A month of lasts...

Today is March 31 and my last day of work will be April 30. We have always said that we would want to have me stay home when we started our family, and while it is happening sooner than anticipated, we feel very, very blessed that I will be able to stay home full-time to raise our baby (and our furry girl too). Now, getting ready to start my last month, and training a new person in how to do my job, it's really hitting me that I'm going to be at home. I'm really excited about Isaac and all of the changes heading our way, but it is hard to wrap my head around not working too--I'm the girl who ALWAYS had a job, even in college when I was in marching band (2 hours of practice a day plus entire Saturday's gone) and taking 19 credit hours I had a job. It's hard to imagine going from the structure of a full-time job (I live for rules and boundaries, odd but true) to the flexible hours of being always on demand for a small child; but I'm excited. It really is a whole new chapter in my life and hopefully I'll be ready in 42 days or so...

Also--on a totally random note--I think it's funny to realize how many people (besides myself) have May birthdays. It seems like everyday someone tells me "well, if you go into labor early (or late) you'll have him on my birthday." I guess late July/early August is the most romantic time of the year ;)

Finished!

Well, after a rare burst of energy this weekend, the nursery is finished! Poor Andro--I woke him up early Saturday morning to help me hang the shelves (i.e. to do it for me) and then spent most of the day organizing all of the wonderful things that Isaac has gotten from our amazingly generous family and friends. After getting everything unpacked and put away, I was shocked by how much room there is!

The nursery, and in particular the glider (thank you to my Momma and Daddy!!!), is my favorite room in the house. It is so peaceful (at least right now, before the baby takes residence) and the glider is the most comfortable chair for me these days. Almost to 34 weeks and I'm starting to be plagued with 3rd trimester discomforts. I can't seem to get comfortable at all, my joints are sore from the 'softening,' and I've been suffering from bouts of insomnia. Poor Libby will wake up and halfheartedly try to find a toy to keep me company at 3am, but usually she falls asleep within a minute of trying to hang out with me. Only 6 more weeks to go! (lol hopefully!)

And...in other news, I've sent in my hospital admittance form and have a pediatrician, so I'm making progress on all of my to-do's.

Updating the To-Do list

A few weeks ago I posted my to-do list. I've been making slow progress on this, but thought I might as well update it. On my to do list:

1) Get a 'practice' baby to teach Libby boundaries [status--complete]
a. Libby has been doing really well with 'practice baby,' my infant Cabbage Patch doll. She knows that she can't jump in my lap when I'm holding him and she's learning that I need to give attention to the baby and not just to her (that's been really tough for her, she is my little furry shadow and gets tons of affection whenever she wants).

2) Get a cd of baby sounds to teach Libby to not bark when she hears weird noises [status--need to order]

3) Finish organizing the nursery and put in deeper shelves in the 'built-in' bookcase for storage [status--work in progress]
a. Over the weekend, I got the wall repaired (i.e. spackled flat where old anchors had been) and painted (miraculously got Lowe's to match the paint color) and purchased everything that I need for the shelves. Next step, getting Andro to put up the new supports, hopefully he'll do it this week. Issac has so many clothes and toys and things in general now, I need to get them put away on the new shelves. And I hate having unfinished projects staring at me!

4) Become members of a local church [status--complete]
a. We joined a local church and have been going to service and it's great! I love this church,

5) Find a pediatrician [status--almost completed, still]
a. I found a practice that I like but missed their March open house. Hoping to get some interviews scheduled and/or attend their April open house. This is a top priority.

6) Fill out the hospital registration form [status--complete and mailed in!] (and get the hospital bag ready [status--giving myself some more time before I start packing])

And 7) Figure out a way to con my Mom into living with us and taking care of the baby full-time [status--I've given up on this one, but having her here for 10 days was so wonderful...it really spoiled me, I'm looking forward to her visit in May!]

A couple of new ones to add to the list:

8) Wash all of Isaac's clothes and linens (just bought some baby laundry soap) and get them organized (i.e. in the bins on shelves and need to get some drawer organizers for his dresser)

9) See every movie that I have even the remotest of interest in before May 12 (not really a major to-do, but I love going to the movies, and have a feeling that it's going to be one of those luxuries like washing my hair and putting on clean clothes in the beginning few weeks/months of being a mom that just isn't going to happen)

Amazing weekend

Mom, Aunt Jay, Tine, and Trini threw me a baby shower on Saturday and it was wonderful. A great chance to see friends and family (including Auntie Ema, these are actually two of her photos that I'm hijacking)and celebrate the impending arrival of Isaac. The theme was Noah's ark and that cake was as delicious as it is beautiful (I'm anti-fondant, it tastes so bad I don't care how good it looks, this was pure butter cream perfection)and the decorations were adorable--animal balloons, gorgeous white roses, the blue table cloths that we had made up for the wedding. It was an amazing day and I feel very loved and very, very spoiled.


Andro and I before the big event got under way (he hung out at Mickey Finn's with some of the husbands).

I mentioned in my last post that Jackie's little boy's due date was nearing and he was actually born last Sunday. Jackie sent word the morning of the shower that she was in labor and her little boy, Lucas, was delivered early the next morning. We can't wait to meet him! All in all a pretty full, fantastic weekend.

Getting Caught Up On Photos

I've been really horrible about taking photos lately, but Layla posted some from our annual friends holiday dinner that I thought I'd share on the blog. I've noticed that I've worn a lot of black during this pregnancy, making it a little difficult to discern the bump...but he's there, although he has been cut out of the photo of me and Andro.

This year's dinner was held at Pete and Carol's which is now only 20 mins. away from us back in January. In the above photo you can see half of the class of 2028--two lil boys are still cooking, but one is getting close to being finished. Jackie is due on the 18th. Funny to think that by the next holiday dinner--tentatively being held at Mark and Tiffany's new house--there will be four high chairs set up.

29 weeks 4 days

Andro and I went to a stunning wedding for our friends Aisha and Dave at the Adler Planetarium. This wedding was simply gorgeous, beautiful flowers, amazing view of the city, and a great time for everyone. Above is a belly shot taken at the event and yes, he's getting big. Please note my arms are still the same size (and my bf Kinsey thinks they look a little thinner now because of how big the belly is). I tried to take photos during the ceremony but the flash wouldn't work...grrr...

PS (How handsome is my husband? He's the cutest and has been going above and beyond to still make me feel pretty while my belly gets bigger and bigger.)