Happy New Year

We just had a fun dinner with most of our small group. It was nice. We sent the kids to one couple's home with sitters, and then everyone came to our house for dinner. Time flew by so fast. 2008 has been a pretty good year for the Dankels, and I hope 2009 brings more good things for us and all our friends. Happy New Year!

Glad the snow has ended...for now

We had two "snow days" this week with school. They messed up our entire finals schedule. Alas, oh well. School's OUT!!! Colin and I are hitting the road tomorrow to STL and then onto Memphis and back to STL for Christmas Eve to meet up with Scott. Hoping the weather cooperates, and that Colin cooperates on such a long trip, since I'll be without Scott to help.

Baby Food Recipes

We have started introducing rice cereal to Colin, and in about 4 weeks will begin vegetables. I'm hoping to make my own baby food, so if anyone has any recipes or tips they would like to share I would greatly appreciate it. Feel free to email them to me at gdankel@gmail.com

"Who Throws a Shoe?"

Austin Powers quipped, "Who Throws a Shoe?" Now we have an answer to that pressing question. An Iraqi reporter throws a shoe--two in fact at the President's head. If you haven't seen this footage, it's pretty crazy. Bush is laughing about it as he dodged the shoes.

Reason I love blogging #5

Reason I love blogging #5: Advice

If you are have a problem with something your friends give you advice. I have a problem, of course. Colin loves to bite me. We've made it five months with nursing, but it's getting horrible. When he wants to bite, it really hurts. I've been doing all the things I've read online. Removing him gently, and saying things like "Don't bite, mommy." It's not working! Anyone have other tips that have worked for them? If it doesn't get better or stop, I think it's weaning time.

Colin laughing

This is pretty cute. Sorry it's so long. He had been squealing, but as soon as we took out the camera, he started spacing out his laughs and getting more serious . So you have to be patient, but he has some pretty big giggles.

Meeting Ol' St. Nick

We took Colin for his Santa photo last night. I had him all dressed up in his little man Christmas finest. It felt wintery with the slush coming down and the wind nipping at us. Colin was not scared of Santa, but he refused to smile. He was oh-so serious. He even smiled for the helper before I put him on Santa's lap, but then he just refused. He was too interested in everything else. It's still pretty cute. Maybe we'll get a smile next year or maybe cries?

Thanksgiving

We had Thanksgiving at our house again this year. It was super hectic b/c the Garner side all had to leave quick to drive down to Advance for a wedding, and the Dankels headed home quick to prepare for Black Friday shopping. It was lots of fun. We about burned the house down crisping the turkey first thing in the morning. Colin really didn't like the smoke detectors.

Here are some photos of the family. My dad snapped the photos of the boys down at grandma's.

Did He Really Just Say That?

Deb is the best at these little overheard conversations, but here's one for all to enjoy.

Heard at a wedding this past Friday:

"Marriage is not for adulterers or whoremongers." That's right. The MINISTER said it in the middle of the ceremony. It was part of his opener after the bride came down the aisle.

I could comment on this all day long. The sad part, it was my cousin's wedding. Even sadder, it was his family minister who said it. Saddest, the minister has no clue he said anything out of order and never will.

Just the words that every bride wants to hear uttered on her wedding day.

Teething pains

Colin is advanced! Unfortunately he's advanced in a way we don't want. He's already got two, that's right, two, teeth. He's not even five months old and he's got his bottom two teeth. He's had both of them for over a week, and we think we might be able to see another one rising to the surface. He's very grumpy and spends much of his time groaning and moaning, basically complaining about everything. This is compounded by his desire to be held due to so many people holding him over Thanksgiving.

My dad says teeth this early means Colin will be a steak and potatoes man. Fine, but I wish he would stop thinking I'm steak. It's all I can do to keep him from biting me while nursing. Those things are sharp.

We got some cute film of him giggling last night, and once I figure out how to get it into a form I can post, I will.

