Happy Halloween from my Lil Pumpkin!

Happy Halloween! It's Raleigh Grace's first holiday!
Today my sweet Lil Pumpkin is 2 weeks old!! I seriously can not
believe it!! K and I were talking about how much her looks have
changed since birth! We love her more and more everyday and she
seriously is a really good baby!

Happy One Week Birthday Raleigh Grace!

Today, miss Raleigh Grace turns a week old!!
Happy birthday my sweet little girl or as daddy calls you, Squirmy-
Wormie, we both love you to pieces and wish you wouldn't grow up so
fast already!!

Introducing Miss Raleigh Grace!!

Hi Friends,
We are completely overwhelmed by the amount of love, joy and prayers
that have been poured upon us the past two days! There is no way that
we can possibly convey the amount of gratitude and love we have for
each and every one of you. God has truly blessed us with amazing
friends and family and for that we are forever thankful!
Love,
Karl & Allie
On Monday, October 17th, 2011, at 3:12 in the afternoon, we were
blessed with a beautiful, perfectly healthy, baby girl!!
Raleigh Grace was 6lbs 9oz and 20 1/2 inches long!!
We could not be any happier- she was soo worth the long wait! :)

In Labor!!

The time has finally come!! Miss Raleigh Grace is on her way! We
showed up around 6:45am and after getting hooked up to some monitors
the nurse noticed I had already started having contractions on my own!
They started the petocin at 7:40am and now we continue to wait... I'm
feeling great!
Excited, nervous, happy, anxious, nervous, excited, nervous, happy ...
Hopefully the next post you will be meeting our sweet little one :)
God is so good! Please continue to keep us in your prayers and thanks
so much for all the encourgement you have already given :) !! Much love!

Dear Raleigh Grace,

Dear Raleigh Grace,

Although we have not met you yet, words can not describe the love your
Daddy and I have for you! We love you with all of our hearts and are
overjoyed that soon we will be meeting you! We have waited for you for
many months and prayed for you since before you were concieved! We
long to meet you and feel so blessed to have you as our
daughter! Little girl, know that no matter what the circumstances, our
love for you will never be shattered and will only grow deeper with
each moment! May God bless you abundantly for ALL the days of your
life!!

With all of our love forever,

Mommy and Daddy

Woah past due!

Since I STILL can't show you a picture of our little girl I figure I could at least show you this woman (me!) at nearly a week past due!!

Little girl must be super content in there to say the least!

Also, if any of you moms-to-be want a piece of advice, listen up....(if not quit reading ha)....

First of all- I hope you don't go past your due date but if you do, it's really not THAT bad. I'm anxious and excited but if I stop letting my excitement get the best of me I am loving every last kick, punch and jab (painful or not) from this little miracle! I am also loving every last minute I have with my amazing hubby- I'm so blessed to have him!!

Now, for the hard part- if you DO go past your due date listen up: GOD IS IN COMPLETE CONTROL (I'm preaching to myself here more than to you, I promise)! Really, He is! HIS timing is always perfect and always will be and why our little minds try to tell us that we know better, well, that's the devil trying to take some control in our lives!  I have found myself trying everything under the sun to FORCE my body into labor. Why they call it "natural ways to induce" is past me- God made our bodies for this and only our Maker can know when it's time to bring His child into this world. Let me also tell you that though some of these "natural ways to induce" work for some-- NONE of them worked for me. Do yourself a favor and don't put your body through the stress of trying to force yourself into labor-it's not worth it!

Let go, and let God!!!

:)

(check out the verse below!)

And here is the belly:

40 weeks 5 days!

Psalm 139 (NIV)

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

 ¹ You have searched me, LORD, 

   and you know me. ² You know when I sit and when I rise;     you perceive my thoughts from afar. ³ You discern my going out and my lying down;     you are familiar with all my ways.⁴ Before a word is on my tongue     you, LORD, know it completely. ⁵ You hem me in behind and before,    and you lay your hand upon me. ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,     too lofty for me to attain.

 ⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit? 

   Where can I flee from your presence? ⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;     if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. ⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,    if I settle on the far side of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,     your right hand will hold me fast. ¹¹ If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me     and the light become night around me," ¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;     the night will shine like the day,     for darkness is as light to you.

