It's getting real! 38 Weeks

Well we're 2 short weeks away from our due date. I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by! I know that she may not come on time, and that's okay.  I think it will be easier to wait for while I am back at school teaching, but I hope that she doesn't make me wait too long!  We started taking predictions for her due date some people think she'll be almost 2 weeks late. Yikes!  I know she will come when she is ready and that is ultimately what I want.

We celebrated Christmas with my family here in Kansas City.  We had a lot of fun showing them all of the sites and spending time in tiny house.  Thankfully Jenna and Brady's 2 bedroom house as couch big enough for all of us to sit on and some extra beds for people to sleep on.  It was great to have everyone here and I can't wait for them to come back because that means Audrey will be here!  We enjoyed the Kansas City Nutcracker, lights, dinner and shopping on the Plaza, Crown Center, and meals crowded around the dinner table.

Here are some pictures from our afternoon at Crown Center.

Everyone putting up with the freezing cold wind for a picture!

Ryan is ready to go to work on the farm!

Driving away in my new car!

Bailey, cute as always!

Of course we couldn't resist looking at the adorable baby clothes!

Beautiful and giant Christmas Tree 

Stinson and I

How far along? 38 Weeks

Size of baby? She's a watermelon this week and feels like it!  She's probably over 10 inches and weighs between 6.5-7lbs!

Total weight gain? Keeps creeping up slowly!

Maternity Clothes? Maternity, maternity, maternity! I also like to steal Stinson's sweats and t-shirts these days.  They seem to be better for lounging in than my own!

Sleep? Hit and miss.  Some nights are awful, others are great.  Usually waking up 2-3 times a night for the bathroom, sometimes leg cramps, and the darn carpel tunnel.  I started wearing braces at night and that has helped a lot!

Best moment of the week? Spending the whole week with my family and everyone getting to feel Audrey move.  We all loved watching her bounce and move things resting on my belly.

Miss anything? Being comfortable in general, putting on shoes and socks with ease, being able to sit for long periods of time.

Movement? She has become quite the busy girl these days. I feel like she is moving more and more, and maybe that is because she is running out of room.  She does lots of stretching and loves to stick her tush out!

Cravings? Still no real cravings.

Symptoms? Occasional leg cramps, carpel tunnel, some minor cramping here and there, swelling in my legs and hands, and all the normal uncomfortable end of pregnancy stuff.

Belly button in or out? Flattened out!

Wedding rings on or off? off :(  Can't wait to get them back on!

Mood? Normal, with the occasional urge to cry....ugh these hormones sometimes.

Looking forward to? Meeting Audrey.  Stinson and I have been talking a lot about meeting her lately and things that we are looking forward to about having her here and wondering what she looks like. I am also looking forward to having all of my long term sub plan stuff figured out and done!

Bare Belly at 38 weeks!

Bumpdate- 36 Weeks

I'm doing this from my phone, so I apologize in advance for typos and if I leave anything out.

How far along? 36 weeks today!

Size of baby: last ultra sound they thought 6lbs 4ozs, about the size of a large cantaloupe

Weight gain? More than I'd care to admit, let's just say the 40lb mark isn't too far away

Maternity clothes? Yup! Pretty much all except for a few stretchy tunics. Loving leggings and sweats lately.

Sleep? Starting to get up more often to go to the bathroom and waking up with leg cramps.

Pregnancy symptoms? Heartburn pretty frequently, I think she's been sitting on a nerve because my arms and fingers have been falling asleep a lot and it's super annoying! Some back pain., and swelling in my feet.

Highlight of the week? Watching Audrey move at the ultra sound last Wednesday. Also getting to see her sweet face again. I'm so in love with it already. My mom getting to feel her move.

Looking forward to? The dr. appointment this week to see how things are progressing. Can't wait for her to get here!

Cravings? Still nothing crazy. Yesterday I couldn't keep my hands out of the white chocolate peppermint M & Ms. You should seriously try them. You'll be addicted.

Signs of labor? None that I'm aware of.

