Baby Moon

What an amazing time away. 

The resort was wonderful, the mountains beautiful, the weather required much snuggling, and the time with my husband was irreplaceable.

Our BabyMoon was great. I wasn’t sure what to expect when we embarked on the journey. Some of our vacations are laid back and lackadaisical and others are busy and exhausting. This one: perfect. Thank you so much to my in-laws for making our baby moon possible!!!!

MONDAY:

On Monday morning, Jill texted me that all vehicles needed chains to get into Tahoe. After a few moments of freaking out to Luke, he called Kirk who said he’d pick up what we needed and give Luke a quick demo before we headed out. We hit the road shortly after 11 and headed up to Fats Asian Bistro & Dim Sum. Jill had recommended it and we read online that they serve dim sum, which has been on Luke’s bucket list to try. Although the dim sum experience was a slight let down (only 1 “basket” option), the food was excellent. Chicken in a Fat Pot was our lunch entrée and then we headed up the mountains.

The drive was beauiful. Luke had never driven in the snow before but I must say, he did a superb job. I'm sure I drove him crazy with my "Slow Down" and clutching his arm when I was nervous but he handled me like a champ!

Poor guy got a MISERABLE dose of putting on the chains while he forced me to stay warm in the car.

After checking in, we went to see the concierge who recommended a couple spots in town to eat at. We headed to MacDuffs for dinner, a Scottish pub. The food was amazing and Luke was able to have real shepherds pie (which is made from lamb, not beef like I make it) which he was stoked about!

TUESDAY:
Monday night it snowed allllll night and we woke up to a couple inches on our deck Tuesday morning. Luke decided to "feel exhilaration" so he stepped out on the porch in just his PJ pants. He lives on the edge....

We made some yummmmmy breakfasts each day in our room each day which was fun to do together, saved money, and was a little healthier. Something we aren't able to do at home: laid in bed while feeling our baby move and watching the snow fall. The rest of the day we spent walking around Heavenly Village, took Old Time photos, and spent the day just the two of us. Here are some pictures into our day:

WEDNESDAY:
Wednesday morning while consuming our pecan cinnamon swirl pancakes and turkey sausage, I asked Luke what he'd like to do that day. His response, "I'd be happy just to follow you around all day". Too cute, huh?! The weather had started out kinda crappy but we wanted to get out & about to enjoy the day and it cleared pretty quickly so the afternoon was wonderful. Around noon, we set off around the lake. Another gorgeous drive together, went through a fun list of Mr & Mrs Q&As off Pinterest, and then we stopped for coffee & cards. Our golf game bet: $20. I'll let the photos speak for themselves....

Hehehe. Yes sir, I will take your $20

WEEK 29:

After hours of talking and dreaming about our life with our baby girl, I'm more excited than ever for her to arrive. On our way home from Tahoe, we stopped in Sacramento to do some shopping for her nursery. I am hoping to make some of her decor but some things aren't possible. Plus, I always love when hubby comes with me for his opinions. And, I might add: he found the 1 piece of art that we bought. As my friends continue to have their little ones ( by the way, congrats Danielle, Jordan, & Ariana!! ) my turn is quickly coming and I want that room 100% ready. With or without her consent, I do plan to kidnap Kaelee quite a bit in the next few weeks to help out with my projects. Anyone else interested?!?!?

Thanks for reading our loooooooong post!

-Mama C-

7 MONTHS!!

Twenty eight weeks . Wooohoooo! 

I was talking to John at Bible study last week when he asked how far along I was. After telling him 27 weeks, I quickly correctly myself by saying "almost 7 months". As my hubby reminds me often, non-pregnant couples don't speak in weeks and I get that. 27 weeks doesn't really compute to most people. But everyone in the world knows that babies take 9 months to properly "bake" so, I'm happy to announce that I'm 7/9 done  :)

I took a video of Chloe dancing last night. She is slightly lopsided but I've heard you want pictures/videos of while your baby is still on the inside so this was my attempt. Some of it gets blurry because I was laying in bed writing this blog and she was moving so I held my phone above my head and did the best I could. Most of her movement is way off in right field so pay attention there.... if you even want to watch. And I might add, this is pretty low key dancing. Once again, this girl has a little problem prefoming on command but after 11 videos, I decided to stick with this one!

