Harrison's Here

It's been 8 days since our precious baby boy was born...I can't believe he's already a week old.  I have a ton of updating to do for this blog, but I'm not motivated to do it just yet. 

Stats:
Harrison was born on July 23, 2010 at Winter Park Memorial Hospital at 6:53 am.  He weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz., and was 20 inches long.

Until I get back in the swing of blogging, here are a few pictures of our adorable munchkin!!!

He's so tiny, this little outfit was a tad big

This is one of my favorites...he looks like a gangster with the hat pulled so low

Another fave...he's saying, "look at these guns"

Peacefully sleeping on daddy's chest...priceless!!

Our first family photo...the first of many if I have my way!!

I'll be back to my regular updates soon.  Have a blessed upcoming week!!

Update

I had my 39 week check-up earlier this morning.  I'm dilated to 3 cm, Harrison's heartbeat was 140, and I'm measuring right at 40 weeks.

Dr. Snook stripped my membranes during my visit, so it is possible that Harrison will be here in the next 24 hours or so.  If he doesn't come on his own by Thursday, I will be induced!  I'm super excited, and it's nice to know that the wait is almost over, and he will be here no later than Thursday/Friday of this week!!!  Can't wait to meet our little guy!

More updates to follow, but there might be a short hiatus since I'll be delivering a baby and getting adjusted to being a new mommy!!

Check back soon...

Celebrating 2 Wonderful Years Together

Today, Jeff and I celebrate two wonderful years of marriage.  Time has flown by...it seems like just yesterday, Jeff took me to dinner at Lake Eola and "popped the question" with Marlee by his side.  That was August 4, 2007, and the following 11 months and two weeks flew by.  I had always said that I didn't want to have a year long engagement, but man did I need it!  July 19, 2008 was upon us in no time!

I am so blessed to have Jeff in my life...he is God's perfect match for me, an answer to my prayers, and everything I always said I wanted in a husband!

Here are a few pictures of us over the past two years...

Wedding Rehearsal, July 18, 2008

Wedding Day, July 19, 2008

Wedding Reception, July 19, 2008

Last dance of the night, July 19, 2008

Honeymoon in Lake Tahoe, CA (July 22-25, 2008)

Hiking in Lake Tahoe

More hiking in Lake Tahoe

Our first Christmas as husband and wife

Halloween 2008

One Year Anniversary trip to Chicago

One Year Anniversary dinner in Chicago

Easter 2010

Momma's 50th birthday, May, 2010

Date night painting Harrison's piggy bank, July 9, 2010

Self portrait before 2nd Anniversary dinner, July 18, 2010

Happy Anniversary Jeff.  I love you sooooo much and can't wait to celebrate 100 more anniversaries with you!

39 Weeks

I think it's safe to say that we are getting really close to the arrival of our baby boy.  How close, well, that we can't be sure of yet, but as of today, we are only 7 days away from the due date.  The doctor said they won't let me go much past my due date, so I'm thinking 7-10 days max...and we'll get to finally meet Harrison!!!

There is seriously not much for Baby Center to report this week...
Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, about the size of a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

As for me, well, I'm gonna do it...I'm going to show you all (whoever reads this wonderful story of our lives) a picture of me, bare belly, at 39 weeks.  I have toyed with this for a few weeks now, and I'm finally going to do it...say what you will, judge me if you must...

I have really enjoyed being pregnant and while I'm much heavier than I was pre-baby (I obviously should be), I feel like my pregnant belly is absolutely beautiful!  I have enjoyed a wonderful pregnancy, free of any "typical" pregnancy issues like morning sickness, and with the exception of the last few weeks, I've not had any swelling in my feet or hands.

Harrison will soon be here and this pregnancy will come to an end.  I am so blessed and couldn't be happier. 

This just might be my last pregnancy post...and then we'll be on to baby posts.  Until next time...

The Finished Product

So here it is...Harrison's first piggy bank that Jeff and I painted during our date night last Friday. 

I named the big guy Wilbur.

Marlee had to inspect the guy...

She wasn't too sure about him...

38 Weeks

I guess it's safe to say that we're in the home stretch now, but how long is the home stretch gonna be??  I'm so impatient waiting for Harrison's arrival, but God is working on me and teaching me a very hard lesson in patience!!

There's not a lot to report this week regarding Harrison's development...

