Week 30 - Going Strong!

By Marnie:
We're now at Week 30 - Baby Ov is apparently around 3+ pounds and will grow around a half a pound each week from here on out. Woah. She has been particularly active over this past week - she must love turkey and pumpkin pie!! There have been days where I've felt like she hasn't stopped moving for even a minute all day. I was slightly worried that maybe we'll have a non-sleeper on our hands, but the baby blogs I read have all said that pre-birth activity patterns aren't necessarily indicative of post-birth activity and sleeping patterns. Whew!

The test I mentioned in last week's blog came out a-ok. I figured it would and wasn't really worried, but would have been pretty bummed out if I had to go back for the 3 hour glucose test. Yuck!

We got lots of adorable clothes for Baby Ov at the showers in Minnesota and my boss was wonderful enough to ship them to me. They were delivered yesterday and Mike and I had a great time looking at all the cute little outfits our gal will be wearing. Here is a pic of them spread out on the (soon to be departing) bed in the baby's room.


I spent some time separating out all the clothes we have so far into ages and storing everything over 3 months in bins in the baby's closet. It was so strange packing away outfits for 12+ months and thinking about Baby Ov wearing them in well over a year!

I also worked on a few art projects for the baby's room this past week. We have a painting I did of our dog Stella a few years ago already hanging in the room so I decided to do a few more with other animals. I finished them on Friday and Mike hung them tonight. Here is a pic of them, prior to being hung on the wall.


We're starting our birth/baby class next Saturday. We chose the two full Saturday option as opposed to 5-6 weeknights. It sounded like the obvious choice at the time, but now that it's here, I'm not all that excited about sitting in a class from 9-5:30! I'm excited to go, though and hope we learn lots!

Still no news on the crib. Those jokers have two more weeks to call us and say that it's in before their quoted timeframe is up. I'm quite anxious for it to come in and had such high hopes it would be here before Thanksgiving or at least some time this weekend. Here's to the hope that by the next time you read this blog, I'll have a picture of Baby Ov's crib in her room!!

Week 29 - We're Rounding Third!

By Marnie:
So we're at Week 29 which means we're officially in the third trimester. I don't really understand how they figure the breakdown of the weeks, months and trimesters. They seem a bit off to me when you think about the fact that I have less than three months left to go and am just now starting the third trimester, but oh well!

It's been a very busy last couple of weeks so I apologize for no updates. We're all still doing well. I'm definitely feeling more pregnant now but continue to feel great. I had a doctor's appointment on Friday afternoon and took the glucose test (drank the sugary orange drink, waited and hour, then had my blood drawn). They didn't call me which either means I'm in the clear or they don't have the results back yet. I'm really hoping I don't have to go back and do the more extensive test which sounds like no fun at all! I also got a shot of Rhogam which helps to make sure my blood doesn't attack the baby's blood. I'm a negative blood type and apparently the negative blood types don't really play well with positive types. This is the first shot I've ever gotten in my backside and for some reason as the nurse was about to give it to me, I got a case of the giggles. How mature is that? Am I sure I'm ready to be a mom if I can't get a shot in my rear and not start giggling?!

I spent last weekend and part of the week in Minnesota visiting friends and family and taking part in some training for work. While I was there, I was thrown not one, but two baby showers! I had a wonderful time at both and enjoyed spending time with friends, family and coworkers. Most everyone shipped us gifts ahead of time and we promised not to open any of them until after I got back. We took a picture this morning of me with all of the boxes in our dining room.


Woah! That's a lot of boxes! We have some pretty amazing, thoughtful and generous friends and family. We were shocked at how often UPS, FedEx and USPS stopped at our house over the past few weeks and blown away by the generosity of everyone. I had a great time opening all the creatively wrapped photos of our gifts while I was back in Minnesota and Mike and I were giddy today as we finally opened all of our boxes.

Now that our house is filling up with baby stuff, I'm doing my best to figure out where in the world it's all going to go! I don't deal well with clutter and am not a "stuff" kind of person. I know that this is all needed for the baby and I'm so thankful to have it, but it's making me start to freak out a little bit. =) I go by the saying "there's a place for everything, and everything should be in it's place" so once I figure out where I want everything to go, I'll be a much calmer and happier lady.

Besides the showers in Minnesota, I also got to see my friend Jen and her sweet little baby boy Henry! He was 5 weeks old when I was there and cute as can be! We think he and Baby Ov will probably hit it off and get married someday. It's been nice to have a friend who is a few months ahead of me and can give me some pointers and warnings of what's to come! Here's a picture of me with Mr. Henry about 5 seconds after I walked through their door! (He looks pretty happy to see me, don't you think?!)


