39 Weeks

I'm 39 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 39 Weeks

Size of Baby: Big enough!

Total Weight Gain: 25 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Yep...and getting sick of them.

Gender: BOY. Andrew James Anderle

Movement: Usually just at night

Sleep: Still sleeping...hallelujiah!

What I Miss: Being my normal self!

Cravings: Not really anymore. I am hardly hungry and get full after eating a disappointing amount of food. It is so sad!!

Symptoms: Tired, impatient, sore, heartburn, occasional contractions, and did I mention tired?

Best Moment this Week: Knowing that I am ALMOST DONE!!!

Signs of Labor: I am 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. I am also fighting the urge to just have this baby already and the desire to still sleep at night. Very tricky. Perhaps I will have the first newborn in the world to sleep through the night at Day 1? :)

Hoping this is my last weekly post...

38 Weeks...and it's Hot Outside!

Well hello there, little guy!

Here is Drew at 38 weeks. His hands were in front of his face most of the time so this was the best mug shot we got. If you remember last time with Jake, the picture we got showed an 8 foot long nose (below). This one looks a bit more proportional!

Our ultrasound today showed that he was head down which was a huuuuuge blessing! I have been worried the past few weeks that he wasn't but we discovered the large round thing in my ribs is indeed his little behind. Phew.

They estimated his weight to be 6 lbs 6 oz (I think that's being a bit generous) and just like his older brother, his head is measuring a little on the large side (a week ahead) and his waist is measuring around 35 weeks. Gotta love my skinny-waisted boys! They also could tell by the placenta that his lungs still aren't quite done developing yet. So we need him to cook for just a little bit longer to make sure everything is a-ok!

Here is Jake at the same point in my pregnancy. See any resemblance?

Jake with the large honker :)

It's funny how things kinda happen and look the same this time around. We were just in the dining room taking my belly picture and the dogs would not leave me alone (I think they know something is up). I remembered a picture from my last pregnancy and had to take a similar one...

Don't worry Tucker and Maggie...you'll always be our first children!

And from 2009...

They don't like to admit it, but they love me

I'm 38 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 38 Weeks

Size of Baby: Approx 6 1/3 lbs and 19.5 inches long

Total Weight Gain: 20 lbs (1 more pound and it will be a tie from last time)

Maternity Clothes: Yep...and getting sick of them.

Gender: BOY. Andrew James Anderle

Movement: Slowing down a bit. Poor kid is running out of room.

Sleep: Fine for the most part but I wake up every night around 2am and 6am to use the restroom. Like clockwork. Basically about when a new baby would need to be fed also. Funny how that happens...

What I Miss: Being my normal self!

Cravings: My stomach is running out of room and that makes me sad...

Symptoms: Tired, impatient, sore, heartburn, occasional contractions, and did I mention tired?

Best Moment this Week: Seeing our sweet little boy on the ultrasound today, of course! Also finding out that he's head down and easing my anxiety about that.

Signs of Labor: I am 1cm dilated and 30% effaced. I had contractions for a few hours this past weekend and thought it might be time but alas, here we still are. Trying to work on my patience. My neighbors are starting to place bets on my delivery date. Feel free to share any predictions in the comments! :)

Good Things Happen in 3's

They always say that good things happen in 3's. I'm not sure who "they" is, but I suppose they knew what they were talking about!

We are so lucky to have some of our best friends living right around the corner. We are each others go-to babysitters, grocery shoppers, errand runners, and food picker-uppers. In fact, our husbands always think we have some sort of ponzi scheme going on because someone always owes someone else money. But I mean, really. If you're already going to Sams, why not pick up Jimmy Dean sausage biscuits and chicken breasts for the next person as well! :)

Ironically enough, we all ended up pregnant at the same time. Even more ironically, we were all pregnant together two years ago as well. Hey, we just needed to make sure our kids had friends...

Me (37.5 weeks), Kim (10 weeks), Georgia (36.5 weeks)

I also found the picture we took 2 years ago, almost to the day! How weird is that...

Kim (35 wks...she delivered her boys one week later!), Georgia (24ish weeks), Me (21ish weeks)

Over the past 4.5 years, we've grown (literally) from no kids to EIGHT (well, 3 in the womb). Funny how life can change so quickly. Even better, many of our other good friends are expecting as well right now and Mallory, Jessie, and Sheila won't be far behind with their new babies! Talk about a crazy playgroup!

