Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from the Battermann family (yep, Logan is still in my belly...guess he really didn't want to make an appearance today).  This year Buddy will have to wish you Happy Halloween next to an empty bassinet!  :)

We had several trick or treaters.  A couple little kids who were along with their parents.  Every so often somebody would ask 'when are you due'.  I must admit that it was kind of fun to say 'tomorrow.  And they'd be so surprised...one lady even said 'Oh, but you're so tiny!'.  Aw, sweet lady!

Week 39 Checkup - Part II

So I got back from my doctor appointment a little bit ago.

Logan did not move around AS much as last time, but still enough to pass the test! :) She said that his heartrate is absolutely perfect and when he moves around he has a perfect acceleration...that's my boy...perfect as can be! :)

I am still only 1-2 cm....but I am 50% effaced instead of just 25%, so that is great...at least an improvement somewhere! He is still head down and still floating along...not down far enough.

So, she gave me 2 options:

1) Schedule an induction for Tuesday (that is her day at the hospital and they usually schedule inductions for 'their' days)

2) Come back in on Monday and be checked again. Then, they will definitely schedule the induction for sometime next week...she said that we will definitely have this baby by next Saturday! (It's nice to have a definite deadline!!!)

I opted for #2. I really want him to come when he's ready, if at all possible. So we will wait for as long as they will allow us (even though we are dying for him to arrive...but John and I are both in agreement on this).

She said to walk, walk, walk. Since it is such a nice weekend (60s & sunny) it will be perfect weather to walk in...and Buddy will be there right by my side, so excited to take so many walks. :)

So hopefully I will go into labor this weekend...if not I will provide an update when I get back from my appt. on Monday!

Say some prayers for us that he comes out this weekend, happy & healthy!!! :)

Nothing yet...

So for those of you wondering....I am still at home.

I have had contractions throughout the day.....nothing regular and only one that I experienced some 'pain'... I purposely stayed home today to work from home because I thought something might happen and didn't want to be an hour away.

I am going for a walk right now....so perhaps that will spark something. If not, I do have my appt. tomorrow, so I am excited to see if I've progressed any....

The 'Plug'

So last night around 11pm (while we were getting ready for bed), I am fairly certain I 'passed (at least some of) the mucus plug'. I will not to go into details as 'eww'. The doctor from Monday said I would spot that day from his checkup....and I did all that afternoon....however it stopped Monday night through all of Tuesday...so I am pretty sure that this was not from his checkup.

Now, I've heard that this can mean that labor will start within 24 hours....or a few weeks...so it doesn't have a real bearing on when things will happen. However, I have to believe that with me being a little dialated already and a little effaced that it could mean it will happen within the next few days....and I will continue to believe it even if people say not to...it is fun to believe. (However, I did a lot of believing that I was going to get pregnant 'for sure this time' for 5 years...and yeah, well....)

So I continue to squat and bend and stretch hoping that something will trigger this cute little dude to want to come out.

Ah...Snow???

So I just walked outside to get the mail and yes, snow flurries slapped me in the face (but they are already gone)!

Yesterday we thought we saw them and I said 'no way!'...Well on the radio this morning I heard that some suburbs did in fact get about 6 minutes of snow flurries.

Crazy! It is pretty cold out there....but will warm up to 60 for the trick or treaters on Friday. :)

Week 39 Checkup

Okay, so I do have some exciting news to report!

I am 1-2 cm dialated!!!!

So I had the NST and Logan, again, was very active. I ate 2 bran muffins (homemade from a recipe from my Junior/Senior year High School Food class!!!) and had a cup of hot chocolate before I went to the doc. office...so no wonder why he moved.

The contractions weren't really measuring, but I didn't feel any...so who knows.

The doctor checked me and yes I am 1-2 cm dialated and about 25% effaced....so that is such exciting news!!!! He said that my cervix is not quite ripe enough to have a successful induction (which is okay with me since I don't want to be induced just yet...I'd like to give Logan at least til my due date to come on his own).

So my doc. said that the way he 'checked me' (which was quite uncomfortable) sometimes does spark labor...so that's pretty exciting! Here's to hoping that works!!!

He wants me to come back on Friday (this Friday...Halloween) for another appt....since my due date is on Saturday. It sounded like, if I haven't delivered by Friday and my cervix has made some progress....that they may discuss induction on Friday. Who knows...

