Where does the time go???

So, I've been meaning to update this for a while, but little Belle has a spidey-sense and knows when I'm getting ready to do something and takes that opportunity to wake up and start screaming her head off. So, finally, here are some new pics. I can't believe it, but Isabelle is already one month old!! I don't know where the time goes... She is growing like a weed and changing so much. It's just amazing to watch her everyday and see the new little things she does. She has started cooing a little - at least I'm calling it cooing. She doesn't do it much, but every now and again she makes a sweet little "ahhh" or "oohh". It's so sweet. And she has the sweetest little smile. I know it's probably just gas really, but it just melts my heart when she smiles at me. I am so not looking forward to going back to work and missing out on these little moments... :(

Anyway, Isabelle had her one month checkup today and she is now 10lbs 10 oz!!! She's turning into a little chunky baby. I love it! :) She's so cute, but she is getting super heavy!! Oh yeah, she's also 22.5 inches now. So that means she has grown 1.5 inches and 2 lbs 10 oz in just 2 short weeks!!! I can't believe it! Obviously, she is still eating like a champ! She had to get a shot in her little leg too. She had big old crocodile tears and it about broke my heart. Next time is going to be so much worse because she has to get 4 shots!!! What are they thinking?!?! 4 shots for one little baby??? It's going to kill me!!

Well, other news, Grandma Flint, Grandpa Brunk and Uncle J came to visit last week. They got to have some alone time with Belle while Nick and I went to his company's Christmas party. It was very nice to have them visit! Belle got lots of loving in with all of them (and the dogs did too). Grandma and Grandpa Hietikko will be arriving either Christmas eve or Christmas day for their visit. Anyway, I think that's about it for now. I have lots of other things to try to get done before Isabelle wakes back up! Enjoy these pictures!
She looks like she's ready to go out into a blizzard but really, she just had a bath. Her little fingers and toes get so cold after her bath so I always have her bundled right up afterward until she warms up. :)
This is a picture in her pretty Christmas dress and shoes after our family pictures. I was trying to get some good pictures to send out Christmas cards and this is one of my favorites. (The other favorite is on the Christmas cards - which I just put in the mail today, so you should all get them a few days after Christmas. :) I'm always so timely.)
Another adorable picture in her beautiful dress. :)
Isabelle sporting her "Little Lumsden" onesie probably for the last time. She is too long for all her newborn stuff and is starting to outgrow her 0-3 month Gerber clothing. The 3 month Carter's clothing fits now and is still a little long, which means we might actually get a few more weeks out of it! I sure hope so because the 6 month stuff just looks so big that I can't imagine her in it!!
Family snapshot after the Christmas party. Next to food, the finger is her favorite thing. It keeps her from fussing and she would rather have a finger than a pacifier anytime!
Grandma Flint and Isabelle.
Grandpa Brunk and Isabelle.
Uncle J and Isabelle. They both had the same look on their faces just seconds before this picture was taken. It was priceless! :)

Well, that's it for now. I will try to get some more pictures posted after Christmas sometime! I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a safe New Year! :)

Girls day out... and then some.

So, Miss Isabelle and I had our first lunch out with the girls today.  It was very nice.  Amber and KP loved up on her the whole lunch and she stayed awake (with minimal fussing) for them the whole time!  She loves the attention! :)

We also went shopping this week.  We went to Kohl's, Target and Giant and she slept almost the entire time.  She started fussing when we were at Kohl's and it was time to leave.  (It was lunch time and she was ready to eat!)  So I have been figuring out her schedule a little better and am starting to figure out when she will sleep for a long time and when she won't so if I need to get out to run some errands, I have a very small window of time in which to do it!

So, Grandma Flint, Grandpa Brunk and Uncle Jeremy are coming out to visit next week and Grandma and Grandpa Hietikko are coming out the week between Christmas and New Year.  We are excited to have company (and a little help so I might get a little nap in every once in a while).  I still haven't mastered the art of "sleeping when the baby sleeps"... in fact, I haven't mastered it at all.  I don't get any sleep during the day, but I'm doing okay with the sleep I get at night.  And if I can get Belle to go back to sleep at her 7 or 8 o'clock wake up, I go back to sleep with her then.  I have also learned that I have a much better chance of getting her to go back to sleep at this time if I put her in bed with me.  In fact, she ALWAYS sleeps better if I put her in bed with me, but it's not something that I do often because I don't want her to get used to sleeping with us and before you know it, you have a 2 or 3 year old child sleeping with you and then good luck getting them to sleep in their own bed after that... but anyway, sometimes I'm just so tired and I just put her in bed with me and usually I fall back asleep before she does!!!  Anyway, I can't really remember where I was going with this story, so I'll just stop with the sleep habits here...

