Great Weekend

What a good weekend!

Yesterday we spent time outside enjoying the 77 degree weather. Just gorgeous!! And I managed to get a little sun :) We had 30 mph winds, but I didn't complain. It kept the humidity down and felt good! It was so nice to have the windows open with the breeze blowing through the house...

While we were outside a neighbor down the street came over to talk. His 3 1/2 yr old girl Grace LOVES Taylor. So they played while we talked. Taylor was SO happy to have someone to constantly throw the stick for her! And I loved that Grace wore Taylor out :)

Saturday Dustin pressure washed the driveway and the front of the house. A friend at work was nice enough to lend him his pressure washer for the weekend. Luckily, the rain held out until after dark, so Dustin was able to use it. And the driveway is so clean! And it's nice to get all the dirt off the front of the house. (That's exactly why I didn't want a white house. But... can't complain on the color when you get a good deal!). A neighbor brought over some diapers while Dustin was outside. How nice! His daughter has outgrown the size 1 diapers and he had extra, so he gave them to us. It's so nice how people just pass along everything they can no longer use!

Several people on our street took the opportunity to get some gardening in. As much as I wanted to get out there too, I know it's still too early. We should still get another freeze. And unfortunately for them, their pretty plants will suffer...

Saturday we had another class at the hospital- infant CPR. It was a great class to take and we both feel capable of performing CPR if we needed to. After the CPR class we were both STARVING, so Dustin took me to my FAV mexican restaurant- all the way up on Laburnum! It was a 40 min drive, but WAY worth it!! And since we were there, we went to the new Sam's Club. I got some yummy strawberries for desert tonight! Can't wait!

New Belly Picture

Here's the newest picture:I'm now 35 1/2 weeks. He's now 20 inches long and 5 1/2 pounds! The movement has decreased from kicking and stretching to him re-positioning. Sometimes he'll move and a foot will be sticking out the side of my stomach. And then later he'll move again and his butt might be sticking out. It's definitely getting smaller for him in there...

Things are still going well. Just a little more uncomfortable as my growing belly gets in the way of normal things such as tying my shoes, putting on socks, and even putting on pants. Also, activities like walking up the stairs makes me out of breath. My lung capacity is definitely smaller.

We now have everything we'll need for the little one to arrive, but still need to get it organized and assembled.

Now that the clock is ticking, we should be better at actually posting pictures every week... And once I get the nursery completely done, I'll post pictures of that as well :)

Hospital Tour

Last night we took a tour of the hospital and birthing center. It was great to see the rooms and have a better understanding of what to expect. When you go into labor this is who you call, this is where you come, this is where you check in, then you'll go here for delivery and this is what to expect, then you go here for recovery and this is what to expect....

The rooms are very nice and large (and 1/3 of the rooms have a large jacuzzi tub to help you relax during labor!). All rooms are private and either have a sofa bed or a recliner and roll away bed. All rooms have plasma TVs. Each floor has a small kitchen so you can bring your own snacks/drinks which the nurses will label for you. And they also have snacks and drinks available for the mother and family members while you're at the hospital. Unfortunately, all I'll get is popsicles and ice chips. But Dustin will have his pick of crackers, fruit, sodas, juice, etc.

the NICU and OR are on the same floor as delivery for easy/quick access. Once you deliver, your baby will stay in your room with you, unless you need a break. Then they'll take him to the nursery for awhile.

The tour definitely made everything more "real" to me... He's coming soon whether we're ready or not...

Baby Shower Pictures

Ok.... there's going to be a lot of these.... so grab a snack and settle in... Enjoy :)

"Chick Magnet" big

If you want any of these pictures you can either email me or right click the picture and do a "Save As" and it will save the picture.

Our trip in a nutshell

We've now been back home for several days and are starting to get settled into our normal routine. Laundry's almost done, things are unpacked (although not entirely put away), and the animals are happy to see us.

First of all, we want to give a BIG thank you to both moms for the excellent co-ed baby shower they put together for us. It couldn't have been any better. Everything ran smoothly and we had an excellent turn-out. It was so good to have the opportunity to see everyone and visit. Good laughs, good food, and we got a lot of good necessities. **I just got pictures from family members so I'll try to get them posted this weekend.

Steph- I hope you had a great 22nd birthday. Wish I could've spent it with you, but at least I got to see you on your birthday before we left for the airport.

Packing for the trip home was fun. We borrowed a huge suitcase from Dustin's parents and I was able to get almost everything from the shower into the suitcase. This saved us a lot of money. Only cost $15 to check at the airport as opposed to $50+ to ship. Yes! I've started unpacking that suitcase and putting stuff away. A little at a time...

Dustin and I managed to sneak away to the beach by ourselves for the day. It was (almost) the perfect day. Grey, but not windy at all. Couldn't ask for much more! We went to the Lincoln City Outlet Mall (which has been updated and is very nice!). We were very successful. Dustin got another pair of pants (that will actually fit him- his others for work are too big). He also got new Nike shoes (at the new Nike outlet), and we found the perfect coming-home-from-the-hospital outfit for the little one. Then we drove down to Depot Bay. Grabbed some salt water taffy and enjoyed the scenery.

