We are close!

This is why I think so:

1. I was having a hard time getting to sleep last night because I was feeling really nauseous. It has not gone away all day.
2. I was walking the mall with Josh this morning and I had some pains that made me jump and stop moving. I actually started laughing because I thought I was going to break my water right in front of Wetzel's Pretzels. Not very appetizing for other mall dwellers...
3. I now know when I am contracting. It is getting more intense and she stretches out after each one.
4. I finally finished my thank you cards from the baby showers. God knew I wouldn't have time after she was here. Or I wouldn't want to write them.
5. I got my hair done today and no baby of mine is going to come when Mommy has roots!
6. And lastly, the new car is clean, filled with gas and stocked with beautiful floor mats that she can ruin with crushed Cheerios when she is old enough.

Now daddy just needs to pack his stuff and we are good to go!

Also, I was reading in John today, almost searching for something for God to tell me. I felt rather disappointed because nothing stood out to me as directly applicable to my life. For those of you who know me I am a huge Old Testament fan and usually do not have to "get" anything applicable out of my devotion. But since I have been so anxious, and in a bad mood, I wanted God to just calm me down. He did as soon as I started reading. That is the power of God's word for sure! But I still didn't get a verse to hold on to or anything that I could concentrate on over the next couple of days when I feel anxious. However it dawned on me as I sat down that I was reading about miracle. Jesus turned water into wine. He healed someone's son. He told the pharisees that they should destroy him and he will raise again after three days. He told the Samaritan woman all that she was. Jesus is just awesome and I so lucky to get to be called his child. And I can't thank Him enough for giving me this little girl. When she comes, the timing will be perfect. I waited three years for this, and God has taught me so much through the whole experience. So what is another couple of days, right? Just gives me more time to pray for a great, safe delivery.

The items above still hold true though! Can't wait to meet her!!

Our current status:

I went to the doctor yesterday and was very disappointed to hear that I have not started dilating at all.  I know my due date isn't until the 25th, but I was just bummed to not be making any progress at all.  I am still effaced about 50% he says.  I thought it was more last time I was in, but I might have misheard him.  All that to say, no baby yet.

On a positive note, I have been walking the malls like a crazy woman and should be in tip top shape to actually delivery her when she decides to come.  I pretty much walk Chandler Mall every morning and Fiesta Mall every night.  I think my fav is Fiesta since it is ghetto and very few people go there anymore.  Therefore, no one stares at me walking up and down the stairs a million times.  It does smell funky some days though...  I do look forward to the buns and thighs of steel I will have once the swelling goes down. :o)

Also, Josh and I went to lunch yesterday with Mark and Sarah at PF Chang's.  Surprisingly, out of 8 different numbers, Josh and I both had a 23 in our fortune.  So maybe you will be reading a much different blog entry on Thursday.  Who knows??  The chinese also said I was having a boy and if that happens at this point, he better like pink!

Nursery is finished. Now where is my baby?!?!?

Okay.  So I know I put the whole room design together, and am a little bias, but these pictures do not do the room justice.  I am no photographer, but I feel like I can make a room pretty cozy.  I just want to rock my baby to sleep all day long in this room.  I love it!  Now I just need to have this baby!!

37 weeks, and counting down...

Well here is what I am supposed to look like (if my baby wasn't huge like her mommy who has gained over 50 pounds). Anyway, we are counting down until little Madelyn is here. Josh comes home on Monday from Europe, and honestly I am cool if she comes Tuesday! They say babies are completely full term at 37 weeks. (Yay! We made it!!) Her lungs are developed to a point where she can function on her own outside of the womb and she is big enough, and long enough, to avoid the NICU. So with as hot and as uncomfortable as I have been the past couple of days, I am ready. Now we just have to wait for her to be ready, and this future fashionista (as Pauline called her) better not be fashionably late. :o)

New Birth Plan

Today I had another appointment with Dr. Seymann and we had to talk about our "options" since little Miss Madelyn is still breech.  After going over every detail with the doctor and speaking to Josh on the phone (since he was setting up for the rehearsals that take place over the next three days before he leaves on Sunday for the 16-day Europe trip) I have decided to write a new birth plan.

Our Birth Plan:

1.  Screw birth plans!  

2. Have healthy baby by whatever means necessary.  

3. Preferably when husband is actually in town...  

4. Try not to piss me off when I am in the hospital.

The End!  

Baby Shower Weekend

So I guess I am getting progressively worse at this blogging thing.  I have just been so busy between work and baby prep that I really don't even have time to think, much less blog.  And believe me, you want me to think before I speak.  :o)

But, I had such an amazing weekend I had to share some of it really quick.  Then I have to get to bed.  Thank you to everyone who came to the shower, brought amazing gifts for sweet little Madelyn, and helped throw such a great party.  My friend Melissa (who luckily is also an amazing photographer) posted some pictures of the fabulous day on her blog.  Go here to see them.   

