39..(almost 40) week update

I am not going to share the picture that I have of me at the beginning of week 39. The picture I have I lifted my shirt and sent a pic to my mom...I am huge and not a fan of my bare prego stomach on the internet :). However, Lindsey and I took a few fun maternity pictures in the snow last week, with me fully clothed...so I will post a few of those when I have them.

In about 4 hours Kent and I will leave our house to go to the hospital to be induced. When we return, we will have a son and life as we currently know it will not be the same. We are eager, excited, and a little anxious about becoming parents...but ready or not here we go!! Few different stats:

• Currently 39 weeks (40 on Thursday). From the beginning my doc has said I would deliver sometime between the 4th-11th. So, after some consideration of all the pros and cons--we decided that tonight we will start the induction process. We are praying for everything to go smoothly and that we will meet our son sometime tomorrow 2/9/11. 
• Everything is very much done....Carseat installed, bags packed, books read, etc etc. I have had to-do lists going for weeks, and so now that today is finally here I am sitting around without a lot to do. I tried to nap, but I was too excited to fall asleep :).
• For the most part I still feel okay. My skin is itchy and my back is still achy even after the massage, but I guess when you are carrying a large watermelon in front of your body that is to be expected. 
• Sleep has gone from okay to pretty terrible. There have been a few nights I lay completely wide awake for 3-4 hours. 
• No new cravings, but I have allowed myself to enjoy a lot of food recently knowing that soon it will be back to exercise and only healthy eating in an attempt to get back into my regular jeans. 
• Doctor continues to say that he anticipates an easy delivery, I am hoping he puts his money where his mouth is tomorrow. :)
• At our last sonogram 2 weeks ago Drew weighed approximately 6 lbs, 12 oz. They always say they could be a pound under or over on their estimation. I am hoping that Drew is under 8 pounds, but our family is kinda known for big babies so we shall see. 

I guess that is all my news for now...the exciting stuff is still to come. I will post a picture here as soon as I can. I can't wait for you all to meet our son!!! 

Oh, one more little thing...have you all heard of a Push Present?? Neither had I, but yesterday Kent came home with a new mom gift, and today my friend Jill informed me those gifts are known as a Push Present :). Kent gave me a color Nook...which is awesome and I completely love it!! I can read mags, blogs, and books with ease and on one little handy device. Kent is a great gift giver and really puts a lot of thought into presents. I love it!!!

Work Showers

I have about 5 hours to kill before checking in to the hospital, and considering I haven't blogged in awhile I thought I should post a few things. Hopefully this will be one of two or three posts in the next few hours.

On January 19th, my amazing team at work hosted a baby shower for us at work. I was not prepared at how generous my co-workers were going to be...we received adorable embroidered clothes, gift cards, bibs, and other fun things. This little boy is so blessed already!! Here are a few pictures from the shower.

Cute gift basket of goodies from my team

37 weeks pregnant and counting down the days

Both pregnant on the same hallway. DeNae is about 10 weeks behind me with her second baby!! 

Kent's coworkers hosted a baby shower for us on January 28th. I forgot to take pictures at that one, but it was great. It was so fun meeting a lot of Kent's coworkers and seeing how excited they were for Kent to be a dad. We got gift cards, clothes, books, and even a spa gift certificate for me!! I am saving it for some time after Drew is here when I feel the need for some pampering. 

Stay tuned for another post soon!!

Drew's Room

I still have a couple things I need to do for Drew's room, but I wanted to go ahead and give a little peek into his almost completed nursery. 

View from the door

Glider with fun "d" pillow

Crib with picture collage

Anthropologie knobs on the closet

Look at his little elephant chair!!

View from closet looking back toward the door

Check out my awesome diaper bag!

Can you see the small touch of Star Wars above the toy basket?

His closet is very organized, although it looks disorganized in this picture...hmmm

Closer up view of the picture collage (I will try to take a better one soon)

I always love when people post where they found their nursery items, so I am going to share in case you need a few ideas. Obviously I took these pictures, so they aren't that great..but you can see the gist of the nursery.

Furniture
Crib: Simmon Valencia convertable crib-Babies R Us (gift from my parents)
Changing Table-Pottery Barn Outlet; X-Large baskets from Pottery Barn kids (gift from my parents)
Glider-Babies R Us (gift from Kent's dad and stepmom)
Bookshelf-Previously owned Ikea Expedite (baskets from Michaels)
Small elephant chair-Homegoods (gift from my parents)

