I'll Need You Mom

I really love this video! I pray that I'll remember everything that was said in it for when Kiara is born! Which is why I know I must post them on here! lol. :) I even applied some notes to go along with it! I'll post them below the video.

1 • When your child becomes.. too concerned with what their friends think of them,
=►Teach them how they "only need God’s approval". 
(Matthew 10:28); (Colossians 3:23); (Galatians 1:10); (Acts 5:29); (1Thessalonians 2:4); (John 12:43).


2 • When your child.. wants everything all the time,

=►Teach them how to "be a servant". 
(Acts 20:35b); (Philippians 2:3-5); (Galatians 5:13); (Exodus 20:1-26); (1 Timothy 5:8). 


3 • When your child... tends to think they are smarter then they actually are, 

=►Teach them to "learn from God’s Wisdom". 
(1 Corinthians 3:18-19); (Isaiah 55:9); (James 3:13-18); (Proverbs 9:10); (1 Corinthians 2:1-16); (2 Timothy 3:16).


4 • When your child... acts as if they have no problems,

=►Teach them to learn how to "share their struggles with others".
(Romans 5:3-5); (Galatians 6:2); (James 1:2-4); (1 John 3:17); (Revelation 21:4); (Matthew 5:3-12); (Mark 12:31); (Psalm 82:4); (Proverbs 3:27). 


5 • When your child... thinks about themselves before others, 

=►Teach them that "the Last will become First".
(Mark 9:35)


6 • When they have... many reasons to hold grudges, 

=►Model forgiveness in front of them & teach them to show Grace unto others.
(Ephesians 4:32); (Mark 11:25); (Matthew 6:14-15); (Luke 6:27); (Romans 3:23); (1 John 1:8); (Proverbs 25:21).


7 • If your child... has lots of money to buy whatever they want, 

=►Remind them that all of their things belong to God. 
(Deuteronomy 10:14); (Psalm 50:10); (Psalm 50:12); (Haggai 2:8); (1 Chronicles 29:11); (Matthew 5:42); (Proverbs 28:8); (2 Corinthians 9:7); (Proverbs 13:11); (Proverbs 22:16).


8 • When your child... struggles with their looks or their appearances,

=►Show them that they have been fearfully & Wonderfully made by God. 

(Jeremiah 1:5); (Psalm 139:13-16); (Job 31:15); (Isaiah 64:8); (Genesis 2:7); (Genesis 1:26); (Revelation 4:11)

Car Seat Shopping

So, yesterday - (Straight After Church) David & I went over to his mother's for a Sunday Lunch as we normally do every 2 weeks & then afterward we to search for Baby Car Seats. Man, did that take forever! :P While we were there looking at all of the options... we never really came to a final decision. Our time was limited.. (because stores here always close pretty early), not to mention I was pretty tired too from lack of sleep the night before. So I felt a little rushed.. being that this is the only day David & I can do stuff like this together because of his terrible 'graveyard shift' work hours. He only gets 1 day off a week on Saturday.. and that day he wakes up at about 5pm in the afternoon & so the rest of the day is usually spent on house chores / cutting grass, etc. 

So Sunday after Church.. is really our only shopping day where we can plan large purchases like this together. So we went home empty handed. 

But I believe for LARGEST purchases like this.. it's quite alright to be slow to think about it. It's never good to be an impulse buyer.. cause you could end up with something you don't want. This is probably going to be one of the most expensive purchase $$$ we make before little Kiara arrives!

1 Day Later - Now that I've had time to think about it.. and do research online with reviews.. this is the one I've chosen. Hopefully, there will still be some in stock when David goes to get it. :) It's all in God's hands. I think we may go with the 'navy' color.. since it happens to match our car-color.. although, I really like the 'gray frost' color on the right too. 

Here's a video below explaining how it works. :)

okay.. JUST AN UPDATE! Added March 26th 2013...

David went & purchased it & we got it in the darker color to match our car. :) I pray it was a good decision to make! It looks pretty cozy.. so I hope that Kiara will be comfy in it. 

(ABOVE PIC): Here is the Car Seat all ready to go in our car now! yaay!

CARE PACKAGE in the mail! :)

Yaay! A while back ago one of my precious sisters in Christ, "Anna Jackson" sent out a "CARE PACKAGE" shipment for me because I was going crazy over her amazing "cinnamon bread" here from her blog. haha! That's what happens when you're pregnant! You just CRAVE.. everything you see! Take a look! She always has such great ideas for great tasting foods.. and other things too like activities to do with kids, etc.: 

Here's the link! --> bananajackson.wordpress.com

I always get so excited when I get a delivery in the mail! It's like pen-pal on steroids! haha. I loved the whole pen-pal thing we had in school when I was a kid.

