The Year in Review - 2011

2011 was surely a year we will always remember.  From start to finish, it was a big one.  It was a year that brought its fair share of sadness as well as unspeakable amounts of joy.  Here is a look back at our 2011...

January

We started 2011 by ringing in the new year with friends and resolutions.  If you recall, I started the year with the intention of running/walking 365 miles by the end of it.  Well, I didn't really come close.  In fact, I stopped counting.  But in January I was very good about my exercise routine.  I walked/ran and/or did the Jillian Michaels Shred everyday.  January 2011 also brought a few snow days which meant staying home and playing outside with Todd and Frosty.

Happy New Year!

Snow Day!

Frosty LOVES to jump and chase the snow that Todd sends flying as he shovels!

February

February began with a very fun Super Bowl party at our friends Nate and Kylene's house.  We enjoyed good company, good food and a good victory for the Packers (let's be honest, it would have been a good victory for ANYONE who beat the Steelers)!  Not only did we have a good time, but I also won the trophy for getting closest to the total final score!

As we worked our way into February I continued with my exercise plan.  I walked and/or Shredded everyday until February 13, 2011.  I remember the exact day I went without exercising because it was the day we started our journey to Michigan for my grandfather's funeral.  Sadly, in mid-February Todd and I had to travel to East Jordan, MI after my grandfather passed away.  It was an incredibly short (and yet incredibly long) trip filled with tears but also with lots of love and remembering. 

In February we also attended a wonderful marriage conference at our church, visited the Football Hall of Fame and began another season of Todd coaching the JV baseball team.  We also made some really delicious meals in February including risotto and chicken Marsala and I learned what leaks and shallots were! :)



Nate awarding me my trophy.

 

The trophy still sits above our fire place and probably will until this year's Super Bowl. 

 

At the HOF.  Also the last picture of me pre-pregnancy.



 

March

March was an incredibly exciting month as it was when we found out we were pregnant!  We kept it quiet for most of March except for telling our parents and a few other family members.  Todd continued through baseball and I spent my days exhausted at school, exhausted and watching TV at home, not cooking due to the smells and going to bed some nights as early as 7:30! 

April

April started much in the same way that March ended.  Nausea, exhaustion and baseball.  We trudged through our long days of work and baseball/coming home and doing nothing!  Frosty suffered from not getting her usual 2 walks/day because on most days I was unable to take her out in the evenings.  So we started playing a lot of fetch in the backyard.  This allowed me to sit on the back porch and Frosty to still get her exercise (plus the added bonus of treats when she brought back her ball). 

May

May brought my birthday, fully announcing my pregnancy (though no one was really surprised) and my first ultrasound!  Because of my major exhaustion, my midwife wanted to make sure it was only one baby... thankfully, it was!  When she did the ultrasound she guessed that it was most likely a boy though it was still too early to know for sure.

Of course, May also brought SOL at school and the start of my second trimester, which left me feeling much less nauseous and much less exhausted. 

The first picture of our sweet baby!

June

June was a VERY eventful month!  It started with the end of the school year which meant three months of FREEDOM! :)  Right after school let out, Todd and my dad went to a practice session of the US Open golf tournament at Congressional Country Club.  Then, a few days later we found out that our sweet little baby was indeed a boy! 

In mid-June we experienced Father's Day differently than ever before.  Knowing our baby boy was on the way made it much more special! 

Beautiful, huh?  Too bad it's a bit out of our price range! :)

Happy Father's Day!



 July

Most of July was spent indoors due to the EXTREME heat of the summer.  We spent many days of July getting the nursery and the rest of the house ready for the arrival of Thomas.  Todd painted 2 rooms (leaving only 1 room in the house unpainted)! 

In mid-July I attended the midnight premiere of Harry Potter with some friends.  I dressed as Luna and Katie dressed as Professor Trewlany.  We had a very fun time... and let's be honest, it was probably my last midnight premiere for a VERY long time if not forever! :)

At the end of July, Todd and I went with my entire family to Myrtle Beach.  We spent the week relaxing, enjoying good meals and good times with my family and we went out one night for all-we-could-eat crab legs!  YUM!

