Week 35: Shower at the Hanneke Homestead

I am not a fan of Facebook shout outs.  Blog shout-outs on the other hand?  I'm for 'em!  I've got to give a shout-out to my BFF Jessica, sister Rita, Aunt Laurel, and everyone else who helped to make my shower amazing yesterday!  The decorations were perfect, the food was delicious, and the company couldn't be beat. 

FAVORS!  Psst- aren't the nests amazing?

Fresh shrimp and salad greens flown in from South Carolina

After eating lunch, we played a game.   The first game had us writing down baby necessities for every letter of the alphabet.  Naturally, I thought I'd rock at this, having looked at every baby product known to man while registering.  Despite going through my entire registry in my mind, I failed to dominate even come close to winning. Aunt Kathy took home the trophy for this game- she had an item for every letter!  

 

 The second game we played was guess the poop where you pass around soiled diapers and have to guess what animal the excrement came from. 

Teamwork

"Hey, this looks familiar!"

Laugh now mom, you'll be seeing a lot of the human variety soon enough,

Getting a second opinion

This game was a hoot and the best part was that everyone was a winner!  Evidently, we all know our poop candy bars.

Of course Baby M received some amazing gifts, and I had fun opening them for him!

We now have enough necessities where I can honestly say, we're ready for him to come!  Before the shower, he would have been sleeping in a diaper on the plastic covering of the mattress, now he has comfy sheets, swaddles, and so much more! One of the cutest gifts was a gift the grandmas received.

It's a suitcase!  In what insane fantasy world does all of a baby's necessities for a weekend fit in this?  I don't know, but I already want to live there!  Or maybe it's like a bottomless Mary Poppin's bag?  Either way, it's adorable, and I know Laura's chomping at the bit for little boy to be here to use it!  After presents, it was time to chow down on dessert.  Raspberry tart? Bird's nest cookie?  Cake ball?  Eclair (not pictured, but still amazing)?  YES PLEASE!  Being pregnant is the best when it comes to dessert because I feel no guilt.  None whatsoever, just pure deliciousness!

 

I want to thank everyone who came out to the shower!  It was a beautiful day, and I truly felt loved (even if that's not what you were going for)!  Kyle and I can't wait for Baby M to arrive next month, and it's clear quite a few other family members are anxious for his arrival as well!  We feel blessed to have such  great family to help us raise our little guy! 

 P.S. Did you know it's good luck to have a pregnant lady scratch off your numbers on a lottery ticket?  Jessica won $15 and a photo of herself on the blog!

Week 34: A Potpourri of Baby Prep

Last weekend, my coworkers threw a shower for us!  My mom made the long drive from St. Louis to join in the festivities.  It was wonderful to be surrounded by all of my coworkers.  I love that almost all of them were able to come celebrate Baby M!  It really is like having a third family of aunts and cousins.  I couldn't ask for better people to work with!  Wish I had pictures, but I left the camera at home. : (

We received a lot of nice gifts, and I thoroughly enjoyed putting everything away in it's perfect spot.  We even cleared a drawer for in the bathroom and a small cabinet for him in the kitchen.  With every little step, we're becoming more and more ready for his arrival in 6 weeks!

 We also spent 6 hours working in the nursery this week.  Here's a hint about what we've been up to:

I'm loving how the room looks; all the time spent of the project was definitely worth this.  The room is way different from even one week ago!  Hopefully curtains will show up in the mail sometime this week, and we'll be able to do a nursery reveal next week!

Life sure is busy right now; physically, I'm feeling good.  My main discomfort is the pressure I feel from little McBabe on my ribs.  Luckily, when he moves, the pressure is relieved. I've also been getting foot and leg cramps- OUCH!  So I've been trying to be extra careful about my calcium, potassium, and water intake.  One part of life that has been particularly annoying is work.  It's really getting in the way of the 'preparing for baby' fun!  Seriously though, I've been staying at work until at least 6:00 four/days a week.  I must have forgotten how much work being an elementary school teacher is!  Also, having to go two and a half hours between bathroom breaks is torture.  I find myself lurking the hallway outside of my room, looking for someone to watch my students while I use the bathroom.  Besides these minor aches, I feel great and hope this bun stays in the oven the full 40 weeks!

