Delayed Update

That was one long dinner! Sorry for the delay...

Anyways, as March approaches and we have enjoyed a few sunny days it means that time is almost here. I have 3wks left to work and 5 weeks left till the due date. Very exciting!

Well, my replacement was hired last Thursday. I haven't met her yet, but everyone that has seems to like her. She will work this Thursday and the next and then be there for good starting the 10th - so I will only have 3 days of training with her, which will mostly consist of two words: GOOD LUCK! I feel an enormous sense of relief and freedom now that my replacement has been officially hired. Also, I suddenly enjoy my job a lot more now as each day passes I have less to be responsible for. However, I am counting down the days and am eagerly anticipating my next job!

I'm not the only one looking forward to the changes, either. I think Grandma has reached her threshold with these boys! Luckily she only has about 5 more days of taking care of Jacob since Aaron will have a few days off coming up (because of working the weekend).

We had a pretty good weekend. Aaron got to go snowboarding Friday evening and Saturday morning - both days were BEAUTIFUL. Then Saturday we were off to Dennis & Kyra's in the evening for a little b-day celebration for Kyra. Jacob had a ball playing with Cori (4.5) and Jack (2.5). It is SO cute to watch them interact, especially to see how they handle things differently based on their age. They had a pretty extensive path system that they snowblowed around their home from a fire pit to a sledding area to our fireworks viewing area. Kyra is pretty special - she gets fireworks for her bday. :) It was pretty cool and crazy to actually see how much snow we have gotten (even with all the rain) - I guess Leelanau Co. is at 120" so far. The only BAD part of the evening was that Roxy freaked out during the fireworks which set Aaron and I off in a frenzy to try to catch her and put her back in the car. After successfully wrangling the poor girl we started heading back to the back of the house and I had a spill. I went to step off the deck onto the path and expected hard-packed snow and instead it was soft and next thing I know I am on the ground. Jacob was in my arms at the time, but I think I managed to fall on my left side and not the belly or right hip that Jacob was on. Poor Jacob was all crying - I think just because it scared him - and I was crying because I was startled, embarrassed and felt bad for Jacob and my ankle hurt like you know what. It took me a minute or two before I could walk on it, but then it seemed mostly fine. I still don't have full range of motion and have terrible pain when I try to use it to hoist myself when flipping from side to side at night, but for everything else I'm pain free.

We had our 35wk doctor appointment yesterday. Baby is looking good, fundal height only measured 3cm large this week (38cm), so she decided to hold off on the u/s for now. Heartrate was good (130's) and Brody is head down. She also did the group b strep test and my first internal exam. I am almost a fingertip dilated and VERY soft! This, of course, means very little as far as when the baby is coming, but it is nice to know that things are progressing. With Jacob I was closed and firm all the way until I delivered, so I am very excited to know that my body is making more progress this time around. The last stages of pregnancy are so filled with anticipation, excitement and anxiety. I think what makes it so difficult is that I can have a full term baby in TWO weeks or in SEVEN. So it is hard not to go crazy when you are preparing for such a big change. In all honesty though, I think Brody will be coming right at 40wks. Jacob came at 40w1d, so I'm thinking about March 28th (according to MY calculations - my doctor has 3.31 as my due date).

Inspiration

A girl from a message board I belong to posted this link, it's worth watching (about 10 minutes) if you haven't seen it already.

35wks!

Here are a couple pictures from today. Jacob is enjoying his first dirt bike, check out those muscles!!:

Dad helping Jacob perfect his snowboarding skills:And some 35wk Belly photos. Jacob looks a little worn out from all the snowboarding!
Aaron is out fishing and Jacob and I are off to meet grandma and grandpa for dinner at Olive.Garden, Yum! I'll update with some stories after dinner...

More of Jacob Snowboarding

Here is another collection of videos taken with the camera of Jacob snowboarding. I think he is getting better! It has been sunny and beautiful here the past few days, such a nice change! And, Jacob is almost completely recovered from his cold and cough, so he enjoyed getting some fresh air again.

Happy Valentines Day!

Jacob's current likes and dislikes:

Likes:

• Cords and anything he can 'plug in' (Thank god for outlet covers, outlet covers go on Mom's "likes" list)
• BLUEBERRIES
• Anything related to the movie Cars
• Trains
• Airplanes
• Showing off his new big boy room
• Animals, especially cats
• Bathtime

Dislikes:

• Sleeping in his new big boy room
• Sharing

Poor Jacob has a pretty bad cough and cold right now, but other than that he is doing great. He sounds terrible, but his mood has been pretty good. Since he has been sick, the lucky guy got to spend the whole week with either mom or dad! He cut his top two canine teeth while we were in Utah and the bottom two shortly after we came home. Now we are just waiting on those molars! The past couple weeks he has really been into momma, which has been a treat, but makes me nervous that it will only make the adjustment more difficult when Brody comes home.