Pregnant Teenage Witch... hmmm...

Not the smartest idea to take the picture with us all looking straight into the sun!

6 months pregnant

August

August started with us still at the beach and ended with us returning to school for work days!  In between Todd and I went into school to set up my new classroom (I was annexed this year...hehe).  Thankfully Todd was willing to help because I could NEVER have unpacked all the boxes myself, let alone move everything into its proper place!

The best part of August, however, was defintely having my college roommates up for a reunion and the Route 11 Yard Crawl! 



September

Semptember brought the beginning of another school year.  I started getting ready to leave my classroom to someone else for many weeks and Todd and I continued to prepare for the baby. 

The big events of September were a surprise baby shower thrown by Todd's mom and sister and a day trip into DC for a Nationals game when they played the Braves. 



Can you tell which team we were cheering for?



October

October was a month of great anticipation!  I reached the "home stretch" of my pregnancy and by the end was wondering if I would go into labor.

October brought some fun fall festivities like going to the corn maze with our friends Nate and Kylene and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween.  I also was blessed with a wonderful baby shower thrown by some wonderful friends.  Many of my family members and friends came and truly showered me with advice, love and gifts!  Todd's big event in October was doing a race/obstacle course called the "Warrior Dash" with some of our friends from church. 

Finally, the end of October brought our very first snow of the season!  It was CRAZY!  The weekend before Halloween came with a snowfall of a few inches.  We had a lot of fun with Frosty playing in it and taking neat pictures.  Hopefully it was not our ONLY snow of the season! :)

Lots of wonderful VT gifts!

8 months pregnant with one of the co-hosts, Kylene.



Frosty loved mildly tolerated posing for a picture in Todd's Viking hat which he got for completing the Warrior Dash.

Frosty, the snow dog.

November

November was the most eventful month of our year for sure!  It started with Todd breaking his big toe and ended with a very different Thanksgiving than ever before.  And something else happened in November... what was it?  HAHA!  Our sweet baby boy, Thomas, made his grand entrance into the world and completely changed our lives forever! 

His arrival has changed our lives in more ways than I can even list.  We now have no problem going to bed in the 9 o'clock hour, spend many hours rocking, soothing, walking around with and dancing with Thomas, find ourselves talking in "baby talk" A LOT and think taking a shower, going to Target or getting a halfway decent meal on the table is an AMAZING accomplishment for the day!  And we wouldn't go back... 

Let the weeks in the boot begin...

Due to a fever at birth and some breathing issues, Thomas spent his first few days in the NICU.  While there he had to spend some time "tanning" under the light therapy for jaundice.

But by Thanksgiving he was home, well and growing!

 December

December has been a whirlwind of diapers, bottles, spit-up and cuddles!  For the first year as a couple (when we've spent Christmas together) we did not travel at all over Christmas break!  Todd's family came and visited us on Christmas day and my parents came yesterday for a short visit. 

December was also the month we saw Frosty turn 2 and Todd turn 28... and Thomas was here to wish them both a very happy birthday! :)

1st picture with Santa.

Happy Birthday, Frosty!



Enjoying some play time.



The best birthday present Todd could have gotten?  Thomas's very first real smile!
Happy Birthday, Daddy!

So that was our 2011.  I have no doubt that 2012 will be an even better year as we watch our sweet Thomas grow and learn!  It will be a year full of MANY firsts for sure!  Now the only question is, what will our resolutions be for this year?  Check back later to see...

Midweek Confessions #2

Again this week I am linking up with E, Myself, and I to do midweek confessions.  What do I have to confess this week...?

1.  As much as I denied that I was going to neglect my dog once I had a child, sometimes I do... :(  There are days when I go almost the whole day without petting her.  I mean, I have a baby with me most of the time, and I don't want to get my hands dirty... AGAIN.

2.  I bought stocking stuffers for my husband at MARTINS this year!  Nothing like going on a grocery run and also getting Christmas presents.

