breeeeeech!!!!

it all makes sense now. i was beginning to wonder why my stomach was literally growing straight out.

mini-guinny has herself positioned horizontally instead of vertically. her head should be straight down with feet straight up. but instead, her head is pushing straight out against my belly button and her feet are pushing back against my right side.

i'm not quite positive why she's stuck in this position or what she's thinking really, but what she needs to think it that it's time to do a litte flip and get that head down and ready!

i went to the dr. last friday to find all this out. she seemed to think that baby guinn didn't have a whole lot of room in there to turn so it seems a little unlikely that she will. unfortunately, the only way to deliver her at this point is by c-section.

i go back tomorrow and will have more to report. but, i am just praying that somehow she'll find the room and desire to channel her "inner-gymnast" and FLIP BABY FLIP!!

care to pray with me? THANK YOU!!

milkshake off!!!!

two weeks ago, my mom bought trey and me the fabulous Blendtec industrial blender (the one they use in smoothie stores) as early birthday gifts.
we've been blending up everything imagineable and are thrilled to use it for baby guinn's baby food when she reaches that stage.
Last night we had a little friendly competition to see who could make the best milkshake.
i stuck with classic vanilla, while guinn decided to get crazy-- blending up some sort of coffee ice-cream, banana, chocolate-chip, chocolate syrup, mouth full of goodness.
In the end, let's just say we tied.
Tonight we're making the tortilla soup recipe followed by another milkshake-off.

Thank you, nonnie!! Baby guinn's kicking has been amped up a notch or two due to the increased sugar intake. if i deliver a 9 pound child, i fully blame this new blender in our lives.

baby bjorn!

we're so ready for this.

baby kicks!!

last night i was watching our little girl squirm around in my belly and i decided to try to catch some of it on video. so here you go!


In this second video you'll notice that her butt is positioned on the left side of my stomach. she LOVES to push it out and do this little booty dance. you'll see. it's kind of her favorite move.

project BIRDIE!!!

it is said that during pregnancy, mom's often enter a "nesting stage"

to be honest, i never imagined myself being much of a "nester", but let me tell you: something has happened, and i am living up to my affectionate nickname - mother goose (thanks jill).

trey has gotten quite the laugh out of my nesting activities. it all started when i pulled out the sewing machine. and guinn said, "do you even know how to use that thing? because, if so, i've had some pants that needed hemming!" to which i said, "no. i don't really know how to use this thing, but there's an instruction manual."

so i had this brilliant idea and vision to hang a branch above baby guinn's crib. on the branch, would be some colorful birds pirched ever so perfectly looking down at her. while she, of course, could look up at them and feel happy :)

(our version of a baby mobile, if you will)

so the plan of action: find a bird pattern, buy some amazing fabric swatches, and stitch us up some birds!! it took a few tries (and if i'm being honest, i made quite a few "reject birds", as we called them). but now piper has a basket full of birdies that are all hers!

without further adieu, meet the little ones:

and to complement these birds of paradise, we have found the perfefct branch! mom came to town, brought a saw, and proceeded to cut a branch from an on-campus tree. it was quite the spectacle, and i was sure we were going to get in trouble; however, we made it home with branch and saw in hand. trey has lined up UT painters to come and repaint our apartment a "latte" color. once that is done, we can finish the project and hang the birds!

dear tiny guinn,

i'm sorry that i can't give you a bigger house to grow in. if mommy were taller you could stretch out more and bask in the greatness of your spacious little home. i can see that you are cramped as your little limbs are protruding from both sides of my belly.


please hang in there as long as possible and when you can't take it anymore and have truly outgrown your welcome, then you can make your way on out to this beautiful and exciting world that awaits you! i can hardly wait to show you the ropes of this little thing called life!! you're going to love it.


your daddy doesn't stop thinking about you and he LOVES to watch you move and squirm in my tummy!! hang in there little one and we will see you soon enough!!

mommy

oh and also, you already have a bestie. her name is piper (she's kind of your big sister). she always wants to lay her head on my tummy and be as close to you as possible. and when you kick, her little white head bobbles and she takes it like a champ and doesn't even mind.

