38 Weeks!!

I'm still playing the waiting game. I've been dilated to 2 cm for about a week and a half now. I wonder if Baby Cincy is going to make me wait the full two weeks I have left or maybe even another week. (I hope not!) The doctor said he won't let me go past 41 weeks, so Jan 20th is the latest she'll be born. I have a feeling she'll arrive before her due date, but I have no idea if that's weeks before or just days before. Right now we're most curious about whether she'll be a 2009 or 2010 baby. We'll be sure to post as soon as we have some news!

O Christmas Tree

This year we continued our annual tradition of selecting our Christmas tree from the Richardson Tree Farm. It's a bit of a drive, but it's run by our friend Jean's family and it gives us a chance to see Jean & Jim. They make it a really fun experience. You pick up a saw and take a tractor ride out to the trees. After selecting from all the different kinds of trees and picking out your favorite, it's your job to saw it down! This year we were excited because the weather wasn't too bad and we FINALLY remembered to bring something for Matt to lay on when he cut down the tree!

Our selection!

Sawing it down
All decorated

More decorations

This is Chips & Salsa's 3rd Christmas with us. For the past two years they were obsessed with drinking the tree water. Thankfully, they aren't interested this year. I'm so glad because tree water is really bad for pets! Plus it dried out the tree and they ruined my tree skirt because they'd push it into the water. We bought a new tree skirt at last year's after-Christmas-sale... looks like Salsa approves!

Favorite Ornaments

My favorite part of decorating the tree is looking through all our ornaments. I love having ones with special meanings because you get to relive the memory every year when you see it on the tree. I especially like getting ornaments as vacation souvenirs so I can remember the year we took each trip. Below are pictures of my favorite ornaments from each Christmas we've been married.

2006: the year we got married and bought our house

2007: the year we got Chips & Salsa

It's a 'mischievous kitten' ornament that looks just like Chips!

2008: the year we took our vacation in Hawaii 2009: the year I was pregnant
Our hats say 'Matt' and 'Amy' and the pink shirt on the snowgirl says 'Baby'

Family Baby Shower

Sorry, but I'm still catching up on old events...

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving my Mom & Mother-In-Law threw a baby shower at my house for both sides of the family to attend. We had about 25 guests, which just about filled my downstairs. We had delicious food, played fun games, and I got to show everyone the nursery. Everyone was really generouse with their gifts... I think that took up about half the shower! Here's a few pictures to enjoy:

Me and the lovely hostesses

Kay, me, Aunt Vera, & Beth

Allyson, me, and Shelley

Morgan, Susan, me, & Aunt Carolyn

Setting the scene: Decorations & Food

The guests enjoying lunch

Opening gifts

1 Month Left!!

My due date (Jan 13th) is officially one month away! It's hard to believe it's almost time to meet Baby Cincy. Part of me is ready to not be pregnant any more and part of me is hoping for more time because I have so much more to do! Each week seems to be going by faster and faster - especially with Christmas approaching. I'm going to have to give up sending Christmas cards and baking Christmas cookies this year because I don't have the energy to get them done along with everything else. Sorry!

Although my to-do list feels very long, my list of accomplishments is getting longer too. In November we completed our child birth classes and just last week we learned infant & adult CPR. The nursery is almost fully decorated and stocked (see pictures below) thanks to our generous friends and family. There are still a few things that need to be purchased - but not many. We were very fortunate to receive as many baby shower gifts as we did. Now that she is almost 36 weeks and we have all the necessary items, Baby Cincy can arrive any time she likes. Though it would be nice to have her go full term and space her birthday a few weeks away from Christmas. As long as she's healthy she can pick any birth day she wants. :)

BEFORE: The the room was very white and empty

AFTER: Now the room is full of color and STUFF :)

Matt did a great job on all the painting. I was so happy he was willing to do the square design. We only had to buy 3 of the paint colors! The rest were colors left over from other rooms in our house. It was a lot of work but I think it makes the room really fun.

After Baby Cincy is born I'm going to hang letters that spell her name and also hang some shelves and picture frames to fill in the solid pink parts of the walls.

