If You Haven't Noticed...

It finally happened!!! And as weird as this may sound, I am so excited some stranger noticed I was pregnant. I was getting so tired of telling people (when it came up in conversations) that I was indeed pregnant with their response always being, "Wow, well you don't look pregnant." I would just say, "I know."

NOT TODAY!!!! I have crossed over the line of looking like I am gaining weight to actually looking pregnant. Just thought I would share my little piece of excitement for the day.

Music for the Hospital

Tyler and I came up with all of the music for our wedding reception. This included finding songs specifically for dinner, dancing, and all the special moments (mother/son - father/daughter - first dance - garter toss - bouquet toss - etc) We even had a special song to play when our wedding party entered the reception. We had a ton of fun making our wedding CDs and I think everyone else enjoyed the music selection too :)

If we could do all that, we can definitely get some songs together to create the kind of atmosphere we are wanting in the labor/delivery room. I have a feeling our music list will include many James Taylor songs and maybe some Paul Simon.... Cat Stevens...Van Morrison... I am sure there will also be some blues as well. It's all about calming & relaxing!

In case you were wondering... Salt-N-Pepa's "push it real good" will not be making the list

ABC

What I am loving today... Felt Alphabet

Stretchy Pants & Other Things...

No more pre-pregnancy jeans... attempting to wear my normal wardrobe was becoming laughable. It's stretchy pants or maternity wear from here on out!

Another day at the doctors this morning... a quick monthly visit to hear our little girl's heartbeat (i just love that sound) and pick up a 'fruit punch' drink for next month's glucose test *yuck*

In the afternoon I got to spend some "me time" at the Mission Road Antique Mall - that place is HUGE!!! I found all different size/shape silver platters for an idea I have to help decorate Aliyah's room... I will post more about that later... Here is a sneak-peek of the platters I found:

I also ran to the store to pick up a few things and couldn't resist these flowers...

There is something to be said about fresh flowers in a kitchen - it's all about the simple beauties in life

Something About Shoes

I’ve forbidden myself from purchasing any shoes for Ali since I know once I start it would be hard to stop… but would you please look at these little lovelies? BE STILL MY HEART! Little doves and sunshine yellow... sigh. They’re perfect and I’m going to pretend they made them just for Aliyah.

Weekend Recap

First Baby Card We Got in the Mail....

Thank you to my friend/semi-cousin (ha) Lindsey!!! I wish you could have seen my face when I opened your card... I was SO excited - it truly made my day! You and Chris are amazing! I have had it up since the day it arrived.

Our New Bedroom Decor...

Tyler and I have had the same sheets on our bed for (almost) 4 years. They are great sheets, but were getting so worn that they even had some rips and holes... and we were still putting them on our bed - so sad, I know! I just couldn't take it anymore and went out to get new bedding along with a decorative pillow and window curtains. The best part was that Tyler was just as excited as I was when he came home and saw what I had done with our room!

... nothing too fancy, but it sure feels good to have a little freshness

Celebrating Birthdays...

Candy shared her box of Christopher Elbow Chocolate

fantastic chocolate and works of art!!

Both of my in-laws have birthdays this week!! Bill's birthday was Saturday and Candy's birthday is tomorrow. We had a great time celebrating with them yesterday. Tyler made two layered cakes that tasted great!! After baking, Tyler came upstairs to talk with me (he didn't let me help & wanted to make them by himself) and informed me, "When you are baking you find out a lot about yourself." I couldn't stop laughing - he is just too darn cute!

He had me come downstairs to check out his hard work. The chocolate cake was on the counter and had split in half with a big chuck that fell off the side, but still iced nicely. He reassured me that the lemon cake in the fridge was "soooooo much better" He opened the door and it looked pretty similar to the chocolate cake hahaha... I must say though, that both cakes were DELICIOUS!!!!

