22 Weeks

Isn't this Spring weather just delightful?

It inspired Andrew to grill up a nice steak dinner.

Even Milly is begging to go outside more often these days.

And we couldn't help but sit outside to enjoy the sunset in our backyard tonight - for about five minutes before we were off to Marble Slab. Hey, I got a BOGO coupon today and just couldn't restrain myself.

Even more exciting than this weather, though, is the fact that I have decided on the bedding and colors for the nursery. I've actually lost sleep, which is unheard of for me, over my excitement. I just keep thinking about all the little details that will make this room perfect.

Here is the bedding from Pottery Barn. Simple with the clean lines, a touch of whimsy with the polka dots, and beautiful colors without being too bold and bright. C'est parfait!

This chandelier is a must. I'm hoping my favorite thrift shopper might find a cheaper replica. Think you can find one Mama Ese?

I haven't seen this fabric in person but I'm thinking it might complement the colors of the bedding as a pillow for the glider. Still thinking about this one. The brown might not be dark enough.

I love this wall decal to place over the crib.

This fabric is so pretty it just has to go somewhere.

I love this print for the glider. Might be a bit too extravagant, but I'm just dreaming at this point.

Mom found this nursery picture that has given me some inspiration. I definitely want a canvas with Charlotte's monogram like the one in the upper right corner. I'm thinking I can design it myself.

I broke out the maternity capris and open-toed shoes today! Yippee! Makes me feel like we're getting closer and closer to July!

Nursery Furniture

I guess if one of the worst things I'm worried about these days is decorating a nursery, I should consider myself blessed. Or maybe my priorities are just really out of whack. Anyway, I've spent the last two hours looking at nursery furniture and crib bedding. Here's what I've found so far.

I really love the turned legs on this crib.

And the vintage look of this dresser that could also be a changing table.

Think of that dresser with some beautiful knobs from my favorite store - Anthrolopogie.

But then I worry that maybe Charlotte won't be a girly girl, so would something like this crib be better for her?

Then again I love the look of a sleigh crib, but this one makes me feel a little claustrophobic. If I'm seeming a little neurotic, good. You're finally seeing the real me :)

I'm willing to sacrifice whatever I have to in order to have a glider like this one (but with different fabric, of course). When I think of all the times we'll be rocking our little Charlotte to sleep, I just think it will be worth it to have a really good one.

And I'm back to the girly stuff with this ottoman. I just love the pleated skirt - again, with a different fabric. As for the fabric, well that's another post in itself!

Kinsley Stooksbury made an early appearance this week.  Isn't she beautiful?  She has the most perfectly defined little lips and nose.

We went to see her at the hospital and then brought dinner to her Mom and Dad tonight just to have an excuse to hold her again!  Can't wait to have ours in our arms.

21 Weeks

And the spending freeze is off! Baby Charlotte's wardrobe is shaping up pretty quickly. I'm sure we'll be getting clothes at our showers, so I'm limiting myself to a few special little outfits for pictures, church, etc.

Mom got her this adorable yellow number at Baby Gap, and I found the perfect complement - a denim jacket on sale at Old Navy! Andrew said I'm going to dress her like a little Mini Me. Sounds about right :)

Andrew and I planned to go to Old Navy Friday night to find her a cute outfit. To be honest, after a long work week and with the rainy, cold weather, I thought maybe we could just stay in and go another time. When I walked in the door, though, Andrew had his hair fixed (Have you noticed he fixes his hair now?!?), and he was dressed and ready to go. So off we went.

This was the first thing I saw, and I couldn't help but imagine a picture of her in the grass at sunset in this sweet white eyelet outfit.

Then I saw this, and it was over. A matching hat! She just had to have it.

I'm already thinking I'll have to reformat the blog to hold bigger pictures because goodness knows that pictures will be taken. Oh my will there be pictures!

