sorry!!

i am so sorry i havent put a picture of thalia up here! i think i deserve some slack though! ;o) here are a bunch from grandma donna. when yiayia gets back with my camera i will put more up.

things are going pretty well. she doesn't sleep much at night which has been tough but i know everyone goes through that. we had our first checkup yesterday and unfortunately thalia was still pretty jaundice and she had lost about 5 oz since discharge. so we had to go get her heel pricked :o(. she was a trooper though. her bilirubin was elevated but not high enough to re-admit her to the hospital. we had to go check it again today and it had come down slightly. we'll see what the doc says tomorrow when we go for her weight check. she has been eating better the past day or so though.

yiayia has been a tremendous help the past few days. we are very lucky and blessed to have her here for a few weeks!

okay, enough updates...on to the pictures...

she's here!!

after a grueling couple of days (we got to the hospital just before 9 on friday, got started with the induction around 11, and had baby thalia at 6:30 pm saturday!!), THALIA ELOISE PHILLIPS has arrived. she weighed 6lbs 14 oz and was 20 inches long. i thought i was being smart by bringing a camera that i thought would load onto my laptop so i can send you pictures but for some reason my laptop doesn't want to recognize the camera. i am going to see if i can steal some pics from steph's facebook page...nope just kidding. the hospital internet won't let me add a picture! what junk. when we get home tomorrow i promise lots and lots of pictures.

anyway, so now it is sunday night and we have survived our first full day of parenthood. the hospital staff has been really wonderful. and we are learning how to take care of this precious little gift (with a big set of lungs, i might add). chris is doing so well. he was fantastic during my labor and is being so attentive to thalia: talking to her and cuddling her. its really adorable.

so i know this is a tease because i don't have any pictures but at least you know that she is here and we are all doing really well. thanks for all the love and support!

love c, c, and t!!!

here we go!!

here it is...the last picture of me with a ginormous belly. we are on our way to the hospital. we'll keep you posted...so stay tuned and make sure you have your phones on you!!

reading instructions really can help!

so, aunt steffi came over on wednesday to henna my belly. she did a fantastic job free-handing the design with a marker (see below). then she went to mix the henna to trace over the market and lo and behold. right there in the instructions it says that the henna needed to be mixed 24 hours in advance!!! i guess the acids need to mingle with the ink to really pull it out or something. so instead of a brown henna belly, i ended up with a gorgeous pink and purple belly! i love it! but how funny is that?! check out the pictures below!

THANKS AUNT STEFFI!!!!

i'll keep you all posted!

love c, c, and bp

notes from the under belly

so i first must apologize for not having updated you in a week. i know this is my usual MO, but lots and lots has happened this week. i guess that's why i haven't written - we have been that busy. here are some things i have learned in the midst of all this foolishness:
1) it is probably not a good idea to go bowling if you are nine months pregnant (yes, it's true...i got second place on the second game!)
2) nesting has now expanded to include trying to reorganize all the music files on iTunes (i scrolled and clicked for so long that my right hand swelled up and i couldn't hardly bend my index finger!)
3) my mom is wonderful (for too many reasons to list here)

so let's review what has happened lately. chris and i made a cast of my belly! it turned out super great!! i'll take a picture of it once i paint it. chris did a great job and it was kind of fun. steph and my mom are supposed to henna my belly tonight but so far they are making cookies. i'll keep my fingers crossed but won't hold my breath.
my parents got into town on monday evening and have been so super helpful around the house. i am so glad and relieved to have them here. and i should have the baby before my dad has to leave which makes me pretty happy. see why...
i had my check up on monday. originally the doctor wanted me to just come back in next monday if i hadn't gone into labor yet and she would schedule an induction for sometime next week. she was concerned about the induction failing, making a c-section necessary. i told her i understand the risks but i have been having so many problems with my back that i thought i was worth the risk. for example, chris and i went out with steph, nikki and the boys the other day and i had to stand up half way through dinner because my back hurt so bad. i didn't work last week and that didn't help nearly as much as i expected/hoped it would. so my doc thought about it some more and decided that she would try to induce me later in the day this friday. well, it turns out the latest the hospital will allow inductions on fridays is 9am. surprisingly the doc still agreed to do it. she doesn't seem very confident that it will work but i think it will. plus the red wings play at 9pm on friday so that gives me motivation to get her into the world so she can watch her first wings game with my dad and me!! but either way i will be a mommy by the end of the weekend!

we definitely "nested" today! we got so much done it was ridiculous!! we finished putting the nursery together - pictures to come, for sure. we sterilized the bottles and pacifiers. my dad built my glider and the baby's new bookshelf. chris reorganized some of the kitchen counters. my dad and i got the car seat bases installed. it really was crazy. hopefully all this activity will get things moving soon. i would love to go into labor before friday morning. guess we'll just have to wait and see.

well, i guess that's it. like i said, i'll take a picture of the nursery and put it up here. along with my henna belly if we get it done. also, not to worry, but chris and i are bringing my laptop and our camera to the hospital so i will be able to post pictures when she gets here. deal?

oh, steph said she is ready to henna. toodles for now! more to come for sure.

love c, c, and bp

random picture time

bp's aunts playing games with her. find bp's elbow is quite popular tonight :o) and lots of fun if bp isn't in your belly.

New Poll Added!!

Check out the poll I added under the pictures on the right side. Vote on when you think I will go into labor. There isn't really a prize, aside from bragging rights that you guessed correctly :o)