the bump travels to san diego

Last week Josh and I made the trip to San Diego for Dan (Josh's brother) and Lauren's wedding! We had such a great vacation, and loved celebrating their special day with them. The wedding was absolutely beautiful and everyone had a fabulous time! Our little guy got so excited when the church organ started playing...he was going crazy inside when Lauren walked down the aisle! Josh and I especially enjoyed the opportunity to get away and spend time together. We went to the zoo -the monkeys were our favorite, toured the USS Midway - a retired Navy vessel, walked on the beach, window shopped, and had a breakfast date at a precious sidewalk cafe on Coronado Island, along with enjoying all of the wedding festivities. I was so thankful for easy travel on the airplane and plenty of energy to enjoy all that the beautiful city had to offer!

the view of downtown from coronado island



Our due date is exactly one month from tomorrow! WHOO HOO! I know he may not be on time, but we've been praying that he will be a little bit early so Margaret can meet him before she heads off to Argentina. It would be so wonderful for her to be there when he's born. We all hope and pray that's part of God's plan!

Other than that, the nursery has been finished. The last thing to do is hang the letters of his name on the wall - which we can't do until he's born b/c his name is a secret ;) So, his nursery is ready whenever he is!

I can't help but wonder if this may be the last blog post written before he "pops!" If he decides to hold out a little longer, I may get another post written before his big debut...

the crib has arrived!

What an eventful last week we've had around here...the nursery is SO close to being complete! Last weekend Josh finished painting the nursery, and on Friday night his parents delivered the crib. Josh's dad "The Grandude" is a very talented carpenter! One of the first things he said after we told him that we were pregnant was "Well, I better get working on a crib." Josh and I picked out a design and pattern that we liked, and ever since then he has worked many, many hours on creating the perfect crib! It's going to be a family heirloom passed on through all our children, and then one day onto their children as well. Thanks Grandude and Mama C! As soon as the crib was in the nursery, I immediately began putting on the bedding. It's so precious! We are going to have another little sailor in the family. Sometimes I just walk back to the nursery, peer in , smile, and soak everything detail up. Our little guy will be here so soon!


6 weeks, or less left to go.... It's unbelievable how quickly the pregnancy has gone by. At this point, I would be glad for him to come a couple of weeks early. Technically, he is full term anywhere from 36-40 weeks, so he just needs to hold out a couple more! Last week Josh and I were thinking through all that we have going on between now and the "due date" and we realized that this weekend might be one of the last weekends that we have for a while, without any plans, or without focusing most of our attention on our baby. So, Josh planned such a fun date day/night yesterday. We woke up and made blueberry pancakes, went thrift shopping for our house(one of my new favorite nesting hobbies) and then went to Barnum & Bailey's Circus "The Greatest Show on Earth" and ate a delicious late night snack at The Cheesecake Factory! We made such fun memories!

As for my nesting, it's been quite successful! The majority of my list has been completed. Thanks to my wonderful husband :) I have been cleaning like a crazy woman, organizing everything from the laundry room to closets, painting a chandelier and nursery furniture (outside so the fumes won't bother me), and setting up baby things. My wonderful mom also taught me how to sew! I felt like that was something my mom resume needed. So, we made pillows for our outdoor furniture! She's a great teacher, and they are just adorable - adding a nice pizazz to the front porch.


Working on the Chandelier -BEFORE


AFTER

This week we are heading to San Diego for Josh's brother's wedding. The trip is cutting it close to my 5 week traveling mark, but I'm so thankful that I'll be able to go. We're so excited for Dan and Lauren! What a beautiful wedding it will be!

As I am writing this blog I keep thinking of things that have happened since our last post. Life has been eventful! Josh and I had a fabulous One Year anniversary getaway to the Hill Country Hyatt. The Lazy River was the perfect spot for this pregnant lady - we laid out and floated around all weekend. Thanks mom and dad for such a great gift!

We hope that each of you are doing well and trusting God in EVERY detail of life. He cares about each one. We serve an awesome God!

ahhh...nesting

{Nesting Instinct} An uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world.