So, we've been getting some gifts in the mail the past couple days... Miss Isabelle now has quite a Michigan Tech wardrobe!!  I am proud to say that she will be sporting MTU parfinalia until about 18 months of age!!! :)  A special "Thank you" to Aunt Mary and Uncle Tom for her very first MTU hoodie.  I absolutely love it! :)  And a special thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Lumsden for the adorable pink MTU onesie and the bib. :)  If I wasn't so tired and lazy, I would take pictures and post them here for you all to see, but, well, I'm too tired and lazy. :)

Okay, that's about it for me.  Belle is probably going to wake up to eat in the next couple minutes, so I'm going to relax for a few minutes until that happens...

Oh - one last bit of information... We FINALLY found a daycare accepting infants (I have called more than 25 places and only 1 place is accepting infants...).  Anyway, we are going to go meet with this lady Monday.  The only problem is that her hours are 6:45 - 4:30... That's going to make it really rough, but it's do-able if I get to work by about 7:15 and only take a half hour lunch...  anyway, there were two other places that will have openings for infants in April and in July, so I will probably call them back and make appointments to meet with them too and at least if we don't like the first one, or the hours are too hard for us to make, we can at least have other options come spring... ugh... this whole motherhood and responsibility thing is killing me already... :)  JK  I'm loving it. :)

Ooops - I forgot!

I forgot to tell you all that we went to the doctor Thursday for Isabelle's 2 week checkup and she is now 8 lbs even and 21 inches long.  That means she has gained over a pound in the last two weeks and grown an inch.  She's a champ!   We can really tell that she's growing too.  She no longer fits into some of her newborn clothes (but the 0-3 month stuff is still really quite big on her, but we use it anyway!) and Nick says he can really tell when he swaddles her because her little feet stick out the end of the blanket now!  :)  But she's still very content and just a very good baby.  We are so blessed! :)

I am planning to get out today to get Christmas pictures taken, but it's already 3:00 and we haven't moved and Belle still needs a bath before we get out... so maybe tomorrow instead??? I don't know, but if we don't go soon, she's not going to fit into her Christmas dress!!!  Yikes!  I'll post those pictures when we get them done.  :)

Have a great weekend!

Tired Mama

Well, I am finally getting around to posting some more pictures.  This whole being home during the day with a baby thing is tiring!! Holy cow.  I feel like I should have so much time to get things done around the house, but every time I turn around, Belle is waking up, crying and wanting to eat and I never really seem to get anything done until Nick gets home and can watch her for a little bit.  It's crazy.  On the up side of things, we have been really quite lucky and she has been getting up only two or three times a night (knock on wood) except last night which was terrible... Belle was up from 8:00 until 2am crying and being fussy.  Every time she would fall asleep and we would put her in the bassinet and she would wake up again... finally she fell asleep at 2, just to get back up at 5 and was up until 7:30...  I was exhausted.  Then she got back up from 9:30 til 11 and finally mommy got to rest a little from 11 until 2 (catnaps between her fussing, but rest just the same... I'll take it!)  Luckily she is sleeping right now (she keeps making little squeaking and crying noises over there though).  Hopefully she'll be down for another hour or so so I can get some laundry and dishes done.

Little Isabelle got a wonderful package in the mail yesterday from Grandma and Grandpa Hietikko.  She got a beautiful little dress and red shoes and a little dolly and some adorable puppy slippers (for when she gets a little bigger).  You will see pictures of the dress and shoes as soon as I get some time to play dress up again! :)  In the meantime, here are some more pictures from this week...
This is my sleepy little girl after her bath.  I love getting her picture after the bath.  Her hair gets all fuzzy and sticky-outie and is just so darn cute. :)  I love it!  She still has lots of hair and hopefully she doesn't lose it.  Her eyelashes are so long!! She's going to be a real heartbreaker! Daddy is going to have to get a couple shotguns!! ;)

One of her favorite places to be - snuggled up with mama!! :)
Just so darn cute.  Sleeping after another bath.  I sure wasn't prepared for this bath... I did everything backwards.  Fed first, then bath then diaper... She was up for quite a while after that... I now know that you should do bath time in the following order:  Bath, diaper, food... That should put her to sleep!  We will test it tonight.

She's a little angel.  Sleeping in the warm sunshine! :)

Well, that's it for me.  Have to go get that laundry going before Nick gets home with dinner and Belle wakes up!!  Will post more later.

Daddy's Birthday

Today was Nick's first birthday as a Daddy!  We didn't do much since we've been so busy at home with Isabelle and company and whatnot.   But he got some relaxing in and got to play some video games that he's been wanting to play but hasn't had time.  He also spent some good quality time with his little girl. :)  It's so sweet to watch them together.  I just love it. :)

Grandma and Grandpa Lumsden left yesterday to go back home.  We are expecting Grandma Flint and Grandpa Brunk in a couple weeks and Grandma and Grandpa Hietikko around Christmas.  Little Isabelle is going to get so much love!!!

