Week (or two) in review

Highlights from the last 2 weeks:

36 week Dr. appointment went well though I was not dilated and still measuring 2 weeks big. Not that I was disappointed by any means, at the time we were still trying to get the nursery ready and pack my hospital bag.

Carpet has been installed, Kyle has moved downstairs, and the nursery furniture arrived. The room has come together very quickly but it looks great! The rocker won't arrive till the end of January and I have yet to put anything on the walls but we're getting there.

BSC Christmas party 2009 was a small gathering this year but it's always good to see everyone and catch up. Jessi was also in town so I got to spend some time with her, twice.

Courtney, Rhonda, Hillary, Amy, Katie

And then came Christmas! The Jost family, Judy, Jon, Bella, James, and I, lit the Christ candle and read scripture at the Christmas eve service. Considering we hadn't really practiced much and we were dealing with a 3 year old it went really well! I have the service on DVD if anyone wants to see it. Christmas Eve we had Christmas at the Koser's complete with our traditional fondue dinner. This year Judy, Jon, and Bella joined us. We also acknowledged this was James' 11th Christmas fondue dinner with us. One of the highlights of the evening was the chocolate fountain malfunction. It was still good though!

Note: I look huge!

The following morning we celebrated Christmas with Judy and we got new point and shoot cameras and Bella was entertained with her new baby doll and doll house. The rest of the day we spent eating, napping...eating some more, and we had a great game of mexican train dominos with my parents too. It truly was a wonderful day and James and I feel so blessed to have such great families.

Saturday we had Christmas with Gary and Janet. As always, we had a wonderful meal and assortment of cookies, Grandma's famous chocolate chip cookies included! I managed to take a 36 1/2 week photo with their electric blue Christmas tree, it's so beautiful!

I couldn't resist, the cutest lil' crack I've ever seen!

And that brings us to today-I had my 37 week appointment and I have started to dilate! It will probably be another week or two but we're ready. Bags are packed, pack n' play is in the bedroom, her bed is made, all the clothes and blankets have been washed. They say time slows down in the last few weeks but I feel like I've been in fast forward mode. It won't be much longer now!

35 weeks and growing

They say a picture is worth a thousand words which is a good thing because I'm too pooped to post. I'm feeling pretty good though and I'm looking forward to a weekend at the spa thanks to Gary and Janet, what a great birthday gift! 

Wednesday James will be celebrating his 29th birthday. One of the things I love about James is the fact that he may only be a year from turning the big 3-0 but he's still a kid at heart. When I look at him, I still see the fun loving boy I met 12 years ago and who would have thought 12 years ago I was going to marry that boy? Well, 4 years ago this Thursday I married that boy and he has grown into a loving husband and soon to be a father. What a journey we have been on together and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for our family.

October 15, 2004

December 17, 2005

Picture Day

Wednesday was picture day at the doctor for Baby J. She wore her birthday suit-naturally!

Look at those chubby cheeks! She gets them from her mama.

Profile of her head. Poor thing is all squished up in there!

They estimate her current weight to be 5 lb 9 oz which is very normal. I'm still measuring 3 weeks big though they say I'm "all baby". I think we can expect her to arrive closer to her due date but we'll still be prepared. Painting is underway in the basement, doors and trim arrive tomorrow and will be installed the beginning of next week, carpet arrives Thursday, and nursery furniture will be delivered Friday afternoon. Whew, we're getting closer!

Thankful

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, a few days late, I am thankful for many reasons this year and here are just a few.

I am thankful to be back in Wichita near our families and to have a beautiful home. We celebrated 1 year of home ownership on November 21st. For all your real estate needs, contact Maggie Koser. She's the best Realtor anyone could ask for, and I'm lucky enough to call her Mom!

Ready for Christmas!

I am thankful James and I both have jobs.

I am thankful for our healthy little girl arriving in January, or December, whenever she decides to make her grand appearance. 

I am thankful for our families and many, many friends who share in our excitement for the arrival of Baby J and those that have 'showered' us with wonderful gifts and lots of love! James and I feel so blessed to have such amazing friends.

