a b c's

showered in love

last weekend i was graced with two baby showers and the many blessings that come with a loving family. saturday we stuffed our bellies at a cookout momma gail and pop pop threw at their home equipped with gail's sister's, close family friends, sister j and little emma, and even my parents! the day was sunny and warm, the food was delicious and homemade, and tiny loving trinkets were gifted to little wren's anxiously awaited arrival. as if this cozy affair wasn't enough, on sunday my own mother wren and our dear family friend threw me a baby shower in my home town with friends and family in tow. food, games, laughs, and so many gifted wonders that i could hardly fit them all in my truck! our darling boy is not going to lack love and family for a moment in his life on this earth. coming home with all of our baby loot, i went right to work pulling out each and every item to look it over once more, admire it, and then lay it out in the nursery (which lacks all of it's furniture to date). sitting on the floor i stared adoringly at his little treasures, at the rocking chair my parents gave us, and the bassinet that has been passed down in my family since my own mother was born, and felt my gratitude overflowing. true blessings are the ones that come with arms filled with hugs, hearts filled with love, and words filled with shared cheer over the joys taking place.

pregnant pause

taking a moment to reflect on the past eight months, i am only able to admire how far we've come in feathering our little nest as well as feathering our hearts, minds, and our relationship. i can't say that things have come effortlessly, but i can say they have all been so worthwhile. in ways of hormones, i have hardly been a treat on those occasions in which i've succumbed to ill-placed words of blame (poor e has been the brunt of my outbursts). for the majority of these pregnant days i feel i've done moderately well in controlling my irrational emotional bubblings-- excusing the few minutes spent in tears over the cruel fact that none of my shoes fit anymore due to swollen footsies. e has been understanding most days and has only forgotten a few times that i am not in fact emotionally unpredictable by choice. i am lucky to have his support and love at these crucial moments of nutty neurosis as i'm caught doing 18 loads of laundry in a day, folding the baby's clothes for the fifth time, and hand-washing all of his toys with mild soap and warm water.

the other morning our crib showed up and i just about jumped out of my skin waiting to have e put it together. now that it's taken it's proper place in the nursery, i spend so many free moments in the day standing over it daydreaming. this morning we spent an hour in bed talking about how much we wished our sweet babe was dozing next to us in his bassinet and realizing that we haven't much more time to go before this becomes our reality. later i sat contently in the rocking chair my parents bought us and held a tiny pair of shoes to my belly while trying to imagine our little wren wearing them. a feeling surges up inside of me now and i can only describe it as a supreme need to hold my son in my arms. the need to touch and smell him. as the weeks are turning quickly into our final countdown i am overwhelmed with the reality of my changing world.

i managed to pull out the brand new sewing machine i received for christmas last year and finally removed it from it's box. i have never used a sewing machine, nor have i ever sewn anything well by hand but i wanted to give this a shot at last. after many test pieces and failures, i completed my first sewing project: a felted dove. the sense of accomplishment was empowering and i can only anticipate making toys and clothing for little wren (once i've had much more practice). then there's the image of sitting in our living room, which is now nearing it's makeover completion, folding laundry while our sweet lamb dozes in his swing. soft crooning from our record player and the collection of vinyl e has been fastidiously acquiring this summer. i look forward to christmas in this room with our small but charming tree twinkling by the window filled with trinkets and tidbits to show how much love we have for our little family. despite brief moments of nervous pre-parenthood jitters, i feel so ready for this.

misty mornings

another large step in the progress of our feathering has just been completed: the living room floor! i am sure i have photos of the old floor somewhere in my stash of photos, but i will spare the details of that disgusting once-was rug (full of bachelor-pad boy stains and dog stink!) and show you the newest improvement. say hello to wood! other changes to this room include the new green couch (it was difficult to make the decision to give away my great grandmother's set but it went to a lovely older couple who did not have furniture for their living room), and the fish stand-which was once a coffee table and is now an old and roughly used bureau covered in paint, dents, scratches, and chips. i love it's worn feel and the fact that it now houses at least 1/3 of our very large DVD collection. eventually we will be redoing the ceiling, adding a new light fixture, some crown molding, and painting the walls. what a difference the floor already makes; i can't wait for the rest!
this weekend i will be enjoying time with both sides of my family: that is edward's and my own. tomorrow we will be gathering at his parents' so that i may meet some of the extended members of his family and so that our parents will finally meet (we've only been together two years after all). sunday will be my baby shower that my mom and her friend michelle have been diligently planning and i am most looking forward to seeing people and having them share in my excitement over our growing family. such bliss is hard matched!

the sunny side

my beloved has been plugging away at our nursery for some time now, and after doing much priming, prepping, and cutting in, the first full coat of color is on the walls! it looks so warm and lovely in all of it's golden mustard splendor. the color, titled 'gainsboro,' was chosen by edward much to my surprise as i had selected two colors to choose from and the rejected color was a paler and more subtle gold. but boldness has it! after a few more coats and the completion of the ceiling, trim, and door, our little nursery will be ready to feather and fluff for our son.
speaking of feathering, my mother and her best friend have been diligently planning a baby shower for me to be held on the 26th of this month. i am so grateful that two such creative women who know me so well will be lovingly hosting this event. truth be told, i cannot wait! a gathering of the women in my life whom i adore as well as lovely welcoming gifts for my darling peanut, what more could i want? i am itching to begin my nesting in his room, plotting the places his crib, my rocking chair, and other furniture will live. i am anxious to begin my rifling through my own baby items that my mother saved for me and begin picking out the heirlooms our son will inherit. hoping my crib is in wonderful and reusable condition to go along with the bassinet my own mother and the rest of my very large extended family (myself included) slumbered in.
i am finding such a love for family heirlooms and their use in our son's life. i cannot wait to meet him. 8.5 weeks left and i am getting more excited my the day!

camera shy

edward and i have been trying to catch our little one's belly movements on video camera, but it seems that every time we pull out the camera in a moment of activity.. caleb plays possum until we give up and then he's right back to his river-dancing. he's most active first thing in the morning and late at night when it's about bedtime, so if we time it just right i believe we'll be able to snag a video soon. it was always hard for me to understand what was being described by other pregnant moms about the motions happening in their tummies, but now that i'm experiencing it i am always in awe. feeling the kicks since he was 17 weeks old and now at 29 weeks seeing all of the pushing, kicking, shoving, hiccuping, and other activities makes me want an inside look. i am hoping we will get another 3d ultrasound in the upcoming weeks so i can get another peek at what this little boy looks like and how he's grown since last time.

the after