Weekend Recap

We had a very busy, but very fun weekend!

We went back to Rockford for a wedding and our last shower.  Friday morning, I was lucky enough to have breakfast with my BFF who made it all the way from California for the shower :)  It meant so much to have her there!  

Later that day, we celebrated a wedding for two of our great friends.  The details were amazing and you could tell that they really put a lot of effort into every little thing.

After the wedding, we made the almost 2 hour drive back to Grand Rapids Friday night so that we didn't have to get up super early in the morning to drive back for our shower.  Aaron was kind of enough to stay coherent enough to stay awake and keep me company on the ride home :)

Saturday was our third shower.  Once again, this baby was spoiled!  We got so many great gifts.  And even better than the gifts, so many people came to show their love and support. People came from close by and really, really far away and in the middle.  The travel alone was greatly appreciated.  If only I could have spent more time with everyone.  It's just so hard when you have to make it around to all of the guests.  As I mentioned above, my BFF was in from CA, her sister came from Chicago, our college roommate from Bay City, and friends came from Detroit and Rockford.  Not to mention all of the family that came as well.  Thank you to everyone...it really meant so much to have each and every one of you there even if I couldn't sit and chat for long.  Love you guys!!  And a special thank you to my all of my aunts and my mom for putting on the shower.  It was greatly appreciated.

And we can't forget about Wally :)  These are just some random pictures, but I had to put them in.  I took him to the dog park before I left for the wedding to get some of his energy out (my parents don't have a fenced in yard).  And, on the ride home, his space was a little limited due to all the gifts we had to bring back.  He was just too cute not to photograph :)

We now have almost everything ready.  I plan to do a little more organizing this coming weekend.  My mom is coming out in early October and we are going to make the crib skirt, do a few returns at Buy Buy Baby, and purchase the rest of the items on the registry we need.  We're getting there! :)

32 Weeks: Squash

Yes, my top is slightly "cheeta-ish" and I'm ok with it :)

How big is baby: Baby is the size of a squash this week 15.2-16.7 inches and 2.5-3.8 lbs.  I'm pretty sure we were already at a squash...this must be a bigger squash this week :)

Stretch marks: No.

Sleep:  Waking up multiple times per night now.  More hip pain.    

Diet/Cravings/Aversions:  Fruit and sweets.  I still love pizza, but it's been giving me major heartburn the past few times I've eaten it.

Exercise:  Walking, YMCA.  I've been doing less walking though.  I still get crampy when I walk.  I'm not sure if it's because Wally is with me and we seem to walk faster.  I might go without Wally and see how it goes.  Regardless, I can still do the elliptical just fine without any problems or discomfort.

Gender: We'll find out in October!  

Movement: All the time.  The type of movement has definitely changed from those taps I felt early on.  Now it's more like swipes, stretches, or quick jabs.  

The belly:  Definitely there.

What I'm spazzing about:  Nothing really this week.

What I'm loving:  Feeling baby move all the time.  And still feeling pretty good myself too.

Symptoms:  Sore hips at night.  Heartburn...mostly just reflux right now.  Terrible back pain at work.  Numb patch at the top of my uterus.  Some cramping which the doctor said was normal since my uterus is growing.

What I'm looking forward to:  Being done with my busy season at work.  Having the nursery 100% finished.  I'm kind of really hoping these last 8 weeks go by fast.  Even though I'm nervous about how everything will go and the changes that are coming, I am really really excited to meet this baby.  Although, it would probably be a good idea for us to figure out names :)  We have almost agreed on a girl's name, and are close to a boy's name.  The boy's name has definitely given us some trouble.     

Best moment of the week:  Getting more crossed off my list!  And setting some of the gifts up really started to make things feel real :)  

Waldo's World - Graduation

We've been taking Wally to obedience training in preparation for the baby.  There wasn't anything major we were worried about, it was more to help with some small things.  There were only 5 dogs in the class so we had really good one on one attention.  And Wally loved it because it was one hour a week filled with endless treats, a kong full of peanut butter, and endless amounts of attention from us and the instructors.

He graduated a week ago.  And....he won "Best Trick!"  Aaron was so nervous about how he'd do, but clearly he did great.  Everyone voted for him!  He had to jump up and give Aaron a kiss on the lips.  It worked!

Now we just have to make sure we keep practicing what he learned every once in a while.

Yes, Wally and Aaron got a trophy with a hot dog glued to the top :)

Weekend Recap

I can't believe it's almost time to go back to work already.  As always, the weekend went by way too fast.  We had such a great weekend though.

Friday, I stopped to the YMCA on the way home.  For dinner, we decided to order pizza and catch up on True Blood (we are only in season 3 but we are HOOKED).  I fell asleep a little early on the couch (what's new).

