Grammy and Grandy Zimmerman

Now I'd like to introduce you to Grammy and Grandy Zimmerman. These are my Daddy's parents. Their names are Karen and James (Jim). Karen's maiden name is Lutz. Here's a photo of them on their wedding day July 11, 1965:


Here's Grammy on Christmas Eve:


And here's Grandy with Daddy on Christmas Eve:


Well, here it is, New Year's Eve and I'm still not here yet. I guess I'm going to mess up this year's taxes for Mommy and Daddy (uh oh, they were looking forward to that tax break!) But, I still have 5 days to come out on my own and I'm doing my best :-)

Be safe tonight everybody and see ya next year for sure!

Grandma and Grandpa Adams

I'd like to introduce you to my Grandma and Grandpa Adams. These are my Mommy's parents. Their names are Judy and Paul. Judy's maiden name is Orendorff (you'll meet that big bunch eventually). Here's a photo of them on their wedding day August 12, 1968:


Sadly, my Grandpa died Dec. 15, 2000 - so I'll never get to meet him. Wasn't he a handsome man? Grandma is doing great and here's a recent photo of her. It's actually from my awesome baby shower on 10/29/06:


Tomorrow I'll introduce you to my Grammy and Grandy - my Daddy's parents.

Update from the Midwife

At Mommy's appointment yesterday we found out all is still looking good. I definitely have a solid date of arrival now if I decide to not come on my own. Mommy will be induced on Friday morning 1/5/07 - but we're all hoping I make my way out before then. I will have another non-stress test and ultrasound done on Tuesday 1/2/07 just to make sure all is well. Cheri, our awesome midwife said I'm right there ready to go, we just have to get Mommy's cervix to cooperate (sorry if that's TMI for ya!). However, if she is induced, Cheri seems to think it will all be quick after that. So, keep us all in your prayers as we go forward.

I will continue some background information later today (unless I decide to come out that is!)

A Little History While We Wait

Since I've decided to stay in my current location for a little while, I thought I'd introduce you to the great family I'm going to be born into. Today I'll start with how my Mommy and Daddy met.

Mommy was a backup singer in a rhythm and blues band called ProFunk Movement (PFM). Here she is with Valerie, her great friend and the other backup singer:



And here's a shot of her singing her signature song at the time "Natural Woman":



The band needed to make a demo tape to send out to local clubs to try and get some gigs. They knew of this guy who played bass in a band called Deadlove and who did some recording in a studio his band had built above a garage. So in October of 1995 they made a demo tape mastered by this guy - Bill Zimmerman.

As soon as Mommy met Daddy, that was that. It wasn't until March of 1996 that Daddy asked her for a date. They have Valerie to thank for playing matchmaker as she let Daddy in on the secret that Mommy liked him :-)

Here's a shot of them in May of 1996 after 2 months of dating:



They were married on October 30, 1999. Well, that's enough for now. I'll leave you with a current shot of them from right before Christmas this year. Hey, I'm in the picture too!

Keeping the world in suspense

Nope, no late visits to the hospital last night. Although my nights aren't as restful as they used to be. Seems Mommy makes many trips out of bed throughout the night; something about my head pushing on something called a bladder... I don't know, it's just messing up my beauty rest. Need to look good when I decide to make my trip out, don't ya know?

I finally talked Mommy into showing you all this picture below Daddy took of her right before Christmas. Since she put up the video of her belly, why not the following? Yep, that's me hanging out there in all my glory :-)



Hope you all stay tuned to my story. Have a great Thursday!

Moving in Mommy's Belly

Look at me! I'm a moving machine :-) Yep, still hanging out in here. As you can see, I like to make my presence known on a regular basis these days. Enjoy the show.

I'm in 3D

So the appointment went very well today. They put a monitor around Mommy's BIG belly and watched my heart beat for about 20 minutes or so. I didn't like it so much when the nurse stuck this thing on Mommy's belly that made a loud buzzing sound and vibrated my world like an earthquake! So I moved around like crazy and my heartbeat shot up. Turns out that means I've got great oxygenated blood and that's exactly what they wanted to see. Then they did it two more times; I tell ya, they were rockin' my world. Then Daddy started talking to me (I love when he does that and gives me kisses) and my heartrate went up again and I started doing my happy dance moves and everyone was just so impressed with my healthy reactions.

Next, the old ultrasound deal. They were checking the amount of amniotic fluid around me and turns out there's plenty, so they didn't have to do any of that inducing stuff. Mommy and me are REAL happy about that. So, now we just wait. They saw my head is really jammed down low and it seems I only have one way out. I just have to make up my mind about it and go for it!

The ultrasound technician was really nice and did a 3D shot of me even though she didn't have to. Seems I look a lot like Daddy as a baby in the face and I've got some majorly chubby cheeks. Here are the photos for you to enjoy, I think I'm ready for some sleep now. It's been a long day.

Here's my debut in 3D:


Here's my cute profile:
Here's a pose of me looking at you!

Not sure if I'll be kicked out today or not...

Hey there,

So, today is my due date, but I'm still hangin out in here. Mommy just found out she has an appointment at 2:15pm today with a maternal-fetal medicine specialist - ooh, sounds scary. It's not though; pretty standard procedure at this time. They just want to make sure I'm doing okay in here. If I am, I get to come when I decide. If I'm not, they're going to push me out by inducing labor in Mommy. I don't like that idea much, but whatever they decide; that's what we'll do.

