Brief Update & Pics

My parents were here this weekend for an excellent visit. My Dad and Jeff went fishing and my mom and I started on the nursery. Jeff and I had already decided on the bedding for the day bed, curtains, and crib, and we found some great accessories in Kerrville a few weekends ago. But, I’ve been anxiously awaiting my mother’s visit to help me start to put things together. She has an excellent eye for decorating, and I’m so grateful to have had her help! We accomplished so much - we finalized our plans for the room, purchased, designed, painted and hung letters for her name on the wall, made a bulletin board from scratch, and made a big floral arrangement for behind the crib.

We are not artistically inclined in any way, but I’m so impressed with our letter design and the bulletin board. I had seen the branches on a porch in our neighboorhood and had been trying to find the artificial pink cherry blossoms. We finally found them at Pier 1. The boys helped us paint the letters. I'm pretty sure my dad missed his calling as an artist or elementary school art teacher. He saved the day painting and my mom diligently drew the templates for him to "color." It was definitely a late-night family affair. It was so awesome to have my mom here, and I'm thrilled with what we accomplished. Who knew I had an arts and crafts-y side! I can’t even write my name pretty! Here are just a few preliminary pics.

I also had another Dr. Apt today. Mattie is doing well and I'm fairly free of pregnancy symptoms, EXCEPT - I've got another sinus infection. That makes three upper respiratory infections in five months. Lovely. I was already prone to upper respiratory crud before pregnancy and the Dr. says with my asthma and growing belly I’m more susceptible to this stuff. She also said I’m most likely catching this stuff since I’m traveling so much. I've been on a plane at least once a week which is not helping. She said even though I’m washing my hands, addicted to hand sanitizer, and taking as many vitamins as I can safely, the air on the planes is the worst environment. So, I'm going to try and really start cutting down on travel to keep from getting sick again! I’m grateful to have avoided a lot of the normal pregnancy pains, but sometimes I think I’d like to trade a few for this snot.

Other than that, Mattie is kicking like crazy and Jeff has finally been able to feel her move a few times. I don't think this child sleeps. I adore feeling her move, but she is proving to be very strong at an early age and a little of a night owl. Hopefully, she is getting it all out of her system before she arrives!

Alien in my belly.

Up until our last sonogram, I have had a hard time accepting that there is a real, true, human baby in my belly. I couldn't help but believe it was an alien. Now before you think I'm completely nuts, hear me out. I mean,  have you seen sonograms prior to 12 weeks? We had some early questions/potential complications, so we got well acquainted with our sonogram lady. Now, granted, around 12 weeks, the kid finally has arms and legs and resembles a small being, but until then and even until the 18 week pics, I anxiously awaited the spontaneous emergence of a slimy green alien hand from by belly button. And, I don't even watch that many horror/alien flicks.

Now, please don't misunderstand. I am truly honored and blessed to be carrying our child and amazed by this tiny, yet overwhelming, gift from God. But, honestly, I can't say that it didn't initially freak me out. I think if I could carry this thing around in a little incubator, feed it, give it something to drink, protect it, keep it warm, and even clean the cage every now and then - I'd be good to go with a strong and healthy respect for the responsibility. But seriously, it is in my belly...does nobody else think that is the just a tad creepy? I have warmed to the idea, but the first few months were pretty overwhelming. Even though we set out to accomplish a goal to get a baby to grow in my belly, once it is there, it is a very odd sensation. I'm in healthcare and comfortable with many aspects of biology and anatomy, but the science behind this is truly wacky. And, the stigma is to only talk about the amazing, remarkable, and euphoric experience of pregnancy. Can we not for a minute, talk about how seriously nuts this is? (And again, yes, it is a miracle and a gift from God and I've never felt more blessed in my life. That is actually the one piece I understand most of all.) It is not that I lack appreciation for this "gift". It is that this "gift" is growing in my stomach - like I can see if getting bigger...and bigger...and bigger. And, now, I'm wearing elastic waist pants. (Which, PS, are the best thing ever. Why the need for zippers and buttons is beyond me? Elastic waist bands are the BOMB.)

So, just to recap: I do know that this is an amazing gift from God, in my belly, that I'm extremely grateful for and responsible for. I do know it is not an alien; but, just to be on the safe side, I'm still going to keep a watchful eye on my belly button to make sure that a tiny fist with five fingers (saw those a few weeks ago- woohoo!) doesn't make its way to the outside world via my "inny".

Why I don't blog....oops!

If I'm being honest, I am very torn on the whole blogging trend. With the upcoming addition to our family, I have been asked several times if I was going to start sending mass e-mails or blogging. Well, it seems quite obvious that I have succumbed to peer pressure and bitten the blog bullet, even though I'm not sure I have anything entertaining to say.

I do appreciate blogs - especially those of close friends, talented writers, and closet comedians. And, I love following many of my friends’ families, babies, and comical and encouraging lives. At the same time, for every good blog (http://www.shortfatdictator.com/ is one of my favorites), there can be those that are irritating. If you take a few minutes to randomly surf blogs you will quickly come across individuals who seem to think everyone cares about what they had for lunch, how they feel every five minutes, and all about a perfect life and a 3 month old that sleeps 18 hours a night. Now, come on, that doesn't happen - right? And how much do we really care about what 'Joey' is doing every hour of every day. I think the value of social intelligence and honesty is underrated, and with that, the knowledge and understanding of what defines "TMI" - too much information. Now, this is the pot calling kettle black, for I am guilty of this in my everyday life (TMI). And the last thing I want to do is to start documenting my "lack of a filter" or pretending all is wonderful and well, when life is not always perfect. However, there is a fine balance and I look forward to sharing the honest experiences (good, bad, and humorous), while striving for a solid filter. Yikes - that is a high bar to set.

In today's world we are constantly bombarded with social media - from facebook to LinkedIn, blogs to e-mail blasts, and tweets from twits (just wrote a blog for work on this subject). It can be overwhelming and time consuming to sort the cream from the crap (sorry mom, I know you just cringed with my use of that word). However, I have started blogging for work in an effort to build web awareness for my business/company (PS, it hasn't worked), and I'm slowly adapting to the trend of social media for business and personal use.  I have Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, and I am even following some interesting tweets to get fast credible information. Jeff is thrilled since he avoids all social media and refuses to create a facebook page. (I have to represent him for his high school reunion so we actually know when to go :)) But, he did agree to contribute and proof my spelling as we embark on this new baby blog! So, to everyone who actually kept reading this far - THANKS! I hope to keep it light, try hard to be comical, and share honest info. Or if that fails, I'll just post fun pictures!

It's a Girl!!

We are thrilled to know we are having a little girl!!! We found out last week, at 17.5 weeks, that Baby Morris is going to be a little girl. Our due date the last three appointments has calculated at August 9, 2010 (8.9.10), a pretty neat date, but who knows when she will decide to arrive.

For the name.....the girl name was easy for us. We've had it picked out for a while: Madeline Andress Morris, and we plan to call her Mattie and Mattie Ann. Madeline is a name we love and Andress is my middle name, my mother's Maiden name, and my sister's middle name. Also, my great-great grandmother was Annie-Matt, and we like the double name.

Mattie appears to be quite active and was moving like crazy during our appointment. We saw her fingers, toes, heart, stomach, and a lot of stuff that looked like more blobs. We didn't get great pics, but two of the fun ones are below. I think she is going to be a cutie :)