37 Weeks

Drew is full-term - hooray!

(Left- Jake, Right - Drew)

I'm 37 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 37 Weeks

Size of Baby: Approx 6 1/3 lbs and 19 inches long

Total Weight Gain: 20 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Yep. And I can't wait to start wearing my old clothes again!

Gender: BOY. Andrew James Anderle

Movement: Slowing down a bit. Poor kid is running out of room.

Sleep: Fine for the most part but I wake up every night around 2am and 6am to use the restroom. Like clockwork. Basically about when a new baby would need to be fed also. Funny how that happens...

What I Miss: Being my normal self!

Cravings: Food doesn't sound quite as good these days. Probably because my stomach doesn't have much room to expand so it just turns into a disappointing experience.

Symptoms: Tired, impatient, sore, heartburn. May or may not have to do with pregnancy - ha!

Best Moment this Week: I don't know if this can be considered a special "moment" but our hospital bags are packed, both boys rooms are finished, everything is in order for the most part. Heck, Jake's baby book is even almost done. And don't worry, I will be taking the footprint page in Drew's book to the hospital with us. I know you were all so worried.

36 Weeks

(Unfortunately for all of you, I couldn't find my picture at 36 weeks with Jake. But after looking back on the blog, I think it is probably for the best!!)

I'm 36 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 36 Weeks

Size of Baby: Size of a crenshaw melon (Approx 18.5 inches and 6 lbs)

HOWEVER, since Jake was only 6 lbs 7 oz, let me go ahead and stop here to say that I highly doubt Drew is 6 lbs right now. Maaaaybe 5 lb? We should hopefully have an ultrasound in 2 weeks to check his positioning and will have a better idea then.

Total Weight Gain: 20 lbs

Maternity Clothes: yes...and again, I apologize for the 5 shirt rotation I'm on!

Gender: BOY. Andrew James Anderle

Movement: Slowing down a bit. Poor kid is running out of room.

Sleep: still sleeping fine for the most part

What I Miss: Bending over without getting out of breath. Fitting into normal clothes.

Cravings: Cereal, Coca Cola, coffee ice cream with chocolate chips, pizza. I told Seth what I wanted most on Mother's Day for lunch was Little Caesars and I think he thought I was playing a joke on him :)

Symptoms: Tired, impatient, sore, heartburn. May or may not have to do with pregnancy - ha!

Best Moment this Week: Drew is almost full-term! And Jake got super excited when he heard his brother's heartbeat this morning. Except I think his reaction was because he thought the doppler was a toy he was going to get a turn at next. Oh well!

34 Weeks

(Jake - left, Drew - right)

I'm 34 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 34 Weeks

Size of Baby: Size of a cantaloupe (Approx 18 inches and 4.75 lbs)

Total Weight Gain: 18 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Yes...and I'm running out of options! I tried not to buy many this time around and my clothes from last time don't fit. So don't complain if you see me in the same pink and purple tank tops! :)

Gender: BOY. Andrew James Anderle

Movement: All the time. And it's starting to be uncomfortable when he does move. Direct result of a growing baby in too small of a place!

Sleep: Having more of an issue with not going to bed on time!

What I Miss: Bending over without getting out of breath :)

Cravings: Cereal, Coca Cola, Blueberry waffles, peanut butter

Symptoms: Had some occasional contractions and just getting really sore. You know, all the fun, end-of-the-pregnancy type symptoms. Spent too much time in the car and on my feet this weekend and do not feel well! :(

Best Moment this Week: Knowing little Drew is getting closer and closer to arriving! His lungs will be fully developed in a couple more weeks and will just hang out to cook until it's time...

Biggest Beef (I decided to add this category tonight): Random people that think it's ok to touch my belly...newsflash - you cannot touch someone's baby belly unless you are close friend or family! It is weird and you are in my personal space! Also...people that think just because my belly is smaller that I must feel 110% all the time. WRONG.

PHEW. Feels good to get that off my chest. Ha.

A warm bubble bath is calling my name. I think I might be good for nothing the next couple of days until we recover from Easter!

