A Celebration: Ahoy Baby Boy!

 Since Carrie was coming into town and knew that Cammy would be up here as well, and it might not be until the birth that Carrie makes it back to VA, she went ahead and planned a baby shower for me while she was here!  We had a great time!  Carrie got to meet the friends that I talk about all the time and they got to meet her.  Even my mother in law and sister in law from MD were able to come, as well as my niece Brooklyn.  Carrie went with a cute underwater theme called "Ahoy Baby Boy" and everything decoration-wise was centered around that.  Check out the water bottles above with Baby Drinks' ultrasound pic!

Cammy, Jessica, and Carrie

Jen, Jessica, and Carrie

Delicious almond cake from Sugarplum Bakery in Virginia Beach

My friend Melissa and I like to hang out at each other's baby showers!  We have each been pregnant  5-6  weeks apart for Emily/Ryder and current baby boy (me)/current baby girl (her).

Bouncy seat from Melissa.  She felt sorry for me that Emily had put a gangsta lean in my old one!

Crabby outfit from Aunt Carrie!

Carrie outdid herself with an awesome shower AND a handmade baby quilt!

Again, Carrie was way too generous!  She knows how important a video monitor is and bought one for us!

Baby Boy Drinks @ 30 Weeks

 Off to the perinatalogist's office for another growth scan today!  It's been 3 weeks since my last scan.  Carrie and my mom were able to join me for the visit, as well as Garrett and Caroline.  We were a full house!  The tech was great--showing off all the baby parts and explaining what everything was to the peanut gallery.  Here are the stats:
Growth percentile:  67%
Estimated weight:  4 pounds, 2 oz.
Heart rate:  148 bpm
Next appointment:  Sept. 6 for biophysical profile, Sept 17 for another growth scan
That money shot in the pic above will be used during the teenage years to keep him in line!  No doubt of the gender in that one!

 Legs crossed at the ankles with feet pressing to his forehead.  Poor boy is packed in there like a can of sardines!

Left foot at forehead, right knee up to cheek

Momma Drinks: 30 Weeks

 Carrie was visiting during my 30-week doctor visit, so we gave Dr. E a little shock with double trouble sitting in the room.  She didn't even bat an eye.  She just said "Twins huh?  And you didn't try to trick me?"  Which I thought was just ridiculous since I am obviously pregnant and the joke would have lasted about 10 seconds before she saw that Carrie had no belly.
I asked her about the big baby and she said that we would keep an eye on me and talk about induction @ 38 weeks.  Yay!  Here are my stats:
Weight:  up nothing.  Total increase of about 7 pounds
Fundal measurement:  32 cm.  Here is where it gets dicey.  Because I have increased 4 cm in 2 weeks.  And I'm measuring two weeks ahead.
Blood pressure:  130/80
Baby HB:  150 bpm

I feel as big as a house now.  My belly button is completely stretched out flat but not popping out yet.  My sciatic nerve on the right side of my back is going into daily spasms, especially after I've been sitting for a while, like after driving.  I go back to work in 3 days and have jury duty on Thursday :(  
Off to perinatalogy tomorrow for my biophysical and growth scan!  

"Master"piece

 The master bedroom is probably the last room to be touched in most people's houses.  No one ever sees it (except for two people, and mostly with their eyes closed) and it's kind of an afterthought.  At least, it was for me and Timmy.  We made sure that we finished the rest of the house, down to the office and guest bath, before we ever touched the master bedroom.  I do give myself credit for organizing the closet and hanging a few pictures--it's not like we're living out of suitcases in there.  
I originally wanted a blue color, then switched to the "it" color this year:  gray.  I ended with Shale Gray which is a dark gray with some blue.  I think it looks great with the dark wood furniture.  I left our trim dark stain since it goes so well with the furniture. 
The picture above and below are the "before".

 Halfway through painting.  I'm loving the gray blue color!   I bought one Target Chesapeake panel in white (as suggested by my friend Missy on her blog The Happier Homemaker) to see if I liked the dark walls/light curtain look, which I do!  I have gone back twice to Target to buy 3 more panels, and what a shock, they are out.  So Carrie is bringing some when she comes to visit later this week.

