PS...

Happy Birthday to Abby! She turns 5 today! Where have the last 5 years gone! Seriously, and on Sunday, it marked 4 years since we closed on our current house. Time is flying by!

Locked and Loaded

Emily is a good girl. We had my almost 36 week appointment today and baby is head down. Woot woot. This explains why my hips have been killing me this week. Appointment went really good. Blood pressure is great, I have no swelling (knock on wood), and she is happy with my weight gain. I gained 3 lbs since my last appointment, but I am still only up 9 lbs. My weight fluctuates so much too. Two days ago I was up 7 lbs, today 9...Baby looked good on the sonogram today, but we were not able to tell how big she is on the machine that she used. She said she should be around 6.5 lbs, but she bets she is probably only around 6, which seems very generous to me. Either way, she is healthy and that is all that matters. Here are some pictures for week 35. I am way to lazy to do the whole survey so here is the quick run down. No new stretch marks, up 9 lbs, I sleep awesome right now because it is so cold at night I don't wake up sweating, best moment this week was by far the shower and I am looking forward to this little girl making her debut anytime after next week. Our pellet stove is going to get installed today, which could not happen at a better time because it snowed a bit this morning. Although, this is NM we are talking about and it will probably be in the mid 70's tomorrow...Here is to hoping that the weather stays cool for a while. I am loving it!

Baby Shower

First of all, I cannot help but laugh about the topics that my husband likes to blog about. He is such a man. However, he is in the peak of his nesting. I am waiting to catch up, but I think I am almost there. Tonight is Operation Organization. We have to organize the pellets for the pellet stove, since they have to be stored inside, that will make it a little more challenging, since the garage is already pretty packed. And I spent about 3 hours yesterday pulling tags off all the cute little baby clothes, hats, socks, blankets, burp clothes, you name it and sorting into washable piles, so all that has to go back in all the drawers upstair. Whew, I get tired just thinking about it.

So the Shower was AWESOME! I am so so lucky to have such amazing friends and family (and a lot of them.) We really truly are blessed. We had about 45 people show up for the shower, which is more than I could have imagined. I am not going to lie. It was a little overwhelming with all the people. I felt so bad that I couldn't sit down and really talk to everyone who took time out of their busy lives to celebrate with us. It really meant the world to me! I can't thank everyone enough. Emily is one spoiled and very loved little girl. We had a guest list of about 60, so the turn out was really awesome. I know what you are thinking! 60 people! Yes that is a lot of people, but each person on the list was really important to us and has supported us in some capacity in our lives. There was no narrowing the list down.

For those of you who couldn't make it to the Shower, I am not going to lie, you did miss out! Not because you missed seeing me, but you missed all the hardwork and detail our families put into it. Rebecca did an amazing job of planning decorations, handmaking all the invites, and picking out games, and much much more. She planned this shower pretty much from the moment she knew we were expecting. Nicole and mom cleaned the house spotless and coordinated the food. Jenn make the most delicious moist cake I think I have ever eaten and the cutest cookies I have ever seen. Vange, my Aunt's and JoAnn made sure that everyone was well catered too and that everything went as smoothly as possible. It was great. My friend Erin, who flew in from Phoenix was the in house photographer and took over 250 pictures (she's a little crazy, but I love her), so hopefully I will get some up in the next few days. It was so good to see everyone. I have recently been reunited with some of my best friends from high school and they all came on Saturday. Also, Cissy took time out of her REALLY busy life (she has an almost 4 month old baby herself) and flew down for literally less than 24 hours to be there for me. Honestly, I cannot stress enough how blessed I am. I really get choked up thinking about how loved we truly are by so many and that we love everyone so much in return, we just hope you all know that.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone from the bottom of my heart for everything you do for Sean and I. We love each of you so much and are so so grateful that you are in our lives.

