The 6 week countdown is on!

While this past weekend was HOT, I'm looking forward to what 34 weeks has to bring!  At our doctor's appointment this past Wednesday she said that everything is progressing nicely and he's actually measuring at 35 weeks...so we'll see if that pans out to be correct or we just get one really big baby come 40 weeks!?!?  Who knows!!

Last weekend was busy with lots of homework, which is exactly what this one will be filled with, but such is life.  BUT I'm super pumped for Vanessa's baby shower in Kansas City on Saturday afternoon....pretty crazy that this will be the last time we see each other before we both have babies!  It's been so fun that she and Chris have had so many reasons to come back to KC so many times this summer - so it will be crazy going for months now without seeing them - especially when she has a baby!!  AHH!! 

How far along: 34 weeks

Size of Baby BOY Carter: about 4.5-5 lbs

Fruit/vegetable comparison: Size of a butternut squash

Sleep: A huge fan right next to me helps, but still waking up to go to the bathroom a ton - guess it's preparing me for those nightly feedings.

Movement: Still moving around - more just shifting than kicking.  His big kicks or hits do tend to surprise me.

Unglamorous body changes: I'm 8.5, almost 9 months pregnant.  I would say at this point, everything is unglamorous!!  But it's good that he keeps growing!!!

Food cravings: I HAD to have Mexican food on Thursday.  Thank goodness my sister was there to help out!

What I miss: Deli sandwiches - specifically Mr. Goodcent's Penny Clubs!

Strange experiences: I got a pedicure on Sunday (which was HEAVENLY - thank you so much to Lindsay & Terri from work for getting me a gift certificate for one!) and the guy was rubbing my feet - um, felt so good.  We weren't really talking because I was reading my book for school, but he asked me when I was due.  I said about 6 weeks or so.  He kept rubbing and thinking and then said "I think you are ready - I think baby comes in 4 weeks".  So there you have it...official prediction of 2 weeks early from the little Asian man.  I told him I'm good with that as long as it's after July 14 because I don't want to miss my bff's wedding that I'm in!!!

Milestones: He recognizes and reacts to songs that I sing (what!?!?  I need to start singing I guess!!?)

Best moment this week:  The showers we had this week were so fun and amazing and just lovely!  It was so nice to see everyone that we got to see and we feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family in our life that are just as excited as we are for Baby Carter's arrival!!

Hallmark showering Baby Carter!

You should note that this shower took place in a large conference room.  And even though my friends that planned this do not work in "creative" at Hallmark (finance and procurement to be exact), wow did they do such a great job of making this shower so cute and special!!  I mean you would not know from these pictures it was a conference room, right??

When Jimmy and I first walked in - we saw these cute little pom poms and then homemade ADORABLE onesies that Jen made.  She's very very creative!!

I just love them!  Love all of them.  The wiener dog one is adorable, the "hello ladies", the one with a REAL bow tie (in which she stole her husband's tie from Express and cut it up and tied into a bow tie - that's what I mean creative...maybe Justin won't realize it??) and then the aviator glasses - all SO adorable!   I cannot wait to get him in some of these cute little things once he arrives!

And then was the cake table and some delicious punch!  Lindsay found this punch recipe and now she has used it twice and I have used it once (for Lauren's bridal shower).  It is so yummy and this time for a little boy she added blueberries instead of raspberries to add in blue!!

And look at this cake!!  It was so good and SO delicious!!!  It was the invitation that Jen designed and sent out via email to everyone to invite them.  I love it and love the little bow tie!!  How cute!!

A shot of the parents with the cake!  I was really excited that Jimmy got to come and join in the fun.  I do feel like through our engagement and this pregnancy he never really got to attend the showers and see all the love there is for us and our new little man on the way.  Especially with all the fun baby stuff to get us ready for this guy...he was excited to join in and was a great sport in opening the presents!!

We got some amazing stuff, including lots of fun books, the baby bullet (wahoo!!!), a beautiful handmade blanket by one of my co-workers, some swaddle blankets and....the group gifts that were our car seat and the mamaroo swing!  We were so excited.  I was incredibly happy to get the car seat because I was going to buy it this weekend because being a little less than 6 weeks away from our due date that was a must have.  So this weekend's plans?  Get our car seat bases in our cars and practice with the car seat taking it in and out.  Wow we have an exciting life, right?  Haha - I'm actually really excited and I think it will make me feel better...you know for that just-in-case incident!  And you better believe Jimmy was SUPER excited about that fancy schmancy swing that they got us.  Jimmy wanted this thing from our first trip to USA baby and I said "no" and he kept talking about it for the entire pregnancy.  We didn't originally register for it, but then Jimmy pretty much put his foot down and said he wanted it BAD.  So thank you Hallmark friends...this dad-to-be is one happy guy!!

