counting on one hand now...

I'm sitting here watching the snow pour down, praying my sweet husband home safely. In order to occupy myself, I will attempt this weekly update.

We are at 35 weeks now! Only FIVE weeks left! That's just 35 days! It won't be long at all.

It is really just a waiting game now. We are ready. And I mean that we are really ready... (it's our first kid, so let me be crazy and ready five weeks early please)

The carseat is in the car. 

The hospital bags are packed.

I am caught up with work until the end of April.

The house is stocked with essentials.

I've started freezing a couple of meals.

As ready as you can be, I think we are.

So, we wait.

We go to the doctor next Tuesday and will hopefully get a better idea if anything has started progressing.

In the meantime, I am still feeling great! People keep asking me if I'm tired, but I'm really not. Not drastically anyway. Although some nights I do fall asleep on the couch at 9:30pm (I'm trying hard to make it later now since the Olympics are on until 11!)

The dreaded heartburn comes every so often and my back will get sore if I try to do too much. No other complaints though!

Graeme seems to be well and growing. He must be running out of room in there because he sticks out a lot. We cannot even wait to meet him. We tell him that a lot. 

See you very soon, Graeme!

about my sick car

Aaron and I were very blessed when we got married and my parents gave us the completely paid off car that I had been driving since I got my permit 11 years ago. My dad had bought what is now my car for himself, but ended up giving it to me to drive when I turned 16 since I had learned to drive in it. (He's the best dad.) It's a 2002 Dodge Intrepid. It may be 12 years old, but I love it so. It's sporty and safe and any car that doesn't require a car payment is amazing in general. I'm pretty sad that Dodge doesn't make Intrepids anymore, because I would probably get another one.

My car has hardly given me and Aaron any trouble, despite it's age. Since it's been in our possession, I think we've only had to deal with a dead battery. But, the universe knew that we are due to have a baby in a month, so of course it was time for some unforeseen car trouble. Isn't that just how it always goes?

Now, you must also keep in mind that I know absolutely zero about cars. I can put gas in my car. I can glance at that little oil change sticker that has the mileage on it and compare it to my gauge. I can drive it. Other than those things, I'm useless.

On our way to work Wednesday, I was in front of Aaron. It was a very cold morning, and I noticed about halfway through our ten minute drive that I was still freezing despite my heat blasting.

I then realized that my car was actually blowing frigid cold air instead.

I thought this was odd and was going to mention it to Aaron straightway once we got to work. With another month or so of winter, and with a baby coming soon, I was not keen to drive around with no heat.

Another couple miles down the road, I heard a "ding!" and a little light came on the dash. I wasn't sure what the little light meant, other than it kind of looked like a boat on the water to me. But I figure any light that comes on isn't a good thing probably. I mean, when the gas light comes on, I can fix that. All the other lights...not so much.

At this point we were literally around the corner from work, so I tempted fate and kept driving. I then noticed that the little dial that has a "C" and an "H" was quickly climbing to the "H." And up by the "H" is when the lines turn red. Usually red is a bad color.

As soon as we pulled in the parking lot, I pulled over to the side before parking and rolled my window down. Aaron stopped.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I'm not sure. First of all, I'm still freezing because my heat isn't working. Also there's a red light that just came on that looks like a boat. And that dial is all the way up to the 'H.' Is that bad?"

"YES! Park it right now!"

By the time I rounded the corner of the building and parked, smoke was pouring out of my hood. I was never so glad to not be out and about by myself. I perhaps would have exploded my car. Who knows.

Aaron knows a bit more about cars than me. He looked under the hood and said something about how it had something to do with my coolant. He explained further but I didn't really pay attention. He called his dad then, who has put cars together and stuff. Dave agreed that it was something with coolant but he wouldn't really know until he could come look at it after work. (He's the best dad too.)

Long story short now, Aaron sent me of all people to buy coolant. The Walmart guy thought I was a moron for sure. Aaron filled that up in the afternoon only to watch it leak back out like a waterfall. When Dave looked at it later that night, he said it was probably the water pump. The night after that he brought a car-lifting thing (sense my cluelessness again) to determine that was indeed the problem. Then he gave us a number of a guy who could come fix it so we didn't have to have it towed anywhere.

