Blessings Abound!

Blessings Abound! Seems a simple title with huge implications from the last five weeks of our lives! In the last month and half, we have been blessed with two baby showers, numerous doctors appointments, and sonograms, and blessings from God that without reflection may have hidden themselves from view.

On Saturday, January 28, 2012, we had the privilege of having our first baby shower to celebrate the life God has been knitting together in my womb over the last thirty some odd weeks. Our best friends, Josh and Laura Wilkerson, hosted our couples shower at our home for our friends and family. The day was filled with fun trivia games based on old wives tales and baby factoids, delicious food, fun conversations, and lots of gifts for Annelisa! One of my favorite parts of the day was opening each of the gifts and seeing what book or books had been selected for Annelisa. Laura chose to have our guests give a book with their gift instead of a card, each book reflected the people who gifted it to us!  Laura also took some couple pictures of us, the one above and this one! She is a gifted photographer, who I choose to utilize whenever possible!

Our next baby shower took place on Wednesday, February 15, 2012. It was hosted by my dear friends at school: Laurie Martini, Cheryl Derrington, Tracey Thompson, and Tricia Wong. Northwood Hills Elementary has become a home away from home for the last six years and it was a strange feeling to become the center of attention during the shower. My NHE family blessed us greatly with kind words, sweet advice to our baby girl, and generous gifts! I was very blessed to have worked with so many people that care so much about me and my family.

On Thursday, February 16, 2012, we had our next doctors appointment for 32 weeks. We had a sonogram to check Annelisa's growth and my amniotic fluid levels. The appointment revealed that I have developed polyhydramnios, or the condition of having too much amniotic fluid. This prompted my OB to refer us to a high risk specialist to check to make sure that Annelisa was continuing to develop well. Polyhydramnios causes both she and I to measure ahead and it frequently can cause preterm labor. This diagnosis left both of us in shock and greatly changed my expectations of what the next 8 weeks would be like. Through many prayers, we began to process what this could mean for us and our precious Annelisa. Polyhdramnios can be caused by some birth defects, chromosomal issues, or just be an anomaly that is unspecified by screenings.  Our journey, into these new waters, continued on Tuesday, February 21, when we were able to see the high risk specialist, Dr. Hickman, at Children's Hospital in Plano. We had a level 2 sonogram that revealed our baby girl is growing and developing well! We were able to watch her for over an hour and got to see some really cool 4D images of her! Apparently, having too much amniotic fluid makes for better 4D pictures! Based on this appointment, we are very much expecting a March delivery, instead of early April. Of course, we don't know the day or the hour when she will make her debut, so our preparations have shifted into high gear at home!

Here are some 4D images from our appointment last Tuesday:

The weekend between our 32 week appointment and the high risk specialist was spent unpacking, putting together, and inventorying our baby supplies to determine which items we would need to purchase before being "ready" for her birth. We have been very blessed by generous family and friends, so thankfully we have a fairly short, specific list of what we have to have to bring her home. I'll hopefully post a nursery update next weekend. There are lots of changes to show you!

I now have two appointments weekly for various screenings to closely monitor Annelisa's growth and development. On Mondays, I'll have a Non-Stress Test, or NST, to monitor her heart rate and uterine movements and see one of the doctors in my OB's practice. On Thursdays, I'll have a BPP sonogram and another NST test. This past week Annelisa did great! Moved a ton to the point of being difficult to track! I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to hear her heart beat often and to have a doctor's office willing to track me so closely to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible from here to delivery! Here is a sonogram picture of her profile and one of her arms:

In the midst of all of these things, we have completed six of the eight childbirth preparation classes we signed up for. We took two weeks of baby care and four weeks of childbirth. Next weekend, we'll finish with car seat installation and breast feeding. We are very pleased with our choice of Centennial Medical Center in Frisco. They have a great parent education program and they are in the business of making us satisfied patients/customers.

