We just spent four wonderful days in Aledo with Caleb's family. We finally visited the Fort Worth Zoo and it was amazing. I forgot how beautiful exotic animals are, especially in person. The best part was hearing the lion roar. Not sure how to describe it, but I got a little teary hearing him. I think I was overcome by the power and beauty of God's work...similar to how I feel with the mountains and sunsets. The lion's roar was so strong it moved through me.

Anyway, we woke up Christmas morning with childlike excitement. Norah loved the tissue paper and naturally wanted to put it in her mouth. She was given a Little Tikes play set, adorable bows and an ornament, pjs, toys, and a sweet bracelet that her Nonnie (Caleb's mom) wore as a baby.

A sweet surprise was the snow that fell in Fort Worth. The snow flakes were huge and it was even enough to stick to the ground for the remainder of the day.

The house was filled with lots of family and a large turkey dinner. Unfortunately Norah began another teething spurt that day...which we weren't sure what it was at the time. She was pretty fussy and irritated all day....and the next few after. Norah had her first minor fever (right at 100.3) that night, pretty much wanted to sleep all day, and woke every few hours at night. Poor girl.

Overall though it was a wonderful few days in Aledo. We loved spending such sweet time with family.

This morning we woke up to celebrate our first Christmas as a family of three in our Katy home. I love Christmas. It's important to me to create Christmas memories with Norah in our home, but we also have the blessing of being able to drive to both of our families for the holidays.

I woke up earlier than normal...as usual for Christmas morning. :) Fresh coffee, warm cinnamon rolls, and our little family sitting on the floor. Warms. My. Heart. Norah loved her new toys. It was so sweet watching her reach for the presents. Bella already broke the noise maker on her new hedgehog. Not surprised. Caleb loved his new tool chest, water bottles, leveler, and pistachios and jar that Norah gave him. I got a sweet handstamped necklace with Norah's name, a new aggie shirt, and some workout kettle balls.

We're packing up the car and headed to Aledo for Christmas - Part 2 and then San Antonio for Part 3! Looking forward to a great week.

I'm also thankful I just discovered the blogger app. Now I should be ablet post more often!!

Merry Christmas!!

Norah is FOUR MONTHS!!

I cannot believe time has flown by so quickly. She is such a JOY to our family and I can't imagine life without her. At her 4 month check-up she weighed 15 lbs 12 oz (88th percentile) and measured 25 inches long (81st percentile). BIG GIRL! She rolls from her back to her tummy only to her left and won't roll back over. She loves lying on her tummy and looking around. Recently she started reaching for things while on her tummy, too. She laughs the most at Bella and sometimes while I'm dancing with her. Norah also loves her Jumperoo. The music and animal noises drive me insane after a while, but I'm happy she's happy. She lets me cradle her when she's tired and sometimes pauses to smile or coo at me. Melts my heart. Girlfriend is so curious about everything around her and is constantly searching the room for daddy, Bella, or mommy. She can put her pacifier in her mouth by herself and just started sleeping at night on her tummy. And everything goes straight to her mouth. I'm so glad our way of discovery isn't eating anymore. :)

Norah Lynn....you are my sweetheart and I am so blessed I get to spend everyday with you!! Let's never stop dancing and cuddling.....my two favorite things!!

Here's a look at the newborn pictures we had taken when Norah was just a few days old. Tiffany Parrott Photography came to our house to snap these. I'm so thankful I booked her ahead of time because there's no way i would have been able to capture our tiny sweet Norah this good....especially in postpartum recovery-mode.

Our birthing class instructor likes to refer to due dates as "guess" dates, and I totally agree. You cannot predict the day a baby will be born 9 months down the road when we all have different bodies. She told me, "just remember, every baby needs to cook a little differently."

My due date (May 15th) came and went on Tuesday. Caleb and I celebrated with a spicy Thai meal and some putt putt golf. It was a blast, and I am soaking up every last moment of having Caleb all to myself.

Sweet little Norah likes to be well-done. I had an appointment yesterday (40 wks + 1 day) and I'm still not dilated. Earlier this week I was stressing out because I would like to avoid induction as long as possible and I thought my doctor would try to push for it if I wasn't dilated. Caleb and I (and many other friends and family) having been praying that I would naturally go into labor to avoid the induction, and I woke up with so much peace yesterday. I knew I was dilated and pretty much figured out that we were having a baby last night.....

Well that wasn't the case....BUT my doctor is letting me go until 42 weeks before we induce. Praise the Lord! That allows my body 2 more weeks to prepare for labor. Initially, I was so happy because my stresses were gone, but then yesterday afternoon I felt a little disappointed and sad because I was SO ready to meet Norah. This is such a waiting game, and I've never been the most patient. I trust in the Lord's timing; I just wish He would tell me when. :)

So, I continue waiting, praying, walking, cleaning, and preparing. Another appointment next Monday!

I'm 38 weeks today. Wowser dowser.

