Presenting... Graham Edward Reece!!!

So I don't know if you've heard, but all this anticipation and hard work led up to something pretty cool- a baby! I knew this day was coming (and Jen knew all the more), and now it's here.


Graham Edward Reece was born at 8:01 PM on Tuesday, October 26th (One day ahead of schedule. He gets that from Mommy). He weighed in at 5 lbs. 13oz., and was 19.1 inches long. He has lots of blond hair (for now- we'll have to wait and see), and long guitar-playing fingers.

Mom did a great job through two days of laboring at home, countless laps around the neighborhood, and a couple of trips to the hospital only to be sent home. Needless to say, Graham is already in charge of things around here.

We are so amazed at this little person for whom we have been preparing. While we've been reading up on "what to expect," reorganizing our home (and our lives- ask the cats), I don't think either of us could have prepared for the way our hearts have been blown open wide for this little man. We are forever changed for the better because of him, and he's only been here a little over a day. Not a bad start.

Still Waiting….Not so patiently!

Well, we are now officially 6 days from Baby’s due date, 10 days from the end of October, and 12 days until my November 2nd birthday. Okay Baby Reece, any time now!

In some ways, the past few weeks have flown by. Chris and I have had lots of fun enjoying a baby shower with friends, football games all weekend long, and lots of walking and talking while it is still just the two of us. We have been shopping and although we are sure that we will never truly be “ready” for Baby, we are confident we have most things in place for Baby’s arrival. The cats have particularly enjoyed our recent shopping trips! I have been amazed that to this point, they have stayed out of the crib, off the changing table, and out of the car seat and stroller. However, we brought the bouncer home and it has instantly become the most popular seat in the house if you have four legs and fur! I think they are just helping to keep the seat warm for Baby! It has been fun to spend our last few weeks as twosome (or foursome depending on who you ask) together, and Chris and I have reconnected in lots of different ways while enjoying our precious time together.



Rescue's seat?!



No Frankie's turn!

In other ways, however, the past few weeks have seemed to crawl by. We are both getting extremely antsy and are anxious and excited to finally meet Baby Reece (and of course learn the most well-kept secret of our lives…are you a boy or girl?), and the waiting is getting harder and harder the longer we go. I have finally reached that “so uncomfortable I am convinced I will be pregnant forever” phase, and Chris has gotten to deal with my hormonal breakdowns which are occurring much more frequently than I ever thought possible. This morning, despite sleeping better than I probably have in at least 2 weeks, Chris looked at me and said, “You have a funny look on your face”. I could only reply, “That could be because my back hurts, I can’t roll over anymore, and oh yeah, I woke up still pregnant!” Fortunately, we can both still laugh at this point (even if it is through some tears) and know that the end of the road, though possibly still 2 weeks away (I hope not!), is in sight!

Perhaps the best news for everyone involved is that we have narrowed baby names down to two each for a boy or girl, although we are not sharing until Baby actually arrives! So for now, stay tuned…I am sure Baby will decide to make its grand entrance one of these days!



37 Weeks




And look whose diploma finally arrived! Hooray!



38 Weeks



39 Weeks (Baby, a 40 week picture really isn't necessary at this point!)

Hello October!!!

Wow! I can’t believe October is finally here (and from the temperatures last week, fall may have decided to make its grand entrance in Tallahassee as well)! Hooray for all the changes that are coming SOON!

Chris and I are SO, SO, SO excited to meet Baby Reece! I can look back now and say that, for the most part, I have really enjoyed being pregnant. It hasn’t been all that uncomfortable or off-putting an experience (aside from the record heat and humidity this summer)! However, as the hormones and number of tissues I have been through recently indicate, I have reached that stage with 3 ½ weeks to go wherein I can’t wait to meet this little person and reclaim my body!

We had a baby shower at Hartsfield this week, and I had numerous teachers tell me that they couldn’t believe that I was a month away from Baby’s arrival. They all said that I am still so little, which is great. However, I think what some people don’t realize is that I was little to start with, and I am still working with very limited space. Baby is still very wiggly and squirmy with not a lot of room to move in, hence the uncomfortable part. Chris keeps saying, “Baby, be nice to your Mommy.” To which I reply, “Daddy, I am being as nice as I can, there’s just no more room in here!”

However, I am happy to report that there is significantly more room in the house that is cleared, decorated, and ready to accommodate Baby. We have most of the nursery done, minus a few things here and there, and we have made tremendous progress in the cleaning and purging of the rest of the house. There is still work to be done and some decisions to be made, most importantly, a name for Baby, but we are slowly crossing things off the To-Do lists that seemed so daunting in September, and although Chris recently commented that we will probably never truly “be ready” for Baby’s arrival, I think at this point all we are waiting on is Baby! So, here’s to hoping that we say “Hello Baby Reece!” before we say “Hello November!”



34 Weeks



35 Weeks



36 Weeks



Shower Fun!



Chris and Trey are REALLY excited about the Monkey Rug Pillow--Hopefully Baby will get a turn to use it too!



The Eric Carle Nursery has turned out to be AWESOME! We have the Brown Bear, Brown Bear Quilt on the Crib, The Very Lonely Firefly (in jar above the crib)...



The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Butterfly on the leaf valence...



The Very Grouchy Ladybug laundry in the corner...



And Eric Carle Number cards lining the wall above the changer! We are going to add Baby's name spelled with the Eric Carle Letter cards above the crib (as soon as we know what Baby's name will be)!







We just had to add an owl to watch over our little one!