3.  The above mentioned stocking stuffers were a Scooby Doo ornament, fruity Tootsie Rolls and a pancake flipper with a gingerbread man on it... great gifts, huh?  HAH!

4.  I bought Todd the pancake flipper so that he would get the hint that I wanted pancakes for breakfast on Christmas morning!

5.  This is more a confession of my parents, but still, I feel like I need to share... Thomas currently has 3 "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments.  Todd has 2 from when he was a baby.  Frosty has 2 "Puppy's First Christmas" ornaments... I have NONE marking my first Christmas. 

6.  I had to have a tetanus shot yesterday and my arm really hurts.  I am a big baby.

7.  I didn't sing Todd "Happy Birthday" at any point yesterday (it was his birthday).  Technically this was per his request... but still...

8.  I started this blog post awhile ago.  Then Thomas started crying.  I am happy to NOT have to confess that I ignored him so that I could finish... But I do have to confess that a part of me kinda wanted to.

Check in next week to see what I'll have to confess. 

Hoping to get a "Year in Review" post done tomorrow... it kinda was a big year! :)

Midweek Confessions

So I am a day late linking up to "Midweek Confessions" over at E, Myself, and I... but oh well... Thursday is still midweek, right?

So this is my first time linking up and I've decided to go with midweek confessions, Christmas style... I'm a little too new to this to do any MAJOR mommy confessions! :)

So here goes...

1.  I absolutely HATE when people mix colored lights, white lights, big bulbs, little bulbs, flashing lights, not flashing lights, etc. when decorating their homes for Christmas.  I LOVE Christmas lights outside, but stick with ONE theme.

2.  It hit me when complaining about #1 to my husband, that maybe people that mix lights do it because their children get to pick what goes outside.  You know, one wants colored lights on the door and the other wants white lights on the tree, and another wants lights that flash... and if this is the case, I'm sorry for complaining... but if it is not, RETHINK your decorating.

3.  My dog currently has more Christmas presents than my child.  Granted, Thomas is only going to be 6-weeks old on Christmas, but still...

4.  Notice the SIZE difference between the two stockings in the picture above.  We're so cheap we are waiting until AFTER Christmas to get Thomas a real stocking! 

5.  This is the first year in a LONG time I didn't do any baking.  I believe I have a good reason for that, but still, it was kinda weird.  Todd and I did enjoy making Chex mix for some coworkers, but that's not really  baking...

6.  We are most likely going to go "A Christmas Story" style this year and get Chinese food for Chirstmas dinner... for the SECOND year in a row!  Last year we were on "Christmas Layover" between Todd's parents and my parents, this year we're not traveling, and it's the ONLY thing open on Christmas... FRA RA RA RA RA! 

Do you have any midweek confessions you'd like to share?  Leave a comment! :)

Thomas's Birth Story, Part 2

In this part of Thomas's birth story I am going to discuss labor/delivery.  In part 1 I discussed my non-stress test and decision to be induced.

Before I start, I wanted to share my very last picture before having Thomas.  Unfortunately I didn't get a picture on the morning I went into the hospital, but this was taken just a few days before.

Saturday, 11/12/11

Saturday morning started very early, as we had to be at the hospital at 7:30.  Todd and I woke up, got ready, ate breakfast (thankfully the doctor had cleared me to eat some breakfast) and headed to the hospital.  We packed A LOT of stuff... MUCH more than we really needed to, but I feel like that's probably pretty common.  However, maybe not as common... I actually packed some papers thinking maybe I would do some last minute grading while laboring!  HA!  That SO didn't happen.

When we arrived at the hospital they were all ready for us.  I quickly changed into a gown and was hooked up to a fetal monitor, contraction monitor and blood pressure cuff.  I would basically be attached to these things for the ENTIRE time I was in labor (here is just another example of how nothing went as I planned... in my plan I was going to be walking through contractions, changing positions and what not to stay comfortable).

The doctor came in soon afterward to check me and give me drugs to start my contractions.  I was told it would probably take 2-4 doses of drugs (at 3 hour intervals) for my contractions to really get going and my body to take over.

