Molly Piper's SUPER SWEET Nursery

...Well, the regular doors have been removed and the screen doors that Todd worked VERY hard on and did SO WELL on making, they are hung now! The furniture's put together, everything is washed and dried (in Dreft, of course!) and dusted and vacuumed and everything is just very put together right now. The car seat is installed and the stroller is loaded into the trunk! The monitor is under her crib and it's plugged in, just waiting for us to turn it on next week when we bring her home. The night light is installed. The dreamcatcher has been hung in the window with care. The room darkening shades are hanging in the window behind the long, flowing curtains I made. Her piggy bank has money in it already (courtesy of her daddy and grandma Rosa!) and her first-ever savings bond is safe in the safety deposit box at the bank.

...The changing "station" is well-stocked. We decided against using our changing table because this dresser had more room, so it just made more sense to use it instead. Molly has a TON of blankeys in baskets under her crib and in drawers! She has 4 Boppy covers, but my favorite is the Pottery Barn plushie our friend Traci had Sharon embroider for Molly. It's SO soft! The books are stocked, stacked and poised, ready to be read to Miss Molly Piper! The stuffed animals are ready to be played with (well, SOMEday soon!). Her clothes are hanging neatly in her closet and grouped by size/season, all ready to be filled with CHUBBY BABY! Her hamper is empty, but it's ready to be used! The diaper pail has yet to be christened with that first-ever diaper, but it, too, is on the ready.

...FredBird, St. Louis Cardinals mascot, is perched atop the BEAUTIFUL rocking horse that Amber's granddad made for Molly. These are 2 of my most favorite things in the entire room, FredBird and that rocking horse. I'll just bet in Summer '09 when Molly is taken to her FIRST OF MANY Cardinals games that she is scared of FredBird but maybe with this little guy that Todd and I made at the stadium this summer at the Build-A-Bear store, she will be used to seeing him and maybe he won't get to her as badly?! You think? LOL.

...AND LAST BUT certainly NOT LEAST...

Our bags are packed and ready to go to the hospital within the week! WOOOO HOOOOOOO! We cannot wait to meet our Molly Piper and find out just "WHO" she is and WHO she will become.

...STAY TUNED! :)

xoxoxoxo

liz

Workin' Hard on the Nursery!

What a WONDERFUL husband I have...and what a WONDERFUL daddy Todd will be! Look at how hard he worked getting the baby's furniture put together a few weeks ago...
And THEN he put together our glider rocker that our friends Judi, Carol, Valerie, Vicki, Dianne, Emily, Teresa, Genelle, Pam, Dana and Kelli chipped in to buy for us...Isn't it beautiful? And it matches the room SO WELL. It's also VERY comfortable...
Pooooor Todddy! I pooped him out with his "honey do this" list!! I think by looking at these next couple of pictures you can tell just HOW comfortable the glider is! Thanks so much, ladies, for the beautiful and thoughtful gift! xoxoxo

Maxxin and Relaxxin in Molly's nursery...hey, he deserves it after all Todd has done for me throughout "our" pregnancy!!! :)

Thank you, Todd, for taking me to EVERY doctor's appointment EVERY month, asking lots of good questions and for getting mad at the nurse when she told me all my weight gain was "not all water weight"!! Hehhehehe. Oh, and Toddy? Remember what I did at our last appointment that involved a Full Moon? I laughed so hard and I will NEVER forget that!! I love you SOOOOO much. Thank you for making this first pregnancy such an enjoyable and comfortable time for ME, as well. Molly is such a lucky baby to be blessed with you as her daddy! xoxooxoxox liz

The Waiting is the Hardest Part!

Oh baby dont it feel like heaven right now

Dont it feel like somethin from a dream

Yeah Ive never known nothing quite like this

Dont it feel like tonight might never be again

We know better than to try and pretend

Baby no one could have ever told me bout this

The waiting is the hardest part

Every day you see one more card

You take it on faith, you take it to the heart

The waiting is the hardest part

...those lyrics by Tom Petty describe perfectly right now how I'm feeling. I'm TIRED of waiting. I'm SORE from waiting. I'm READY to meet my baby daughter. I'm READY to realize my dream and start raising a family with Todd. I hate to keep complaining about my physical ailments, but seriously, I can barely even WALK today, the swelling is so horrendous. It took me almost 5 minutes to hobble out and get into the car today when I left to go mail a package! I move slowly and it's NOT the belly (although the belly *IS* huge!), it's these humongo feet, ankles and calves.

