37 Weeks

Do not let the look of discomfort confuse you, I promise I am happy.

I am a week late in posting the 37 week picture things have been pretty busy around here, I will be posting the 38 week pictures soon as well. So far all is going well, I am going to the Doctor weekly now, while I am making progress there is no reason to think I will deliver early. If only we had a crystal ball and could predict when the day will be it would make planning a whole lot easier. Although I am getting very uncomfortable and sleeping is almost next to impossible I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet. School starts in two weeks and we have a lot to do to get the kids ready for the big day. I am hopeful that the baby will wait to make her appearance until after we are done with all the preparation. Stay tuned for 38 week pictures and an update, my next appointment is on Tuesday.

36 Weeks and Dance Through the Decades

We have reached 36 weeks, YEAH! It is a relief to know that there are only 4 weeks left but at the same time it is a little scary to think that her arrival could be anytime between now and the next 4 weeks. My only hope is that she will wait to make her appearance until after August 7th because Jessica will not be home until then. We are getting very anxious, nervous and excited to meet our sweet baby girl.

Anxious Big Sister and Big Brother

Hannah and her friends went to a Stake Dance on Saturday, it was a decade dance. They could choose to dress in the decade of their choice, Hannah and her friends decided to dress in the decade of the 70's. Below is a picture of a few of Hannah's friends, the others met at the dance, oh to be young again.

Easton, Allie, Hannah and Olivia

35 Weeks

This week marks week 35, it is nice to know that we are getting close to meeting our baby girl. Even though there are days that I feel pretty uncomfortable and the heat in Austin makes it more miserable I am still hopeful that she will wait until her due date of August 23rd. Last week was a very busy week getting the house ready, we had a lot of help from my Mom and Dad who were in town helping with Houston while Hannah was at Girls Camp. We couldn't have done it without them and we really appreciated there help. Keep an eye on our Blog for before and after pictures of the baby's room and our Master Bedroom, two of the rooms that we worked on.

SEE POST BELOW FOR PICTURES OF THE ROOM MAKEOVERS, I COULD NOT FIGURE OUT HOW TO CHANGE THE ORDER OF THE POSTS

Let the Nesting Begin

Chad and my parents spent last week, and in particular last weekend humoring my need to nest. Huge thank yous to my amazing parents for all of their help in getting our house ready for the arrival of their granddaughter.

The nesting began last Saturday when Chad and Hannah (thank you Hannah Bear) painted the baby's room, we were looking forward to moving furniture in but wanted to wait until the carpets were cleaned. The following Saturday we had the carpets cleaned, a process that started us on a path to a very busy weekend. I mentioned to Chad that it would be nice to paint our bedroom while everything was out of it, he did not hesitate and said OK let's go pick paint. This was followed by me saying "I sure would like a different color furniture in our bedroom", our old furniture is almost 16 years old and was a country green pine. While at Home Depot we also purchased black furniture paint and began our journey to redecorating our bedroom. This is something that we could not have accomplished if my Mom and Dad had not been here encouraging us and helping us move furniture, clean and organize. Despite the exhaustion we felt at the end of the weekend we accomplished a lot and fulfilled my need to feel prepared for our new arrival. I only wish I had before and after pictures of the bedroom, it looks like we bought all new furniture. I am loving the baby's room and can not wait to have it completely finished. Thank you Chad, Dad, Mom & Hannah for all of your hard work and putting up with me.

The baby's room after painting, yes it is very pink


Our Master Bedroom after our last minute decision to paint

The finished room

The baby's room almost finished, we still need to hang pictures & the valance

A closer look at the bedding
There will be a dark brown cover on the changing table pad soon
The chair is light pink and cream stripes does not match exactly but will be comfortable

New Outfit for EFY & 33 Weeks

Hannah's cute outfit for EFY

33 Weeks and counting!!!!

With EFY comes the need for one or two new outfits, in particular something to wear to the dance or the day that the youth are required to wear church clothes. After a day of shopping Hannah and I found the outfit pictured above, I took this picture the day before Hannah left for EFY, not only is her new outfit cute but I really liked the picture so I thought I would post it.