The first set of drugs started some contractions, but they were very spaced out and not too difficult.  Todd and I passed the time by playing cards and watching football (yes, that's right... we watched FOOTBALL while I was in labor... Todd basically thinks I am the best wife ever).

About three hours later I got my second dose of drugs and learned I was no further dilated (not uncommon).  This dose of drugs did exactly what it was supposed to.  It brought my contractions closer together and made it so that I could get the pitocin.  By the time the doctor gave me the pitocin, I was starting to get uncomfortable and my contractions were getting tougher.  I remember her telling me when she gave me the pitocin that my card playing hours were over...

She was wrong.  Despite the pain, Todd and I continued to play some cards (to take my mind off the pain).  But this time around I was having to stop pretty often to breath and get through my contractions.

After some time on the pitocin, I was checked around 6 o'clock only to find I was NO MORE dilated than I had been when I came in!  UGH... at this point I pretty much had a complete mental breakdown.  This was NOT how it was supposed to happen.  My body was SUPPOSED to take over and do what it needed to do so I could actually DELIVER a baby.  The nurse was FANTASTIC.  She talked me through it and just kept me focused on the positive... I was going to have a baby... instead of the negative... it wasn't looking like it was going to be ANY time soon!

At this point I was allowed to take all the monitors off for one glorious hour.  I was cleared to walk around the hallways of the hospital... just as I had PLANNED.

That was siginificantly harder than I expected.  We had planned on doing an hour of hallway walking... I think we maybe made it 30 minutes... and most of that was spent with me bracing the wall fighting through the contractions.  After a much shorter time than expected, I HAD to get back to my room.  I WAS EXHAUSTED.

When I got back my nurses had switched, which I almost had another mental breakdown about... my first L&D nurse had been SO GREAT!  Luckily, I returned to my room to find that my second (and last) L&D nurse was equally fantastic! 

At this point I decided to get some drugs to "take the edge off" the contractions and allow me to maybe rest up for the night ahead.  I don't remember what I was given but it helped a little bit.  I could still feel the contractions but it just made them easier to get through somehow... as if my mind knew I would be able to relax more inbetween.  But despite the drugs, I was still in SUPER pain and SUPER exhausted.

At this point the nurse came in to talk to me about an epidural.  Let me put in here that I DID NOT really want to have one.  It wasn't that I was scared or nervous about what it would do to me/the baby, I simply wanted to try natural.  I didn't like the idea of losing my urge to push... like I said, I wanted to try to keep it natural.

HOWEVER... the nurse told me that my doctor had commented that maybe I should get an epidural to help my body relax.  They thought this would really help my body take over and dilate.  Plus, with the pitocin my contractions were only going to get WAY worse, possibly worse than they would get naturally.

At this point Todd and I decided it was going to have to be epidural.  I was in a lot of pain, both of us were EXHAUSTED, and my body was NOT doing it's job.  Plus, one major reason I had not wanted an epidural was because I wanted to be able to move, walk, etc... and with all the monitors, that wasn't happening.  I came to the conclusion that at that moment, the ONLY real reason I had left not to get the epidural was because I was stubborn and would be able to say I did it all naturally (well, natural being relative to having been induced)... and that was a REALLY bad reason to resist.

So around 9 o'clock-ish I got the epidural... and the worst part of it... getting it!  Youch!  But mere minutes later I was enjoying some sweet relief!  I was also given some benedryl because I had broken out in a rash, so between the two drugs, I was OUT LIKE A LIGHT!  And basically slept on and off for the rest of the night...

Sunday, 11/13/11

At around 1:30-ish, I was woken up to be checked.  I was fairly alert but still kinda sleepy, when I heard the nurse say something to the effect of, "Oh my!  That's a head!  It's time to push!"  Todd and I literally went from basically asleep to WIDE AWAKE in the matter of seconds.  They got me all set up to push and helped me know when my contractions were coming.  After a few contractions, I could actually start to feel them coming.  I don't know if my epidural wasn't strong enough or the contractions were just that strong, but I was actually kinda glad.  Remember, I had said I didn't want to lose the urge to push... so now I had minimal pain but could still feel like I knew when I needed to push.  Todd was a champ, feeding me ice chips and offering words of encouragement.

