The Crib!!

It's so fun seeing everything coming together! Now that the crib is set up it feels so much more real that in three months a new little person will be living in this room (and hopefully sleeping in the crib! hee hee) I love the soft colors of the bedding and the wall up against the dark rich color of the wood.

Making a Home Ready for Baby

Yesterday evening Scott was busy putting the crib together while I was teaching. I snuck into the room between students for a few pictures.

Big Baby!

Wow! I hadn't been keeping up lately with how the baby was growing inside of me, but today I thought I'd check it out and I was suprised! Can you believe little "peanut" is almost two whole pounds already and around 14 and a half inches long?! More exciting changes: the lungs are starting to function and the brain is already becoming very active! I can't wait to meet this little person inside of me face to face! It was fun when Scott came home for him to see that my belly had grown in the days that he was gone. Everything seems to be moving so fast now! Scott and the MDS guys came back early on Saturday around 3 pm so that was a great part of my weekend! It feels good to have him at home again and it was fun to hear all about his time in Alabama. I will post pictures of his trip soon. Hey a question for all you moms out there - when the baby kicks, are the kicks up where the head is, or down at the other end? Just curious because I always feel kicks down under my belly button and was just wondering what position the baby is in.

Boo Hoo

Scott is now gone for 10 days to Mobil, Alabama on an MDS (Mennonite Disastor Service) missions trip, helping clean up and rebuild houses after the hurricane. They left very early yesterday morning. He did send me a text message and also called me for my birthday, though, so that was very happy! I love him so much! Since my husband was not here to spoil me for my birthday, my family is stepping up to the plate to make the time special for me. Yesterday Mom and I picked up my present from them - a GORGEOUS baby crib!! Scott also gave me the go-ahead to pick up the most beautiful bedding I have ever seen (see picture) for a baby! I am so excited to start on the nursery and make a home ready for our little one. Today, Mom and Cristina and I picked up Grandma and went to the cafe for waffles, and in the evening when Dad was home we had birthday cake and they gave me the rest of my presents (some beautiful dishes and a tablecloth). Tommorow, Jenna is joining us to go out for supper too which should be fun.

Shopping is Not For the Fainthearted . . .

So, for the last few months allready I have been reading in my pregnancy books that it is normal to feel dizzy and have shortness of breath. All the while, I was thinking - finally, a negative pregnancy symptom that I have not had! Well, I thought too soon, I guess because on Tuesday, I was shopping with a friend and I suddenly had to sit down because I thought I would flop to the floor if I didn't! Then yesterday, my mom took me out shopping for my Birthday and we had to stop every few minutes for me to sit down and drink some cold water. It was kind of scary! I had met up with my friend Tracy in the mall and we were doing some catching up, and I told her that shopping had been tiring me out so I leaned against a table. A couple minutes later, I had to abandon our conversation and make a beeline out of the store to find a bench because I was seeing black spots and nearly fainted. Needless to say, me and my mom did not stay at the mall for long after that. But the day picked up and I felt a lot better by lunchtime.

Back to the Main Idea

So I was reading over my blog today and I realized that for a Blog that is supposed to be about my pregnancy I sure hadn't talked about it in a while! One very exciting piece of news that I found out is that one of my good friends from college is having a baby only three months after me!! We have allready had so much fun shopping together and talking about our plans and the good (as well as the not so good) things we've been experiencing in our pregnancies! Congratulations Andrea, I am so happy for you!! The picture of her here is sort of old (from my wedding) but it was the only one I could find right now. It will be so fun raising our children together and sharing this fun and exciting time in our lives!

Living in Luxury!

I just had to post these pics to show how huge and beautiful our hotel room was in Minniapolis! It was such a treat to hang out in such a clean and luxurious hotel. It was so relaxing that I felt like I could have moved in!

More New Year's Pics

Happy New Year!

I love this picture of Scott and I on New Year's Eve. We packed up for the weekend and went on a road trip to Minneapolis and the Mall of America!! There we met my family and had a really fun weekend. The girls (Sadly, Jenna couldn't come because she had to work and wanted to party with her friends!) spent time shopping from open to close, and Scott and Dad had plans of their own. They went to a Minnesota Wild game, and raced in the Nascar Silicon Motor Speedway in the mall, which is life-sized cars on hydrolics that move along with you as you race. It's amazing how much it feels like you're actually hitting the wall! I loved the shopping! I found the maternity clothes Jackpot there (after a while one gets tired of Thyme maternity only) and got some cowboy boots, too! Here, we are out for supper with Mom, Dad, and Crissi at the Rainforest Cafe. We always love it there. (and don't worry, my drink did NOT have alchohol in it!)

So Cute!

Here is Hailey (and her mommy Amber who is my cousin) opening a present that we (along with my family) gave her for Christmas. She is so cute - I can't wait for my baby to meet her! She seems to like it don't you think? You can see more adorable pictures of her if you go to their website which is under my links.

Jenna sampling my Christmas present for me (no it is not real)

Modelling

Here is Scott trying on Peanut's new hat and pretending to suck his thumb (hee hee).

Baby's New Nickname

Over the holidays, we decided that we didn't like calling the baby 'it' and that we needed a more affectionate nickname. So, after a few ideas were tossed around, Scott came up with "Peanut." Now we have something to call the baby before finding out for sure if we are having a boy or a girl, and we don't have to give away any of our real name choices!

Gifts and Traditions

Every year, we read the Christmas story as a family from a beautiful book called "One Wintry Night." We pass the book around and everyone reads a couple of paragraphs. Here is mom starting the story off.

Scott immediately began playing with his new "toy" that he had asked for in preperation for his MDS trip at the end of January.

Scott gave a very excited Cristina a present of books and a movie!

Picures around the tree

My Family

Every year on Christmas Eve, my Mom and Dad and sisters Jenna and Cristina get together to celebrate Christ's birth. We always have such a nice time together and love spoiling each other with fabulous gifts! We started with a brunch of yummy Crepes, played games all afternoon, and then had a fondue for supper. We always take pictures around the tree before getting to the gifts and its a fun way to look back at how we all change from year to year.

Our Wonderful Christmas

We had a wonderful holiday this year. It felt very special to think of our family and the life that will soon become our child. Everything was an incredable blessing from God. We really apprecitated the time spent with family and friends.