josh + kati + marion

It’s bordering on ridiculous how much stuff this little girl has already! After many, many shopping trips with my mom and friends and family buying for a girl – the baby storage bins are overflowing! (Okay, okay, so maybe I’ve contributed a little bit as well, but whatever!)

So a few of my favorite things…

From shopping with mom, which, I have to say went so much better than I thought it would! Mom and I almost never see eye to eye on my clothes, so I was worried about agreeing on baby clothes. Luckily, we both really like the same things – dresses, dresses, and sweet little dresses Our biggest tiffs were over she wanting everything in pink and I was in pink overload. Oh well, I guess she has a grandmother’s right to overindulge in pink.

A sweet little sunsuit

With rosebuds (my mom is a sucker for anything with roses/rosebuds on it)

Pink ruffle-butt tights!

We found this great store in Wasilla called Today’s Mom (no website, unfortch.) They had amazing, amazing things and we might have gone a little crazy. If anyone is going to Alaska, it’s worth making a trip to this store – I just was so impressed with their maternity and baby selection.

They carried a lot of things by this lady Laura – her website is http://www.alaskakraftswithkare.com/. She makes great handmade things, like this flannel moose blanket that mom loved.

Grandma thought the puppies needed to give Poppy presents as well

This super sweet jacket is from Great-Granny Chris

The hood has a little bunny face on it!

Detail on the ribbon – so sweet!

For her Papaw

I couldn’t resist this smocked dress

With matching bloomers

My favorite, favorite, favorite children’s book

Not only is it a really awesome story, but the illustrations are raised in detail, which makes it really fun for little kids to read.

Plus, it’s just beautiful.

Like I could resist this! Although, to tell you the truth. This isn’t exactly true. She’s a stinkerbutt when it comes to her daddy. Last night, I was sitting in bed reading, and she was going crazy, my belly was jumping all over the place. As soon as I called him in to see, she stopped. Not once, but twice, the minute he would take his hand off my belly, she’d kick. She’s a stinker So even though she moves all the time, he still hasn’t felt her!

First things I bought when I found out she was a girl

The start of Josh’s “daddy bag.” (Also from Krafts with Kare) A changing pad, blanket and burp cloth.

And to end with, my three favorite things:

My baby cup – a gift from my Aunt Janis. I’m busy trying to remove almost 30 years of tarnish

Probably the coolest thing…

Don’t worry, we don’t actually plan on plugging it in! I don’t trust electric goods from the 70′s!

But how can you resist this happy little Panda?!

Just look at all the benefits!

And my most favorite, favorite, favorite thing

One of my baby dresses This has been on one of my dolls since I outgrew it and now, I can’t wait to put Poppy in it!

There are several pictures of me in this dress – I’ll have to track them down and do side by side pictures when Poppy is here in the dress

We had such a good long weekend this past weekend – we didn’t really do anything but relax, and it was perfect.

This weekend was insanely hot – and I already am uncertain about how I’ll survive this summer. I think I’ve found one trick to help me though – granita. I made some last summer, and it will probably turn into a weekly treat this summer.

Flavor of the week – espresso

Two cups espresso

Half a cup of sugar

Ice bath to cool it down

Pop in the freezer, stir every thirty minutes and four to five hours later

The most delicious dessert.

Topped with fresh whipped cream

Ridiculously yummy

Recipe here.

I also got in some good knitting time and actually made something for myself for a change!

A felted needle case for my DPNs

I also worked on momma’s Monkey socks. I started these before Alaska and completed one while I was up there – but I wasn’t happy with several parts of the socks – the cast on, the heel, and they were too loose at the top. So I frogged them back and started all over. I’ve got one done now and I’m past the hell of the second one, so hopefully I’ll be done this week with the pair.

Momma picked the yarn out and I wasn’t too crazy about it – but it’s knitted up really nice!

Short row heel and toe this time. (And can I just add how hard it is to photograph feet – much less pregnant feet!)

If I have enough yarn left (and I think I will) Poppy might get a pair of her own!