I'll let you know how the appointment went and I may have a new photo if they give Mommy one of the ultrasound they're going to do. Talk to ya later!

Hey, check out my room

Here are some photos of my room. Mommy and Daddy have been working hard on it. Actually, it now has a rug in there that wasn't there when these pictures were taken. I dig the crib and hear the mobile is awesome. Enjoy...

Daddy worked hard getting the crib together. What's really cool is my cousins Katelyn (now 15) and Ally (now 9) also used this crib. Girrrl power!


Here's a nice rocking chair from Mommy's friend Joan's mother. Means lots of other babies were rocked to sleep and fed from it. Notice the great quilt my Mommy's friend Beth Bitts made for me with my initials - WOW! Oooh and look at all my toys in the bins under the window; I can't wait to get my hands on those... of course, first I have to figure out how to control these things at the end of my arms...


Here's the cool mobile Grammy bought me that I was talking about. It spins, plays music, and stuff moves all around. Can't wait to see it... Oh, and that quilt at the end of the crib was made by a friend my Mommy met singing in a choir, her name is Tanya. And the white afgan was also hand made by a good friend Mommy used to work with, Judy. People love making stuff for me.

Daddy put a closet organizer in for me - look at all that pretty stuff I have already. Can't wait to try it all on...

Did I mention clothes... Mommy hit a great yardsale over the summer and got a ton of cute stuff for me AND that lovely pink dresser (that's been with Mommy since college) is FULL. I'm one lucky gal...

Hope you enjoyed the tour of my room!

Merry Christmas! and Meet the 'Rents

Well, I won't be celebrating this Christmas with you all on the outside, but that's okay. Just think, I'll be big enough to tear open my gifts next year!

I thought you all might like to meet my parents, Bill and Stephanie. Here's a nice picture of them from October of this year. My Daddy's side of the family goes to Susquehannock Park in Lancaster County each year. Here's a shot of them (and me in Mommy's belly) at the outlook spot. It truly was a beautiful day.

Not Here Yet

Well, I'm still not out yet. It is kind of cozy in here, but I have to admit - I don't have a lot of room left. Mommy had her appointment with the midwife on Friday 12/22/06 and it went very well. I even felt a poke from Cheri, our midwife. Seems I'm really down far and she's surprised Mommy is moving around as well as she is. But, Mommy's cervix has effaced (I hear that means thinned) about 1/2 inch but no dilation yet, so we wait. Cheri thinks I may be running out of something called amniotic fluid which I used to love swimming around in when I was little. So, on Tuesday 12/26/06 - my due date, if I haven't already been born, Mommy will get an ultrasound and they're going to do some kind of stress test to see how I'm doing in here and how much fluid is around me. If it's not enough, they're going to give me a jump start on Tuesday and induce labor. If things look okay, then we just wait...

By the way, if you're wondering how to say my unique name and what it means, here's some information for you.

Xia is pronounced "Zee-ah" - at least that's the way Mommy and Daddy say it. It's actually a Chinese name and means "glow of the sunrise". Another pronounciation is "Shah", but I like "Zee-ah" better, it's more fun. Hey, it's also a dynasty in China's history, though some debate that fact. Yeriel is pronounced like the name Ariel (you know, the Little Mermaid - some old Disney movie way before my time) but you put a "Y" sound before it. It's a Hebrew name that means "founded by God". So this is cool, I am the glow of the sunrise founded by God - wow, I'm pretty amazing!

Now, why this unique name you ask? Well, think about it - what are my initials.... Did you figure it out? That's right: X. Y. Z. Not everyone has cool initials like that, do they!?

Well, gotta go. Mommy and Daddy are going over to Grammy's house (that's Daddy's mom) and the whole Zimmerman clan will be there to exchange Christmas gifts. Too bad, guess I'll miss this Christmas Eve, but you better believe I'll be tearin' open those gifts next year.

The beginning of XiaLife

Hello world!

Although I can't see you yet, I'm almost a part of your world. I'm still hanging out inside of my Mommy. Her name is Stephanie Zimmerman and she's married to my Daddy, Bill Zimmerman. They are still amazed that I have even come into existence. You see, a lot of doctors and specialists told them they wouldn't be having children because of some hormonal issues with Mommy. But God decided to make me anyway, and what a journey it has been.

I was conceived on April 2, 2006. Mommy and Daddy found out they were pregnant in May of 2006. You should have seen their reactions on that day. I think a lot of their friends and family said they looked like 2 deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. He, he, didn't know I had that much power to freak them out. Should be even more interesting once I make my grand entrance.

I'm due to arrive on Tuesday December 26, 2006. Of course, they don't really know when I'm coming. That's pretty much up to me and God and I'm not telling; it's more fun to watch them sweat it out.

I can already tell that they love me very much. Mommy sings to me a lot and Daddy rubs her belly a lot and talks to me. They worked pretty hard getting my room all together; I can't wait to see it. Everything's pretty much ready.

I'm looking forward to meeting the 'rents, my big family and all the friends out there waiting to meet me. I'll try to take it easy on my parents since they are advanced in age. They weren't expecting me, so they're a mature set with Mommy at 37 and Daddy at 40. I'll try to take it easy on them, but I'm not making any promises.

Well, that's it for my intro. Stay subscribed to see what XiaLife is all about. Hope to meet this world soon...