I borrowed this survey from a friend who is 9 days ahead of me. It seemed like a nice way to mark and remember these final weeks.
How far along? Approximately 251 days.
Total weight gain/loss: I think about 30-35 lbs. If I can keep it here I will be happy-ish. I gained that much with E and am pretty sure I will lose it all again quickly. Breastfeeding and chasing a three-year-old, and lots of long walks around our little town should be the ticket. I also found a great schedule for running 30 minutes in 10 weeks, so the double jogging stroller is my number one birthday wish. I am told it is possible not to actually gain but to maintain a weight in the last month and I think it is pretty likely considering how very active life currently is (Evie, Russ, and I spent the whole weekend at the Riley house painting, cleaning and getting ready for the next owners, whoever they may be). And the next couple of weeks are looking about as busy what with weddings, family, more family, friends and a demolition derby all around the corner.
Maternity clothes? As I have thrifted pretty much all of my "maternity" clothes I would say yeah I am not only wearing them but down to slimmer selection. I have my favorites--a dark denim jean skirt, a couple of cute tops, and a few dresses but mostly I am so very, very, very tired of them and quite ready for feeling cooler and for being back in my regular clothes. Also, NONE of my shoes fit any more. Only flip-flops. I found out this afternoon when I tried to wedge my swollen extremity into the last pair of sandals I had. Not so great for the arch support, I tell you.
Stretch marks? Only the ones I got on my chest when my milk came in with Everett.
Sleep: Naps are great but too short. Night time sleep is hit and miss. Mostly I miss it. But I do remind myself that it is only going to be more like this when Miss Bea arrives. It took Evie a few months before he could go through the night with only 2 feedings, so I am not holding my breath for uninterupted sleep.
Best moment this week: Honestly, as crazy and busy and full as life is, there are still so many moments of joy and beauty. Evie crawling into bed with us and wiggling and jumping around on Saturday morning. Having my dad's parents visit for the first time. Staying in my pajamas until 5pm today. Watching Evie eat a piece of watermelon almost as big as his head. Listening to the "boys" play down in the basement. Reading through a stack of home-decorating books and getting ideas for the house. Planning our trip to town on Friday--I am definitely hitting a couple thrift stores, possibly the library, and maybe even Hey Baby!
Movement: Yes, she is very active between 12 noon and 2:30 and then again at night when I lay down. Intermitently during the day too.
Food cravings: Frozen green beans and ice water half the time and anything chocolate or ice-creamy the other half. I definitely am hitting both ends of the healthy food spectrum.
Labor signs: Actually no. I started having regular contractions at 14 weeks but in the past month or so they have eased up a lot. I figure she is going to ride this out till the very end. I will wait up to 42 weeks unless there is something medically necessary.
Belly button in or out? Half in half out--more because I apparently have a defective belly-button than a small belly.
What I miss: Hugging Russ face-to-face, cuddling Everett on my lap for bedtime stories, having energy that last through the day with Everett, wearing regular shoes, bending, walking, running, sleeping, my face, figure, and clothes. The ability to enjoy summer weather.
What I'm looking forward to: Our family growing and changing as we love and enjoy Beatrice Emily, all the suprises that come with a new little person, my mom, dad, sister, brother and his girlfriend's upcoming visits, Demolition Derby 2009--Russ is so going to win it this year (or not make it to the feature at all), autumn weather, seeing old friends and making new ones.
Weekly wisdom: Give yourself a break--don't get out of your pajamas, finish the book you are reading (even if there is an 85% chance that you have read it already and can't remember because your brain has been co-opted by your baby's placenta), sit on the floor and play dinosaurs and cars and bears. Make time for your husband. Fix a really great meal. Enjoy every little minute before life changes all over again.
Milestones: Everett has started using 3 and 4 word sentences with prompting. We finally finished painting the interior of the Riley house. I can't wear shoes anymore (it stands repeating). We have been in the new house for approximately 3 weeks! And officially we are full term on this pregnancy.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The Belly
I have lost track of how many weeks/days along I am. I am pretty sure it is somewhere around 36-ish. I made the skirt, I am pretty proud of it--and the fact it still fits! Only a few more weeks, and everything will change again. I am getting a bit more excited now that we are settling in.
What you can't see in the pictures is the Kansas humidity. It is so damp here that even the slightest activity, like walking from one end of the house to the other, is enough to make me feel damp all over. Thus, my hair is always up and off my neck, even though in pictures it looks like I broke down and got that super short haircut I have been imagining. I figure if I can just make it through the end of summer and first year of Bea's life without cutting it, I will be able to keep it relatively long--my mom cut her hair after my little brother was born and has never grown it back out.