Click here for the cooking album

Since posting the pictures from Alaska, several people have commented how much I look like my mom. I don’t think there’s any doubt that Poppy will take after me – those Morgan genes are strong…as this picture proves.

Bottom left is my great-grandmother, Lenora Morgan. To her right is my grandmother, Rose Peavey. My mom and I are at the top.

I don’t think there is any doubt we four women are related

I’m pretty sure Poppy already has my nose and chin!

I realized I haven’t recap my trip to Alaska – unfortunately, I didn’t have room in my luggage for my own camera, so I had to borrow my mom’s. However, I kept forgetting to take pictures, so (very unlike me) there aren’t too many pictures.

Mom and Tony moved from Anchorage to (of all places) Houston, Alaska about two years ago. This is the first time I’d seen their new place, and it’s awesome. Unfortunately, no real pictures of it – those will have to wait until Christmas. They live on ten acres (I think that’s how much they have) in a log cabin – which is just fabulous.

The highlight of the trip – telling my mom we were having a girl!

I kept it a secret (almost impossible for me!) and told her by getting off the plane with a pink teddy bear. It was a lot of fun to see her face

Morning surprise in the backyard…

He looks big – but he’s actually just about a year old

Two worlds collide

He wouldn’t let me get very close to him though.

The dogs somehow managed to get closer!

Happy Mother’s Day!

My brother and his financee (I love saying this!!)

My mom has seven dogs (yes, seven). They actually sled these guys, so they are house dogs, but working dogs as well.

Brent and Timmy (Timmy is the dog!) Timmy and his brother Tommy are unique huskies – called Makenzie River Huskies. They are huge guys – well over 100lbs now. But about the sweetest boys in the world.

Brent and Dakota (a more traditional Husky)

And believe it or, that’s all I have from a five day trip!

With this

Which lead to

This

And we can’t forget about

This beautiful thing.

Which lead to this

Two years ago today

a toy destined for Poppy finds it’s destination somewhere else.

Sorry Grandma, but I think it’s his now!

Pretty puppy

“My baby!” he says

Click here for Nanuq’s album

Internets, I am home and reminded once again why google reader is the best thing ever. I have more important things to do (like play with all the new baby girl clothes I now have – she has a suitcase worth!) than blog stalk the eleventy billion blogs I like to read. And that’s where google reader comes in, bringing me delicious tidbits like this.

From this wonderful blog

And yes, if we go with the name we think we like the most right now, Elliott Smith is directly responsible.

I’m heading up to Alaska today to spend mother’s day weekend with my momma!

Internet access will be limited (at best) so there probably won’t be any updates until I get back next week.

Most importantly, the money shot…

She is SUCH a girl!

Right now, she’s breech – but that of course doesn’t matter this early. Her head is up by my belly button, as evidenced by the fact last night she used my button as a punching bag! I’ve been having tenderness in my lower left side, and the tech couldn’t find anything wrong there (they were thinking it might be a fibroid.) However, while she was examining the area, Poppy wouldn’t stop kicking me there. So there’s a really good chance that tenderness is coming from being KICKED! Which just makes me laugh!

That’s the baby’s head. The big gray thing squishing her head is my placenta. It’s anterior, which shouldn’t be a problem. It might muffle some movements (but that hasn’t seemed to be a problem yet) and there’s a good chance it will rotate back before delivery.

This is the only other picture of her we have. Stinker was moving too much to get a good shot! We actually get another ultrasound at our 24 week appointment because the tech couldn’t get some measurements because Poppy wouldn’t be still.

Poppy has weight now – she weighs 400 grams which is 0.88 lbs. It’s so cool to think she actually has weight now!! She also was measuring about a week ahead in height – hopefully she’ll be tall and thin like her daddy!

So we go back in four more weeks for the gestational diabetes test (ick) and another ultrasound (yay!). Then it’s the 28 week appointment, and then we start appointments – wow! Time can’t go fast enough!

Click here for Poppy’s ultrasound gallery

Healthy little baby…..

GIRL!!!!

We are so blessed and so, so thrilled!

Click here for all the outtakes of the above picture