He's here!

As you all know, we got a wonderful surprise on Thanksgiving - Mr. Jacob! We certainly didn't expect him to make his arrival on the 24th, but he had other plans. And we are so glad he is finally here! He's already one month old and we can't imagine life without him.

Now that we've had a little time to adjust to our new life and start to figure this little man out, I finally have some time to recap how he came into this world while he naps (and while his dad naps too!). So, here goes...

David and I were planning to spend our Thanksgiving/David's birthday weekend with a yummy birthday dinner, Thanksgiving dinner, relaxation and possibly go see a couple of movies. We got to have the yummy birthday dinner and that's about it!

On Wednesday the 23rd, we had a doctor appointment. At 1:30 p.m. that day, I was only 1-2 cm dilated and 60% effaced. We made plans to go back the next Tuesday so that the doctor could move some things along to get labor started. I told myself - no problem, I'll have a baby next week. That gives me a little more time to get some things done. But, Jacob had other plans...

In addition to the doc appointment, I spent all day making David a German chocolate cake from scratch (can we say nesting!?) and made teriyaki chicken in the crockpot for his birthday. We also heard from our good friends who were in town, so they came by to say hello. Around 11:30 p.m., I headed to bed. David came to bed about midnight and was reading in bed when I woke up at 1:30 a.m. with contractions. However, I was sure that I wasn't having contractions, but rather indigestion. I was wrong. It felt like cramps, and we started to time them with our nifty contraction app on the iPhone (yes, there's an app for that. Turns out, I slept through a lot of the contractions and by the time I woke up, they were already two minutes apart (they suggest you go to the hospital when they are five minutes apart). So, we called the doctor. She said it could be indigestion or contractions. She suggested taking some medicine and trying to get some sleep to see if they go away. They didn't. So, we decided to go to a 24 hour pharmacy to get some medicine. We threw in our hospital bags on the off chance I was in labor. When we got to the pharmacy (which was closed, by the way), I told David they were getting worse. So, we called the doctor back as we sat in the parking lot. After much debate, we decided it was time to head to the hospital. I didn't want to go and get sent home, but luckily David didn't listen to me. On our way to the hospital, we called Meredith to tell her to make plans to get to Austin.

After all of this, it was about 3:30 a.m. when we got to the hospital. It turns out I was 3 cm dilated and 100% effaced. I was officially in labor! We lucked out and got the last room in the labor and delivery wing, and got checked in. David and I did a couple of laps in the labor and delivery wing and used our breathing techniques. At 7 a.m., we had a nurse shift change, and about that time, I decided it was time for the epidural (I was also 5 cm dilated). They had to call the on-call OBGYN and the anesthesiologist, and it took about an hour to get them to the hospital and about another 30 minutes to get things going. Once I had the epidural, the doctor came in around 9 a.m. She checked me out (I was about 8 cm dilated) and said, "here's what we are going to do. I'm going to break your water, you and your husband are going to take a power nap and then we are going to push." And, that's pretty much what happened. Poor David was able to get a little bit of sleep (since he hadn't been asleep at all), but I pretty much just "rested my eyes." About 11:10 a.m., we started to push, and Jacob was born at 11:25 a.m! He weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz., and was 20 1/2 in. long.

Unfortunately, Meredith missed the birth (she calculates that her plane was landing about the time he was born), but she was the first one to meet him and find out his name! David's parents were also able to fly in on Thursday to meet him. My parents came the next weekend to spend time with their new grandson.

We are still a little bit in shock about how quickly he came, but I'm not complaining! He was ready to make his debut and wanted to share a birthday with his daddy. Jacob has been a model baby, and has a very good temperament. He loves to eat, sleep and poop, which are all good! David and I have been soaking in every moment!

It's the Final Countdown!

I'm officially 39 weeks, and one week from today is Baby Fluty's due date. But, the question remains...when will he actually make his appearance? David and I jump back and forth from "we're ready for him to be here" to "let's enjoy our last few days (or weeks?!) as a couple." Either way, whenever he decides to make his appearance, we're ready!

For fun, here's a picture of me at 8 weeks and then at 39 weeks. No one said he was going to be a small baby!

