Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was spent in the hospital with my wonderful husband, who I am very thankful for, cooking a delicious Thanksgiving meal and my wonderful mom and brother who came out to visit! It was so nice to have them around and we were all very thankful that myself and the little turkey were feeling much better and hanging in there! I haven't been feeling great the last few days and spend most of my time sleeping, but I am getting there! My wonderful mother-in-law shipped us all of our baby shower gifts from Sunday and we were able to open and enjoy them on Thanksgiving--the little peanut is so very spoiled!

Daddy, Granny D and Uncle Dave were amazing and made the trip to Babies R Us the day after Thanksgiving and stocked up on everything that the little one will need after his or her arrival! I am so happy that everything is at home and ready for the little one! My mom even washed all the baby's clothes so they are soft and cozy for the sweet pea to snuggle in.

I have to say overall I am just very thankful for my amazing husband, wonderful family and friends and our sweet little baby growing away in my tummy. We are so truly blessed and so lucky to have so many things to be thankful for. I am also extremely thankful for the wonderful nurses and doctors who have taken such good care of us the last week and made us feel very comfortable in a scary situation. I hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving and told all the people in their lives how much they love and appreciate them :)

*These are from a few days ago -- I will send out a 32 week update tomorrow!*

31 Weeks

I realized I haven't put out an update! Things are going good, I had a rough night a few days ago, but I am starting to feel much better! I think I slept on my neck funny (weird, considering these beds are so comfy!) and just kinked it something good. I am on some meds and PT and feeling much better :)

We had an ultrasound on Saturday November 22nd and the little turkey is 3lbs. 4oz! I was so happy to see/hear that the little one is beefing up! I also have to say "they" looked even more beautiful than before. We got the cutest little picture and it looks like they are looking at us, I love it! Annie Erker Diehr sent me the cutest little holiday basket with a Christmas picture frame for a nugget sonogram and once I figure out how to print it off, it's going in the frame :) I mean...it is the day after Thanksgiving, so the room must be decorated for Christmas now! As I write this I am lounged out in my new snowflake jammies from MP and Gerard!

My lab (blood) work is staying the same so that is great! They did find more protein in my urine on the second 24-hour screening...I was a little bummed, but it's okay. The blood pressure is starting to creep up again but the nurses are keeping a really close eye on it and taking the best care of me! The doctor's are saying to just take one day at a time and we are still pushing for the 34 week mark! So, please keep praying for us!!! My grandma called the other day and said she had the Carmelite nuns on their knees praying for Ellen and Baby Johnson...I just had to laugh and say that I feel like that is all those poor Carmelite nuns do is pray for my family :)

That is all for this one...more to come!

My New Home...

It looks like I have earned myself a stay in the hospital. This is a terrible picture, this I know, but you will have to cut me some slack I was a little puffy from crying all evening! The baby is just fine and I am feeling much better now though, so no worries! On Thursday November 20th I went in for my regular OBGYN check-up (my rationale was to get my weigh-in over with before we went home and had Thanksgiving dinner!) and found out I had some high blood pressure. The nurse took my pressure and said it was high, I looked at her and said "Oh, it must be from me taking the stairs" and she looked at me like "sweetie, this is not from you taking the stairs". I think it was 174/108 (normal BP is 120/60). So, she sent the doctor in, I showed her Shrek legs and she took my BP another 4 times. I could tell something was up as she said "Ellen, I am worried and do not like the looks of this." She went outside and told me I was going straight over to the hospital for some tests. Upon arriving, I had my BP taken, a 24-hour urine test, constant monitoring of baby and I, blood work and labs and a few visits from my new doctors. (The OBGYN staff at the hospital is taking over as I am now a "high risk" pregnancy). I think we are still in shock, a little scared and just keeping our spirits high and working on me staying pregnant as long as possible :)

