I love surprises!

And I love baby showers!  Put them together and you've got a surprise baby shower!  And a very happy me!

The gals at work surprised me with a pizza party/baby shower today during lunch.  How sweet is that!  A funny note - I thought we were just randomly having pizza so I brought a plate of brownies to my own shower!  (Have I mentioned how dumb pregnancy has made me lately?)

They made an awesome shower cake with lots of goodies including onesies, cloth diapers, burp cloths, socks, bath items, feeding supplies, toys and books.   Karson also received individual gifts including detergent (how useful!), a gorgeous hand made blanket, an awesome hand made quilted blanket, a hand made stained glass night light (seriously, I hang out with some crafty and talented people), and some cutie outfits!  What a lucky fella!

They decorated with transportation items that will go perfectly with his nursery.  I can't wait to get the new items in to his room. 

I also got some wise advice, including:
Forget what people say, hold him if you want to!
Boys pee often and unexpectedly, always keep him covered during diaper changes.
It's ok to let them cry.
Let him sleep in his own bed.
Read to him often.
Tell him you love him every day.
Label photos and write down things you think you'll remember. 
Enjoy every moment..it flies by!



Here are the pics from the day!  For those of you who haven't seen me in a couple of weeks, yes I have two chins, yes I walk around looking that tired, and no, I don't know why I make these facial expressions when I know there is a camera in the room.




My surprised face, along with my BYO brownies and bottled water.



Checking out the awesome diaper cake.



Amy's beautiful handiwork.  And I can't even make a sock!




Another beautiful handmade item from Terry.




No clue what I'm saying or doing here...



A better look at the diaper cake.

Thanks to all of my coworkers for a special day!  We continue to be amazed by the generosity and kindness of others.  Karson is a lucky lucky fella, and his mama and daddy feel pretty lucky too.

35/35

**If you haven't already done so, go here to view and then vote on your favorite maternity pictures.**



Today I am 35 weeks along and have only 35 days remaining until the due date!  WHAAA???

Pretty cool milestone if I do say so myself.  I'll hold off on a new quiz and pic until my next DR appt.  But here are some factoids about 35 weeks along Karson and his 35 week pregnant mama:

• His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks just putting on weight. (Hey, me too!)
• Speaking of weight, Karson is likely 6+ pounds!
• It's not uncommon for 35 week pregos to have contractions.  Although I haven't been having any.

If you recall, I have a goal of having everything "done" by January 16th, so I can relax and stay off my feet from that point forward.  Here's the checklist off the top of my head and how we're coming along:

DONE!
Assemble high chair
Assemble swing
Assemble and "stock" pack n play
Organize Karson's Christmas items and latest Baby gifts
Send out any remaining thank you notes
Hang comforter, Pop's coat rack, propeller, decals, and whatever else fits on the walls
Pack Karson's hospital bag
Wash one final load of Karson's stuff (including towels, washclothes, a few 0-3 outfits, etc)
Find a pediatrician
Send hospital directions to Nana and Mima
Complete Childbirth classes

Almost done:
Pack my hospital bag
Assemble and paint model airplanes
Get maternity pictures in frames
Make some kitchen cabinet space

Still to do:
Learn to knit (who was I kidding...)
Install car seat/mirror/shades etc
Take a breastfeeding class (next week)
Preregister
Clean house and prepare for Karson's grandparents to arrive on short notice, and perhaps amidst chaos
Relax and kick up my feet....(soon...soon)

So...I think we're in a good place.  Most of the "still to do" items are being reserved for the last few weeks for a reason.  And the most time consuming item on the "almost done" list (the airplanes) isn't actually crucial.

So does that mean that when we get all these things done we'll be READY? 

NO!

:-)  I'm not sure we'll ever be completely ready for the change that is about to hit our lives.  But we recognize that it will be a dramatic change, and we welcome it anyway.  Besides, ready or not, here he'll come!

The best laid plans...

**If you haven't already done so, go here to view and then vote on your favorite maternity pictures.**

Well...our weekend did not go quite how I had envisioned.

Our "quick" Saturday task of getting an airplane from Point A to Point B turned in to quite an endeavor.  Rather than spending three hours in a car, I spent about six, mostly "pacing" back and forth trying to figure out where the heck I should be headed.  Saturday's weather wasn't cooperating, so we had to abandon the task at a mid point, and drive the rest of the way home.  Two days, two blankets, and two hairdryers later, we eventually had cooperative weather, and defeated the 2 degree temps to safely start the plane back up on Sunday morning so the boys could get it the rest of the way home.  Success! 

Lessons learned:
Don't buy planes in January.
Don't say things like "this is going to be such a relaxing weekend".

The good news...we still got most of our goals accomplished.  Friday night Justin and I relaxed at the house, played rock band, and got to bed early.  (Yes, that was actually a goal of mine.)

Saturday, amidst the random driving around I took advantage of passing by a Target to buy some nursing tanks that no one else seems to carry.

Saturday night, we enjoyed a nice dinner out with Justin's coworkers. 