Pics from the surprise baby shower

Here are a few pictures from the surprise baby shower my friends threw me in early November.

I was definitely surprised!!

Such AWESOME friends! :)

Matt stayed for the food and a few of the games.

They made me eat baby food and guess the flavor. It wasn't too bad until they gave me lamb in a jar.... YUCK!

We all had to change diaper blind-folded - because...you know...that's a skill you need :)

Quick update

Sorry we've been bad about posting lately. Baby Cincy, Matt, and I are all healthy and doing well. We're just a little busy getting ready for baby's arrival and the holidays. The nursery is complete, Thanksgiving weekend was lots of fun, the family baby shower at my house was a success, and now our house is decorated for Christmas. I'll post again soon with pictures from all the fun events!

Finally healthy!

Let me start off by saying that Baby Cincy is still doing great and developing like she should be. Momma, on the other hand, had a really rough week. Last Tuesday (the 10th) I started feeling congested and thought I had a cold. On Friday I was doing better, but still congested, and I started feeling a sharp, stabbing pain in my left chest/side/back. The pain continued on Saturday and by Sunday morning it was unbearable. My OB/GYN was working the night shift in the hospital so I went to the emergency room to get checked out. They put me in a Labor & Delivery room and hooked me up to a fetal monitor to make sure everything was ok with the baby (which it was). They did some blood work and took a chest x-ray to figure out what was causing my pain.

I had pleurisy, which is an inflammation in the lining of my lung. Every time I took a breath my lung was rubbing against something and causing pain. The doctor gave me an antibiotic for the infection and pain medicine to make me more comfortable. Sunday - Wednesday I stayed home, rested, and suffered through the pain. By Thursday I could make it through the day without pain pills so I went back to work. The pain was more mild but still present. Saturday morning I had a regular check up with my OB and he thought a steroid would help take down the rest of the inflammation and reduce the pain. He also did all the regular checks and found the baby to be healthy and unaffected by my situation. I've been on the steroid for 2 days now and I'm doing much better. It still hurts a little if I have to take a deep breath or a big sneeze, but it's MUCH BETTER than it was a week ago. I should be fine going back to work tomorrow and making it though the fun Thanksgiving weekend events.

I was actually feeling well enough to go to a friend's house this afternoon. I'm glad I was up for it because a bunch of friends threw me a surprise baby shower!! It was so much fun! We played lots of games (including one where Matt and I had to eat baby food...yuck!) and got some cute gifts. I was definitely surprised and it made for a great afternoon.

30 weeks!

75% done!! I'm very excited that I've got just over 2 months left. This week I felt "really pregnant". I've been more tired and my back has been hurting. But those are pretty minor things and I'm thankful that I'm not experiencing anything more severe. I go to the doctor on Saturday for another check up and hopefully he'll say that everything is still on track. Baby Cincy is moving A LOT more now and it's still fun to feel her squirming inside me. Sometimes I can even SEE the kicks from the outside of my belly!

Matt and I have been very studious this week. On Monday we attended a breast feeding class and on Tuesday we went to our first child birth class. Both classes were really helpful. The more I learn, the more comfortable I feel. There were several moms due in January and some due in December. It was neat to see how everyone looked different, even if they had similar due dates. My belly was "small" compared to the other January Moms (which seems odd b/c it looks pretty big to me!).

Nursery update: This weekend Matt painted the ceiling, we figured out our design, and we bought the paint colors for the walls. As soon as we get some color up I'll post a photo so you can see our progress.

1st Place!

On Friday everybody at work dressed up for Halloween and we had a costume contest. My fortune teller costume won Best Female! My boss, Ron, won Best Male with his Dead Elvis costume.

Hooray for Matt!!

This morning Matt took his first CMA exam (Certified Management Accountant)....... and he PASSED!!! It was all multiple choice and he found out his results immediately. It's such a relief not to have to wait for them to come in the mail. Now he can enjoy the weekend much more. I believe his treat for successfully completing the exam is spending this afternoon on the couch watching Star Wars.

