1 Week and 1 Day Old

Things continue to be great around here. We are just enjoying little Jack so much. So far he is such a laid back baby. He rarely cries, and when he does it is usually because he is hungry, needs changed, or wants to cuddle. He loves to sleep on Colin's chest especially. This is my first day without Colin, and so far he has been easy. He stays on his schedule of sleep, eat, and awake time pretty well. Right now he is about to doze off in his swing, so I thought I'd hop online for a quick update. Jack has been smiling a lot, especially when he is sleeping. We've given him tummy time a few times, and he can pick up his head and hold it for a couple of seconds. When he wakes up from a long nap, he loves to stretch and make loud noises while he's stretching, which is so funny. Hopefully everyone had a great Christmas. Keep in touch.

Happy New Year!!!

brothers

Everything is going great here. Jack has been sleeping pretty good at night, only getting up every 3 hours to eat. He is so precious, and we never imagined that we could love something so much. He is great!!!

A few pictures from our first day home

CLICK HERE FOR Kodak Gallery from Jack's Birthday

More pictures...I will post the entire birth story within the next couple of days once things settle down. But everyone is doing great!!!

The Best Christmas Gift Ever :)

Excited

Excited doesn't even begin to describe how we are feeling about tomorrow! Most of you know that due to Jack's estimated birth weight (10lbs. 2oz.), we will be having him tomorrow morning via c-section at 8am. We cannot wait to meet our new little one! 

I've been up since 4:00. By 6:30 this morning, I had already showered, had breakfast, and watched Mama Mia. I think a lot of it has to do with the anticipation and excitement that we are feeling, but I've also developed PUPPPs, and I AM SO ITCHY!!!! No matter how much I scratch, it just keeps itching. It should go away after Jack's birth though, so that's good. 

We appreciate all of your support and prayers throughout the last 9 months. They've certainly been felt, and we are so thankful that everything has been healthy. We wish you a very Merry Christmas. Apologies for not sending out Christmas cards this year, but we will be sending birth announcements soon. 

Colin is working a 1/2 shift today, so he'll be home shortly after 7:00 tonight. We are going to make our annual chocolate covered pretzels and watch the Bears game during our last night as non-parents. 

We'll keep you posted and update with pictures as soon as we can! :)

Christmas Decorations

Our stockings :)

This is a picture of our tree in the dark. Notice the NO gifts under the tree! Yes, I'm way behind on Christmas shopping!!!

And a closer up one in the light... We got it at the same place that we did last year, but this year we opted out of cutting down our own tree. It is the perfect size, and we love it!

36 Weeks and 2 Days

So Cute :)

Check this out

I know I'm an exceptionally big dog lover, but I think everyone would find this to be so amazing and cute! I can't stop watching it!!!!!!

Holy Moly - Only 6 weeks to go!!!

I know it has been a LONG time since I've posted anything on here. Hopefully this finds everyone doing well. Time is flying by, and we can't believe that we will have a child in a month! We have finished most of our to do list, and now all we need is baby Jack! We've recently packed the bag for the hospital, put the finishing touches on his room, found a preschool for him to go to when I have to return to work, found a pediatrician for him, washed all of his clothes (thanks, mom!), and stocked up on all of the necessities. Find some pictures of the nursery below. And also a picture of the state that I'm in these days, so I pretty much waddle around. That is nearly 50 lbs. of weight gain! And like I've said before, my doctor continues to tell me that most of it is water, so that is the ONLY thing that brings me comfort, knowing there is nothing I can really do about my body retaining so much water. It is definitely all worth it, but I'm surely looking forward to getting back down to a regular size again and being able to tie my own shoes and do normal daily things! :) Luckily Colin has been great, and he will put my socks and shoes on for me, give me a push so I can get out of bed with ease in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and pretty much anything else that I need. 

My belly continues to grow and grow. I can tell Jack is growing like crazy too! We feel and see him shift around all day long. I also feel him get the hiccups. I can tell he's head down because I feel the hiccups down low. It's very crazy to think that a human is growing inside of me! On December 1st we will have our last ultrasound to measure the weight of the baby. He will definitely be born by December 30th because they will induce me if he isn't here on his own by that day.

