She's Here!

Adelaide Megan Shields

March 29th, 2012 9:32 am

7 lbs 13 oz, 20 inches

Phoenix, AZ

Baby Laila and Mom are doing great!

Spring Break Nesting Style

Usually for Spring Break we are on some kind of adventure or vacation. As I am about to pop sometime in the next two weeks (hopefully), we didn't get to go anywhere. Needless to say, Michael and I are both itching for a vacation. We keep sending each other links to vacation deals that we find. It only adds fuel to the fire. Anyway... since I didn't get to go anywhere, I now realize why my Dr. said that I should keep working until baby comes. He said I would go stir crazy and that I have! I feel so exhausted/hormonal/cantankerous/weepy/amazed looking back at the past week- it's only been a week!?

Since Michael had work and school, I was able to tackle my nesting list. I crossed off...

- finding fabric for a baby project (still waiting for it to arrive!)

- hose down my exterior doors (AZ has dust EVERYWHERE)

- Dust the house (see above)

- Laundry

- Bathrooms

- Guest Bedrooms

- Baby Laundry- All of it. Now we're just waiting for the little girl to go with it.

- Library

- Thank you cards

- Mop- lots and lots

- Vacuum

- Dishes

- Post Office

- Polished appliances (Pledge on stainless steel = amazing)

- Microwave (Pinterest, vinegar, and water helped)*

- Oven (I really should have known about the self cleaning button earlier! DUH!)*

- Fans (gross)*

- Blinds (All the haboobs this summer left their toll)*

- Halls

- Outside Windows- I felt paralyzed after this*

- Master Bedroom

- Master Bath

- Reorganize our closet

- Family Room

- Kitchen cupboards

- Some shopping and errands

*I had my wonderful friend, Megan, to help me with these. She kept insisting to see my list. Who does that? She also got me into a swimming suit for some relaxing by the pool. (No pictures, for obvious reasons!) I'm not going to lie, even though I felt like a beached whale, it felt SO nice to be in the sun! Since her husband is in northern AZ for a medical rotation and mine has work and school until really late, we had a lot of good time together.

Besides cleaning, Michael and I had a really special experience on Tuesday that deserves a post all on it's own. I had a Dr.'s appointment which determined that Baby Girl is not coming this week. This weekend, Michael's been working his tail off in Baby's room. I cannot wait to see the final product. Michael and I also went on a very emotionally satisfying date and found a yummy Mexican restaurant. Thank you, Groupon.

What a week! Moral of the story, I'm ready to go back to work and getting A LOT closer to getting Baby Girl here! And thank heavens AZ has these amazing, blooming, orange trees so that we can still stop and smell the flowers...

See how all over the place I am?!

Spoiled Rotten

My work and my ward threw me baby showers and I felt so spoiled rotten. People are truly generous and so thoughtful. (These pics are from my ward shower.) Elizabeth and Callie are the amazing brains behind the whole operation.

Baby Girl is going to look so cute in all the little outfits she got. (My grandma gave me an elephant towel. Made me miss our cruise!)

Plus, they had a table set up to make hair bows so my (most likely bald) girl will look like a girl at all times! Now, I just need to learn how...

They really went all out with the decorations, gifts and food. (Thanks for the pictures, Jena)

We are getting close! Baby is fully cooked and we are a couple weeks away from the due date. My showers have made me feel a little bit more prepared for baby's arrival. I am blessed with amazing friends.

Snow is Falling All Around...

Apparently, my puppy and her doggy friend agree with me that it's weird that we don't have snow this time of year because this is what we came home to the other day...

We have been watching my friend's two dogs while they were out of town. I love how my neighbor's little dog is sitting in the picture with the attitude of, "I told them not to do it... I have nothing to do with this... Please don't be mad at me." While the other culprits are nowhere to be found.

I guess on the positive side, we still get the 80 degree weather with our snow.

Who's The Dead Man That Hit Me With The Salt Shaker?

