4 Weeks Old!!

Hey everyone!!

So sorry for the delay in updating our blog! Miss Addie taken most of our attention (which is just fine by us)! We can't believe she is already 4 weeks old (on Friday). The time has flown! It is so neat to see her get bigger and grow each day! Although she still spends most of her day sleeping, her "awake time" is increasing more and more each day!

At her 2 week check up, she weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces -definitely up from her 6.5 birth weight! Hopefully she will be a little chunker in no time:)

I love spending my days with her - she makes it pretty easy! :) Michael finished his first semester of Law School and he is enjoying spending his evenings with his lady. We decided to make the trip to Indy for Christmas since she came a little early and still needs to meet most of the family. We are really looking forward to it - and she will get a White Christmas for her first Christmas!

The weather in Atlanta has been pretty abnormal recently (snow, ice) so we have been unable to get out and get some fresh air! However, we have really enjoyed visits from friends and neighbors!! Not to mention, her 3 cousins have been taking really good care of her!!

Below are some recent pictures and a video of our little lady. We are smitten with her and can't wait for everyone to meet her! Enjoy!!

Gifts from Aunt Danielle!

After our first bath! Love the hair!

From her photo shoot with Alix...

Addison is here!!!

She is here! 3.5 weeks early - healthy and so happy! Could not be more in love. Here is how it all went down...

Early Friday morning (around 4:00am), I woke up with pretty bad abdominal cramps, after a few trips to the bathroom, I decided I would move to the couch to make sure I didn't wake Michael (or Indy:) I found myself awake every 10 minutes or so with these cramps...I began to think that these were those Braxton Hicks contractions I heard about...until they seemed to get a little more intense! Around 6:30, Michael woke up and we decided I would take a shower and see how I feel after. Well - the "cramps" got worse (less than 10 minutes apart) and we decided to call the doctor.

So - off to the doctor we went! Again, about every 5 minutes, the "cramps" would come! We arrive at the doctor and for some reason, they decided to still check my weight and blood pressure - until Michael reminded them that these pains were coming every 5 minutes. I will never forget the doctor's face as she informed me that we were 7 cm dialted (10 cm is push time)! Michael responded - "What happened to 1 and 2?!"

So - off to the hospital! Fortunately, they called ahead and let Labor and Delivery know that I was coming (and the baby too)!! My concern was not only how early I was delivering and her health, but that there was still time to get an epidural! I can still hear my sister and Michael whispering back and forth during my contractions - "I dont think there is time for her to get one!" The nurses worked their magic and before I knew it, the epidural made me a new woman! Soon after (maybe 10 minutes) the doctor said I was 10 cm and we could just let her make her way down! I rested for about 30 minutes and then it was time to push! Michael did an excellent job counting and coaching me through the pushes! After about 30 minutes of pushing - Addison arrived at 2:32pm (after arriving at the hospital at 10:45am)!! She was absolutely perfect and beautiful!

Addison Rose Clements - 6.5 pounds, 19.5 inches

We were so surprised that she decided to come early - we had not decided on a name or had any of our last minute projects done - but I quickly learned that NONE of that mattered (except her name)...she was healthy and we were beyond thrilled.

We gave LOTS of thanks this Thanksgiving; for her arrival, for the love of so many friends and family and just what a blessing she is! We could also not be more thankful for G-Ma's visit this past week; she saved us! We have never had so many groceries in our fridge and our house has never been so clean! :) We were even able to put up our Christmas tree this weekend (Addison slept through the decorating)...

I promise to do my best to keep up with the blogging! I really can't complain - she is such a great baby, but as everyone says, I need to sleep when she sleeps and get my rest (it's hard to not just sit and stare:) Thank you all for the well wishes, phone calls, emails, etc. We are so happy and feel like the luckiest parents in the world!

Let the Nesting Begin...or continue:)

Hello everyone!
The count down is on! T minus 4 weeks until Baby Girl arrives! I just keep thinking..."this time next month...she will be here (hopefully)!" We get more and more excited each day, and somehow our To Do list gets longer and longer!

As many of you know, I can be quite OCD...I prefer to say organized. Even though I think the nesting stage started when I found out I was pregnant, it has really hit me recently! We are redoing our full bath (which was part of the plan for awhile), which looks great! However, I feel it is necessary to clean every closet, rake up every leaf and make sure everything is in it's place for when she arrives! As many wise Moms have told me, you will never be 100% ready:)

I am feeling really good - although I must admit, these past couple weeks have been a little more tiring. I find myself knocked out for the day around 7:00pm with a heating pad on my back. I am still trying to walk or go to the gym often, but most of the time, it feels better to just rest. I head to the doctor again next week, then every week after that. So far, everything is right on schedule! Keep you posted on next week's visit!

