another new life

So, my sister-in-law delivered my fourth niece on December 2nd. Makyla "Kylee" Lane was born at 10:14 a.m. weighing 7 lbs. 7 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. There she is right with Anna-Kate in their matching onesies. So precious!!! Hopefully they will grow to be good friends. Christmas is going to be some great fun with three little girls all under 4 months of age. Yippee! We'll all be celebrating "baby's first Christmas" together. Whoop.

my babe

It's hard to believe that my little Anna♥Kate is three months old today. How crazy! Her present milestones include: looking at her hands, LAUGHING, rolling from back to side, kicking her feet wildly, throwing fits, and knowing exactly who her momma and daddy are. And oh man, those giggles, they melt my heart. I have such a love for this little gal, a love that I never knew was possible. I often think about how I could ever love another child so much, but I know without a doubt that my heart has enough love for all, I just wonder how it's possible. My heart already wants to explode sometimes from all the lovin' feelings. Haha! No, but really, in this little child I capture the goodness of God. I can't even imagine the kind of love He has for his children or what His heart feels like ALL the time-a BIG EXPLOSION of love. I'm thankful that I get to take part in just a tiny bit of the whole thing.

When I look at Anna-Kate I'm amazed by her perfect little detailed face. I mean, what an AMAZING GOD! Seriously! I can't believe how perfect He made us all. It's not common for me, or most people (I think), to sit and stare at another adult and think about how great God is for creating such an amazing reflection of himself, but when you sit and stare at a sleeping child for hours it envokes such a love for the God who created it all. I am overwhelmed by all the sweet revelations that have come from simply being a mom...not that being a mom is simple at all.

Anyways, faster than I know, I'll be celebrating her first year with us. I want to cherish every moment... and sometimes stop time. But I know with every passing day that God gives me the grace and heart that I need to do this job called parenting-aka-the best job in the world!

new life

My aunt delivered her first child on October 15, 2007. Little Abigayle Fayth weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces and was 21 inches long. She is sooo cute. Now, I must show you the size difference between her and her sweet cousin Anna♥Kate.

Why didn't anyone tell me my kid was so huge?!?!?! I mean, I knew she was a fluffy girl but look, she's only 7 weeks older than Abigayle and double her size! I guess it's okay though, Abigayle hasn't had multiple feedings of the most fattening milk of all-mommy milk. Haha. Give it a few weeks and Abby will be looking fluffy too.

baby musings

According to my last blog, I sure was a pain during those last couple weeks of pregnancy. Sorry to all who had to endure it.

So, I guess it's time to update a little. As most of you know, Anna-Kate Elizabeth Gathright was born on August 26, 2007 at 9:30 pm. She weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces and was 19 inches long.

This next Friday she'll be TWO months old. I can't believe how fast time has flown by. It's crazy to think about. It felt like just yesterday that I was trying to sweep the floor through my contractions. (Weird, I know.)

I love these little phases she's going through but I sometimes miss her being so little.....and quiet. Haha. And I know, she's only going to get bigger and louder!

I went to the doctor the other day for myself and I had them weigh her just for fun and she weighs 11 lbs. 8 oz.! I have a chunker on my hands. Nah, she's purely fed breastmilk. I guess it really is the best.

Anyways, oh boy does this little girl bring me so much joy. I love those little moments where she looks at me like she knows exactly who I am and I am who she needs. It melts my heart. Oh, and those smiles, they drive me crazy. And she has these little faces, faces that say, "what the heck are you doing Mom?" It's so funny! She has such a wonderful personality already. I can't imagine what another year will bring me. But, I'm definitely not rushing it. I think a lot of moms make the mistake of wishing the next phase of life from their child that they forget to soak up the moment of right now. Moms-you will never get these days back. ENJOY THEM!

Well, that's all for now. I'll leave you with my precious smiles.

progress of no sort

I know these next few hundred words are going to sound like nothing more than pent up bitterness, but I must express what's going on inside my head.
Here I am, 39 weeks pregnant, with no sign of labor in the near future. I know how unrealistic it is to say this because she must come out eventually, but it seems everyone else around me is having such good luck when it comes to this whole laboring process...and the good 'ole "prelabor signs". Everything I've read says that I should be having Braxton Hicks contractions, dilation to some extent and the whole "lightening" thing when the baby drops down into your pelvis. Well, guess what, Tia is experiencing NONE of the above. NONE! Actually, Tia has hips that are too narrow and the baby may not even fit down there to begin with. Greeeeeat. FYI, I am by no means upset with my unborn child, just mad at everyone else who feel the need to call and tell me about how their doctor's appointments are going. I'm beginning to think it's all a conspiracy. They know I'm not going to have any news so they must call and give me theirs. It must be pure pleasure. I'm to the point of misery and here are all these people around me who aren't even as close to their due date as me and "their doctor thinks they might have their baby early". Bah. So irritating. I'm not sure why I am experiencing such rage over this but I just want her out. My body feels like it's dying. I guess this is what I get for having such a simple and easy pregnancy up to this point.
I'll be quiet now and be thankful for my Yo Crunch yogurt with granola.

