38 weeks (weight to be updated later, sorry forgot)

Well, this may just be the last update before our beautiful baby girl is born! So weird! I can honestly say, I'm getting nervous. As I sat in the exam room yesterday at my last OB checkup on that oh-so-familiar plastic bed/chair I got a little scared. The next time I'll be in that hospital will be to get poked and proded with IVs and Spinals, then sliced open to become a mother, the scariest of all the realizations I had that day. It was sobering to say the least. I'm so excited. Justin and I try to prepare ourselves daily..."what would we be doing if Charleigh was here right now?" We always try to imagine how our lives will change with her here. But we KNOW that we can never truly imagine how "inconvenient" a little needy baby will be until she arrives. I'm ready to be inconvenienced...so ready. I'm about to start my new job...I can't wait!

This last week has been full and fun. Happy Birthday to...well, EVERYONE! Justin's mom's birthday was on Thursday so we had an honorary steak dinner. My husband likes his steaks pretty raw and tries so hard to cook ours until it's brown, they were delicious and Justin assured us that if we turn off the dinning room lights, they don't look red at all ;) haha, we got a laugh out of that!

Here is Jus helping Big Mama blow out her candles...which he does at everyone's birthday parties, unfortunately he usually blows them out before the guest of honor can (sorry for all those years Jo). I'm going to make sure I train him before Charleigh turns one.

Here is the Coffee Cozy I made her. It fits perfectly on any Starbucks coffee cup. Now she doesn't have to use those crappy paper ones that come on the cups, like they work anyway!

I wrote a birthday message on top an added a gift card to Starbucks.

After that excitement, we spent the rest of the weekend celebrating some kiddie birthdays. Jeremy and Kristen's little boy Nathan had a GI Joe party with giant water slide and cute camo cakes! I am really crudy at taking pictures unless Justin is there to remind me so...sorry bout that. But later that day we went to Ben and Sam's boys' birthday party too. Hayes turned 4 and Cade turned 1. Justin was back by this time and took over the camera, so we DID get some pictures there!

I made Nathan and Hayes Bama pillowcases since their families are hardcore Alabama fans. I just LOVED the houndstooth accent on these, so cute, yet so Bear Bryant!

And for Cade I made a homemade bib with houndstooth on one side and Alabama fabric on the other. And he had to have a sippy cup to match, so I appliqued a houndstooth "C" on the Bama fabric as well.

Charleigh is picking a busy month to be born in. All these cute little boys have September birthdays plus our friends Matt and Kristen have a little girl, Vivian, who will be turning 2 just days after Charleigh is born as well! WOOO! Happy Birthday everyone!

On to CRAFTS! Here is the finished "clothing organizer" for Charleigh's room. I'm hoping to be organized enough to use it :)

We've also decided NOT to do the canopy in Charleigh's room. I just wasn't feeling it. So, I'm going back to my original plan...we are going to upgrade to a nicer, slightly bigger chandelier and hang it in the middle of her room instead of over her crib :) We are still looking for the perfect one. My husband calls me the other day from work (where they also sell lighting) and tells me he's found the PERFECT chandelier for her and that I have to come see it. It was the most sparkly thing you have ever seen! And so cute...and also $3000.00...really Justin, you shouldn't dangle sparkly things in front of me like that :(

For Labor Day Justin and I decided to spend some time together, just us before the baby comes. He loves to fish and well...I'm not loving to do ANYTHING right now because of discomfort soo...we went fishing! Well, I just sat there trying to catch some sun, eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches and browsing on my iPhone. Plus, I was the photographer for our little outting. Here is Justin in action:

First catch!
Second catch!
Third catch!

And then, Charleigh reminded us of her presence and I had to go to the bathroom...badly! So we called it a day...well, we stopped by Paw Paw and GrandMaMa's to drop off the boat, then headed home for a long nap, then put on our college football apparel in order to get a free chicken sandwich at Chick-fil-a! I wanted to wear FSU gear as we were headed to watch the game but none of my Florida State clothes fit me at the moment sooo, the longhorns, by default, got my support that day ;) I DO love the Longhorns! So, anyway, we headed to Ben and Sam's to watch the Fl. State/Miami game...which I would like to NOT comment on at the moment...except to say, COME ON SECONDARY!!! Gosh! At least Texas and Auburn got wins under their belts :)

Okay, so to end on an exciting note (exciting to me is not necessarily exciting to you). I've become obsessed with these little pettiskirts (thank you Rae Leytham!). They are basically like TuTu's but WAYYY better because they are sooo full and soft and just darn girly! I knew that I HAD to learn how to make them so, I set out yesterday to the fabric store...bought my supplies and calculated and re-calculated the appropriate measurements for a newborn baby. And Ta Da:

It's hard to tell the size and deminsions of it in the picture but just know, it's REALLLLL little for baby Charleigh to wear in her newborn pictures!

