before you were born

growing like a weed

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 03:13:23 GMT

n o v a h | j u n e

hey baby girl. sorry it's been over a month since mommy has written to you in here. so, you just turned seven months old the other day! you are growing up faster than ever, i can't believe it. every day you amaze me at the new things that you learn and do. you love to clap your hands, wave to yourself, stand up with assistance, sit up, play with all of your toys. each day you are doing something new it seems. you are starting to say ba ba ba and duh duh duh. i'm still working on the whole da-da and ma-ma thing, but you're just not ready yet. we've been working on the whole crawling thing. you don't really like to be on your tummy for too long though. you have learned how to scoot one leg underneath of you, but that's about the extent of it. you haven't tried pushing up on your hands quite yet, but maybe soon. you've really been enjoying solids lately. you love sweet potatoes, bananas, squash, pears, green beans, and applesauce. i tried giving you peaches, but you weren't having it. mommy had to end up buying some jar food, because you weren't diggin on the homemade stuff. i think the texture was too thick or something. i'm planning on trying again though, once you are a little older.

you are pretty attached to the little kitty that mommy and daddy got for you awhile back. you sleep with it every nite as well as tad. the weather has been nice a couple of times, so we have been able to take you on walks. you seem to enjoy that a lot. we took you to this little park and let you play in the grass for the first time. you didn't seem to mind it at all. later when we got back to mamaw and papaw's house, mamaw took you outside and touched your bare feet in the grass...and you didn't care at all. i can't wait for the weather to start warming up so we can spend more days outside in the sun.

we're still living at mamaw and papaw's house, so it's been a little over 6 1/2 months now. we're really hoping that something turns out with the church that daddy is working part time for. daddy wrote a letter to the elders asking them if they would let us live in the house beside the church and pay for our health insurance, so we're waiting to hear about that. hopefully it will work out, because we are really ready to move on. i know that you will definitely be missed by mamaw and papaw, and that you will miss them as well.....but if this works out, we will only be 15 minutes away from them! it would be awesome. you definitely love being around them and your cousins as well. you love to watch all your cousins play and i can tell that you can't wait until you're a little older so that you can join in the fun! hehe.

well baby, i'm gonna go. i love you soooo much!

<3
mommy

6 months ago

Fri, 03 Mar 2006 04:23:32 GMT

novah-

wow. i can't believe that it was 6 months ago today that i was in the hospital giving birth to you. you have changed so much since then, it's unbelievable. you have grown up so much! i'll never forget the nite leading up to your birth, and i'll never forget the day that you were born. your daddy and i were so extremely happy and overwhelmed with joy. you filled a piece of our heart and changed our lives around. i could never imagine my life without you now that you're in it. you have made me a better person, you help me strive to be the absolute best. i hope that you will see this as you grow older. i hope that i can touch your life as much as you have touched mine. you have given me so much love and i pray that i can give you all of that in return. i thank God for bringing you into our lives, novah. you are such an amazing little girl. each and every day i see you growing, learning new things, and forming your own little personality. you have this new thing where you put your hands up to your head and shake your head no. daddy teases you and tells you that it looks like your doing the macarana dance. hehe. you smile all of the time. especially when you wake up in the morning or when you wake up from your naps. you like to smile at me whenever i'm nursing you, and you love to pat me on the arm or chest as if saying, "thanks mom, you're doing such a great job." hehe. that is one thing that i treasure the most about our relationship. it has been such an amazing bonding experience and it is something that no one else can give you except me, and that is such a great feeling to know that i am the one that has kept you alive these past 6 months. it's really quite amazing. it is definitely something that i am going to miss whenever we do give it up. hopefully it won't be too soon. i love you, junebug. i hope that this next half year will be just as amazing as the first.

with all of my love,
mommy

more milestones

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 03:14:36 GMT

hey novah junebug

you finally rolled over from your back to belly tonite! i was so proud of you. daddy had left to go to the store, so you and i were on the floor playing. i got up to go into the kitchen and when i turned around, you were on your belly! i couldn't believe it. you were so proud of yourself, you definitely knew that you did something really cool. you're a little stinker though, that is the 2nd time that you've done something that i've missed the first of. your daddy hasn't seen you roll over at all, so you better be doing it for him sometime soon.

you've been sitting up some. today was probably the longest you've ever sat up by yourself. probably around 3-4 minutes. we're still working on this one.

so i've been giving you mashed bananas pretty much every morning....you love them! yesterday i gave you mashed up sweet potatoes, you weren't too interested in them though. [i think it was because you just woke up from a nap] i gave you the rest of yesterday's portion for today and you did a lot better with him and seemed to enjoy them.

you've also been doing this new thing where you put your hands up to your head and you shake your head back and forth like you're saying no. it is soooo hilarious! i got you on video doing it yesterday. today while i was feeding you sweet potatoes, as you were sitting in the high chair you kept looking over at daddy asleep on the couch and was shaking your head no at him. haha.

mamaw and papaw bought stella a little puppy for her birthday that whines and moves his head around. they ended up having to get her a different one, because you loved it so much. everytime we push his little belly and he whines you smile real big. you have to have him and tad the frog in bed with you when you go to sleep. it's way too cute.

well, that's about it right now girl.

i love you soooo very much!

