Week 27- Baby Shower Time!

This past week has been absolutely crazy and has gone by so fast!  It has been go go go!  I finished my last day at work, and then prepared my home to receive my mom, brother, and sister the following Saturday.  We went to one of my favorite restaurants in Omaha, Big Mama's Kitchen.  We also went to the Old Market, and to watch Guardians of the Galaxy in our new theater in Bellevue.  My family thinks that theater is pretty cool because there are recliner seats and you can order dinner before the movie, my brother got the biggest mozzarella sticks I've ever seen!   On Sunday Brooklyn went to church with Sean and me.  During sacrament meeting Brookie got to see baby girl move a whole bunch in my tummy.  She usually moves a whole bunch then, so much you can see it even with a shirt covering it.  I think she likes all the singing and how still I am then.  Brookie helped us with nursery as well.

I'm grateful she came with us even though it probably wasn't the most fun activity for her.  After we went home Sean and I cooked our family dinner.  This Sunday was delightfully uneventful.  There was someone on the guitar or at the piano most of the day.  My husband plays the piano and the guitar, my sister plays the piano, and my little brother plays the guitar and surprisingly some piano.  There was a bunch of lounging and listening.  Because we didn't know when would be the next time we would be able to see each other, we took some pictures in the park near our house.  It was kind of fun, Rocco came with us, he thought it was pretty cool he was allowed off of the leash.  Here are some of the pictures from our afternoon together. 

   

I was a bit of a control freak while we were taking pictures, and of course the photos that turned out the funnest and the most genuine were the least controlled where everyone was being silly almost doing the opposite of what I was saying.  None of us are professional photographers, nor are we trying to be, I just wanted some nice pictures of us together. My little brother Ryan took most of these, he is quite a natural at photography, he has an artistic touch to whatever he does and I'm quite happy with them.

On Monday, my mom, sister, brother and I got up really early to go to the zoo.  We had a really fun time together, we went through the exhibits before noon.  When we went home I was able to tell my husband goodbye, my flight out of Omaha was scheduled later for that evening.  I took my family shopping in West Omaha where my mother and my sister both bought some adorable outfits from Janie and Jack for baby girl. That store has definitely become a favourite of mine for my daughter. On their way out of Omaha back to Wisconsin, my family dropped  me off at the airport to start my looong trip from Omaha to Salt Lake.  I was so sad to say goodbye to them.  My siblings are my rock, not everyone gets along with their brother's and sisters and wants to be around them all the time, but I sure do. 

Flying pregnant didn't mean I hated flying any more than I usually do, but it did make me even more nervous and stressed.  I have had nightmares about this flight before I knew I wanted to take it.  I really dislike flying.  I'm sure I would enjoy it more if I could afford to fly first class, but maybe not even then.  I was so scarred that it was bad for the baby even though I've been told it is perfectly safe.  I even contemplated driving to Idaho 16 hours.  That sounded much more appealing than flying, but being six months pregnant on the way out and nearly 7 months pregnant on the way back, that probably wouldn't have been the best idea driving alone in the middle of nowhere that long.  

Frontier airlines is probably the worst.  My flight was delayed 4 hours, the only thing that saved me was the USO that I found 3 hours into the delay.  I didn't know about it until now, but the Denver USO is pretty awesome, if you are a military family look for it next time you have a layover! My family who was driving from Omaha to Wisconsin got to their destination before I got to mine flying! I arrived in Salt Lake around midnight, it took a long time to get our bags, my poor grandma and her friend Mary were waiting for me for so long, we got out of the airport at about 12:30 am and into Brigham city at about 1:30.  At this point I was really really tired.  I didn't get to sleep until about 2 am. 

The following morning I was so excited to wake up and get to Idaho for my baby shower!  It had been a long time since I saw several of my friends and family, that in itself was so much fun to look forward to! 