What you can't see in the pictures is the Kansas humidity. It is so damp here that even the slightest activity, like walking from one end of the house to the other, is enough to make me feel damp all over. Thus, my hair is always up and off my neck, even though in pictures it looks like I broke down and got that super short haircut I have been imagining. I figure if I can just make it through the end of summer and first year of Bea's life without cutting it, I will be able to keep it relatively long--my mom cut her hair after my little brother was born and has never grown it back out.
Promises Kept
So for all our loved ones who have been wondering, here is our new home, and a quick tour now that we are getting settled in. It will take me years, I am sure to get it the way I want it, but that is the best part. And thanks to all the worried comments, I am trying to slow down a little.
This is the front door, and anyone who wants to take a visit out here is more than welcome, we look forward to seeing all of our family and friends soon!
To the right of the entrance is what Russ calls the parlor and I call the library. Either way it is a quiet place to sit with a book or the laptop.
To the left is the living room, which is bigger than the picture depicts and perfect for Everett's constant motion and gymnastics. He prefers using the back of the couch as his pommel horse and the table as a balance beam. I feel like my dad everytime I say, "you have to sit down on your bottom, the couch is not for jumping/running/standing/twirling etc."
This picture shows off the lovely columns and gives a slightly better perspective on the length of the room.
Oma and Baba made their first visit today. It was wonderful to show them the house and Oma brought this beautiful arrangement which looks so pretty on the diningroom table.
It is still pretty sparse in some rooms. We will have fun finding just the right furniture, including some more chairs for the table in the dining room.
Through the hallway off the dining room, is our bedroom. The map on the wall was a Christmas present to Russ. I have been waiting since then for the perfect place for it. Obviously it isn't very accurate, but I think the patina of age makes it look more like textile art than geography anyways. I love it in our bedroom and plan on basing the entire master bedroom "decorating scheme" around it eventually!
We will share it with Miss Bea until she is sleeping through the night and won't wake up her brother. The chest of drawers will function as changing table and as her dresser.
The tall peer-glass dresser was a gift from my grandmother. She bought it in the mid-fifties for eleven dollars. I love seeing it in our room.
This is Evie's room, and he is demonstrating how much he loves all the space he has now. The door leads to a huge closet where he keeps his toys.
Of course, the floor is already a bit dirty. SO much house to keep clean!
The upstairs, girlie bathroom. Also great for Evie's baths.
On the top floor of the house are two more "bedrooms" and multiple closets. This is the corner of my princess closet. It is huge! I am so very spoiled.
Another view. And as we enter the last 4 weeks or so of this pregnancy I can officially say that 98% of the clothes pictures, don't fit!
A corner of my studio with squishy rocker for nursing and thinking. And a little sink around the corner for clean-up!
The fabulous blue shelf that Russ built and Everett's decorating contribution--the fingerprints on my mirror.
The view from the doorway of my studio. I am so thankful for my own space. Russ has the garage and over 1,000 square feet of basement, but nothing could be sweeter than my studio.
Adjoining is the playroom, which is the perfect space for E and B to play while I get creative, or to inspire my creativity!
Russ also built the tall orange bookshelf, which needs a companion because I have already filled it with books!
The Guest Bed. I am sure that as we progress I will change things around and take lots more pictures. But for now, I think it does a pretty good job of showing where we are.
This is the front door, and anyone who wants to take a visit out here is more than welcome, we look forward to seeing all of our family and friends soon!
To the right of the entrance is what Russ calls the parlor and I call the library. Either way it is a quiet place to sit with a book or the laptop.
To the left is the living room, which is bigger than the picture depicts and perfect for Everett's constant motion and gymnastics. He prefers using the back of the couch as his pommel horse and the table as a balance beam. I feel like my dad everytime I say, "you have to sit down on your bottom, the couch is not for jumping/running/standing/twirling etc."
This picture shows off the lovely columns and gives a slightly better perspective on the length of the room.
Oma and Baba made their first visit today. It was wonderful to show them the house and Oma brought this beautiful arrangement which looks so pretty on the diningroom table.
It is still pretty sparse in some rooms. We will have fun finding just the right furniture, including some more chairs for the table in the dining room.
Through the hallway off the dining room, is our bedroom. The map on the wall was a Christmas present to Russ. I have been waiting since then for the perfect place for it. Obviously it isn't very accurate, but I think the patina of age makes it look more like textile art than geography anyways. I love it in our bedroom and plan on basing the entire master bedroom "decorating scheme" around it eventually!
We will share it with Miss Bea until she is sleeping through the night and won't wake up her brother. The chest of drawers will function as changing table and as her dresser.
The tall peer-glass dresser was a gift from my grandmother. She bought it in the mid-fifties for eleven dollars. I love seeing it in our room.
This is Evie's room, and he is demonstrating how much he loves all the space he has now. The door leads to a huge closet where he keeps his toys.
Of course, the floor is already a bit dirty. SO much house to keep clean!
The upstairs, girlie bathroom. Also great for Evie's baths.
