Our little boy has a name!   I don’t know how or when we finally decided to finalize it, but when contemplating names, we knew we wanted it to be something a little obscure.  Not obscure in the “Can you please spell that again?” sort of way because I’d really like to spare my child the hassle of spelling out his name for the rest of his life. And not obscure in the “We just made it up” sort of way, but something simple, artful, pleasing to say, lovely to write, and not another one in his school sort of way.

That’s a tall order to fill. We sorted through biblical names  – Abraham topped the list of Momma’s favorites. (Wouldn’t Bram be a cool nickname?) We listened to our family suggestions-although when Ian’s dad suggested Nimrod, I think we started to loose faith. We dug through those giant 50,000+ baby names books- I swear 90 percent of those “names” were just made up for the pure fact of numbers. Ian and I tested out our favorite names one at a time, none of them feeling quite right.

Until we finally settled on Graeson Royce Mielke.  We will call him Grae.

Our sweet, precious boy has a name. A real, fine name.

On Saturday, Mom and Dad came over and continued to help us landscape our backyard- this has been a work-in-progress  for over a year now, and finally it is coming together.  A couple of weeks ago we went to this huge fall sale at a local nursery in Augusta and hit the jackpot.  We found tons of beautiful bushes, decorative grasses, ground cover, Holly Trees, even two Japanese Maple trees all for a little over $100 (Dizzle made friends with the guy so he hooked us up)!  So Mom and Dad brought  all of our new plants over to us, Dad and Ian planted them (in our what once was a dirt/red clay floor covered in poison ivy “backyard”), while Mom did her amazing landscape design- spray painting where new trails should go and instructing the boys where to plant each tree.  Mom and I also got sent to Home Depot for some things (silly boys) and we came home with a whole pickup truck full of more goodies.  Dad and Ian got everything planted and even stayed up into the night building a flower box around the deck- it got so late and so dark, they both were wearing headlamps! Now that is devotion.  🙂 Our backyard is really starting to turn into that woodland oasis I had envisioned when we bought the house, thanks so much to all of the hard work from Ian, Mom and Dad! 🙂

[PICTURES OF OUR BACKYARD COMING SOON]

We also had a foster child come to our house yesterday- just for the day.  A beautiful, five year old little boy with so much personality, so much potential. We had a great time with him. Ten minutes after walking into our house, he started calling me Mommy.  It was very eye-opening to see just how much children need that relationship in their lives.  Even at five years old, he knew that something was missing and attempted to fill the void anyway he could. I hope he gets to come stay with us again.  Even though it has been really nice to have this month to ourselves since our foster daughters moved back to their family’s house, it definitely made me miss having our house filled with the energy, giggles and shrieks of little people. 🙂

We are officially baby-ready!!  This is the first time I’ve felt like we would be just fine if he decided he was going to come tomorrow.  We have cleaned and organized our entire house (like, OCD style).  We have finally finished the baby nursery (well, except for a night light and photos for the frames on the wall).  All of the baby clothes are washed and folded and put away in drawers, organized by size.  His diapers and wipes are stock-piled and stored according to size.  His bath tub, first aid kit, and “whale shower caddy” are all in place.  We even have our entire house “baby-proofed”- heavy furniture bolted to walls, medicine and cleaning products up on top shelves and/or locked up, and outlet covers in every outlet. 🙂 There is a safe, warm place for baby to sleep in every room.  We even have the infant car seat in the car!  Packing my hospital bag is on the to-do list for tomorrow.  Only 33 more days until he is due- and now that everything is ready for him, I seriously cannot wait. 🙂 Anyway, as requested, I wanted to share pictures of his finished nursery.  🙂

Chandelier and cow skin rug from IKEA, one of my favorite stores.

 Some of things on the shelves:  My bunny, Carrots, from my childhood- I couldn’t spend a night without him.  The new bunny from Grandma, purchased at a very special store in NYC, my brother’s bookends from when he was a baby, filled with my favorite books from my childhood, and “Play With Me Puppy” from Beverly Novakovic.

Toy basket with chalkboard paint from Target

In just 10 days, my belly has truly doubled in size!  I cannot believe how fast this baby is growing and how strong his little legs have gotten!  We had our 34 week OB appointment this week, and the midwife confirmed that our little boy is already head-down, ready to come out!  I have gained 18 pounds so far (apparently the norm is 24-29 lbs)- which she thought was great and told me to go ahead and eat the ice cream (did I mention, I LOVE her?!), and confirmed that Baby’s heartbeat and my blood pressure are perfect. She also said that at the end of week 35, the baby is technically considered full term!  Wow.  Our next appointment at 36 weeks will begin the weekly doctor visits until he is born.  We also got an appointment with our first choice pediatrician!!  Usually she has a six month wait list, so I am really not sure how Ian convinced them to schedule us- but I’m very excited to meet her on November 7!

I can’t believe we only have 36 days left until his due date.  Time is FLYING by!  As excited as I am to meet him, I am in no rush for the pregnancy to be over. I have loved every second of this incredible and miraculous time. I love my big huge belly and I am going to miss feeling him move inside of me when he’s not in there anymore.  I love the peace and comfort of knowing he is perfectly safe and I have the power to protect him from most everything. This will be the safest he ever is! As soon has he joins us in the world there will be a host of dangers, pitfalls, and heartbreaks I will want to save him from, but just won’t be able to.

