A Good Day...

I'm trying to find a good app for my iPhone to update these blogs, or it's never going to happen. The hours I spend on my desktop computer, if I even get hours in a day, are spent feverishly catching up on design work, personal finances, etc.

Blogging is a luxury, although we're faithfully posting pics to our Facebook accounts.

I am having some deep thoughts on Motherhood... if I can remember them! I often think, I should blog about that, but then the moment passes and I can't remember what I was thinking.

This has been and continues to be the best time of my life. The hours spent staring into her sweet face are being logged in my memory, as I know she will soon grow and leave this phase behind. In the past 9 weeks, she's already grown and changed so much. (The tightness of her "I Love Daddy" onesie is a testament to the little piggie's growth. She LOVES to eat.)

Yes, my daughter is flipping the bird. What can I say? She's still adorable, even when she's mad.

Six Weeks

Oh, how our lives have changed in six weeks!

I had my follow-up doctor appointment today, and woo-hoo! I am 154 pounds. That is less than when I got pregnant. I have been so blessed to only gain 20-some pounds during the pregnancy and to lose it so quickly after. (The picture to the right is at 2 weeks after delivery... I managed to fit into the outfit that I wore in our anniversary photos the year before. It was a tight fit, but it felt great!)

She smiles now, and makes noises. We're still working on getting her on a good schedule, but she only wakes me up once most nights, and some nights she lets me sleep 7 or 8 hours! (Of course, I get up between 4 AM and 6 AM most mornings now, and I used to get up at 8:30 AM, so technically she's waking me up twice.)













She has stolen our hearts, completely. What a miracle she is.

I sing to her all the time:

You are so beautiful to me
You are so beautiful to me
Can't you see?
You're everything I hoped for
You're everything I need
You are so beautiful to me

Sneak Peek

Check out our baby bump photos!












UPDATE: More photos here... of the girl!

A Whole New World

On Monday, April 6, 2009 at 10:41 pm,
Adison Nicole Leeuwner entered the world.
She was 8 lbs, 21.5" and all perfection.

Martin posted updates and photos to his Facebook profile throughout the entire delivery process, and continues to post photos on an almost hourly basis.

The Leeuwner, Folland, Lembo, Pauls and Beere families are all excited about the new arrival.

Home Stretch

We're approaching 38 weeks... and I had a doctor's appointment today. She gave us the green light - Adison can come any time now, everything is ready. The baby has turned head-down. I'm not dilated at all, but things are moving in that direction. She gave us a list of what to look for, when to call, when to head to the hospital, etc. It's really happening.

It's so hard to believe that the squirmy sensation in my belly is going to be a baby in my arms in just a matter of a week or two. (She said hopefully.) It's so hard to imagine how much our lives are going to change in that instant.

I've gained a total of 21 pounds now. It doesn't look larger to me, but all of my maternity tank tops no longer fully reach the bottom of the belly.

We're still making final prep on the nursery - Martin needs to finish the closet, and the curtains/crib bumper/ruffle need to be installed - and I need to figure out exactly what decorations should go on the walls besides just paint. But we're ready. As ready as we can be!

Here's a question for you moms - as I pack for the hospital, I am wondering what I need that I'm not thinking of. Any advice? Anything that will prove invaluable? What do I have to have for the first few days that we're home?

One Month and Counting!

Yesterday was 1 month before our due date. It's so hard to believe that she'll be here in just a few weeks.

We took a couple more belly shots tonight just to satisfy the relatives. :)

I really am just all baby, for which I am so very grateful. I think I've gained 15 pounds so far... which really isn't much. I've always joked that I'm the tall white giant around all the small brown elves who are my friends. I guess this is one positive to being so tall...

I'm feeling great. Don't take that to mean that I am not ready to get this girl OUT! I've lost the ability to do a lot of stuff that I took for granted before, but I am so blessed to have a flexible schedule and be able to lie down whenever I want. I'm not terribly uncomfortable, but I'm not ever really comfortable, either.

Life is good!

The Nursery

Pictures of the painted nursery... we have two brown walls, a blue wall, and a green wall. We've got a crib, changing table and book shelf.

We're still working on putting some shelving in the closet, and we need a rocker of some sort.

Also, some dear friends (Tonya & Terra) are sewing the curtains, crib bumper and skirt from the material we picked out, so that should tie it all together!



These hair bows were a gift from Jessica.

The green silk blanket was a gift from my brother from China. It matches perfectly!

This is so going to be Martin...

