End of the Year!

I got up bright and early with Miss Noelle this morning, so I figured it was a good time to catch up on the blog. Noelle hasn't been feeling well for the past several days. I'm pretty sure she got the sickness from ME. I had a real scratchy throat, headache, dizziness all that fun stuff for several days, and now she has it. She's more congested than anything, which I never was? Luckily she's still been sleeping pretty good for the most part. (Naps have been few and far between, but still sleeps well at night). She hasn't been over fussy, which has pleasantly surprised us. We keep a humidifier on all the time in her room which has really helped break up the congestion, so we're hoping it's all coming to an end soon. We feel awful hearing her cough so hard!!!

We had Christmas with Grandma & Grandpa Kirkpatrick this past weekend at our house! Noelle got a lot of cute outfits, and toys to keep her entertained these days. She's definitely starting to notice more in her surroundings. She looks at her hand a lot and concentrates on them .... realizing her arms ARE attached to her body!! She discovered her tongue a few weeks ago, so now it's hardly ever in her mouth!!! Her tongue being outside her mouth keeps her tops nice and soaking wet .... so we'll change her top maybe once a day so she doesn't freeze from her shirt being so damp. She is also right around the corner from completely holding her head up, no problem. She can do it now for the most part, it's just still a bit wobbly.

Daddy will post more pics on her website at the end of the month, but I wanted to post a picture he took of her yesterday when he picked her up from daycare. She'd just got up from a nap. It's soo cute!!! Merry Christmas to all of you .... and have a Happy New Year!!!

Brrrrrr!!!

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE Christmaaaaas!
Dah - dah - dah - dah - dah!!!!!
Oh wait ..... guess I should stop singing ... Noelle doesn't like mommy's voice.... right? WRONG!!!! She's beginning to enjoy every minute of it!!! Well, at least that's what I think - she smiles everytime I sing to her. She's probably laughing inside saying - GEEZ MOMMY - PUT A LID ON IT WILL YA!!! HA! HA! HA!

Noelle has been going to daycare for almost two weeks and is doing very well! I drop her off every morning and Ryan picks her up. The past two days, on our way, I thought she was starting to get fussy because her paci fell out of her mouth, when really, she just wanted to talk to mommy! We had all kinds of conversations on the way ... (She's great at telling jokes, I tell ya... Ha! Ha!) I usually feed her right before we leave, so she doesn't do too bad in her car seat on the way. (For any of you that don't know... Noelle is generally NOT a fan of the car seat ... at all). It's about a 15 min. drive, so it's not too bad. Ryan said when he picked her up yesterday, she woke up from a nap, looked up at him, and gave him a BIG ol smile. AH - THAT'S THE BEST!!! She smiles ALL the time!!! Almost everytime she wakes up from a nap - she smiles at us. It's reassuring to us that she must have got plenty of sleep. Now that smile turns upside down when she gets hungry :) We think she's possibly going through a growth spurt. For the past week or two, I'll think she's done nursing, when infact she isn't.... and she let's me know! In a sense she screams "I'M NOT DONE YET!!!!" Patty, who takes care of her during the day, mentioned that she's feeding more as well. At the rate she's eating, she may be out of her infant car seat in a couple of months!!! HA! HA! Only kidding :)

She is still sleeping really well at night. We're getting into a routine where I feed her when I get home from work (hoping it's at a decent time), then one of us rocks her to sleep. She will sometimes sleep up to 6 hours! And of course there are other times she'll only sleep 3-4. But that doesn't bother us, as long as she's getting SOME sleep, we're happy.

Until next time..........

Back to work.

It's time. I go back to work tomorrow after 10 short weeks at home :) Noelle will be going to a small in-home daycare in Newburgh called Empty Nest Daycare. Daddy will be dropping her off the first week.... Mommy doesn't think she can handle it. We are very happy she will get to start being around other kids and interacting with them (eventually). I will say, I have been very fortunate to be able to stay home with her for the length of time that I have. It has been the best, and most challenging 10 weeks of our life thus far. We've learned so much!

