Sleepless Nights

I know I should be sleeping right now, but I can't for some reason! Perhaps I slept enough the first trimester for the rest of the pregnancy? Whatever the cause may be, I've been having a hard time falling asleep and waking up extra early lately. Hopefully that habit will come in handy when the baby comes!

There is SO MUCH to share! I have been trying to be better at taking pictures, so I can share them. Well, I'm improving on the first task! I'll try to rally up some that I've taken and put them up soon.

First things first, CAIMAN CLARK SORENSEN was born 3:38am Thursday September 22, 2011. My little brother Tanner and his wife Keeley gave birth to a beautiful boy. I am so excited and happy for their family! I got to meet him this last weekend, and it was so fun! I didn't take any updated pictures I just realized... but these show how handsome he is:

He looks a little older in these pictures, but he was only 2 days old!

Ben and I are excited to announce WE ARE HAVING A GIRL!!!  We are ecstatic! A few fun facts about our preparation:

• Since the beginning of pregnancy, Ben was online researching the best and safest carseat and stroller for our little one. After reading many ratings, several visits to babies r us (with or without me) and a few youtube clips of mommies sharing exactly why they love Chicco, we bought a Chicco stroller and carseat system. It is in our garage, anxiously awaiting to be spat up in and to secure our little girl.
• Since I had the feeling we were having a girl (and especially now that we are positive she is a she) Ben has looked online at little bows and dresses. The idea of a little girl with a flower in her hair turned him into instant mush, and I am positive she will have him wrapped around her little finger. The day of the ultra sound we purchased 4 pretty flowers and headbands for our girl in celebration.
• Yesterday I woke up to Ben insisting we paint the nursery THAT MORNING. We only had an hour or so to pick up paint and supplies before a friend would be there to help. I frantically searched the internet for a final decision of a color scheme, something I had thought about but definitely not decided on yet! We painted the first coat in her room yesterday and I've gotta admit, it's pretty darn cute. We'll post pictures of the final product!
• The walls aren't the only thing Ben has insisted on painting. After spending hours of sanding and re-staining our discounted crib, he decided it would be great to paint the crib white instead upon hearing our child is a girl. I convinced him to put that off, which I'm grateful for because the dark wood looks great with our wall color, and will add some nice contrast in her room. As a trade, I did ask him to paint a little dinky black shelf white for us to put her books and baby blankets on. 
• In feeling the need to prepare for her arrival, I have taken up a few extra jobs - ones that will hopefully allow me to stay home with her more once she arrives. Right now I am working at Massage Envy as a Massage Therapist twice a week, Front Desk twice a week, a place here in Rexburg called CareTouch where I get a call on random days to see if I can give a massage, and am now a Scentsy Wickless Candle Consultant. The last two jobs are in effort to eventually take a step back and maybe step entirely away from Massage Envy. I absolutely love the company, but the time to get there and back, let alone breaks or gaps in schedule, I KNOW will torment me when I know an infant is needing me at home. These other jobs I can get to in a few minutes or do from home during naps. Perfect!
• I also am attempting to COUPON. My next door neighbor, Kirstie, is an avid couponer and I somehow got her to teach me some of the tricks of the trade! This is a huge blessing and gives me some relief knowing I can look for great deals and stock up a bit now in preparation. This also gives me another reason to toss in the night, and another frantic feeling that I've missed something when I wake up in the morning. This morning I woke up worried that I missed Walmart's special of Gerbers Graduates little Entrees. (final price: 28 cents)

Did I mention that there's snow on the ground outside? Yesterday, October 6, it snowed for the first time this winter. Awfully premature, don't you think? In attempt to get me to think positively, Ben reminded me that I'll be delivering this winter, so we're that much closer to meeting our baby girl face-to-face. Wonderful thought, and it worked for a minute... until I went into complete panic mode that the house has yet to be organized and isn't clean, I have virtually no stock pile of baby products, we have yet to get a mattress for her bed, we have very few newborn onsies, etc. 

I have four months. I have four months. I have four months. 

I just need to keep reminding myself that. 

Originally I had taken two days off work, plus Sundays, so that I could use that time to better prepare for our little one. With the addition of two more jobs, those days are basically filled with the traditional cleaning and then the new forms of employment. ... Ben is pretty good at helping me do little things each day to prepare though, whether I'm ready for it or not. (ex. painting the nursery yesterday)

I think that's it for now! I'm anxious to see what the nursery looks like in the end, and promise to post pictures once it's completed! I'm am SO GRATEFUL Ben is the man I get to embark on this adventure with! I tried to portray what a stud he is at providing for us and planning ahead. All the effort he puts forward makes me tremendously happy and that much more grateful to have him as my spouse, companion, and now father of our children.

:)

Life is good.