Saturday, Aaron went for a long run and I cleaned the house.  Then we headed to Ann Arbor for a quick bbq with some of my in-laws.  While there, Aaron and I decided to go to the Tiger's game that night.  I FINALLY got my nachos (every other game we've been to has been way too hot for them to sound good).  And as has been the case recently, I definitely dropped a chip full of cheese all over my belly (tonight it was the mango from dinner).  It was a great game, and they won too!

On Sunday, Aaron was headed to see his high school friends in the afternoon, so we decided to organize the nursery as much as we could.  I have everything ready to wash (I'm waiting until after our next shower to do it all at once).  We arranged the furniture in it's final resting place.  The art work we have is hung above the crib.  The items that we won't use for a few months (toys, etc. for when the baby is older) are organized in the basement.  And we put together our main stroller, our snap and go, and our pack and play just to make sure everything was ok and didn't need to be returned.  We had a little too much fun rolling around our living room :)  We almost put Wally in the stroller, but decided against it :)

I hadn't put the pictures in the frames yet when I took these pictures.

I promise to take real pictures of the nursery once everything is put together.  We still have a few small things to take care of before I'll do the full reveal.

After Aaron left, I had a little work to take care of.

And Wally and I topped off our night with a trip to Dairy Queen :)  I think his ice cream was gone in less than 30 seconds.  I told him to slow down and enjoy it, but he never listens.

Today, I had some more work to do, and I ran the rest of my errands.  Wally was very happy when his daddy got home.  Apparently, I'm just not as fun.

And it's back to work tomorrow...Thankfully, it's a short week.  We have a Friday wedding on the west side of the state so I'm taking Friday off.  Only three days!

31 Weeks: Pineapple

How big is baby: Baby is the size of a pineapple this week 15.2-16.7 inches and 2.5-3.8 lbs.  

Stretch marks: No.

Sleep:  Waking up multiple times per night now.  Usually only getting up to go to the bathroom once at night during the week.  My hips are starting to bother me again.  And it's getting harder to roll over.    

Diet/Cravings/Aversions:  Still fruit and more fruit.  Sweets are now added to the mix.  Brownies, cookies, you name it.

Exercise:  Walking, YMCA. 

Gender: We'll find out in October!  

Movement: All the time.  Some movements are getting a little painful.  I'll take it though :)  

The belly:  Definitely there.

What I'm spazzing about:  Nothing really this week.

What I'm loving:  Feeling baby move all the time.  And still feeling pretty good myself too.

Symptoms:  Sore hips at night.  Heartburn...mostly just reflux right now.  Terrible back pain at work.  Numb patch at the top of my uterus.

What I'm looking forward to:  Organizing the nursery this weekend.  I know, what's wrong with me.  I just really like to organize! :)  And I have my last shower in one week!  I get to see so many people I haven't seen in forever so I'm really excited!!  My BFF and I are having breakfast on Friday too, and I can't wait :)       

Best moment of the week:  Knowing everything is a-ok with baby today at my doctor's appointment.  Baby has a good, strong heartbeat.  And I had my work shower on Tuesday.  Everyone was so incredibly generous.  I really am so lucky!

I now have an unexpected u/s scheduled at my next appointment in two weeks.  I'm measuring about a week behind.  My doctor said that based on all of the textbooks, that's perfectly ok. But their office is super conservative and likes to do a growth u/s if the patient measures 1cm or more behind (I'm at 1cm).  She said that she's betting everything will be perfectly fine and I should just look at it as another chance to see baby before the big day.  Surprisingly, I'm not really worried at all.  Just anxious to take another sneak peak at baby :) I know, who is this person???  I usually freak out about everything!  

Wedding and a Shower

Time is just seriously flying by.  Sometimes I wish I could just slow it down so that I have more time to blog, get things done around the house, work, etc.  Lately, there just isn't enough time in a day or a week.  It's so crazy to think this pregnancy has just about 9 weeks left.  NINE weeks.  Unfortunately, this is the most busy time of year for me at work which is making my stress level higher than I'd like.  I'm doing my best to remember what's most important, but it's hard for me to not get something done.  Which means I'm probably doing too much sometimes whether it be working longer hours or getting things done around the house.  Aaron does a good job of reminding me to rest and to take it easy.

But, that's not the point of this post :)  A week ago, we went back to Rockford for my cousin's wedding and our first shower.  Both were so much fun!  

My grandpa really enjoyed talking to his guy about the car!

Our table numbers were on the back of these pieces of wood.  Such a great idea!

My mom and aunt enjoying themselves too much :)

My Aunt Linda and I :)

My Aunt Cathy and I :)

Our shower invite from the Taylor/Menke shower

I realized we really need to work on more photos at our next shower.
This was the only one of us two!

Tomorrow is my work shower.  I can't wait :)  And this weekend is Labor Day which means an extra long weekend.  Aaron is heading back to Rockford for part of the weekend to see a few of his high school friends so Wally and I will be catching up on some of my DVR shows :)

Day Care Frustration

I think I've mentioned on here before, but I am very fortunate in that I will get six months maternity leave when this little baby arrives.  It's no where near all paid, but we've been saving for quite a while in anticipation for this pregnancy.  I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity to spend so much time at home with our new little one.