The official diagnosis is PREECLAMPSIA and it looks like bedrest for the peanut and I for the duration of the pregnancy. The first milestone we are working towards is getting us to 34 weeks (I am 31 today!) and if all goes well the second step is getting us to 37 weeks. The neo-natal preemie nurse came and talked to us the other day (made me a little nervous, I think I blacked out when she said the word mortality rate, we have nothing to worry about there though) and we are just cozying in for the long haul. I will most likely be in the hospital for the long haul, but there is a possibility with some good blood pressures and continued good labs I could get to go home on strict bedrest. So, that is the update for now. We are just asking for your thoughts and prayers and rest assured scoooter,jr will be full of information from here on out! :)

I have had so many visitors, phone calls, flowers, turkey balloons, magazines and toys...we sure are blessed with all these wonderful people in our lives. I am looking forward to my mom and Dave visiting on Wednesday too! So, thank you everyone for your support and generosity! :)

30 Weeks

Here we are at 30 weeks! I can't believe that next week when I post our due date will be 9 weeks away. Here I go again with the double digits, but wow! we will have a baby in 9 weeks, no double digits for us anymore! What am I going to do when it gets down to a daily countdown?! Things are still going great at 30 weeks...I think I am starting to feel my energy levels decrease a little, but I guess that is okay. I feel really good about all we have gotten done so far. We are looking forward to this weekend and getting home for Thanksgiving! I am so excited it is already the holidays -- I already can't wait to decorate the house for Christmas!

The baby is getting bigger by the day, he or she weighs anywhere from 3-3.8 pounds! Not surprising to me that the baby is growing, as my appetite steadily increases with the weight of the baby! :) Bj and I had a date night last night and he was laughing at me because I couldn't stop staring at the bread man, I was hungry and I wanted another piece of bread! :) We had a wonderful time, the place was FABULOUS! We talked about names over dinner (still nothing decided) and laughed about how soon we wouldn't be able to just run out for a romantic dinner, just the two of us, unless someone wants to babysit!

Belly -- 30 Weeks

I was waiting until I had some news from my doctor's appointment on Thursday before posting this...and do I have some news! Stay tuned...

Movement

November 18, 2008 -- Daddy feels the baby for the first time!

I have been waiting three months for Bj to feel the baby move and he finally felt the little one for the first time today! I am so excited, I had to write about it right away. The baby is a little shy when anyone but momma puts their hand on my belly and I have tried and tried and poor Bj has yet to feel the kicks. I know he wants to, he gets so excited when I put his hand on my belly - and now the waiting is over. I am working from home today and he is going snowboarding for the first time this season. So, I was propped up on the couch downstairs working and he came down to say hi. The baby started moving (I think he or she was excited that the whole family was downstairs in the smallest room in the house!) and I had Bj come over and put his hand on my belly. After a few "did you feel that?" from me -- he looked up at me and smiled and said "i felt that one!" It was so sweet and I know he was excited. I had tears in my eyes! I know how much I love feeling the baby and now he can too, I love it! Now I can't wait for him to feel the shaking and rumbling that goes on in this belly of mine.

Nesting

I am not quite sure how I haven't taken the time to write about my nesting. I realized last night as I was emptying out the bathroom cabinets under the sink to clean everything off and simultaneously thinking about tackling all of the kitchen cabinets--cleaning, organizing and putting in new shelf liners, that this was most likely pregnancy hormone induced. I noticed very early on that both of us were a little more content to stay around the house and hang out in our comfies. Then I realized I couldn't stop baking, then organizing, and now cleaning! I feel like I have been on a terror since the end of May! It is kind of nice though, we have gotten a lot of key things done and the house is finally starting to look like our house again! I finished cleaning out the guest room over the weekend (it had become our dumping ground while moving the office to the basement and the office to the nursery) and it looks beautiful! I can now alternate between sitting in the nursery and in the guest room, it is so nice to have my house back! The only big place I have left to tackle is the garage. It has also become a dumping ground for everything that needs to come back to St. Louis with us...so only a few more days and I can get my hands on it!

