If you can believe it, we are on the last two weeks before my daughter becomes a mom and I become a Grammy. It all zoomed by so fast…….
This YEAR zoomed by so fast.
I don’t even know what to say……but wow!
Our beautiful cousins hosted her baby shower at the Church Jason and I got married in. They made all the decorations and put it all together. They did an amazing job. It was a wonderful shower with lots of family and friends.
Momma and Baby Zebra…Awe!!
I framed Sydney’s favorite photo for the shower.
I love this wall behind the Church. The light was a little bright that time of day.
Lover the look on their faces. ;-D
Smell the diaper game. Melted Chocolate candies in different diapers. You had to guess what kind.
She does not look 8 mos pregnant.
I have not been doing much photography lately (aka…I’m rusty!). There has just been too much going on. I visited my sister for her 50th birthday end of June. We had the girls for the month of July. I’ve helped Sydney shop and get rooms ready. Baby has a place here and at her boyfriends, but Sydney is official living at his house now.
Through my hidden tears while she packed, I told myself this is what kids do. They grow up and move out. In my head I am so proud of her, but my heart misses her more than anything. I get the empty in empty nesters now. It’s not a room that is empty, it is a place inside your soul.
But she is opening a new and exciting chapter and I am so happy for her. Motherhood! I have watched her week to week grow and change – both physically and emotionally. Pregnancy is an amazing transformation.
So, here we are. All ready for baby…and now we wait.
Since the day she first told me she was pregnant, there have been two questions I desperately wanted to know:
When was the baby due?
Luckily, the first one was very easy to pinpoint from tons of due date calculators online. I did two things right after she told me, called my gyno’s office to make an appointment and googled when her due date would be. September 1st was the winner (and the doctor confirmed). September will be here before we know it. And I must say, that is sooooo close to my birthday, August 23rd. Maybe, just maybe, I will have an early birthday present.
The other burning question at the time…what would it be?
Girl or Boy?
After a loooooonnnng 22 weeks…….I, finally, know the answer.
I must admit…I was Team Pink all they way.
Which to some…is very surprising. I have a girl, two bonus girls, and three of my four dogs are girls. Why in the world would I want to have another girl in the family?
It’s simply really…
The clothes. Oh my gosh, the cute pink, and ruffly clothes.
The sweetness. Well, that is any baby, but tiny pierced ears, dresses, and wearing my mom’s baby ring kind of sweetness.
The fact that my girl gets to know what it is like to have a girl and experience the unbreakable bond of mother and daughter.
Brandon will have his little Daddy’s girl. Which we all know….is something else!
We couldn’t be happier (and would have LOVED having a boy if it had been). It was a win, win either way.
I should have known by the sonogram photo.
The girl has our nose. It is plain as day. And she is not a morning girl (just like me and Sydney). In the ultrasound room, the tech had to wake her up. She was snuggled up snoozing. After banging on Sydney’s belly, she finally rolled over, yawned REAL big, and then started sucking her thumb. Oh yes, that’s our girl all right. Sydney had three pacifiers when she was little. One for each hand and one for her mouth. I sucked my thumb until I started kindergarten.
We got our first girl outfit when Jason came back from dropping the girls off at their Mom’s. A sweet little baby sundress with an adorable white sweater cover. What did I tell ya? Sweetness! I think the girl’s mom is just as excited as we are. Another girl to go with all the girls.
I bought my first baby girl outfit too.
I just couldn’t resist. How perfect is that. The girl will be the most photographed baby EVER. I need to start exercising my shutter finger. She will be here before we know it.
She.
And yes, names are being thrown around, but nothing is decided yet. Apparently, the only names discussed previously were for a boy. Um, Surprise!
I will share all the amazing Gender Reveal party photos soon. We had an outstanding photographer there and it wasn’t me.
When someone rejoices with you, because your joy can’t be contained…
From all ends of the spectrum. Blessings are no joke. They sneak up on you and they make you realize how grateful you really are. Truly grateful for all the big and small things life throws your way.
When my very young (but grown) daughter told me she might be pregnant about two months ago…
…I was not angry, upset, or sad for her.
What I felt……..was joy.
I KNOW. Nothing is an accident. People make mistakes, but God doesn’t.
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. -Psalms 139:13-16
News to share….
Countdown to parenthood a little over FOUR months. Get ready kids. 🙂
And here they are…two months after she told me.
Sydney’s belly is really growing fast at this point. We didn’t want to announce it all too soon. Of course, we told family right away, but not the general public/social media avenues.
Til now that is…
Which is why I can share my unexpected blessing with all of you. I am going to be a GRAMMA with a grandchild! OMG!
And honestly? I can’t wait.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” Jeremiah 1:5
Easter Weekend 18 Weeks.
It is just hard to believe my BABY is having a BABY. It took me several weeks to really process that. I am not ready for her to be all grown up and a mommy *cry!*.
But she is going to be…..no matter if I am ready or not.
We are doing weekly photos throughout her pregnancy. This one will be all hooked together like a movie watching her belly grow. I found that on Pinterest, because Pinterest is awesome like that.