This week marked week 33, I am a little late in posting the picture because Sunday will be week 34, I guess better late than never. So far all is well but if you look back on previous pictures you can see how much my belly has grown week to week. My ankles are still very swollen and about the only thing that helps is staying off my feet all day, like that will happen. I went for my check up on Monday, so far all is well with everything. I have one more two week appointment and then I start going every week until she makes her arrival. I am hopeful that she will hold off until my due date of August 23rd but am not overly confident of that. I had a feeling that she had moved and the Dr. confirmed that on Monday indicating that she is now head down, that seems a little too early to me but who knows. The Dr. said it should be fine as long as she stays there through 36 weeks, at that point it is not likely that she will move again. I will keep you posted....

EFY

Hannah and her friends getting ready to go to EFY

Hannah and Bekah at Registration

Traditional daily surprises for Hannah and her roommate Averi

Hannah and her roommate Averi

Hannah had the pleasure of going to EFY last week, for those of you that are not sure what EFY is it is a week long camp for young men and young women. EFY stands for Especially for Youth and it takes place on the campus of Trinity University in San Antonio. They stay in dorms with a roommate, eat in the Cafeteria go to classes, dances and fun activities. It is an opportunity for the youth to come together, learn about the gospel and have fun and spiritual experiences. Her sister Jessica attended EFY for four years and always had such an amazing experience, this was Hannah's second year and by all accounts she too had an amazing time. She of course met a few boys that she has not told us too much about but we know they exist. We are so grateful that this opportunity is available for the youth, it is something that truly enriches their lives and something we as parents appreciate.

More Than Rain SHOWERS in Utah

From left to right: My sister Sandy, my sister Kris, my Mom, our good friends Lori and her daugther Billie, me, Hannah, my sister in-law Savannah, and my sister in law Marina. Jessica is there also but she is taking the picture.

The beautiful blessing gown

While we were visiting Utah my Mom and my Sister's Sandy and Kris threw me a SURPRISE baby shower. I had no idea they had anything planned, they did a great job of keeping it a secret. Chad and I had planned to go to the Temple while we were in town so on a Friday Chad said how about we go to the Temple tomorrow morning, little did I know he was asked to get me out of the house for quite a few hours so they could prepare for a Saturday afternoon shower. I was very surprised when we returned from the Temple to find my family including my two Sister in laws and good friends Lori and Billie and of course my girls Jessica and Hannah. Unfortunately we took a little longer than we should have at the Temple and we ended up being late, I of course did not know we were late to anything. Everyone was very understanding and patient, they enjoyed eating and visiting with each other while they waited for our arrival. Everyone was very generous, I received several darling outfits for the baby, burp cloths, blankets and two darling picture frames for her room that are of course pink and brown. My mom surprised me with a beautiful blessing gown that she asked her sister Gayle to make, it is the most beautiful gown I have ever seen, she even made a matching hat and booties. The day could not have been more perfect, we started the day at the Temple followed by a wonderful celebration for our sweet baby girl. I can not wait to see her in all of her darling outfits. Thank you Mom, Sandy and Kris for such a memorable day.

32 Weeks

This week marks week 32, yeah!! That means we have 8 more weeks to go before we can finally meet our baby girl, we are very excited for that day to come. I could do without the 100 plus temperatures in Austin, the heat makes it very uncomfortable and as you can see in the picture I have a lot of swelling in my legs and ankles. My feet are always swollen and fat and my toes look like baby sausages, it is getting increasingly difficult to find a comfortable position to sleep, so my nights are spent tossing and turning. Other than those minor complaints I am doing well and am willing to endure for another 8 weeks to deliver a healthy baby girl. Keep an eye on our Blog for more pictures from our trip to Utah including a surprise baby shower my Mom and Sister's threw me while we were in town. Now that we have returned from vacation we hope to make progress on the baby's room and post pictures as well.

New Do's

While we were in Utah Hannah and Jessica had their hair cut, Hannah's is somewhat similar to her last hair cut but this is actually only phase one, she decided when she got home to go a little shorter. I will post a picture of her even shorter haircut a bit later, but for now I thought you might want to see their cute new do's. Jessica had some highlights done as well, I love her with more blonde, Hannah wanted to color her hair darker but I love her natural highlights and said NO! I know I am a party pooper, I am biased but I think they look amazing.

My Little Fisherman

Houston had the chance to go fishing with his Dad and Grandpa while we were in Utah, unfortunately they did not catch any fish but they had fun spending the day together. While the boys went fishing the girls went shopping, I know what a surprise. We had a wonderful time together taking our Mom shopping for her belated Mother's Day gifts.