Other than that, my baking urges are still pretty hot and heavy. I just can't help myself...Nugget, Daddy and I love a sweet treat now and then :) What kind of momma would I be if I denied the little one some sweets?! Upon our return from St. Louis, my rampage will continue as I made Bj get all of the Christmas decorations out of the crawl space so I can decorate over the weekend! I am so excited, I can't believe it is almost that time of year again. I love it!

Oh and another random side note. I can't stop eating clementines. In addition to the holiday season, I also love when the little cuties are in season and I seriously can't stop eating them. I am not sure what the deal is, I guess it's a good thing though!

My Bestie is Having a Baby!

Ah, I can finally talk about it! You got it ladies and gentlemen...my best friend, Stephanie Diane Kepplinger, is having a baby! Woo-hoo!!!!! We are so excited for Steph and Keith and know that they will be absolutely amazing parents. We also can't wait for the little one to have a cousin!!

Aunt Steph and I have been friends since the first day of college...8 years! Wow, that makes me feel so old when I think of our friendship in terms of years. As you can imagine, we have had so many experiences, memories and adventures in all those years. She has been a constant support system for me and always there for me when I need her. I always hope I am the same friend to her in return. I can remember us talking in college about one day getting married and having babies at the same time. We have been so lucky to find the loves of our lives and get married eight months apart and we are now even more blessed to share the experience of being pregnant with our first babies six months apart. It doesn't even seem like all that long ago that we were talking about it and I just can't believe that we are 10 weeks away from meeting Baby J and six months away from meeting Baby K!

I am so happy for you Stephie D, enjoy each and every day of this amazing miracle. We can't wait to meet the little one in May!

Your Dog and Baby Class

Yesterday Bj and I went to a "Your Dog and Your Baby Class" at the hospital. We signed up to do our childbirth classes through the hospital where I will deliver and in doing so got to pick two free classes to attend. This one seemed like it couldn't hurt, as we will be welcoming our baby into a house that already has two babies, Scout and Sedona. We just thought it might give us a few ideas for tackling a newborn and two doggies.

The lady was really nice and for the most part pretty informative. I don't think any of the information was rocket science, but she gave a few good ideas on different ways to occupy the dogs when we need a minute or two to ourselves. We will be purchasing another Kong and this really cute feeding cube. I think we want the little feeding cube just so we can see the two of them running around trying to get the food out :) I know I have mentioned before but (knock on wood) we really are not too worried for the transition. We tell Scout and Sedona that they have a new brother or sister coming and they have been so helpful as we have painted the room, put the furniture together and organized the closet! We think they will be a little protective of their baby and possibly run back and forth between us when the baby cries, but nothing out of the ordinary. We have both always wanted our children to grow up with and love animals (especially doggies!) and we can't think of two better dogs to have around our little sweet pea! She also assured us that as long as we work with them they know pretty quickly what toys/blankets belong to baby and what belong to dog. Whew, the baby may have some blankets after all! She also mentioned that she has more trouble keeping her babies away from the dog toys and not the other way around :)

The Bedding!

I am not sure where I get my "creative juices" from and the need to make as many things as I can. Heaven forbid I just purchase some bedding, no I need to make it! And, in case you didn't pick up on the sarcasm I am pretty sure I get my creative energy from my mom, Granny D. I wish I would have listened to her more growing up and really paid attention in the sewing class she put me in. Oh well, hind sight has 20/20 and now she has something to say "I told you so about!" Maybe one day I will learn, though I don't think either of us are too sure about that. I already have a folder full of "ding dong school" projects to work when we move back to St. Louis!

