My Little Girl

My Little Girl

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Owls & Elephants

I have two very important pieces of art, both sculptures. Both from my Nammers (my dad's mom's mom).

When I was about 8 years old, my Nammers gave me a "knick knack." It was a mommy owl with her wing over her baby owl. I have kept that thing for almost 20 years now. It has traveled the country with me. Ever since she gave me that, I have loved owls. Now, considering I am TERRIFIED of birds, I understand this is weird. But true at the same time. Whenever I see a painting of an owl, or a little figurine, I have to physically hold myself back from buying it.

When Nammers passed away a year later, I helped move my Beer Pap (her husband) into an assisted living center. We had to clean his house and pack up his whole life. It was really hard. While I was doing that, he told me I could take whatever I wanted. He wanted me to have things to remember him and Nammers by. I ended up with some of her handkerchiefs which I still have. I also took a little elephant figurine. One of the tusks had broken off, and a leg was missing, but I *HAD* to have this elephant. The Christmas before I started my internship, I found a sterling silver ring with an elephant on it. I didn't buy it that day, but kept going back to the store and looking at it. Until finally, 3 days before I drove to Alabama and started working at the University of Alabama (Roll Tide and elephants anyone??), I finally broke down and bought it. I still have it too. I also bought another elephant figurine while we were on a Christmas trip with my dad's family in Gatlinburg.

So the reason for this post: Basically it's a reflection on the things that mean the most to me. I am really big in looking for meaning in things. And the other day I was walking around Toys R Us with my mom and told her I had initially wanted to do an "India-inspired" theme in the room. With rich jewel tones (ruby reds, sapphire blues, pearls and gemstones) even before I found out I was having a girl. Mainly I wanted this theme because of my love of elephants. Luckily I decided against it because there's no way I could have pulled that theme off the way I would wan to. I also told my mom I thought about something with Owls, but that was so limiting or I'd have to go with an "outdoorsy" theme, and I'm soo not an outdoorsy/woodsy girl.

As soon as I said Owls and Elephants though, something clicked. Something that took me almost 20 years to put together. The two items that mean the most to me symbolize "wisdom." Something I strive for every day. I try not to open my mouth on things I'm not sure of, try to learn from those who know more than I do, try to teach others when I can. (Try being the operative word there.) So for me to gravitate towards things which mean "wisdom" makes sense. It's also these things I want to pass on to my little girl.

The flip side of that: the owl figurine is a mother and her baby. I have always felt like this was something to pass on, but now that I'm having a little girl, it means more than that. It's a physical example of the love I already have for her. The protection I want to give her, always. Owls are also predators who will strike those who try to harm their nest and babies. Elephants are the same way. I mean, look at the movie "The Jungle Book." The mommy elephant is always looking out for her baby. Those pictures in nature magazines with elephants, you will will usually find one with a mommy elephant wrapping her trunk around her baby, cocooning it with her ears, shielding it with her strong body.

These are the images I conjure when I think of owls and elephants. These are the traits I want to show my daughter. My love for her is...indescribable. I would protect her with all I have. I will pass on all I know and encourage her to learn every day.

Wisdom and Strength.If I can teach or show her those things, I know she will be confident and caring.

Every day is one day closer to meeting her. Every day is an eternity! And every day is another memory I'll get to share with her. Remember: An elephant never forgets!

Here are the figurines I was talking about. The mommy owl and her owlet; I've used them for inspiration for art contests and won! The elephant on the left is the one my Nammers made. The one on the right is the one I picked up in Gatlinburg.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Baby Journal

Right after I first found out I was pregnant, I went and bought a simple black journal. I knew I wanted to write letters to my baby. Letters he or she would be able to read later on. Letters about the little moments, the big moments, the crazy feelings. Everything. I wanted to have something my baby would treasure forever.

See, every year on my birthday...at the very minute I was born, my mom would wake me up or call me and say "You know what I was doing at this time (blah-blah) years ago?" Every year, she would do this. It was my favorite part of my birthday. I know it was a moment my mom would (obviously) never forget.

