a dr. appointment Thursday (we go every 2 weeks now) and Jenni's Pictorial Debut is this weekend the 3D/4D ultrasound- I CAN'T WAIT!

Hope all is well with everyone.