Well, I have finally picked out almost all the fabric and designs for the crib bedding! I also finally settled on a curtain style! I am so excited to bring all the pieces home with me over Thanksgiving and work on it with my mom. Whatever we don't get finished bedding wise I will leave with her as I am not that talented at all yet! I will however be in charge of the pillows and curtains...hopefully they turn out! I can't wait to see how everything comes together. I love working on projects like this with my mom, she is so talented and amazes me all the time with the work that she does. She has great ideas and I am thankful she is willing to help/put up with me! The room just wouldn't be the same without some homemade love from momma and Granny D!

I thought I would share a few of the fabrics. It will be left up to the finished product to show you where each piece went and what other fabrics I threw in for good measure!Just a taste of what it is to come!

A Place To Lay Your Sweet Little Head...

We got the phone call on Wednesday that the little one's furniture had arrived! I texted Bj and asked if we could get it as soon as he got off work. He had to work the mid shift that day and wasn't getting off until 8, but he was so excited too that he drove all the way home at 8 to pick me up (so I wouldn't miss out) and then drove us all the way to Babies R Us (which is a good 25 minutes from our house) just so we could get the furniture. I asked him if he wanted to wait until a more convenient day and he was so cute, he said "no, I don't want to wait, I want to get it tonight." So we pulled back in the driveway at 9:30 with our first baby's crib and dresser in tow.

Just a cute little side note --I have noticed him looking in the nursery before he leaves for work and I know he is as excited as I am to have some furniture set up in there. He said it doesn't feel like a nursery yet, it needs some furniture. I know he is proud of all the hard work we have put into the room and I know he is excited to be looking in on his sweet little son or daughter in that room a few short weeks from now.

So, our big Friday night plans consisted of putting the crib together! It looks great!! It was nice and easy, Bj did a great job. The dresser was moved up on Saturday morning (thanks for the help Jason!) and we are set. We think it looks fantastic! The dresser even fit right about where we thought it would. We are still playing around with everything, but are excited as to how it is all coming together. I think all we need to find is a little black night stand and accessories and everything will be perfect. Hope you like it!

Opening up the crib box...we like the looks of it so far!

Reading the instructions...it was pretty easy to put together though! The finished product -- sweet pea's crib! The dresser/changing table! It was an easy assembly -- none required! The closet so far, it still needs a few more pieces until it is complete!
That is the nursery update so far, stay tuned for more!

Third Trimester: Here We Come!

I think I am still in shock that the third trimester is upon us and I haven't taken the time to write down my feelings about it yet. Looking back, I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone. I still have my fair share of time to go, but I can't believe we are in the final stretch. So, here goes...

Monday November 10, 2008 marked the beginning of my29th week. 29 Weeks! As I write this I am pretty stinkin close to 30 weeks too, yikes! I think the next 11 weeks will be filled with anticipation a little fear and overall excitement. I don't think I will ever be able to fully grasp the amazing miracle that takes place over the past nine months. I mean, our baby just grew in my belly. Simply amazing. The little one is about as big as a butternut squash and growing rapidly. His or her little head is growing daily to hold the large brain and smarts this little one will surely have inherited. I crave orange juice, cheese and meat...I think the little one is having a growth spurt. At just about 2.5 pounds at this point the baby will probably triple in size before coming into the world. Yikes! I am not so sure where sweet pea is going to go hotel momma seems pretty full already :)

I feel as though we have all that we need for this little one. Once we pick up the car seat we will secure the bases in the cars, pack our bags and wait to meet sweet pea. We have clothes, furniture, a bassinet, blankets, diapers, bottles and wipes. Oh and two parents and slew of grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends waiting to meet and love this little one. What else do you really need? We have taken our time and gotten stuff done little by little so that we could slow down and enjoy our last "trimester" as a childless couple and really enjoy and soak in the holidays with all the many people we are so thankful to have in our lives. I know that for me, the next few weeks will be filled with more nesting and cleaning and probably lots of happiness and you know maybe a few emotional momma tears. We have yet to completely decide on names and hopefully that will come in the next little while. Other than that it is finishing up the B and E scrapbook and surprising my hubby with a date night. I just can't wait.

