Weather Prediction = Showers!!!

We have had an awesome week.  It started with my first baby shower last Saturday.  My Sister and Mom worked very hard to give us an awesome party.  It was a lot of fun and we had lots of family and friends attend.  Some that attended we have not seen in quite awhile.  It was fun to see them and have them help us celebrate.  The day started with snow and sleet and we were worried that people would not be able to make it to the church.  I would say with the attendance reaching 60 people that it didn't stop them from showing up.  We got so many wonderful gifts, even a few that were handmade.  One of my little cousins made us a baby hat and booties and two friends made beautiful baby blankets.  We received so many wonderful items and are so excited for the little guy to get here so we can use them all.  It took us well over an hour to unwrap everything and we completely filled the blazer to get it all home. 

37 Weeks - Here we are!

 

Saturday was also my Sister's birthday.  We (our family and her husband Ben's family) all went to dinner to celebrate.  It was nice to be able to spend some time with her as well.  Since they live in North Carolina, I don't get to see her as often as I would like.  Happy Birthday Chrissy!!!  We love you!!!!

 Ricky & I at the WorldStrides Baby Shower.

On Tuesday, my friends at work threw my second baby shower.  They surprised me by inviting Ricky to attend the celebration.  It is such a rare treat to actually have him home and a wonderful experience to share with him.  We completely filled a conference room and had some wonderful food.  I was shocked when I walked in the room and saw everyone waiting, all of the wonderful food, and the gifts.  It was so much fun.  My friends worked really hard and it definitely showed.  I am so grateful to have them.  They make everyday at work a lot of fun!!!  Once again, we filled the blazer with little room for us to make it home.  Ricky spent the evening sorting everything out so we could begin to put it all where it belongs and begin the assembly process of some of the gifts.

My friend Lisa made our cake.



Our Diaper Wreath!  It is so cute!!



We are extremely blessed to have wonderful family and friends who made this week so special.  We have another family shower coming up next week and we cannot wait.  Our Sister-n-law and Ricky's Mom are giving us our third shower and we know it will be just as amazing and fun as the first two.

I also had the opportunity to pass along a cute tradition at work.  It started many years ago with a coffee mug that is shaped like a pregnant woman.  You are given the mug to display at your cube until someone else announces they are expecting.  I have had the mug since August and finally had the privilege of passing it along to another friend at work.  The mug is quite cute so I have attached a picture that we took before I passed it along.  I wish my friend the best in her pregnancy and I know she will be a wonderful Mommy!!

We also had the first of our every week doctor's appointments today, Thursday.  We met with the last doctor in our rotation and we really like him a lot.  He was very easy to talk to and very informative.  He said we are right on schedule and baby Kaiden is doing great!!  His heartbeat measured at 145 today.  Way to go little man.  I have not dilated but my cervix is soft.  He said that was good.  My body is already starting to prepare itself for the big event. 

Unfortunately that was not my only doctor's appointment of the day.  I have another terrible sinus infection that is totally kicking my butt.  The doctor's have decided to try the Z-Pak in hopes that it will clear up before delivery.  Hello meds, I am not happy to have to see you!!!  I seriously hope that the meds will clear up this yucky, snotty, coughing and choking disaster!!  

Ricky and I feel extremely blessed and are so excited that we will be meeting our little one in just a few short weeks.  We have been so blessed with such a wonderful pregnancy!  We cannot thank our friends and family enough for all of their support!  It won't be long now before Kaiden arrives and we get to introduce him to everyone!!  

Friends, Class & Ultrasound

     It has been one busy and amazing week.  Thankfully Ricky and I were able to enjoy it together.  Our week started with friends and a dinner date.  We had some wonderful company over to our house for dinner, relaxing and catching up.  They just had their third child in December so it was really nice to be able to hear their story and get some much needed advice and laughs about what's to come for us.  It is always good to have someone who can help calm your fears or give you an experienced perspective.  I keep telling them they are going to be on speed dial for any emergencies that arise. 

Next on our agenda for the week:  Breastfeeding Class.  I am really looking forward to breastfeeding Kaiden.  I want to learn as much as possible before he arrives in hopes that it will be a great success for me and him.  Our Instructor was awesome.  She answered a lot of questions and was very good at explaining how to be successful with latching and what to watch out for.  She also helped us practice different ways to position the baby and even had the dad's practice so they would understand how to help mom when the time comes.  I am even more excited now.

