The First Month

I really need to find some time to blog at least once a week. So many things are happening with this little girl and she is changing so much!

Being parents is absolutely the funnest, hardest, most emotional exhausting, but greatest thing in this world! We are having so much fun and are completely obsessed with this little one.

It is crazy how fast she is growing up. She is starting to smile more, make little noises, and her personality is starting to show.

Here's some pics of the first month:

Taking her home

First week home

She has the cutest sleeping positions

Saying Goodbye to Grandpa Duncan and Aunt Steffy

Her favorite sleeping spot.

Happy girl

Getting so big!

First full day at church.

We are having so much fun! We took her to her first Indians Game the other night, The Indians lost but we still had so much fun! I'll post pictures later.

39 Week update!

So here we are, 4 days from our due date! We just got back from the doctor and I'm progressing fabulously. I'm now at a 2 and 70% effaced. Baby is getting lower and lower everyday and getting ready for her big entrance!

We finally have a finish line in sight! If she doesn't come next week we have tentatively set an induction date for Sunday July 29th. Our doctor says we won't need it because my body is doing everything it is supposed to do in getting ready for this little one's arrival. However, since we have family coming to Cleveland and our doctor will be out of town that following week we have made the decision to help her along if she doesn't come within 5 days of her due date. 

Little one is super healthy, I'm healthy (just uncomfortable), and Lance is extremely inpatient and wants her here now.  We are all doing great and can't wait to have our little family grow! 

34 Weeks

34 weeks down, only 6 more to go! This is getting crazy! Only 42 more days to go till she is due. Lance and I were looking at a calendar the other day and realized she could come as early as July 3rd and be full term. I'm starting to panic a bit because I feel we are no where near ready for her!!

I'm definitely starting to tell that she is getting ready to come. The aches and pains are starting to intensify and she is getting stronger by the day, not to mention a lot larger. She loves to play in my ribs. 

Since we are down to the final 6 weeks of pregnancy we have decided we really need to start finalizing on the name we are going to give her. Lance came up with a BRILLIANT idea that we have been doing for the past couple days. Each week we pick one of the final two names and we refer to her as that and nothing else. This way we can get a feel of how it is going to be to call her that. 

This weeks name is Brooklyn. 

Next week we will call her Haylee and see how that feels. It's been so weird to actually be calling her a real name instead of baby girl, little girl, or any other nickname we have come up with. 

We can't wait to meet her! 

Most of our conversations now days are all about her. What we think she will look like, who we think she will most look like, what her personality will be like, how she will be when she grows up, what we hope she will be like, what sports she will play, etc. We are absolutely head over heels for this little girl and can't wait for her to be here! 

The Final 2

The final two names are decided! After 3 weeks of just staring at the the final four names we were able to come to an agreement! Lance actually told me his favorite two and they happened to be mine as well,  it was the easiest round.

The final two are.......

Brooklyn & Haylee 

We think we are going to go to the hospital with two names and see which ones fits her the best. Either name we choose, her middle name will be Marie (that's my middle name and a couple great-something grandma's). I think they both have a great ring to them: Brooklyn Marie Brown or Haylee Marie Brown. 

What do you think? 

We are officially on the down hill stretch-30 weeks down, 10 more to go! 

Highlights of the past couple weeks:

~New doctor=AMAZING!!!!

~Little girl is measuring right on track

~She is getting SO strong and I feel her almost constantly

~Lance loves watching her stretch and kick me, then guessing what body part it is. We felt her foot the other day-so little and cute!

~He gets a kick out of waking her up when she is sleeping by shaking and talking loudly or singing at my stomach. It works unfortunately.

~All 3 of us our healthy and happy! :) 

Wonderful Week!

29 weeks down, only 11 more to go! I can't believe how fast time is flying! This week has been just what I needed! Its been absolutely gorgeous outside and let's be honest, sunshine will make anyone feel happy!

I was able to go out with the girls last saturday for a much needed lunch date and shopping. It was the best day ever! Great friends, great laughs, great news... it was wonderful!

Tonight Amy and I are throwing our very first baby shower for our friend Lindsey at my place. It'll be really fun to get all the girls together and celebrate Lindsey's little boy! Its crazy how many babies are on their way!

We finally got to go to our new doctor yesterday, I am SO thankful we decided to switch doctors. She is absolutely amazing! She let me know that I am in control and that I will be able to make all final decisions regarding how I want my labor and delivery to go. It is so nice to know that I have the support from my doctor. I trust that she isn't going to do anything without consulting me first and giving me options. I finally got to ask any and all questions I had and it was seriously a huge relief. I am actually excited now and not terrified like I was. She fully supports me in wanting a pain-free delivery.

I love having control over things, I'm a little bit of a control freak.

Saturday we are finally making a trip down to the temple. I took for granted living only 10 min away from the one in Logan. It is hard to make regular trips when it is about 2 hours away.  Lance and I haven't been to the temple since October when we were visiting Palmyra. We really need to go more.

