Introducing Our Little Guy

He's finally here! After what felt like the longest 39 weeks of anticipation and excitement of my life, we finally have our gorgeous little man here with us. I'd like to introduce you all to 

Grayson Cash 

We are absolutely head-over-heels in love with this little man, and every day I wake up feeling overwhelmed with feelings of being blessed beyond all belief. 

Everyone tells you that you can't imagine what it will be like to be a parent until it happens to you, and they are so spot on. I knew I would love him, I loved him from the moment I knew I was carrying him, and the closer I got to my due date the more love and anticipation I felt. But the moment I laid eyes on him I felt something deep within me that I wasn't expecting. The pure, unconditional, unexplainable love is....unreal. 

I'm planning on coming back soon to share his birth story. I make no promises on how soon that will be. Every day I wake up with goals of things I hope to accomplish....and every day I spend the majority of my time rocking my sweet baby, soaking up every single moment that I can with him. Time already seems to be flying by so incredibly fast, and I don't want to miss a second. Thank you all for the sweet comments and support along the way. It's everything I imagined it would be and so much more. 

38 Weeks

Well, here we are. 38 Weeks. In my last update I said hopefully we wouldn't be doing this 38 week post, but oh well :) He's obviously not done cooking in there, so he can stay as long as he would like....although I'm more than ready for him to be here in the outside world with me!

Due Date

May 1st...but finding out Tuesday if I'll be induced before that

This Week Baby A...

is just getting bigger and bigger. According to Baby Center he's 6.8 pounds and over 19 1/2 inches long....but at our 35 week sonogram they were saying he was well over 6 pounds, so we shall see on Tuesday how big he really is. He has a firm grasp and his organs have matured and are all ready for life on the outside. Sounds like he's pretty much ready to go! 

Symptoms

Nothing new really. Some swelling, some soreness, some indigestion...same old thing! 

Weight Gain

At my appointment last week I was up 33. But this week I have gone alllllll out on the splurging, so we'll see this week what kind of damage I've done.

Gender

Baby Boy

Food Cravings/Aversions

OMG I have seriously eaten so poorly this last week or two. The snow cone stands in town finally opened up and I have had to try and stop myself from getting one every single day....I've been semi-successful. I also made brownies, have been eating coco puffs non-stop, got chocolate pie at lunch today, made waffles for dinner....it is really unbelievable. I think I know that in just a couple short weeks I'm gonna have to start thinking about losing the weight, so I'm really letting myself go nuts for the last little bit. Let's hope I don't regret it! 

Movements

Definitely moving less often, but when he does move it feels like....well, like there's a full grown baby in my belly. I love it. I think this will be the number one thing I miss about pregnancy, just feeling him move around inside me. 

Sleep

It's been better this week. I'm not sure if the exhaustion just finally caught up with me or if I got used to my size haha....but I have been having pretty good like 4-5 hour stretches of sleep. It's been amaaaazing.

Daddy's Thoughts

He's been having many heart-to-hearts with little man about the fact that we are ready for him to come out and see us. I think he's almost as ready as I am for him to finally be here. We neither one are really all that patient unfortunately....

Fun Moments

Well, I've pretty much finished up every single thing on my to-do list, so I've spent a lot of time relaxing. Normally I'm not big on laying around doing nothing, but lately....lately it feels pretty nice, I must say. We've got his nursery all ready to go (other than putting his name up on the wall, Arsen just won't give in on that), got the hospital bags all packed, carseat is installed, birth plan and playlist ready to go....now it's just a waiting game. Come on Baby A, we're ready!

Looking Forward To... 

Meeting our little one. That's pretty much all I can think about. Seriously. All day, every day, I'm waiting waiting waiting to see his cute little face. I'm excited to go in on Tuesday and see him on the sonogram and find out what the plan is. As much as I don't want to be induced, I'm just ready for something to happen. So we shall see!

Oops :)

So Arsen has informed me that my blog posts lately have been a whole lot of complaining about being pregnant. He said it in a very funny and cute way so as not to offend the angry pregnant woman, but he got the point across. My bad, friends.

I can tell the last few weeks that I've reached that point where things aren't so lovely and I'll be doing a whole lot of telling it like it is, so I'll try to spare you guys the torture. Needless to say things may be a bit quite around these parts until Baby A decides to make his entrance ;)

I'm 38 weeks today, so if my doc hadn't already mentioned inducing I could potentially be looking at another month...which blows my freaking mind. I can't fathom another month of this, so I'm starting to be thankful she brought up inducing even though I wanted to avoid it.