Here's the picture you're dying to see! ;)

The Countdown begins

Well we are to that stage where we are just weeks away from Audrey's arrival. I can't believe in about 6 weeks we'll be holding her in our arms. It seems like it was just May and we found out we would be parents. Time sure does fly!

Like all other soon to be parents we have a list of things to get done before Audrey arrives as well as my family for Christmas. We sat down at our favorite local establishment, Mom's Kitchen, to make a list of things to get done today and before Dec 21 when all of the family arrives. Lists are nice, but sometimes they can also be overwhelming. This is especially true when you realize you only got one part of your list accomplished. We're going to blame Stinson's company Christmas party for the lack of completion today.

I know we'll get it all done eventually and if we don't who cares right?! My biggest to-do is plans for my long term sub. I haven't really started those yet and really need to. Hopefully that's what tomorrow is for! I know they'll get done, but the thought of them has been so overwhelming I don't know where to begin.

In addition to list making we've been attending classes to prepare us for Audrey's arrival. I am so glad we took them because I now feel somewhat prepared, or at least have an idea of what to expect. The closer it gets the more I can't wait to meet her. I want her to stay in until she's ready, but I still can't wait to hold her in my arms. I wonder what her relationship will be like with Stinson. I really feel like in the last few weeks God has been preparing my heart to be a mother. It will be here before I know it.

Time to go attempt to cross 1 or 2 more things off the list.

Bumpdate 30-31 Weeks & Shower #2

This is going to be a super long post with lots of pictures.  Hope you enjoy and I'll try to be better about keeping everyone updated.

Picture from last week

How far along? 31Weeks

Size of baby? Head of lettuce- 19 inches and around 4 lbs.

Total weight gain? Somewhere around 27 lbs

Maternity Clothes? Mostly maternity clothes, and some super long stretchy pre-pregnancy clothes.

Sleep? Stil; cannot complain.  Definitely stuck on my side these days.

Best moment of the week? Seeing Audrey in 3D! It was so incredible to see her face, watch her sleep, suck, and scrunch her face.  She is such an amazing little thing!  Pregnancy has really made me stand in awe of God's creation.  She is absolutely perfect!

Miss anything? Bending over to tie my shoes.  I either have to prop it way up or have Stinson do it.  Maybe I'll stick to slip-ons!

Movement? All the time!  She is a busy little girl these days.  I think she is taking swimming lessons around 9 every night.  It has been crazy to watch my belly move with her movements.

Cravings? Nope.  Just a lot hungrier these days.  I have started adding a mid morning snack to make it through the morning of teaching. I think my students think I'm crazy for eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at 9:30 in the morning.

Symptoms? Heartburn, some leg cramps here and there, shortness of breath for sure, and apparently snoring!

Belly button in or out? In but it is really staring to stretchout.

Wedding rings on or off? Off.  It's been more comfortable without anything. :(

Mood? Normal. Happy, not too cranky unless it's Friday!

Labor Signs? None so far!

Looking forward to? Audrey getting here.  After seeing her face I cannot wait to meet her. These next 9 weeks better go fast!

Here she is!  Such a precious little sleeper!

Here you can see her cute little foot tucked up by her face.

And here is the one where she scrunched up her face as Stinson was pushing on my belly trying to get her to wake up and move.  I think they are going to have a really fun relationship!

Finally, to wrap up this post I will share some pictures from my 2nd shower.  This one was thrown by a friend and former parent of one of my students.  I am still over-whelmed by her generosity.  It was so fun to celebrate with some of my friends from school, friends, and former parents and students.  My car was stuffed full of stuff to bring home.  Thanks to Angie, I now have lots of decor for Audrey's nursery!  Enjoy the pictures!

There are lots more pictures, check on the facebook album to see them! Yes, Angie should be a professional party thrower!

Bumpdate 28-29 Weeks

Today was a long one. Got up at 5 to take the husband and some co-workers to the airport, taught all day and had some parent-teacher conferences today. Needless to say I am wiped out.

I forced myself to cook the dinner I had planned, but by the time it was done my "pre-dinner" filled me up. What's a pre-dinner? Well, it is what this pregnant lady eats while the real meal is cooking due to extreme hunger. Unfortunately, this some time leads to eating more pre-dinner than intended leading to a full belly and lunch an dinner for tomorrow.

