300

I will admit that I have put off posting because I knew my 300th post was coming up. I wanted to do something special, something memorable, to commemorate such an occasion as my 300th post. And yet I was repeatedly drawing a blank.

Do I look back over my 300 posts and pick the best ones? That would be hard, since I don't exactly write poems or great literature--I just keep friends and family informed on our lives.

Do I recap the last 2 1/2 years that I have been blogging? I could, but that might be tedious, and there does seem to be a theme...Georgia, Georgia, Georgia, another pregnancy!, Georgia, baby #2, etc. etc.

Do I post the cutest pictures of my favorite subject that have been taken over the past 2 years? Well, that would be a picture heavy post, wouldn't it? Besides, how can you pick a favorite?

So instead, I leave you with this....

Introducing Baxter Robert Finn!!

*Updated 9/26/2008--still no baby, but I finished my two WIPs (Works in Progress). See pics below*

No, I have not had my baby.
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No, I am not in labor, and have no indications that I will be going into labor soon.
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No, I have not been bargain hunting , couponing, or hitting up deals at CVS, Target, or Kroger. I did snag a good deal on Cheerios at Target--buy 4 boxes for $11, and get a gallon of milk free. If I had one coupon per box, it would have been a great deal (I didn't), but I did use one coupon, and it was still a good deal. Other than that, Nothing!
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I have, however, been crossing a few things off of my list. I cannot say thanks enough to Julie with the KidAround KidSale consignment sale who allowed me to drop off my clothes and items early--in case I go into labor! Please go to this sale next weekend!
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I have done a little bit of sewing. Here are some projects.

Blankets for Baxter:

Travel diaper cases:

Travel diaper case--work in progress:

Finished product:

Nursing cover (almond & khaki)--work in progress:

Finished product:

And since people really want to see my child (oh, soon to be children!)--here are couple of cute shots of Georgia playing on Mommy and Daddy's night-night:

Baxter's nursery, Georgia cuddles, etc.

Thought a few accents are missing, Baxter's room is ready to go:

Could she be any cuter?

Sweet cuddles

Supporting the team!

39 weeks and counting!

Thanks to everyone for their sweet thoughts and prayers regarding my recent toe injury. My toe is healing well, and as long as I can keep it away from a stomping toddler, I am fine! If I am on my feet for too long, the toe starts to throb, so I am trying to take it easy...but I probably should be doing that anyway. Instead of a pedicure, I opted for a haircut and some highlights:-)

38 weeks and a fun poll

I was 38 weeks on Saturday, so officially I don't have any longer than, oh...four weeks left in this pregnancy :-) I assume the doctors will not let me go any longer than 2 weeks past my due date!

Here is how things are going: I have definitely hit the 'end of pregnancy' stage. Baxter has dropped down some, and is making his mommy rather achy and sore. I have some nights where I sleep marvelously (usually thanks to Benadryl!) and others where I cannot get comfortable at all. My weight gain is still minimal, and my belly is measuring "small" again. However, an ultrasound from last week estimates B's size to be 6 lbs, 14 oz, so there is nothing wrong with him! My blood pressure is still beautiful--today it was 120/70ish, B's heartbeat is good, and I have slowly started the dilation/effacement process. It could be tomorrow...it could be three weeks!

To help build anticipation, I have created a little online game/poll that allows you to guess the baby's gender, weight, length and birthday. You automatically get some points for knowing the gender! Please follow the link below and play along, and once Baxter arrives, I will post who was the closest. Sorry, you cannot place actual bets on my baby:-)

The non-piggy piggy bank

One more thing crossed off my list!

Baby Shower

This morning, my two dear friends Karen and Mary Kathryn threw me a baby shower. It was so sweet of them to do that, and so kind of my friends to attend! We had a lot of fun, ate some delicious goodies, and Baxter received wonderful gifts. Thank s to everyone for making this such a special day.








My lovely hostesses, Mary Kathryn and Karen


My sweet mom, who came up to stay for several days, though she will be returning again soon for Baxter's arrival. She's burning up the roads between here and ATL!