<3
mommy

s o m e t h i n g s y o u a r e d o i n g n o w

Sat, 18 Feb 2006 18:36:15 GMT

you have grown a lot and have started to do a lot of things now
for belly time you keep your head up and look around at everything
sometimes you try to roll over to your back but not too often
when youre on your back you have almost rolled over to your belly
the only thing that you havent figured out is to move your arm
you have figured out that you love to jump in your jumparoo
you especially like to jump if you get excited about something
or if someone else is jumping and you see them and go crazy
when your in the swing you try to sit all the way forward
ive seen you far enough forward that you are biting the toys on it
you like your new car seat better now that ive made adjustments
i took off the head supporter, strap pads and moved the crotch part
king of like in the swing you like to try and sit forward
when you just have your diaper on or onsie you pull your legs up
you touch your feet and sometimes put them in your mouth to eat
you have taken off your socks before and started chewing on them
your hair is growing but it only lays down in the front section
the back still stands straight up and some hairs are alot longer
your eyes are big blue and beautiful and i hope they dont change
youve got two little teeth coming through on your bottom gums
i can feel that they are sharp so its not wonder it bothers you
you mostly only like to stand up because you arch your back
you are very photogenic because every picture is precious
you've definitely found your voice and scream like a little girl
sometimes you entertain yourself for a pretty long time in bed
sometimes you like having a story read to you when its short
you really like to watch dora the explorer cause shes so cool
you love to be scared and usually it makes you laugh out loud
you like to watch your cousins play or watch mommy act crazy
you like to rub my head or smack it when it lay it on your belly
you make funny noises with your mouth that sound like bubbles
you like to watch alkaline and mooch cause they are not humans
you almost always smile super big when you first wake up
you are fun to cuddle with but sometimes you just want space
usually you like music and things that light up but not always
sometimes you just want darkness and peace and quiet to yourself
i cant really tell if you look more like mommy or like me yet
you have my eyes, mouth, hair type and cold hands and feet
you have mommys nose, attitude, prettiness and poochie butt ;)
your perfect in my book and im very proud to be your father
love dADDY

some new things you're starting to do

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 15:03:23 GMT

the past few days you have been talking up a storm. you have started to learn to say the sound of ba. you look so cute whenever you do it. you curl your bottom lip into your mouth. you have been playing with your feet all of the time, and today after i gave you a bath you found that you can put them into your mouth.....so you started biting on your little toes. you've been quite the cranky baby lately. you haven't been ready to go to bed at your usual time, so you've been staying up a little later than you usually do. you're still teething, but no teeth have popped through yet.

about a week ago i tried to give you your first solid food, which consisted of mashed avocado. your daddy and i have come to the conclusion that you're just not ready for solids yet. you are still pushing forward with your tongue, and this reflex will soon disappear the older you get. i didn't want to start you on solids until you were 6 months anyways, but you have been acting very interested in watching everyone eat and grabbing at stuff.

so, we're still living with mamaw and papaw. daddy has had a few other interviews, so hopefully something will work out with one of them. daddy was offered a part time youth ministry position across the river at a church there, so he will be helping them out until we can find a full time position.

well baby girl, i guess this is it for now.

i love you so much.
<3
mommy

your very first journal entry

Tue, 24 Jan 2006 14:43:44 GMT

t f f b cnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnhu nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnb mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmjm cf c c mnthbg nbyn mnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnv b f t tcg c v n , b =;l;lv gmi jn89 b bx

oh, the teething

Mon, 23 Jan 2006 03:40:48 GMT

[novah june]

oh little girl, you are getting soooo big! i can't believe that in eight short days you will be five months old! the time is going by way too fast. before we know it, we will be celebrating your first birthday.

so lately you have began teething, really bad! you are drooling everywhere, chewing on everything and crying terribly. mommy and daddy hate to see you in so much discomfort. we have been trying our hardest to help you out, but it seems nothing really works for you. you have been overly tired the past couple of days and that makes it all much worse. you are only taking a few twenty minute naps per day, and that isn't good for you or mommy! haha. last nite you were zonked. we put you to bed around 8pm and you slept all the way until 8:15 this morning! you usually wake up around 5am for a feeding and then you're back to bed until around 8.

so, your daddy is still in search of a new ministry. we have been living with mamaw and papaw for around four months now. mommy and daddy are really ready to move on, we're ready to enjoy our own little family for once. it's so great to have had this time though with mamaw and papaw, but we're just very anxious to move on with our lives. i'm ready for you to sleep in your own crib! we actually transitioned you into a crib in the other room here. you haven't had any problems at all. you actually sleep quite well in there.

well baby girl, i'll write more later. i love you.

exOh.
mommy

oh how you're growing!

