Giving Thanks

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with our family. I wasn't able to travel this year so our parents both came to Gainesville and we had Thanksgiving at our house. Caitlin and Mike both had the day off from work so it was great to have everyone together. Josh fried up a turkey with our new turkey fryer (thanks Mom and Dad W!). Despite a little back and forth over how long it should take we ended up with a perfect turkey. It was probably one of the best we've ever had. We had all the usual sides - mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cornbread stuffing, mustard greens, corn pudding and sweet potato casserole. I can't even list the desserts there were so many. It was a pregnant woman's dream! Sadly I couldn't enjoy as much as I could have in past years because there is very little room left in my belly for anything other than the baby!

On Saturday we all watched the Gator game. Josh and I were sad that we couldn't actually be there for Tebow's last game but there was no way I could have made it all day. Instead we watched from the comfort of home where I could put my feet up. It was a great game though. What an awesome four years it's been for the Gators. Up next is the SEC championship game against Alabama. It's a repeat of last year when we managed to pull out a win. We can only hope for the same this time around! For those that know me, I won't be doing much watching, more like hiding behind a pillow and waiting on the reaction from the crowd to know whether or not I should look. Regardless, we're so excited and proud of our Gators! Four national championships (2 football and 2 basketball) in the past four years isn't too shabby... In case I haven't said it before, it's great to be a Florida Gator (and even better to live in Gainesville where we're surrounded by people who agree!).

Okay, enough football. I'm sure most of you are wondering about the baby and what the status is there. Things are going well. I'm at 39 weeks now so only 7 days from my due date. He could arrive at any time within the next two or possibly even three weeks (yikes!). I'm definitely very uncomfortable and very big and so ready for him to just be here! The doctor says that's why pregnancy lasts 9 months, because by the time you get to month 9 you could care less about the pain of labor, you're just ready to not be pregnant. I couldn't agree more.

The nursery is just about finished. I decided to post some photos before it's done. We have some shelves to hang on the wall and some picture frames to put up but that's about it. We also have a monogram that goes above his crib but it has his name on it so we won't be putting that up until after he arrives. There really isn't a theme other than green and blue. We took a pottery barn crib skirt and just built everything else around that, adding things with a similar color scheme.

Things around our house are pretty calm and we're just finishing up final nesting projects. Josh is redoing my closet so I hope to move my stuff back in soon. After that's done it's just a waiting game. I finish work on Friday, December 4th and I won't return until March 1st. At that point the baby will go into daycare about 2 minutes from my office. It's a place called the Spencer House Montessori School and we're very excited about it.

I think that's really it for now. I may post once again or this might be the last time until he arrives! Please keep us and the baby in your prayers. We're hoping for as uncomplicated of a delivery as possible.

Love,

Jenny

Thanksgiving 09

PS - We receieved a wonderful early Christmas gift from Mom and Dad H, our new Canon Elph SD 780 which we love. All of the photos from this post were taken with the new camera, we can't wait to share videos with it as well! If you're looking for a new camera we highly recommend this one, only downfall is that it's TINY so if you've got big hands that could be an issue....

Week 37

I've had lots of people asking how I'm doing and what's new with the baby. I figured I would send out a quick update. This past Tuesday was my 37 week mark! Only 3 weeks to go until my due date! I've made it to the once a week visits with the midwife where we check the size of my belly, weight, blood pressure and position of the baby. Everything looked good this week. My belly measured exactly where it was supposed to, weight has steadied, blood pressure was higher than normal for me but still very low and baby is head down and in position (the most exciting news!). The midwife also got a feel for the size of the baby and said he was very healthy but thankfully not HUGE! I'm hopeful he'll end up around 8lbs although I was a 9lb baby myself, so we'll see. The doctor also reminded me over and over again that most first time moms go a week over their due date, if not more. At the practice I go to they won't induce until 42 weeks so at the very latest he may not arrive until December 22nd.

I have to admit that was the most disheartening news. Of course we want the baby to be healthy and we want my body to be ready for labor but let me just say that mentally... I'm there! We are so ready to meet our little boy and hold him and see him and have him join our family. The last month of pregnancy has been the hardest. I'm a lot more immobile, my ankles and now my legs are swollen and nothing seems to help and I very rarely get more than a few hours of sleep at night. The sleep thing won't be remedied by having the baby, but hopefully the other things will be :-)

Everything else is pretty much in place for his arrival. My hospital bag is packed, the bassinet is set up and ready to go in our room, the nursery is nearing completion and should be done this weekend. We still have a few other things on our list like finishing up some work on the closets, decorating for Christmas, steaming the carpets and cleaning out the car (yes, I'm in nesting mode, in case you're wondering). Both of our parents are coming into town for the Thanksgiving holiday this year so they will be helping us out with our list of to-dos and we're very grateful for that. I have 9 days left of work and then I'm done for 12 weeks! I've gone back and forth about working until he arrives but ultimately I decided the best thing for me was to finish up on the Friday before my due date and then use the time in between then and his birth to prepare the house and prepare myself mentally! Josh will take off the first week of his birth thanks to a generous 2 week paternity leave that his work offers. He'll have time over the holidays of course and then he'll take his second week when I return to work. I wonder if he's ready for a week alone with the baby??? Could be some interesting posts in the future! I'm kidding, he will be amazing. Josh is so ready to be a dad it's not even funny, I don't have a single worry about how he'll handle everything (let's just hope he can handle the baby AND me!).

Well that's the update for now. I'll post some more photos after Thanksgiving.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday. I am so thankful this year for all of the support and kindness our friends and family have shown to us during this exciting time. It means so much and we're so very grateful.

Love,
Jenny