My last two baby bump pictures:

Week 30

Week 32

Pregnancy statistics:

Weight gained: about 27 pounds total

Cravings: Sweet (mainly in the form of Chocolate Malts) and Tart (Cherry Limeades from Braum's!) 

Most frustrating symptoms: difficulty sleeping, going to the bathroom very frequently, feeling exhausted and overwhelmed

Belly bump: measured 35 cm at my last doctor's appointment two weeks ago 

Annelisa's measurements: about 2 and 1/2 weeks ahead, 87th percentile, about 5.8 pounds, oh and she has lots and lots of hair!! :)  

Third Trimester, Here we go!

Today I am 28 weeks, 4 days. We saw the doctor yesterday for my 28 week appointment, and it was a busy appointment! The appointment started with a sonogram to take measurements of Annelisa. She is growing into quite the healthy girl! She weighs approximately 3.3 pounds, she is in the 89th percentile for growth, and is measuring about 11 days ahead of her April 10th due date. All of these details place she and I on the high end of "normal." They also help to explain the huge growth I've experienced since my 20 week appointment! Here are a couple of pictures from the ultrasound! Check out her arm (the circle up to the left!), she was very active during the sonogram kicking and punching me! She is also head down, which made me very relieved!

Next, I began the glucose tolerance test. Drinking the glucose drink wasn't as terrible as some made it out to be. Basically, it tasted like flat orange soda...it just needed some fizz and it would have been much more enjoyable! Then it was time to see my OB! I received the Rhogam shot, since I'm Rh-. It was quite the shot in the hip. We were able to have a good discussion with my OB about Annelisa's growth and what this means for us moving forward. I will now be seeing my doctor every two weeks and have another sonogram in 4 weeks to begin to develop a growth pattern to better monitor both of us. Thankfully, my OB also prescribed me a Z-Pack to help the sinus infection I've developed thanks to the cold I've had since late last week. I should know the results of my glucose tolerance test early next week. I'm hoping for no gestational diabetes!

Here are a couple of recent weekly pictures:

Week 26

Week 28

FAQ's:
Have you had any recent cravings? Yes! Citrus in the form of ruby red grapefruits and clementines and dairy, primarily in the form of peppermint ice cream (and several healthier choices like skim chocolate milk and Greek yogurt)!

How are you sleeping? This past week has not been great, but I blame that mostly on the cold. Last weekend we purchased a body pillow for me, which is a huge help in getting comfortable and staying off my back.

How much weight have you gained? About 18 pounds total, right on track (despite the ice cream!)

How's the nursery coming? Since my last update, the biggest improvement is the arrival of the crib mattress. After our first baby shower in a week, there will be more updates to the nursery!

2012 Resolutions

2011 was a year of many accomplishments! 

1. Celebrate the blessing and gift of five years of marriage to my best friend! (July 15).
2. Conceive our first child, Annelisa Grace, due April 10, 2012.
3. Buy our first home!
4. Seek and find a new church home to be a part of in our new community!
5. Celebrate 5 years of teaching 5th grade English Language Arts, Reading, and Social Studies at Northwood Hills Elementary.

I've never been good at making resolutions and keeping up with them throughout a year; however, I have made goals throughout my life and then by the grace of God, made strides toward reaching them! 2012 will be a year of major transition in our family...and in so being a good time to lay out some of my goals, hopes, and a prayer for the year ahead.

Goals:

1. Read for encouragement and spiritual growth
2. Read for pleasure
3. Read in preparation of my new job: Motherhood

Hopes:

1. to be a true helpmate, partner, and friend to my husband
2. to learn to be content within our new budget in preparation of living on one income
3. to be creative in shopping for necessities and 'wants'
4. to bless others through and with the blessings God has given us
5. to discover balance in my daily life through seeking God above all else
6. to develop new friendships through our new church home and small group
7. to transition gracefully to working within our home instead of outside it

My prayer for 2012:

Comes from Colossians 1:9-14, this is my paraphrase:

I pray asking that I may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May I be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified me to share in in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered me from the domain of darkness and transferred me to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom I have full redemption and the forgiveness of  my sins. 

