40 days and 40 nights

It's the final countdown!! We are down to 40 days...I can't believe it. After months of being pregnant, is this really going to have an end? I'm pretty sure I started waddling today...I sort of slept and fell today at work. No major injury. Just sore. But, I'm sure that the fall caused some of the waddling. DISCLAIMER: Was not a major fall. Caught myself on the counter before hitting the ground. Back to 40 days...We are due in 40 days!!! YES, I know that only 5% of babies actually come on their due date, but oh yippee yip yip horay! Our baby is soon on his way!!

Diaper Bag!

Okay, yes, I'm spoiled. I admit it. Dad blessed mommy Anlee (and baby Ezra) with my dream diaper bag! I'm southern. I love Vera Bradley. No shame! When I saw this new pattern in the new diaper bag design, I. HAD. TO. HAVE. IT! And, I'm in love! 11 pockets, three zippers and one washable changing pad! Dad says he is man enough to carry it, too! And, I'm always thinking about "next baby" neutral colors... LOVE THIS BAG! Now to fill it with all of Ezra's goodies!

Snuggabunny! (Baby Gear)

Baby Ezra has a S.W.I.N.G.!! Thank you auntie Lindsey, Brooks and Natalie!! Ezra's swing arrived this week to excited giggles and happy dances from mom and dad. Hopefully, Ezra will enjoy extra sleep and quiet time in his swing.

 Ezra also received the Snuggabunny bouncer chair from his great aunt Vickie and family. The bouncer vibrates and plays music to keep our little bunny sleeping soundly. We will have to get rid of some furniture in our house to make room for Ezra's new gear, but imagining him sleeping and dreaming away in both of these toys makes me excited to do so! Seriously, we have one lucky kid!

A family Shower

End of Saturday...saying goodbye to friends was hard. But thankfully, I was going home to say hello to family that I have not seen in quite some time. Sunday morning, Caleb came over to hang out with Aunt LeeLee. And then the festivities began. I was cordoned off to Mom's bedroom while the decorators took over the house. When I came out, the house was oh too cute! The theme was mustaches! The cake was beautiful. Two tiered with baby tyes on the side. I'll try and get a picture posted soon.

So many sweet gifts were given to Ezra. Some of my favorites were the beautiful heirloom jumper from mom and the embroidered cross bib from Susan. Ezra also received his first Georgia Tech Onezie of which I have approved he can wear when Nana comes to visit. One thing is for sure, Ezra will be incredibly well dressed for the first year of his life.

Monday was spent visiting grandparents who aren't as healthy as they used to be. The timing of my visit could not have been better. Great-grandfather to me and great, great to Ezra was awake and completely aware of who I was when we visited. He even called me by my childhood nickname, "arbitrary." Pawpaw, Ezra's great-grandfather on Dad's side, has been in a nursing home for over a month now, but when I visited he smiled so big, grabbed my hand, held it and said, "It's been a long time." All of my insides turned to mush. I miss my family. Lunch date with dad and a visit to the pond to see how my dad spends his retirement - training fish to follow him along the bank!!! Shopping for my dream diaper bag with mom and a big family dinner complete with pumpkin carving. A quick visit to see Knox, Whit and Ashleigh one more time before heading home to pack. My flight back to Derek and Midland took off at 8:55...way too soon...but I missed my husband and he missed his wife and son.

I'm already looking forward to taking Ezra back to Georgia for his first real visit with the amazing family that I have there!!!

Ezra's First trip to Georgia

 47 days...5 odd weeks...2 major holidays...then the arrival of the most anticipated gift Derek and I could ever imagine! Baby Ezra's now in his 34th week. He could come healthy and sound as early as 37 weeks. Although, both of his parents are hoping that he will enjoy an extended stay inside mommy's tummy. As you can see above, I'm not carrying a basketball sized bump, but more of a flat watermelon! Amy, the amazing and genius photographer of Amy Dey Photography, aka my college roommate, best friend and amazing aunt to Baby Ezra, took some beautiful, and some awkward, photos of me over the weekend during my visit to Georgia. The best part of the shoot was just hanging out with Amy, however, she did manage to make me smile "for real" sometimes. It helps when you can tell yourself Brian Regan jokes. I love the picture above because I was thinking about holding our sweet boy, imagining what his eyes will see when he looks at us.

My trip to Georgia started out sleep deprived and ended the same way. Traveling can be tiring in the best of shape, but even more so bordering 8 months pregnant. SO WORTH IT! Dad picked me up from the airport with my favorite Mexican restaurant takeout and cheese dip. YUM! Then we headed to my brother's house to see my sweet nephew Caleb. He was waiting at the door with his arms opened wide and ready to pucker up. This kid is 90 miles a minute - and I am so thankful that all I get to do is spoil the heck out of him. No disciplining from me! Just cuddles.