She's taught us:
#1 To have more patience
#2 The dirty dishes can wait
#3 You can function on no sleep
#4 You can get a good workout from rocking a baby to sleep
#5 You can never catch up on dirty laundry
#6 Always keep babies behinds covered or you'll regret it
#7 Don't always assume a baby is in deep sleep
#8 Every baby doesn't get soothed by car rides :)
#9 Value your free time and make the most out of it!
#10 Those tooting sounds you hear aren't necessarily daddy's anymore!!!!

Noelle is doing much better sleeping in her crib these days. We went through a spell where she did NOT like sleeping on her back. That made it pretty tough for her to sleep in her crib as she was getting NO sleep because she kept waking up fussing. I slept with her on the couch for a couple weeks and daddy slept with her one night... after that one night.... he demanded we put her back in her crib!!! ha! ha! Needless to say, getting a good nights sleep on the couch just isn't possible :) She has been doing just fine in her crib since putting her back in it. The problem now is her paci falls out of her mouth and she doesn't like that! So daddy and I make several trips to her crib each night putting the thing back in her mouth. I really want to come up with a device where paci's will NOT fall out of babies mouths. I could possibly become a billionaire if I come up with JUST the right thing!!!!

Noelle's 1st Thanksgiving was exciting. She met her four cousins, two Aunt's, two Uncle's, Great Grandma & Great Aunt for the first time! They were all excited to meet her as well. Aunt Donna traced her hand then painted it, Ty sang to her a lot, Emily was a big help with keeping the paci in her mouth and grandma was good at putting her to sleep. We are so blessed to have a family that loves her so much. And, after returning home from her big weekend, she slept for FIVE hours straight during the night. Horray!!!! Mommy & Daddy got some much needed rest as well. We were all happy campers :)

Daddy has updated her website with pictures from weeks 6-10/November.
(There are some pictures from her 1st Halloween as well).
Check it out when you can!

www.noellemariekirkpatrick.com

It's all coming together :)

Well after being home for 8 weeks with a baby... it's all starting to come together! She's becoming more predictable these days. For the first several weeks when she was fussy, she was either hungry, had a poopy diaper or had gas. Welllll, now these days, those things are usually already taken care of, so we realize it's usually because she's sleepy! If she's awake for more than an hour and she starts getting fussy.... it's because she's TIRED. Luckily, she's a pretty good self soother. It's generally never a problem getting her to sleep... just like her mommy :)

She had her eight week check-up today and her first round of SHOTS!! I thought I was going to have to leave the room and let daddy stay in the room ... but I decided to not be a baby and suck it up :) She was a perfectly content baby as the nurse prepared to give her the shots. Then BAM.... AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! She didn't like them to say the least. But we will give it to her... she only screamed bloody murder for MAYBE 5 minutes .... then she was done. She was a trooper! She is in the 95th percentile for her weight & length. Our pediatrician said... "She's a healthy little girl!" Hearing that always makes a parent proud.

She is so much fun these days. We love when she's awake and makes all sorts of sounds. She smiles SO MUCH! I mean.... daddy and I KNOW we're funny people and all.... so maybe that's why she smiles? Ha! Ha! I sing the ABC's to her a lot. I think she's catching on.... hopefully she'll be saying them by Thanksgiving so she can show the family how smart she is :)

I started singing Christmas songs to her the other night to get her in the Christmas spirit ... and she liked it for about 5 minutes then ... well.... she didn't :) The fussiness kicked in. I was a bit confused? MY mom and dad always told me I had a good singing voice growing up.... looks like Noelle proved that wrong!!! Ha! Ha!

I go back to work in two weeks ... Monday, Nov. 30th to be exact. Not really looking forward to it to say the least ... but I guess the bills don't pay themselves now do they!!! I will say, it has helped out SO MUCH that Ryan has been at the house. He usually works upstairs every morning to help me out a bit.... then moves to his office in the basement for the afternoon. I don't know what I would have done without him. I have loved spending everyday home with her, seeing all the new things she does each day. She is such a fun little girl. We ARE looking forward to the lady that will be taking care of her. We know she'll be in good hands and that's very reassuring.

So precious :)


So Happy!


Going on a walk!


Talking to Mommy!


Snoozin with Daddy!

Is it really November already?!?