Holy crap! This is just so exciting...I'm beaming! It is just so surreal to me that he'll be here so soon. I can't wait to see experience every speck of life with Logan.

Say your prayers that we have a successful delivery with a happy, healthy baby!!!!!

Week 39

This past Saturday was the landmark of Week 39...whoa, crazy!

My plan for this day was to super-clean the house including steam cleaning all the carpets. We gave Buddy a bath...and after this is done and we've gotten him as dry as a towel will allow us, he typically throws himself on the carpet in our bedroom and dries off a bit more that way. So I wanted to get that out of the way before I steam cleaned the carpets.

Well after Buddy's bath, we cleaned the bathroom from top to bottom....I then vacuumed our bedroom and started steam cleaning the carpet. I got a half a row done...and snap. John noticed that the band that makes the brushes spin snapped off. Well, after some searching, apparently this replacement part is not sold in stores....so we ordered the stupid $3 part online. Arg. Therefore, nothing, except for that one half a row in our bedroom, got steam cleaned. So sad.

Later in the day, John got his haircut, Buddy got his nails cut & filed, I got a mani/pedi...so everybody was pampered in some way.

Sunday, after Church, John finished a couple random projects that I kindly pointed out the day before....including installing both car seat bases in our cars, the mirror-thingy in my car (so I can see Logan while driving) and putting the stroller in my Jeep....yeah, well, that thing is huge!!!!! So it is back in the house cuz there was barely any room for anything else.

After doing some of the random projects I pointed out, John actually took it upon himself to start his own project (which, if you know John...that doesn't happen all too often). About a month or so ago, one of the shelves in our Laundry Room fell (the one that holds the detergent and such). Well he decided to take down all the shelves, putty, paint and install cabinets...way to go John! Our laundry room is so small (very narrow) and some shelves were sticking out a foot from the wall, so John would always feel like he was going to hit his head. He finished half the laundry room last night and it looks really nice. One cabinet above the dryer replaced a 6 foot long wire-shelf that went along the wall...so a great improvement!

Well my doctor appt. is in a half hour...so I best get ready. I will post once I have some results from it...hopefully some positive news! :)

New Additions to Logan's Room

Last weekend John and my Dad installed a ceiling fan and light in Logan's room...it has a dimmer and remote control....perfect!!

And here is a picture of our new rocker recliner...it is soooo comfortable!  I'm sure Logan and I or John and Logan will spend many, many, many hours in this chair!

Pics from Week 38

These pictures were taken last Saturday, but I just didn't get around to posting them.  Enjoy!

He'll be a Scorpio

So while I don't really follow signs or any of that stuff...today does mark the day that Logan will officially be a Scorpio (just like me!).

My cousin Meghan got Logan a scorpio shirt when we found out we were pregnant...so I did have it in the back of my mind if he came early he wouldn't be able to wear his scorpio shirt....haha, how silly.  

But now, Logan, feel free to come along so you can wear your Scorpio shirt proudly!!!  (yeah, sure...that's what he's been waiting for...)

Rocker Recliner

So we got the last piece of furniture in Logan's (small) room....our Rocker Recliner.

We put it next to the crib, in front of the window and closet. I put Logan's Library of 'hard books' on the left side so I will be able to easily read Logan some stories.

Last night I read him a couple, then reclined myself and fell asleep for an hour and a half...yep, I'd say that the chair is pretty comfortable! It has a very high back (since John is so tall, we wanted his head to still have support)...so it does look big in the room, but will be so worth it during the middle of the night and such. :)

I will post a picture later.

(Logan, now that the recliner is in your room, feel free to come out and see it!!!!)

They stopped....

For now the contractions have stopped. The last one was at 7:30. When I had them I was sitting at my kitchen table on a firm chair....it seems when I sat on a comfy couch to watch Dancing with the Stars they stopped. Or, perhaps they stopped because I blogged about it....then it was 'pressure'...hm. Ah well...we'll see!!!!

Next time they start I will go for a walk....after I bundle up. I wish it didn't get dark so quickly now...and that it wasn't cold and rainy....I would otherwise have no problem going for a walk.

Well we'll keep everybody posted.

Contraction Alert...

So today after my doctor appointment I continued to work from home. We had to get a very last minute proposal (against my better judgement) out the door.

I had to do a lot of work to it and was on the phone and Instant Messenger back and forth with several people from work....getting further and further into a stressful mode.