I got a few things purchased for the nursery. I'm pretty excited to finally have a direction to head. For a while I was torn between cutesy baby nursery or pretty girlie nursery. Sarah gave me her decorations from the baby shower she threw for me so I wanted to incorporate those but they didn't fit with the cutesy style. So, when Luke got called into work on Wednesday, I went bargain hunting and am excited to announce that I have a good start on the decor now!! For the sake of being totally honest here, it's mostly thanks to Sarah's skills because I had to get the OK from her on most of my purchases so I didn't do anything I'd regret later!

As you may have read, Luke Gustafson now has a new job title, Profesh Driver. Ok, so that isn't going on the resume but he was hired last week as a limo driver at Dream Limousine. He's liking the job so far and it's always something different for him so that's fun. Here's the quick picture I was able to capture on his first night at work:   

Pretty handsome, huh?! He wears a suit and tie every day. Proud of you, babe!!

My feeling of the week: time is running out. Not in a bad way (because I can't wait to have my little girl in my arms!!) but in a way that I want to cram everything into every inch of my life. I might be sliiiiiiggghhly guilty of smothering poor Luke this week with my feelings of "we are running out of us time!"I have felt an urge to get together with all my friends so they don't "forget" me when Chloe comes and I join the mommy world. It hasn't been the first time these feelings have surfaced and it's surely not the last.

Other updates: 

*I'm back to eating alllll the time. Baby Girl must be in a growth spurt right now. Whew!

*Going to work each Thursday gets harder and harder as my toes disappear more & more.... I've always prided myself in being a hard worker and I've had a job since I was 14 so it's not the work part. It's this crazy momma instinct inside me that wants to nestle down with this baby and be the best mommy that I can be for her. Although I'm not sure that being a full-time-stay-at-home will be a possibility for me, the thought of getting to spend my days with my daughter excites me more each week.

*I took my first shot in the hip this morning for the whole Rh-negative thing. Gotta admit, not as bad as I expected. Luke held my hands the whole time while I was clenching onto him  :)

*Baby Moon kicks off on Monday and I'm stoked to spend a few days away with my man! Kirk and Jill were gracious enough to offer us a few days away at Lake Tahoe with their timeshare and we are on the countdown.... 3 days to go!

That's all for this week. We love to read your comments, feedback, and thoughts! Just  choose "Anonymous" from the drop down menu and sign your name inside the comment box. No blog address needed :)

-Baby Mama-

An emotional week 27

Today officially marks 27 weeks.

 I can't believe how time is flying by. It seems like yesterday we were announcing to family & friends and trying to come to grips with the fact that she's coming :) Well, I'm well over half way and I'm beginning to see January in sight. Luke & I were in Michaels today and there was a Christmas countdown going... 84 days. 84 DAYS!! Whoa. I will be full term the day after Christmas. Reality check.

Our week has been packed with emotion. I haven't slept well most of the week with lots of tossing and turning so that's probably not helped my hormones get time to level out each day... Not sure what the excuse is but I feel like I've been on an emotional roller coaster. Lots of tears, worry, joy, anxiety, laughter, and love all mixed in with an ounce or two of crazy!

Friday we brought home our glider for the nursery. I'm stoked. To make the situation even more exciting, my co-workers surprised me by saying they are all going in to buy that for us for our baby gift. How amazing is that?! Here's a sneak peak at the chair in the nursery:

I've already spent a good amount of time in the chair with Chloe talking about her room, what she's going to be like, look like, if she'll have mommy or daddy's personality, and making sure she knows I pray for her daily and love her so much already.

Monday was a tough day at work. I left for lunch in tears after I'd been blamed too many times to count for too many things I wasn't responsible for. Not sure why I ended up returning 20 mins later but I was on countdown to my "weekend", for sure. That evening, I came home to a clean house, dinner in the crock pot ready to eat, and an amazingly supportive husband that made me realize, I've got so much good in my life.