30 Weeks

Otherwise known as, let's have this baby already!

I'm 30 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 30 Weeks

Size of Baby: Size of a head of cabbage (Approx 15.7 inches and 3 lbs)

Total Weight Gain: 18 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Duh

Gender: BOY. Andrew James Anderle

Movement: All the time

Sleep: Having more of an issue with not going to bed on time!

What I Miss: Having my body to myself. Bending over without getting out of breath :)

Cravings: Cereal, Coca Cola, Blueberry waffles, peanut butter

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks occasionally and sore feet. I will gladly accept any and all foot massages!!! Also, general craziness, heartburn, and exhaustion. I know everyone's hearts are just melting with sympathy!

Best Moment this Week: A step closer to getting Jake's new room finished!

28 Weeks (A Little Late)

We got back in town this evening and are pooped. But I couldn't go to bed without letting you all know that we are still alive! I somehow managed to do nothing super productive last week and that included blogging. Don't worry, lots of pictures to come!

But in the meantime...

(Jake - left, Drew - right)

I'm 28 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 28.5 Weeks
Size of Baby: Size of a Chinese cabbage. And since nobody knows what that is, approx 2.25 lbs and 14.8 inches.
Total Weight Gain: 15 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Definitely in pants...getting there in shirts.
Gender: BOY. Andrew James Anderle
Movement: All over the place. Well, I take that back. Drew is LOW. And stays there. So any and all movement is well below my belly button.
Sleep: Having more trouble getting to sleep this time around...
What I Miss: Having my body to myself.
Cravings: Cereal, Coca Cola, Crackers...all starches!
Symptoms: Braxton Hicks occasionally and sore feet. I will gladly accept any and all foot massages!!!
Best Moment this Week: Entering the 3rd trimester - woo hoo!

24 Weeks

It's starting to become a little more noticable that I'm pregnant. A complete stranger commented last week. Boo.

So here we are. And I apologize...I'd put a little more effort into scooting these 2 pictures closer together but it's Monday night and there are lots of things on TV. (left - Jake, right - baby #2)

I'm 24 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 24.5 Weeks
Size of Baby: Size of an ear of corn

Total Weight Gain: 14 lbs (I can't decide how long I will disclose this info!!)
Maternity Clothes: Almost there. Mostly with dress pants. I don't know if my students would appreciate the unbuttoned look.

Gender: BOY
Movement: Kiddo moves all the time. Much more than I remember Jake moving. Uh oh.

Sleep: Having more trouble getting to sleep this time around...
What I Miss: Having my body to myself.
Cravings: peanut butter, sweets, Coca Cola, cereal

Symptoms: Ooooh my feet. They ache.

Best Moment this Week: Jake giving my tummy a "night night" kiss tonight...so sweet! Totally caught us off guard.

It's a...

Boy!

I know this doesn't come as a huge surprise, but we got our confirmation that baby #2 is in fact a boy. And if the ultrasound machine is at all accurate, a big stinker of one at that...

Don't worry, he will come out of the womb grounded!!!

The little guy was moving around so quickly, it was hard to get good pictures of him being still. After the previous picture and all the hyperactive movement, I was starting to sweat a little. Jake can be a handful but at least he's a pretty calm one! I'm worried our second born might give us a run for our money! :)

Oh, but he still looks sweet! (Profile shot

Here's brother from the front...you can see his eye sockets, nose, and hand in front of his mouth (sorry for the quality, I took pictures of the print-outs with my phone)

And...no, that's not three legs. This is when he was decidedly a "he"!

We are so excited that Jake will have a little brother and hope they will grow up to be great playmates and friends. I guess it'll be up to our siblings to take care of bringing any little girls into the family!

We are still working on a name although have a few contenders. I sent an urgent email to Seth yesterday at work trying to whittle down some first and middle name combos. He replied back with an annoying, "I've made no decisions yet."

Little boy, I promise you will have a name by June!!

The doctor also moved up my due date by a week based on the baby's measurements. I don't really understand how all that works but now they're considering me almost 22 weeks instead of almost 21. But to avoid confusion (and general panic around the beginning of June), I'm still going with our original date of June 13 for blog purposes. :)

And in case you're wondering, I've been spending my afternoon watching Legally Blonde for the umpteenth time because I am so very pregnant and sometimes it's just hard to move around...