 My Aunt Janeil and little Cousin Sierra threw my shower. When I knew they were throwing it I was really excited because both of them are so creative and thoughtful when it comes to things like this.  When I walked into the door of their home I was completely blown away with how beautiful everything was!  It was my dream baby shower.  They completely took into account what I liked and enjoyed, that even though I'm having a girl and usually the go to color for a girl is pink, the colors used for the shower were the colors we are using for baby's bedroom, grey and pool blue.  They also had these precious woodland stuffed animals which was the theme of baby's nursery as decoration that I would be able to use in her nursery as well.  I'm still hearing about how awesome that shower was.  I am so grateful for all the planning and preparation that went into this beautiful party.   When guests arrived they asked them to sign a card with a note of advice on it for Sean and me to put in an adorable baby book that J&S gave us.  I went back and read them all, and thought the words were so helpful and insightful, I wish I had done that before I wrote out thank you's because those words of advice were a really wonderful gift in themselves.  One of my favorites was from my Aunt Kristine, "Don't be afraid to rock and cuddle this baby (and any others that may come along) as much as you can get away with.  Read and sing to her every day.  Never feel guilty when you do this because these are some of the best things you can do for your little sweetheart."  After several people had arrived we played a get to know you game so the party guests would mingle a little bit. 

  

Following this game everyone was invited to get a bite to eat, the food was so good!  The lemonade cups were completely adorable.  It was nice to be able to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in a while, and being a pregnant girl, the food table feels like a part of my natural habitat right now. We played some more games, one was where we had to look at several baby items and guess the price of each item.  The other game made me laugh so hard that I was brought to tears, everyone was asked to draw what the baby would look like, some were very good, and some were very funny. 

Following the games, I opened the gifts for baby girl, and was completely overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and family.  We received so many beautiful gifts.  All of the gifts were incredibly thoughtful.  The picture of the little dress with the house on it below is vintage, and belonged to my best friend Liz when she was a baby.  I tried not to cry when I realized what it was.  We received so many hand made quilts, afghans, and blankets. 

Along with a few other nostalgic items we received hand made items from both great grandma's, Sean's grandma made a beautiful quilt and my grandma made an adorable little crocheted dress and matching booties. My Aunt Joy gave me a picture of myself,my Aunt Joy, and Aunt Janeil from when I was a toddler. I was wearing a little denim pink skirt, inside the present was the same little skirt.  

We also received so many adorable outfits, some fun toys, and shoes!  I have many favourites.  I know why people are constantly sharing numerous photos of their baby, because they are trying to get photos of all the cute outfits that they will only get to wear once.  

 

My Aunt Janeil also had such an awesome idea when she sent out the invites, she requested that instead of a card, that guests bring a book.  Inserted inside the baby shower invitation was this little request "Although cards are nice, they're read once or twice, a book is a treasure forever and ever!  Instead of a card to be put aside, please give this sweet baby girl a book with a special message inside!"  Isn't that an awesome idea?  With each gift our little girl received a book with a message inside it.   We received books for all stages of her life.  I'm really excited to make her a little library and present her with the appropriate books for the age that she is. 

I'm so grateful for everyone who came to the shower who showed and expressed their love for me and my daughter.  My Aunt Janeil and Cousin Sierra definitely outdid themselves, along with the beautiful party they gave me so many amazing gifts.  I loved everything that they did for us!  My guests left the party with some amazing lemon cookie mixes and a few left with some fun prizes they won in the games.  I had an amazing time, I feel so grateful and so loved.  Thank you to everyone who came and made it such a wonderful experience!  Thank you to my Aunt Janeil and Cousin Sierra for making it such a beautiful party! 

Post party with two of the adorable stuffed animals we received!  I can't wait to get them into her nursery!  

Photo credit for B&W photo: Liz Flores

Week 26

This week in pregnancy world:

-I'm definitely starting to "feel it" now, before I think I was able to get away with much more but not so much now.

- It seems like my clumsiness has been increased by 10 fold.  Things just fall straight through my fingers, all the time!  

- I didn't believe in pregnancy brain, the notion that a woman functions slower and is more ditsy when pregnant.  I am a believer now.  I will think of what I need a room away, go into that room and immediately forget what I was there for.  If I don't make a list for the grocery store, I forget what I am there for when I  when I walk in the store. I have to wait and really have to think about my purpose in being there.  Even with a list, I get home and realize I forgot something almost every time!  I'm pretty sure after I have proofread this blog post there will be a number of grammatical errors.  