At some point the doctor came in and things got way more medical!  The best part of the whoe pushing part was this story:

Todd basically send something like "Way to go, babe!" every time I got finished pushing.  At one point after a push, I looked at him and said, "You really need to start coming up with other pep phrases."  At this the doctor just started laughing.  And then she said since Todd was a PE teacher and coach she just kept expecting him to say coach-y things like "Walk it off,"  "Go team,"  or better yet, give me a slap on the rear and tell me "Good Game!"  After that, no matter what he said she would laugh.  It kept the mood light-hearted!

At some point the room was FULL of nurses.  This was when I knew we were close.  The doctor was so encouraging talking about how I had gotten his big head out and was working on the shoulders.  At some point the pain got really intense and I knew we were at the home stretch.  I remember that I was crying, laughing, feeling exhilerated and exhausted all at the same time!  Looking back I can't even really put into words what I was feeling, but I remember thinking "WHY AM I CRYING?  MY BABY IS ALMOST HERE!"  And then I saw him and heard a cry (not sure which happened first)...  Then just a blur of nurses, Todd cutting the cord, and him being wisked off.  At some point someone mentioned he had a fever and would be taken to the nursery to be checked out even more... but I got to hold him for a few (SHORT) minutes before that.

NO ONE could believe his size and Todd and I couldn't get over his head of dark brown hair!

...And then he was gone.  Which officially concludes his birth story. There is so much more to tell about his first few days after birth... but that is another (or many others) post.

The taking of my baby almost immediately after birth was again something that was NOT PLANNED.  I missed those hours of skin-to-skin time I was supposed to have... and that was painful.  But God blessed me with sleep immediately so I really wasn't aware of how painful...  more on that in Thomas's After Birth Story.

Thomas's Birth Story, Part 1

I did not want to wait to write this post.  I want to try to recall every detail before I possibly lose them and I know that if I wait too long I might never get to it.

Let me start by saying from start to finish Thomas's birth was NOTHING like I expected.  NOTHING like I planned (though I wasn't all that into planning... no long birth plan here) and NOTHING like what I had prepared myself for.

God has a way of shaking things up to remind us that he is in control and BOY did this experience help me remember that.  God is in charge and He is GOOD!

So let's start from the beginning... it's going to be a long one... and I promise I will try not to include TOO many details.

Friday, 11/11/11 (MY DUE DATE)

Friday started as a completely normal uneventful day.  As much as I had wished and hoped that I would be in labor by Friday morning... alas, no such luck.  So, as I have done so many mornings I got ready and headed to school.  Again, all through the day I was hoping to go into labor, but the day went on as normal with know need for my "What to do if I go into labor at school" emergency plan.  On Friday afternoon I had a scheduled appointment with my midwife because she was a little concerned about the fact that my blood pressure had been higher than normal on Wednesday.  So I went in to have it checked and possibly have another non-stress test.  I expected to go in, have them check it, it be normal and I be heading home quickly.  Well, not so much... My blood pressure was still quite high and so my midwife sent me to labor and delivery at the hospital.  When the nurse came in to tell me this I probably looked completely shocked and confused because she quickly added "just for another non-stress test."  Oh... :( Ok. 

We headed over to the hospital and they hooked me up to a fetal monitor.  The nurse came in and checked on me every once in awhile and kept saying how beautiful Thomas looked (to which I kept whispering to him, "She means handsome, son.")  We ended up being in the hospital forEVER... or so it seems as you watch MANY couples come in and see many laboring women or support people coming and going, nurses rushing around and talking about how many babies were going to be born that day.  ON YOUR DUE DATE... and yours is not one of them.

I was told that I would have to keep a 24 hour urine collection (GROSS) and return in 24 hours to be looked at again, but that before I left the doctor who was on-call for my practice wanted to check me out.