So, there's a nice man from our old church that's a traveling car mechanic person. He's at Journey working on my poor car right now. Lord willing, it will be home safe and sound tonight. 

We are very thankful it wasn't something worse, and hopefully this will fix my car right up for another few years. (I sure hope it's not on it's downward spiral.)

I do love my car.

Waiting for the car doctor.

in week 34!

Happy 34 weeks to Graeme, who according to different pregnancy apps is the size of a small pumpkin or a butternut squash. We've come a long way from a raspberry six months ago. It's just amazing, and I can't get over God's creation in this whole process. You cannot help but believe in a big, all-powerful God when you look at the journey of a baby from conception to birth. It blows my mind.

I am definitely feeling Graeme's pumpkin-size self in there. He is all over the place and does a lot of pushing as well as kicking/punching. There will be times that he shoves against the side of my stomach and just holds there for a few seconds so there's a big lump. It's quite entertaining. I like to think he's saying "Let me out!!"

We are more than ready to meet him. His laundry is all done and put away. A sitter for Penny is lined up. The carseat is going in the car tonight, actually. The diapers are on their way from Amazon Mom. I've made a list for the hospital bag that I will probably pack later this week. And we are touring/interviewing a pediatrician in the next couple weeks (I'm waiting for them to call me back).

Yes, I'm aware that I'm probably a little ahead of the game on some of these things. But, hey, I'm crazy and I always like to be organized. Plus, there's no harm in being ready for an unexpected early arrival!

Graeme and I are doing great. I am still feeling very well and have good energy. I am uncomfortable every so often, mainly lying down in one position for too long. And of course the bathroom breaks are constant again.

We missed an appointment because of the snow last week, and weren't able to make it up until yesterday. Even then we had to drive to the other office that's like 30 minutes away and see a nurse practitioner instead of a doctor. Not that I have anything against nurse practitioners, but the lady that made my appointment was like, "I can only get you in with a nurse practitioner," and I'm thinking, "Ok, they are clearly just as qualified to use a measuring tape and a little heart rate monitor thing that I could buy myself at Babies "R" Us..." 

Anyway, the nurse practitioner that we saw is like my new favorite person we've seen. She might just be the sweetest ever. I love her. She did say that Graeme seems to be breech still because his heartbeat is way up by my ribs. We will see if he is turned around when we go back in two weeks. Who can blame him? I wouldn't want to stand on my head for six more weeks either.

Anyway, from our next appointment on, we will go every week and they will measure and determine his position and all of that stuff every time. 

Not much longer!

about my other baby shower

I've mentioned several times that I have a group of girlfriends that I've had since high school and even elementary school for some of them. Somehow, through different colleges and different states and different jobs and different schedules, we've still kept up with each other. We've stayed in each others lives through college graduations, careers, marriages, and now, a baby on the way!

Us, minus three (who were there in spirit).

They threw me the sweetest shower last weekend. We met up at PF Changs first (one of my favorite restaurants), and then made our way to Ashley's house. Ashley is like the cutest decorator ever. Her house is absolutely adorable. I couldn't get over the mantle she put together for my shower. 

She also has amazing handwriting that I want to steal.

My best pal Renee added these adorable onesies to the mantle as well as the bear and "G" below.

It just worked out perfectly that Renee's last name starts with "G," don't you think?

Everyone brought something so we had some awesome desserts and snacks, and punch in a pitcher with a "G" on it (that last name thing really came in handy). Renee is the brains behind this shower, and she made it just perfect. There's a reason she is my best pal.

No party for a pregnant woman should be complete without chocolate.

Renee found adorable super hero accents to add to the food table. 

Seeing as I really haven't had much else to drink in 9 months except water (so. much. water.), milk, and the occasional juice or hot chocolate, the punch really got Graeme moving!

My friends are, again, the sweetest. Everyone, even those that couldn't be there in person, wrote birthday cards for Graeme that he can open starting on his first birthday and going up to his fifteenth (I hate to even think about that!). They also covered a canvas with scripture to hang in his room.

On top of all of that wonderfulness, they showered me and Graeme with awesome gifts. They each got something for Graeme and something for me. I seriously couldn't ask for better friends. God has blessed me so much. I loved EVERYTHING.

