My Little Rockstar!

Honestly, I've been putting off posting this blog for some time now...How do you sum up the most amazing experience of your life in a few paragraphs? That's right! You can't!! :) But I'll try...

On July 11th Matt was driving me to work and I started crying. He asked how I felt and I told him that I felt in my gut how I used to feel in the wings right before I went on stage. I felt like IT was going to happen that day...Now, I felt silly saying that because what if it didn't? What if Ms. "I'm so in tune with my body" was WAY off the mark? Well, I wasn't...At 12:30am on July 12th, I started having my first true labor contractions...All the books told me to get rest during that first stage of labor because it could last hours...Yeah right! CONTRACTIONS HURT!! Rest schmest! Matt & I spent hours watching the one thing that makes me super calm...Food Network!! Mainly, old Rachael Ray's that I recorded...At 6:30am we went to the hospital. At 9:30am I got an epidural...Wow! Was that great or what!! Matt & I watched some DVDs that we brought & relaxed. With Matt at my side (and everywhere else because the nurses were short staffed that day) at 6:32pm, after pushing for 2 1/2 hours, Griffin Rockstar Allen was born to Bach's Bradenburg Concertos! He's the perfect blend of Matt & me. Words can't say what I felt inside of me when they handed him to me for the first time...I couldn't hardly see him because I was crying so hard!!!!

That was the best day of my life. I'm so happy that the man God chose for me is Matt. He's an amazing husband and father and friend. The look that he gave me the moment Griffin entered this world I will never forget...It was a look of pride and respect and love and awe. Thank you, Babe, for continuing to choose me everyday...

I'd also like to thank my sister. I was there for the birth of her three sons and at her third, I told her that she better be there for the birth of mine!! True to her word, she was, and not only that but she stayed in St. Charles for an entire month!! She is an endless wealth of knowledge! I could not have made it through that 9th month and the birth of my son without her...She was able to calm me down and talk me through some pretty rough times while I was at the hospital and I will never forget it! I treasured all the times that you visited me, not only in the hospital, but at home afterward. Thank you, Sissy, for being my confidante and sister and friend. (And thanks for cleaning my house!!) You are a true blessing to me and my family! 

So, here it is! The time that I've been waiting for my whole life!! And it's better than I could have ever imagined!! I feel truly blessed...

Shower of Love!!

My sister and mother threw me the best baby shower!! I was truly touched by how many people came and what great fun we all had!! My sister started off the evening with passing around a stuffed Pooh Bear and each person had to say how they know me and a funny thing about me. Then we played IbabyTunes, and baby Bingo! I opened my gifts and was blown away at all of the things that Matt and I don't have to worry about getting! All the gifts were a great blessing! My favorite part of the night was when Sara brought out an ice cream birthday cake for Griffin and gave each guest a candle. Each person put their candle into the cake and said aloud a wish that they wish for Griffin! I felt so loved and cared for, of course I started crying!! My sister and mother are just the best...My mom has seen me everyday of my pregnancy and has talked me through all my fears and my sister...she lives in TX! It's beyond me how she, with her busy life and 3 sons, can come home and have the time and energy to throw me the best party! It was an evening filled with great food, friends, stories, laughs, games, good wishes, and blessings. Matt and I are so grateful to all of our friends and family that came and shared this special time! Thank you Sissy and Mom! I love you both more than you can ever know!!

Sittin' and Waitin'

I am sitting in Rachael and Griffin's room loading a playlist on my iPod for when I get to the hospital...I had an appointment today with my Dr. and she told me to expect Fin any day now...I am already 50% effaced and dilated...I went to work today and went to see her on my lunch break...She didn't even allow me to work the rest of the day! (I worked from home anyway!!) Now, Matt's in the other room getting the bags ready to grab and we're both really beside ourselves with nervous energy and excitement...Tomorrow is the 4th of July and my boss, Bill, told my Mom that if he's born on the 4th we need to rename him Sam!! :) 

Wow. Any day now. Holy Crap. It's time for a root beer float break!

Belly update!!

Matt and I took our childbirth classes this weekend...Both stressful and discusting! :) I spoke with my sister last night on the phone and she mentioned that she's not seen any recent pictures of me...I've only just gotten bigger from my 6 month pictures over the past few weeks but what a difference!! Griffin is officially LARGE AND IN CHARGE!! :)

This is where I work!

Here are some pictures of where I work!!

This is where I work!

I brought my camera to work yesterday and snapped some pictures! I work upstairs in an office that used to be a bathroom (yep, still a drain in the middle of the floor!) with Kara, a good friend of mine. What we do is very stressful and it's not uncommon to hear us singing Dolly Parton or Flight of the Conchords at the top of our lungs on our breaks! :)

Meet Griffin!!

Wow! What a day it was yesterday! Not only was it the beginning of my 32nd week (officially 8 months!) but also Matt and I celebrated our 5 year dating anniversary AND we got a 4D picture taken of Griffin! Here it is! The color picture is actually my newborn picture and the black and white is Griffin's picture. As soon as he came onto the screen, Matt said "that's a Cassie nose if I ever saw one!". That's his left hand by his face. It was weird to stare at the screen and see ME "staring" back!! What an amazing experience! The only bad part about the whole thing is that now I want to meet him more than ever and the next 8 weeks are going to drag by until I do!!