Baby K Update

 

We are 39 weeks tomorrow and no sign of Baby K. He hasn't dropped at all and I really don't feel any different this week than I usually do. I'm still feeling "OK" (just uncomfortable, not miserable) and really starting to feel anxious, nervous and excited all at once!

We are extremely thankful he has decided to stay in there for a while longer and fingers crossed that he stays put until his due date in 8 days!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are staying warm during all of these winter storms sweeping the nation!

Cleveland Indians Snow Days

Who hasn't been tubing down a huge hill in the middle of their MLB team's field?

Weird right?

Derek found out a while back about the Cleveland Indians Snow Days event where they essentially fill up the entire Progressive field with snow. They have a mile long ice skating rink, a maze for the kids, and some other fun snow activities.

The best part though? HUGE tubing chutes that are fairly long and drop pretty steeply!

We took my brother Mike, who is in town for a few days over Christmas, on Sunday and although I couldn't participate, it was fun seeing him and Derek really enjoy themselves in the snow.

(Thankfully, it was a nice 28 degrees. Could have been WAY colder!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Derek and I are very thankful again this year for many things and are looking forward to our BIG change coming soon!

We hope you had a wonderful year as well and wish you peace and happiness in 2011.

 We were fortunate enough to host my brother, Mike, for about 5 days over Christmas. Seeing as how both sets of parents will be flying down shortly after the Holidays for the birth of Baby K, they couldn't make it for Christmas ALSO and then turn around and fly back. And anyone who has been pregnant knows why I wasn't about to get on a plane at 38 weeks! My brother is a med student and has to hit the books again on Jan 3rd so mom and dad flew him up here as a surprise for Christmas!

Maternity Pictures

I searched high and low for a photographer here in the Cleveland are that had good, natural talent and would be able to elegantly capture this pregnancy through film.

I stumbled across Cassie's website and was amazed. She has a knack for capturing the moment with great feeling and colors. Click here for the Cassandra Plummer website.

And without further adieu, here are some of our pictures from our session  -

(All pictures copyrighted by Cassandra Plummer Photography)

Thanks again Cassie!

Make Ahead Meals

One thing I loved doing for my friends who had newborns was to prepare large meals to help ensure they aren't ONLY eating delivered pizza once the baby came! Living up here in Ohio I don't get to do that often and it made me start to think about our nutrition once Baby K arrives.

I decided to bake something weekly (in a huge portion) and freeze it so that Derek and I can have some good home cooking when we're sleep deprived and can't even tell if it's day or night out.

So far I've made some great meals like lasagna, meatloaf, casseroles, etc. If you have something that freezes well and makes a large batch, please feel free to share! I have a few more weeks and can stock up a few more meals in that time.

Pregnancy Picture of the Day

Here's the current 'bump'! The doc estimates that he is between 6.5 and 7 pounds now!

Waiting

Almost 5 and a half years ago I was waiting to marry my best friend.

Now I'm waiting to meet our little man.

What a crazy journey life is.

(Photo credits: Banfii Photography and Cassandra Plumber Photography)

Happy Birthday Whitney!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful sister-in-law who has essentially been a 'real' sister to me for the past 8 years. Derek and I are so proud of you and everything you've already accomplished in your life. You will be the best Aunt for Baby K.


Love you tons and can't BELIEVE you will be 21 next year!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

FULL TERM!

Yep! Baby K is officially full term meaning baby is likely to thrive well after birth. He's about the size of a watermelon and is practicing his blinking, sucking, inhaling and exhaling skills. We are so excited to have made it to this milestone but hope that he still decides to stay in his little hot tub for a while longer.

I'm still feeling pretty well, just having a REALLY hard time sleeping and sometimes he gets into uncomfortable positions. Other than that, we are just anxiously awaiting to find out when our little family of four (including the two pups), will become a family of five.

I haven't had any contractions yet and the doctor said that based on everything, I should hit or pass 40 weeks. Anything could change quickly at any point though! Keep your fingers crossed for us that I make it past 40 days.... I'd like to avoid a Holiday baby if possible!

On a side note, I just want to say that I'm so thankful for my friends who check up on me daily to see how we are feeling. It's hard being up here away from everyone and having that daily reminder that there are people (other than Derek and I) who care about Baby K as much as we do makes me smile.

Nursery Pictures

There are still a few missing pieces to the puzzle like some picture frames and a large monogram over his changing table. We can't order that, however, until we have his name picked out! It's also hard to tell that the walls actually are green, but they aren't white... it's just a very faint green. I'd say we're about 90% done at this point!

Countdown Chain

Isn't the 'countdown chain' so fun? Seeing as how we are officially under the one month market, we have this little chain hung outside the nursery to remove one ribbon daily. My friend Michelle found this for us and I think it's a wonderful visual reminder of just how close we are!

It will only be getting shorter and shorter!

Dogs or Pigs?

Check out what the oinkers instantly do when there is more than 2 inches of snow on the ground.

You'd think they never got fed or something.

Who's Bigger?

Yep, that's my dad comparing his belly to mine after a full Thanksgiving meal.