Apparently that stressful mode stressed more than just ME out....Logan wasn't a huge fan either.

I started having some heavy pressure and after one or two moments of this pain, I thought I should start keeping track.

If I would lean back in my kitchen chair, it would hurt more (cuz I'd be stretching the area)....and if I tried to get up and walk I couldn't stand straight or really walk...I'd have to stop and lean on a counter. Not an awful pain by any means, but definitely uncomfortable and different enough where I can sense that this was a contraction.

So while they've been at random times....sometimes 5 minutes apart, other times a half an hour apart....I have had 10 contractions in 3.5 hours.....I've just written times down, I haven't timed anything...just wrote down times that I've felt this 'pain/ache'. I have leaned back in my

John is on his way home from work and I'm sure we'll keep better track if they continue....the last one was during this blog.... :0

We'll keep you posted........ :)

Mr. Destruct-o

That is my new name for Buddy. He is a year and a half...so he still has some puppy tendencies. He has had free roam of the house (no crate) for a year now...and sure from time to time I have lost a shoe or two....or a piece of mail....just random dumb things. He has never destroyed anything major (which I am very thankful for...especially since our couch is lined with about 12 pillows that could easily be a fighting match).

Anywho, this past weekend he destroyed one of my green flip-flops, Logan's pacifier-medication dispenser, took Logan's swing mobile (it was hiding in the stroller...apparently not very well) - he did not chew this, luckily I caught him in time, he stole my shopping list - again I caught him before he chewed it up. AH! This was all in 24 hours. This was all stuff he's had access to for several weeks.

I think he can really sense that something will happen soon...and he's acting out.

Although, yesterday and today he was an angel....he just had to get it out of his system. :) I am curious once Logan arrives if he will go through this stage again...I hope not!!!

Week 38 Checkup

This morning I had another doctor appointment; it went very well.


The non stress test went just great. The grouchy nurse I had last time was a bit more cheerful this time around...she even smiled. :) So Logan was cooperative for her. He actually moved around a bunch without me having to coax him much at all. He even threw a couple hard kicks my way...ones that made me say 'whoa'. :) Such a cutie.

Anywho, the doctor told me that I had tested positive for Group B Strep. I made him check the chart 2 different times because I could have swore that the doctor last week told me I was negative. Well now I must research this farther. He did say that if I was pre-term (which I'm not...since I'm at 38 weeks) that it had risks. He mentioned that they will give me antibiotics when I go to the hospital and they will tell the pediatrician so they can keep an extra eye on Logan at the beginning...but he told me not to worry. So naturally I will hop on the Internet and check it out...hopefully I will not grow concerned. I really have a feeling that he will be just fine, but I'm sure all Moms-to-be think that. :)

He said that my labor & delivery file is already at the hospital...so that is exciting to hear even though it really means nothing. :)

He then proceeded to fill out a little piece of paper and acted as if he were leaving...I said hey, are you done? (Meaning, I was fully expecting to have an 'exam' each week now) He said that because I wasn't dialated at all last week and I haven't had any real contractions in the last week that really nothing has changed. Well, I admit I was a little disappointed (apparently I really wanted to get felt up...haha!!!).

So I did ask him how long after my due date would they induce me...he said they wouldn't let me go past 41 weeks (pretty standard from what I've heard). I also asked if I could still work after my due date if he hasn't yet arrived (I had gotten an impression that you couldn't work past your due date). He said that it is recommended as long as I'm feeling fine...it will help keep my mind off 'waiting' and if I were to take time off, it would take time away from being on maternity leave. Works for me!

So one week from today we'll find out more.....

Week 38

Well Sweetest Day, landmark week 38, came...and went....without Logan arriving. So yes, while it would've been cool to have him exactly a year after he was conceived, that's okay....he's still waiting to make a grand entrance.

Sleeping is still a bit more uncomfortable than before....just feels heavier to swing the ol' belly from the right side to the left side. And can I just say how much Tums has made this pregnancy so much better? I would say a good 6 out of 7 nights a week I wake up around 2am (ish) nearly choking because the heartburn has reached an awful point. I take a tums, a few breathers...and poof I can go back to sleep like nothing!

I really haven't had too many weird dreams about babies.....but I finally did have a couple... The other night I dreamt that I had my 'bloody show' or mucus plug thingy falling out.... Then the next night I dreamt that I went to breastfeed Logan for the first time and it was perfect....the nurses were very impressed that Logan and I were both like pros. Yeah....I don't expect that to be the case at all!!!

