Ready or Not...

Reasons I think I'm ready to have this baby....


- Had an amazing baby shower last weekend that fulfilled almost everything left on our 'need to get' list

Jami, Kara, Emily and Nancy threw a wonderful party for Baby G!

- My 40 week checklist (yes, I made a checklist) is nearly complete
- Discomfort is starting to outweigh fears about labor...Pretty sure God makes you pregnant for 9 months so that by the time labor gets here it sounds like a welcome relief

A diaper train from Jami....how cute is that?!?

- School is out
- Ryan and I have read almost every book we own about keeping a child alive.  We are ready to put our knew knowledge to use!

Baby G raked it in

- The only thing the nursery is missing is a little person to live in it.




How far along: 33 weeks

Size of Baby G:  A cantaloupe 

Body changes:  My stomach looks lopsided - is that normal?

Sleep: Ugh - allergies.

Best moment this week: Last day of school, first pre-natal yoga class, 3 day 'stay-cation' with my hubby.

Movement: Pretty sure Baby G is a genius - he has already taught himself how to roll over and do somersaults in utero.  Impressive, eh?

Food Cravings:  My mama's summer slush.  And ice water.

What I miss:  Going on a walk without having to pee.

Milestones: Had our first official meeting with the pediatrician.  I'm counting on this guy to not let me screw anything up.

Baby G's grandmas are AMAZING!  They surprised us with this quilt they made together. 

Love her

Highlight Reel

As my first year as the counselor at WMS comes to a close, here are the highlights....

- 33 Staff Members, 3 grade levels, 322 students, 1 counselor, 192 days with kids, 4 days off
- 27 Classroom Guidance lessons, 3 small groups, HUNDREDS of individual counseling sessions
- A little bullying, some drama, and a lot of emails

Highlights:
- #1 - WMS Ambassadors Advisor -   It's not often in my job that I get to work with the best of the best, but these guys are just that.  Thirty 8th graders who were committed to being Ambassadors for our school.  They welcomed visitors, gave tours to new students, helped plan and advertise for events, did fundraisers, and, most importantly, mentored 6th graders.  The Mentoring program partners one eighth grader with one sixth grader.  We met every Friday during Advisory time to do team-building activities, eat pizza or just hang out.  Words cannot describe how much growth I saw in the 'bigs' and the 'littles' over the course of the year.  It is a great day when you see 14 year olds go out of their way to help other people...especially when it will do nothing to advance their social status.  What impressed me the most was how far these mentors went to make a difference in their little's life....without me asking them to do it.  They showed up when their little was in the spelling bee, they took the time to find out their birthday and then remembered it, they wrote notes of encouragement, they played "Ninja"  and Hide and Seek, they decorated each other's lockers and they showed up when a family member passed away.  We give teenagers a hard time about being selfish and lazy and irresponsible, but if we set the expectation high and give them a chance they'll come through. 

2011-2012 WMS Ambassadors!

Bigs and Littles

Mentoring "Minute to Win It"

- #2 - Boys' Club (plus me).  My 'squirrel's' who I love dearly.  Having a bad Thursday morning?  Just spend 30 minutes with seven 12 year old boys and you'll be good to go.  We learned about listening and getting along and how to handle it when things don't go our way.  We ate brownies and chips and cupcakes.  We played tag and made videos.  Most importantly we learned about ourselves, how to get along with others and we made some great friends.

- #3 - Teaching - Getting to be back in the classroom.  In front of 25 middle schoolers.  Teaching.  I love teaching, I love interacting with teenagers, I love making them think, and I love hearing what they have to say.  I got to teach every Tuesday and it was wonderful.  While I miss A LOT of things about being a high school counselor, I am so glad I am finally back in the classroom. 

Of course there are dozens of other stories and experiences that include not so pretty things such as heartbreak, mad parents, neglected children, failing grades and more, but this is a happy blog so we'll just stick with the happy highlights. 


In other news....I am now 7.5 months pregnant.  Ikes!  This pic was taken a few weeks ago...

7 months

How far along: 32 weeks

Size of Baby G:  3.75 pounds and 16.75 inches. 

Body changes: Had to purchase a new sports bra....in a size I've never owned.  End of story.

Sleep: Actually, really good this week.  Exhaustion mixed with school wrapping up equals the perfect recipe for good sleep :)

Best moment this week:  My first mother's day spent with the people I love!

Movement: Non.Stop.

Food Cravings:  Ice water!

What I miss:  Cookie dough and working out.  Is that an oxymoron?

Milestones: Last full week of school!!!

Single Digits

Holy moly, we're down to single digits.  I have passed the 31 week mark and am closing in on 9 months pretty darn quickly.  My summer countdown is also in the single digits....hallelujah!!  Kids have 8 more days.  Those are the days I count.  Yes, I have a few more after that, but if I can wear shorts, a t-shirt and no make-up to work than I don't have to count those as 'real' days. 

Ryan and I are going on our 6th weekend in a row being out of town.  Here's what we've been up to over the last few weeks...


