week day morning

Being a mom with a full time job is not easy but by the grace of God I'm making it. Kissing my sweet girl goodbye is not easy but it's what seems right for our family right now. Here we are cuddling this morning.

santa, baby

Well let me show you what's been going on recently. We took AC to the Green Hills mall to meet Santa last Friday night. She's too small to be scared of him so we think the pictures turned out well. These are the side snapshots that we took while the "real" photographer was snapping away.

We hope you are having a great time preparing for this special time of year!

long time, no blog

I had no idea how busy my life really would be after Anslee arrived. I thought I would update this blog constantly. Time with family has been at the forefront of my priorities but I am going to try to catch up a little.

I've been thinking/talking/praying a lot about facebook and what I share there. I am going to try to update this blog more regularly as a way for our family and friends to keep up with us. Facebook is great but I've started thinking that maybe all 400+ of my friends don't want a play by play of what's going on with the Bobel Family.

So if you want to see what we are up to and keep up with our growing girl please check here for the most info and pictures. We would love to do the same with you and your family!

so fresh and so clean

soaking in nice warm bubbles

this baby loves a bath!

2 weeks

Anslee Claire - 2 weeks

I still can't believe that we have a daughter. My pregnancy seems like a blur now that Anslee is actually here. We had her 2 week check up and she was 7 lbs even (birth weight was 6lbs 12oz). She is growing well and couldn't be more perfect in our eyes.

a few hours before and after

one last shot of my big belly. brian took this right as we got to the hospital.

this must be post epidural. i threw up the white flag after about 6 hours of labor.

our very sweet nurse, Sherry. she was a character!

getting to hold my beautiful girl for the first time.

does that look like a proud dad or what?

totally in love.

look at her cute bow!

meeting her grandparents for the first time

more meeting grandparents and one of her aunts.

Lee's so proud!

nursery

Here's the final product of the hard work we did on our daughter's room.

the closet doors brian made

a very full closet! this is the project brian worked so hard on. he made the entire closet accessible by cutting the wall out and customizing the inside.

crib and bedding

the rocking chair is what my mother used to rock me. she got it from her grandparents porch because it was her favorite of all their chairs. it's so comfy!

that's the cabinet i found at an antique mall. i painted it "sweet cheeks". it's full of sentimental things and i love it!

changing table. don't worry...the mirror is now mounted!

Her rug is wool and is light yellow and cream. The room is very relaxing and we are loving using the closet, changing table and rocking chair. We will have to wait a bit on putting her in that crib!

Anslee Claire Bobel

I started feeling sad about not having updated my blog in so long but then I reasoned with myself. I've been spending my time holding my baby and haven't wanted to do anything else. Prior to Anslee's birth I was spending all my time preparing for her arrival. Maybe I can catch up and keep up now!

On Friday, July 1 I went to my doctor who checked me and said "wow, this baby has dropped!". He then told me he thought I may be in labor and hooked me up to the machine that monitors contractions. No dice. He said that I was super close and he couldn't predict but it may be any minute.

So I went to work as planned but felt antsy. I had pretty much wrapped everything up and decided it was best that I go ahead and leave. That was my final goodbye because if I didn't go into labor by Tuesday (July 5) I was going to be induced.

After I left I went to a baby store to get a moby wrap. It's a baby carrier that I really wanted to have as soon as she arrived. I had been preparing myself for a fussy baby and felt this was a necessity. After that I decided to have my gel nails removed because I knew I was not going to be able to maintain them over the next few months. After that I started feeling more anxious and high tailed it home.

Once home I called my mom to tell her to not dismiss that the baby would be coming that day and I started cleaning up pretty fast. Contractions began around 4pm. Brian left to get a haircut (I was glad!) and I worked on deep cleaning our bedroom because that's where we have the cradle. I dusted the fan blades and all furniture and cleaned the base boards. HA! All of this while timing contractions.

Around 9pm I called the doctors office. The doc on call asked what's up. My response:"I'm 38 weeks and 2 days pregnant, I've been timing my contractions for 5 hours and they are 4 minutes apart and lasting about 1 minute". His response: "so  (repeated what I just said), why are you not going to the hospital?". I explained that I was calling to ask if I should be timing them longer and wait until they were closer so I wouldn't be at the hospital forever....his wife was in the background and she said: "go to the hospital!". Off we went.

A little under 5 hours later I met my sweet baby. It was amazing. I can't describe it. She's finally here and she's perfect. The Lord is so good; she is a "true and perfect gift".