Stop rolling your eyes.

20 Weeks (aka HALFWAY!!!)

Well here we are! They don't lie when they say the 2nd pregnancy flies by. At this point with Jake, the nursery was almost complete...

Yeah.

Let's just say nothing in our house looks any different than it did when we found out about this baby in October. Pretty sure I will be frantically trying to finish a room at 39 weeks this time. At least I've started looking at bedding and decor for Jake's BIG BOY room (agh!!).

I know you're all going to roll your eyes and scoff but I feel like a hippo! But people are still telling me I don't even look pregnant (bless you all) so that makes me feel better. :)

(Left - Jake...Right - Baby #2)

I'm 20 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 20 Weeks

Size of Baby: Size of a banana

Total Weight Gain: 10 lbs (I can't decide how long I will disclose this info!!)

Maternity Clothes: Not yet. Pretty sure I couldn't button my jeans at this point with Jake so this is progress!

Gender: Maybe a boy but we find out for sure on Thursday!

Movement: It's really picked up in the past few weeks. Little baby moves a lot in the evenings and Seth was able to feel the other night.

Sleep: Still love my sleep!

What I Miss: Having my body to myself.

Cravings: Coffee ice cream (duh), blueberry waffles, Wheat Thins, Coca Cola, CEREAL

Symptoms: mostly back pain

Best Moment this Week: ummmmmm...maybe it will be our appt on Thursday!

We don't have any progress on a name, if you were wondering. There are a couple front-runners but nothing we're crazy about. And one name we really like is taken by a family member so......back to square one!

I'll be sure to update everyone later this week once we have confirmation on the baby's gender...

16 Weeks

Well it's about time we mentioned this other kiddo, right? I finally remembered to take our 1st belly picture! It's funny how I think I started weekly pictures at 6 weeks with Jake. Again, sorry baby #2!!

I saw this format on another blog and I think I'll copy. Informative and concise! Everytime I'll try to show pictures from both pregnancies at the same point in time. Jake on the left, baby #2 on the right...looks like I got a little more done up this time around. You're welcome.

I'm 16 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 16.5 Weeks
Size of baby: Size of an avocado

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 5 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Not yet

Gender: Possible a boy

Movement: Sometimes I think I've felt slight movement...I'm sure it will pick up soon!

Sleep: Love it

What I miss: Feeling normal

Cravings: Cereal, Nilla Wafers, Sprite, Bagels, Waffles, Chinese

Symptoms: Occasional nausea, headaches

Best Moment this week: Hearing baby's heartbeat yesterday - 155bpm and going strong!

It's hard to believe I've been doing this blog for 3 years already! Hope everyone has a safe and fun New Year's Eve and I'll see all of you in 2011!

Jake's Little Brother (Maybe)

Oh.

Did we forget to discuss something?

Or shall I say...someone?

Meet Baby Anderle! (AKA, the reason for the recent demise of my blog)

Look people, it is hard to keep a secret. Especially for 12 weeks! Over Thanksgiving we told our families about our big surprise. Jake is going to be a big brother in June!

Let me back up.

Our specific goal in having our 2nd child was to avoid another October birthday. With mine, Seth's, and Jake's birthdays all within a week of each other, I knew I would be checked into the insane asylum by 2015 if I was planning 2 children's birthday parties in one month. Clearly, the good Lord knew this as well. So in an effort to preserve well...everything...He blessed us with a summer baby! :)

I won't lie. I am tired. I am grumpy. I don't feel like blogging. I don't care about cleaning the house. I ate Cool Ranch Doritoes and Apple Jacks for lunch today.

But besides all that...I am so thankful and blessed to be carrying a healthy, happy (hopefully) tiny little baby in my tummy. They even made a guess yesterday that it was another boy (they guessed Jake was a boy at 12 weeks as well). Seth's initial reaction?

"YES! I DON'T HAVE TO REPAINT!"

Little does he know that not painting a new baby room = painting a big boy room for Jake!

So anyway. Now that this is taken care of, I'm going to work on updating you on our Thanksgiving holidays and our recent Aggie tailgating experience. Jake has been a busy kid!

