Pictures...

We were going to have a friend do our pictures for our Christmas cards but here it is already December & we still have no plans to get together so I decided to attempt to make them myself. I found out that babies just don't cooperate when taking pictures. I took about 50 different pictures & even though she looks like an angel in all of them, here are a couple of my favorites:

I can't get over how adorable she is! She's grown so much already & she brings so much happiness to my life! I just love her!! She has her 2 month doctor's appt soon & has to get all her shots...I'm not looking forward to that. I've been keeping so busy lately. When Aliya naps I try to get something done on some of my other projects. I try to keep the baby book updated & been slowly working on some scrapbooking. My friend made me these super adorable baby blocks so now I get to attempt that project as well for my neice Cecily. Josh's sister, Sarah, finds out Monday when she gets induced. I can't wait to meet the little one! Hopefully the baby blocks turn out cute & I can get them done by Christmas. Wish me luck!

Thanksgiving

This years Thanksgiving was both wonderful and crazy. Josh & I have big families so we ended up having four different Thanksgiving dinners! Two for his family & two for mine lol. We ate WAY too much & our fridge is WAY too full. But it was great. We were able to spend a holiday at my house for the first time ever & we had my family over. I'm very thankful to have so many great people in my life & I'm glad Aliya will grow up having such a wonderful family!

 Now on to Christmas which will be even more busy!! Josh & I are going tree hunting tonight. I hope we find the perfect tree. I'm so excited for Christmas & to decorate. I have most of my shopping done & most of the presents are all wrapped, just waiting to go under the tree. This is our first Christmas together for awhile since he was deployed last year & now we have Aliya here & can enjoy the holiday even more. I get to buy all new decorations too which I'm very excited about!

Been awhile...

Haven't blogged in awhile so I thought I would try to get around to it. Things have been SO busy lately! Taking care of a newborn has been pretty easy for us but very time consuming. Who knew such a cute, little thing could be so needy : ) Luckiily for us she's a great sleeper! She sleeps for four hours at a time & that's made the nights wonderful. We all get pretty good sleep. The mot challenging for me has been she is hungry almost ALL the time! When she's awake she wants to eat about every 20-30 minutes. Breastfeeding takes so much time & I feel like that's all I do. Not to mention it's very painful & no one bothered to tell me that. It's hard to find time to take a shower or get the house clean & I've been learning how to do almost everything with one hand while I hold her & breastfeed in the other. lol. Quite the image huh? She's not starving, she's gaining weight & she's perfectly healthy...this is just the way it is. Her Daddy was the same way when he was an infant. We're starting her Wednesday on 3 oz of a rice cereal & formula mix right before bed time to see if that helps at all. It was a miracle for Josh's Mom & I hope it helps us as well.

Josh & I have date nights every Friday so we've been out alone for a few hours since Aliya was born. That has been nice & something I really look forward to every week. It gives Josh & I time to just focus on us & our relationship. I think all couples should do it! We also got some newborn pictures done recently. The ones I've seen have turned out great. It's nice to have a close friend who is a photographer!

Other than all of that, I've been trying to keep up on the baby book & I've started by pregnancy/baby scrapbook pages. They take twice as long now but at least I've started! That's about it for now but I'll write again soon!

Aliya Dawn

My baby girl was born on October 14... finally the wait is over!! She weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces & is as beautiful as could be! I was a little worried that she would be born on her Daddy's birthday, which is the 15th, but instead she was born on my best friend's birthday! My BF is like a sister to me & I think it's so wonderful for them to share that special day. I couldn't be more happy! Josh was thrilled with meeting his daughter & I think he's going to be a great Father. The day she was born couldn't of been any more perfect & it's a memory I'll cherish for a lifetime. I feel like I waited so long to meet her & now that she's here it seems unreal. I love her & Josh so much and I feel so blessed!

My Intruder!!

