Make Room for Baby

A bronzed paci...a staple for a 2-month old. Courtesy of Nana & PawPaw.

A 2010 ornament, which actually matches a larger picture frame of ours. We put Aubri's Santa photo in it. Courtesy of Mimi & Daddy Terry.

Another 2010 ornament - we picked this one up in Boston.



A pair of whimsical owls. Courtesy of Mimi & Daddy Terry.



A personalized diaper pin. Courtesy of Nana & PawPaw.

 

A pair of white shoes. Courtesy of Mimi & Daddy Terry.



This ornament was from Aunt Brooke and Uncle Brian. A family ornament with all the stockings hanging above the fireplace.



We went with whimsical owls for the theme in Aubri's bedroom. It's funny how, once we made that decision, we started finding whimsical owls everywhere.

Target was the destination for two of Casi's better finds - a painting of two whimsical owls, which hangs above the changing table, and a whimsical owl pillow.

Just recently, and with no prompting by either Mom or Dad, Aubri began looking at the painting and flashing her big gummy smile.


With the pillow, I think she was more intrigued than anything, but she did "interact" with Mr. Owl and has since started enjoying his presence more and more.

Our twin cousins, John David & Calder Gant, turned 3 today. There was a big party up in the ATL - unfortunately, we couldn't go but we thought about them.

JD&C are, arguably, the most photographed and videoed twins in modern history. Parents Ali & Chris have set the standard for blogging and they have provided us with many cute moments. I think my favorite has to be the "John Nana" video.

Back in the summer, Casi & I got to enjoy a day at the beach with all of Chris' family. That day, I caught some Kodak moments on camera.

Happy birthday, guys!

Aubri is getting out more and more with each passing week, and this weekend promises to be very exciting. Casi is taking her to a women's luncheon at church on Saturday, I'm hoping to take both of my girls to the Tallahassee Winter Festival on Saturday evening and then Aubri will make her first trip to church on Sunday morning!

Aubri is also developing more of a personality and Casi gets to enjoy that while being with her at home each day. It's becoming routine for Aubri to provide photo ops and Casi has caught a number of those on her phone during the past week.

Here's a sampling.



On a shopping trip




Catching some zzzzzzzz's





Hey there, world!

 


Aubri found Frankie




Patiently waiting her turn at the doctor's office



Aubri decided that she likes Sophie instead. On this particular day, there were not going to be any pictures without the paci.

Look who's got the Christmas spirit!

What a smile!

She's always moving a hand, arm, leg, etc.

Look who turned 2 months old on Monday! It's amazing how quickly time has passed. It will be really interesting to see how her numbers check out when we go for her two-month checkup next week. We know she's added the LBs; we tried getting an approximation on length while she was still this morning and think she's between 22 and 23 inches long.

Aubri has been a very pleasant baby from the time she was born and now, at 7 weeks, she's really beginning to develop a personality. More and more, we're able to pull out some smiles, giggles and laughs. Just recently, she began making new noises that sound as if she's trying to get into the conversation - and of course, we caught some of those on camera.

I still don't think Aubri is to the point that she realizes she's smiling at us, but it sure is cute when she does. It's all gummy!

On several occasions, Casi has walked in on Aubri smiling while in her crib. So, today, knowing that's where Aubri was, Casi suggested I step in and see - not knowing I had the Flip with me.

Fortunately, Aubri cooperated and gave an outstanding performance.

• Weight: 8 lbs, 1 oz (75th percentile)
• Length: 20.5 inches (75th percentile)
• Head: 37 cm (98th percentile)

By 5:20, delivery was over and Casi was holding precious little Aubri in her arms. Watching it all unfold (and even assisting the nurses in helping Casi) was the most amazing experience of my life. What happened in the delivery room today was nothing short of a miracle, and I thank my Heavenly Father for allowing us to enjoy that experience.

Aubri has been wide-eyed from the moment we saw her. She also loves to pull her little arms up over her face, as we learned during the 4-D last month. But she sure has been well-behaved. She barely made a sound for the first hour or so - and was even silent through her first shot (she didn't get that from her daddy).

After a couple of hours and quite a few photos, we left the delivery room and moved up to the third floor, where we will be stationed until going home later in the week.

And now, finally, after a day that could be described with many words - exhillarting, long, tiresome, precious, joyous, exhausting, fulfilling, surreal, sweet, challenging, amazing, awe-inspiring - it is time to try and get some sleep.

Night, night. Oops, Aubri just woke up!!

What a journey it's been. What a journey it will be.

It's hard to believe nine months have come and gone, but here we are -- on the doorstep of parenthood.

Casi and I have been busy making sure the nursery is just the way we want it. Casi also had two more showers - one from her friends in Blountstown, another from the ladies in our Sunday School class at Celebration Baptist Church. One thing is for sure - little Aubri is already spoiled!!!

When my family started the shower season with a party in Section on the fourth of July, this day seemed a long ways off. How time flies! The last week or so has been spent eliminating those last-minute items from our "to do" list.

As of today, bags are packed, car seats are installed and monitor is set up, just to name a few. We have a couple more things to take care of, but we'll be ready. And the doctor told us on Monday it really could happen at anytime.

So, for now, we're just waiting...waiting for the moment that we'll load up, head to the hospital and get ready to have our lives changed forever!!!

Pregnancy Highlights:


How Far Along: 36 Weeks

Size of baby: 18 1/2 inches long and weighs almost 6 lbs. Aubri is the size of a crenshaw melon.

Gender: Girl

Movement: All the time!

Sleep:I have slept pretty well this week.  Thank goodness!

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks contractions and we (as well as the doctor) think she has dropped a little.