He already gags if food goes bad in the trash... I can't wait to see him try to handle a dirty diaper.

Really?

I get a lot of emails from all sorts of baby places, and most of them have useful hints and activities. However, this article caught my eye today and the accompanying picture was just so... wrong.

I think pregnancy is beautiful, but not like this.

Fabric Shopping...

I have the perfect fabric in my mind... but finding it is proving impossible! We need to get this step completed so we can register for all of the other nursery items to match. The shower is in just a few weeks, and so the clock is ticking on this project.

I have something like this in mind:

I can't find anything like it. I can find polka dots, I can find circles and squares, I can find similar colors in different shapes... but I can't find anything like it.

Time is running out, and we may have to change our plans. I'm a little disappointed.

Step 1

Inspired by some people who are really on their nursery-decorating game, we took the first step to get the nursery set up for Adison.

We bought a shed.

No, we are not going to make our infant daughter sleep outside.

Step 1 - get a shed, and get all of the lawn equipment, paint, tools, camping supplies, sports equipment, etc. out of our laundry room storage.

Step 2 - move all production and business equipment out of nursery. We also are using the closet for storage of photos, books, Christmas decorations, etc., which should go in the laundry room storage as well.

Step 3 - move all furniture out of what used to be our guest room.

(intermediate step... we have to find the perfect fabric to make curtains and other items, which will dictate our other bedding and paint colors... which influences our baby registry, so we need to get this done ASAP!!!)

Step 4 - paint, renovate closet, and install baby furniture.

We took a little stab at Step 4 today by purchasing an IKEA bookcase (in brown-black) that will be storage and decoration. We almost bought the crib, but ran into a couple kinks. Nothing's available in-store these days!

It's coming together... slowly!

Bump!

What is that? It's Adison!
23 weeks, 2 days

The shirt was a birthday gift from my mom.

We've also had a couple of milestones since my last post:

Monday, December 7
We received notice that I had been approved for AHCCCS! We're still trying to figure out all the details, but it's great news!!!

Tuesday, December 2, 2 AM
Martin felt Adison move for the first time.

Monday, December 1
Martin and I went to my check-up. I have gained 3 pounds in 5 months. My doctor said that after Thanksgiving, she's usually telling patients to slow down, but I could "stand to eat a little bit more".

I've posted more photos of the bump on our Flickr.com page. (I have awful posture!!!)

What's In A Name?

Several of you have asked where we came up with the name. Well, of course it has deep, very spiritual roots.

Adison [English]
of Adam

Nicole [Greek, French]
victorious

1 Corinthians 15 (NLT)
45 The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. ... 55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
















Does anyone buy that? Because it's so not true. I just looked up what the names mean and found a scripture to support it. But it's a nice thought, isn't it? :)

Truth be told, I don't recall where I first heard the name Adison.

I've been naming my children for years, and had whittled down the list of names to a favorite few. Of course, once I got married, several were out the window for obvious reasons. There will be no Lucas Leeuwner! Too many loos in one name. And then, of course, there's the give-and-take process of negotiation with your spouse. There's always the kids we knew growing up or in high school that had that name, or some random connection that you've made over the years with a name.

Some of my favorites were:

BOYS

• Jack, or Jackson
• Lucas
• Aidan
• Jamison
  which is my brother's name, and since we already have a James, Jamison (who we call Jami), Jimi and Jamie among the cousins and spouses on my mom's side of the family, I'm pretty sure we would have never gone with this
• Spencer
• Ethan
• Elliot
  
• Joshua
  but this is our nephew's name, so it's out

GIRLS

• Adison
• Zoe
• Kerith Corinne
  OK, this one is weird, but it DOES have a Biblical root: in 1 Kings 17, the prophet Elijah's life is in danger, and God sends him to the Kerith Ravine, where ravens bring him food and he drinks from the brook. I always loved this story of God's ultimate provision and protection, and the name could be shortened to Keri.
• Cara or Kara
• Jolie Nicole
  I love names with Jo in them - Jolie, Josie (but there are Pussycats, so that's out), Josette - and my mom and stepdad's names are Jo & Nick, which would be cool.
  
• Juliana or Julian
  of course, now we know a Juliana, so that's out
• Genesis
  what's funny is I've seen kids with this name, so it's not just my weirdness
• Olivia (Liv for short)
  

What's funny is I never really dreamed about having a daughter... we always talked about having boys. And yet, I have about 15 more girl names that I can't think of right now. I think it's because there are so many things you can name a girl, but about 80% of boy names make you afraid he's going to get beat up.

