Introducing Baby Clara

Our little Sweet Pea made her way into the world on Monday, July 25th. We've been soaking up our first few days with Clara and getting to know her. She's a wonderful baby ~ sweet, calm, content. We're constantly admiring and stroking her lush head of dark hair, inhaling her sweet baby scent, staring at her every move. She is truly intoxicating!!!

Not My Typical Sunday

On the surface looking in, this would seem like any ordinary Sunday in our home. Sleeping in. A nice breakfast. Some cleaning and laundry. Running a few errands. Enjoying each other's company. Spending time with our animals.

If you dig a teeny tiny bit, just below the surface, you will see that this is one of the most non-typical Sundays we've ever had. Why? Well, it's our last day at home as a three-person family. Our baby girl still hasn't made an appearance and I will have to be induced tomorrow morning. This is not the outcome I'd hoped for but it's a decision we thought long and hard over and have made our peace with. My doctor's office will not allow anyone to pass the 42-week mark, not even by one day. You also can't be induced on a Saturday. So my choice was to be induced on Monday with my very own doctor or wait until Thursday/Friday and have a complete stranger deliver my daughter. I have to be honest and tell you that the whole induction thing scares me a little. I've often heard it's more painful (as if!) and that you're three times as likely to end up having a C-Section. Criky. At the same time, my doctors have assured me that I've already progressed so much that it should be a quick and "easy" induction. I can only hope that they're right. My body already shows every imaginable sign that labor is going to happen at ANY MOMENT. And, at the end of the day, if I have to be induced, I'll feel so much more comfortable with my doctor's friendly face there helping me out. SO.....

Here we are. Relaxing at home but KNOWING that it's the last day of reality as we currently know it. It's such a bizarre state of being. Cleaning took on a different meaning today. It wasn't just the normal obligatory cleaning.....it was thinking that this baby girl deserves to come home to a nice, tidy, clean home. The laundry even felt different. It was a matter of saving myself from having to do it when we get home from the hospital. Instead I can spend that time cuddling and getting to know daughter #2. The errands took on a more important sense of urgency. It's peace of mind knowing that there's plenty of food for us and our beloved animals. As a bonus, thanks to Mom, Alain and I even got to enjoy a lunch alone today. A true luxury at any time but even more so knowing that our family grows by one tomorrow.

You could also say that I'm more emotional today. I can't help it. I now know for sure that today is my last day alone with Sophie. Starting tomorrow she will have to share my attention with her little sister. Her little world will be turned upside down. Even though I know what it's like to bring a new baby home, she has no idea. At the same time, my excitement for her is overwhelming. Tomorrow she will gain a sibling, a baby sister. My hopes for them, for their relationship, are so high. It all starts tomorrow. I can hardly believe it.

And this baby. This baby. We've been through a lot to get to this point. Several miscarriages. A lot of disappointment and worry. A moment of giving up. A big, happy surprise. Some concerns about the baby's well-being early in the pregnancy. A more difficult pregnancy than my pregnancy with Sophie. Our second overdue baby (our girls really do like to make us wait!). Now, only 16 hours left to wait...

More than anything, I look forward to having this baby come out and finding out that she's healthy. That is my biggest hope for tomorrow and I look forward to flushing that concern away. Secondly, I just can't wait to see her little face, her body, her lovely little hands and feet. Will she look like her sister? How will the experience be different? Will she have hair (oh how I love babies with loads of hair!)? What will happen when Sophie lays eyes on her for the first time? There are so, so, so many thoughts, feelings, questions floating through my mind.

So, as you can now see, this is not a typical Sunday. Not typical but oh so beautiful in so many ways. And I will enjoy every single solitary moment of it.....knowing that my life will only grow and become more full and enriched and overflowing with love tomorrow. Tonight, when I lie down for my last peaceful sleep for a while, as my head hits the pillow, I will whisper Sweet Dreams to my life as I know it.

It's the Season of the Lion..

