Wishes for baby

I just wrapped up a wonderful week at work, one that was made exceptional by the surprise baby shower that was thrown by my thoughtful coworkers.  It was a phenomenal party filled with delicious Mami Nora's catered food, homemade sides, salads, cheeses, and sweet confections.  I was in heaven - and in serious shock.  I did not expect a shower at all, but this party went above and beyond.  Thank you coworkers!!

When I walked into the party room, there was one of my maternity photos projected onto the wall and a cake made out of little pamper newborn diapers as the centerpiece of the table.  I've always wanted a diaper cake!

But what really stood out about this party were the games.  We played "guess whose baby photo," which was much harder than I thought it would be. And then we passed around these fill-in-the-blank sheets of paper that had "Wishes for baby" written in dainty pink script across the top.  Down the page was written phrases such as: "I hope you aren't afraid..." and "I hope you become..." and "I hope you love..."  All my coworkers got to fill in the blanks for their wishes for baby Natalie.  I left the shower feeling very grateful, and very hopeful for my daughter-to-be.

Here are some of my favorite responses from the fill-in-the-blank game:

• I hope you learn to speak Spanish.
• I hope you aren't afraid to love without reservation.
• I hope you love Jesus with your whole heart.
• I hope you get what you don't know you need.
• I hope you laugh at yourself.
• I hope you never forget how much your family loves you.
• I hope you ignore the yucky stuff.
• I hope you become the person you're meant to be.
• I hope you respect those worthy of such.
• I hope you grow to be a strong woman.

Doesn't that just leave you with the best feeling?

An atypical night's sleep, even at 36 weeks pregnant

Sleep has been rough lately.  It's commonplace for pregnant folks to get up throughout the night to relieve their bladder; but last night was beyond the normal 4-times-a-night potty break situation.

So as to allow me to vent my exhausted frustrations, below is last night's schedule:

9:30 pm  I make my way to bed with my heating pad.  I am asleep almost instantly.
10 pm  Potty break #1
10:45 pm  Hubby arrives home from his Superbowl festivities with friends.  He is quiet, but I still awaken.
11 pm  Potty break #2
11:15 pm  Caleb awakens and darts into our room, stormtrooper style. Hubby puts him back in bed.
11:30 pm  Fully awake now, hubby and I decide to read books and eat snacks in bed.
12 am  Potty break #3
1 am  I drift off to sleep (or at least that's my best guess).
1:30 am  Hubby coughs a horrendous cough that sounds like he's dying.  I'm now awake.
1:45 am  Potty break #4.  My mouth feels like a desert, so I drink water even though I shouldn't.
2:30 am  Awaken with a numb arm and hand. Side effect of having to side sleep during pregnancy.
3 am  Hubby coughs another horrendous cough.  Awake again.
3:30 am  Potty break #5
4 am  Pinto the 10-year-old cat coughs up a hairball for about 15 minutes.
4:30 am  Awaken with a numb arm and hand again. Potty break #6.
5 am  Awaken with desert mouth.
5:30 am  Potty break #7.
6:25 am  Caleb charges into our room, stormtrooper style.  I pull him into bed with us.  Hubby plops an extra pillow under Caleb's head. 
6:30 am  Ignition starts in neighbor's car outside bedroom window. Remains running and revving for 10 minutes.
6:40 am  I peel myself from the bed.  Time to get up and get ready.

I'm looking forward to getting more sleep once the baby arrives.  She'll want to eat and have her tiny little diaper changed every 2 hours.  It'll be a refreshing change of pace.

Alright, thanks for letting me vent.  Now off to a full day at the office!

The growing belly

Not only did my friend Bridget throw me the world's greatest baby shower, but she also offered to take maternity photos of me following the shower.  Bridget has been taking photos now for only about two years, but her skills have grown so fast. 

She is an amazing photographer and I am thrilled she convinced me to go for maternity photos during this pregnancy.  Initially I wanted photos...and then I didn't...and then I did again...and then I didn't.  She finally forced me to commit.

We took these photos at a park in Durham on a very cold Saturday at dusk. I am 32-weeks along in the photos.  Enjoy!

 

 Caleb and hubby are studying a photo sample I am holding in the above photo.