Finally, I got a shot of the wonderful hostesses and me!  Lindsay, Katie and Jen did such a fabulous job and I'm so lucky to not only call them co-workers, but good friends!!!  Lindsay is the wonderful person that will be covering for me for the 12 weeks I am at home with little baby Carter...so I owe her a ton!!

Last but not least!  I love this picture!!  This is my friend Christy, who is a finance manager in chain drug.  We are due 5 days apart and report up through the same VP.  And actually - we sent our VP an email the SAME day telling her we were expecting (all the way back in February actually when I posted this on my blog) - she said it was about 3 emails apart.  We didn't know that we were both pregnant either, so what are the odds, right??  Well, it is her second and she has been so wonderful to me in answering questions and giving advice during this whole time!!!  We actually have showed up the same day to work wearing very similar dresses many times, which always makes us smile.  And we usually have doctor's appointments just a day or two apart.  Pretty much it's crazy, right?  But so fun!!  Well, after the shower ended the other day, we went in for a hug and realized just how awkward and hard that actually is with two big bumps!!!  So after an awkward hug, I had to snag a picture of us!!  The mass customer finance pregnant ladies....

Jimmy and I are very lucky to work at such a fabulous place with such loving and wonderful co-workers!!  Thank you to all for the wonderful and personal presents!!  It's crazy because I'm excited for the baby to get here and for maternity leave, but also sad because I really do enjoy seeing all these folks on a regular basis!  However, I don't think they will mind if me and little baby Carter make some trips in to visit during my 12 weeks off!

Carter's showering Baby Carter

I apologize in advance for baby shower post overload!!  This past week we have had our last 2 wonderful baby showers and then we are showering Baby Calcara this weekend - so lots of showers, lots of friends and lots of fun!!!

First up was the Carter family baby shower!  My wonderful sister-in-laws threw such a great shower that was so fun on Saturday afternoon.  While we see each other pretty regularly, it was so great to see the rest of the Carter clan that could make it, which included Jimmy's aunts and cousins.  We haven't seen most of them since Bobby and Hillary's wedding, which was a year and a half ago!!

The decorations were so freaking cute and went along with the very cute invite that was sent out.  The cake was pretty much to die for - lemon with a delicious frosting.  I love lemon, especially during the summer!! The blocks by the cake are so cute - the writing says "When I grow up, I want to be like my daddy".

Shellie (and Libbie I'm sure) put together all the really cute banners!  After some mingling and catching up, we started with a really delicious lunch that was chicken salad sandwiches, a really good spinach salad, couscous (which was awesome!!) and of course, cake and cookies.  I have to say that Baby Carter was very happy and full with the meal, so it was a success.  Then the game started, which was everyone had to cut a ribbon to guess how big my stomach is.  Was pretty funny to see everyone measuring versus their stomach to see if they could get it right.

And then the gifts started.  And of course, I had some wonderful helpers that asked if they could help open all the presents - in which the answer was, of course!!  It's always more fun with little helpers!

It started out with Kenlie handing me presents and Norah opening them.

One of the first few presents that Kenlie passed me was from her older sister, Libbie.  Now let me tell you how sweet this present was.  So Libbie has been VERY interested in what we are thinking we are going to name this sweet baby.  And for the record - Jimmy and I have no idea and have made no decisions at all, but we do have discussions about it a lot.  Every week when we see Libbie, she always wants to know if we have made a decision and usually has some ideas for us.  It's so sweet and I love how interested she is and I love her suggestions!!  Long story short, she knows that Jimmy and I are struggling with making a decision, so her present to us was a book that she handmade for us titled "Name that Baby: the good, bad and popular baby names".  It was SO cute and wonderful!!  It had lots of baby name suggestions, including some tips like "a name is always fun that you can make a nickname for" and then she listed off some of the nicknames in our family, she listed some names that are not-so-good and are better for dogs and then to make sure that the first name and middle name are fluent sounding!  She wrote it all by herself and illustrated it and it was such a great read that I took the time to read it out loud to everyone.  At the end she even put an activity for Jimmy and I to complete where we write down our favorite first and middle names for 1 minute each and then compare to find our favorites!  She is SOOOO creative and it was probably one of my favorite presents. 

Reading the book and Kenlie (Libbie's little sister) looking on

Then we started up the unwrapping and tissue paper throwing again! Katy and Maren joined in because I guess it looked like Kenlie and Norah were just having too much fun.  They loved looking at all the presents and even got in the habit of holding them up for everyone to see!!

Love this picture of Norah holding up the stuffed kangaroo!  Looks like she likes it!

Norah is hidden somewhere behind those baby clothes.  Check out Maren's lip!

And then it was time for the sentimental things!  Sue (my mother in law) gave us a bag of some of Jimmy's baby clothes that she kept.  One was the outfit he wore home from the hospital (he said it looks like it was a girl's outfit) and then the one that he got baptized in.  And finally - check out that plaid baby suit!  Hilarious!  It is always fun to get special hand me downs, especially we all know Jimmy wore them!