This past Thursday, Logan wasn't very active at all. Every time I would start thinking, 'hm...he's not moving so much, maybe I should try this or that...' then he throw a kick my way. And I did my usual kick counts in which he passed...but he wasn't rolling around like usual. Well...he has made up for it since...he must've just had an off day.

The week did fly by though, so that is great. :) At work some people are saying that I've dropped or this or that....but the girl that I'm training at work keeps telling Logan to stay put! We'll see.....

My work shower...surprise!

Okay, apparently I am not all caught up with my posts...I guess a lot happened in this past week. :)

This past Friday afternoon, my work threw me a 'surprise' work shower. Honestly, I've never been a part of so many surprises as I have been these last few weeks!!!

So a girl I work with told me that I had to come to the kitchen as there was a science experiment growing in the refrigerator. She promised me I wouldn't puke, but that it was really cool and had to come see it. Well, naturally, who wouldn't want to see something like that!?!?!? haha!!

Well the team (of those in the office....as many of my team members are constantly on the road) was all in the kitchen and yelled 'surprise!'.

They had some decorations hanging about and a most delicious cake (with fresh strawberries...yum). I just happened to have my camera with me...so my boss took my camera and snapped several pictures (naturally, they are not stored on this computer...so I will post pictures of my work shower and John's work shower later tonight).

They also gave us a generous gift card to Babies R Us. We only have a couple things left to get, so the gift card will definitely come in handy within the next few months with diapers and other random things we didn't realize we'd need right away. :)

(By the way....scroll down past my Week 36 post to see the details of John's work shower. I wrote it the day it happened, but forgot to post it....Blogger puts the posts in order of when you started the post, not when you posted it...so you may otherwise miss it.) :)

Wow...we have now had 4 showers!!!! We feel so blessed to have so many people care about us to help us out on our new journey and 'life changing experience'. :)

Week 37 Checkup

Okay, so I think I am finally caught up on my blog entries and am now finally in 'real time'.

Today, I had my first 'weekly' appt., including my first Non-Stress Test.

Logan did a good job. I was supposed to have the appt. at the doctor's office 5 minutes from my house...but on Friday their non-stress machine broke and they rescheduled me to an office 20 minutes away...no big deal...however, apparently during all the rescheduling they double-booked some other lady and I for a non-stress test at the same time. No big deal to me...however the nurse was none too happy about it (honestly, she's never been a cheerful one to begin with).

Well Logan was apparently still a little sleepy so it took her a good 5 minutes of trying to find a constant heartbeat. This would have probably concerned me, except that I felt him move once or twice while she was doing this and every so often we'd hear the heartbeat. I think Logan could sense her frustration and decided not to give her the benefit of doubt. That's my boy...if you're not happy with her attitude, force her to bring in somebody else! So that is what happened. She said 'oh, I'll ask the other nurse to come in'....fine with me! :) So a more cheerful nurse came in, looked at my belly and said, 'oh he looks like he's over here' and poof, she was right and there was his heartbeat nice and strong!

So I laid there for the half hour or however long it was and watched the contraction line and the heartbeat line. (although after awhile, with my head turned to the right in order to watch these amazing lines jump and squiggle...I started getting nauseous (it's the same reason I can't turn around in the car from the front to back seat...even when not pregnant)). Anywho, I digress.

I clicked a little button every time I felt him move...which was kind of funny. He'd be nice and calm and I'd say 'Hey Logan' (in a sing-song voice that I normally do) and then he'd be real active for a good 30 seconds or so. I tried it 3 times and all 3 times it worked....what a cute little guy responding to his mother's voice. :)

So the doctor came in and said 'oh looks like you had some irregular contractions...did you feel them'. To my excitement (to know that I actually had some contractions) and dismay (that I didn't feel them) I told him no. He said well they weren't the 'real' contractions any way...you'd feel those! I joked with him and said 'oh, okay, because if those were contractions and I didn't feel them...labor would be a breeze!!!!'... hahaha!!!!

He examined me...didn't mention what I measured, but didn't say a little big or anything...so I think I am on target. He said that I was not dialated at all (bummer), but he did confirm that Logan was head down...so that's very good news.

