Hattie's Birthday Party!

I can't believe that my sweet little snowflake is turning 1 in three little weeks! Every one says that time flies and to enjoy them while they are little. They are right! This fall I keep on thinking about what I was doing last year and how I never knew how my life was going to change. And now, I feel like my baby is gone and there is a little person here instead! Hattie is crawling, babbling, climbing, and just a wonder ball of fun! I looked at her last night while she was playing the floor with her nativity set and I said to Ellis, "We have a baby living in our house!" The truth is, she is nearly a toddler! My, how time flies!

Please join us in our fun in celebrating Hattie's birthday! Please RSVP by December 15th if you will be able to attend!

Print Your 5x7 Photo Card Print Your 5x7 Photo Card

Unique party invitations and announcements by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Letter to Hattie, age 7 months

Dear Hattie,

Wow! You have been a busy girl! So much has happened since you were born a mere 7 months ago. First, you like to eat. A lot. Around the clock, even. But that is ok, so do I! Second, you are a cuddle bug. You like to be held during naps. And you like to cuddle with Mom and Dad when you sleep at night. Last, you like to get moving! Anytime someone (Mom, Dad, Mimi, GrandBob, Mammie or Aunt Cassie) will hold you up, you want to be standing! And if you can't stand, you want to scoot across the floor on your belly! You get the cutest, most intense little look on your face when you are trying to accomplish this movement. And you say, "Whooo!" It is serious business for a little girl!

I just wanted to list all the things you've done in your seven months:

*Traveled to a lot of places! More than some people, even!
- Nashville
- Denver
- Salt Lake City & Park City
- Florida
- Atlanta
- Alabama
*You flew on an airplane at 3 months
*You have three teeth now

*You say "Mamamama," "Dadada," and "Bababababa"
*You recognize and watch Chewy the Cat

*You know how to rock a pair of leg warmers
*You like to play at GrandBob and Mimi's house

*You LOVE to be out side: in your stroller, in your swing, or in your little pool
*You laugh when we play pick-a-boo. I will put a little burp cloth over your head and say,"Where's Hattie?" When I pull it off, I say, "There she is!!!" And you LOVE it!

*You laugh when Daddy holds you up high in the sky

*You like sweet potatoes and squash. The jury is still out on yogurt and peas
*You sip water through a straw! Well, a little bit, most of it ends up on your clothes

*You scoot around the house and play with your letters on the fridge

So far, Hattie, you have been the most wonderful, marvelous little girl. Thank you! And please keep it up! I don't want to have to give you spankings.

Love, Cuddles, and Kisses,
Mom

Little Stories

A lot is going on at our house these days. We have been working diligently on Hattie's room. We have had a couple of showers so the living room is full of some wonderful things! We went to an all day child birthing class last weekend. And I have been gathering stories and advice from friends and family. Add some crazy dreams, and I think I have enough goodies for a new post!


Stories from my mom:

*Her water broke when she was pregnant with Rob. When they went to the hospital and he arrived about 6 hours later. This makes me feel good, genetically I hope I deliver quickly!

*Her water did not break with me, but when she went to the hospital, the doctor broke it for her and I arrived 15 minutes later. WOW!

*One of our births, she was awake through the night with contractions. She paced, laid down, walked, took a shower and shaved her legs, then called her doctor at 6 am because she didn't want to bother him during the night. He told her to get her booty to the hospital! (Does this sound like me? I think so!)

*The day of the other birth, my dad was doing some work under the house. When she went into active labor, she had to figure out how to signal him so he could crawl out and take her to the hospital.

Stories from Ellis's mom:

*She flew cross country from Michigan to LAX with a 6 month old and Ellis's dad was 4 hours late picking her up. How scary! To be without a cell phone (Hello! 1975!), in an airport with a little baby, and thinking your ride ditched you! YIKES!

Dreams I have had:


*There have been several dreams involving animals. Usually I am saving people or children from HUGE snakes (like 15 feet long and 6 inches wide), mountain lions, alligators. I am sure this means something.

*I had a NIGHTMARE! I dreamed that I was 32 and pregnant and back in middle school! Seriously, this was a nightmare for me! I couldn't make any friends, no one talked to me. It was so sad!