Anyway, not much else going on today.  It's just been relaxing.  I've been sleepy, but took a little nap with Belle this afternoon... I have been having a hard time getting enough fluids though!  Breastfeeding really sucks the energy and the fluid out of you!  I have a headache that just won't go away because I'm a bit dehydrated, but I hate taking stuff for it because I don't want the meds to get into her system.  But I'm working on drinking lots and lots of water and juice and trying to keep up with her eating demands!

Here are a couple pictures for you to enjoy.  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and had safe travels!

The First Week

Believe it or not, tomorrow our little Isabelle will already be one week old!  I can't believe it.  She was a little jaundiced so we had to take her back to the doctor on Monday to get her billy-reuben (that's how it sounds... no idea if that's how it's really spelled) level rechecked.  She has been eating and pooping like a champ so her levels are back down to normal and will continue to decrease as she eats.  She was 6 lbs 12 oz when we left the hospital on Saturday and was up to 7 lbs 4 oz on Monday morning.  I told you - eating like a champ!! :)  She's growing like a weed!  We (Grandma Gloria - aka "GG" - and I) went shopping yesterday afternoon and got all sorts of pink and purple clothes so our little girl gets to be dressed up in cutesy girl stuff now! :)  It's fun!!  Here are a few more pictures from this week.  She's just so darn cute!

Sleepy head.

Our little munchkin bundled up like an Eskimo.  She loves it.  Puts her right to sleep!
After her first actual bath.  She was NOT a happy camper during her bath.  But she loves these fuzzy snuggly little jammies!

We can't forget the furry little children.  They have been incredibly well behaved since we've been home with Isabelle.  They are super curious, but already very protective.  Elwood likes to lay in front of the swing when she's in it like a little watchdog.  Yesterday, she was sleeping in her playpen and started spitting up a little and making little gurgling noises and Jake started barking to let us know that something wasn't quite right.  As you can see from this picture, all that hard work "baby sitting" keeps them zonked out! :)

Happy Turkey Day to all tomorrow!!

Isabelle Marie

Just a quick post before I head off to bed for some much needed rest.  Miss Isabelle Marie Lumsden joined the world Thursday morning weighing in at 7 lbs 1.7 oz and measuring 20 inches long.  She is such a beautiful little angel!!!  We love her to death! :)  Here are a couple pics for now.  I will get more posted eventually... I actually have been a really bad mommy so far and haven't taken many pictures...  But here are some to tie you all over! :)

Maybe not...

So I had a doctors appointment this morning and they checked everything out and I am not dilated at all.  So, maybe there won't be a baby this week... She said she expects to see me at my appointment next Tuesday... So who knows.

I am finally done working though, so I got home a little early yesterday and was able to call (finally) on some pediatricians.  I have appointments scheduled for tomorrow and Thursday, so I'm hoping, at the very least, this baby waits until Thursday night.  Nick says Friday afternoon would be better (then he could get out of work early on Friday and take time off next week and have a nice long week).  :)  But it's looking like it might be next week anyway!  I hope it doesn't wait until Thanksgiving though!  I really don't want to miss out on Thanksgiving dinner because I'm in the hospital!!! But I guess if that's what's meant to be, that's what's meant to be!

Anyway, I did do a belly pic last night, but then I put the camera in Nick's hospital bag, so I probably won't get around to posting that one unless I feel like going and getting the camera out... :)

But for now, I'm going to go take a nap because I can!!  Yes!!!!!

Nursery Photos

Well, I promised this morning I would post some pictures of the nursery, so here you go.  This first one is the same one I posted quite some time ago, when we first got the crib in there and stuff.  The 9 little frames in the background are frames that I painted and then they just have some really cute clip art in them.  I know that sounds pretty corny, but they look great and it's exactly what I wanted! :)This one is the crib with the mobile.  It's huge! But I know it's kind of hard to see in this photo.  It's super cool though.  It's super bright and all sorts of colors, sounds, etc.  I think the baby will love it.  We also have this little seascape light toy thingy you can see at the foot of the bed.  The straps are too short to fit around the side part because it's a convertible bed, so it actually has a headboard type look.  But I think there is a way to get the straps through, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. :)  And you can just ignore the rest of the stuff that is in the crib. I don't really have a place for it all, so it just finds its way to the crib! :)

This is kind of a crappy picture, but you can see the valances and the little rocking chair that was mine when I was little... ignore the rest of the stuff in the background - that's all my craft stuff that still needs to find a new home!This is our make-shift dresser.  Since our whole bedroom set thing didn't really work out, we just cleaned off this shelf that I had and I got a bunch of different colored "drawers" to put in there.  It works for now.  I think we only have 5 of the 9 drawers filled, so I guess we have plenty of room to grow! :)  I love the little words that I got to put on the wall.  I painted them the same colors as the other little frames and I love it! :)  Oh yeah, and I found this little green and white lamp at Target yesterday and it matches perfectly with everything else in the room! :)
And here is my rocker/glider.  We probably paid too much for it, but it is oh so comfortable!!! And I figure I'll probably be spending lots of time in it, so I wanted to get something that wasn't going to hurt my butt and back!! :)
Here's our little bookshelf and storage stuff...  I just keep random things in those drawers.  Burp cloths, toys, I don't even know what else... probably just extra stuff.  I can't even remember what's in there... Maybe I should go look! :)
That's the end of the nursery... Here are just some other pics of stuff.  Here is our swing and playpen where the baby will sleep for the first couple months.