39 Weeks

Ladies and gentlemen...it seems as if I will be pregnant FOREVER. My child seems to think my uterus is a 5 star luxury hotel.

Which it probably is. But what little Jake doesn't understand is that sometimes we have to check OUT of our hotels too.

Using your best context clues, you can probably assume that today's dr's appointment had NO news. As in, no change from last week. Which means you will probably get a 40 week belly picture. Maybe even 41.

But I will be frowning in that one.

God is really teaching me a lesson in patience. And trusting Him. And learning that I am not in control. Which is probably the most irritating thing for a control freak to hear.

So anyway. Here we are at 39 weeks:

This picture makes it a little easier to see how Jake has dropped in the past couple of weeks.

So now we wait. And wait. And wait some more. But I was told not to expect a baby this week either.

Is there an inkling of me that is still expecting a baby this week? Of course. I live for setting myself up for disappointment!!

I'm sure you're wondering about the candy corn progress as well. Don't think I left you hanging.

At this rate, we will definitely have to refill prior to Halloween. Which would be such a joy shame.

In the meantime, we will be attempting to enjoy ourselves for what could potentially be our last child-free week. That.is.weird.

38 Weeks and Nuthin'

Had you asked me last month, I would've told you we'd for sure have our baby by now.

Anyway.

Yesterday marked 38 weeks! I am trying to be positive here and count my blessings:

-I can still walk
-I'm still able to work
-I still had enough energy to clean the house this past weekend (not only did I fold last week's laundry...I went the extra mile and folded this week's too!)

Nevertheless, we are more anxious than ever to meet our baby boy!

Me at 38 Weeks

This next picture might give you an idea of how my doctor's appointment went today:

No, those are not flowers of joy. Those are pity flowers. And proof that I really DO have the best husband ever! And to further validate that point, here is why:

He fought through torrential rainpour and flooding (doesn't that sound very chivalrous-like?) to secure the beautiful bouquet. Maybe he was soaking wet when he got home. Maybe his truck almost stalled going down our street (Why do we have this flooding problem?? Remember last time?). Yet, he pressed on.

AND THEN, to top it all...he went ahead and made the grilled chicken I'd planned on for dinner tonight. In the pouring rain.

Somebody get this guy a medal of honor!!!!!! I love you, Seth!

So now we wait. And pray and hope that next week's appointment gives us some good news to share. Dr. R said he would tell me I was 50% effaced "if I wanted". NO! I don't want pity effacement - I want the real deal!

Boy is that a sentence you never thought you'd read on my blog.

If there still isn't any significant progress next week, we will go ahead and schedule an induction as our Plan B. Hopefully it won't come to that but I don't think any of you want to see me hit 41 weeks either.

Trust me.

In other news...candy corn. I felt like I should take the following picture to measure my progress:


It's a little depressing that my husband doesn't eat candy. So anytime I put out any sort of candy bowl, I'm the one who ends up eating it. I thought maybe it would keep me a tad accountable if I posted a picture of the candy corn-ed pumpkin each week so we can all monitor (in horror) the emptying of the jar. It was filled to the top last weekend. And I think it's only fair to point out that the mellowcreme pumpkins take up a little more room than the actual candy corn.

Happy fall!

37 Weeks

Good grief will we EVER arrive at the finish line?!

It won't stop. It keeps getting bigger! I know many women embrace their pregnant belly. I do not. Have I told you yet that I can't wait to get back to normal??? I thought so.

No, Jake wasn't born. Breathe in, breathe out! This is little Lexi who we got to meet last Tuesday. I feel bad she hasn't got a blog mention yet so here you go. Adorable. Lots of hair and I'm almost convinced Georgia touched up her lipstick for this picture. :)

I feel like we need to go ahead and get a picture of Lexi and Jake together ASAP. Just in case they ever got married. Because how cute would that be for the wedding slideshow?! We could say "we always knew". But I feel like I need to go ahead and get Jake's picture with many other of our friend's children just in case as well. So we can cover our butts and say "we always knew" with them too. You can never be too prepared for those weddings!

Anyway.

I came up with the top 3 things you DON'T want your doctor to tell you at your 37 week appointment...

