Large and in Charge

Please excuse the mess behind me - we're working on our kitchen so everything is in our dining room. More on that later....

There's a slight change to my "belly shot" outfit. I can't find my black leggings anywhere (I think they made a run for their life) so they've been replaced with these work-out pants. They provide the same unflattering-butt-effect, so we're good :)

34 weeks y'all! Can you believe it? My beach ball belly is doing good. It draws lots of attention and is a great conversation piece for random people I happen by. Today I took the elevator downstairs (to go buy some snacks) and a lady from another floor commented on how close I am to being done and said she hoped I'm doing okay with the heat. Moments later, at the convenient store (paying for my snacks), the lady at the register exclaimed "It's almost time!" as she handed me my change. Then on the elevator ride back up to my office (with bag 'o snacks in hand), another lady told me I didn't have much longer to go and that I am very lucky.

3 different people within 10 minutes, all with the same basic observation: that's a big belly! I love these random comments and am proud my baby girl has turned my belly into an object not to be ignored. Normally I'm the type of person who prefers that strangers don't talk to me (I work in downtown Seattle and there are lots of weirdos...). But when it comes to the topic of my baby, bring it on! It is my favorite topic after all. That and snacks :)

Here are a few more pics Sarah... I made them extra dorky just for you!!

So close but so far!!

Alyssa and me - Bump to bump - April 25th

Mackenzie and me - Baby to bump - May 10th

I started off my pregnancy with a group of fellow pregnant gals. It's been so much fun sharing our experiences and anticipating the future with them. On March 1st, Merry had her baby... then on May 6th, both Alyssa and Tammy had their babies.

And so... I am the one left behind.

I do know several others who are expecting (hooray!)... and I find comfort in knowing that my baby is due BEFORE theirs (hehe)... but I gotta say, my prego life is a little different now that the above ladies have delivered their babes. While I do feel closer to the finish line... I also feel destined to be pregnant for-eeehhh-verrrr.

In spite of this feeling, I love having her safe and sound inside my belly and sometimes I wish I could just keep it that way. I can easily bring her with me everywhere I go and I don't need to worry about the big scary world harming her. But as my Mom pointed out, this would mean never getting to meet her and watch her grow and discover her personality... it would also mean that I would literally be pregnant forever. No thanks. I miss wearing high-heeled shoes and jeans that button at the waist...

and sushi...

and wine...

and dirty martinis (extra dirt please).

So my point is, I'm one confused and abandoned prego! But I sooo love these new babies that have come into this world and in a gazillion years (prego time = about 1.5 months real time), my sweet girl will join them. Yay!

By the way...

I wrote my last blog entry on Tuesday but didn't get a chance to post it that day because we had our first "Preparing for Child Birth" class that evening and didn't get home until 8:30. I forgot to load the belly shot picture, and just went to bed.

The next morning, I awoke at 5:30 to the WONDERFUL news that my baby niece was on her way into the world! Without a moment (or a shower) to spare, Mike and I got to the hospital with barely enough time to visit with Colin and Alyssa before the nurse came in and said, "Okay, she's ready to come out!" We gave them their privacy and headed for the waiting room where we were soon joined by my equally excited parents. Around 8:35, Colin came out to announce that Mackenzie Hale Campbell was born at 8:19! She is perfect and healthy and tiny and adorable! I love my niece so much!! My daughter must've been jealous of all the attention her cousin was getting because, that evening, I started having multiple Braxton Hicks contractions. They weren't particularly painful, but definitely annoying... and I became worried when they were occurring every 5 minutes. I called the doctor and she told me what to do - take 600 milligrams of ibuprofen (I'm a worry wart, so I only took 400), drink lots of water and lay down. I did that, and once again forgot to post my blog. The contractions stopped though :)

Yesterday, Kelly and I went back to visit my newest and sweetest family member, then we went to meet our husbands at Kate's Pub for some cheap happy hour dinner (I think that'll be my last time in a pub for awhile, the looks are really getting to me!). I was so tired when we got home that I completely forgot about my blog.

Now it's Friday and I'm at work. You know what that means?? Time to do something (anything) other than work! I finally loaded that darn belly shot picture and posted my blog. Leaving the date as Tuesday, March 5, because technically, that is the day I wrote it (and that is the day I was officially 30 weeks along).

So there's my long winded, overly detailed explanation for why my last blog was posted late. Really, I just wanted to share the news that my sweet baby niece was born!

30 Weeks!!

Do I really only have 10 weeks to go (or less)? That's just craziness! Although, if you ask most people, the real craziness is the fact that I STILL have 10 weeks left. My belly be big!

Baby got the hiccups the other night. It was the first time I felt them. I was worried initially - I thought maybe she was in distress and was convulsing or something. I woke up Michael and made him feel my belly - he calmly agreed that it felt like the hiccups. Then my girl made some of her normal movements and I was allowed to marvel at the cuteness of it all. My silly little baby, chillin' in my belly, hiccuping like a drunk. How adorable.

