Moving Again!

Yikes! Yes, we planned on staying in this apartment for at least 2 years - but who knew that we'd outgrow it so fast? After setting up the baby's crib and looking at all of the baby stuff that is accumulating AND our overall lack of space everywhere AND Braden's recent request for a backyard for his birthday - we decided to start looking for a new place.
We found that awesome place today.
It's a duplex located right off of 5 Mile Rd (yes a busy street) and is an older place (70's). It's biggest selling points for us - 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, 2 levels (no one above or below us), 2-car garage, awesome backyard and front yard (lots of trees and SHADE!), price, and w/s/t paid. It also has TONS of storage, lots of living space, an awesome patio, another little patio on the 2nd floor accessible from the master bedroom, a couple of ceiling fans, a central vac system, and a pellet stove. Things I don't love - 1/2 bath downstairs is in the laundry room - so wierd..., smells old and like pets have lived there (yup, they have) there's a little pet door going to the back yard..., it is old - think yellow/goldish countertops and shower, yellow/green refridgerator, dark molding/floorboards.
Other awesome-ness - they're giving us $100 cash just for filling out the app on the same day we looked at the rental, $250 off of August's rent as a move-in credit, and the company puts $750 + 7.5% of each month's rent into a savings account that we can use towards buying a house when we're done renting if we'd like.
So - now we've got to give our 30-day notice on this apartment, have a baby, move out/move in before the 1st weekend in August, get this apartment cleaned, and then Nikki gets married - all in less than a month.

Tuesday's Dr. Appt.

No baby today either. I begged and pleaded with the Dr. but she insisted that it's still too early to induce. 38 weeks and 3 days. I understand, there's a due date for a reason, so I didn't push the issue. She checked me again, still 4 cm dialated and 50% effaced, but baby's head is lower than last week. She agreed to strip my membranes this time, but so far it's done absolutely nothing. She said that if it works, it'd work within 24 hours.

Dissapointing

Dr. appointment today. I went in fully expecting her to send me up to labor and delivery - no such luck. She told me that I'm only 4 centimeters dialated and that she wouldn't strip my membranes so that we wouldn't have to have a 4th of July baby. What would be so bad about having a 4th of July baby??? I'm guessing she just doesn't want to have to deliver tomorrow...
I am soo ready to be done being pregnant. It's hot and I'm tired and I've waited a long time to hold this little girl - and I want her here now!
I cried all the way home and then took a nap. After dinner, Bob, Braden and I went shopping for a bit to see if doing a lot of walking would help anything. I think all it accomplished was to make me tired. I've been having more contractions tonight, but they're not painful or consistent, so probably not doing me any good.
Maybe we'll go get some spicy pizza for lunch tomorrow and then go swing on swings at the park...

Preggo Pics!

On Sunday at my parent's house we had my dad take some pictures of us. I realized that I didn't have ANY pregnant pictures of me besides the ones of me sitting at my baby shower and wanted to get some taken before our baby girl makes her appearance. I think they turned out pretty good despite the fact that Braden couldn't be bothered to smile. So here I am at 37 weeks and 1 day! HUGE!

Not time yet

Went to another Dr. appointment this morning. I'm dialated to a 3 1/2 and 50% effaced, but not contracting regularly. I also found out that I tested positive for Group B Strep, which means that I'll have to head to the hospital asap once I'm in labor to receive 4 1/2 hours of antibiotics via an IV before I can have the baby. My Dr thinks that I'll make it to my next appointment on July 3rd and we'll probably have the baby that day if I'm dialated enough.

Showered with Love!

