23 weeks

As you may have noticed I haven’t been entirely honest with my rendering of time during this pregnancy. At 12 weeks I claimed to be done with the first trimester. At 18 I said I was halfway done with being pregnant. You should know that I am fully aware that 14 weeks is generally considered the beginning of the second trimester and 20 weeks is the official half way point, but I’m a teeny bit in denial. I would prefer a slightly less than 40 week old baby to try to make its way out of me. That’s right, I admit it. I’m pretending to be due at 36 weeks because it sounds a tad more comfortable and less impossible. I’ll settle for 37, that’s technically full term anyway. I mean, her comfort and growth is most important to me, I don’t want her to have to come until she’s ready and safe and healthy. Buuuuut, if she just so happens to feel like being a little early, I just want her to know how I feel about it: GO FOR IT. Little lemon-squirt, if you’re done baking, I’ll be ready for you in mid January, I promise, my hospital bag will be packed. I won’t even take my toothbrush out of it until it’s time for you to come, so please don’t wait until 42 weeks, my gums can’t take that kind of neglect.

Let me tell you some things about our baby girl, starting with her name. The story of how we named our oldest daughter is one that I’ve probably exaggerated and romanticized over the years. But Craig hasn’t corrected me even once so far no matter how many times I embellish it so it must all still be true. You get my very favorite version with all the toppings. It starts out with Craig hearing about me through certain circles of mutual friends before we even met or started talking. He hears my name and thinks it’s just so pretty especially Kahree, my middle name. He decided it’d be a wonderful name for a future daughter of his own. Shortly after the week we met/kissed/started dating/decided we were getting married for all of time and eternity he told me over the phone how pretty he thought my full name was. I remember him saying the whole thing out loud and when he pronounced Kahree just a tad off I automatically corrected him, he was so sad that he hadn’t said it just right the first time. He’s such a romantic cutie.

 [new boots, target, super clearance, craig is so good at finding treasures]

Well we started naming all of our future kids after dating for just a short while, now we have a perfected list including the order everyone is coming in, we even have names set aside for twins and hypothetical, adopted children. The first one we named was our oldest daughter because Craig wanted to name her Kahree after me. I wasn’t in love with the idea at first, it almost seemed narcissistic and egotistical on my part, but my husband loves me, loves my name, and loves my daughter and I know it’s a sweet and adoring gesture, so I’m way okay with it now. I’ve always loved my middle name. There were times when I’d refuse to write my first name without it followed by my middle name, and my favorite nicknames growing up were when my dad would call me “shilah kay” or “shilah kahree.” He made it up special for me, and I hope our little girl doesn’t mind sharing.

[scarf from sister catie, necklace made by sister jolain, new pregnant dress from target 75% off rack]

I got to mostly pick out the middle names for miss Kahree, I chose two because I couldn’t pick just one and because she’s the oldest AND because I think she can get away with it with such a short last name and a shared first name. Ember and Syren are her middle names, Ember comes from a song I loved growing up and Syren has to do with mythology. Craig has written me a lot of poetry including imagery having to do with the mythical Siren so it reminds me of when we were first falling in love. Plus it sounds so pretty, if you can get passed the negative connotations of a siren’s song and just think about how enchanting it is. So her full name is Kahree Ember Syren Will.

[new converse glasses, craig's are cooler] 

When I was pregnant with our very first little girl I again became really opposed to the name Kahree, it just didn’t seem to fit or feel right so instead I took to calling her Squee as a nickname until we decided on a real one. It turned out that she wasn’t Kahree at all, she was someone else, and naming Sable Songbird became a very special experience for us and I’m so glad we know who she is, our little songbird. Now I’m absolutely in love with naming little our Squirt Kahree when she gets here, I’ve already started presenting it as hers when people ask. People love it already, I had a stranger tell me the other day that it was a "smooth" name and that Kahree is going to be somebody someday. I agree, I can just feel it. We love our little Babykay.

Lots of friends and coworkers have asked me what my “theme” is for Kahree’s room/style. When I thought she was a little mister I was planning on running with a cute little monsters theme, I had monster books, coloring books, monster pictures in frames, and stuffed animals all ready and waiting. I had trouble at first redefining what kinds of things I was going to try to decorate her room and life with. The bassinet we bought when we were expecting Sable is white and ruffly with little blue pictures on it; it looks like those china plates with the blue pictures. Since the day we found out Kahree was a lady I’ve been grabbing at every yellow thing I see, lemon yellow and lavender are my favorite colors for little girls and although there is already plenty of pink in her wardrobe as a rule I personally am going to seek out less generic clothes and blankets and pretty things for her. Think vintage-inspired florals and lace, and that should be just right =] Lots and lots of lace. And for something a little more cutesy and specific so far I’m in LOVE with little birdy prints! Sweet little bird prints and decorations are pretty accessible and oh so adorable. I think next time someone asks me what my theme is that’s what I’ll say, little birds and songbirds, so she has a little bit of her big sister all around her from the beginning. Ahh being a mom is so much fun. Having a GIRL is so much fun. I had no idea I’d enjoy it this much, but I really, really do!

Summary: Kahree Ember Syren, lemon yellow, lots of lace, and little songbirds. Be still my heart.