I think we're almost exactly the same size, but only I have an "excuse".    :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!

Warm and Toasty

One thing on our 'house list' to do before winter hit was to get a new set of gas logs for the fireplace. The former owners wanted to take their set for some odd reason so the fireplace has been empty since we moved in. After researching brands and types, we chose a charred oak set that has a split down the middle to create a wonderful view of the flame. It was ordered and installed last week JUST in time for the brutal Ohio winters. It's almost snowed daily since being installed!

Cloth Diapers

I know choosing to Cloth Diaper an infant isn't for everyone and some people may be completely repulsed by the idea. Personally, I couldn't deal with the basic fact that you will throw away roughly 7,000 disposable diapers throughout one child's first few years. I just wasn't keen to the idea of that many diapers sitting in a landfill taking 550+ years to decompose (according to several studies). Knowing I was cloth diapered and turned out ok, along with the fact of how much they have changed in 30 years, really increased my excitement to join in this trend. And when I say "trend", I really mean it. Cloth diapering is a trend that has made it's way back into the mainstream after somewhat of a hiatus. Whether it's our world becoming more 'green' or the fact that the diaper systems themselves have become so advanced, I'm excited to take on this challenge.

At first, I refused to do it without a service. The problem? There's isn't a service up here in Cleveland! The good news? Cloth diapers have evolved so much and have so many accessories now that you really don't have to touch any poop, nor does much of it go into your washing machine. From toilet sprayers, to liners (much like a woman's panty liner), to other new changes, the simplicity of cloth diapering has really increased and become a huge advantage for our busy world. On top of that, the quality of the cloth diaper has improved drastically as well. No more pins holding the diaper together, there are gussets around the leg holes to keep blow-outs in, and the material is extremely soft now against the babies skin helping to prevent diaper rash.

So here we go! I've researched and researched and have found a few brands that I'm going to start out trying and adjust my inventory later based on my likes and dislikes. As of right now, we've only got a handful, but I've been finding deals online here and there and stocking up. During the first few weeks of Baby K's life, however, we will use both disposable and cloth as we get to know our little one. The goal is to avoid getting burned out on cloth diapers immediately and to more-or-less 'wean' ourselves into the system.

So wish us luck as we venture out into this old-school way of life! I will keep everyone updated on how it's going, but as of right now I'm very excited to get started!

And who couldn't resist these adorable colors as opposed to boring white disposables anyway?!

34 Week Update & Happy Thanksgiving!

Baby K now has a 98% viability of life! We can't believe I'll be full term in just a short, three weeks from now.

We have pretty much all of our 'gear' and more nursery pictures will come soon. This week was our 3rd birthing class and Sunday we take the infant car seat to get all checked out an approved. I'm still feeling wonderful, but now somewhat anxious to know when he'll be here. It's getting so close!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OF OUR

FRIENDS AND FAMILY!

3 Sick Pups

Our two furbabies came down with kennel cough after being boarded last weekend. Poor girls. They had gotten their bordetella shots and all. Now we have two hacking, saliva-spitting, dry coughing pups in the house that look pathetically sad all the time. Bailey started antibiotics on Saturday after a visit to the vet and we were REALLY hoping she wouldn't spread it to Lacy. I guess the 'extremely contagious' part is true though as Lacy began the cough the day after.


On top of that, Derek is really fighting something involving a head cold and sore throat. Yes, he's sleeping in the basement to avoid getting me sick and stayed home from work today to try and get better quickly.

Fun times for the pregnant girl with a full household of sickness, huh?!

Lysol is my new love.

Baby K's Baby Shower!

What a weekend we had in Kansas City. It made us feel so good to be surrounded by all of our friends and family for the three short days we were there. Baby K is loved already and we all appreciate everything we received as gifts for him! It does get hard up here by ourselves (especially for me) and seeing so many wonderful faces was something that was much needed for my sanity. I'm so thankful for each and every one of you.

Here are just some pictures from my baby shower last Saturday! The cupcakes my mother-in-law got were DELICIOUS and were from Smallcakes in Overland Park. My good friend, Erin, and my sister-in-law, Whitney, (two hosts) did an awesome job on the delicious food, games and fun decorations. My other good friend Michelle (another host) made the awesome diaper cake below with an adorable elephant on top!

Frontier Airlines = FAIL

Sunday 10pm; We arrive in Columbus not looking forward to the 2-hour drive ahead of us to get back to Cleveland. We were exhausted from the weekend and walking out to the shuttle when I noticed weird thread pieces all around the top zipper on the front of our huge suitcase that we had checked on the way home. Only when I unzipped it did I realize that the entire compartment had been basically half ripped off and there was NOTHING in it. Now, I have taken the smaller version of that suitcase around the world with me and it's not even begun to come apart anywhere. Whoever did that must have been using extreme force to make it come completely off. Thankfully, the only thing I stuck in there was all of our baby shower cards which the baggage people had moved into the lower zipper compartment. (we have no clue if they got them all picked up and put back in, but we'll hope!).

Sunday 10:15pm; Everyone from Frontier has gone home for the day (of course) and the last two people really have no clue how to make a claim.