This was a blanket that Jimmy's great grandmother cross stitched the bunnies and then they made it into a blanket.  I love it!

These two in their matching outfits wanted to get a picture in!

After presents, it was time to see who won the game!  Shellie measured me around and then went around to see who's string that they cut was the closest to how big I really am.  We were talking about if this was a self-esteem boosting or hurting game - haha.  In the end, everyone guessed WAY bigger than I really am, so I deemed it a self-esteem boosting game!  And my mom actually got the closest with her guess!

While we wrapped things up and packed up the car, the girls enjoyed the bubble wrap that came with the baby bathtub!  They enjoyed smashing it and popping it all!  Did you ever do this as a kid??  I had to tell everyone the story of one Christmas when there was a HUGE box under the tree for 2 weeks when my sister and I were little.  We were convinced it was a dog (not sure how we thought a dog could survive there for 2 weeks....).  We were so excited to open it on Christmas morning and when we did it was a HUGE box of these things to pop.  And guess what?  We popped them all day long.  We popped them down the stairs, in the basement, in our rooms, etc. Funny how easily children are entertained right?  And it's good to know that kids still are!!

Finally, I had to grab some pictures with my mom and sister and the wonderful hostesses!  I usually get all the way through the shower and people are walking out the door and we never get any pictures - so here we are!

Wonderful sister-in-laws that hosted the shower! (Trish, Lindsay, Hillary and Shellie)

All the Carter family girls...Sue and Granny joined in!

It was such a fun shower and so great to see everyone!!!  We were super excited to get the nap nanny and pack in play too - so we are slowly but surely collecting all the essentials we need for this baby to come.  Only 6 weeks (give or take) until he's set to arrive so we are getting more excited each day!  I do know for sure that he's one lucky little boy to be blessed with such an amazing family on both his mom's and dad's side!!!  His cousins are VERY excited to meet him and give him lots of love pats each week when we see them too - so he better be ready!!

Week #33!

And here we are – week 33 already!!  Guess what?  I made it out alive through my crazy classes and the weekend is almost here, so you better believe I have a big smile on my face!!  Biggest challenge this week?  Finding the time to do homework in the evening and then being sad because I really just want to call/skype/meet up with my friends and family.  Haven’t even had a chance to think about how big this mama is getting!!

33 weeks means there are 7 weeks left.  Just doesn’t feel real yet.  We will have a little one that will forever change our lives so soon!  However, watching the video in child birth class of someone giving birth – I have to say that made it a little more “real”.  All I have to say about that is – no thank you, I will not be opting to put a mirror down there to see what’s going on.  Yes, she did say that was an option.  For sure not my style.  I am happy to report that some good advice came out of the class for swollen feet and I’m feeling much better.  In addition to the normal response of drink more water, she actually suggested drinking cranberry juice and this wild raspberry hot tea.  So I got some and have been drinking it at work every morning…it’s kind of a nice thing to look forward to drink that is not water and caffeine free – so I’m tricking myself into thinking I’m back to drinking coffee, but I’m really not.  Not sure if that made sense…sorry, I’m going to claim pregnancy brain on that one.

Big nursery news this week was that the fabric for the nursery arrived (which was very exciting) and last weekend I built and painted the bookshelves and then made the window valance that will hang as the curtain with lime green and white polka dots with navy panels underneath.  It’s pretty cool – check out the website I used to build it.  Very easy and best yet, we already had most of the materials (PS I admit to being a hoarder of MDF board and plywood…).  I’m excited to get some batting this weekend and hang it up!  I just think curtains completely change the room.

Without further ado…the bump pictures for this week:

Since Milly and Willy are easy to grab and join me in my pictures...I was trying to get Toby in this weeks.  He was not too excited about coming into the hallway that I usually take the pictures in and really wouldn't even get up for me.  So I just went to him.  And this was after several picture attempts.  I think he still loves me...he's been acting very depressed lately and we are not sure why!!

How far along: 33 weeks

Size of Baby BOY Carter: over the 4 lb mark and 17 or so inches 

Fruit/vegetable comparison: Size of a durian??? 

  

Sleep: Not.so.much.  It's like a sauna in our bedroom too so that doesn't help!

Movement: Lots - I love it.  It's our little secret when he moves!

Unglamorous body changes: I'm not going to lie - things are just harder with a huge stomach and my body aches supporting all this extra weight.  Stretching and walking does help some!

Food cravings: Nothing really - just getting back on track with the good eating habits!

What I miss: Time!!!!!!!  Moving so fast!

Strange experiences: Nothing really this week that I can think of!

Milestones: He keeps his eyes open and bones and brain continue to develop

Best moment this week:  Finally got all the gifts from the baby shower a few weeks ago put away - now I just need to start writing the thank you notes this weekend!!  AND we got our proofs back from our maternity shoot with Amanda M. Photography and we LOVE them!  She did such a great job!!  Will share them whenever we pick out the ones we are going to buy!