Hazel Dell Baby Shower

Well depsite a few MIA hostesses and everyone else being pregnant, I managed to have a shower at Hazel Dell. Thanks to all my wonderful friends who helped out and showed up. I really appreciate the wonderful gifts from everyone. Here are a few pictures to highlight the event...

Gwen, Jenny, and me. The three very pregnant ladies.

Brad seems to really like this Pooh Bear.

Ashley, Heather, Natasha, and Jenny - awesome friends.

Super delicious cake. And it's not pink!

The church decorated with our usual theme.

The painting and touch-ups are finally done. Border is done. Changing table/dresser is in place thanks to the help of my good friend James. (That thing weighs as much as a sumo wrestler, and fights like one too.) The crib is assembled and in place, with mobile attached, tested and approved for service. Still to come are bedding, valance, and whatever else you have to put into a room to make it girly and usable for effectively rearing a child. I've created a somewhat creepy video walk-through of the room so you people with spacial issues can see where everything is at the moment. Enjoy...

4th Ultrasound

4th and final ultrasound. Nothing to see really, but the nurse was able to get a quick glimpse of Madeline's face. All looks normal and she's about 3 pounds. She's in the 50th percentile for weight, so we can't expect anything better. No video or pictures this time. Check back soon for updates. Happy December everyone!

Heather's Ohio Baby Shower

Heather had a great baby shower over Thanksgiving weekend in Ohio. At least that's what they tell me. Men don't belong at events like that...too much estrogen floating around. Anyway, I'm posting some pictures of said event. Thanks to everyone who attended and for all the gifts, we really appreciate it!

Another Work Day

Slowly but surely we are getting Madeline's room ready. This weekend the Dumbris' came over yet again to help us. Chad and Brad hung chair rail and additional shelving in the closet. (Chad is a very handy friend.) We also switched all of the outlets to white and put up a curtain rod.

(This reminds me....Brad has managed to goof up every single switch controlled outlet in our house that he has changed out. If you know how to fix this, please let us know)

Melanie and I worked on clothes organization and the closet. As you can see, we've already begun accumulating a variety of sizes and seasonal wear.

Up next is that blasted border, as well as painting the chair rail.

Furniture arrives in 2 weeks!

Omphalophobia

As my close friends, family....and even colleagues can attest to, I have an INTENSE fear of belly buttons. I have no idea where this stems from, but everything about belly buttons makes me uncomfortable. Thinking about belly buttons makes me want to throw up. Typing this post makes me want to throw up. Obviously pregnancy, babies, and belly buttons go hand in hand. I think I can get around the baby part by forcing Brad to handle all diaper changings and cleanings until things clear up. This leaves me concerned about my own navel. When my friend Krista was pregnant, her belly button popped right out for a good month and I couldn't stand to look at her for fear I might accidentally see it. Brad and I were walking through Target a few weeks ago and there was this very pregnant lady standing in an aisle with her belly button popped out about 3 inches. I went frozen on the spot. Brad had to drag me away so I could suppress the nausea. During my last ultrasound, the tech pushed the wand thingy right on my navel and I nearly puked on her. I know everyone likes to tease me about this, but it's REAL. It even has a name apparently. My only saving grace is that I have an exceptionally deep belly button. I check it several times a week so as to make sure it's still cavernous. So far, so good. Now if I can just get through "The Belly Button Book."

99 Days To Go...

We are actively clearing the way for Madeline's nursery. This past weekend was painting time with Melanie. Melanie and I have decided that we are the best painting team ever. I paint the bottom half (so I can sit) and she does the ladder work. We hammered out the nursery in 2 hours plus a few quick touch ups. Next weekend will be chair rail and border, which I am a little nervous about. I also need to clear out the nuclear fallout shelter I created in the closet. (You think I'm being sarcastic, but I'm not.)

The dogs are very curious about what's going on....

If you think these pictures are blurry, keep in mind that this is how EVERYTHING looks to me all the time.

3rd Ultrasound

Here's another video compilation. This time from the 3rd ultrasound, taken at 24 weeks. Madeline's still face down and camera shy. We'll try again at 28 weeks. Hopefully she'll come out of her shell soon :)

Are you calling me fat?

I have gotten a lot of a demands from my out of town friends for pictures of my baby belly. Here it is in all it's glory at 6 months. For the record, I did a stellar job of not gaining weight for the first 20 some weeks. I'm not sure what happened after that.

I also have experienced heartburn for the first time in my life. It took me 3 days to figure out that's what it was. Heartburn sucks.

After all these months, I (Heather) have finally figured out how to take control of the blog. Perhaps it will be a little more updated from now on. Here is my random thought for the week: I was pregnant all summer long. Knowing I was going to have a February baby made it seem so far away when I was sweating bullets on a daily basis. Now that the 80 degree fall weather is over and it's gotten cold out, I think the whole baby thing is starting to sink in. Our upcoming schedule looks something like: Thanksgiving, Christmas, other people's babies being born, due date! I am being hounded for pictures of my "baby bump" so perhaps I'll get around to posting something soon. We're going to paint the nursery in the next few weeks. Ultrasound on Monday afternoon. Here's to hoping our baby has a head this time!

2nd Ultrasound Video

This is a compilation of the several videos taken during the 2nd ultrasound. She's pretty much standing on her head the whole time, but moving the rest of her body around quite a bit.

It's a girl!!

And her name is Madeline Claire. Today's ultrasound was difficult due to Madeline standing on her head the entire time. We are going back in 4 weeks to do it again, and hopefully get some better views and a body length measurement. Check back Nov. 3rd.

More pictures here...http://picasaweb.google.com/bradwlong/2ndUltrasound#

2nd Ultrasound - half way there!

We're scheduled for the second ultrasound October 6th at 3pm. I'll update the site with new pictures and what His or Her name will be.

First Ultrasound

We had our first ultrasound today, at just over 10 weeks. We heard the heartbeat (176 beats per minute) and got to see the little one moving and dancing around. Length so far is 1 and 1/16". Everything looks normal and healthy, which we're very happy with. See all the pictures here...

The news

So we found out a couple weeks ago that our lives will be drastically changing (for the better) around February 20th, 2009. And no, it's not because our tv will be digital instead of analog, it's because we're expecting at least one new addition to our family. I'm convinced it will be twins, but we'll have to wait for the first ultrasound on that one.

I'll update this with pictures, news, etc. during the pregnancy, and continue once the little one (or two) is here.

Thanks and check back soon. 1st ultrasound is July 28th.