On Friday, I was fortunate enough to get emergency hair repair from the best stylist I've ever had, Rhonda McLain. While she was correcting a previously bad haircut, I was able to meet my mom's best friend, Kathy, and my sister-in-law, Ashleigh, and nephew Knox. OH WHAT A CUTIE! Wearing designer shoes at 1 year old! Rhoda was generous with some designer shoes for Baby Ezra, too. Seven's For All Man Kind infant sneakers!

Next up, IKEA date with Natalie and Amy after some very much desired Jimmy Johns. Three hours later we had bought a combined 5 items and headed out to see Natalie's new apartment. SO CUTE! An hour later through Atlanta traffic, we were at The Witter's new home. Brooks' and Adam bought a beautiful house a year ago and Brooks' offered to host a sleepover for us best'ies from college before the Saturday shower. FIRST, MEXICAN FOOD! Yes, our lives still revolve around food. (Mine especially!) Lindsey, Amy, Natalie, Brooks and Melissa all went out for Mexican food of which an extra large cheese dip was a guest at as well. That night, we had our celebratory and traditional sleeve of double stuffed oreos (self control points go to me who had only 1!) We also celebrated Brooks' 25th birthday -  Lindsey baked 25 apple cinnamon cupcakes and Amy, Natalie and I made 25 toppers with our favorite Brooks' quotes over the years written in. Sleep...are you supposed to sleep at a sleep over? I know Lindsey fell asleep while talking. I'm not sure what time the last one of us realized the other was sound asleep and not responding, but it was so great to just talk with my best friends. I needed this time just to settle, to be encouraged and to love the people who have loved me so sweetly from such a distance.

Saturday morning Amy woke me up bright and early for the MOST AWKWARD of maternity shoot clients ever. When your best friend is the photographer all you really want to do is talk to her. We took some shots at a park with a huge oak tree just like our wedding tree. We went to a field of tall grass and had fun being creative and then we found the barn in the picture above. I'll post more at some point. Check out Amy Dey Photography!

The shower was so cute. The theme was "Baby Books." Ezra received all of my favorite children's books with messages written to him from each aunt (and uncle). These books are a true treasure! After many games and delicious food, just being with all of these ladies was the greatest gift!

Next post...Sunday's shower...

Gestational Diabetes Update

Thanks for all of the prayers. We got the test results back and we are NEGATIVE! YES! The Lord has blessed us! Thanks to you guys who emailed us about our blog post. If I wasn't full blown into the third trimester insomnia stage, plus pregnancy brain, plus youth retreat that ended with rushing our dog who consumed too much junk food from 10 teenagers who thought he was a circus monkey to the vet, I would write you back...but now I'm trying to catch up on laundry as I'm leaving for GEORGIA tomorrow afternoon! WOOHOO! Can't wait to be in Georgia in the fall, to have a very anticipated sleep over with the college gals, to steal some time with my cute nephews for training practice and to enjoy baby showers! 32 weeks down and only 8 to go. I have absolutely NOTHING done and am perfectly okay with it. Daddy Fekkes and I are just watching the bump grow and the kid play the drums on my belly. Again, thanks for the prayers! Keep them coming!

31 Week Update - Prayer Request

So, we are officially 31 weeks pregnant. Our due date is 62 days away TODAY! We can't believe it. Ezra could be here in just a matter of weeks! Now, we are just praying for a safe arrival for both Ezra and I, so we are asking for prayer to cover both of us. Mom (me) had a bad glucose test last week. After several retests, I'm having a glucose tolerance test tomorrow to see if we have full-blown gestational diabetes. If we do we will be okay with diet and exercise changes. Our prayer comes in the form of praying this off of us. If we do have GD it could eventually mean that we wouldn't get our birth center birth. That would be devastating to us, but we know that God is in control. Babies born with moms who have GD are typically much larger than babies born without GD, so we want to pray this off of both of us for a safe, natural birth. Lastly, we are praying for open-minded pediatricians. Most here in Midland are refusing to take Ezra and I on because we are using a midwife and not delivering in a hospital. We are both considered a liability. (Oh gosh!) Oh, and GD babies come early!

I've completely cut out carbs and I am feeling pretty good. We are just hoping... Had to buy new maternity jeans this week...skinny maternity jeans are seriously more attractive than I thought they would be.

The soon-to-be Parents on our second anniversary in Seattle

Enjoying these last few weeks just the two of us - Seattle

We have a hard time getting the three of us in a picture!

Ezra joined us for cheesecake at Gasworks

Our Stroller! Woohoo! 

Made over a sweet changing table given to us by the Langhoff family. Baskets by Nanette! 

Our sweet kids crib and shopping cart cover

Okay, so we are officially 31 weeks pregnant! Update coming up!

Sweetest Baby Shower Invitation/AMAZINGNESS in the world!

 You know you and your baby are blessed when you have friends that put together something like this!
I'm completely blown away but the amazingness of this invitation! The poem, the consideration, the illustrations and the overall cuteness of this! Thank you so much Brooks for your genius idea, Lindsey, Natters and Amanda! So special to have you all a part of this!!

 How freaking cute is this????????

Yep, this will be framed in Ezra's room!