1) Well, looks like your baby isn't anxious to come out anytime soon!
2) No dilation, no effacement, no nuthin'
3) Let's go ahead and send you over to the hospital to get that heart rate monitored!

Ahem, what?

As you can see, it was a semi-eventful day. Jake was being uber-lazy and let his HR get a little low. They weren't really that concerned but wanted me to be monitored for about an hour to make sure his heart was doing what it was supposed to. So we had a FUN little experience with triage, hospital beds, and the general unconcern of the nurse's station with your situation. At least Bernie Mac was on TV!

All in all, everything was fine. My doctor was just being cautious but I won't lie and tell you that I sortakinda thought a few times, "THIS IS IT! THEY ARE TAKING HIM TODAY!"

Let me tell you about a little lesson I've learned in getting your hopes up.

Don't.

But since he did say Jake was in there "pretty good", he told us to start thinking about the possibility of an induction. Lots of things to think about...and still a couple weeks off. But it's just crazy we're nearing the end no matter what! And a bonus from today's events...we get another ultrasound next week! Hooray!

I know you really want some pictures. It's getting harder and harder to see that much of him (have the u/s machines heard of "zoom out"??) but we still got some shots of his face. And in case any of you were wondering whether this truly was Seth's child...

...wonder no more!

(Nose comparison courtesy of Garrett)

Yes, clearly he has Seth's nose. And chin. Seth says he gets his "fat cheeks" from me. Gee, thanks! I keep trying to picture Seth's head on a little baby's body. Because I think that's what we might have, folks. Unless Jake comes out with red hair or something. Which will be weird. And creepy.

Here's another picture from the front

He was weighing in at an estimated 6 lbs 4 oz (give or take a pound...most likely "take" since she said his long legs were skewing the weight estimate). His feet are approx 3 inches long (the size of a newborn's) and he has a skinny waist.

Again, Seth's child.

So there you have it. Since I was kinda reassured there probably won't be a baby this week, I did get out the decor tonight. So much for worrying about bringing home the baby to a house that wasn't ready for fall!

One More Month

As in...4 more weeks. 28 more days. 2 paychecks. 4 Sundays at church. One mortgage payment.

Get the picture?

Here we are at 36 weeks:

I went to the doctor today and everything still looks good. My belly is still measuring about 7 weeks behind schedule, which wasn't a concern to the doctor, but he ordered an ultrasound for next week to double check on things. He said it mostly likely just indicates a small baby. Which we've kinda figured all along. But he also said it probably meant a VERY SMART baby too. Like one of those full-ride scholarship to college types. And most likely super athletic. I was also warned he might possibly come out at a 5th grade reading level. Again, it's always amazing what they can tell by just listening to his heart rate.

If you're curious about what else is going on inside my belly...

Your baby is gaining about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy hair that covered his body, as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that protected his skin during his nine-month amniotic bath. Next week, your baby will be considered full-term.

I am becoming increasingly tired and have even started getting nauseus again. Hooray. But besides getting worn out pretty easily and feeling lots and lots more pressure (is that a foot trying to sneak out??), I am still going strong! People keep asking me when I'll stop working. I will be there until this baby comes! No use wasting any of my maternity leave now.

We pretty much have everything we need, our bags are packed, and now we are just waiting. Maybe for 4 weeks, maybe for 5 (die, die, die!!!!), maybe only for 2??

If you know me at all, you know I hate surprises. Absolutely hate them. And that is probably one of the most frustrating things of this pregnancy! If only I could know the exact time and date that Jacob will arrive!! That would really help me out, ya know?? I should probably embrace this but...that might be asking too much at this point. :) I cannot wait to be able to sleep on my stomach, take a HOT bath, bend down without it hurting, and drink caffeine without feeling guilty.

Is that too much to ask??

p.s. Today also marks one month until my birthday. Yes, I celebrate these kinds of things.

Just Breathtaking

Ah...I kid :)

BUT if you would like to see some wonderful maternity pictures taken by a good friend and photographer of ours, check out her blog.

(Or go to http://www.brittanydawsonphotoblog.com/)

Thank you so much Brittany for taking these pictures and putting up with Seth's unwillingness to pose! Hey, at least next time your subject won't be able to protest. Not to say he won't try and poop on you, but...

