Introducing....

Gavin Gabriel Marshall

Birth Date: September 23, 2011

7:58 AM

via C-Section

Stats: Weight- 6lbs 14oz

Length- 19 inches

Perfection

Champion eater and sleeper and generally considered an overachiever by hospital staff

Hair- Brown when first born, but lightening every day

Eyes- Blue and looking to stay that way

Dimple in left cheek!

Parents: Could not be more proud or in love.

Babies are truly little miracles.

The Final Countdown

This has been a weekend of "lasts." Our last Friday night before we will meet our son. One last trip to the store for necessities (like cookie dough and frozen pizzas). Our last date night before becoming parents....

38 weeks, 3 days.

You can't see them in the pic, but I even broke out my sassy red heels for the occassion. E and I shared a wonderful dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. We went all in and enjoyed every bite of our gourmet meal and pumpkin cake for dessert. And while we sat at the dimly lit table, savoring our coffee and the last spoonful of ice cream, the enormity of the change that will be here in 5 days truly started to sink in: when will we be able to do this again?

Don't get me wrong, I fully intend to keep a date night tradition alive once we get settled and feel comfortable with baby boy. But I know those nights will be different. There will be a babysitter at home, anxiously awaiting our return. We won't be quite so relaxed as we contemplate ordering another glass of wine. And someone will have to be up early the next morning when Mini decides it's time to begin the day.

We've washed every last baby item (some more than once). We've stocked the kitchen with enough non-perishables to see us through a major national security threat. And I've managed to (almost) read the various parenting guide books which sounded totally necessary in the bookstore. But I'm starting to realize all those people were right. You know, the ones who like to tell us "You can never be fully prepared to become a parent."

Well, ready or not, here we come September 23rd....

Welcome to Mini's Jungle

After dreaming, planning and working our parents' hands to the bone... Mini's nursery is complete.The giraffe decal that took three people and two attempts to get it right...

Our cozy chair with the amazing blanket from E's Grandma Erma. And this also highlights my favorite part of his room... the zebra rug : )

The shelves with his growing collection of stuffed animals and his card from my daddy (a.k.a Grampy)

























His tummy time mat currently keeping his crib occupied.



A blurry shot of my latest "Martha Moment" creation... his alphabet cards hanging above the changing table. Thanks to Sue for all of her help getting them juuuust right.


Sophie says "We're ready for you little brother!" Now all we need is the kid : )

Staring Down September

First an updated bump pic. Fair warning... this belly is bare!


Still giving you fair warning to look away



One last chance!



Phew! That wasn't so bad right? And for those who didn't know about my sweet tat, it is peeking out of my pants and still holding strong to its original shape and size (fingers crossed, it stays that way).

So tomorrow is September 1st. As in, "we're having a baby this month" September. There is also a good chance that baby boy will be here a week early if he stays in his current breech position. September 1st + stubborn baby birth plan = mildly freaked out mama!

I don't know why it is just hitting me this week. I've known the chances of him coming early were pretty high since my Dr. first mentioned the position a few weeks ago. But when you start thinking in days instead of weeks or months, it has a tendency to hit you straight between the eyes and incite panic.

Don't get me wrong... I am extremely excited to meet our Mini man. I am so curious about what/who he looks like, what his personality will be, and how we will adapt as a family. I guess it's just a bit of reality and nostalgia: it will never be "just me" again. Eric and I won't have as many opportunities to run around as we please. Even trips to see our family will be completely different. And I'm looking forward to all of that, but still slightly sad at the same time. Does that make sense?

So I say to you, August 31st, please hold on for a few more hours. Let me soak you in and spend your final countdown enjoying the peace and quiet of our home, hopefully snuggled up with our first baby who is also in for quite the shock.

I will welcome you September 1st with open arms. I'm just not quite ready yet.

Just Call Me Martha...

Since the moment I found out I was pregnant, I've had this overwhelming urge to be crafty. I used to do a lot of creative projects back in the day. But I'm a little, shall we say, behind. Like, I still haven't scrapbooked our wedding pictures. We got married 2.5 years ago.
Anyway, Eric was busy most of this weekend so I decided there was no time like the present and I got down to business with a girl's best friends: Modge Podge, craft paper and virgin wood!

I decided to fall victim to the ever popular, ever present wooden name letters... with a Mini twist of course. Animal print!!! And no, I am not choosing to reveal his name through this post. You only get a hint, and a tiny one at that. There is an "N" involved somewhere (bwahahaha!):


I also decided that the child's closet was vast enough to merit a need for dividers. It really is a trying task to figure out how those onesies and teeny pants translate to actual sizes. So I spent far too much time googling and found a jumping off point to make these:


The supply list includes wooden letter "O"s found in the wood craft aisle (a pack of 2 for 99 cents), scrapbook paper remnants (left over from said name letters), puffy scrapbook stickers, a spool of craft ribbon and Modge Podge. Ta da!
Martha would be so proud : )

Huh?

Sophie just trying to figure it all out....

She has been following us all over the house as we make room for Mini. She loves to go into his room and look up inside his closet (of course that may have something to do with the large herd of stuffed animals living on the top shelf).
She really had a field day when we brought home the bounty from our baby shower last month.

Please excuse the no makeup/glasses and fancy PJs....
Imagine what all of these smells must do to a little dog's senses! If only we could prepare her for the many smells to come.

Another Apology

I feel like I've been saying sorry to my son a lot lately. I'm sorry I like spicy foods so much right now, yet they appear to give you the hiccups. I'm sorry that I keep rolling over on my back at night and then worrying that it is somehow hurting you.
But most of all, I'm sorry that this blog hasn't been updated the way I intended it to be when I got started. I can only hope your baby book will be a smoother process : )

I finally fixed my phone, which contained the majority of my recent belly progression pics, so here is my best attempt at playing catch-up.

34 weeks:
33 weeks:
32 Weeks:31 Weeks:
I forgot to take one for week 30, but here is a pic of the Mr and me living it up in Chicago that week.Phew! That was a lot of cutting and pasting. Another good reason for me to try and stay on track this time.
We love you son and can't wait to meet you (but please keep baking until you are good and ready to meet us).