What I miss: Non-maternity clothes!

Best Moment this week: Realizing it is less than a month before we meet our little girl.

What I am looking forward to: Our doctor's appointment Tuesday. We are having another ultrasound to better determine Aubri's size.  We get to see our girl again!!!

Didn't intend to go three weeks without a post, but I did. Oops! See, I told you I was going to lower the bar a few rungs from cousin Ali's high standards!! A lot has happened since the 4-D on August 6, so I wanted to take a few minutes and bring everyone up to speed.

The 4-D was a great experience and both sets of grandparents-to-be were able to witness it in person. My parents spent the weekend of August 6 in Tallahassee and chipped in with some valuable help around the house. Dad and I were able to work on the crib (I've uploaded some new photos to Flickr - you can see those at the bottom of the blog's front page). That weekend, the Barnes, Rowlands and Sheppards hosted a couples shower for us. We had a great time visiting with family and friends and the food was out of this world!! Chicken enchiladas, strawberry cake - YUMMY!

On August 12, Casi's office threw her a book shower. Aubri already had a nice start on a book collection, thanks to her Nana and Mimi, but the library is now in full swing! So many cute books - and we're reading to Aubri most nights, but it will be really exciting to read them to her in person...soon!

A couple of night's later, we got to enjoy dinner with some out-of-town friends - Cason and Karen Barnes, and Cason's sister and brother-in-law, Lindsey and Tim Sheppard. Cason and Karen live in Nashville, so we don't get to visit with them often. This kinda served as the unofficial "guy's weekend" outing for the summer. It's become tradition for me, Cason and Tim to go to the beach for a weekend during the summer, but our schedules just didn't work out this year. So, we made the most out of a visit to On the Border.

In the meantime, we've made tremendous progress with the nursery. The crib is ready, although we're not going to publish photos until the nursery is completely done. The glider is in position and ready to be used. Aubri's chest has been stocked with clothes and other useful gadgets for the first three months. There's even a couple of toys assembled and placed in the floor. The pack-n-play and travel system have been assembled and I can't wait to use them - although I'll say this: Chicco's directions leave a LOT to be desired. They were not very good. Nevertheless, Casi and I persevered and they are ready.

We've also knocked out a couple of pre-birth classes over the last couple of weeks. Probably not the most fun part of the pregnancy, mainly because the classes are somewhat challenging mentally due to length, but it's all part of the wonderful experience and a sure sign that we're nearing Aubri's arrival.

On August 27, it was time for another shower - this time, courtesy of my TCC friends. It was such a fun time with my co-workers from communications and athletics. Strangely enough, there was another strawberry cake on the menu!

One thing is for sure - everyone sure is taking care of Miss Aubri!

And now, we're on the doorstep of Aubri's birth month (at least according to her due date). This has been a wonderful experience and it's hard to believe we're already nearing the end (and the beginning). The best is yet to come and this is going to be an exciting month.

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 35 Weeks
Size of baby: 18 inches long and weighs almost 5 1/4 lbs. Aubri is the size of a honeydew melon.
Gender: Girl!
Movement: Yes, she is my little wiggler. I love it!
Sleep:I have started waking up during the night several times a week and staying awake for a couple of hours. Guess I should get used to this:)
Symptoms: Braxton Hicks contractions
What I miss: Sleeping thru the night.
Best Moment this week: Hearing my girl's heartbeat!
What I am looking forward to: Our doctor's appointment tomorrow. We are now on weekly visits and starting to countdown!!!

Today was exciting, as we got to "see" our baby girl for the first time, courtesy of the 4D Ultrasound. We did the ultrasound at The Prenatal Experience in Tallahassee. One of the nice things about going there is that you can bring in as many as eight people to watch the ultrasound - my parents came down from Section on Thursday for the event; Casi's parents came over from Blountstown on Friday.

So there we were, the parents- and grandparents-to-be, anxiously awaiting the first public "pictures" of Aubri Leigh. Acutally, Casi was more like a queen upon her throne, hoisted above the gallery, as the rest of us watched the show unfold. Mother and daughter did fantastic, especially considering they were poked and prodded for close to 40 minutes, as pictures and video were shot.

The general consensus was that Aubri has her daddy's features - most notably, cheeks and lips. We never got a good look at her face, however, as she played "peek-a-boo" from time to time and kept one arm over her face throughout the ultrasound, as if to say "not yet." Nevertheless, it was a thrill to "see" her and made all of us even more excited for her September 30 due date to arrive.

The day also consisted of some work. Casi's parents, who picked up our baby furniture in Dothan at Our New Baby on Monday, dodged the rain and delivered it to our home prior to the ultrasound. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the 5-drawer chest was already assembled - all we needed to do was remove the box!!

Saturday will be spent assembling the crib, then attending a Couple's Shower thrown by some of our great Tallahassee friends - the Barnes, Rowlands and Sheppards.

Another busy weekend ahead, but this is the fun part!

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 32 Weeks
Size of baby: 16.7 inches long and weighs almost 3.75 lbs. Aubri is the size of a large jicama!
Gender: Girl!
Movement: She moves all the time. I love it! She especially loves to move around when she hears her daddy’s voice.
Sleep: Sleeping pretty well for the 3rd trimester (from what others tell me).
Symptoms: I have cankles!
What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy.
Cravings: None at the moment.
Best Moment this week: Will be today. We get to see Aubri in 4D!
What I am looking forward to: Aubri’s 4D appointment at 4pm and setting up her nursery!

I've added a Flickr photo gallery to the front page of the blog, and you can now see pictures from today's work. We'll try to keep fresh photos in this section.