A Year Ago Today...

If you had told me a year and one day ago that I would be a mother today, I would have laughed at you and probably bet you an obscene amount of money that it wouldn't happen. In a way it seems like just yesterday, but at the same time so much has happened in the past year that it seems like a life time ago. Finding out I was pregnant took all of our plans and threw them straight out the window. God laughed at our plans and said "I'll show you!" Proof that He does know best.

Today I couldn't feel more blessed to be married to the most amazing guy and be the mother to the most perfect baby boy in the world. A year ago, I have to admit that I was scared out of my mind. I didn't know anything about babies and I definitely was worried about what people would think. Since then I have morphed into this new person that I never knew was inside of me...and I realized that the people who matter love me regardless. I tried to learn as much as I could about babies before Max arrived, but as much as I tried to prepare it didn't really matter because the instincts clicked in when he was born.

It's funny how your perspective changes so much over the course of a year, especially when you become a mom. What seemed like the most terrifying day a year ago has turned out to be the biggest blessing I have ever received and the day that my life changed in such an incredible way!

4 Months!!!

It is so hard to believe that 4 months have passed since the day my perfect little man was born. He has changed my life in such an big, amazing way! It would be impossible to try to fill you in on everything that has happened, so I'll touch on some highlights and try to go into detail on following posts. 

Max Cameron Magee was born on December 15th, at 9:00 a.m. He was 8 lbs 3 oz and 20.5 inches. The birth went really smoothly and was so much easier than I ever imagined! At 2 months he weighed 13 lbs 10 oz and 23 3/4 inches, and today at his 4 month appointment he was 17 lbs 3 oz, and 25 3/4 inches...90th percentile. He is obviously a big boy. He is officially in 9 month clothes and we are finishing off the last of the size 2 diapers in the next few days. 

He is constantly moving! When he's laying on his playmat he is kicking his legs, swatting at the toys or rolling over. When he is in his jumperoo he will jump for nearly an hour! He can't even touch the ground yet when he is in it, but we just put a folded towel underneath him. I'm afraid that he is going to completely skip walking and just start running one day! We joke that if he wasn't so active that he would look like a Thanksgiving turkey. But, I absolutely love his little rolls!

His personality is wonderful. He loves to smile and is extremely vocal! He will just talk and talk to himself while he is playing. The first time I heard him laugh it literally brought tears to my eyes! It was the most perfect sound I have ever heard. Lately he has really started laughing a lot, especially when we bounce him on our knees or kiss his stomach.

I always knock on wood when I talk about this, but he has been sleeping through the night for quite awhile now. He goes to sleep around 8:30 and wakes up around 7:30 in the morning. His naps during the day are getting shorter and more infrequent, but I would much rather him sleep through the night, so I am not complaining!

I caught myself getting a little emotional tonight when I was putting him to sleep. He makes the sweetest sound when he yawns and when he did it tonight I tried to make a mental note of how it sounded so that I would never forget it. It amazes me how quickly he has grown and how he has developed this little personality over the last few months. It's true what they say, that you have never loved something so much until the moment that they are born, but I love him more everyday. I look forward to so  many fun times, but wish I could just press pause and  enjoy this time a little longer!

There were a lot of sleepless nights and showerless days in that first month or so, but it's weird how none of that really matters now and how little of that you actually remember. I'm sure if I really thought about it I could think of plenty of times that I felt like I had tried anything and everything to get him to just stop crying, and I'm sure that there will be many more trying times in the future, but when I think back, only good memories come to mind. I guess that's God's way of getting people to have more kids!

Well, there I go being a typical mom and shamelessly bragging about her child. I just can't help it though! Like my great grandfather told my mother "Every crow thinks theirs is the blackest."

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

T minus 1 month...and counting.

Only 4 weeks left! I cannot believe it. On one hand it seems like these last 8 months have flown, but at the same time 8 months ago seems like a lifetime ago. We are definitely in the homestretch and tying up as many loose ends as possible. We've been back to the doctor for a couple of uneventful appointments but today we had one with an ultrasound! They weren't able to get any great pictures, we know that he has the cutest chubby cheeks and his current weight estimate is about 6 lbs 8 ounces (slightly larger than average, but just an estimate).