Father and Daughter

I started listening to more Paul Simon lately and found this beautiful song!! It is ridiculous that I cannot listen to it without tearing up a little... preg-zilla has completely changed over to a mushy puddle of sensitivity. (SIDE NOTE: I also cannot watch the TV commercial with the dog that is trying to find a secure place for his bone while the song "trouble" plays in the background - Yup that makes me cry every time! I gave up trying to hide my emotions and now just change the channel)

Tyler and I love this song! I feel like it was written especially for him and Ali because there is math in the lyrics - how sweet is that?!?!

I'm gonna watch you shine - Gonna watch you grow - Gonna paint a sign so you'll always know... As long as one and one is two, there could never be a father that loved his daughter more than I love you.

-- Paul Simon

I Wear the (Maternity) Pants in the Family

24 Weeks!!!

It's official... The maternity pants are out and about! I also decided that since my bump seems to be more noticeable these days I would sport the fun t-shirt Tyler got me on my birthday...

"rock the bump"

the traditional side shot -------------------------- ROCK ON!!!!

Baby Sheets

We found the perfect sheets for our perfect little girl...

A few weeks after we decided on these sheets my mom asked if I had realized that the sheets are the same colors we had used in our wedding... I never noticed! Tyler picked the wedding colors and these sheets, so I guess he really likes this color combination - How Funny!! We were both drawn to these darker sheets since we have a white crib and liked the contrast.

This photo is from Pottery Barn Kids, but I promise to post pictures of the nursery as we get the room more put together

1940s Revisited

Promises to Our Baby

My Sweet Little One,

We promise to love you forever and always. We promise to help you grow spiritually, mentally, physically and socially. We promise to help you...

BE...
Confident, Compassionate, Patient, Adventurous, Happy, Polite, Helpful, Honest and Creative

USE...
Self-Control and Perseverance

SHOW...
Empathy & Understanding for Others

HAVE...
Good Self-Esteem, Strong Values & Faith, Good Sense of Humor, Joy for Reading and A Love for your Family

Another Fun Find

When it started getting colder here in Kansas City I was digging through our bag of blankets to try and stay warm and I found this one that my mom had made me awhile back.

I decided to put this aside for Aliyah. I love the kids holding hands on one side of the blanket...

... and on the other side there is an embroidered hand that in American Sign Language means 'I Love You' (with an added heart in the middle)

This blanket is beautiful in so many ways. I love the bright colors and think that our little girl will too!

Weekend Recap

What A Fun Weekend!!!

Listening to live blues music in Kansas City... Hanging out with our good friends, the Hills... Eating BBQ with my family as we celebrate my cousin's next new adventure - deploying to Korea in the morning... Enjoying a great home-cooked meal with Tyler's side of the family.

Does it get any better than this?!?

My mom snagged this picture of me at Hayward's BBQ... a BIG thank you to Aunt Blue for a wonderful lunch together :)

23 Week Update

It seems like my belly has doubled in size this week. All of a sudden I’m finding it a little difficult to push myself off the couch and my skin is getting itchy from being stretched. We read recently that at about week 23 consistent outside sounds start to become familiar to Aliyah in the womb. Tyler has now increased the frequency with which he makes funny noises and songs and phrases like Aliyyyyyyyyyah….it’s me your daaaaaaaaaaaaad!” against my belly.

She is kicking so much! Yesterday morning I woke up to feel her stretching herself out so that I could feel her pushing on both sides of my belly at the same time. It’s amazing the comfort I find in her movements. Early in my pregnancy I worried how she was doing in there, hoped she was growing and thriving, but had no real assurance other than doctor appointments and ultrasounds. Now I get sometimes hourly reminders that she is alive and well inside of me.

I find myself struggling to put words around the joy it brings to me. These days I am existing inside a happiness unlike anything I have ever known before.

Creating a Baby in less than 9 Months!!

How funny Is This?!?!?

I was looking through some olds posts from my friend's blog and found this website (www.makemebabies.com). You download two pictures and the computer merges them together to create what your future baby will (supposedly) look like... check out that hair!!!

Celebrity Baby Bumps... Just for Fun!

