Snow Day!

Well, we have 3-4 inches of snow on the ground! It just started mixing with freezing rain and it's supposed to turn back to snow this afternoon and not let up until 2am. So I guess we could have quite a bit by tomorrow morning!

I do have to tell a story though about something that happened exactly 25 years ago this very weekend (Feb. 1, 1985). I believe it was garbage day in Troutdale, Oregon, and my dad forgot to take out the trash before he went to work. My mom, being nine months and one day pregnant with me, noticed this right as the garbage man was coming down our street. So she rushed to get the garbage out to the curb...in the snow! In her scurrying, she fell down the driveway and I was born just a couple hours later!

So, Anna Kate, are you going to come in a snowstorm too? And are we going to share a birthday? Or do we have to wait just a little while longer to meet you?

The Nursery is Ready!

After many hours of shopping, sanding, painting, cleaning and decorating, Anna Kate's nursery is finally ready! I absolutely love it and am so excited to bring her home to it. Thank you so much to everyone who helped by giving us the crib/glider (the Branans), buying the crib bedding (Grannie), making the quilt (Whitney), buying the lamp/decorations (Mom and Mom), and slipcovering the glider cushions (Christy). We appreciate you and know that Anna Kate will too! Oh, and one little clarification...we are going to put her entire name (Anna Kate) up on the wall, but Walmart was out of the wooden "K" letters, and I didn't want to put up "Anna Ate," so that is the only incomplete part of the nursery. Well that and the slipcovering of the ottoman cushion. So it's almost complete! Alright, without further ado, here are the pictures!

View as you walk in the nursery

Close up of the daybed and Whitney's quilt

Window and curtains

Glider next to Anna Kate's books and toys...she's going to be a reader!

Changing Table/Dresser

Picture with a place for Anna Kate's handprints and footprints

Crib with bedding and matching quilt on the wall

Now we just have to wait for her to get here! Oh, and I forgot to post after our doctor's visit on Wednesday, but at that visit I was 2cm dilated and 90% effaced. So it could be any day now, or she could still hold out to her due date of February 13. We will see!

Nursery - in progress

Here is Luke hard at work transforming our second bedroom into the cutest baby girl room you've ever seen...well, I really like it at least! Luke has spent many hours sanding and painting furniture so that it all matches...something that is very important to me!

Breakfast with Allison!

Luke's sister Allison came up to NC this weekend to visit some friends at Duke. Since it's only 45 minutes from here, we decided to meet her for brunch on Saturday! We had a great time and are looking forward to seeing her again sometime soon after the baby comes! Here's a picture of Luke and Allison:

35.5 Week Dr. Appointment

Well we had another visit to the doctor today and everything looks great! I actually thought our appointment was yesterday, but Luke rescheduled it without me having any idea so that I could be at a surprise baby shower that my co-workers threw for me on Tuesday afternoon! We really have been so blessed by so many people! Anyway...on to the appointment. Except for my extremely swollen feet/ankles/legs, there are no concerns. In fact, the doctor said that the baby is head down and I am 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced. I know that isn't a whole lot, but at least we're moving in the right direction! We go back next Wednesday, so I will keep updating with any progress. Now it's back to thank you notes!

Nursery - before

Well, just to leave you in suspense a little longer...here is a picture of what our second bedroom has looked like over the last week or so along its journey of being transformed from Luke's office into the nursery. Unfortunately, we didn't think to take a picture of Luke's office before we started, but here you can see it once it became a disaster and we couldn't really move around in it:

Luke is finishing up sanding and painting the last piece of furniture this week and once that's completed, we will put up final pictures. Keep checking back!

35 Weeks

35 down, 5 to go! Although, I will say that at our last few doctor visits I have been measuring about a week ahead of schedule. However, I have heard that something like 80% of first time moms go past their due date, so maybe our due date of February 13th is right on. We will just have to be patient and see! Anyway, enough talk...here are the pictures you have all been waiting for (well, at least the pictures that my mom has been waiting for)...

I probably should post a picture of my swollen ankles too since those are getting about as big as my belly...but I think not!

Baby Showers!

Well, I know I've been out of the blogging world for the last couple weeks, but what a fun and exciting last couple weeks it's been! Since my last post, we had a wonderful Christmas break with Luke's family in Greenwood, SC, had two baby showers, started back to school, and almost completely finished the nursery. Our first baby shower was thrown by my three best friends from college - Caitlin, Lesley, and Whitney - and a number of our close friends and family from SC came to celebrate our little girl's upcoming arrival. It was so good to see everyone and to have them share in this special time in our lives. Here is a picture of me with Whitney, Lesley, and Caitlin.

The second shower was thrown this past weekend by my sister Sarah and good friend Kelly and was mostly for our church family here in Wake Forest. I was absolutely overwhelmed that nearly 40 ladies came to celebrate with us and to give us such wonderful gifts. We have an incredible church family and feel so blessed with how they have taken care of us and provided almost everything we could possibly need for our little girl. Here is a picture of me with Sarah and Kelly.

When I came home from the shower, I just had to show Luke all of the wonderful gifts that we received, so I laid them all out on the couch (along with the gifts from our SC shower - except the ones that are already in place in the nursery!). Luke said that he never knew there were quite so many shades of pink! We really cannot say thank you enough to all of our friends and family for their love and generosity.