She's Here!!

Please meet Julia Grace...the most precious bundle of joy I have ever laid my eyes upon. Julia was born on Sunday, September 12, 2010 at 9:59 pm. She weighed a tiny 5 pounds and 14 ounces and measured 18 3/4 inches in length. I had the most wonderful labor and delivery day and could not have asked for a better experience. Without my nurse, Emily and fabulous doctor, Dr. Speight, the day would not have been so perfect. For both of them, I am so grateful.

For those of you wonder women out there that did this sans epidural, I hand it to you. There is absolutely no way. I chickened out around noon (before I was really in labor) and spent the next 10 hours watching football, enjoying the last moments with The Chief before the baby was born and taking in every second of the day...all absolutely pain free.

I don't think there are words to describe what the moment is like when your child is born. It's absolutely breath taking and the most beautiful miracle one could imagine. I had no idea my heart could love like it does for this precious angel. The Chief and I were absolutely overwhelmed.

For those of you that have heard bits and pieces about the moments after delivery, just know all is well. It was a scary situation, but thankfully I was at a great hospital under great care and I was fixed up in no time. I lost a significant amount of blood, which only caused me to feel weak in the days following. I am back to normal now and there is no anticipation that this will cause any issue for future pregnancies. I think I gave my husband, mom and brother quite a scare, but as Dr. Speight says, "red-heads are all about the drama!"

Here is the week in pictures.

On the way to the hospital!


Just before we got the show on the road!


Dr. Speight


First glimpse


Brand new baby!


That bow...


Wonderful friends that endured a LONG day of waiting. Thank you Aunt Mere, Aunt Jessica, Aunt Kristin, Aunt Heather and Aunt Jana...I was so thankful to have you all there.


Mimi finally gets her hands on that sweet baby!


Uncle Brian is smitten!


Proud Dad!


We stayed at the hospital until they literally kicked us out. On our way home around 9:00 pm.


So tiny in that big car seat!


Angel


It's all over from here...


My little family





Trying to get some sun to keep the jaundice at bay



Baffers!

Dad goes back to work. Sad day for us!


Happy, sleepy baby!


Sleepers


Trying to catch the Harvest Moon. Not sure she was so impressed.


Our first walk. Greasy hair and all.







As far as her hair is concerned...I see some red in the light, but I think for the most part she is a mini-me of her dad. She changes daily, so we'll see what happens.

For those of you I owe phone calls and emails, I promise I'm getting there. The days seem to fly by and before I know it we're onto the next.

Thank you all for the well wishes, support and prayers. What a wonderful week it's been!

Checkin-In and Buggin-Out

Image courtesy of Country Living

The week of the 12th has arrived. I had my last doctor's appointment yesterday and gave hugs to all my "friends" at that office that have seen my ever growing face countless times these last 9 months. It will be strange not showing up there every time I turn around.

Image courtesy of Cote de Texas

We now have our instructions to check-in at 6 pm on Saturday night. We pushed to 7 pm so we can go to Mass and say one last Hail Mary that this is all going to go according to plan. I think I need to keep my brother's advice in mind...something won't go according to plan and that's just the way it goes. And I'm also trying to adopt The Chief's philosophy, "Just act like you've been there before". Easier said than done in this situation. I've never been there and I've never even been close to there.

Image courtesy of Country Living

It's kinda like the night before Christmas and kinda like the night before you get married...just times 1,000. I'm pretty sure I would say this is the biggest mound of anticipation I've ever experienced. I am so excited to see my little Julia's face! Thank you for all the well wishes, prayers and love you all have sent over these last few months. It has been such a neat process and a lot of fun to share.


Image courtesy of Elie Tahari

I'll be checking-out on the blog for a bit, but have some plans for when I return. I hope to evolve this into more than just a baby blog. We'll see if and when that all takes place.

Image courtesy of J Crew

Take care and updates to come Sunday on the babes!

Source unknown


*** Thought I'd leave you with some pink eye-candy today in honor of my pink princess.

September 1

Guess what that means?? It's my bebe's birth month! She made it to sapphire, good girl!



In the midst of August I thought we'd never see September 1. We're finally on the downhill slide of these 40 weeks. And I put this in writing, ask me if I miss pregnancy in a couple of weeks. As of today, I'm saying no. If I have to eat my words, so be it. I never fell completely in love with this. I kept waiting for that day I woke up and just skipped around the house singing "Zip-a-dee-do-dah" about how this was the most fun I'd ever had. Never happened. Now I'm just dying to see the little precious face that I can only dream about. Oh and I'm ready to burn every resemblance of maternity clothes in my closet. I think God grants you just enough time to prepare, get things ready, try and enjoy it and then get so sick of it that you are willing to undergo whatever it takes to move to the next chapter. That's where I am today. Ready for the next phase.

We had ANOTHER high heartbeat yesterday. They did some monitoring, more monitoring over at the sonogram office and then a VERY thorough sonogram. The doctor said her heart looks beautiful (I had no doubt that it didn't) and that as far as he could tell she looked perfect! He did mention something about her being active, which he said was good news for her and probably not so good news for her dad and me after her arrival. I had assumed as much. The apple typically doesn't fall far from the tree.