As we sat and waited we were talking about how realistically MOST first babies come late and that we really had to mentally prepare ourselves for not meeting our baby for another week to ten days.

When the doctor was ready we walked into the exam room and she came in a few minutes later.  I had never met this particular doctor before but at once felt comfortable with her.  I knew she knew what she was talking about and she talked me through everything.  At this point I was still only about 2 centimeters dilated (which was how I had been for about a week).  Bummer I thought.  Then the doctor said these words (and I quote as closely to how I remember them...) "Ok.  So since we're concerned about your high blood pressure we have two choices.  1, we keep you here over night and induce you tomorrow morning or 2, we send you home and you come back tomorrow morning to be induced."

WHAT?  Never once had being induced really been laid on the table except when my midwife quickly had said at my last appointment that she knew I wanted natural and she hoped we wouldn't have to induce.  At the time I didn't even realize she was talking about because of the high blood pressure... I thought she meant because of going past my due date!

Because of the VERY high blood pressure that wasn't going down, the doctor was concerned about a condition called preeclampsia which apparently can lead to complications with the mother, not the baby.  The only way to resolve the issues is to have the baby delivered.  (BTW I later learned from my midwife that the doctor that decided to deliver me, "does not mess around with preeclampsia."  My midwife said she knew that when she heard that doctor was on-call she was going to induce me).

The reason she couldn't induce me that night was because (and this time I seriously quote word-for-word), "there is no room at the inn."  ALL of the labor and delivery rooms were full so if I stayed over I would be put somewhere else in the hospital.  That didn't sound too fun and I really liked the idea of one more night at home and since we lived close the doctor felt like this was a safe choice.  I would be induced 12 hours later... that meant that my little guy had 12 hours to decide to come on his own naturally.

Todd and I quickly called family and friends to let them know the news.  Though it was not the NATURAL way I had hoped, it was still REALLY exciting that we were about to spend our last night at home without a baby and that within the next 48 hours we were going to meet our baby boy!

We came home, ate some pizza for dinner and tried to relax.  We wen to bed and TRIED to sleep, though it didn't come too easily...

...stay tuned for part 2, labor and delivery.

38 Week Update and October Snow...

I realize that this post was "so 2 weeks ago," but I'm never good about getting things up quickly... but I still wanted to document this event.

Virginia (and much of the eastern coast of the US) experienced a rather strange October snow 2 Saturdays ago.  We were prepared for it, and quite honestly didn't get much, but it was still really cool to have pictures of us walking Frosty in the snow IN OCTOBER.

True to her name, Frosty LOVES the snow!

Our morning started rather early because once we saw the snow falling we really just wanted to go get out in it before it all stopped and/or melted!  We began by taking Frosty for a walk because the sidewalks didn't really have snow sticking to them.  HOWEVER, they were still very slick with a slushy coating and seeing as how I was 38 weeks pregnant at the time we decided a walk was probably not the best choice.  So we went back to our house and just played around/took pictures.

Frosty REALLY loves to have snow thrown up in the air while she jumps at it or chases it, so we had fun playing in the snow with her for awhile.

Doesn't she look so happy?  Almost like she is smiling...

I personally just liked looking at how everything looked.  I have a rose bush in the backyard, and during the week prior to the snow I had SO many roses blooming/about to bloom.  It was crazy to see those beautiful flowers covered in snow!



Can you tell how many buds and blooms the bush had?



I, of course, also had to get a picture of my baby belly!  I mean, really, who'd have thought that with Nov. 11th as a due date I would get a picture of me in SNOW without leaving Virginia?!  Notice in the picture how my coat is open because I couldn't zip it up!  I could snap it, however, when I bet over at one point ALL of the snaps popped open!  So I just went with open coat for the rest of the day!

Finally, we attempted to get some family photos in the snow.  Here is how they turned out:

In Frosty's eyes, this is probably a pretty accurate family photo... She's the star!

This one is a bit better, but poor Frosty barely made it in!

MUCH easier to take a photo when no one is trying to hold a dog!

