Last weeks as a Family of 3!

We've done so much to prep for the arrival of sweet Tatem Rose.  A BIG part of that is soaking up every precious moment with our adorable Landrie Grace!

Saturday morning we introduced her to Shipleys.  Mmmmm...donuts!  This was her first sprinkle-covered donut.  

She had a BALL.  We kept telling her it was a donut, and she would obediently repeat us, then say, "Mmmm...cupcake!"  

Love it!!

She is SUCH a JOY!

Silly girl!

Sewing Landrie's bedding was a challenge because we only had 5 weeks to get everything done.  Sewing Tatem's bedding is a challenge because my sweet helper is by my side 24 hours a day!  I finally just let her use her end of the fabric for a blanket for her and her baby while I cut from the other. :)

Landrie's also being a helper by learning to accessorize herself!  She was SO proud of her outfit (complete with my shoes on her little feet!).

Landrie is such a little snuggle bug, and couldn't be happier "guggling" with Daddy.  My heart just melts!

Mark got the car seat down from the attic and put one of Landrie's babies in it before he put it in the car.  She was thrilled!  She was so excited and ran to get Baby a blanket and baby doll.  She loves for her babies to have a baby doll when they go night-night.  Her smallest baby dolls get a plastic Little People!

 Such a little mommy!  She loves to play mommy, and we crack up as she does things just like us!  She has to turn on the sound machine and fan for her babies, cover them up, then says, "Shhh!" with her finger over her lips.  She'll rock them, put them in the swing and bouncy and LOVES to feed them.

If she stands on her tippy-tippy toes (check out that future ballerina!) she can reach the 'poons all by herself.  We now find spoons all over the house, from where she's been feeding her babies. :)

This morning she had to have her baby join her in the high chair.  She shared her Cheerios so sweetly!  This means we won't ever have any trouble sharing, right??  :)

 We've been trying to keep busy inside a lot, since this 9-months-pregnant mommy doesn't like to play in 108 degree heat!  We finger painted with dyed vanilla pudding.  It was a huge success!  Thanks for the idea, Jessica!

 Then she realized she could eat this kind of "paint" and she liked it even more!

When Mark took the cradle out of the attic, we reminisced about how tiny Landrie was in it.  Do you remember the story of this special cradle?  If you are new to the blog since then, you've got to read it. :)

Then she insisted on climbing on in!

I'm just so emotional about adding another baby to our family.  I want to savor every moment left with just one baby girl!  Did anyone else feel like that as you were about to add a second??  I cannot wait to meet Tatem, but I feel so nostalgic about these last few days with our first precious little miracle. :)

37 weeks preggo!!

37 weeks

(I'm starting weekly updates now, because we are SO close!)

Belly update: At today's appointment, my belly measured 33 weeks.  It grew a tiny bit!  

What's Baby Long up to?: We had another non-stress test today, and Tatem Rose is healthy and strong!  On Thursday, at the specialist, she measured 5 lbs., 10 oz.  We have another sonogram next week to measure her growth again!

Cravings:  The specialist said to eat lots of PROTEIN, which is not normal for me, but I've been trying to eat some twice a day!  Grow, Tatem, grow!

Best part of these 2 weeks: Was finding out that Tatem does NOT have Intrauterine Growth Restriction, and watching the miracle of her growing a POUND in two days!

I've also been BUSY getting everything done before the BIG day!  I made these shirts and bows for our girls after drooling over them in Etsy.  This shop has adorable ones!

Here's a close up of their flowers for their hair. I used this easy tutorial, and I love how they turned out!

I'm looking forward to: Well, today my doctor said we may go ahead and induce at 38 weeks, which is next Tuesday!  We have another appointment with our doctor and for a sonogram with the specialist, and depending on how little Tatem looks, they might send us to the hospital to get the induction started.  Everyday we are getting more and more things crossed off our pre-baby to do lists!

37 weeks!

 The end of this belly chart is not quite as exciting as I thought it would be!  I've been doing my part and have gained over 20 pounds, but since Tatem's head is already at a -1 station, she's just hiding in there!  :)

We thought it might be a good idea to have a few pictures of me pregnant and wearing something other than a tank top!  My friend Bobbi did a maternity photo shoot with us last weekend and I can't WAIT to see them!   She's going to post them sometime this week.  Will you find them here before me??  I don't think so. :)

Check, check, check!!