Baby Shower

This weekend I had my first baby shower! My good friend LeAnn (who was maid of honor in my wedding) threw it for me in West Lafayette. We actually had it on Purdue's campus in my old sorority house! It was really cool to see what had changed in the house and to meet some of the girls currently living there.

My Mom, Mother-in-law and several of my high school and college friends were there to celebrate with me. LeAnn asked everyone to bring a book to help start Baby Cincy's library. It was such a great idea! It was fun seeing which ones people remembered from their own childhoood. We played "guess the baby food" where we all had to sample baby food jars and guess the ingredients. I think I did the worst in the whole group! I guess I still have a lot to learn.

Me and LeAnn (the wonderful hostess!)

The adorable diaper cake that LeAnn and her Mom made. Look at Pooh dressed as Piglet!! Too cute :)

Me and soon-to-be Grandma Elaine

So many babies!!!

It's officially baby season! So many of my friends are expecting around the same time as me and two friends just gave birth this week. As far as I know, all Moms and babies are doing great.

I'd like to congratulate my college friend Erin & her husband Jesse on their new little boy. Jonathon Wyatt Lakin was born on Oct 17 at 3:40 AM (6 lbs, 19.5" long). They live in Colorado, so it will be a while before I get to meet the little guy.

I'd also like to congratulate my high school friend Kelsey & her husband Kevin on their new little girl. Hallie Kate Clark was born on Oct 20 at 4:17 AM (7 lb 5 oz, 19.25" long). They are in Indianapolis, so hopefully I'll get to meet her this fall!

Here's the list of more babies to come:
I'm expecting a girl on January 13th
My high school friend Eric and his wife Emily are expecting a girl on Feb 4th
My college friend Amanda is expecting a boy on Feb 18th
My disney friends Adam & Casey are expecting a boy on Feb 27th

Halloween 2009

Last night we attended Gina's annual halloween party. We were really impressed with everyone's costume. People really stepped it up this year. I was a fortune teller with my belly as my crystal ball. Matt was Blue from the show "Blues Clues". He went to Goodwill the night before the party and found the most random/funny thing in the store. The best costume of the night went to the Ultimate Warrior. A close 2nd place was a member of the lollipop guild.

Snuggle Up!

It definitely feels like fall now. Which means we've been using blankets, sweatshirts and extra body heat to stay warm. Each cat has his/her favorite blanket to nap on. The afghan is usually just for Salsa, but on Friday Chips decided to join her for a nap together. Aren't they cute??? I spent most of the weekend on the couch, with a cat on my lap, watching football. The Purdue game was awful but the Bears were great! Matt was locked away most of the weekend studying for his first CMA exam (which is on Oct 30th).


Once his test is over, Matt will start painting the nursery. We finally picked out a theme: Pink Winnie the Pooh! I found a great crib set with pinks, greens, flowers, butterflies, and ladybugs to use as our inspiration for decorating the room. Matt and I both really liked Winnie the Pooh as kids. Our parents saved a lot of our Pooh stuffed animals so we've already got several toys/decorations to work with.

Busy Week

Sorry we haven't been good at posting lately. It's been a little crazy around here. Last week Matt went to Las Vegas for a bachelor party with his fraternity friends. Matt had his first celebrity siting at the airport... Mike Tyson was on his plane! The group only made it about 12 hours before something bad happened on the trip. While at the pool on Friday their bag was stolen which contained everyone's cell phones and a few wallets. Fortunately, Matt only lost his phone and it was a pretty old one. Other guys lost their IDs and credit cards, so they had more of a mess to deal with.

This week I started a new project at work that I'm not too thrilled about. I'm six months pregnant doing time studies in a refrigerated grocery distribution center. I switched positions at my company two years ago so I wouldn't have to do this kind of work anymore. Unfortunately, we are out of my regular projects, so I have to fill in with this one. This picture was taken a while ago on a different project, but it gives you an idea of what I look like at work. I feel like Ralphie from The Christmas Story....if you pushed me down I wouldn't be able to get back up! It gets mightly cold when you stand still for 60-90 minutes straight in a 40 degree room. I'm excited for this project to be over at the end of October.