I have tried just about everything I can find to induce my own labor. EVERYTHING. Dr. T suggested something to me this evening that I am considering trying: castor oil! UGH, I can just imagine how THAT tastes. But this is how desperate I am. I'm in so much pain it's crazy and what is worse is there is nothing much I can do about it. I just popped a Tylenol, just now! I don't know if it will do any good at all and I HATE taking stuff but let me repeat: I AM MISERABLE AND DESPERATE. DESPERATELY MISERABLE. MISERABLY DESPERATE.

Thursday, I hope to be able to enjoy that prenatal massage and that awesome Mexican food. Perhaps if one of THOSE two lovelies doesn't throw me into labor on my own THEN I will try the castor oil. Then I can go into labor on Friday, have the baby and be back home all by Monday or Tuesday! Wouldn't THAT be great?! Oooh, I have it all planned out and I only WISH it were that easy. We will know more Wednesday at our next OB visit. Hopefully Dr. Collins will tell me I've dilated even more and just send me right over to the hospital! Either that or he will be very reassuring that labor is near, no induction necessary! That would REALLY be a blessing because I am NOT excited about the possibility of being induced. At this point, I'd do it in a heartbeat just because of all this pain and discomfort but I have read and heard it said that inductions make the labor stronger and harder...and labor sounds like it's hard enough work, just letting nature run its course, without the interference of medical technology and its silly little Cervidil, the pregnant woman's wolf in sheep's clothing.

Meanwhile, here are a few pictures of me...waiting...

And yes, I KNOW my clothes don't match! But you know what? Right now it's slim pickens in my closet. Nothing fits!! NOTHING! I have a pair of yoga capris that still fit, and a pair of velour pants that still fit. I have a few shirts that fit me, too. But honestly, I was doing just fine in the clothing department until a few weeks ago and then my tummy REALLy did a number on me and just POPPED out there! This little phenomenon really wrecked havoc on my wardrobe choices because now not even the Bella Bands can save me; they still let the pants fall down because my belly is so large! LOL. So, if you see me out and about, which will be rare, I'm telling you, but if you do, I will most likely be wearing black stretchy pants and some kind of maternity top...and flip flops. Nothing fits on these feet of mine...house slippers barely fit! I can't wear socks OR Crocs. So, flip flops it is. And they're not even my really cute Gap ones! They're these old black ones from Old Navy LAST summer (as in 2007) and they are totally WORN OUT but they're the only ones in my closet that fit and even then I'm not sure 'fit' is the most appropriate word. They'll go on my feet! How 'bout that?!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for pictures of Molly's nursery! It's adorable!

xoxox

liz

Just a Little Yearbook Fun!

Oh, for Pete's sake, I HOWLED the night I found THIS little treasure! It's at http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ and trust me, it's hilarious! I laughed so hard I couldn't catch my breath when I showed Todd his "yearbook pictures"! He was brushing his teeth at the time and I saw him crack a small smile, but I could tell he was NOT amused! LOL. If you have any free time, you've GOTTA go there and make your own photo! It's a hoot!

To kick things off, this is ME in Nifty 1960!

LIZ--1962!!

LIZ--1968!

Liz's yearbook photo, circa 1974, below:
Below, that's ME in 1994. I don't recall my hair EVER looking that fried! Wow, look at all the hairspray! LOL.

Molly's mommy in 1998 (ummm, I actually graduated in 1995)!!

AND NOW...Let's see what TODD's pictures turned out like...

Above, Todd in 1960!!! SEXXXXXY!!!!!!!

Molly's daddy in 1974...Welcome Back Kotter? Or Steel Wool? Or a million spiders having a meeting on top of his head???! You decide!