Tue, 03 Jan 2006 03:00:40 GMT

novah,
today was a big accomplishment for you! while mommy was doing some laundry, i flipped you over on your belly, and when i came back into the room.....you were on your back! i was so happy, but so disappointed that i missed your very first time rolling over. but, i rolled you back over on your belly and you once again rolled over on your back. it was awesome. i was so proud of you. i wish that daddy would've been downstairs to see it, but he's been really busy trying to find a new ministry. it has now been 3 months since we've been living with mamaw and papaw. hopefully we'll be out of here soon and we'll have our own little house to live in. we are just so thankful that mamaw and papaw are allowing us to live here!

so, it's almost been a whole year since i found out that i was pregnant with you. i will never EVER forget what that nite was like. your daddy was gone to joplin, missouri for a youth leaders convention and i was here at mamaw and papaw's house visiting. for some reason i thought i would take a pregnancy test, even though i was only one day late of my period. and sure enough, it came out positive! i came into the living room and told mamaw and she and i just sat on the couch and cried. i was so happy! i immediately called your daddy, but couldn't get an answer...so i left a message for him to call me and that it was very important. when he finally called back and i was able to share with him the news, he was definitely shocked and excited as well! it's so hard to believe that it has already been a whole year since that happened, and here you are 4 months old already. i love you so much, sweetie.

<3
mommy

3 1/2 months old

Wed, 21 Dec 2005 18:33:51 GMT

over the past few days, you have definitely found your thumb! you have sucked on it enough to put yourself to sleep at times. you are growing so fast. you have been laughing alot more out loud. as i was holding you the other day, i was singing a song to you and you were just laughing away at mommy. it's the most adorable laugh ever.

you have been more interested in your link a doos as well. you are able to grab them and pull them towards you and put them in your mouth when they are hooked onto your swing.

i'm sure it won't be too much longer before you start to turn over. i'm guessing that you're going to flip from your back to your belly since you are more active when you're on your back. your head control is getting stronger and stronger whenever daddy and i put you on your belly.

well, this time last year was when you were conceived. that's pretty hard to believe. next month will be a whole year since i found out that i was pregnant with you and called daddy while he was at a conference in joplin, missouri to let him know that we were going to have a baby! and here you are, 3 1/2 months old. this sunday we'll be celebrating our very first christmas together.

we love you so much, novah.

<3
mommy

baby milestones

Thu, 08 Dec 2005 16:09:45 GMT

just a few new things that you have shown mommy and daddy

11 weeks - recognizes who mommy and daddy are and begins to smile at us, you are also looking all around at your surroundings

12 weeks - you LOVE to watch tv. we prop you up on the couch and you love to sit and stare at the tv. you love to play with this toy that aunt kasey let us borrow. if you kick your legs and your feet hit the right place, it plays music and flashes light. you have figured out that you need to do this in order to get it to work.

13 weeks - whenever we put you on your tummy for tummy time, you move your legs like you want to crawl and you grab a hold of the blanket and try to pull yourself upward

14 weeks - you have really great head control, you are kicking your legs and swinging your arms like crazy. you are really enjoying your swing more than ever, because you have figured out how to play with the toys that are attached to it and they make noises whenever you hit them. you laughed out loud for your very first time, but it wasn't a huge belly laugh just yet. [you did this while we were in virginia for thanksgiving]

15 weeks - you love when mommy plays with you on the bed and bounces you up and down. you laughed out loud once again, but still not a real belly laugh just yet. you have been grabbing a hold of your link a doos and have really been sucking away on all of your fingers. you have finally figured out how to get a couple of them in your mouth so that you can actually suck on them.

mommy took you to the doctor on tuesday december 6 for your shots. you weighed in at 13 lbs 14.5 ounces and you are 23 3/4 inches long. the doctor said that you are extremely healthy and that you have great head control for just being 3 months old. you hated your shots so much this time. mommy felt horrible the entire time, i hate seeing you cry and in pain.

sorry it's been so long

Fri, 04 Nov 2005 17:29:50 GMT

n o v a h | j u n e

hey, it's your mommy here. i am so sorry that i haven't been keeping up with your journal. i will try to make it more of a habit.

so, i never was able to write about your birth story in your journal...but i managed to do it in my own personal journal, so i'll make sure to put it in yours.

so much has changed since you've been born. a couple weeks after you were born, mommy ended up back in the hospital to get her gall bladder removed. while i was in the hospital, mamaw & papaw andress, uncle brandon, aunt jenny and their girls, uncle dan and aunt kasey and their girls were all at our house in middleport packing up our stuff to move. the day i came home from the hospital, they moved me and all of our belongings to madison. daddy had to stay behind for an extra week to finish up his ministry there. mommy and daddy and you have now been living with mamaw and papaw for about 2 months now. we're still looking for a ministry and we're hoping that God will open up a door for us soon. daddy is substitute teaching in the meantime.

you are now 9 weeks old and will be 10 weeks on this coming tuesday. boy, the time has flown by! you have grown soooo much, little one. last time we took you to the doctor you were 11 lbs 3.5 ounces. you have the most amazing blue eyes that i've ever seen, and you have been smiling sooo much recently. you are cooing and gooing and making all types of silly noises, you are just perfect in every way. you are definitely a cuddle bug and mommy and daddy both love to cuddle you to death. you have also been able to breastfeed off of mommy for a couple days now without using the nipple shield due to your tongue tie. we have an appointment for november 18 to get your tongue looked at, hopefully you'll have it clipped soon. we can tell that it is bothering you by the way you push your tongue out.....it's like you know that something isn't right there.

we love you more than anything and are so blessed to have you in our lives.

