Friday, May 29, 2009

Chris' First Shower

On 5/21/09 some of Chris' classmates threw us a baby shower! It was so sweet of them and great to hear all of their FUN stories from just finishing their OB/Pediatric semester...and not so fun to hear all of their crazy stories from witnessing labors and shadowing a lactation consultant. Let me just say it made me a little more nervous...HA!

Since Chris has never had the opportunity to be at any of our showers (usually no boys allowed), I thought it would be fun to have him open up all the gifts and let the girls OOH and AHH over him. It was pretty hilarious...he didn't know what to do! The first gift he opened, he said, "Well, what do I do now?" and when instructed to pass the gift around so everyone could look he just sat and waited for it to get around the entire circle of people! Someone finally said, "Chris, open the next gift!" He was really cute...
The cute cake!

Parents to be...

Chris' favorite item...BUTT PASTE!

Showing off the onesies...like a real shower pro!

" I Love You Daddy" book...so cute!

Not quite his size...

Chris' nursing classmates...



My 36 week, 1 day belly from that day (5/21/09)

Dog Days of Spring

A couple of weekends ago we got to watch our friends' (Sarah and Josh's) dog, Cabela. Koda and Cabela are the best of friends...in fact they are BDFF's (Best Dog Friends Forever). They get along PERFECT and have so much fun together. We love having Cabela over and Koda REALLY loves it! Since the weather has been getting so hot, we thought it was time to bust out the pool, and the girls agreed!

Just another day in the pool...
(Cabela on the left, Koda on the right)

Blue ball (AKA - Cabela's favorite toy) has a hole so it would fill with water...and Chris thought it was really funny to squeeze the water in the girls' faces before he threw the ball for them. They pretty much loved it too!

Action shot...retrieve blue ball and INTO THE POOL!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

36 Week Update

Time is really flying by and we are already at 36 weeks...that means 4 to go (give or take)!!!! According to my weekly emails about the baby's development, she now weighs almost 6 lbs and is over 18.5" long!

We had our 36 week appointment today and everything is looking great. My doctor looked at me after he had checked everything and just shook his head and said, "You are BORING!" That is the best compliment he could have said because it means everything is going along as it is supposed to (praise the LORD!). This appointment was the beginning of my not-so-fun ones....ie. they will be checking my cervix every week from now on....ie. not the most comfy thing. ;) Today, my doc also had the pleasure of swabbing me for the Strep-B test (he swabbed 2 places, I'll let you use your imagination, but they are both down "there"). I know, TMI, I'm sorry! I think I made a horrific face because Chris just kept mouthing to me "BREATH, BREATH!" It was over quick enough and the doc said after checking my cervix that if he had to guess, he would say I am 1.5 cm dialated. He didn't check all the way because it wasn't necessary at this point. He did say that he is going to put on my chart this week that my cervix is still closed so that next week we will have progress, even if there isn't really a ton. :)

After checking everything, he said he would give me probably about 2-3 more weeks. He then went on to say, "I don't know, you probably will be around your due date (June 17)...I'm not a good predictor!" After he left the room Chris and I looked at each other and said, "Why did he say 2-3 weeks if he isn't a good predictor!? Don't predict anything then!!" HA! 2 weeks is a lot different than 4 at this point! We will just have to wait and see...

I'm still doing pretty great...definitely feeling bigger and more pregnant each day. I have a good pregnant waddle going and it is pretty hard to sit or stand for long periods of time. Baby girl has the hiccups almost daily so that is fun...in between kicking me really HARD! I asked Chris the other day if babies can break their mom's ribs by kicking because sometimes she really takes my breath away! He said he doesn't think so, but we will see!

This past week we had our hospital tour and took our birthing class over the weekend, so that is making it seem a little more real. The class was pretty much all review for Chris after a semester of OB/Pediatrics, but it was good info for me and nice to have him there to answer all of my questions. We practiced breathing techniques (while trying not to laugh - HE, HE, HE, WHO!), practiced putting diapers on a doll and swaddling, and learned all about labor and after. I can't say that watching videos of women in labor really made me excited for that part...maybe a little scared. ;) It's really hard to have NO idea of what to expect! But like our teacher said, women have been having babies for thousands of years, so we will be fine....RIGHT?!?!?

We have been doing our best to get ready for baby's arrival, but I don't quite feel "there" yet. We have washed all of her clothes, blankets, bedding, etc. We have the carseat in and ready to go. Chris has put her swing together and it's now in the living room. We have the co-sleeper (that she will sleep in next to our bed for the first little bit) up and ready to go...and I think we are going to pack our hospital bags this weekend just to be "ready."