It's true... when you have a child.... time sure does fly by! Noelle is 6 weeks, and growing like a weed. Let's put it this way... she doesn't miss any meals :) She smiled for us for the first time this past weekend at Grandma & Grandpa Land's house. (Well, I didn't see it... but daddy and gma did). I saw her first smile yesterday.... it was great!!! I kept making silly sounds hoping she'd do it again but it didn't work. She is making more and more different sounds these days. Daddy and I talk to her all the time and she'll reply back with one of her sounds. She is awake a lot more during the day now too, which we like, because we can interact with her more.

Noelle's favorite things to do.....
#1 Rock in the Cradle Swing
#2 Be carried around in the Baby Bjorn
#3 Go on walks in the neighborhood
#4 Listen to the Baby Einstein CD
#5 Snooze on daddy's chest
#6 Lay on the Baby Einstein Gym
#7 Enjoy all the visitors
#8 Be bounced around by mommy or daddy
#9 Go on car rides
#10 EAT!!!

I have found a new hobby - scrapbooking! I have been working on Noelle's baby album vigorously (she has two)... and enjoy it thoroughly. I should have been taking a nap (when Noelle was taking a nap) the other night, but I continued to work on her album. It's coming along nicely and we can't wait to show it off to family & friends.

Noelle was a little kitty cat for her 1st Halloween. (Picture below). Of course she was super adorable! The outfit was nice and warm to say the least.... we think she got a little too warm so we didn't keep her in it too long. She is warm natured.... so we put her in short sleeved onesie a lot. We've tried putting her in a flannel onesie when we put her to bed.... but the poor thing sweats in them! So we're laying off those until it gets really cold out.

And.... we are happy to announce that Noelle will have a GIRL cousin coming this March!!! Amanda & Sean found out yesterday they'll be seeing PINK-PINK-PINK!!!!. We are all so excited for them!!!

Daddy & our little cat!




Another festive outfit!


Mommy & Noelle relaxing


One of our favorite pictures of her :)

3 weeks old!!!

Woke up @ 5:15a to feed Noelle.... she's back to sleep, and if it's close to 6a for one of her feedings, I usually just stay up. Daddy's snoozin as he has to work today... so I like him to get as much sleep as he can so he can function properly during the day :) I can at least try to take a nap here and there if need be.

Grandma Kirkpatrick stayed with us for two nights this past week. She was IN LOVE!!! She helped out a lot, cooked dinner for us, spent a lot of time keeping Noelle occupied (when she wasn't sleeping :) which freed mommy and daddy up a bit to get stuff done around the house. I was actually able to take a shower TWO days in a row!!!! That was grrreat!!! I was also able to leave (to grab some lunch for us) for my first drive in a car since having her. Just that simple drive, all alone, in a car, was soo relaxing. BUT, being away from her for even the shortest amount of time is weird. I miss her just being gone for 20 minutes. It's such a strange feeling.... like nothing I've ever experienced. Needless to say... we were VERY happy grandma came and visited.

We had a few visitors this past weekend as well. Friday night, Kelli, Emily & Julie stopped by for a bit. And on Saturday, Amanda Mueller and Traci stopped by. We love having guests over... so if any of you ever want to stop by.... please feel free to (just call first :) OH, and I want to thank Kelli for the AWESOME gift she bought for Noelle... you ready for this..... it's a Fighting Illini CHEERLEADING UNIFORM!!! We haven't received it in the mail yet... but Kelli was so excited she had to tell us what she got her. I absolutley can't WAIT to put it on ther for the first time. I'm not sure when Illinois' first game is... but there'll be plenty of pictures being taken when that time comes. Ryan was cracking up the other night... Noelle was on my lap and I was putting one arm on her hip and the other arm in the air, helping her practice cheerleading moves!! I have to say, it WAS hilarious.

Daddy is suppose to update her website today w/ pictures from her 3rd week. So check it out sometime today if you get a chance! (I usually try to send out an email notifying you all that it's updated).

www.noellemariekirkpatrick.com

2 weeks old today!

Noelle is cooing, daddy is working and I'm updating our blog! What an adventure the past two weeks have been!