 ¹³ For you created my inmost being; 

   you knit me together in my mother's womb. ¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;     your works are wonderful,     I know that full well. ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you     when I was made in the secret place,     when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;     all the days ordained for me were written in your book     before one of them came to be. ¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!     How vast is the sum of them! ¹⁸ Were I to count them,     they would outnumber the grains of sand—     when I awake, I am still with you.

 ¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked! 

   Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! ²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;     your adversaries misuse your name. ²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,     and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? ²² I have nothing but hatred for them;     I count them my enemies. ²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;     test me and know my anxious thoughts. ²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,     and lead me in the way everlasting.

Update: Hospital Bag Help

As many of you might remember, I posted several weeks ago about needing help with what to pack in my hospital bag...  

 Thank you so much to all of you who offered suggestions and advice... I know that really you just need a few basic things but I wanted to have everything that I might possibly need (if you know me, you shouldn't be surprised that I am being a little ocd about this ha!) 

Anyways, I thought I would do a little update for those of you who may also need a little help on:

"What in the world do I pack!?"

I took all the advice from my friends on here and on my facebook and made one big list... hope you are ready :) 

{of course you might not think you need all of these things... this is just a list of suggestions in no particular order} :) 

"What in the world do I pack!?"

• deodorant
• body wash 
• (I picked out a new body wash at Bath and Body Works to use at the hospital that way every time I use it after that I will remember those special days :)
• body lotion 
• (that matches my body wash)
• shampoo/conditioner
• toothpaste/toothbrush
• hair brush
• hair dryer
• curling iron 
• detangler
• baby powder
• chap-stick
• socks (3 pair)
• ponytail holders
• underware (larger ones, full coverage)
• bras
• nursing tops
• nursing gowns
• clothes for me to wear home 
• (I have some gauchos that I love from Old Navy- non-maternity- that I love and are soo comfie-- I highly recommend them!; and some comfie tops to wear home)
• shoes for me to wear home 
• gown/onesie for baby girl
• coming home outfit for baby 
• (I'm taking 2- I hear to be prepared in case she vomits/diaper explodes on one before you leave; someone also told me I might want 2 diff sizes but I'm don't have 2 diff sizes ha)
• matching hair bows for her coming home outfit
• my planner
• cell phone/charger
• camera/ charger/ card reader
• flip video
• (or other video recorder- this one is just so handy and super easy to use!)
• extra batteries 
• (I like the lithium ones- they seem to last the longest) for video/cameras
• books 
• (someone suggested this but I don't read that much-- I might bring something anyways just in case)
• names of people to call 
• list of "must have pics" for the first day
• snacks 
• (a friend of mine said she baked muffins and took them to the hospital and she said that she couldn't even describe how great it was to have homemade food there... I might would ask someone to bring those for me after I get there)
• folder 
• (I love all things school-supplies haha so this was easy for me!  I picked up a new folder to have to bring all of my hospital doc's home with me so they are organized and thus less likely for me to lose them ha)
• bedroom shoes
• exercise ball 
• (some hospitals might have them but I hear these are great for when you are in labor-- our birthing class even suggested we bring one)
• Bath and Body wallflower aka plug-in air freshner 
• (again in a soothing scent-- this idea was from a blog I read- she said it was so nice to be in a room that smelled nice and didn't smell like a hospital.  She said that even all of her nurses loved the idea and gave her lots of compliments-- I chose vanilla lavender mmm!)
• pillows 
• (I was told to bring 2 or 3 for me and to have hubby bring his pillows too because apparently pillows are hard to come by in most hospitals)
• hubby's swimsuit 
• (so that he can help me in the shower even if the nurses are around)
• makeup (yes, I plan on using it!)
• a button down shirt of hub's to wear 
• (easy to nurse in and way better than a hospital gown)
• face wipes 
• (the wal-mart brand is just as good or better than any I have tried... I swear by them!)
• mints/ Listerine strips 
• playing cards 
• (a friend who was stuck in the hospital for 5 days said these saved her life ha)
• laptop/charger
• car seat
• nursing pillow
• (boppy or my breast friend -- I think I am going with the my breast friend)

Items I didn't include:

• breast pump
• nursing supplies (the hospital should provide you with breast pads, etc)
• pads (again hosp. should provide)
• ipod docking station (I am just going to use my phone speakers most likely- or the computer)

is there anything that you can think of that I might have somehow missed?! Leave me a comment and let me know and I will keep this list updates! Good luck to all of you and as most of you know, I can't tell you if this was a good list or not year because I still haven't had this sweet girl!!!!! :-P hehe

