7 days of bliss...introducing Abigail Suzanne Greeff!

I have spent the past 7 days completely unplugged and enjoying my greatest accomplishment to date, Miss Abigail Suzanne Greeff. Exactly one week ago today, Jan and I arrived at the Columbus Regional Medical Center around 4:00 a.m. After a rough but short labor, Abigail joined our family at 11:13 a.m. on Tuesday, June 21, 2011. She weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces and was 21 inches long. She is absolute PERFECTION and the most amazing little individual. I am very proud to be her Mommy and cherish each moment we have together. Below is our week in pictues.

Birthday

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Day 1

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Day 2, Going Home

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Day 3, 1st Dr appt

Friday, June 24, 2011

Day 4, 1st bath

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Day 5

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Day 6

Monday, June 27, 2011

One Week Old

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Abigail has been a SUPER easy baby so far. She is healthy and happy and loves to sleep (thank goodness!). Jan and I are adjusting well and couldn't be more in love with our little angel.

Thank you to all of our family and friends for your support, well wishes and love! We look forward to introducing Abigail to everyone in the near future.

Due Date!

Dear Abigail Suzanne,

Well, today is your due date! We have been anxiously awaiting your arrival for 40 weeks and would really like to meet you soon. I realize it is warm and comfortable where you are but there are many people, that have traveled very far, who are ready to see you. I don’t want to be selfish; I just want to share you with the world. I’ve had the pleasure to feel your movements and kicks for months now, but your Daddy would really like to hold you and feel your movements too. I promise to keep you safe and protected in this world, just like I have over the past 40 weeks. We have a beautiful room just for you, with lots of toys waiting for your attention. Please join us as soon as possible.

Patiently waiting,

Mommy and Daddy

Waiting for you...

Oupa, Ouma, Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa

 

This isn't just any Friday...and other randoms

Today is my first official day on maternity leave...woo hoo! Of course, for it to really be a maternity leave, I need a baby, so today will be spent coaxing Abigail along and letting her know that it is finally time to meet us!

Jan and I came home to a surprise last night. Aren't these flowers beautiful?

My Mother came by our house yesterday and planted these amazing flowers for us. She has several huge, beautiful planters at her house that I covet and she was so thoughtful to buy AND plant these for us. I told Jan that she must really like him since she got her hands dirty...haha!! Btw, earlier this spring, we planted a few flowers in these urns, but they never really took off (I think we bought the wrong type for what I wanted). Thanks, Mom, for this nice addition to our front door!!

Our maternity print for the nursery arrived! We are very happy with it and glad to finally have the wall void filled.

We also moved the lamp off the dresser to the new...lamp table!!

Believe it or not, my amazing husband went shopping (by himself) on Wednesday and found this perfect little table for the nursery!! We have looked (and looked and looked) for something just like this for almost 9 months. I was very shocked he bought it without me (we consult on everything) but was very glad he did. Score one for Jan!!!

And speaking of maternity pictures, below is the link to our photographers website/blog:
http://kerfox.com/blog/2011/06/columbus-ga-maternity-photographers-ker-fox-photography-jan-lori-abigail/

We are very happy with the pictures (and photographer) and can't wait for the Ker-Fox's to capture Abigail's newborn photos.

Last week, my collegues at work hosted a baby shower for Miss Abigail. My department is very small but everyone is super nice and thoughtful. Unfortunately, I didn't grab my camera to document the event but the food was fantastic and we received a very nice gift, a Pack n' Play.

Jan and I were thrilled to receive the Pack n' Play and Jan put it together immediately. It is residing in our living room right now...just waiting for the little one!

In case you were wondering, I have been using my new sewing/embroidery machine. Below are a few burp cloths that I've made for Abigail. I just love plain cloth diapers that are 'jazzed' up with a little ribbon. I still need to master the monogramming part of the machine, and plan to jazz up a few more as soon as possible.

I also made Abigail a little tutu. I can't wait for her to wear it and foresee making many more of these in the future.