-I had my first ridiculous cry spat this week.  Poor Sean.  I'm embarrassed and it was totally ridiculous.  In my defense, I didn't get any sleep the night before and it was about 2 am when this went down.  There was absolutely no reason for me to respond this way though, it was so dumb! 

- I feel like I am always in the way.  I'm pretty sure I'm always blocking someone or bumping into someone. 

- Before I was pregnant I had aches and pains due to dance, my knees were pretty bad and sore with or without exercise and many times so were my hips.  In my second trimester, these aches and pains all disappeared.  I thought it was a pregnancy miracle or the hormones working favorably with my body, I thought I dodged a bullet.  I was wrong.  All of these aches and pains have now returned, and not just these particular ones, my body is aware of every injury I've ever sustained like a sprained ankle from over 2 years ago!

- Sleep has been kind of rough, so I am tired much more now than I was in my second trimester. If I can calm my mind down enough to take a nap they are the best! 

- When someone asks, "How are you feeling?" I have to resist the urge to answer them honestly.  Sean insists it isn't polite to say, "My butt hurts".  Because it does. My right side is so stiff and the majority of time I have a pimp, swagger walk ( it mostly looks like I'm limping).

- The penguin waddle is starting to become a thing.  

-There was a moment when my husband thought he was being funny this week, " Isn't it cool that in three months you will have abs again?" 

-Convertible car seat? Infant car seat?  Why are they so ugly?   If they are not ugly, why do they not convert with any jogging strollers? What to buy? This site seems to help a little....http://baby-car-seats-review.toptenreviews.com/chicco-keyfit-30-review.html  Biggest life dilemma at the moment. 

On a more positive note my daughter is getting so strong!  She kicks all the time, it's fun to see what she responds to.  In the studio she wakes up every time we put music on for my class to practice their dances.  She moves a bunch for sweets, cold stuff, Sean singing and guitar playing, and Sean and I placing our hands on my belly.  She seems to respond to the actions scenes in movies as well.  There are times when she moves, she moves my whole stomach in one big wave, the first time that happened I thought it was pretty insane.  It's so amazing to see her kick me when I see my stomach move in little jolts.  All of my complaining above is worth it when I get to have moments like this.  Sean and I still look at each other in disbelief and say, "I can't believe we are having a baby!"It is still pretty surreal for us and exciting.  

Sean had the day off this week.  I came home from work to our nursery furniture all set up in her room.  It was wonderful.   It was kind of a big deal for us to get everything out of that room and move things around, and a really big project for Sean. We had to move our beloved movie room downstairs to our living room, and our guest bedroom into our old movie room.  I'm still a little bummed I had to go back on never ever having a TV in the living room, but Sean made a brilliant floor plan that separates everything so nicely that I still get to have a visiting space.  

It was pretty cool to walk into her nursery with everything all set up.  I was on cloud nine all day.  I was able to transfer all the things we have bought for her from our closet in our bedroom into her room.  When it was all done I was a big nerd and sat in the middle of the space for a while with a big grin on my face imagining what it would be like with her in that space as well.  Sean asked me if I wanted to set up a sleeping bag in there and sleep in there that night.  I didn't but secretly probably would have if we had a decent air mattress.  I can't wait to start adding more than just furniture.  We have a few books for her and a few small stuffed animals.  I can wait to get bedding and a few more decorative things for her.

This week we went on  a picnic with some friends of ours, and Rocco.  Even though it was work, it was really relaxing to go hiking afterwards.  I paid for it the following morning with really sore hips, but it was so worth it!  Sean took us to see an amazing view of Omaha.  The hike was fairly easy, but we also didn't do it for that long either, so I would call it more along the lines of "trailing" instead of hiking, perfect for the pregnant clumsy lady.  Here are some pictures from our little adventure.

 Our good friends who just celebrated their 5 year wedding anniversary!

 I love these two!

 Yes!  My crazy husband is in a tree!  

I love Rocco's smiles!  

