You Might Get Punched

Here is a list of the things dumb people say to pregnant women that merit a swift punch in the jaw.

1. "Wow, you're huge!"

-Seriously? You think I don't already know that?


2. "Epidurals are so dangerous, you had better not get any medicine during labor. In fact, you should have your baby at home because hospitals can be dangerous."

-I bet there are many things that I could point out about you that are not healthy but is it my place to tell you about this? Nope, so I will keep my mouth shut. You should too.


3. "Are you sure there aren't twins in there?"

-Yep, I'm pretty sure.


4. "Can I see your belly?"

-Under no circumstances will I lift up my shirt and allow you to look at my bare baby home. Well, unless you are Dr. Smith.


5. "Oh, you're gonna need a c-section."

-I literally had a stranger tell me that today because I'm too petite to have a baby the normal way. No thank you, I'd rather not have major surgery unless I really need it.


6. "Wow, September is a long way off and you're gonna be SO hot in the summer!"

-I could probably wring a quarter cup of sweat from the pits of my shirt right now. I'm aware of the heat.

7. "Have you had that baby yet?"

-Really?

Friends, please do not ever say these things to a pregnant woman. We already feel giant, and hot; there is no need to remind us of our current state.

Feel free to add your own!

The Room

Here is little Owen's Room!

The changing table

The crib

The dresser and tiny chair

My chair and his moses basket. Notice the magazine rack behind the place where I will spend many an hour feeding.

Not Much Longer

Only 9 weeks and 6 days left until little Owen Foster Malouf makes his entry into the world. That really doesn't seem like a long time. At least not until I go outside and realize how hot it is carrying around a little furnace in my belly in july!
The nursery is finished and all that's missing is a baby. I'll post some pictures of that on here soon. It's pretty cute and is completely void of baby blue, cartoons, bears, cars or trains. That makes me happy. I don't know what the kid will want later in life but until then, he has a modern baby room.

I'm a proud husband.

I'm so proud of my wife. She not only has an incredible voice, but a real gift for leading people into worship - to experience the awesome power of Christ. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to try out the video camera on my new iPhone 4 (which is way cool). So, I recorded Monica singing the song Lord of Lords by Hillsong. Thankfully for me, Monica didn't know that I was recording this song at church or I would have been in trouble. I just feel so incredibly lucky to have a wife that is as passionate about the Lord as I am. It's really cool.

So, here's the video that I made on my iPhone. Enjoy.

Pregnant Pictures

My mom did a little maternity photoshoot this week and I thought you all might like to see some of the pictures. She's a great photographer and if you want to check out her website it's http://carolhutchings.com/

Enjoy!

5 Whole Years

As of Friday, Ray and I have been married for 5 whole years! I just wanted to brag on him and his spectacular gift giving skills. So for each anniversary there are traditional gifts to give and for year five it is something wooden. This isn't really something we always do but Ray went with that and got me the coolest wooden jewelry box. He hand engraved our tattoo on the inside with a wood burner thing. Then on the bottom he put the date and "5 years." This is probably my favorite gift he's ever given me just because of the thought and meaning behind it. He's kinda awesome at giving gifts.

These past five years have been the most incredible yet challenging of my life. I never thought I could love somebody the way I love Ray. He is such a wonderful husband and provider for me. It's so amazing how God has shown me His love and grace through my husband. While he is definitely not perfect, Ray is perfect for me and I thank God for him all the time. Love wins with us.

Nearly Normal

Me at 21 weeks.

I am fully aware of the rediculous amount of time it has been since I posted last. Sorry to those of you who have checked our blog hoping for updates on the baby situation. Hopefully some pictures will make up for my lack previous info. But really I was beyond sick for many many moons and had no desire to type or stand up or eat really do anything. The ship started a slow turn around at about 19 weeks and I feel like the sailing will be smoother from here on out (at least when it comes to barfing). All those pregnancy books and websites were full of crap about when one is supposed to start feeling better. I had waited for week 14 with baited breath just knowing that I'd wake up that day feeling all glowy and wonderful. Nope, not so. Everyone is different, I guess. We are at week 22 and I almost lost my breakfast this morning but I held on and the rest of today has been fine which is a drastic improvement. While being sick is totally the pits, it's absolutely incredible to feel movement and life growing in my belly. It's like I have a little friend with me all the time! Now on to the big news that most probably know but I'm going to make a dramatic announcement for those who dont.

We found out the sex of the baby a few weeks ago.

And

IT'S

A

BOY!!!

Poor little guy will probably not appreciate his junk being posted on the internet before he's even born but I can't help it! It's in ultrasound form anyway so it's not really real. :) It may be hard to tell so I'll explain. The picture is a slice so those are his two thighs and it cuts them off at the knee; and there is a little white arrow pointing to his boy parts in between. That is an umbilical cord in the background (he's not freakishly endowed).

In other news, we have chosen a name for the little guy. We're gonna call him Owen Foster Malouf! I picked out the first name and Ray picked out his middle name. I love it so much! We can't wait to meet him. I'll leave you with one more picture of his sweet face.