For the next 11 weeks I am going to be including two belly shots, as I want to remember exactly how much this baby grows near the end. I apologize for the no-shirt shots, I wanted to make sure I had a few to remind me just what my belly looked like towards the end. I think 11 shots will be just perfect.

Belly -- Week 29

Getting bigger by the day!

Looks a little different without my shirt pulled down, huh?!

It's beginning to look like...

... SNOW! We got our first little dusting of snow this morning :) It was actually kind of nice to see it. I don't know if I am mentally prepared for winter to start, but I don't think there is much I can do about it. In all honesty though, I hope we get a good winter this year as I am already dreaming about bundling up sweet pea in the J.J. Cole Bundle Me (thanks Bray's!) and going for walks and just enjoying some family time snuggled warm and cozy in bed. You know- me, Bj, the baby, Scout and Sedona. I think it sounds like the perfect way to spend the winter.

Speaking of the sweet pea...he or she was doing something wild in my belly last night. I was laying in the chair (great visual, no pants on -- just my compression stockings with my feet up on two pillows watching tv) and my belly was SHAKING and poking out in different directions! I yelled to Bj who was unfortunately too far on the other side of the couch to see it, but it was unbelievable! I was like "babe, my belly is shaking because THERE IS A HUMAN IN THERE!" It was kind of funny. I know this is only going to get crazier, but I couldn't believe the ruckus going on in there from our sweet little active baby!

My Love Affair

You would think from the title that this is going to be some juicy blog where I reveal something exciting...So very wrong, I am just about to write about my love affair with the bathroom. Yes, the bathroom. I feel as though I am so close to all the bathrooms of all the places I have visited lately that I am somehow not spending enough time with Bj. Somehow the bathroom seems to see me more than just about anyone else.

Let me back up and provide a little visual for you all. All of a sudden, one day, the little sweet pea decided to shift positions (or just get bigger as he or she is supposed to!) and land DIRECTLY ON TOP OF MY BLADDER. Up until that time I could sleep straight through most nights without having to get up and pee. Now, not so much the case. Every weekday I haul myself out of bed in the morning and slip my comfiest shoes on over my Shrek feet just long enough to get to work where I promptly take them off and slip (so gracefully) into my comfy quilted slippers under my desk. I then turn on my computer and promptly waddle down the hallway to the bathroom. I do this oh, once every 20-30 minutes for the next 8 hours. Yes, I am quite the lovely sight the round pregnant lady waddling to the bathroom every half hour. It was just all of a sudden, one day, I didn't even have to drink any water I merely had to look at my water bottle and I have to pee. This is all day long and well into the wee hours of the morning. I will shift positions in bed and yep, there it is, I have to pee. I think I was up four times one night. FOUR TIMES! I am getting good though, I barely even notice it anymore. I think I even stop and pet the doggies and kiss Bj every time I get up. I usually have to maneuver myself and lift a leg so that everything comes out...I have mastered it. Don't worry :)

It just makes me chuckle. No matter where we go I always find the bathroom within moments of arriving. Bj just laughs too. He jokes, "really? you have to go to the bathroom, that's odd!" Every errand I have run the last few weeks, I have used the bathroom. I think places are going to start charging me! I am a little worried about our drive home for Thanksgiving...I don't think Bj knows quite how many times we are going to have to stop!

So that is it folks, I have a new found best friend. The bathroom. I don't know what I would do without her :)

Little Momma Tours Ponnequin and Fort St. Vrain

I am well aware of the fact that this next post is going to make me sound like a huge dork, but I still thought it was "blog worthy" and pretty cool! We took a field trip from work today and toured the Ponnequin Wind Farm and the Fort St. Vrain combined cycle generating station. It was SO FUN! It was so interesting to see the technologies we research everyday in action, and it nice to get out of the office for the day.

