Somebody's ready for Lilly Jo to be here...

Seth's work gave us a few very generous baby gifts last night - a changing table, a Chicco baby carrier, and a giftcard to Target for other items we'll need. We were so excited and thankful!! Seth just couldn't wait to open up and try on the Chicco carrier. I'd say he looks like a pro...and let's just say he's way past being ready for Lilly Jo to be here:)
Had my 37 wk checkup today...not too much has changed since last week. I'm 2.5 cm dilated, and at least 70% effaced, if not slightly more. She's pretty low the doctor said, so there's no telling when she'll come. Only God knows!



Happy New Year's Eve!

Your guess is as good as mine...

Had my 36 wk checkup today...
I'm 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced:)
Basically, she could come tonight, or in 4 weeks.
The doc did say, "Wow, I don't know if you'll make it to your due date?"
Yaaaay!

We'll see...My guess is Lilly Jo's birthday will be before mine (1/8).
But that's just a guess.

Gosh I'm so excited...
:)

T-1 month!

Lilly, we're going crazy waiting for you to come!!

Small Group Tacky Taco Christmas Party...more pics to come.

6 weeks (+/-) and counting

Tomorrow I'll be 34 weeks along and Lilly Jo is contuing to grow bigger and bigger. Today Seth and I get to see her again as we have an ultrasound later this afternoon. I can't wait to see how's she's changed from her last ultrasound at 19 weeks.

The Lord has continued to bless us with provision for everything we need for her and the nursery. Today I had a surprise shower at work and we were given a Target gift card, which is hugely appreciated! We've got a few last "big" items we need so I have a feeling we'll be heading to Target this week!

I've also been given a baby carrier, changing table and breast pumps (sorry if you didn't want to know that) from people at work - all of which can be pretty pricey. So this week has been a reminder that God is in control and knows our (Lilly's) needs and cares for us. I am overwhelemed beyond words at how much support and love we have been shown from our family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc. THANK YOU ALL!!

31 and 20

Looks like our girls are popping out for sure! This picture was taken at the baby shower we had a couple weekends ago. I was 31 weeks and Natalie was 20 weeks. I can't believe she is halfway already. I feel like I say this a lot, but time is flying by!

I went to the doctor today and she said we may have a peanut on our hands...meaning a small baby. They want to take a look at her next week to check her growth, but they suspect she'll be similar in size to my birth weight which was 6lb 11oz. I'm not going to lie, a small baby sounds nice for the labor/delivery, but a healthy baby is really all I care about- BIG or small. So we're praying God is forming her to be just how He has planned. We cannot wait to meet her!!

31 weeks. wowza!

A little hard for me to believe, but I've got 9 weeks to go. Hopefully only 9, maybe a little less:) Found this questionnaire on a couple of people's blogs so I thought I'd give it a shot...

How far along? 31 weeks today. Crazy.

Total weight gain? As of 1 week ago I had gained 30 pounds, but I’m pretty sure that number will have increased 5 lbs by my appointment next Wednesday. It’s incredible how much I’ve been eating these past couple of weeks!

Sleep? Pretty good I must say. Only have to get up once or twice at the most to go to the bathroom. I usually wake up when I have to roll onto my other side, but it doesn’t interrupt me enough to make me feel like I’m not sleeping well.

Best moment of the week? Just one? Probably hearing Seth tell me (again) that he’s ready for our little girl to be here. I love comments like that from him. Another favorite moment is anytime she’s moving and kicking like crazy – and Seth can see/feel her.

Movement? Lots. I love every minute of it – even if it does feel weird. Sometimes I feel like she could just bust straight out of my belly on her own. But obviously that would be gross and we don’t want that to happen…

Gender? A little chica named Lilly Jo Apple. Joe was my dad’s name and after he died I always knew I’d want to name one of my children after him. He was the most wonderful father in the whole world and to say that I miss him would be the understatement of my life. But I think he’d be pretty proud to have a granddaughter named after him:)

Food cravings? Food. Lots of it. Especially anything with protein in it.

Belly button? Started popping out about a week or so ago…it’s half and half I’d say. Strange.

Maternity clothes? Most definitely. I’m actually at that stage where the stretchy part on some of my pants doesn’t fit over my belly, so I just scoot it down below the belly.

What I miss the most? Laying flat on my back to sleep. Mmm. Yep, miss it a lot.