After recording all of these goals, hopes, and my prayer, I have discovered my theme for 2012...Seek God, Strive to know Him more intimately and all of the other pieces of this life will fall into place according to His will for me and my family. 

May God bless you and your family with special memories of His love and blessings throughout the year ahead!  

Annelisa's Nursery: Update #2

It has been a very, very busy week around the Pailes' house! Needless to say, we just might need a vacation from this "week of vacation!" 

Since Monday there have been many changes to the nursery! Let's first review the completed items from the "to-do" list:

1. Paint the room...it will be a light green to coordinate with the fabrics we've selected. 
2. Find a book case. Ikea was a bust for the book case, but a win for the floating shelf...except the size we need was out of stock! Target proved the best, most cost effective choice for the book case! 
3. Install a dimmer switch on the overhead light to help for future middle of the night feedings and changings. 
4. Organize the closet...enough said! We started this process by first emptying it of all the items waiting to be donated! We donated it all today! 
5. Register!!! Amazon.com and Buy, Buy, Baby....there are still a few things for us (mainly me) to decide on...but it's mostly finished!! 

Some pictures of the nursery changes:

The book case; the door on the left is the closet, the door on the right goes to the hallway. 

The dresser, side table (for me!), and lamp! We absolutely love the paint, Sienna Laurel by Benjamin Moore!! 

The crib and side table! 

The dimmer switch!! I know that this feature will be sooooo helpful!! 

View from the doorway into the nursery! 

We still have some work to do...but it feels like the 'big' stuff is getting there!

Still to do:

1. Order/buy the  floating shelf from Ikea. The floating shelf will go above the dresser to display various items. 
2. Purchase the crib mattress from Amazon, it's currently on our registry...but needs to be bought sooner than later! 
3. I want to find some sort of wall art, perhaps a wall decal customized with her name from Etsy or something to go above her crib. Maybe frame some of my future maternity pictures to go above her book case...we'll have to wait and see what we come up with! :) 
4. Come up with window treatments!  Especially for the eye brow window. The eye brow window provides great natural light...however, it could bring in too much light...all of the photos above were taken with only natural light! So some sort of solution must be found! 
5. Finalize the registry with the last odds and ends....baby showers are coming soon!! :)
6. Put the glider/rocker into place once it arrives! (Only 5 to 6 weeks to wait!) 

Annelisa has received quite the collection of clothing, books, and stuffed animals thus far! Lots of people already love our little girl! I can't wait to introduce her to her family and many admirers! :)

Her stuffed animal collection! 

Her books! 

Some of her clothes! 

Her cute A&M rhinestone socks!

Three different A&M Onesies, they are also two different sizes. She's an Aggie already! :) 

A precious cardigan outfit she received for Christmas! 

Her first bows and a precious towel my mom gave me for Christmas! I can't wait to be a mom! 

Her first bibs!

Stay tuned for more updates in the future! Only 14 more weeks (give or take) until we get to meet our little girl! :)

Annelisa's Nursery

Annelisa's Nursery is very much underway! When we moved into our house in June, we knew which room would be the nursery; however, we never expected to be pregnant as quickly as we were...so the room began as a work out room.

At the beginning of December, we picked up the crib and the dresser was delivered! I had earlier posted that we had selected furniture from Lonestar Baby and Kids...then when shopping for some birthday gifts we walked through Pottery Barn Kids, just to look...when my husband found the Kendall Crib on sale. See, I had browsed their website earlier in the pregnancy, but had eliminated them based on the price point. When we discovered the sale price and found that the Kendall double wide dresser was also on sale, we were sold! We ordered both in the Espresso stain and are thrilled with the simple lines and functionality of each piece.

