36 weeks and a baby shower!

Phew! What a weekend we had! Over Memorial Day weekend we had a lot of our family and friends visiting from out of town for a baby shower for Baby Jack on Sunday. We had such a great time seeing everyone, visiting on Saturday and then having a beautiful shower on Sunday. Everyone was overly generous and Baby Jack has nearly everything he needs before his big entrance in just a few short weeks.'

Elizabeth and me. She is about 27 weeks here. Lookin' good!
Grandma took this picture. I'm huge!

Jan, Mama, Kimberly and Vyneri.

Grandma, Mary, Nicholas and Nancy in the front. Jessica and Stephanie in the back.

33 Weeks

33 weeks!!! I can't believe I'm almost halfway through the 8th month. Time is flying by.

Since our last post, James and I attended our Gift of Motherhood class. It was one evening and then most of the next day. It was really, really interesting and insightful. It helped to ease a lot of our anxiety about the unknown. Just going on the hospital tour helped with that and we really enjoyed seeing the hospital and the rooms that we'll be in. (As I type this, Jack's kicking can be seen through my shirt! He has been super active the last couple of days. Constant movement!)

Other than that, there are only two more weeks of school with the kids and then two days of post planning. Amazing and unbelievable. I can't believe that it's really coming to an end. I don't think that it will hit me until the end of July, when I would normally be going back to school...

We are still on the hunt for wall art for Jack's room. We are having a hard time finding what we are looking for. We did find an amazing steal while at TJMaxx on Saturday!! They had a Boppy pillow AND cover for $15.00. Those suckers at usually at least $25.00 JUST for the Boppy without a cover! Score! So now, I will have one for upstairs and one for downstairs. (Rebecca also got us a Boppy as a gift.) You never know what you find there...

31 weeks

Another week come and gone...

Today James built the window treatment, which turned out so great AND he put together a super cute bench that his mom got for Jack. We'll decide later if we are going to paint it or stain it. We also did shopping in the pouring rain. :)



How far along are you? 31 weeks
Maternity clothes? Yep and it feels like I wear the same things over and over and over...
Weight – Loss or Gain? Gain.
Has your shoe size changed? Nope.
Stretch marks? Nope. (Fingers crossed. The doctor complimented my belly at my last appointment.)
Sleep: Still sleeping well for the most part, when my back is hurting and it's not too hot in the bedroom! I am starting to wake up in the night, though. I either have to changed positions or go to the bathroom.
Best moment this week: I
Any Movement? Constantly and now I have started to feel and see elbows and knees and whatnot moving across my stomach.
Food Cravings? Nope.
Food Aversions? Nope.
Belly Button in or out? It's almost an outtie...so weird.
What do you miss: I really don't miss much. I have enjoyed being pregnant, but it is hard to reach things on the floor of the car when they fall down there!
What are you looking forward to: Our Childbirth Class this next weekend!
Weekly Wisdom: Someone told me to make sure to take the tiny bottles that the hospital uses because you can't find any that small and they are really nice to have in the beginning.
Milestones: Every week seems like a milestone as we get closer but I am going to the doctor every two weeks right now!

In other news, James worked really, really hard in the yard on Friday and here is some of what he did! Last year we planted tomatoes, basil and parsley. We expanded a little this year!

Grape tomatoes.Big Boy tomatoes.
Basil and parsley. I can't wait to make pesto!

Chives and strawberries.

James planted these two trees about 3 1/2 years ago and they were nothing but tiny, little twigs in the ground. It's amazing to watch them grow and change and actually start to look like TREES instead of sticks!

30 weeks & 1 day --- Baby Jack's Bedroom

Here are the long overdue furniture pictures! We love how everything turned out and couldn't be happier with our choice. We searched and searched and then waited many weeks for the arrival of the furniture, so when it was delivered and we still loved it, we were very happy!! These are pieces that Jack will be able to use for a very long time. The crib converts to a toddler bed and then a full size bed. The idea behind the furniture is that we will not have to buy anything else for a long, long time. :)

We still need to make/find/create a window treatment, find a small side table and also find things for the walls. It's just nice knowing that if Baby Jack decided to appear right now (please, no!) that we would at least have his furniture ready to go!