An invitation to read along

So I'm going to read a new book. Wow, you might think-thanks for sharing that groundbreaking information. But really b/w planning lessons, grading, and Colin I have had no time for any reading since school started. The book is called The Shack and I'm being bombarded by it from all directions. First our church read it as a book discussion this month. Now my department at school is planning a book discussion over it. I feel like I really need to join the bandwagon. From all sources it's a good book. So, I thought it could be fun to invite others to read along. Not for discussion (unless someone feels moved to do that), but I remember my St. Louis small group girls all decided to read Redeeming Love one summer, and I really enjoyed reading it, and briefly being able to comment about it with them.

In case your'e interested The book is called The Shack. I'm pasting in what my church had to say about it and what a teacher had to say about it plus the link if you want to read the description from Amazon.

I just ordered my book today from Wal-Mart with shipping and everything it's only $9.37.


From my church, The Crossing:

The Shack

Originally intended simply for his kids to read, William Young’s story of a grief stricken father and his encounter with God has become a sensation. Many Christians have hailed The Shack as one of the most powerful books they’ve ever read, while others have expressed serious concerns with its content.

From teacher:
Hi everyone! Over the weekend, I picked up the book, The Shack, (by Young). I had heard of it before, but never thought it would be a book in which I would be particularly interested. For some reason, I bought it and immediately started reading it on Saturday. I didn't stop until I was done. It is a story about a man whose daughter is kidnaped and murdered and during a period of "deep sadness" he returns to the shack where evidence of his daughter's murder was found and meets God. Although I consider myself a person of faith, I am not an overly religious person or regular church-goer. Nonetheless, I cried my way through the book and felt like it was written for me at this time in my life.

Painting with baby

We started to paint our bedroom last night, and it is slow going. It's slow b/c both Scott and I can't work on it together until Colin goes to sleep, and by that time we're tired from our respective days. We have one wall finished so far, and Scott did most of it by himself (Scott is not a perfectionist, so this is scary to imagine him cutting in at the ceiling). I have to be okay with him doing that b/c we are feeling the crunch to get it done in the next couple of days since we have new furniture coming (we only ordered it 2 weeks ago, and it's already in-we thought we had more time). I found out it had arrived once we had already prepped the room for painting. Not only is our furniture being delivered but our families are coming in beginning Tuesday night for Thanksgiving.

Thankfully our room is big enough that we don't have to remove everything to paint we can just move things around or to the center of the room. It's so crowded right now and the dogs are feeling a little displaced as we keep moving their beds. I can't wait until we are through. I don't know how any of you have been able to paint with little ones, but I can only imagine it will get worse getting many things done as he becomes mobile.

Why I love blogging: Reason #1-4

I've decided to write the praises of blogging today as the cold weather begins to make me feel blue. I always get the "mean reds" as the weather changes and I see less of the sun. It helps now that I'm not in a classroom with no windows all day, but the weather (lack of sunlight and plummeting temps) still gets me down. The "mean reds" bring to mind that my friends are scattered far away, and I have no plans to see any of them in the near future; my parents live far away (but I get to see them at Thanksgiving); and I have no close friends in Columbia (sort of feeling sorry for myself here, indulge me).

So in order to lift my spirits here it goes.

Why I love blogging reason # 1: online journaling

I've always sucked at journaling. Blogging makes me feel a little vindicated here. I can be self-reflective and keep in touch at the same time-SCORE!

Why I love blogging reason # 2: anonymity of being nosy into other people's lives

People are inviting you in to be nosy, and you can be anonymous about it. That sounds creepier than I intend, but it's kind of true. I like to let people know I'm looking though by posting (to eliminate said creepiness). I'm sort of obsessed with friends posting, so I feel like I'm keeping in touch without really keeping in touch (see reason # 3)


Why I love blogging reason # 3: I hate talking on the phone and I'm not much better with email

Again I love being able to keep in touch without having to really put in the effort to keep in touch--that sounds horrible. I love face to face interaction with people, getting together and visiting---I hate talking on the phone. It's always been that way. I like talking to people I haven't talked to in a while, but I've never liked talking to people frequently on the phone (family excluded, especially since there is distance b/w us).

The bitter reality though is all my friends live scattered across the country. From Georgia to Texas, Missouri to Washington, Illinois to Alabama--I don't get face to face time with any of them. So I always hope they have posted, so I can at least feel a small part of their lives still. In fact blogging has brought me back in touch with people I had kind of lost touch with.