I was talking to one of my best friends yesterday, and we ventured onto a topic that we do pretty often when she and I chat....the best show of all time, Friends. We were obsessed with the show all through middle school/high school/college, and literally compare almost everything that happens to something that happened on an episode. There's a whole lot of "Ha, remember that episode of Friends where....".

Yesterday when we were chatting about my misery and she was remembering the last few weeks of her pregnancy with her daughter, she said "It's like that episode of Friends where Rachel is like 'Get out, get out, get out!'".

Umm, yes. That's exactly what it's like. So today I decided to hop on over to YouTube to watch that scene, and some genius has put together a compilation of the funniest moments of the episode The One Where Rachel is Late. I must say, it's been hilarious the hundred times I've seen it in the past, and it's even more so now that I can relate to everysinglething that happens. Although I have to ask, what real life pregnant woman looks as beautiful and stunning and slim as Jennifer Aniston when she's 8 days past due? No one, that's who.

source

Of course, just to anger me further, for some reason it won't allow me to embed the video here. But venture over to YouTube and check it out. Hopefully the link above works for you, because it is over 8 minutes of pure hilarity.

 And do tell, when you were in your final weeks, did you get to a point where you felt this desperate to get them OUT? I'm hoping I'm not alone here.

That One Time I Was in a Music Video (and didn't know it)

So I'm going to give you all a glimpse into the life of Celeste many, many moons ago. I've talked before about the fact that I lived in L.A. and wanted to be an actress, but I don't think I've ever mentioned the horror movie that I was in.

After I moved back to Oklahoma I continued acting when I could. I went on auditions whenever they were available, and I actually ended up getting a part as one of the main characters in a feature length horror film that was filmed in Tulsa. It was actually a super fun experience that took several months of filming and resulted in a film that actually got distribution (you could even order it on Netflix at one point) and had a "premiere". I am a pro at downplaying anything important that happens in my life but it was actually something that I know I'll look back on and be glad that I did...even if it didn't exactly lead to fame and fortune ;)

A little while ago one of the guys who was in the film that I'm still friends with on Facebook posted a link to a music video that I had absolutely no idea existed. A local band had several songs in the movie, and apparently someone made a music video for one of them. And that is how I discovered I'm in a music video that I knew nothing about.

For a long time I tried to hide all of the "acting" I had done from people, and would never, ever consider mentioning it on my blog...but the older I get the more I see it as an incredibly fun and slightly hilarious period in my life. So why not?

What's really fun is to watch this video of myself in a tiny bikini as I sit on the couch superduper pregnant...it's wonderful for the self esteem, I tell you. Motivation to lose the baby weight, perhaps? I'll take it.

Oh, by the way....sometimes it's hard to distinguish which blonde I am. I will tell you this much: I'm not the one running around in my bra.

Oh, Procrastination....

So, today I'm officially in my 37th week of pregnancy, which means I am full term and Baby A could make his arrival pretty much any day now. You would think I would have everything done and ready to go since I am an obsessive planner and usually have everything done waaaay ahead of time. But no. Not at all. My house is a bit of a disaster, we still have some important things to buy, I don't have my hospital bags packed, can't decide on a going home outfit for little man....it's a bit ridiculous.

But for some reason I'm having trouble getting the motivation to get it all done. I will do the most random, uncalled for things, like deciding to scrub my shower from top to bottom, instead of the things that MUST be done before he gets here. I don't know what my deal is. It's so bizarre.

I think I have an idea of why it's been so hard for me to find the energy and motivation to get things done, and it has a little something to do with this photo that I took of one of my pregnancy apps yesterday.

Yeah. A watermelon. No wonder I am so freaking sore and exhausted at all times. Unbelievable.

So basically, I need to somehow find a way to get up and get some things done. Today, however, is not making it very easy. I'm working from home and it's cold and rainy and completely blah outside. I have a feeling I will sit on my couch and work until Arsen gets home, and then most likely do about three productive things before crashing on the couch again. Oh well. Anyone that's hauling a watermelon sized baby around in their uterus deserves to be insanely lazy in my opinion. 

36 Weeks

I've officially made it to the LAST month of pregnancy! In some ways I feel like this whole pregnancy has flown by, and in others it seems like it has been dragging on and on and on....

When all is said and done, I think I'll be able to say that I have had a really wonderful experience overall. Of course this last few weeks has been a challenge, just because of the sheer exhaustion and the achey body, but other than that I have had a super easy go of it. And I know the few weeks of blah will be well worth it once our little one has made his arrival.

I'm somewhat hopeful that this is the last update you'll see from me....I would looooove to have this little guy in the next week or two. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but still. I suppose only time will tell!

Wowza swollen face!

