Today is the first day of the rest of my life!

I am soooo done with this belly!!

This is it! I'm exactly 39 weeks and having this baby today! I couldn't be more ready. I am so excited to hold this little girl in my arms and love her with everything that I am.

A few months ago, I wrote her this poem. It was back when I was still enamored with her living in my belly. I want to remember that feeling (even though I'm now thoroughly over it - hehe)

Sitting on the crowded bus
With unfamiliar faces
Strangers all too close for comfort
That's one of the places...
At my desk all day long
The minutes pass by slow
Wishing I were somewhere else
Again you let me know...
Relaxing on my couch
With nothing more to do
Suddenly I'm smiling
And all because of you...
Laying in my bed
You occupy my mind
I rest my hand upon you
When sleep is hard to find...
No matter where I'm headed
No matter when I'm there
You remind me that you're with me
No feeling can compare.
Every moment like this
I'm grateful you would pick me
to experience this miracle -
I LOVE it when you kick me!

Baby GT will bring me new love. New life. New everything. I cannot wait to meet her!

Kitchen Remodel Part II

Our temporary kitchen in our dining room

Steve liked to think it was all about him

Cabinets installed

Cork floor down

Ta-da! "Just a fresh coat of paint" turned into a fantastic new kitchen!!

And just in time... :)

P.S. Special thanks to Chris J. for all his help! I totally meant to mention that when I originally posted this, but I assume I was distracted by the fact that I was going to have a baby the next day. THANKS CHRIS!!

Ode to Thomas and Lucerne

I do not know how else I would get myself out of bed, showered, dressed and on the bus to work if I didn't know that I had a bag of Thomas' Cinnamon Raisin Swirl bagels waiting for me in my desk drawer, and a tub of Lucerne Soft Cream Cheese in the office kitchen. It really motivates me to get to work! (The key is to NOT have these items at home.)

If you haven't tried these bagels before, you're missing out. They're pre-cut but still so smushy soft! Our office toaster is a joke, it's made for thin sliced bread only... and even though these bagels are pretty thick, they can be smashed thin to fit and still taste chewy and delicious.

Cream cheese is cream cheese to me, so I can't brag much about that except to say that Lucerne is usually quite a bit cheaper than Philadelphia, but tastes just the same. Regardless of the brand, smothering it on a Thomas' Cinnamon Raisin Swirl bagel is a breakfast treat from heaven.

Yeah, I'm still very pregnant.

Our baby could arrive any day... LET'S REMODEL OUR KITCHEN!

I know what you're thinking... why would we want to change such a beautiful kitchen??

We're just crazy like that...

The wallpaper was quite beautiful. And artistically installed upside-down.

But a prego must do what a prego must do.

Surprise! A second layer of amazing wallpaper! If only it were possible to strip just the first layer :(

Stripping it at all was quite a chore. It took MT a day and a half!

DONE and primed! Steve was confused.

Check out that FINE fatty taking the hardware off all the cabinetry. Yep, she's got power tools.

Sink and counters are gone, but the skeleton is sanded, primed and painted!

Cabinets too. As well as some of the rocks lining our driveway... oops.

Oh why not? Let's tear down a wall. It's not like we could have a baby tomorrow or anything...

Stay tuned for the next installment of our KITCHEN REMODEL! It may or may not include pictures of our baby.

Stubborn Girl

Smooth sailing can only last for so long, right? Eventually your wind is going to change and your approach adjusted accordingly. Such is life.

GT has decided she's more comfortable chillin' hammock style. Her head is up on my left side, her legs up toward my right, her butt snug at the bottom. It seems she shifted back into this "Frank Breech" position around the time she dropped. She's also a BIG girl. Estimated to be 7 lbs 4 oz already. Michael now lovingly refers to her as "Frank the Tank."

Normally, my doctor would try to manipulate her position from the outside to turn her around. However, my amniotic fluid is a bit on the low side, making me "not a good candidate" for this procedure. I guess this gust of wind is going to require a bit more adjustment than that.

GT is so grounded.

I'm doing what I can to motivate her to turn on her own. Right now I have classical music playing from earphones tucked low in my belly band. I also read about (and will try) some other techniques to get a breech baby to turn. Because of my low fluid, I can't attempt any of the gravity maneuvers... so no headstands for me. Not that I think I could do that with this belly anyway!

I know what this situation likely means and I'm working on adjusting to the idea of having a c-section. But I've been fantasizing about my labor/delivery experience for so long, it's hard to switch gears. It does help to focus on the positive though. I am going to have a healthy, chubby-cheeked, stubborn little chunkster soon... one way or another.

I guess it's up to GT to decide how she'll make her debut :)

Shower 'til you DROP!

My Ma did the flowers The spreadGT surrounded by her future BFFs

Girls Girls Girls!!

Bloody Marys, Mimosas... and Strawberry Lemonade :)

My dear sis-in-law, Alyssa, and one of my bestest friends, Kelly, hosted an AWESOME baby shower for me at the Greenlake Blue Water Bistro on Sunday. It was a beautiful day to spend with friends and family, eating yummy food, and opening tons of gifts!! GT is pretty much set for the good life. I had so much fun going through everything and finding places for it all in her nursery. I have my first load of baby clothes ready to wash! I just need to get some gentle detergent first :)

After I got home from my shower, I planted my butt on the couch and didn't move for the next few hours :) I noticed GT was squirming a lot more than normal... but didn't think much of it. Then, yesterday morning, I noticed that I felt a little less pressure around my rib cage, and more pressure lower down (the kind that makes you feel like you gotta go to the bathroom even after you just went). I thought perhaps she was starting to drop - but wasn't sure if it was all in my head. Then last night, as I changed into my pajamas, I caught sight of myself in the mirror. What the... my belly button is pointing down! That's not how it looked before! I showed Mike and he agreed - our girl must've dropped!

2-4 weeks is what they say to expect once your baby drops. Let the countdown begin!

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!!