Misc.
Pillow on glider-Etsy from HAWthorne
Orange fan-fun store in Jasper, TX (gift from Kent's mom)
Diaper Bag-Gap (on sale!)
Toy Basket-Target laundry basket (later it will be embroidered with Drew's name on it)
Elephant painting-Gift from my brother in law's parents
Darth Vader night light-Pottery Barn kids
Knobs on closet-Anthropologie
Bedding-Ordered on Amazon Carter's  Elephant Bedding (I reversed the bedding so that the elephants face the inside and the polka dots face the outside of the crib. Also, I am not using the crib sheet it came with, I am using a solid brown one from Carters.)
Letters for name above his crib-Pottery Barn kids
Lamp base-Babies R Us,
Lamp shade-Pottery Barn kids

Picture collage
Frames-Target
Keep Calm-Greeting card purchased in London
D-Cut out by my friend Glo, added the rain drop scrapbook paper behind it
It's hard to see, but the frame to the right has Kent written on it. It's from Kent's kindergarten class when he was learning to write his name!!
Monsier Print-Etsy from Cosas Minimas
Child of God-Etsy from Sugarfresh
Sailboat-Greeting card purchased in London on orange scrapbook paper

Wall color is from Lowe's-Valspar Going Gray

I still have an awesome mobile to hang that my friend Lindsey made, so I will post that once it's up. This weekend we installed his car seat, set up the pack & play, and put together his little vibrating chair. So, we are almost completely ready for his arrival. Tomorrow I am clearning toys and pacis. Only 3 1/2 more weeks (or maybe less) to go!!

35 week pregnancy update

I haven't talked too much about my pregnancy recently, but I thought I would do a short post giving a brief update. Here are a few stats:

• Currently 35 weeks, with an approximate due date of 2/11/11 (but, he is welcome to come earlier)
• We have most of his clothes washed and his nursery just about completed..still need to hang a mobile and I am considering doing a DIY valence for his window. Blog with pictures of his nursery coming soon. Also, still need to install his car seat and set up the pack & play. 
• For the most part I feel okay. Drew is sitting very high, so I sometimes have trouble breathing and have daily acid reflux. Also, I have weird pains in my back..but tomorrow I am getting a prenatal massage at Spa Nordstrom (Christmas present from Drew's dad :). 
• Sleep isn't great, but not terrible. Usually wake up 3-4 per night, but I guess that will be my future for the next few months. 
• My only consistent craving through my pregnancy has been orange juice, but occasionally I will have a strong craving for Chinese food!! 
• Doctor said on Thursday that Drew's position is great and he anticipates that I will have an "easy" labor and delivery. I am not counting on the easy part, but we will see! 
• Right now I am planning on taking 10 weeks off work, so I am staying very busy at work preparing for my maternity leave. 

I have not been taking consistent pictures through my pregnancy, but occasionally I will take one to send to my best friend, Lauren in Denver. So if you aren't grossed out by pregnant women...enjoy!!

In Florida..about 4 weeks pregnant but didn't know it!

8 weeks 

12 weeks 

About 20 weeks 

26 weeks @ Dallas baby shower with all of Drew's grandmothers

32 weeks at annual Christmas dinner with Glosie and Bex

33 weeks

35 weeks (took picture to wish my mom a happy birthday from Drew :)

She turned 5...

I have about 5 blog posts up my sleeve..one including pictures of Drew's nursery. First a simple post celebrating/lamenting the fact that my oldest niece turned 5 last month. To me, 5 is when they go from being "little" to "big" kids.  

Home from the hospital

Around 18 months

Age 2

Age 2 1/2 (my wedding day)

3rd Birthday

Age 3 1/2

Not sure what to think about her new sister

Age 4

Age 4...almost 5

Age 5 at her princess birthday tea

Addie is so good with her little sister...she is patient, understanding, and generous with Macy. I am excited to see Addie with her cousin Drew. I love that my sister's family lives only 5 minutes away, and I hope that our kids are lifelong friends. Addison Leigh Seidel, I love you more than words can express and I pray big things for you.  To end, here is a recent picture of my youngest niece, Macy at 18 months old.

Tuesday: I Know this Much is True

Today's entry will be short, but since I have missed a few favorite things entries I figured a short post is better than no post at all! The favorite things today is my five favorite blogs/websites I have visited today. I am a website/blog regular, so I manage reading blogs on Google Reader. These are just my favorites TODAY, check back with me tomorrow and it would all be different. Click on the name to follow the link.

1. Paul Matthies' blog: Paul was a former pastor at The Village, and he now lives and works in Korea. He is an amazing man of God, and I was encouraged by his most recent blog entry. Happiness and joy...a good reminder/lesson for me.

2. Kimberly Hughes blog: Kim is married to Beau Hughes who is the campus pastor for The Village in Denton. They love the Lord, love children, and want to reach unreached people. Her blog this morning left me reminded that I am chosen by God, not because of my goodness but because of His love. Christ alone restores me and reconciles me.