My aunt Pam and her daughters threw me an amazing baby shower today. It was held at my cousin's David & Sarah's house in Caldwell. Pam and all of her girls (Michelle, Lisa, Jessica and Sarah) were there, as well as Mom Irish, Jennifer, Mom Johnson, Grandma Johnson, Stephanie, Michaela and Nikki. There were a few fun games, one was diapering a baby doll in teams of two - each person was only allowed to use one hand. Then we had some yummy fruits and veggies, even yummier dips for them and ended the snacking with chocolate cake. Then it was time to open gifts - and wow - there were way too many for how many people were in attendance! It was amazing - everyone was so giving. They also did a diaper raffle, where everyone who brought a package of diapers was entered into a raffle to win a prize. So - wow - I got tons of diapers too! Michaela won the raffle and got a huge huge huge tea cup planter with flowers in it. Way cute.

Everyone was too generous and I feel very blessed to have such loving family! It was a great new baby celebration!

Went to the Dr today

at 35 weeks and 5 days, for my now-weekly appointment and I'm dialated to a 2! Which doesn't really mean anything because technically I could stay that way for another month. But if this pregnancy is anything like the last one - I'll be at a 5 next week! My little princess might be here soon :)

Never Ending Comments...

Braden and I went out to run a few errands today. We went to 3 stores. Spoke to absolutely no-one at the 1st store, but at the next 2 stores - at least 3 people at each commented on my hugeness and asked when I was due. After telling them, everyone responded with versions of "Wow! Hang in there." Ugh. Yes, I'm huge and tired, but why does everyone feel the need to let me know what I already know? And while bringing the groceries in from the car, some random female neighbor made almost the same kind of comment. I'm just gonna stop leaving the apartment soon...

My little caretaker

Braden has been so sweet to me lately. Today he told me that while Dad's at work, he's taking care of me. And just after my hormonal meltdown yesterday he brought me kleenex and then told me that maybe I should lay down and rest for a while. How lucky I am to have such a great kid!

Love Gymboree!

I was at the mall today and of course had to peek into Gymboree to see what cute things they had on clearance. I absolutely loved the colors in this line, so had to get all these pieces. And of course it helped that they were an extra 20% off the lowest discounted price! My little girl is going to be extra adorable in these cute clothes :)

Tired

I am soo tired right now and it's only 5:42pm. Ugh. I think I'll definitely be going to bed early tonight.
Had a Dr. appointment this morning. She said that everything looks great! The heartbeat was good, I was measuring right on, and I've only gained 8 pounds so far. She said that since everything seems to be going well and since I'm not a first time mom, that she's going to wait another 4 weeks to see me again. I'll be almost 36 weeks at that appointment! Yikes. Then she said that she'd start seeing me every week after that, so I went ahead and made my next three appointments. If I make it to the last one I made, I'll be almost 38 weeks and I'm thinking that's perfect for getting her to induce me then if I haven't had the baby yet. I know I'll be ready. We'll see though as Braden just barely made it to 37 weeks.

Pregnancy Joys

My favorite feeling in the world is that of the baby moving inside me. I remember missing that feeling after Braden was born. I'm sure that I'll miss that movement after this little girl comes too, but I'll finally be holding a baby - my baby!
There are a few things that I won't miss though. The first thing that I can think of is my swollen stuffy sinuses caused by being pregnant. I am constantly blowing my nose and have to take kleenex with me wherever I go. And most nights I have to sleep sitting up on the couch to be able to breathe. I'm also not going to miss the constant need to pee. Ugh. I also can't wait to get my energy back - it seems as if I'm always tired.

Happy Mother's Day!

My emotions are running over today. Could be due to the fact that I'm 30 weeks pregnant and just plain emotional all the time. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I've been given to be a Mother many times over. I'm so grateful for my sweet 4 year old little boy and is amazing personality. He was too terrified to go up and sing with the primary kids this year, so he chose to sit by my side and cuddle instead. I cried happy tears. I'm grateful for the short amount of time I was allowed to cary my angel baby in 2006. S/he would have been 1 year old tomorrow. What a wonderful day for me to be able to think about my sweet angel every year - a child that I hope to have the opportunity to raise in heaven. I cried tears of longing. I'm grateful for the sweet child that I'm currently carrying and helping to grow. I am so excited for her arrival in a few months and can't wait to be able to hold her in my arms. I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to put her down. For her my tears are happy again. I am extremely grateful for such a wonderful husband who loves and supports me in all that I do. He works so hard for our family and always knows how to make me happy. My tears this time are ones of love and grattitude. And I am extremely grateful to my Father in Heaven. For his love for me and for all that he has seen fit to bless me with. This is indeed a very happy Mother's Day. I'm sure that the tears are not over - I have many things to be grateful for.

