Decisions, decisions (etc.)

I haven't written in a week or so because we've been pretty busy with house-arranging stuff, getting ready for baby H, and getting some other things squared away. As you might have noticed, I'm also missing a belly picture from week 20, which is kind of disappointing since that was a real landmark week for me: THE HALF-WAY MARK!!! Well since the last time I wrote, we've made a few important decisions: I decided to withdraw from classes this semester in an attempt to lower my stress levels, and we've just recently (last week, actually) changed doctors. I'm really sad about that decision, and I admitedly almost cried when I went to say my goodbyes, but it was necessary since our insurance pulled a swift one on us. I still love my old doctor (Dr. Brazzel, he's amazing!!), but H assures me that my new doctor, Dr. Duff (who I meet with on the 14th for the first time) is equally as good.

Basically, our insurance company told us in the beginning that we would be covered 80% no matter where we went, but then we heard just a few weeks ago that actually, if we go to Shands, the hospital where H works, it's all covered 100%. So, for financial reasons, we've made the decision to switch. It was very sad for me, but I believe it will be the best decision for us in the long run. Other than these decisions, we've had a few other interesting developments. First, I've officially lost the ability to wear my wedding rings, which we had to literally ply off with soap after 20 minutes of holding my hand in the air to get the blood to flow out of it. Yeah, that left a mark. The second development is the lovely linea nigra that has developed in the bottom half of my tummy. Here's a picture, in case you're not clear on what that is:You can't see it very much now, but it will definitely get larger and darker. You can see it running from just below my soon-to-be-outie belly button down. The good news, though, is that I'm still safely without stretch marks...I guess we'll see how long that lasts. And, for good measure, here's my weekly picture, where you can REALLY see that I'm starting to "really blow up", as H so lovingly puts it. To quote Jon Stewart: "here it is, your moment of Zen.":

If that doesn't scare you just let me know, and I'll upload the picture I took on my cell phone in the Maternity store the other day, with the adds-three-months-to-your-pregnancy strap-on belly attached. Yeah, that was impressive, to say the least.
Thanks again to all of you for the prayers, thoughts, and well-wishes. Please keep them coming...before we know it, little H will be here in our arms, being adorable and changing our world forever. What a blessing!! :)

The joys of nesting (if you want to call it that)

I can't quite tell you what came over me this weekend, but I was absolutely overtaken by the most intense desire to clean and organize that I've ever felt in my adult life. It was completely ridiculous, but I guess it was desperately needed. Here is a quick review of what brought me to this point:

In our bedroom we have two closets, one very large walk-in and another regular-size clothes closet. Previously, I was using the large closet as my closet and the regular-size closet was sitting there filled with all those things that you can't throw away but that you want no one to see because they cause so much clutter. You know what I'm talking about. Anyway, we also have a second bedroom in our house, which H is now using as an office, but which we plan on converting into the nursery. This, of course, involves major work, since the office will be moved into the large closet and my closet will be moved into the regular-size one. Believe me when I tell you that we had MORE THAN OUR SHARE of junk that needed to be boxed up and stored away for good--in our fully working, but completely not-utilized, attic--and Friday was the day that I could no longer stand it. Just to give you an idea of how completely crazy I went once I actually started this massive organizing project, let me offer you a few pictures.

Here is our bedroom after I yanked everything out of the small closet and the large closet combined in order to switch them and empty the closet for H's office stuff to be moved in:

And here's the interior of the large closet, approximately mid-way through the organizing process:
Oh, you haven't had enough yet? Well, check out this photo of the soon-to-be nursery, just about right in the middle of all of this organizing bliss:And here's the other side of the room, with H working so diligently to get it all in order:But I guess it's true what they say: all's well that ends well. After all of our hard, butt-busting, and muscle-pulling labor (seriously, I think I pulled a muscle in my shoulder), we finally arrived at the clutter-free heaven I was hoping for. Here's the bedroom, post-insanity:And the office/soon-to-be-nursery, mainly just the delightfully organized closet space:I know, I know, it still seems cluttered, right. Well, it is a closet after all, and the truth is that it's a gazillion times better than it was before. And my favorite part: the tiny little H outfits hanging in the closet to the right. How adorable is it that both of my Henrys will be sharing closets!?! Geez, I love them. Overall, I feel TONS better, and I've freed up a lot of space so that I can REALLY start nesting. Ooooh, I can't wait! Oh, and just to add a little humor to it all, check out this picture H took of me during all of the chaos. You can really see my ever-growing belly, which H so lovingly referred to as a "tumor growing off of your body":And once again, I can't thank you all enough for your thoughts and prayers. Please keep them coming...we're pretty much halfway through, with only one half to go! Boy, are we blessed!! :)

The first baby suit!!

Today I finally broke down and bought my first ever baby outfit for Little Henry. It's TOTALLY adorable: it's like a nighty with little feet on the bottom, and the feet have these precious little puppy heads on them, sort of like those slippers that some adults (and many kids) wear. I absolutely love it and I made H take a picture with it, so you all can see it. I did too, of course! Here's H with it (look how teeny it is!!!)...how handsome is he all decked out in his doctor uniform?!?:

And here's me with it, still as teeny as ever (the outfit, not me, clearly!):

I just can't wait to see his teeny little body all snuggled up in it, he's going to be SOO precious! H loved the outfit too, and he said he thought it was really cute. Oh, and on a side note, here's my weekly picture, where you can CLEARLY see that my stomach is growing bigger and bigger each day. My belly button is even starting to stretch out so that I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to have an outie before it's all over with (eek!). We miss all of you guys and wish you could be here to share all these special moments with us, but I guess at least we have this blog, which I hope you all read and enjoy. At least then, we can share these moments in spirit. We love you a lot and thank you, again, for your thoughts and prayers. Keep it up!!