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!