First, if grandma Land hadn't been here to help out the first week.... I don't know what we would have done?!? She was a life saver. Noelle slept in the pack-n-play in the basement with grandma, and grandma would bring her upstairs to me when it was feeding time (being every 3 hours). I slept on the couch for the first 9 nights home. I was too nervous to lay down in the bed worrying about messing up my stitches. I probably worried too much... but I couldn't help it, I wanted to "sleep" sitting up on the couch. Noelle is such a good baby. (Lord I hope I didn't just jinx myself ;) She has only had one screaming match and that was the 2nd night she was home. Ryan and I had no clue why she was crying, which made us a bit nervous. But she eventually fell asleep on daddy's chest on the couch (daddy fell asleep too :) The following day, Aunt Morgan and Ryan took her to the lactation shop at Deaconess to make sure she was gaining weight and she'd gained an ounce since she'd left the hospital. The lactation nurse also said the reason she was fussy the night before was probably due to having gas and/or needing to burp. She showed Ryan how to burp her in several ways. So hopefully when that happens again, we'll have one idea as to what it may be. Daddy gave her, her first bottle the other night (she was 11 days old). She took it wonderfully! We wanted to introduce the bottle to her so daddy could participate in the feedings and so mommy can get a few more hours of sleep at night :) She had her first "swing ride" @ 10 days old when Aunt Amanda was here. The first two times we tried it... she didn't like it. But Amanda showed us how to lean it back so she wasn't leaning forward and that was the trick! She loves it now and sleeps like a baby in it ;) Soo, Grandma Land stayed w/ us almost a week. Morgan stayed w/ us one night, and Amanda stayed w/ us 3 nights. We thoroughly enjoyed ALL the help. Daddy and I work together great as a team and it's all going really well. Grandma Kirkpatrick will be staying a couple of nights w/ us this week.... and we're excited about that!

Daddy started working on Noelle's personal website the day after we got home from the hospital. I've attached the link below... check it out if you haven't already!

www.noellemariekirkpatrick.com

She's a beauty :)

Noelle is sleeping on daddy's lap right now... so I have some time to update ya all!!

We are MORE than excited to finally see her and hold her and feed her and ALL that good stuff! This past Sunday night/early Monday morning, my belly was cramping a bit and I couldn't sleep. It started to really get to me where I couldn't sleep at all. I woke Ryan up, we called the doctor, then headed to the hospital @ 2am. After we got there, they told me my contractions were 10 min. apart! I was in pain to say the least. It all happened SO fast. I went from having NO contractions the day before to immediately having them over night, 10 minutes apart. The doctor broke my water around 10a then got the epidural around 11a. I thought FINALLY I'M GOING TO START FEELING BETTER!!! Wellll, the epidural was wearing off on my right groin area. That was not a good feeling to say the least. The anesthesiologist came in and gave me a stronger dose of the medicine. It started to feel better, BUT during all this, I was vomiting :( I had heartburn so bad that it was not wanting to stay down... SO, it just came up. TMI? The epidural was wearing off on my right groin, yet again in the afternoon, so the anesthesiologist came in once more to pump me w/ the same stronger dosage. It worked pretty well that time.

They gave me some pitocin after I got the epidural in the morning because I wasn't dilating as fast as they wanted me to. By 5p I'd dilated to appox. 7 cm... BUT.... my cervix was swelling they think probably due to her size and the fact that she'd been head down, ready to come out for a while, but I hadn't dilated quick enough for that to happen. They told me I would most likely not dilate anymore and my best option was to have a c-section. I said OK! It was pretty emotional. I really wanted to deliver naturally, but I knew my best option, and Noelle's best option was to have a c-section... so we were all for it. We were ready to see her and get this labor thing over with! I went into the operating room at 6p and had her at 6:13p. Talk about a whirlwind... WHEW!!

The feeling Ryan and I had seeing her for the first time is inexplainable. We couldn't believe she was finally here! She was ours! We were taking that little girl home with us! I could go on and on... but I think you all understand what I'm getting at :) We went to the recovery room for an hour after having her and I breast fed her for the first time. All I can say is .... she's a born natural. She latched on and went to town!!! It was a refreshing and overwhelming feeling for us to see her feeding for the first time, and she did it like a champ.