With all of the excitement surrounding her arrival, we are also really looking forward to the holidays! As I don't move too far or fast these days, we will be spending Thanksgiving at my sister's house in Marietta. I have already asked her to make extra helpings of each! We love the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and this year will be no exception! We plan to get our tree and decorations up right away, so we can wait for Baby Girl to arrive. Did I mention I already have half of my shopping done AND wrapped? :)

It's also an extra busy time for Michael as he has his first semester finals for Law School the week she is due! Good timing, huh? But, we have asked Baby Girl several times to hang tight as long as she can so Dad is not rushing through his last final to get to the hospital:) He has done such a great job this semester with managing his studying and his prego wife -  I am so proud and can't wait for him to be able to relax at Christmas with his new baby girl.

Here is the latest belly pic for you! I am currently 36 weeks and 3 days! Keep you posted on any new developments!! Enjoy!!

36.5 Weeks

5 Weeks to go!!!

Hey everyone!

We are getting close, very close! Michael and I can't believe we have just about one month to go before Baby Girl arrives! The nursery is basically ready to go, just need a few little items to make it complete! We have been so lucky that so many friends and family love her so much already and have spoiled her rotten with books, clothes, and more clothes:)

Michael and I (mostly Michael) have been finishing up some projects around the house. Our latest is the full bath; last week we had our 1950's bathroom tile painted and bathtub refinished! It looks like a new bathroom! Michael then installed a new fan, light, accessories and vanity! Almost done (finished pics will come later)...

If you know me well, you know that I am a planner - so with Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner I am trying my best to get organized for the next few weeks ahead! Some presents are already bought and I have already been assigned my Thanksgiving dish. It just makes it difficult when I am trying to get ready to be "out of the office" for 3 months as well and carrying around this belly - makes Mama tired!

At this point, I am going to the doctor every two weeks. On Friday, the doctor said everything looked great - heartbeat, measurement, blood pressure, and weight! So - 12/12 is still the date! I can't believe I am saying this - but I hope she comes 12/10 or later (Michael's last final is 12/9). What a way to celebrate! Fingers crossed!

When we aren't working, studying, working around the house or getting ready for BGC, we have been trying to enjoy some last minute "Susan and Michael" time. We have been hanging with friends, going out to dinners, and of course spending quality time with Miss Indy...

Here is a belly pic from about 2 weeks ago (33.5 weeks). I promise to do another one soon:)
Keep you posted!!! :)

About 33.5 Weeks!

Surprise cake from our great friends during our Halloween Party!

With Megan and Tiny

She is spoiled! :)

A busy couple of weeks it has been! We just returned home from celebrating Baby Clements in Indianapolis! What a great weekend we had! I drove up to Indy earlier in the week for work, and Michael joined me on Friday. It was so great to catch up with work friends and they even surprised me with a Baby Shower on Thursday! Lots of yummy cake, food and gifts for the baby! I truly was surprised and so appreciative of everything they did (pics coming soon)!

On Friday, my sister, my niece Caroline and Michael flew in from Atlanta. We spent the evening getting ready for the baby shower on Saturday. I couldn't keep myself out of the planning and helped them get ready for the festivities on Saturday.

My sister preparing the "diaper cake"...so cute!

Ok, so it took a few more hands (and beers) to get this thing done:)

Finished product - so cute!



Saturday was the big shower! Big thanks to the hostesses for throwing such a great party! Everything was perfect! We had the shower at George's, which was perfect for our group. I got to catch up with so many people and celebrate our baby girl! The place looked great - my dear friend Kaeley did the flowers and my sister-in-law, Stevie put together adorable favors for everyone! We played some great games (like guessing how big my belly is - thanks to those who came up short:) and opened SO many great gifts from everyone - she is spoiled!





Beautiful flowers and cupcakes!

The place looked great! THANK YOU to the great hostesses, Mom, Katie and Stevie (not to mention Caroline and Emily)!

So many great gifts! Thank you to everyone!!

The adorable favors - bags of popcorn that read "Susan is about to pop!"

On Saturday evening, we had a family "weenie" roast at my Grandparents house. The weather was great, as we sat outside, cooked hot dogs and smores over the fire and watched the little ones carve pumpkins and cause trouble:) Michael and I really enjoyed seeing my Grandparents, cousins, Aunt, Uncle, niece and nephews!