Why I love blogging reason # 4: Friends' comments on my blog

I like feeling like people are interested in what's going on in my life. You don't know if people care about what you are saying or are attempting to keep up with your life except when they post comments. I love seeing that people have commented--even if it's an insignificant comment b/c it helps bring that feeling of connectedness that I dont' really have here with a physical presence. The world wide web is a poor substitute for physical presence, but it's better than no connection.

So to all my girlfriends out there that read and post comments on my blog, thank you.

To all my girlfriends that trudge away posting on their blog (even when it seems like no one is listening/reading)--I'm reading, so thank you.

To the person that invented blogging-whoever you are, wherever you are, thank you. Thank you for giving me a means to express myself and keep in touch with friends afar.

4 months old

Check out the faux-hawk. His Aunt Sarah will be so thrilled. Now if we could only stack him with other babies for her.

So, we had a checkup today, and Colin is doing well. He continues to be small/average for his size. He is just under the 50th percentile for all his measurements. He weighs 14 lb 6 oz and is 24 in. He's got two bottom teeth near the surface--the drooling has begun.

Things he can do:
Roll over from tummy to back before he gets mad and tired of tummy time
Roll from back to tummy (only toward his right and his arm gets stuck, which ticks him off)
Smile, giggle, and squeal
Sometimes sleep through the night

Things he likes:
Zrbits on his belly
Kisses on his neck and face
Tickling
Reading books with mommy
Mommy and daddy singing or performing for him
Morning is his favorite time
Other kids
Elmo singing/ or daddy talking in Elmo's voice
Sitting in his exersaucer and seeing himself in the mirror

Last visit to St. Louis

When we were in StL about 3 weeks ago we got to see some of our friends. We got to visit with Aaron and Alisha Cobb and their little cutie, Micah. Forgot my camera, of course, but Alisha got some photos, so hopefully she'll send me one.

We also visited with our good friends Missy and Chad Schaffer and their little girls Mia and Livia. Livia and Colin were due on the same day, but ended up being born about a week apart. It's fun to see them next to one another. Forgot my camera there, too. We thought, Chad and Missy will have a camera. There's was broken, so the only pics we got were with cell phones, so they're a bit grainy.

Halloween and other such stuff

So, it's the day after the elections. Thank goodness I won't get anymore phone calls polling us just as we get Colin to fall sleep; and no more tiresome commercials slinging mud. This is the first time since I've been old enough to vote my candidate of choice didn't win, but I'm hoping it will be a good next four years. I was almost moved to tears by McCain's gracious and motivating concession speech. I haven't heard Obama's full speech (I fell asleep before he came out), but from the clips I've seen I've been inspired with hope. Hope that he can be the kind of president he promises to be. Though I didn't vote for him, I am cautiously optimistic that in contrast to what some worst-case scenario people claim (America will no longer be America as we know it) that Obama will be a uniter of people and help move our great nation forward.

On to happier things. Colin wasn't feeling so well on Halloween, so we didn't take him out in the neighborhood, but we did put him in his costume for about an hour, but no one really saw him. That's so sad! Luckily we put it on him for both grandparents when they were here over the last month. He was a green dragon, pretty cute!

Breastfeeding Rant

I have many friends who are also breastfeeding mothers out there. I commend you and all your efforts. I have been on this journey myself for about 3.5 months. My frustration with it is continuous. It was hard in the beginning, but we seemed to break the barrier. But he has had two colds already and it's just October. The newest problem. He has all of a sudden developed pink eye. Isn't immunity the big reason you're supposed to breastfeed? I'm beginning to doubt the benefits for myself.

I think it's viral conjuctivitis since he has a cold as well. Guess what? The doctor's office is closed on Wednesdays (today). So I'm trying internet advice of warm compresses (babies aren't real cooperative with this so I'm lucky to get a warm cotton ball on his eyes for a couple of seconds--the recommend time-- 10 minutes). I've even tried (sorry this is gross) squirting him in the eye with breast milk for the antibodies. I didn't think of this myself. The chiropractor had warned me conjuctivitis could happen and suggested I try this method. It was also in my natural home remedy book. Yikes! How would I like to be squirted in the eye with milk? I wouldn't. No idea if this will work or not, but hopeful.