*Last week (Week 33) I had my first dream that Hattie was actually here! In all of my previous dreams, I have still been pregnant. I dreamed that I was already home but had not met her yet. Finally I was able to hold her and it was wonderful!

*Last week I also had my first labor dream. I was in the hospital and pushing and working hard, trying to get Hattie here safe and sound!

(This is a "New born" onesie. The tag says for weights 5 - 8 lbs. Right now, according to BabyCenter.com, Hattie is 4.75 lbs. So technically, this might fit her!)

Letter to Hattie

Dear Hattie,

This journey has been a lot of fun! I enjoy thinking about you growing inside my belly. It is the most amazing thing! I imagine you sleeping, kicking around, and listening to my voice and your daddy's voice. When you are kicking, I always say, "That is my little soccer player, just like her mommy!" Your daddy can't wait until he can feel your kicks and movements. He is so jealous that I am the only one who can feel you so far. But he talks to you every day! Sometimes he tells you secrets that I can't hear. When I ask him what he said, he replies, "It is just between us."

Every week I read about how you are growing. I get so excited over all the little milestones! This week, for instance, you are 11 inches long from head to rump. I always pull out my ruler to envision how big you are. And you are right at a pound! You are the size of a large mango this week! And 23 weeks along. Over half way!

I imagine many days ahead of us full of fun and activities. I want to go on walks and jogs with you, take you to the park. Your daddy is already talking about getting a trailer for his bike so you can go on bike rides with him! We will talk about letters and numbers together. And I can't wait to teach you about travel and maps and the world. There is so much out there for us to do together! And the beach! I can't wait to see your face the first time you feel sand between your toes! Will you like it? Or will it be too squishy for you?

My hopes and dreams for you are that you will have a happy childhood, full of love. But I want you to grow and be your own person, too. I want you to be confident and I want you to love yourself. I want you to love how you are not like other people. That being your own person is more important that being a cookie-cutter, stamp of someone else. I want you to find friends who love you for who you are. And I want you to be a good friend to others; compassionate, helpful, courteous, patient. Learning how to be a good friend is important, because sometimes it will be hard to talk to me and your dad. But having a good friend can make all the difference. I dream of you having goals and dreams of your own. I hope that you have the strength and perseverance to tackle your college major and do something that you are truly interested in, find a career path that fits you and you are passionate about.

I love you and I can't wait to meet you! I am looking forward to lots of laughs and happiness in our future!

Love,
Mom

How things change...

Two weeks ago I wrote about my brown dress and how people were noticing that I was changing. I wore the same dress again yesterday and had a few more comments. One in particular was that I looked like I was carrying high, so it must be a boy.... We'll find that out tomorrow!

Here are the pics of me in that little brown dress:




















Monday, July 27, 2009






















Wednesday, August 5, 2009

I had Ellis take this picture in the living room to show off the entire baby bump. Look at that lil' fella! It is no wonder that none of my regular pants fit me! Thank goodness for forgiving cotton and stretchy waist bands! Before I know it, even the clothes that are comfortable now will be tight and bothering me. But, it is pretty fun along the way, too!

Baby Bump!

Here I am, 19 weeks along! I am nearly half way! They say that most pregnancies are 40 weeks, but some people do deliver around 36 to 38. So, I am close to the halfway point! It is pretty wild! In some ways, the anticipation makes it go slow, but in other ways, I can't believe that I am considered to be 5 months pregnant (just barely). I don't totally understand the calculations. Some web sites say one thing while another site says something else.

But what I do know is....

When I was getting ready for work this morning, I decided to wear a pair of khaki capris that I haven't worn in two or three weeks. I do remember that the last time I wore them they were a little tight and uncomfortable. I have been wearing lots of cotton dresses and a couple of maternity pants and skirts. So this was the first time in a little while that I tried to put on some regular clothes. I couldn't even zip them up! WHA? I have only gained 2 pounds (according to my last weigh in on the Wii Fit). But my body must be moving those two pounds to one exact place! In all my years of Weight Watchers, I never gained two pounds and clothes didn't FIT. This is totally new to me. Well, all of it is pretty new to me.