<3
mommy

counting down the days!

Wed, 24 Aug 2005 15:58:18 GMT

novah june-

hey, it's your mommy here. wow, not too much longer and you'll finally be here with me and your daddy! i hope you're as excited as we are for your arrival. we had our 37 week check up on monday and everything went awesome. we were able to have an ultrasound and see you and it was the most amazing thing ever! it was definitely a lot different than the last ultrasound we had at like 18 weeks. we got to see your little smooshed face, it was so cute. we were able to see you yawn a few times and you kept putting your arm over your face. i think you're definitely gonna take after your daddy with the whole yawning thing.....he's constantly doing that. hehe. the ultrasound tech measured you and guesstimated that you weigh 7lbs and 3 ounces at this point. i guess we'll see when you finally get here. after we had the ultrasound, we had an appointment with dr.skinner. mommy had an exam and found out that she is still dialated at 1 cm, but is 70% effaced. dr. skinner was pretty surprised about that, since our last appointment i hadn't thinned out hardly at all. our next appointment is this next monday, so we're hoping for some more good news! the church here at middleport had a baby shower for us last sunday nite. it was a great time and we got a ton of really nice things. i can't believe how many clothes you have! i washed up all of your clothes and yesterday i spent the day putting them all away in your changing table, sorting them from smallest to biggest. i cleaned up your room and made your bed all up, so everything is pretty much ready for you! mommy and daddy took a walk last nite to the supermarket with greg and katie to get some stuff for dinner. by the time we got back, my back was killing me! it has never hurt that bad before. your daddy and i made dinner, and after dinner i noticed i was having a lot of braxton hicks contractions. they didn't hurt at all, but were coming pretty frequently. they finally went away by the time i went to bed. it's getting harder to sleep at nite. if i'm not up using the bathroom, i'm either tossing and turning because i'm uncomfortable or i just lay there wide awake. i think God is definitely preparing me for the sleepless nites i will have once you are here. when i went to the bathroom earlier this morning i found a clump of snotty like substance in my underwear. [definitely gross] but it has me wondering if it is the start of losing my mucous plug. i sure hope so, cause that's definitely a sign that labor is on the way! hehe. anyways, your daddy got a phone call yesterday from a church in louisville, kentucky and has a phone interview with them tomorrow afternoon. we're really excited about this and are praying that everything will work out. we are definitely ready to move and are anxiously waiting to start a new life as a family somewhere else. well novah girl, mommy is gonna get off of here for now. i hope to see you extremely soon. i love you sooooo much!!!!

<3
mommy

ready to see you

Mon, 08 Aug 2005 21:30:16 GMT

novah. hey its your daddy. i hope things
in the womb are good. mommy and i can tell
that you are getting lower and lower in her
belly which means your arrival to us is only
getting closer and closer. i think we pretty
much have almost everything we need to be
ready for when you come home. the things we
need still are pretty minor except for the
monitor and maybe a thing or two. mommy and
i went to a birthing class yesterday at the
hospital and it was pretty good. we learned
some new things like how mommy should breath
when she has contractions,how to give you a
bath as a newborn and a couple other things.
we just want you to be here already but we
know we have to wait a little while and that
you will come out when you're ready. its pretty
crazy though to know that you will be here
sometime within the next 5 weeks. i read that
mommy already told you about how we are going
to be moving sometime after your born. we still
have no idea where God is going to take us but
im sure we'll know soon enough. telling the kids
in junior church and reading the resignation
letter in front of the adults and teens was a
very difficult task, but it was something i
wanted to do myself. most of the people seemed
to respond ok to it even though they were sad.
i know that they want to see you and watch you
grow up. they can still do that but just through
pictures and occasional visits. they are having
a baby shower for you soon so maybe we will get
the rest of the things we registered for so we
wont have to spend extra money to get them.
that would be very good. well i just wanted to
say a couple of things to you real quick. on friday
we will find out some things of how you are doing
and how soon you might be born. then next week we
will have our final ultrasound which will tell us
even more and let us see you again although you
will be much much much much bigger this time.
ok well talk to you later and see you soon.
love daddy