And this is probably too hard for you to see, but this is the adorable "Baby's First Thanksgiving" outfit that I got.  It's super cute. :)  You will see more pictures of this outfit actually on the baby, but for now, this is what you get! :)

Well, that's it for now!  I am going to go finish my laundry and get ready for my last HALF day at work tomorrow!!!  I cannot wait! :)

Hope you enjoyed these pictures!

I guess it has begun...

So, I know this is probably way more information than you want to know, but, I guess this whole labor process has begun since I passed my mucus plug this morning... So, I guess there's a good chance there could be a new addition to our family this week sometime! :)  But the book from our class says this is the "prelude to labor" and happens 1 to 7 days before true labor begins... So, it's looking like I won't have to give away my "baby's first thanksgiving" outfit that I bought!!! :)  Yea!!!

Anyway, we are going to go get some lunch.  I finished the nursery yesterday too, so I'll post pictures of that later today. :)  bye bye

12 days... and counting!

I can't believe it, but we only have 12 more days until the expected arrival of our Little One!!!  And here's the 38 week picture.  It appears that the belly is "dropping" so that's a good sign.  I had an appointment yesterday and everything was still going good.  The little one was positioned correctly yesterday, but today, I think he/she has flipped around again and has been poking his little butt out my right side and her little head out the left! :)  (Like how I use the he and she interchangeably??)  Oh and by the way, we are up in the air with names again... Thought we were set, but not now!!  Who would ever have thought that naming a baby would be so hard?!?!!  Nick and I can't seem to agree on anything.  He likes all these old crazy names and I like all the new, popular type names...  It's not going well!! But hopefully when she arrives, a name will  fit her instead of the other way around! :)  But I guess they won't let us leave the hospital without a name, so we'll HAVE to come up with one before then! :)

Anyway, things are going good still.  I'm not really sure if I've been having contractions or not.  They said it would feel like menstral cramps and sometimes it feels like that, but mostly I think it's just gas because it doesn't hurt (and you hear all those horror stories about the pain of contractions) so I'm thinking it's not really contractions, but what do I know??  My grandma swore by the full moon on this whole baby thing and the full moon happens to be..... TOMORROW!!!!!  I am still behind the curve on this baby thing though... I still haven't looked for/found a pediatrician which is kind of essential.  Hopefully Little Lumsden will wait until at least next week to arrive so I can have some time to do those things while I'm off... Hopefully I'll be off next week and relaxing - we'll see how it goes! :)

My dogs are egging each other on.  Jake is such a little instigator and he likes to bite and pick on Elwood.  Elwood has him pinned to the back of the couch right now.  It's pretty funny.  They keep me entertained! :)

Well, that's it for me!!!  Going to go get some ice cream and finish watching Bones! :)  I'm out!

the belly and the blanket

Okay, super quick post tonight because I promised Amy I would post pictures of the blanket tonight.  I was trying to get to bed an hour ago, but then I had to finish the quilt so I could post the picture.  So, here is the quilt top that I made for Little Lumsden.  I have to find a place to send it to to get it quilted to finish it.  If I can't find a place that is reasonably priced, I'll just tie it.  I usually do that anyway, but I thought I would actually get this one quilted... we'll see.  Anyway, enough babble, here is the picture...

And of course, here is the belly picture.  We are 37 weeks today.  Officially considered fully term and could, theoretically have this baby at any time.  I'm not really sure why, but I have a feeling this little one is going to try to make it's debut at the end of next week...  But I could also be smoking a lot of crack... Who knows???  Anyway, don't make fun of the big belly... I know it's huge - I carry it around every day.  I'm super tired now, so that's all you get!  Goodnight and happy November!  Oh yeah - don't forget to vote tomorrow!!!

Happy Devil's Night!

I hope you are all enjoying this lovely Devil's Night!  And I hope none of you crazy kids are out there TP-ing or egging anything! :)

Just thought I'd write a quick post to let you all know how my doctor's appointment went Tuesday.  Doc says everything looks good.  Gained another 4 lbs though... oops!!! Dang that Halloween candy!!! Blood pressure, pee test, measurements, etc are looking good.  The only thing that's a little off is this baby!  He/she is a laying a little lopsided, with his/her head pointed to the side with the head right above my pelvic bone, instead of head down.  But we still have 3.5 weeks to get the little one rotated where he/she's supposed to be, so she wasn't at all worried about it.  Another couple appointments and we will have a little bundle of joy to bring home with us!!