So I'm hoping in saying this, I'm not "spilling the salt." But, I have been thinking these past couple of weeks how nice my pregnancy has been, especially comparatively. I know people who have had it a lot worse than me and I thought with my height and luck, it would be a lot worse. But, she's been really nice to mommy so far. Now, I'm still me so I complain sometimes and I'm sure as these next 5 weeks come, I will have some more comments. But I have a lot to be grateful for...

-My feet and ankles really only swell a little bit at the end of the day.

-I can still wear my wedding ring!

-I have still been able to sleep my lovely 8-9 hrs a night. (There are many potty breaks during that time.)

-I'm no longer nauseous like the 1st trimester. (Even then, I didn't have it too bad. But I don't miss it.)

-I don't have any foods that I really need to avoid due to food aversion.

-I haven't had heart burn too bad.

-Baby Girl does not beat up my ribs with kicks. She has nice love taps and flips that let me know she's still there.

-I have actually been pretty cold. I thought I would be sweating my life away since I'm usually hot blooded. (Thus, I will try to avoid being pregnant through an AZ summer as much as possible.)

-I haven't had any rude comments from people yet. My dad was actually the one who asked if I'm sure I'm not having twins, but he thought he was being so funny.

-I have had the energy I need to teach everyday. (I sit more than usual, but I can still help)

These are just a few things that I feel like I should remember in case the next 5 weeks & beyond bring some negative thoughts or "what was I thinking?" moments. We are piecing together Baby's room which is fun and trying to get things ready. But for now, Baby Girl can take as much time as she needs because life is good and I am terrifyingly excited to meet our sweet girl.

Can you imagine how much this adorable profile has changed in 15+ weeks?

Be Still My Soul

Today we slept in, ate cereal in bed, then Michael vacuumed the main room while I took a long, hot shower. I tried on a few dresses trying to decide which I was most comfortable in. We slowly got ready for church. Then we ate some yogurt and fruit out on the patio. After that, we left early for church so that we could get soft seats. Enjoyed a good day at church. When we came home, we had a nice picnic lunch in the backyard and basked in the sunlight.

Michael then made a wonderful lasagna for our dinner with his coworker and his family. There's nothing more attractive than a man in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, puppy and I took a nap. (Normally I would never post sleeping pictures, but it's what I do a lot now. It's only fair to document.)

Dinner was delicious. They brought homemade lemon bars from their lemon tree. What a wonderful February treat. I really feel our winters are a reward we get for living here with the intense summers. It was a wonderful day. The weather was beautiful and not having to do anything because my husband took over was the cherry on top. That is why I love Sundays. It's a day for the soul to rest. Even if I feel like a balloon. The clock keeps ticking!

(I know after bragging about the wonderful weather, I should have some kind of tan. But nope.)

Thoughts of the day...

So I've had a couple of thoughts today.

First off, I'm not sure how this boy...

Became this 14 year old!

He used to be my baby brother. I just don't understand. It's really mind boggling. My sisters birthdays always make me feel like they are getting closer to my age. They aren't, but it's not as weird to me. I guess moving to college when he was in kindergarten will do that. What a fun addition to our girl dominated family he is. Happy birthday to my favorite brother!

Other time zooming thoughts are thinking how crazy it is that in about 7 short weeks, our lives will never be the same. We will have a baby girl that will be ours forever. I pretty much have every emotion possible right now. I'm excited. I'm terrified. I'm tired. I'm happy. You name it. I wonder if we will be ready. I wonder if we will be good parents. I pray that she doesn't come too early because then I'll have to go back to work. I worry that I'm not prepared. I hope that she is healthy and strong. I love her little flips and kicks. And now as we inch closer, I am just so anxious to see her! And my curiosity leads me to also wonder if she will be in this category...

Or this baby category...

*I'm pretty sure this is no one's actual baby, but if it is no offense is intended, it's just one Google Images pulled up*

I know we as her parents will probably always put her in the first category, but you have to wonder...