sorry for the delay

Mon, 08 Aug 2005 18:47:45 GMT

novah june,

hey baby doll. sorry it's been so long since mommy last updated, things have been totally hectic! well, about two weeks ago your daddy and i had something very interesting happen to us. daddy was called in for a special elders meeting here at the church in middleport. basically, they decided that it's time for your dad to move on and find a different ministry. they feel that we have done our part here and that we really don't fit in very well here. your daddy and i both agree with them on this. there has been a stand still in your dads ministry and we feel that God is calling us somewhere else. we're really not sure at this point where we are going, but we are really hoping to be closer to mamaw and papaw andress. [well, at least i am] your dad and i were both really shocked at the news, and of course i got pretty upset about it.....because we're only a few short weeks away from your arrival. i'm just extremely overwhelmed with a ton of emotions right now, but i know that it's all in God's hands that He will provide for us. the elders here agreed to let us stay until after you are born and until your daddy can find another job. we have been looking and we have sent out a few resumes so far. along with all of this, your great grandma andress just passed away on july 29. it was definitely a difficult time, but it was definitely for the best. her mind had been gone for so long. now she is in heaven with great grandpa andress and they're having a great time i'm sure. :) so last sunday, your dad had to read his resignation letter to the congregation here and then that evening, we left for indiana so that we could go to great grandma's visitation and funeral. then on thursday, we left indiana and drove to tennessee so that your daddy could be a groomsman in his friends wedding. we have been sooooo busy, novah! so today marks our 35th week of pregnancy! we have a doctors appointment on friday, so hopefully we'll find out some news. i have been feeling pretty good still. i have my occassional backaches, i've been feeling a lot of pressure in my lower abdomen and i have been experiencing some type of pains in my private area.....oh yeah, and my stomach has dropped a ton! i'm hoping all of these are signs that you are well on your way, little girl. well novah, mommy needs to go get busy. i need to finish up some laundry and call some high school girls to see if they are willing to go out for a girls nite out on wednesday nite. but, i hope to see you real soon. our friends amanda and andy just had their little girl, ava caite, a week ago today. she is such a doll, and it makes me even more curious as to what you are going to look like. i love you so much, novah.

xo,
mommy

you have an amazing daddy, novah

Wed, 27 Jul 2005 20:26:16 GMT

it doesn't matter what we go through, our love will always come out on top. certain situations come up and try and knock us down, but you and i, we stand strong. my love for you is constantly growing more and more each and every day. i never thought love like this could even be possible, but anything is possible with you. we have shared so much together, and we're about to share something even more amazing. i know the birth of novah will only make us stronger and our love will grow even more, and i can't wait for that. a new journey is about to begin for us, and i know that as long as i have you by my side, i have nothing to fear. i am so in love with you and i pray that we will never let that die. you are my everything. i love you, joshua. <3

sorry its been a while

Tue, 12 Jul 2005 15:43:46 GMT

dear novah. hey its your daddy.
im looking forward to your arrival
in a couple of months. ive been
carrying around my camo diaper bag
a lot to get used to having it with
me. wish you were already here to i
could be with you and stuff but i'll
have to wait a little longer for that.
mommy got a really neat fortune cookie
thing the other nite. i dont remember
what it said exactly but it was cool.
the chinese word on the back was
"daughter" so that was special. my
fortune cookie's word was "painter"
so maybe i need to start painting again.
im going to paint you something before
your born and give it to you when you
arrive. ive been thinking lately about
a tattoo that id like to get eventually
that has to do with you somehow. maybe
this week i can start drawing something.
im looking forward to having your crib
in your room finally and having your
stroller/car seat deal cause its stinkin
awesome. you are going to have a blast
sleeping and riding around in there.
well i gotta get going but i hope you
are doing well and growing and healthy.
i love you so much.
[ daddy ]

what a trip

Sun, 10 Jul 2005 12:23:36 GMT

novah-

hey baby girl, this is your mommy again. well, it's 7:00am and i'm at mamaw and papaw's house. your daddy just left a little bit ago to head back to middleport, he has to take the jr.high kids to kentucky christian university for jr.high challenge this week. well, our trip to florida was definitely interesting. we had a really great time. mommy and daddy got some black and white pictures taken down by the beach. i can't wait to frame them and hang them in your room. well, while we were in florida a hurricane started stirring up and cut our trip just a little short. we ended up leaving friday [july 8] at around 4:00pm. traffic was so bad that we traveled only 17 miles in 6 hours! oh my was that painful. mommy had to pee by the wooded area once while mamaw held up a blanket.....it was so embarrassing, because there was a line of traffic sitting right there watching me. haha, oh well. daddy had to go to throughout the 6 hours, but he ran way back in the woods.....i didn't care that much, i just had to go! so after sitting in traffic for 6 hours, we FINALLY were able to drive a little ways. we ended up finding a hotel somewhere in alabama where we stayed the nite. we got up early saturday [july 9] and drove the remaining 6-7 hours back to indiana. we took some pictures of us in the van, so whenever you're old enough to look at them, you'll understand what mommy had to go through. i'm glad that we're home safe and sound though. today on the news they are saying that the hurricane that is going to hit around the area where we were at is a category 4, and that's really big. anyways, our trip was great....daddy and i bought you a little outfit from destin as well. it's pretty cute. oh yeah, your oldest cousin, anna, sang you a song that she made up over the walkie talkie as we were stuck in the traffic jam. it was the cutest song i have ever heard. she said that she couldn't wait to see you and hold you and that she knows that you're so beautiful, and her, madeline, caroline and stella are all waiting for you so that you guys can play together. hehe. i wish i could have recorded it, it was definitely something that i will never forget.