That's it in a nutshell!  It's been a bit chilly out here.  In the 40's every day, so we just might get some sort of snow this year!! Hopefully we'll have some of the white stuff for Christmas!! Green Christmas's are just so.......... WIERD......  :)

Happy Halloween to everyone tomorrow! Hope you all have a fun, safe night! :)

36 weeks

Well, here you have it... Week 36 (with demon dog in the background).  The belly is big and about to explode.  I can't really see my feet so much anymore and bending over is almost completely out of the question.  I have to pee about 50 times a night still so sleep is not so much happening, but I guess that's okay.  Getting prepared for the Little One, I guess... And I think we've finally settled on some names, but we are keeping them secret!!! Sooo.... You get to wait for another 4 weeks to find out what this Little Lumsden is and what his or her name is going to be!! :)  haha!!!

Well, we went to our childbirth class this weekend.  It was actually very informative.  We learned all about what to expect before labor, what signs to watch for, etc.  We also got to watch a birth... that's always fun... haha!! Could have actually done with that, but glad the lady decided to have us watch it right BEFORE lunch instead of after... :)  We also took a newborn care class Saturday which was REALLY helpful.  The lady was absolutely hillarious!  But she went through everything from diapering to bathing to what products to buy.  It was great and VERY practical information!!  Not much other news, really.  We got our playpen this weekend.  It's really pretty cute and will work great. :) Doesn't match our other stuff, but that's okay.  I also worked on my quilt a little more this weekend.  I still have tons to do on it before it's finished, but, I'm getting there, little by little.

Oh, we got a package from Aunt Amy and Uncle Nate today!!  She made us an adorable little blanket!!! Here is the picture (stolen from Amy's blog 

cause I'm too lazy to take a picture myself).  I love it!!! :)  Oh - I also went shopping this weekend and got the cutest little Thanksgiving outfit!  I hope Little Lumsden wants to come a little early or on time so we can actually use it this year!! If not, I'll have to take it back!  But the good thing is, it was on clearance, so the little hat, socks and outfit were only $13. :)  I love the Carter's outlet!!! It's such a dangerous store!

Oh!!! And Jill had her little baby girl, Phoenix Rose this morning just before noon.  I can't wait to see pictures of the little girl!  AND Jules is pregnant again!! Her new Little One is due end of June/beginning of July sometime! :)

Okay, I guess that's it for me!  I have to get to bed before Nick so I can get to sleep before the snoring starts or I find myself sleeping on the couch, which is totally not a comfy place for a fat pregnant lady!!! :o

Another Update

Well, I'll start with cute pictures of the pup-pups.  It was so nice out this weekend.  When they got tired of racing around the yard and digging holes, they came in to lay in the sunshine and take a rest.  This is Jake hiding under the Grandpa chair for a nap and then Elwood (still thinking he's a cat) laying on the back of the couch in the sunshine.  They are cute. :)  

Well, then the next photo is from about Thursday last week (33 weeks, 3 days).  I kept forgetting to take a picture and then I remembered and the camera was lost, so that made it wait another day or two... and then it was Thursday, so there is the picture... Then the next picture is from today (34 weeks).  Amy was yelling at me for not updating this in a while, so I had to get on it today...

Anyway, we had a pretty nice weekend.  Saturday, we went to the Rennasaince Festival in Crownsville which is always fun.  It's entertaining to see all the people dressed up and whatnot.  It was a little warm and I was exhausted when I got home.  I passed out in my new chair almost immediately and then the dogs were barking and being crazy, so I made my way to bed and had a nice two hour nap.  Much needed, I must say!  Anyway, then Sunday, I put together the rocking chair and ottoman in the nursery and cleaned up a little more in there.  Then I started on the quilt for our Little Cookie Monster.  I didn't make it very far yet, but at least it's started!! That's a good thing! :)  Hopefully I'll get time to work on it a little during the week and finish it next weekend.  I'll take pictures when I finally do finish it and I'll show you all. :) 

That's about the extent of this weekend's activities... Back to work today and that's about it.

