36 Weeks Today!

35 1/2 weeks, September 22

So, I'm 36 weeks along today. Boy does it feel like it's been 36 months sometimes. Things are goin' pretty well still. I do find breathing a bit difficult sometimes though, since he's completely up in my ribs :) From now on I'll be seeing my doctor weekly. Yay....

Darren and I are getting everything ready to go, and I keep thinking of more things I want to get done before he gets here. Oh, and we're moving into a new apartment next week. That's a story for a completely different day, but it's actually a big blessing. Just maybe not so much with the timing. I'll let you know how it goes though!

Well, since I haven't done one of these yet I thought I'd do the obligatory pregnancy survey for whoever cares :)

How many weeks: 36

Was this planned or unplanned: Planned

Latest food craving: I had to stop at Chick-fil-A for some fries today after my doctor's appointment. I haven't had many cravings, but salty and chocolate are top of the list lately.

Your top two name choices or baby's name: We're keeping those a surprise

Worst thing about being pregnant: The toll it takes on my poor body. I swear I've been sore/in pain somewhere for the last 8 months.

Best thing about being pregnant: Feeling our little man move around. Even if he's in my pelvis or ribs. I love knowing he's in there and doin' well.

Are you more scared or excited: Excited, but also nervous of the whole getting him here process.

Happy or mostly moody: I'd like to think I've been mostly happy. I get crazy emotional though, but not really moody.

Last time you cried over something ridiculous was: Sunday. Long story that is probably half ridiculous, half not ridiculous.

Weirdest dream you've had since pregnant?: Wish I could remember!

Will you breast feed: Hopefully

When is your baby most active: Mid-afternoon and right when I lay down to go to sleep. It's fun getting kicked in the ribs the exact moment I lay down...

Consignment Sale

A week and a half ago Darren and I ventured out to our first kids' consignment sale to try and find some baby stuff at a cheaper price.

I wasn't quite sure how it was going to go, but I feel like we got a pretty good deal on what we came away with!

We got a swing (only used for 6 months!), Baby Bjorn, Bumbo, 5 board books, a baby monitor, and a nursing cover for $135. The swing was the most expensive at $65, but considering it goes for about $150 I was definitely okay with the price!

Lake Ridge Baby Shower

On September 8th, my mom threw a baby shower for me/us down in Lake Ridge, where I grew up. It was so fun to see my friends' moms and other people I've known for quite a long time. My sister, Trisha, was even able to come out from Utah to join in on the fun! She took all the pictures, so unfortunately there are none of her. Bummer.

We started off by tying a tag around me saying "Do Not Open Until October 24". Darren said it was my expiration date. Ha ha.

Quite a few people were able to come! My mom even invited a few of her friends. It was nice to meet them too!

We got a bunch of great gifts. Thanks to everyone who came and supported us! 

My mom also organized a group donation/gift for our car seat and stroller! We love it.

The decorations:

We didn't play a lot of games (which I was TOTALLY fine with), but one of the things we did was a pregnancy mad-libs sort of story. It ended up being so hilarious. Definitely an idea I would use again!

The yummy, yummy food! Chocolate covered strawberries, aram sandwiches, mini cupcakes, grapes and cheese and crackers. 

One of the best parts of the day was being able to see my old friend Lauren again! For some reason we haven't gotten together since I've been back, and last saw eachother at my wedding open house 2 1/2 years ago. It was great to reminisce about piano lessons together (we still aren't sure why are teacher kept teaching us for years...), and silly things we did in high school. I'm so glad she was able to make it!

It was SO fun. Thanks to my mom and sisters for getting everything organized and hosting!

33 1/2 weeks

Here I am in my hugeness at 33 1/2 weeks.

If it looks like I'm tired, it's because I am :) We got back pretty late the night before from our baby shower down at my parents', and this was before our 9am church meetings on Sunday.

Baby Projects

Since we've been back, and Darren's been back in school, I've been trying to find projects to keep myself busy. Since I love to sew I decided that's what I'd do!

Back in June, the sewing group in our ward decided to do a carseat sized baby quilt for our monthly project. I thought the timing was perfect since we're expecting next month.

We'd decided that we wanted to do his nursery in a baseball theme, so I took Darren to the fabric store and he helped me find some fabric that would work. I got it all quilted before we left for California, but hadn't done the binding until just last week.

I love how it turned out! 

The next thing on my list was to make the baby's Christmas stocking! I may have actually finished this project before finishing the quilt, but that's just because I was SO excited to work on it.

We got the fabric at a steal of a deal with JoAnn's coupons, and actually used one of the fabrics that is in the stockings I made for Darren and I last year so they're all connected. We figured we'd use a different fabric from ours for each of our kids' stockings. Hopefully they'll all end up looking this cute!

I ended up having to kinda sew it twice, due to a small error that made everything not match up, but I'm so glad I went back, ripped everything out and did it again. I made sure to make a note on the pattern this time so I wouldn't do the same thing for the next one ;)

Next project: Recover the rocking chair cushions for the nursery...

Bump Update

So, it's been a while since I posted a belly shot, so here are some from the last month. I'll have to take one this week (33 weeks) to get more updated.