Baby Fluty's new digs

The nursery is (almost) complete! I'm so excited with the way it turned out, and can't wait for Baby Fluty to get here to introduce him to his new room. Yes, I know he won't care about his room for a while (if ever), but being a "girl", I had to make sure it was perfect for him!

I put up a "sneak peek" of the nursery before it was complete - you can view the blog entry here. Now, to unveil the (slightly) finished product:

Just a few of my favorite things:
1. The color palette. I love these colors, and the best part is, no one else will have them! My mom and I found them at Hancock Fabric, and my mom made everything!! A big shout out to her - it looks amazing.

Used to make the bulletin board (see picture of changing table below)

Used to make the bumper pads & crib skirt.

Used to make the valence & side table.

 2. The ABCs of Transportation print. I found it on etsy.com and I love it.

3. Incorporating David and I into the nursery. A lot of the decorations are from our childhood or represent us in some way. On the bookcases, we've got David's 7 month handprint, his picture from when he was a "donut spokesbaby" (can we say foreshadowing?!? Donuts are my life!), childhood rattles and books, and his ExpressJet hat. We also put my "little sluggers" hat on there, as well as my orange teddy bears. The propeller was David's grandfather's, and it fits perfectly with the transportation theme. In the crib are childhood stuffed animals from both of us. 

4. The glider! And, everything that goes with the glider. But, mainly the glider. It's about the most comfortable chair I've ever sat in. Which is good considering we're going to be using it a lot! Also, note the baby blanket made especially for Baby Fluty by one of my co-workers. :)

5. His library. My friend Amy had the greatest idea - instead of a card at my shower, she asked everyone to bring a book for him. It filled up his shelves in no time! Can't wait to start reading to him.

6. His Bathroom. Okay, technically, it's not a part of the nursery, but it's cute anyway, so I wanted to share! 

What's still missing:
1. Take a look at the picture of the glider. No, I did not frame a picture of a bouquet of flowers for his nursery. It's going to his birth announcement, which I also found on etsy. Here's the link (and no, it's not a hint for his name...gotta keep you guessing!).

2. His name above the crib. This is about the hardest thing to keep under wraps. I bought the letters for his name a while ago and have decided to paint them blue, to match the blue in the room. I usually bounce ideas and thoughts off of my mom, but I couldn't with this because she doesn't know the name. I think she'll be pretty excited to see how I did on my own (although she would have loved a sneak peek of his name!).

3. BABY FLUTY! We're expecting his arrival any day now, and we can't wait to bring him home!

My 1st Pinterest Recipe!

I've recently become addicted to Pinterest. And because I'm 39 weeks pregnant and all I want to do is eat, I've been "pinning" a lot of recipes. I couldn't wait to try a recipe for crescent cinnamon rolls:

Source: janedeereblog.com via Courtney on Pinterest

I had a coupon at Costco for crescent rolls (and everyone knows how I love to buy in bulk - we now have 5 cans of crescent rolls residing in our fridge), so I figured this was the perfect time to try it. They turned out so yummy and were so simple to make. Here's my pictures (please note, they aren't as pretty as the pic from Pinterest, but still just as yummy I'm sure):

Happy Halloween!

(I think Charlotte will be glad there will be a baby to dress up next year instead of her! But, she's a good sport!)

I've been nesting...

Yesterday, I was in "Suzy Homemaker" mode. I prepped all of our meals for this week (including crock pot Chicken and Dumplings for our Halloween dinner) and made cookies!

We won't talk about the fact that the cookies are hard as a rock and I'm fairly certain one of us will break a tooth...better luck next time! :)

A wonderful October!

October has been a whirlwind for us...which means one step closer to meeting Baby Fluty (and revealing the name)! We've had lots of baby activities happening, starting with my wonderful baby shower on October 1st. A big shout out to Julie, Larissa, Laura and Amy who threw the best shower! 

 Check out more of the pictures on my Facebook album!

 We also took some GREAT maternity pictures in three different locations - South Congress in Austin, the farm in Missouri, and in Dallas with David. Thank you to Meredith who is wonderful photographer and captured some great pictures for us!

  Check out more of the pictures on my Facebook album!

We've also survived all of our child prep classes including breastfeeding, childbirth, and infant care. The nursery is pretty much complete (post to come soon!), and David is finishing his final trips before he takes off for baby.