I got a new calling at church a few weeks ago and am absolutely thrilled. I got called to serve as the  First Counselor of the Relief Society. I am so excited to take on this new role and to get to know the ladies in the branch better. I know its going to be a lot of work especially with the language barrier but it'll be worth it!  I'm still going to be the Primary Chorister as well. Singing time will just be the very first thing after sacrament so I have time to get up for Relief Society. It is so fun to teach the kids new songs. They haven't ever had a chorister in the branch so we are learning very basic songs that almost all primary kids know. They absolutely love it. It has been a learning experience for me as well, since most of their parents only speak Spanish to them at home we have been learning some songs in English and some in Spanish. It has been a challenge for me but so fun learning some of my favorite songs in Spanish. This week we are singing in sacrament and I'm nervous but excited!

Sunday will be finished off with a BBQ at our place and will hopefully be the icing on the cake of a great week!

I love Springtime.

P.S Final two names have been chosen, I'll post the updated bracket soon!

25 Weeks-I promised a picture...

25 weeks down only 15 more to go!  I'm feeling really great, this pregnancy thing so far has been a breeze (knock on wood).  The only complaint I have so far is the intense leg cramps/charley horse's I get at night, every night! Last night I woke up to one in both legs at the same time! I didn't know what to do, I just flung both legs up in the air attempting to stretch and flex while I winced in pain. They really are no fun!

Other than that the second trimester has been great. I've had the majority of my energy back, my emotions are somewhat in check (depending on the day... ok depending on the minute), and I've loved seeing and feeling this little girl kick me!

Now that the second trimester is winding down and I'm getting closer to the third, I'm starting to get more tired and my emotions are starting to get out of whack again. I'm starting once again to cry over everything. I even cry over the fact that I don't know why I'm crying. Lance really is a champ, he has been so supportive and will just sit and hold me and try his hardest not to laugh when I'm crying over nothing.

I'm starting to feel more and more like I did during the first trimester-Sleepy all the time, cranky, and emotional. The only problem is with this growing belly, sleeping is starting to get more and more difficult and I end up waking up multiple times in the night. I have a feeling this last trimester is going to get a bit tough. But on the bright side, it is preparing me for sleepless nights that I will have once this little girl gets here.

6 months 1 week and 3 days pregnant! 

Lance and I cannot wait for her to get here but at the same time we are trying to enjoy the last bit of time we have with just the two of us. We have decided to take another trip before her arrival- we are going back to either  DC or Chicago. I'm pretty sure it'll be DC because we realized the other day there are THREE Cafe Rio's out here on the east coast and one happens to be only a few miles away from DC. Seeing how I crave that place even when I'm not pregnant, I hold the trump card. I'm just upset we didn't realize its location last fall when we were there!

Only 102 days till her arrival! YAY!

Baby Names: The Elite 8

After much deliberation Lance and I were able to pick the elite 8. I'm so glad we have another 3 months to figure out this name thing because it is not easy.We are attempting to do the next round this weekend but we probably won't have it figured out for a while. Stay tuned. :)

P.S We hope everyone has a great Easter weekend :) 

Baby bedding costs WHAT?

As the months are winding down and we are getting closer and closer to our little girls arrival I'm starting to realize we have NOTHING ready. I know we have over 3 months but my nesting instinct is kicking in high gear and I want everything ready NOW! We are slowly purchasing little things but I'm starting to get anxiety over the fact that we don't have any necessary items.

I've been thinking about the nursery a lot lately and trying to decide what I want to do with it. I'm really not a fan of the girly girl colors, I don't know why but an all pink room makes me VERY uncomfortable. Plus, our dressers and clothes have to stay in the nursery as well because whoever designed the homes in Cleveland decided that people can live in tiny rooms that barely fit a queen bed. So lance has to be able to go into the room without gagging over all the pink.

I narrowed down my colors. I want to do a Pink/Green/Brown room. The room will be mostly brown and green with pink accents. That way its more neutral with a little splash of "girlyness". So the searching began, I searched, and searched, and searched. I must be really picky because I wasn't finding anything I could even compromise with.  After days of searching I finally found a couple bedding sets that I absolutely LOVED. They were perfect, not to girly, just enough pink to stand out but not make me gag. Everything was great until I looked at the price tag...$250 dollars!! WHAT!? You have got to be kidding me! It was a 4 piece set for that insane amount. Lance and I got a 10 piece queen bedding set  for our room that is gorgeous for under $100. There was no way we were going to get it. Ok, I'll confess I was still going to get it but Lance talked some sense into me and made me realize that if we get it I won't be getting as many clothes for her. Not wanting a naked baby, I agreed.

So the searching began again, and I found NOTHING.

Luckily I've been on a craft kick so I made the decision to make her bedding.  I decided to make her a quilt that will mimic the ones that I loved for a fraction of the cost.  I really don't know how its going to go, I'm really quite nervous.

Lance and I went to Joann's Fabrics and picked out the colors. After 2 hours of cutting 7x7 squares I'm almost ready to start sewing tomorrow. I sure hope it turns out good, I don't really know how to sew that well. The last sewing class I took was in 8 grade where I became a pro at sewing a pillow in the shape of a foot. Seeing how that isn't going to help me in slightest I hope I remember the crash course Lance's mom gave me before we moved out here.