Poor little Colin. He doesn't seem to phased by any of this. Scott and I have decided he's a fairly good-natured little guy as we have seen through dragging him all over the place even when he's tired and/or sick. He just jabbers away. Though I'm suspicious a lot of this jabbering is him chewing us out. There is a distinct difference b/w happy jabbering and the "I'm ticked off" jabbering, but he continues to entertain us.

Gavin and Stacey

Does anyone else watch this show? Scott and I love it. It's on BBC America on Thursday nights. I bring it up b/c if you know me well, you know I LOVE the movie Pride and Prejudice, the BBC version, not the crappy Keira Knightley one. I was watching this show on Tuesday night and I had a breakthrough: Mrs. Bennett (from P & P) is Gavin's mother, Pamela. She just happened to say something that caused my brain to flash to her as Mrs. Bennett. I would have never recognized her b/c she is in a modern show now as opposed to a period piece, and she looks and sounds completely different. It has been over 10 years as well.

Anyway, this is a totally weird blog entry, but if you like Brit comedy check out Gavin and Stacey.

3 months old

Colin is three months old, and changing every day. He's become quite the conversationalist. He loves playing on his pat, talking to his toys and everyone, meeting new people, listening to music, eating his hands, and holding his lovies (Snuggy Pup and Mr. Wibs). He doesn't much care for tummy time, but tolerates it if he's not too tired. He can really hold his head up on his tummy, and he frequently rolls over to his back. This will happen many times in a row. When I snapped these pictures, I had to keep putting him back on his belly b/c he would roll as soon as I took one. I think he looks more and more like Scott all the time.

Another year goes by

I recently turned 29, and I'm pausing to reflect on all that's happened in the last year.

Reflections:

Joined a small group at church--this has been a tremendous blessing

Was a PE teacher for 6 weeks as a long term sub--proved to be lots of fun.

This led to an interview for a teaching position at the other hight school--I got it!

Started teaching in November last year--love my school, love the job!

Found out I was pregnant--scary and exciting

Had a difficult pregnancy--but we got a sweet little boy

Got to keep my job on a part-time basis--the jury is still out on this, but I think it's a good thing


Hopes for the next year:

Scott gets a promotion-- we get to move, hopefully to St. Louis, but who knows

I get to stay at home full time

Can't wait to stop breast feeding

To see Colin continue to grow and change

To see Colin baptized in a church where we feel connected (wish we were back at Greentree)

Playing with a friend

Our friend Jeanne turned 30 today, and last night we all got together to celebrate her big day. The guys met together to watch the kids and visit, and us ladies went out to dinner. While we were out the guys put Colin and Adam down on the floor to see what would happen. The pictures are evidence. They talked, held hands, and giggled. Adam is about 8 weeks older than Colin, so Colin was trying to imitate things Adam can do which Colin can't. Scott snapped these pictures and said it was all very cute. Sorry I missed it, but dinner was fun.

Labor Day

Back on Labor Day weekend my brother and his family stopped by to meet Colin. Here's a picture of my nephew, Nic, holding Colin and a pic of my nephew, Wyatt, kissing Colin. Check out Wyatt's hair. It looks like he stuck his finger in a socket.

Many faces of Colin

"Mommy and I just made biscuits, and if you could see close enough, I have a tiny bit of flour on my nose. I'm just falling asleep in my sprout pouch."
"I'm actually sitting up here, but mommy forgot to rotate the image.Check out my collared oxford onsie. I'm officially an old man."
Man. U. has scored a goal. Yea!
So happy!
Tired from all the playing.
Hello, camera. Have you met my snuggy pup?
Oh so serious.
Busy playing
"Mom, Dad, this is embarrassing."
Peacefully sleeping

Joys and Horrors

In my short time parenting I've come to realize it is one cycle of ups and downs or joys and horrors.

