Welcome Home, Palmer

Palmer settled into a routine at the hospital (despite the constant interruptions from various nurses, techs, and hospital staff at all hours).

After a full weekend at the hospital, Palmer was ready to come home and get to know his new surroundings and dog.

Palmer did *not* like getting into the car seat because we had to unwrap him from his warm swaddling blanket in order to strap him in.

Welcome to your new home, Palmer. We've been waiting for you.

Boston was very curious about the new baby.

I don't think you quite call this crossing the threshold, so I just will say, "Here we are walking in." :)

We brought Palmer straight to his new nursery to check the place out. He was busy sleeping, so we took more family pictures instead. :)

Palmer likes his new swing.

My mom's fiance, Jeff, found this brick with Palmer's name. I love it.

I think it's fair to say, we are smitten.

-Bethany

Our Last/First Day

The strange thing about a scheduled birth is you know that everything you do is "the last before the baby".

On our last day, I laid low and rested while Rick took advantage of a rare Thursday afternoon on the golf course. Then, we had a spectacular "last supper" at the new hit restaurant, Lucia. Reservations are impossible to come by, but when I asked the owner if we could celebrate our last night as a family of two, she graciously put me on a waiting list with a "big star" next to my name. Miraculously, an opening became available and it was ours.

On the morning of Palmer's birthday, we enjoyed the last moments with nervous excitement. Note the countdown on the chalkboard wall behind us now reads "0 weeks to meet you!"

(And no, we didn't mean to match. haha)

Poor Boston has no idea he won't be our only "child" in a few days...

Meet Palmer Thomas Jordan. Our big boy weighed in at 8 lb, 9 oz and is 19.5 inches long. (My doctor said, "Well, he was bigger than I thought and I bet we would have done a c-section anyway." haha)

Our new family.

Welcome to the world, Baby Palmer.

We weren't 100% certain of Palmer's name choice until we met him, but always knew it was a leading contender. I went ahead and had a onesie monogrammed just in case we went with "Palmer" in the end. After our son was born, Rick went out to family in the waiting room and unrolled the onesie to announce Palmer's arrival.

My niece Elle met her first and only cousin. Palmer is the second grandchild on Rick's side of the family and the first on my side.

First bath given by daddy.

While my legs were still numb from surgery, Elle fell asleep at the foot of my bed. She napped there for two hours, which worked out perfect since I wasn't going anywhere. :)

Rick and Uncle Luke pulled the short straw for Palmer's first poopy diaper. For those of you that might not know, that first dirty diaper is large, has the consistency of black tar, and is very hard to clean. The guys handled it like champs (and used an entire package of wipes to do it). :)

Success!

A peaceful ending to a long and busy first day:

-Bethany

Happy Birthday, Palmer!

We welcomed Palmer Thomas Jordan into the world today at 7:47am. He is a very content and peaceful baby boy.

Here are a few pictures to share. I'll do a more detailed post in the next day or so.

First family photo.

Look at Palmer's eyes on daddy already.

Thank you for all of the love and support we have received today. Palmer is a very lucky boy.

-Bethany

New Birthday: March 25

I wanted to update everyone that our scheduled date for Francois' arrival is now this Friday, March 25 (unless nature intervenes earlier). I saw the doctor this morning and he decided to move the hospital visit up a few days.

We are so excited to meet him soon!

-Bethany

Pickles

I really hate to be a completely predictable pregnant woman, but...

I just fell in love with the most amazing pickles. To be fair, I've always loved pickles. My parents tell me I was called "pickle girl" in preschool because I used to eat the other kids' pickles off their plates.

Nevertheless, I've heard about the Corsicana-made Picolos pickles for some time now. But, I never found a time where I might be near the little town to pick them up. Lucky for me, the amazing Jimmy's Italian Food Store in Dallas now carries Picolos Bread and Butter Pickles.

And wow. They are *worth* the hype. The flavors are unlike any I've ever had for the bread and butter variety and there's a touch of heat that stays in your chest long after you've had a few slice.

Or maybe that's heartburn. I can't be for sure these days.

-Bethany

Two More Weeks

We are in the final stretch now. The nursery is ready, the bags are packed, the pantry is stocked, the baby "stuff" is purchased and organized. Now, we just wait.

Two weeks from today (or maybe sooner), our lives will change forever.

Friday night, Rick and I squeezed in one of our last "date nights" before this baby comes. We went to see the talented trumpet player, Chris Botti, perform with the Dallas Symphony. Our seats were up close and we were captivated throughout the entire performance. Francois was a big fan of the music, too, and kicked and moved the entire two hours. We followed the concert up with snacks and dessert at the nearby Stephen Pyles restaurant. I know nights like these are going to soon be a luxury, so it made everything that much more special.