Dr. Appt Update:

We had another OB appointment on Tuesday and things are still looking good. Heartrate is the same (130's - 140's), Brody is head down and my fundal height is still measuring big. We have been measuring 3cm ahead, now we are up to 4cm. The doctor mentioned that the baby doesn't feel unusually large, so maybe I've just got a big uterus! Our next appointment is on Monday the 25th when I'll be 35wks. At that appointment we will schedule our ultrasound for measurements (to take place around 37wks), do the group B strep test and I think my first internal, too. And then I think I begin weekly appointments, yowser!

Random Thoughts

• I've been paranoid that my work is going to drag their heels in finding and hiring a replacement and that means I won't get enough time to train them properly. And then this week it suddenly occurred to me... I don't care! I cared last time I went on leave that my replacement was properly trained because I knew if she wasn't that it meant more of a mess for me to come back to, but I JUST realized... it really doesn't matter this time! That was a refreshing revelation! Speaking of which... FIVE more weeks left!

• I still don't know what Jacob thinks of my belly and if he has ANY idea that a baby is coming to live with us. But, just this week I started telling him to give the baby kisses and he will come kiss my tummy, I think it's a good sign! Boy, am I going to miss him in the hospital :(

• Well, all the tumbles I was loving last Saturday? They resulted in Brody being transverse (sideways)! Well, according to my chiropractor on Monday, anyway. Since Monday I've been feeling kicks everywhere, so who knows where he will be at my appointment on Tuesday. He has a few more weeks to settle into position. Speaking of which... SEVEN more weeks left till showtime!

• I love cake. Early this week I was craving cake and frosting BAD. So we went to Sams Club and bought a cake. The big office-birthday style one, except it was just for me, er.. Brody. So then we stop at the grocery store and I ran in to grab a few things. Upon arriving home, Aaron checks out the recent and notices ice cream on there. Thinking that the cashier screwed up, he asks me if I really did buy ice cream. Duh, of course I did. His response? "A little excessive don't you think?" My response? "How can you get cake without ice cream?!" Poor Aaron, he never stood a chance of winning this argument. But I gotta say I love how he didn't say a thing about me buying this big cake all for myself, but the $2 gallon of ice cream was excessive. Go figure! **Note to self - ice cream is now gone, add to grocery list**

• Aaron is working this weekend and Jacob and I are just hanging out. I might take him to the mall at some point though to buy some sort of alphabet toy or book. I think we need to work more on letters - at this point he can't recognize any and it seems like lots of two year olds know the whole alphabet! So we have about three months to catch up! Any recommendations?? Oh, and a baby book is also on my list of things to get, but not sure if Jacob will give me the time I need to look through them!

• After some bad news for friends and family lately, it looks like things are turning around and I keep hearing good stories! I'm so excited for everyone! Julie and Shannon are both having visits from their moms right now - HAVE FUN! And Jeanine starts her new job on Monday - GOOD LUCK! And congrats to everyone else who has had good news this week. SO EXCITING!

6 weeks to go (of work)!

Here is a belly pic from 31wks with Jacob:


And here is a belly pic from last week, 31wks with Brody:The countdown continues... I've got 6 more weeks of work left and 8 weeks (give or take) till Brody comes!

I was explaining to Kyra last night that I don't think I'm expressing myself very well. I often tell people that I am ready to be done with this pregnancy and ready for the baby. As much as I am excited to meet this little guy, I'm not necessarily 'done' with being pregnant... yet! I think that I am just eager for March to be here more so than to be done being pregnant for two reasons. 1, I CAN'T WAIT to be done working and 2, having the baby here (full term) will mean that Spring is upon us and I am looking forward to safer roads, grass and being outside. But as far as the pregnancy goes, things are good. Brody is REALLY moving on me, giving me big crazy tumbles that I love and I am getting really excited as the big day approaches with anticipation of what labor will be like with this guy, how much he will weigh, what will he look like, how much will he resemble Jacob and what will Jacob think of the little guy. So as much as I'm ready to be done working and for nicer weather, I'm trying to enjoy being pregnant as much as I can and enjoy the alone time I have with Jacob, who has been more and more loving lately! Such a nice treat! Although, he still loves to abuse my belly with headbutts, slapping, kicking and climbing. Brody is sure to be born tough.

In other pregnancy related news, I experienced a maternity wardrobe-malfunction. Maternity shirts often have strings that hang in the front or back to enhance the empire waist or something. Well, when using the bathroom at work this week I stood up and felt a drip on my legs. I was like "what the..." when I suddenly, regretfully, realized that my bow had come undone and dipped into the lovely toilet bowl that I had just urinated in. Yuck!

**Note to self: double-check status of all hanging clothing BEFORE using toilet**