Nursery Nursery Nursery

Im going paint crazy! I cant seem to get the right shade of green for the nursery, a first for me as I usually think Im pretty good at picking colors for my house. We had a friend come paint this weekend and he is coming back next weekend to fix my color woes. Otherwise, I found a really great custom mobile on Etsy. Im sure its not really practical as there are no flashing lights and spinning animals, but its a really sweet set of 3 handmade birds hanging from a stick. Its much cuter in real life than in the picture. She made it in a pink paisely to match my bedding. I also found a really sweet chandelier for super cheap at the Land of Nod outlet store, I love bargains! What else.... I still havent ordered furniture. I was supposed to do that today but got sucked into a 2 hour Kerby Vacuum Cleaner demonstration, Im sure this was not the last of my bad judgement calls while pregnant, but it might be the worst. If you ever see them at your door, run far far away! This is a really boring blog entry, but Im trying to be better about writing, even though Im not sure anyone is reading!

Reasons this baby will love her daddy....

I have always heard some people say that girls end up marrying someone very similiar to their dads. I personally know this is true. I married a man that has so many similiar traits as my dad that it makes me love him more every day. I grew up every day watching the way my dad loved my mom, the way he showed her he loved her and not just told her, though he told her a lot too. Seeing that everyday was one of the greatest gifts I have been given.

Sunday night I was laying in bed and I needed a glass of water, which Greg of course went downstairs and got for me. As I was laying there trying to sleep I started thinking about all the little ways he shows me he loves me constantly. I felt a really great peace come over me in knowing that my daughter is going to grow up seeing that everyday. It makes me confident that she will find a strong, loving man like her daddy to marry one day. Im sure I will still worry when she is old enough to date that she is dating the right men, but I know in my heart she will look for someone as wonderful as her daddy. So little girl, if you ever need a list, here are just some of the reasons I know you will love your daddy....

.. he will always put your needs first
.. he will always make you smile
.. he will always let you smother him with hugs and kisses
.. he will always rub your feet (even though he doesnt want to)
.. he will always laugh at your silly faces and stupid jokes
.. he will always make sure you are taken care of
.. he will always tell you sweet dreams before you fall asleep
.. he will always calm you down when you are upset
.. he will always make you see the simple things in life
.. he will always support your decisions and push you towards your dreams
.. he will always tell you he loves you (he has already started telling you every night)

Random Pictures

I should post more pictures of life before baby.... I will make an effort. To start- here is Greg in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, something he always wanted to see.

Blog Slacker

I never claimed to be good at keeping up with a journal... in fact I will readily admit I am terrible at it...

So lets see. I am 26 weeks and feeling great! I am getting pretty big and space is coming at a premium. I feel like she likes to hide up in my rib cage so I have absolutely no room to take a deep breath. She is also moving a TON, which is exciting because Greg can finally feel her. Last night he asked if she was trying to kill me, he couldn't believe she kicked that hard. Its still somewhat tricky to get her to move when he is trying to feel her. I keep trying to convince him the fact that she calms instantly when he puts his hand there means he has some sweet touch and will always be the one to put her to bed when she is fussy.

Otherwise things are pretty calm. We are having the nursery painted this weekend and I finally picked out furniture I just need to order it. I cant wait to have her room done so I can go in there and day dream. Im excited for Marley to start wandering around in there also, getting used to the idea. Right now he thinks any thing new I bring home for her is somehow a toy for him.

Everyone keeps bugging me for a picture of me, but that is just so hard for me to get used to! I feel very unphotogenic at this stage but will stick to my photography morals and shoot some pictures sometime soon I promise! I promise I dont really look all that different than last time you saw me! I havent gained any weight yet, and my belly is just getting to that point where people who dont know me can tell Im preggo and not just chunky :)

Love you and miss you all! Thanks for reading!

Oh and SAVE THE DATE! the Sander's Baby Shower is going to be Sept 29th!

oh the mind of a mother.....

I went to the doctor yesterday and when I laid down on the table to have her listen to the heart beat, I saw the baby move for the first time. Not just felt, but saw my whole belly move! I was so excited but at the same time I had this instant vision of the movie Space Balls, where the alien comes out of the guys belly and starts dancing.... probably not the first thing that should have come to mind! If you dont remember what Im talking about, click the title to see the clip...

24 weeks... starting to feel real...

Yesterday at work I took care of the cutest little girl named Charlotte. She was a few days old and born at 24 weeks and 6 days gestation. But she was a bit small for her age, so she is just about the exact size of our baby. I have seen so many babies her size, but for once I really stopped to appreciate it. I was so enthralled with every little feature, just thinking that is how my baby looks right now. It was such a bizarre feeling to see her kick around in her bed and feel our baby kick and realize something that size is alive inside of me! It really made everything seem so real! I made a footprint of her's to bring home and show Greg so he can see exactly what is kicking me all the time... I tried to take a picture of it to show you guys, but size is so hard to see in pictures and with my wide angle lens her foot seems bigger than it is in real life, but you can get the idea at least! Her foot is just under 1.5 inches from heal to big toe...

