38 weeks (tomorrow)

Just a quick photo before we run off to our doctor appointment. It'll be 38 weeks tomorrow! Technically she could come at any time now, but we're hoping she waits just a little bit longer so we can get more of the house unpacked and organized!!

38 weeks - think she's dropped?

Oh, and I just realized I didn't put up the previous belly pic that I took. So here ya go, just for comparison:

This was somewhere around 36 weeks.

Hey there, Alaska!

So this is the place of the midnight sun, hmm? Well, maybe the sun shines somewhere... but here it's been seldom so far. I think we've actually had about 3 sunny days which I've very much enjoyed! Otherwise the weather can be pretty dreary. And cold! I know most everyone in the country is experiencing temperatures above 100 degrees, but here we're hanging out right around 50 degrees. I'm just used to summer and the heat, so it feels weird.

We moved into our place (early - yay!) and have been slowly starting to set it up. Of course, the day after we moved in, Daryl had to go underway on the boat and won't be home until Friday. I'm trying to get as much unpacking done as I can by myself. I'm sure it's amusing to watch me waddle between boxes and try to reach the kitchen shelves which are crazy high!

On one of the sunny days I went out and took pictures, so I'll stop typing and start uploading photos instead. When the sun is shining it's not a bad view here. Enjoy!

Looking toward Sitka

See Daryl's boat? Facing the camera, dead center of the photo.

View from the bridge toward Mt. Edgecumbe, the inactive volcano.

Oh, you mean this isn't the view you have from the grocery store parking lot? 

Silly husband. :)

What if....

So I was going to post about Alaska. I actually have a draft saved and was trying to upload photos, but that was taking forever and I got bored. I will post those soon, I promise.

In the meantime, I came across this video that was made several years ago highlighting infertility. It's not too lighthearted, let's make that clear. But I think it's really good to watch. It really hits home for me - and this is someone who just had to experience the very edge of infertility. By the grace of God I required only minor medical intervention to help me get pregnant. But I still know what this feels like.

(Note: the way this is filmed is a little jumpy at the beginning, but it gets better.)

It's been too long without an update

Time to let the general population know how things are going! And they are going, well... crazy! We move in less than 2 weeks, I'm not done with school yet (something like 3 days... I dunno, it's too overwhelming to count), and we still have tons of stuff left to do and buy for baby and the trip!

I discovered stretch marks on my stomach. Gross. I was hoping I had enough fat/stretchy skin before pregnancy to avoid those! But don't worry, I still wore a bikini to the pool yesterday. (Hence how I discovered them.) And no, there aren't any photos. Ha.

The movers come this Monday to box up all of our stuff! School is done Wednesday for me. State swim meet is this weekend for Daryl. His last day of work is next Friday.

Baby's doing great. She's really growing and letting me know she's running out of space. Somehow it's now possible for her to stick her little butt up under my ribs, and shove on my bladder at the same time! How is she so big already??

Prayers for peace and sanity during this time are much appreciated! I'm also starting to get really sad about leaving Kansas, so that sucks too.... Oh, and we're getting preggo pictures taken next weekend! By this wonderfully talented girl! :)

100 Days to Go!

YIKES!! Today marks day 100 in our pregnancy count-down. Hard to believe! Daryl always asks me, "Did you ever think you'd make it this far?" which always kind of makes me laugh, but sometimes my answer is no. It still kind of trips me out. At school everyone is counting down the days until summer, but I still can't bring myself to do that, because I'm afraid it will stress me out too much with everything we have left to get done.

When we talked about moving to Alaska, back before we were even pregnant, I never thought it would really be this much work. I mean, come on - the Coast Guard hires movers to come in, box up all your stuff and ship it for you, what else could there possibly be to do?? A lot, apparently. But, it will all get done, somehow. Or it won't. Those are our two options.

In baby news, she's doing good. We had our latest check-up last week, and everything's looking right on schedule. Well, except my weight gain. I gained too much last month. Geeze, I can never please this woman! (Remember the peach pie update?) But at least our little girl is happy - I'm guessing, as evidenced by her constant kicking of me! The placenta is still between us, though, so she isn't able to get in too many good jabs. Ha ha, take that, baby! (Just kidding.) I have no idea if she recognizes my voice or not, though, even though I talk all day long.

Anyway, this is kind of a rambling post, but I felt like I needed something to go along with my sweet new look. Don't worry, I spent 2 hours on the heading up there. It would have felt like wasted time if I didn't also update.

Take care, everyone. If you think about it, keep praying that our little girl stays nice and snug in there until AFTER we make it to Alaska!!

Baby Shower #1 and Nursery Plans

Hi folks!

Well, our first baby shower is under our belt! Whew! I never knew those things could be so exhausting - and I wasn't even the one planning anything! A SUPER HUGE thanks to all our Colorado family for putting it together - it was awesome and very special! I think my favorite part was all the hand-decorated onesies. Such a cute idea and now she'll be set with onesies for awhile!

I've also been making nursery plans... finally! Now that we know she's a girl it's much easier. We went last night to pick up our crib from Babies R Us but it wouldn't fit in the back of our SUV, so my dad's going to get it this weekend for us in his truck. Thanks dad! :) I'm hoping we'll be able to paint in whatever place we move to up there, but I haven't picked out the exact color yet. I did go to Hobby Lobby yesterday and get fabrics for her sheets and little decorative pillows. I'm excited about making my own sheets - I found a tutorial that looks pretty easy. I should be able to whip out a few in no sweat! Haha... when I have time, that is.

Anyway, enjoy the photos! Baby says hi - she's very active, kicking me all the time now! :)

Fabrics I've picked out for sheets and pillows. I'm kind of going for a very
girly theme, mostly pinks, greens, and purples (even though I couldn't find
the purple I wanted) with lots of other random colors thrown in!

                                            

Another shot of the fabric.

Baby shower! The garage was decorated so cute! All the bibs,
socks, etc. that you see hanging from the clotheslines we got to keep!

The birthday pool! Such a cute idea - guests got to pick a
date and time they think our little girl will arrive.

Cake - yum! And super cute!

A shot of some of the fam. I don't know where Wendy was. Daryl's dad
was outside, I think.

My favorite part, I think - these are all so cute and special!

Ah yes - here are the men!

The Big Reveal!

Well, the day has finally come! We got to reveal the sex of our little baby, and now YOU get to find out, too!

First things first, when we went to our last appointment to have our ultrasound, everything measured just fine and on target, so we still have our same due date of July 20. HOPEFULLY, since we'll be traveling to our new home in Alaska about a month before then, this little kid will stay put until we're getting settled.

Anyway, ready for the big news? It's... a...

GIRL!!

Of course we would have been happy with either boy or girl, so this is very exciting! I've already bought a few little girl outfits, and can't wait to start planning the nursery! Daryl's excited too, and I know he's going to be a great daddy, and try his best not to spoil her. :) Oh, also exciting is that I've been feeling her move and kick around in there for the last week. She's tapping around in there right now, in fact!

Here are a few more pictures of the baby, plus one or two more recent belly shots of me.

This is one from a couple of weeks ago. I think I was about 19 weeks in this one. I'm currently 21 weeks now.

This is a shot of our little girl!

You can see her little foot here! The toes are on the right side of the picture and the heel is on the left.

We had our reveal party with friends last night, and this is the cake I made. The inside was pink, of course. :)