On to all the boring stuff you really care about.


How far along? 28, almost 29 weeks

Size of baby? Cauliflower- 16 inches and 2.5lbs I can't believe how big she's getting!

Total weight gain? 20- yes that's 8 pounds more than last month- better lay off the pizza and ice cream ;)

Maternity Clothes? Maternity pants for sure, some tops, but a lot of my "old" stretchy, loose dresses and tops. Finding that many of my "normal" shirts are turning into belly shirts

Sleep? Still can't complain too much, few more leg cramps, getting too hot lately (the ac may be on all winter if it doesn't get better)

Best moment: normal glucose test, hearing her heartbeat and feeling her kick where my midwife was pushing, finding a love note in class today, feeling Audrey move all the time

Miss anything? Sleeping on my stomach, sitting on the floor conferring with my students

Movement? Yes! All the time! Stinson got to feel her boxing match the other night. She doesn't like to be pushed on.

Cravings? Nothing really. Still love pizza

Symptoms? Leg cramps a few times a week, heartburn, minor back aches here and there, sore feet, oh and apparently I snore now

Belly button in or out? In- it's stretching out though

Wedding rings on or off? Thick band on, diamond off (it's too tight :( )

Mood? Still normal, crankier on Fridays

Looking forward to? 3 Day weekend, seeing Pitch Perfect, and washing and folding more baby clothes.

The picture should be explained by the above events. The belly is all you care about any way, trust me the face isn't pretty tonight!

Bumpdate: 20 Weeks

I decided to make an effort to blog more throughout my pregnancy, in hopes that I will keep up with it once Audrey arrives.  I would like to be better about documenting our lives here.  I am going to do the "typical" preggo update every few weeks.

How far along? 20 weeks 5 days

Size of baby? Banana (7 in, 11 oz)

Total weight gain? 8 pounds so far

Maternity Clothes? Maternity pants for sure, squeezing into old ones with the belly band has become super uncomfortable, some tops, but a lot of my "old" stretchy, loose dresses and tops.

Sleep? So far, still sleeping well.  Usually wake up once a night, but no complaints.

Best moment of the week? Last week when one of my students said, "Mrs. Dean, I can see your baby today!"

Miss anything? Being able to bend over to put shoes on comfortably.

Movement? A few times at night, but nothing consistent yet.  Darn placenta is providing her with some  extra cushion.

Cravings? Not really, I am currently in love with french toast.  It is my go to Saturday morning breakfast.

Symptoms? A little swelling at the end of the day, but nothing to complain about yet.  Tired, but I blame that more on my students than being pregnant.

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? Thick band on, diamond off (it's too tight :(  )

Mood? Normal, although I did have one crazy hormonal day earlier this week.  Stinson couldn't figure out what was wrong with me.

Looking forward to? Feeling Audrey move!  I am hoping that I can feel her all of the time really soon!

Here I am last Sunday at 19 weeks 7 days. My belly has definitely grown this week.

A little other life update for you, 3rd grade = awesome!  I love my class of kiddos. I lucked out and the class I have this year is super mature so I haven't had too hard of a time adjusting to their age, it also helps that they are a bright bunch!  It is really fun to learn a new grade level and I am really enjoying getting to know a new team of people.

Football season is finally here!  Stinson will be doing the radio for MidAmerica again this year.  The first game is today.  I am going to skip going due to the rain, but I'll tune in to hear his commentary.  I can't wait to watch Manning play for the Broncos and watch the Chiefs have another "stellar" year!

Little Audrey already has a closet full of adorable clothes.  I can't wait to put her in them.  I haven't looked at them in a while, so that is how I spent the first part of my morning.  I wonder what the dogs will think of her when she gets her.  I have a feeling Mia is going to have to adjust to not being held whenever she wants. I also can't wait for Audrey to meet her cousin Campbell.  I think they will be good friends and stir up trouble when they're together, but we'll have to wait and see.

Well, I think that is all for now!  I know it was random, but that is how my brain operates these days.