What's IN a Name?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ETHAN! :-)

Today, February 5th, is Ethan's 2-month birthday. At this very moment, as I type he was about 25 minutes old. I had held him only for a few minutes by now but he was soon whisked away to be tended to by the nurses. And now a whole 2 months has passed. Technically today is his second "booga month" birthday. He's my lil "Shugabooga" (because he is the sweetest thing EVER and give the SWEETEST kisses!). So we celebrate "booga months". :-) So happy 2nd Booga month Ethan! I'll show this to his little girlfriend at 16 and totally embarrass him. Better yet, I'll call him that in front of her. Ooooh, I'm bad! LOL

But the walk down memory lane - remembering his birth, reminded me that I hadn't given you the full explanation for his name. Ok ok, you might be thinking - Ethan is common enough, what more could there be to it? MUCH more! And so the story goes....

ETHAN: STRONG, POWERFUL
Long before I became pregnant we had a name. We called it often in reference to our future bundle of joy. We kept it close to the vest though for various reasons but between us, the name was a done deal, all we needed was the kid. The only problem was, the name was for a girl. We thought for sure that would be our first child since we had been divinely given the name so early in advance. But once we found out we were pregnant, it was clear that we needed a boy's name. After all, it was a 50-50 chance that it would be a boy. :-) So what would be his name??

I had been given a Names book when I became pregnant. I have always been fascinated with names and what they mean. I think they should be well thought out because after all, you will call that person that for the rest of their life. I believe that what you are called over and over again - you become or adapt to that. So names are very important. At first, I thought I had convinced Ezra that a JR was in order. He was ok with it for oh about 2 minutes, but he never wanted a JR and I couldn't blame him. So I turned to the book- which by the way has a GAZILLION names in it. So it was a PROCESS to look through them, but when I came to Ethan, I instantly connected with it. It's meaning was wonderful - ETHAN mean Strong and powerful. I like that. I wanted those to be a characteristics of my son. And I liked the name and so did Ezra. But little did we know that this too was a divine intervention. You see, thanks to a Bible Crossword puzzle book that we were doing at the time, we learned that Ethan was a biblical character. Ethan was an Ezrahite - a follower of Ezra the prophet. Woh, talk about JR on a new level! LOL. Not only was he an Ezrahite, but he was VERY wise, compared to Solomon himself - (who took wisdom to another level) - LOL). Check out 1Kings 4:31. A little more research showed that he was musically inclined possible a cymbal player in David's choir, even dabbling in writing songs himself. It is believed that he wrote the beautiful Psalm 89. At that point we knew - we're having an Ethan :-)

GRADY: NOBLE, ILLUSTRIOUS
I never had an opportunity to meet or to know Ezra's father, Grady, but for some reason I miss him. He passed away suddenly shortly after Ezra and I started dating. And because I never got to know him, I feel like there is a part of Ezra that I will never know. But what I do know is that his father was his Hero. He was VERY close to his father who was very instrumental in making him the wonderful man he is today. But not only was he important to Ezra and his immediate family but it just seems like this man touched a lot of lives in a positive way. When I am around the family (mother OR father's side), they speak so fondly of him. He was well loved and well respected. He was a father figure to many in the family. He was the go-to guy and he was about business. He was well respected in the community as a business leader and a servant leader at their church. He seemed to be a great man and from what Ezra tells me, we would have had a lot in common as well. He was such an important part of their lives (as a father should be) that we wanted to continue the lineage through Ethan. That being said Grady is Ethan's middle name. I love the balance that it gives his name. GRADY means noble and illustrious. It seems that Ezra's Dad lived true to his name and those same characteristics we want for Ethan as well.

So that's Ethan - Strong powerful, noble and illustrious, and many other wonderful characteristics. And he is already living up to his name. He has been trying to hold his head up since he was a week old. He legs are super strong as well. But do we expect?? we call him "strong" constantly, so he can't help himself! :-)

Well it's been fun sharing but while "Strong" is sleeping, "Brave" needs to be laying down too. So with that I will say Goodnight!

Until next time....
Marcia

5 weeks down, a Lifetime to go

One month milestone met with flying colors!

