2009 Collage

Look at what I made for Facebook....

What a year it's been!

Belly @ 36 weeks.

Here we are, after a nice spaghetti dinner, with Jamie trying to bust his way out. Seriously, I think he's running out of room.

This week has been going fine so far. I had my checkup on Monday -- nothing to report, just the same old stuff that goes on at every appointment. If you look closely at my necklace, you'll see my wedding band. I didn't think that my fingers would swell up, but unfortunately, they did. I decided the smart thing to do would be to wear my ring around my neck. I'd hate to run the risk of having someone cut it off my finger!

I keep saying that I'm ready to deliver (I told Scott that it'd be fun to have the first baby born in 2010), but I still have a few things left to do! We just got a coupon in the mail from Target to complete our registry (still have a few items that we need to pick up), I have a haircut scheduled for Saturday, Scott and I have dental appointments next week, and we definitely need to have the Christmas decorations packed up before Jamie comes home. Otherwise....it'll still be Christmas in May. Besides, I can finally make use of the space downstairs and set up the pack 'n play. Exciting, isn't it?

An unopened Christmas present.

December 26th.

9 month mark!

Today I'm officially 9 months/36 weeks pregnant. Whew.

Only about 4 weeks or so left!

Belly update!

Here's the 35 week belly.

And in case you were wondering what it's like to be pregnant....well, imagine seeing this every time you looked down.

2 days 'til Christmas! And 33 days 'til Jamie's due.

Just a few more weeks to go....

Today, I'm officially 35 weeks pregnant. And seriously uncomfortable. Is this what the last month is supposed to be like? I don't think I'm huge, but my belly seems to always be in the way. If I lean forward while I'm on the laptop, I'll accidentally close a browser window or I'll knock a kitchen towel off of the oven door if I'm not careful. I've also had plenty of contractions, but they aren't consistent. Siiigh.

We still have plenty of snow on the ground. The news reported that our area got 14", which sounds about right. I think it'll stick around for Christmas, too. Here are some pictures from yesterday, when we ventured out to CVS and Kroger.

Here are our cars (I'm scared to drive mine for a few days), and Scott, carrying groceries into the house.

And here I am, modeling Scott's coat. My coat is slightly too tight, especially with a hoodie.

Christmas is on Friday! Can you believe it?

Snow!

A Cradle for Jamie.

 

 

It was worth the wait, but it's here! When I had my bridal shower back in July, my grandmother (Grammy) told me about this cradle. It was built by her uncle, Uncle Charlie, for his children. We went down to the basement to take a look at it and of course I wanted to use it. So, she agreed to get it ready for me and went to work on the bedding. Isn't it cute? If you look closely, it has a nursery rhyme design. The blue and white blanket was made by Aunt Dot (Uncle Charlie's wife).

Well, we're officially ready!

Christmastime is here.

I got this at my baby shower, from Jackie

One of Scott's first Christmas ornaments

From my friend Melody

Look at what I found at Hallmark

Just 2 stockings this year!

34 weeks already?

Here's another shot of my kitchen, in case you were interested in what the sink and dishwasher looked like. Anyway, I can't believe we're already at 34 weeks. I had my checkup this week and things are still going well. The appointments are literally about 5 minutes long. The nurse checks my weight and blood pressure, listens for the fetal heartbeat, and then my doctor measures my belly. She waits to see if I have any questions, and then that's it. Starting in January, I'll be going for these appointments weekly until I pop. My doctor mentioned that if I happen to go into labor now, they'll let it progress -- at this point, there's no stopping it. Technically, I'm not full term yet (37 weeks is the magic week), but apparently they're not worried about the 34 weekers. I just hope I can make it to mid January at least. As much as I want this kid out, I don't want him out yet! 

Where the Wild Things Are.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love books. When I was growing up, my parents heavily encouraged reading. We always had plenty of books (still do!) and I loved going to the library (again, still do!). It's only natural that I want the same for Jamie.

I've had a Barnes & Noble gift card burning a hole in my wallet since last year, so today I finally went out and picked this up.

Interestingly enough, I didn't read this book myself until a few months ago, when I read it to my niece, Addison. Well, I won't ruin the story for you, but it's worth reading (even if you're well into your twenties). 