We came home Thursday, Sept. 24th. We have had help from family members and are very thankful for that. Lack of sleep is an understatement :) It's truly amazing how ones body can still function on no sleep. Thank you Lord for that gift!!

Noelle is doing wonderful and we'll keep you all posted!
Being a mommy and daddy is truly the best thing that has ever happened to us.

9.21.09
6:13pm
8 lbs 13 oz.
21" long


Noelle sleeping on daddy
She's less than a day old


Home Sweet Home!
Thursday, Sept. 24


Our Sleeping Beauty :)


Daddy & Aunt Morgan took her to the hospital today (9.26) to get her weight checked out! She's doing very well!!
(I would have gone, but I'm not getting around the greatest :)

Thirrrrrty Niiiine Weeeeeks

Had another appointment this morning. Went in with a positive mind hoping I'd dilated a little more and things were moving along nicely. Only to find out..... that's not the case! I'm STILL only 1 cm dilated. Sooooo, I need to get movin!!!! I am going to walk - walk - walk this next week. I need to if I want to get things moving along. IT'S JUST SO HARD TO WHEN LYING ON THE COUCH SEEMS SO MUCH MORE APPEALING!!! I've still had no contractions of any kind, Braxton Hicks or REAL contractions. The only thing that's probably changed is Noelle's size :) Yikes!!!! I pray every night... "Please Lord, don't let her be over 9 pounds... I DON'T KNOW HOW I'D DO IT?!?" Ha! Ha! We know everything is going to work out just fine.... it's just the thought of a 9 + pounder kinda freaks me out a little!!!!

And I have to brag on my husband. He has been SOO extremely helpful running ALL the errands lately; grocery store, Target, Home Depot, CVS... you name it! He's gone on a few ice cream runs for me AND he's even mowing the lawn and weed eating (oh wait... he's always done that :) I just want to say I am very lucky to have a husband that does so much and NEVER complains. Because if it were ME...uh... HA! HA! ONLY KIDDING!!! No really, he's the best!!!!

My next appointment is a week from today (Thursday 9/24 ((my due date)). If I haven't had her by then, we will schedule a day to induce me for the following week (around Sept. 30/ Oct. 1) She may come on our 3 Year Anniversary.... the 30th!! I'll keep ya all posted........

38 Weeks... and making SOME progress!

My due date is exactly two weeks from today. We had another doctor's appointment today and got some good news.... I am 1 cm dilated and 70% effaced! That was music to our ears :) I have had NO Braxton Hicks contractions OR real contractions at that. Soooo, we'll see what happens in that department in the next week or so?

I packed Noelle's bag the other night. She's all set for the hospital. Ryan and I on the other hand... we still need to get stuff together. Luckily, since we live so close to the hospital, he won't need to bring a whole lot as he'll be able to come home to take a shower or what have you. I'll need to pack a few things... and I probably need to get on that!

Noelle is still a very active, uh, kick boxer if you will. She has mastered the right foot JAB pretty well :) The muscles on the right side of my belly have about had it! Again, I can't complain too much because it's nice to feel her moving all the time.... and I mean.... all the time! But sometimes momma needs a break! I have been reading a lot the last several months sitting the book on my belly when I read. That's sorta taken a turn lately..... my book just bounces up and down when I do it these days. It's so funny! She's like "Get this thing off me!!!" I seriously have to laugh everytime my book goes UP AND DOWN AND UP AND DOWN :) Ha! Ha!

Grandma Kirkpatrick AND Great Grandma Bradley will be happy to hear we bought her first Illinois, PINK, (infant) Fighting Illini hat last week! It's soo cute! Basketball season is right around the corner, and we want Noelle to be nice and prepared. (We can't wait to take pictures of her in the hat.... she's gonna be a cutie.)

Noelle 4D pics @ 36 weeks (8.25.09)

She did GREAT for the camera! She stood very still and let us get some really good pictures.... we're so proud of her. Ha! Ha! Towards the end I think she got a bit tired.... as you'll see she's yawning :) Enjoy!

Is it nap time?