Anslee Claire Bobel

July 2, 2011

2:24am

6 lbs 12 ounces, 18 inches

special doors by daddy

Anslee's daddy is very talented. He's worked very hard around the house. One of the main projects he did for Anslee is a closet revamp. He cut the wall out to make it bigger then customized the inside to allow for maximum space for now and the future. He finished it off with custom doors he made himself and antique glass door knobs and plates.

I am so proud of his talent and willingness to do things for our family and home!

custom making the doors

poor guy. these doors were no easy task! he is so patient.

still smiling after a day of this

finishing touch...antique hardware from a neat little store here in nashville

false alarm

I really didn't want any false alarms. We don't always get what we wish for. I started feeling different Friday and started getting very sharp pains in my abdomen that evening. They lasted all day Saturday but couldn't really be timed as they were sharp and shooting and brief. I was thinking that it just didn't match what I thought contractions would feel like.

Mom called me about 9pm Saturday night to tell me that she had thought a lot about it and that what I was describing was much like what she felt when in labor with me. I was stuck in the birth canal and by the time she got to the hospital the doctor said that if I didn't come in 1 hour he would be getting me out himself. Ten minutes later I was born.

I called my doctor to see what he thought. He said that because I looked so far progressed Wednesday and because everyone's labor is different that I should go ahead and head to the hospital to be monitored. So we took "the bag" and headed to Baptist.

Long story short, I am having contractions but not the big ones. The sharp pain is from Anslee dropping and pressing on nerves. It is very painful and stops me in my tracks. It's the worst when I sit down.

The staff at Baptist was wonderful and I'm looking forward to having our baby there! Now I'm just praying that was the last false alarm!

Going home about 1am with Anslee still safe inside. 37 weeks, 3 days.

Immanuel shower

I've been blessed with more showers than I can keep up with! Our church shower was last weekend and it was wonderful. We are so blessed by an amazing church family!

Megan and Stephie hosted at Megan's house and they did a great job. They had everyone go around the room and say something nice about me. WOW. These women are the sweetest and most encouraging group. The words shared touched me deeply and it was an sweet and emotional time. The Lord is so kind and I am thankful to be part of a group that loves him they way these women do.

In addition to very thoughtful gifts, the ladies all wrote words of encouragement for me as a new mother. I am suppose to open them when I am needing a little boost. Such a blessing!

Annette, Stephie and Baby Jennifer

Sarah, Meghan and Deon

What a great group of women!

Listening to words of encouragement from the kind women of my church

Anslee's Mimi, Momma, Gree and Aunt Laura

The Hostesses - they did such a great job!

Pregnant friends! Isn't this great? We are in order from due date starting with Deon on the far right. These are July and August babies!

Awesome diaper cake

getting close?

The doctor told me yesterday that it could be any day...there is just no real predicting exactly when. I am progressing well and he promised I would not be going past my due date! I am not that uncomfortable but am totally excited to meet our daughter!

We busted our tails Monday night and finished her nursery. I think it's the sweetest room I have ever seen; mainly because I can picture things like Anslee standing in her crib and smiling at me when I go to wake her up in the morning. I'm so in love with her already!

I promise to post pictures asap. I am still finding a place for all these new baby things and honestly can't believe that our family of two will be three any day now!

sweet shower

Anslee had shower was this past weekend with Brian's side of the family. Courtney outdid herself! It was a sweet shower filled with very special details that had me teary eyed the minute I walked through the door. Brian has a big family and they are very loving and kind. I am so blessed to be part of Brian's side of the family and can't wait for Anslee to meet everyone!

The adorable spread

All of the members of our immediate family gave Courtney a praise and worship song for these CD's. Talk about tears!

The sweet hostess, Courtney

As they relate to Anslee: Mimi, Mom, Aunt Laura, Nana, Ghree and Aunt Erin

Robyn (baby boy due 11 weeks after Anslee!) and Laura.

35 weeks & 4 days

Sofia, my photographer for the day

Feeling baby girl kick...this freaked Sofia out! She felt a big movement and pulled her hand back. So funny!

3 years with Dual Identity

Last Friday we celebrated 3 years of Dual Identity at Maggiano's. The Lord has blessed the Bobel and Welch families greatly. God has provided in ways that continue to blow the four of us away. Way to go, Darren and Brian! We are looking forward to many more years of success!

Check out the website and blog: www.dualidentitydesign.com

Finishing an amazing dinner

Darren and Amy

Partners (the business kind)

THREE YEARS!