Katie, Caroline and PaPa



The kids decorating pumpkins

Sweet Charlie keeping up with the bigger kids!

We let Adrienne and Evan help out with the carving:)



My girls - Caroline and Emily!

Sadly, on Sunday, we had to head back to Atlanta. First, we stopped off at our great friends, Lindsay and Adam's as they are expecting their first this winter too! Since they moved back to Indy, we don't get to see them as much, so it was so fun to see each other's bellies and catch up! Michael did a great job of stuffing, I mean packing,  our car with all of Baby Girl's new goodies! Once home, we couldn't wait to unload the car and see her nursey really come together - well, at least in the process! Here is a video of how spoiled she is and my belly:) Next Dr. appointment is tomorrow (32 week appointment) - can't wait to hear about her progress! Enjoy!

10 Weeks to go!

Hey everyone!
Well, fall is pretty much here in Atlanta! This weather has been great! It definitely makes sleeping easier for a pregnant woman! Poor Michael, I think he freezes at night!

We celebrated Michael's 28th birthday last week! He took a night off of studying and we headed to our favorite mexican spot. He got a new lens for his camera, just time in for Baby Girl to arrive. We continued celebrating the next night at the Braves game with some friends (tailgating was great - too bad we lost...BUT, we managed to make the playoffs).

On Sunday, we celebrated our second wedding anniversary! To be honest, these two years have flown by! It seems like yesterday that all of our friends and family (including so many Aussies) were dancing and drinking the night away (or the night before, or the entire week of:) We had breakfast at a place we found recently while at a festival - the Australian Bakery Cafe - a little piece of home for Michael. Although we skipped on the meat pies for breakfast, it was fun to be surrounded by Aussie flags and accents! We bought each other a Flip Camera - again, just in time for Baby Girl's arrival!

Michael also surprised me with a prenatal massage gift certificate! I CAN'T wait for this!!

In our spare time (ha), we are still working on projects around the house, etc.! The nursery is pretty much done, except for a few small things to decorate it! We are also on the search for a new "family" car...no, no mini van yet, but maybe something bigger than the Passat:)

We are really looking forward to our trip to Indy next week! We have not been back in months so it will be great to catch up with friends and family. Here are some recent pics of the belly, around Atlanta, etc.! Enjoy!!

Braves game - with Michael's fancy new lens!

Pretty ironic!

I promise the jersey will be retired soon!

A great find! Yes, I even eat the sausage rolls!

Childbirth 101

Hey everyone!!

No major updates this week - still feeling great and watching this belly grow each day! I traveled for work last week, which was nice, but I never really noticed how much I am on my feet onsite. It was great to catch up with colleagues and clients and for them to see the belly!

Michael and I took a Childbirth Basics class on Saturday. After promising not to make each other laugh during the class, we actually learned quite a bit and felt pretty prepared (as much as we can be)! The best part - the person in charge of bringing in lunch for 10 pregnant women and their husbands decided to not show up! Out of all the times to skip out on a lunch - not to mention, it was right around the time we got to watch a taped birth! Wow! Joking aside - it was well worth it and made us that much more excited!

Looking forward to celebrating Michael's birthday this week and our Anniversary!

28 Week Appointment!

We finally headed back to the doctor today for our 28 week visit. I feel like it has been forever since our last check-up, as our trip to Australia altered our schedule a bit. We were so excited to have another ulrasound and Baby Girl did not disappoint! Everything looked great and she even looked right at us and kept opening her mouth (probably likes to talk like her Mom).

The technician commented that "she is so cute with those cheeks...let me check her weight". After doing so, Baby Girl is already 3 lbs. and in the 70th percentile! Watch out! Michael thinks it is all the cheese and bread I have been eating:) We are just so happy she is healthy and progressing right along!

We have our childbirth class this weekend - should be interesting:) Can't believe we only have 11 weeks to go! Enjoy!

28 Weeks - 3 lbs.

3 months to go!!

3 months from now is Baby Clemo's due date (12/12)! Part of me feels like time has flown by, while the other part of me knows I have a ways to go! Still feeling great - starting to get a bit uncomfortable at night, but can't complain! Baby Girl is moving more and more - not just kicks, but full position changes! Michael and I lay in bed at night laughing at how much she is dancing around! I love watching my belly and seeing her move! I have my 28 week appointment next week.  We are really looking forward to it, as we have another ultrasond and get to see how much she has grown!

Her changing table arrived this week, which looks great in the nursery! We also got her bookcase - filled with books given to her and stuffed animals we have received or had when we were little. We still need a few more items for nursery, but the big stuff is here!