35 Weeks

In...the...home...stretch!
How my belly will stretch for 5 more weeks, I'm not sure. It is crazy to think that we pretty much have to be prepared for anything right now. I washed 4 loads of baby things this weekend. How is that even possible? It takes 4 loads to wash all of me and Seth's things each week! So with everything washed and folded, I just need to finish getting our hospital bags ready and organize ONE more closet (kinda put this off) and THEN I will officially be ready to have this child. Not that I'm ready mentally or anything like that. I think I will probably still be in shock when Jake is 3 months old.

Speaking of that kid...

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

I've actually had a decent amount of energy this weekend, but that was probably due to the daily nap I got! Tomorrow it's back to work and back to no naps. How unfair is my life?

We take our last class at the hospital this week also - tomorrow night is Newborn Care. I may or may not have already taken said class back in April with Garrett while Kim was on bedrest. That being said, I better win all the diaper challenges, swaddling races, and prizes! The rest of the class is GOING DOWN! Between this class, the infant CPR, and breastfeeding (did I really just type that on my blog?) we will probably be approximately 30% prepared to welcome our child.

I've said all year that it would be so cool to go into labor on Labor Day. Well, Labor Day has almost come and gone, and unfortunately no baby. :) Which is a good thing I guess, considering Jake still needs to fatten up a bit and finish up his brain development. Minor, but whatever.

I'm kidding, I promise.

So that's my long-winded baby update that didn't really provide you with that much information after all. I'll leave you with a picture of me and Tucker chatting about the baby after our walk.


Happy short week of work!

Boys Oh Boys!

Well, first things first. Here we are at 34 weeks:

I don't know how big Jake is now...although I'm sure we're around 5 pounds. Um yeah...there is a 5 lb bowling ball in my belly? That's not uncomfortable or weird at all! :)

So we have 6 more weeks, give or take. All my emails tell me it's time to start packing our bags!! But before that...I have to wash everything. I have been putting this off but I guess there's no reason not to get started now! Clothes, sheets, socks, burp cloths...looks like I have a big date with Dreft in my future! Let me know if you want to come fold...

This weekend I had a joint baby shower in San Antonio with one of my best friends, Paula, who is due with baby Noah in early December! It will be so fun to have boys close in age. And they better like each other because we already have plans for lots of matching pictures, activities, "BFF" necklaces (kidding), etc. At least one of us isn't having a girl because there might already be a wedding planned!

Our good friends Dabney, Susan, Dana, and Suanne had put so much effort into planning a wonderful baby shower! They planned every last little detail and had the cutest decorations. I have about 150 pictures I could post but I'm not sure blogger could accomodate such an upload. It was really fun to have a joint shower and celebrate with our close family and friends. I know Suanne would have loved to be there and it was special that we knew she was still there in spirit. And now we for sure know we have a very special guardian angel to watch over our precious boys!

Thank you SO MUCH girls for all the thought, effort, hard work, etc etc ETC you put into planning this shower! It definitely didn't go unnoticed and I am so glad we were able to spend the afternoon celebrating! All these pictures were taken by the talented Dana & Dabney of Dphotography. We are lucky to have so many good photographers close by!

We couldn't resist. Yes, we love you Baby Jake!

Noah and Jake talking to each other. Probably discussing sports or girls.

Mamas-to-be


Dana, Paula, Me, Dabney

Me & Paula with our new Vera Bradley diaper bags! Thanks girls!!

We had a blindfolded race to see who could diaper, clothe, and swaddle the fastest. Good thing those blindfolds won't be around in real life. We'd be in some trouble.
Our "babies"


SUPER cute cake!

Cute sign-in table

Dana with the grandmas-to-be


Dabney, Me, Paula, & Megan (we missed you Susan and Cara!!)

Look how cute this is!

I had a good time in San Antonio but am glad to be back at home. I plan on doing a lot of NOTHING (well, and washing baby stuff I guess) next weekend!

Scratch that.

I will actually be up watching GAME DAY on Saturday morning with Lee and Kirk. Can you believe it's already time for college football?! The Fightin' Texas Aggies will kick off their season against New Mexico. This is the first year I probably won't make a football game since 2002. Jake and I will just be there in spirit. In the A/C. Which is really the smarter decision anyway.

WHOOP!