Belly pictures!

After multiple requests from multiple people, here are some belly pictures at 35 weeks. Enjoy!

Lots done, so much to do!

I can't believe it is already Sunday evening, although we did get quiet a bit done over the last couple days, but I know we still have so much more to do. Let's start from last week:

Thursday we started our Prepared Childbirth classes. My husband was a little hesitant at first since several of his (male) coworkers poo-poo'd on the classes, but he admitted that they actually seem more informative than he thought they would be. I think he also realizes that the classes are more for ME to get over my fears and I need his support by him being there. Either way, he said he'll be there for the next 3 with me as well. This is great since he finally was given his promotion date (Aug 25th) at which point he starts shift rotations (evenings, then days, then midnights for 2 weeks each) and luckily they are willing to work with his schedule and allow him to attend.

Friday we didn't do much, spent some time together, resting and relaxing. I feel like I'm still recovering from the trip to Michigan, so I need a night of nothingness.

For the rest of the weekend we've managed to do some more things in preparation for Pebbles arrival. I told DH the one thing we needed to get addressed was the car seat, since if she does come early, its the one thing we don't have that we can't do without. Sure it could be picked up while I was in the hospital, but we had one picked out that I really liked, so I'd rather just be prepared and get it now - so car seat has been purchased! Now, we just need to read the instructions and figure it all out, but at least we have it here.

We also washed all of her clothing and it has all been put away. There are so many freaking cute outfits and onesies and such, I can't wait to be able to put her in them! I also see what people mean about Gerber stuff shrinking. I have a few 6-9 months onesies that appear to be the same size as that rest of my 0-3 month onesies after getting washed. Yikes. Hopefully the 0-3 month sleepers will fit for a short time anyhow! (Now I'm just finishing OUR laundry so I have some clean clothes for the week!)

We dropped my husbands dry cleaning off, along with his 2 shirts to get his stripes put on. I'm pretty excited that he's promoting sooner rather than later since it gets him off the streets for the most part and eases my mind some. Plus, calling him Sergeant just sounds cooler. ***giggle***

Call me crazy (and I'm sure many of you will) but I arranged to purchase most, if not all, of the newborn size cloth diapers (CD) I hope to need for the first few months (found a good deal!). I'm still a little nervous about going cloth verses disposable, but I figure its worth a try. And if we decide against it, at least we made the EFFORT to try it and from what I can tell, it won't be hard to find someone who wants to purchase the CD's we have. I'm actually excited since there are so many cute designs and such and I'm a sucker for cute stuff.

Meanwhile, I'm 34 weeks today. 6 weeks left - if she comes on her due date (which is unlikely). I guess what freaks me out the most is that while we continue to plan for 6 more weeks, I know it really can be ANY DAY. My doctor prefers that I don't travel after 32 weeks, which means I should try to stay close to home now. Eeek! I can't believe its already been so long and I'm so far along. I really need to make sure I have the big things addressed for her arrival - and my time off work! I need to go talk to HR, follow up with my insurance, get my husband to follow up with his insurance, make sure my projects are organized in such a way that someone can take over for me as needed, along with everything that needs to be done around the house - but at least I have my husband and we have his parents if needed. Now, if I could just get the motivation to do the things at work to prepare, we'd be all set.

The verdict is in...

I'm officially a cow. Moooo!!!! I saw pictures of myself from my best friend's wedding and aaack! My face is bloated, my arms are chubby, and I just don't feel very cute. So to combat this, I refuse to be in any more pictures. Seeing them does nothing but depress me, I have no desire to remember myself looking like this anyhow. My husband still tells me I'm cute and all my friends tell me I make a cute pregnant lady, but all I see is chubbiness. Lots and lots of chubbiness. Like chubby bunny. Like I have devoured my weight in cake and ice cream chubbiness. Like holy crap, someone take that plate away from her chubbiness. My weight gain is still in the recommended range, so that's not a problem, but I swear it all went to my face, arms, and thighs.

And what makes it even better? I've started to waddle. Great.