Above Pic: (Just opened the box full of 

styrofoam peanuts hiding the precious gifts inside!)

Above Pic: (Here it is! The Cinnamon Bread Ingredients!!! FOUR bags full of it & with the correct recipe already evenly separated-out for me! All I have to do is add 2 cups of Bread Flower for each! This will make an entire EIGHT loaves!!! How much easier does it get? :D OH! I can't wait to try this!!! Thanks so much Anna Jackson for your kind generosity of feeding my crazy cravings down-under!) What an enormous BLESSING this is for me & Kiara who eats all the things I do! oh yeah, and the hubby too! haha. lol.

Above Pic: (And look what else she sent? I know it's far off as Anna mentioned here.. but this is a brochure of a REALLY GREAT Curriculum for Home-Schooled Children.. which I pray that I will be able to do when Kiara is ready for it! I've been watching & seeing all the great things Anna gets to do with her boys through this curriculum. It's Bible-based learning & has EXCELLENT activities to draw in the children to learning about Creation & the truth about what God's Word says!)

Here is the LINK for the above catalog
online if anyone else is interested!
--> My Father's World Online Catalog

Above Pic: (And look at what else was stuffed in this "Care Package"! A comfortable Sleep Sack Swaddle! YAAY! Thank you for sending this too Anna! In the note, she wrote that it helps keep the baby from kicking the blankets off, and will not suffocate under the blankets either! Such a great gift for little Kiara! I'm sure this will help me sleep better too as it did for her!) hee-hee! 

Above Pic: (Here it is! Taken out of the package! So soft & cuddly! This looks great! 

And seems like it will last quite a bit of time for Kiara as she continues to grow!)

Above Pic: (Here is a close up! Here you can see the texture
as well as the little writing on it that says, "back is best")

So this concludes this post on the "Care Package" I received in the mail this week from my precious friend & sister in Christ, "Anna". I'm so grateful & thankful for the love that has been showered on Kiara. It so warms my heart! I have many other things to post.. but this week I have a lot of freelance work to do. Lord willing, I'll get time to post about the "Family Baby Shower" I had.. and also, some really sweet things my Mother has been sending me too over the months for Kiara. 

Updated Family Cartoon & David's Birthday!

I finally got around to updating our "Family Cartoon"! Today is David's Birthday too.. so this is part of his present. :)

(Me, Kiara in the belly, David, Angel & Snuggles)

At the moment, I'm loving the ice-cream. And Kiara must be too! Angel and Snuggles always love to duke it out. Even though Angel is the boxer.. Snuggles loves to box as well. She stands on her hind legs just like that and Wrowww's as she challenges Angel. It's funny. I should get it on video one of these days. 

It's also been so hot lately.. so the sunshine really emulates the way it's been feeling here in Melbourne. It's like a record heat-wave! Winter is just around the corner.. and I can't wait! :)

Kiara's Bassinet(s)

We have not yet put this together. It's still in the box. But I will in due time. I was actually looking online and found a really cool swing that can also be used as a cradle as well.. that was also made by Fisher Price like this Bassinette here. This one is the "My Little Lamb" one. The mattress dimensions for this small Bassinet we got below is: 825 x 400 x 22 mm.

(Fisher Price My Little Lamb Bassinet) 

Aside from this lovely bassinet, we have also been given 2 CRIBS! / or might I say 2 COTS! (for my aussie friends!) haha ...that were graciously given to us by David's cousin, Jim & his wife Katherine. They were very generous to us with many of their hand-me-downs. One cradle will be used until the baby is about (1-2 years old).. and the other one she'll be able to fit into it up to the age of 5 or even 6... I think? I'm still new at this baby stuff.. so I don't know much when it comes to these things. We haven't put any of these together as of yet. lol. They are currently at David's Mom's house for safe-keeping.

But the dimension size of the smaller (COT/CRIB) for when the baby is 1-2 years old - that Jim & Katherine gave us looks similar to the one below & the dimension size for this one below is: 91 x 40 x 7 cm

(Hand Me Down Crib)

David & I were very blessed to have been able to receive it! We are ecstatic & can't wait to have our little one enjoy all of the gifts that have already been shattered on her. In the first two weeks though.. she'll probably be sleeping in my bed for a while... so she can have easy access to milk from me. :) I hear they need a lot of care & fed very much at least till they fatten up a little. Then, after those 1st two weeks, she can relax in her bassinet on a regular basis. 