On Tuesday, I was wearing a cute little brown dress with an empire waistline. I had more comments that single day about "showing" than I had received so far. At first I was convienced that it was the dress. Then Ellis reminded me.... "You are PREGNANT. You have a BABY inside you. It is not the dress. It is the BABY." Oh, yeah. I forgot!

So, what do you think? Am I showing?

15 1/2 Weeks!

I had the best intentions to keep up with a weekly post, but I haven't been doing too well. I will try to do better! ;) Summer tends to be my busiest time of the year at work. I have done really well... not missed a day due to pregnancy symptoms. I have been late, staying home and trying to get over the nausea. My biggest troubles have been nausea in the morning, about 30 minutes after I eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast and then in the evenings, around dinner time. I also had a lot of fatigue in the first trimester. I would come home from work, lay on the couch, and not be able to move for hours. Poor Ellis! He would have to fend for himself for dinner because nothing sounded good to me and I didn't have the energy to cook anything for him.

Now that we are entering the second trimester, I am slowly noticing more energy. Still not enough to make myself go to the gym. But I cooked dinner three nights last week! Did laundry and put new sheets on the bed, too! I am still feeling the familiar upset stomach. And, sadly, I had my first throw-up episode on Saturday. It had been a while since I had eaten, nothing was cooking, so I have no idea what the trigger was. Just all of a sudden I started feeling it and had to run to the bathroom. Actually, at work last week I had a similar episode, but just ended up dry heaving over the toilet.

Now that I have shared some of the most LOVELY aspects of my pregnancy so far, here are a few better, lighter, nicer things:

*On June 12th, we had our first ultrasound. We saw our little one squirming and playing and having a good time. It was so sweet! We did get two pictures from the ultrasound that I have been carrying around in my purse. If you see me and I don't offer to show them to you, ask and I will gladly pull them out! I don't have the images on my computer, otherwise I would post them on the blog. We were also able to hear the heart beat. It was very strong and steady!

*On June 18th, I felt the smallest, tiniest flutter. I haven't felt it since, but I am convinced that it was our little one.

*On June 20th, I noticed the first change in my body that I knew for sure was due to the baby. My pants have been getting tighter, but I could not visually see a difference really. On the morning of the 20th, I was hopping in the shower and thought that I was looking a little "PG" when I glanced in the mirror. Then, I flexed my stomach muscles. Just to "hold it in," like I was taught to do as a little girl. Nothing happened. My belly stayed the same. THAT was big difference for me.

*Our next ultrasound appointment is scheduled for Friday, July 10th. Ellis's mom and step dad might be in town and able to go with us to the appointment. I will try to get pictures to post from that appointment!

9.5 Weeks Along!

I am surprised that I am already 9 and a half weeks along! Well, actually, I am not EXACTLY sure how far along I am because I still haven't seen my doctor yet. This Thursday is the day! I have been checking out information on BabyCenter.com for pregnancy info and guidance. They have an on-line calculator that told us how far along I was. So we have been basing it on that.

The website has been really neat to follow. Every week it sends me an e-mail about how far along and what is going on with our baby. Here is what it says about week 9:

The embryo measures about 0.9 inches (2.3cm) to 1.2 inches (3cm) from crown to rump, or the size of a strawberry. The arms and legs are longer, and the fingers might be a little swollen where the touch pads are forming. The head is more erect and neck is more developed. Your baby now moves its body and limbs, and this movement can be visible during an ultrasound, but you won't be able to feel it yet.

Another site says that the baby is the size of a grape. Regardless, it is small but certainly growing!

This week I noticed that some of my pants that are normally loose are getting tighter. Almost uncomfortable. It is hard to think about a little grape or strawberry being big enough to make my pants get tight! When I told this to Ellis he said, "But your uterus is the size of a grapefruit!" Oh! Well, in that case, I can handle my pants getting tighter!

Waiting....

So, when we found out that we were having a baby, December seemed so far away! When I called my doctor's office to schedule my first appointment, I was disappointed that they did not want to see me for another 4 weeks! It might as well have been waiting for December!