I did have a doctors appointment today.  Can you believe I only have 4 more appointments scheduled?!?!  Crazy!! And the last one is scheduled for the day after our due date, so maybe only 3 more appointments.  Anyway, I just thought I'd fill you all in on this weeks happenings so far.  Oh yeah, last week, we got all the stuff we ordered from Walmart.  I got the mobile for the crib and it is SOOOO cute!!!  I can't wait to get the nursery cleaned up so I can post some more pictures for you guys! :)  It's really getting cute in there!  I am just trying to make room downstairs for all the stuff I have to get out of the nursery.  But for now, all the stuff is just sitting in the middle of the floor in the nursery, along with a big ole TV that we don't know what to do with... We brought it back from 

Michigan to put in the basement, but then Nick went and got a bigger TV so now we just have this extra one sitting here because there isn't any cable plugs in the nursery to put it in there and  all the other rooms already have TV's.  When did it become normal to have a billion televisions?!!?!  And why do we have a billion televisions?!!  Anyway, I am not sure of the answer to this question, but we happen to have approximately one television too many and I don't know what to do with it anymore now that we only have a 2 bedroom place and not a 3 bedroom sprawling house with several extra rooms that can accommodate televisions... So yeah... I'm done with that for now.

Well, I think I'm going to go have a nice warm shower and get to bed.  I'm so sleepy lately... *yawn*  Goodnight to all!!

Snapshot

Okay, only time for a quick post... I'm exhausted.  First, here is the 32 week belly picture (sorry we missed last week... I kept forgetting until Wednesday, then I went to have Nick take one Wednesday and the battery on the camera was dead, so I figured that meant we weren't supposed to do a picture last week.)  I had a doctor's appointment today.  She said I was doing great.  Weight gain is good, blood pressure is good and size is good, so I guess that means I'm good. :)  She also said she has a feeling this baby is going to be a girl (even though the heartbeat is low) so I guess we'll just have to wait and see! :)  Only 8 more weeks!

We went and picked up the crib and rocking chair this weekend.  We got the crib put together, but haven't had time to do the chair.  I guess that will go on next weekend's agenda.   Here is a quick sneak-peek at the nursery... All you get to see is the bed and the walls around it because, well, those are the only things I could get in the picture while trying to 

stand between all the other junk that needs to be moved out of the way!!  There's still a lot to do in there, but I'm getting it done, slowly.  I have almost all the clothes washed now and all the blankets and toys are clean, so I guess I'm a little further ahead than I was last week!  Oh - we also ordered ourselves a bedroom set (finally), so I was able to take the dresser that we were using in our room and put it in the baby's room to free up a bunch of space for books and whatnot.  Our bedroom set is scheduled to arrive this saturday!! I can't wait! :)  We got a really good deal on it, so we were able to get an armoire for the living room too.  So excited! :)

Oh - by the way, this crib is really freaking huge... sorry about jumping  all over the place, but I was just looking at this picture again and thought I'd mention that! :)  It's super nice though!  The only bummer is that I thought you could put the changing table at the other end b/c that's where I wanted it, but it turns out it only works at the other end... So, I guess I'm not allowed to get any bigger or I won't be able to get to the things on the shelves of the changing table!!  Hmmmm... this is turning into a long post, so i guess I'll just keep going.  I'm really starting to get to the tired phase.  I've been completely exhausted for about 2 or 3 weeks now.  This Little One likes to keep me up all night as does his/her father with his snoring!  So, I've been tired, but I know that's normal for the first and third trimesters, so I guess I'm right on target!

Well, I guess that's about all there is that's new...  I'm sure I'll think of more later, but for now, that's all I've got.  Here are just a couple pics of my boys behaving themselves tonight.  They are so good sometimes. :)  Oh - Jake goes in for his "surgery" Friday, so next week we should have some interesting stories about how we managed to keep the two of them calm so as not to disturb Jake's stitches...  oh how I am not looking forward to that!

P.S. Sorry about the crappy formatting on this post... too tired to try to fix it.  Good night all!

What is it?!!?

Well, I had my doctor's appointment today and all is going well.  I finally asked what the heartbeat is because they haven't been telling me (and I haven't been asking because I don't want to know what we are having).  Well, I finally broke down and asked and she said it has been consistently in the low 130's, which she says is consistent with a boy... So, my intuition could be completely wrong and the fact that I have been so convinced that this child is going to be a little girl could be a sign that it's going to be a boy.  One of Nick's co-workers said the only for sure "test" (like hanging the ring over the belly, etc) to figure out what you are having is whatever the mother thinks it is, it's the opposite!! So he could be right!!! Who knows??? Amy was convinced her baby was going to be a boy and they found out last week it's a girl... Sooo... I guess now I need to really start looking at boy names!! So far, I've only made it to the "G" names and haven't found any that I'm just in love with... But I guess the only way to know for sure is to see how it comes out!!! :)

Just thought I'd share! :)

29 and 30

Well, I was a bit busy last week, so I didn't post anything.  So, first things first, here is last weeks picture.  The belly is growing like crazy now.  This little one is kicking and making a fuss in the stomach.  Nick got to watch quite a show the other day.  He/she was doing quite a little dance and there were limbs flying and poking out all over the place.  It was really cool.  We are getting to the point where I can, with some certainty, figure out which is the head and which is the butt.  And sometimes I can trace down legs and arms too.  It's really crazy to think that we only have 10 more weeks until this little one is due!! I can't (and can all at the same time) wait!!  We did go order the crib and the rocking chair I wanted this weekend, so we should be picking those up in about 2 weeks.  Then we can start putting the room together for real.  We also picked up the stroller and carseat combo that my parents got us.  It's super cute.  Nick has some work to do though since the stroller is in about 15 pieces!!! :)  This is all still pretty surreal.  It's so weird to think that, after wanting a baby for all this time, we are actually going to have one!!! It's a little scary, but exciting at the same time! Anyway, enough babbling... Here is this weeks. picture... 30 weeks.... 10 to go...