On the top floor of the house are two more "bedrooms" and multiple closets. This is the corner of my princess closet. It is huge! I am so very spoiled.
Another view. And as we enter the last 4 weeks or so of this pregnancy I can officially say that 98% of the clothes pictures, don't fit!
A corner of my studio with squishy rocker for nursing and thinking. And a little sink around the corner for clean-up!
The fabulous blue shelf that Russ built and Everett's decorating contribution--the fingerprints on my mirror.
The view from the doorway of my studio. I am so thankful for my own space. Russ has the garage and over 1,000 square feet of basement, but nothing could be sweeter than my studio.
Adjoining is the playroom, which is the perfect space for E and B to play while I get creative, or to inspire my creativity!
Russ also built the tall orange bookshelf, which needs a companion because I have already filled it with books!
The Guest Bed. I am sure that as we progress I will change things around and take lots more pictures. But for now, I think it does a pretty good job of showing where we are.Sunday, July 5, 2009
Just the words
We moved! Officially we have been in the new house for a week and 2 days and unofficially it is starting to look like home. Thankfully, it has felt like home from the first night (in which we finally crashed into bed at 2 in the morning after a marathon of hauling and unpacking last Friday).
Everett's room is completely finished. At least for a few weeks, as I have to figure out the logistics of Miss Bea's accoutrement's somewhere before she arrives. But I thought that for the beginning, Evie shouldn't have to share--much less wake up everytime his Cissy needed a nightime snack.
Every other room is in a state of "almost done." For example, the livingroom just needs pictures and curtains hung up. Likewise the library/parlor and kitchen. Our bedroom is close to finished, but still has one picture (to be hung after the arrival of the new mattress) and curtains to hang--we have blinds, lest you think we have been making a shocking impression on the neighbors.
My studio is probably the closest second contender for being done, Russ hung my amazing blue shelf up last night! Yippee!!! No more floor organization. My grandmother has given us two chairs but we need to pick them up this week sometime, one will go in the library and the other is for nursing and relaxing in my space. And let me tell you, it is heaven to have a "room of one's own." I feel like a spoiled princess everytime I go upstairs and sit.
I promise pictures soon, but for now I am focusing on the house and Everett. So there may be a little more radio (or internet as the case may be) silence in the next couple of weeks. But I will post pictures of the house and of course my amazing belly-- just give me a little more time : )
Everett's room is completely finished. At least for a few weeks, as I have to figure out the logistics of Miss Bea's accoutrement's somewhere before she arrives. But I thought that for the beginning, Evie shouldn't have to share--much less wake up everytime his Cissy needed a nightime snack.
Every other room is in a state of "almost done." For example, the livingroom just needs pictures and curtains hung up. Likewise the library/parlor and kitchen. Our bedroom is close to finished, but still has one picture (to be hung after the arrival of the new mattress) and curtains to hang--we have blinds, lest you think we have been making a shocking impression on the neighbors.
My studio is probably the closest second contender for being done, Russ hung my amazing blue shelf up last night! Yippee!!! No more floor organization. My grandmother has given us two chairs but we need to pick them up this week sometime, one will go in the library and the other is for nursing and relaxing in my space. And let me tell you, it is heaven to have a "room of one's own." I feel like a spoiled princess everytime I go upstairs and sit.
I promise pictures soon, but for now I am focusing on the house and Everett. So there may be a little more radio (or internet as the case may be) silence in the next couple of weeks. But I will post pictures of the house and of course my amazing belly-- just give me a little more time : )
Monday, June 22, 2009
Of weddings and humidity
Over the weekend, we attended Russ's cousin's wedding. It was held on a farm in Platte City, Missouri. The weather was hot, muggy, and not exactly desirable, but the ceremony and reception were lovely and very creative. In fact the whole affair reminded me of a recent article in the NY Times about wedding trends. Apparently the new "thing" is to have homestyle weddings. Codi and Simon certainly made their day as fun and comfortable as can be. They had a pre-wedding candy buffet, wandering magician, a photo booth and a mini-carnival set up. 
Codi was a beautiful bride, her dress was lovely and she seemed to be enjoying the whole day.
They even had a giant tire swing set up behind the altar. Everett was in heaven and even practiced his sharing. Those are his little feet poking out from the tire.
I think he may have enjoyed the breeze as he was swinging even more than the tire. I know I would have loved a little wind.
My sweet, happy boy. He was so well-behaved, until we tried to get him off the swing! Originally, I had him dressed in a sweet white oxford shirt. He looked like a perfect little Southern gentleman. However, after 2 minutes with the candy buffet, it was apparent that a costume change was necessary.
Yep, in the only good picture of Russ and I, Everett is literally showing his backside. Oh well. My mom, very sweetly sent me the lovely watermelon-colored frock to wear. It fit beautifully and made me feel like a princess. I have to say that my husband cleans up pretty nicely as well. He didn't even take off his tie!