The soon to be front of the quilt-I still need to work the pattern a bit. And I still may add another brown color in there...too many decisions!  

Tomorrow will be spent cutting out more 7x7 squares for the back and somehow learning to quilt while quilting. Wish me luck!

6th months!

I can't believe how close we are getting. I hit my 6th month mark yesterday and I can't believe how fast time is flying by! My stomach finally popped and I am looking VERY pregnant. I am feeling really good and am getting anxious for this little girl to get here.

I'm slowly learning my limitations, something that I am not liking. The simple task of bending over is now a 5 minute project with a lot of grunting and moaning.  Lance continues to tease me about getting me one of those extendable claws that picks up things for old people. I laugh, but am slowly realizing how much of a help that would actually be :) He is being such a great help, even the task of getting off of the couch now includes him pulling or pushing me up.

Lance and I have been talking about the possibility of me coming home to Utah because I've had a couple people tell me they want to throw baby showers. I am so grateful for the offers but unfortunately that isn't going to be a possibility even though I would LOVE to come home and visit. 

We decided to register online for those who still want to get us something but don't really know what we need or want. The truth is, we don't really know what we "need" so we are grateful for anything! :) Below are the links to our Walmart and Babies R' Us Registry: 

Walmart: http://www.walmart.com/giftregistry/gr_detail.do?registryId=80520692060

Babies R'Us: http://www.toysrus.com/registry/index.jsp?ab=BRU_Header:Utility2:Baby-Registry:Registry

     The Babies R' Us site isn't too user friendly so you will have to do a search for our registry. You can find this by searching Heather Brown in Parma, Ohio. Pretty simple.

Also, here is our address, we have had a few people ask us for it as well: 

Heather and Lance Brown

3802 Walter Avenue

Parma, OH 44134

We are so thankful for those who are wanting to help and we are so excited to bring her home this Christmas for all of you to meet her! It is so crazy to think that the next time we are home we will have a 5 month old! 

Also, as most of you know I have always been against "bump" pictures but after being told over and over how I need to post some I finally made up my mind that I'll post a couple later on this week. So look for those because they won't come too often :) 

First-Round Results Are In!!

We surprisingly were able to get through the first-round of our Baby Name-Picking Bracket fairly easy (and quickly)! Now that we have narrowed the 32 names down to 16, match-ups are becoming tougher. This name-picking thing is more difficult and is going to take even longer than we thought!  Good thing we have 3 1/2 months to fight it out!

On a side note, We FINALLY found a Chinese restaurant here in Cleveland (HALLELUJAH)! We both are extremely happy today and full of Chinese food! Life couldn't be better! :)

It's a GIRL :)

5 1/2 Months down 3 1/2 more to go! Time is flying by and our list of things to do before this little one gets here keeps growing with no progress made. We talk as if we have forever to get everything done but everyday I'm getting bigger and loosing energy and my want to do anything but lay on the couch and eat is slowly diminishing. :)

We are so excited to be having a baby girl. This came as a complete SHOCK! Throughout the entire pregnancy we have both thought it was a little boy. All the wives-tales said it was a boy, my cravings, the way I'm carrying, everything said this little one was gonna come out a mini-Lance. We were completely wrong and our mouths dropped when the doctor announced we were going to be having a little princess. Then of course pregnancy hormones kicked in and I started crying...a lot.

I've already started making outfits and lots of bows for her. I've been having so much fun. Lance just shakes his head every time I come up with a new creation that I "HAVE" to make for her. Even though he shakes his head I know he is just as excited as I am to be wrapped around that little girl's finger.

It's crazy how much we already love her. We constantly talk to her and try to bond with her. Lance occasionally sings to her, it's the cutest thing (cheesy alert) and makes my heart melt every time. It's so fun to feel her little kicks and have Lance constantly with his hand on my stomach trying desperately to feel her move. He finally felt his first little kick a few weeks ago and it was so fun to see his face light up and to see him get all giddy. He really is going to be the most amazing father. I am so grateful to be married to him forever and I cannot wait till I get to see him hold her for the first time.

We finally started talking about names and have came up with a Baby Girl Name-Picking bracket!  This way we can put names we like head-to-head and eliminate them that way. It is so much easier than having a million names in our head trying to pick out our favorites. We got the bracket idea from some friends of ours who did it for their little boy. SUCH a good idea, not to mention so much fun! All our family and some of our friends are getting in on the fun trying to figure out which one we will pick!
Here is a picture of the first round match-ups! We will post updates as soon as we get each round done!

Other than that all things are good here in Cleveland. The weather has been beautiful! We finally got to go out golfing last week, it was so nice to be outside after being cooped up inside all winter long. I am proud to say that I still can beat lance at a round of 9-holes even with a tummy getting in the way of my swing.

We celebrated St. Patrick's day last weekend by going to the parade downtown-I'll have Lance blog and post pictures about that. It was so crazy!

Many people are asking me to post baby bump pictures, and even though I have been highly opposed to posting any pictures I think I might cave in a post some. They will be coming shortly (maybe).

We promise to do better about keeping everyone updated and blogging!!!!!