There are two items we have ordered that we are currently waiting on...

1. The side table, the weekend before Christmas we ordered it from Pottery Barn Kids and got a great deal thanks to reward dollars and a couple of coupons. (It was $5.10!!) This is going to be my 'mommy table.' The place for me to store snacks, water, and things to read while nursing Annelisa. It will go next to the glider. 
2. The glider...we ordered it today from J C Penny. It is bonded leather and it will hopefully transition to the game room when it's not needed in the nursery. It will go between the crib and the dresser, below the eye brow window. 

Things we need to do...

1. Paint the room...it will be a light green to coordinate with the fabrics we've selected. 
2. Find a book case and a floating shelf. The floating shelf will go above the dresser to display items for Annelisa and the book case is to store all of her books and toys (of which she's getting quite the collection). The book case will go next to the closet. A shopping trip to IKEA, should solve this dilemma for us, hopefully! 
3. Purchase the crib mattress from Amazon. 
4. I want to find some sort of wall art, perhaps a wall decal customized with her name from Etsy or something to go above her crib. Maybe frame some of my future maternity pictures to go above her book case...we'll have wait and see what we come up with! :) 
5. Install a dimmer switch on the overhead light to help for future middle of the night feedings and changings. 
6. Change out the window treatment and come up with some sort of solution for the eye brow window. The eye brow window provides great natural light...however, it could bring in too much light, especially early in the morning! So some sort of solution must be found! 
7. Organize the closet...enough said! 
8. Register!!! This is planned for later this week...it's still very overwhelming! However, I've had lots of good advice from other moms and we've been reading Baby Bargains, The 11th Edition. Hopefully, this process will work itself out with our efforts! 

I am most excited and blessed by my mom! She has offered to make all of the bedding for Annelisa's room. She helped us find the fabrics on-line. They are perfect! We wanted a pink and green scheme for a girl all along! 

The pink stripes will be the crib skirt, the floral will be the bumper, the green polka dot will be a ruffle on the bumper and the inspiration for the paint color. There are several other fabrics from the collection that will be going into the quilt, and that will be used in a couple of sheets. It will be lovely and girly when it's all finished! I can't wait to see it all come together! 

I'm looking forward to meeting our little lady, Annelisa Grace! 

24 Weeks and Counting

24 weeks complete, approximately 16 weeks to go! 

It's been a while since I've updated the blog with pregnancy details...

At this point, I'm closer to 25 weeks complete in my first pregnancy. We are having a little girl, Annelisa (pronounced: Anna Lisa) Grace Pailes....and with each passing week I look forward to meeting her more and more!

Since my last update, lots of changes have occurred...

24 Weeks 

The week of Thanksgiving, I measured 19 cm, this past Thursday I measured 27 cm...yes, I grew almost 10 cm in about four weeks. This explains a lot of the ligament pain I've experienced. I seem to grow in waves, every couple of days I seem to expand and then balance out for a day or two.

I've gained 14 pounds (according to my doctor's office) total thus far.

Annelisa is becoming the quite the mover and shaker, especially at night or early in the morning when I'm still. New this week, some of her kicks shake my whole abdomen...which feels really funny and looks even funnier! She really likes going to church...I think it's the music combined with the stillness of me sitting for an extended period of time.

My next appointment is January 19, 2012. I'll be having an ultra sound to check Annelisa's growth since I grew more than expected during the last four weeks. I'll also receive the Rhogam shot since I'm O- and my husband is O+, then I'll be tested for gestational diabetes and anemia. Most importantly, I'll see my doctor for the first time in almost 12 weeks, since she's been on maternity leave herself. I'm not worried about the need for an ultra sound, yet. We'll have to see what they find, and it's very likely that I just popped out this month and I'm praying that God continues to grow our little girl healthy and strong!

Tomorrow, I will update the blog with the status of the Nursery...lots of changes here too!

Merry Christmas!