I am a Master Negotiator

So you have all heard that Michele and I were looking at pellet stoves...well we purchased one, got a good deal and it should do a fantastic job heating our poorly insulated house! So the dilemma is this...what do we do with the old wood burning stove. I personally wanted to keep it and put it where our other gas fire place is, that got over-rulled. Whatever. So we turned once again to the trusted Craigslist. Let me tell you, for all the nay-sayer Craigslisters...this is a god send. We have sold more crap on CL than I could have imagined. Two futons, a table, a cycle-ops, and a partridge in a pear tree! So I posted our stove for 800 semolians...and wouldn't you know it, we got three hits within 20 minutes. People are CRAZY and I love it. So this frantic lady calls me with 782 questions about the stove...I sent her the owners manual and said look it up. She schedules a time to come by the house and look at the stove, take measurements, etc. The next morning I get an email saying we'll give you $600. So I don't respond. About an hour later she replies with "I hope I didn't offend you, let me rephrase, what is the lowest price you will take," here is where I negotiated the crap out her. I said $800, our listing price. I went on to say that I have had a ton of interested parties and I'm sure one of them will take our asking price. Two hours later I get another email saying "we'll take the stove for $800". Damn I'm good! Here is what sucked, just as the lady offered the $800, I had another individual on the way to my house to look at the stove...that was a tough call.

That my friends is how you negotiate! Oh, and thanks to the wife for the support, she offered some invaluable advise!!!

Hope everyone is doing well...I can't wait to be a daddy!!

35/35

Today I am 35 weeks along and have 35 days to go! Crazy! I am really looking forward to my shower this weekend and seeing lots of friends and family! Hopefully we will get tons of pics to share!

34 Weeks!

Time is flying by now and I am waiting for it to really hit me that is less than 6 weeks we will have a baby (that is if she doesn't come late). Everyone tells me that the last few weeks go by really slow, but we are waiting for that to happen. Emily is still moving around like crazy and it is starting to get more and more uncomfortable. I know I am not as big as some women get in the last trimester, but I am still much bigger than I was and things are getting a little cramped in there, yet she still continues to roll around back and forth while doing the Mexican hat dance on my bladder. Lately now when people ask me how I am and I respond "I am feeling good, just getting uncomfortable" the response I have gotten is either "You are not that big" or "You don't know uncomfortable yet" to which I give them the evil side eye. Geez people, it is ok if I am not comfortable, I am 8 months pregnant and having hot flashes like it is 110 degrees outside. It seems like people really like to share negative stories or feedback these days. I know I am not going to sleep for the rest of my life, Zig and I are prepared for that. And the whole "you have no idea" comment, yeah, we know we have no idea, but we are still super excited. And finally, "you say that now, but wait till the baby is here." My husband and I have done lots of research and yes we are pretty opinionated on some of the methods we are going to use when Emily gets here, but we are prepared to roll with the flow and make changes where necessary, if it is Emily's best interest. I do know that my husband supports me and together we are hoping that our plans are effective ones because we didn't rush into any of the decisions we have made so far. Those are just the negative comments though, I get lots of great comments and advice too. I love that some of my friends have little babies, or have had children before and they have been so helpful in offering tips and advice.

So here is the survey of the week...

How far along?: 34w5d, today
Total weight gain: +7 to 9. It fluctuates back and forth
Stretch marks?: I now have 2 tiny marks on my side, nothing to complain about. Together they are maybe a quarter of an inch long. ::Please let it stay that way::
Sleep?: Still the same. My hips are still hurting and I have to roll myself over a couple times a night for relief. This has become a struggle because Bodhi is obsessed with snuggling with me lately. I think it is because I am so warm all the time. If he could crawl in my skin he would. He is permanently attached to me when I get home from work till Zig gets up in the morning. And I can't really complain, I love to snuggle with him too.

Best moment this week?: hmm...nothing really stands out...that seems a little sad, but honestly things are going really good right now, I can't really complain about anything.

Food cravings?:Pumpkin pie

Labor signs?: None. I actually don't even know at this point if I would know if I was having any.
Belly button in or out?: Still in
What I miss: Having a conversation with someone without gasping for air like I weigh a million pounds. I was going over a report with one of my clients and seriously thought I was going to pass out from lack of air. I was taking huge breaths every couple of words. I must have looked like a freak.
What I'm looking forward to: My shower this weekend! My sister is coming in town, which is awesome. The Kaase's are also coming in, which rocks. Cissy is traveling from Tulsa and Erin from Phoenix, woo hoo.

Here are my pics. I am 34 w 3 days here. Yes, the quality sucks but I have been so lazy lately that I don't want

I.AM.LAZY

Seriously, seriously lazy. I have absolutely no motivation. It is awful! So, there will be no picture or survey this week. I honestly forgot to take one. Bummer.