He answered the questions I had which was great, in which I learned that when he lived in NY, he actually delivered all 3 of his boys. I asked him if he thought that was 'weird/nerve-wracking or cool....he said definitely cool. :)

So I go back next Monday for another checkup. I hope to be dialated a little...even if it is just 1cm by next week. But I also realize that I can't really help that...

Anybody have any out of the ordinary (or in the ordinary) things that helped get labor started? Just curious... :)

Week 37

So Saturday was not only John's birthday....but Week 37 for the pregnancy! Logan is now definitely considered full-term.

I still feel absolutely wonderful. :)

My sleeping has become a little uncomfortable....either some nights of tossing and turning a lot...or a leg or side aching from laying on the right or left side only...

I so miss laying flat on my back (but read you shouldn't do that for long periods of time as Logan could lay on some important cord...and it's not good for either of us).

Logan still bounces around...during the same times he always has. Despite some people saying that he won't move as much, or he'll move like crazy, I really haven't noticed much of a change. When I'm still after I've just eaten, he'll still be active. When I'm busy at work or at home, he still just lies low..throws in a kick or a wiggle every so often...but no big change.

We do have our bag packed...with most everything. Thanks everybody for the input. It's funny as I've talked with different people over 'what to pack' or even other odds and ends things. Some people say 'you don't need this' and others will say the exact opposite 'I couldn't live without this'. So it just goes to show...that it is SO up to ME and what I want. But it is nice to hear both sides of the coin...so I can know what to expect....or not. :)

Any other random advice that anybody has about the hospital stay or when we bring the baby home...feel free to throw a comment on the blog...I love reading them....and then discussing them with John and such. :)

Okay, well we are getting soooooo close.

John's Birthday

This past Saturday, the 11th was John's birthday! It was nice as we had zero plans (John is not a fan of 'plans' (I am), so this worked out just loverly).

We relaxed a bit....he cleaned out his closet and gave Goodwill a bunch of stuff....we went to IHOP for 'breakfast' - Eggs Benedict is his most favorite breakfast. Then we played with Buddy...vacuumed out our cars (and de-Buddy'd mine...as our dear golden sheds and has typically had free rein of the backseat).....and had a super-fun trip (no, not really) to the grocery store.

So while nothing truly exciting happened...it was just a nice relaxing day (sunny and 80 degrees...gorgeous)...a day just up John's alley. :)

On Sunday, his Mom & Dad came down. John also put together Logan's swing and highchair (we will store the high chair until he's ready to actually use it)...but it all looks so cute! It's funny because our living room currently looks like the Graco - Deco model room. We have the same pattern (Deco) for the Pack N Play, Stroller/Car Seat and Swing...and they are all lined up in our Living Room (as we were showing John's parents).

We all went out to Olive Garden (John's favorite restaurant) and then ate some Red Velvet cake (per John's request) for dessert.

A lovely birthday weekend. :)

Wouldn't it be funny if....

Logan was born this Saturday, October 18th?

I say 'funny'....because he was technically 'conceived' on Sweetest Day of Last Year....then he was 'implemented' in me on Valentine's Day. So knowing that this Saturday is again, Sweetest Day...and it is on Week 38....it is not out of the realm of possibilities. I just thought that'd be really interesting.

Not many kids can be conceived and born exactly a year apart! (except for frozen IVF babies!) And how many kids can have that many 'lovey-dovey' holidays involved in their birth?!?!?!

Just thought I'd throw it out there... :)

Week 36

Holy smokers....a month left (give or take)!!!!

Sleeping is a bit more uncomfortable when tossing and turning and every so often I catch myself on my back...so then I flip back over to one side or the other...

I still feel really great and still love every second of being pregnant.  :)

The nausea that revisited has again disappeared....which is good.

My sister-in-law, Melissa seems to think that I have started to 'drop' a bit...so that is exciting.  I heard with the first pregnancy this can happen a few weeks from when I actually go in to labor...which makes sense.  It's just exciting to know that the process may have started....yay!

Most people seem to think that I will have Logan before his due date....I guess we'll see.  :)

We packed most of our stuff in our hospital bag, so that is good....we need to add a couple more things this week and we'll be really ready to go!  Does anybody have any item out of the ordinary that they can think of that we'll need??  Please suggest...  :)

John's work shower....SURPRISE!

Ah, okay....I typed this message up the day of John's surprise work shower....Friday, October 3rd...apparently I never actually posted it though...sorry!!!