Time Flies!

Check out my baby ticker above! 25 weeks already! wow! If this baby comes 3 weeks early like Braden did, then I only have 12 weeks left! Yikes! I am so ready though. As you can see from all the exclamation marks, I'm very excited and so ready for this baby to join our family. 25 weeks seems like nothing compared to the 3 long years it took to finally get pregnant and get the baby to want to stay with us.
She is a funny baby already. Constantly moving all the time until Bob puts his hand on my belly and then she stops. And I'll wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom from all of her flip flopping around. Now, I understand why babies have their days and nights confused when they are born - it starts in the womb!

Lots of little things

Bob and I celebrated our 6th Anniversary on Easter Sunday. We had celebrated it the week before by leaving Braden with Grammy and Papa and going up to Cascade to stay at the Ashley Inn for a weekend. So on Easter, we completely forgot that it was our Anniversary until the middle of the day. Happy Anniversary Honey!

Got my March IMCK kit in the mail on Friday. Hope to get creating with it this week sometime. I just love the colors and fun embellishments!

I think I got a little stressed out on Sunday, having so many people over for Easter activities. So I ended up getting pretty sick that night. All around my eyes is now covered with tiny red spots, from popping blood vessels. The joys of being pregnant...

The Easter Bunny brought Braden 2 movie tickets, so he and Bob went to see Horton Hears a Who last night while I got some much needed rest. They had a great time and loved the movie. Braden didn't stop talking about it all evening long.

IT'S A GIRL!

Had the 20 week ultrasound today. Everything looked great and the tech said that the measurements were good. Baby didn't want to cooperate very much, so I had to do a lot of moving around and the tech pushed on my stomach a lot, and finally at the very last minute - baby turned a bit and we got a great shot - discovering that she is a girl! My mom, Bob, Bob's mom and Braden were able to be there for the ultrasound and afterward we had lunch at Subway. Then Bob's mom, Braden and I went shopping for a few new outfits at Babies R Us.

13w3d

Saw Bob using the scanner tonight and asked him to quickly scan these 2 pics for me from the last ultrasound. These were taken on January 15, 2007 for our 1st trimester screen testing. Loved being able to see the baby at this size. Seeing baby moving around, we even got a good close up during the ultrasound of one of the hands and were able to count all 5 fingers! Ultrasounds are just amazing!

Took an interesing little quiz...

Madame Zaritska's reading

Madame Zaritska, our resident clairvoyant, wants to help you prepare for the arrival of your child. Here she does her best to predict certain aspects of your labor and birth experience.
What she senses for you:

The day you deliver, outside will be hot. Your baby will arrive in the afternoon.
After a labor lasting approximately 6 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 7 pounds, 15 ounces, and will be 19-1/2 inches long. This child will have light blue eyes and dark hair.
But there is more. I know you imagine your baby often. You wonder if your baby is safe and healthy.

Hello 2008!

And goodbye 2007!

So excited to be starting off this new year, pregnant!

Best wishes for a great 2008!

Bleh

I felt great earlier this week and wondered about the possibility of escaping morning sickness, but no. Today it came in full force and just like when I was preggo with Braden, it seems to be morning & evening sickness. Yipee. And just in time for the holidays too...

Mom was quick to remind me (when I called her to complain) that it's a good thing, indicating that the baby is settling in for the long haul.