When I called, I asked for a Friday appointment. Ellis is off on Fridays and I knew that he would want to go with me. So, on April 20th I scheduled my first appointment for Friday, May 15th. Since that time, Ellis's work schedule has changed a bit. There are some deadlines coming up so he is having to work 5 days for the next 6 weeks or so. So last week, in an effort to make it easier for Ellis to attend the appointment, I called to see if I could get a Friday afternoon appointment instead. But, they didn't have any because they are closed on Friday afternoons. (I am sure the doctors work plenty hard during weekend deliveries so that having a Friday afternoon is a nice treat!)

After all the finagling, imagine my surprise when I received a call on Wednesday confirming my appointment on THURSDAY. I was a little distraut at first, but then I decided that I would rather hear my baby's heart beat earlier rather than later. Ellis checked with his boss and made the necessary adjustment so that he could come in late on Thursday rather than Friday due to the appointment change.

THEN, (the scheduling drama continues) this morning Ellis enjoyed sleeping in. Getting up at 5:40 every morning can be tough. But sleeping in until 9:00 and looking forward to our first appointment wasn't exactly what happened. At 8:35 I received a call that my doctor had called in sick. And that they were having to move around all of her appointments. The next time she could see me will be NEXT Thursday at 2:30. I tried to get squeezed in with another doctor today, but the only time open was at 3....which would essentially mean that Ellis might as well take the whole day off. Since he is working over time hours, that just didn't make sense. At least with our new appointment time, he can go in to work and leave early and be done for the day.

So here we are.... waiting some more. One more week until our next appointment. At least we only have seven more months to wait!

Magnetic Prestidigitation - by Ellis

Hola!

Those of you that ever made their way to our house on 8th street will probably remember the scores of magnetic poetry that covered our old refrigerator. When we moved out (over a year now), we took down the old magnets and they are somewhere, in some box, in the new house... I think. The last renters had their own fridge, so we moved the old gal to the new garage where she sat in the corner. The fridge has been a great backup; holding extra drinks, ketchup packets, nearly empty pickle jars and the like. We bought some shrimp at some point and the freezer really started to smell... Crap, could I digress ANY further from the actual story?

ANYWAYS.

Tamara and I were cleaning the beast last weekend (Easter weekend), and there was a lone word we missed. It had, for just over a year, clung unassuming to the bottom of the door to the freezer. Tamara found it, handed it to me, and continued cleaning. I almost just tossed it, but instead, hoping to reunite the lil guy with its family, I put it in my wallet and continued scraping dried egg from the underside of a tempered sea of hazy glass. Seriously, I think I found 3 tiny chunks of dried egg on every square inch of that thing. I swear an Egg McMuffin had pooped in there or something.

So here I am today, putting a post-it into my wallet, when my little lost friend is staring at me... clinging to the very spot I laid him, waiting for a morsel of life-changing news to be delivered.

God, I'm happy.

Imagonnabeapaw - A Message from Ellis

Good GREAT Monday morning!

Some of you know, some of you don't... But now you all will!

This weekend afforded me a great surprise...

A wee baby infiltrates the Humphres house! Like a trojan horse!

If the online calculators are indeed correct (and who wouldn't trust the internet?), I shall be indoctrinated into fatherhood, kicking, screaming and all sorts of nasty things on or around December 19!

If calculations are correct, baby's first heartbeat will be Sunday(ish)!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

*Artists representation not to scale

How it came about....

Back in January, I was talking to my good friends Melanie and Andrea about the Nashville Country Music Half Marathon. I haven't run in a few years but I really wanted to start running again. This is a big race and a big distance. But both Melanie and Andrea assured me that if I followed the running schedule that I could take on this race. I made the decision soon after reading the book The Alchemist and I felt like running such a big race was part of my "Personal Legend."

The process has been wonderful! Melanie and I meet up to run every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. We have been following the Hal Higdon's Beginner Training Schedule. I have totally enjoyed it and I finish every run feeling very proud of myself! And it doesn't hurt that I have lost about 12 pounds in the process, too! Also, Melanie and I have run about 130 miles since the beginning of February. Wow! I can't believe it!

