37 weeks, 5 days and Ready to Meet Harlow

I had an appointment with our Mid-Wife Kathleen today. I am 3 cm dilated and Harlow has dropped more. Its hard to say when Harlow will arrive but my guess is in the next few days with how I have been feeling. I can finally say I am ready; we now have the birthing tub and everything we need for Harlow is ready and waiting. Stay tuned, I will keep you all posted.

36 weeks, 5 days with BEAUTIFUL Maternity Pictures

I am so glad I finally did it...maternity pictures that is. I have always wanted to do them but by the time you get to the home stretch (eeek no pregnant woman likes to hear the word stretch...stretch marks that is...LOL!) it's about the last thing you feel like doing.

I knew with this baby being our last I had to embrace this pregnant belly before it was gone and contact my favorite photographer and friend Joyce Blackson to capture the moment for me. It was actually a really fun photography shoot, the kids got to kiss the belly which they always love to do, Jon and I took a few together and I felt like I was on America's Next Top Model when I went solo with my belly. I can't wait to see all of the pictures from the session but here are a few she provided me with to share now.

36 weeks, 2 days

I had our in-home appointment with Mid-Wife Kathleen yesterday and everything went great. She went through the preparation of both the birthing tub and bed set-up with Jon and I as well as the overall in-home birth process for when Harlow arrives. I have another appointment scheduled next week and my guess is Harlow will be born the week after that which is the week of my 30th birthday.

Silly Paige was playing with her toes...

Every Princess Needs to Sparkle!

I made Harlow a couple Sparkle onesies and I have one more in the making. I found this great brand of organic cotton clothing from Lime Blossom Naturals that was just perfect to add the Swarovski sparkles to. I love mix & match basics on a baby and you can't get anything softer then this brand.

It was fun creating custom sparkle onesies for Harlow (Paige has had quite a few over the past 2 years) and it will also make for a nice keepsake after she outgrows them. I am working on at least one more which will have a fancy "H" on a romper and I do have a few other ideas if time permits. In case you didn't know, I used to have a Sparkle business on Etsy (SparkleYourKids) but when the belly came into play I put it on hold for a bit. It's hard to capture the "sparkle" indoors but it's hot here in TX so I wasn't about to stand outside trying to get the perfect picture so these will have to do for now.

I plan on Harlow wearing this one just after birth, it is extra cute with ruffles on the bum...


I have some ruffle pants to pair with this one...


I have started laundering some of Harlow's blankets and clothes this week and have begun setting it all up, pictures coming in the next day or two. I have a maternity session set up on Sunday to capture this belly before it's gone so wish me luck!

35 Weeks + and Nesting

I had my 35 week appointment with my Mid-Wife Kathleen last week and everything was just as it should be. My belly measured right on, Harlow's heartbeat was perfect, my blood pressure was normal and she ran the last of the blood work she needed before delivery. Our next appointment, which will be next week will be a home visit where she will review the birthing tub set-up and other necessary details with Jon and I. Jon and I have gotten our at home birthing kit and purchased the other essentials yesterday so we are ready for Harlow to make her debut.

I have begun nesting and it's definitely been nice getting everything around the house in order. I plan on washing a few things in Dreft (love that smell!) for baby Harlow today and will get her moses bumper (I had the moses basket from Aiden) and other goodies I had made by the very talented Monique from Etsy in the mail tomorrow (see pictures below). Harlow won't have her nursery ready since we haven't been able to sell our guest bedroom furniture yet to clear out her room but we figure we have time as she will sleep in the moses basket in our room for at least 3+ months anyways. So I am using a nice bamboo clothing rack we already have along with canvas baskets for her clothes, diapers, etc. to set up a area for Harlow next to her moses basket in our room. I will take pictures of it all put together in the next few days.





Jon has been helping my need to nest by painting the playroom a pretty light blue and next is painting and putting together Paige and Aiden's PBK Dr. Seuss bathroom before Harlow makes her debut. I figured since we couldn't put our time and energy into Harlow's nursery we may as well get a few other things off of our to-do list in the meantime.

My Texas family of friends is hosting a baby shower for me on July 31st; I am really looking forward to getting together with all of my friends to celebrate Harlow's arrival. I also have my BIG (well you can't get much bigger then being 9 months pregnant...LOL!) 30th birthday coming up on August 11th; I hope to go out to a nice dinner with Jon to celebrate and have friends over a movie and some cake before Harlow makes her debut...guess we will see if that all works out. Well off to nest and tend to the kids.