I'm very much at that exhausted/sleepy/want to take LONG naps stage :) And I'm doing so every chance I get. I slept close to 12 hours last night (between sleeping on the couch, then going to bed) and I still feel so sleepy today!!! Like they say... it's getting me ready for what's to come!!!

Thank you Julie & Emily for giving me a baby shower! So many of my close friends and family were able to make it... and we all had a great time. The food was delicious and Noelle got a lot of great stuff!!! I brought some leftovers home from the shower so Ryan and I could have it for dinner... BUT.... I managed to eat it all about an hour after I got home!!!!!! It was that good :)

Ryan and I attended the "Baby Prep" classes this past weekend and found it VERY informative. We were a little skeptical at first, thinking it may be a bit boring? But it wasn't! We learned so much valuable information in such a short amount of time. Ryan changed his 1st (fake) poopy diaper :) He gave a (fake) baby a bath, and we both learned different ways how to burp a baby! We learned a lot more of course ... but those were a few of the highlights. We also got a tour of the area of the Women's Hospital where we will be during (and after) delivery. It sure was a reality check... like "HOLY COW... WE'RE GOING TO BE HERE IN APPROXIMATELY 4 WEEKS!!!" We can't believe it!!!

I've been actively working on Noelle's baby album the past week.... as I know I won't have this time once she's here. My mom got me this AWESOME software from Creative Memories. I'm able to create an entire page of pictures/artwork/words (on the computer)... then just have Creative Memories print it out and mail it to me!!! It's so easy, and I'm having SO much fun with it.

I am also VERY happy to announce my sister, Amanda, and brother-in-law Sean are expecting baby #3 this coming March!!!!! We are so happy Noelle and her cousins will be so close in age :)

Quilt that Hazel made for Noelle


A frame of an actual song called "Noelle's Lullaby"
that Nana got Noelle. It's so neat!


Nana and I


My wonderful friends!!

6 WEEKS TO GO!!

It's getting closer and closer... and I'll admit, I'm starting to get a little anxious. I'm now at 34 weeks, and with this being our first, I have NO idea what to expect... so I'm trying to stay as in-tune with my body as I can. Sometimes I think Noelle is trying to kick her way out of the FRONT of my stomach :) The little booger sure can take my breath away sometimes! I have to give it to her though, she doesn't have the room to wiggle around like she use to .... so I'm sure she's getting pretty cramped up in there.

Vicky Lemons and Cindy Ellis hosted a baby shower for me in Fairfield last weekend. Thank you to you both!! It really meant a lot to us!! Noelle got a bunch of goodies. PINK! PINK! PINK! We can't wait to see all of the cute stuff on her. Thank you to all who could attend.... and thank you for thinking of Noelle! (I've attached some pictures from the baby shower below.....)

We are attending a 2-day "Baby Prep" class next weekend! It's Saturday & Sunday from Noon-5. Yep, it's a long one for sure.... but we should get a lot of helpful info out of it. We have NOTHING scheduled after next weekend..... JUST IN CASE :) We never know when Noelle will decide to bless us with her presence!

We are cleaning out ALL cabinets this weekend, cleaning out ALL closets and cleaning... well.... whatever else needs clean.... this weekend. Does that fall under the "nesting" stage? Ha! Ha!
I think so!

Ryan and I had pictures taken last week! If you haven't already seen them... I've included the link below. They were a lot of fun to take!!!
www.haydenburnsphotography.com
Click "Client Area"
Password: noelle


PICTURES FROM THE BABY SHOWER!!
8.8.09










The NEWEST Mommy to 7 week old Drew :)


EXCELLENT HOST'S!! Vicky & Cindy

Weee're Baaack!