 

40 weeks 3 days update

I'm still here... Still waiting!!
This has to be the hardest waiting game I have ever played! Miss
Raleigh Grace was due to make her apperance this past Saturday, on
October 8th and that day came and went without any signs of her
arrival. So has been the same for every day since then!
My mom and sister got in this past week and they have been anxiously
awaiting her arrival as well. My stepdad and other sister fly in on
Thursday and are leaving on Monday. I never thought that I would have
made it this far and still no little girl.
Yesterday I went to the doctor for my check up and they said that I
was still just barely dialated but that her head was still down super
low which was good news. We are still playing the waiting game and if
by Friday we don't have a baby yet then I have yet another appointment
scheduled in which they will do an ultrasound to check the amniotic
fluid around her and make sure she is doing okay and they will do a
non-stress test in which they hook me up to several monitors and
listen to baby girls hearbeat and such for several minutes - all of
that followed by a regular docs visit. It's at that time that we will
schedule an induction for early next week. The doctor made mention
that there is a good chance that I will go into labor on my own before
then but honestly I don't know if he was serious or trying to make me
feel better ha.
I'm so anxious to meet her and patience has never been one of my
strong suits. I know when I want something and I want it 5 minutes ago
haha.
We have tried everything in the book to naturally induce labor but
this little girl is as content as can be I guess! Tonight is a full
moon and my mother in law who works in the nicu says that there are
always more babies born on full moons because of the shift in
gravatational pulls on the earth and thus on our bodies. I'm praying
for a baby tonight or tomorrow. I know that God is in complete control
of the situation and that his timing is PERFECT so now, I just have to
trust in Him!!
Your prayers and encouragement through all of this are so greatly
appreciated!! Maybe next time I post I will be in labor? ;)

Raleigh Grace's Nursery Reveal!!!

I never thought I would actually be able to post her nursery pics before her arrival! We just seemed to have so much to do and so little time.  I have to give all recognition to my amazing hubby who has worked his tail off day and night to make sure that it got finished.  He has done a wonderful job... don't you think!?  There are still several little things that I would like to add (like a mobile, more pics/things on the wall, paint the bookshelf white, etc) but since we are hoping that she is going to make her arrival SOON {tonight would be nice little RG! :) }for now this is the FINISHED product!! :)

Daddy and Mommy love you Little Miss Raleigh Grace and we can NOT wait to meet YOU!!!!!!!

TA-DAH!

her sweet crib

changing table & mirror

The day bed and fun lantern lamp

I just love this curtain rod!

Day Bed

a beautiful chest my aunt made and gave me for my shower- she filled the chest with lots of my baby clothes for RG to wear... such a sweet gift!

the project K did last night! (Hangs above day bed-- see 2 pics up) If you look closely you can see the "bling" he added to them also, he said my daughter had to have "bling!" sooo true :) (click on pic to enlarge)

The rocking chair (it was the favorite seat in my second grade classroom last year :) )

K's bunny from when he was a child & a pic of him carrying it (top right)-- his mom framed it for us to put in RG's room :)  Hangs above the rocking chair

the bookshelf (that will eventually be white- or a diff. shelf will go there ha)

a beautiful lamp my step mom bought RG

My favorite of RG's books- my roomate from my freshman year at BU sent this to RG! (it was also the 1st book RG was given :) )

the beautiful diaper bag my sister-in-laws gave me and the beautiful bedding!

close up of bedding/ bumper (its sooo soft!)

some of RG's friends!  The bear was a gift from one of my college roommates and a friend from BU (along with some other adorable BU things I will post about soon!), the monkey K just had to buy for RG and of course her glow-worm from one of my grandparents neighbors who has a son my age who I used to ride bikes around the neighborhood with ha

the beautiful bed-skirt (my favorite part of the bedding maybe)

outside view of crib

her clothes! :)

K took down the clothes rail and installed this awesome organization unit! LOVE it!

more closet space!

and why not sneak in a quick bump pic from 39 weeks 5 days! (2 days until her due date!!)

(*update: RG made her debut on the 17th! So add 10 days to this picture ha!)