DUE MAY 2010

Tiffani Theissen - actress (Kelly from Saved by the Bell)

Kerri Walsh - beach volleyball two-time Olympic gold medalist

Lauren Cassel - (husband is KC Chief's quarterback Matt Cassel)

...the only reason I know that Matt Cassel and his wife are expecting a baby is because Tyler and I ran into them at Pottery Barn Kids last weekend!

I would have never recognized him, but Tyler knew as soon as they walked in the door. Tyler quickly & quietly informed me that they met at USC and she was the captain of the volleyball team there - not to mention he knows many facts/stats of Matt's football career. Wouldn't it be weird if strangers knew crazy details about your life and you had no idea who they were?

Well, we ended up in line together and it was obvious we were both there for baby items. We started talking while waiting to check out - nothing football... all baby stuff and found out that our due dates are just a few days apart!

They were both SO incredibly nice. Needless to say (regardless of the Chief's record last season) I am now a huge Matt Cassel fan!!

FuzziBunz

First things first - disposable diapers take up to 15% of space in our landfills, use 37% more water to make than cloth diapers require to wash, and consume 70% more energy in production and disposal than cloth diapers. The environmental impacts are significant.

Secondly, disposable diapers cost you $1200- $3000 more for the same amount of use vs. cloth - and if you reuse cloth diapers for a second child, the savings increases even more.

While cloth diapers don’t necessarily work for every parent’s situation (note: a lot of daycares will not agree to use cloth diapers) in our case, we have the ideal situation to give them a go.

After reading more on home-wash cloth diapers and watching youtube tutorials on just how easy they are to utilize, I was convinced that this was the right choice for us too.

After reading reviews, we still may need to use throw-away diapers at night or on-the-go, but FuzziBunz seem like a great place to start. I love the bright colors, the adjustable sizes, and the positive effects on babies (no more diaper rash!) and on the environment - These diapers are very different from the cloth diapers my mom used when I was born!

I welcome ANY thoughts and experiences with cloth diapers - have you tried them? What worked? What didn’t?

Already Doing Some Shopping

Once I found out that we are having a girl (and even more so now that she has a name) everything seems so much more real... There is a little girl growing inside of me that will be cuddled up in my arms in FOUR MONTHS!!! Not to mention the fluttery little kicks & jabs that are now constant reminders from Aliyah that she is in fact really there.

Since I knew I was pregnant the baby isles in every store have seemed so much more interesting to me. Last week I finally gave in... I just couldn't help myself! I limited my shopping to three knit hats that I felt pretty confident would fit any size newborn. I guess my mom (who was shopping with me at the time) couldn't help herself either and ending up getting Aliyah these cute outfits and matching bibs.

I have also been looking around a little on ebay and picked up this beautiful silk scarf to tie to the outside of my black diaper bag - Since my bag is gender friendly I thought that adding this pink scarf may help strangers identify my bald baby as a 'she' and limit misidentifications ;)

I can't even put the right words down to express how thrilled, excited, and happy we are to have you with us Ali J...

Sock Monkey

ADORABLE...

I found this sock monkey on Etsy.com

Naming Our Baby

Naming a baby is serious business. It’s gotta be something that they won’t hate you for when they’re 17 (Sorry to my mom who suggested the family names Alma or Gladys).

It can’t rhyme with something horrible that mean kids at school will use against her, it should sound nice in your ears, and look nice when written out in cursive.

We’ve had this little girl’s name in our back pocket for awhile... we just didn't know how we wanted to spell it. We each had our own name we wanted, but I am really glad that we were able to pick a name together and that it is a name we both really like.

The Story Behind The Name:

Her first name just happened to be the ONLY one we both loved

Her middle name was the name of Tyler's grandmother...

She was such a beautiful woman with an even more beautiful heart. We had plans to go and visit her this past November and to share the news that we are expecting a baby. About a week before our visit she pasted away unexpectedly. Even though we didn't get to tell her face-to-face we know she is celebrating with us in heaven. We miss her dearly and will think of her always when we look into our daughter's sweet face.

We’re not sure if we’re going to call her Ali or use her full name - but we LOVE her name.

Aliyah Jacquelyn Inzer

You are ours, and we are yours little girl!