Our race is this coming Saturday, April 25th. We had our longest run, to date, last Saturday, April 18th. As you can imagine, running together affords us a chance to talk about a lot of stuff. Everything from in-laws (mine are AWESOME!) to bodily functions issues (please don't ask!) to kids. Melanie and her husband, Joel, have two wonderful children. And I have thoroughly enjoyed the stories of Daphne's princess obsession and Micah's experiences on the pee wee football team. Melanie and Joel are great parents and being friends with them has helped me realize that parenthood is full of rewards and fun, not just disciple and laundry.

On our Saturday run, Melanie and I were a little quiet. It was strange. I think we had acutally run out of things to talk about. A few miles in, we started talking about kids. Melanie always says, "I can't wait to meet your kids!" After running for a while, I admitted that I couldn't remember EXACTLY when my last period was. I vividly remember that in January, it started the day after my birthday. In February it started the day after Valentines. For some reason, I think I had a light period right around March 14th. Obviously, I wasn't super late or anything.

Melanie told me that she found out she was pregnant at Chick-Fil-A. She said that she and her mom were driving around and got a PG test and stopped there for lunch. She then told me that Joel was a waiter at O'Charley's and was working that night. She went there to have dinner in his section and took him a little rattle as a gift to signal to him that he was going to be a father. I thought that was such a cute idea! It got me to thinking that if and when I am PG, I will have to do something funny or cute so Ellis could tell everyone how he found out.

When I got home from our 10 mile run, I was hot and stinky and sweaty. Ellis was playing Call of Duty on his Xbox so I decided to just jump in the shower and get cleaned up while he was playing his game. Before I got in the shower, I decided to dig out the pregnancy test my mom gave to me about a year ago. She brought it to me from the lab, just a little something to have on hand as needed.

I really didn't expect anything. I really didn't. But something happened. Two stripes immediately appeared. Clearly. Quickly. I am pregnant.



I spent about 15 minutes in the shower quietly thinking and holding on to my little secret. No one else in the world knew at that moment but me.

At the end of my shower, Ellis came in and started shaving off his huge beard. It had gotten pretty wild. And I was happy to see it transform from a large, furry, red rug to a small little patch of bristle. I had left the PG test on the counter and he hadn't noticed yet.

I quickly snuck into his closet and found an old undershirt. Then I went to the kitchen with some markers and scribbled out a message. I couldn't stop smiling. I threw a little skirt on and headed to the bathroom.



Ellis looked up from his handy work (his beard was nearly gone) and I watched a variety of feeling fleet across his face. His first words were, "Is this a joke?" Followed quickly by, "Are you kidding me?!" The faster, "Are you joking?"

All I could do is laugh. And shake my head, and squeeze out a "It's true!"

Our Nephew

10/31/06

I just had word from Ellis that his sister, Cassie, is in the hospital in Toledo. She has been diagnosed with either Toximia or Pre-eclampsia. We don't know much about the situation, except that both she and the baby need prayers. The baby's original due date is at the end of January. There is a possibility that they might have to induse labor or have a c-section in order to keep Cassie safe. Again, we don't know much about what is going on. But please keep Cassie and her baby boy in your prayers.

10/31/06

Hello friends and family, I just got word that my sister, Cassie, is having problems with her pregnancy. She has developed a condition called Preeclampsia (link) that is particularly dangerous for her and the baby. She isn't due until late January, and the only cure is to deliver the baby who is just over a pound right now. I will know more soon and will update you all as soon as I know more, and we all appreciate your prayers and any good feeling mojo you can point her way.

Thanks all,
Ellis


11/01/06

I spoke with Cassie last night and she is in good spirits. She has been given several drugs to boost the health of the baby when they decide to deliver. She is now just sitting in the hospital, waiting for things to change.

I just had a case of beer and a carton of Marlboro lights sent to her room to help calm her nerves. Boy, does that girl love to drink and smoke.

She's normally a Camel smoker, but the baby prefers the Marlboro; he kicks whenever she tries to switch.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

ELL!S


01/05/07

Good news! Baby Matthew is out of the isolation crib! He is in a regular crib now! He is also weighing in at 3 lbs, 14 ozes! He is a growing boy! Ellis's dad sent some new pictures and he is so sweet, I almost cry!