So as for September

Now let me take some time to catch you up on September so far...


Labor Day weekend- We made a trip down to Birmingham to visit family. It was nice to be back in Alabama and see everyone! A highlight of the weekend was celebrating Steven's grandfather's 90th birthday...what a milestone!


Steven and his grandparents (soon our girl's great-grandparents!)

They'll probably be mad for me posting this, but it cracks me up! This is how it usually goes when trying to take a picture with my side of the family...chaos!

Baby Update- This month Steven and I have made a few trips to the hospital for some parenting classes. We learned oh so much about breastfeeding, basic baby care, and infant CPR. We still have a class or two to go, and we hope to be futher enlightened on all kinds of parenting stuff. Lately people have been asking, "Are you ready?" referring to the baby's arrival and becoming a parent. Doesn't everyone know that the answer is and will always be "No!" (ha ha!) Really though, we are super excited about our family growing and becoming a mommy and daddy to our little girl!

Baby Shower- This past weekend we made another trip to Birmingham (our last until Christmas) for a baby shower hosted by my sweetest, dearest friends. It was a quick trip, but we enjoyed every minute of seeing family and friends. We are so thankful for everyone's love and support!!

hostesses: Cathy (Leah's wonderful mom), Leah (bestest friend), Shelley (funnest college rommie), Melissa (sweet sister-in-law)

Beautiful table and yummy food!

soon-to-be- mother with soon-to-be-grandmothers

Mommy and Daddy-to-be!

Birthdays- My side of the family was fortunate to have everyone get together this weekend for an early celebration of my mom's- let's just say "milestone birthday!" We went to The Club on Red Mountain for dinner and enjoyed the evening together.

Happy Birthday to Mom!

The Stanford Clan (Steven behind the camera!)

Dad & Mom

Holly, Drew, Bethany, & Alison

Our growing family: Steven, Alison, and Baby Hyde

And yesterday Steven and I celebrated my birthday with my very own cheesecake! (I guess I'll share it with him, after all, he is my baby's daddy!) Lately when it comes to food I love, I get a little protective. It's like "People step away- I'm a pregnant woman with my own cheesecake...I have a fork and I'm not afraid to use it!" (ha ha!)




Until next time...

Where Did August Go?

I know I have the tendancy to put things off, but a month and a half with no new posts?! Seriously?! I'm sorry! How can you know "what's happening with the Hydes" if we don't tell you?! So, we've got some catching up to do! Since our last post and the rest of August...

We started working on our little girl's room. First of all, someone had the genius idea to get a set of nail guns, you know, for "all those around the house projects we may do one day." So that we could use the gun we decided to install a chair rail in the baby's room. That meant hauling home 12 foot long pieces of rail, cutting them, painting them, and then hanging them. I was really afraid of the compressor and nail gun; things like that seem super dangerous to me! But it was quite easy and not a big deal! Steven did a fabulous job with that project!

I actually tried using the nail gun myself when building a dresser topper. I saw in a baby furniture magazine dressers being used as a changing table with a "topper" piece for the pad and supplies. The ones I saw were over $100 and we custom made one for less than $20!

My parents had recently passed down an old family bedroom set that Steven and I refinished. We're using the dresser and chest of drawers in her room; the twin beds will have to wait! Steven's parents handed down some comfy recliners, so one made it's home in her room. I'm sure we'll spend some time in that! Lastly, we found a crib and Steven did such a great job of putting it together!

I hung some panels on the window and realized they were a bit see through. The sun shines right in that window every morning. Not only is it bright, it can get a little warm in there. So, we employed a grandmother-to-be to use her skills and back the panels with blackout material. I enjoyed learning about sewing (and playing on her machine) and the panels look great!


Also in August I went to the doctor for my 28 week appointment. The glucose test was a little yucky but the results were good- no problems. Baby and I both had good reports! She started moving around like crazy last month and Steven and I enjoy feeling her do whatever it is she's doing in there!