The bets are still high on who she will look like and what color hair she will have. And yes, I'm positive she'll have a FULL head of hair. There is absolutely no shortage of hair in this house. My guess is she'll look like me and behave like her dad. I guess that means this crazy house in which I live will only continue to get crazier. I'll take it.




We had planned to take a little trip this weekend with some dear friends to celebrate a big birthday. Sadly, we won't be able to make it. Doctor's orders, which is probably best. I can just see myself going into labor in the middle of nowhere and The Chief bourbon logged. Probably wouldn't turn out well.
I think we'll soak up the last full weekend at home before we welcome a little one into the family. I will probably be cramming for the biggest exam of my life. Naturally, I have left all my reading for the absolute last minute. Top topics: how to breastfeed, how to schedule, how to parent and how to have the happiest child and marriage on the block. Should be no problem! Any speed readers that want to read aloud to me?

Happy holiday weekend! Bring on the fall and let football season begin!

Hands down...

...this is the very best way to spend a $1.10. Potbelly's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Sorry there is no picture of the actual cookie. That's because it was gone before I left the parking lot. The diet is going to be a good time after this baby arrives.

In other news around Dallas...get on over to Central Market or Whole Foods to pick-up your green chiles if you haven't already. CM has a sushi roll including a massive piece of green chile. It's to. die. for. Aside from sushi they have a whole ton of other green chile goodness.

As far as I'm concerned, nothing smells better than roasting green chiles. Yummy goodness!




Chuy's is also starting their green chile fest. We checked it out last night. Good stuff. They're hotter than last year, that's for sure! But TASTY.

Have a great weekend, readers!

Finito!

The nursery is finally complete!

In its former life, this room was a guest bedroom. It's seen a lot. Lots of guest have rested in this bed and lots of snuggly singles have not rested in this bed. The Chief's clothes have resided in this closet, and I used to beautify each day at the dressing table in this room. All the filth, hairspray and dry-cleaning bags have been scrubbed and put away and the room is sweet and fresh for a precious little one.

Take a look...

BEFORE:

Please pardon the pile under the window that started mounting before the transformation.



AFTER:

I decided I wanted this room to be very fresh feeling, so I went with a very light cream on the walls. It's a custom mixture based on what I thought I wanted from Pottery Barn and white.


I hope the Green Trellis makes Julia as happy as it does me!




Did you notice the picture above the crib is the same from before? That belonged to my grandmother and has a date on the bottom of 1898 from the New York Art Exchange. I think that's special. I (Clint) painted up the frame to give it a new look!










This was the last little piece to the nursery and has turned into one my favorites.

If I had an unlimited budget I would have recovered this super comfy glider in a gray linen. We worked with the color, and I think it came out just fine.


I copied this bird mobile from Erika over at Urban Grace. It's from Sundance and one of the very first purchases I made when I found out I was pregnant.


This view of the nursery makes me happy. Light, bright, fresh and white. The little linen dress on the left was purchased in Houston at a shop in Rice Village. It's quite darling and so French...I love it! The middle outfit with Julia's monogram in kelly green is from Miss Jana. She knew that would be a perfect fit! The sack on the far right is Julia's baptism gown. It's so lovely.


The yellow, French hat rack was purchased in Warrenton, if you recall from an old post. I spied it and knew I had to have it.


What little girl doesn't need a Parisian covered changing pad?!

The green lamp and gold TOMS. Yes.

As I mentioned before, this is my rocking chair from my room as a little girl. Miss Jennie re-did the chair and stool for me to use in the nursery. I couldn't love it any more!


This chest holds a lot of treasures I have collected over the years. I know, I know, as soon as she starts moving this is going to be a disaster...but I will deal with that then. For now, it's a trip down memory lane that I love gazing at each day.





The owl found a home! He has no special meaning, he's just cute!
Do you not love those precious Moroccan shoes? I can hardly wait to get her little feet in those!
And do you spy my nephew sleeping on my brother's shoulder? Nothing more precious...



Building blocks in Spanish and English. The picture of the butterfly showing "Mariposa" is my favorite.


My bug!! This picture is special because 1. I bought him this outfit. 2. He is dressed as a mini-me of my brother and 3. My dad was the king of a blue pin-point button down. With that red hair it just seals the deal. I love this picture.


My Beatrix Potter Collection. My parents bought this for me in London, and I treasure each piece.


My Aunt Becky bought me these Disney books, and I somehow kept up with them all these years. I added glammed up gold, flower bookends. So girlie!


I ordered this chocolate chevron tray in hopes it would work on her little side-table, but it's too large. Cute in the chest, nonetheless.



And the chandelier. Love, love, love the chandelier.

Thanks for continuing to read the sagas on fabrics, ideas, favorite pieces and all the in-between. It has been such a fun and special process putting all of this together for my child. I know she probably won't remember this room, but maybe she'll appreciate the pictures one day!

Guess this makes us "ready"!