The only way I could be sure that it would be perfect on her was to find a model approximately her size....hmmmmm....well, Prissy IS 8 lbs!

Woo Hoo! It fit! I can't wait to make more, even fluffier!

Okay, so Dr. Mehta said I was about 50% effaced but not dialated at all so, that means we are pretty sure little Charleigh girl won't be here before Monday :) We go see Dr. Maher on Friday to get her last measurements!

37 weeks, 161 lbs

Say hello to i'msotiredican'tfunction. Say hello to icouldnotpickmyfeetoutofalineupifitried. Hello idrinknon-stop. Hi thereissomuchtodobutican'tmakemyselfdoit.

I tried to paint my own toenails his week. I thought I could do it with my patented rocking motion, but I ended up just throwing nail polish at my toes and hoping it would land on "non-skin". Most of it didn't. So Whit and I headed to get a MUCH NEEDED rub down from our friends at tip-n-toe...they fixed my masterpiece. I also got my roots done this week...oh my, I was trying to save money by holding off as long as I could but, brunettes who are falsely blonde do not have that pleasure :) Another accomplishment on my list...I shaved my legs! If I missed any spots...I certainly can't see them, so, it doesn't count!

Alright, alright, since last week we've had a few doctor's appointments, but nothing to talk about really. Our c-section will be at 7:30am on Monday the 14th but we have to be there at 5:30! My doctor must know that I can have a vain streak at times because at this last visit, he made sure to tell me, in a loving, "you'll be okay" kind of way, that they will be pumping at least 5 bags of fluid into me and I will not need to look in a mirror for at least 24 hours...I think he then used the term "Marshmellow Creme Puff". I'm glad he warned me because my feet, ankles and hands are really freaking me out right now. I really cannot recognize them and it's just weird. I guess that's how my whole body will be in the hospital (and a few days after I hear). Joy.

I did get to meet our pediatrician. I scheduled a "get to know you" appointment with the most recommended baby doctor in Pace and I see why she is...she was great! She answered all my questions and acted like she was really glad I wanted to meet her early :) I was feeling a little dumb about it so I'm glad she reassured me.

Justin joined me for our last newborn parenting class and it was pretty cool. They had a pediatrician there who taught us all about the immunizations, what they were, why people worry about them, and when our baby would get each one. It was nice to know. He also answered all the questions everyone had. They didn't make Justin change a diaper but don't worry. I got one of Charleigh's baby dolls and made him practice on her changing pad...I also taught him all the tips and tricks on how "not to make a mess" and how to use the Diaper Champ. He was impressive. But, I think when it comes to actually changing Charleigh's diaper he is going to be too busy oogling about how cute her little butt is...he's a sap about stuff like that. I am too!

Mom and Dad came down this weekend to hand deliver some artwork for Charleigh's room...my mom loves making canvases and what not, especially for babies. Her company is called Officially Spoiled. She makes them to match any room! If you need any for your bundle of joy, let me know or email her at officiallyspoiled@gmail.com. I think one of her best sellers are the wooden wall letters that people get to spell out their baby's name. She is making some for Charleigh too, but wasn't finished with them quite yet :) I'll post pictures of those later!

Here is the canvas she made to go on the outside of Charleigh's nursery door...just so you don't forget what a miracle she is to us:

This one was given as gift to me

This is my favorite of the ones Mom made. Everytime I look at my sweet girl, I will be reminded of the sweet, undeserved Grace of my God. Isn't the gift of a child such a representation of being given something we DON'T deserve?? I think so...

My latest dilema...to canopy, or not to canopy? I knew I wanted to hang a chandlier over Charleigh's crib (yes, other's have done it, and yes, it is secure and safe :) But, after we hung it, we decided it was kind of dinky, I didn't want to get one any bigger though, for safety reasons. So, even though I said I didn't want a canopy over her crib, I started seeing some displays with chandeliers AND canopies. So, I decided this is how we should do it as well...what do you think? Does the canopy make it tacky? One minute I really like it, especially how the chandelier shines through it...and the next I want to take it down.

Well, either way. The nursery is pretty much complete. As soon as my mom finishes the letters for her wall, and I hang back up her "clothing organizer"...I think we are done :) So, here are some pictures: See my sweet little puppy in the doorway?? She got her hair cut for Charleigh's arrival too...she's excited to meet her little sister!

1 week and 6 days!