The Best Christmas, Yet! 

On this Christmas night, I'm feeling quite blessed with where God has me! A few short years ago Christmas away from 'home' was still new, uncomfortable, and difficult. Yet, I've grown and matured and come to covet Christmas with my husband at our home, with our traditions, and the joy of sharing those with our families.  2011 has been an eventful year of many firsts: we bought our first home, we conceived our first child, we hosted our first Christmas. 

To recap our Christmas:

Tuesday, December 20: My sisters arrived to share and help in the joy of Christmas, primarily making dozens and dozens of Christmas cookies. Between Tuesday evening and Thursday evening we made (they did a lot of the work) 2 batches of sugar cookies (approximately 100+ cut-outs that were then iced and decorated!), 2 batches of gingerbread cookies (approximately 50+ cut outs that were iced and decorated), 4 dozen peanut butter blossoms, a jam cake, and muddy buddies (a.k.a. puppy chow). Don't worry too much, this was all for good purpose...to ship to our grandparents, to feed, and delight our families for Christmas Eve and day. Most importantly, I was closely monitored in my sugar consumption! 

Friday, December 23: My mom and dad arrived...we all visited family friends from forever in my memory and enjoyed an afternoon of catching up. 

Saturday, December 24: Christmas Eve! 

We went to church at what is becoming our new church home, Allen Bible Church. The service was wonderful, filled with carols, the story of Christmas adapted from the Jesus Story Book Bible (which I highly recommend!), and the conclusion of advent with the Lord's Supper. This Christmas season will be remembered for many years to come as I feel a close kinship to Mary. Last night as the pastor walked through the five candles of Advent (grace, light, redemption, humility, and Christ), I was reminded of the little girl growing inside me with lively kicks. Mary was a trooper, riding a donkey at near full term, giving birth in a stable amid the animals, welcoming the King of Heaven in human form to this earth....I can't imagine how she felt as she "pondered these things quietly in her heart." I am so thankful to know my King and the reason for this season as Philippians 2 so adequately describes...not the birth of Jesus, but why Jesus came, to save each of us. 

Phil. 2:6 ¹⁰ 

who though he existed in the form of God ¹¹ 

did not regard equality with God

as something to be grasped,

2:7 but emptied himself

by taking on the form of a slave, ¹² 

by looking like other men, ¹³ 

and by sharing in human nature. ¹⁴ 

2:8 He humbled himself,

by becoming obedient to the point of death

– even death on a cross!

2:9 As a result God exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

2:10 so that at the name of Jesus

every knee will bow

– in heaven and on earth and under the earth –

2:11 and every tongue confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord

to the glory of God the Father.

Then we hosted both sides of our families for Christmas Eve dinner! Over the last several years I've enjoyed developing our tradition of hosting my husband's family for Christmas Eve, making tons of cookies for dessert, and watching everyone enjoy themselves. This year was extra special because my family was here too! Our house was full of people! It was glorious! Watching people eat, talk, and share life together! I don't think I enjoy many things as much as blessing people through hosting them. Our families hadn't been together like this since our wedding almost 5 and 1/2 years ago! The overall consensus was that the evening was a great success! 

Sunday, December 25: Christmas Day! 

It was so fun to have Christmas with my family in our living room! Opening presents, laughing, playing Santa, and having breakfast together! My family left to go home and we were able to sit and process the blessings of this Christmas thus far. Then we prepared to go to my sister and brother-in-law's house for Christmas dinner and more gifts with my husband's family. 

We were immensely blessed by our families in the gifts we received today! However, in the midst of the getting, I know I'm enjoying the giving more! Watching my family members light up with excitement as they open each gift is priceless. 

Next Christmas, my pleasure will be to help our little girl experience the joys of Christmas! To begin to teach her the meaning of this season and to watch her discover this part of our life! 

Merry Christmas everyone! I pray that God has blessed you through this season of celebrating His birth!