Baby Shower - Friends

Last Saturday, my friends Brooke and Alicia hosted a baby shower for me. They served an amazing brunch - complete with cinnamon rolls, quiche, salad, fruit, coffee and punch. It was such a great day - every detail was perfect! I feel incredibly grateful that so many friends gathered together to celebrate our baby girl. Thanks to everyone who was able to attend and make the day special for me!

The next day, my mom and sister helped me organize and put away all the baby gifts in the nursery. It makes this 'experience' feel so much more real to have her stuff in the nursery! I went into the bathroom to show Scott all her bath toys put away in the cabinet, and I got so choked up! It is such a strange, exciting and wonderful feeling to see baby stuff in our house!

Myself, Brooke & Alicia. Thank you SO MUCH for a great baby shower!

This is the cutest 'cake'. It is actually a bunch of cupcakes (I LOVE cupcakes) covered in icing.

My mom-in-law, Marilyn, and I

My sister, me and my mom. Karla made buttons for them to wear - "Proud Aunt" and "Nana". How fun!

Opening gifts - so many cute things!

Baby Shower at Hallmark

Last Thursday, my co-workers hosted a baby shower for Scott and I. Scott was a trooper and came in to the office for the shower. Thanks, sugar! I am lucky to work with so many fantastic and generous people. The shower had a 'jungle princess' theme, complete with pink, brown & green decorations. It was very cute! We got lots of great presents - books, sleepers, bath stuff, diapers, toys, bottles, etc. Here are a few pics from the shower.

These are my co-workers that organized the shower - Shannon, Tressa & Katie. Thanks girls!

One of the many great books we received. I am going to love reading to our little girl!

A bottle for mom and a bottle for baby! I can't wait to crack that wine open!!

Opening gifts...

Posing in front of the cake, punch & cute decorations

Belly Pics - 31 weeks

Today, Saturday, I am exactly 31 weeks. Here are some recent belly pics! Baby girl has really been moving around lately - especially after meals and when I'm laying down to go to sleep at night.

I couldn't resist buying this cutie hat and headband for her today, either. I think the hat will be great for some of her newborn pics!

Single Digits!

Do you remember what a big deal it was to turn 10 and be in the 'double digits'? I'm having a similar feeling this week. I am now into the single digits for the number of weeks remaining in my pregnancy - 9 weeks and 2 days! Instead of telling people how far along I am, I normally tell them how many weeks I have left to go. Pretty exciting.

Also, I haven't filled everyone in on the exciting day Scott and I had Saturday, June 6. We 'got' to attend an all day child birthing class! (Scott was especially excited - ha!) We debated about whether to take the class, but thought we should start our parenting responsibility out on the right foot and take the class. Most of the information covered was a review for me, but it was nice to get the facts about pain management during labor. I am fully embracing modern medicine and will be getting an epidural ASAP. :) Also enlightening was the postpartum information. No one likes to talk about the Depends-like diapers, ice packs, etc. that you need for a while after pregnancy. Good times! I think Scott's main takeaway from the day was that labor is usually more than a 2 - 3 hour process. Like most guys, Scott had only seen a 'Hollywood' labor on TV. He assumed when labor started, you immediately went to the hospital and that baby would be born a couple hours later. Seems funny to those of us who know labor can be a much longer experience from start to finish. However if you think about it, TV/movies usually only show the last stage of labor. Scott was quite a trooper and hung in there the entire day. In the last couple hours of the class, nearly all the guys in the room where staring off into space or fully engrossed in their blackberries. ADD had set-in, for sure.

Week 30

In the past week, my cravings have switched from fruit to cheese and ice cream. The change is likely because baby girl's bones are solidifying and growing stronger every day! (Well that, and it's summer which means ice cream season!) Scott & I have been to Custard's Last Stand twice this week. I am predicting an above average weight gain for me this month!

My belly continues to get bigger by the day. (My sister and Matt are coming in town this weekend, so I'm sure I'll have some pictures to post soon.) Baby girl is moving around quite a bit. Her movements have transitioned from kicks to jabs/pokes with her knees and elbows. She doesn't have as much room in there anymore! People still say I am carrying small, but I am starting to feel the weight lately. My center of gravity is definitely not what it used to be, which makes everyday tasks, like tying my shoes and getting into the car, challenging and quite humorous. When I was running the other day, I noticed the hills are starting to become a problem with my growing belly. Think I'm going to need to switch to the elliptical and water aerobics!

Our neighborhood is going through a mini-baby boom. At the pool this past weekend, there were four pregnant women, including myself. Between the four of us, we are carrying 7 babies! One woman and myself are pregnant with one, another lady is expecting twins in August, and another is carrying triplets due in August! In addition to these babies, our neighbors on either side of us are expecting this summer. So in our relatively small neighborhood, there are going to be 9 babies born this spring & summer! It's going to be crowded in the kiddie pool next summer. I'm thinking of bringing a chlorine tablet with me each time we go down to swim. Ha!

Nursery Furniture

Last Saturday, we got the nursery furniture assembled in our little one's room. I love it! My dad, mom, Scott & I all piled in my dad's black truck to load up all the furniture - crib, changing table, dresser, glider & ottoman. It was tight, but it all fit in the back of the truck! (I am thinking about how many life stages that truck has moved me in & out of... I piled up my loft bed, small fridge and clothing to start my freshman year of college. Then, Scott and I used it to move into our first place together and a few years later, to move into our current home. Now we've used it to move our baby girl's furniture. Wow - such a sentimental moment, all over that big black truck!)

Dad and Scott did a great job wrestling the heavy furniture up the stairs to her nursery. Mom and I attached the knobs to the dresser and figured out where to put everything in the room. The room is great for a nursery because it has two dormers, where you can be kind of tucked away. We put the glider in one dormer and the crib in the other. The dormers really create a lot of space within the room and make the room look so cute. These little nooks will be great play space whenever she gets a bit older, too.
So now I'm waiting for the bedding to be delivered, and we'll pick paint colors for the wall. Scott thinks the walls look fine in their current beige color, but I am not convinced. :)

Room all cleared out & ready to move in!

Putting the knobs on the changing table

Putting together the glider - it was hot in that room!

Putting together the crib.  My inner boss just had to take control and read the instructions to dad & Scott.  Ha!

Crib set-up continues...

I love this picture of my mom!  (Cute of Maddie, too.)

Finished!

A pic of us, the belly & the crib (complete with cute stuffed animals... ha)

Our first 'baby' had to try out the crib.  She was curious about all the action happening in this room!