Of course, I have BIG photo plans for the baby when he/she gets here. No, we don’t know what it is yet. And yes, we will find out. Apparently gender reveal parties are all the rage these days. Not to mention, Sydney and I went to Buy Buy Baby a few weeks ago, it was our first outing for baby and we had to buy something. As in – yes this is real and we are buying a baby thing – but there were very few non-gender things. We settled for a long-sleeve white onsie. Awh.
We told the little girls tonight. I had no idea how to do it. They are six and eight years old. Smart as little whips, but I think I will leave the birds and the bees talk to their mom. Heh.
I showed them a photo of Sydney at week 18 (above) and then I said, “Do you notice anything?” After a minute or two, one of them said, “Welllllll, her belly looks bigger.” I breathed a sigh of relief and then displayed on my phone the sonogram photo next to Sydney’s belly.
This was taken week 16 and the sonogram photo is at about 8 weeks.
I said, “Do you know what THAT is?”
Surprisingly the six-year old answered. “A BABY!?!”
Hands clapped over mouths in surprise, as they looked at each all wide-eyed. Then Bridget questioned aloud, “Is she married?” It made me smile because that is such a six-year old thing to say. So sweet and innocent, and no, they are not married yet and may not be for a few more years (I hope). I want Sydney to finish college and both of them to have jobs and a home, etc…etc.
Then I told them, “You two are gonna be AUNTS!” Except I pronounced it the North East way Aunt, not Ant like we say here. They have Aunts, we have Ants. I think Bridget declared she didn’t want to be an Aunt. Molly giggled some more, and proclaimed she would be a fourth grade Aunt standing up tall and holding her chest out. I think she will make a very fine Aunt.
But when I told them their Dad was going to be a GRANDPA???
It got REAL.
And they laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Molly had TEARS streaming down her face, because apparently, Daddy being a Grandpa is flippin’ hilarious.
I think we are all still smiling. I hope you are too.
Let me tell you about a miracle named Sydney Elizabeth. This tiny miracle occurred August 1993…………………………………
Ah! But not so fast. See I had to get married first. I married Sydney’s Dad October of 1992. I was 21 & he was 24 and he was my best friend in the whole world. Not to mention he made me laugh all the time(still does). Sonny couldn’t have been a better Dad for her.
We were very young but wanted to start a family right away. My older sister already had two children. My older brother had two children as well. It seemed natural to go ahead & try since we loved each other & wanted a child from that union. Our families supported us 100%. So finding out I was pregnant for the 1st time we were ecstatic!!! Best of all my sister was pregnant too!!! It was amazing! We were 8yrs apart & never imagined we would have children the same age. My due date was in September. A WHOLE SUMMER pregnant in Texas!!! Woo!! HA! But that was OK I was fine with that. I couldn’t WAIT to hold my angel in my arms. We had so many plans that formed in our heads so quickly. My sister & I lugging our babies around & having play dates. Sonny buying baseball gloves & bats to play ball with his boy. The FIRST grandchild his mother would have. The first GREAT grandchild for his grandmother. I can still remember every moment we planned. Every moment we anticipated with that little baby. Every second we dreamed of what it would look like, smell like, feel like. I can remember distinctly the glow inside of knowing I was going to have a BABY. My first baby! It was spectacular & unique & I would NEVER feel that way again. It wasn’t long before our dreams crashed down around us. This baby did not turn out how we hoped.
My pregnancy quickly went from the most wonderful time of my life to one of the worst nightmares of my life. I did not have a normal healthy pregnancy. I had a tubal pregnancy which means the baby travelled through the fallopian tubes to get to the uterus and got stuck (or stopped for whatever reason)and decided to grow there. It wasn’t in the right place & would quickly die from not getting the nourishment it needed. Worst than that it was not something that could be surgically moved & put in the right place. EVEN worse than that it put my life in great danger because the tube could burst & rupture inside and I could die too(tubal pregnancies are the #2 killer of pregnancy deaths). This was a very serious situation. The seriousness & the devastation seemed to battle inside me. I wanted NOT to die but I didn’t want to lose my baby either. And back and forth I would go between fearful & heartbroken. Fearful & heartbroken. Over & over until the doctor chose to do surgery & remove the pregnancy from my fallopian tube where it was lodged.
This meant I would go under anesthesia & be operated on. I would have a laproscope through my belly button & another incision by my bikini line. It was even possible that I would lose one of my fallopian tubes if he could not surgically remove the pregnancy without damaging it. If he had to he would remove the tube completely. So my fertility chances would drop in half and I was only 21yrs old.
I’ll not go into blow by blow here about the surgery & recovery. All I can say is that it was just as painful physically as it was emotionally. Me, my husband, my parents & siblings & his family GRIEVED for this loss. It was so devastating it seemed so unfair. I never thought I would stop crying over the loss of my baby. I truly felt like I was living in a never ending nightmare. They had saved my tube but the risk was even higher of having ANOTHER tubal on the next pregnancy. I never thought I could be brave enough to try again. All I could think of was I’ll hold my baby in heaven & that was the ONLY thing that got me through it.
Living, Loving, Laughing.... 