Getting old......

Not only is he going to be a dad, but now he is 30!! We celebrated Greg's 30th this Saturday the 21st with about 20 friends and family. It was a really good time, lots of good food and several several games of bags. Greg's friend Jason even made him this awesome set of Bob Marley boards! I couldnt resist sticking a picture of Marley from the day either, he looks so old compared to his baby picture below! Click on the post title to view the whole album from the day...

my baby is 4!

well my first baby that is! marley had his 4th bday yesterday and has been especially needy today, literally following me to every room i walk into. apparantly he is feeling neglected since he didnt get anything special... im such a bad mom! anyway he is a love, so here is my favorite baby picture of marley.... now the "big brother" in the house...

get ready to be impressed!

So I am 22 weeks tomorrow, and as most of you know I have seen more 22 week babies born than anyone ever should. So at this point in my pregnancy Im on this edge between feeling safe and feeling freaked about the decisions I would be forced to make over the next couple weeks if something happened. Im sure thats not really natural for a normal person, but this NICU nurse inside me is a bit of a freak... anyway as dorky as it is I always feel better when I check in on the weekly updates and pictures of what my baby looks like and what its doing at this stage.... so I thought I would share how developed this little girl is with you!

This is from babycenter.com..... check it out for weekly updates if you are preggo...

Your baby now looks like a miniature newborn, checking in at 10.9 inches and almost 1 pound. Her skin will continue to appear wrinkled until she gains enough weight to fill it out, and the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her head and body is now visible. Her lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath her gum line. Her eyes are developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks pigment. Eyelids and eyebrows are in place, and her pancreas, essential for hormone production, is developing steadily.

Well from what I have seen, she looks more like an alien than a newborn, but I guess if I wanted to be sweet I could say she looks like a newborn. There are some hospitals which are attempting to save 22 week babies now, as far as I know only one has survived and they arent sure of her long term issues, but medicine is advancing every day both for the good and the bad, so we shall see what we are doing in the NICU in 5 years! So much has already changed in the 6 years I have been working in the unit.

On another note, little baby Sanders I believe has learned to punch this week, as the kicks are still in the same spot but she is jabbing me up higher as well. She is still breech at this point since apparantly she didnt want to spend 9 months upside down, but the doctors are sure she will turn when she needs to! Hopefully they are right!

a girly nursery

so i know everyone thinks i am the least girly person around but i am slowly adjusting to the idea of having a daughter and thinking about what type of girl i want for her to be. granted i would love if she was a tomboy and an athelete like her daddy (since i have no athletic genes), but thats a whole 'nother blog entry....

so surprise surprise i am going girly with the nursery. i am working with a great artist who is also a fantastic client and she has so many amazing ideas! i cant wait to see how the room turns out.

if anyone is looking for custom nursery work, visit her website http://www.caseykelbee.com/

so here are some ideas for the room... think vintage, shabby chic, birds and vines...

baby names

well this is by far the most asked question around here, everyone wants to know her name.... we have absolutely no idea! i swear pregnant women should not make these big decisions, my fickle mind changes every day! not only that but i have quickly learned that no pregnant woman REALLY wants your opinion when she tells you her names.... just smile and nod and say you knew someone nice by that name growing up :)

anyway since this will be a record/journal im going to risk it and let my name list out of the bag.... warning negative comments are subject to punishement!!!

in no particular order....these are strictly the names my very picky husband has not said "no" to...

Grace Elaine Sanders
Claire Sanders
Gabriela Sanders
Gillian Sanders
Hannah Sanders
Janelle Sanders
Jenna Sanders
Lauren Sanders
Maren Sanders
Rachel Sanders
Gretchen Sanders
Tatum Grace Sanders

an introduction...

well i have never been one for journals or updating anything frequently, but a friend recently told me about how important her blog has been to her family since she moved out of town. since a large portion of my family and close friends are out of state, i think this may just be one more form of communication so you can check in on the newest addition to our family... and hopefully a place i can bore you all with my family pictures. think back to dad pulling out the slide projecter when friends came over! anyway, im sure once this little girl arrives there wont be enough hours in the day, so i wanted to start this early. i'll try to add a few posts before she comes.

i love all of you so much and i want so badly for you to feel like you are part of her life even from a short distance!


PS- please read through the typos and uncapitalized letters.... yes my mother was a school teacher....