In addition to all the wonderful baby happenings, I took my last plane trip before the baby to go to the farm to be there for our October family reunion. I'm so glad I got to go! We also made the car trip up to Dallas to celebrate a beautiful wedding with some great friends. As October comes to a close, we're starting to realize...WE'RE GONNA HAVE A BABY! Speaking of that...must go...I hear laundry, bag packing, toy assembly, and everything else calling my name!

Nursery Sneak Peek!

Baby Fluty's nursery is coming right along! After agonizing (and trust me, it was agony...especially for everyone who listened to me go back and forth!) over what to do for the theme and bedding, I decided to do a color scheme instead of an actual theme. I found three prints and instantly loved them. My mom was gracious enough to volunteer to make the bedding, curtains, nightstand cover, and bulletin board for the nursery. I'm super excited about it and can't wait to see the final product (and David is super excited I finally decided what to do!). Here's the fabric choices:

Before this room officially became the nursery, it was one of our guest rooms. So, we had to clean out and start from scratch. The blank canvas...

 

Today, David and I placed all the furniture, and David hung the curtain rod. We're all set to decorate now! The updated product...

We'll have more to update as we continue to finish his room. Can't wait to see it with all the color and decorations up!

What we've been up to...

The Fluty family has had a busy last couple of weeks. Here's a recap in pictures:

 I spent the last two weeks traveling for work (and reminiscing about my college years while I was at Texas State for recruitment - that's me in the middle of the picture!).

 David just got back from the annual Dove hunt at the farm (note his "fanny pack" for hunting he got before he left...also note he doesn't call it that, but I'm convinced that's what it is). He's off to the great Elk hunt in Wyoming next week.

 Murphy figured out how to climb into the kitchen cabinet and onto the shelf. It took me fifteen minutes to find him.

 Charlotte continues to be nervous...especially when her mom packs for trips (and David makes her sit on the lawn to watch me drive away...poor baby!)

And Rico has discovered the new BOB stroller. This cat sure does have expensive taste!

28 weeks!

We've officially entered the 3rd trimester. Won't be long now! 

Early Anniversary Celebration

Since David and I will only see each other for about two hours on our actual anniversary (duty calls - we both have to work), we decided to go ahead and celebrate this weekend. We had a great time relaxing and enjoying more of Austin. Here's a recap:

We started with dinner on Friday night at Truluck's, our favorite seafood and steak restaurants. David surprised me with an anniversary gift...

 

A James Avery charm bracelet! The wine bottle represents where we met (at Cork & Co.) and that we got engaged at a winery in Napa Valley. The dolphins represent our honeymoon in Hawaii. I can't wait to add to it with Baby Fluty and other great things in our lifetime. 

On Saturday, we started at Kerbey Lane for pancakes and omelets, and then came home and relaxed. I should rephrase that - by "relaxing" I did laundry and vacuumed. David helped clean the kitchen, which I'm sure wasn't his version of relaxing. But, in the end, I felt better with the house being clean, which, I'm sure, in turn was better for both of us (David says I nag...I have no idea what he's talking about!). :)

We finished the day with a wonderful homemade meal. David grilled pork tenderloin, and we had also had potatoes and tomatoes from the farm. To top it off, I made German chocolate cupcakes (but don't get too excited - it was a box mix). The cupcakes were David's request (see picture above), and it reminded us of his groom's cake (which was German chocolate in the shape of a horseshoe) at the wedding. It was all quite delicious!

 On Sunday, we ate until we couldn't move at Moonshine Bar and Grill. They have an amazing all-you-can eat brunch, and me, being the pregnant woman I am, took full advantage. I even got a comment from the next table on how much I ate. What can I say? Baby Fluty loves brunch!

We finished our weekend with wonderful massages at Viva Day Spa. Afterward, we came home and truly relaxed this time...by lounging on the couch all day.

We both have a busy September ahead of us, and it was nice to take time out and enjoy each other and take full advantage of the great things around Austin!

The Grill master

Although it's been a hot, hot summer, it hasn't stopped us from grilling! David has become quite the grill master, and we've been enjoying some yummy food. Here's David in action:

 Pork Tenderloin

 Cedar Plank Salmon with grilled veggies

Grilled Pizza - our favorite!