please remember this because i have a feeling, she may love you a little bit more now then when you're on this side of the tum ;o)

that's all little lady! please get comfy, stay warm, and stay in there for at least 2 more months!

pregnancy, i think i love you.

so, here we are-- 6 months in, and i would have to say that this is the most exciting and joyful time of my whole life.
there's this moment of realization just after becoming pregnant that "life is never going to be the same". no matter how bad you wanted to start the family (or in my case, anyway) there was still this short period of time where you somewhat mourn your old life, and wonder just what this new life is going to look like?
i absoulutely LOOOOOVED my old life. you know, the selfish life. where guinn and i went wherever we wanted whenever we wanted. traveling overseas on a whim, downtown for happy hour any night of the week, random weekend trips, running and going to the pool any time of day. it was a good life for sure. and i praise God for 5 full years of marriage living like that because those years, we will never get back and i will cherish that time forever.
but now, and even from the moment i got pregnant, my thinking has completely changed. it's no longer about me. it can't be. from what i eat to the places i go, to how i spend my money-- it's ALL for the babe. in fact, that's become our little phrase around here..."all for the babe". (usually when referring to a second or third serving at dinner :o)
anyway, God knew what he was doing when he made pregnancy 9 months long. along the way you become so attached to this tiny little baby growing inside of you. i could have been the most selfish person (which i was) and now, it really is all for the babe. you want nothing but the best and you would do absolutely anything in the world for her.
the closest thing i can compare this experience to so far is the time between getting engaged and getting married. you get engaged and then (in our situation) for the next 8 months we planned and dreamed about being married and our future together.
that's kind of how this 9 months feels...you find out you're pregnant and then for the next 9 months you plan and dream and plan and dream. it's such an unknown. just as i had never been married, i've never been a mom. you wonder what that will look like. i find myself lying awake at night for hours just dreaming about our little baby joining our team.
it is so hard to wait because you want nothing more than to hold her in your arms and give her one million kisses!! you want her to know just how much you love her but it's hard to express that while she's in womb, of course. but, everyday i wake up so excited that we are one day closer to meeting our little girl!

so, pregnancy...i think i love you. you've been good to me and have made me one happy little mama. let's keep this thriving relationship going for 3 more months!

check out beans and the band!

sunday monday tuesday GUINNsday!

just recently, we held a family meeting (you know- "jules, grab pipes and meet me in the living room we've got MUCH to discuss"!) we first sat and dreamed about the year ahead. trying so hard to imagine what life would look like with our little girl in the house...but realizing, of course, that we have absolutely no idea what we're in for.

then, we pondered some family traditions and things we would like to carry out and see happen as we start our little family. "family-home-evening" (something we actually picked up from our mormon friends and family) is one thing we truly value and are eager to start up. that is, one night a week dedicated to the fam. "guinnsday" -- is what trey has affectionately named it.

so, we're starting now. every wednesday until the baby is born we're going out on the town or doing something special at home...just the two (well, three) of us.

tonight happens to be "State of the Union" so we're, without a doubt, incorporating that into our evening plans.

happy GUINNSDAY!!!

ooooh we're half way there. whoooa livin' on a prayer!!

hello, friends and fam.

just wanted to give you a little update on guinn, the babe, and i. last week marked 20 weeks. they consider this 1/2 way. 40 weeks being the due date which is technically 10 months (not 9)...and 36-37 weeks being full term!

anyway, as you probably know, we had the gender appointment on monday and found out that our little GIRL is growing perfectly on track (due may 28th) and is healthy!! we were thrilled to hear the news and continue to thank God for blessing us with this precious baby that is already bringing us so much joy!!

here is a little profile picture--

and this is a video clip of her tiny strong heart beating!! it's hard to believe that all of this is going on inside of me.





and here is the baby bump! as guinn would say [sung in a tootsy roll kind of way] "let me see your baby bump...to the left to the left...now kick baby kick!!"

a little lady!!!