Check out the bump I've got!  I'm now exclusively wearing maternity pants and skirts to work.  I basically have a rotation of outfits, including  two blue jean days and Friday has become 'goucho' day.  Not the most professional of attire, but I can't get myself to purchase new clothes that I will only be wearing for a few more weeks.  Oh, and the Bella Band?  It no longer works; I'm just a little too round for it these days.

P.S.  Dad, are you happy I didn't show my actual stomach this week? 

Week 33: One 'Last' Road Trip

Kmac and I road tripped over Labor Day weekend to visit friends in Minnesota.  I did fabulously on the 7.5 hour car ride; needing to stop only 3 times each way and freaking out over blood clots in my legs only once!  Not too bad for a hypochondriac!   While we were in Rochester, MN, we hit up the farmer's market.  Naturally, there was plenty of produce, but what really caught our eyes was the chocolate covered bacon.  To make it even better, this concoction came on a stick!  Kyle ate the majority of it; Marc had one bite, while I used the 'I'm pregnant, I shouldn't eat something like that' excuse.  Kyle said it wasn't too bad, rather it had the sweet-salty thing going on.

 The next day, the boys played 18 holes of disc golf at a closed ski resort.  I walked with them for the first 9 holes before getting tired of all the bugs-they were swarming and biting!   I went back to the clubhouse and read Birth Skills.  The guys had a great time; I'm sure they enjoyed the bonding without an ole' pregnant lady hanging around.

 The weather was quite brisk up north and a welcome change from all the Missouri heat. 

Now for some questions....

How far along?: 33 weeks 3 days.
How big is the baby?: 17 inches long, 4 1/2 lbs- gaining 1/2 lb. each week!! 
Weight gain/loss: 17 pounds
Pregnancy symptoms: hunger- I eat like a teenage boy, heartburn, fatigue, ineffectiveness- I've been staying at work until around 6 each night just getting everything done (why does everything take me so long to do!?), soreness under chest when sitting
Sleep: One word: snoogle.  This pillow is a miracle worker and was worth every penny! Waking up for bathroom breaks ~2 times a night
Best moment this week: Our weekend trip to Minnesota was pretty rad.  Awesome events included, but were not limited to: going to IKEA, having dinner with Uncle Ron, Aunt Sherry, Taylor, and Jordan, watching the MU game, and catching up with friends!
Movement: Tons!  You'd think I was a professional belly dancer.  This stomach's got serious moves!
Food cravings: Everything, I've started thinking, "I'm pregnant, I can eat that" which led to eating more fast food this weekend than I normally would in a year.  French fries?  Check (actually, triple check!).  Burgers? Double check.  Mozzarella sticks?  You betcha.  Now that I'm back home though, I'm trying to limit my daily unhealthy food to ice cream.   I've got to gain 1 pound a week somehow and baby carrots aren't going to do it for me!
Food aversions: Brussel sprouts, any salad dressing in my refrigerator
What I love: How nice people are when they see I'm pregnant, all the movement, talking about the baby/pregnancy (yes, I'm one of those women!) I also like that I always have my little guy with me- I'm never lonely or bored!
What I miss: my pre-pregnancy body, I look at pictures from week 13 and think, "Will I ever get back to that!?"
What I am looking forward to: my first baby shower this weekend thrown by my coworkers; it's nice to have a third family : )
Nursery Update: The room is coming together!  The furniture, including the glider, is set up in the room.  The crib mattress arrived last week.  We hung all of the 'art' on the walls only for me to think, "This just doesn't look right."  So we splurged on Etsy last night and hopefully our purchase will arrive sometime this week so we can get it up in the room.  For a hint, I'll tell you- it has to do with my dream nursery post!