My dear friend Emily and I are due 2 days apart.  It has been such a wonderful blessing to walk through this crazy pregnancy adventure with such a great friend.  A few weeks ago mutual friends (sorority sisters/college roommates/etc) threw us a joint shower.  The idea was a little overwhelming but it turned out great!  In case you're interested in this idea....we held Emily's shower from 9:30-11:30 and my shower from 10:30-12:30.  Emily's guests arrived, we opened gifts and celebrated Emily and Baby B for an hour.  Then for the overlapping time from 10:30-11:30, her guests stayed, my guests arrived and we all ate and mingled.  At the end of meet and mingle time her guests departed and we spent the last hour spoiling Baby G.  One set of invitations, one set of decorations, one house cleaning, a whole lot of food for two showers.  Talk about efficiency....that's how my friends do business:)

Missing a few, but still a great group.  I love these people!

Mamas, babies and our wonderful hostesses.

Aunt Katelyn continues to spoil him.  Have you ever seen shoes cuter than this?!?

Fast forward to the next weekend....the husb and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary.  That's right #5.  It fell on a Friday - the same day we got married.  About 9 months ago Ryan had started to plan a tropical get-away for our 5th anniversary....know what we did instead??  Organized the nursery and ate our hearts out at Olive Garden.  This sweet baby boy is well worth the sacrifice.  Maybe a tropical vacay next year?  With a 9 month old??

Baby G and I were also spoiled by my co-workers this week.  They threw a surprise shower and took care of lots of the basics we had yet to purchase.  The highlight of the shower was a 'baby' made by another teacher.  This 'baby' is made out of a onesie, stuffed animal and bib.  He is stuffed with receiving blankets, wash clothes, onesies, towels and more.  How clever is that??

We're not slowing down any time soon, so I'll make sure to keep you updated.  In the meantime, here is a little update on what Baby G is up to these days.  He is constantly moving and causing more and more discomfort.  Nothing too awful, but enough. 

How far along: 31 weeks

Size of Baby G:  16 inches, about 2.5 lbs (My pregancy app says he'll triple in weight in the next 8 weeks....awesome.)

Body changes: As much as I HATE to admit this, tying my shoes is getting a little uncomfortable. I can still do it though!

Sleep: Some nights are better than others, but I'm still getting my nine hours of sleep....that's right, I said nine.

Best moment this week:  Celebrating my 5th wedding anniversary with my very best friend in the world.

Movement: Constant.  Ryan has determined our baby has two past times:  jumping on his trampoline (my bladder) and swinging on his monkey bars (my ribs). 

Food Cravings:  I don't really crave anything strange, I just let myself eat the stuff I rarely let myself have pre-pregnancy. Currently that would be ice cream. :)

What I miss:  Moving at my normal speed and sleeping on my stomach. 

Milestones: Due date is 2 months away!!

Shower #1

...or as my dad likes to call it, our first 'rain storm.'  You may find this hard to believe but the spoiling of our first child has officially begun.  Almost 2 weeks ago, Bob, Ruth, Lindsay and Sharon hosted a wonderful couple's shower for us that resulted in Baby G getting his first set of new wheels!  He better enjoy them while they last because it's going to be another 17 years before he gets a new ride.  Did you know that kids don't get their freedom until they are 17 these days?  Some of them wouldn't even be able to drive their friends around their college campus.  But I digress.

Our wonderful hosts!

Most of the people at the shower have known me since before I was born.  Many of them were members of the 28 year slow-pitch softball team that my dad played on, some are my parents' old college friends turned current tail-gating friends, and the rest are friends and family near and dear to our hearts. 

Of course, they couldn't just buy a group gift, wrap it up, and give it to us.  Where's the fun in that?  Lindsay thought it would be best if we started out with a car seat that is nice and broken in.  Who wants to sit in a new car seat that looks and smells clean anyway? While we all shared a few good laughs about how this old thing could go in the grandparents' car, I better not see my child anywhere near it in real life. 

You want me to put my kid in that?!?

Baby G's new ride!

For my fellow mamas out there who are interested in the technical parts of this post, we decided on a Britax B-Agile stroller and a Britax B-Safe car seat.  The car seat snaps into the stroller and we'll use it like that for the first 6 months until the baby can sit in the stroller by himself.  As some of you know, researching car seats and strollers consumed the first few months of my pregnancy.  After reading and re-reading consumer reports, reviews, and advice from friends this is the one we decided on.  The stroller has 3 wheels, of which the front one can lock or swivel.  I plan to do lots and lots of walking, some jogging, but no marathon training with this guy so I decided I didn't need a high tech jogging stroller.  One negative review indicated that this will only work for jogging if you run slower than an 8 minute mile.  Ok, Mr. Condescension, I think this one will work just fine, thank you.  We did consider the BabyJogger CityMini for our stroller, but after doing a side-by-side comparison with the B-Agile in the store, we decided to stick with Britax. I'll report back once I have formed my own opinion.  My cousin, aka Aunt Katelyn, highly recommended Britax car seats (she's an expert, you know) so we checked this one out and found nothing but positives.  I take that back, the only negative comment was that the safety buckle is very sturdy and can be difficult to unlatch.  Is that really a negative?  Do I want my infant being able to unbuckle himself?  We'll just see if we can get him in and out without giving him a black eye (coughcoughKathryn). 

This baby sure is loved a lot