Thanks Victoria!

Because of previously mentioned families and friends, I am thankful our basement is almost finished just in time for the arrival of Baby J. Many hours have been spent cleaning, packing, insulating, wiring, painting, constructing, house sitting-we couldn't have done it without you!

Before

Almost done! Kyle hard at work.

I am thankful for our Sunday morning fellowship group. They were an unexpected blessing when we decided to move back to Wichita and I think in a way it's God's cherry on top. We have enjoyed the growth and encouragement this group brings to our lives.

On the same note, I am thankful for my girls bible study, another unexpected surprise. These girls inspire me to be a more Godly woman and wife.

I am thankful for my husband who puts up with me, or I put up with him...depending on the day. Either way, we are each other's biggest fans and I look forward to many more years of being thankful together!

James, in his happy place.

2 for 1

Who doesn't love sales? I, for one, love them and for my readers, today is your lucky day. I have two post worthy events.

First, this past Thursday I got the seasonal flu vaccine on my own free will by myself. Consider it step one in getting past my fear of needles. During the pregnancy I've had lots of practice with getting blood drawn, at times once a week, but those don't count. I didn't WANT to get my blood drawn and Gary's nurse, Nancy went with me every time to keep me distracted. I'm so proud of myself for being such a brave girl. I did ask for a sticker though, it was Jasmine which is kinda funny because James' favorite disney movie is Aladdin.

Then, Friday afternoon I had my first braxton hicks contraction. It happened at work and at first I wasn't quite sure what it was but I quickly recalled our childbirth class and began to breath through it and sure enough it eventually went away. It wasn't extremely painful but was certainly uncomfortable. Fire up the engines, my uterus is officially in practice mode! There is one possible explanation why my body decided to kick into gear, my co-worker Terri had her baby Wednesday night and yesterday I went to visit her and meet sweet Kenadee. I think Baby J was jealous of me holding and cooing over Kenadee that she needed to make her presence known. Don't worry princess, you're still my favorite little girl! As I held the 2 day old baby I couldn't help but think that will be us in 2 short months...

A lot to learn

Apparently I should have done more research before getting pregnant. We had a 6 hour childbirth class this past Saturday and going into it I was expecting to feel a lot better about this whole labor thing. I was wrong. I didn't realize getting an epidural meant inserting a tube into your back and leaving it there which makes sense so they can regulate the 'good juice' but all this time I thought an epidural was a scary long needle they used to inject the 'good juice' and then it came out. Save yourselves from telling me it's not a big deal, you can't see it, you forget it's even there, it's far less painful than the contractions, the joy of seeing your baby for the first time will make it all go away...I believe all that. It's a mental thing for me. It makes me nauseous just thinking about it. When the time comes, I'll just put on my big girl pants. James, you owe me big time!

Also, for anyone out there in marketing/graphics, I've found a job for you. It seems Lamaze could use some updated material. I can't believe they're still showing births from the 80's and their presentation material is just as outdated. I was really disappointed. If I was going to sit through a 6 hour class at least make the presentation pleasing. I'm sure the information was great but I couldn't get past the visuals. 

Early?

Late, often. On time, if you're lucky. Early, never.

At my checkup this week I was told to 'be prepared'. Duh, I'm having a baby of course I need to be prepared but she was serious about something. As I laid there while she measured my belly which should be near 30 cm, I noticed it was taking her a bit longer than usual to get the reading and then she said "Well, if I squish (very technical) it down, I can get you to 33 cm". She then looked at me and asked if I've had my baby shower yet. No. Then she asked if the nursery was done. No. She had my attention now. Checking the baby's position, we found her head down and very low. Good news is that she wasn't engaged and I'm not having contractions, even mild ones. Her advice was to be prepared by 36 weeks "just in case" she arrives early. That's Christmas folks! I'm sure they tell that to everyone but now there is a sense of urgency to get things wrapped up and ready. 

I guess the pep talks about arriving in December have been working but we'll see. I'm probably doomed to go 2 weeks past my due date now but by 36 weeks I will be prepared. All I care is that she is healthy. Early, maybe.