mommy-to-be at 30 weeks

3 To Go

Well, today is August 6 and my due date is November 6...so if my math skills serve me right, that means roughly 3 months to go! If you noticed the baby counter, we're under the 100 day mark!
For whatever reason it's at this point of the pregnancy that reality is setting in and we're realizing that Baby will be here before we know it! I think we'll finally get serious about setting up her room, working on registries, and I guess we'll try to get some names on the list (and we don't plan on telling!) Steven and I just like to be laid back and take things one step at a time (ok, some call that procrastinating!) It'll all come together soon enough!
Next month we'll attend some classes at the hospital and I'm sure that will be another reality check! I'll let you know how those go. I'll admit it- there are some days I sit around and day dream about Baby being here and there are some days I panic because I feel really clueless and unprepared. But I'd like to think that is normal, especially for first time parents.
Just a little update on how things are going with the pregnant lady of the house. The question most people ask is "How are you feeling?" You really want to know? Here are my answers: "I feel really good! I feel fortunate that my pregnancy has been a breeze so far. I feel like I could eat all day long. I feel like my belly is starting to get in my way when trying to bend over. I feel like I don't sleep as well lately because I can't get comfortable or I'm headed to the potty. I feel like I love fruits, red meat, and sweets, but not chicken breasts or BBQ sauce. I feel like I can't go much longer without indulging in a Coke. I feel like I can't find anything to wear these days. Despite some of these things, I feel like I am enjoying being pregnant. I feel good, happy, and blessed!"
That's the 6 month update! On to the 3rd (and last) trimester!

26 weeks!

23 Weeks

"Every good and perfect gift is from above."

James 1:17

This, among others, is a verse we have kept in mind during my pregnancy. It was particularly helpful at our last appointment in June. At that appointment we found out we are having a girl - what a good a perfect gift! It was a bittersweet appointment though because at that appointment the doctor dropped a bit of not so expected news. She said that according to the ultrasound done that day (the one where we found out the sex) it appeared that there could be a slight abnormality with the placenta and umbilical cord. There was a chance that the cord didn't quite implant into the placenta correctly, that it was sort of partially implanted. What?!

Again telling us she wasn't even sure if this was the case, she needed to go ahead and explain further just so we were aware of the potential situation. If there was an abnomrality with the cord insertion, she explained, pregnancy would be normal, baby and I would be healthy, there would be no problems...until labor rolled around. She said the problem would be that when my water broke, there would be the chance that the cord would break away from the placenta before baby was out. And that could turn into an urgent and scary problem.

The doctor left us with reassurance that she wasn't even sure I had this abnormality, not to worry, and that we'd do another ultrasound at the next appointment to check it out for sure. Now, of course I was sitting there wide eyed, hearing all of this and wondering "Is she looking at the right chart and ultrasound?" I was so thankful that Steven was with me that day, because it was a bit surreal.

So, where did we go from there? To the Father of course! Our Creator- the one who created me, Steven, and our baby. We recalled James 1:17 and knew that no matter what happened with that next ultrasound and with the birth of our child, she is and will be a good and perfect gift from above!

"And this is the confidence we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him." 1 John 5:14-15

Everyday we prayed about the situation. We prayed ultimately for God's will in this, asked that there would not be any problems found on the next ultrasound, and prayed that we'd be faithful and trust in Him, knowing that God will take care of us.

So, on July 11 I went for my 24 week appointment (but scheduling around doctor vacation, it was really 23 weeks for me.) I can honestly say that I was not nervous or anxious; I was actually quite at peace. I knew Steven and I had prayed faithfully, that God is sovereign, and that the situation was out of my control.

As I had the ultrasound done I was laughing the whole time! Baby girl decided to be more active than she ever had been up to that point and I was loving it! The technician was frustrated with all of the movement because she couldn't get a good look at the cord and placenta due to little one kicking all over the place. She thought is was cute though and was laughing and talking to the baby trying to get her to be still. There came a point where I was like "Ok little girl, sit still because this ultrasound is really important...you can play later!" Apparently the tech got the pictures she needed so it was off to see the doctor.

That wait seemed like forever, but soon enough in she came. She said "We did a placenta check today and after looking over the pictures, I don't see any problems with the placenta or cord." I was thinking "Can you say that again? Are you sure that's my chart?" I asked her if she was sure about her conclusion and she said yes! She said that the cord is attached to the placenta as it should be, but just a little off center (center is apparently where most are) so that's why the ultrasound from last time looked a little questionable. Right there in the doctor's office I was like "Praise the Lord!!" I knew He was at work!

Steven and I were so excited to get the good news from the doctor, but even more excited about the way the Lord answered our prayers!! We knew that His will would be done no matter what the outcome, and were thankful that He made everything alright. "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God..." Deuteronomy 7:9

So, after that long drawn out story...everything is fine with me and baby and we are moving right along!

Baby Girl at 23 weeks

Mommy-to-be at 23 weeks

(Again, so behind on posts. Here I am writing about 23 weeks when I'm just about 26!)