My parents came in town over the 4th of July weekend, and we attacked our Baby To Do list with a vengeance!!  My dad retired this spring, and my mom's a teacher with the summer off, so they were able to stay almost a week.  

Landrie, Mark and I got spoiled rotten. :)

Just like Landrie's room, they helped us paint!

My niece Abbie spent a day with us, and she was in charge of Landrie.  Landrie loved it, and we were able to get so much more done.  Thanks, Abbie!

Such the adventurous one when P-Pa's close by!

"I'm ready, GranJan!"

Peekaboo!

I love her little pigtail loops.  :)

My parents went on our weekly grocery trip.  They were playing "push Landrie across Walmart and make her giggle like crazy" while I picked up my prescription.  I stocked up on bulky and heavy stuff while I had help!  My tailbone went out while they were here, so I ended up spending an entire day on the heating pad.  Time to start taking it easy.  We were so thankful to have help right when we needed it!

My mom already finished Baby Girl's blanket.  Isn't it beautiful??  I can't wait to snuggle our little baby girl up in it!

My parents moved this bed from the playroom to Landrie's room, rearranged the playroom furniture and moved all of Landrie's nursery furniture to the baby's newly painted pink room.  Whew!  I've still got lots of decorating to do in all 3 rooms, but I'm so thankful to have all that moving done!  (Oh, the big girl bed thing is getting it's own post, don't worry!)

I don't have a before of the guest room handy.  At first, it was just a plain guest room.  Then, we got rid of the queen bed and started moving baby things in there, even though it was still the catch all room.  YUCK!  We finally got everything non-baby out of there...

...and my parents finished painting it for us!  Landrie loves to help, so after a few weeks of attempting, Mark and I had only gotten 1.5 walls done!  We love this soft color.  

My parents got everything moved in too!  I love the dark wood with the pink!  Landrie was a little confused because the room layouts are identical and all her furniture is in there.  After telling her that the baby will sleep here, she had to get a baby doll (with a pillow, blanket and a Little People toy as a baby doll sized lovey) to put in the crib.  Such a sweet girl!

THANK YOU, Mom and Dad!  We loved visiting with you!  When they left, I felt so much more rested and ready for the baby to make her appearance.  Well, not ready enough for what happened on Thursday.  :)

32 weeks Pregnant!

32 weeks=8 months!!!

Belly update: Well, it's growing, but not like my doctor would like it to!  At my appointment last week, she measured on the outside of my belly with the measuring tape, and after being the perfect size each week,  for the second visit in a row, I measured smaller than I should.  I told Mark not to take off any more work to come to these quick appointments, so he was SO disappointed to hear that my doctor ordered a sonogram to check on Baby Girl!  He had to miss it, but the good news is that the sono showed she's perfectly healthy!  The doctor just said since I'm so tall, I must be a "baby hider!"

What's Baby Long up to?: Well, this time I get to tell you actual stuff, since we got another peek at her with the sonogram!  She measured 3 pounds, 5 ounces.  My doctor said that could be off by a full pound though!  She's also about 16.5 inches.  Her head is DOWN (woo hoo!), and she's still a GIRL!

Cravings:  Hmmm... I'm still not so hungry, but I am loving the frozen treats!

Best part of these 2 weeks: My parents just left today, after a whirlwind trip of  crossing items off of our LONG to-do list!  It was great to spend time with them and be pampered.  Of course I'll do a post full of pictures of our time with them and all we did, but here's a sneak peek of our former guest room...

PINK!  Don't you love this soft pink color?  I do!!  I can't wait to show off what the room looks like today!

The other best part had me tearing up.  We did lots of switching around, and on the 4th of July, Landrie officially declared her independence from the CRIB!  My baby is getting so big!

I'm looking forward to: A name for this baby.  Seriously, that is so hard for us!!  Was it hard for you?  If you are one of my sweet friends waiting to get pregnant or for an adoption placement, pick your names NOW. :)

 32 weeks down, less than 2 months to go!!

Look straight down the columns to see a real change!!

I like when others post how they looked at the same point in their last pregnancy.  Here I am just 8 weeks from Landrie's due date.  My belly looks so little!  HA!!  Brianna chose us to be Landrie's parents when she was 32 weeks, and here we are a few days later at a sonogram appointment.  Such joy!!  The crazy thing is that Landrie was born just 5 weeks later.  If this baby tries to emulate her big sister, she will be born August 10th.  Oh my!  