One month to go!

It is official. I have only a month until my due date. Time truly has flown by with this pregnancy, and it shows no sign of slowing down for me to catch up before Baxter arrives! I am on weekly doctor's appointments now, and everything still looks great. There are no indications that I will go into labor early, especially considering Georgia was 8 days late, but who knows what the Lord has in store? We appreciate your prayers as the day draws closer that we will meet our son!

Pregnancy Planning

My confession: I like lists. I love to make them, and to cross things off of them. Sometimes I add things to a nearly finished list so I can keep a list going! I have now hit 35 weeks in my pregnancy, and I am about halfway through my "Things To-Do Before Baby #2 Arrives" list. Want to see (in no particular order)?

Buy items needed for B's nursery--DONE!

Sort G's outgrown clothes--DONE!

Give outgrown clothes to friend--DONE!

Prep clothes for consignment sale--DONE!*

Remake baby sling--DONE!

Make backpack for G--DONE!

Buy yarn to crochet quilt for B--DONE!

Make crocheted quilt for B--Work in progress

Paint piggy back for B--DONE!

Pick up bed for G--DONE!

Buy new mattress for said bed--DONE!

Buy sheets for said bed--DONE!

Move bed into G's big girl room/rearrange furniture--DONE!

Move G into big girl room--DONE!

Buy small dresser for G--FINALLY, DONE!

Move all G's clothes to new room--DONE!

Paint nursery--DONE! (Thanks Tony R.)

Paint changing table--DONE!

Decorate nursery--DONE!

Decorate G's room--DONE!

Pull out clothes for B--DONE!

Decide what is still needed for B (i.e., make another list; see first item on list)--DONE!

Clean out closet in G's room

Straighten up bonus room

Donate to Sharing Shop--DONE!

Clean out garage

Make meals for freezer--DONE!

Buy frozen meals for N--DONE!

Make list of people to watch G until g'parents arrive--make instructions for them--DONE!

Buy baby book for B

Fill in G and B's baby book with as much as I can

Pack bag for hospital--DONE!*

Put infant car seat in van

Finish thank you notes from baby shower--DONE!*

*Updated 9/25/2008

Just for the record, packing a bag for the hospital wasn't even on this list until I typed it up just now! That will need to be done at some point...oh, wait, I forgot one more thing (see last item, just added :-). As you can see, my list spans a lot of different things, and in theory, I only have 5-7 weeks to get them done! I think a few things will just 'disappear' from the list... :-)

In case you are bored with my list making, here are a couple of pictures of my pregnant self. Enjoy!

Leah at 35 weeks--the first is a good shot of my belly (but I don't like the way I look) and the second is a good shot of me (but my belly is turned a little so you can't clearly tell the size:-)

And for a fun comparison--a shot of me at 35 weeks pregnant with Georgia girl:

Shopping Spree

In our area, there is a large consignment sale that is held twice a year. Thanks to a generous friend, I went today to the 'consignors sale', a pre-sale when those who consign can go shopping. And it was a mad house! The sale is held in a big arena with rows and rows of toys, racks upon racks of clothes--it is a zoo! I needed clothes for Georgia for this fall, and I am very excited about the stash I brought home. I stayed within my budget, and brought home:
6 shirts
3 dresses
2 skirts
4 pants
2 pajamas
3 jackets
6 onesies
1 pair shoes (Stride Rite, brand new, adorable)
1 double stroller
Praise the Lord for opportunities like this to get great clothes for dirt cheap! See picture below for the goodies.





To praise my little girl, she was trooper today--it was a madhouse at the sale, she was stuck in the stroller for at least a couple of hours, and then she had to go to my doctor's appointment with me. She entertained herself well, and was just as good as gold for the most part (she did get hungry and cranky at one point, but then, so did her mom!). Georgia apparently decided that she liked shopping so much today that she wanted to sit down in her baby doll stroller this evening. She is definitely too big for it!

