The Nursery

Eric and I put the finishing touches on the decorations in the nursery last weekend and this weekend we were able to pick up my glider and so all is ready for baby girl in her room :)

Our Little Pumpkin Has Grown

Left: This picture was taken back in October when I made the pumpkin shirt to wear for Halloween, when I was only 18 weeks along. 
Right: Here I am in the same shirt at 37 weeks along, to give you an idea of how much Our Little Pumpkin has grown in the past 19 weeks :)

Showered With Love

Hello everyone!  We are only three weeks out from the due date and I just had my fourth and final baby shower this past week.  I thought I would give you some highlights from the showers!  What a great time it has been seeing so many ladies, both family and friends, to give me encouragement and advice as I enter into motherhood.

Shower #1: Wisconsin Baby Shower

Baby girl's maternal grandmother and great-grandmother hosted a shower at the end of January.  Weather was great for traveling so we had a good turnout.  It was a day filled with stories, laughter, sharing of maternal wisdom, and great food!  And, of course, lots of presents for our baby girl.

Shower #2: CHRP Shower in Valparaiso

The ladies from Church, whom I became friends with while on retreat two years ago and then served with last year in throwing the retreat, held a baby shower for me.  It was a wonderful time to catch up with these women and to know how much support I have here, if I need any advice or help with our little one.

Shower #3: Michigan Baby Shower

Eric's family held a shower at their home and although there was some snowy weather, we had a good turnout.  It was a great chance to see some of the family and friends on his side that I had not seen since my bridal shower.  We returned from that shower with lots of gadgets for baby girl which Eric got right to work on putting together. :)

Shower #4: Work Shower

This past Thursday my co-workers at work threw me a little shower.  A great way to celebrate the reason I will be gone for so long and to get some encouragement and advice from the ladies at work. :)

Baby's First Wedding

At 31 weeks, Eric and I attended a wedding for a friend of mine from college.  Rachel and I were in Bible study together.  I was not sure how much dancing I would feel like doing but it seems the baby belly did not limit me from a good evening, except that I ran out of steam around 10:15 pm and we decided to head back to my friend's house where were were staying.

Here is a family picture with the baby bump at 31 weeks :)

Here I am with the beautiful bride, Rachel, and another friend from college Bible study, Gina.  It was so great to see both of them and catch up!

Bulging Belly

Hello All!  The new news of the week regarding our little one's growth is that she is now strong enough for her kicks and punches to be seen as little bulges of my belly as she wiggles around inside.  I first caught one of the movements while in session with one of my clients this week.  It has been slightly distracting during my therapy sessions as she is often active during those times.

I told Eric of this new phenomenon and it was not until we were sitting in Church on Saturday that Eric was able to sneak a peek of her making my belly bulge :)

In other news, we replaced the carpeting in all three bedrooms in preparation for her arrival and so now her bedroom is completely empty and waiting the arrival of her furniture, which should hopefully be here at the end of the month.

Merry Christmas!

Here we are in front of our Christmas tree.  Baby Girl is 25 weeks gestation in these pictures!  Happy Holidays and safe travels!  We wish everone the best in 2012!

The Power of Hormones

For about a month now I have been able to feel our little girl moving about and in the past couple of weeks her movements have been getting stronger and stronger, so much so that I sometimes get woken up at night when she is having what I like to call "play time".  Eric had been eagerly awaiting his first chance to feel her movements from the outside but from around Thanksgiving until early December her movements were not strong enough.

On Saturday (12/10/11) at around 4:00 am I was jolted awake from a nightmare with my heart racing and to my surprise our little girl was kicking quite strongly.  I'm guessing because she also received a dose of the chemicals coursing through my body as a result of my nightmare.  I woke Eric up and he was able to feel two good, strong kicks.  His first time feeling our little one move!!!!!  Although it was 4:00 am and under somewhat strange circumstances, Eric and I revelled in this moment of shared experience to once again remind us of the little life growing inside of me.  Since then Eric has been able to feel her move on a couple of other occasions, usually when we are laying in bed.