 

 

 

 

I know...this one doesn't even show the belly, but it does show the mommy and daddy smooching. And that's important too.

Photos courtesy Sofian Studios.

"You just wait"

When you get pregnant with your first child, it seems all you hear from people - strangers included - is, "You just wait...life is going to change drastically once you have a child."
That comment was obnoxious to hear then and it is obnoxious to hear now, when OF COURSE my life has been dramatically and beautifully and miraculously changed by my first child, and I'm pregnant with five weeks left to go before my second child arrives. Hubby and I conceived this second child hoping our lives would be forever changed.

While visiting a lovely playground at Woodlake today, Caleb and I were sharing playground space with another family comprised of a mother and two children - a boy and a girl. They were playing the sweetest game of tag/superhero/castle using as much imagination and energy as one could only dream of.  We all coexisted for some time together before the mother asked me my due date.  We continued playing together for another 30 minutes before she left.  On her way out she yelled casually over her shoulder, "You just wait."

Meaning, you just wait till you have two of them running around. I bet she meant no harm.  I bet she was just being friendly, as she had been for the duration of our time together on the playground.  But what it sounds like to me is what everyone else says: it's going to get so much harder, you'll wish you only had one child again.

Well, folks, this isn't a shock to me. I think all parents sometimes wish for moments without their children.  It's only natural.  Parenting is difficult, challenging, and requires much patience and flexibility.

But it just takes one glance at that child to know it is all worth it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I just can't wait for my next blessing to arrive.

Date night in Memphis

Hubby and I got to have a very spontaneous date night on Friday night.  A spontaneous anything is pretty rare for any parent of a toddler; a night away means finding a sitter, finding an activity, finding the energy, and finding the money to spend.  Nevertheless, the stars aligned and by 12 pm on a Friday afternoon the decision had been made - hubby and I were getting a date night.

We left Caleb in the capable and loving hands of Pam and Rick (I still can't believe they were free on such short notice), and then we rushed off dressed in our Friday night best to a quick dinner and a show.  After much thought, hubby and I decided to try out Nanataco, a relatively new Mexican-American eatery across from Wine Authorities.  Hubby and I both got Big Daddy's burrito filled with some interesting meats including housemade spicy chorizo, hog jowl, and slow-cooked beef.  It was extremely filling and delish.  The service was excellent but very slow because the place was packed.

Then we headed on to the main event - an evening at DPAC watching Memphis the musical.  Hubby really wanted to see this, since Memphis is where he grew up, and he was able to snag some very last-minute tickets from his boss.

The music, the singing, the dancing, the performances, and the set design were awesome. We had great lower level seats, but hubby managed to sit behind the tallest guy in the venue.  Still, we definitely enjoyed our night out and a phenomenal experience at DPAC.

 

One-year-old portraits

You might remember this sweet child, Lily Jane, from when I photographed her soon after her birth last January.  It was my first time doing photos for this family, and I practically invited myself over to their house after Lily was born so that I could visit the new baby.

Well, six months flew by quickly and I was invited to Lily's home again to take more portraits.  She is one of the happiest babies I've ever had the pleasure of meeting; not to mention she's super smiley and very curious.  She began crawling right after this session.

As children often do, Lily has continued blossoming into a lovely lady.  She just celebrated her one-year-old birthday and I was asked to do a candid photo shoot of her to celebrate new milestones, such as walking and chasing after butterflies and crawling through tunnels and going down slides both forward and backward.

So this past weekend - as cold as it was - Lily's family and I bundled up and headed out to the Museum of Life and Science to capture some sweet moments on film.  We toured the butterfly house, barnyard area, and toddler play gym to allow Lily to strut her stuff. 

 

 

 

 

I believe I am smitten by this young lady!

Space goggles

For Christmas Caleb received a set of 3D sidewalk chalks.  I had no clue that sidewalk chalk could produce 3D images, but I guess it's the glasses themselves that do all the magic.

We tested the chalks out on a lovely January day, and while I failed to take a photo of our masterpiece, I did manage to get some snapshots of Caleb adorned in these attractive green 3D glasses.  I know I'm biased, but I think he'd be handsome in anything.

See for yourself.