I did have another doctor's appointment today, and things are normal as always. I had to take the 3 hour glucose test a couple of weeks ago, and my doctor today told me that I passed it with such flying colors that it was almost embarrassing that I had to take it. But 'better to be safe than sorry' with things like gestational diabetes. Again, boringly healthy Leah continues! I start my every two week appointments now, which means that Baxter's arrival is coming very soon. We are excited!

Pregnancy Belly--30+ weeks (almost 31)

28+ weeks

News flash: I am still boringly healthy. And that's a good thing! All is well with my pregnancy. My blood pressure is still good, Baxter's heartrate is strong, and my weight gain is fine. Related to my weight gain, my doctor told me I could gain a pound a week between now and the baby's arrival and I would still be doing great. I actually think I have gained less weight this pregnancy than with Georgia, but I'm not monitoring that closely (I'd rather not:-). Though I did not pass my first glucose screening test, my three hour test results came back clear. I have now entered my third trimester, and the light at the end of the tunnel is growing brighter!

And growing bigger is my belly:

"Boringly Healthy"--or, Leah's pregnancy at 24 weeks

I had my 24 week doctor's appointment this week (I am a little behind with those, because I am actually 25 weeks now, but that's beside the point), and here is the gem I learned from my doctor:

I am "Boringly Healthy".

As in, my weight gain is fine, my blood pressure is great (90-something over 58, which is standard for me), I am measuring on track, and Baxter's 148 bpm heartrate is great. All of which translates into boring, boring, boring. I wish the boring-ness would translate into my going to the doctor LESS often, but instead I am fast approaching the 'going to the doctor more often' phase. With Georgia, I looked forward to my doctor's appointments. With this pregnancy, everything is normal and boring, and they are just an inconvenience at times. Oh to skip ahead! Actually, I don't want to skip ahead yet---I just want to skip the appointments:-)

Baby Belly-23 weeks

Here you go--a couple of shots of my pregnant belly! These are not the greatest pictures, but it should give you a good idea of what I currently look like:-) Check out this picture to compare how I looked at 24 weeks with Georgia.

"Oh-oh, Halfway There..."

"Oh-oh, Livin' on a Prayer..." :-)

It is official--I am 21 weeks into my pregnancy, so I am halfway there! I have frequently joked that since Georgia was more than a week late, I would not consider myself to be 'halfway' through the pregnancy until I was 21 weeks instead of 20. So I am now 21 weeks, and NOW halfway there! Things are going well with the pregnancy. My last doctor's appointment went well--Georgia went with me, and we were in and out of the office in no time. I have gained 7-10 pounds in the first half of this pregnancy, which is perfectly normal, and almost exactly what I gained with Georgia. I have been measuring small for the past couple of doctor's appointments, which would be a concern except that I had a great ultrasound where everything checked out and looks good. Dr. Holton (whom I LOVE!) said simply that it could be a variety of things: I have a long torso for the baby to 'hide' in; the second baby frequently sits lower; or I could have a small baby (though Baxter measured right on track at the ultrasound). No worries, which is great!

Nathan is wrapping up the end of the semester and we are so excited for the summer to be here! He will be very busy for most of the summer (traveling to the SBC, teaching a summer class), but is looking forward to the few weeks he will have to concentrate on classes and notes. This will be his first summer to be fully concentrating on classes, and that is a huge blessing!

Now onto the good stuff--pictures from the past week!

Mother's Day --Georgia refused to look at the camera

Georgia and I had a picnic on campus with friends this week, and she decided that it was more fun to push the stroller than to ride in it! See below for her fun!

Georgia loved holding baby Karissa--in this picture she was pointing to Karissa's ear ("Ear!" she says)


She showered the baby with kisses!

Not a great picture of Georgia, but a cute shot of the newborn Karissa (one of the twins born to my dear friend Karen)

Ultrasound pictures

I was finally able to get a few ultrasound pictures scanned. These are of Baxter at 18.5 weeks. Isn't he handsome?