Week 25

Back in my college days, I had a roommate/friend that was pregnant during the time we lived together.  Converse was so nice to her and always wanted to cuddle with her.  My cat is not a cuddly cat, he is grumpy, and on very rare occasion he is nice.  We both were convinced that his new found cuddling was because she was pregnant.  So when I became pregnant, I was waiting for this to start with me,( and really counting on it!) For the first three months of my pregnancy he was his usual grumpy self, if I picked him up he tried to run away.  It wasn't until about my fourth month that he wanted to cuddle more, and now he always wants to be around!  He also is being extra nice!  It might be that I'm looking for ways in which he is demonstrating that he knows I'm expecting, but I'm pretty convinced that he does.   He has never been this nice before, even though on occasion he does give me some attitude.  The other day I was laying on the couch with Rocco, I was on my side and Rocco was laying in front of me.  There wasn't any room for Converse, so Converse laid down on the side of my tummy and ribs.  The three of us watched a movie together, neither the cat or the dog moved, it was pretty awesome.  

Last weekend we had a family over for dinner, they brought their two month old over and I was so excited to be able to hold a baby and see her size and behavior at that age.  I'm not sure why, but I was under the impression that at that age babies are not as alert yet, and are still sleepy and mostly kept to themselves.  This little girl was so alert and very aware of the things around her.  

Rocco was so curious and sweet with her.  He came over and would try to lick her feet and would wag his tail more if she cried.  One of the funniest moments for me was I brought Converse downstairs so the family could meet Converse, he was his usual snobby self, asserting himself as ruler over the house and sat on the couch occasionally giving attention to the little girl who was petting him.  The moment that baby let out a big cry he dodged up our stairs so fast and into our bedroom, he was not hanging around for any of that noise! I think Rocco is going to love having a baby around, Converse not so much, and I'm alright with that.  Cats with babies scare me, I've never heard of any personal stories of this happening to anyone I know, but I have heard that cats will lay on babies faces and smother them.  I don't think they do it to be mean but because they like the smell of the milk on their breath.  Again, it's one of those thing I've heard through the grapevine, I'm not sure if it's even true, but I plan on being extra careful with Converse and the baby.  Once we get her nursery up, he will not be allowed in that room, even though she will not even be born yet.  I want him to get use to the idea that he isn't allowed in that space.  He is such a prince that keeps to himself  anyways, I'm sure he will be fine with the arrangement.

  I wonder if all the extra pregnant lady love is because they know the time for it being just them is coming to a close.  I love my pets so much.  Converse and Rocco have both gotten me through the times when Sean was either in basic training or deployed, they were my best little friends during that time.  A baby is not going to change this, just add to the love in our home.  

Don't you love that scowl in the background? 

It hit me that after my 25th week of pregnancy that I would be six months pregnant!  I have been so use to telling people I was 5 months that when I became 6 months it completely snuck up on me!  I have had a few moments of panic over it. I'm a little flustered that we have several things for her nursery and it is not yet set up, that even though we have saved up so we could go shopping for the things we need for her, we still have not done that yet!  Only 3 more months to go!  I want her here so so bad, but I'm glad she isn't here yet because I'm definitely not ready.  I keep telling myself, that I can do anything, I just can't do everything.  I'm a huge perfectionist and I like quick, fast results.   I like to know exactly what is going on and when. This whole experience of bringing a human into the world is testing that part of my comfort zone extremely.  Even though we have money saved up for her, we would like to use money from our paychecks to slowly and steadily get things for her and save as much money as we can for savings and her college fund.  If I had my way, we would be 100% ready by now, completely stocked with clothes, diapers, blankets and what not.  We could be, but are choosing to go slow and steady and it is driving me nuts!  I've also had several people tell me to hold off and wait for my baby shower to see what I really need after that, another thing that is driving me a little bonkers.  After my baby shower I told Sean that I will be unstoppable, that the shopping sprees will be glorious.  Speaking of baby showers, look at what I got in the mail yesterday!

 Isn't that invitation gorgeous?!  I just love it.  I get to go home for the month of August!  My little sister will be going through the temple and I'm going to be her escort, she is currently living in Idaho where she will also be going through the temple. While I am there, my Aunt Janeil and Cousin Sierra are throwing baby girl and I a baby shower.  They are both so creative and throw the best parties, I'm really excited for it, plus I will get to see so many friends and family that I have not had the opportunity to see in a while.  I'm so looking forward to going home and spending some much needed time with family.  Growing my own family really makes me miss and appreciate the family members I have far away.  They all love her so much, and in return make me feel loved as well.