The first 8 months flew by but this last month is much much slower. It's a waiting game, and patience has never been my strongest attribute. So many questions run through my mind. Will Norah come early, on time, or after her due date? What time will I go into labor? Will we be driving to hospital in the middle of the night, during morning rush hour, or after dinner? How long will labor last? What will she look like? Will she have a full head of hair? She should since I've had 9 months of heartburn. 


"As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." James 5:11


Deep down, I know and trust that God has a perfectly planned labor and delivery for sweet Norah, but yet I still wonder. Fortunately, I have plenty to do before she arrives. The car seat is not installed, and I'm not fully packed. I am a planner yet a procrastinator...a weird combination, I know.

But the month of May has arrived....the month of what should be our daughter's birth.....I'll be 42 weeks 3 days on June 1st. Let's pray she doesn't hold out that long.

I'm thinking of starting a journal of letters to my sweet daughter. It was an idea mentioned in my women's bible study. No pressure on frequency of writing....just a journal to occasionally write letters to Norah and then give to her when she graduates, gets married, or whenever? Maybe I'll stop by Barnes and Noble tomorrow and pick one up. :)

So I will continue to pray. If you think about it, will you please pray as well? Specifically for patience in His timing for Norah's birth, no complications, a relaxed and peaceful natural birth, that I would release all fear and what-if's, and that our wonderful Lord will be GLORIFIED to all those involved...nurses, doctors, staff, friends, family, etc.

My friend Julia told me an awesome verse to focus on during labor. Looks like I have a new memory verse to recite over and over and over. :)

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

Even though we have loved moving around and miss our Colorado and North Dakota friends dearly, there are definitely perks to being back home in Texas. I missed the colder weather, but I was thankful for the warm weather over Easter. We spent the weekend with my grandmother and family at Lake LBJ. The weather was perfect! Though I couldn't wakeboard and ski, I truly enjoyed watching everyone else while catching up on a tan I haven't had in years. Thankfully Target had a cute maternity bathing suit top I could pair with bottoms I already owned, so no bikinis for me!! The lake is my "happy place" and it was so good to be back! Bella also enjoyed swimming all weekend and slept for days afterwards. :)

Kim Knowlton and Rayne Knowlton hosted a memorable baby shower for us on March 31st. It was humbling to be surrounded by so many people that care for us and are excited for our little one's arrival. The weather was gorgeous as we sat under her covered patio overlooking Lake McQueeney. The decor and food were wonderful, all thanks to Kim's creative side and love for Pinterest. :) We played The Price is Right (one of my favorite game shows ever) to guess the price of certain baby items. I got 1 out of 10 correct. Then we played a Fairy Tale game, and apparently I need to brush up on those as well. She also had three pink bins of diapers and each guest was to estimate the total diapers. I guessed 84....I was only a 100 short. Needless to say, it's obvious I'm not a mom just yet. :)

32 weeks today! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is moving along! Norah's little body is growing and now weighs approximately 3.5 lbs. She still kicks, jolts, and spazzes, but lately I've enjoyed the progression to "belly waves." :) Caleb and I watched in awe last night as my belly would roll like a wave with her movements. I get the occasional bones pushing out but we haven't seen any actual hand or footprints yet. Due to my weird-already inny-outty belly button, I look like a turkey that has the red button popped out indicating "done." I'm feeling good, a little tired at times, but nothing too uncomfortable. I definitely feel pregnant, though. :)

My parents gave us an old filing cabinet that was tan, scratched, and boring. I had seen a few pictures on Pinterest of repurposed filing cabinets and new instantly that we could do the same. My sewing room is the one place in the house where I use brighter colors and patterns. I would love to eventually bring this throughout our house, but everything else is fairly calm, rustic, Pottery Barn-ish, etc.

Does anyone else still have tags on their bath and kitchen towels? One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing the tags sticking out of a hanging or folded towel. I am always tucking those suckers in. Why did it just occur to me to cut them off? It's not like I need to refer back to the care instructions for towels. I just purchased another pack of kitchen towels at Costco...my favorites...and did a large towel load. So I got the scissors and cut off each tag as I folded. It was WONDERFUL!

I made two throw pillows using a linen-like material from Ikea I bought for less than $4/yd. I received the vintage flour sacks from Caleb's Nana and hand-stitched them on the front.

That's right, I'm now 66.67% through this pregnancy! Hello Third Trimester!! I cannot believe how fast this has flown by. My belly is growing by the day, and it's hard to imagine how much more my skin can stretch. :) Sweet Norah's movements have progressed from the fun flutters around 16 weeks, to little bumps and hiccups during the second trimester, and now to rolls and either playing the drums or running in place against my ribs. My stomach literally shakes sometimes. :) I loooovveee feeling her roll against my hand. She feels like an actual person now.

So much has happened since my last post, and I just may try to add some posts on the last few months. Life is great right now. We are getting settled into our new home, all but three boxes in the house are unpacked, and the house is slowly getting decorated. I am trying to finish up some sewing projects, but unfortunately the list is growing faster than I'm completing them. I finished a friend's baby blanket, so now I am working on slipcovers for the two chairs in the living room. Then I need to figure out our drapes situation and tackle Baby Girl's bedding and quilt.