We're still waiting on our crib to come in. As of yesterday, it has been 11 weeks since we ordered it (they gave us a 10-14 week window and I was so sure they were exaggerating!). I'm really hoping that it gets here soon! I'd love to walk into the baby's room and have it actually feel like a baby's room. Maybe we'll get lucky and it will come in this week and we can pick it up over the long weekend ahead.

That's all that is and isn't happening around here. We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Week 27 Update

By Marnie:

We're at Week 27! Baby Ov is due to arrive 3 months from yesterday. I think the last time I updated, I was impressed that she had reached the pounds. She's now over 2 lbs! She's been a busy gal! She can also hear us now so I like to have little chats with her while I'm driving to and from work. I also read in one of the baby books that she has more taste buds now than she will have at birth or any other time in her life. That means she can definitely taste it if I have something spicy and will let me know!

Baby Ov has been busy in the past few weeks and so have we. We spent a great long weekend in Kansas City visiting the Overman family. I ate my weight in the best ribs, brisket and baked beans with burnt ends that every existed. Mike became the favorite play thing of our niece Noelle. It was fun watching him down on the floor, playing with whatever toy she brought him and wanted to play with. One of her favorite things was to sit on his back while he did push-ups. I think it made Mike realize that he should pick up his workout routine before Baby Ov gets here!!

After KC, we were home for a night then headed out for our annual trip to Big Bear. We had such a great time relaxing in the cabin we rented, cooking great food and doing plenty of hiking. I'm happy to say we hiked just as much as in prior years and I was able to keep up. I wasn't as fast up the mountains as in the past, but I made it to the top! We got back on Halloween and hoped for some trick-or-treaters but got none. All the more reason for me to devour loads of the candy we bought...

I left the next day for a two night work trip to San Francisco. The night I got back, we went to an Elton John concert at a small, standing room only venue. It was an awesome concert, but for the first time in this pregnancy, I got to experience what felt like Michelin Man legs! Thankfully, they went back to normal after a good night's sleep. I was quite happy about that! I'm headed to Minnesota next week and fear for what my ankles and legs will look like after that long-ish flight!

While we were in Big Bear, the the baby store where we ordered the glider/rocker/recliner called to say that it had come in. It was an exciting day yesterday when we went to pick it up. We're leaving it in the living room until the crib comes in and we clear out the bed in the spare bedroom. Here is a picture of Mike and Stella enjoying the new chair, watching a rarely televised on the West Coast Chiefs game (notice the sheet covering it - I'm doing my best to keep it as free of dog hair as possible and since it's become one of Stella's new favorite places to sit, I'm glad I covered it!!)

Lastly, here is an updated profile picture of me. My belly is definitely getting bigger. I honestly can't imagine it getting as huge as I know it will. Mike commented this morning as I got out of bed to go to the bathroom, "that's a lot of body to get up and out of bed." I know he was recognizing that it's probably more difficult for me to do some things, but I keep focusing on the "that's a lot of body" part. =) He made it up to me by making his made-from-scratch pancakes! That's been a weekly treat in our house since I found out I was pregnant and I'd been missing them the past few weekends!

The Aviator

by Mike

It’s election day and I’m enjoying the circus even though I’m not particularly into politics. Pending fatherhood has added an extra wrinkle of perspective. Knowing I will be watched & questioned. Knowing my decisions are not only about me. Not only about my wife. But now largely driven by what is going to benefit our family. Baby Ov will grow up in a home that votes. Because we care and we want her to care. You’ve got to have a stake in this world for it to truly pay off.

I hope we raise a gal who’s not afraid to toss her hat in the ring. I’m proud of those who decided to run for an office even though they probably never had a chance – they put their money where their mouths were. Reading through the names on the ballot, I tossed a vote to Merton Short, Aviator, for Secretary of State*. To be honest, I don’t know anything about Merton Short except that (a) I like his name and (b) um, he’s an aviator, which might be one of the coolest titles you could ever print on a business card (I’m sure he doesn’t have a business card. But probably a cool tattoo).

*I looked up Merton later and turns out we’re fundamentally opposed in our beliefs, but that’s okay, he can keep my vote. As the ticker goes by I’m happy to be part of his 2%.

This post is a little short and arguably off-topic for those who want the hard core baby dirt. But we’re still in the no-news-is-good-news phase – so fortunately there’s not much news right now. Marnie is doing well and looks great – she’s carrying our baby girl like a champ. Still waiting on that crib to come in. We're taking over/under bets on Thanksgiving.

And that's about all I can tell you right now. Baby Ov, may you have all the courage of Merton Short, Aviator.