I don't think you're ready for this belly

I had to do it. I've been waiting to post this title since I got pregnant.

I started this post before Henry was born, with plans to post it a few weeks before our official due date. I will still post it, with some minor adjustments. Who would have thought we'd have a little guy in our midst already?

Thank you all for sweet words after Henry's arrival. What a wonderful supportive community we have in blogging. I truly appreciate and am humbled by your kindness.

By the time I hit 36 weeks,  my body was truly transforming right in front of my eyes. I could also no longer spot my feet.

Oh, look. I did have feet. And there was a pug hidden under that belly, too.

I was faithfully taking a photo of the belly each week and writing a note about the week's ups and downs. These were making their way into an in-progress photo book I planned to have printed after Baby Dub arrived. Then, last week, my laptop determined it was time to stop turning on. While nearly all of my photos are backed up on Flickr for blog use and all my important documents are on Dropbox, none of my weekly pregnancy photos made it on the blog. Which means none of them were backed up.

(This is why I should have an external hard drive.)

The pregnancy book I've been working on wasn't backed up, either.

(This is why I should have an external hard drive.)

I tried not to have a complete meltdown until we found out whether the data could be saved. But, it's not looking promising. And I was pretty mopey about it. I had spent so much time on that book and felt utterly disappointed that I wouldn't have a record of all those little moments. And I'm kicking myself for not making the book somewhere else, instead of saved on my hard drive. Because my memory is poor, I know it's nearly impossible to recreate it. Not to mention the fact that I don't even have the majority of the weekly photos.

Looking on the bright side, I have my computer back with a new hard drive. And I got it just in time for our little guy to make his arrival and fill up my iPhoto with adorable pictures. And the local repair shop gave me an exceptional deal. (Perhaps they knew that this poor little preggo couldn't handle a huge bill.) They even installed new casings for free, so it's like a brand new computer. And I brought home an external hard drive, too. About two weeks too late.

But, all those pictures and the pregnancy book? Still gone. My repair guys promised me that they are still working on it, and that there are options to send it off (for big bucks) with the possibility of getting everything removed. But, I'm not very hopeful at this point.

I'm trying to get over it. And my sweet husband has been so understanding about my disappointment. I definitely picked a good baby daddy. He kept trying to subtly remind me that this is not the end of the world. Which I truly realized when Henry did arrive. There are definitely more important things than a few pictures. And there are many worse things than losing them.

But for fun's sake, here's the photos that I still have on my camera from the past weeks. I'm pretty happy that I didn't delete them from my memory card yet. I was planning to share all the weeks at once as a collage, but this is a start, right?

My mom had written a message to Henry on the chalkboard when we got home from the hospital. I thought it was a perfect finish to the weekly pregnancy photos.

I'm still pinching myself. He's really ours.

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Welcome to the world, Henry Vincent

Well, our son has arrived. And our hearts will never be the same. Right now, my heart is so full that it may just burst.

Henry Vincent Woodward was born on Friday, May 25, at 5:35 p.m. He weighed in at a whopping 5 pounds, 11.4 ounces and was 19 inches long.

We thought we still had almost 4 weeks to prepare, but Henry taught us that there are some things you just cannot control. Some things you cannot plan to the minute. And I'm beginning to think that's a good thing.

But there is a lot to be thankful for right now. For Henry's health. For the wonderful doctors and nurses who took care of us. For the support and love of our friends and family.

I'm not sure when I'll be back to regular blogging. Hopefully soon. But, you understand - for now I have a newborn to snuggle.

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Navy and white zig zag quilt

I decided that I ought to start another quilt for the nursery. Instead of finishing more pressing projects, like vacuuming or putting away baby clothes.

I used the same Kona solids as on the houndstooth quilt. The pieces are half-square triangles. Now, I just need to bind and wash it.

And then I'll show it off here. And then, perhaps I'll even run the vacuum.

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Porch progress and the baby-do list

Have you heard of a "honey-do" list? Well, Ryan is taking this list to a whole new level. There were quite a few things on our baby-do list that were still unfinished a few weeks ago. So, instead of getting naggy (or naggier), I asked Ryan if I could make a list for us both. (Shout out to my mother-in-law for the brilliant idea of making a list.)

The problem - Ryan is dominating the list. He's totally WINNING. (I know, I know. It's not a contest. Although, it is kind of a contest.) And this preggo momma still has lots of unfinished projects on her side of the list ...

Anyhow, one of Ryan's largest projects was something he was dreading - installing new railings on the front and back porches. He went to town over the weekend and finished the railings.

A little trip down memory lane - this is what the back porch looked like in August 2010 when we took possession. Ugly house color, ugly back door, horrid light fixture, nonworking grill and rickety railings.

And while not finished, here's how it looks after Ryan's hard work over the weekend.

He installed new posts and built all the railings, including cutting all the spindles. I'm loving how much better it looks already.

Strangely, the back porch feels much larger now, likely due to the few extra inches of space allowed from the new post locations.

As for the front porch, it's coming along nicely, too. Here's what the front looked like in August 2010.

And today ...

If you've ever installed railings, you know it's not a quick and easy job. I'm so thankful for a handy and hardworking husband who finished the job without (much) complaint. And I think he's happy to have another check off that list on the fridge.

But, you see the real problem, don't you? THE PAINTING IS ON MY HONEY-DO LIST! He's showing me up and making more work for his baby momma. ;)

Luckily, I have a bit of an excuse - namely, growing a baby. But, I will need to get working on the painting at some point. And it's really no fun being the cause of the hold-up to progress.

Are you impressed (like I am) by Ryan's most recent project?

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