this morning we woke up at 6:30am to make our way to the gender appointment!!! this appointment would include finding the gender (of course) as well as measuring the tiny baby and counting all fingers and toes-- checking it's spine, kidneys, lungs, heart chambers, skull...you catch my drift. needless to say, trey and I could hardly sleep-- anxious to hear and see that everything was growing on track!

i decided to start my morning off with waffles, lots of syrup, and some oj...just to be certain that our little lady would be wide awake and ready for all the action. sometimes they are asleep with their legs crossed and you can't tell what they are. not this little girl. spread eagle, apparently. we informed the tech that instead of telling us the gender she would be placing a card that read girl or boy in an envelope [per guinn's request] so that we could celebrate this fine moment in a more eventful fashion than 7am in her presence.

so we did. 5:30 pm rolled around and off we went to botticelli's on south congress. it didn't take us long to tear open that envelope. my rule was that we had to wait until our drinks and appetizers arrived. guinn did the honors and didn't skip a beat. as i was biting into some fried calamari (while googling to make sure the mecury content wasn't on the higher end) guinn was on the move!!

and much to my surprise, he pulled out a little pink paper and said GIRL!! i was shocked. i don't know why i've thought it was a boy all along but regardless here came the water works... i've never really even thought about it being a girl. my mind always went boy...and now immediately in that moment i was realizing just how exciting it is that it's a GIRL!!

after dinner we headed to mozarts for some decaf latte's and also called and texted ALL OF YOU!
and then guinn said, "let's go to the mall and buy our little girl some clothes!!" so we did ;o)

here are some pictures from one exciting eve!!

about to pee my pregnant-pants due to guinn's shenanigan's

baby guinn!!!

as you may or may not know-- september 19th has always been a big deal for guinn and i-- in '98 it was our first date, in 2003 it was our 5 year anniversary and also the day that trey proposed. just last year we celebrated 10, making this 11. we didn't really do anything big although we did get the best news of our life.

i had taken a pregnancy test that showed what, to me, was an extremely ambiguous result. i ended up calling my dr and letting her know that i may be pregnant but wasn't sure. since the office is walking distance from our house they had me come in and take a blood test.

i didn't tell trey that i was going because i knew that if for some CRAZY reason i truly was pregnant i wanted to tell him in some sort of grand fashion.

i marched into the dr's office...preparing myself the whole way that i'm probably not really pregnant so not to get too excited. i was so happy to see my favorite little christian nurse inside who told me that she had been praying that trey and i would get pregnant in God's timing. i was so happy she was on duty!

the whole trying to get pregnant is kind of an emotional rollercoaster that is completely out of your control...especially when you try for several months. all that to say, a lot of self talk is necessary when a new month rolls around and you're are set to find out 'am i or am i not'? i had begun assuming not, which is why this whole possible positive result was really throwing me for a loop on that coaster.

anyway, my little nurse friend sat me down and said, "so you think you're pregnant?" i said, "actually, i don't think i'm pregnant but i know that if for some reason i am i might have to start progesterone so i didn't want to chance it" she drew my blood and i sat there for 10 minutes waiting for the result. again, praying and telling myself that either way is fine. don't get excited...it's more than likely negative. i can handle it.

and then it happened. she said, "julee, congratulations-- YOU'RE PREGNANT!" i cried and cried and cried. i'm not usually much of a crier but a. i had just heard the best news of my life, and b. my hormones were apparently racing.

i got back in my car and sat there and cried and praised the Lord for this most exciting day!

after i pulled it together, i just kept thinking--trey has no idea that tonight i am going to rock his world with the best news of his life. he has been MORE than ready for baby guinn.

so here's the quick-- i wrote him a letter going through our 11 years together.... 11 years ago, 10 years ago...all the way down to and this year is the year of BABY GUINN. blah blah blah. piper was sporting a little fleece that read big sister (a little joke between guinn and i since we pretty much view her as our first child), and then of course a celebration beer in a bottle ;o)

it was quite an evening and we really have not stopped celebrating since.