Joys:
Smiles and giggles Colin makes
Seeing him bat at his toys for the first time
Colin concentrating on us so hard he crosses his eyes
Colin looking so serious and furrowing his brow or quivering his lips
Sleeping through the night 4 nights in a row-I mean 10-12 hours

Horrors:
Green poop appearance for 24 hours
Constant laundry from poop oozing (during the dreaded green poo stage)
Realizing he slept through the night and hoping everything is all right when I woke up in the morning
Gas pains for Colin--he gets really angry and fussy
Colin learning to use his hands as weapons (not sure if he know this or not, but they can inflict pain along with his little nails)

I'm an idiot

So I was checking my bank account online and I had a negative balance. Uh oh, what happened? I should have plenty of money in there. I was looking at the debits and saw a huge, HUGE payment to the city for sewer, water, sanitation. I looked in my bill pay, and sure enough it was there. I called the bank, they said I was the one who made the mistake. I thought I'd believe that if I'd added a zero to the end, but the numbers had nothing in common. I called the city and asked them to cut me a check for the balance (almost $2000). The girl says, "I'm not sure we can do that. Let me check." WHAT?!? She comes back on and says they will reimburse me if the check doesn't bounce in 10 days. Thanks. Well, at least we will get it back. Luckily we have plenty in our savings to cover it and make it 10 days. So I got to thinking...how could I have made this mistake, and it hit me. I plugged in the balance in my ledger instead of the bill amount to pay. Dumb, dumb, dumb!

Colin finds a personality

Colin just started cooing every once in a while. When he's in a really good mood, and he's playing with his activity mat he grins and coos. This has only happened twice, but it was precious. He seems to have started recognizing us more. It's becoming so much more enjoyable. Feeding issues seem to be getting better. Still not perfect, but it's getting better.

Back to School

Being back at school is exhausting, but good for my brain. I'm finally finding a rhythm after a couple days back, but I wish I was at school for about another half hour, so I didn't feel so rushed. I don't have any planning time at school to speak of, so I'm in and out it feels like. Our class is huge, 52 kids.

Colin seems to be doing well going to the sitter, but it's hard to get things planned and together to get places on time, but we're making it.

Little chunk

Here's a couple of pics Aunt Sarah snapped today. What a chunky monkey and the second one looks to me like he's doing the wave or say Hey, ho, hey, ho.


To my amazement the little guy keeps gaining weight even though he must be one of the world's worst nursers. He always seems hungry, but he doesn't do a good job of eating. Anyway...he's over 9 pounds now, and I'm guessing well on his way to 10.

Today was my first day at work, and Sarah has been so generous to stop here on her way back to school and watch Colin for these three full in-service days.

Absolute sadness

My heart is broken. Our dear friends Josh and Deb's little boy Noah passed away yesterday. Today would have been his 1st birthday. 364 days is what they had with their sweet little boy, and now he has joined God in heaven. I can't imagine their grief. I have been crying off and on for the last 15 hours since we heard, and I can't imagine the loss they are feeling. I am amazed by their strength through all of this. It reminds me that we are helpless without God. It reminds me to be thankful for each day, and to enjoy every day with Colin even when it doesn't feel like a good day.

Noah Lauer

For those of you that read my blog that don't know the Lauers, please pray for their little boy Noah. Noah is a year old and has a type of leukodystrophy that affects his brain function. He has been in ICU for the last three weeks unable to breathe on his own. If you care to know more about their story or how to specifically pray for them check out their blog under my links.

Encouraging words

I've had so many friends call and email me with encouraging words about how hard breastfeeding has been for them, and it has been so encouraging. Each feeding is a unique challenge. Some good, some bad, but like my friend Ann said today, you just tell yourself-next time will be better or if you have a bad day--tomorrow will be better. I've been complaining a lot about my woes, but when I think about my other people's hardships, I realize I should just be thankful for Colin, and enjoy him as best I can.

Ouch

I had a sudden onset of mastitis on Wednesday night. I'm really struggling to get through it and hope I don't end up with an abscess. If I do, breastfeeding may have to end. It seems it's one thing after another.

My friend, Alisha, recommended the Happiest Baby on the Block, we checked the DVD and book out from the library, tried it, and Colin only woke up once during the night last night, and slept until 7:30 this morning (4 hours after his last feeding). I didn't sleep still b/c of my pain, and I couldn't shut off my brain, but it was amazing.