This is what I began experiencing during the last few weeks. Thus a word document of all the projects that NEED to be completed by the time our bundle of joy arrives was created. (In only 10 weeks!) This desire was spurred on even more by my wonderful friends Erin, Caroline, and Lindi who came to visit our new home this past weekend. Saturday was my day of inspiration! Josh had gone down to the bay house with one of his friends, so the girls and I adventured to Hob Lob and Home Goods...after checking out some fun new blogs that Erin recommended. The day was quite a success! We found some great wall decor for the kitchen and living room, and when they left Sunday morning my head was full of great ideas. I even ordered some new fabric for a project that mom and I are going to work on next week! Much to Josh's surprise he had a long list of "honey dos" when he got home yesterday...but he was so willing to help! What a wonderful husband :) I will keep you updated on the list and what actually gets done before the little one arrives...wish me luck!

For an update on the baby and our lives...week 30 began today! WOW! 10 weeks until we meet our precious baby boy :) He is more active than ever, and I am loving his hiccups! They are little rhythmic beats that make my tummy bounce and are so much fun! Josh loves it when he gives a good kick. He always says "wow" or "that was a good one" or there is always the funny gasp or question "what is he doing in there?" that makes us laugh. His big movements make Josh so proud to already have a strong son! We picked out the paint color for the baby's nursery last night, and will get started on painting it early next month! That's another item on my Nesting to-do-list...

This Sunday, July 5th, Josh and I will celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary! SO much has happened in the past year, and we have so much to be thankful for. God has blessed us beyond our wildest imagination, has drawn us closer to Him, and taught us so many things! It's so neat to look back at where we were a year ago and see how God used the experiences of the past year to shape and mold us into who we are now...with a lot more shaping and molding to come! My wonderful parents, who are such a great example of the importance in spending time together as a couple, gave us a weekend at the Hill Country Hyatt in San Antonio. What a wonderful getaway weekend it will be!

May God richly bless you and draw you closer to Him!

The Catch-up Post!

I am sorry that I haven't updated in SO long - life was going 90 miles an hour towards the end of the school year! We have had so many exciting things going on, and God has been teaching us so much in preparation for our little one!

Mother's Day
We began the wonderful weekend celebration when Josh took me on a date to Enchanted Forest. It's a beautiful plant nursery set back beneath huge oak tress with ponds running through the property and some of the most beautiful flowers you have ever seen! We picked out some new flowers for some of the beds in front of our home. Josh also took me shopping for a special dress for my 1st Mother's Day :) Then we set off to celebrate Mother's Day in College Station! I am so blessed to be a mom and to have been given the incredible blessing and responsibility of raising a precious little boy, who we are getting very anxious to meet! It was so special to celebrate that day with my mom, too. We spent the weekend laying out by the pool - I refused to begin the wearing of the maternity swimsuit - and had a wonderful time together at church and lunch on Sunday. Then, Dad and Josh moved some furniture from my parent's house to our house (for the nursery) and mom, Margaret, and I went to visit Nina and thank her for being such a wonderful mom/ grandmother. I hope all the other moms reading this had a special day, too!

At Enchanted Forest


All the Fam on Mother's Day


After a delicious lunch at Miramont :)


Showers
Last month my sweet class and the 1st grade team hosted wonderful baby showers for us! They were such special times, and we were so blessed by everyone's generosity! We received the most precious baby clothes, toys, gear, and some very practical things, too! The teachers also gave us a book of their baby advice, and it was full of humorous and Godly advice for our future. I am sure we will read it many times in the years to come. When we got everything home, Josh and I loved hanging up all of our little guy's clothes and organizing everything in his nursery :)


The Mommy and Daddy to-be

My 1st Grade Class @ the Baby Shower
Baby
At the beginning of week 27, he is stronger and more active than ever! On average babies are about 2 lbs. this week and packing on the weight quite rapidly! Sometimes we just have to laugh at how much he moves around. A few nights ago he decided it was time to wake up around 4am and rolled and kicked until about 5:15am when he finally calmed back down so I could fall asleep again. I know that I'll look back at these times as great preparation when I am up for those early AM feedings! Last weekend Josh and Jono (his brother) began painting the furniture for the nursery. It's white with red accents on the knobs and posts-we'll post those pics as soon as it's all finished - the red will really tie the furniture and the bedding together well. The crib bedding that we picked is "Baby Boats" from Pottery Barn Kids - in honor of how much Josh LOVES sailing :) We thought we should start our little one's love for it early. You can see it here: http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/k5129/index.cfm?pkey=xsrd0m1|12|||1|||||||baby%20boats&cm_src=SCH