31 weeks, 5 days and Counting Down for Her Debut

I had my 31 week appointment with my Mid-Wife Kathleen last week. Gosh, I can't believe I am already that far along and haven't really gotten anything together for baby Harlow. Usually Jon and I are already working on the nursery but I am thinking as long as I have her moses basket ready (I custom ordered a girl bumper for the moses basket we had for Aiden off of Etsy) and waiting we can work on the nursery in the months following her birth. We have to clear out the guest bedroom furniture first and order Aiden's big boy furniture after that so we have a few things on the to do list before we can really get started on it. I decided on using the Pottery Barn butterfly bedding and other room decor I had for Paige's nursery so at least that's one detail we won't have to worry about.

Harlow looked great at the appointment. She measured exactly 31 weeks, heartbeat sounded great and I didn't hear back on the blood work which I was told meant it was all normal. So now it's time to settle on the details of her birth which as I stated before will be here at our home in a birthing tub. I am now at the every 2 week appointment mark so the next appointment is set for July 1st.

The Texas heat hasn't made getting around with the kids very easy but I try to put my best foot forward every day to show the kids a fun filled day. I plan on staying indoors or in water as much as I can this summer to beat the heat. Pregnancy hormones have also made the day to day hard to contend with but I am doing my best to get over the hurdles emotions can put in my way to enjoy every day. Oh and I can't forget the insomnia in this pregnancy, sure is weird being up late into the night by myself without feeling the slightest bit tired but of course it makes it hard to get up to tend to the kids in the morning.

Oh the joys of pregnancy, Harlow is worth it all and we can't wait to meet her. Jon has been doing his best to put up with the crazy pregnant me and even sent me some pretty flowers to brighten my day today.

Baby Harlow Looking Good

I had an appointment with my mid-wife yesterday. I will be having Harlow here at home in a birthing tub. I am so excited about it. I had always pictured myself giving birth to all of my children at home but because of insurance complications I just succumbed to the traditional hospital route with both Paige and Aiden. I did do it as much as I could my way so I waited to 10 cm dilated, then headed to the hospital for a natural, drug-free birth and went home hours later with a baby in my arms. So this time around we are paying cash and getting to do it 100% my way here at home with a fabulous mid-wife Kathleen Mayorga.

I am now 24 weeks, 4 days pregnant with baby Harlow who is growing just as she should be. I had to take Aiden with me to the appointment, he wasn't very cooperative and insisted on running out of the room at every opportunity but he did manage to stand next to me long enough to push the Doppler button and listen to Harlow's heartbeat with me so that was exciting.

I love pictures, I take a lot of them, probably every few days at least.

Here is one of the kids today before we headed over to a playdate at a friend's house. It's been hot and rainy here in TX...reason for the rain boots.



I love this outfit from Etsy designer Loves Me Not and so does Princess Paige



A couple of days ago, Paige is wearing Boden and Aiden Matilda Jane

A Celebration of Life for Brett Burdick

This past Friday, April 17th would have been Brett's 5th Birthday, even though a few months have passed it seems like yesterday he was laughing and playing with our group of friends. In honor of his birthday we gathered for lunch and then went to visit him at the cemetery (those words are so hard to put together in a sentence).

The weather wasn't on our side, it very windy and raining but nothing was going to stop us from visiting our loved little man on his special day and as luck would have it we made our visit at the very same time he was born. I hadn't been back since we laid him to rest. Paige made him a frame and I put the picture of her and Brett together from the 4th of July. His headstone was quickly covered in much love with flowers and cards. His headstone was beautiful, it had several pictures of him on it.

On Sunday, April 19th I was honored to help set-up for and attend a celebration in honor of Brett's 5th Birthday. It felt so good to once again have everyone gather to share stories and remember this loved little man. We did a breathtaking balloon release, where each guest wrote a message and sent it up to him in Heaven. We all enjoyed food from Chicken Express together and the kids played on the playset and bounced in the bounce house. It was a perfect day to honor this very special little man. In addition to the celebration, toys were collected for Brett's Blessings. So many toys were donated in Brett's name to donate to the Dallas Children's Hospital ICU, see previous Blog post in regards to Brett's Blessings.

Here are some pictures of this very special celebration:


Madison, Danielle, Sienna, Paige, Aiden, Andrew and Johnny




My Family


Aiden enjoying some sweets...


Paige and I wearing our matching Matilda Jane...


The most recent belly pic...