Yippie!

Hi everybody! I know it has been like a bajillion years since I have posted. I am so sorry! I have been a little preoccupied, though! Ok, since my last post, Tula has grown by leaps and bounds! She now weighs in at 12 lbs 11 oz, and is 24 inches long! Two feet friends! My baby is about 1/3 my height! Good grief! No, we have not got her on steriods. I promise! We took an almost two week trip back home for Christmas and New Years. Tula did great! She is already a seasoned traveller, what with thousands of miles under her belt already. We went to Kingsport, then Nashville, and finally Knoxville. She was a champ. I have officially given my notice to work. They were great and SO supportive. So its Tula and me! I think we make a pretty good team! Her job is to poop and eat and look cute. I do everything else! Also, we have purchased a new computer system! It is the mac daddy of all macs. Well, almost, but the good news here is: it is SO super fast that posting iamges to my blog will be a breeze, plus, I purchased a .mac account so I will officially have a Tula website up and running. When? Um, not sure yet, but it will happen soon! I will keep you posted. On the site I will post pictures, so I can upload a whole lot more than what I can to the blog.

Yesterday was her 2 month appointment. (Even though she is officially 9 1/2 weeks) She got her first round of vaccines. It went ok, but later last night is was Puke Fest '08. I'm talking projectile, folks! Poor baby, she was so freaked out! But she seems to be feeling a bit better today, however, she is still running a bit of a fever, and, is really sleepy.

Ya'll come back now, hear? I will post more Tula Tidbits soon.

Love to all!!

Our Little Girl

We are so thankful for our little addition, Tula Jane!! I know, I know, I promised an update to the blog as soon as she got here. However, as most of you know, the hospital visit was a little more stressful than planned, and honestly, this is the first moment I have had to sit down and take the time to write this! Even still, I am skipping a nap to do so! Life with a newborn is really dramatically different than normal life! But wonderful and new and rewarding....everything we hoped and nothing we could have imagined. I could wish for a little more sleep, but we all know that is just a pipe dream with a baby, right? Today, Tula has been in this world a little more than two weeks. She is such a sweet baby girl. I can't explain how much we love her. God has blessed us with a happy, sweet spirit. I can't wait to share all the special things she does with you all. A few are: she can hold her head up for a few seconds at a time! She looks around, and you can tell she is learning so much. She smiles at me, big toothless grins. They totally melt my heart. She giggles in her sleep! She can't do it intentionally yet, but she will let out an occasional chuckle while she dreams. She follows me around the room, looking at me. When she is sleeping in my arms, I can feel she knows I am her mommy. We just love her so much. We thank God everyday for sending her to us, and for all the prayers that got her home safely and healthy. I can't wait for the next installment! Be on the look out for new pics, but I can't guarantee timeliness! Days fly by in an instant!

Tomorrow is my due date!

I am trying very hard to remember that TOMORROW is my due date. Here I am, already feeling behind and late, but in reality, I haven't even passed my due date yet! The trappings of an obessive planner.....
Ok, all this to say: I went to the doctor today and eveything is fine. I am progressing, albeit slowly, but things are happening! ( I would be more detailed, but that is just TMI) My doctor went ahead and scheduled an induction for week 41, just in case nothing happens next week. The induction date is Wednesday the 21st. This is the earliest they could do, and I'm still on a waiting list! Apparently, they schedule inductions in week 39 for all their patients, because of the waiting list. I am trying very hard to remember that this is a fall back plan. There is no reason to think she won't be here next week! But I must admit I am having a hard time reconciling myself to being in the hospital over Thanksgiving. WIll patient care be as good? I am sure it will be, but it is a bit unnerving.
Thanks for all your prayers for our little family and our new arrival. Please add "peace and patience" for me to your list, as I feel I am requiring much more than I realized. What matters most is that she gets here in when God has planned it, healthy and happy!
We love you all!

Just waiting....

My due date is officially 4 days away! We are very excited!! I am home now on my leave and spend my days lounging around and watching too many episodes of "A Baby Story" and "Price is Right". Drew Carrey is doing pretty well, by the way. I do feel like I am in a waiting room, just hanging out until my number is called. Every little pinch or pang I feel I keenly note, just waiting for it to turn into something more. We are so ready to meet our little girl! I go to see the doctor on Friday, at which point they will schedule an induction, presumably a week or so past my due date. I am hoping, if it comes to that, I can convince them to induce earlier in the week, as I have been having a LOT of back pain. But, I am trying very hard to use all my limited powers of patience to remember that she has a date God knows for her to come. In t he meantime, we'll just anticipate and be excited! It is gauranteed in any event that in the next two weeks our lives will forever change.
Thanks for your prayers and thoughts! I can't wait to announce on the blog her arrival. If she hasn't come by Friday, I'll let you know when we are scheduled to go in. Wish me luck!

The Nursery is Complete!!!

A Night Out

Here we are last night, just getting back from our night on the town! We went to the symphony at the Kennedy Center, and to dinner at our favorite restaurant in Georgetown. The meal was awesome, and the National Symphony Orchestra was great! The line up was Fine, Bartok, and Shubert. We loved the Shubert the best. We love the Kennedy Center so much we have a membership. It gives us discounts and early ticket purchase, which will allow us to get coveted tickets to Lion King this spring!! We also get to go to the "members Lounge" during the show. Nothing fancy. Some cookies and lemonade, but it is nice. It is so awesome to have so many cultural things to do and see here. The concert was in the same theater (the Concert Hall) that our beloved Showchoir performed in over what.....12 years ago? Yikes! That was a memorable trip! (Unfortunaltely Missy and Brad have mixed reviews of that trip, as I recall..) Afterwards, we went the gift shop and bought a treble clef Christmas ornament, and I bought a beautiful paper stage set of the nutcracker for the baby's room. I was so excited, when I was a child, Mom bought me a really cool paper stage and puppet set. I LOVED it. I have dreamt of it so much, and was so thrilled to see a very similar toy!! It looks great in the nursery. All in all, it was a wonderful date night! One of the last for a while! Enjoy this latest picture of me....that's a big baby in there!!! I am 36 weeks. We are almost there!!

Going Home Duds

Hi all. Not too much has happened since last Thursday. Jusin and I worked on the mural, it is almost done! We have had so much fun working on it!! We spent all day Saturday getting supplies, i transferred the images on the mdf, Justin cut them out, I sanded and then painted. All we have left to do is paint the background peice and get it hung!! It was such a beautiful week-end, and spending that time outside together was really fun.

Justin and I are bothing starting to get a bit jittery about the arrival! I am not sleeping weel, and Jsutin is talking in his sleep alot. Hum, which came first I wonder?? This week-end he told me a long complicated sad tale of the "spaghetti kid" whose arms couldn't turn off the computer. (while sleeping of course) And last night we had some yelling at the imaginary person who was walking through our house. That freaked me out a bit! Needless to say, today, I am functioning on about 3 hours of sleep!

The photos today are the "going home" outfit, and a bunting for the baby. the outfit has pumpkins on it, with the matching pumpkin hat!! the bunting looks like a sheep. I couldn't resist the ears....Hope you like them! Let me know what you think!

Love you all.