Brinley's Shower

I'm so obsessed with the details of showers.  My friend Kiley had the cutest baby shower a week after mine.  Check out the watermelon below.  Katie, her sister in law, made it.  It was hard to mess up the decor to eat the yummy fruits, but we totally dug in there!  Brinley is expected to be born only 18 days after Ben.  In our family of friends, we will have Junia, Ben, and Bryn who are all the same age!  This is going to be such a fun time in our lives.  Maybe we can all have another baby together in a year or two when Melissa and Hoover are ready to pop one out.  Ha!  

After we were done making the barrettes and bows, we put them on these cards.  I forgot to take pics of the final products but Brinley has so many cute hair thingys to last her forever!  I can't wait to take a billion pics of all of the little babies this summer!

I've never seen a "bow party" before.  It was such a great idea by Katie, again!  She's such a teacher!

The best punch ever.  Joy made a blue one for my party and I am hooked.  I'd love to add some yummy spirits to it!  Ha!

Loved all of the details!  Baby fever!

Baby Room

Painting the baby's room was a huge reality check.  When we did it a couple of months ago, we thought, "Man this is for real!"  "We are really going to have a baby."  It was so exciting just cleaning out that extra bedroom, but it was when that paint went up when we really started getting the butterflies.  I found myself opening up the door to the room just to look at what the room was going to look like with a crib, dresser, bookshelf, and of course Baby Ben.  

Tyler painted the whole room so I wouldn't get poisoned by the fumes.  I really loved the excuse of, "I'm pregnant."  I'm really going to miss using it to get out of housework.  :)

We went shopping for the crib after the paint dried.  I wanted to make the room feel warm so we chose a crib that was darker.  I absolutely love it.  I hope Benjamin loves it because we are going to purchase the kit that turns the crib into a toddler bed, then a bed.  We are thinking this could grow with him until he is about 10.  That is our hope anyways.  We hope he loves his room.  We just want to give this little boy everything in the world.  He's going to spend many hours in that room.

personalized scensy from Meng Michelle

we love the whales

Tyler found a map of the Hawaiian islands - our most favorite vacation spot

the frame looks like driftwood - love it

boat bookshelf next to his dresser/changing table

Choppy tried to eat this octopus and claim it as his own already!  "No no Choppy, that's Ben's!"  We're going to be saying that a lot!

Tyler's mom loves lighthouses

we thought it would be nice to have a little lighthouse in his room to remind him of his grandma

this little box is for all of Ben's fun little trinkets

Tyler had one growing up and kept his favorite little things in it

Go Steelers

the most adorable anchor from Auntie Melissa

bookshelf shaped as a boat

I'm in love with his crib.  I can't until he starts sleeping in it.

Anticipation

Birthing Class April 27, 2013

I really thought that we were pushing taking the Birthing Class  too close to the due date, but we were SAFE!  We learned a lot at this class.  There were many things that just reassured us about labor.  We know about the 5 - 1- 1 rule now.  Wait until the contractions are 5 minutes apart, last for 1 minute for 1 hour.  If you go to the hospital before that, you are likely to get sent back home or spend a lot longer than you'd like there.  I'd much rather take my time at home where I'm most comfortable.  Maybe I'll shave my legs and get some laundry done.  Maybe a warm bath to take my mind off of the contractions.  :)  It has been so nice to have two of my best friends pregnant with me at the same time. There was nothing cooler than to go through this together.  

Art by Tyler

Family Pic at Bryan's 5th Bday

We have 10 days left until the due date.  Wow.  I cannot believe that we are about to meet our little boy.  Will he have Tyler's hair color, my eyes, his ears???  We don't know now, but we are so close to finding out.  No matter what, we will love him so much.  I just want to kiss his face so bad.  The smell of a baby is so intoxicating, I can't imagine how much better my own little baby will smell to me.

I can't wait to hold him, bathe him, feed him, play with him, and to show him how much we love him.  It will take a lifetime to show him how much we love him.

He's been so active inside of me lately.  These past couple of weeks, he's been gaining fat and getting stronger everyday.  I hope he comes out a chunky baby!  He definitely has strong legs, kicking me ALL day long!

I'm really going to miss him being in my belly.  This has been such a great experience for me.  I've never felt like I've done anything more important in my life.  What can be more rewarding than this?  My body has been his little living space and growing space.  I just pray for a safe delivery and healthy baby.

I can't believe the miracle of life.  Just amazing.

Although majority of my pregnancy was very "easy", it has gotten tough lately.  I want to note and not forget (in case I have another baby) that since week 36, it has been so hard.  Sometimes knowing and preparing yourself for what's to come, makes things easier.  I have been very uncomfortable at night, tossing and turning.  It has been hard finding a position that doesn't put my shoulders to sleep, give me cramps in my thighs, or make me want to pee immediately.  Ha!  My feet have also started swelling up after a long day.  I have always had big feet, but now, they are 3 times their normal size and they hurt to the touch.  Someone told me that sometimes the body clears itself out before the birth because there's no more room in there.  It is an understatement to say that I've been clearing myself out!  I've been clearing out like 12 times a day.  It's been awful, but I know there is light at the end of the long tunnel.  I'm glad it's only been "bad" for the last 4 weeks of this pregnancy.