Happy Birthday, Jacob!

I can't believe my baby boy turned 3 on Monday. His and Khloe's birthdays are 1 week apart. (well 2 years and 51 weeks, actually!) With Christmas, it makes for a very busy month for us! I had my first dose of mom guilt when I realized that we weren't going to be able to celebrate his birthday in the style that we have in the past. I'm already planning next year's party, though, and will definitely make up for it! Here are some pictures from Monday... His birthday sandwich :

We made cupcakes together. Jacob is quite the baker! He had fun decorating them too.

Jason went out to buy balloons the night before and we decorated around the table and his booster seat. When he saw the decorations Monday morning he kept saying "Wow! This is so cool!". I love this age...so easy to please! :-)

She's Here!

Khloe Grace Brown was born on November 30th, 2009 at 5:48pm. She weighed 8 pounds and 1 ounce and is 20 inches long. We are all so in love with her and enjoying our family right now! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. More photos to come soon!

39 Week Update

Short and Sweet...I'm not a happy momma right now:

*They are delaying my induction until next week (uggghhh!) Scheduled for Monday
*Lapwork shows my blood platelets at 105,000 and dropping...must be over 100,000 to receive an epidural. (Normal count is 150,000 to 200,000)
*I am 3 cm dialated now (yea!) but still 60% effaced
*Khloe is snug as a bug in my tummy and just won't make her debut until good and ready.

Looks like I will be eating turkey and pumpkin pie after all!

Impatience...38 week update

Well, contractions have continued, but not at the rate we were hoping for. I am, however, experiencing a LOT of pain and pressure. At times, I think she is trying to escape and, boy, am I ready for her to! I think working up to my due date when I was preggo with Jacob helped to distract me because I am feeling SO IMPATIENT this time. It's hard to believe that I actually said a few weeks ago that I was worried time was flying and stressed about "not being ready". HA!

Anyway, I am at least 2 cm dialated and my doctor says "progressing nicely". Her estimate is 7 1/2 pounds... so that gives me hope that she will be smaller than her brother! Let's just hope she also has a smaller head! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. I hope to have pictures to share soon!

Sooner Rather Than Later!!!

Well, we've had a few false alarms over the past few days. I seem to be having Braxton Hicks contractions very regularly and growing in strength. Tuesday night I went to get my hair done and while I was sitting under the dryer, I started having contractions about every 15 minutes. That continued for an hour and then by the time I got home they were coming every 10 minutes. This continued for about 3 more hours and we thought for sure that we were headed toward the hospital, when all of a sudden they stopped! I had more last night, and am having them again tonight. It is so strange, because with Jacob I never had one false contraction the whole pregnancy. When I started having contractions with him, they were 5 minutes apart, then 3 minutes apart, then we left for the hospital and he was born 7 hours later! How different this one is! I'll keep you updated...but surely Khloe is on her way!

37 week Update

Well, I know you are wondering how things are going... thanks for the reminders to update this blog. Where does the time go?!?!

At my 36 week doctor's appointment, I was 1 cm dialated and Khloe was in position ready to go. We went back yesterday for my 37 week appointment, but I won't be examined again until next week. However, my doctor will induce me Thanksgiving week at 39 weeks if Khloe doesn't come sooner. I am definitely having "signs" of labor including contractions and back pain among other joyous signs. My doctor and midwife both have said they don't expect her to take much longer! Hallelujah! We are so ready to meet her.

Even Jacob told me yesterday morning as he patted my enormous stomach, "Mommy, I think Khloe is big enough to come out now!"

Fall Festivities

Fall is absolutely my favorite time of year...especially in Georgia. Even though it has been extra soggy this year, we have had a great time. Here are some pics...

Arrrg! Jacob chose to be a pirate for Halloween. Here's the costume I made for him (one of the best things about being a stay at home mom!)

Cagle's Dairy Farm...we got to roast marshmellows and make s'mores. Jacob loved helping daddy tend the fire.

On a hayride at Cagle's Dairy Farm

Don't let this cute smile fool you! He absolutely despised scooping out the pumpkin seeds! He wanted to wear gloves like his...er...dad! :)

Daddy in his gloves...what happened to making a mess?!

Family picture at Burt's Pumpkin Patch. Our tradition for 6 years now!

This boy loves popcorn!

My favorite picture!

Jacob's pumpkin

Jacob and Abby

At Amicalola Falls State Park Lodge with our neighbors

Playing Tennis with Daddy

He was able to get the ball into the third bucket! Way to go, buddy!

Jacob played this neat Braves baseball game at the Atlanta Parent Family Fest.

3D Ultrasound

Wow! We were so amazed and so happy with our ultrasound today. As I said in a previous post, we went last week to have a 3D ultrasound done, and lil Khloe had her face turned into my back so that we couldn't see much of anything. Today was completely different. She was asleep most of the time, but we saw her face so clearly! What do you think? Does she look like her big brother? Jacob sat in his little seat and watched so intently. He keeps telling us, "I can't wait until Khloe gets here!" in his expressionate high-pitch voice! Here are some of our favorite pictures...