Due Date

Still saying May 1st

This Week Baby A...

is over 6 pounds! Most of his systems are ready to go, although digestion doesn't technically start until his first meal on the outside. Most of his bones and cartilage are still soft to allow for an easier delivery (thankfully). We're getting so close!

Symptoms

Oh, the swelling. So much swelling. My feet are UNREAL people. By the end of the day they are seriously unrecognizable. It's like I'm looking at a strangers legs. Also, the aches and pains are just absurd. I feel like an 80 year old woman walking around. The bottoms of my feet...I can't even explain it. Other than things hurting, I'm not having too much going on. I got my appetite back...which means the weight gain will likely start again, unfortunately. And I'm oh-so-tired, all the time. Thank heavens we are SO very close now. 

Weight Gain

Last doctor's visit I was at 31 total. I'm hoping I don't pass 35...but come on. That seems pretty unrealistic at this point. One lesson learned during pregnancy numero uno: working out literally twice the ENTIRE pregnancy? Not the best way to keep the weight gain down.

Gender

Little Man :)

Food Cravings/Aversions

Sweets, sweets and more sweets. I bought Easter candy on clearance, begged Arsen to pleasepleaseplease go get me brownie mix this weekend, and I'm still eating absurd amounts of cereal. Also, been eating lots of chicken nuggets and french fries. 

Movements

He's moving around less than he was, but when he does it is intense! The doctor said he's getting into sleeping patterns now, so I'll be feeling him moving less frequently. As long as it's 8 times at least twice a day (I think?) we are good. And I feel him way more than that. Also, if I poke on my belly it generally gets a reaction out of him. It is so crazy to me that I can tell exactly what is where....pointy little feet, his round little booty. So crazy!

Sleep

Blah. I think if I could get comfortable I would be just fine. I don't have a ton on my mind keeping me up like you might think. I just can't find a comfy position so I toss and turn. 

Daddy's Thoughts

He's getting sosososo excited, and it's so super cute. He IS hoping he holds off his arrival until at least next week though. He's got a super busy week at work and he's afraid if I went into labor this week he would have to work the whole time we're at the hospital. And let me tell you...that would NOT make this mama happy!

Fun Moments

I got a surprise baby shower at work on Friday, which was so unexpected and so very sweet of my co-workers. I also had my Armenian baby shower yesterday which was as much fun as I expected it to be. Last Thursday we had my 36 week check up with my doc, and when she checked everything out we found out that I'm dilated a centimeter! She said that doesn't mean he's coming soon, but it does mean that we are on our way. Whew! Even though I know it could still be weeks it was still exciting!

Looking Forward To... 

Our check up this Thursday. Hoping we get news that means he will be here soon! Also, I am SO relieved that all of the showers and craziness are over. As much as I loved every minute of them, now I can get everything organized and set up and DONE. The house feels so unorganized right now...I'm just ready to be completely ready for our little man's arrival!

That Man of Mine

Sometimes when I look at my life I wonder how things ended up the way they did. If you would have told me the first night that I saw Arsen (doing his Arsen dance on a stage surrounded by girls) that I would end up married to that guy, I would never have believed you. Of course I thought he looked like a lot of fun and I loved his faux-hawk, but marriage? No way. A baby? You must be kidding.

Even after we officially met and started dating, I thought for sure it was just a fun college thing. After it turned a little more serious I started thinking there was probably something there, something more long-term. But to look at us now, less than five years later, it blows my mind. 

But even though it seems crazy that things turned out this way, I wouldn't change a bit of it for anything in the world. He may drive me crazy sometimes when he leaves his socks laying in the living room or zones out while I'm telling him a story, but I can't imagine doing this marriage and babies thing with anyone else in the world. I'm one of the lucky ones who got the chance to marry my best friend, and no matter how mad he may make me, I know there is no one out there who would be a better fit for me. 

I'm so excited to see how our relationship changes and grows over the next little bit. I know bringing our baby boy into the world is going to be the most incredible, amazing, life-changing thing ever. And I can't wait to see Arsen as a dad. I know he will truly be the best.

And I'm thankful for the beginning. The days when I thought he was just a "friend", just someone to party with and act crazy with and laugh with. I'm so glad that we experienced a little bit of the insanity of college together. A time when the only thing we had to worry about was writing a paper or studying for a test, or what bar we were meeting all of our friends at that night. When we're old and gray we can look back on our memories and our photos and remember all the stupid, irresponsible things we did together. And say a little prayer that our children and grandchildren don't take after us in that aspect....

I truly look forward to every single thing to come in life knowing that I have this sweet, sweet man by my side. He makes every bit of life better for me, and I'm so thankful that he's mine.