Molly's Daddy in 1976. Doesn't he look sweet?!

...and here he is in 1988! He looks like a total meat head here. Nope, ladies and gentlemen, he was NOT impressed when I showed this to him! LOL.

...and in good ol' 1994! Uh, he actually graduated in 1994! Do you remember those dorky backgrounds in the so-called "spring pictures" at NHS?

...and FINALLY, the real US! This was taken on our 3rd wedding anniversary, 07/28/08! Todd is so adorable! :) Thanks for being such a good sport, Toddy. I love you so much! *kiss kiss*

Our Baby Shower, 10/11/2008

Kelli threw our baby shower in Mounds, Oklahoma, on October 11, 2008. It was SO much fun! It was a potluck and we had a delectable cake from Merritt's Bakery (Todd's and my FAVORITE!), courtesy of Miss Judi. Susan did all the beautiful party favors/treats as well as the diaper cake, one of my very favorite features of the shower. Teresa, always so much fun, was in charge of games and even got Todd to participate in the Dirty Diaper Toss. He kept sneaking outside to smoke and hang out with Kelli's and Lise's hubbies, so we couldn't get the gift-opening going until he was found!

This is me, all smiles the day before our baby shower! We woke up at 5:00 to go to Missourri for the day as one of our last "trips" before Molly arrives. We had a lot of fun and Todd drove his truck. We ate breakfast at Cracker Barrell, had ice cream later that day at Dairy Queen, and then ate dinner at Olive Garden on the way home. Todd got to shop and browse in one of his favorite stores, Grizzly, while were were there. I was going to do some shopping but was so pooped out I honestly didn't feel up to it! WOW! There's a FIRST!

Seriously, something happened and we thought I might go into labor so we headed home...but not before devouring some Olive Garden and getting some cheap Missourri gasoline for the truck!

I'm NEVER this awake at 5:00 in the morning! Well, except maybe right now...

The picture of Todd, above, was actually taken 10/01/08. We ventured to Los Cabos for Mexican food. YUM!! This is my NEW favorite place to eat. They have 2 locations, one on Riverside and one by Bass Pro in Broken Arrow. Thanks to our friend Pam for introducing this place to us!!!! WE LOVE IT!

...At my insistence, Todd is pictured here working hard on the stroller/travel system combo. Didn't take him very long at all. If it were ME attempting to put that thing together, I would STILL have the thing in pieces, strung out all over the living room floor. Sadly, the same is true even though it came with full instructions!!! LOL... He did it, though, and then had to show me how to fold it up and get the car seat out of it and all that jazz. I'm still not too sure how to buckle the seat in all that great, but I only tried a few times...

...Check out our beautiful shower cake. It's green and yellow, the colors of Molly's nursery! And the sweet party favors were pink, and there's also pink in Molly's nursery! Susan did SUCH a great job on the favors and treats. Kelli bought pink and green napkins to match. The punch was this pink frothy stuff that looked and tasted like a dream. I couldn't drink but just a little bit but it was really, really good! So sweet it made your teeth dance out of your head, but GOOD!! :)

Isn't this the COOLEST thing you've ever seen???! I'm telling you, I've had dreams about Susan's diaper cakes! The pictures don't quite do it justice but there are all these little teeny diapers all layered into a "cake" and tied with ribbon. Sticking out of the cake, like flowers or other fancy embellishments, are baby socks, baby headbands, teethers, baby booties, rattles, bracelets, rubber ducks, pacifiers, pacifier clips, and topped with a baby bottle. So SWEET and SO appreciated!!! Thank you, Momma Susan, for all your hard work on our shower.

This is Kelli, the beautiful and VERY COOL shower hostess with the mostest! In case you're wondering, most people wore pink to honor Molly that day. WE ARE ALL THINKING PINK!!