Other than that, I am still feeling great! My belly button is getting closer and closer to "popping." I find myself staring at Josh's and wishing mine still looked like his. HAHA But I know it's a good thing and that it just means the boy is growing like he should be. We are looking forward to our vacation to Disney World next week with my family! We'll be sure and take lots of "bump" pics with Mickey & Minnie :)

Josh is so eager to meet our little guy. He talks daily about how much he wants to hold him - but 13 weeks really isn't that long - so he'll be able to sooner than we think! His excitement and eagneress is so precious. We are reading the book Baby Wise together each night, and loving it so far. For those of you who don't know, it's about how the baby best fits into the family and how to schedule his sleeping/eating, etc. I think it's going to be such a great help in figuring all of those things out :)
We hope all of you are doing well and enjoying God's blessings in your life! Look around because big or small, they are everywhere!

Much love,
Liz & Josh

4D Ultrasound!

Hi all! Last week, Josh and I went the Medical Center for a Level 2 Ultrasound, which means that we were able to see our little boy through the normal sonograms and also in 4D. (They were 3D pictures and the 4th dimension was his movement.) The Dr. measured his skull, and checked the 4 chambers of his heart and looked around for all of his organs, etc. so we were able to watch our baby for over an hour! What a treat! I was speechless the entire time at the amazing way God has created him and developed everything he needs. It was truly an indescribable experience :) When the Dr. finished our appointment he told us that the baby is growing right on schedule, developing just as he had hoped, healthy, and that he couldn't have given us a better report! WOW! God is so good and has truly answered our prayers and all of your prayers for this little guy. Below are some of the precious pictures from the appointment. Be sure and read the captions so you can tell what's going on. There are so many cute ones it's hard to pick a favorite, but I must say many of you will be excited about the "Gig 'Em" picture!

Profile of our little baby boy :)

4D Precious Baby
4D Thumb sucking :)

These are the little feet making big movements inside...
He's definitely getting stronger!
He is so strong that Josh was able to feel him moving around last weekend!!

We hope you enjoyed the pictures of our little one! We love y'all!

Mommy and Daddy Meeh

The Bump

Happy Easter! I hope you all have had a blessed day with your friends and family celebrating our Savior's resurrection! We had a wonderful celebration on Saturday evening with the Marks and Meeh families at our new home :) It's so exciting to think that next year we will have a little one going on an Easter egg hunt and celebrating with us!

This past week the little boy made himself known as I started feeling little "thumps" coming from inside. It is so amazing to feel his movements! He always seems to get moving right about the time I am ready to fall asleep... He is also growing bigger and bigger and so is the bump! Many of you have been asking for "bump" pictures, so I thought I would add some in this post. They were taken yesterday when all the fam was here. Monday begins my 19th week! I can't believe I am almost halfway through the pregnancy. I am still feeling great, and reading books and picking out baby things every chance I get! Thank you for your continued prayers :)

Much love, Mommy and Daddy Meeh

Boy or Girl?

Hi everyone! So sorry we haven't updated lately...we've been moving into our new home! It's been so much fun and a lot of work. Hopefully I'll have a little more free time now so I can update more often. Today was the start of my 16th week and the baby is the size of an avocado. Over the next few weeks the baby will double in size. Amazing!

So now for the really exciting news...
We had a wonderful Dr. appointment this afternoon, and going into it we knew there was a chance for us to find out the sex of the baby, even though it's still a little early! After a wonderful ultrasound we found out...it's a precious little boy! He has the cutest profile and was bouncing all around. We are so in love with this precious baby! We saw his toes and fingers and heard his heartbeat again. God is such an incredible creator! Josh is already talking about taking him to look at tools at Lowe's and wondering which sports he'll play. They'll be so cute together!

We love you all. Please continue to keep our little one in your prayers :)
Lots of love, Mommy & Daddy Meeh