Disregard the Countdown Ticker... she is here!

After an interesting turn of events, our little one is here a full week early. Kristin, who was getting to the miserably uncomfortable stage of pregnancy, was given clearance by her doctor to be induced a week ahead of time. The only trade-off was that we had to go to Northside Hospital in Forsyth County, a full half-an-hour's drive north of our expected delivery location. Our doctor was on-call there, so we opted to have her oversee the delivery, despite the drive.

Here's how it went down: We arrived on Tuesday night and K.'s water was broken Wednesday morning. About 8 hours later (at 6:24 PM, to be precise) Connor Ellory Horton was here. Kristin's mother and I were the "coaches" for the delivery, which was quite a sight. (I was scolded for texting updates to friends during her pushes, all while holding a leg up for her...).

Kristin amazed me during the entire process. She was in an extreme amount of pain before the epidural but was a champ throughout the entire time. After nearly an hour or so of pushing, Connor was out. I was speechless for the first 15 minutes, and Kristin cried as she held her for the first time. Amazing stuff, and to think it happens thousands of times a day.

Connor is an interesting little thing: she sleeps about 3 hours at a time, then begs (not really crying, but grunting) for food. We feed her, she opens her eyes and is alert for 30 minutes, then out she goes. She's also quite gassy, giving her father a run for the money. Oh, and she runs through about 8 poopy diapers a day.

We're still trying to get used to all of this and no pattern has yet emerged. That being said, we are thrilled to death with her. Connor has taken a couple of naps with her daddy and spends quite a bit of time wiggling in her mother's arms. Needless to say, we're smitten.

Still counting down...

Well, we thought that last night was going to be the night we went into labor. We obviously did not because I am updating our profile. No big deal though. The only reason we were so set on last night was because of the recent update we received from my doctor: she didn't think that she would be seeing us at our Monday morning doctor appointment. She thought that I would have gone into labor by then. We are super excited and cannot wait. Justin has thought, for a couple of months now, that she will be here tomorrow, March 15. I just assume that because the name we chose for her is so Irish that she would come on Saint Patrick's Day. How exciting would that be! The only drawback would be that we would not be able to go to Emily and Will's St. Patty's Day parties because we will be celebrating a birthday instead. But, we will see and only time will tell!

I am feeling great. Actually, that is a little bit of a white lie. I haven't slept the whole night (minus the frequent trips to the bathroom) in months. It is not because I am not comfortable or because she is kicking. None of that. I just have gotten into the habit of waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep for at least an hour. This has caught up to me and I am beginning to look like a train wreck!

Justin is great! His physical therapist is kicking his butt twice a week but it apparently has paid off because he is about to drop down to therapy once a week! We hope that when the baby gets here he won't have a problem holding her. That was the thought behind this shoulder surgery so we will see if it worked.

Hey, maybe the next time we post we will be posting pictures of our little bundle of joy!

Snow and anicipation...

We cannot wait for the arrival of Baby "CEH". We are preparing a little every day in anticipation. Cheryll came yesterday and helped me clean out the nursery closet. It helped so much! There is organization now. She put in the car seat. I took Oscar to camp today because he didn't get any exercise in this weekend and I have to say that he did not enjoy sharing the back seat with a car seat. He had to sit up instead of laying down. We hope he gets used to it! The baby's bag is packed and her outfit that she is coming home in is washed. It is now Justin and myself that need packing. We are getting on it!

We go back to the doctor today to see how I am doing. I will be 37 weeks tomorrow so we will see! We will keep you posted.

I took pictures of Oscar in the snow. We don't have children yet so he was the alternative. Look at how excited he is!

Nursery! Nursery! Oh my!

We are working on the nursery right now. This has been an exciting time because we have been waiting so long for her furniture. Everything finally worked out. Our furniture was on back order so The Baby's Room gave us the option to choose another company that has pretty much the same style furniture but it is a stronger wood or stay with the same company in hopes that the furniture comes in by the end of February. If we stayed with the original company then The Baby's Room would have thrown in another piece of furniture. We decided to go with the new company with the stronger wood because we are going to have this furniture for a LONG time so why not have a better wood?

I decided not to go with a theme because I didn't want everything matching the way those themed rooms go. I took a chance with making it all come together and we think it worked. We still have work to do but it is a start. the pictures show the major aspects of the room. Amy came over and helped to place the furniture. She helped tremendously because we had to come up with a way to make that bed fit in with all the other furniture. It was difficult but we did it! We are still going to add pictures on the wall and her name above her crib. I haven't decided what colors or patterns to use for the letters and am waiting for some advice. Enjoy looking and check back for updates!

Showers Galore!

I have had two showers in the past two weeks.  They were so much fun and both were so special.  Amy, Emily, Kristin and Renee threw a block-themed shower that was for my friends.  It was perfect!  The food was great and the company was even better.  Make sure you pay attention to the picture of the party favors and the sign, take one, made out of blocks. I thought it was so clever!  The girls did such a fabulous job decorating and making the food.  My mom was there along with neighbors of mine and old friends from college.  I don't like when things are done for me, like showers or birthday parties, so I was unsure of how I was going to be when I got there.  Everything worked out and I enjoyed myself.  I hope every one else did too!

My sisters and mom threw me my other shower.  It was great because all my family was there, along with my friends from Athens,  high school  and my mom's friends.  We had a blast!  The cup cakes were awesome!  Kerri and Cheryll did such a good job planning to make sure everything turned out right. It worked!  Thanks girls!

We are down to 40 days.  We cannot believe it!  The time has flown by, especially since around week 20.  I think the second half went by the fastest and has been the coolest.  You start showing and you feel her move.  Such a wonderful experience.  Justin and I are trying to focus on "us" right now and spend as much time as we can with each other.  Once she comes, that will all change so it is nice to get in all the love and hugs and cuddles while we can!

I HOPE to have pictures of the finished nursery soon.  We are still waiting on furniture.  The company has backordered everything so we are in the process of picking out new... So, when we get it we will take pictures of it. Promise!

Let's Set the Record Straight...

Justin here: I have, on numerous occasions, explained that I want Baby C to have an equal distribution of our features. For instance, I hope that she is blessed, like her mother, with a normal sized head. I hope she has her mother's cute nose. I only ask the she inherit her father's wonderful sense of humor, keen intellect, and fleet-footed dance moves. Oh, and perhaps a tiny bit less stubborn than Kristin... :)