To Whom it May Concern...

Baby Aliyah decided to come to her family December 23rd at 12:27pm, weighing 6 lbs. and 13 oz., 18 inches long! We are pretty sure she is the most perfect baby ever born...ever. Here are some pictures of the last few days.

Checking into the hospital--my water broke a couple of hours before this...


The most wonderful experience right after she was born. I got to hold her for the first time...and it was just me, Dave and baby Aliyah


Our new little family


Baby Aliyah (we originally were going to spell it Aliah...but we think (and hope) we like it with a "y" better--Dave says it's for the Cougars!) How do you like all that hair and all those cheeks!


We came home Christmas Eve...a pretty good present under the tree!




Christmas Day


It definitely was not expected to have her come 9 days early, but we are SO glad that she is here and healthy. We LOVE her!

2 Weeks...

In a row that I'll have posted something...pat on the back for me right!? Oh and 2 weeks until baby is due...but who's counting?

Here are a few things that I am looking forward to post-pregnancy:
Slouching
Bending over
Doing sit-ups
Wearing normal clothes (and not constantly pulling on my shirts to make sure my belly is covered!)
Sleeping on my back
Not grunting to stand up


Here are things I will miss:
Feeling her move
Her hiccups
People staring at my belly while I walk around stores

I have enjoyed this blessing of being pregnant! But I'm look forward to having a baby in my arms and not in my belly! 2 weeks...maybe!

Some Updates...Kind of

So we are officially "full term." Yesterday we were 37 weeks and now I'm basically a ticking time bomb. My belly has continued to grow...thank goodness...and to put it in perspective here is my dad's comment, who I hadn't seen in almost 5 weeks (they are true empty nesters and leave when they can), of when he saw me: "Oh wow!" Thank you dad. The following pictures are within the past month and a half or so and also document the evolution of our nursery:

mid-October


beginning of November


beginning of December


It's been fun to prepare, but we are now on the home stretch and definitely have a few more things on our list to do! Good luck to us during this busy holiday season too!


In the past month we also celebrated our 3 year anniversary of our first date--cheesy huh? But I loved it. Plus we've been trying to take the advice of others and spend a lot of good quality time together before the baby comes. So we did dinner at Macaroni Grill and went to the Hale Center Theater to see the Scarlet Pimpernel. It was fun to reminisce and reinact our first date and the first three years of being together. Dave made the night very special and I love him for his thoughtfulness.



Well, let's be honest, the next post will probably be with baby...and she might be a year old by then too! Let's hope not, but until then...