Feeling her kick all the time is just the most amazing thing. Today I went to the high school baseball game, and she started kicking like she never has before. I mean nonstop. Of course Andrew loved hearing that. He said today that if the Braves make the playoffs, we're packing her up to take her to her first Braves game. We'll see about that.

At 21 weeks. Just over half-way!

My Turn

Just to warn you, I'm feeling something of a novel coming in this post. So many things have happened in the last few days that I want to remember forever, and this is my place to document it all. Thanks for following along.

Possibly one of the best moments of the day was reading this in my devotional, Jesus Calling: "I have prepared this day for you with the most tender concern and attention to detail...[Be] on the lookout for all that I am doing. This sounds easy, but it requires a deep level of trust, based on the knowledge that My way is perfect." The first part was great, but the last part kind of made me feel like something was going to go wrong that would require me to trust in His way. Is that some messed up thinking or what? I totally justified my worry through my daily devotional. Anyway, every detail of the day did seem just perfect.

After Andrew and I sat in the waiting room in stressful silence for about 20 minutes, they finally called us back to see this.

And every bit of worry washed away.

We were delighted to see her in 3D. We never expected to fall so in love with her in these few minutes.

This one sealed the deal. Can you believe she is sucking her thumb?

Though her little spine looks skinny, she is in the 83rd percentile weighing in at 13 ounces.

We were so glad to share this special day with the grandmas and Uncle Mattie.

They were pretty excited to be there, too. Even though this is Nana's sixth, it was her first ultrasound.

True to form, Mom had a boy gift and girl gift waiting for us in the car when we walked out of the doctor's office. Just one of those perfectly prepared details.

I really never expected to fall more in love with my husband in the doctor's office.

But I sure did. I completely adore this man.

Here are a few reasons I have fallen more in love with him in the last 24 hours:

• His first question to ever ask the doctor was, "When can I feel the baby move?"
• He spent hours blogging about our day.
• He sent me a text suggesting that Charlotte wear a grape costume for Halloween like I did as a child.
• He's already wondering what she will be when she grows up.
• He already worried that she might move away.
• He has admitted he doesn't stand a chance with a baby girl.
• When I asked if he wanted to go to Old Navy tomorrow to shop for her, he said, "That would be a blast!" And there wasn't even a hint of sarcasm. He really is excited about it.

Mom and I did our best to be bargain shoppers waiting in line for an hour at Duck Duck Goose. Once we walked in the store, we realized most of the big items (cribs, strollers, etc.) in good condition were already sold. We walked around for about ten minutes, then realized the check out line was about two hours long, so we hightailed it to the mall. Baby Gap more specifically. We acted like two giddy little girls in there looking at all the adorable clothes. Mom got her the cutest yellow dress for her first Sunday at church. Surprisingly, I didn't spend a penny yesterday. I picked up tons of things, but I think I'm just overwhelmed at all the things we will need that I'm scared to spend any money yet. It's coming though. We've got a trip to Atlanta planned in a few weeks.

Somehow in all my nervousness, I failed to recognize that this would be one of the most exciting days of my life.

We're looking forward to the next most exciting day of our lives. We can't wait to meet our precious little Charlotte.

Dad

First off, this is Andrew...not Sarah. Don't worry, I didn't hack into her Blogger account. She willingly let me take over the blog for one post, one very important post. As I write, she is on her way to go shopping with her mother, soon to be known as Granna, for the new little one. If you didn't already know, we had a little visit to the doctor scheduled this afternoon. We both had a relatively restless night of sleep in anticipation of finding out the gender of our "Baby McAffry."

We made our way to the hospital, along with both of our mothers, the aforementioned Granna, and the seasoned veteran Na-Na. Sarah's brother, Uncle Matt (Cole, that is...Baby has two Uncle Matts), came along and filled maybe the most vital role of the afternoon: Uncle Photographer. And he seems to be somewhat of a natural. Don't tell Sarah, but, she might have some competition in the form of Matthew C. Photography.