last nite daddy and i went to our favorite chinese restaurant here in madison. yum! it's a tradition for us whenever we are here together, which isn't that often. [cause of daddy's work he doesn't get to make trips with mommy as often as we would like] but before we went and had chinese, we stopped to see my friend kaycee jackson. she just had a little baby girl july 1. daddy and i got to hold her and it was so amazing. she was soooo tiny! daddy looked so nervous holding her. i kept looking at him, thinking about what it will be like once you're here and we're able to hold you. wow, it's definitely going to be so weird.....but the most beautiful thing ever! i just can't wait to see what you look like, whose features you'll have and everything. daddy and i are pretty sure that you have my nose. we determined that when we had our last ultrasound at 18 weeks. i guess we'll see within the next 9 weeks! wow, that sounds soooo close. tomorrow mommy will be 31 weeks pregnant!!! unbelieveable. this pregnancy has been so amazing, but i'm definitely ready for it to be over with....just because i want to see you already and take care of you. aunt kasey and i are going to buy your crib on wednesday. i'm really excited. grandpa and grandma ulm and great grandpa and grandma meade sent us some money to buy it, so that helps out a lot. daddy and i still need to buy your stroller/car seat. i think that we'll do that next week when i get back from madison and he gets back from kentucky.

well our next doctors appointment is a week from tomorrow. mommy is kinda dreading the weigh in part again. i hope i didn't really blow it on vacation with all of the eating i did! :\ i guess we'll see what happens. it's been so neat to see you move in my belly lately. i love feeling it, it is so cool. it's getting to a point where you're big enough that i can actually feel where you are in my belly. i don't know what body parts are where, but i like to rub you....i'm thinking that it's your back or belly most of the time though. so hopefully you're enjoying those little massages. hehe. the past couple of days you've moved up into my ribs......but it hasn't been that painful yet, just uncomfortable at times. according to my pregnancy journal, you should be measuring close to 12 inches or so by now. you're growing like a weed! well, baby girl....mommy is gonna get off of here. i have to get ready for church here in a few, but i think i'm gonna go lay down for a little bit. i hope you're doing well, staying healthy and getting stronger every day. i can't wait to see your beautiful face, novah. your daddy and i love you so much.

<3
mommy

destin, florida

Mon, 04 Jul 2005 02:04:55 GMT

novah-

hey little girl, it's your mommy. well, we're at the beach and everything is great so far! the ride here was uncomfortable at times, but i managed to make it. last nite when we got here, we all went swimming. it was super nice. today we swam and went to the ocean again. aunt jenny took some neat pictures of mommy and daddy by the ocean. i can't wait to get them developed and see what they look like. daddy is gonna take some pictures of just me sometime. we're hoping to wake up real early and get to the ocean for sunrise. i guess we'll see if it happens. your daddy is outside right now swimming with your cousin, anna. all of your cousins just love your daddy so much, they love playing with him. i think that i'm gonna eat some ice cream here in just a minute....yummy! well, girl....not too much longer. we'll be 30 weeks tomorrow! it's so hard to believe. 10 weeks or less. wow. i love you so much and i can't wait to see you and hold you. you stay healthy and keep growing strong.

love,
mommy <3

Wed, 29 Jun 2005 21:35:57 GMT

my dearest novah,

just to let you know, mommy is DYING in this heat! i wish you would get here already. :)

29 weeks 2 days

i love you.
mommy <3

finally, an update from mommy!

Sun, 26 Jun 2005 02:11:05 GMT

dear novah,

sorry it's been forever since i've gotten on here and wrote to you. mommy has been pretty busy! a couple of weeks ago we had two different baby showers to attend. one that aunt kasey, aunt jenny and mamaw andress threw for us and the other one was at the versailles church of christ. [the church mommy grew up in]
we got a lot of nice things! so when mommy finally made it home, she spent the next few days washing up the new clothes and putting everything in its place. daddy and i went out and bought a really nice changing table with drawers, because you don't have much storage in your room.....so this is a place to keep a lot of your clothes. it was so weird putting all of your things in there and hanging up clothes in the closet. each and every day it becomes more real to me, it will definitely be so overwhelming when you actually do arrive. mommy has been feeling pretty good. boy is it hot!! mommy usually stays all cooped up in the house with the air conditioner cranked up. hehe. daddy and i actually went swimming the other day at the middleport pool. we only stayed about an hour. daddy couldn't really swim, he just got a new tattoo and it can't get wet. plus mommy's skin was already starting to turn red from the sun. we went in for our glucose test yesterday. mommy had to be tested to see if she has gestational diabetes. [a diabetes that women can get during pregnancy] i had to drink this orange stuff that tasted like slice, but it was way more sugary! it was pretty nasty. then i had to wait an hour and have my blood drawn. the nurse that drew my blood didn't do a very good job, mommy's arm hurt all day and today i have a huge bruise. mommy doesn't like to get her blood drawn in the first place and this just made it worse! so hopefully we will pass the one hour test so we don't have to go back and take the 3 hour test! yikes! :\ so we got to see doctor skinner and ask her some questions about some things i've been experiencing lately. my heart has felt like it either skips a beat or beats and extra beat. she said it was normal. my heart is just working double time right now so it can pump blood to you. then mommy asked her about this tingly feeling i've been having on the upper part of my belly on the right side. she said that it was normal as well. she said that since my uterus is getting so big, it's taking up more space and pinching a nerve that causes that feeling. then doctor skinner examined me to make sure everything was okay with you and mommy. she told me that she got to feel your head! isn't that crazy? mommy and daddy were pretty amazed that she could already feel you. my cervix hasn't thinned out any and i'm not dialated any, so those are good signs since i'm only about 29 weeks. i hope you stay in there a little bit longer. :) daddy has been extremely busy these past couple weeks. we just got finished with bible school, but daddy has had to preach 2 sermons since our minister has been gone. he actually has to preach his 3rd sermon tomorrow, so he's looking over all of his notes right now. we're leaving tomorrow afternoon to take the high school kids to kentucky christian university for a week long convention called summer in the son. then on friday we are leaving there and driving 4 hours to madison to meet up with papaw and mamaw andress, brandon, jenny, anna, caroline, dan, kasey, madeline and stella and we're all leaving for florida! we're gonna drive half way there, stay the nite somewhere and then continue our trip the next day to destin. we will stay there for 7 days and then drive back to madison without stopping anywhere to stay the nite. we will stay the nite in madison and then daddy is leaving to come back to middleport to take the jr.high kids to kentucky christian university for jr.high challenge. while daddy is gone for that week, mommy is gonna just stay in madison with papaw and mamaw. so have a very busy 3 weeks ahead of us! i hope that you and i don't get too worn out and everything. i have emergency numbers and contacts just in case something happens while we're gone. hopefully everything will be okay. it seems like as soon as we get back from those 3 weeks though, it won't be too much longer until you're finally here with us! we are soooo excited, novah. oh, papaw andress made you an amazingly beautiful cradle for you to sleep in for the first 3 months. mommy and daddy have it in their bedroom right now, since that is where you will sleep at the beginning. we still need to get you a crib and the car seat/stroller. great grandpa and grandma meade and grandpa and grandma ulm are gonna buy us the crib and mattress we have picked out. so that really helps us out a lot! well little girl, mommy is gonna get going. just thought i would update you on everything that has been happening recently. hopefully i'll do a better job at it. i love you bunches, novah.