My mom was here this week for a shower that my neighbor had for Jack. We had a great time and stayed busy the whole time. We went shopping, went out to eat a few times, went to Sea World, and she got to hear the baby's heartbeat since I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for when she was visiting. We were sad to see her go, but she will be back for the arrival of Jack (or at least shortly after), along with my dad and Courtney. We are also expecting Colin's family and a couple of my best friends. All are welcome. :) Enjoy your weekend, and keep in touch. 

29 Weeks

We had a great weekend! Saturday Colin worked and I was super lazy. I had my usual weekend to do list, but I think I only got to cross off one or two things...and one of them was to go get a pedicure!! Sunday we went to Mike's to watch the Bears game and then after that we  went to hang out with some of Colin's friends from work. We had a good time at both places, but the Bears suffered a BAD loss!!! 

Not a lot to report, but we had an appointment yesterday. Everything continues to be healthy. I passed my glucose test, had healthy iron levels, great blood pressure, and am feeling pretty good. His little heart was beating at 136 beats per minute, and he was measuring right on track at 29 weeks. After the appointment, Colin and I toured the Labor and Delivery part of the hospital. It is fairly new and really nice so that's good. I'm definitely growing and not getting around as quickly and easily as what I'm used to. I noticed Sunday at church that I can't kneel without squishing my belly. The weight gain is on the high side, but much of it is water from the swelling, so I'm trying to remain calm about it. :) Our electric bill was on the high side as well this month due to the fact that I crank the air way down at night since I get sooooo hot...very unusual for me! I now have to go back to the doctor every 2 weeks until December when it changes to every week until birth. The doctor mentioned that we have the option to be induced up to one week prior to his due date. I'm not really wanting to do that, but we will see how it is when the time comes. I told Colin that I don't want to plan on it because who knows...hopefully he will just decide to come on his own. We will be meeting with the pediatrician Thursday evening. Lately we've been researching, looking for, and setting up tours of day cares and preschools for him. It's hard to find a place that accepts just part time. We are fortunate enough to only need child care 2 days a week, sometimes even only 1.  Ideally, we won't have to send him until August when I return back to work next year, but it might not work out that way. We are still so excited and anxious for his arrival and are counting down the days! I think that's about it for now. Enjoy the week!! :)

The car seat came today, and here is a picture of it. It goes with the stroller.

I put the stroller together myself since Colin is working tonight. I was so proud of myself! I really like it - great recommendation by Katrina. :)

This is the swing we bought yesterday. It is collapsed in the corner here since the base is so big.

This is a 28 weeks, 1 day belly picture. :)

And lastly, here is little Roi bonding with Jack. :) He has recently been jumping on the couch and resting his head on my belly a lot! So cute!!! :)

Baby Showers

We just got back last night from our baby showers in Indiana. They were so much fun and our friends and family were extremely generous. His closet is stocked!! I'm super tired, so this is going to be mostly just a picture post.  I can't believe how puffy I am in all of these pictures!! I'm just retaining water like crazy. Luckily that will go away after Jack is born, and it will all be worth it. We want to thank everyone again for all of the fabulous gifts, and especially for being there. My friend Jessica made the trek all the way from South Carolina with her one and a half year old. That meant so much to us! Shannon came all the way from Iowa just for the day, which is quite a trip too. Colin's grandparents came from WI, and his parents came from IL. We were so happy to be able to see them. Thanks so much. We have the best family and friends ever! 

We had a wonderful weekend. We got home late last night and organized all of his new things in the nursery until about midnight. It just made us more excited to meet him! Notice the book rack down there - my mom got us that for the shower, and I couldn't wait to organize all of Jack's new books in it. Luckily, Colin's parents are driving down in December, and so they are going to bring some of the larger gifts that we got down at that time. However, I just couldn't part with the books, so Colin lugged the heavy box of books all the way through the airports. thanks! :) I also took a quick picture of his closet after we organized everything. The bottom right section is newborn to 6 month outfits, the top right section is 6 to 9 month outfits, and then the top left section is the 9+ month clothes that we have.