The Baby Room Looks Like a Baby's Room And Not a Tool Room!

These are the things I love about being pregnant:

1. Maternity pants. I love them1 Maybe I will keep wearing them even after the baby is born. They are awesome.

2. The cute things my kids say at school about it. They are almost constantly rubbing my belly and saying "Baby sleep" or "Gentle with baby" or "Where's your baby?" And now they go up to other people and  try to look under their shirts to find babies. (For the record, they do not look under my shirt.) They
also tell me I have babies inside my arms. I'm not sure why, but they think that's a good spot for a
baby.

3. Hearing my baby's heart beating at all my doctor's appointments :-)

4. Feeling him move around and kicking me like a maniac!

5. Getting all of his cute little baby things ready!

Things I do not like about being pregnant:
    
1. Thinking about actually having the baby. Baby class was  not fun on Saturday. I used to think I wanted an epidural the first possible second that I could. Now even getting the pain medication scares me. I mean really, getting my blood pressure taken makes me nervous enough to actually raise it and getting a shot or having blood drawn is always a traumatic experience. So I just don't think about that part and I love everything else about being pregnant.

In addition to spending about 12 hours at childbirth classes this weekend, we also kind of finished the baby room. It's not actually done yet - we have to get a new light, hang some things on the wall and buy the mattress and bedding. And we're looking for a glider and a bookshelf or something. But it's painted and the crib and dresser are up! It's kind of a small room, so it's hard to get a good picture, but here are a couple so you can get the idea. I'll put better ones up later when it's really done.

After the room was set up I was really excited to wash the baby clothes we have so far and get them put away. So I spent Sunday night doing a load of laundry for five hours. Yes, five hours. I ran the load through and when it was done half of the clothes were still dry! So I switched it to a bigger load and washed them again. Half way through my washing maching started dancing - it was literally banging up against the wall. It sounded like people were trying to break my doors down. So I opened it and closed it again and it was still banging around. After a couple of times of doing that it just shut off. And  a lot of the clothes were still dry. Then Carl came home and ran an empty load and worked absolutely fine for him. So I put the baby clothes back in and five minutes later it shut off again while it was full of water. Carl got it started again and at midnight we finally put the baby clothes in the dryer and they are now happily put away in the closet and dresser. But we may need a new washing machine! I'm kind of scared to try washing a load our laundry tonight, but hopefully it will work!

Baby Shower!

First of all, my Bible Study is awesome. Last night the other girls threw a joint couples shower for Carl and I and our friends Mike and Brie. And they did such a great job! Awesome food, great friends, funny games and adorable baby gifts. :-) I just have to put up the pictures because everything was so cute! Thank you girls - you know how to throw a great shower!

Such cute diaper cakes! And check out the little tiny diapers all around them :-)



This is how boys entertain themselves at baby showers. They use baby bows to dress like ninjas.

Some time in the next few days I will put up some pictures of our baby room! It's almost done. We just have to get the dresser put together. (Our project for tonight)

Tomorrow and Sunday we have our baby class! People keep asking me if I'm excited. Is it bad that I'm not? I've enjoyed living blissfully unaware of all that goes on during labor and delivery. Tomorrow I have to face the reality of what's actually going to happen in two months. I'm not worried about the actual bringing the baby home and being a mom part. Just the part that happens right before that. You know, the part where a baby who is currently the size of a huge squash and is still supposed to gain 4 - 5 pounds has to get out! Yikes!

My Little Karate Kid

I've been told it's time to post more pictures. But for the record, I don't like any of these! I may stop posting them after this...  We'll see.

24 Weeks? Or somewhere around there.

29 Weeks

Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and I'm pretty convinced that I swallowed a tiny little beach ball that is gradually inflating itself. There can't possibly be a person in there. But then the little guy promptly shows off one of his Kung Fu moves to remind me that he really is alive moving. I had yet another doctor's appointment where we could hardly hear the heart beat between karate kicks! The doctor was like, "Wow, is he always that active?" Yep. He is! He's awesome. And Crazy.

And now, for the latest quote from people who don't think before they speak. I was at the doctor last week and I walked into the waiting room. A seemingly nice lady said, "Congratulations!" So I thanked her and then put on my coat. And she said, "With your coat on you just look a little chubby." Thank you nice lady. Chubby is always a compliment. :-)

The kids at work are definitely noticing the growing bump, but until last week I really hadn't said anything to them about it because they're just so little. But now they always touch my stomach or poke at it because they are noticing that it's different. So I told a couple of them last week that there was a baby in there. And they spent the next 10 minutes looking in the pockets of my shirt and trying to unzip it to find the baby. So cute! And now a couple of them have started to come up to me and rub my tummy, saying, "Baby boy" and giggling. I love those kids!

Christmas Catch-up

For my whole life I have celebrated Christmas in quite a few places in just a couple of days. We usually traveled all over the place for extended family Christmases and had our own a day or two before or after Christmas. When I got married, it added even more traveling and at least one extra Christmas. So it's always been a very busy few days. This year was completely different because of my parent's move to Kansas. We really didn't do much on Christmas Eve. We did some cleaning and a little last minute shopping. Carl even worked for part of the day. Then we had our Christmas together that night, which of course included our Christmas "Thin Pancake" tradition. We argue about what they're called everytime. They're crepes, people. But Carl insists that our kids will like calling them thin pancakes better. So thin pancakes they are I guess. :-)

Carl is a very skilled thin pancake flipper. I am not as skilled at catching it on camera.

The next day we hosted our first Christmas with some of Carl's family. His parents, grandparents and unlce came for a big turkey dinner. And I successfully cooked it all disaster free.

Then, the day after Christmas we headed to Kansas for Christmas with my family. We spent the week playing lots and lots of games and eating lots and lots of food. And I fell in love with a new ice cream place. I would almost drive to Kansas just to go there. Orange Leaf, you are awesome.

I can't believe that next year that little person who is making me look like a balloon will be celebrating his first Christmas with us!