<3
mommy

belly timeline

Tue, 07 Jun 2005 15:39:22 GMT

13 weeks
17 weeks
19 weeks
21 weeks
22 weeks
24 weeks
25 weeks

we just completed our 26th week, novah, and we've started our 27th! wow, not too much longer and you'll finally be here! :)

daddy got his camo diaper bag in the mail for his birthday from grandpa and grandma ulm and mamaw and papaw andress. i have never seen anyone so excited about getting a diaper bag in my life! he can't wait to use it. your daddy is so silly.

mommy got pretty sick the other nite, but am all better now. it has been soooo hot here, so i've been staying inside in the air conditioning where it's nice and cold. tomorrow i'm leaving for madison, because our baby showers are this weekend! yay! i can't wait for them. our next doctor appointment is coming up on the 20th....i really pray that we pass the glucose test, which i'm pretty sure we will.

well, you stay healthy and keep growing and punching mommy! i love you bunches.

mommy <3

just a little note for you

Fri, 03 Jun 2005 14:54:51 GMT

novah,
hey baby girl. i haven't written a few, so i thought i would take some time out of my boring day and do so. we got the chair in your room and we are so excited about that. mommy took a nap in it yesterday. it was so comfy, except for the fact that i had to sleep on my side and it cramped up my neck. anyways, it looks absolutely lovely in there and i look forward to spending lots of quality time with you there. grandpa and grandma ulm came to visit last weekend. they still haven't decided what they want to be called, so right now i'm just calling them grandpa and grandma. anyways, grandpa and daddy did some work on the house and it looks a lot better. grandpa and grandma brought us a gift which was really nice. we got a nursing boppy, a cute little bib that says "thank heaven for little girls", a neat little swaddling cloth thing and a little nursery rhyme book that talks about Jesus. well our baby shower is almost a week away and i'm soooo excited! mommy is leaving on wednesday from middleport and going to madison. i have to watch madeline and stella for aunt kasey on thursday and then our showers are on saturday and sunday. daddy will have to stay here in middleport unfortunately. he is taking the junior high kids on their super trip to kings island and then he has to preach on sunday. daddy is gonna be really busy. papaw andress has been working on your cradle non-stop. i talked to him last nite and he only has a few more things he needs to do with it before it's all finished. i can't wait to see it! well, you've been kicking mommy a lot recently and i love it. except the other nite you kicked me throughout the whole nite and morning and it was hard to sleep. hehe. mommy has been working on painting some backdrops over at the church for our upcoming vacation bible school. daddy and i were asked to tell the story of the birth of jesus, so we are going to do that in two weeks. i guess they chose us, because mommy has a big pregnant belly and it would make the story more real. our next doctor appointment is june 20th and that's when i have to be tested for the gestational diabetes, so hopefully everything will go okay with that. i'm pretty sure that i haven't gotten diabetes since i've been pregnant, i feel really healthy right now. we are going to have such a busy summer, little girl! it's going to be crazy. we have vbs coming up, then right after vbs we go to kentucky christian university for summer in the son, then daddy and i leave straight from there to madison to leave for our vacation to florida with the andress', then when we get back from there you and i will stay in madison with papaw and mamaw and daddy will go back to kentucky christian university for jr.high challenge. wow! that's a lot of stuff going on. so hopefully you and i will continue to stay healthy and we won't have any problems. they opened up the middleport pool this summer! mommy is really excited. that means that we can go there and swim whenever i get super hot this summer. mommy got the cutest little maternity swimsuit and i can't wait to wear it. well little girl, mommy is gonna get off of here for now. this little note didn't have too much to say, just wanted to let you know what has been going on with us the past week or so. well, you continue to grow and stay healthy! i love you so much, novah.