     Our last big item of the week was a 4D Ultrasound.  I must say that we were not aware that we should have gone much sooner than we did.  In our minds, we were thinking the closer we are to our due date the more we will be able to tell who Kaiden will look like.  When I called to make the appointment and explained to the lady that we were transitioning into our 35th week, she was nice enough to tell me that we may not get very good pictures or video at all.  We decided to make the appointment anyway and she was right.  The pictures that we did get were not as clear as we would have hoped but the experience was awesome.  Sandra, the tech at Bella Baby who did our Ultrasound, had a lot of patience and was very determined to do everything she could to get us the best pictures possible.  Our 20 minute session actually lasted for an hour and twenty minutes.  All in all, we were able to see that our little guy will have chubby little cheeks (a trait from both his Mom and Dad), big feet, long legs, the sweetest little lips, and he sleeps with his legs crossed at the ankles and his hands crossed under one cheek.  We cannot wait until he arrives and reveals to all of us his precious little face.  Ricky and I left our appointment feeling quite prideful and excited that we will of course have the most beautiful baby boy in the entire world.
Kaiden's foot

 Facial Profile

Kaiden's hands crossed at his cheek as he sleeps. 

Kaiden's little legs crossed at the ankles. 

Our Beautiful little boy's face!!!  Isn't he the cutest you have ever seen!?! 

If all goes as planned, we are headed to a camping show tomorrow and then spending Monday at home relaxing!  We will also have our first baby shower next week.  It is going to be so much fun seeing everyone!!!

Grand Reveal!!

It is hard to believe that we are starting our 34th week of pregnancy.  It will not be long before our little man arrives.  This week we had our last Preparation for Childbirth class.  I am so thankful that Ricky was able to attend all of the classes with me.  It is comforting to know that my support person for labor was actually learning along side me rather than waiting for a translation of what was covered each week.  We are praying we will be able to take the knowledge we have gained and put it to good use in 6 weeks.  

We also had the pleasure of taking some more pregnancy pictures with my sister while she was home.  We had about 1 1/2 hours of daylight so we took alot of pictures very quickly.  Chrissy does an awesome job and the pictures turned out wonderfully.

 

 Many of you have been inquiring about little man's name.  Yes, he does have a name.  We decided to play a little game with our friends and family on facebook.  We provided them with the baby's initials and asked them to guess what his name will be.  We had some very interesting names given as well as some names that we can store in the event God blesses us with another little one in the future.  We would like to say thank you to everyone for providing us with some of very unique and interesting names.  We would also like to say congratulations to all of you who guessed his middle name and to one person who guessed his entire name correctly.  Without further ado we present to you little man's actual name: 

Us playing with the baby's name

This picture courtesy of Robin Chandler

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

We have had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's.  Ricky and I were able to spend this time together and it was awesome!  We started Christmas break out with a trip to VA Beach to see the Christmas lights on the Beach.  It was a nice relaxing end to the camping season.  When we left VA Beach we moved up to Williamsburg for one night.  It was nice to be able to spend an additional night in the camper before packing it up for the year.

We feel very fortunate and blessed that we were able to spend Christmas with the family.  We originally thought Ricky would miss all of the festivities due to work.  We spent Christmas Eve with his family and the day after Christmas with mine.  It was so much fun to watch the little ones open their presents and to see how much they have all grown.  It was a lot of fun for Ricky to get to spend time with them.  He does not get to see them that often.

Me & Ashlyn

Ricky, Ashlyn & Wyatt

Ricky & Olivia

Even the puppies had a wonderful Christmas!

Ricky & Little Man both got some Bass Pro Shop gear for Christmas!

On December 26th, we visited with the doctor again to check on little man.  We are measuring right on target and everything else is looking good as well.  We asked about his position since we have been guessing that he is transverse.  The doctor confirmed what we thought and little man will need to turn head down over the next few weeks.   Little man's heartbeat was in the 150s.  Way to go little man we are so proud of you!! 
32 Weeks and Counting! 

It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of pregnancy.  It will not be long before our little one arrives and Ricky and I are over the moon.  We had our Basics in Baby Care class this week and learned about breastfeeding, swaddling, etc.  Practice, practice, practice - we have been working on the swaddling and think we might have it down.  The real test will come when little man arrives.  We are now trying to decide where in the house we should keep the swing, bouncy seat and other items that we have registered for.