....Leo roars to life!!! This was a headline on MSN this morning. It reminded me that my baby girl, who is due at any moment, is now a LEO!!!! I can't even believe it. All this time, I've been reading up on the Cancer zodiac sign. You see, I am a very grounded Earth sign. I'm not only a Taurus but my ascendent is also Taurus. Yet I live with some FIRY, FIRY, FIRY folks. You might know them as Alain & Sophie. So, as soon as I learned I was expecting, you best believe I started researching. I was hoping to have a baby with a strong earth or water sign to balance things out in this house. But I guess that wasn't meant to be. Leo is a fire sign. And I am now strongly outnumbered!!!! :-)

{image via MSN}

(*No, I don't hedge all of my bets on the zodiac signs.....it's more like a fun little hobby.....to read up on, research, better understand other folks.)

The truth is I don't care what my baby girl is.....I just can't wait to meet her. My little lioness cub! Come on out, baby girl.....it's TIME TO ROAR!!!

My Mad Men Obsession Continues....

I was thrilled when I read the news that Mad Men has been nominated for 19 Emmy awards. Let's set one thing straight though ~ I am not your stereotypical celebrity-obsessed American, I don't typically watch awards shows and I don't watch much TV at all. Still, somehow I got caught up in this show and I LOVE IT!!! I often wish I could be a member of the show staff that researches all things 1960's to make the show as accurate as possible! How fun would that job be?

Anyway, I can't say that I will watch the Emmy's (unless it's to catch a glimpse of Jon Hamm) but I will definitely follow to see which awards they do receive. See this link for the list of nominations. I will be rooting hard for Jon Hamm as Best Actor, John Slattery for Best Supporting, Elizabeth Moss for Best Actor and (surprise!!!) Randee Heller as Miss Blankenship for Outstanding Guest Actress. Also, Matthew Weiner is up for a writing award for my favorite episode from Season 4, "The Suitcase".

Also, some miscellaneous Mad Men items:

I love this interview with Jon Hamm.

Did you know there's a Don Draper Barbie?

I didn't realize that John Slattery had directed an episode this past season. Here's his take.

Banana Republic will be offering a line of clothing based on Mad Men characters/1960's looks. Hmmm....how quickly can I lose this baby weight???

My own musings on Season 4.

Original Birth Announcement Ideas

What a pleasure to head to the mailbox today and find this little cutie awaiting....

I immediately fell in love with the foil envelope and the petite size.

And could that be.......could it.....yes, it is.....coordinating stamps. Aaaahhhhh...

(wish we had some little stork stamps like these ~ so, so cute!)

Our friends, who live in Holland, gave birth to their third child at the beginning of June. As soon as I saw the envelope, I knew this was the birth announcement. You see, their birth announcements are so original. With their first child, it was a puzzle. You had to put it together to read the details. With their second child, it was a beach ball. You had to inflate it as the details were printed on the actual ball. Here is the third.....

It's a handheld fan. As you can see, all of the baby details are printed on the front.

This sweet little homemade card with the crown embellishment is a Thank You card they sent for our baby gift. It's too adorable!

So this very original birth announcement got me thinking about how traditional Americans are with regard to their birth announcements. Don't get me wrong.....I LOVE a nice birth announcement, especially one with photos. However, I am quite intrigued now by other birth announcement ideas. After doing some Googling, I found some new, refreshing ideas (too bad I ordered ours weeks ago!). These few were my favorites:

The bookworm in me is IN LOVE with the idea of birth announcement bookmarks.

{via Bean Sprout Studio on Etsy}

Personalized seed packets? Oh my, how I do love this idea. These in the photo are baby shower favors but you can personalize them to say whatever you want. I'd love to receive something like this!!!

{via The Country Crier}

Birth Announcement Magnets. There are so many to choose from. I liked this one because I'm always drawn to very colorful transportation themes.

{via Magnet Street}

A Perfect Sunday

Beautiful & mild weather.....

Good quality bike time....

Scooter time....

....and time for climbing trees.

D-DAY.....

......has come and gone. My official due date was yesterday, July 16th. And guess what.....

Still no baby.

{photo taken at 39 weeks}

As with her Big Sister, it appears this baby girl is making me wait as well. Sophie was born exactly one week past her due date. We'll have to see how long this little one will make us wait. In the meantime, we are hanging out and taking it easy. Honestly, with so little sleep, I don't have the energy to do much more than that. I'm trying to save the little energy I do have for this labor experience. I am very sure I'll need it.

The excitement and anticipation......I have to say.....there's really nothing else quite like it.