5 weeks and counting

Things I love at 35 weeks pregnant:

...I love that Baby Girl gets the hiccups after dinner almost every day.

...I love that the kids at school ask daily to touch my belly and want me to make her kick ('cause I have that super power!).

...I love that her daddy reads to her every night (currently: Harry Potter 4) even though I can only stay awake for the first page or so.

...I love that she loves fruit! Any time I eat fruit - especially blueberries - or drink orange juice, she gets the wiggles.

...I love the way her little fists tickle my legs when I sit.

...I love that Daddy can hear her heart beat. Sometimes, when she has been still for a while, I ask him to find her heart just to make me feel better. He always obliges without complaint! :)

...I love to sit in the nursery. I could honestly sit for hours in the rocking chair. It is the most peaceful place in the world.

...I love that, when we did a relaxation exercise that involved visualizing our "special place" at our Bradley class last night, Casey didn't have to ask what place I was visualizing. We both knew I was imagining sitting in the nursery.

...I love that we only have a few weeks left until we get to meet our beautiful little girl.

On another note... I hate how round my face has gotten! The belly, I can handle. Fat face at a time when I want tons of pictures... that's just no fun!!!

-isms

Kid-isms:

(There were a bunch of parents at school today for a basketball game, and evidently I looked like one of them.)

Student 1: "Mrs. Strassner... wow, you looked like a mom from the back."

Student 2: "Really? I thought she looked like a mom from the front!"

Husband-isms:

(While both of us were turned sideways in front of the mirror.)

Me: Observing the remarkable difference in our sizes.

Casey: "I'm like the Kansas to your Colorado!"

Me-isms:

(Eating goldfish crackers during class; kind of a no-no.)

Student: "Why do you get to eat during class?"

Me: "When you can do this" (pointing to belly) "you can eat during class too!"

(Disclaimer: it was a male student, which makes the story much less inappropriate. I really would never have said that to a female student!)

Breadcrumbs

What does this...

...have to do with our nursery?

Something! I realize that is not very specific or informative... I've decided to post a few little "previews" of the nursery as often as possible for the next two weeks. But, I'm not posting any full pictures until after the room's big reveal in two weeks at our baby shower.

Yes, we're having a baby shower! It seems a little surreal, but it's true!

And speaking of baby showers, here are our adorable invitations:

I absolutely love them. I think they turned out so cute! Very simple, but that's what makes them awesome!

I am getting so excited for all of the wonderful things we have coming up! Our awesome friend Jessica is throwing us a shower, then a bunch of friends from work are throwing us another. It is amazing to be surrounded by so much love! After that, it's just a hop, skip and a week (or two) to baby day!! What could possibly be better?!

In other news, our house is finally back in order. Casey put the finishing touches on Baby Girl's room yesterday, as well as on the basement, which (finally) brings our season of projects to an end. The basement still needs some decorating, but we'll have to get to that eventually. We've accomplished a LOT in a short span of time!

I am extremely proud of us, and also glad that we won't be tackling anything house related for a while.

We'll have another "little" something to tackle in the coming months!

Changes

This...




...is what my house looks like these days. Sadly, it's not just the living room. It's the laundry room, the entire basement, and upstairs level. Our bedroom is... well, let's just say it has never looked like it does recently.


Somehow, I can't bring myself to care.


Between the fact that I'm still working full time (plus) at almost 8 months pregnant, the fact that in the past three months we have remodeled the basement, hosted festive holiday events and converted an office to a nursery, I really can't get too upset that the every day chores have been put on hold.


Sure, it is a mess. Being me, I can't let that go entirely; it still causes me some anxiety. But when push comes to shove, I think the priorities are in order, even if the coffee table is a little dusty. :)

A little of this, a little of that...

A lot of people have been asking us recently what we've decided to name her. I suppose Baby Girl can't last forever...

Yes, we have (I think) decided on a name.

No, we are not going to reveal it until she is born.

The reasoning behind this is twofold: 1) This is the last surprise we get! We found out gender; we've shared every piece of this along the way. Besides, some things are better kept a surprise! 2) Just in case we change our minds once we meet her. I don't want to announce her name only to have to change it when I see her little face.

