Busy Busy Busy

As I walked (waddled) through the grocery store the other evening after work...waited in line and bought a gallon of ice cream and hot fudge, I realized....I am the epitome of a woman who is 8 months pregnant. All my aches and pains seem to be magnified times 10, I am currently waking up every hour at night to go pee, and I am now getting "sympathy looks" from complete strangers. But I wouldn't want to trade places with anyone in the world right now. :)

Todd and I have been extremely busy, and have something planned pretty much every weekend in April! My how the time has flown by!! This past weekend we took our "Babymoon" (a pre-baby honeymoon) and traveled to Spokane for my dear friend Beth's wedding. Although the drive was much longer, due to my constant bathroom breaks, we had such a RELAXING time. The wedding was beautiful and we enjoyed spending time just the two of us away from our 'reality'. The picture above is of us at the wedding that was held in the Davenport Hotel.

This week has been extremely busy due to the auction at school which is tomorrow! Once that is over I will be able to breathe a huge sigh of relief, and will only have 2 weeks left of work!! Today the school through us a Baby Shower, and we were overwhelmed by how gracious everyone was! We had registered for a white dresser for Emily's room and were shocked to walk in the staff room to see the dresser filled with even more gifts, and below that was a mountain of gifts!!! I feel so lucky to have the love and support from the ECS staff, and will miss all of them a lot!

This coming weekend we are celebrating my Mom (grammie) and Brother (Uncle Craig) birthdays! I'm planning on making homemade lasagna and Todd and I will spend the day with them out in Graham.

We just got our new Video Camera to document Emily's childhood:) We are super excited to start using it on our little love bug!! Todd only has a few more weeks of school left, and we have one more birthing class left! WOW! Hard to believe our baby girl will be here before we know it!

31 weeks!

Todd and I started our Birthing classes at St. Pete's hospital in Olympia where I will be birthing Emily. So far we have gone to two classes and have already learned a lot! Our teacher is great and makes everything very fun:) Last night we learned different massage and breathing techniques (my favorite class so far). We have met another couple in the class who we hit it off with, they are having a little boy and her due date is May 22 (2 days after me). We have began the hunt for a Pediatrician, and I will probably set up interviews with those that have been recommended once I am finished with work. I now know why God put it on my heart to take the last month off of work, I have a ton to catch up on at home, plus I really have been having a hard time getting around and feeling comfortable throughout the day. My job is currently pretty stressful as the Family Auction is next Friday!! We have some wonderful parent volunteers, but I will be so relieved when it is all finished. Next week is my Baby shower at work! I can't wait to begin to gather all of our things off our Baby Registry.
We had our Dr. appointment yesterday, Emily's heartbeat was in the 140's (great!) and my blood pressure and everything looks normal. I passed my Glucose test (yay!) and will now be visiting the Dr. every 2 weeks!! That really means it is getting closer! I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions, mostly when I am more active or start to get stressed and busy, and have had major hot flashes (oye). Other than those normal symptoms I have really been feeling great. Todd has been a huge help and support. He talks to Emily and night and she responds by sticking her little rear out, causing my stomach to go lopsided:)
We are definitly VERY excited and anxios as we begin to think about packing our hospital bags, and getting the final touches complete in the nursery! Won't be too long now!!

May feels so much closer now...

Now that we are in the month of March, May does not seem that far away! Only 11 weeks left before Emily Jean makes her entrance into the world, and changes our lives forever! Todd started his Capstone class for his MBA tonight, this is his last class!!! He also started his new position today, and said that it kept him very busy, but a good busy. God has really blessed us with this promotion, we just can not believe how perfect all the timing has been throughout our entire marriage. We start our Birthing Class on Wednesday, and are really looking forward to learning the ropes of Labor...I still go back and forth about whether or not I want to use medication. I think after the class I will have a better idea of what will be best for us.
I currently have a prediction that Emily is going to be a very active baby, she moves all day long...and usually after work and through dinner is pretty still...but then once I sit down to snuggle in for the night she begins moving like crazy. She makes my stomach bulge out and then shake all over, I have no clue what she is doing in there. Sleep has been a struggle, but somehow I manage to make it through the work day with enough energy to spare to make dinner:) I have no sympathy for anyone else at work who complains of being tired or sore....ummm..hello...I have a 3 lb baby inside me who using my body as a punching bag all day...no sympathy for you..SORRY!:)
Strangers definitely take an interest in pregnant women. I have so many people stare at my belly, ask me when I am due, if it's a boy or a girl, one lady even let me go ahead of her in the line for the bathroom! :) I really don't mind it, or the comments of how big I am, or if I am carrying twins. I'm taking it all in with a positive attitude:)
Here are some of my recent food cravings:
Strawberries
Red Licorice
Mexican food, anything Mexican
Bananas with Hot Fudge
Any Cheese

The picture above is of me at 28 and a half weeks!! WOW!!