Then there are the simple stories she tells me. Like how she would lay in a warm bath just to watch me "swim." How she had to have a glass of apple juice every day. Sometimes though I wonder about the other days. The things she thought she'd never forget, but over the years and two other pregnancies haven't stuck like she thought they would.

Now though, I'm worried about my idea some. I mean, when I start writing I get really excited. And when I get excited my handwriting gets sloppy. And I don't want to pass down a sloppy silly journal. Plus, I bought a gender-neutral journal before we knew we were having a girl. I don't want to give her a boring black book. :(

Now I have to decide. Do I want to type all the letters on my computer and print them out, bind them nicely, and give her that? Or type them to save them so I can write them into a pretty journal later on? Or just go buy the nice journal now and transfer what I already have and add to it? Any suggestions?

Friday, February 15, 2013

Follow up on Vday

So yesterday I blogged about how I was excited to have not one, but TWO Valentines this year. Just a quick follow-up:

I got to work yesterday and about an hour later a box of flowers was delivered to me. Inside were the most beautiful roses! And a teddy bear. And a box of chocolates. :) Here's a picture for you guys to see (chocolates not included because I think they were gone by that point! LOL)
 Anyways, so I don't think my guy knew it, but Texas Roses and Sterling Roses are my favorite kind. Sterling are the purple/silver ones without thorns and Texas Roses are the yellow-with-pink/orange-tip ones. The bouquet he sent me had 3 Texas Roses in it! I took it to mean: One for me, one for him, and one for Emma. (Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but hey... I can!)

The other thing I don't think he knew is that I used to collect Teddy Bears way back when. Wal-Mart had those Annual Christmas Bears and I would alternate between the boy one and the girl one every year. I ended up giving them to Goodwill when I went away to college and haven't really been able to get more since. But teddy bears are one of my favorite things.

Later that night we went and saw Identity Thief with his mom, brother, and 4 cousins. There were some really funny parts, some parts that made me wish I wasn't sitting next to his mom because they were really uncomfortable for me, and then some parts that made me go "Really??" Overall I'd say it was a funny movie though.

But he knew the way to my heart was ending the night saying "Honey, wanna go see Die Hard this weekend?" I LOVE THIS MAN!! LOL

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Today is Vday!

I have to say it: I've never had a Valentine. I'm always been single on this day. And since it was on this day in 1999 that I found out my Beer Pap passed away, I've never been too fond of the day.

Today is COMPLETELY different from all those other days. Today I have an amazing boyfriend and a baby bump. Two Valentines!?!?! Wow! Today I got to wake up and look at the man who has made me happier than I can remember being in a long time. Maybe ever. I look at him and wonder if he is my gift for waiting so long, for being patient. He's more than I thought possible and every day with him reminds me that I am sooo lucky.

Then I looked down and saw my big ole belly. Emma's in there. And late last night she was fluttering away. It was only the 2nd time I have felt her. The first time was a random bubble and that was it. Last night though it was like a cup full of soda, all the bubbles going. She was having a ball in there! lol

I had to take a picture of my baby girl on Valentine's. Then I remembered I took one sometime last week too. So I could clearly see the difference in the last 10 days.
 This was taken today. 19w4d. 

Can you see the difference?? WOW!!

So this morning's post is just a quick reflection on the gifts I have already been given. No chocolates, balloons, or flowers will ever compare to the sight of my little family this morning.  

Glad it's Thursday. Because that means tomorrow is Friday, and a short day, and the weekend! LOL

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Valentine's Day?!?!? Already?

I can't believe what a "busy" weekend this is going to be.

Thursday is Valentine's Day. It'll be my very first year to have a Valentine on the actual day. Of course it has to fall during the week when neither of us can really do anything. No late dinner/movie. No going out just because. We'll just have to wait until the weekend to do anything fun.

Friday is the 15th...which is our monthly anniversary. We're not that couple that has to go out and celebrate or buy each other things just because it's "__ month" for us. I will say that this month, like almost every other month, the 15th has fallen around an important day and we end up "celebrating." My birthday is June 15th. I did get him something in September but it was because I saw it and thought it was something he'd like. October we went to lunch the Sunday before as a date day mainly because we hadn't had too many of those in a while. (It was also right after my cousin's wedding.) His bday is November 17th, so his bday gift was almost like a "month-i-versary" gift. Christmas was close to our December marker. We found out we were having a daughter on January 26th so that was a celebration, even if it was a little late. And then this month Valentine's Day is right before.

