Her Name

Choosing a name for your baby is a fun experience. I have always played the "name game" with friends and family, and the names I like have changed many times! When Derek and I found out we were pregnant, names didn't come as easily as I once thought it would. Naming a child is an important responsibility, and we realized we wanted to make a decision before we shared so that we didn't get too many opinions and inputs on our ideas ;) Once we found out we were having a girl, we knew we both wanted a strong and feminine name for our sweetie. We think we've chosen the perfect name for our daughter. Our baby girl's name will be Hadley Carol Johnson.

Hadley is from English origin and means Fields of Heather. I first heard of the name in a book and thought it was beautiful. I put it on the back burner for a while until I started teaching at my new school. There was a sweet teacher named Hadley, and two staff members had close family members named Hadley. As soon as I was pregnant this name kept coming back. I did some research on it, and Ernest Hemingway's wife was named Hadley, and the name Hadley was most popular in 1908. We know our sweet Hadley will make her own special mark on this world. We've been calling her Hadley for months, but just recently told our families her name. We told my family in Destin at one of our favorite restaurants. There was a guest book there and the last person to sign in was named Hadley! What a fun coincidence! Carol is after my mom and I can't imagine a better middle name for our daughter. We hope she is kind, loving and fun just like her Nanny.

                                          
                                                                     A field of Heather

Only a few short months until Hadley is here and we are trying to enjoy these last few months as a family of three (Mav included)! The nursery is on its way to being finished and I have three showers to look forward to! What an exciting fall we have ahead. Thank you God for our Hadley, we will take good care of her.

Three Years

Three years ago, on July 28th, 2007, Derek and I were married. It was a perfect night and each year of  marriage brings new adventures. I think our 4th year of marriage will  be our biggest adventure yet! Our little family of 2 will grow and we can't wait.

Happy Anniversary! Each day gets better and better!

I am also 23 weeks today! In one short week I will be 6 months along! I just can't believe how fast this pregnancy is flying along! I went to the doctor today and everything still looks great! Can't wait until November!

22 Weeks

How far along: 22 weeks 

Maternity Clothes: Being pregnant in the summer is perfect, because you can wear dresses everyday! I have three or four that I rotate through during the week; I am about sick of them!! 

Sleeping: Going really good! I'm still getting a lot of it =)

Best Moment of the Week: Getting the crib and dresser in the nursery and finalizing the bedding!
Movement: YES! It is so surreal to feel her kicking around in there. She kicks the most when I'm in water, maybe she will love baths like her mom!
What I miss this week: Being able to do chores in the house for an hour at a time! Lately I have to take short breaks because I get light-headed. This makes simple chores take forever!
What I am looking forward to: Finishing organizing the closets in the nursery and in the guest room! I made a lot of progress today!
Weekly Wisdom: Drink lots of water and stay cool
Milestones: Sharing the name with our families and starting to feel her kicks from the outside. Derek felt a small tap last night- I can't wait until he feels a great big kick!

Here's a terrible picture! But I know I will forget if I don't just do it today!

22 weeks

It's A Girl!

At our NT scan back in May the doctor gave us a 95% guess that baby J was a girl. We wanted to wait until our 19 week appointment for the big gender scan before we shared our news. First and most importantly, baby J was very healthy! The doctor looked at her heart chambers, kidneys, spine, legs and even her brain. Every check point the doctor looks for was perfect. What a blessing!

The doctor also confirmed baby J is a girl. I am so excited to have a daughter. It is such a wonderful gift that God has trusted Derek and I with.

There are so many things that I want for my daughter.

 I want her to have a good relationship with me, like I have with my mom. My relationship with my mom is one of the most special relationships I have. I have so much to learn from her and I'm thankful for her everyday. I pray daily that I will be as good as a mom as she is.

I want her to be a daddy's girl. Most people that know me know I am a huge daddy's girl. I always tell Derek that no one will love him like a little girl does. I remember running down the stairs every night when my dad got home to give him a big hug and kiss. I have the best relationship with my dad and I can't wait to see Derek and the baby together.

I want her to know and love Jesus like we do. Derek and I met at church youth group and I have been praying that our daughter will feel at home at church like Derek and I do. I can't wait to do mommy/daughter bible studies together, take her to VBS and see her grow up in our Church. She will have so many spiritual role models in her life, and for that we are so blessed.

For my sanity, I want her and Maverick to be best buds! We will never forget our first "baby" and we hope she will love the baby as much as we do! We've started preparing her for the baby by kicking her off our bed! We did buy her a fancy new dog bed though, so she's not too deprived of a good sleep! She is such a good dog and we know the baby will love her too! How could you not?

Most importantly, I want her to grow up safe, loved and happy. We love you little girl, more than you will ever know.

Summer Travels

Derek and I have been lucky to have a very eventful summer so far. We started off our big travels with a wedding in Des Moines, Iowa. One of Derek's closest friend, DWat, got married. We just love David and Libby and were so glad to spend their special day with them. We had a lot of fun catching up with old friends!

Next, we went to Austin for our annual DeLany family reunion. It is such an amazing tradition our family has been doing for years. There were two babies this year and I am so glad our baby will grow up with such a wonderful family! Caroline is already planning next year's reunion and its exciting to think that there will be THREE babies there next year!

Me, Caroline and Emily, Audrey and Lillian, Colleen and Bonnie 

As always, my family spent the 4th of July at our favorite beach, Destin, Flordia. It was a wonderful vacation where I layed out and enjoyed my last beach vacation without a baby. I definitely learned with Emily that you can't lay by the beach and read all day with a baby! I read 7 books this vacation; I wonder how many I will read next year in Destin! I spent two weeks in Destin this year. The first week was with my family and the second week was with Steve, Christi, Jenny, Erik and the boys. I am so grateful to both of our parents for such wonderful memories and such a great vacation. I can't begin to explain how lucky our baby is to have two sets of amazing grandparents. 

Before dinner at our favorite spot, the Ocean Club