Her profile... The ultrasound tech didn't think we should expect much hair. Which is funny after all of the heart burn that I have been experiencing.

Face, Arm, and Hand...she kept putting her chin on her wrist, to pose for us!
This part was so funny! She yawned a huge yawn, and then stretched her neck and arms. It was so amazing to see her moving around!

Another facial shot...We think she has Jacob's nose, lips, and chin...

Arms folded and legs curled up. She loves to put her toes up by her face...future gymnast?

So sweet! We can't wait to hold her and shower her with kisses!One of our favorites- the face of an angel!

Do you see her foot up by her forehead?

Baby Shower Invites

We are so excited for our BaBy Q in two weeks! It will be so fun to see family and friends, especially those who we don't see very often! We decided that we would do a "family style" shower so that Jacob and Jason could be included in the fun. (After all, despite the fact that up until now I have done ALL the work, I am not the only one having this baby!) Here is our invitation. Aren't they cute? I only wish that my family in Texas could be here. This is the part that stinks about living so far from family! However, I am so thankful to have Jason's family close by.

The Little Diva

After a week of intense excitement and anticipation, we woke up at the crack of dawn yesterday (I can't lie, it was really 7:30, but that's early for me these days!) to get a sneak peek at our angel's face. We visited the same ultrasound place, Baby's First Images, to have a 3D/4D ultrasound. If you have never seen pictures, they are amazing! You can actually see a 3D image of a baby's face, hands, feet, and everything in between! I had an oh-so-nutritious breakfast of cinnamon rolls and cold milk, hoping to get Khloe bouncing around during the ultrasound. She had already been really active all morning. Those sweet little taps that I began felting around 10 weeks ago have now turned into punches and pokes! Anyway, when we arrived, I noticed that she was very still and quiet. That should have been my first clue. The tech took us right back to the room, which has a huge movie screen to view the ultrasound. Right when she began moving the doppler, she said "uh oh!" (something no pregnant mother wants to hear!). Apparently our little diva was turned completely away from the camera with her face burried into the back of my uterus. The tech tried to prod her to turn and even had me stand up and bounce around. But, she wouldn't be bothered. She even put both hands AND a foot up over her face so that we couldn't see ANYTHING! (Although, Jason says that he caught a glimpse and is convinced that she looks just like her big brother.) We did confirm that she is DEFINITELY a girl (a relief, since her room is now totally pink-ti-fied!) Thankfully Baby's First Images has a redo policy that is allowing us to go back next Saturday, hoping for better results. Keep your fingers crossed and I'll post the ultrasound pictures then!

Khloe's Nursery...Still in Progress!

View in the mirror hanging above her changing table.
The rocker that I had when I was a little girl. Jason repainted it and I sewed this pillow to match her bedding.

I made this! A diaper stacker that matches her bedding. (Probably the fastest thing I have sewed and my favorite too!)

Changing table/dresser. I know we'll spend a lot of time here!

Crib and Curtains. We had the hardest time finding wooden letters that went with our style. However, I love these that I found yesterday!

Another view of the curtains-- my first sewing project, and armoir. The plates on the wall say "Dreams do come true" and "Life is full of miracles". Love it!

Jacob wanted desperately to help Jason put furniture together...but he couldn't find his hammer. Oh, we are in the tantrum stage!

Much happier once mommy found his hammer!

Khloe Grace's Room...In Progress

Well, I finally finished all of her bedding, and we are hanging up some things in her room today. I'll try to get more pictures on here later...but here is a picture of her bed with the bedding that I SEWED! I still can't believe that I was able to finish it.

Summer Fun

Dora Live at the Fox Theater: Jacob was overwelmed at seeing Dora and all of her friends. We don't think that he blinked during the entire 2 hour show! Mommy and Daddy enjoyed it too-- and sang right along.

Panama City Beach: So much fun! There was a Tropical Storm that hit right in the middle of our trip, but we didn't let that ruin our fun. We played in the sand and the gulf, went mini-golfing (mommy won!) and had a great time.

Rode0: This is for my Texas Family-- I'm keeping the culture alive! Jacob absolutely loved going to the rodeo and seeing the cattle roping, barrel racing, and bull riding. We were all pretty impressed at what Canton had to offer during the rodeo! He got so excited after every single horse or cowboy stepped out of the gate and he still talks about it now!

Movie Night Under the Stars: We saw "Kung Fu Panda" on a huge projection screen in Cumming one night. Before the movie, they had booths set up with face painting (Jacob got a star on his arm), games, and yummy food.

Bounce House: This has got to be one of Jacob's favorite indoor activities. It is a warehouse full of inflatable slides and moonwalks. He goes crazy in there, and usually takes a looonnnnggg nap afterwards- an added bonus for me!

Visiting Granny and Papaw in Tennessee: Jacob LOVES to visit Jason's parents and we have been several times this summer. He gets to run around like a wild man, play sports all day, and sit on the tractor. What more could a 2 year old boy want? It is so relaxing for us too!

Lake Allatoona: We were missing the beach so much, that we had a picnic at Lake Allatoona's "beach". Jacob, of course, had a blast running through the sand and splashing. I seem to remember a day of intense heart-burn!