Talk about your week of surprises!!!!


In the past few weeks I've been in contact with a few people from John's work. They have been planning a surprise baby shower for him, which I thought was so nice. He's worked there for 8 years and has gotten to know many, many people. They asked me if I could come in...of course, I would love to meet all these people he talks about on a daily basis...and see his reaction of a surprise!


I got there at 9:45 today and they took me to the conference room. John came in shortly after thinking he was attending a meeting and he was very surprised! I brought my camera and also took some video of his reaction...it was great!


They asked for a few volunteers to play some games...John had to play all of them which was great. I was so impressed that they had decided to play some games...they really put a lot of thought into it!!! Here are some games we played:


1) Name the baby animal - example: 'Bear' was listed, so the baby is 'cub'...'Pig' - 'Piglet'...'Deer' - 'Fawn' and so on. Yes, John had some helpers, but he got most of the right!

2) Guess how many q-tips in the baby bottle...

3) Taste the baby food. Haha...there were 4 little cups and 4 people tasted, including John. The first one he actually ate almost all of the little sample trying to figure out what it was....it was Sweet Potatoes and Turkey. The 2nd one was green...not one of John's favorite colors of veggies, so he was nervous. He immediately recognized that they were green beans. The 3rd one, also green was peas....his arch-enemy, will never eat, vegetable....his reaction was great....'eeeww peas' I believe was his response. The 4th one he knew right away...which surprised me since this isn't a vegetable I even thought he's tasted much at all...squash!

4) A diaper-changing contest...of 4 guys, including John. They gave John a specific baby doll. The 4 guys had to change the diaper as fast as possible, use at least one wipe (kleenex), fold the dirty diaper neatly and put the new diaper on correctly. Well John lost this one...miserably....although his had a melted twix bar in the diaper to make it 'dirty'...haha!!!! So his reaction was great though. I'm sure after a few dirty diapers he will be quick to change it and throw it away! :)


5) Guess how big my tummy is - a bunch of people cut ribbon to see how big my stomach is. Seeing as they are a bunch of strangers to me, they did seek my permission the day before and I told them that I wouldn't be offended. :) While 2 people came within 2 inches, one person came within a half inch! Wow...great guess! John cut a really short piece (with the suggestion from his Team Lead)...yeah....I could tell it wasn't John's idea...he would've said 'I need more string!!!!!'


So then we ate some delicious cake that said 'Welcome Batter-Baby' and they gave us a present (as if the party wasn't enough)...they gave us our Travel System (stroller/car seat combo)! Woo-hoo!!! We were going to go to Babies R Us to purchase it this weekend...no need now!!! What a generous gift!


I think John is still in a mode of 'surprise'....we are both very appreciative of his work doing this for him/us. :) They are awesome!

Wisconsin Shower...SURPRISE!!!

Well this past weekend we went up to Wisconsin...for what I thought was just for Octoberfest and to hang out with the fam. We were going to come up in 2 weeks for the shower (and John's birthday).

Sunday we went to Church then we were invited to Sandy & Troy's (John's sister) for a Packer Party. John said that we'd just go for a little bit which is why we weren't changing out of our church clothes...cuz who wears church clothes to a football party?? We went to Wal-Mart with Andy and Brittany....who were doddling in the electronics section...but I figured, ah well...I went to look at baby stuff...it is always exciting to look at!

We then left for Sandy's house...on the way there I asked how many people were going to be there...they said John's family and most of Troy's family (which he is one of 7 kids, so when you get the whole group together...it is a lot of people). So when we pulled up to Sandy's driveway the amount of cars lined up on the street was not a sign to me of anything. We went through the garage (I don't think I've ever entered her house through the front door...haha) and down to the basement since that is where their 'theatre room' is and the Packer game would be proudly displayed on the big screen.

I walked in first and SURPRISE!!!!!!!! A big group of people all yelled at me! I believe after being taken aback I looked around and saw Sandy's basement decorated with baby things....then said something like 'I can't believe you're surprising a pregnant person!'. My eyes grew a little damp and I was a little shaky. Then I saw my sister-in-law (on my side), Melissa standing there...and my Mom, Dad and sister, Dawn right by her...what are you doing here? How fun.