Bump @ 22 Weeks

22 Weeks!!!

Continuing with the bump picture every 2 weeks... still trying to fit into my pre-pregnancy pajamas!!

Blues Makes My Belly Bounce

I just LOVE listening, dancing, and finding a peaceful place in my busy life when I have blues in my ears!

Lately I have been enjoying Stevie Ray Vaughan along with a local blues group called Trampled Under Foot. Now that I can feel our little one dancing around in my tummy, I have noticed that she too finds enjoyment in the blues. This is what we have been listening to...

Signing Up for Baby Classes

I went to my first "prenatal class" this past Monday and it was WONDERFUL...

I started with a good 'ol prenatal yoga class. This is my first 'official' yoga class - I have done some Wii Fit yoga, but nothing beets a live instructor.

I wore my tightest work out clothes so I would "look" more pregnant at the prenatal yoga class. I was curious if I would hear the typical, "WOW... you don't even look pregnant." and then get kicked out - ha! I was so happy that when I got there, all the other women looked just like me! Nobody had a huge belly bump & most of them you wouldn't even know were pregnant.

The room was dark with one lamp on in the front and soothing music playing softly. I knew it would be a great work out class when the instructor said to pick up some blankets to take back to our mats rather than the huge stack of dumbbells against the wall!

Our instructor was great and would keep saying things like, "you and your yoga partner" I was trying to figure out who she was talking about. I was wondering if she meant that we were supposed to go home and practice with our husbands??? Finally I figured out toward the end of class that our "yoga partners" are our babies!

I am looking forward to next week when my yoga partner and I take our second class ;)

Our Little Girl

I am still trying to get used to saying SHE...

Well, here she is!!!

All Curled Up - head, body & spine (this is my favorite)

Looking Out - face & body

Looking Out #2 - face & arm

One Long Leg and a Cute Foot

Arm - including a hand and little fingers

Bum??? It's A Girl!!!

A Mother is Born

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new."

Rajneesh

The Grandparents Name Book

Raise your hand if you have a fanny or a granddad! Me?

(between Tyler and myself):

Grandma & Grandpa
Meema & Papa
Gandy & Toppy
Bear & Bam

I'm not sure exactly sure how the family settled on these monikers - and now, with Tyler and I bringing the first grandchild on either side into the world - our parents have already began to discuss what exactly this new little grandkiddo should call them.

I came across The New Grandparents Name Book to help give us some ideas. My mom has been leaning towards Grammy and Tyler's mom YaYa since day one, but our fathers have yet to settle on what their new granddaughter will call them.

Similar to a baby name book - this little book has just about every variation of grandparent names available. (It claims to have 700+ names) We’ve really laughed out loud over some of the suggestions:

For a grandma who likes a cold one: BeerMa

For a generously sized grandma - MaxiMa

For a tuba playing grandfather- UmPaPa

If there is a crazy grandparent name out there - this book has it and many clever, cultural, and unique suggestions too.

We’ve got a few months to go before our little one finds herself in the arms of a grandparent with a clever name - but in the meantime, it sure is fun to get creative.

Dogs & Storks

While flipping through the hospital magazine my mom gets in the mail, I came across some classes under Prenatal Education. I was getting pretty excited and as I was highlighting the classes I was interested in, I found this: Dogs & Storks

Learn how to prepare your dog for baby's arrival, understand dog body-language basics and solve attention-seeking behavior. We teach you how to set up safe and smooth introductions between baby and dog, and ways to include your dog in activities once baby comes home. COST: $30

I would have never-in-a-million-years thought that I would have an option to take a Prenatal Education class about good techniques to use with my dogs on easing their transition when adding a baby... I am not making fun, however I will not be attending this one - HA!

When Good Moms Go Bad

Happy New Years 2010!!!

filled with joy, passion, and new life

To celebrate, I decided to get a little crazy and turned up a bottle of sparkling white grape juice. I drank the whole entire thing while dancing around the house to Michael Jackson records.

If you want to make the world a better place take a look at yourself, and then make a change

-- Michael Jackson 'Man In the Mirror'