Attitude

Isaac hates the sling. WAAAAAHHHH!!! I'm so sad. I wanted him to love the sling. He hates being swaddled and cooped up {which completely explains the ridiculous acrobats when he was in-utero}. Sophie sat better in the sling than Isaac does {see here}.

And, if you're interested, Blake and my maternity session is online {click here}. View at your own risk. ;-) You will need to click on "Becky Maternity" and enter password: bubs

10 days ago

I looked like this:


Now, I look like this.....crazy....I miss my pregnant belly:

Pumpkin Fest

Today is Bubs' due date, and obviously the little one has opted not to make an appearance {yet}. So, Blake and I rounded up my mom and hung out at a local pumpkin festival. Actually, the only reason I really wanted to go is because I've been dying for a piece of pumpkin pie. The advertisements said there would be plenty, but alas, when we arrived, pumpkin pie was nowhere to be found! Overall, it was pretty lame and more of a fall festival for kids, but I guess it was something to do, and it kept my mind off of the bun still baking in this oven. And, I did see a pretty cool pumpkin hat that could've been fun to wear around for a day or two. :)

My LOL of the day

I posted about this first here, but as I find myself waiting anxiously for labor, I was chuckling about this. I only remembered it after I just told Blake we were "gonna have a baby." Yes, this is STILL funny! LOL. :)

I think your belly is bigger than mine

The ladies over at A Fleeting Moment have done it again! I have not seen all of the photos from this particular session, but they did send me some as part of a sneak peek. I can't wait to see the rest! {Refresher: I also did a model maternity shoot for them. You can see my blog about it here, and the slide show from that blog, here.} Check out a few of my faves from the sneak preview:

Patience is not a virtue

....when you're waiting for labor. Anyone else anxious too?

I hope I get more good progression news at my appointment on Wednesday! :) The ladies at my office, and Blake's office have already started a pool including:

Boy or Girl?
Date of Birth?
Weight at Birth?

The earliest guess for date of birth is Sept. 24.....I'll rejoice if she is right! :)

If you want to start a blog pool, here are the facts from my last appointment:
About 2 cm dilated
75% effaced
Baby is head down and fully engaged

I had some pretty decent contraction action last week, so that's why I'm hoping for some more progress at my next appointment! :) Hooray!

P.S. I hope all of you are as excited about the Heroes season premiere as I am! :)

Dear Bubs

NOTICE OF EVICTION:

I am issuing 30 day notice for EVICTION. Tenant will have 30 days in which she/he can either gather his/her belongings and promptly vacate the premises, or wait until the final day. After which, she will be physically removed from the property.

He's/ She's being evicted due to breech of contract and destruction of property. Expansions only to the FRONT of the house, within reasonable limits, were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded, but additions to the back of the house were also made!

Remodeling and gutting of the home was never approved, nor was changing the initial layout and base structure. And due to property damage, there are now leaks in both the upper AND lower levels of the home. On top of which, the landlord has received numerous complaints about nightly disturbances.

After 30 days from this day that he/she doesn't comply with the notice will result in immediate and forceful removal at my discretion.

Love, Mommy

{Found this on my pregnancy forum. I love those gals!}

P.S. Bubs, you don't quite have 30 days. So, hurry up!

Nesting

I had a productive day:

Played piano at church
Took a nap
Made pumpkin bars {while making lunch at the same time}
Did more laundry
Washed the dishes in the sink
Loaded, ran, and unloaded dishwasher
Swept up floors, shook out all rugs
Washed and scrubbed the floor on my hands and knees
Cleaned up main bathroom
Watched some football games

Shall we call this....nesting?

Oh yeah, all the while, I gave Bubs a pep talk. :) Hoo-rah.

36 days

And counting {36 days!---more or less--hopefully less ;-)}....the nursery is basically finished. I'm waiting on a couple of photos to put on some shelves, I still have to wash all of that stuff sitting on the dresser, and probably vacuum-dust-etc. again before Bubs arrives. No big rush though, I'll just wait for my nesting instinct to kick in again.

I think my favorite part about the nursery is that it has a theme but isn't entirely matchy matchy. I also love that there's a little piece of Taiwan in there {Musical Woodstock on the closet doors, the bird mobile in the window}. I guess really the only thing missing is Bubs. :)

Also on my "must do" list: Pack my hospital overnight bag. Can you guys think of anything besides the standard stuff you recommend I pack? {I've already accounted for lots of socks, slippers, chapstick, and my own travel-sized toiletries.} I figured I better get it done since my Dr. asked me about it at my appointment last week. She'll probably ask me again next week too and every week after that until I have it done....I can't believe how close this is getting....

Without further adieu, a photo tour of Bubs' nursery:

Intriguing

Three things have my attention these days:

1. Planning my fall work schedule. Sort of a pain, as it starts in a couple weeks, but I'm trying to plan it so that it will work once Bubs is here and I'm off maternity leave. I think I should give up, I'm sure my schedule will change...I've never had a kid before. I have no clue what I'm doing.

2. Wondering if my belly button will pop. By the end of the day, it's pretty shallow, and a few nights ago, I probably could have gotten it to pop if I had messed with it more. However, I messed with it enough that it was red and irritated. I don't know how to feel about the belly button pop. Part of me thinks it's an endearing quality of a pregnant belly, and the other part just says, "oh man, my belly button popped out."

3. The Woombie. Blake and I did get a couple other specially designed swaddling blankets as gifts, but I'm pretty interested in these right now....maybe I'll order one. :)

Because we can

LOL....our poor future child. :) For now, the bear gets all the torture!

Once we've mastered the baby bathtub, maybe Blake and I can practice changing diapers on the bear. hehe.

