Baby Socks Hanging from Chandeliers

I never really got a chance to write a few things about the baby shower in St. Louis. First off, I want to extend another heartfelt thanks to both my Aunt Beth and my very good friend Susan for putting all the hard work into make the day/weekend so wonderful. Also, thanks to my Aunt Laura for bringing those yummy cupcakes (wish I could have brought them home with me...they were so good!). And ALSO thanks to everyone else who was able to attend. I know for both my mom and myself it was a welcome distraction from more serious matters.

It was so wonderful to see so many wonderful friends and family. It's hard to be away, even though I love Colorado and wouldn't change where I am for a minute. I miss the people, though. I wish we could see everyone more. Luckly most of my family is in one place, but Stephen's are all over and of course we have to balance that out at least a little bit. I'm a little apprehensive about this coming summer...I think it will be the summer of showing off the baby which will equal lots of travelling...and not just by ourselves anymore. But that's a worry for another day.

I have a Picasa site with all the pictures from the shower. If you have other pictures and want to contribute, you should be able to if I sent you the invite to view the pictures several weeks ago. Or, let me know and I'll include you on the list. To view the pictures, click here.

Birthing Classes and Feeling Overwhelmed (thanks, Babies R Us)

So this past weekend we attended our birthing class. We did the express class which combines what usually is 3-3 hours sessions into 1 full day experience. I know, contain your excitement! The 3 hour sessions were only offered on Thursday night, though and I didn't think my boss would much appreciate me taking off for three Thursdays in a row:-P Of course, I was super tired as I had to get up at 7 (shut it...I don't work until 1 at the earliest and as I'm not getting up for exercise classes at the moment, there is frequently a "9" at the front of the time when I get up in the morning these days) and of course within the first hour they showed the first segment of the movie which was like, can I take a nap now? Please?

Truth is, I definitely learned some things and it was awesome to take the tour and see the unit and get a sense for how things will go. I will say that if you've seen as many Baby Story's and Deliver Me: Home Editions and Bring Home Baby's and Birth Day's as I have (man that's a lot...I swear I'm not baby crazy) much of the material was stuff I had already heard. It was good to have them confirm that what I'd been seeing on TV was fairly normal, though.

Stephen, however, knew just about 5% of what we learned in the class so I think he felt much better after going through things. I also think he was exhausted by the end with all the information that was delivered. He's getting more and more excited...it's kind of cute to watch! Yesterday he actually was like, I want November to hurry up and get here...I want to meet her now! I keep telling him to enjoy the last few weeks of freedom while he's got them...but I think we're both ready for that loss of freedom. Well, I don't know if we're REALLY ready for what's to come (who is, really) but we're as ready as we're going to be.

After the birthing class, we realized that while we still have several weeks left, we're beginning to enter that 'it could really happen at any time' stage. Hopefully she'll hold off for AT LEAST 3-4 more weeks, but you never know at this point. So...we made a trip to Babies R Us on Sunday so we could gather a few absolutely essential items just to make sure we have them. Like, oh, a thermometer and some bottles, etc. I tell ya, every time I go into the store, I get overwhelmed! At least they keep it fairly compartmentalized so you can be sufficiently overwhelmed by just ONE category at a time. We made it out in one piece, thank goodness, and now feel a little better about what we have immediately on hand. Many thanks to the woman in the bottles area who suggested to start we just buy 1 of each kind of bottle instead of several of one...so we can see which one she likes and get more of those. Good thinking! We also spent a good portion of Sunday night unpacking things from the shower and getting the room a little more...well, like a room. We're getting there!

Right now we have someone setting up the baby room so Stephen can install the ceiling fan. Don't want it to get too hot in there in the summer...and she needs to have the obligatory fan to watch in wonderment, right? :-)

Movement

Dear Zoe,

I know I was semi-worried all day because you weren't moving as much as yesterday but did you really have to wait until bedtime to let me know you're OK?  Is this a sign of things to come?  Regardless, Mommy would like to sleep now.  Thanks.

Jogging Stroller!

We got our jogging stroller and Stephen was nice enough to put it together (in between kitchen stuff).  As you can see, the reflectors work:-P. Thanks to Ginzy for the front wheel attachment...now we can actually use it!  Well, we're missing one key component...she'll be along in good time:-D. Looking forward to many runs next summer!

Antsy

Feelin' antsy. Just like my whole body is just slightly tense...almost itchy feeling. Blah.

The sealant is being put on this evening in the kitchen. It has to sit for 12 hours (so the cats get banished to the basement...Harmony will not be happy!). And then we can FINALLY move the stove back in and I can FINALLY cook something!! Not that I'm complaining about not having to cook for awhile. But, it would be nice to eat something a little healthier for a change.

Off to work.

Kinda magical...

So, as of this morning I still had not heard back from the doctor about my glucose tolerance test. Not surprising given that I took it on Wednesday last week and yesterday was a holiday. On the other had, it had been almost a full week and I kinda wanted to know if something was wrong so I could take action towards fixing it. The receptionist confirmed that my results had, in fact, come back and she said she would have the nurse call me back with the results.

Let the waiting game begin.

Luckily, the nurse called back only an hour or two later and my test was normal! Whoopee! One less thing to worry about. Not that I've been scarfing ice cream or anything crazy. However, Stephen pointed out that now I can go back to consuming my original quota of multiple nectarines a day guilt-free. I better get on it as they're going out of season! Maybe Baby Zoe will figure that out and turn her attention to apples (of which we have several small ones ready to be picked in the back yard...).

I'm starting to get slightly nervous. Not in the anxious, panicky way. More like the reality that I'm that close to becoming a mom is so much more real now than it was months ago...hell, even a week ago. The other day I actually took a moment to look forward toward the upcoming weekends and I realized that with baby showers, baby/birthing classes, and a few other random events, we have several pretty packed weekends. All the way until...well, early November. And then...

Um, yeah...then we're just about ready to have a baby. Yikes!

But while I am getting a little more antsy about reality, I am also so excited. I think Stephen is getting there, too. I can detect a little smile in his voice when I start to wake up in the morning and she starts kicking so he can feel it in his back. I can't help but laugh when she gives a good strong kick out of nowhere (even if it's in the middle of the doctor's office). It really is kind of magical...

28.5 Weeks!!!

Please ignore the bad hair (I wore a hat at the Rockies game today), the bad skin (I'm pregnant...nuff said), and the bright pink pants and bright purple shirt (again...pregnant...I can wear what I want to!).  Also, you can see the progress we've made on tiling.  I swear it's more than it looks!  The back is actually setting and we hope to lay the rest on Wednesday!