On last Wednesday - January 5th, my little "EGG" turned 1 month old! A whole month has gone by already! On Sunday, January 9th, he was officially 5 weeks old. WOW! It's like time is flying and standing still all at the same time. I mean, on some days it seems that we are further along than a month and some days it's like - WOH a month has already passed. It is still taking a minute to get used to it all.

In celebration of his one month birthday, Ethan got a good report from the pediatrician for his 1 month check-up. He's gained a whole 2 lbs and 2 inches. Praise the Lord, everything looks good. Now, if we can just get him to sleep a TINSY bit longer at night.... :-)

While 5 weeks have already come and gone, I recall that I still have a lifetime ahead of me. Though that sounds like a long time, I am told over and over again to "savor each moment because they grow up so fast". I know this all too well. I look at my nieces and nephews and my friends' children and can't believe that they are at their ages. I have a niece about to go to college. She is actually the same age that I was when SHE was born. I remember changing her diaper and being mesmerized that she was so little and her cute little coos and smiles. Now she is going to college.. Yeeesh!

So I have been literally trying to savor the moment. Every day, I take some time to look at him and take it all in and hope the minutes go by a little slower. I know my little man won't be this little for very long and I am looking forward to the days when he starts to crawl, walk and talk. And one day I will gush over his little person. :-) But until then, I'm content with him curling his little body into the bend of my arm, nestling close for a nap without a care in the world. Yeah.... for now.. that works for me :-)

Until next time...
Marcia

Just the Beginning

It's been a month since my last post and I am sure I don't need to tell you where I have been or what I have been doing... LOL. You can only imagine. I have tried almost every week to post something but "someone" or something always needs my attention. :-) Well I said that today - it being Sunday especially - I would make SURE I took time out to say - All is well and we are just getting started...

On Sunday, December 5th @ 9:36pm, my life as I knew it changed forever. When they put that little person on your chest for the first time - it is true - you DO forget the previous 21 hours of labor. Yes I said 21 hours. But I wouldn't say that was consistent hours. Labor contractions were off and on and believe it or not, I only pushed for 30 minutes but that is for another blog. :-)

But back to life as I knew it and it changing forever... It has been a whirlwind but all good! I am sleepy right now, so I will make this quick. Ethan Grady (his formal name - also for another blog) is a sweet, sweet, sweet and I can't wait for each of you to meet him. I plan to put pictures up soon as well but he is changing so rapidly sometimes I want time to just stand still for a minute but I know he has to grow up - as did I. I am looking forward to that as well.

So I just wanted to let you know that I am here and wanted to touch base. Again, I'll post pictures soon and update the blog again with more info. But right now... its night night time :-)

Until then....
Marcia

Countdown to Baby G!

Hello All!
Of course you know where I have been!! :-) I have been making much needed preparations for Baby G. The last item on my To-do list is complete and I can now say that I am TRULY in the "waiting phase".

Since I last posted I have been a BUSY bee! We finished up our childbirth/breastfeeding classes. All of which were wonderful and eye opening. So much to remember though. I hope I don't forget anything. But I am assured that it will all come back to me when the time comes. I hope so! In the midst of the classes, we moved the last weekend in October. We are in a FABULOUS place that we love! (See, a little prayer and patience go a long way! :-)) Remember that I was holding out for a garage? Well I found a lovely place in a great area with a garage AND a room that had already been painted the baby blue that I wanted. Now how COOL is that! Our new home is completely unpacked and everything has and is in its place (thanks to Mom for helping out with that - could NOT have done it without you!).

Meanwhile, my family and friends threw a baby shower for us that was earlier this month and it was WONDERFUL! I have such an AMAZING family and a GREAT group of friends who blessed us in so many ways with such wonderful gifts and contributions to Baby G. The shower timing was perfect as my nesting phase of cleaning and preparing kicked in around that time and everything had to be done like yesterday! And it was! My husband is the MAN!! He has been so helpful through all of this - putting stuff up, taking it down, rearranging it, putting it back, AND still working every day! He is the GREATEST! And so I am happy to say the house is done - the baby's room is done my bag is packed, the baby seat is in and safely anchored. We're ready! Now the question is... when??

