Please welcome...

Update: For additional baby pics, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/djmayer/collections/ to see them all!

...Penelope Marie Mayer. Our lovely daughter was born on Wednesday, December 12 at 12:53am after a long and exhausting labor (24 hours!). She weighed in at 6 pounds, 13.4 ounces and measures 20 inches in length. Jenn was an absolute champ and went natural all the way...she was truly amazing. Here are some pics below and more will be posted later. I must sleep -- have to be back at the hospital in 4 hours and I've been up for nearly 25 straight. Nothing compared to mama, but I'm still beat.

Our small, little angel

Cozy and asleep

Happy mom, dad and baby

39 Weeks...holy cow!

Well, amazing to think that baby's gestational age is 39 weeks! I continue to be surprised that I am still pregnant...I honestly thought that Baby Mayer would be here by now! Not that I am really upset or frustrated...yet! If I am still writing as a pregnant mom in two weeks, I might be!

At our last OB appt., our NP indicated that things were ready for dilation...soft cervix and whatnot. I can tell that baby has moved down a little, but nothing major. The softening is a good sign...it is progress since last week. Uterine activity has definitely picked up--since early yesterday morning, I have been cramping and contracting fairly often, nothing consistent but enough to warrant my attention. I have also had some other clues, which some of you may not really want to hear about but are early indicators of the cervix changing. :)

Our NP mentioned that the incoming rainstorms bode well for our going into labor--Doug explained it has to do with the low pressure. Interesting! So, this weekend may be it...we'll see!

We are definitely ready...at least around the house. We even put up the Christmas tree last week! I am so excited to have a tree up--we haven't put up a tree in about three years because we always seem to be away on Christmas. I really look forward to spending Christmas at our home this year, particularly because we'll have baby with us! Amazing. We've mentioned that baby's room is ready and boy is it ever! I did the last load of baby laundry yesterday...he/she has so many blankets and onesies...what a lucky kid. I've loaded up the freezer and pantry with meals/components for meals and if my body lets me, I think I'll give our tile floors one last steam. I am probably stupid to do so, since it is supposed to rain and the dogs will only track in more dirt. I don't know if my body will let me go too crazy, I think Doug mentioned in his post that even vacuuming kills my back. Those sorts of things are very frustrating...I hate not being able to do the things I never really gave a second thought to before I got pregnant. :)

I'll have Doug take a belly photo today and will post it asap! The pregnancy fun continues!

More Baby Shower Fun!

Finally! Here are some photos from two more of the amazing baby showers in honor of Baby Mayer! These are from the shower thrown by my wonderful aunts, Pam Pistoresi and Stacey Henderson. It was a beautiful day; we had a yummy brunch (complete with quiche and 7-up salad...two of my favorites!) and Baby received all kinds of wonderful gifts, including tons of diapers!

Cute placemats!

Grandma-to-be Sharon, Mom-to-be Jenn, Nana-to-be Nadine, Great Grandma-to-be Mary

The Ladies!

Uggs from Papa Steve


Fun Favors!

These are from the shower thrown by Jennifer Kranzke and the other amazing ladies at the UU Church of Fresno! We had a wonderful time sharing lots of advice for Baby Mayer and again, Baby was spoiled with lots of amazing gifts, including a car seat! We are so happy to a part of such a loving and supportive community--these gals rock!

The UUCF Ladies!

Measuring Mama's Belly!


Some of the amazing UUCF gals

And to assure you that Doug wasn't left out of the gift-opening completely, here he is modeling the latest in diaper-bag fashion, courtesy of soon-to-be Uncle Brian and Aunt Tricia!

Hot Daddy!

And Daddy is also getting into the "sling" of things, modeling a baby wrap, courtesy of Ellen G. and since we have no baby yet, Mr. Dragon (courtesy of Deb B.) was a suitable substitute!

Chick Magnet!

We must (we simply cannot stop!) extend our deepest, most heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate Baby Mayer's upcoming arrival; every time we walk into his/her nursery, we are overwhelmed with the generosity and love bestowed upon this kid! I just cannot wait to introduce him/her to everyone...we are going to have so much fun. :) Again, thanks to everyone!

So, so close...

Holy moly, are we ever close. Below are some of the the more up-to-date belly shots and you can tell that the time is nearing.

Jenn is constantly telling me how big she feels and how tight her belly seems. Although, it's not that it seems tight, but it really is tight. The baby is becoming so big that there doesn't seem to be any room left at all. Touch anyplace on her belly and it is like a rock. This is definitely causing her some discomfort, particularly when the little troublemaker decides to move around and change position.

Well, I think we have pretty much everything in the house in order (except for the master bath...still working on it) and the baby's room is definitely ready. I still have a little bit of yard work that I also need to complete so I don't have to think about it for a while, but the majority is done. Jenn went on a rampage around the house, cleaning and organizing everything. I helped (I swear!), but she really did the lions-share and kicked butt. That is about all she can do for the time being...just running the vacuum tires her out.

I have been trying to wrap up as much of my projects at work as possible before the baby comes so I don't have to dump too much on my co-workers. Still, I have let them know that the baby could be here any day and I am just waiting for the call from Jennifer and I'm out of there. I'm planning to stay at home for the majority of December, probably around 3 weeks depending on when the baby actually is born. I'm really looking forward to that time with Jenn and the new kid; it will of course be tiring and maybe stressful, but it will still be a vacation. Going back to work after that will be interesting -- I'm kind of worried I will have trouble focusing, thinking instead of how I'd like to be home with Jenn and the baby. I guess this will be when the old adage "work smarter, not harder" really comes into play since I'll need/want to come home early every day. Actually, Jenn had a very good idea...one night a week will be my work late night when I can stay as long as I need to. Hopefully, I won't have to utilize that night often, but it will be there if I need it.

Well, the suitcase is ready, the goody bag is packed, the car seat is strapped in, contact list is in my phone and food is in the freezer. We are ready to go. Come on baby!