It’s midnight and I have been up for days. I’ve been having trouble sleeping through the night lately. I read online this morning that 78% of pregnant ladies experience insomnia. I’m glad I’m not alone, but I’d be happier if all 78% of us could get some sleep. It’s a bunch of things keeping me up. Firstly, it’s nearly impossible for a former back sleeper like me to get comfortable, no matter how many pillows I employ. Then, even if I do finally get to sleep I can count on being awoken at least four or five times a night with the urge to pee, crazy dreams, contractions, heartburn, or INTENSE HUNGER. More likely than not, I am awoken by all of these things at once. *Sigh* At least it’s good practice for the nights to come.

(I am fully aware I am looking pretty rough in this picture, but ignore my hair- check out my GIANT baby bump! 😉 )

Here is my 0-40 update on baby:

Your baby kind of looks like she’s coated in a layer of cream cheese these days. The thick, white substance that protects her skin from pruning in the amniotic fluid is called vernix. When she’s born you’ll probably see some vernix lingering in her “hard-to-reach” places like under her arms, behind her ears and around her va-jay-jay, if she’s a she.. Other news from the womb this week:

The soft fur, lanugo, that covered your baby’s body for much of her stay in the womb is now almost completely gone. Your baby begins to develop her own immune system, instead of relying solely on antibodies received through the placenta. This will come in handy when some grubby relative manhandles the baby without washing his hands first.

This week, your baby measures about 17¾ inches, as almost as long as an American Girl Doll (!) and weighs almost 5 pounds, as heavy as a bag of sugar, minus the cup you put in your decaf this morning.

It has been far too long since I have had time to sit down and write, so I am playing catch up this week.  It has been so incredibly busy lately (Ian tells people that my nesting phase has officially started), and I have been absolutely exhausted and usually go to bed by 8 or 9, so there hasn’t been a lot of extra time for blogging. Finally things are settling down and it is my full intention to get at least a few posts a week out from now on.  🙂 Anyway- here are a couple pictures of my 33 week belly.  I can’t believe how HARD and ROUND this crazy thing has gotten this week!

33 weeks!

My best friend from high school married the love of her life on September 17.  We were so happy to be able to be there to watch them say “I DO.”  It was a beautiful ceremony, overlooking the golf course at the Janesville Country Club.  I have never seen my Zee look more beautiful.  She was just glowing.  It was the first time I have seen her in years… YEARS! How sad is that?  But, just like I knew it would, it seemed like we had talked everyday of our lives.  That’s one way you know you have a true friend- when you can pick up right where you left off, like you’ve never spent a day apart.  I wish we could spend more time together, and hopefully someday soon we can- but it meant the world to us that we could be there for such a special time in her life. 🙂  We love you, Lynzee and Jason- best of luck to you both- we know you will have an amazing life together.  ❤

Daddy Tim walking his baby down the aisle 🙂

The new couple! 🙂

Me and Ashley with the Bride and Groom 🙂

❤

Ian and I got to meet our Godson, LJ, for the first time on our trip back home– it was absolutely love at first sight.  He is such a loving, sweet, fun little boy and we couldn’t be more proud to call him our Godson.  Being able to hang out and play with him made us even more excited to be having a little boy of our very own.  Even though we couldn’t get Ian to change the little man’s diaper, he did really enjoy feeding the monkey a banana. 🙂

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We were so fortunate to be able to get our maternity photos taken by the super talented, super adorable, Jessica Gutzman, while we were back in Wisconsin.  I’m so thankful that she was willing to squeeze us in.  I have been drooling over her photography forever, but never thought I would get the opportunity to have my own photo shoot with her. 🙂  It was so much fun and we CANNOT WAIT to get our disc of pictures in the mail.

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During our visit to my hometown, we were given one of the best presents ever. My best friend and her family planned an amazing surprise baby shower. What was going to be a normal Thursday evening catching up with the many people I have come to consider my second family, turned out to be one of  my most wonderful memories from this special time in our lives. I suppose I should tell you how they used an elaborate web of deception to lure a pregnant lady into a bar :).  The stage was set earlier that day when my best friend, Lisa, casually asked if we would like to join her and her family for dinner.  We assumed that this was a perfectly innocent question, as we were planning to dine with them whether they liked it or not. Throughout the course of the day, as we traveled from one dairy vender to the next, we were told that my best friend’s sister and her husband would be spending time at a nearby football field watching their son (Ry Guy) play football. Ian, having spent much of his youth at events like this, jumped at the opportunity to go as well. This threw a small kink into the web of deception being spun around us. However, it was great for Ian to see a loving and devoted father in action on the sideline. He learned that boys are never to young to be told “not to run around like a sissy”, and “keep your elbows up when your blocking.”  Anyway, after the game, we were quickly and intentionally confused about where we were going and why. Eventually it became clear that Laura (My best friend’s other sister) was hungry for a wrap from a nearby bar and we should go there for dinner. Bare with me- we’re almost there. When we arrived we walked around a corner to the back of the bar, a little further from the loud, drunk people, and were greeted by the GIANT beautiful smiles of people I had been away from for what seemed like an eternity. There was an entire table full of gifts and another full of Jill’s delicious food. I almost cried (ok, i cried) as I hugged each of my old friends. I could not have imagined a better group of people to share this special time with. Many of them traveled for hours just to show me and my new little boy how much they care. I can’t tell you how much this meant to me and I hope to, one day soon, have the opportunity to show all of them just how much they mean to me. Thank you all sooooo much and I love each one of you!!!!!