Quilt on bed will stay the same because I am slightly less in love with that quilt than I am with my husband.  I found the candle sconce on the wall at Hobby Lobby for a mere $12.50 (everything in that store is 50% off!) and have rehung my other prints.  Once I have curtains up, the room should be a wrap!

Day at the Museum

 Summer vacation is quickly coming to an end for us teachers, so my friend Melissa and I decided to throw the kids in the minivan and head to the Children's Museum of Richmond for a little fun.  It's got great open spaces where you don't have to tell your kid "no" a million times.  We were there for almost 3 hours--long enough to get our money's worth, but not so long that we had to deal with the after-lunch crowd or daycare field trips.

 "Yes, I do have a giant pumpkin and tomato.....why do you ask?"

 "Me and Paw just love working on the farm!"

 Emily and Ryder sharing the paints in the Art Studio

 Garrett and Emily "digging for fossils" in the giant boxes of rubber pieces.  I think Emily was having flashbacks of our Nags Head vacation because she kept trying to bury her feet in the "sand".

 Caroline and Ryder acting like news anchors in the town area (I took the pic through a window, so it wasn't very clear).

And we got to watch the live broadcast from the town's "alley"!

My Deer Neighbors

 One more reason that I actually like living in King George.  It may be a good half hour from decent shopping (that would be a Target and local mall) and we may only have one middle school, but darn it, where else could I live and get to hang out with wildlife like this?!  Every day at noon the kids and I see these two deer brothers ( to be honest, I haven't been close enough to see if they are boys or girls and frankly, would have no idea what to look for.  I just assume they are brothers).  Timmy and I have named them "Target" and "Practice".  They are so freaking CUTE!  Big ears, lots of spots, and they seem to lack fear when we hang out in the driveway and watch them munching on crab apples.  

 You know how many deer I saw growing up in Virginia Beach?  ONE.  He was in a cage at the Norfolk Zoo.  No lie.  The only deer I ever saw in 18 years was a white tailed deer on display.... in a zoo.  So I still get giddy when I see them running through yards in my new neighborhood.

 Emily could hardly stand it.  She had to get a closer look.  They seemed to ignore her at first, but as you can see in the pictures below, as she inches closer to them, they start to head to the left.

And then they bolted!  Pranced on over to the other neighbor's yard, and out of Emily's sight.  Oh well.  They have been back every day since, and I consider them some of my friendliest neighbors.

Momma Drinks: 28 Weeks

 I had my monthly doctor's visit yesterday, and I'm very glad that I asked my friend Melissa to watch Emily because the doctor was running....wait for it.....an hour and a half late!  And I had the first appointment of the day!  I can't be too surprised;  I was just bragging to someone about how I never had to wait for my appointment time, so this situation was bound to happen.  Also, my doc was in an emergency C-section.  So I waited for the CNM, who I have never met, to see me for 3 minutes.  
Baby's heartbeat:  150 bpm  
Weight:  I am same weight as a month ago (a small miracle since I was a bad diabetic patient on vacation). 
Fundal Measurement:  28 cm (so right on target)
 Now starts the every-two-weeks appointments!  My blood sugars were all fine except for two (that's what happens when you hit Sweet Frog and Stack 'Em High while in Nags Head) so no changes there.  It's back in two weeks (which happens to be during Carrie's visit) and hopefully I will see Dr. E as usual so that I can ask her about this big baby.

 On a cute-big-sister-to-be note:  Emily has taken to diapering and undiapering (and diapering and undiapering....) her doll babies!  She spent an hour doing this the other day.  Baby got a new diaper (it had to be her Elmo diapers, which were way too big) and she insisted on using the wipes too.  

 Uh-oh!  Emily noticed a red mark on the baby's foot.  It was the tiniest little mark (probably from crayon or marker), but Emily the Eagle Eye spotted it.

 In for the kill!  No, Emily is not eating the baby doll.  She said "Boo boo!" and had to kiss it immediately.  Baby doll got at least a dozen kisses for that tiny red mark.

Back to the diapering.  Hopefully she will be this helpful with the new baby in the fall!