Celebrating Summer

I'm so thankful summer has finally arrived. I've stayed busy this week getting ready for our cruise as well as spending some time thinking/looking at baby stuff. Last weekend at the lake was wonderful and I'm looking forward to many more weekends there this summer. I wore my maternity swimsuits for the first time last weekend and they were actually kind of cute--at least my "baby bump" is cute! Of course I don't have any pictures of me in the swimsuits, but here are some highlights of the weekend.


Josh and Apoo (my dad) take a spin on the waverunner. Watch out--Josh is driving!

Will, my oldest nephew, finally got up on skis. He has tried the past 2 summers on trainer skis and hasn't been successful. He was using the skis that Wayne and I ski on when he got up and he just didn't stop. He got so confident that he was crossing the wake and even tried to drop a ski to slolom one time. Unfortunately I don't have any good pictures of him getting up on the skis because I have banned myself from our ski boat for the summer. The ride can be pretty bumpy. Better safe than sorry!

About 25 family members came to the lake on Sunday to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday. She is the one on the right sitting with 2 of her sisters. You would never guess she is 80!

On the baby front, I'm 22 weeks pregnant now. Hard to believe!!! My little girl is very active these days. When she moves, it has gone from a fluttering sensation in my belly to a more definite movement. I can tell she is getting bigger and stronger. I'm excited about planning her nursery when we return from vacation. I've decided to use the furniture I had growing up which is precious. It looks like doll house furniture and will be so cute for a nursery. It was actually the furniture I had until I got married! I'll have to post pictures of it soon. The pieces vary in color from a neutral color to a deep green and yellow. So, decorating will be a little bit of a challenge. I'm thinking maybe a green and cream toile for the bedding. Green's my favorite color. I going to look for a cream colored crib, so I think the green will be a good contrast. We will have to order the crib soon after our return from vacation, because they usually take 6-8 weeks to arrive. I've bought a few cute outfits for her and I find myself in the baby section of every store I go in. It's so much fun shopping for a girl after shopping for 4 boys (my nephews) for the past 9 years. What a fun summer it's going to be!

Rebecca

Lazy at the Lake

To celebrate the end of school and the long holiday weekend, we came down to the lake last night. I spent the day by the water with 12 other family members. No place I'd rather be!!! We will have at least 7 more join us tomorrow to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday. To some people spending a long weekend with 20 family members may not sound great, but I love family time. We will have my parents, grandparents, brother, sister-in-law, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and close family friends all here to celebrate. Needless to say, it won't be a quiet weekend at the lake but it will be memorable. I'll try to post some pictures soon.

On the baby front--Our little girl continues to be active day and night. I'm feeling great and excited to finally have the time to plan a nursery. I bought our first girl outfit while having a girl's night out with my best friend Heather last Friday. I wanted to be the first one to buy something for her and I knew I had to hurry! Since this little girl is the first on both sides of our family, I know she will be spoiled. My Aunt Linda was sharing all the cute outfits she had already purchased and I know she isn't the only one who has been shopping. :-) We received our first baby gifts this week. To thank me for a good year, the Director of Instructional Support for Hoover gave me a precious, tiny pink sweater and 2 sets of pink and white booties that look so tiny along with several burping pads. My OT at work, Julie, also gave me a beautiful white daygown with an embroidered cross and the verse Joshua 1:9 below the cross. It will be perfect for the baby dedication. It's exciting to think our little one will be wearing all these cute things in less than 5 months! I'm officially 21 weeks pregnant--past half way!

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend!
Rebecca

Happy News!!!

A profile shot of our little girl. The head is at the top left and you can see her chest and two little hands.
This is our little one's heart beat. Too bad you can't hear it. It's the sweetest sound to this mom to be!

Today was the day I have been waiting on since my last ultrasound 10 weeks ago. I'm thrilled to announce that the ultrasound today went very well and baby looks great--strong heart beat and all organs/structures in place. And the baby cooperated very nicely (let's hope that continues) so we were able to see it is a little GIRL!!! So, no more "it" and "baby". She's our little girl. It's amazing how much more real she seems now that we know she's a girl.

This was the first time Wayne was able to see or hear our little girl. He stood beside me and held my hand throughout the ultrasound. I think he was a little surprised when the lady told us she was a girl, but he was the first one on the phone when we left the doctor's office calling his sister to share the news. Baby Girl Crow will be the first girl on either side of our family, so I have a feeling she will be very spoiled.

The next task on the list is picking out a name. It's funny because we had almost settled on a name for a boy and had already decided the nursery would be a nautical/sailboat theme. We haven't really made any decisions about names or nurseries for a girl. That's on my "to do" list once school is finished.
Thank you all for your continued support, encouragement, and prayers. They are very much appreciated!
Love, Rebecca--Baby Girl Crow's mommy

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you ladies out there! It has been a great one for me. When I woke up this morning, I found a card and present from my baby. The card said how much he/she already loves me and the present was a picture frame with "Little Blessing" etched on it to hold baby's first picture. We spent the day with family celebrating the wonderful women in our family. It was a great time. Thanks Aunt Jo for having us! Lunch was wonderful. Then we met Wayne's mom and dad for dinner. It has been a wonderful day!
The countdowns are on--Just 2 days until we know if this little one is a girl or boy. Just 10 days of school left. And just 3 weeks until vacation!!! And only 144 days until my due date. Yeah!!! I'm so excited for Wayne to see our little one on the ultrasound on Tuesday. He loves to poke me in the stomach to make the baby start moving around. Just wait until he can actually see it. I'm excited to see if we should be preparing for a boy or girl, but even more excited to see that everything is going well with our little one. Thanks to all of you for your prayers for a safe pregnancy and healthy baby. I'll try to post our news on Tuesday!
I have a prayer request to share--A friend at work delivered her 4th baby on Tuesday and the birth was pretty traumatic. A few hours after birth Daniel stopped breathing for about 2 minutes and has been at UAB in the NICU in cold therapy since Wednesday. The therapy should help to minimize/eliminate any neurological damage that was done as a result of the lack of oxygen. Please pray for baby Daniel and his family!
Love to all,
Rebecca