Sweet Baby Fossen!

I'm wondering every day now...is today the day?! Is this my last letter to you? Is this the last time your Dad and I will have dinner just the two of us? Is this my last pregnant walk waddle around the neighborhood? We are down to a waiting game now! Almost 40 weeks sweet babe! Take all the time you need...but, not too long...please! ;)

Your Dad and I can't wait to meet you! I feel like I say that over and over but it is so true. The very first feelings we had about you are still there...what will you look like and be like? What kind of music will you enjoy? Will you be outgoing or quieter? Will you like the farm? The ocean? Will you think Admiral Byrd is as funny and weird and jolly as we do? What will your one wild and beautiful life be like?

I have loved being pregnant with you! Aside from some small discomforts here at the end the majority of this time has been, thankfully, so smooth--and really wonderful! We've traveled a lot together...New York City and Bermuda and Hawaii and all over Maryland and Virginia! I will never forget experiencing so many firsts with you...the first sonogram, the first "I'm going to lose my dinner" wave of nausea, the first kicks, the first baby outfits, the first time someone prayed for you, the first time someone asked me when I was due, the first maternity clothes, the first birthing class and birthing books and highchairs and nursery decor and baby showers and baby names...I hear your heartbeat at every prenatal visit and it still fills me with joy each and every time.

Your Dad and I are so thankful for you and can't wait to meet you. There are so many things I want to tell you. So many things I want you to know. Our pastor, John Yates, said something in a sermon the other week and I thought-yes, that! That about sums it all up..."Always remember...the way of Jesus is the way of life...the way of fulfillment...the way of purpose." If you remember that all the days of your life, the rest is just details.

Dinner last night at Outback Steakhouse! :)
We wondered the whole time,  "Is this our last dinner out before Baby?!"

Our Hawaiian babymoon!
We talk about going back to see your Uncle Isaac allllllllll the time!

My wonderful coworkers hosted a baby shower for me last month, and one of the activities involved writing down hopes for you. Each guest took time to fill out a little sheet of paper, and afterward we went around the room and shared our hopes out loud. It was seriously one of the most precious times...I was in happy tears by the end! I saved every one of those sweet letters and put them in a scrapbook in your nursery.

Here is what I wrote to you...

I hope that you know how much you are loved!

I hope that you aren't afraid to start over. It's totally okay to fail.

I hope you love the smell of the ocean.

I hope you get your Dad's dimples.

I hope you laugh at yourself first.

I hope you never forget where you've come from.

I hope you ignore too many opinions. You can't please everyone.

I hope you become the man or woman God designed you to be.

I hope you respect the people who are most different from you.

I hope you learn to not take life too seriously.

I hope you grow in grace and knowledge and love for God and His people.

Come soon sweet babe! We love you so, so much.

xoxoxo

Your Mom and Dad

Letters to Baby Fossen // Volume 4 {A Nursery Tour!}

Darling Baby!

Your arrival is imminent now! Your Dad and I are so excited! Less than two weeks to go. I can hardly believe it. This time has just flown by. Are you really going to be in our arms soon? This is the happiest kind of surreal there could possibly be! :)

Your Dad and I have been working to get everything ready for your arrival. Your Dad has worked so hard. Long days at the farm for him and then nights spent putting together bookshelves...and nightstands...and highchairs...and changing tables. He's had so much on his plate. And so much I'm sure he'd rather be doing. But he gives of himself over and over and over again. He is amazing! He loves you so much.

{Mother's Day flowers from my sisters-in-law! // Ina May's Guide to Childbirth...one of my favorite pregnancy reads // Boon highchair}

Sweet Baby, here is your nursery! We've got items in here from Craigslist and J.C. Penney and HomeGoods and Amazon...and gently used items from lots of friends and relatives! That precious "Big Love" banner is from a shower my coworkers hosted for me last month...we all thought it would look perfect in your future room.

Could we talk about your Jellycat family for a minute? I am obsessed with these ultra soft creatures! Oh goodness, they are adorable! I wish they came in adult sizes.

And your little sheep mobile! Have you ever seen anything so precious?! My college friend, Becky, told me months ago that she wanted to make this for your nursery. She sent me photos of the wool and texted me progress updates...and I could barely contain my excitement when I saw her last month in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and she revealed THIS!

{Becky and I! Friends for 10+ years // Lancaster, PA // April 2015}

I was--and still am--all heart eyes over these precious little lambs! My Mom has always said homemade gifts are the best. And I thought that when Becky gave us this priceless gift. Every time I look at this mobile I'll be reminded of the gift of friendship. Sweet Baby Fossen, I hope you have deep, lifelong friendships!

We've got books galore for you! And a John Deere tractor, too. Of course. ;)

This little print hung in my bedroom years and years ago! It's still one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture.

The beautiful print below was given to Andrew as a gift from his friends the Boyers several years ago. When I found this picture months and months ago (maybe even longer than that--it was certainly during our moving-in/unpacking phase!) I just knew it had to go in your nursery...right alongside the Psalm 23 print. 

{Make Way For Ducklings! When some longtime church friends hosted a baby shower for us in March they used this book as the guest book--so many precious notes fill its opening pages!}

We snuck a photo of Admiral Byrd in your nursery, too. I hope you guys will be best buds one day!

The killer whale print below was in Andrew's nursery when he was a baby!

Sweet Baby Fossen, we can't wait to meet you. We are in the homestretch now! All these special things are just trimmings and trappings. You are the real gift. The real star of the show. We love you so much. 

{Burt's Bees goodies from my Sis // a photo from our Hawaiian babymoon // the softest swaddling blankets from dear Stephie // Mother's Day roses from my Mom!} 

We are praying for you and we can't wait to meet you...soon!

xoxoxo

Your Mom and Dad