What I’m looking forward to? Meeting Lilly Jo and seeing what she looks like. Looking her in the eyes for the first time and smiling at her:) Telling her “I love you” in person:)

A Surprise Baby Shower!

A couple weekends ago, our new church family (Harvest Bible Chapel North Raleigh) threw a baby shower for Seth and I. It was actually a surprise shower for me - Seth had me thinking he was taking me out somewhere on Saturday for a few hours. I had no idea this was what we would be doing that day!!

It was so evident how hard everyone worked to make this shower so special. The theme was the Wolfpack (they know us all too well!) and all the party decorations, food and games displayed the theme so well.

Julie Kennedy, our church baker, made us some delicious red and white cupcakes.

Whitney made us a Wolfpack diaper cake - complete with a Wolfpack sippy cup and some Wolfpack pacifiers. Sooo cute!

The food we had was very similar to the tailgating cuisine we're used to - BBQ, chips and cheese, wings, etc. It was absolutely delicious - I only wish Seth hadn't let me eat lunch 2 hours before:)

And here Seth is trying one of 4 baby foods to guess what it is...whatever it is, it must not be that bad:)

During the shower we played quite a few games...some having to do with animal babies, some having to do with baby food, but my favorite by far was the one with the 'poopy' diapers.

CJ looks on in shock at what he's just been asked to do - taste his 'poopy diaper' and guess what 2 types of chocolate it is comprised of.

Mike Walters has no fear and digs right in...yuuuum city!

Seth delicately tries his 'poopy diaper'...in case Carol has tricked them all:)

Jason Kennedy looking to his wife Julie to tell him he doesn't have to participate in this game:)

Granny Apple was able to come into town for our shower, and it was very special for both of us to have her there!

Lilly Jo's other "grandma" was there, however, we've yet to finalize her title...not too much longer to choose a name!

I'm currently looking for some "Apple Bottom Jeans" to go with Lilly's "Boots with the fur". If you find any, let me know:)

We've got a lot to learn when it comes to babies and baby products:)

Our pastor, Mike Willis, and his cutie pie - Miss Maddie.

Another lovely lady at our new church - Miss Loreli. She's just enjoyed one of Julie Kennedy's famous Wolfpack cupcakes:)

We were so blessed by all the wonderful gifts the people gave us. We received things like a Boppy, diapers, blankets, pacifiers, Butt Paste (lots! apparently it's very useful!), changing table pad, lots of clothes, and much much more! Lilly Jo, you are loved already!

Seth has gotten quite used to what having a daughter will be like, having gotten to know Maddie Willis from church:)

Waiting in expectation to meet our little daughter...

Until then, we are so grateful for our friends and church family at HBCNR - THANK YOU SO MUCH for your love and generosity toward us!!

A Bun in the Oven

Thanks to a couple at my work, Seth and I had a very creative halloween costume:)
Meet Seth, the chef; Rebecca, the oven; and Lilly Jo, the bun in my oven.
She's still cookin' and we can't wait to meet her!

Fair?

This year I seriously debated whether or not to go to the fair, due to all the flu going around. It's been tough to not worry about the flu while being pregnant, but I know that's not what God wants for me, or Lilly Jo.
The day before we went to the fair, I had my wk 27 doctor's visit and to my surprise, they had H1N1 vaccines available! If you look closely you can see the bandaid tan I got when I forgot to take off the bandaid while out at the lake after the doctor's visit.
After having had both the seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccines I felt a little more comfortable with going to the fair. So we went with Nat and John and our friend Brian Lowther (missed you Debbie), and saw many other friends along the way!

Lilly Jo certainly ate good that night - we had chicken pitas, roasted corn, cotton candy, ice cream, country ham biscuits, funnel cake and maybe more...I can't remember. I'm pregnant.

My how much has changed in a year:) 3 apples at the fair this year!

Nat and I had a marvelous time pigging out this year - feeding our fetus' well!

Thanks for driving in town for the fair Morreales:)

To finish off our anniversary weekend we came home, carved pumpkins - Seth carved one with stars in it for me, because it looks beautiful all lit up, and I carved a small one with the number "1" in it, for our first anniversary. After pumpkin carving we cut our wedding cake and had a bite for tradition sake. Tasty? Mmm, not so much. But who really expects it to be. Actually our cake baker, Ashley Cakes, makes us a fresh anniversary cake for the 1st anniversary. We'll pick that up this week and I can't wait - chocolate with raspberry filling - delish!!!