<3 mommy

a father holds his baby girl while gazing at her beauty

Tue, 24 May 2005 15:20:07 GMT

hey there precious little girl its your daddy
well your mommy gave me this awesome figurine
and its supposed to be for fathers day and for
my birthday which are still several days away
but she just cant wait until that long i guess
the figurine appears to be hand carved and painted
its of a daddy holding his baby girl in his hands
while shes on his lap as he's sitting down he is
gazing at her with his eyes admiring her beauty
ive put this figurine on my desk next to the
engagement picture of me and mommy and my other
figurine of peter walking on the water to jesus
its also next to two of your ultrasound pictures
so on my desk are some very important things
that i look at almost all of the time each day
mommy and i found an amazing comfortable chair
that we are going to have in your room for us
we can all fit in it together and snuggle close
its really big and even has an ottoman as well
the color is red which matches your bed set and
other things in the room such as a lamp shade
anyway we are going to pick up the chair thursday
we can hardly wait cause we want to sit in it
and see how we are going to have it in the area
we have reserved for it in the back little room
by the way, your bed room is pretty awesome
if i was a little girl i would love being in it
were fixin it up real nice for you and hopefully
will have all of the cool stuff we registered for
on another topic id like to feel you kick again
the one i felt was neat but it was only once
plus it was like 5 in the morning so i was tired
well i gotta get going but ill talk to you later
love daddy

Mon, 23 May 2005 20:29:14 GMT

my little novah,

just wanted to let you know that your daddy felt you kick for the very first time this past week. mommy was having trouble sleeping because you were kicking so much. i woke up your daddy at 5am and told him to put his hand underneath of my belly, and sure enough you kicked him! it wasn't a very hard kick, but at least daddy got to feel something. last nite i was sitting in the chair and you were kicking about and i looked down and saw you kick through my shirt! hehe. i also saw you do it today. speaking of today, we're 6 months! can you believe it? you'll be here in no time and i can't wait. you should be measuring about 9 inches long and 1 lb 3/4 ounces, you're getting soooo big! so, just make sure you keep those kicks coming cause mommy really likes to feel them.

i love you.
<3 mommy

23 week doctor appointment

Wed, 18 May 2005 15:22:52 GMT

hey baby girl
it's your mom here. sorry i haven't written in awhile. i went to visit papaw and mamaw andress last week and really had a great time. got to see uncle brandon, aunt jenny, uncle dan, aunt kasey, anna, maddie, caroline and stella. maddie kept giving you kisses and hugs while i was there and anna kept asking questions about you. mamaw gave us some neat gifts, so i brought those home and they are up in your room now. i also got to bring home mamaw and papaws rocking chair to put in your daddy and i's bedroom. i don't know what we would do without mamaw and papaw andress, they have been so good to your daddy and i. you are so blessed to have grandparents like them, novah. they love you so much already.

monday we had our 23 week doctor appointment. your daddy and i had to sit in the waiting area for 2 hours and then back in the actual room waiting for the doctor for almost an hour! she had lots of emergencies come up that day, so that's why it took so long. we got to listen to your heartbeat again, and it sounds very healthy and strong. doctor skinner measured mommys belly and it is right where it should be. mommy gained some weight since our last visit, but has only gained 11 lbs so far.....i don't know if that's good or not, but doctor skinner didn't say it was bad. we also found out that my placenta is anterior, which means that you have to kick through this pillow in order for me to feel your kicks with my hand or see them. i was pretty disappointed, because i should be able to feel that by now. maybe in a few more weeks. i'm just glad that you're healthy! i will say though, that your kicks are becoming a lot stronger. that day you were kicking mommy nonstop, that's the most i've ever felt you move in one day. so our next appointment is june 20 and mommy has to take a glucose test to make sure she doesn't have diabetes. i'm going to have to drink this really sugary drink beforehand and then they will draw some blood and test it. the baby shower is coming up june 11 and then versailles church is having us one on june 12! i'm so excited for that.

last nite daddy and i went on a walk. by the time we got home, my back was killing me! i've noticed that my feet are starting to hurt as well, but mamaw andress bought me some really comfy sandals to wear. this morning you woke me up by kicking me on my left side. i put my hand underneath of me, cause i was laying on that side, and i'm actually pretty sure that i felt you kick from the outside....but it wasn't very hard. i had your daddy come over to feel, but of course you wouldn't budge then. hehe.

i think tomorrow your daddy and i are gonna go to huntington to value city furniture to see if we can find a nice chair and ottoman for your nursery. i went yesterday to gallipolis, but really didn't find anything that i really liked. i have the perfect place for the chair and ottoman, and i know that you and i will spend lots of our time up there in your nursery lounging around in it. i can't wait for you to be here, novah! i love you so much and i can't wait to see you and hold you.

be a good girl, keep growing strong and stay healthy! <3

love you always,
mommy

here is a picture of us at 23 weeks

mommy gave daddy a mohawk!

some additions to your nursery