They put a 'Little Prince' corsage on me and I took a picture with every person/group of people...they later then printed these pictures out (at the shower) and each person scrap-booked a page for me to document this shower...it was really nice and the best part is...the scrapbook is done...I can just enjoy it! It was such a great idea. :)

We had some delicious food...Turkey Roll-Ups that my wonderful mother-in-law makes (oh, they are SO good....hard to explain, but they are delightful)....and a couple different pasta salads that were super yummy.....an adorable watermelon-made baby stroller with all kinds of great fruit in it (I believe Sandy's sister-in-law, Heather made this....truly creative!). Everything was just delicious!

We played a couple of games that our lovely nieces assisted with:
1) Delivering the baby - there is tiny plastic baby that is in an ice cube...you put it in a cup of cold water and see whose baby pops loose from the ice cube first! I believe that our cousin, Lindsey won that game!
2) Drinking contest - They put 2 different flavors of kool-aid in tiny baby bottles....you had to be the first one to suck the juice out! Talk about funny....and awkward...a bunch of adults chugging/sucking on bottles!!! I came close to finishing first, but was too busy laughing at the beginning! I believe our cousin (Lindsey's sister), Alyssa won that game! After everybody was done we realized just how difficult it was for these poor little babies...it is a lot of work! So if anything, it was not only funny, but educational as well. :)
3) Guess how many? - They put a bunch of dumdum lollipops in a big plastic baby bottle bank and we had to guess. There were 313 (I guessed 250)....our cousin, Polly won this game! Apparently she's pretty good at these guessing games...and it shows! I will now pack several of my favorite flavors in our hospital bag to use during labor (to keep my whistle 'wet'...since I can't eat/drink anything except for ice chips).

Then John and I opened up gifts...what fun! We got a lot of really nice things...lots of baby bath stuff, which is great since we didn't have any yet!....quite a few things off our registry including the swing and highchair (yay).....some cute little clothes of all different sizes (which is nice). We are so blessed to have received so many nice things.

Aunt Claire (John's Dad's sister) knitted us a fun-colored blanket - it's sooooo soft, I love it! She is also going to knit a little white sweater with a hat for Logan's Christening...so sweet. :)

My sister-in-law, Brittany scrap-booked Logan's school year scrapbook for us....it goes Pre-School through 8th grade and there are a few pages for each, in a fun-decorated binder. I thought that was neat so we can put all his school-related memorabelia in there.

My Mom made us an A-Z scrapbook....it is so awesome. It goes through the alphabet and then there are spots for us to put the pictures in...minimal work on my part. :) Here are some example letters:
A is for adorable
C is for Cousins, in Illinois and Wisconsin
D is for pictures with Daddy
I is for I love Buddy
M is for pictures with Mommy
Z is for 'zzzzz' (sleeping pictures)

It's so creative. She's made a couple of these for my cousins as well and feels she has completely mastered the alphabet!!!!

The guests left shortly after gift opening and delicious cake (chocolate with carmel and pecans...oh yum!).

It went by quickly, but it was so nice to see everybody....people that I normally only get to see at graduation parties, showers, or other special occassions. There's never enough time to visit with everybody, but we really appreciate everybody coming to celebrate our little miracle!

Week 35

So I thought I should hurry up and post about Week 35...as in 2 days, I will be past it! I have been exhausted this week after a fun-packed weekend in Wisconsin (including a surprise baby shower) and haven't had the energy at night to post all about it...but I will do so tonight.

I had started experiencing more nausea on 3 different days...but then have been fine.

Logan's still rolling around when things are quiet or after I've eaten or had a cold beverage. If things are crazy hectic, he usually doesn't move around a lot. I'm thinking that he'll have more of a laid-back personality (like John).

I am getting a few more stretch marks on my lower belly and hips. I feel great and people keep saying I look great...so that's good! I'd rather hear that then...hm, you look like crap! haha!

I toss and turn at night often and it is getting more difficult to swing this belly around without feeling little stretching pains on my lower belly.

It won't be too much longer......

Excellent Parking Sign

So tonight, on my way home from work, I stopped at CVS to get some milk.  I pulled into the parking lot and found a close parking space.  I saw a sign and thought 'oh geez....I picked a handicapped spot'.  But no....low and behold...I've heard of these signs, but never have I seen one....it said:

"Expectant Mother Parking Only"

How wonderful!  Granted...this was at CVS...really the entire parking lot is 'close', but I still thought it was a wonderful idea.  I plan to try and find more of these signs in my last month and take advantage of them!

:)