With that said, having that much time off opens a whole new can of worms with daycare.  Most places have a waiting list, but they can't tell you what that list will look like in May 2013.  Some places don't even have openings until next August, one year from now.  We have a very small radius where we are looking.  My husband works south of where we live and I work north.  He'll do the drop off and I'll do the pickup so we need a central location.  I had a good list of 4-5 places.  Two were immediately knocked off because of their August 2013 timing.

We visited a center last week.  The director was very nice and very friendly.  She took a huge chunk of her morning showing us around and answering all of our questions.  We got to meet and talk with some of the caregivers in the infant room.  We left feeling great.  Right now they have two openings for the fall, but she obviously doesn't know what it will look like come May.

Today we were supposed to visit the place I used to go to pick up a little girl I babysat for.  Both times I've talked to the director on the phone, I was not impressed.  She was rude and very short with me.  I called last week to schedule a visit and was told to just stop in whenever and someone could answer my questions.  So we came in today at the time that was suggested.  The director couldn't meet with us because a caregiver had called in sick and she had to help in the infant room.  And wow was she not happy.  I got the impression that she hated her job and was bothered by having to take care of the kids.  I understand it's not her everyday job, but I would think that you should like kids even if you are just the director.  We poked our heads into the baby room just to see the setup while we were there, and she didn't say one word to us.  Not even hi.  I explained we were just popping in and we'd leave shortly.  She still didn't say anything.  I can appreciate being frazzled.  But I would never treat clients like that.  I just left with a really bad impression.  Aaron suggested I call tomorrow to talk with her and see how she is before completely writing them off.

We have one more visit tomorrow morning.  Our neighbor takes their child to preschool there and the lady (his teacher) is also the director.  She has been so nice every time I've talked with her.  They have no waiting list whatsoever.  Right now, they don't have any infants, but will have two in the fall.  This also makes me a little leery having our child be one of so few.  We'll see what our visit tomorrow brings.

I know it will all get figured out.  I just don't like leaving something so important left open ended at the moment.

30 Weeks: Cucumber

How big is baby: Baby is the size of a cucumber this week 15.2-16.7 inches and 2.5-3.8 lbs.  The fruit/veggie sizes really confuse me sometimes.  I mean, a cumber seems smaller to me than a squash.  But I guess there is a difference in length.

Stretch marks: No.

Sleep:  Waking up multiple times per night now.  Usually only getting up to go to the bathroom once at night during the week.  I can at least fall back to sleep right away though so far.    

Diet/Cravings/Aversions:  Still fruit and more fruit.  

Exercise:  Walking, YMCA. 

Gender: We'll find out in October!  

Movement: All the time.  Lately, the movements have been less tap, tap-ish and more like the baby moves a limb, hits my stomach, and then slides the limb along the inside of my stomach.  I feel like I'm going to see a footprint or hand print when it happens.  

The belly:  Definitely there.

What I'm spazzing about:  Nothing really this week.

What I'm loving:  Having almost everything crossed off our list.  And only having 10 weeks left!  Well, probably more assuming I go late.  But still 10 weeks just seems crazy close!

Symptoms:  Sore hips at night.  Heartburn...mostly just reflux right now.  Terrible back pain at work.  And most recently, I've been noticing a small numb spot at the top of my uterus.  I called the nurse today and she assured me it's normal.  It has something to do with my nerve endings stretching.  I've also been noticing more cramping particularly when working out.  I've felt good on the elliptical.  But one day while walking Wally, I really didn't think I'd make it home.  The doctor told me to ease up a little and see if that stops it.  If not, she said it might be time to give it up until after the baby is born since top priority right now is to keep this baby cooking for 10 more weeks.  I went for walks since and felt great so maybe I just was dehydrated that day or was walking a little too fast.

What I'm looking forward to:  I have my work shower next Monday.  And in less than 3 weeks, we have my shower with my side.  I have it on my list this week to organize the nursery in it's end position and to start organizing our shower items (what needs to be washed, etc.).       

Best moment of the week:  It was a crazy week/weekend with getting ready to go to Rockford this past weekend.  My cousin's wedding was very nice.  And our first shower was perfect.  My mother-in-law really did a great job of putting it together.  And everyone was so generous with gifts.  Baby T feels so loved already! 

Worst moment of the week....Aaron lost his wedding ring :(  He had a golf outing on Friday, and he never wears it golfing, so he put it in his pocket (not the best idea which he realizes).  At some point it fell out and it's no where to be found.  He feels HORRIBLE.  Thankfully, he bought the cheapest ring they had when we were buying it 4 years ago.  So it's not about the money at all.  The ring did mean a lot though sentiment-wise.  It was blessed at our wedding...etc.  Now we just have to get to the store to get him a new ring.