After all of the thawing and chaos ended on Sunday, we enjoyed a quiet but productive afternoon.  Karson's hospital bag is packed.  Mine is mostly packed.  And we hung most of the items on the nursery walls.  I need to get some pictures in the frames.  And we need to finish painting the model airplanes to hang from the ceiling.  Otherwise...his room is ready!

We have our last childbirth class tonight.  Unfortunately, Monday is also our small group night for church.  And tonight was going to be a baby shower theme!  Since we are unable to attend, they decided to postpone that...  :-)  But we should be available for small group again starting next week.   Uh oh, there I go planning again.  Now what...

Maternity Pics, and a chance to VOTE!

The long awaited maternity pics have arrived in full! I've selected a few of my favorites from each "pose" below. Now YOU get to determine which ones remain on the blog, and potentially make it in to a multi pic frame in Karson's room. Vote for your favorites via the poll on the right. You can vote more than once, (on different visits) or for more than one photo (in one visit)!  They are each labeled with a caption below them.  Yes, you'll see my belly.  No, I didn't plan on sharing those, but a couple of these touched me so much that I teared up.  Blame it on the hormones.  I hope you enjoy them too!

 
Christmas Card Photos:


Christmas 1

 

Christmas 2

 

Christmas 3

Outdoor Shots:

Outdoor 1



Outdoor 2

  White Shirt Set:


White 1

 

White 2



White 3

 

White 4

Belly and Fun Shots:



Fun 1

 

Fun 2

   

Fun 3



Fun 4



Fun 5



Fun 6



Fun 7


Now get to voting!!!

Doctor Update

We had a successful doctor appointment today!  He was pleased with my weight gain and lack of swelling.  My aches and pains all seem to be related to round ligament pain, and are just a normal sign of a growing uterus (and therefore baby!)  Karson's heart rate, activity, and assumed size are all great!

Speaking of his size...the doctor made a wild guess and said he may be near 6 pounds.  Obviously that's just a guess, but it seems safe to say that he's good sized!  Based on the average weight gain on baby center, that puts us on track for 8.5 to 9 pounds.  Which also happens to be in line with what I weighed.

We talked about the upcoming appointments, and here's the general rundown:

34 - Final blood work today
36 - Strep B test
37 - Start "invasive" appointments and continue on a weekly basis until Karson's arrival
38 - Same 'ol, plus a potential sonogram if his position or size merit one.
39 - Same 'ol
40 - Same 'ol
41 - Reach a whole new level of crankiness if Karson is still hiding....  ;-)

So I have one more two week break, then the activity really picks up from there!

34 week quiz and a belly pic

How far along? 34 weeks and 3 days!

How big is baby? Possibly as large as six pounds???  More on that in a different post.

Weight gain? I'm at 27 total now.  BUT...I managed to only gain two pounds during the two and a half week stretch that included our Christmas celebrations and traveling food.  So...I call that a win!

Stretch Marks? Still no...

Maternity clothes? I bought a little sweater/cardi/thing from Charlotte Russe. It is not maternity, but I've convinced myself it improves every outfit and may be seen wearing it every day for the rest of my life.

Sleep? It comes and goes.  Mostly goes.

Cravings? No.  But some favorite treats over break include: movie theater popcorn, dad's biscuits and gravy, red velvet dessert roll, root beer floats with the Rinkers...(seriously, 2 pounds is impressive the more I look back...)

Nursery update? Bookshelf arrived and is assembled and decorated!  We need to hang wall stuff, then we're done!  We've also assembled and "stocked" the pack n play, as well as the swing.  Justin is putting the high chair together as I type!  Pics coming soon!

Movement? Yep!

High point? Christmas with the families, and getting to meet our new niece!

Low point? Too much time in a car.

What am I looking forward to? A long series of weekends at home!

What do I miss? Weighing less than Justin...  :-(

Home Stretch

My daily baby update email gave me a warm fuzzy this morning...

"This day marks the end of eight months of pregnancy. You’re heading for the home stretch."

"HOME STRETCH"  = Yay!

Speaking of home stretch...while we were eager to visit with family over the Christmas holiday, and to meet our beautiful healthy new baby niece...we are now very glad to be home for a while. 34 week pregnant me doesn't want to go ANYWHERE for a WHILE now. So we are also in a home stretch in that we have no plans for a trip anywhere anytime soon.

"Stay at Home Stretch" = Double yay!

BUT, before we slide in to home there's plenty to be done.  We got off to a good start last night by doing 4 of our 6 loads of laundry, undecorating from Christmas, and putting away the suitcases and Christmas presents and goodies. 

Our January to do list is long, but I think it will primarily be a fun one!  Sure, adding insulation and pressure washing when we have a warm day may not be on Justin's list of top 10 fun things to do.  And there are some other unfun items for both of us as well.  But assembling the larger baby stuff (pack n play, swing, etc), installing the car seat, packing hospital bags, decorating Karson's walls, and putting final touches on our baby prep sure sound exciting to me!