Week 35

We are now down to weekly check-ups at the doctor. Yesterday we met with our doctor and he says that I have already started to dilate (1cm). So the little guy is just weeks away from delivery... very exciting.

Also, we've been hearing a lot about this being a special year to have a baby according to the Chinese Zodiac. It is not only the year of the Pig, it is the Year of the Golden Pig. According to Chinese Folklore, this is an event that occurs once in every 600 years (I've also heard every 60 years) and will ensure that a baby born on this year will experience a prosperous, wealthy and happy life. Good Luck Little Man!

We're on the Schedule...

Well it has been a very busy last three weeks. Let me do a quick recap, oldest to newest first.


Baby Showers - August 25th & 29th

Sat. August 25th - My friends, Sharla Davenport and Linda Bazaco, helped to host a wonderful shower for our baby. I just want to say for those who were able to make it, it was so wonderful to get to see you and to celebrate the arival of mine and Chris' son. We just appreciated everyone's gifts (and meals) so much (I promise we haven't touched any meals yet, although I can't wait to try everyone's dishes). It really means so much to Chris and I.





My boss and co-worker also hosted a shower for me at my office. They really amazed me at how much time and effort they were able to put into this event for us, as I know they are both very busy ladies. It was so nice to see the kindness and thoughtfulness of my co-workers and Marshall will also have a wonderful Library because of everyone's contribution!



Last Minute Shopping

Last weekend was Labor Day weekend and we spent the extra few days doing the final shopping and final touches the the Baby's room. Lucky for us, we found that Pier One Kids was going out of business and they had all sorts of Nautical wall decorations that we could use in Marshall's room. I also got a little crafty and went to Michaels to get some letters and life preserver to paint. Chris and I are very excited about what we were able to accomplish in his room and we hope that it is something that he can enjoy for years to come.



Prenatal Classes


This Saturday, we started the first of four prenatal classes that are held by our hospital (Plano Medical Center). We watched some very "interesting" videos and learned a lot about labor, baby safety, hospital procedures, and breathing techniques. Next week we practice the breathing again and have a hospital tour. The third week teaches us baby care and breastfeeding, and the fourth week is CPR.

Week 33 Check Up

At my appointment this week, my doctor decided to schedule me for inducement on October 24th. It works out really well for us since we live so far from the hospital (almost 30 miles). We are really excited to know that we know exactly when Marshall is coming. So, circle your calendars!

9 Weeks Left!!!

We are down to the last 9 weeks and there seems to be a lot of gentle reminders that keep reminding us of how close we are to having a baby in our lives. I don't know what makes it more real, feeling the little guy kicking and growing heavier by the day, or seeing all of the Halloween decorations all over the place! (Speaking of Halloween decorations - there was the cutest outfit that I HAD to buy - so I really hope that Marshall doesn't come AFTER Halloween!!!).

Last weekend, Chris was such an AWESOME & AMAZING husband! He bought me an hour long prenatal massage, which means that I was very relaxed and lazy -a real zero - over the entire weekend. Meanwhile, Chris was totally productive and was busy making sure that everything was looking good in the baby's room. Our furniture was delivered last Thursday and everything is really starting to come together! Here are some updated photos!
We were also very excited to find out on Saturday that Marshall's cousin, who is due to be born in late December/early January, is going to be a baby girl! He's going to be so excited to have a cousin so close in age to him, as well as having some older cousins (Katherine, Cody, Sierra and Emelia) to play with.

Marshall's other cousin, Sierra, just celebrated her first birthday on August 4th! Here is the most adorable photo of her enjoying her birthday cake!Here is a photo of my sister Emily and I. I love my Emily!

Week 29 of Pregnancy: Daddy week 29

Week 27 Progress Report

We've been pretty busy this July, so we haven't had too much time to update the site. Well actually, I could've updated it last weekend but we had a wedding to go to on the 21st and I spent all day Sunday (22nd) reading Harry Potter. Here is a photo of Marshall and I on my 27th birthday and Marshall's 27th week in my belly.