It all started at about 5 in the morning, I heard some loud noises & couldn't figure out what it was. I was so tired so I just brushed it off & tried to go back to sleep. Josh left for work about 630 so I was up drinking my coffee. The sun was rising & it was just getting daylight outside & I heard the loud noise again! So this time I looked outside & to my suprise there was an intruder on my property! I seen a big guy out in our shed & now I knew what the loud noises were...the intruder opening the doors on the shed. The shed is pretty old & the doors are very hard to open. Anyways, I of course was terrified..all alone & 9 months pregnant with someone lurking around our house..so I locked the doors & went to my bedroom. I called Josh & told him someone was in our shed so he told me to call the cops. It was a little weird because the only thing in our shed is garbage so I thought it was some crazy bum out there or something. So I ended up calling the cops & telling them about my morning, I told the lady that I seen a big guy outside in my shed & I think he was wearing black clothing, looked like he was in all dark clothing at least. I got off the phone & called Josh back & was finally brave enough to come out in the livingroom & look out the window to see if I seen anyone in the shed. The guy was gone but the doors were wide open. As I'm waiting for the police to show up, my intruder came back!! He ran out of the woods & into the shed, grabbed a bag of garbage & went back in the woods. I had to call 911 back & report that my intruder was a big giant black bear! & that the Sheriff was no longer needed LOL> The Sheriff still showed up & told me he was sorry but he couldn't charge a bear with trespassing & he doubted he could fit him in the back of his car anyways. I think we all got a good laugh about it & it was definitely enough excitement for a Monday!

Getting closer...

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday & the one I seen said I hadn't progressed at all. Then she even told me that she would like to see me go for another week or two! I would like her to not say that..ever! I'm full-term, I don't need to go for another week. I would like to have Aliya now! I'm sure it's going to happen soon but having someone tell you that you haven't progressed is very disappointing & I'm a little upset about it. Yes, I'm getting impatient. I feel that it's going to happen any day but there are so many birthdays this month & I would like to avoid them all. :) If only life was perfect & I could pick Aliya's birthday. I guess she'll get here when she gets here but I'm doing everything to help her along! Josh & I finished our childbirth classes. I feel like I know so much & delivery doesn't seem all that scary anymore. I had so many worries & questions about the whole process & different laboring options & they've ALL been answered. It's wonderful to feel some what in control of something you have no control over. Hopefully that makes sense. The classes were just great & so helpful. Not just for me but for Josh as well. I think he has a better understanding of his role in labor & what is going on with my body, the baby, reasons to call the doctor, even what to do if I have abdominal pains or if I start crying hysterically. Which I'm going to try not to do. We're even going to have a reunion in January, when everyone has delivered & after the holidays. I'm looking forward to that & I'm so thankful we decided to take the classes!

Other than all that, I got my Halloween decorating done! I have more to do but it will have to wait until we can get some pumpkins & other holiday items. We bought Aliya's Halloween costume yesterday so she better be here before then!

Any Day Now!

Aliya should be here any day & I'm getting more & more excited! As well as nervous :) Josh, I think, is very nervous & probably doesn't know what to think about all this. I've slowly made progress with the nursery. I got her name all finished. I was going for a dark wine color but they turned out more of a purple. I didn't feel like painting them again so I just left them that color. I made some very small green dots out of vinyl which made this project super easy! You just peel them off & stick them on the letters & you're done. The best part about the vinyl is if you don't like the way it looks or the color or anything about it, you can just peel them off. Vinyl comes in just about every color too so in a few years if I want to re-do them, I can & it won't be a huge project. Here's a couple pictures of the finished letters & the fabrics I'm using in the nursery. Hopefully my sewing help will come help me soon & we can get the bumper done! She can sew straight lines.. I can't. LOL. So it's been really great to have help & hopefully with some practice, I'll get better at all this sewing stuff. But the nursery is starting to look very cute & I can't wait for it to be done!

Today was one of the very first days that it felt & looked like Fall! This morning I woke up & my view of the lake was covered with fog but it was still so beautiful. Perfect Fall day!

Too Early For Fall?

It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that I said goodbye to Josh before he left for Iraq again after his R&R. In reality, it was January & now here it is almost October! So much has changed in the past 9 months that it all just seems like I'm dreaming & I keep waiting to wake up & have nothing. But I really do have everything I could ever need. I have my family & at least one great friend, reliable vehicles, a house with a BEAUTIFUL view, I have Josh & our baby is due any day now. I've had 9 months to get ready to be a parent & now that the time is right around the corner...I don't know if I'm ready. I'm getting nervous but definitely excited as well! I feel so blessed with everything in my life & I wouldn't be where I'm at today if it wasn't for Josh. He's my hero & I love him so much! Now here it is Fall already. It seems like it should still be Summer. I got all my Fall & Halloween decorations out & now I'm debating about decorating now vs. later. I was going to wait until the 1st but if Aliya's born before then.. I might not get a chance to decorate. I think I'll go ahead & decorate now just in case. : ) At least this way I can check one more thing off my to-do list!