As of Today, my due date is exactly 7 days away! How exciting!! It is possible that within this week, I will be a bonified NEW mom! Though, I think Baby G will go all the way to his due date - December 5th. At least that was our deal! :-)

Are you ready? Are you scared? Are you nervous? I don't have a hard and fast answer to those questions. It's a mixed bag of emotions for me right now. I guess where I am now is the fear of the unknown. I probably should have left some things undone so I would have something else to focus on because right now, I am literally waiting on an experience in which I have never embarked upon before. No one can really prepare you and I try not to dwell on the horror stories. But other than that, I am excited. I am looking forward to seeing what he will look like. The 4-D ultrasound was done almost 4 months ago, and I am sure he has changed drastically since that time. So I am excited about that. And honestly I am excited about this new journey of becoming a mom. I am looking forward to all that it brings and entering the world of parenthood!

All in all, I am just excited! I would venture to say the next time you hear from you, Baby G will have arrived. I can't wait for him to meet all of you! :-) In the meantime, let me get some rest, while the getting is still good. Stay tuned. :-)

Until next time....
Marcia

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh

"Crying is like taking your soul to the laundry mat" - Lyfe Jennings

Friday, October 8th at around 3:30am - I was supposed to be getting up preparing to head out to Charlotte, NC for a conference. Instead, I am still lying in the bed... mad! I was excited about going to the conference, but I just didn't want to leave that early. We didn't get into bed until after 11pm and 4 hours later we were supposed to be leaving to travel 7 hours to NC. Thursday had been a long full day. Ezra had a long work day and I had been my own busy bee. Drs Appt, hair salon, run a few errands, get Tux off to the sitter, child-birth class (where with no prior warning they showed "THE VIDEO" - I'll get back to this). Class didn't end until after 9pm. I didn't think a 3am leave time was wise, especially since Thursday was slammed and we hadn't gotten much sleep. Not to mention, I don't like night driving. It makes me sleepy. And my husband can sometimes get sleepy driving around during the day (LOL). So in my mind, this wasn't the best plan.

So I lay in bed contemplating my next move as he continues to prepare to leave. Hmmmmm I could just lay here, go back to sleep until I am ready to go which would be about 2 hrs from now LOL - Surely he won't leave me. Why this early????? I'm tired, I know he's tired. This is neither safe, nor wise. It's dark out and I'm sleepy. Ok I'll just lay here and go back to sleep. But that will just make it worse. Baby G - are you up too? I know.. it's early. When it comes time for you to make your debut - I am going to need you to just slide on out. Those women seemed to be in a lot of pain. What have I done??? Am I really having a baby? Time is flying... We still don't have a place to live (I couldn't do the green carpet). I have to pack, but what if I can't find a place? Is my body really going to expand like that?? Ooohhh it looked like so much pain! I'm so sleepy, I'm tired, I'm..... crying?? Stop the ride... I want to get off RIGHT HERE!!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh.. Ok it was not "shoulder jerking crying" but it was a good cry. It was as if my thoughts were someone filling up a cup with water, and but they didn't know when to stop so it started to overflow and spill out.

It would be my first cry during my pregnancy. I am told every pregnant woman has at least one. See, I am not by nature a "crier" as one would call it. I am very sensitive (contrary to popular belief), but I tend to handle things differently. I just don't cry easily. But on this occasion, a cry was warranted and was coming whether I wanted it to or not. And I needed it. As I quoted in the subtitle - it was truly like going to the laundry mat. After I was done, I was done and I felt a TON better. It was almost as if I had come out "clean" and renewed. I looked at everything differently. I prayed - Ok God, keep him awake and if you don't then we just deal with what comes of that. I know we will find a place and I will get it all done - I'm not worried anymore. And finally Lord, Childbirth is what it is, and I am going to be just fine. I just can't wait to see my son and I'll be excited about it all rather than be afraid.

And with that prayer, I was done. I had left the laundry mat and my soul was refreshed and clean. As you can see, we made it there and back safely. We found a FABULOUS place (God always has a ram in the bush:-)). My friend Stephanie is my witness - the stairs where we are now are NOT your friend. And finally, I am no longer worried about birthing my baby! (at least not today) :-)

As for the video - you can see how it weaseled its way into my thoughts. It must have been heavy in my subconscious because I am thinking I am mad about leaving early and I start thinking about childbirth. I knew the video was coming but I thought it would be a few classes later. I couldn't tell you how the other men in the class were reacting. I was focused on one - mine! And he looked like (and even verbalized) "What have I done???" We both could do nothing but laugh - which lightened the mood.

