Thursday, December 4

pig's in the blanket




November 1
Living Room
Andy was working on Halloween so I had to show him my costume the next day. It's hard to tell that there's a baby bun in the oven too.


November 2
Sunroom
Here are a few pictures of things we accomplished today. The Cronks came over and helped put the house back together. I'm so grateful for the willingness and kindness of our friends. 
Reclaimed space, finished countertop, framed out shadow boxes.



November 3
Nursery
Slowly coming together, but definitely ready enough to receive a baby! Maybe next month we'll have everything in place...


November 4
OBGYN Assoc.
Waiting for the doctor on our 39 week appointment. The wrong doctor walked in on our shadow puppet show. We're adults about to have a baby.


November 5
Kitchen
Way too excited to be having a home-cooked meal in our kitchen that is still a work in progress.


November 6
Kitchen
Day two of disposal/dish washer installation fun.


November 7
Kitchen
I decided to take the day off thinking this could potentially be the last few days without work before the bobby arrives. I'm glad I did because a) we finished installing the dishwasher and I've never been so happy to do dishes before in my life and b) turns out I was right about the last few days without work before the bobby arrives.
One more thing, last month I mentioned three requirements before the baby can come. The third was a working kitchen sink. Shazam!


November 8
Kitchen
I had to send this to our doula and it happens to be the only picture I took. Happy to say our flexible birth plan was followed pretty closely!


November 9
Kitchen
She's a beaut, Clark. She's a beaut.


November 10
Kitchen
Using it! With chef and mini chef making dinner.


November 11
Kitchen
I'm due tomorrow. That's a big thought to go to bed with. 
Andy's working so Mom (she arrived on Monday) and I run some errands, eat Burger Bach, and organize some drawers with the things we bought, and go to bed. 


November 12
Henrico Doctor's Hospital
Well, looky there!
Did you know that only 4% of babies come on their due date? Here's the quick: I started contractions at 1:30 am, waited until I had 5 and knew they were real, then texted Andy the code. "Pig's in the blanket." He came home and we labored until about 5:30 before we went to the hospital. Fast forward through about 5 more hours of laboring (it's called labor for good reason) and at 10:16 am our little babe came through. The nurse said, "It's a boy!" And Andy said, "We have an Eddie!" He looked at the gender parts and was skeptical and approximately one minute later, the nurse declared, "No, it's a girl!" Andy thought, well, that seems more like it and I think I said something like, "Who's telling the truth?"
So turns out we've got a Leena Bea. 6 lb. 2 oz. 19.5 inches. Cutest forehead wrinkles I ever saw. Not to mention the rest of her. And Andy is already the sweetest dad on the face of the planet. She might get spoiled.


November 13
Henrico Doctor's Hospital
Really what can you say when you've carried a baby inside you for 9 months and all of a sudden you have not just a baby, but a healthy baby daughter, and she's on the outside now. You get to see what she looks like and she gets to see you. And it's incredible because we've made a human. And we all got through this together.


November 14
Car
The big trip home! Let the real parenting begin!


November 15
Living Room
Giving Dad the scowl. Because, let's be honest, we are all figuring this out one step at a time.


November 16
Living Room
Grandpa Bud bonds with his second granddaughter before heading back to Little Rock.


November 17
Nursery
It's a rare moment when Leena sleeps not in someone's arms. She stuck her tiny foot out for us.


November 18
Living Room
This is pretty much what we do. Lay on the couch and stare at each other.


November 19
Sunroom
Mom and Andy are back at the house projects. Here they are tiling behind the wood stove so we can get some heat back up in this place. (Okay, we have central heat, but wood heat is so much cozier.)


November 20
Bedroom
Snoozeville.


November 21
Living Room
Our little monster is so cute I want to die.


November 22
Sunroom
Tiling done, wood stove installed again, men climbing up the wall. Bring it, winter.


November 23
Sunroom
Morning snuggles with Kiki. So happy to have the extra set of hands around. She makes pretty good company too.


November 24
Buttermilk Bake Shop
Field trip to Petersburg for the grand opening! It's so cool to see my friends in their own beautiful bakery happily making delicious things.


November 25
Kitchen
Sitting at the bar.


November 26
Kitchen
I think me and this Ergo are going to be real good friends. A pumpkin pie and a fruit tart later, Leena is still snoozing.