Well there you have it!! Hope you enjoyed getting to see her nursery!  

We can't wait to meet our baby girl and introduce her to you! :)

2 days away & Nursery!

Miss Raleigh Grace is still a cookin... 

K and I (mainly K) did some last minute additions to the nursery today and well you know what that means....a nursery post coming soon!! 

Get excited!! I have tons of fun pics of the nursery to show you!! :) (check back for that tomorrow ;) )

K and I are trying to soak up these last few minutes, hours, days ... we had such a fun day today hanging out, just the 2 of us, hanging out at the house, he hung some photos, we went to lunch together, drove around enjoying the cooler weather, jamming to some old school music... really makes me appreciate what we have- thinking life is going to be so different in just a few days.  No longer will be the days of just jumping in the car and "going"... 

Tonight we enjoyed dinner with his brother and my grandaddy (who called me today asking to speak to RG-- I thought it was the cutest thing ever! ha) ... 

We went to my favorite seafood place here and I got my favorite delicious salt and pepper catfish.   They also have free desserts on Thursdays so we enjoyed that as well.  MMM! We went back to gdaddys and hung out for a little bit and then headed back to our condo.  K's brother came too and they had some fun bro time playing video games and just hanging out.  

I also got a package today from my gma, Cissie! She sent RG some adorable new clothes and a cute little pair of shoes! I just love getting mail (for me or RG ;) hehe) I thought I would call her and thank her for the package and when I did she sounded caught off guard-- she then asked if I was in labor (before I had the chance to tell her why I was calling ha) and I said, "no, not yet hah" to which she let out a big sigh and told me her heart had skipped a beat haha! Its so funny right now, every time I call or text someone they freak out! haha (I guess I would too when we are this close ha!)

My mom has been driving to NC today and will be here tomorrow... we are ready, RG! Come on out!! :) 

Don't forget to check back tomorrow for  nursery reveal pics!

oh! & just for the fun of it... 

thats right! Just 2 days until her due date!! :) So excited!

39 Weeks! Daddy's girl already?!

Guess what!?! I'm 39 weeks along! (actually 39 weeks 4 days!)

That's just 3 days away from my due date!!

That means hopefully I will have a little girl in the next week?! (PLLLLEASE Raleigh Grace come out!! :) )

{from babycenter}

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

my family is heading this way this week-- mom, tomorrow and one sister on Saturday-- the others are going to come next week and I am so excited!

I went to the doc yesterday and everything was still great! We heard baby girl's heart beat and it was 143 (I think hah)

The nursery is about as FINISHED as it is going to be for the time being.  Get excited to see a post with pics soon :) 

K and I re-arranged the furniture about 100 times yesterday and could NOT for the life of us find a way in which we loved it.  We finally just left it and hung a few things on the walls.  

There are still several things that I would like to add to the room but those things will come later when I have more money (ha!).  

I really do love the room.  I even laid on the bed last night (day bed- no, I was not one of those crazies getting in the crib haha!) just playing on my phone, relaxing.  I am so so soooo thankful that my hubby has been such a great help-- really, almost all that you will see in the nursery HE did it himself!  I am so blessed by him and his service to us and can not wait to see him in the role of daddy to our baby girl!

Every night I go to bed wondering if I will be getting up in the middle of the night to make our way to the hospital. :) 

The weather here has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL... high's in the 70's low's in the high 40's.  We have had the windows open, screen doors open, spent lots of time on the porch, etc.  The leaves are also changing and we are starting to see pumpkin patches popping up around town.  This is such a beautiful time of year and I am happy to be bringing my little girl into the world at this time.  The past several days I just keep thinking, 

 "TODAY would be a great day to have a baby!" 

and have even joked with the hubs that its so pretty outside I would like to have the baby outdoors haha :) 

Not much has changed from last week's update so I'm not going to bother with all the questions from the normal weekly posts (hope that's okay ha!)

One fun thing K and I did Monday night was play lots of music for Miss Raleigh Grace-- He would put songs on his phone and hold his phone against my belly.  Little girl got to practice her dance moves and boy does she have some! 

Here is what mommy and daddy learned: RG prefers Nelly over Outcast but her favorite of all  the different types of music we played.... BLUEGRASS (go figure!) -- we already have a daddy's girl on our hands :) 

Can not wait to see this little girl and her beautiful face and wonderful personality! :)

and the popular bump pic :) 

maybe the last weekly bump pic? hehe

Featured Blogger!