We've got two more classes and then one on breastfeeding and classes are done. This week is the hospital tour. I am excited about that. Next weekend, we move to our new home. We'll unpack, we'll get settled and then we'll wait for Baby G. As always, I'll keep you posted.

Until next time....
Marcia

Weeeeeeeeee......

Expectant Mom is enjoying the downhill ride... for the most part

I know. I'm 3 weeks late. I actually have a COUPLE of good excuses. :-) For one, I can definitely point back to where I said I would "try" to do once a week. I didn't promise - so that should let me off the hook a little bit. It truly was my plan to do once a week but what's the old saying about "plans"? "The best laid plans often go awry" - (from the book Of Mice and Men). Ok, so that is Excuse #1. Excuse #2 - Let's think back a few posts. Remember when I said there was a proverbial snowball in which event after event, it picks up snow... gets bigger.. and goes faster??? Ok, so that is Excuse #2. I have been trying to juggle all of these life changing events (of which I know I should be blogging about) But they are happening so fast that time gets away from me. So bear with me - I'll be a little long-winded today but I know you've been waiting, so here it goes.. :-)

Ok, so it hasn't been anything real monumental but basically it's all of the tasks that still need to be done before the baby comes. THANK YOU LORD for friends and family who have pitched in to help me! I've got one friend coming weekly to help me do whatever I need (Thanks Steph) and another who after 3 visits to the store we finally finished 1 of the registries (Thanks Lisa) This is all in the midst of her losing her cat of 11 years (a moment of silence for Casper please....) and being sick. Not to mention, my sister-in-law who is pitching in to do the other registry (Thanks Tiffanie), because I don't think I could have done another one.

Who knew it would take 3 days to do a registry. I must admit, we were only there for an hour the 1st day and I thought I would pass out - literally and figuratively. I did have to leave due to feeling faint, but on top of that we had just gotten down the 1st aisle. My head was spinning from all of the STUFF to think about, to get - what in the WORLD????? "I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies!!!" (Butterfly McQueen - Gone with the Wind). It was mind boggling - not to mention, I am so used to picking up the registry for others, I just couldn't believe I was actually doing one for myself. Trust me - as I type - it is still very surreal.

On top of all of that, I've got this in INSANE idea to move! GASP!!! Ok close your mouth - you heard/read correctly. Yes we are moving to a new place. If you have seen where I live as many of you have, you understand why and sympathize. Without going into details, we are moving probably in the next two weeks. Long story short, I live in a 3 story townhome where the 1st floor where the entrance is has the washer/dryer and the third floor is living space. Two flights of stairs + All day every day + baby = NOT HAPPENING! :-) It sounds like I am cutting it close timewise, but I have been looking probably since end of August beginning of September. It takes time to find a good place. We have a lot of stipulations too so it has taken a minute. I think we have narrowed it down but now we may have to contend with HIDEOUS hunter green carpet. If you have any ideas on covering that up - less a bazillion area rugs - please, by all means.. share and share quickly. At any rate, I think I am willing to deal with it for the time being. It has everything else we want and need. Would I give that up because of green carpet??? I am still working on determining that. Pray for a sister! :-)

So last week we started child-birth classes and we had a good time. Our first lesson was on nutrition and eating healthy for the baby. I thought it a bit odd that we started off with nutrition seeing as though we are all in our 3rd trimester. But the nutritionist did say that they concentrate here because the baby will grow the most in these next couple of months. And you want to make sure you are eating properly for that. So that was cool. We haven't gotten to the deep stuff like labor yet, but it's coming and so are the videos. Now this will be interesting to see how the men - including mine - will react to the child-birthing video. I will definitely have to keep you posted on that one.

So aside from packing, looking for a place, finishing registries, there is still quite a bit to do.. and once again Fabulous Friends are pitching in. I still have to do the room wherever we land (Thanks Oksana) and I still need to take pregnancy pics (Thanks Samon) and several other little things to take care of.