Just to fill you in quickly on everything else that's going on - work has been pretty busy (well, just last week really).  Luckily, I think things will be pretty calm for the next couple weeks, or so one can hope.  I don't know if it's this crazy cold that I have or just being pregnant, but I was just absolutely exhausted today... So I tried to get out of work a little early, but then got stuck in traffic, so I ended up not getting home until 

my normal time anyway.  *sigh* Such is life!  I do have this crappy cold though.  Nick had it the week we got back from vacation and I thought I was lucky enough to avoid it, but apparently not.  It caught up with me last Thursday and had me pretty much knocked out all weekend.  We were supposed to go to our birthing class Saturday, but feeling as crappy as I did, I didn't want to pass it on to all the other pregnant ladies... So we had to reschedule for October.  So, lets all hope this baby doesn't come early, or we will be in trouble and not know what to when it comes!!

The dogs are behaving themselves, mostly.  Nick almost killed Elwood this weekend... I was already in bed Saturday night and Nick went to let the dogs go out before going to bed... Well, our good little guy, Jake, went right out.  Elwood stuck his head out the door like he was going to go out, then he circled around and came back in and peed right in the subwoofer for Nick's new surround sound system!!!  Seriously! There is just one little opening in the whole dang thing - the rest is solid - and he managed to go DIRECTLY in the one hole!!!!  And when Nick yelled at him to stop; he just kept going!!!  Then he said "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU DOG!!!" and Elwood took off outside and hid in the far corner of the yard and stayed out there for an hour and a half!!  Even the next morning, Elwood was afraid to come near Nick.  Apparently dogs know what "I'm going to kill you" means!!! hahaa!!! Crazy damn dog!!  

Okay - well, I take that behaving themselves thing back... Jake just knocked the lamp off the table... still works, so I guess it's all good, but here is a picture of them from just before the lamp went flying... haha!! Dorky dogs. :)

Anyway, I am going to go take some cough medicine and go to bed now... I will try to remember to update after my doctors appointment tomorrow.

Good day! :)

Lots of Stuff

Well, to begin with, we were in Michigan last week for a much needed vacation.  I spent the first half of the week in Cadillac and the second half of the week in Alpena.  Nick headed over to Alpena Sunday to spend some time at the lake with his family while the weather was still nice - it was beautiful all week, by the way.  One little shower, during the first baby shower, and that's it.  Sunny skies and high 70's, low 80's the rest of the week.  It was great! :)  Since Nick went to Alpena early, I forgot to have him do a belly shot last week.  I also forgot last night because I was so tired from traveling and not feeling too well, that I fell asleep about 6:30.  So, long story short, here is this weeks photo - 28 weeks and 1 day... Time is cruising by and the belly is growing like crazy.  I got a foot to the ribs a couple times today.  That was a first and really weird feeling.  I was trying to bend over and found that there was something stopping me from doing so... namely, a little foot... speaking of which... there it goes again.  Apparently, this little one does not like me bending over while typing.  I'm going to have to improve my posture greatly over the next couple months!!

While home, we did baby showers in both Cadillac and Alpena.  It was great to see everyone!! :)  We got TONS of stuff.  Most of it we had to leave home to be shipped out hauled out later.  I did get lots of clothes home.  Here are some of my favorite things that we got and I was able to get home.  I know it's hard to see, but you just can't help but love the little hat knitted by Grandma Lumsden and the John Deer socks from Uncle Adam and Aunt Mandy!!  How cute! :)  We also got all the bedding and curtains for our nursery, so I have put up curtains in one window, but need to get more rods for the other window.  Hopefully this weekend we will get to Babies-R-Us to pick up the crib and mattress and get this place looking like a nursery!!!  I'm starting to panic a little not having anything put together with only 12 more weeks to go!!! I know it sounds like a long time, but somehow we managed to fly to 28 weeks in what seemed like 5 weeks... sooooo.....  if we keep up with that schedule, we will be at 40 weeks about next week... so I better get cracking!!!

On a not so happy note, we got a call from my mom Sunday while we were driving back to the airport that my grandpa was in the hospital and they think he had a stroke.  The doctors thought he might only have a couple days to a week to live.  However, we got another call about 20 minutes later letting us know that he passed away.  :(  So, I will be making a VERY short trip back home again for the funeral on Thursday afternoon...