The wind farm was amazing, the turbines are huge (they are about 1o years old and much smaller than the ones they build today) and it was so neat to see how they work and what they look like close up. It was a beautiful and extremely windy day, so we really got to see them in action. They were doing maintenance on a few of them so we got to see the blades on the ground!
After the wind farm, we went to the Fort St. Vrain generating station. It is a combined cycle power plant that used to have a nuclear reactor. The nuclear reactor has since been decommissioned (it was extremely safe, the guide said we are exposed to more radiation hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park than we would be in the nuclear facility) and it was amazing!We could see the steam turbine, the old nuclear reactor site, the control room and all kinds of nerdy energy stuff. It is just amazing to me the various ways we get the power and energy we use on a daily basis. Let's be honest though, I was just excited that the preggy lady got to wear a hard hat and goggles!Overall, it was a really interesting and informative day! I thought I would include a few of the details and I think it will be fun to tell the baby that momma still went on field trips 11 weeks before he or she was born. :)

GO CU!

The little sweet pea attended his or her first college football game over the weekend! Bj got some free tickets through work and we got all decked out, did a little tailgating and enjoyed the game. It was a beautiful day out and it was so nice to hang out with some lovely friends for the afternoon. We didn't stay for the whole game, but they won after we left, so that worked out quite well for CU! I think the little one enjoyed the game as he or she was thumping away in there! It is just the first of many sporting events this little one will attend in their lifetime. We saw so many cute little munchkins all bundled up, I can't wait to take the baby to their first Cardinals game!!! We were laughing at how I am noticeably bigger than a few weeks ago and the waddle is starting to come out in full force :) My Shrekkie feet managed to do quite well and in my expert opinion they have "gone down" quite a bit! I don't know what it was, perhaps all the food I ate?! Needless to say I was a fixture at the food table the entire three hours we tailgated. After the game we continued the celebration at the Pumphouse with some "linner" and drinks. Then it was off to bed for this momma to be. I am feeling a little under the weather, so I have been resting all day. Hopefully I can nip this cold in the bud, being sick and pregnant is not a good combination. That is all for now, I am going to waddle myself back up to the couch!

Pregnancy Menu

In light of my last post, I realized I needed to post this as well. A friend of mine sent it to me when I said I wanted Bj to take me on a date night to The Med (one of our all time favorite restaurants in Boulder) before the nugget arrives. I said it might have to wait though as I didn't know if we had enough money to feed my appetite at The Med! So, she sent this over and I seriously almost peed in my pants. I was laughing so hard everyone at work had to think I was crazy! I really enjoyed the part about all the meat being burnt beyond recognition...I very do that these days! (Hence the e-coli scare post!!) and the appetizer on the second trimester also made me chuckle!

First Trimester Menu
--Appetizer: Tums compote
--Entree: Fresh Saltines on a bed of Saltines, lightly seasoned with Saltines
--Beverage: Ginger ale (IV drip available upon request)
--Dessert: Ten minutes in a dark room with an ice bag on your head

Second Trimester Menu
--Appetizer: Half a roast chicken, extra crispy
--Entree: A succulent leg of lamb smothered in pork chops, served with BBQ ribs and garnished with cheeseburgers (all burnt beyond recognition for your safety)
--Beverage: Toll-House pie smoothie , prepared with 1/2 pint heavy cream
--Dessert: 9"X16" pan of double-fudge brownies

Third Trimester Menu
*(Each course followed by 15-minute neck massage and/or bathroom break)*
--Appetizer: Three bites of tossed salad
--Entree: Two bites of lasagna
--Beverage: None- so you'll have room for dessert
--Dessert: A Tic Tac

* Double portions available if you're expecting twins

I forgot...

I mean...not quite sure how I forgot to touch on these two things in my saying goodbye to the 2nd trimester post. But, here goes.