Michael is plugging away at school; still enjoying it and somehow finding time for work, school, and getting ready for baby! What a guy! He got his finals schedule this week - last final is December 9! Let's hope baby girl decides to stay put until d day! We have a busy few weeks coming up - traveling, Michael's brithday and our 2nd anniversary!

Here is a belly pic from 27 weeks - so glad the Colts Jersey fit. I think I only have a few more games until the jersey is retired:) Did I not tell you the belly has popped!? After seeing this picture - I think both shirts are retired!

27.5 Weeks!

Busy! Busy! 25.5 Weeks!

Hey everyone!

In my opinion (and in Michael's) I think this belly has finally popped! Baby Girl is kicking lots and is even giving Dad a few kicks at night that he can feel. I am sure it will be nothing compared to seeing her arms and legs moving around as we get closer! I am feeling really good, just find myself getting a little more tired than before (just wait, right:).

It's been a busy few weeks around here. Michael started Law School in the evenings and seems to really be enjoying it (so I can tell)! With every spare minute, he is reading away! When we do find some spare time, we are working on the nursery or odds and ends around the house. We installed a ceiling fan in the nursery this weekend, which looks great. We also officially merged Michael's closet with mine! Pretty funny that two grown adults share the same size closet as a baby girl! We made it work!

We talk about names quite a bit - just throwing ideas out there and writing down ones we don't want to forget! We find ourselves saying..."What about ____" and the other either laughs or says "are you serious?"

Here is the most recent belly pic for you! Michael didn't like the first one we took as he said it didn't give the belly justice! I think it will do:)

In the words of my niece and nephew - "Aunt Butt, you are only going to get huger..."

Enjoy!!

"Cromer Time"

Hey everyone!

Our crib arrived this week! Nothing like getting your crib and setting it up with 4 months left to go:) Our family always says we do things on "Cromer Time", never late, always early!
It looks great and Michael put it together without any bad words! We also have the glider in her room and her pink clothes are starting to pile up! I don't know what I will do with myself if I get her room done too soon! I am sure my list of projects for Michael will be just fine! Enjoy!

22 Weeks!

Here is the most recent belly pic! She is kicking and moving quite a bit these days!

22 Weeks:

What a Dad!

We have had a very busy few months; weddings, Australia, new "school" adventures, etc. Our "project list" for around the house seems to keep growing! I can't say how suprised and thrilled I was to see the nursery painted when I arrived home from Indy a few weekends ago! Michael worked his tail off to paint the room and add crown molding too! Now that we are home from our trip, it is time to start decorating with pink! More updates to come!

Before (with everything cleared out)

After!

After!

She knows how to pose...

We love ultrasound days! Seeing her on the screen at Week 8 was so amazing, yet it got better and better each time! As I am sure every technician says, she didn't mind having her picture taken - don't think she is too shy! :)

13 Weeks:
(sucking her thumb in second picture)

20 Weeks:

(Arms and feet/up close and spine)

Trip Down Under!

Who knew we were such good planners:) Our great friends, Daniel and Simone, got married in Sydney on July 31. It worked out perfectly that I was in my second trimester for our visit - which means I felt great, just ate a lot! :) Michael was a trooper with me on the flight - as I didn't sleep much at all, drank tons of water and did laps around the plane! Not to mention, I wore some awesome looking compression panty hose!

It was so great to catch up with friends and family and to celebrate Daniel and Simone! Baby Clements received some adorable gifts while there; books, teddy bears, clothes and her first pair of Ugg Boots! And while we laughed at many of the names friends suggested (yes, they thought Randi was a typical American girl's name) we realized how many great "Aunts and Uncles" she has Down Under that can't wait to meet her!

Michael with his nephew, Cooper

The Belly Pics!

Since we got a late start to our blog, I thought I would back track a bit and upload some belly pics to show how she is coming along! Not much to see early on, but I think she has really grown in the past 2 weeks (thanks to all of those Tim Tams)!

Welcome to our Blog!

Hey everyone!

Thanks for checking out our blog! We thought this would be a great way to share all of our updates around the house with family and friends we don't see on a regular basis!

As many of you know, we are expecting our first baby on December 12, 2010! We are very excited and want to keep you all updated on her progress!

We recently traveled to Australia to visit family and friends. We decided to take the ultrasound picture with us and open it with his family to reveal the sex. Everyone was thrilled to know a little girl was on the way!

We will do our best to keep it updated with photos, updates and videos!

Enjoy!