Mr. Sandman skipped my house.

Welp, I'm sitting up and waiting until I feel like I can go to sleep. I didn't sleep all that well last night, and ended up napping late this afternoon. It sure felt good, but now I'm wondering if I can actually sleep through the night. Insomnia is a very strange thing. On the plus side, the kitchen is amazingly clean and I actually have the energy for a face mask.

While I'm killing time, I might as well make my birth prediction. My due date is January 25th, but I'm willing to bet that Jamie will be born sometime the week of January 11th -- making it 38 weeks instead of 40. January 11th is also MY birthday, but I just have a strong feeling that it's going to happen sometime that week.

We shall see!

Merry Christmas!

Belly at 33 weeks.

This week has brought on more heartburn and lower back aches. And it's not even that bad, just a little uncomfortable. I would just prefer not to feel like a dragon. Blah. Jamie is still kicking away and occasionally has the hiccups. Most of the day, I just wonder "what is he DOING in there?"

Scott and I are going to his company Christmas party tonight! Should be fun.

Matching bumps.

Here I am, with my high school friend, Jenn. This was taken the day after Thanksgiving, when we were both in Maryland, visiting our families. Jenn's 2 weeks behind me, also expecting a boy! It's so exciting and I'm glad that we're going through this together.

Saturday night randomness.

Jamie has the hiccups. This happens every other day or so, or at least, that's how often I notice it.

We had our "first" snow today in Richmond. Well, if you'll call it that. A lot of people seem to hate snow, but not me! Anyway, it rained for most of the day, but around the late afternoon, flakes were starting to fall. It lasted for a few hours.

Not much else to report. Just taking it easy, watching movies on tv with my feet up. I've been feeling pretty tired lately, but I guess it's a good excuse to rest as much as possible.

Sweet Tea

Who doesn't love iced tea? I love it only when it's sweetened, which is funny because if it's hot -- I drink it black.

Anyway, had a craving for iced tea yesterday and I want to not only store this recipe away for myself, but share it, too.

It's pretty easy:

--2 quart pitcher
--4 regular tea bags
--1 cup sugar

Boil 2 quarts of water (some people use a pan on the stove, but I used my electric kettle), let the tea bags steep for however long you'd like, and add the sugar. Let it cool. Voila! Delicious sweet tea.

It's Friday!

Last night, Scott and I took a tour of the hospital where I'll deliver. They recently did some remodeling and it's NICE. The rooms have -- get this -- hardwood floors. And flat screen tvs. I mentioned awhile ago to Scott that I may bring a season of Gilmore Girls with me, to keep me occupied. I mean...I'd rather watch that than sports.

We even got to peek in at the nursery and the babies were adorable. Little burritos with tiny hats. Anyway, I have a good feeling about the hospital. That was the last official "class" that we had on the list, so we're done with most of the prep work. Scott's going to install the car seat this weekend, hopefully.

As of this morning, I'm officially in the land of Braxton Hicks. My doctor informed this week that I've probably already had some contractions, but just nothing that I've noticed. Sure enough, early this morning, I experienced some tightening in my abdomen off and on. It's just crazy that I'm really in the last stretch of this pregnancy.

And man, I'm tired. After several nights of wonderful sleep (I knew it was too good to last!), I just had the worst night's sleep last night. I feel like I've been awake forever. I hate it when this happens.

31 & 32 weeks!

31 weeks, Thanksgiving morning

32 weeks

I've been busy! Since my last post, Scott and I've celebrated 2 Thanksgivings, I've had another baby shower (thrown by Scott's mom), put up our Christmas decorations, and today, had our 32 week OB appointment.

The baby shower was a complete surprise. The weekend before Thanksgiving, we planned on going to Scott's parents' house and when we arrived, that was the start of the shower. It was really nice and we received some great things for Jamie, including a pack and play, a stroller, some clothing, toys and toiletry essentials.

Today's appointment went fine -- I'm still right on track with weight gain and how Jamie's growing. We heard the heartbeat and it registered in the high 140's. Only 8 weeks (or so!) to go!

And here's our Christmas tree. Isn't it gorgeous? I can't stop looking at it.