A Gift From Kiara's Floridian Grandma!

Yaay! Just got this in the mail.. from my Mother who is on the other side of the globe! I'm sure Kiara is going to be loving it & super thankful for her Grandmother sending this to keep her warm & cozy. 

Kiara is going to be a "Winter-Baby". Because out here in Australia from "June" to "August" is the ~freezing cold winter~ brr!!! So this little 1st blanky gift will be perfect for her! :) 

Thank you Grandma!
Love, Kiara!


Kiara's lovely Grandma (My Mom) in Florida

My Glucose Tolerance Test Experience

So, this pretty much concludes how the Glucose Tolerance Test went. I believe we were at the doctor's office for 3 entire hours. They told me that I couldn't walk around (unless I went to the bathroom) and I couldn't drink water either. I was so miserable.. because I LOVE water! I'm always drinking it. Plus it was a pretty hot day.. and well, being pregnant.. you always get thirsty. 

I was extra tired too because I had been on David's schedule (the graveyard shift)... so I hadn't slept for two entire days. I WAS going to go to sleep.. but I had totally forgotten exactly what time our appointment was. And right before I was going to lay down to rest.. David walked in to let me know I had to get ready. lol. So it was a pretty l-o-n-g day for me. 

I'm glad that's over! I never wanna take one of these tests again. I literally felt like life got sucked out of me by the time I left. lol. :P

BLOOD RESULTS:
So the results came back the next day (they called me yesterday). And they told me all was well. I don't have any diabetes... and all my blood levels are up to par.. except that my "Iron Levels" need to go up more.

So, I will now have to add an "Iron Pill" to the set of pills I'm already taking. The "Giant Horse Prenatal Vitamins" (which I have to take 2 of each day).. and a "Vitamin D Pill" which I also have to take. And one thing I've always hated is taking pills. I feel like a pill popper!

ahh... The lovely symptoms of being pregnant. LOL. :P

My niece, "Priscilla Joyce" when she was little.

okay, I had to share these adorable photos of my niece when she was little. She's a lot older now.. but this was back in the day only 7 months after I got saved believe it or not. lol. Anyhow, this is my sister's baby, "Priscilla Joyce" when she was only a teeny little thing! She will be an aunt soon enough to my little girl soon. 

My sister took these photos while I held up the sheet in the background.

We did this in the front yard of where she lived. Can you tell these photos are amateur? haha!

The reason she was taking these was so that she could enter

the pics into a competition they were having on Fox News.

Sadly, she didn't win.. but was a pretty close runner up! lol. 

My sister, Lory was really great at finding props like the ones you see displayed in these pics at the dollar store. She's definitely a super-saver when it comes to shopping. I love all the cute range of colors... So pretty & bright. But since it's tough to find these particularly phenomenal colors here where I live, I am trying to stick to the pastels for my baby. 

This last photo was one that I took of Priscilla holding onto her Father's shoulder - taken at SeaWorld in Florida during one of their "Annual Easter Sunrise Services" they have during Easter! It was one of the 1st times I heard Kirk Cameron preach live. It was pretty awesome! And as you can tell, it was a GORGEOUS sunny day!

Another Doctor's Appointment...

No..... I haven't really mentioned all of the millions of doctor's appointments we pregnant woman have to go to. But trust me there are so many! Is it really necessary? I think not. lol.

Anyhow, today I have a "Glucose Tolerance Test" appointment in a few minutes. And I'm not a happy camper! I am not looking forward to drinking an overly sugar-filled drink at 8:00 in the morning. UGH - YUCK! Nor am I looking forward to the shots afterward. :P May the Lord be with me! lol.

Baby Themes & Colors

Well, as some of you may know.. I was pretty much raised as a tom-boy. lol. So having a girl will definitely be a challenge for me! And so either my little girl will like to play rough like I once did.. or she will convert me to be a girly-girl! One of the two!