November 27
Living Room
The little turkey celebrates her first Thanksgiving. It goes without saying, there's a lot to be thankful for.


November 28
Schemmel House
Adah loves her Baby Cousin Leena. Here she ceremoniously gives her pacifier to the baby because she is a big girl now.


November 29
Kilmarnock
Oma meets her great granddaughter. It's a pretty special moment.


November 30
Front Porch
Not only is Mom great at baby help, but she paints too! The front of our house gets more welcoming as we speak!






Friday, November 28

the last month of our baby-free lives





October 1
St. Mary's
Getting ready for relaxation time at our first lamaze class. We might have laughed through the entire thing.


October 2
the putt putt place
My friends were kind enough to participate in my pregnant, drink-free, 32nd birthday putt putt adventure. 


October 3
Bedroom
My ankles are starting to get fat. The best is when I take my socks off after work and even the little thread designs leave imprints on my feet.


October 4
Bedroom
34 1/2 weeks! (Seems so long ago now.)


October 5
Bon Chon
Molly's birthday celebration! Enough beer and wings to get her through the night.


October 6
Office
Repurposing wedding thank you cards to be baby shower thank you cards. Pretty proud of myself for this economical and clever fix.


October 7
Kitchen
Getting some dry wall patches up.


October 8
Stairs
Making room for baby and bringing the giant desk upstairs!


October 9
Living Room
Making sure we have at least twelve projects going on simultaneously. We cleared out the furniture to get the floors redone.


October 10
Living Room
Using this opportunity to get rid of stuff for good also. Sister and I had an indoor yard sale and made $2.00 each. Probably the last time we'll do that.


October 11
Larkum House
A baby Smith baby-cue! Our friends and family are great.


October 12
Bedroom
Our bed has become my desk, dining room table, and couch because there's nowhere else to sit in the house right now.


October 13
Bedroom
The last of the emptying and the beginning of staying at the in-laws. (Keep in mind we are only four weeks out from the bobby's due date.)


October 14
Peterson House
My new roommate, Abe.


October 15
Peterson House
36 weeks and last lamaze class.


October 16
Kitchen to Cyborg Room
Checking in on the floors. The photo is misleading. That's unfinished countertop in the foreground, messed up floors in the background.


October 17
Peterson House
Making the most of our home away from home. They ganged up on me.


October 18
Front Porch
Doing some outdoor work while the inside is unwalkable. By work, I mean nap in a sleeping bag in the front yard and pleasantly wake up to an original piece of art hand delivered by the artist, Abernathy Bland, herself. She has a blog and does neat things. (Riding Bareback Beside a Train.)


October 19
Back Yard
More outdoor work and napping.


October 20
Back Yard
More outdoor work. Mom is in town and telling Andy what to do.


October 21
Peterson Basement
The poor cat is not happy about the floors either. She's stuck in this kitty prison. Eat, sleep, poop, and lift weights all in the same small room.


October 22
Peterson House
Movie night. I suppose the silver lining to going into week two of not being able to be in our house is that we were able to step away from the projects and relax a tiny bit. A very tiny bit. (Three weeks until baby.)


October 23
Peterson House
Front view of the growth. I look scared, but I'm not really scared. I just don't know how to make a normal face. Especially when taking a selfie in my pajamas.


October 24
Living Room
Walkable but not livable! One step closer to moving back in.


October 25
Gaylord, National Harbor
Annual trip north to see Dad. Every year they've done something a little more extravagant at National Harbor. This year there was a Ferris wheel! Woot!


October 26
Bedroom
Another bonus to an empty house: deep cleaning (ie. vacuuming the walls and everything in between). And a bonus in life: friends that help you do it.


October 27
Nursery (formerly the office)
I put the crib together! Mostly by myself! I stuffed the bottom part with the drawers into my car and made one trip to the station while Andy was on duty so he could help me.
(This is the first of three requirements before this baby is allowed to show up.)


October 28
Kitchen
Andy's putting a coat of finish on the countertops. Fumes are too strong so we are still staying at his parent's house.


October 29
Car
Bringing the cat back home. Those eyes look thrilled. Not pictured: me. And I'm dang excited!


October 30
Bedroom
There's a bed in our bedroom again! (This is the second requirement before this baby is allowed to show up. And that is supposed to be in less than two weeks.)


October 31
WFM
The Halloween costume we've been talking about doing for years. It's even better too, because there's actually three of us in that chef coat!