It was the sweetest, funniest (with five married girls who have known each other for years, there's obviously a lot of fun talk), most adorable shower.

I really can't thank them enough!

to introduce Gordon

Before Christmas, we lost our trusty Betta fish, Jonah. He had been with us since July of 2011 (who knew he would live that long?!). We were sad to see him go, but we were also excited because it's fun to get a new fish. We like having a fish because...I don't really know. But they are cheap and fairly easy upkeep. Plus, Betta fish are pretty, and we like to talk to our fish when we're in the kitchen.

So, we waited until after the holidays and our trip to Tennessee, and then we headed to Petsmart to pick out our next fishy companion.

We debated briefly about switching it up and getting a red Betta (our first two have been blueish...anyone remember Carl Winslow?). But, the blue ones are so pretty, and we quickly found one that looked lively and fun and stared at us from his little plastic cup.

We knew then that we had found our fish. And here I am to officially introduce...

Gordon Ramsey.

Aaron (and I, but Aaron really) loves Gordon Ramsey. Aside from his foul mouth, he is very smart and a great leader and funny. We love Hell's Kitchen and Masterchef. And we thought Gordon Ramsey was a great name for a fish that lives in the kitchen.

Gordon has fit in swimmingly. Penny doesn't really know he exists, but we pretend that they get along just great.

Welcome to the family, Gordon.

Happy February!

It's the first day of February, and after our snow days this past week, I am ready for warmer weather. We probably have another month or so of cold, but that's ok.

Now that we are in February, Aaron and I can say that we will meet Graeme next month.

Unless he pulls a fast one and comes early (he'll be full-term at the end of this month). We have already discussed with him that he needs to stay in there until March 1st. His Gigi and Pop are going to Israel for two weeks, and they get home March 1st. He has the go ahead to come anytime after that. (Seriously, if only you could plan when they arrive...)

Anyway. It's hard to imagine there being anything else to look forward to this month since we have a pretty one-track mind right now, but there are some other happenings...

1. My baby shower.    Tonight, I have another shower with a small group of some of my closest girl friends. We have been friends since high school and before, and it's great to have friends that have been around through so many seasons of life. I am excited to share this new season of my life with them! (And now some of them need to get busy so Graeme has a friend.)
2. Groundhog Day.    While everyone else in America is excited for the Superbowl tomorrow, Aaron and I are pumped for Groundhog Day. We obviously could care less about football, and we have an annual tradition of watching Groundhog Day on Groundhog Day. So that's what we will be doing Sunday night.
3. The Olympics.    I love the olympics. I like summer and winter olympics, but winter might be my favorite. It might be strange since I really have no desire to watch actual sports that come on throughout the year. But I could watch snowboarding, skiing, and figure skating all the day long.
4. Bensen's birthday.    My buddy Bensen turns FOUR this month! It's hard to believe that he will be four. I feel like I just met him as his little eight-month-old self. He is having a birthday party, and any excuse to see him and Keyen is a great day.

   

   Back in the day with Bensen.
   

5. Daddy Daughter Dance.    We are hosting our first ever Daddy Daughter Dance at Journey this month. It should be fun, and I am pretty sure it will be filled with beautiful, adorable little girls smitten with their daddies. Cute overload.
6. Haircut.   I am getting my last haircut before Graeme comes this month. Who knows when I'll make it back for another one since it usually takes me at least five months anyway. I haven't decided what I want to do yet. No bangs for sure since I want to be able to easily keep my hair out of my face in the coming months.
7. Renee and Derrick.    Our monthly date with Renee and Derrick is scheduled and will most likely be our last one without a baby in tow. We have promised that even after Graeme comes we will try not to talk about him the entire time on our dates.
8. Valentine's Day.   Valentine's Day is a fun day and I love spoiling Aaron. I don't mind him spoiling me either so I guess it works out all around. We aren't sure what we are doing this year, but we will make sure to have a great Valentine's Day as a family of two.
9. 37 weeks.    We hit 37 weeks of pregnancy at the end of the month. I know Graeme will stay in there until he's ready to come out, but it's exciting to think that he could be ready in just a few more weeks! We are ready whenever he is!

That's the list for this month, folks. Happy February!