36 weeks??

I've let life slip away from me! It's been a couple weeks, and a lot has happened. I'll try to stay in chronological order, but we'll see how it goes... it's easier to just put things into categories - so here goes!

All about Ender

Well... I thought I had an appointment on Tuesday, July 6th, but I was wrong. My appointment was actually the previous day (Monday, the 5th)! So, I rescheduled for Friday the 10th. Everything is looking good for D-day. I keep hoping it comes early, but I'm not getting my hopes up (although I may start drinking some raspberry leaf tea to get the ball rolling =) ). He's measuring to be right on time which has been comforting. At my last appointment, I asked if I could get an estimate of his weight and he's looking to be about 6ish pounds right now. The OB said they would have a better estimate at my next appointment (which is on the 24th) but that he will probably be an above average baby! I've heard stories about how my family found themselves being extra careful with my cousin as she was a preemie and extremely small. But when it came to handling me as a newborn, they weren't so delicate (I was 8 1/2 pounds)! I know ScottE is already a little afraid of handling a newborn. It's comforting to know I won't have to worry too much about him being overly small. I can definitely tell he is getting bigger because I feel a constant pressure in my ribs as well as in my pelvis. I've been trying to do pelvic tilts to alleviate the pressure, but it's hard to do by myself.

I think the nursery is as complete as it is going to get for now. ScottE and Tyler put the crib together just before they left after the 4th. So I was able to get that together and the changing table is organized but needs some boxes/baskets for the little things.

At my third baby shower, I got a bunch of diapers as well as different kinds of wipes. I also got some bottles (even though I'm planning to nurse), pacifiers, burp cloths and onsies. I was hoping to get a changing table pad and bassinet sheets, but I guess we'll just ave to get those ourselves. I think the only things we need to get are bassinet sheets, a changing pad and cover, a trash can for diapers (YAY!!) and hangers. There are a few things I need to hang up in his room, but other than that it's mostly done. Not that it really matters because he'll be sleeping in our room for a little while in his bassinet.

Other than that, I've been really healthy and haven't gained too much weight - which has been very important to me. I will keep you posted though!

Our new TV!

So, we finally took the TV back and got a new one! It was pretty easy to get the new one. We simply got the confirmation number from customer service and took it to the store. Our last one was a 32" LCD. Now, we have a 42" plasma! It's so nice and the color is unreal. ScottE still can't get over it every time he comes home. It's super cute... but then again he gets excited about a lot of things! =)

The house, the puppies and our 4th

The house is really coming together. There are still some boxes we need to take down to the garage, but I think it's pretty much done. ScottE doesn't seem to be satisfied with the arrangement of the living room so we may work on that this weekend. I just hope he doesn't want to change it again any time soon after that!

The dogs are doing a lot better about letting us know they need to go out. Halcyon has even developed her own little sign! I'm so grateful that ScottE gave us a little more time to work on things with her. I just hope she doesn't digress when Ender is born!

The 4th of July weekend was very busy. Unfortunately we didn't get to see a parade or even any fireworks... but we had a lot of fun with Jana, Ty and the children. Charli got to a point where she was pretty testy with Thomas, but I think it was mostly because he was invading her space. Halcyon ran and hid as usual, but by the end of the weekend, she was walking around in a relatively normal posture.

The weekend did not go anywhere close to according to plan - as it never does when there are children involved. They arrived late Friday night (after getting lost a couple times - boy, do I love having a GPS!) and left Monday evening. Saturday, we went to a park out in Lancaster and then to Red Robin for lunch. We did our BBQ indoors, but everything turned out great. I'm just sorry I didn't get to make my potato salad. Jana was a big help in the kitchen which was nice because I got to sit a lot. I kept an eye on the children while she did all of the cooking! =) Sunday we woke up to cinnamon rolls, which were delicious. We all went to church and then stayed home so ScottE and I could get some work done (I had finals due and ScottE had work orders to do). Monday, we went to another park and had a picnic... All in all it was a great weekend!

Other than that...

... things are going well. ScottE's work is keeping him busy and unfortunately away from home more than I would like. But, we are both adapting and are grateful it's all happening now and not in August! We recently decided we would be coming home for Christmas and not in October like we had originally thought. It will be nice to see everyone for Christmas though. Plus, Ender will be bigger and more active by that point - much more fun to be around =). I just can't wait to see him...