All the routine checkups at today's doctor appointment indicated that everything continues to be on track and healthy. We are getting close!

-Bethany

What's For Dinner?

I'm trying to stock my freezer with meals in anticipation of extra company and little time after Francois' arrival.

Here are some wonderful recipes I've tried in the process:

GOURMET MAGAZINE'S LASAGNA BOLOGNESE: Oh my. This recipe was amazing and I don't know if I'll ever make any other lasagna in the future. The sauce calls for beef AND pancetta. I added a jar of tomatoes to the sauce to make it more tomato-ey. I also substituted the spinach for collard greens because that's what we got in the co-op bin this week. I was worried the greens might overpower the flavor, but they didn't at all. What a great way to "get rid of" collard greens!

http://www.yumsugar.com/Gourmets-Lasagna-Bolognese-Die-2678381

COUNTRY LIVING'S RED WINE AND APRICOT SHORT RIBS: Heads up to any of you that we have over for a future dinner party: there is a good chance you are going to eat this meal. This is the best company dish ever. Why? Because the flavor is rich, intense and tastes like you slaved over it all day. In reality, you spend about 15 minutes in the kitchen and let a crock pot do the rest of the work for you. Note: the grocery store was out of apricots when I shopped for this, so I used dried currants instead. It was delicious and I think you can probably substitute any favorite dried fruit you want to use.

http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/red-wine-apricot-braised-short-ribs-recipe-clv0211

INA GARTEN'S APPLESAUCE: This recipe has become a holiday favorite for me. It was a little surreal to smell it throughout the house last night and not go and bust out some Christmas music. I chose to make it this week because we had an abundance of apples in the co-op bin and I was sick of eating apple slices and peanut butter. :)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/homemade-applesauce-recipe/index.html

Enjoy!

-Bethany

Last Sonogram

I had my last sonogram yesterday and was really hoping to post pictures for you all. Unfortunately, Francois was snoozing and had no plans to show his face to the world. He showed us his back side and we caught a few glimpses of his hands and feet.

Everything continues to be healthy and on track. The sonogram technician estimates that he is a big boy already at 6 lb, 12 oz. We also learned that it looks like he has hair on his head.

If nature does not intervene first, we are scheduled to go to the hospital on March 28th, three fast weeks from Monday. It will be here very soon, I am sure.

Happy weekend.
-Bethany

Crafts and Cooking

In addition to preparing for the baby's arrival, I've also been putting some final decorating touches on the house before our neighborhood's home tour.

The good news: We have been selected to be part of the tour. The bad news: The tour is a month after our anticipated birth. Am I crazy? Probably. But, I've been somewhat convinced that being on the tour with a newborn is easier than trying to keep the house clean with a 2 year old in a couple of years.

So...I wanted to share a little craft project I did the other day. I saw this old stack of books for sale at Restoration Hardware for $29.

Almost thirty dollars for a stack of books seemed a little steep. But, after visiting the trusty thrift shop down the street, I found some similar looking old books for $1 a book. After ripping off the covers and tying with some twine that I had around the house, I got a very comparable stack for a mere $3.

Note: My apologies in advance to the Baptists. I'm sorry I tore the cover off of a Baptist Hymnal, but the shape and size and look of the book was just too perfect for my needs. :)

And in the world of food....

I've been going out to eat a lot lately, probably due to impending home confinement. But, there are a few yummy recipes we've had in the last week that I want to make sure and share:

STUFFED POBLANO PEPPERS: The fire roasted peppers really pack in some flavor minus the heat when you remove all of the seeds and stems. This recipe stuffs the peppers with chicken, brown rice, tomatoes and cilantro. www.yumsugar.com/Stuffed-Poblano-Chicken-Rice-Recipe-13304418

LEMON GINGER CHEESECAKE: What started out as a way to use my co-op bin lemons, became a great dessert that I will surely try again. The tang of the lemon and ginger really compliment each other and the ginger snap crust is a keeper. www.yumsugar.com/Lemon-Ginger-Cheesecake-Recipe-14188025#read-more

-Bethany

Elle Is Ready To Play

My niece, Elle, came over to play this weekend. She just can't wait to meet her new cousin Francois and is already eager to play with all of his stuff. (For those of you new to the blog, the baby's name really isn't Francois. It's just what we call him while he's in my belly. We'll decide on an official name once he joins us in the world.)

She has made herself at home in his Cowboy rocking chair (and says, "Rock Rock, Rock Rock..." as she rocks.) Elle, I'm sure your cousin doesn't mind you putting his feet on the arm and really settling in...

Elle also thinks that Francois' books are a good selection and likes to check them all out.

This is a video of Elle trying to put Francois' boots on. She really wants to wear them, but unfortunately has trouble once they are on.

Four weeks to go!

-Bethany