As of today, October 5th, I have exactly 8 weeks to the due date. Tomorrow marks the start of my 32nd week (which puts me at the start of 8 months). I am on my two week visits and have another doctor's appointment on Thursday. Baby G is rumbling and tumbling pretty well. He is obviously growing and has found his way to my right rib cage. I'm starting to lose sleep which sounds like I am right on track! I've managed to range from 2 to 4 pillows nightly, but still haven't really found a good way to get completely comfortable. I was on my laptop on Sunday afternoon (looking for places) when the "sleepy stick" (as Ezra and I like to call it) smacked me right over the head. Next thing I know, I was knocked out for about 2.5 hrs. Now I don't nap often at all -(even during the entire pregnancy, I probably napped once on a Sunday) so I am getting TIRED and it is hitting me with no warning.

But all in all, it is ALL GOOD! As I said in the subtitle - I am enjoying the ride for the most part. Of course anxiety, worry, nervousness, panic - they all have their place and have played their role diligently but I am taking it all in stride and excited about it all. It is going to be FUN! And I appreciate you all hanging out with me thus far. It's been great!

Until next time.....
Marcia

THE HOME STRETCH

A little less than 12 weeks to the arrival of Baby G.

"You are in the home stretch!" Well at least that is what BabyCenter.com thinks. BabyCenter.com is a website all about babies etc that sends weekly updates about the baby's development and what you should also be experiencing at that time. Last Wednesday when I received my 28-week update, the article said that I was in the "home stretch". WOW!

The mental snowball started rolling down hill when at my last doctor's visit, my OB said I had one more visit (September 23rd) before I went to every 2 weeks. Wohhhh I thought that didn't happen until further down the road. Umm check the calendar my dear. You are "further down the road"! LOL. Ok, so that thought came and went because that was the end of August - still plenty of time right?? But the snowball picked up a little more snow last Sunday.

Last Sunday, September 5th, I had 3 months left to the date as I'm due December 5th. I was good with saying I have 3 month to go. Comfortable, because that is plenty of time to still do what I need to do and get what I need to get. But after the Wednesday weekly update from BabyCenter.com and the whole "home stretch" comment, I've started to panic a little (insert more snow here). 3 months sounds good. 12 weeks sounds like around the corner. GASP! I've only 12 weeks left???? It's my own fault.. I reverted. I wasn't supposed to be counting in months anyway!! :-) I'm not even going to START to list the things that I still need to do. But I'll get them done.. I always do and you will be so proud that I have already started chipping away at that laundry list.

There is just so much to think about when having a child and most of which has yet to enter my mind. Last week I got a call from my insurance agent, encouraging us to UP Ezra's policy AND mine. Huh??? Ok ok, I get it, it's called proper planning. It's what adults do that have children and a family. NEWSFLASH Marcia - That's you now! OK OK.. not that I want to think about the worst happening, but I surely don't want to be caught in the rain without an umbrella. And I'm quite anal about keeping a spare umbrella in the car for actual rain, why wouldn't I do this? But what set me back was when our agent started to talk about Life Insurance for the child. DO we HAVE to discuss this??? Of course he wasn't trying to be morbid or a downer, but just trying to help us to be the responsible parents that he knows we will be. It was just a bit much at the time. I wanted to retreat back to age 7, find my dolls and play house with them. Let someone else think about the heavy stuff. LOL. Can I go back to picking baby colors and clothes??? Yeeesh.

Besides all of that, the pregnancy is still going well. Baby G is getting stronger daily and has been quite active the last few days. Right now, he wakes when I do (well at least it's not long after I wake up, that I feel him move around) but he is also quite active during the night when I'm sound asleep. I know this because one night I couldn't get comfy and couldn't sleep and guess who decided to keep me company?? That's right, my little man rumbled and tumbled most of the while I was up trying to figure out ways to get back to sleep.

But all in all, I still can't complain. Except for that one night, I am sleeping pretty good at night - some nights better than others. It all depends on my liquid intake and my visits to the restroom. We start child-birthing class at the end of this month (insert more snow). I'm determined to do my part in easing labor so I have been walking 5 miles a week among other exercises. Hopefully I can keep that up, right up until the day of and relatively soon after. The weather has been really nice for my morning walks and I try to get out early so I can get back in and start my day. Which reminds me that I probably need to wrap it up so I can catch a few zzzz before it's time to hit the pavement. With that, I bid thee goodnight.

Until next time...
Marcia