Kari - this one's for you! :)

Sneak Peek

Remember this?

Blake and I have modified it a little bit {Multi-colored string} and made one of our own for Bubs' nursery. So far, we only have ultrasound pics up, but I'm super excited to add to it!


Full nursery tour coming soon! I want to make sure I have blankets washed, tags removed, windows cleaned, carpet vacuumed, etc. before I invite you all in. It's kind of like I'm expecting house guests. ;)

Sling thing

Today, we received a gift in the mail from a couple of friends: the Peanut Shell sling! When I found out Blake and I were expecting, slings were one of the first baby items that I really researched and decided that I wanted. Upon receiving mine today, I realized that they are a bit tricky so getting Bubs in and out, initially, will take some practice, but I'm so excited to use it. I also wanted to test the sizing to see if I needed to send it back for a larger one, but it's hard to figure that out without something to stick in it. So, I borrowed Sophie (I figured she's about the size of a 4-month old child), and put her in the "kangaroo carry." I'll have to wait until Bubs arrives to test out the newborn cradle, but Sophie seems pretty content in the kangaroo carry don't you think? {Check out her little toothy smile!} :)


Please tell me you laughed a little at that photo. I think it's mighty funny. Bonus: For those of you antsy to see the nursery, this photo provides a little sneak peek! :)

Baby Shower

Thank you to all of the family and friends that came out for my baby shower {Thanks sisters for planning and mom and dad for hosting!} :) I'm sorry I didn't get to chat with all of you as much as I wanted, but I was still so happy to see all of you. For those of you that didn't make it, but sent gifts in the mail, thank you for thinking of us! Blake especially loves them. We have a deal: any gifts that come to the house, he gets to open. Not bad, eh?

Why I love my sisters

The most recent additions to the list:

1. They planned the best baby shower for me this weekend. I know it was a lot of work, but it was so great! I loved it so much. :)
2. They are beautiful.


3. I love being pregnant at the same time as Lola {maybe Jennifer will join the bandwagon for a future pregnancy?}


4. Jennifer's addiction to blogs is contagious and humorous! The baby shower decorations were inspired by a blog, as well as her gifts for Bubs.


5. They are both seriously creative. A brunch shower, instead of the usual afternoon finger-food stuff, cute decorations, fun games. I think the favorite activity at the shower was using iron-on's, puff paints, and buttons to let the guests decorate onesies, socks, and burp clothes for Bubs. I love all of them, and the guests enjoyed doing it! Here are some {but not all} of the finished products:


6. Lola is the mother of my Godchild, Jessica, who is just the best by helping me open presents and reading many of Bubs' books in advance. I know they are kid-approved! :)

Growth Spurt

For the past two days, I think little Bubs is having a growth spurt. I've been overly tired, my belly aches, and I'm really not sure if it can expand any more. By next week at this time, Bubs should be nearly 3 lbs and 15 inches long. Crazy! No wonder some of those punches hurt! :)

Here's my 28 week 3 day belly {from Sunday night}. Really starting to stick out now!

Belly Dance

As much as I complain to some of you about pregnancy, I really do love certain aspects of it. Feeling the baby move is one of them (except for when I get kicked in the bladder, ribs, colon, or any other unpleasant place. :)) In fact, I spend a decent amount of time watching my belly dance like so:

Maternity Session

I have a friend in the photography business. It turns out that her boss needs a couple of pregnant models for a new wrap they ordered. This means, I get a free maternity session and only pay for any pictures I may want.

Normally, I'm not a big fan of professional pregnant belly pictures, but this sounds like it could be fun. Who doesn't like free stuff? :) We'll see if I end up liking any of them. Check out the photographer's website here. She takes beautiful pictures!

Cute finds

I went shopping the other day with some friends. I had no intention of finding some cute clothes, but I couldn't resist these two items when I found them. Actually, I couldn't resist the dress. My friends found the shirt first, and then I couldn't resist. :)

Bonus: Also in these pics, my 25 week 3 day belly. This is going by so fast!

There's always something

Just when I think life is starting to settle back down, I am surprised again:

Yesterday morning while checking the mail, I stumbled on the little lip at the end of our driveway and face-planted. In an effort to protect little Bubs {and not fall on my belly}, I reached my hands out to stop my fall. Now, I may have a broken bone in my left hand. I waited over a day to see if the pain would improve, but in one particular area, it got worse and the infection was so terrible that puss was running down my hand throughout the day. We will find out in the morning if I broke anything. But for now, it's in a splint and I have some antibiotic I have to take to prevent the spread of the infection. I had to get a tetanus booster too, so I'm looking forward to a sore arm in the morning. ;) My hands are my golden ticket. As a piano/organ player, I would normally do anything to prevent from falling on my hands. I would probably even fall and scratch up my face before subjecting my hands to harm. However, since there is another little person involved, my hands were the last thing on my mind...until, I realized I have to play a wedding on Saturday, as well as all the masses this weekend. GAH!

I also got a phone call in my office today saying that a gentleman from the FBI needed to speak with me {WHAT?!}. Of course, I was nervous that maybe they caught something from my Taiwan trip {though I couldn't imagine what}, and that I was in some sort of trouble. I tried to think of ways to avoid meeting with him, but couldn't find any. When I got to the rectory, he flashed his badge, told me his name {which obviously I don't remember} and then explained I was listed as a reference for a friend who is applying to work with the FBI and he wanted to chat with me about her {PHEW! Course clear for me}. I know it wasn't my interview for a job, but it was intimidating! A visit from the FBI in small town Iowa: Now that's something that doesn't happen everyday!