Introducing...

Kayla Marie

It took a lot of work, a few scares, and a couple days to decide on her name, but our beautiful daughter is now happily, and healthily in our arms. We are all adjusting well to having a baby in the home again. Tori is fascinated with Kayla and showers her with kisses, loves holding her, and often refers to Kayla as her baby.

Tori's New Game

Tori gets a kick out of watching this video too. She giggles almost as much watching it as she did while they were playing their new game

Random Pics and 38 weeks

Figured since I hadn't posted anything for a while I'd share some pictures of Tori.

And lastly, a picture of Tori and I marking 38 weeks of this pregnancy. Until I see myself in pictures I don't realize just how tired I look. I'm thankful that this is nearing the end as my exhaustion level is increasing and my ability to rest well is decreasing. Hopefully things continue as smoothly as they've been progressing, and that we will soon be able to naturally welcome our new little bundle of joy.

Nursery update

Thanks to the wonderful generosity of family and friends, we received the bedding and accessories to put the nursery together. Here are a few pics of the baby's room as it continues to fully transition.

Creative Clothing

One of Tori's latest obsessions has been wearing my shoes, spending the day taking all her shoes on and off, and coming up with creative combinations of her clothes. A few pictures of the proof... The first one is her wearing my heels and the second one in my 'boots' as she calls them. She loves to play with her hats and gloves in the third pic (notice all her shoes strewn on the floor beside her). Lastly she had been dressed in blue pants and the blue flowered shirt in the fourth picture. I happened by her room and saw her undressing and pulling clothes out of her drawers. She had to put on the yellow shirt, and her black pants. I couldn't resist snapping a picture of her creativity.

The Name Game

I've added a poll to the blog with our thoughts of names for the new baby. Thought it would be fun to get your feedback. Likely we will wait until she's born to decide for sure what her name will be, but we're interested in your opinions too!

Slow Transition

Slowly but surely we have begun the transformation from office/guest room to nursery. This past weekend we got the baby furniture and 'things' out of the attic, and spent some time arranging furniture. It's still very basic and undecorated, but here's a glimpse of what the new baby's room is looking like. These pictures were taken starting from looking in the doorway, and moving around the room to the left.

Pippin (the cat) has staked a temporary claim on this room. She is most often found these days sleeping in or on top of the rocking chair, or curled up in the crib. Thankfully we have no bedding in the crib yet. I do remember both cats taking a fascination with Tori's nursery as well. The closet (behind the rocker) is acting as a temporary storage for the cradle, which will move into our bedroom, and other baby necessities that are yet to have a home. Eventually I think we will add some storage cubes inside the closet for toys and such.

Tori seems to be adjusting alright to the new baby's room. She likes to play with the bouncy seat and turn it on to listen to the ocean. She also likes to sit in the infant car seat with her books and read, or put her baby dolls in and read to them. And she loves to sit in the rocking chair with her books as well. I hope as it gets closer to bringing the baby home, she will transition as smoothly as she's started.

Here are a few cute pictures of our girl from the last few weeks.

Coloring with Daddy

A day at the Zoo

Fascinated with a too-small Halloween costume