So much has happened in the last month. On Halloween weekend Michael went to New York to visit a good friend and one of their other friends met them there. They dressed up as the Top Gun crew and had a blast. The same weekend I had a girls' weekend in Dallas with 2 of my best friends. Our weekend was a little more relaxed consisting of brunch, shopping and "Painting with a Twist" (except mine was without the twist). That Monday we carved a pumpkin, dressed Ava up in her Chicken costume and passed out candy to trick-or-treaters.

The next weekend we went to Baylor's Homecoming and Michael played in the Alumni Lacrosse game. I love watching him play just about as much as he loves to play, and those opportunities seem to be getting fewer and farther between. We tailgated before the game and then had a blast watching Baylor beat Mizzou! We've decided that Max is a good luck charm since both games we've been to we won!

Weekend before last we went to The Woodlands to see Michael's family for an early Thanksgiving. It was a nice, relaxing weekend and so great to see his family. His mom is an amazing cook and made the best Thanksgiving dinner you could imagine. And only in Texas can you have thanksgiving dinner poolside in a t-shirt and shorts.

This past weekend Michael and I celebrated our 5 month anniversary with a great dinner at French Quarter Grill here in Austin. We spent the day Saturday cleaning our cars and Sunday my parents came into town to help us out with the nursery. It is pretty much finished now with the exception of hanging things on the wall. But at least we know we are ready for Max to be here whenever that may be.

It's hard to believe that we'll finally get to meet Max in the next few weeks, and we are so excited to see what he looks like and most of all to know that he is healthy. I thought I would get more nervous as the time nears, but I am really just getting more excited and almost more at ease. In the past couple of weeks even it seems so much more real. I do however keep having a recurring dream that I forget to feed him for days. I know it's insane and I know it won't happen, but I think it's just me worrying about being a good mom. I don't doubt that I will be, but my type A personality is having a hard time accepting not being able to plan for everything. Luckily we took a childbirth class that has really helped us feel more prepared. You can read all the books in the world, but a class like this is definitely worth it!

With Thanksgiving coming up I am realizing just how much I have now more than ever to be thankful for. I am so blessed.

 11.10.11 34.5 Weeks

11.22.11 36 Weeks

Blessed with wonderful friends!

This past weekend couldn't have been more perfect. So many of our friends came in town and 4 of my closest friends threw us the most amazing shower! They went over and beyond on everything and everyone had a blast! We got some wonderful gifts and felt so blessed to have so many great friends there.

With the wonderful hostesses!

Just the two of us...or should I say 3?

With Michael's cousin, Allison, her husband Heath and
their 3-month-old Hayes (Max's future best friend)

Such a fun game...diaper relay race.

I totally kicked his butt...twice!

Lucas and Kyle, neck in neck...There was so much
excitement Ava didn't know what to do with herself!

Adorable blanket and bib from Michael's grandmother.

Michael's Baylor lacrosse coach had a onesie made with
Michael's lacrosse number on it...too cute!

Not only did the hostesses throw an amazing shower, but
they gave us this basket full of all kinds of goodies!

We had a doctor's appointment yesterday and everything went great. We will have another sonogram at our 36 week appointment, so of course I am looking forward to that. I have been a little under the weather over the past week and all of the excitement over the weekend put me over the edge...I had a full blown, horrible cough by Sunday. However, I am feeling much better now, especially after getting 11 hours of sleep last night.

The new thing this past week or so has been hiccups. Max seems to get them at least twice a day. He is moving a lot. Something tells me he's going to be a very active and strong baby. Braxton Hicks contractions are in full force and I get them several times a day. My belly button has officially popped and no matter how I try to cover it up it pokes out!

We are now in the home stretch...only 8 weeks left! Gosh, that's hard to believe. We have put together a list of all the things we need to get done before Max arrives and it seems to be growing rapidly. Luckily we've gotten most of the necessities taken care of, but just have a few more things like carseat and some other smaller things that we're probably going to end up biting the bullet and buying pretty soon. Other than that we're just trying to get organized and prepared. I am the type of person who will prepare to get prepared, but it never fails, I will not end up being prepared. I am trying to be realistic about everything and accept that there will be some things that I'll just have to go with the flow on.