Being in my third trimester has brought on a calmness in me. I worry less about the "what-ifs" and instead I daydream about the "for-sures." Like the first time I get to see my baby's face. The first time I get to kiss the bottoms of her tiny little feet. The look I get to see on my husbands face as he holds his daughter for the first time. Those are moments in my future that I cannot wait to experience. They are the moments I focus on when those pesky "what-ifs" attempt to creep back into my head.

As my third grade teacher put it, "if you're going to worry about the 'what-ifs' in life, you needn't bother getting out of bed in the morning." So true, Mrs. Frohning.

I really wish I had started off with a different outfit for these belly shots. I thought it would be fun to wear the same thing each time to see how it gradually fits me differently. But the tanktop I chose is so not right for the job. Something a tad longer would've been nice :)

Happy Birthday To Me

Not only was I surprised this morning with breakfast and a ride to work from my Michael, but I came home from work to find this in our front yard:

Mike and Steve were smiling at me from the window behind the lawn chair

Then we decided to take our pup for a nice walk around the neighborhood...



Now I'm relaxing and Michael is making me a delicious dinner of steak, baked potatoes, and steamed carrots with garlic. Mmmmmm. It's been a good day.

Big thanks to Michael and everyone else who wished me a happy day!! I'm one happy 32 year old :)

Babymoon and GT pics

We went to LA over the weekend. It was HOT and BEAUTIFUL and so much fun. My former boss, Daniele, was having her 40th birthday party on Saturday... and having had experience partying at her house (she hosted a bachelorette party for me), I knew I wouldn't want to miss it. Plus, I miss her and the other people I used to work with so much... I loved having an excuse to see some of them again. We stayed two nights in Woodland Hills with our good friends Jen and Rob. It was so much fun to see them! Jen and I had lots of time to chat and catch up - while Mike and Rob had fun being dudes and doing dude stuff.

We spent some time in Malibu before Daniele's party - here are a few pictures...

Paradise Cove Cafe - Malibu

Daniele and me
Jen, Daniele and me

Jersey (Jen & Rob's dog) and me the next morning... she sat like this for nearly an hour. She's the cutest. Even though she farted on me twice :)

On Sunday, we met up with more of our favorite people - Gabe, Ryan, Kelli, Kim & Scott. I am a super huge dummy and did not take a single picture with them. But we had lots of fun at Rick's on Main Street in Santa Monica, then at dinner at C&O in Venice Beach. Mike and I stayed at our "usual" place in SM called Embassy Hotel. It's on 3rd just south of the promenade. It's an old building with tons of character and located smack dab in our old hometown so we love it. On Monday, we decided to go out to breakfast on the pier in Hermosa Beach. We ate outside at Hennessy's then went for a walk on the beach and did some sun bathing on the pier. After that, we checked out Sharkeez, where we used to go for their "Make Your Own Bloody Mary's" on the weekends. It burned down 3 years ago and we hadn't seen it since it reopened. It's MUCH nicer than it used to be and I think it would again be one of our faves if we still lived there. I'm not a fan of the looks I get when I walk into those places with my belly leading the way... so we just did a quick walk through and left. We stopped at Fat Face Fenners Fish House (another old fave) for a Bud Lite and a soda water before heading off to the airport :(

At least we flew over Vashon on the way home :)

Yesterday I had my final ultrasound. Baby GT looks healthy as can be and did some good posing for the camera. She's a big girl already - weighing in at 3 lbs 1 oz (average at this stage is 2 lbs 13 oz), putting her in the 71st percetile. But the doc said that's still considered normal. I had a check-up following the ultrasound. Mike came with and we got to listen to her heartbeat. For the first time, it actually sounded like a heartbeat! Rather than the "woosh-woosh-woosh" sound, it was a "gugung-gugung-gugung." Pretty amazing!

Profile - hard to see, but her head is on the left, facing up with her arm in front of her face Here she is looking at the camera - the blob above her left eye is her elbow Her perfect little right foot - it's up by her forehead :)

26 Weeks!

I've been posting new belly shots every 4 weeks and intend to keep that going until our girl arrives - so here we are at 26 weeks!

Don't neglect to notice the "filled out" face :)

I told someone the other day that sometimes I forget that I'm pregnant because I'm pretty darn comfortable lately. Unless I eat too much. There's nothing more uncomfortable than a full, bloated, belly pushing your ribs out and testing the limits of even your stretchiest maternity wear. Add to that the little baby moving around and kicking what she pleases... ouchie-wah-wah! But I don't let that happen very often... usually only once or twice a day (you'd think I'd learn, but my darn pregnancy brain is relentless!)

We have the basics of our nursery set up. The walls are painted with cute decals decorating them, the rug is covering most of the hardwood floor, the crib and changing table are in their place, and the closet is organized and holding GT's tiny, adorable clothes. MT deserves all the credit. I did assist him with parts of it (handed him the carpet tiles as he placed them, helped with the wall decals and hung some of her outfits)... but he's the one who got it done! He even rewired and replaced outlets in the room so we know it's good and safe for our girl! We're pretty sure that hadn't been done since 1951. Here are a few pics:

BEFORE

AFTER

As you can see, we still need a few items... but it's getting there! Once it's completely done, I'll post another blog about it. I'll try to figure out my camera settings too so I can show better views of the room. Obviously we are in need of a bit of pink - she is a girl after all!!