Little Piglet

The picture is from 2 weekends ago, but it cracks me up. It's so hard to get a picture with his eyes open, and he looks so irritated to have this one taken.


Despite my concerns of pain with feeding, our little piglet is now 7.7 ounces. He is growing like crazy. He's obviously getting enough to eat even though he regularly pretends he's starving after he just ate. He loves to be held, and either goes through days where he can't be woke or can't be put to sleep. He's so unpredictable. He's very sweet, but I can't wait for him to get older.

We are currently looking for childcare for the part of the day I will be teaching daily. I have a lot of fear about this b/c it looks like we are going to have to put him in someone else's home instead of having someone come to us. We meet with a potential sitter Thursday to see if we are a good fit for one another. I wish I didn't have to go back to work, but it will be good for me I think.

Schedules, laundry, poop, oh my

Colin has made an amazing rebound in weight. He returned to his birth weight w/in 10 days which seems a miracle with all the crazy feeding issues we have had. In less than 2 weeks of life he has been fed: pedialyte pumped through a syringe through a tube inserted into a nipple shield and sucked from the breast, a mixture of formula and pumped breast milk from a bottle, plain pumped breast milk (he couldn't latch correctly), nursed, back to pumped bottles, back to nursing, and now nursing w/a shield. He's got a mean suck and broke my skin really bad, and just about gave me an infection. The shield is great and a pain at the same time, but it is allowing me to continue to breast feed, so that's good. I never knew it would be this hard, but we seem to finally be doing something that works, but hopefully it lasts for more than 48 hours.

Colin is resistant to the rhythmic schedule I would like him to be on per Ezzo and Ezzo. He shows me time and again--I'm not the boss of him. When I want to feed him he wants to sleep--this kid lightly sleeps while he nurses 80% of the time I bet. It is a challenge to finish each time. When I want him to sleep, he wants to stay up for long stretches of time.

We have changed his diaper a record 3 times w/in 5 minutes on at least 2 occasions. He pees and leaks up and out his diapers and gets his swaddling, clothes, and liners dirty at least 1-3 times a day. My washing machine seems to run constantly. Maybe once his cord falls off we can eliminate the frequency of this w/ a snugger fit around his waist. Even with all this ranting Colin is a joy. He seems easy going most of the time, but he has his fussy periods, and he lets us know when he's mad about something. Usually in the middle of the night when he thinks it's play time.

Scott's and my parents have been wonderful helpers the last two weeks. My mom is returning Sunday to help again. I'm getting around really well in the last couple of days, but I still won't be up to the task of running my house by next week.

Baby steps

Making progress. We are in the clear with the jaundice finally. No more daily hospital trips. Colin is up to 6 lbs 4 oz and is nursing much better. Hopefully it all continues to improve. The pediatrician is still asking us to supplement his feedings until he weighs 7 lbs. The supplementation makes nursing more difficult b/c of the switching back in forth with the bottle, but we have to do what's best for Colin.

Week old photos

Colin is finally putting on weight. We are back from a scary below 6 pounds dip to 6 pounds 2 oz. as of yesterday. His bilirubin is still elevated but going down. We are feeding him like crazy per doc's instructions which is exhausting. My milk supply is not very good still, so this is causing a lot of extra stress. We bottle feed him what I pumped from the time before, try to get him to nurse, and then bottle feed him formula to make 2 oz. Then I have to pump. Needless to say this is a long and tiring process that happens every two hours, which leaves about an hour to rest in between feedings. We are tired but surviving and would appreciate prayers that my supply will meet his demand and we can cut out all the extra steps that are wearing us down. The poor little guy has to go and get tested every day for jaundice until the levels drop out of the elevated zone. Here are some photos from today. He is now one week old. The one of Scott and Colin is from right after he was born, and I think it's super cute. Scott looks so happy.

Welcome to the World Colin Matthew

Well, our little guy is 4 days old today. He's doing pretty well. We are struggling through the normal issues of first time parenthood: feeding, sleeping, jaundice, and baby's weight loss. It has been a struggle to say the least. I want to do so much more than my body is able to do due to the C-section. I had an emergency c-section b/c his heart rate started dipping after several hours of labor. It turns out his head was turned funny and it was swelling. He had an alien conehead the first 12 hours of life on the back side of his head. He seems very sweet and fairly patient as we bumble around figuring things out. Scott's first try at dressing him in a onesie was hilarious. He put it on over his feet instead of his head. Oh well, he's crying, so it's feeding time.