According to Babycenter.com, he has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and is over 19 1/2 inches long. He has a firm grasp, which I'll soon be able to test when I hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.  (YAY!!!)  This is the picture of what he probably looks like this week all cramped in my belly.

As I said, I am so impatient waiting for his arrival.  Each day, I wake up thinking, "is today going to be the day??"  A friend of my sister's had her baby on Friday, and a friend of mine from church had her baby on Saturday.  I look at those pictures and just daydream of what my little guy is going to be like.  I get so giddy with excitement thinking of seeing him for the very first time...CAN'T WAIT!!

Well, this is a short post because there's just not much to report except that mommy here is very impatiently waiting Harrison's arrival.  Daddy to be keeps telling me that it's going to be another two weeks, but I'm hoping he's wrong.  I know that God's perfect plan is in place and when the time is right, our little guy will be in our arms...I just want that time to be now!!  :-)

One last thing, but certainly a very important thing...Jeff and I will celebrate our TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY in one little short week on July 19th.  It's very exciting celebrating another year of our love and lives together, but I think both of us are so caught up in anticipation of Harrison's arrival that our anniversary has really snuck up on us.  We're going to have a nice dinner out next Sunday evening to celebrate.  Who knows...Harrison might decide to join us for our anniversary...we'll soon see.

Date Night

Jeff and I had a fun date night last night...we went to All Fired Up in Winter Park and painted a piggy bank for Harrison.  It was an idea that popped into my head last week, and Jeff was totally up for it (surprised me because I thought he might be opposed to painting pottery; you know, it's not a very manly thing to do).

Anyway, we arrived at the pottery shop around 8:30 pm and picked out our project...a rather large piggy bank.  We were anxious to get the pottery painting party started...

We decided to paint the little guy blue, even though pigs are really supposed to be pink.  We set off on a sponging misson to cover that little pig with our carefully selected blue paint.  It took about four or five coats to be sure we had the whole thing covered.  Here we are just getting started with our first coat...

Much to my surprise, Jeff really got into painting this pig and was very serious about making sure the colors didn't overlap and every inch of this pig was covered.  It was adorable to see him taking so much time and effort to make this be perfect...he was focused!

We decided that the pigs inner ears needed to be a lighter shade of blue, so I set off on a misson to paint the inside of his ears...not easy!!  I am anxious to see how "jacked" up his little ears are going to be because I just don't think my hand was steady enough for that job.

By about 11:45 pm, we were finally finshed with all the painting and just had one final touch to add...Harrison's initials.  I wish were able to find a bigger stencil to use because I feel like his initials are a little small for the size of the pig, but oh well, it still looked ok.

We get to pick up the finished product next Friday, and I can hardly wait.  It will be much darker after it goes through the firing process, and we feel like it's going to look great.  I always get nervous, though, because I have an idea in my head of what I want it to look like, and 99% of the time, it doesn't look as good as I want it to.  However, no matter what, this is going to be an adorable little gift of love to our soon to be here precious baby boy!!

I'll post pictures of the end result once I get it next week.

37 Weeks

We're now considered to be full term, but little Harrison isn't quite ready to make his grand entrance into this world.  I can tell you, though, I'm counting down!  As of today...22 days 'til the due date!!!

According to Baby Center, our baby is now considered "full term," even though the due date is three weeks away. If I go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though).

Our baby probably weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel. Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long.  But he may sport only peach fuzz.  This is how crowded he probably is this week...it's become extremely cramped quarters in my belly lately!!

I'm happy to report that I've not had any more sickness since my horrible spell last Tuesday.  I am becomming more and more uncomfortable as each day passes, but it's totally worth it!  Harrison moves around in my belly a lot still, and I feel like he is still very high in my belly.  I keep waiting for the day that I wake up and think, "wow, my belly has dropped, finally."  I feel like I'm going to be pregnant forever, but I know that's not possible.  I just have to be patient.

My dad and step-mom came for a visit this weekend, and we had a nice time.  We didn't do much of anything except be lazy and just hang out at home.  We did venture out to Crane's Roost Park and Lake Lily in Maitland for a stroll, but that was about it.  It was nice to not have anything that we had to do!!

I guess that's all for now...HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!  I'm so thankful to all the men and women who serve our country and continue to protect our freedom!!