it's a girl! and we will call her Amelia

We are parents! We welcomed our little baby girl Amelia last Monday night, just a few days before Christmas. Everyone but my mother was betting on a boy. What a surprise she turned out to be. Amelia was born with a full head of black hair—just like her mama!—a full 8 pounds 6 ounces and 20 3/4 inches long. Not a tiny little thing. Already she has stolen our hearts with her suckling and little cooing noises.

People wonder where her head of hair came from. Well take a look at the picture my sister Emma found from our childhood. (That's me in the middle.) Look at that hair!

the babby room

We don't have a ton of space in our home, so when it came time to decide where to put our babby and all the babby treasures, we had to make a tough decision to give up the space in our beloved den to make room. We would move the sofa and T.V. out into the great room. The idea of it made me a little nervous. (Put the T.V. in the same room where we cook and eat? Ack!) But it was better than putting it in the bedroom. And after we came up with a design plan, we both felt pretty good about things. Then when we actually moved the furniture and set up both rooms, we wondered why we never did it this way from the start.

Here was the den before:

And here's our new nursery, which we love:

due date

Today is my due date. I had a doctor's appointment this morning, which went well. This afternoon, I have a prenatal massage scheduled and the EatingWell holiday party. But there is no sign of babby yet. Could be 2 more weeks. I don't mind. It is a good day.

a pregnant pause

Where have I been the last 9 months? I've been pregnant. And something about the experience has caused me to direct my focus inward, rather than to externalize. I haven't been drawn to my writing for some time now. But I know that my writing is a part of me and as I near the end of my pregnancy, I feel the pull to my keyboard once again. Perhaps it's the knowledge that this little rumbling, tumbling meatloaf inside me will not be my own anymore as it leaves its world of one (me) and comes outside for the first time.

When that happens, I hope that I will want to write even more. For now, I am writing to use up time. Isn't that terrible? I never have enough time, it seems, and now that I've stopped working, and have all the time in the world to myself, I wish I didn't have soooo much free time.

Anywho, all the veterans say to make the most of these quiet, restful days alone before the baby comes. So I'm doing my best. I will go to as many yoga classes as I can. I will get a massage. I will get my toes done. I will bake cookies.

I most certainly will not vacuum or mop or clean the tub. Well, maybe I'll clean the tub. We'll see...

Since I haven't been posting, I thought I'd do some highlights over the next few days if it's still just me and the couch. Last month, Col and I took a trip to East Hampton, New York to surprise my friend Brooksie at her baby shower. We called it our "baby moon—the last hurrah—and got a nice room at an inn in town. We visited the beach and just enjoyed ourselves. Col convinced me to dip my feet in the water (in November!). It actually wasn't that cold when it was just my feet, but then all of a sudden, a big swell came in and soaked me up to my knees. Kind of exhilarating actually (thank goodness we weren't too far from the car).