Happy Halloween!

Isn't Jeff's pumpkin this year fun!?! We never really get any trick-or-treaters but, we always carve a pumpkin and have a bag of candy just in case... (Of course, we always make sure we get a bag of candy that's to our liking, since we end up eating it ourselves!)

35 Weeks

At the request of some very persistent family members, we took some belly shots after church today. Jeff describes my current look as "you, with half a watermelon on your belly." And, he's kind of right. I'm all belly and I'm just grateful that I inherited the no-stretch-mark gene from my mom!

At 35 weeks, I look like I'm ready to pop!

My belly-button popped out almost immediately after I started showing. Now, it looks like I don't really have one... I hope it comes back!

A few other fun facts:

How far along? 35 weeks--does anyone else experience a little anxiety when they look at the countdown ticker on the sidebar of my blog? D-day is coming up fast!
Total weight gained? 30 lbs--thanks to the little lady's recent growth spurt.
Maternity clothes? I've definitely out-grown some of my maternity dresses---just trying to make my current supply last for a few more weeks!
Stretch marks? Nope, great genes--thanks, mom!
Sleep? A couple of night each week I wake up and an unable to fall back to sleep for a couple of hours. It makes for really long work days and it's kind of a cruel trick because shouldn't I be getting all of my sleep in now? Somehow, my body doesn't think so...
Missing anything? Running! (Boy, I never thought I'd say that!)
Movement? Oh yeah. She has found my ribs and isn't afraid to let me know when she feels squished.
Food cravings? Still no. I think Jeff was hoping that I crave some tasty junk food but, mostly I'm sticking with my normal diet!
Labor signs? I've been having some Braxton-Hicks contractions but, that's about it. They are especially strong when I'm working out.
Belly button in or out? Um, yeah. Pretty much disappeared.
Wedding rings on or off? On baby! Yay!
Mood? Really happy. I feel really good, am generally pretty comfortable and am really excited to meet our little girl!
Looking forward too? Seeing what she looks like, cuddling her, and her first smile.

Girls Weekend in Gainesville

My mom and sisters came to Gainesville yesterday for a day of estrogen-filled fun. They gave me some ideas on how to decorate the nursery, we did some accessory shopping for Greer's homecoming dresses, and there was plenty of visiting! Of course, I think one of the ultimate motives was for them to see me in all of my pregnant-glory. It's crazy to think that the next time I see them, I'll be in the hospital bringing another little-lady into our family!

My Weekend Nursery Project

Last weekend Jeff went with some friends to Baton Rouge for the football game (or beat-down, but moving on...). That left me home alone for a couple of days, which means...craft time and streaming Felicity episodes on Netflix!

My sister introduced me to Pinterest and I have to say I'm a bit of an addict. It's such a nice diversion from work while I eat my lunch! Thanks to some crafty pins, I got an idea for some pictures for our nursery. Originally I was thinking they'd go over the crib but, now I'm thinking they'll go on either side of the window. But, we'll see. Maybe tomorrow I think they'll go in the closet!

(Forgive the lighting in this picture---it was nighttime and we don't have adequate lighting in there yet. But, I promise they match the bedding!)

Her bedding will be on its way to me and we get to pick up our rocking chair in just a couple of weeks and I can't wait!

Our "little" girl...

We had a growth scan at my 32 week appointment this morning and our little girl is definitely growing like a weed!

(her profile)

At the beginning of the scan, the tech was telling me that for how far along I am, she expected that our little girl would be 3.5 to 4 lbs. Well, our little lady is weighing in at a whopping 4 lbs and 13 ounces (she's in the 65th percentile)! Jeff was just telling me last night that it looks like my belly has "popped out" even more over the last couple of days. Now we know why! She's had a pretty substantial growth spurt! With 8 weeks left, I'm hoping that our nearly 5 pound baby isn't planning on gaining a pound a week until she arrives...my nether-regions hurt just thinking about it! The tech also said, "she has a lot of hair," which I'm really excited about!

In other news, last night was the first time I noticed that I was retaining water. Do you still call them "cankles" if you still have an ankle but the swelling is just below, clydesdale style? Needless to say, I will be wearing pants and boots to cover this new development. I would hate for people to think that Budweiser is missing one of their prize-ponies.