Lastly I wanted to say a special thank you to Brooke and Hank for coming down to visit.  Funny story... I woke up on Friday morning, went to my massage therapist (who totally kicked my butt, but that is besides the point), came home to the family eating breakfast and Cheri (my Mother in Law) says to me that she needs to know what the plans are for the day because that is her personality.  Knowing that it is not her personality to want to plan the day when she was on vacation I knew something was up.  So I said to her that I knew she had something planned or else she wouldn't be so concerned about the plans for the day.  She said to me that she has friends in town that would like to meet us around 6:00.  After my shower I got to thinking, who are these friends.  Josh said they were people that they knew a long time ago from Bethany (thus the reason they didn't know me.)  I thought it was a little weird that in the short four days they were here that we have to meet and entertain random friends instead of preparing for the shower, but I was fine with it.  After rushing from set up at Gretchen's house to get home for these "friends" I was a little flustered.  I felt hot and dirty and wanted to change before I met people for the first time, but when we got home she said they were already inside.  So I walked in, and to my most pleasant surprise I saw Brooke (Josh's cousin and my friend) sitting in my living room.  I wish I could have seen my face because I know I was shocked.  Then I saw that Hank was there too.  They had come into town for the shower and were ready to go to dinner with us.  I was shocked!  I was so happy to see them and even more impressed at the level of secrecy the family was able to keep.  Sneaky little Brooke even called em the day before and said she was thinking of me and knew I understood why she couldn't come to the shower.  Little liar! :o)   My only regret is that there were so many people at the shower that I didn't get to talk to her more on Saturday.  Luckily we had such an amazing night at Oregano's on Friday.  Here are a few pictures of us having fun.  Thanks for coming guys!!  You have no idea how much I loved seeing you.  That story will last in my mind forever!! 

Brooke and I waiting for our table.

Josh, Me, Brooke, and Hank after dinner.

Josh, Cheri, Me, Dave, Brooke, and Hank after a great dinner and good time!! 

30 weeks and counting...

We are finally in the home stretch (at least that is what I am going to keep telling myself as I brave the 100 degree plus weather, the nasty iron supplements I can't keep down, the heart burn, the numb and cramping legs, and my inability to eat ice cream or frozen yogurt due to being lactose intolerant.)  Anyway, I am getting very anxious for her to be here.  Can you tell?  I love feeling her daily, but I just wish I could feel her kicking me in the ribs.  It would mean she is head down, getting ready to come out like a good little girl versus making mommy go through major abdominal surgery.  

Since I last posted I have been incredibly busy with work and not been thinking very much of the baby.  Now that I have showers just around the corner and a nursery to decorate things are getting fun again.  Josh made my night a couple weeks ago when he bought the baby her memory book.  It is really adorable, and has some great keepsake moments for us to document in there.

One of the keepsake items you put in the book are belly pictures.  Being that I am growing every day, these are starting to get really fun.  But daddy decided he is not so pleased with his sympathy weight.  So he thought we should at least document that too.

 Crazy daddy!

Here are the "real" belly pics.  And in case you are wondering, yes I am getting tan.  Lucky for me, Madelyn loves the pool!   When ever I get too hot at night, I jump in the pool first thing in the morning.  Then, if I have no where to go that day, I just hang out in the AC in my bathing suit.  Whatever works right?

Our 1st Baby Shower

The parents who hosted the great day (along with Tamara who was not able to make it, but still put a lot of work into it.)  

This past Saturday Josh and I (and Baby Madelyn) were blessed with an amazing baby shower that some of the booster parents threw for us.  We were completely overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness and complete generosity of everyone who was involved.  We have waited and wanted this baby for three years.  Now that we are having her, all the fun things that go along with having a baby just make the process that much more, and real.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone, for everything!!!!  

We played a couple of number of games as a group.  One was a game where we had to guess the prices of about 15 baby items.  I was close being only 21 dollars off.  Josh however, was 55 dollars off.  It was funny how much he thought baby things would cost.  In another game we all had to finish nursery rhymes.  Again, I did pretty well.  Josh however answered the question: Mary had a little lamb whose ____ was white as snow, with the word "hair".  It was really cute!

Two of the games were just for Josh and I.

They gave us a bowl and a spoon.  We had to clean up the cotton balls only using the spoon, not our other hand.  The person with the most cotton balls won.  

Josh, realizing I might be winning, started cheating.  You can see how evenly distributed the cotton balls were until he started scooping all if them to his side.  That was great for him until I realized what he was doing.  Then it was on! 

They also blind folded us and made us guess what flavor baby food we were eating.  Neither of us were very good at this game.

We looked a little funny waiting for our food.

But even funnier when I started spitting out flavors like vegetable beef stew and macaroni and cheese.  YUCK!

It was a really fun day.  Thank you again to everyone for coming and showering us with so many things for Madelyn.  We really appreciate it!

Birth Class

One of the things that scares me most about having a baby is actually having the baby. So I was relieved when Josh and I finished our birth class. Being the avid reader that I am, I was feeling pretty educated on what you can do as far as birthing your child. However, it is much more of a reality when you have a nurse of 35 years teaching you all the things that can go wrong, and right, during the whole process. After the class I know one thing for sure, I do not want a c-section. That crap scares me! I have had friends and family members have them and my heart goes out to you. Finding out that the cut is just a small incision and they stretch the rest of you open with silver tongs was just enough info to make me want to gag. OUCH! No wonder it takes longer to recover. I also feel much more confident when it comes to the decision on whether to do it natural or with an epidural. I am a firm believer that to each their own, but I really wanted to make a decision that Josh and I were both comfortable and prepared for. I am just really glad we went to this class!

I want to thank my friend Kim, who got us registered for the course. We were able to do the class with her and husband which was nice. Brian and I were able to bond over feeling queasy during the epidural video, and we all were able to discuss the live birth video we watched right before the lunch break. Yummy!