I used white tulle because that is the only color they had at the dollar store and this was a trial run...I didn't want to waste a lot of money in case it was a failure! But I think pink, yellow and purple tulle will be really cute.

Jan and I barely slept last night due to all the excitement. We pick up his parents and brother in a few short hours! Now I'm off to walk, bounce, eat spicy food, etc. :)

Preggo Update and a Swimming Lesson

Below are pictures taken this past Monday, June 13, 2011.

39 weeks and 1 day!

Abigail is due in 4 days! Sometimes it's hard to believe that the time has actually come. It still seems very surreal to me. We are 100% ready and amazingly not nervous at all. I think it's still surreal for Jan too. We laughed at lunch today that when it actually is "Go Time," I may want to video him and his reactions instead of the opposite. I think he will be cute and funny to watch!

We still have high hopes for her to come naturally and have not scheduled an induction. We are also still hoping to make it through the next 48 hours in one piece (even though there is a full moon tonight). It seems like we are asking for a lot, huh? "Abigail, don't come before Friday at 8 p.m. but do show your face immediately there after." Haha! She has been such a wonderful little girl so far, maybe she will actually listen!

The Greeff's arrive in Atlanta at 4 p.m. Friday afternoon and as of today, I plan to go with Jan to pick them up. We are very excited to see them since it's been 15 months since their last visit!

Tomorrow is my last day at work and I am looking forward to spending some time at home with our precious little girl. It will be a nice break for me.

On another note, I've mentioned before that our four-legged child LOVES water even though Bulldogs can't usually swim. Well this past Sunday, she and Jan went swimming and she has developed a few new moves on her own which I managed to catch on film.

Guess that's all for now...hold your thumbs for us. Exciting days are ahead!! 

Abigail's Nursery

Abigail’s nursery has been an ongoing project for the past 22 weeks and it is finally (almost) complete! As soon as we found out we were having a little girl (at week 16, sometime in January), we began the transformation. We began by painting the room pink and brown and installing a chair rail. Okay, Jan painted the room, a friend helped him install the chair rail and I supervised and approved! :)

Once the room was painted, we ordered her crib and a matching dresser. We had narrowed down our selection of cribs to two; one with straight lines across the back and one that was curvy. When we found out ‘it’ was a ‘she’, we chose the more feminine, curvy sleigh crib and love it!

I am attempting to keep the dresser very simple at this time. There is a changing pad and a simple tray with necessities. The table lamp will be relocated onto a lamp table once I find one that I actually like (who knew it would be so hard to find a little lamp table!). We also have two ‘gadgets’ in the room thanks to Jan (a diaper genie and a wipe warmer). Since Jan claims he will be changing all the diapers, he chose these items assuming they will make his job easier (we will see). A print from our maternity session has been ordered and will be hung above the dresser (in the obvious blank wall area).

Once the crib and dresser were delivered, only two remaining pieces of furniture were needed: a storage system/book shelf and a glider/chair. We decided on a mocha colored chair with matching ottoman (both glide) and an open storage shelving unit.

The room is not very big but everything fits nicely and it has a cozy feel to it. We accessorized with a thick framed mirror, chandelier and single curtain loosely tied back. As you can see, the rattle made for her by her Aunt Amanda is also decorating the window at this time.

All of Abigail's clothes and accessories have been washed and are ready to wear. We stocked up on diapers and wipes too! 

Finally, Abigail's bag is packed and ready to go. We cannot wait to meet our sweet little angel!

Day Dreaming

Today started off great. I was in a good mood. I am 99% confident that we will make it through this week without baby (as a reminder, we need her to stay put until the 17th). Then, something has to come along and ruin it. Nothing major, so no worries. I think I will dream about the following items for the remainder of the day and hope tomorrow is better. Damn hormones!

Sashimi

Champagne

  Slim fitting jeans

 Sun dresses

 Strappy sandals

Tennis

13 days to go!!!