Our maternity pictures turned out great and you can check out a preview on our photographer's blog if you would like. http://family.knotsandtotsphotography.com/2011/10/18/cedar-park-maternity-portraits-wendy-and-michael/

3rd Trimester and Doggy Lovin'

Things are going by faster and faster and I feel like I'm getting bigger by the second. I cannot believe that I am in my third trimester and 31 weeks pregnant. Deep breaths, let's not freak out.

29 Weeks

I am dying to get the nursery set up, and now that we FINALLY got the dresser/changer delivered today I can get going on it. Some friends are throwing us a shower at our house next weekend, so this will be my big project of the week...among the many projects that I have been taking on lately.

30 Weeks

I have been feeling extra "crafty" lately. I've spent way too much time (and money) at Hobby Lobby and Michael's over the last few weeks. I am absolutely going to blame it all on Pinterest...there are way too many good ideas on there, too bad I am the queen of gathering ideas and never following through. But, I've decided to make all of my thank you cards and Halloween cards, so we will see how that goes to start out.

We went to Waco last weekend to see the Baylor vs. Iowa State game and had a blast! It's definitely getting more and more uncomfortable to sit in one place for an extended amount of time, but I can't think of many things more worth it than a Baylor football game. Unfortunately this week's game wasn't so great...losing to A&M hurt.

Last weekend we got the most amazing gift we could possibly imagine....RAIN!!!! It rained for several hours  last Sunday and it was incredible! Round Rock just got put on emergency water restrictions (absolutely no outdoor watering...how absurd) so this was a God send. I would not normally talk about rain, but it's not even funny how desperately we have needed it!

Our doctor's appointment went well this past Tuesday and Baby Max's current weight estimate is 3 lbs 11 oz. His heartbeat was strong, as usual, and everything else looked great too. We are now on bi-weekly doctor appointments.

We took maternity pictures this week. It was an idea that I was not completely sold on, but in the end found a really great deal on Moolala (a coupon website like Groupon) and decided why not. From the pictures that they showed us on their cameras I was so pleased, and I am so excited to see the final product!

This weekend has been nice and relaxing. We went out on a date night on Friday night and then walked in the Brushy Creek Doggy 3K and Play Day on Saturday morning. We hung around the house to watch football that afternoon and relax. Today we went to church, lunch and then to a pumpkin patch...one of my favorite fall activities! 



A special Happy 25th Birthday to my wonderful sister today! Love, love, love her!

Ava in all her glory.

She totally dominated in the turkey dog eating contest...
and he had  a good 20  lbs on her!

Fall Showers

Fall is by far my favorite time of year, I love the weather. I love the decorations, I love pumpkins (and just about anything pumpkin flavored), and I love football! Unfortunately the weather hasn't quite made it here yet, but my fall decorations are in place, the pumpkin spiced lattes from Starbucks are here and football is in full swing. Falling asleep on the couch with a good book on a Sunday afternoon with football on in the background is one of my favorite things in the whole world...it reminds me of Sundays growing up at home, although the addition of the book is more since I've graduated from college and am not actually required to read.

27 Weeks (9/23)

We had our doctor's appointment two weeks ago and everything went great! Baby boy Magee was at the time about 2.5 lbs (slightly bigger than average) and was blinking and yawning during the ultrasound, it was THE cutest thing that I have ever seen! I was completely wrong about him being in transverse lie (he is now head first, ready to go) I guess I was just confused by the simultaneous kicks on the opposite sides of my stomach. As I mentioned in the last post, we have officially chosen a name and we are now sharing it with everyone. His name will be Max Cameron Magee. Max is just a name that both Michael and I liked a lot and Cameron is special to us because it is the name of a park that we would go to often in Waco and it is where Michael took me to propose to me. We thought about doing the whole keep the name a surprise thing, but we couldn't take it anymore.

My sister (The amazing Hostess) and I
in front of the cutest cake ever!

The coolest diaper cake...A family friend
made thisone and did a beautiful job!
twopeasgifts.com

                                                       





I had my first shower this past weekend in Sealy. It was so good to see so many friends and family members who were able to make it. We got so many great things, I can't even begin to tell you! The nursery is packed and have some serious organization to do! My sister did an amazing job putting everything together for the shower, I am so lucky to have her!