Meanwhile, many have asked what my favorite themes & colors are for her. And so I thought I would post some random things I enjoy. I most likely will be keeping within these types of themes for whenever I buy anything for "Kiara" in the future. Even if I can't find the themes.. I'll most likely keep within the colors at least. :)

I have created a Wish List of things I have always enjoyed concerning babies! Being that I am in Australia.. I will be honest with you & say that I've had a difficult time trying to find a theme that I can stick with, that goes with my preferences. So this post is not to make anyone feel bad for not being able to obtain the things I prefer.. (if you live here in Australia) but rather, it's to get people understanding my interests, likes & preferences on baby stuff. lol.

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THEMES:

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So my most Favorite Theme of all time is "Precious Moments". They do not have a selection of items at all here in Australia.. but I can still fantasize can't I? haha!

I actually made a "Wish List" on my Amazon account of things I hope to eventually get down the line if the Lord wills. I have not purchased any of it, nor will I until after the baby shower(s) I have.. and of course until my hubby & I can save enough for one or two of the items.

Amazon Wish List of - Precious Moments

They also have a website: http://www.preciousmoments.com
But they don't have much variety on the Baby items available.

Either way, that is definitely one of the themes I like. I prefer to stay away from things like, "Bratz Dolls" and anything that might imitate that same look. lol. 

My other favorite themes include: 

"Hello Kitty", 

"Baby - Winnie the Pooh stuff" 

and anything with baby zoo animals similar to a 

"Noah's Ark" theme.

That pretty much concludes all of my favorite themes. 

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COLORS:

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As for colors.. I really enjoy the earthy tones. Soft Pastels & browns tend to be my favs! 

Similar to the colors you see in the Precious Moments themes.

Although this blog doesn't give me EXACT colors 

in Font for what I like.. so I'll just write what I like in black & white: 

-Apple and/or Mint Green
-Browns

-Light Blues

-Light Pastel Pinks (but not over done!) haha 

-Light Yellows

-White

Here's a few photos I snagged from a friend's baby shower I attended where I really enjoyed the colors that were displayed. See? Although, you may be able to tell that I'm not extremely into pink.. I do not detest it either. haha. Despite my tom-boy traits, I still see pink as a very nice color so long as it's not over done! 

And below are a collection of similar colors I prefer that I found online from various photos.
Pastels mixed with Browns are my favorites as you can see!

Why Pregnant Women time things weekly instead of monthly.

This is Mommy writing again. I decided to make a blog because my very good friend Terri suggested I do so! And I figured it'd be fun. I live all the way out in Australia at the moment.. (very far from my home-town in Orlando, Florida) so this blog may definitely help keep everyone I know on the same page.

Right now, I am at 26 and a half weeks! In easier terms I have about 2 and a 1/2 to 3 months left of the 9 months of being pregnant. I know there are many people who ask WHY do people go week by week? It's so confusing? lol. Well, it's because so many changes will happen to a woman's body each week! That's why! 

I will give you some scenarios!

1st TRIMESTER:

• [ FATIGUE ] - Around 8 weeks of being pregnant I was very, very, very tired each & every day. I could barely stay awake for 8 hours! I was sleeping all the time. Baby Kiara was sucking up ALL OF THE ENERGY I had available! It was pretty crazy!

• [ NAUSEOUSNESS ] - I also felt very nautious every single time after I'd eat. It did not feel good.. and so eating too much would not be a good thing. Luckily with me, although I felt sick, I never had morning sickness to the point where I had to (excuse my lingo) but barf. lol. I generally just felt like I was sick most of the time.
• [ ENLARGEMENT ] - Every part of your body starts to stretch and you will feel it for a while. It was probably a lot like what the incredible hulk felt when he was ripping out of his clothes. For the record I lost a few clothes items that ripped. And I was sad to see them go. But on the bright side... it just made way for a new wardrobe. haha! 

((Me at 4 weeks of pregnancy in my 1st Trimester))

2nd TRIMESTER:

• [ BLEEDING GUMS ] - I had a very sudden case of painful tooth-aches. I was terrified at how awful I felt. I could barely enjoy a meal nor sleep an entire night. It was very difficult. I found out it was due to the blood that your body is pumping throughout your body to help the baby grow. I had to go to the dentist against my will - as my husband pushed me on! lol. It was awful! I am glad it's over for now. He made an appointment for me 2 months after I have the baby. I'm not happy nor looking forward to it. For now.... the key is, to floss after every single meal & snack.. and you will prevent tooth pain while pregnant.
• [ CONSTIPATION ] - I never knew woman had to go through yet another pain in pregnancy. This was another terrible & yet embarrassing issue to go through. It was difficult to use the bathroom at all. I'd sometimes have to sit on the toilet for an entire couple of hours. The pain in my stomach actually felt worse then having a baby in itself! Mind you, I have one child by the name of Gregory who is going to be 21 this year. So I have experience in child-birth. Yet, I NEVER had experienced this amount of pain during pregnancy till now. Age definitely changes a person! The way to get around this was to drink prune juice. Then once that started to help. I from then on ate lots of fruit & increase my fiber. Ever since, I've been on the right track! :)
• [ MOOD SWINGS ] - I'm not a very moody person.. but I can definitely whine a lot when I feel emotional. lol. By the grace of God, He has been helping me stay somewhat mellow. But I've still had my days where I'd just cry for the smallest reasons. hee-hee!
  