For anyone who hasn't seen or talked to me...my appetite has been insatiable! I have amazed myself at how much I can manage to eat and how hungry I can get! I think I have eaten more in one week this trimester than I did in the entirety of the first! :) I just can't help myself! I have even willing gone in search of leftover Halloween candy at work! I just feel like I eat and eat and eat, all day long. The people at work have to think I am insane. Buffet? I love them, I can go up for seconds! I will just have to figure out some way to wrangle in the appetite once the baby arrives :)

My emotions have also gotten the better of me a few times in the last few months (and I am sure there is plenty more of it to come!). I think my favorite emotional moment as of late has been the day I SOBBED the whole way to work after daydreaming about becoming a room mom...in no less than FIVE YEARS! Yes, I cried all over the place for 45 minutes because I was so excited about the thought of being my kid's room mom when they are old enough for school. Yep, mom-to-be is a little off her rocker these days!

I think that is all...those moments are too precious and I wouldn't want to ever forget them :) By the way...sorry for the stupid formatting of the pictures in the last post. For some reason the big momma photo has a mind of its own and will not format as I tell it too!

Good-Bye Second Trimester...

"I saw a couple walking by, they were holding hands. She had that glow. I couldn't help but notice she was starting to show..."

That is the song that has made me cry oh so many times this trimester, pretty much every time I hear it. So, I thought it was fitting to share the lines that reminded me of the last three months of my pregnant journey. It is hard to imagine that we are entering the final leg of pregnancy and will be welcoming our sweet little baby in just three months. Wow!

There have been so many new emotions and experiences with this trimester and I have to say I have loved every minute of it. We have both been excited about this baby from the beginning, but the first trimester came with so many different emotions than this one. I think the first one that comes to mind is sick, and we were nervous and anxious for the first 12 weeks to be over. In the last three months we have just steadily gotten more and more and more excited (and lost the nervous feelings). We got to see pictures of the baby and I feel movement all the time. It is amazing and I feel like the minute we saw that sweet little baby in my belly we have been on cloud nine ever since. To know that he or she is in there, safe, and growing as they should has just been amazing. I was thinking the other day about what it must feel like to not be pregnant and I know I will always miss the feeling of our little baby wiggling around in there. It is hands down an indescribable and amazing experience. We have been so busy the last few weeks registering for baby stuff and working on the nursery and things have just been good. I think the emotions I now think of are excitement, amazement, awe, energy, excitement and more excitement. I think it is truly starting to hit both of us and we just can't wait. Each little thing we do in the nursery or pick out for the baby gets us one step closer to feeling like we are prepared to meet our baby. I have had so many people tell me how happy I look and I can honestly say that is exactly what I am. Happy. I just can't say it enough, I am plain and simple a very happy girl these days. In fact, I am so happy all the time I think Bj thinks I am crazy! :) It was so fun to watch him work in the nursery and to see how proud he was of how things turned out. We are still trying to decide on some good names and it has been fun texting back and forth when we see a name we like. On a side note (and I can't believe I am admitting this) we both came home from voting last night and said we say yes or no to the current judges based on whether or not we liked their name. If that doesn't sound like a couple trying to name their baby, I don't know what does!

While most everything has been wonderful the last three months. The hardest thing for me has been having to take off my wedding rings. I didn't want to take the chance of them getting stuck on my finger, so they are tucked safely away until after January. I miss them and I miss wearing them. I have a lovely little faux band, but it is just not the same. The other thing that has been hard have been my "Shrek feet". Yes, I look like Shrek from the knee down, only my legs are not green, just a lovely shade of white! My poor feet have taken a beating with this pregnancy, but if it is the most of my worries I have nothing to complain about. They are kind of funny, just not so much when I can't fit them into any of my shoes and I am too cheap to buy a new pair!