I have to admit, this has been the fastest 9-10 months of my life and we are just so excited that we are close to the finish line and will be meeting our baby before we know it!

Thanks so much for all of your continued love, prayers, and support...stay tuned!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Showered Again...am I dirty or something? ;)

With the beautiful hostesses - Sarah and Melissa

This past weekend my great friends, Sarah and Melissa, threw me a baby shower in the Tri-Cities! It was so much fun and another special time of feeling so blessed. I can't thank everyone enough for their love, prayers and support in preparing for our baby girl to arrive. Sarah and Melissa had an awesome spread of food, fun games, and pretty much the most amazing shower cake I have EVER seen that was made by my two friends, Lisa and Jamie. It was UNBELIEVABLE! We had such a fun time! Pics below...
In all of my prego glory ready to be showered!
Belly pic @ 34 wks, 3 days prego
My awesome small group bible study girls

With Carol (my amazing co-worker & friend) and her daughter MaKenna

Lisa got us Coug onesies since Chris is a Coug now...GO COUGS! ;)

THE CAKE!!! (click on pic to see close up)

This was all edible! Don't worry, I didn't eat our baby replica. ;)

Me with the AMAZING cake-makers -- Jamie & Lisa
(They have their own pastry business, so you should check them out!)

Again, all edible...

The INSIDE of the cake...it was DELICIOUS!
Banana cake with amazing chocolate ganache filling

Garage Sales...PRICELESS

A couple of weekends ago my friend Sarah and I hit the streets for all the good garage sales in the Tri-Cities. Let me tell you, I hit the jackpot and now I'm hooked! We came to a beautiful house with a garage full of GIRLS CLOTHES! We have accumulated quite a lot of 0-3 month clothes for our girl, so I was on the hunt for some bigger sizes. The people only had one girl that they spoiled rotten, and I definitely reaped the benefits as well. :) There were even a ton of clothes that were brand new with the tags on them still...and brand name! After an hour of going through each table of goods (thanks to Sarah's help), I walked away with a box full of things for our baby girl: clothes, socks, shoes, booties, hats, brand new bibs, a brand new bottle warmer, and a brand new mattress cover...all for $40! Of course when I got home I had to spread the loot out on our couch so Chris could see. If you click on the pics, you can see the items bigger...I can't wait to go out again!
My favorite purchase of the day...the pink UGS (boots) for the baby girl. SO CUTE!

Minnesota...Ya' Sure You Betcha!

I am a little late in posting this, but wanted to share still! From April 24-27 I was blessed to be able to go visit my dad's side of the family in Minnesota. The doc cleared me to fly the day before I left and told me it's good I was going now because I should not be flying much further along than I was! I wouldn't have missed this time in the world. My Grandpa Bob was recently diagnosed with leukemia, and ever since we found out, I have been on a mission to get to see him and spend some good quality time. He was feeling really great the whole weekend, so we had such a great time together. We ate, talked, watched my grandpa sell bikes (his hobby business), played cards and just spent good quality time being together. It doesn't get much better than that! My aunt, uncle and cousins live there as well, so it was awesome to see them too! My parents were there and Jason and Christie even flew in from Austria to be there!!! Chris unfortunately wasn't able to come along as he was in crunch time for school with finals and projects looming and working at the hospital on top of it all. We are praying that after our baby arrives, that we all can get back to Minnesota soon after! I love my family so much. They are all so dear to me, and I will cherish the memories of this trip forever.
Grandpa and Grandma's house of almost 35 years...just as I remembered it :)

Me and Grandpa Bobby...I love him SO MUCH!

The whole Johnson side (minus Chris and Chad, Michelle and the boys)

At church on Sunday...it was a great day!

Grandpa Bob is the "Bike Man" in town...and everyone knows it!
Grandpa teaching Dad the ropes to fix bikes

Lounging at my cousin Courtney's house after a great meal -
Check out the size of Captain the dog!

"Bobby the Banker"
Of course I had to beat grandpa at GUTS...a card game our fam always plays

Grandma showed us girls how to make her cinnamon rolls...YUMMY!

Just a couple of suckers!
Wouldn't be the same visiting grandma & grandpa without blow pops...

J, Dad, and Grandpa hit the links...and Grandpa beat them like always!

J and Christie got baby girl the cutest outfits and blanket! Thanks guys!!

The ladies!

Jason trying to drive Grandpa's riding lawn mower = SCARY
BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL BOY!

I love Grandma Lenore so much...sweetest lady on earth!