I just wanted to give a shout-out to Jen over at A Girl in Pearls & A Boy with Toys and thank her for featuring me on her blog yesterday!! :)  She does a "Monday Mama's-To-Be" in which she features a different soon-to-be-mom each week and I was honored to be a part of it! 

If you missed her  post yesterday be sure to go check it out here!! Thank you so much for doing this awesome post, Jen!

If you haven't been to her blog you should definitely check it out- it is one of my daily reads :) 

She also has an adorable ETSY shop that you should check out-- she has a promotion going right now to get 10% off by entering BLOG10

Here are some of her adorable prints :)

baby :)

sunshine :)

Family History

OH and ONE last thing.... don't forget to enter your guess on when my little girl will be making her arrival... the person with the best guess might just get a special something!!! :) 
www.expectnet.com/games/RaleighGrace

the past week in status updates...

HAPPY MONDAY!!!

I feel like I am so much better about sharing all the fun I'm having in my facebook status'  rather than on my blog (shame on me!) & today is Miscellany Monday over at Carissa's blog -- this post could not be more miscellaneous ha so head over to her blog and link up...

here we go...

This is my week in status updates:

September 26th:

This TOTALLY made my night... Hahahahahahha someone said he was "just practicing" :) I love my hubby sooo much, he is already a GREAT daddy!!!!! :)

September 27th: 

Okay I got my hair done!! Raleigh Grace you're welcome to come anytime now :)

September 29th: 

The past 25 hours: washed 2 loads of RG's clothes, set up her bassinet in our room, organized her closet, Karl painted her room and put up a chair rail, installed the car seat base, made her crib bed (complete with the crib skirt that finally arrived) and now to go buy some more organizational type things :) wahooo! So ready for her to get here!!

newborn and 0-3 months to be washed...

some of the clean clothes

finally all put together!

the bassinet!

and the changing table

September 30th: 

Raleigh Grace, this is your last chance to be a September baby like your mamma if you so desire... You have a little less than 24 hours... Ready, go!

{September 30th-- my sister also had a dream that I had the baby-- it was still a girl haha I guess that's a good sign right? ha!}

September 30th:  

I love that my parents call to make sure I'm not going into labor before they go out for their date night :)

{Spent the day with my family- went to lunch with my stepmom and then hung out with my grandaddy for the afternoon.  We went to my stepmom's house and I got to play with my kitty Yoda- he's temporarily living with my stepmom and they have become BEST friends...

never thought I would see the day!

this makes me happy!

For dinner we went to K's favorite Mexican restaurant with his parents and my stepmom then I went back home with her while K and his dad went to Lowe's to buy some blinds for RG's room!  Sonja (my stepmom) and I had a great time catching up and hanging out.  

While I was there Mom called me to make sure I wasn't in labor before she and my stepdad went on their date.  I thought it was the cutest thing-- when I didn't answer my phone she immediately texted to make sure I was alright :) <3 you mom! 

October 1st: 

Baylor game day!! Disappointed that the game isn't going to be aired here in NC :( none the less, SIC EMMM!!!

  

Today is SOMEONES BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!! :) Happy Birthday Mari!!!!!!! :) loooove you!! So far RG doesn't feel like sharing her birthday haha

  

I sure have an awesome hubby!! He installed new blinds in the nursery, assembled the day bed in the nursery, took down the closet bar and shelf and installed a new organization system in the nursery, AND... took me on a dinner date @Brixx Pizza AND Coldstone ice cream then he took me shopping at target!!! Wahoooo I'm a blessed girl enjoying these last few moments with just me and my honey :)

October 2nd: 

39 weeks and one day- 6 days until my due date! Had so much fun shopping with my stepmom and getting some more things for miss RG's room including a beautiful duvet cover for the day bed, lamp, curtains, & matching bathroom decor for her bathroom!! Nursery is almost complete and I'm sooo excited to meet her... Any day, any day! Wahoo!!! :) oh and I managed to give myself a manicure and a pedicure! :) 

(I plan on doing the nursery reveal SOON!  K doesn't want me sharing pics until we are "done" haha! Be getting excited! Oh yeah! :) ) haha

Have a Happy Monday!!