When not fixing teeth...

...the dental students masquerade as La Migra (boarder patrol) whilst playing softball.

Their team is actually pretty good! There are a couple of guys who played baseball in college and, of course, when Jeff is playing they are automatically better---better skill-wise, better looking, just better!

Showered With Love

Last weekend, 3 of my sweet friends threw a lovely baby shower for me. It was so nice--every detail was just perfect and it was one of many experiences that have left me in awe of the love the surrounds us and the support and excitement that we enjoy from so many great people in our lives.

The ladies showered me and our little girl with the cutest little gifts, many of them handmade, and prepared a delicious spread of food! It was a brunch shower so, we enjoyed a crepe bar, quiche and Irene's "special juice." It was mighty tasty! I don't know why I ever stopped eating Nutella---that stuff is de-licious!

Annabelle, one of the very talented young women at church made this adorable and delicious cake. She even makes her own fondant...that tastes good to-boot (fondant usually doesn't taste very good)! Isn't she so talented!?!

The decorations were so cute and Sonia put together some really fun favors. She made record-shaped emory boards to fit the theme and tied them up with some nail polish...so cute!

Here's a group shot of most of the ladies. I'm so grateful to be surrounded by such amazing and kind women!

Craig's List Convert

I am a newly-converted Craig's List devotee! A couple of weeks ago, Jeff and I were down in Ocala to order the chair for our nursery and while at the store, we were browsing the other furniture. They had some really nice stuff--all of it real, solid wood with high-quality construction, which was what we're looking for. Of course, the high-quality stuff comes with a hefty price tag. We decided to look around some more but, had definitely found a crib and a dresser that we liked.

Well, 5 days later, I was browsing Craig's List at lunch and noticed a posting for a crib and dresser that sounded like what we had been looking at. Much to my delight, it was the exact crib and dresser we had been looking at, in the right color too! And--these gently used items were being sold for $250 total!...Together! The posting was no more than 30 minutes old so, I called right away and the next day we went and picked up our little girl's crib and dresser.

The stars aligned and a Criag's List convert was born...

Jeff and I could both hardly believe that we were putting our little girl's crib together. It's so exciting! The decorating and organizing have begun! Yay!

So many projects, so little time

With approximately 11 weeks to go, I'm definitely feeling the pressure to get all sorts of little (and big) projects done. And with only nights and weekends to do 'em, I am having to make good use of all of my free time.

I've been piecing together and binding a little quilt...

(boy are my fingers sore!)

Making a car seat cover (I wasn't going to do this one but, when I realized the little lady will be arriving in the midst of flu season, I decided it was a must-do)...

And making hats, headbands and hair-flowers!

There's still so much to do and we're definitely starting to feel pressed for time! A few pregnancy observations:

1.  The pregnancy version of my immune system really sucks. I'm currently plagued by yet another cold--my third in 7 months. I usually only get 1 or 2 a year. Unfortunately, it's a crazy-busy time at work so I haven't been able to slow down as much as I should to recover.

2.  Our little lady engages in some alien-like moves every night around 9pm.  She starts rolling around and Jeff and I can see her little legs, knees, and elbows poke out and move across my tummy. It's pretty amazing and gross at the same time.

3. I feel strangely disconnected from my body. I mean, I know it's me I'm looking at in the mirror but, really? Is that my belly?

4. Jeff is a great husband and daddy. I love it when he asks me how his girls are doing. It's also getting harder to hug him close and tight. I have to approach him at kind of an angle.

5.  We're starting to accumulate a lot of the necessities but, I still haven't started putting together the nursery. We still need to buy her furniture but, we have one couch left to sell before we can move everything around for it. Anyone want to buy couch?

A Belated Birthday Gift

I'm so excited about my birthday gift!  A Canon t3i DSLR camera!! This has been on my list of wants for a few years and my sweet husband considered it among the baby-gear necessities (which I wasn't going to argue with). Now, I have 11 weeks to learn how to use it! (Did you notice on my pregnancy ticker that I'm in the last trimester now!?! Crazy!)