My table is completely covered in scrabooking supplies & I just can't seem to find the time to do anything with it all. Every day I get up & see the big piles of stuff, yet I do nothing with it. I have at least ten different scrapbook themes I need to start working on like my pregnancy, family reunions, fishing trips, our new home, I even have some to do from high school! Not only do I have all of that to do but I still have to finish the nursery stuff as well. I kind of put the crib bumper off until I have the motivation to do it since she will be staying in our room for a little while so I figure I have a couple months left to finish the nursery. I'm the Queen of Procrastination   : ) .. but I can't help it, I'm just so good at it. Hopefully I get some motivation soon!

Maternity Pics!

I decided to get some maternity pictures done. I just got a few simple ones done but I think they turned out great! Here's a couple of my favorites...

I think I might try to attempt to take some on my own because there was some other poses I would've like to try but I'm very forgettful and forgot all the stuff when I went to the photographer but I'm still really happy I got these done! 

Our childbirth classes are going great! They're so much fun & I really recommend everyone taking them if they have the opportunity to do so. We learned different massage techniques last week & got to try out a variety of labor toys. I hope it will help a lot while I'm at the hospital! I also had another appointment. I'm still progressing so hopefully I'll have her soon! I had my baby shower last Sunday which went great..There was a huge turn out! Now I just gotta find some motivation to get my Thank you cards done.I got just about everything done & I think I'm ready for her to come. I'm so excited to be able to finally meet her & hold her & kiss her but very nervous as well! Right now I have a lot of anxiety towards it all & I just pray I'll be the best Mom I can be & that God will help me get through each day!

**On a different subject... Josh got a job last week! He's working as a Medical Assistant up by the hospital & it seems like a GREAT place to work. He has a lot of job duties & responsibilities so I think he's really going to enjoy it! I'm so happy for him & really excited that he found such a wonderful job. I think it will be really great for him!

Sewing

I went to the doctor's on Wednesday & was told I have a 50% chance of going into labor in the next two weeks. Of course Josh is panicked about that but I really don't think it's going to happen. We started our 4 week long childbirth classes also, so I'm hoping I can at least get through those before I have her.

Sue came up yesterday & helped me with some of my sewing. She's can sew a lot straighted than I can. ( I need practice!) It's almost done though & I'm so excited! The bedskirt & valance is finished but the room just doesn't look put together yet. We only have the bumper left to do which I think will be the hardest part. I'm excited to see the finished product! My baby shower is this Sunday so I'm hoping to get lots of great things so I can finish my room. Like a crib mattress! The crib just looks funny without one. Anyways, here's a couple Before pics of the nursery...

My Little Kitty

Josh & I adopted this little kitty from the local animal shelter. We named him Laredo because we own two Jeeps. : )  I'm always laughing at him & he makes every day interesting. I've started organizing & setting up the nursery & Laredo seems to think that it's all for him! I've yelled at him many times for playing with the activity mat & he just doesn't get that it's not for him. Last night I was too exhausted to even care & instead of yelling, I snapped some pictures. Soon enough he'll realize that there is another addition to our family & he's going to have to share 'his' toys!

Besides my crazy cat keeping me entertained... I've been working on my sewing ALL day & I have faith it's going to turn out great!!

I just realized how close it is to Fall so I've also been researching some new Fall crafts to try. I LOVE Fall & I'm so excited it's right around the corner! The Fall colors, Halloween, Thanksgiving, the stormy nights...it's definitely the best season of the year!

First Post

My BFF Ellen kind of got me into this without realizing it... She has had a blog for some time now & since her & her husband are stationed halfway across the world, I check her blog from time to time to make sure she's still alive & see what she's been up to. She's about the most creative person I know & it seems no matter what she does, she's great at it. I only wish I could be so lucky but she does give me great ideas of new things to attempt to try. :)

So today I was thinking, I should start a blog. Most of it will probably be very random because my life is always changing but hopefully that will make it more interesting!

Not too much is happening in my life right now. I'm going through my nesting phase & I can't seem to find the time to get EVERYTHING done so why I even decided to add this to my list of things to do.. I'll never know. A few months ago I started looking for nursery sets that I liked & since I'm extremely picky I couldn't find any. So I decided I was going to attempt to sew it all myself. You should know that I'm not the most experienced person with a sewing machine. The last & only time I used one was in 9th grade. I made an apron. Here it is a few weeks from my due date & all the fabric is laying on my table untouched. Still. I tried to sew one side of the cribskirt, an easy straight line, or so I thought. Not only did I manage to screw that up but I broke the sewing machine as well! I don't know how I do these things. Luckily, I'm having help come up tomorrow so hopefully I can get a step ahead on this stuff. Wish me luck & I'll keep you posted on how it progresses!