Plans for Independence Day and beyond

While not a whole lot has changed, I've been wanting to take the time to blog on a more regular basis. I need to get into the habit now otherwise it's going to be very difficult after Ender is born! I still haven't been able to get ScottE to take any pictures of my belly. Hopefully we can get some done this week.

All about baby
I don't think I've ever seen a more active baby inutero! He pushes on me constantly. It seems his favorite position is to stick his head out my lower left side and put his back/bum out the right side of my ribs. It can get to be incredibly uncomfortable at times! He also likes to push on my ribs and hip bones. ScottE asked me just the other day if I was still willing to do it all over again so we could have more children. I can't help but smile... because it's been a pretty easy pregnancy! I'm a little worried to discover how labor will go because things have been so easy so far, but if this is what it's all about - I could do it a million times! Aside from being slightly uncomfortable, the minor back pain and the swollen feet, I have no other complaints! I guess we'll have to see how he behaves when he gets here... can't believe it's coming up so quickly! Only 5 more weeks...

His room is still a disaster area. We have a bunch of clothes spread out all over the floor. I'm hoping to get the "new" clothes washed today so I can start putting things away. Hopefully, ScottE can get his crib put together and it will actually begin to resemble a room! It's not as bad as our spare room was back in CA, but it does look a bit like a storage room right now. I just hope I can keep my energy up enough to get everything done!

My next doctor's appointment is on the 6th. I'm not looking forward to this one as I have to get my Group B Strep test done. I know they will be starting the internal exams soon and I'm not looking forward to those either. I guess it's just part of the price we pay to bring babies into this world!

Plans for the 4th
Jana and Tyler are planning to come down for the 4th of July! ScottE and I are both very excited. This will be our first family visit since the move. It's going to be so nice having family here... We have some minor child proofing to do before they get here. I'm not overly worried about it though because the children are well behaved. We simply have to communicate with them! Their visit is another reason I need to get a lot of things done on Ender's room. They are planning to come down on Thursday night. Jana has offered to help with the stuff that I can't do, so it should be a really fun and productive visit. We are planning a big bbq on Saturday after watching a parade or something downtown. I hope the children are as excited as we adults are!

Our TV
I don't think I have mentioned this to anyone! Shortly after the move, we started having issues with our tv. Basically, we were seeing red pixels in some of the dark spots and the faces would appear a little weird. We called Best Buy about the warranty and they said they would send someone out. Apparently they didn't give the technicians the right phone number and they never showed up. I called Best Buy a week or so later, and they did some minor troubleshooting over the phone. Those suggestions didn't work. So I called again and they finally sent someone out. The techs got here and basically told me we had an LCD panel out. They knew they wouldn't be able to get the part so they sent the work order in to Best Buy. I called them the following week and was told they would process the work order. Basically they were going to look for the part and if they could get it, they would send the tech out again to fix it. If not, we would get a confirmation number for an exchange. The service company has since called me and said we would be getting an exchange. We have yet to receive the confirmation, but are hoping to get it soon - it should arrive sometime today or tomorrow. Then, ScottE suggested we get credit for the tv we have now and then put some extra money on top of it and get a bigger one. When I asked customer service about this, essentially it's up to the store where we do the exchange. But that's what we're hoping for! We are also hoping we can get this done before Jana and Tyler get here. Right now our tv is sitting on the floor with a bunch of wires everywhere. ScottE doesn't want to drill into the wall until we know what we are going to be doing for sure. Can't wait to find out! It's very much time for an upgrade!

More plans:
The next few days are going to be pretty busy for me. I have a lot to do around the house to get it ready for our visitors. I also have a lot of shopping to do! We have this really awesome Farmer's Market every Tuesday and I'm planning to get a bunch of stuff there tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be very busy and I'm going to be on my feet most of the day. I just hope it's not too hot! The humidity here is killer for my feet and my hands.

A sister in our ward allowed me to borrow her vacuum so I need to get most of that done today. There is just so much to do! And what am I doing? Sitting at my computer!! How silly can you be? Anyway... I should probably get back to working on the house. I have some boxes to go through as well as a TON of laundry. I will definitely be posting something after this weekend... or at the very least after my doctor's appointment.