Stats

Jeremiah is born

Today is the day...

We be bloggin'

What am I doing up at this hour? Nothing, that's what! I think I have that 3rd trimester insomnia! I'd like to thank the impending birth of our first child!! Since most posts are worthless w/o photos, here are some pictures from our trip to Maui last year with Suzy and Steve McKenzie. Enjoy!

Our first night - we're all photo-messaging people stuck back here in AZ or other parts of the continental US. Nice!


Shawn and I by a big tree on the road to Hana...


Shawn managed to knock down a coconut, which he insisted on bringing back to the hotel with us. It was full of bugs - ewwwwwww!


Us at the luau. For some reason, we only have half the pictures, I don't know where the rest of them are. Ah well.


Now it's back to playing solitare...

An update

I'll be 40 weeks tomorrow and had a Dr's appt today. Unfortunately, there is nothing new to report on the baby front! I have not made any further progress as far as dilation goes but the my NP felt that things were definitely changing and Baby G had moved down more. All good signs, but I was certainly hoping for more progress than that!

We're going for a non-stress test and an ultrasound tomorrow to make sure everything is okay. If it is, then we'll be talking induction sometime next week. If anything appears to be wrong, then we'll be talking induction a lot sooner. I'll keep ya'll updated!!

More memories...

Recently, Shawn and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary (on June 18th). While cleaning I found the CD of pictures that my mother in law, Anita, had taken at our wedding and the days leading up to it. She took a bunch, and here are some of my absolute favorites.

This is me and my two best friends (they are from Wisconsin) the day before the wedding, relaxing in the pool before the rehearsal.
Tiffany, Shannon, and me (duh). People always said we looked like sisters - I think it was just all that blonde hair. I miss you girls!!


Anita's the only one with pictures of the rehersal itself, this is probably my favorite. I have no idea what the heck we're doing! Maybe practicing blowing out the candles for the unity candle? No clue. But a silly pic, nonetheless.


Here's my favorite from the ceremony - none of the professional pics really have my face because my hair was blocking it...kind of on purpose on my part, I didn't want people to see my face all scrunched up if I cried (I didn't). I'm not sure why I'm making this face - I blame Shawn (of course).


We kept the ceremony short and sweet - we had a party to get to! And trust me, we did party! The wedding was held at the Red Mountain Ranch Country Club in EAST Mesa. I'm talking what used to be the end of the 202 back in 05. It was far away, but totally worth it. The reception room overlooked this gorgeous sunset:



Of course, it was 110 degrees outside. But still beautiful. On to the party!! This next picture is for Anita. She's posing with her two sisters and her brother, and the funniest part about it is her husband, Ken, in the background - with a big ol' grin like he's supposed to be in the picture, too! Wait to go, Ken!!


Party time! The dance floor was packed all night - I know I was so happy that Shawn's family danced - my family is pretty wild, but they kept up with us! It was so worth it!!


Shawn's grandpa and his lady, Margaret, danced all night. Not kidding - even to "Shiny Disco Balls" (one of my favorite dance songs!) It was fabulous! (They are the couple in the lower left hand corner)


We left I think around 1130 or so, I don't remember. But we paid for the room and DJs til 12am. So what do these crazy people do??

Shawn and I: "Bye everyone! See you later!"


Everyone: "Great, they're gone - back to the party!!"


If you've made it this far, congrats, LOL! I just really loved our wedding and am so thankful Anita took all these pictures. They brought back so many beautiful memories of that day.

Trip down memory lane...

While assuming my new role (at least til the baby is born) of "housewife," I started cleaning up in our loft - our new office. I found an old picture cd and uploaded it to the computer...and it has pictures of Shawn and I when we were first dating! We're talking December 2002. Dang I was skinny. It seems like so long ago, but not so long ago...how does that happen?





Please forgive that lipstick, LOL!

For real now, part 2 - the belly pic I promised

I don't know what happened with the last post, I thought I posted a pic of my big ol' belly but failed.



Yes, I took the picture myself in the bathroom mirror.

For real now, the last pics of the nursery.

So...Shawn and I finished up the nursery the other day. It was actually Shawn, I just told him where to put stuff up on the walls. I did put the bouncer together, though.
Here's a view of the room from the doorway:



And the dresser + changing table. (see the pics we put up - we took them at a fly-in in Casa Grande, printed them and bought cheap frames. Cheap decorations!)


Here's the crib, again. This time we have a blanket made by Grandma Roland - I can't wait to use it with Baby G! It's so soft.


Here is one of the coolest things I think we've receieved for the baby - definitely the most creative and unique. It's called a diaper cake! It's a cake-shaped thing of diapers with little socks, booties, bibs, a paci, a "first Bible" and a beautiful stand that says: "All good things come from above." (They sure do!) It's so adorable that I don't want to take it apart until I have to! We received this from a very sweet friend @ work, Darlene, who's mom made it. How talented! I love it.



And finally, my 39 week belly shot (in the same shirt). Hopefully it's the last one that I have to post!!!

