Now we just need baby and we will be complete!

I think we have finally gotten everything ready and in place for this baby to arrive. We have baby stuff hidden away in every single room in the house. It is amazing how much stuff you need for such a small person! Here are some pictures of the nursery as it is now and some other baby stuff in the house. We can't wait to finally have some pictures with our baby girl using some of these things very soon!


Swing and bouncy seat in the living room. We also have another swing in the nursery and another bouncy seat that will more than likely wind up in our bathroom to use while mommy is taking a shower.

Here's the view of the nursery from the door. Obviously the car seat will be out of there, but for now that is it's home.

Love the letters! Daddy and Nana (Sandra) did a great job with them while mommy and Papa patiently watched and took pictures :)

I have a feeling mommy and daddy will be spending a lot of time here in this chair holding and rocking baby.

Changing table all set up with diapers, wipes and cream in the box.

Here's the other swing. We might move it to our bedroom if we decide that it is more efficient there, but for now this place works. And the diaper cake will eventually be taken apart and used since there are only 163 newborn diapers in there! Absolutely cannot let all of those go to waste!

This is actually a diaper wreath that my mom had a friend make . It is soooo cute. We probaby won't actually use the diapers on this one and just let it hang for decoration for a little while.

All of her cute stuffed animals inside the crib. Obviously these things will be removed once she starts sleeping in there.

This is right above the rocking chair in the corner. These are more pictures of Robert and I as babies. Both of us were right around 10 months old here.

We saw this plate in a store last week and absolutely could not live without it! It was perfect for our sweet girl. In case you can't read it, it it says "For this child we prayed....1 Samuel 1:27" For those of you who know our story know that her room would not be complete without this on the wall.

This is all of her stuff that has been sitting in the dining room just like this for the past 3 weeks, ready to go to the hospital at any time. And it is still sitting there, (with the exception of the car seat, which Daddy has already put in the truck). The pink bow on the left is actually at our neighbor's house now. They are responsible for putting it on our mailbox as soon as she arrives in the world. The outfit in the middle is what we will bring her home in. And yes, that is two diaper bags that you see, both of which are full. Always have to be prepared for anything! :)

38 weeks and counting

We went back to the Dr. yesterday for our 38 week appt. Looks like I am still sitting at 1 cm dilation, but have progressed to 80% effacement. So at least that is some progress. The Dr. said that with first babies, you ususally thin out (efface) first before you dilate, so it looks like my body is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. Still no further indication of timing. We are still looking at any day now between now and the due date. The possibilty of induction right around the due date has been brought up and the Dr. said that I would do very well with that if we chose that route, as my body has already started progressing on it's own. As she is on the larger size (Charley that is), we may decide to take that route if she does not come on her own within the next 2 weeks.
Other than that, Mommy and Daddy are doing great, just wondering how much longer with each day that passes. I have officially been put on Maternity leave as my commute back and forth to work is at least an hour. So we really are ready for "Go Time" anytime this child of ours decides she is ready. I have definitely felt a decrease in her movements, in fact the Dr. put me on the monitor for a while yesterday, just as a precaution, but she is perfectly fine. Seems like she is just simply running out of room in there, which makes Daddy and I hope that maybe that will intice her to want to get out soon :)
Please continue to keep our sweet little girl in your prayers, especially in the days ahead as we make progress closer and closer to her birthday!

36 week appt.

As promised, I will try my best to keep this updated on a weekly basis as I go to the doctor from now going forward. Had an appt this morning and as it turns out, I am dilated 1 cm and am 50% effaced, which was great to hear! This means that we are on our way, and it could be any day between now and the next 3-4 weeks, although it is unlikely that we will make it all the way to the due date. The doctor did tell us that since I have started progressing naturally on my own, we do have the option of an induction anytime that we would like to do that after the 38 week mark. Note, I will be 38 weeks on June 15th. But, for now we are going to wait it out and see if she will just come naturally, although we will not let it go past the due date for sure!
We also wound up in the hospital today due to some contractions, but a false alarm. The did take me in and put me on the monitor for about 2 hours monitoring both my contractions and her heartbeat. It turns out that I am actually having contractions roughly about every 5 minutes, but nothing to be too alarmed about just yet. They are not hard contractions, just generally mild, but definitely another sign that we think it will be sooner rather than later. Will keep you posted as we find out more. The next appt is next Wednesday, which also happens to be our 3 year anniversary...YAY!!

