Photos

These photos were uploaded from my phone last week, but are now in chronological order with captions! It's amazing to see her changing as I look through the photos from the last 4 weeks. I can hardly believe Grace will be 1 month old TOMORROW (1/5/12)! Enjoy =)

Grace and Daddy during her first week home.

Snuggled up in her bassinet for a nap! 

Working hard to focus on Daddy's face.

Out in Chicago for the first time! Very first pediatrician visit on Tuesday, December 13, 2011.

Great Grandma and Grandpa (Mimi and Papa) Brown came to visit! Lots more pictures of them to come soon.... but we had so much fun! Playing dress-up with the teddy bear's hat!

Lots of quality time with Mimi.

Modeling her CUTE top from Auntie Colleen.

Mark's favorite shirt "My <3 belongs to Daddy"

Morning snuggles.

Grace (and her mommy) loves animal print!

Oooh! Grace loves looking at the bring black and white zebra patterns.

It's exhausting being this cute!

Daddy's Girl.

Grace LOVES bathtime!!!

A Christmas snack with Aunt Colleen. 

Talents include: sleeping, being cute, growing, eating, and loving my family!

All we ever wanted...

The last few weeks have been more and more exciting and filled with anxious waiting as we approached December 7th. On the 7th, I went for my scheduled OB appointment, met with my physician, Dr. Starr, and I was sure it would be another week until we got to meet the little lady....

Imagine my surprise when Dr. Starr asked, "So, how do you feel about having this baby tomorrow?" She was confident that my progress was strong and that I would react well to an induction. Plus, it was her day on the delivery floor at the hospital, and she really wanted to meet our baby with us!

Mark and I left for Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical center Thursday morning before 6am. We had tried to take Wednesday evening to ourselves to relax and get prepared, but we ended up hardly sleeping at all we were so excited and scared for Thursday.

Looking awake and excited. Early morning!

We checked into Labor and Delivery about 6:30am and were in our room by 8:30am.

Our room. (Thank goodness I brought my own pillows! They were a lifesaver.)

My family, Barry and Donna and Meg, arrived the evening of the 7th late and came to the hospital to visit for the morning. Marcia and Colleen both arrived before lunch on the 8th, and we had a nice morning visiting with both families. My brother Alex and his girlfriend Carly drove up in the evening after classes and work.

The rest of the day is a bit of a blur to me. After breaking my water around 2:30pm, the afternoon and evening were a struggle in managing pain medication without an epidural and progressing at a good pace. Mark was my strength through the entire process. I also can't say enough wonderful things about Dr. Starr or the staff on the Labor and Delivery floor at Advocate Masonic.

After a long day, baby Cynthia Grace Cairns arrived at 11:25 pm. Even though every nurse and doctor guessed she would be less than 8 lbs, Grace was 21 inches and 9.3 lbs! She came into the world with a strong set of lungs- music to our ears =)

Grace, only an hour old. 

The new mama and daddy! It was after 1 in the morning, but we were all smiles and energy.
Best. Day. Ever.

    

The new family of three!

So in love.

I wasn't even tired at this point, just so thankful and relieved to finally meet her!

After the most delicious apple juice and turkey sandwich, mama and baby girl were all smiles. 

Meeting Auntie Colleen and Oma (Grandma Cairns) for the first time!

Donna and Barry (Nona and Papa T) couldn't get enough of Gracie. 

Daddy snuggling his little Gracie on Friday.

Baby Grace with Oma on her first day home.  

Daddy and Gracie relaxing on the couch. Mark has been looking forward to this for 9 months.

We are settling into our new "routine" and loving every little noise, facial expression, and hiccup she makes. There will be as many more pictures and stories as we can post. 

Our hospital offers complimentary newborn photo sessions in the hospital, which we think turned out great! You can view the photos here: www.bellababyphotography.com and the password is: fmer1208cairns. Mark and I will be ordering the entire session on a DVD, so please let us know if you would like access to the photo files once we have them.

Thank you all for your support and outpouring of love for baby Grace in her first few days. She is already the best thing to ever happen to us. Stay tuned! 

Still counting the days...

Our home is certainly an anxious, excited place to be this week... Tomorrow is our official "due date" and Mark and I can't wait to finally meet Baby C! I have an OB appointment tomorrow morning, so we'll have a clearer picture of the next few days after talking with the doctor. In the meantime, we're waiting as patiently as possible for her to pick her birthday =)

Hopefully the last bump update. 39.5 weeks!

Nursery Makeover!

We've finished one of the last steps before Baby C gets here: our bedroom/nursery! Thanks to my Dad and Donna for spending a few days last week helping pull it all together =) Photos and updates from our wonderful Baby Shower to come ASAP!

New wall color, wall of gray drapes, and a few additions to the bed.

CRIB! Mobile made by me, bumpers and skirt by Donna, shelving unit and TV a la Mark. 

My b-day/ x-mas present... gray glider! Glider, ottoman, and new wall canvases. 

Another look at the crib/ mobile. 

The whole room! (plus Eleanor... who has no idea what she's in for!) 

New dresser, wall shelves, lamp. (Future home of changing station. )

Gearing up for the end!

It's November?!?!? While I can hardly believe how time has flown by, November 1st means that it's time to shift into high gear and power through! I have exactly 5 weeks until we (hopefully) get to meet little Lady C, one week until I begin my new job, and 4 days until our baby shower, and 2 days until my Dad and Donna come to Chicago to help us finalize the "nursery" and prepare our apartment for a family of 3! 

All white bedding against the new grey paint. We love this look so much! The plan is to cover the window and the entire wall behind the bed with curtains (that I hope to find at IKEA!).

Another shot- trying to capture the colors more accurately, but the lighting is bad...

An updated baby bump! 35 weeks.

Happy November!

A working weekend...

I'm so thankful this weekend for a husband who was willing to forgo a crazy Chicago Halloween weekend out, and help me get the apartment ready for little Lady C!

More photos and updates to come, but here is a look at some of the projects ;) I promise the final result will have better pics!

The before: (a too bright teal that was NOT what we wanted.... we just needed a good reason to repaint!)

Another look at the teal... it was originally the wall behind the bed.

And the After!: (a soft grey that will hopefully be peaceful and blend nicely with the nursery "section" of our bedroom)

The other corner- I love how the sunlight changes this color as the day goes along.  The bed is now beneath the windows to leave more room for the crib and a rocker/ottoman.

An early look at a nursery project! I hope to have as much done by Wednesday as possible- Dad and Donna are coming to town to help us finalize projects for the little lady... and then the countdown begins!