Todd and his furry baby.

After morning fun in the snow, we decided to go out and try to get some pumpkins.  Even though we were pretty sure our friends' pumpkin carving party would be cancelled (which sadly it was) we figured we'd still carve them at home anyway... a fun snow day activity, right?  WRONG... apparently the weekend before Halloween is NOT the best time to go out and get pumpkins... after a trip to WalMart, Martins, and Food Lion we were pumpkin-less.  However, Todd made a good point when he said "So the weekend before Halloween I can't find buy a pumpkin... but I can by WRAPPING PAPER for CHRISTMAS!"  True that.  The stores were fully stocked and ready for Christmas... ugh... it's a bit early in my opinion.

Alas, we came home with no pumpkins and with Todd coming down with a cold.  So we hunkered (sp?) down for the day/night and watched movies, ate soup and stayed inside.  By Saturday night/Sunday most of the snow was melted, but we still stayed in and stayed lazy! 

My Monday (Halloween) you'd hardly have known it had snowed... but there were still very trace amounts left on the ground as tricker-treaters made their way around the neighborhood... a first for me!

And just for good measure, here was the picture we had taken the night before as my "official" 38 weeks baby belly photo...

This was NOT staged... but isn't it ridiculously cute how she is staring up at my belly??

So two weeks late, you have my 38 week update.  Tomorrow I will be 40 weeks!  Whoa... that's supposed to be the end of a pregnancy, right?  Apparently Baby Boy Narcross did NOT get the memo... though I suppose there is still time.  We'll see...

Baby Shower @ 37 Weeks

Well, last week we hit a major milestone... 37 weeks.  Our little man is now considered full term, and if he comes now, it won't be considered preterm labor. :)

I guess this is what would be considered the "home stretch!"  It just feels so weird at this point to think it could be any day now... or... it could still be many weeks!

This week I was also blessed to have a wonderful baby shower.  My dear friends Kim, Kylene and Lisa worked together to put on a wonderful baby shower!

It was so wonderful to be able to gather with many friends and family members and celebrate our little guy... and they really blessed us with some great things, too! :)



An elephant bank for the elephant nursery.  Thanks, Bethany!



Gotta love the doggie outfit, thanks Sheila!

An elephant toy for our boy.  Thanks, Kylene!

Baby's first tuxedo?  :)  Thanks, Mom!

A fun and easy to grab ball.  Thanks, Melissa!

Lil' VT onsies!  Thanks, Aunt Judy!

Diaper Genie!  Woo!  Thanks, Rachel and Sarah! 

There were some other great things that didn't make it into a picture including lots of diapers and wipes, tons of baby toiletries, a baby bathrobe, cute outfits (including an "I'm a Great Catch" VT onsie), some sweet books (including 3 Baby's First Bibles!) and a really precious photo frame (which made me blubber and cry quite a bit). 

With one of the wonderful hostesses, Kylene. 

The wonderful and delicious cake made by Lisa!
Notice the baseball for Todd! :)

Me, my cake, and my big old baby belly!

All in all it was a fabulous Sunday afternoon!  I just can't believe how wonderful it was and how everyone really "showered" me with wonderful conversation, wishes for the baby and gifts galore!  I (and Todd and this baby) are truly blessed to have amazing families and amazing friends and coworkers! 

Just a few other notes from this week: 

Todd's parents got us a car seat/stroller combo which Todd has put together, fully read the manuals for, and gotten the base in the car... yes, we are now driving around with a car seat base in the backseat! :)

I had an appointment with my midwife today and I'm about half a centimeter dilated... so not much at all, but more than last time! :)

My sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew came to visit for Saturday night and Frosty was AMAZING.  She didn't get aggressive or mean with the kids... in fact, when she wasn't completely ignoring them she was bathing them with kisses! :) 

I learned at my baby shower that many people are wishing that our little man loves karaoke, grows tall (maybe even taller than Todd) and my personal favorite, respects board games! :) 

Halloween costume pictures to come soon! :)  Have a great rest of the week and weekend!