Couples Shower

Our sweet neighbors, Ron and Pam, threw us a couples shower to celebrate Charley's arrival. This was our last shower before the big day! We had tons of fun and got to enjoy some wonderful food, fellowship and friends all in one place!

Me and my sweet Audrey! Actually she will be "Aunt Audrey" to Baby Charley :)

Some of my friends from work, Myra, Andrew, Jason and Ashley. So glad they could come!

Whit and Katlyn sharing some of their snacks with each other :)

This time the boys got to enjoy all of the fun baby stuff. I wanted to make sure that Robert knew what each and every gift was....."Look Honey, isn't this cute!"

And of course, I wouldn't know what to do if we didn't have kids there to show us how to open all the gifts.

The CUTE cake....I absolutely loved it!

The Happy Parents to be :)

Me and Pam! Thanks guys, this was so much fun! Charley is so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who love her so much already!

Hospital info, etc.

Robert and I went to the hospital, where we will be delivering, for a tour of the facility. I wanted to give you all the website to the hospital (Rockdale Medical Center): http://www.rockdalemedicalcenter.org/

You can also click on this link for directions:
http://www.rockdalemedicalcenter.org/Directions/Default.aspx

Also, the address is:
1412 Milstead Avenue
Conyers, Georgia 30012
770-918-3000

You will enter through the East Tower (parking is available right outside the entrance). Once you come in, you will take the elevators up to the the 1st floor and follow the signs to The Birth Place.
Please note (we didn't realize this), after we have delivered and have moved over to the Mother/Baby side, there are limitations on visiting hours. Visitors are only allowed from 1 - 9 pm. But that is only after the baby is here. There are no limitations on hours anytime prior to and immediately after delivery. Also, children under the age of 12 are not allowed at anytime, although, Robert and I (and a few others) think we might be able to bend this rule a little if we are careful, kind and courteous, but I did want you all to be aware that that rule was in place. Hopefully it won't pose a problem.

As far as other updates; I promise to keep this updated on at least a weekly basis from now until the big day so that you all will know exactly what is going on. I am currently 35 weeks and doing great. Thanks to our wonderful neighbors, Robert and I were able to get away for one last vacation to the beach this past weekend (And no, I will NOT be posting pics of me in the maternity bathing suit!). Thanks so much Ron and Pam!

My next Dr's appt is Monday, June 1st and I will see him on a weekly basis after that. Charley should about somewhere around 5.5 - 6 lbs at this point, so she is well on her way. We are just trying to get last minute things together and taken care of. Will post final pics of the nursery soon, once it is complete.

Hope you all are well and can't wait for you each to meet our daughter!

Pregnancy Pictures

Thanks to Charley's Aunt Stephanie, we were able to capture some really great images of this special time. I am about 34 weeks here (I apologize for the lack of updated weekly pictures). Enjoy!

I think this is my favorite.

More Showers!! Yay!

Dublin Family Shower (5/17/09) This shower was a ton of fun, thanks to my cousins and Aunt for throwing it!

Here are all of the gifts. Notice the BEAUTIFUL high chair on the left side....thanks Kris, Sarah and Lynn...I LOVE it. We have already found the perfect place for it in our kitchen!

Charley got a RIDICULOUS amount of clothes at this shower! It was out of control, but so much fun! I even made Robert look at every single outfit when we got home, he was thrilled ;)

Me and the beautiful hostesses (except my Aunt Lynn)...thanks girls!

Me and my favorite grandmothers (Nanny and Granny Ruth), I just love them!

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Hawkinsville Shower (5/9/09). These pictures are in reverse chronological order from what actually happened, but oh well, they are here. This shower was also so much fun and I cannot thank Stephanie, Elinor and Mandi for throwing it, they did a great job!

Me, Meredith, Kelly and Lily :)

Me and Elinor (she looks amazing, might I add)

Me and the hostesses (except Stephanie)

I don't think I could have opened all of the presents without the help of Lily and Ella Claire (or at least that is what they thought :)). Honestly, by the time they got the gift opened, they grabbed it and took it across the room to let everyone see, so I didn't really get a chance to see all of the gifts until I got home and sorted through them. But as long as they were having fun, that is all that matters!

All the guests playing some games

The precious cake!

The punch and cake table

The food table...soooo yummy!

Lily and Ella Claire! Are they cute or what? I can't wait for Charley to get here to meet them :)

Some of the gifts.

I saw these flowers as soon as I walked into the church. I thought to myself (wow, what a nice centerpiece). Little did I know, Robert had these sent to the church for me for Mother's Day...so sweet!

Mama pinning on my flowers.