The Due Date

Just an update...

My due date has come and gone and still no baby.

It is fun to watch people's reactions when they ask when I'm due and I say, "Two days ago." I get the, "Are you serious?" look which quickly evolves into the "I don't know how to deliver a baby!!!" look of terror when they realize I am.

We'll keep you posted.

As requested by my mom, here's a picture of me on my due date.


As Gracie would say, "Holy cow, big belly!"

What happened to May???

Life has been so busy lately I've missed updating our blog for basically all of May. Here's a quick recap...

In mid-May Brian and Tammy threw us (and Derek and Gina) a baby shower brunch. They made awesome breakfast foods and we all had fun watching the kids tear into all the presents because that's what kids do (even if the gift inside turns out to be nursing pads).

Getting some help from Gracie

A great excuse to wear my maternity dress again

A few weeks later Andy's dad, Gary, and his friend, Debbie, paid us a weekend visit. It was fun to show them the nursery in real life and to force them to eat several consecutive meals of Mexican food since that's what the baby likes...

Two days after Gary and Debbie left, Andy's sister, Laura, arrived with her family. Andy spent two days on his own with his nephews, Trevor and Tyler. They visited the Battle Ship New Jersey, played at the park, spent time at the library, and played several rounds of Candy Land. Saturday we all went to Ocean City so the boys could see the Atlantic Ocean.

The boys at the Battleship

Trevor getting a haircut on board

Tyler playing in the freezing ocean

Andy and Laura watching the boys

Andy and me

The day Laura and her family left, our Illinois friends April and Rusty arrived to stay with us for the night. It was so great to see them and catch up, and we finally got to meet their son, Easton, who was born in December.

Rusty, Easton, and April

Other than enteraining lots of visitors, Andy and I have been busy preparing for the baby. We've also been trying to spend a lot time together as a couple before the baby joins our family of two.

I'm now visiting the doctor weekly. The heartbeat continues to sound great. The head is down. The baby has dropped. We still don't have names picked out.

2 1/2 weeks to go...

The Nursey

Here are a couple pictures of the baby's room. There's not much to it yet other than the beautiful furniture that all of the baby's grandparents helped to buy. I want to wait on other decorations until I can make it more personal (and gender specific).

Sizing Us Up

Last week I had a doctor's appointment, and the doctor said everything was looking good, but she wanted me to have another ultrasound since my belly was measuring a little small. Because she was so unconcerned, we were mostly excited by this news. Andy was deployed for the last ultrasound, and he'd be able to be there for this one.

I went for the ultrasound yesterday. It turns out I'm the only one measuring small. My thoughts of a little tiny baby were quickly put to rest as the technician informed us that the baby is actually measuring a week ahead at 34 weeks. According to my due date, I'm only 33 weeks along. Hooray for our strong, healthy baby! The heart rate was 147 and the estimated weight of the baby is 4 pounds 5 ounces, which is in the 62nd percentile.

Here's the latest picture of our already advanced little one...

Showering Baby

Last weekend I took my two personal days off of work and, after securing an aisle seat on the airplane to ensure easy access to bathrooms, headed to Colorado for a much too short long weekend. I never imagined I'd be so far away from my family during my pregnancy, so it was nice to have at least one weekend that resembled what I used to picture. My sister and mom planned an awesome baby shower where we played all the cheesy games, ate lots of food (yummy guacamole!), opened a mountain of gifts, and most importantly, where I was able to see and talk with so many people who I haven't seen in far too long. Julie (Auntie) and Me
Julie bought the sash and necklace...aren't they pretty?

The cake was topped with Cabbage Patch figurines that my grandma bought in 1987

The onsie says it all

Exhausted after opening so many wonderful gifts.

My grandma with all 61/2 of her great-grandkids

(Grant's kindly pointing out what I'm doing in this picture)

The grandkids were a little more cooperative for the picture

After the shower I got to come home and relive all the excitement as I shared all the cool new baby gear we received with Andy. And now that there's actually something in it, nursery pictures will be coming soon...

He's My Baby Daddy

One of the coolest things aside from feeling the baby move for myself is noticing the way our little tyke responds to Andy's voice. I know that not being able to talk to the baby for himself was something that really bothered him while he was deployed, and now that he's home, he's made it a point to make up for his absence. He talks to the baby, reads to the baby, kisses the baby (well, the belly anyway), and pushes on the baby every chance he gets. The crazy part is, the baby responds. When Andy talks, the baby wiggles all around. Sometimes Andy puts his mouth right up to my belly when he' s talking and more than once he's received a little hello kick (or punch, or elbow???) right in the kisser. It's the funnest thing ever. I love my baby daddy, and I love to see that the baby loves the daddy, too.

A week of perfect

Here's a shot of the belly

Every once in a while life comes together in such way that things seem, well, perfect. This past week was one of those times. Last Friday began this week of perfection with some much appreciated pampering for Gina and me. After a breakfast of pancakes and girl talk, we were off to a spa to indulge our pregnant selves in facials and pedicures. Once we finished with all that relaxing and beautifying, I headed to base to welcome Andy home from his deployment (right on time – a rare occurrence for the AF!). The baby immediately began showing off for Daddy by doing all sorts of acrobatics that Andy finally got to feel.
Saturday my parents arrived in Philly to spend the week with us. This is the first time in 4 years that the CO schools’ spring break matched mine, and my mom and I were determined to make the most of it.
Our week was jam packed with fun and quality time spent together. Having 3 of the people I love most in the world in the same state is a luxury I rarely experience.
We spent Easter afternoon at a small local airport where we had a yummy brunch and watched the planes take off and land.

Easter at the Airport

Monday Andy and my mom accompanied me to the Dr. where we all got to hear the baby’s strong heart beat. Everything else looked great as well. After picking up my dad we were off to Atlantic City for some lunch and sight seeing.

Atlantic City View

Tuesday we spent the day touring the historic sights in Philadelphia. And of course, for the omnivores in the group we hit Geno’s for some famous Philly cheese steaks.

Independence Hall- This is where the Declaration of Independence was signed

Wednesday we were off to NYC.

A view of the Empire State building from the top of Rockefeller Center

We checked into our hotel, hailed a taxi, and ended up at Tavern on the Green where we enjoyed lunch and the décor.

Lunch at Tavern on the Green

Lunch was followed by the Broadway show Jersey Boys, which we all thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend. Later that night we had dinner in Times Square.

Mesmerized by the lights in Times Square

Thursday we got an early start at the Today show.

Matt Lauer was happy to see us

After some shopping on 5th Avenue, we took a subway to lower Manhattan and ate lunch on the pier overlooking the East River. Next we visited Ground Zero. Then we were off to SoHo for some shopping. Finally we ended up back in Times Square for ice cream and more shopping.
Friday was low key. We recovered from all our city walking and had a great dinner at a local downtown restaurant.
Saturday I had to say goodbye to my parents for now. It’s always sad to say goodbye to them, but I know I’ll see them again soon.

On the train to NYC

Andy and I still had a little adventure of our own in store for Saturday. We bought our first new car. We knew we needed a safer car, so we’ve been saving and researching for a while. On Saturday we decided on a Nissan Altima.
All in all, it was an amazing week. I loved sharing my pregnancy with my parents, and having Andy home to experience the rest of it with me is exciting beyond words. I’m sad that our time off is over and we’re both heading back to work on Monday, but I’m so relieved to have him home. Besides, I have a feeling that we have many more moments of perfection in store for us in the future.