Here are some photos of us with our friends at Amanda and Todd's Wedding. It was really great getting to see everyone!

Thankfully, there is nothing dreadful to report as we move into the Third Trimester. :-) This week's doctor visit was pretty normal. The baby is measuring normal, I've started gaining a couple of pounds (finally), my Glucose Test came back with a great score (103) and my blood pressure was normal (120 over 80). After our August 22nd prenatal visit, we'll be seeing the doctor every two weeks.

We've made some improvements to Marshall's room. The weekend after the fourth of July, Chris' family came and helped us put up wainscotting in the bedroom. Without Chris' brother's help, it would not have turned out as great as it did. Thanks Dave!

While the guys were working, the rest of us got to relax in the backyard...

While Chris was painting the room I did some painting of my own. Chris' parents gave us the cutest bookcase to put in Marshall's room. Here is a little "before" and "after" picture of it. After a few weeks of hard work, Chris did a really marvelous job of painting. I can't wait to get the furniture and start decorating!!

4th of July Shopping

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!

For the past few months we've been looking at all of the standard places for baby furniture: Babies R'Us, Sears, JC Penny's, Burlington Coat Factory, Stacy's Furniture. We finally narrowed down our selection and decided that today was the day that we would order the furniture!!! So this morning we drove over to Burlington Coat Factory and decided to place our order for the set that we liked. Little did we know that this whole thing would turn out to be such a fiasco!! Despite finding somebody quickly to take down our order, we went to the cashier to check out and it took her 45 minutes to figure out how to place the order. The lady was so incompetent and rude. I've never been so relieved to leave a store. Then after going to lunch we discovered that instead of ordering a crib and a dresser they ordered two cribs!! On top of that they said that the items wouldn't be in the store until late October. We decided to go back and get our money back and go else-where.

One of Chris' old work buddies said they found some great furniture at a reasonable cost at Stacy's Furniture, so we drove over to their Allen "Oh Baby!" Store. We found a great set that is supposed to last for a very long time. We are both really excited about the furniture. It is going to look great with the nautical theme. My favorite piece is the chair. It rocks and swivels but the fabric is what makes it so great. It feels like a teddy bear because it is so warm and fuzzy. I just love it. Here is a photo of the furniture set (without the chair) from the manufacturer's website (http://www.westwoodbaby.com/cypress_point.html). We picked out the dresser/hutch and crib.The other objective for today was to finish Marshall's baby registry. What is so convenient is the fact that we don't physically have to go to the store to register. (I LOVE THE INTERNET!) This works out well since we've been so busy at work the past few months. Despite the time constraints; I'm nearly finished with our registries at Target (http://www.target.com/gp/browse.html/ref=nav_registries/601-0736601-3536105?ie=UTF8&node=306498011) Pottery Barn (http://www.potterybarnkids.com/index.cfm) and Babies R'Us (http://www.toysrus.com/registry/index.jsp).

Week 23 Sonogram

Well everything is still looking good for the little guy. The point of this visit was to take a look at his size and all of his (and my) organs to make sure that everything was looking good. Everything is as it should be. He checked in at 11.1 inches and weighs 1 pound 3 grams. The doctor said that he is in the 35th percentile for his size so he's coming in about average right now. It's funny because as much as his momma has been eating out, I'm still weighing in about 3 lbs under my pre-pregnancy weight. Other than the pre-existing back problems, the pregnancy has been pretty non-eventful and has given me very little problems. It just continues to justify my previous thinking that we are going to have a very laid back baby. Here are some of the images that we received on this visit. Each week he is gaining more and more fat and soon the 3-D images will start coming in clearer. For now we are starting to see some of both mine and Chris' features.

Operation - Empty Baby Room - Now complete!!

Well the room is starting to come along. Since the last posting the room went from this...

To this...

But that also meant that all of this had to go to the Salvation Army (which is my favorite non-profit organization)...

Chris will be working hard over the next couple of days to finish painting the room and getting it ready to put wainscoting up this weekend.