In other news, I saw my doctor yesterday. She said it was hard to really tell, but she is pretty sure baby is still breech. Plus I am still feeling kicks down low. She really does not kick per say. She more rolls back and forth, side to side. I got for another check up in two weeks and if she hasn't turned from there, we will likely schedule a C-section for 39 weeks, but continue to check to see if she decides to move. At this point, my doctor didn't seem too optimistic. She has been in the same position for a while and looking might comfy. After 36weeks, the chances of her moving will not be likely, but we will still check. We did discuss options for turning the baby and my doctor told me she was willing to try and external version, but she thinks that c section is probably the best option. The versions tend to really stress out the baby and can be very dangerous for mom. Plus a lot of times they don't work. The cord could get wrapped in the process and I would have to get a section any way, or worse, it could cause uterine rupture and I would have to be put completely to sleep and undergo and an emergency section. She said the risks are a lot higher than than the benefit. She also said, my chances of having a VBAC for any future pregnancies is really high because the section isn't because of my having a small pelvis (we all know I have a pretty significant ghetto booty and some hips to go along) and her not fitting or my pregnancy being high risk, so that is definitely good and something we will consider in the future if it doesn't go as we originally planned. While having a c section is not the way I wanted to bring my baby into the world, I trust my doctor and her opinion.

Emily is very very active. My stomach is constantly rolling around around. Everyone keeps telling me she is probably trying to head down, but my doctor said I would definitely know when she does. I am not that big and I would definitely feel it if she made the move. She said it would "not feel good" when it happens. I will not lie, sometimes when she moves, it is pretty uncomfortable, almost painful. Literally, I think she wants out and will push her hardest right on my belly button. She is a funny little girl and if she is going to act anything like she does now, when she gets here, she is going to be non stop like her dad. (YIKES :) )

I am still anemic, but stopped taking my iron. It is slowly killing me. I have tried everything, but no matter what I do, I am horribly sick after I take the supplement. My doctor said that it was ok that I stop since my levels were not that far off, which is a huge sigh of relief.

Other than that, things are going good. We are counting down the days till we have an outside baby and are getting really excited. We discussed putting a pellet stove in the house, not only to be more environmentally friendly, but mainly because the best source of heat for our house currently is our wood burning stove and a) it is a pain to make a fire in it and I don't want have to do this EVERY.SINGLE.DAY while on maternity leave and b) I would hate for the smoke to affect baby's allergies. Plus there are some pretty sweet tax incentives involved. This will be our last big purchase before Emily gets here and honestly it is a great investment based on our needs.

I really will try to be better with the updates from here on out. There are only 6 weeks left till Emily is due, and if we do end up having to get the section, it's even less! ::SQUEE::

32 weeks...a little late

Sorry, I know this is late. I can honestly say, I was totally being lazy about posting this week. These pictures are from Sunday and I just didn't get around to posting till today. For some reason I am EXHAUSTED. Anyway, here is the weekly survey and some pictures.

How far along?: 32w6d, today

Total weight gain: +7

Stretch marks?: Same one on my hip. Please please let it stay that way!

Sleep?: Well, I get sleep, but it isn't great. I wake up a couple times a night to go to the bathroom and to roll over to the other side because my hips are starting to hurt. Still tend to roll on my stomach, which you would think would be REALLY uncomfortable, but for some reason it isn't.

Best moment this week?: Our bedding is here! Just a few final touches and the nursery is done.

Food cravings?:Food in general. I am starving all the time these days.

Labor signs?: None

Belly button in or out?: Still in

What I miss: Bending over. I really took this for granted. I always keep my fingernails painted in the winter and I am not sure how I am going to continue to paint them without painting my whole hand.

What I'm looking forward to: still the Shower! Rebecca has put a TON of effort into it and I think it is going to be AWESOME!

Here are my pics. I am 32 w 3 days here.

Oh and I came across this picture the other day. This is what I looke like at 6 weeks. Not super skinny, but I have definately filled out quite a bit! Sorry it's a little blurry!

Wild Child

I finally got a video of Emily doing gymnastics in my tummy. I have to say this is one of the things I like most about being pregnant, even though it can be a little uncomfortable, if not painful at times. It is still good to know that she is thriving in there. Every night when I lay down, she moves like crazy and I could literally lay there and watch her for hours. Hopefully this video works!