a little update

Well, we finished the perspectives class...the class I openly admitted was whooping my butt back in April. Actually, the class has ended, but we have failed to turn in the last of our work as of this very moment. We kind of got a little behind. BUT, it's almost done. I promise.
I am six days away from the expected due date of my little girl. I can't believe it's already time. The months have flown by so fast. But the past weeks, oh my, how they've slowly gone by. I've had to learn a thing or two about patience through this whole ordeal...and by ordeal I mean pregnancy. Ha. I just want her here. I am scheduled for another ultrasound this coming Monday to get the size of the baby. I will be super excited to get more pictures of her sweet little face. Ahhh.
The journey to apply for MAF still continues. Sean just took his commercial written and passed. Yay! The only things left to do are to take Old and New Testament Survey and Sean has to get 400 hours in the plane. He currently has close to 300 or something like that. It's looking like another year and a half...give or take a little. I think it might slow down a little bit once the baby's here because we'll need to adjust to life with a child, but I'm excited about our journey.
That's about it for now. I'll be back soon...hopefully with a perfect newborn to tell you about.

Amazing Sweetness

Here's my angel. My sweet sweet little girl at 1 lb. 2 oz.. I can't believe technology these days. It's amazing. A few years ago this stuff wasn't even possible. When it finally did come out of the works it cost a pretty penny to get a little glimpse of the unborn. Now it's routine in some offices. I am so thankful for this portrait of the blessing I am carrying (and the DVD we got of the ultrasound). Sometimes it's hard to connect when you have no idea what's going on in there but to watch her on the screen moving around and putting her hand in her mouth gives me an idea about her little life right now at this very moment. I can already tell she is a snuggler. Before, she was snuggled down right above my bladder but when she got too big to fit there she started snuggling her little face up next to the placenta. I know this may sound gross but it's her life right now...and it was ours once. She already has such a sweet personality. She likes her hands to be near her face but sometimes she ventures out of her little nesting to punch mommy in the side (and I love those punches more than anything), or to touch her knee or grab the umbilical cord. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen. I love this little girl!!!

...rambling...

Soooo, it's been a while. We found out that this foreign object I've been carrying around is indeed a little girl...which makes her not so foreign anymore. We are pretty excited about it . Her name will be Anna~Kate Elizabeth Gathright. Lengthy, I know, but it flows so well together. I am already so amazed with her. She is pretty much the funniest person I know. She refuses to do anything on demand, she wants to be awake when I'm asleep and I'd have to say that through ultrasound technology I can see she is the most beautiful baby ever! I am already so very proud of her.
The perspectives class is whooping my hiney. I'm so behind. The reading is unimaginable. I've already missed two classes...and probably will miss this week as well. I think I have slacked off a bit but I know it won't get any easier...especially with my work load piling up and my ever expanding middle knocking me out of whack. The class doesn't end until the last week of May. Ah! I'll make it through. I HAVE to!

in my head

often i sit and wonder what this little miracle will look like, or who will it look like. hopefully a fine mixture of us both. maybe eyes like mine but the color of sean's, my fair skin tone but sean's texture. it's all so much to day dream about.
as i watch my expanding waist grow a little more everyday i am overwhelmed with thoughts of my life to come. will i have what it takes? will our baby find comfort in hearing our voice? will i know how to balance love and discipline in a way that is healthy and helpful to the character growth of my child? it's all so much to think about. whew, good thing i'm not doing all of this on my own. ;)

performance anxiety

what a title for my first entry. i'm a little nervous about this new expedition i'm on to put my life and thoughts in "blog form". to fill in the gaps of my life and bring you to the present i will start with january 2006. i started dating the guy who is now my husband, we got married july 21st & found out december 20th that we should be expecting our first child in late august....that's about my life as of now. :) i did not expect to be here a year ago...a stay-at-home pregnant lady who's full time job is to keep a clean house. sounds easy eh? well, i find it to be a difficult task. i'm not sure why. as i continue to ponder my role as a wife i will fill you in.
well, that's all for now.
p.s. we find out what the baby is april 2!!!