Sunday, the 17th, is the 20 week marker! I will be halfway through this pregnancy as of SUNDAY! That still blows my mind a little bit.

All that being said, I have NO IDEA what in the world to get him for Valentine's Day. I have all these ideas, but can't figure out how to get them done. And some of them are so small, they seem sort of silly to do for a day as special as that. :(

I really wish I could afford to give him everything. I wish money weren't an option and I could just buy all the things he's mentioned in passing that he likes. I wish I could find the all elusive "PERFECT GIFT." I want something that means something, but since I have been focusing on so many other things, this holiday sort of snuck up on me.

Any ideas?

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Countdowns and such

I was looking at one of the registries I started when I noticed something pretty cool: There's a countdown on there!!

Know what else is cool? It said there's 148 days until Emma's due date! Holy cow!! Less than 150 days. I can't believe it. It's starting to feel more and more real now.

There's been a ton going on in the house lately, which may explain why I haven't blogged as much. First off: We've been making serious progress on Emma's room. About a week ago, my bf went out to pick up a few things we needed around the house. It was getting a little late and I got a call. He asked if I liked these certain colors. I said yeah. He then said "Good, because they're mixing it up now for Emma's room." HAHA It was soo cute!

He came home and ended up spending the whole next day taping, priming, and starting to paint her room. My stepdad came over to help and they really knocked out a lot. They finished up a majority of the painting the following day. We both had a crazy work week, so the finishing touches took a while. But as of yesterday, her room is completely painted. You should see how proud my bf is when he looks around at the colors he chose for his daughter's room. I think that, more than anything else, makes them the PERFECT colors.

We are now working on figuring out the layout and trying to find some of the little details that will make her room girly and fun and fit into our theme. This seemed a lot easier before. Before I realized I'm not going to get most of her things for the nursery until the shower, which isn't for a while.

I don't know why I didn't think about that before. I mean, like I mentioned in a previous blog, I have been to several baby showers. So I know there are always a lot of "nursery things" given at them. I guess the planner in me managed to overlook that aspect though. For some reason I really thought we would have a lot of her nursery done closer to the 20 week mark....

And BAM... this just hit me. Tomorrow is 19 weeks. I am seriously almost halfway through this pregnancy already! WHAT?? That's crazy!! I knew the time would fly by and go slow at the same time, but this is insane.

Oh, and I figured out the best way to sleep. See everyone was telling me to go buy an adult boppy/pregnancy pillow. But those things are like $70!! So I was trying to maneuver pillows around and try to get comfy. One night I happened to take the king-sized super-soft throw blanket we had folded up at the end of the bed. It was folded in quarters, hot-dog style. Then I folded it in half. And it works EXACTLY like a boppy!! We just saved $70 and I'm sleeping so comfortably now. Well, when Jax isn't kicking me! lol

Monday, February 4, 2013

Today's little snip-its

Soo...
Sleeping is getting to be kind of difficult. I mean, if I sleep for more than 3 hours consecutively, it's a miracle. Lately I've been waking up around 12:30am every night with this... Ball... kind of like a ball of pressure in my way-lower back. Does anyone understand? It's weird. No maneuvering, no adjusting, nothing will alleviate that ache. I don't know what to do. I sleep about 3 hours, wake up with this knot in my back, and am up for the next 3 hours. Makes getting up and going at 4:30am very difficult.

Then today I just had a total id-jut moment. I was driving home and talking to my grandmother on my cell. I started thinking and remember that my cell was really low on battery last I looked. So I found my car charger, plugged it in...and proceeded to search (frantically) for my "lost" cell phone. You know... the one I was still on talking to my grandmother!?!? Wow...

I'm either more tired than I thought or this baby brain is starting to kick in! LOL

Emmaleigh Grace

Emmaleigh Grace