Russ tried teaching Evie how to play with the beanbag toss, but Ev was more interested in using it as an incline board for climbing.
Russ is such a wonderful father. I am truly blessed with how patient and loving he is, even in hot yucky weather.
Evie did enjoy the soft dart game though.
All in all, the wedding was about perfect for a very busy boy. He got to play outside and run around and eat candy and barbeque. Life is good.
A partial family picture. Missing are Max, Russ's grandfather, and Cindy, Kailynne's partner. Also missing was the information that my strap had slipped off my shoulder, so I look like a very pregnant floozy in all the family pictures. Great!
While Everett didn't crash until a little after 11, he did sleep in the next morning.
My sweet angel boy. I love him so very much.
Codi was a beautiful bride, her dress was lovely and she seemed to be enjoying the whole day.
They even had a giant tire swing set up behind the altar. Everett was in heaven and even practiced his sharing. Those are his little feet poking out from the tire.
I think he may have enjoyed the breeze as he was swinging even more than the tire. I know I would have loved a little wind.
My sweet, happy boy. He was so well-behaved, until we tried to get him off the swing! Originally, I had him dressed in a sweet white oxford shirt. He looked like a perfect little Southern gentleman. However, after 2 minutes with the candy buffet, it was apparent that a costume change was necessary.
Yep, in the only good picture of Russ and I, Everett is literally showing his backside. Oh well. My mom, very sweetly sent me the lovely watermelon-colored frock to wear. It fit beautifully and made me feel like a princess. I have to say that my husband cleans up pretty nicely as well. He didn't even take off his tie!
Russ tried teaching Evie how to play with the beanbag toss, but Ev was more interested in using it as an incline board for climbing.
Russ is such a wonderful father. I am truly blessed with how patient and loving he is, even in hot yucky weather.
Evie did enjoy the soft dart game though.
All in all, the wedding was about perfect for a very busy boy. He got to play outside and run around and eat candy and barbeque. Life is good.
A partial family picture. Missing are Max, Russ's grandfather, and Cindy, Kailynne's partner. Also missing was the information that my strap had slipped off my shoulder, so I look like a very pregnant floozy in all the family pictures. Great!
While Everett didn't crash until a little after 11, he did sleep in the next morning.
My sweet angel boy. I love him so very much. Derby 2009 update
Russ is hoping and praying that Miss Bea holds off her arrival till after July 24th-which is the date of the Clay Center demolition derby. Last year he made it to the feature in this car and he is hoping for a repeat. Of course, this year, his schedule is considerably more full, so finding the time to work on the car has been difficult.
The other weekend, he did manage to do a little re-wiring of the ignition switch. Hopefully, he can figure out why the car will run and then quit.
As you might notice, he is significantly cleaner than last year--which shows exactly how precious his time is. To really work on a derby car, you have to get dirty. So thank you Russ, for putting us first! I know it is a big sacrifice, but we appreciate all the hard work you have put into the move and our new house.
The other weekend, he did manage to do a little re-wiring of the ignition switch. Hopefully, he can figure out why the car will run and then quit.
As you might notice, he is significantly cleaner than last year--which shows exactly how precious his time is. To really work on a derby car, you have to get dirty. So thank you Russ, for putting us first! I know it is a big sacrifice, but we appreciate all the hard work you have put into the move and our new house.
Hot fun in the Summer
Phoebe and Evie love the water. In fact they have matching pools to play in when it is too hot. However, they don't mind sharing either. The weather here has taken a turn and now instead of unseasonably cool days we are having 100+ heat index on a daily basis. Evie doesn't mind it too much, but I sure do. 
She sits so pretty for her picture. Of course she also thinks "good girl" means "sit"
Now that we only have Phoebe, Everett is more comfortable playing. And Phoebe, for the most part is gentle and a good sport.
My little water baby. His favorite game is putting every outdoor toy he can find into the pool and then trying to find space to sit down. I am not sure I understand the appeal, but hey, if it makes him happy, who am I to complain.
The hose also provides hours of amusement. And, Everett is quite good at watering all the plants and the puppy.
Did you know that rain boots make an excellent water toy? Well, now you do. I promise I feed him.
She sits so pretty for her picture. Of course she also thinks "good girl" means "sit"
Now that we only have Phoebe, Everett is more comfortable playing. And Phoebe, for the most part is gentle and a good sport.
My little water baby. His favorite game is putting every outdoor toy he can find into the pool and then trying to find space to sit down. I am not sure I understand the appeal, but hey, if it makes him happy, who am I to complain.
The hose also provides hours of amusement. And, Everett is quite good at watering all the plants and the puppy.
Did you know that rain boots make an excellent water toy? Well, now you do. I promise I feed him.
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