Sunday 10:45pm; We have finally filled out a claim form and were directed to bring the suitcase to the Cleveland airport on Monday for them to ship somewhere to get re-stitched. Fine, we can do that.

Sunday 1:20am; We make it home and now I'm in a pissy mood.

Monday 6pm; We take the suitcase to the Cleveland airport and leave it with a lady (with our claim number) who looks really confused. I hope for the best.

Tuesday 10am; I get a call from Continental about "an empty suitcase at the airport" with our name on it.  WHAT?! CONTINENTAL? We were on Frontier! UGH. Somehow it didn't get where it needed to be. I explained the situation and the man seemed to understand and said he'd take care of it.

So now it's a waiting game. I won't be terribly disappointed if they lose it as we would just get a free suitcase out of the deal, but I have somewhat of an 'attachment' to my luggage that has been around the world with me! I just really wish they could be a BIT more careful with checked baggage.

We are, however, so thankful that we didn't have any family baby heirlooms in that pocket or valuable gifts!

Pictures of the Day

Pictures taken at two different times of the day and completely not staged.
"We're just waiting for Baby K to arrive mommy"

(sorry the pics are funky - still learning how to use the new camera)

Working at Home; Year 1

I can't believe that I've already been working at home for a full year. Last year at this time, I was celebrating my last few days in the office before the transition and it was such a bittersweet time. Sure there are perks, but it's hard sometimes to work, eat and sleep all in the same place five out of the seven days a week. I think I've actually successfully learn how to talk to my dogs and understand what they are saying back.

Sad, I know.

I also have become VERY familiar with all of the radio station talk shows and have my favorite's now. That being said, I do miss having interaction with people on a daily basis, especially with my work friends who used to make me laugh all the time. Who doesn't love the occasional prank on a peer?

And in case you're wondering, I was sporting some awesome sweatpants and big baggy sweatshirt along with my fav slippers all day today during work. Why go to the work of putting on uncomfortable jeans when I'm this preggo? I'll chuck that up to another perk of the job.

Baby K's Bear Suit

Since our new little one will be born in the middle of winter, we needed an outerwear piece that he could wear over his special, coming home outfit. Little did I know that most infant jackets/coats can void the warranty on infant car seats. It has to be an actual outfit that they are fully zipped up in head to toe. This one is even better because it covers his little hands and feet also.

How PRECIOUS is his new plush bear suit?

It's SUPER soft and I just can't wait to snuggle him in it.

Heartburn Attack

I've been EXTREMELY fortunate in this pregnancy and had almost zero side effects.

Well that changed today.

At about 1pm, my insides suddenly felt like they were going to explode. Seriously. I had the hospital on speed dial.

Apparently this is call 'heartburn'. A pregnancy symptom that I heard many people talk about but I had yet to experience. I didn't eat anything out of the ordinary, but WHAM; it hits you out of nowhere and is very painful. It last a few hours then finally subsided, thank god!

I guess no one can have a 100% painless pregnancy, huh?!

Remedies/cures freely welcomed.

Brag Blog on the Husband

So I try not to be one of those people on facebook who 'brag' all of the time, but guess what? This is my blog and when I want to brag on here, I sure can!

This post is to brag on my husband who planned a WONDERFUL surprise for me today. I woke up to venture downstairs and found a note on our chalkboard with a "What, When, Where, Why" message involving a surprise prenatal massage at a certain time! I was SUPER excited as my back had been aching for the previous few days and thought it was the sweetest gesture.

This massage was DEFINITELY much better than the first one I had received back a couple of months ago. She had stronger hands, worked out the tension much better and made me WAY more relaxed!

So here's to the best husband in the world. LOVE YOU BABE!

Why I Love Etsy

I absolutely love perusing http://www.etsy.com/ in my free time and wish I was crafty like all of these sellers!

Last week I found a seller who made little, distressed blocks that can be custom ordered to the colors and letters of your choice. I knew I wanted to use these in my maternity pictures and also in the nursery to decorate as they are adorable. Seeing as how we don't have a name picked out, I ordered the word 'BOY' in light blue lettering.

Here's how they turned out -

Don't you LOVE them?!

Apple Cake

Derek's aunt sent me a recipe a couple weeks ago for an Apple Pear Cake to help use up the tons of apples we had from the orchard. She had previously modified it to just be Apple Cake and so I followed in her footsteps.

This cake turned out EXTREMELY moist and delicious which means only one thing; I must post the recipe and share with the world.







Ingredients
4 c finely chopped peeled apples.
2 c sugar
1 c canola oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt

Directions (I would suggest using a large kitchenaid mixer as opposed to a hand-held!)
1. Combine oil, sugar, and eggs.
2. Mix well , add vanilla chopped apples and mix.
3. Add all dry ingredients, after being sifted together, and mix until thoroughly combined.
            * You can also add ½ cup raisins and ½ cup pecans.
4. Bake in a 10x15 jelly roll pan at 350 for 35-40 minutes.
5. Frost with cream cheese icing or leave plain.

HAPPY FALL EATING!