Once again, our annual Florida trip was a good one! The weather was really nice, it didn't rain that much, and I'm not pasty white anymore!!! WOO-HOO - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED :) This year we didn't drive straight through, which made it REALLY nice. We stopped in Byron, Georgia (about 20 miles south of Atlanta). The van ride was not bad at all. I never got uncomfortable - just had to stop and go to the bathroom a lot ;) TMI? Ryan played golf 4 out of the 6 full days we were there w/ Sean and Bob. They played at some really nice PGA courses. Although, Ryan came home with a broken sand wedge.... BUT..... we won't go there :) I got a pregnancy massage, went shopping with Amanda, Mom & Pam, and spent a lot of time in the pool. Can you say weightless? AH - it was sooo nice! But I will say, once I got OUT of the water - HOLY COW - I felt like I weighed 300 lbs.!!! Walks on the beach were cut a bit short this year - but that's ok. I liked sitting in the beach chair more :) OH, and I can't forget to mention that Ryan and I went to the ice cream shoppe "Craving's" across the street every night after dinner and had our little fix :) I was a little scared to get on the scales when we returned - but would you believe that I HAVE LOST 2 lbs.!!!! SERIOUSLY!!! That being said..... I'M GOING TO EAT ICE CREAM EVERY FLIPPIN NIGHT FROM HERE ON OUT!!! Noooo, I won't do that - but I still can't believe it :)

Ryan put Noelle's crib together the day after we returned - we just couldn't wait to see it all put together. Both of us can't help but stop and stare at it everytime we walk by her room. Ryan said the other night, "Yea sweetie, one day little Noelle is going to be in there." I'm thinking - I CAN'T WAIT - and at the same time - oh geez it's only a month and a half away - AAHHHH!!

She still is a very active baby. I can tell now (with the help of my nurse) the way she is positioned inside my belly (she is head down) - so when she kicks with her feet or moves her arms, I can make it out. Ryan could feel her foot moving last night. It's the tiniest little bone, but we know it's her foot by the way she's positioned. It's hard to explain the feeling of feeling her move, I don't ever want it to end!!!

31 weeks!


Our night to cook dinner!
We made BA-sketti :)


Uncle Ry-Ry and Colin




Group shot!


Happy Birthday Mom!


Walking back from dinner @ Ocean Grill


Noelle trying to get Morg's attention :)


Bob & Dad




31 weeks!

Moving right along......

Seven months down! Two to go! We finished painting Noelle's room this past weekend! Thanks to Mom, Morgan and Ryan's expertise in painting.... it looks great! 3 walls are white and one wall is pink. The pink wall matches the pink in her bedding perfectly. We are thrilled it turned out so well. For the three white walls, in the end, it took two coats of primer and three coats of white paint! And for the pink wall, it took one coat of primer and three coats of pink paint! OH, and we had to strip the wood of all the blue paint that was on it. (We really think Ray Charles painted that room.... I mean the blue paint was EVERYWHERE!!!) But it looks awesome now. OH, Ryan shampooed the carpet in her room too. The carpet looks brand spankin' new! I've posted some pictures below of the before and after of her room.

Ryan's office has been in the basement for two weeks now and he says he really likes it down there. He says there's way less distractions and it's a lot quieter. I have to say it was so funny the other day.... we had a pretty good downpour here in Evansville and I mentioned to him that I couldn't believe how much rain we got ..... he says, "What rain?" HA! HA! I guess now that he's in the basement... I need to keep him updated on the weather!!! There could be a tornado right outside and he probably wouldn't know it!!! It's honestly super quiet down there. I like him being down there because he's only feet away from the washer & dryer..... hint, hint :)

Ryan and I hit the road tomorrow around noon for our annual family vacation to Vero Beach, Florida! We normally drive straight through, but that's not the case this year :) I don't think I could quite handle a 14 hour car ride. So we've decided to break it up this year. We'll drive for eight hours tomorrow and six on Friday, and hopefully arrive in Vero around 2ish. The vacation will be a bit dark for Noelle this year... but I'll see that she gets to enjoy plenty of the gooood food I'll be eating AND see that she can enjoy the sound of the ocean!!! The sound could be a bit muffled? You think?

When we return from vacation, Ryan plans to put the crib together, we'll re-stain all the woodwork and start decorating her room! We have some really neat ideas in mind... and can't wait to start on it. It's a surprise! You all will see it when we're done!!!

Ryan in the midst of moving his office




Stripping the woodwork of the blue paint


Applying the primer


Very nice Morgan :)


PINK! PINK! PINK!


Matches perfectly!










Shampooing the carpet


7 Months!