Speaking of the little one... He does NOT like flying either! Was constantly moving around the entire flight, especially during take off and landing. I had my own turbulence inside! Not fun :(

I was also able to go to a tap show downtown with mom and Steph. That was fun. Something I've never done before. There were people of all ages. The little ones were so cute! They did Rag Mop and Take Me Out To the Ballgame. Before the show started, the CV jazz band played several songs. Little E LOVED that music. Rolling around through all the songs. I think because he could feel the music, as opposed to listening on the radio.

Overall, our trip was great. Tiring because we were constantly going until late in the evening, but not stressful at all. A good visit. And we got to spend a lot of time with our family.

I have just over 5 weeks before I'm due and there's still so much to do before the little one arrives! All you can do is take one thing at a time... I also need to post a new belly pic. I have grown a lot in the past week and can definitely tell the baby's gotten much bigger. Heads and butts and feet keep popping out of my stomach. It's the weirdest/coolest thing! I have a doctor's appointment later this afternoon so we'll see how big he's gotten...

Better wrap this up. I promise to post pictures soon...

Ode to Black Bandit

Bye-bye Black Bandit.... we'll miss you.... Yes, that's right. WE SOLD THE ESCORT!!!!!! The day we left for Oregon, we got an email from a guy who was interested in the car. We kept in touch through the week and he was anxious to drive it when we got back. We met last night at the huge shopping center by the airport. He drove it and bought it in the same night. WHOO HOO!!! It's been a good car, but I was ready to get rid of it. Hopefully it will continue to be a good car...

Back in VA

We're back in VA. So much to tell about our trip, but not today. Too busy.

Flight back was pretty good. Hardly bumpy at all. The only problem was leaving PDX. Got out on the tarmac and the pilot said we're headed back. He couldn't get his seat to lock into place. So back to the terminal we go where they take out the seat and replace it. 45 minutes later, we're in the air.

After that, it wasn't too exciting (which is a good thing). We landed in Richmond at 10pm. Dustin ran to the shuttle to grab the car. I grabbed the bags. And on the road we went.

We were in bed by 11:30pm.

MUCH more later.... lots to say to all... but no time now. Hopefully tomorrow :)

We made it!

We're here... barely. The day started out well. Got up and leisurely started packing and getting ready. We had extra time so we washed the cars to get all the salt off from the snow. Taylor ran around the yard with her sticks. It was 76 degrees. Then we dropped off Taylor at the boarders at noon. Went and got Mexican for lunch. Made our way to the airport with plenty of time.

Then things turned around. Our flight was supposed to leave at 2:45pm. But.... due to Chicago weather and the wonderous ATC, our flight kept being delayed. EVENTUALLY we took off at 5:30pm. Good thing we had a big lunch because RIC doesn't have much food. Applebee's, Applebee's To Go, or Caribou Coffee. Great choices!

We land in Chicago and luckily, our connection hasn't left yet. It's been delayed as well. We make it right before they start boarding. But the 4 hr flight was NOT fun. Turbulance the ENTIRE way, which doesn't sit well when you're starving and exhausted. And poor Dustin. He got stuck in the middle with Ms. Thunder Thighs taking up half his seat. I try to give him more room, but I can only offer so much. And then the tiny lady in front (who's in an exit row in Economy Plus) decides she needs to recline her seat. But being the bestest hubby in the whole wide world, he wouldn't trade me seats. He wanted me to be in the aisle so I could get up and pee whenever I needed to. Isn't he the best??

We finally arrive in Corvallis at 1:20am. We've been up for almost 24 hrs. Hopefully our trip home will be less exciting...

We woke up this morning to snow. Snow! And to think we left the 83 degree VA weather.... sigh... Oh well, at least it's not raining :)

Off to Oregon!

Hooray!! We're headed out to Oregon today!

Gotta finish packing. See you soon!

Week 32

32 weeks now... Little E is 4 lbs and 19 inches long. Now he'll start filling out quickly. I can definitely tell that space is limited. Always rolling, elbowing, kneeing, etc. It's fun to watch my stomach move, like ocean waves and playing the "what body part is that?" guessing game.

I have a check-up this morning to make sure everything is still ok for our up-and-coming flight to Oregon on Saturday. Not worried. All has been well. Except I've been fighting a head cold for the past week. Just trying to get lots of rest and drink plenty of fluids. Not much else I can do, since I can't take any medicine.

Chao for now. See you all in a couple days!

Snow Day!

Yeah!!! It's a snow day!!! Started snowing last night around 7pm.

2 hrs later, we had 3 inches! We decided to go for a walk and play in the snow a little. It was PERFECT snow- nice and wet. Got a good snowman going, but then Taylor decided to destroy it.
"Around 2:30am it will start snowing like lard!" ~John Bernier from ABC News (6pm newscast). This was an actual quote! Hilarious!

I knew I would be working from home today. And Dustin is too! Our neighbor tried to leave, but couldn't make it up the hill so turned around and came back. That's the only person on our street who's driven. We got up early, checked work emails and then headed out to play in the cul-de-sac before the kids started coming out.

Back deck pictures:

We had 5 inches! The most people have seen around here in YEARS!! Everything is shut down, even the airport. And a standard 15 min commute will now take you 1 hr! Unfortunately, the second round of snow was much dryer. Too powdery to make snowmen...

Front yard pictures:

Playing in the snow:

Kooky eyes, trying to catch the snow

Look at my lip!

Shoveling the driveway.... It's hard work!

Dustin wanted to take a cat out in the snow to see what he'd do. Of course, we picked Boo, because you can do anything to him.