With my parents and sister

Michael's Mom, Grandmother and Sister
(He hung around before things got started)

My mom and grandmother

Several people have asked me where I am registered so I am including the links to the registries. I ended up doing a few smaller registries because some stores like Babies R Us have a huge selection, but other stores like Buy Buy Baby are much easier to work with. Unfortunately I didn't realize when I started the registry at Buy Buy Baby that it only has a few locations in Texas. We also ended up doing a couple of really small registries at more specialized stores like Restoration Hardware Baby and Child and Pottery Barn Kids  because we purchased some larger items like crib bedding and rocking chair from them and they offered incentives for starting a registry that helped make those items more affordable! So I didn't end up registering for an exorbitant amount of things, I just spread them out over several registries.

I have had some really great help from mom-friends telling me what to get and what not to waste my money on as well as what products work best and which ones are a flop. I know a lot of this is stuff I will have to figure out on my own since each baby is different, and things are constantly evolving, but I would love to hear any other advice from moms out there who wished someone would have told them something before they had their baby.

Opening gifts with one of my good friends
from high school, Natalie.

Everyone had to guess how big I was with a
piece of yarn, it was quite humorous!

Happy Birthday to Me and Madre!

Well my birthday was this past Friday, but I feel like we've been celebrating for over a week now! Last weekend Michael and I (and Ava) went down to The Woodlands to see Michael's family. We got to watch his sister, Leslie, dance in her first drill team routine at the football game on Friday night and went out to eat at The Grotto and celebrate all of our birthdays (Michael's, his mom's and mine) on Saturday. I absolutely love their Italian wedding cake desert and was so excited to eat there since we don't have one in Austin.

Before we left for The Woodlands I started feeling allergies coming on and by the time we came home it had developed into a full-blown upper respiratory infection that I spent most of the week battling. Thankfully I was 100% better by my birthday on Friday and had such a great day! I went for a much overdue pedicure that morning and got a free birthday coffee from Starbucks on my way home, thanks to my Starbucks gold card! We decided to hire cleaning ladies partially for my birthday and partially because the cleaning duties have been put on a back-burner since I've been pregnant (not that I haven't been cleaning just not as often as I would like). It was probably one of the best decisions we EVER made and I think we are going to start having them come once a month to pick up my slack! I went for a prenatal massage that afternoon and when I came home Michael surprised me with a cupcake and some beautiful rose gold hoop earrings to match the watch he got me last Christmas! He also informed me that he had made reservations for dinner that night at Jasper's which was absolutely wonderful! Both of our entrees were delicious and we went for the desert sampler at the end which included, Cherry Limeade Pie, Butterfinger Creme Brulee and Dark Chocolate Molten Lava Cake. Heaven. We went for a walk that evening but probably should have walked all night to burn off those calories! 

We went to downtown Austin on Saturday  to meet up with several of Michael's friends who were in town for ACL (Austin City Limits Music Fest) for lunch, and had a great time catching up with them! My parents and my sister and her fiance came in town on that afternoon and we went out for another wonderful dinner with them at Austin Land and Cattle. My mom's birthday is the day before mine (Sep 15th) so we always have fun celebrating together! We all got steaks at dinner and they were great. My mom brought a red velvet cake from Ooh La La, a bakery owned by an old friend in Katy, and we finished the evening by stuffing ourselves with that too. We sent them off the next morning after taking them to 620 Cafe (it now seems to be the place we take all of our guests for breakfast). It was so great to spend time with my family!

The pregnancy is going great and we have officially chosen a name for our little boy! I am pretty positive that he is in transverse lie (laying horizontally) and has been for the past week or so. It is not very comfortable at all and makes my stomach look quite lopsided. I will know for sure on Tuesday when I go in for another ultrasound and appointment. Simple things like putting on my shoes or getting dressed are becoming more and more difficult by the day. Everything is coming together nicely as far as the nursery goes and we officially have 2 showers on the calendar. After much research and getting suggestions from other moms, our registries are ready to go at Babies R Us, Buy Buy Baby and Restoration Hardware Baby and Child (for a few decorative nursery items), and I noticed today that some items have already been bought! We only have 3 months left and things are starting to get really exciting!

26 Weeks