We’ve been iced in since Sunday night. The forecast was originally for 3-7″ of snow. Instead we got 1/2″ of ice and sleet. The trees look beautiful and also pitiful. I’m concerned about the number of plants we’re going to lose. We’ve had ice storms in Nashville before but in the 10 years we’ve been here, we haven’t had one that lasted this long. Usually it’s melted within a day but the temps are not forecasted to go back above freezing until Saturday. Yikes. I’m trying to enjoy being stuck at home and not go stir crazy. I will not admit to the amount of cartoons Ali has watched in the past 24 hours.
(28) 30 Week Froggie Update
02/12/2015Oh man… it’s been 3.5 weeks since I’ve updated my blog. I used to post daily. Now I’m not even sure where to begin again. The past several weeks have been packed full—busy work deadlines, a spontaneous roadie trip on the tour bus with Jason to Texas, my baby shower and visit from out of town family, a weekend retreat in Atlanta with my foster/adoptive mom friends, the reopening of my Etsy shop and my first wedding invitation order in ages, and most of all—growing a baby is tiring! This space has been nudged down the priority list and that makes me sad. I’m back with a 28 Week update on my little Froggie…but thing is, I’m actually 30 weeks now. I did manage to get my 28 week photos so the growth progression here is accurate:
At 30 weeks I’m feeling…big. My face is getting rounder. Ok, everything is getting rounder. It takes a lot of effort to roll from one side to the other when I’m sleeping, I have to pee every 30 minutes and my back and legs take the brunt of the struggle with aches and cramps (depending on whether I’m standing/walking a lot or sitting a lot). I waddle.
That will be the extent of my complaining. Mostly, it’s awesome. I’m still enjoying food a lot but have to keep the quantity down since my stomach is getting smaller. My baby boy is growing bigger everyday, strong and healthy. Everything has checked out perfectly at my prenatal visits, which just increased to biweekly, including a passed gestational diabetes test last week. My boy moves around a ton and I still think it’s the most fascinating thing ever. He’s mostly still at night, just shifting when I shift. During the day he has several long periods of sleep and several active periods. He hiccups regularly and ever since I read that you can tell where the baby’s head is based on where you feel the hiccups, that’s been a new game we play. He’s starting to move his head down into the position where he’ll be waiting until delivery but he also spends a fair amount of time traverse, too. (That’s lying horizontally across my belly.) I love to interact with him. It’s funny to imagine a baby out of the womb that you just keep poking and pushing on, waiting for him to push back. But while he’s on the inside, that’s the only affectionate touch we get. I love my little son so much already. I’m very excited for his birth and getting to hold him, kiss his little face and rubbing my cheek against his soft hair.
We get asked regularly about his name. I think I’ve already explained that we’re not telling until he’s born but that’s also because we’re not telling until we decide and we probably won’t decide until he’s born. I think we have agreed on a top 3 but it’s too soon to say. I’ve resorted to the fluffy, cuddly nickname of Sonny Bunny when I speak to him.
Ali still refers to him as Donut everyday. If she wants to call her little brother Donut for the rest of his life, it’s fine by me. I’m really excited to see how Ali interacts with him. She hasn’t shown the slightest hint of jealousy, even with the influx of baby gifts, the appointments, and the way it’s limited my interactions with her (when I’m too tired to play or my back is too sore to pick her up). She’s been such a gentle and loving big sister already. She talks to him and rubs my belly. Every night she thanks God for Baby Donut. We talk a lot about what to expect. She’s eager to teach him how to talk and how to play with toys and how to eat real food. I’ve warned her that at first all we need to teach him is that he’s loved by giving him lots of hugs and kisses and meeting his needs with milk and fresh diaper changes. She’s excited to help with feeding and changing too. We had a gift return credit at Target last night so I asked Ali to help me pick out something for baby brother. She picked this hoodie sweatshirt. Then she spotted some purple pants she liked for herself. We were looking through the girls t-shirts and I spotted one with a big glittery donut on it that I just couldn’t resist. She (ok, we all) love donuts around here. I think we should definitely celebrate his birth and their first meeting with a box of Dunkin Donuts. Blueberry cake for me, please.
68 days til my due date! But who’s counting?
Alianna at 3.5 years old
01/20/2015
Our little Alianna is 3.5 years old. She has one foot in the intense and challenging world of 3-year-olds and one foot in the charming and sweet world of 4-year-olds. Some days we get all sweet, some days we get all sour, but most days are a mix of both. She’s really blossoming into a little girl—no longer a toddler. Ali is thoughtful and sensitive. She is very apologetic and clearly remorseful now when she makes mistakes, like breaking something or hurting someone by accident. She has the best helper-heart, and jumps to help whenever she sees a need. She got her first pair of work gloves (it took me 6 months to find her size!) and loves to help Daddy with yard work or Mommy with chicken chores.
Ali is just as social as ever and makes friends easily wherever we go. She is bold and confident, never hesitant to walk up to someone she’s never met and ask a question. She started soccer this month, her first organized sport. She enthusiastically listens to instructions and stays close to the coaches. Playing on a team and eight kids all fighting for one ball (no one is taking turns or sharing!) are new concepts but she’s getting the hang of it.