Well, when we were picking out names, Adison was one of the best options that we both liked, and it didn't hurt that Kate Walsh's character on Grey's Anatomy was named Addison Montgomery, and she was a strong, beautiful woman. As for the spelling, I prefer names without repeated consonants. Martin suggested Adisson, but it was too close to Radisson for me.

As for Nicole, it works very well as a middle name (you know how names have to "flow"), and it's a plus that she's named after one of her grandpas.

Anyway, that's how we came up with our Adison Nicole. We'll probably tell her the spiritual version, until Noelle ruins it for her. Of course, she'll be googling herself by age 3 and will probably find this page herself. You know kids these days. :)

There's nothing worse than playing the "what does your name mean?" game and have to go with "little red Chinese flower", right, Wes?

Shopping Time!

So, I'm finally showing (I know... where are the pictures? We lost our camera!), and have been shopping little by little for maternity clothes. I'm generally a very CHEAP shopper, and I can't see paying $40-50 for pants, when I don't pay more than $25 for "real" jeans. I've kind of exhausted the local Ross stores meager maternity sections for pants, which are all denim or super-relaxed lounge pants.

On the positive side, there are some really cute styles of shirts right now that work for maternity, even if they're not. I'm loving the freedom to wear baggier shirts and not worry that I look pregnant. :)

So, ladies, where have you found great deals on maternity clothes, particularly pants? I haven't tried the maternity stores, just because I assume the prices will be higher there.

Any good tips?

It's A...

I had a little coffee before our appointment, and she was wide awake! The ultrasound tech called her "a maniac" because she was wiggling and arching her back and not holding still at all. We got to see her hands and feet, and she clasped her hands together, sucked on her fingers, and kicked her feet while we were watching. It was magical.

Boy or Girl?

Well... we have the appointment this Wednesday to (hopefully) find out.

In the meantime, here are the predictions:

• Chinese Birth Chart says it will be: GIRL
• Noelle Larson says it will be: GIRL
• My mother says it will be: GIRL

As this does not seem to be the year for surprise results, I'm guessing we should start preparing for a GIRL.

We'll keep you posted.

Baby's Heartbeat at 121⁄2 weeks

Yes, it does sound a lot like when someone accidentally calls you from their purse. :)

15 weeks!

Tomorrow will be 15 weeks, and we are well into the 2nd trimester. The nausea has abated quite a bit, although my relationship with food is still somewhat shaky. I used to eat one or two meals a day, never really needing to eat as much as I needed to sleep. Now, if I don't eat every 3-4 hours, I get shaky, my head hurts, I feel weak, and sometimes I think I'm going to faint. It's unsettling, especially when you're out shopping!

The baby should be about 4" right now, and weigh about 1.5 oz. I'm not really showing yet. I'll have to start taking pictures soon. Our next doctor appointment is November 12, and we'll find out then if it's a boy or a girl!

We've heard in the past few weeks of several expectant couples who miscarried - old high school friends, family of friends, friends of family - and it makes us thankful that this one has been healthy so far! But our heart breaks for those who are now going through the re-adjustment to not expecting, and we know how it feels. Please pray for those you know are going through this.

On the other side, so many people are looking forward to bundles of joy coming soon! In our church alone, 4 are expecting, 3 of which will deliver before the end of the year. We're looking forward to meeting the newest member of our church by this weekend!

I'm Afraid...

...that our baby is going to look like this.

(OK, it's a lousy picture, but I figured searching for a picture of a baby Mr. Potato Head for more than 30 minutes was a sign of something that I didn't want to be.)

Seriously, all I eat is potatoes. French fries are good. Mashed potatoes are fantastic. I found out the other day fried potatoes don't work so great...

This "morning sickness" lasts all day long, and I can't recall the last time I ate something because it sounded good. I can't recall the last time I ate something that tasted good. I can't recall the last time I ate something without the tiniest thought to what it might taste like coming back up.

I have some Jello squares setting in the fridge. I have high hopes for these... but we'll have to see.

April 9

If our baby is indeed born on 4/9/09, he or she will share a birthday with:

• Hugh Hefner
• Dennis Quaid
• Marc Jacobs
• Paulina Porizkova
• Cynthia Nixon
• Jenna Jameson
• Eric Harris

Quite a diverse and interesting crowd of people.

He or she will also share a birthday month with:

• Cey Decker
  
• Rachel Maciaszek
  
• Wes Edwards