29 1/2 weeks, August 11

30 weeks, August 14

30 1/2 weeks, August 19

Part 18: In-N-Out...Finally Done!

July 24, 2012

The one thing I really wanted to do while we were in California was go to In-N-Out. The east coast will be perfect when/if In-N-Out makes its way out here.

We had to wait until the day we were flying back to Virginia, but it was a great way to end our trip.

If you can't tell, I was thrilled to be there:

I got my usual, which is a cheeseburger and fries. Minus the chocolate milkshake due to pregnancy induced lactose intolerance. My mouth is watering just thinking about it now...
 

Unfortunately Darren was not as thrilled as I was. Party pooper. I promise, he actually enjoyed his food though!

'Til we meet again, In-N-Out. 'Til we meet again...

And that's it! The end! I've finally gotten caught up from February to the end of our California trip. Which, by now, was over a month ago and I have more catching up to do, but one month is much better than 6!

Part 17: Giants Game!

July 23, 2012

The evening after we went mini-golfing, we jetted off to San Francisco with Darren's parents, brother and nephew to catch a Giants' game. This is a must do anytime we're at his parents'.

We love AT&T park

Ryan Vogelsong

Paddleboard race in McCovey Cove

Sherry & Glade

The Giants ended up beating the Padres and we were all thrilled. I wish I could remember the score, but I do remember it was a really fun game. Especially when we could text Sheila at home and ask her what was going on when they stopped play a few times to dispute some calls. One of which ended up going the Giants' way!

I'm definitely glad that we were able to go to a game while we were in town. The walk back to the car was pretty brutal, but it was a great evening overall.

Jeff, Brad, Natalie, Darren & Sherry

Part 16: Day Date!

July 23, 2012

The day before we left to go back to Virginia, Darren took me on a date! He had wanted to go out for a while, but we could never really find a good time, and up until our trip to California I wasn't really feeling all that well.

He tried to keep it a surprise, but certain family members may have let it slip ;) I was so excited though. We went mini-golfing for our first date, so I was actually hoping that was what we were going to be doing. I was right!

Darren took me to the same place we went on our first date (Boomers in Modesto), and we did 1 1/2 rounds of mini-golf before I got too hot and needed to call it quits. We used the same nicknames on our score card as we did on our first date too. Too bad Darren beat me this time...

A classic "Jeff & Sheila" picture, as Darren refers to it...

It was so much fun to go on an actual date and act goofy. Hopefully we won't wait too long before we do something like this again.

Part 15: Bowling

July 18, 2012

A couple days after we went to the beach, Sheila called and asked if Darren and I wanted to meet up with her and the kids to go bowling. It was a quick decision, and we were on our way!

The night Darren asked for my number (which I made very difficult for him) he had convinced me to skip Institute and go bowling with a bunch of YSAs from our tri-stake branch. Going bowling always reminds me of that first night we really hung out.

Anyway...we got to the bowling alley a few minutes late, but we still ended up being able to get a lane right next to Sheila and the kids.

Natalie & Jordan

The night Darren and I first went bowling he had me go by "Shooter McGavin" on the score screen. We decided to do the same thing this time, but I couldn't remember what Darren's nickname was that night so I just called him "Red". For obvious reasons.

Round 1 - Red: 100, Shooter: 112. That's right. I win.

Darren & Jordan

It was nice to get out of the house and do something we actually hadn't done since before we were dating! Thanks Sheila for inviting us :)

Part 14: Beach & Monterey

July 16, 2012

One thing that Darren really wanted to do while we were in California was go to the beach. Unfortunately it seemed that we missed all the great beach weather by a few days. We decided to go anyway, and headed down to a beach in Monterey the week after we got to Cali. I was positive I packed our camera, but of course I didn't. Thanks to Sherry & Sheila we have something to remember the day by!

I think it was in the mid-60's temperature wise, but it was crazy windy so it was much, much colder.

Kevin and seagulls

I spent most of the time huddled in the sun shade Jeff and Sheila brought. It was tons warmer in there!

Me, Hailey, Sheila, and Jeff

Darren & Stephanie

Me & Darren

One of the funniest parts of the trip was watching Darren try to make our sandwiches for lunch. The wind made it quite interesting, so he tried to keep everything behind the lid of the cooler to keep the sand out...

After a couple hours most of us were ready to go, but we didn't want to head all the way home, so we went down to Dennis the Menace Park in downtown Monterey.

I had been there about 5 years before (with an old boyfriend, haha!) but it was much more fun this time around :) I pretty much just sat on a ledge with Sheila and Sherry, but it was fun to watch the kids enjoy every aspect of it.

The slide below reminded me of my family's years in Japan. So many of the parks had roller slides, and we absolutely loved them. We'd usually find a piece of cardboard to sit on, or we'd just sit on our feet, and we'd fly down them.

Darren & Jordan on the roller slide

Me & Hailey after she refused to go down the slide with Darren. Haha!

On our way back home we stopped at a Costco for pizza. Seriously some of the best food I've ever had since it was a really long day.