Now, here's Miss Judi, and she just HAD to be different and wear RED! LOL. I think OU was playing that day, though, and because I'm a fan, I GUESS I'll let her off...THIS TIME!! LOL. Just kidding, Judi. Thank you for the awesome cake, I loved it. It was white cake, layered, with a very, very thin layer of LEMON between the layers. Merritt's Bakery rocks...but not as hard as you, Judi Johnson!! xoxoxox

Just a SMALL sampling of the gifts we were given for Molly...OH WOW! It took us nearly 2 hours to get through all the bags, packages, boxes and wrappings! If it hadn't been for Kelli's grandson helping us and collecting the trash and showing the gifts all around the room to all the guests, I don't know WHAT we'd have done. It would have been a 5 hour shower instead of a 3 hour shower! LOL.

These pictures all were taken of Todd opening HIS gift...the Daddy Diapering Kit. Susan made it for him and it is SOOOO clever! She even included a funny little poem telling how to use the TONGS, the GOGGLES, the RUBBER GLOVES, the CLOTHES PIN and even included a teeny tiny diaper and a travel package of baby wipes in the pockets of the apron. TOO FUNNY, and definitely a highlight of the day for Todd, Daddy-To-Be!

...This is Kathryn! She made two beautiful blankets for Molly and makes the BEST baked beans you'll ever taste...Plus, she's just a real sweetheart. She brought her husband, Don, and their grandbaby Aurora to the shower that day.

This is that OSU-loving girl, TRACI. She and her hubby Mike are grads from OSU and boy, will THEY be in for a rude awakening when Ainsley Cleo grows up and attends OU! LOL. Ainsley was born in May. She is ADORABLE!!!! While I think she looks just like her dad, Ainsley can give this GLARE just like her beautiful mommy! It's so funny to see her do it, too! Aaah, the quiet genius of genetics...

The Gang's All Here: That's Baby Jea, her mommy Lise, Dianne and Ainsley!

Wowza, Ainsley looks SO serious here, doesn't she? :) She is really studying Dianne's face!

Judi, Traci and Teresa:

This is me, preggo and swollen:

It looks like Todd is enjoying the Dirty Diaper Toss game, huh? I rocked the score at 17 until Genelle beat me and won the door prize!! Way to go, Nella Bean! xoxooxox

This beautiful blanket was given to us by Teresa and Joe and Jackie. Teresa had Sharon make it for Molly and she told me at the shower that she's had it for over one year and has been saving it for us! It has a diaper stacker to match, too, and it is also gorgeous. Sharon is SUCH a talented seamstress and Teresa is SO generous. Really, I am so thankful to have awesome women like these in my life. They have all given me advice both sisterly and motherly, and perhaps that is the most priceless thing, right there.

This is my friend, Carol. She lives in Coffeyville and she, like Teresa and Pam and many others, have been SUCH a support to me throughout this pregnancy. Early on, when I absolutely thought I was losing my mind...clear up until now, and here I am only 10 days away from delivering Molly Piper. THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, CAROL! xoxooxxox
Anyway, for the last year or so, Teresa has been "showering" us with gifts almost weekly. One day this summer we received 6 packages in the mail! All were stuffed with baby gifts and clothes! Yes, folks, she has done this for a year! It all started last year when we found out we were expecting. She started the "showering" wayyyy back then, in September 2007. After I miscarried, the weekly surprises ceased, but then in February, well, what can I say? She turned on the shower again! LOL. Teresa, you are the BEST and such a very THOUGHTFUL friend. I can never thank you enough for all that you have done and for the advice and love you've shown ALL of us! Above, this is Teresa and I at a party at her house in July 2007!

Here we are again in August 2007 at our "Ladies Who Lunch" at Moe's in Tulsa.

...And finally, here we are in October 2008, both smiling, both wearing PINK shirts and BLACK pants! What can I say? Great minds think alike! :) Love you, Teresa!!! xoxoxoxox

I was so touched and honored by how many of my friends/family actually made the effort and the drive to attend our baby shower. There were REALLY a lot of people there and although I did not get to mingle much with anyone individually, Todd and I were both delighted and felt so very loved by everyone's presence and sincere wishes to make OUR DAY so very special. WE LOVE YOU ALL. XOXOXOXX

XOOXOX,

Liz