Tuesday morning we woke early (and by early, I mean 6:45. Let me explain that my dear friend Deb gets up when it's still dark each day so I always think of her when I'm up before 8 because that's just not my method of operation... yet. So, yes Deb, I thought of you and almost texted you even!!) Anyway, we headed to Quest Diagnostic for my glucose tolerance test. For some unknown reason, my doctor ordered an hour test (instead of the usual 2.5 hour one!) so I lucked out there. After downing the 10 oz of orange flavored liquid vomit, I waiting for an hour to have 4 viles of blood drawn. Due to the fact that I'm Rh negative (who even knows what that means?!!?), I had to have additional blood drawn to see if I will "reject" my baby. How scary is that? I must say, when you've been fasting 8 hours, tired, and have a hate/hate relationship with needles, that's not a wonderful thing to be thinking about... But, hubby gave me lots of love squeezes to keep me focused on the positive and I made it out with most of my sanity in tact. That afternoon we headed up to Babies R Us to begin our baby registry. Whoa! Another reality check. Luke had a great time:

I, however, was a little overwhelmed. How the heck do I know if this carseat is compatible with that adapter for that stroller?! After some major internet assistance from Siri, I think we got the best we could for our daughter. 

Luke & I visited our new Bible book store in Turlock this afternoon. We each picked out a parenting book to read and I'm excited to get started on them! Also, seeing sweet Ariana at 39 weeks was so fun today. That girl is out running errands and grocery shopping when her boy could come any second. You are one crazy girl, Ariana but you looked AMAZING while you were doing it!

I'll leave you all with the funniest quote from the week. Our Woods' Facebook guy came into work on Sunday and when I stood up to hand him his paycheck he says to me, "Whoa. You're pregnant! When did that happen?" Uhhh... seems like a personal question but I'd say almost 27 weeks ago is the best answer I could give  :)  Still chuckling about that one.

My friends, thank you for reading. Sorry about the long post but thank you for reliving my emotional roller coaster with me. And here's to a more stable week ahead...

There are no words.....

Yes, yes. This is me. And I was hungry. Hope you enjoy as much as I did  :)
Luke feels like I should submit this for the new Kraft commercial.

P.S. Please note that I was making an amazing Crock Pot Herb Roasted Chicken with Potatoes while I was eating the mac & cheese... so don't judge me!

Twenty Six

26 weeks 

I've gotta brag on my man for a minute. He's working hard to take care of his "girls". When we were making plans for Anita, Stef, and my mom to come out to visit next spring, I was talking the situation out with Luke. I asked him if he would be able to handle us girls. His response made my heart so happy: "Babe, my life is kinda going to be girls from here on out... I can handle it."  Awwwww!

Haven't given updates for a little while so here is where I'm at:

*Today, I got my first kick in the ribs. I couldn't even be mad because I was so excited. This girl isn't fitting in my tummy anymore and she is wanting to expand her space into my ribs. I love her  :)

*We got our glider today. It's still in the box but I can't wait to put it in the nursery.

*Due to the fact that I've added 1/8 of my weight, I might be starting to get a slight amount of back pain... and by that statement, I'd say the truth actually is: I'm definitely feeling an uncomfortable amount of back pain. I was recently given a "donut pillow" which has been a huge lifesaver for my tailbone at work. However, this week the pain has migrated up my spine to my lower back. Luke has been a great masseuse and we will get through it!!

*Glucose test is on Tuesday.... I'll update again soon!

Showered with Love

25 weeks!

Tuesday morning, hubby & I set the alarm for 3:10 am and he took me to the airport to fly back to Nebraska for a week. I got to spend some time with my brother Tyson, Sarah, Zade, and Brynn that night, which was so fun!



Show your teeeeeeeeeeeeeeeth!

Lil' Miss Brynn

Thursday was the beginning of the end for our "Fabulous Foursome". Twice each year my momma, aunt Anita, cousin Steffy, and I go to scrapbook retreat for 4 days and have an absolute blast. This will be the last of that for a while and what a fun retreat we had.

On Sunday, my sister-in-law Sarah put on an amazing baby shower for me. What a great time it was to see all the people that meant so much to me while I was growing up. Friends from elementary & high school, church, family from near & far, and I felt so honored that they all made it special for Chloe and I! Since taking gifts on the plane would be tricky, I was blessed with lots of clothes and cash. I can't wait to get the things home and start filling her closet!! I plan to put the cash toward purchasing the crib and can't wait to get started on the nursery sooner as opposed to later.

 



 

   



What a fun week it's been in Nebraska (except being sick the last 3 of them!) but I'm excited to go home to my sweet hubby who has assured me that I'm coming home to a clean house and lots of foot rubs. I'm one lucky girl with a spoiled baby already.