Alianna loves working on craft projects with Mommy: painting, cutting and gluing, coloring with crayons and markers, tracing letters and numbers. She also loves music and not only has a great memory for lyrics, she always wants to know who is singing and the name of the song. She loves to hear whatever projects Daddy is working on in the studio and always wants us to dance with her. With an artist and a musician as parents—and a home filled with both—I guess she was destined to love creative arts.
She’s super excited about her new role as big sister. She often asks me when I get home from work, “How is the baby today?” She pats, hugs and kisses my belly often. She’s planning on helping with feeding the baby and changing diapers—”But only the pee ones!” I pray that her baby brother has her confidence, easy-going nature and contagious joy. I also pray that they grow up as the best of friends. She’s a blessing and a treasure, my precious Ali-girl. Happy Half-Birthday sweetheart!

For my own records: 37.5″ tall and 30.5 lbs. at 3.5 years old. Our petite little lady.
Related Posts:
Alianna Mae at Three Years Old
Nesting
01/19/2015I’m trying not to make all of my blog posts baby-related but I’m nesting so that’s where a lot of my creative energy is going these days. I’ve been doing more sewing; I’ll share more about that later. I got some new artwork for Baby Boy’s room. My favorite band, Needtobreathe, had an album out last year called Rivers in the Wasteland. It’s based on one of my favorite scriptures and the one I’m praying over this year, Isaiah 43:18-19. I looked for a poster based on their album cover art, which I also happen to love, and instead found this vinyl record.
While perusing Target.com’s clearance the other day, I found these baby boy swimming trunks. Between an extra sale on clearance items and my REDcard’s 5% off and free shipping, these cost $2.59. I couldn’t resist. They seem gigantic for a newborn but maybe by the end of summer he’ll be ready to take some dips in my parents’ heated pool.
I’ve really tried hard not to buy much for our son yet. We have a fair amount of baby supplies already and we got a lot of useful hand-me-downs from my sister (like that rainforest mobile attached to the crib above, play mats, a bumbo seat and a breast pump). One thing we’re lacking the most is clothing. I decided to pop into Goodwill the other day to look for some great deals. I walked away with 5 shirts and 2 pairs of pants for $10, all various sizes from 3m – 12m. This is the 7th child we’ve welcomed in our home but it’s the first time we’ve been able to plan ahead so far for a specific new addition. I love knowing that he’ll still be a part of our family when he’s 12 months old.
Sewing for Baby Boy: Pacifier Clip, Pacifier Storage Bag, Door Latch Silencer
01/15/2015Pacifier Strap & Clip
I bought these mitten clasps last summer when we had little Firefly but I never got around to making him a pacifier strap before he left. This was very simple to make. I cut a strip of cotton fabric, folded it in half with right sides together, pressed open a seam allowance on one end, sewed the sides together and cut off the scrap close to my seam. The only difficult part was turning the little thing right side out. Once I did that, I pressed it flat with an iron. I sewed a small piece of elastic into the open end, closing it off. I folded and pressed the other end of the strap and sewed in around the mitten clasp.
Since it was such a pain to turn the strap right side out, I decided to make a second one using ribbon left over from the suspenders of his coming home outfit. This one was even faster but I think it would have been better with wider ribbon.
Pacifier Storage Bag (inspired by this)
I could have made a simply bag but I happened to have this cotton pouch saved from a recent purchase of a queen sheet set. It’s a bit bigger than needed for pacifiers and paci clips but that’s fine. All I did was make two equal lengths of brown ribbon and sewed it onto each side of the bag. Pacifiers will be easy to locate at rest times and when baby boy is bigger, he can reach into the bag himself if he needs one at night time.
Door Latch Silencer / Soft Close Cover (inspired by this)
I used hair elastics like the inspiration link above but I found them very difficult to sew through. Next time I think I’ll just use elastic.
Home Tour: Living Room
01/14/2015Our living room has changed a bit since February 2013 when I originally did a photo tour.
Sources:
Sectional Sofa – IKEA Karlstad
End Table – vintage from Jason’s grandmother
Arm Chair – yard sale find, reupholstered by us
Pillows, Throw blankets – Target
Coffee Table, Lamp, Wall Birds, Clocks – vintage from estate sales and antique stores
Lamp Shade – made by us
Rug – overstock.com
Painting – gallerydirect.com
Bookshelf – IKEA
If I missed anything you’re curious about, feel free to ask.
26 Week Froggie Update
01/13/2015Just a short update this week. I’m officially 6 months pregnant! Three more months to go. (26 weeks) Baby Boy has been very active with bigger movements (compared to the little kicks and pops of a few weeks ago). Now it feels like barrel rolls and attempts to crawl. Still a very cool feeling, and often I can see the movements too. I was pretty tired this weekend and had a UTI last week but in general still feeling great and happy. God is good.
Becoming a Mother
01/12/2015When does a woman become a mother? Is it when she conceives for the first time? Is it when she becomes aware of her baby? Is it when she first holds her child in her arms?
I pondered those questions as I was decorating a nursery, taking infant CPR classes, buying car seats and driving a minivan. No baby was growing in my womb, known or unbeknownst to me. I had not see my first child’s face, breathed her name or held her in my arms.
Yet, I felt like a mother.
So, I asked God, “When does a woman become a mother?”
Read the rest of my blog post over at Dropping Anchors blog.









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