In Your Room

Andy is finally done with the nursery renovation, and Labor Day weekend was spent starting to move in! We ended up painting the walls a light yellow color to brighten up the room. Blue would have just been too dark in there since we don't get a ton on sunlight with only one window. I'm going to focus on bringing in color with the curtains, bedding, wall hangings, etc. We're going more with brown and blue for those things. I also found the perfect letters for the wall that have blue and brown dots on them for his name. Andy put together his dresser on Friday night and we set up the crib Saturday morning! We also worked on unpacking our shower gifts and getting all of the clothes organized by size. It's been so much fun to look at everything we have received so far and the things I've picked up over the last few years and to get things put away. Now we have a better idea of what we need to get to fill in the blanks and to get ready to go. Only 6 1/2 weeks to go!

With only 6 1/2 weeks to go, I am officially done traveling and loving being at home. I think it will feel best to be at home now- riding in the car was just getting to be too hard, not to mention not sleeping in my own bed and following my routine. My belly is growing so fast and I am tiring out more again. Not quite like the first trimester, but getting close. I crash out on the couch almost every night before Andy attempts to move me upstairs. My back will also freeze up at night and it gets hard to move around. I was talking to one of my friends on the phone the other night and we had a laugh about dropping a pen on the floor- she asked me yet if I've gotten to the point where if I drop a pen on the floor I have to act like MacGyver to try to pick it up. I said yes, and then I have work to do to figure out how to get back up again. I really have to say though that even though there are aches and pains and brainless moments, I have honestly LOVED being pregnant. I used to roll my eyes when people said that, but honestly what a blessing to be able to carry our own child and experience this!

Baby is moving so much now. Andy and I are convinced that we have the strongest Olympian on the way. His kicks and movements have brought tears to my eyes once or twice- they have soooooo much power behind them. Andy is constantly reminding him to be nice to his mommy!!

We had our last monthly doctor appointment yesterday before I start going every 2 weeks. The word of the day was "normal". Everything was normal- baby's heart rate, my belly's size, my blood pressure, my symptoms- normal normal normal. And really- thank goodness for normal!!!! Apparently the baby's head is down so I'm getting closer, but the doctor thinks that I will go full term. I really believe he will make his appearance early, but maybe that is wishful thinking on my part!

The last ultrasound I need to have to check on that size of the monster fibroid has been delayed another 3 or so weeks. My doctor wants to do it around 35 weeks, which bummed us out because we wanted to take another peek at our little guy this week. Something to look forward to, I guess! I hope we get good pictures of Baby so we can post them on here! Cross your fingers!

Shower the People you Love (With Love)- Again!

Saturday was my family's baby shower in Fargo. It was a long drive out to ND and I was really sore after the car ride, but I enjoyed being there and it was a fun afternoon! There were members of every branch of my family there and we had quite a turnout, which was wonderful. There were a lot of people that came that I haven't seen in years, so it was nice to catch up with everyone! Sandy brought her "babies" which were a big hit. The babies were replicas of the actual size/weight of babies in utero that she uses to train with at work, and they were really fun for people to hold and look at. I loved seeing the 30 week baby again since I'm right there this week. We played only one game (the "Price is Right"- it's amazing to me how much everything "baby" costs!!), but we had plenty of time to visit and take pictures. And yes, this time I did get lots of pictures this time! "Baby Brain" wasn't going to happen this weekend- I put my cousin Krissy in charge of the camera and she took care of things so I could enjoy visiting with everyone and eat my "Uncle Joe Cake" (my uncle Joe has made almost every cake for every major life event that I've had- good stuff!!!). Thank you those who hosted the shower- you went through so much work and I really appreciate it!!!! Also, just like last weekend, I'm so appreciative of everyone that came and were so generous- you are all so kind and we can't wait to introduce the baby to you!

I had my 3 hour gestational diabetes test Monday and (good news) I passed with flying colors! The test is not one I'd ever like to repeat EVER again, so I'm glad it's behind me and I still can continue to eat all of the cookies I want! I made a huge pan of Scotcheroos for a potluck at work today and I think that the plate that I took to work vs. what I left in the pan for home was a little lopsided. I just hope Andy doesn't get to them first!

Andy is progressing on Baby's room. Besides all of the shower gifts, we have gone shopping ourselves to get ready for Baby, so a corner of our living room is overflowing with stuff that needs to get organized and put away. My mom and sister went shopping with us this weekend so we could get a few more essentials. I can honestly say that I am officially "nesting". Andy is hoping to get the room painted & carpets cleaned soon so we can set up the crib and "move in"!

Shower the People you Love (With Love)

This past weekend we went to the cities where the Hoffmann girls threw me and Baby our first shower. It was so much fun! They had a rubber ducky theme (to honor Andy's high school swimming past). We had a great time! We played games- one of which was a "create your own baby" collage game. I was amazed at everyone's creativity- it was hard to pick the winner! The entire afternoon went so fast that I realized the next morning that I forgot to take pictures. I had my camera out and ready, but I didn't take one the entire time! So the pictures I have are from Sandy. The girls are also putting together a keepsake book for me from Crazy Quilt Scrapbooks with pictures they took and best wishes from the guests. Good thing, because "pregnancy brain" has taken over. I remembered to take pictures at my own wedding (the most hectic day of my life) but of course I forgot at my first baby shower!

Really I was amazed at how wonderful and generous everyone is. Our little boy is so blessed that he has such great family and friends to help welcome him into this world! Thank you to everyone that came or sent along gifts- we are truly grateful!!!

Speaking of "pregnancy brain"- my boss called me into her office today and asked me if the phone number I had put on a form that was supposed to be our business phone looked familiar to me. It turns out that I had put our home phone number on there- she just laughed at me as she was whiting it out, telling me she figured that I didn't want too many phone calls at home. It's a good thing I guess I have another set of eyes looking things over, and I'm not in charge of anything too dire right now! If I were in charge of the nation's power grid right now, you'd all be screwed!

We went to our doctor's appointment last Thursday. Baby is healthy, and he is growing more and more every day. I'm amazed at how strong he is and how powerful his movements are. But.... I did flunk my one hour diabetes screening, so I have to go back for the 3 hour test. Yuck. I personally think it's a fluke that I got such a high reading because of I didn't fast that day like people are now telling me I should have. My clinic told me that they don't have people fast and I had followed their directions to the letter. I think the grilled cheese that I had for lunch did me in. So I'll go and take the 3 hour test even though I called the clinic and begged for a re-test on the one hour. They didn't agree. I'm hoping it was just a fluke and I'm fine- I am craving bread, noodles, and everything sugar I can get my hands on these days. All of the things that if I am diabetic that I can't have, I am scarfing down. This little boy definitely has a sweet tooth, and I'd hate to deprive him of what he's asking for (or is it what I am asking for??????).