On a different note, I have been asked about any good cravings and my best one as of yet has to be the day I craved (and ate!) nachos and pancakes. In that order. It is what I wanted and it is what I ate! Bj will probably never let me live it down (mostly because I think he wished he would have eaten it too) and we have a good time laughing about it! For now we are just soaking in the new feelings and emotions that this last trimester will bring. Hard to believe that after these next three months and some major belly growth we will have a baby! We will have a name, a gender and a sweet little peanut to love forever!

I was looking back through some belly shots and got a kick out of how much I have grown and changed in the last few months!






This is the very beginning of the 2nd trimester-- August 21, 2008










A little bigger -- September 8, 2008

Big Momma -- October 25, 2008

A few more nursery shots...

I had to get a few of the "while-we-were-working" shots in!

Trimming the ceiling with the green...we already love it! Notice Scout guarding the door!

A man and his power tools! Bj did an amazing job with the chair rail...it looks wonderful! He got all the corners exact with his power saw, it is the perfect little addition to the room :)


















The closet! It got its very own makeover :) Now it is ready for the closet organizers and some little baby clothes!













The final shot...we are pretty proud, can you tell!? I hope the little one likes it!

The beginning of a sweet little room...

...for a sweet little baby!

You got it, we painted the nursery this weekend! I have to say that I cried when it was done because I just love it. We put so much work into it and I think it turned out even better than I imagined. We both could not believe that a little baby would be living in there in just 12 weeks! We are getting so excited to meet the little one!

Bj primed the walls on Saturday night and then we painted on Sunday. We were so motivated we even got the chair rail up on Sunday! Bj was pretty excited about the saw and nail gun :) The only change we made was the closet...the back of it was going to be a soft blue-ish color but we loved the green so much we couldn't do it! Luckily we had some cream leftover and presto-change-o a fancy new closet! We still have a few things to do, but I think we have made a nice start. We bought the crib and dresser last night, it should arrive in about two weeks! We love it and think it will look great with the walls and fabric for the bedding. Changing the room really made us realize we have a baby on the way! I think once the furniture is in and the closet is organized if will officially hit home.

The "before" picture...

Just some primed walls...

Ta-Da...The finished project!

Baby J's "Mini Vacation"

I have said many a times that this little baby is extremely active. I seriously feel movement all day long and even when I wake up at night to use the bathroom, it takes a little while to fall back asleep with all the movement. I LOVE this, it is one of the best feelings I have ever experienced. I love the daily reassurance that the baby is still doing well and getting big. Well, the last few days the little one decided to take a little "mini vacation" from moving around as much to catch up on sleep and switch sleep cycles on me. Needless to say, it made me a little nervous. I called the doctor and she told me I needed to come in for a non-stress test on the baby. So, it was over to the hospital for me! All of the nurses were wonderful and I got a sneak peak at where I will be delivering. The rooms are unbelievable and I was happy to find out that the baby will be in room with us and not in a nursery!

I was hooked up to two monitors and the minute the nurse put the monitor to my belly we could hear that sweet, perfect little heartbeat! I spent the next 2 1/2 hours laying in a bed at the hospital looking at the mountains and listening to the amazing sound of our sweet little baby's heartbeat. Someone asked if I had a tv or did anything and I said no, I just listened. I can only imagine what an incredible experience labor is and meeting your baby for the first time. But, at this point there is absolutely nothing more amazing to me that the sound of the little life, we created, growing away in my belly. It just takes my breath away and I was so content just listening. Dad, Granny D and Uncle Davey got a phone call to hear to! It was also nice to hear (seriously hear the baby move...it sounded like he or she was moving furniture and partying in there!) and see that everything was just fine. The baby was so active while we did the test I don't have any idea what I was concerned about. You could hear BUMPS (and I could feel them at the same time) when the baby moved...it was unreal! The baby was all over the place and the nurse thought the little butt was sticking straight up, I love it! She just said that the baby's position could have changed, causing me to not feel as many of the movements but assured me that everything looked great. I can't think of a better "mini vacation" from work myself on a Friday afternoon, listening to the little one grow away in my belly!