A wedding and a baby shower

We just got back form our trip to Michigan, where we had my best friends' wedding and our baby shower all in a matter of 2 days - can we just say busy busy! The wedding was wonderful, Kristin was, of course, a beautiful bride (and I suck since I didn't take a SINGLE picture!) and I'm so glad to see her so happy with an absolutely wonderful man. I realized in our few days up there just how much I miss her, and how much it makes it even worse since they are moving to Germany for 2 years. :-( We are hoping to be able to visit next September (and most likely talking to the grandparents to see if they can watch Pebbles for a few days) which I guess would keep up with our tradition of seeing each other once a year. I think our phone calls are going to take the biggest hit, so hopefully we can manage to stay in touch over email and IM. Even though, it still sucks and breaks me heart. Maybe when they come back I can convince them Texas is a MUCH better place to live. **sniff sniff**

Anyhow, that was Friday and Saturday. Sunday, my stepmom and stepsister threw us a baby shower which also turned out to be a family get-together, which was really nice as well. I really enjoyed being able to spend some time with family that I rarely get to see, so that was definitely an added bonus. We also managed to get a BUNCH of stuff for Pebbles, and even fit it all into our luggage to bring home. Here is a quick shot of the closet, where most of her stuff is currently hanging, although we have about 30+ more onesies and sleepers on the shelves. Pebbles will definitely have enough clothing, even if we need to change her several times a day! Besides clothing, we received our Bumbo seat (which my husband has some how nicknamed "Lumpy"), a bunch of safety items, lots of cute books, some bathing items (including the Johnson and Johnson lavender bedtime wash my cousin swears by), and an amazing handmade blanket from my aunt.


However, one of the things I am most excited about right now are the AngelDry cloth diapers my cousin gave us, I mean, look how cute they are! Cloth diapers are one of those things I've been debating about since I am so easily grossed out but at the same time the thought of the cost and waste from disposable diapers makes me really sad. Right now, I am thinking we might do a combination of the two, with hopes that we can convince ourselves, our families, and our daycare to completely switch to cloth - but if not at least we'll be doing SOME. Plus, you can customize the AngelDry orders so I'm thinking I can get some holiday prints, maybe a Texas Ranger print, and possibly even some ruffle butt ones - because every baby girl needs the ruffle butts! I'll keep you informed as I learn more, but please feel free to pass on any advice, recommendations, etc. you have as well.

And ... while I was busy getting ready with all the girls for the wedding on Saturday, my husband went shopping. And, once again, he managed to find a way to show me just how lucky I am to have him. He didn't get something for himself or me, instead he found the one thing I had mentioned I wanted to make sure we got while in Michigan (but then forgot I told him). That's right, this totally Texas husband of mine manage to find the Michigan State outfit I wanted for Pebbles, he also bought a few other MSU outfits as well, but THIS is THE outfit I KNEW I wanted.


I love this man more than he will ever know, and he obviously is able to read my mind. So back off, he's taken!!! Oh, and watch for future pictures of Pebbles in this cute as can be little jumper, I'm sure there will be MANY!

Ask, and you shall receive

Remember this? The most fantastic cake pan EVER? The one my husband would have shot down had I asked because 1) I don't NEED it and 2) we don't have ANYWHERE to store it? Yup, that's right, my most wonderful in-laws got it for me for my birthday. I'm uber excited about it (oh yeah, and my husband went with his mother to get this, so he obviously wasn't COMPLETELY opposed to it). The funny part? He was right, we don't have anywhere to store it, so its still sitting on the counter. *giggle* I'll figure something out, I have no choice. Meanwhile, I might have to bake a cake this week just so I can use it. Woohoo!!!

This was just the icing on the cake though (bad joke, I know). When I got home Friday, my amazing husband had cleaned the house, bought me yellow roses, had some "Happy Birthday" balloons with the flowers, picked out not 1, but 2, perfect birthday cards, and presented me with my giftcard for a prenatal massage. The birthday gift from my dad was waiting for me too, which is a copy of "Atlas Shrugged" on CD, one of the books I've been wanting to read but haven't had time. We then went to dinner, did a little shopping, and spent the evening together. It was perfect. Saturday I pampered myself with a hair cut and highlights and then my mother in law took me out for manicures and pedicures, after which we all spent the evening napping. Sunday I woke to my husband flipping on the bedroom light at about 8am to show me he stopped at IHOP and picked up breakfast for us. This was COMPLETELY unexpected, but even better than it sounds since I've been drooling over the commercials for the Banana's Foster and Apple crisp pancakes they have right now - and he got an order of both. We sat and ate breakfast and then both laid back down to sleep. I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon just pretty much being lazy and doing a little laundry until it was time to meet his family for dinner. We all went out for Tex-Mex (of course) and back to his parents for cake. We caught the beginning of the Rangers game there and went home to watch the rest of it before my husband had to go to work. I was so nice being able to just cuddle on the couch and watch some baseball. All in all, it was a marvelous birthday weekend and I'm a little sad its over now. Maybe I'll just find a reason to celebrate for the whole month of August - it wouldn't be a first.

Dirty deleter

I deleted my previous blog because it was taken completely out of context, and I apologize for that.

That is all for now.