Sunday, April 22, 2012

Ariadne is here!!!!

Brandon and I are so excited to have our little girl with us. She is the sweetest baby ever, and just plain cute. Ariadne MacGregor (pronounced Air-ee-add-knee- she has no middle name) was born April 18, at 8:23 pm. She was 7 lbs 5.6 oz., and 19 inches long. So far, we think that she has my nose, maybe Brandon's ears and Brandon's hair. But baby's features change so often in the first few months of life that we may change our minds about that. :-)

As for some random things we've already discovered about her, Brandon and I have nicknamed her "Houdini." She is an EXPERT at kicking off her socks and getting rid of her hand thing-a-ma-jigs. Also, no matter how we wrap her up, she is able to get her hands out of the blanket. We are still working on our swaddling techniques, but she seems to sleep better with her hands above her head (a lot like Brandon- LOL). She can also already roll to her side, and seems to prefer it there (which makes her a lot like me). Brandon gets the biggest kick out of the fact that sometimes she will spit out her binkie, and put it back in. It looks unintentional, but she's done it enough times that Brandon claims we have a smart baby. :-)

Here are some pictures of her first week out of the belly:



Week 1
Ariadne's first moments after getting her newborn eyedrops put in



Ariadne with Grandpa MacGregor



Ariadne with Grandma MacGregor



Ariadne with Mom







Ariadne with Dad



















Sunday, April 15, 2012

Baby Shower!!!

My sister-in-law, Emily MacGregor, threw me the cutest baby shower at her house. Brandon's aunt Marilyn and cousin Crystal (which now makes them my aunt and cousin, too) helped throw the shower. I seriously loved it! I told them I wanted to go for a pink and brown theme for my future baby room, so they went all out on the decorations and food. It was most definitely Pinterest worthy. Between the games, decorations, yummy food, presents, and the company, I had a wonderful time. Here are some pics of that fantastic Friday evening (courtesy of Emily and her camera- she put these awesome pictures on her blog, also):












So, in case you can't tell from all the pictures or you didn't get to go, here is a breakdown of what went on at the shower.

Games we played-
20 SECONDS- we had a tray full of baby items, and we all got to look at it for 20 seconds. Then a cloth was placed on it, and we got a point for the item AND the brand (if we could remember it).

MATCH- we played a match game where you had to match up candy bars with a saying about them (for instance, there was "baby giggles" matched to "snickers," and "breastfeeding" matched to "milky way"). When a person made a match, they received the candy bar they correctly matched to a saying. There were lots of winners in the game. :-)

If you want to look at this idea so you can use it at another baby shower, here is a good link of the candy bar matching game:
http://baby-shower.yeahbaby.com/game.php?page=candy-bar-baby-shower-game

Food-
We ate scrumptious artichoke dip with pita chips, tasty sandwiches, wonderful cream cheese tortilla wraps, yummy cupcakes, DELICIOUS cake, a tasty pink drink served in cute mason jars, and probably a couple of other things I forgot to name.

Decorations-
There were pink tissue pom-poms, pennant banners, balloons, streamers, flowers, an awesome wreath, and a fancy chair that I got to sit on. The place was decked out. :-)

Presents-
Little Ariadne received many amazing items, like a personalized (with her name on it) totebag, diapers, onesies, blankets, shoes, dresses, outfits, hair things, toys, bathing and hygiene stuff, and so much more. My family from out of town (on both Brandon and my side) sent presents too, like nightgowns, money for the baby room, baby clothes, nursing items, and lots more. That little girl will definitely be spoiled, as I am already. :-)

I felt wonderfully blessed the whole night, by both friends and family. Thanks again, girls, for throwing such an awesome shower. Also, thank you everyone who sent Ariadne gifts! :-)

Thursday, April 12, 2012

39 weeks and counting... :-)

Can I just say that I can't believe my baby is due in a week! I don't know if she will come before or after, but her due date is so close! I'm getting to the stage where it's hard to touch my toes, sit up from a laying down position, sit closer than 1 foot away from the dinner table, and be more than a block away a bathroom. You know it's funny when you are excited that you can still paint your toenails (which I was able to do last Sunday- it felt as big an achievement as making a really fancy dinner).

Here are some pics of me at 37 weeks:






So right now, I'm loving showers. I don't know what it is about them, but they make me so relaxed and happy. I'm also loving spending time with Brandon, because he's been spoiling me silly. My feet have started swelling, so he will give me foot massages on a nightly basis. Also, he brought me an elaborate breakfast in bed on Easter, just because "he felt like it." And best of all, we go on nightly walks, just to talk and make sure I get exercise. He's been ultra-sweet, even though I know he's a bit stressed out about our home closing before the baby comes.

So that's the other news. We do have a house- 617 N. Sunland Dr. A neat tidbit about the home is that Tavish- Brandon's Dad- built the home, and Charisse- Brandon's Mom- designed the layout. It's pretty nifty, and we like it. Here is a link to the home:

http://realestate.yahoo.com/California/Ridgecrest/617-n-sunland-dr:ebe1a95b76c6dfd59f610cfabfab647

We are excited to go inside, fix it up more, and make it ours. We just need the bank to finish up the loan process, and for the rest of the paperwork to go through. We're thinking that it will happen within the next few weeks. That's also when our little girl is scheduled to make an appearance. While we would prefer to have the house come before the baby, I'm just grateful to have both in our lives. The Lord is looking out for us, and it will all be alright. :-)

So that's the news in our neck of the woods. When there's more to tell, I will update the blog and my Facebook profile. Our lives will be moving very quickly very soon, but I can't wait! :-)