Landrie's Nursery!

Over at Kelly's Korner, she's doing kid's rooms and baby nurseries today!  If you've never visited her blog, you should check it out!  Hundreds of people have linked their blogs and you can get a ton of ideas!  

Here's an updated version of the post I wrote when sweet Landrie was just a few months old.  It's hard to believe we just celebrated her first birthday!!

When Mark and I finally felt peace about adopting and started the process last January, we both knew our baby would be a little girl. When Brianna chose us, I was SO excited that our little girl was due in just a few weeks! Forget sterilizing bottles, I had to get started on her nursery right away! :)

As most of you know, Landrie arrived just 5 1/2 weeks after we got matched. We managed to get all the furniture, paint the room and sew the crib skirt. It wasn't exactly the finished product I hoped for, but with Landrie in our arms, it didn't matter quite so much anymore.

Here's Landrie's finished nursery FINALLY DONE! :)

Her room is not very big, so it's hard to take pictures. Imagine that you are in the center of the room and spinning in a circle to look at everything. If you want to see any of the pictures enlarged, just click on them!

This is the view when you walk in the room. When I first saw these big letters at my friend Mindy's, I knew I had to have one when we had a baby! I made the window valance by covering foam board with batting and this adorable pink and green paisley fabric.

The original plan was to paint stripes in different shades of pink below a chair rail. That never happened, but I still love how it turned out. If our next baby comes as quickly as Landrie did, we may be glad to at least have a neutral color on the walls!

The changing table is Landrie's FAVORITE place to be in the house! She just grins and kicks like crazy the moment you put her on it.  The mat of the frame on the left is signed by all the friends at our baby shower (the one that Brianna went into labor during!)

Are you dizzy yet?? :)

I love her "L" hair bow holder. We use it every single day. Really. Even if we are not going anywhere, LG needs her bow!

And now for some close ups...

We are so glad Bennett got his big boy bed while we were waiting to be matched. It's the exact crib I wanted to get! I love how her bedding turned out SO girly!  Have I mentioned how much I love the pink and green paisley fabric??

Have you ever seen such comfy bumpers?? Without Mark's sister Megan, I don't know that I ever would have finished these! The inside is a pink minky fur.  I have never felt anything softer! The back panel has her name monogrammed on it (of course!). Unfortunately, this paranoid first time mom removed all the bumpers except the one by her feet. They'll be back in her crib before too long!

I saw these signs online selling for almost $100, and I LOVED them, but couldn't justify paying that much. Now, I can! It was a labor of love, but it was worth every minute! I matched the colors and used one of my school's overheads to draw the letters of her name.

The edges have little polka dots too!

Can you find all the names?? Two of my sister in laws have monogram machines, so Landrie is constantly decked out by Aunt Beth and Aunt Melissa! I made a little quilt with the fabrics and put that super-soft minky fabric on the back. I hope she loves it when she's older!

Here's a close up of the quilt that we keep on the glider. It's SO soft!  

I was planning on using her prints from the hospital, but when I dug them out a few weeks ago, it was only her footprints (somehow I thought they did hand prints too) and they were too wide for the frame. Thankfully, her 4 month prints fit just perfectly.

This girl has more clothes and accessories than I could ever dream of! We are so thankful for all of the sweet baby gifts and boxes of hand me downs too. I want to buy her clothes, but there's no room in her closet for anymore 3-6 month stuff! She is so blessed. I know I'll look back on this in a few years and think, "Really, I wanted to have a need to buy her clothes??" :) We use the over the door shoe hanger for her hats, shoes, tights, headbands, and all those other fun girly accessories.

One of the main reasons that I wanted to sew bedding was so I could use the fabric to make pillows, window treatments, blankets and fun stuff like this lamp! I bought this self- adhesive lamp shade at Hobby Lobby. You just peel and stick your fabric to it! I glued the edges down and glued a little trim on the top and bottom.

Is it a little crazy to spend this much time and energy on a room for a baby who is highly entertained by her own toes? Maybe a little bit... but I had to do something with this love pouring out of my heart. I could never do anything so grand that it would show how loved and wanted this sweet baby girl is. Landrie, we love you so much!!!