Other than that, not much new to report.  Back to work today for a nice, quiet day, since everyone else was still out for their long weekend after working the previous weekend to meet a deadline.  But all shall be back to normal craziness tomorrow morning!

Oh yeah - we picked the dogs up from daycare Sunday evening... they have both been sleeping pretty much the entire time since we brought them home... ahhhh... how I love vacations! :)

And another thing... I had a doctors appointment today and have only gained 2 lbs this month!!! So, she couldn't yell at me this time!! Yea for me!

While I'm Waiting...

While I'm waiting for my freaking drawings to do their business, I'm going get rid of a little of this frustration.

So, today at work (still there by the way...) was not much better than yesterday. In fact, I'm thinking it might even have been a little worse. I'm not really sure why people think that they are the only ones whose stuff matters... Our freaking landscape architect just doesn't get that his damn trees are going to go in AFTER my site is graded and that I'm not going to grade around something for a damn tree... I don't have time for that and it's just not going to work!!! If he wants a tree put there, put a tree there... they'll plant it. Has he never been in the woods??? Does he not know that trees can, infact, grow on slopes??? WTF???? Ugh... So frustrating...

Okay, my drawing is back up and running... I'm going to try to finish up and get home at a relatively decent time...

Hormones and Work... Not a good combination...

Well, before I get started on this day, here is the 26 week photo.  I can't believe we are almost 6 months already... Only another week and we are there... It's crazy how fast time goes by!

So, this day was probably the one of the worst so far... I'm telling you, these hormones don't take stupid people well... I had to take my pregnant butt outside for a breather this afternoon so that I wouldn't go on a murdering streak... Although there's no saying how long I'll be able to stay away from that!!  I swear to god people just push all the buttons at the same time to see what will happen... It's like the giant red "do not push" button that people can't seem to resist... I don't know what the hell the problem is, but it's not good.  And the doctor says "fresh air" is all that I can do... no happy pills for this pregnant lady. :(  Anyway, I was warned about this "east coast" work mentality before we moved out here and I didn't believe it until I got here and started working.  I can't believe how many people are so willing to throw others under the bus just to try to save their own asses instead of stepping up and taking responsibility for themselves... It's killing me.  All I can say, is I am SOOO proud to be from the Mid-West where we all know what a little hard work is and people actually treat other people with respect... Can't wait to get back to that... ugh... Anyway, the goulash is ready and I am so looking forward to that!!! A great way to end the day!!! :)

See you all in a few short days!! :)

Whoops!

So, I forgot to post this weeks' belly photo.  Whoops! Here is the 25 week photo, now that we are only a day away from 26 weeks... hehe!! :)  The belly is growing like crazy and the doc says that mama needs to control her weight gain... again... oops!! :)  So, I've been really trying to eat healthy and not eat out so much.  But I've been doing that for quite some time now and it's apparently not helping.  I guess your body will do what it wants to do!

Things are going good.  We are staying busy.  Did a little relaxing yesterday.  Got a good nap in. :)  ahhhh - much needed. :)  We took the dogs to the vet yesterday for more shots and Elwood had to get his nails trimmed.  The poor guy is crazy and we have to sedate him now to get his nails done... so we gave him a sedative yesterday before we went to the vet and the poor guy was knocked out ALL day... It was actually quite nice (for us).  Jake ran himself ragged at the park before we went to the doc too, so he slept most of the day as well.  I am so glad that we only have one more round of shots for the rest of this year... these crazy dogs are costing me a fortune!! So, we go on vacation at the end of next week and after that, one more round of shots, then a month later, he gets "the snip" and we are done for the year!!! Whew!!! :)

Last weekend Amy, Amanda, Beth and I had a nice relaxing girls weekend in Pensacola at Amanda's condo.  It was so nice!!! We sat in the pool and relaxed all weekend... We got pretty toasty while we were at it, but it's all good.  I'm pretty sure that's the only sun I've gotten since we were in the Dominican.  God - I really miss having lakes around!!!  I'm not much of a salt water, ocean girl, so I haven't been swimming since we moved here, except the couple times we used the pool at our old apartment.  However, we get to go home next Friday and get to spend the whole week there and you can bet I will be spending LOTS of time at both Day Hoff Lake and Lake Avalon!!! I can't wait!!! :)  Yea for fresh water!!!!!!!!!!  (We Michiganders are so spoiled and we don't even know it!!!)

Well, I don't really have much else to post.  Nick and I are going to head into DC and hit a couple museum's today and then, if we get home relatively early, I am going to start working on my baby quilt.  I meant to do that yesterday, but then I just didn't feel like it! :)

So, that's it for now.  I'm out!! Hope everyone had a good weekend! :)