James opening the crib box to put it together. The delivery men laughed and said, "This is the hardest crib in the entire store to put together. Good luck." I stared at him and said, "James can handle it. He's handy." And he did! He had that thing together in about 45 minutes and without frustration. I love how handy he is and that he doesn't get frustrated and upset with projects like this. I am super lucky!!

These drawers open at an angle. They are supposed to be for easy diaper changes. We'll see!!


James and I had a lovely visit with Jan & Richard this weekend, too. We shopped and visited and it was very nice (as usual)!

How far along are you? 30 weeks and 1 day
Maternity clothes? For sure. And they are starting to look better, too.
Weight – Loss or Gain? Gain.
Has your shoe size changed? Nope.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Still sleeping well for the most part, when my back is hurting and it's not too hot in the bedroom!
Best moment this week: Our visit with Jan and Richard and the weight being lifted about the car seat! Thanks Nene (Nini?) and Papa!
Any Movement? All the time! All. The. Time.
Food Cravings? Nope.
Food Aversions? Nope.
Belly Button in or out? It's almost an outtie...so weird.
What do you miss: While shopping with Jan, I kind of missed shopping for regular clothes. Everything seems so cute when you can't wear it! :) It's all worth it, though!
What are you looking forward to: Getting Jack's room finished.
Weekly Wisdom: Mmmm....I don't think there was any.
Milestones: I think that Jack has turned head down. ALL of the movement and pressure is at the top of my stomach and under my ribs. That's exciting! We'll see if he stays that way and I will ask at my appointment in a couple of days!

28 weeks & school shower

Yay! 28 weeks! Can you believe it?! The seventh month...

This past Monday the wonderful first grade teachers threw Elizabeth and I a joint baby shower at school. It was perfect and so much fun! They really outdid themselves. James was able to come and he was a great sport with all those ladies. ;)

The team had a cake made for each of us - one with a train on it for Baby Jack and one with a monkey for Baby Liam. Both in the shape of a onesie and both adorable!!! The people that I work with really are overly generous and the best to work with. After the shower, James said, "I don't want you to stop working there! Everyone is so nice!" And he's right -they are. I will really, really, really miss them. :(

We ended up getting some really wonderful gifts. A couple of grade levels went in together and got the SnugRider, which I mentioned in my last post. We also got the space saver high chair from our Babies R Us registry, the hamper and tons of other stuff. Oh! One teacher, that I love and is hilarious, got us Pee-Pee TeePee's! They are for little boys....so we don't get an extra bath! They are so cute and have airplanes on them! So exciting and overwhelming. Here are some pictures:

Elizabeth and I at the shower!
Here is our super cute and very tasty onesie train cake!! A parent made it (she has a catering business).The changing pads for our changing tables from Genie, our former principal. So sweet of her to come! She came to our wedding, too!

James and I with our awesome diaper cake that Natalie & Katie put together as a gift from our team. It is full of diapers, washcloths, blankets, onesies, bibs, pacifiers...all kinds of wonderful goodies and it's so cute! Very creative!

Elizabeth and I opening our Pee-Pee TeePee's. Her mom is on the far left!

Natalie & Katie - two of wonderful hostesses.Here are the Pee-Pee TeePee's!


And finally some new side view pictures!! James thought the second one was hilarious and it kind of is!!

I am still feeling good and feeling lots of movement. Feeling tired is starting to make an unwelcome comeback, but that's okay... I am tired but still want to always be on the move doing something. I just do everything a lot slower than I used to! I always have to ask James to walk slower now. :) And yes, it did finally warm up here! Shorts and flip flops are exciting! It has actually been in the high 80's. What strange weather we've been having!

Here is the survey!

How far along are you? 28 weeks.
Maternity clothes? For sure. And they are starting to look better, too.
Weight – Loss or Gain? Gain for sure...
Has your shoe size changed? Nope.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Still sleeping well for the most part, when my back is hurting and it's not too hot in the bedroom!
Best moment this week: Making our first clothing purchase. We had to return a couple of things and this was the first time we've bought any clothes for Baby Jack!
Any Movement? All the time!
Food Cravings? Nope.
Food Aversions? Nope.
Belly Button in or out? It's still pretty much in, but stretched to capacity!!!
What do you miss: Sitting in whatever way I wanted to on the couch.
What are you looking forward to: Getting all of the clothes washed, sorted and put away.
Weekly Wisdom: Mary gave me some good and interesting nursing advice today.
Milestones: Knowing that I go to my last 4 week appointment on Tuesday. After that, I will go every two weeks!