Are we there yet??

Oh gosh...I am feeling like a little kid, giddy with excitement and totally impatient to get somewhere.

Here's me @ 38 weeks:


Shawn thinks my belly looks 'lower' than it did before. I don't know if I can tell. My doc told me at my appt Tuesday that I've had no change in status, and I'm not really surprised. I've been having contractions but nothing painful, so I don't see how I could progres without contractions happening, right?

Here are some new pics of the nursery, as you can see, we moved things around.
We still have a few things to hang up (some pics, the curtain, and the shelf) but other than that, his room is done - who-hoo!!

The Crib:

Changing table & dresser (from ikea - Sweet deal and a nice piece of furniture!)

Hamper, glider (from Tracie Rollins - thank you!!), and little toy box (from Ikea)

The closet - I love all the little clothes!


I really wanted to write more but the comp is being wonky and I need to get ready for work - I have only SIX days left. My goodness!!!

One of the reasons Shawn married me...

...is because I make cheesecake. Not just cheesecake, but wicked good cheesecake. Shawn really dislikes 'regular' cake - cake w/ frosting - but will eat half a cheesecake if you let him. It's kind of disturbing. I know what you're thinking - "I can make cheesecake, too, Rachel. It comes in a box, duh." Sorry, that's not the kind of cheesecake I'm talking about. My cheesecake is SERIOUS BUSINESS.

Check it:




If you've ever made a cheesecake before, the standard is usually two or three packages of cream cheese - this one uses five - meaning it is rich beyond belief. Shawn is the only person I know that can eat a piece wider than 1/2".

I have to give props to my mom, though - she's the original cheesecake maker in the fam. She's the reason I make these for every potluck Shawn has - we had gone home to WI once to visit, and she had made it for something. Shawn tried it and was in love. When we got home, I had to make it for the two of us. Um...a cheesecake that huge for just two people is a BAD idea. After about a week, you're so sick of it. I had to throw away half of it. So now, even when he begs, the only time I make it is when I know he'll either come home with none of it or just enough where we can enjoy maybe one or two pieces.

Another bonus of making this is that I get to use my super-hot Kitchen Aid stand mixer. (A gift from my mother in law!) Ever try to mix 5 packages of cream cheese with a hand-mixer - I did, once, and it took FOREVER. The stand mixer makes life so much easier, plus looks gorgeous on my counter.

So bummed...

I had a Dr's appt today and have not progressed at all. (At my last appt I was starting to efface and was beginning to dilate.) I'm just sad because I was hoping for some progress.

Ah well, I'll do my best not to complain about my exploding ankles or acid reflux. Hopefully things start to happen this week, though! I'm 37 weeks today.

No rest for the pregnant!

But, of course, I'm doing to myself. On Saturday I 'put together' (term used very loosely) the stroller and carseat. The carseat still needs to be installed in the car, Shawn will probably do that soon, I hope. Otherwise I'll just do it myself, because I'm going CRAZY.

My stepdad called it the "Cadillac of all strollers." It's pretty nice, it's the Evenflo travel system w/ the Embrace Infant carseat.



The carseat is nice, but I can't figure out how I'm going to put a baby in there. Maybe I should practice w/ Pooh. (He's become our practice 'baby')


On Saturday I assembled - yes ASSEMBLED - the swing. That thing was a PAIN. Thinking about it makes me frustrated all over again - I had to walk away from it several times before it was completed. But it is nice - I sure hope Baby G likes it because if he doesn't...*shakes fist*


And I threw the pack and play together tonight. What an easy product! I guess it's supposed to be, since you can transport it wherever. But after the swing experience (another Graco product), I expected something much worse. Of course, it's missing pieces (to nothing important, hooks to hang something called the "parent helper" LOL), but they will arrive soon, I'm sure.



My living room is PACKED full of furniture. The pack and play might get moved, the spot I put it will make it nearly impossible to do diaper changes and the like. I have a spot for it kind of cleared, we'll see what Shawn thinks later.


And before you ask, I don't know why there is a dark spot on the couch. It's a suede-like material and looks darker if the fabric is 'pushed' a certain way. Plus, you get a BONUS pic of my handsome dog, Prince. What a cutie!

Now I'm off to make the bed, and maybe do some more laundry. Anything that could possibly bring on labor. Is it wrong that when I have a contraction, and it's even slightly painful, I get excited - thinking - "Maybe it's starting?!?!" I honestly cannot wait for labor to begin, I know all you haters are like: "It's gonna hurt," but you know what? I am okay with pain. Pain doesn't bother me. I'm ready to meet my G-man and announce his (very secret) name to the world!

36 weeks!

I'm a bit embarrassed to post this picture. I'll just say that it was early in the morning, before work and make-up. It scares me a little bit!!



I can't believe how big I'm getting!

Also, we put the bassinet into our room - everything is all washed and ready to go! I'm almost done with all his laundry and we're getting a dresser tomorrow so I can put it all away. I keep fighting an urge to rip open the box for the carseat and install it in the car. Maybe tomorrow...