We will try to get some pictures up. I think you can see some shots of him on the hospital's website finally. The password is Dankel.

Baby coming tomorrow

I had my weekly appt. today, and my blood pressure was very high for me. The doctor sent me to be monitored at labor and delivery triage. He ordered urine and blood tests as well. My blood pressure came down, but my uric acid levels came back too high. B/c of the risk of pre-eclamptic seizures etc. he has advised me to be induced in the next 24 hours. I'm headed for the hospital at 6 tonight to start Cervadil, and then he will break my water tomorrow morning. Please pray that this all goes smoothly, and he arrives healthy.

Oh...last summer

As I sit stuck in the house most of the day, I reminisce about the things I used to be able to do. Last summer Scott and I got to go for a hot air balloon ride. It was incredibly fun. I happened to stumble across some of the pictures. If you ever get a chance to do it, try it. We actually had to help set it up, land, and pack it back up.

Almost full term

So as of this Friday, the baby will be considered full term. I'm really hoping and praying (Scott as well) that he shows up next week. It would give me 6 weeks before school started if he comes early. I think I'll need all of that time. I'll be spending some time on my hands and knees the next couple of weeks to avoid back labor. My back is really hurting today, so he's probably facing the wrong way (sunny side up). Hopefully I can get the booger to turn before he descends. We meet with our doula tonight to discuss our final plans. Should be interesting.

Bring on the mu mu rant

I read Jenny McCarthy's Belly Laughs when I first found out I was pregnant, and I really got a kick out of it. She said at the end of her pregnancy she was desperate for a mu mu. I don't know if I'm desperate for one, but I seriously feel like I should be in one (not that I want to be). I looked at my feet and ankles this weekend, and I swear they looked like I was over 65 years old, a diabetic, and obese. I kept thinking...these are not the feet of a 28 year old. Where's my mu mu, my cigarette, and my rollers. Sorry for the stereotyping, but I feel like a much larger version of Mama from Mama's Family. I've undergone yet another blood test to check my liver function b/c of the itching. I have mixed feelings about this. In some ways I hope it comes back negative, but at the same time if it's positive, maybe he can give me some sort of relief. It's driving me CRAZY! A mu mu in a very loud pattern, something in red to hide the blood spots from when I can't control myself itching, would be very helpful. I can't seem to keep myself clean in pregnancy. I always have food or blood on my shirts. I'm a mess and I don't even have a baby yet.

Small group shower

Our small group here in Columbia gave Scott and me a little shower last night. Check out the cake. It was inspired by the little guy's room. It was delicious and cute.

We got some really special things from our friends. They gave us a toy or book that child/children especially enjoyed. It was fun to open the gifts with the kids in the room b/c they would say "Oh we have that one... oh I like that one" or if the kids were too young to speak their parents would say very similar things. We got some great toys and books.

It has really been a blessing to be in two great small groups since Scott and I got married. We had an amazing group in St. Louis that we got to see change from couples to families. Our group in Columbia is all young families. We are the last to join the ranks. It has been wonderful having so many women to ask advice during my pregnancy, and to have all the support during these trying 8 months.

30 days or so

So I'm down to about 30 days. I have this horrible itching sensation on my stomach 24 hours a day. I haven't found anything for relief. I just feel the urge to scratch my stomach constantly. I've tried cocoa butter, analgesic spray and ointment. Did anyone else experience this? Any advice? I also have constant tingling and numbness in my right hand. I guess it is related to the swelling. I'm ready to get this baby out and move on to the next challenge of being a parent instead of a "host."

Nusery Part 2

For some reason it wouldn't let me post all the pictures together. So here are the rest.

Nursery

Well we finally have the nursery about finished. We have some extra toys stored in there, and are missing our changing table, but otherwise it's about finished. Here are some pics. We've had tons of fun finding vintage sporting goods to display.