Once the five of us (or six, depending on how you look at it) made our way into the ultrasound room, the technician showed us just about every square inch of our baby. From the head, to the stomach, to the arms and legs (all of which were normal, everything was normal in fact...praise God). Then came the moment we were all waiting for: the gender.

After she went through all the procedural stuff, the technician sort of snuck up on us and said, "and that's a baby girl." Didn't even really take the time to set it up. Actually, she could probably sense my nervousness, as well as Sarah's, and she probably went ahead and revealed the gender to keep me from having a heart attack. There was, immediately, a sense of relief in the room. Not so much from the Grandmothers or Uncle Matt, but from Sarah and myself. We needed to get this out of the way for the sake of our sanity.

In the end, I think the Lord was looking out for us. Looking back, I think I would have been too hard on a first-born boy, had it happened that way. Our new baby girl will be an unbelievable big sister (especially if she takes after her momma, which I'm praying she does). Also, there is a history of superb big sisters on both sides of the family (both of our mothers, Sarah and my sister, Melissa), so we've got that going for us...which is nice.

Anyway, I can't wait to meet my baby girl. It's only four months away! When she gets here, she and I need to agree on a few things: (1) She doesn't date until she's 30, and (2) She takes after her mother.

I love you Charlotte Mae McAffry,

Dad

Tomorrow: The day from Sarah's perspective

Paradigm Shift

My perspective on pregnancy has changed completely this week. I'm talking like 180 degrees. A paradigm shift. It was great before; don't get me wrong. But I would have used a word like "neat" to describe it. Now even words like "miraculous," "wonderful," and "amazing" seem inadequate. I started feeling significant movement this week. In fact, as I'm typing right now Baby McAffry is kicking under the laptop constantly reminding me of his (or her!) presence. Hi baby! Somehow I couldn't really imagine an actual real live baby in my stomach before, but I can't help but get it now. Our little one makes sure of that :)

The good part of me so wishes that other people could feel it too, but the more selfish part of me kind of relishes the fact that this is something between just me and Baby McAffry. Mother and child. Nobody else. It won't be that way for long, so I'm going to enjoy every little kick I can.

Mama Ese just returned from Disney World. She and Mary Lou found some little goodies for Baby McAffry. I've left them sitting out on the couch for days so I can keep looking at them. The little Donald Duck is so soft that I may or may not have took a nap with it yesterday. The Tigger onesie says "Grrrr" and I think it's just the cutest thing! The Ratatouille inspired cookbook for kids has fun French recipes like Croque Monsieur, faux escargots, and pizza rats. And I can't wait to find out if this baby will be wearing the sweet little pink cap Mary Lou crocheted (or knitted?).

Aren't these the best gifts?

Well, Wednesday is the big day. Boy or girl? Him or her? Pink or blue? I plan to be shopping the night away at Duck Duck Goose Wednesday night, so no guarantees about making the weekly update. I hear the lines are ridiculous but worth it. After I put Mom on a spending freeze weeks ago, she is pretty excited about going with me. We're hoping to find some great deals for sweet little Baby McAffry.

19 Weeks

Waking up the last four days, my first thought has been to try to feel the baby move. I haven't felt anything since Saturday, but it's not for lack of trying. Despite that, I feel like I'm walking around with a big, goofy, silly smile all day long. I am so enjoying having a little McAffry growing inside. I think about him or her (we'll know in exactly one week!) all day long.

I'm even embracing the new rounder me. I also happen to be enjoying the extra calories - just in time for Girl Scout cookies! In fact, Monday night Andrew cooked a delicious meal of tilapia, squash, zucchini, corn and crescent rolls. No sooner did I finish the last bite than I told him I need more - not like a few more bites but like an entire other meal. So he went to Krystal's. Yes, I ate two Krystals at about 9:30 Monday night, and I don't regret it. Not one bit. For some reason, I seem to be eating pretty normally during the day, but I get really hungry at night.

We're getting closer on the name debate. Maybe, just maybe, we'll have one chosen by our appointment next week.