Stroller!! (27 weeks 2 days)

As some of you may know, I was having a really, really hard time deciding on a stroller...there are so many options and I was trying to avoid having 423123578 strollers, all for different purposes. There are umbrella strollers, Snap N Go strollers, travel systems, joggers, lightweight...wheels that are rubber, wheels that are plastic, wheels that are plastic but foam filled, air filled tires. AHH!!! What to do?!

After much deliberation, shopping, mind changing and discussion, James made the ultimate decision and was it ever a great one! He surprised me one day after school with a gift that was supposed to be for when the baby was born. We are not so good at holding onto presents that we have for each other!!

Well, that surprise gift was a stroller! And it was the one that I really, really wanted but didn't ultimately register for! It was the B.O.B. jogger that I loved! I was so excited and shocked that he thought I didn't like it at first! Oh no...I loved it!! It is going to be so great for walking in our neighborhood and doing all the hilly, outdoor things that are around us, especially in the fall.

It is in our dining room right now and I keep going in there to collapse it and then make it upright again. It's so easy to do!! So yay! One more important item checked off the list. We did get the Snap N Go stroller at my school shower (yay!), which will be great for the beginning. We may have to get a smaller stroller when Jack is a little older, but that is definitely in the future. For now, I am so excited!!!!

How far along are you? 27 weeks and 2 days
Maternity clothes? For sure. And they are starting to look better, too.
Weight – Loss or Gain? Gain for sure...
Has your shoe size changed? Nope.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Still sleeping well for the most part.
Best moment this week: School baby shower. So much fun!
Any Movement? All the time. He doesn't like it when I sit at a table at school because it's right at my belly level. He always seems to push out at that time!
Food Cravings? Nope.
Food Aversions? Nope.
Belly Button in or out? It's still pretty much in, but stretched to capacity!!!
What do you miss: Getting in and out of bed without having to roll out.
What are you looking forward to: Our furniture coming so that we can put away all of this new stuff!
Weekly Wisdom: No wisdom from others this week, but I am trying to remind myself that everyone has their own opinion and not to let that change how I feel about things or upset me.
Milestones: Entering the 3rd trimester and hopefully passing the gestational diabetes test. I didn't hear anything from the doctor and it's been over a week...I think I am in the clear! Yay!!

25 weeks 3 days & a train!!

While James and I were at Michael's looking for fabric, which they don't have...but we obviously thought they did...James spotted these adorable magnetic train letters. I found him pondering over them in the aisle. I finally convinced him to get them and paint them! So, we picked out some other pieces and were off to find paint. Who knew that would be an ordeal? We picked primary colors and were off...

They began as a pine color, I just didn't get a picture before James primed them. He worked diligently for his little guy all Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks ago. The train name turned out SO CUTE!! He has an artistic streak like his mom and apparently their great minds think alike!

Also, for anyone that doesn't already know, the name will be revealed in this post!

Here are some pictures:

So handsome!!!!

How far along are you? 25 weeks and 3 days - 1 more week until the 3rd trimester!
Maternity clothes? For sure.
Weight – Loss or Gain? Gain for sure...
Has your shoe size changed? Nope.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Still sleeping well for the most part.
Best moment this week: Kids at school are starting to notice. One little girl asked if I was "growing a baby in my belly". It was very cute.
Any Movement? Tons and tons. He has found a home under or near my ribs. It's lovely.
Food Cravings? Nope.
Food Aversions? No, but there is a cabbage cook-off at school tomorrow that I am a little concerned about...
Belly Button in or out? Mostly in but on its way out...it's so weird!
What do you miss: Regular pants that don't constantly have to be yanked up!
What are you looking forward to: My belly continuing to grow!
Weekly Wisdom: No real wisdom, except that someone told Elizabeth and I how cute we are pregnant when we were literally griping about how un-cute we feel!! Granted, I had just taken in my reflection in a window...not exactly accurate!
Milestones: I am having my glucose test on Friday to check for gestational diabetes...keep your fingers crossed!