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. :)