Expected due date only 19 days away....

Good evening everyone!

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays as much as we did. We are finally reaching the end of our pregnancy and we couldn't be more excited! We had a doctors appointment today and we are a little over 2+cm dilated and over 70% effaced. If he's not here by the 28th, we will have the option of getting induced sometime that week. We just hope for a smooth and safe delivery. It is so adorable seeing Steve (Grover) setting up the car seats and strollers in the cars. He's probably more excited than I am. He's going to be such a great dad!

I've done a horrible job at updating our blog but now that I am off work (maternity leave) I'll have more than enough time to update everyone in our last and final days of this adventure.

We really need to take the time and thank many of you for all that you guys have done for us. Between friends, co-workers, family, etc... we had a total of 5 baby showers. Slightly insane but beyond grateful for every single person who made these past few months so memorable for us. We are overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of you all. We attempted to send out thank you notes to everyone but it was so hard to keep track of everything. I lack organization skills but we did intend to send them out. We seriously cannot express our love and appreciation for you all. THANK YOU!

Our good friend Sharon from Fetal Memories Ultrasounds (located in Orange) was able to capture a few images of our son Braxton at 34 weeks. If anyone is in need of ultrasounds, message me and I'll give you her information.

Our nursery is finally complete! I will be taking updated photos tomorrow and I'll make sure to post them too. We decided to make his nursery law enforcement themed. Not only is it unique but we felt that it would be a small way for him to grow up knowing a little of his amazing uncle that is no longer with us. We used some photos of his patrol unit that he had taken himself and some other awesome images as well. Cannot wait to share them with you guys.

And finally... I wanted to share with you all a picture of our vintage pram we finally received this past week. I had purchased it months ago and had a hard time dealing with shipping but it's here! Steve (Grover) is helping me with the restoration process and we shall have it ready for Braxton to cruise in. 

Thanks again for taking the time to read our updates and we cannot wait to share more with you all!

Much love, Janet, Steve (Grover), and Braxton.

Braxton Kevin Grant

Good afternoon everyone!

It's been a while since the last update on this blog. I would first and foremost like to thank all the family that made it out Saturday evening. Steve (Grover) and I couldn't be more grateful for the gifts, laughs, and well wishes we received from you all.

After months of looking through thousands of baby names on mobile apps, websites, and books... we had pretty much narrowed it down to 4 names. I personally like Jaxson and Braxton while Steve liked Bentley and Brayden. For some odd reason, I've really liked the name Braxton for almost 10 years now...and I'm glad I didn't give up on it because Steve warmed up to it and finally decided that our little one will be named Braxton Kevin Grant. As most of you know, I recently lost my brother (Kevin) a little over a year ago and felt that having his first name as our sons middle name..was just the perfect thing to do. Our last long conversation together was about me having kids and us joking around about the idea of him being an uncle. We know it doesn't exactly go well together, but we both have no doubt in our minds that this name will be perfect for our baby.

We've been super excited about finishing the nursery. Can't wait to post pictures and update you all once we get all the furniture up. For those of you who really know Steve and I, know exactly how different we both are. If it were up to him... everything would be camouflage or NASCAR themed and if it were up to me... it would look like Count Draculas bedroom... so finding things we both like.. isn't an easy task!

We are finally near the third trimester mark... and I'm sure nerves, excitement, and joy will start kicking in overdrive. Thanks for reading and I'll keep updating!
                                     
             Much love! Steve, Janet, and baby Brax. <3 <3 <3

135 Days til Expected Due Date!

As most of you have already heard...we found out on Wednesday that we are expecting our first baby boy! Social media made it much easier for us to announce it to our close friends and family! We couldn't thank you guys enough for wishing us so many well wishes and happiness. We are truly grateful to have so many wonderful people who care for all of us!

We haven't thought of any baby names yet. Steve and I have complete different ideas on what baby names to add on the list. His name suggestions all came from NASCAR drivers, country superstars, and even the cast from TV series "King of the Hill". Hopefully...within time... I'll be able to persuade him into something else.

We spent our Friday night and Saturday morning getting carried away registering at Babies R Us and Target. We were a force to be reckoned with! Might have gotten a little carried away but it was fun and tiring for the both of us. We both started getting super excited seeing so many cute sets at Target. We fell in LOVE with this Eddie Bauer collection. (See photo below) and to think in only 135 days ... we should expect to have the little munchkin here! Mommy and Daddy's little monster! For those close to us asking us what we might want or need... check out our registries. The registry number for Babies R Us is 48831620 or you can search for us on both registries with our first and last names! Our nursery theme is black & white in color. If it helps!

Once again, thanks for taking the time to read my little blog and I'll make sure to post updates often. I could start updating all the little pains and troubles of pregnancy, but who wants to read all that! I might even update a post tonight with the recent ultrasound images we received from Wednesday.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend! Much love! Janet, Stephen, and Baby Grant!

Inspirations for our baby nursery & reaching our 15 weeks!

Good morning everyone!

So here we are! Getting close to the 15 week part of our pregnancy. We just had another doctors appointment and everything sounded really good. The babys heart rate was at 150 which is normal. I anxiously asked our doctor when we will be able to have the anatomy ultrasound (to find out the sex of the baby) and he said I have to wait 6 more weeks!!! I am so impatient! Steve and I couldn't wait and have started working on that baby nursery.

As many of you know, my style is quite unique. I have never liked the usual pinks, blues, yellows, and greens on baby room themes. My dream theme is a mix of elegance and goth. I did a bit of research and bold contrasting colors are better for the babys development than pastels. I will wait to post the actual pictures of our nursery once I get a bit more done. I am a tad bit picky and wanted a chandelier from out of state and paintings from Texas which will take a while for us to get everything in....but I just HAD to have them! I will post some pictures of different things that have inspired our vision on this out of the ordinary baby nursery.

I am so lucky I have such a wonderful fiancee that is just as excited about what we are doing. He never misses doctors appointments and is always making sure I just sit back and let him do everything.

Thanks again everyone for the well wishes and thoughts!

                             Love,   Janet & Steve

  

Making it public!

Good morning everyone,

On Thursday, July 26th 2012, we went public on our first pregnancy at 12 weeks 4 days! That day also happened to be Stephens 27th birthday. We previously made sure we told family members and close friends first before posting it on any type of social networking site. We can't thank you all enough for all the sweet messages, calls, and texts congratulating us. We appreciate all the kind wishes and I hope that with this blog, you'll be able to experience the good, the bad, and the excitement that comes along with pregnancies. We will try to update you all often and thanks again for all your love and support.

On Wednesday the 25th, we had our first trimester screening which evaluates and identifies the risk for specific chromosomal abnormalities. Luckily, everything turned out negative and with our fingers crosses, we hope everything will be as healthy as can be!
                                        Janet, Stephen, and baby.

Here is a photo of how we announced it on social media sites.