3. The Pioneer Woman: I check her blog and use her recipes frequently. If you haven't made her Lasagna, I highly recommend it. However, she recently did a post about Christmas cookie decorating. One of the Christmas traditions that Kent and I have enjoyed for the last 3 years is making and decorating Christmas cookies, decorating our Christmas tree, and watching our favorite Christmas movies. The cookies we make are good, but they are not pretty See picture below for proof. Maybe I will try some of the tips on PW's blog.

4. Project Nursery: I like looking at how people decorate their nursery, and this website allows regular people to upload pictures of their nursery, birthday parties, and showers. It is a lot of fun to look and get ideas.

5. Samaritan's Purse: This is an easy way to give a Christmas gift to someone less fortunate. I created a shoe box in less than 5 minutes, and I was able to even write a personal note to the receiving child. If you have $35 and 5 minutes visit this website and make a gift box for a less fortunate child this Christmas.

I could keep listing blogs/websites for you to check, but I will not overwhelm you today. Enjoy reading...I hope you are either encouraged, inspired, and provoked to deeper thinking/living. Oh, and if you haven't read Matt's blog from last week..you definitely need to read it as well.

Did I mention...

I wasn't blogging this summer, and I wasn't taking a lot of pictures. These two things are being worked on, but it means that several major incredible events were not documented well. So, did I mention that I went to London and Paris this summer? 


Going to Europe was one of my mom's dreams, and she needed a travel partner. I gladly volunteered. I found out 2 weeks before we left that I was expecting Drew. So, at 6 weeks pregnant and with a lot of prayer, some nausea meds (just in case), and my doctor's blessing we flew to Paris. After several days in Paris, we took the Eurostar train to London. It was absolutely incredible.


Just a few pictures

Boat Tour/Dinner down the Seine River in Paris

Mom and Mona Lisa at the Lourve 

The Eiffel Tower behind me

Inside Shakespeare and Company

Notre Dame

Versailles

Hall of Mirrors in Versailles

Gardens in Versailles

Bike ride from main palace at Versailles to Marie Antoinette's Chateau

The Chateau

Mom in front of Harrods

At Her Majesty's Theatre (we saw Phantom of the Opera!) trying a sip of Pimms

Big Ben

Eating fish and chips and watching a cute old English man stroll by

3 story amazing Anthropologie with a LIVE plant wall!

Paris was everything and more that I thought it would be. My 5 favorite things about Paris: 


1.  Rue de Cler: It's the street where our hotel was located. Rue de Cler is a famous, quaint Parisian street. It was filled with sidewalk cafes, gelato, cheese shops, and boutiques. I loved it. 

2. Museums: The Lourve was great, but crowded and difficult to really see everything we wanted to. My favorite Paris museum was the Orsay. It was created from an old train station and filled with paintings from Monet, Rodin, and Renoir. 

3. Boat Dinner Tour: Mom and I took a romantic boat dinner tour down the Seine, which was incredible food and a great introduction to the city. 


4. Shakespeare and Company bookstore: The bookstore has housed struggling writers in the apartment above since World War II. It is filled with unusual books in a crowded, small atmosphere. It reminded me of something Kent would salivate over, so I tried to take it all in for him so I could describe it when I returned to Dallas. 


5. Palace of Versailles: I watched Marie Antoinette before I left on my trip as well as read a little history about the Palace, so seeing it in person was incredible. The palace, chateau, the gardens were vast and breathtaking, but it also gave me a visual picture of what I think Solomon acquired and said that it was all meaningless. Ecclesiastes 2

"I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. ⁵ I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶ I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸ I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. ⁹ I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. ¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun."


My 4 favorite things about London (I would do 5, but I need to get dressed to work in the preschool at church):


1. Eurostar: Mom and I splurged and sat in 1st class on the train between Paris and London. It was divine, complete with warm towels, champagne, comfy seats, and delicious food. I think I was meant for first class :).


2. Shopping: We stayed in a hotel just off Oxford street, so every store was just walking distance away. We loved Liberty of London, Anthropologie, Harrods, H&M, and all sorts of small boutiques. 


3. Theatre: We saw Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre. I loved it! The story, the music, and the acting was fabulous, and I could have watched 5 more shows in our short time there. 


4. The Underground: After living in a large city that does not have very good public transportation, I was so impressed with The Underground. It was a lot of fun learning the subways and feeling kinda like a local. It was also fun hearing, "Mind the Gap" in a perfect British accent. 


Overall, it was a wonderful trip. Next time I go to Europe I hope not to be pregnant, so I can eat more of the cheese and drink more of the wine. It would also be nice to not feel so tired or nauseous. My mom is an incredible woman. She walked and walked all over Paris and London without a word of complaint (I think I complained more than she did) and was willing to do and try anything. I hope that wasn't our last trip together...maybe next time my sister will be able to join us, and the mother-daughter trio will be complete!