The nursery - getting closer!

I feel kind of like I've lost my mind - between making Shawn move our bed and vacuum under it and obsessively arranging the nursery, I think I'm starting to get ready for this baby to come. Here are some pics of the nursery after a couple days of work. Shawn put the crib together last night, and we've been cleaning ever since, it seems like!

The crib - the bedding is called 'baby aviator' and it's adorable!


The changing table and hamper. Yes, that is Pooh in the Bumbo chair - and he's wearing a diaper! LOL


My wonderful husband, who is clearly exhausted from working full time, going to school full time, leading the men's ministry AND catering to my every insane need during this pregnancy...and the closet full of stuff that I don't have a place for yet.


More stuff that I have nowhere for yet - or stuff that will eventually be on the dresser that is going in this area. And, of course, no picture would be complete without a box full of garbage.

The nursery - a work in progress!

Here are some pics of the nursery so far. If you saw what it looked like before (when it was our office crammed full of bookcases, a desk and a couch) you'd be impressed. Shawn painted, we got the idea from a model home we looked at. The furniture clearly needs to be put together and organized, but we're missing parts for the crib...so until then, we wait. Yes, that is a crib mattress on top of a changing table. I didn't put it there, so don't ask me! I'll post more pics when we actually get closer to completion of this project!

This is the view from the door. See all the wonderful presents people blessed us with? We are so thankful!


Here is the view from the corner of the room. See the mattress? And Prince? We're training the dogs to stay out of the baby's room. They are sad but understand that they're no longer allowed in there. The white thing next to the vacuum? That's the bassinet - the fabric parts are being washed right now by yours truly, just in case I go into labor early!



I have a question for all you lurkers out there who never comment - do you think the middle color is gray or green? There is a disagreement in our home and I need some voting to help us decide what color it is. I won't reveal the name of the paint color, it would only cause you to have a biased opinion!

Yes, this is a blog about food.

I've always loved food, and pregnancy has only let me eat things that I normally would save for special occasions more often!

First, my pretzel debacle. On Sunday, when I do my grocery shopping, I picked up some Snyder’s pretzels (honey mustard). I had a coupon and also bought cream cheese, which when combined make a fantastic snack. When I got home and opened them, I discovered they were not the pretzels I thought they were! They were 'lightly seasoned' nibblers. BOOOO!! I don't like anything lightly seasoned! So when I ran to the store I had to buy the correct pretzels. See photo below - the offensive pretzels on the left and the proper ones on the right. See how the pretzel bites are labeled "Bursting with Flavor!" That's what I'm talkin' bout!


Next, we have another new love of mine - Yoplait Whips Yogurt thingys. They are the consistency of the meringue on a pie, and oh so yummy. The key lime is my fave, by far... I had a pic but man oh man is it blurry. Sorry!

Finally, Shawn called me to say he had a present for me in his briefcase - he was out of the house and I found this:



What is it? Chocolate straight from Germany - Shawn said he saved it for me. He is so sweet and thoughtful, especially in this time of my mood swings and chocolate cravings. I am so blessed to have him!!

Thank you, God!

This is an update from my last post - I visited the doctor yesterday, and everything is back to normal! My BP is back down, swelling is down, I only gained 1lb (!!!) and there was no protien in my urine. Thank you, God, for answering prayers! Meanwhile, my ankles still look like this:



YIKES!! Yes, they are swollen but it's just how it's going to be, I guess.

Little scare today

So...I've been slightly swollen in the feet for awhile - okay, really swollen. But this morning I woke up with swollen hands and had to upgrade to a size 10 wedding ring. Good thing I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon.

I go to the doctor and the nurse has to take my blood pressure twice. That freaked me out a little bit. Then she said, "You've gained a lot of weight." I have no idea how much but that scared me too. Then Tracy, the NP, came in and checked my hands. She agreed they were swollen then told me that my BP was higher than normal and there was protien in my urine. Any of you who've been pregnant knows what that might mean - preeclampsia. Or, in English, pregnancy-induced hypertension (high blood pressure). I was sent for blood tests and then sent home, with orders to take a 'cold' bath and put my feet up. Of course, when I got home, I looked up preeclampsia in my "What to expect when you're expecting" book.

Guess what it says for treatment?

If you have preeclampsia, delivery of the baby is the best way to protect both you and your baby.

So I sat there and thought about meeting my G-man now. It was scary but I know that God would take care of us.

Then, Tracy called me with the blood test results - I am okay. Praise God! But I have an appointment next week and need to be careful and make sure I don't have any vision changes or headaches that don't go away with Tylenol.

Please keep the baby in your prayers that he stays put til 37 weeks! Thank you!!

New Belly Shot! 32 weeks

What do you think?? When I went shopping the other day, the girl @ Motherhood said: "So you're having a girl, right?" I was all, "Um no, it's a boy!" She told me that the way I was carrying looked like a girl. I don't know..when I compare myself to other 32 weekers I think I look pretty normal.