34 weeks

The baby room is almost complete - I just need to hang a few pictures.

I can hardly believe that I'll be full term in 3 weeks and certainly have given birth in less than 8 or so weeks. We are feeling more and more ready - trying to practice our relaxation techniques and get everything in order. I now have everything I think I need for cloth diapering - wraps, pre-folds, all in ones, cloth wipes, a few hemp inserts and the right laundry detergent. I've been trying to read a bit each day in my natural birthing book and reading about caring for an infant and breast feeding for after the birth. It is a whole new world!!!

Aaron started his new job last week and is really enjoying it. He is learning a ton and looks forward to becoming more proficient at his responsibilities. With Aaron at work Mon-Friday and us sharing a vehicle, I've started the search for another vehicle. I'm determined to find a reasonable priced 2002 or newer Honda CR-V with less than 100,000 miles. It is looking like it may take a bit longer to find this than I had hoped, but I'm thankful we have time to find something we will like.

A good day!

Aaron went backpacking and so for the first time in I have no idea how long, I spent the entire day by myself. After I took him to meet up with his ride at the crack of dawn, I came back home, drank a glass of milk and slept until 11am. Yes it is true - 11am!! Then I got up for breakfast or lunch?? I finished my much dreaded project of entering every transaction from the last 6 weeks into Microsoft Money and organizing the receipts for the random returns we have from all our house projects. Then I laid in bed to read and spent a nice time watching my tummy dance, poke out and move around. I read more of Dr. Bradley's book and caught up on more random things. Then I felt bad for the dog's lack of exercise and took her for a long walk and caught up briefly with a good friend. Now it is getting dark and I'm grateful for a nice day alone - it may be a very long time before I get another!!!

On other fronts - we are thankful that Aaron had very good 1st and 2nd round interviews with a small marketing company in Windsor last week. After working at the surf shop in Kona - Aaron came to appreciate the creative applications required of their potential employees. So in preparation for his interview he built a sweet rocket (which ties in with the company's name) and put icons on it that represented what he would bring to the company. He then inserted his resume and references into the body. I may be biased - but he is a clever marketer and would be a great asset to any marketing team. We are awaiting news next week and hoping they offer him a job. It would be remarkable timing - just as we are finishing up all our major house projects. God is in control and so we will be content either way - but we are hopeful!!

31 and a half weeks

Time is flying by - only a little more than 8 weeks until our estimated due date. No new news - baby's heart rate was 150 and I got to feel her/his head again today. I'm getting closer to finished with the nursery - just need curtains and a little something more on one of the walls.

Here are some fun pictures - they are Hawai'i modest, so don't look if you are against the bikini! My baby belly is certainly getting bigger!!

Pre-pregnancy, 19 weeks, 23 weeks and 31 weeks.

Ultrasound Picture

We had our ultrasound this morning and everything looks good. The baby slept through almost the entire session in a nice little ball - head in the lower left facing forward and arm tucked under the head. Because we chose to have the ultrasound a little later in the pregnancy it was a bit more difficult to see everything, but the tech said she got everything she needed. Here is a nice little face shot we got as a souvenir.

Super Preggy Smoothie

I've been making lots of smoothies lately and have been trying to figure out how to get my green leaves in without having to taste them. Just kidding - I don't mind the greens, but this is a great way to get the benefits of spinach without having to eat a salad! The flax adds Omega 3 fatty acids. Here is the calorie break down - it is like a whole meal!!

Every ingredient is on at least one of the pregnancy super foods lists!!

Calories 518, Fat 14, Cholest 16mg, Sodium 358mg, Carbs 84g, Sugars 84g, Fiber 15g, Protien 22g

Super Smoothie

1/3 cup frozen blueberries

1/4 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 frozen banana

1/4 cup frozen spinach (which you can't taste)

3 Tbsp milled flax

1/4 cup vanilla natural yogurt

1/2 cup orange juice

1/3 cup skim milk (add more or less for desired consistency)

30 weeks

We've been home in Loveland for over 2 weeks and are still getting settled in. I hit it hard the first week and have now slowed down, just getting a little done here and there. Aaron has not showed signs of slowing - he continues working hard to get all the projects on the list done. Today he put a second shelf in our closet that I wanted. I'm so grateful that he is working so hard and is motivated to get the house ready and looking good. I wouldn't say we forgot how much work having a house is, but we sure did enjoy taking a 2 year vacation from house projects! We've had so much help from parents, family and friends and are grateful for their time and energy. We got things together enough to have a family barbecue on Sunday night - somehow our little family with a few visitors was 18 people! It was a nice house warming and made it feel like we are really moved in and living here.

Our baby is growing and I can hardly believe that we have only 10 weeks to the due date. On Monday we got to meet our delivering doctor. He seems really great! The whole medical scene here is such a stark difference from the clinic in Maui - friendly staff, a nice waiting room, nicely painted walls, decor and fun pictures all over. It is refreshing! At this point, the only medical annoyance is that the insurance company ran out of card stock to make my insurance card and thus has not mailed me my "home away from home" insurance information - which is now over 2 weeks late in arrival. Oh well - I wouldn't believe it if a dealing with the insurance company went smoothly!

Everything with the baby looks good. The heart beat was a little higher this week and the doctor asked if he could guess and he is guessing girl! He was able to feel the baby's head on the right side under my belly button. I've started to have braxton hicks contractions this week and the baby is still moving all over. I giggle every time I feel a kick and look down to see my tummy dancing. I should be scheduling my diagnostic ultrasound here in the next couple of weeks just to make sure all the babies organs and spinal cord look good. The baby is so big now, we are hoping that they do a good job keeping the pictures modest so we can be surprised when the baby arrives!

We've started our 12 week Bradely course in Fort Collins. Our teacher graciously started the class the week we arrived so that we could hopefully make it through before the delivery. We are enjoying it thus far and there is one other couple attending with us that is due the same week we are. It is very infomational and we are looking forward to being prepared with knowledge, relaxation techniques and a sense of strong teamwork for the big day!