Amazingly, baby-naming has been one of the easiest things we've done. When we got Brody, we went back and forth about names for weeks before deciding, and he's just a dog!

Casey adamantly refused to have the names discussion with me until we found out her gender. Being me, I found this horrifyingly difficult... I kept asking and asking what he thought of different names, and every time he just as stubbornly refused to talk with me about it!

The weekend we found out we were expecting a girl, we both searched high and low - separately - and put together our "Top Ten list" of little girls' names. When we came back together, we discovered that the same name topped both our lists... so that pretty much decided it!

Somehow, choosing a middle name was just as easy. By the end of the week after the big gender-reveal, we had settled on a name, and it has been that way in my mind ever since.

I highly doubt that it will change - I always hear that baby just becomes her name, right? Plus, it has been fun for the past nearly 14 weeks to call her by her name. Casey has slipped a few times and announced it, but fortunately no one seems to have figured it out!

Lastly, because I can't refuse, here is the tiniest teaser for our nursery, which is now very, very close to being finished and decorated.

Her clothes are clean and put away! Not only that, but her dresser is almost completely full!!

Can baby things be any cuter?

Ever-expanding closet. Now all we're waiting for is the guest of honor...

Oh, Baby!

33 Weeks!

Okay, so we're a bit past 33 weeks now. Our pregnancy weeks turn over on Wednesdays, so I'm a little behind with my post. At 33 weeks, I'm right on track with my weight gain. No more contractions; at least, no more that make Mommy freak out thinking Baby is coming early (a blessing!). Baby is measuring perfectly, and I am still feeling great.

I am always amazed by the way women complain about their pregnancies. I feel so blessed, because I have absolutely loved being pregnant! Yes, it is strange in many ways. Yes, there are many things to adjust to. But overall, it is such an incredible, awe-inspiring and amazing process.

More than that, though, it is incredible to me that anyone could be anything less than grateful for whatever process brings their baby into the world. If it means that at the end of this I get to hold that beautiful little girl in my arms, I would walk through fire to know that she is safe and healthy.

There was a time I thought that dream might elude us, and I can't imagine having to live with that knowledge. So whatever minor discomforts are associated with pregnancy, I can't find it in me to complain. I'll take those a hundred times over compared to the alternative. She is, without doubt, the greatest thing Daddy and I will ever be a part of!



Plus, pregnancy is just fun! Baby Girl is my constant little buddy. I love waking up in the morning and getting to feel her stretch! I love when my students are awed by the fact that my belly is moving as she changes position. I love talking and singing to her in the car (it does seem to be mostly in the car that I talk to her. I tell her about all the things we did that day, and describe to her what the weather or the sky looks like. I'm weird!). I love that she changes position in my belly when Daddy talks to her; she actually moves to be closer to his voice. She melts my heart when she gets the hiccups. Daddy discovered this week that he can hear her little heart beat when he presses his ear to my belly. He doesn't even need our fetal monitor thingy. WOW!

And, she is such a good baby! I don't have much discomfort. Granted, it is pretty difficult to change position or heft myself out of a sitting position. I do get very tired by the end of the day. But really... I'm growing a person! What can I expect?! None of that is her fault. She seems to work with me in any way she can. I suppose that is overestimating what Baby can do, but I truly feel like we have a wonderful, mutual connection. I can't wait to find out which of the little personality traits I associate with her now actually reveal themselves once she is born!

Transformation

I'm posting no pictures. I'm giving nothing away!

Let's just say that when we woke up yesterday morning, the old "office" was still looking rather office-like, and that is no longer the case.

In fact, it now has a new coat of paint, new mouldings, and rather a lot of new furniture. And, it's not looking quite so "office-y" anymore...

It has been two days of a LOT of work (which is not entirely finished), but I think we have a nursery on our hands!!!!! I even washed Baby Girl's bed set - something I have been waiting to do since about September - and it has a brand new place to live; a place where a certain someone will be resting her head in about 7 weeks.

I am SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!

Rest assured, I will post pictures eventually. But for now, some secrets are worth keeping. :)