Sunday, September 26, 2010

September 26... and still holding!

This child is certainly taking her sweet time!  Granted, our due date was set for September 25 - October 1, but all signs pointed to a more timely arrival.

It's a good reminder that not only do all things happen in their own due time (something I need constant reminders of - apparently the world is not, shockingly, on my schedule), but also of the basic differences in siblings.

Sophie sort of burst onto the scene ten days early with what's proven to be her typical amount of gusto.  Ainsley seems to be sending that sort of "I'll get there when I get there" vibe.  However, when she jabs me repeatedly throughout the day, I wish I could let her know that there is ample elbow room in this spacious world if she'd like to come check it out.

In the interim, we'll just be waiting...

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Last Touches

We finally completed the last canvas for Ainsley's room.  I think Fred liked this one most of all - we used a couple of 2010 pennies for the dragonfly's eyes.  It's been fun to do something different for the nursery and have most of the pieces on the wall have more of a personal, handmade touch since all of us contributed some time to them.  Here's the last one:


Hopefully we'll get all four canvases  plus a clock and a few miscellaneous items hung in the nursery today, and then we won't have anything to do but sit around and wait for the big debut.  (Actually, there's a lot to be said for the distraction of things still on the to do list!)

We received a lovely, special handmade blanket in the mail last week from Ruth Ann Anderson:


It's definitely one of those special keepsakes.  Sophie loves hers - I will have to get a picture of both girls with their blankets to post. 

Six - ten more days until our actual due date, but I'm still thinking the 20th - 23rd range is appealing.  Also, that way I won't have to exchange this cute little necklace I picked up for a different birth month!




I hope when I post next Ainsley will be here, and of course I'll be stunningly skinny!  :)

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Wagers?

We technically have 16 - 22 (ish) days to go until our due date, although I'm angling for more like five or six.  Any wagers? 

Our neighbor was due about a week ago and is still hanging in there.  Heard yesterday about a few folks who went two to three weeks early during a blue moon night.  Unfortunately, the next full moon is not until 9/23, and I'm a fan of sooner rather than later!

Sophie was almost two weeks early, so we'll keep crossing our fingers and toes.  Not quite ready to result to castor oil, but spicy food is absolutely not out of the question. 

We added a couple more homemade pieces of art to the nursery last weekend...

 


... and we have one left to finish, hopefully this weekend.  Most of our chores and preparation are complete, so now it's just the waiting game!

By the way, this picture by Sophie made me laugh:



I asked her if that was the baby in my tummy or just a smiley face shirt, and she said it was just a smiley face shirt.  Good to know.  :)

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Telling Sophie

We decided to share the news that Sophie would have a sibling on Valentine's Day.  We had hoped to take her up to Roaring River State Park in Mark Twain National Forest outside Seligman, Missouri for a cold weather walk and picnic, and to share the news over dinner at the Treetop Restaurant.  Unfortunately, the lodge was closed for the season.

Our last-minute backup plan was for Fred to pop some of his signature homemade popcorn, which we placed in our signature brown bags and took with us to Fayetteville.


We went out to dinner at Noodles and gave Sophie a wrapped gift to open after dinner.  It was two books: The New Baby and I'm A Big Sister!  We asked her to sound out the titles of the books...


She was very confused, but finally sounded out "I'm... A... BABYSITTER!"  While true, we corrected her slightly with the actual news and she started her usual giggling/crying when she receives exciting news.

After dinner, we ate popcorn and drove her around to all the places that were part of our lives when she was born: our townhouse off Township when we were first married, the hospital (Washington Regional) where she was born, our house outside Fayetteville on Cottonwood where she spent the first year of her life and so on.  All in all a fun evening and a good way to start a new chapter in our lives!

The Nursery

I took lots of pictures of baby Sonya's nursery while visiting Dave & Siobhan Piechowski in Seattle in July, and then we copied them with our own DIY versions!

We loved their gorgeous Dwell canvas bird print:

So Sophie and I made our own collage version:



Last but not least, I snapped a pic of their cute name wall hanging:


And we shamelessly copied it as well:



 Thanks for all the inspiration, Piechowskis!  Next up: three more canvases with tulips, a dragonfly and a special big sister/little sister photo.

Preparing for Ainsley's arrival

Yes, I'm a big nerd.  We already have this blog set up to keep people informed about Ainsley's arrival.  It's just such an easy way to direct everyone to one place for updates and pictures - I'm prepared for the wisecracks.  :)

Ainsley is due between September 25 and October 1 (Fred's birthday) - so we could have anywhere from ten to 30+ days to go!

We finally are just about ready, although we have a few finishing touches to go on the nursery (i.e. those doors Fred is going to refinish and hang...)

Sophie was always Sophie, but it took us a long time to arrive at a name we all agreed upon this time.  In the running until about two weeks ago were Cecilie, Jolie, Josie and Tristan - our boy name, but we liked it for a girl possibility too.  We've been planning on Belle as our middle name since the beginning - Maggie Bell is Fred's Mom's name, and we used my Mom's name (Joan Glennis) in Sophie's full name - Sophia Joan.

After quite a bit of debate with Fred and Sophie having trouble agreeing (and me happy with anything on the final list), I left for a business trip to Rhinelander and Tomahawk, WI on August 18 and told them to come to agreement while I was gone!  I received a text on August 21 that said "We like Ainsley." and the standoff officially ended.

A few pictures of the nursery are also posted - we took some cues from my friend Siobhan's nursery for baby Sonya, and copied some of her fun bird and name art with our own homemade versions.  Sophie and Fred both helped make the canvases and letter art for Ainsley's room.

We're looking forward to welcoming her home and will keep you posted here!