  
  
  ((This is me at 23 weeks Pregnant in my 2nd Trimester))

MORE TO COME on this later!!!!

My Stampek Baby @ 21 weeks!

Okay.. so this was where I realized that all my pregnancy pains were worth the trouble.. knowing that this little one is in my tummy. hee-hee! I know all will be worth it once she is out! So this was the most recent video I made on our little baby in my womb.. my precious daughter, whom I've decided to name, "Kiara Grace Stampek". I was very surprised she'd be a girl.. because most of everyone I know had guessed I was having a boy. lol. ;D Funny enough, they all got it wrong! haha. Anyway, she was only roughly 4 months away from being in my arms when I made this video. Can't wait! May the Lord help me to guide her as she enters into this world. Enjoy the video!

And don't forget to watch --> http://180movie.com/

GIRL OR BOY?

Okay, by now mostly everyone knows David & I are having a GIRL!!! WOO-HOO!!! For some reason though, many thought I was having a boy. Either way we decided to name her Kiara Grace Stampek as this blog clearly shows.

These photos below were taken a little before we found out during Christmas time of 2012. We officially found out about a month later on January 22nd of 2013 that we were having a girl. 

Dad & Mom to be!

My little baby-bump!

Our 1st Baby Video

And here's a look at our Stampek Baby on the way! This was at 14 & a 1/2 weeks! :)My It was kinda funny... because before making the video.. the baby was moving like crazy!!! But then when I went to shoot the video.. the baby just laid there. I guess it's camera shy? lol. Also, in the video.. it looked like the baby had a hiccup. You'll see what I mean when you look closely. lol.

Finding out the News!

Although, I started this blog with a post by Kiara. I thought I'd catch you up on the start of how I found out I was pregnant with her. 

As most of you know, I'm a caricature artist. And I draw for a living. 

The beginning of September I was JUST about to start working at an event called, "The Royal Melbourne Show" here in Australia drawing caricatures. The Show is a very high-stress job where you need to be on-top of your game - Arrive-Early, Work-Fast & Leave-Late. It is an annual event that only happens for a few weeks each year.. but it gets VERY intensely busy.

Believe it or not a week before I was scheduled to work at this event... my wrist started to ache with an awful pain - of what it FELT to be, "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome". I was devastated & really believed I would not be able to work the show feeling like this. My wrist felt stiff & impossible for me to draw. It was so numb & my entire muscle from my wrist all the way to my shoulder blade felt like it was on fire. 

But, I decided to stick it out & just prayed to God that He would heal me in time, to work at the show.. I also asked for others to pray for me as well. On FB one of my sweet sister's in Christ immediately asked me through private email, "Esly, Are you pregnant?" lol. Less then a day later my husband, David reminded me that my menstrual cycle was late. It raised the question as to why this pain in my wrist may have possibly come all of the sudden. And we thought that it could possibly be the result of me being been pregnant.

Long & behold, about 2 days into drawing at work.. (when it started to get busy).. my wrist was back to normal! Praise God for His mercy! :D I was so happy. Not only did my wrist heal.. but David had immediately rushed to the store to get a pregnancy test. And this photo below is what we discovered! haha! 

So, this was actually the 1st official photo that was taken when I had JUST found out we were 2-3 weeks pregnant with child! It was September 13th of 2012.

This was a photo taken of myself & the goofy group of guys I worked with at the show. And although I was extremely tired, I was certainly blessed to have worked with such a great & helpful group of people.

First Blog Post!

Hi! My name is: "Kiara Grace Stampek". And my Mommy decided to make this blog for me! She will be the poster of this blog until I can take over someday. At the moment, I just can't wait to step foot into the world & meet everyone! God is still putting me together - but for now, here is one of the very first photos ever taken of me.