Oh-So-Pretty Baby Shower

Last Saturday this lovely group of ladies got together and threw a shower for baby Madilyn.

The shower was so much more than I imagined!  Lots of family and friends showed up, including Emily, one of my high school friends who flew in from Georgia.

After munching on some yummy brunch food, games were played.  Knowing that I don't like to be the center of attention, they had Eric be the "star" of the games.  Eric's first challenge was to beat two other people of his choice in a diapering competition.  Not only was Eric the last one to get the diaper on the doll, but he slammed the doll face down on the table in his eagerness to get started.  I think he's going to need a little more practice on a Cabbage Patch doll before Maddie arrives.

Eric won the next competition to see who could put a bottle together first, but lost the last two--a baby food tasting challenge and a swaddling challenge.  After watching his attempt at swaddling, I think Eric's going to need even more practice with a Cabbage Patch doll.  Swaddling to him consisted of wrapping the doll up like a burrito, leaving her arm bent behind her back.

After games were played it was time to open gifts and, oh my goodness, there were a lot to open!  I think Maddie got just about everything she needed, plus some extra fun stuff.  We are so blessed!

We finished off the shower by eating some yummy cake and coloring letters for Maddie's ABC book.  You can see come of the completed letters hanging in the background.

Eric and I couldn't have asked for a better shower!  To see a few more pictures you can go to my "Oh Baby!" album on Facebook.

P.S.  As of my Tuesday doctor's appointment this week, there is no stopping labor once it starts.  Maddie could be here anyday, but I'm hoping she'll be content to stay where she is for a few more weeks!

Ball?

Today was my first day working as an aide at a Mother's Day Out program.  I'll be working two days a week through the end of July, assuming Maddie doesn't decide to come early.  My big job is to get snacks ready and for the rest of the time I just go from class to class helping out as needed.

This morning when I checked in on one of the classes, a 2 year old girl came up to me, pointed at my belly, and asked, "Ball?"  I said, "No, baby."  She smiled at me, shook her head, and said, "Ball."  I laughed and moved on.

Later in the morning I went back to the same class and as soon as I stepped through the door the same girl ran up, touched my belly, and exclaimed, "Ball!"  I corrected her again, but she just shook her head and walked off across the room.  As I sat there watching her, she picked up a ball and shoved it under her shirt.  Haha!  Here's a picture of the two of us each with a "ball" under our shirts.  Little ones are too funny. :)

Stroller Question

I know of someone who is selling a $145 jogging stroller for $75.  It is used, but in good shape.  I know that once the baby is old enough I plan to walk a couple of miles around the neighborhood on a daily basis. Will I need a jogging stroller or should I save my money and buy an umbrella stroller instead?

All about Baby, Again

My life is all about the baby now, especially since I'm done with teaching.  Be forewarned that 90% of the posts for the next several months are all going to be about a sweet little girl. :)

This past Monday at my doctor's appointment I was told that I might start feeling more pelvic pressure pretty soon, even to the point where it might feel like if I take too big of a stride the baby will fall out between my legs.  Haha!  Nice image, huh?  I figure that would be easier than actual labor and delivery, so bring it on!  Seriously though, the doctor did say that after my next appointment at 34 weeks if I went into labor they would do nothing to stop it.  What?!  I don't anticipate delivering that early, but knowing that nothing would be done to stop it kind of puts the pressure on Eric and me to make sure things are ready.

Speaking of getting things ready, all this week we've been working on getting Maddie's room put together.  We still have work to do, but here's a teaser:

Last night Stacey and Wes came into town with their not-so-little-anymore baby Makenzie.  She's such a sweet, happy little girl!  We enjoyed spending our short time together and this morning Stacey took some maternity pictures for us.  I'm excited to see how they turn out!

So what's on schedule for today?  Eric and I are about to leave to go see Toy Story 3 in 3D.  I'm pretty excited, even though the last time we went to see one of the Toy Story movies we were the only two non-parents in the theater.  This evening we'll be going to a Round Rock Express baseball game with the family.  I'm not a big fan of baseball, but I do like Dell Diamond.  Hopefully we'll get some seats in the shade and maybe I'll even get to eat a funnel cake.

Weird Dreams

Right before school starts every year I start having bizarre dreams in which I'm NEVER prepared for the first day.  Well since I don't have school to worry about this year, my mind has apparently decided that I should dream about every possible birth outcome!

The first dream I had was lovely; I delivered a healthy, beautiful baby girl and Eric was in LOVE.

In the next dream I delivered a baby BOY.  I don't think he'd like the pink room we painted last night.

My most recent delivery dream resulted in not just one baby girl, but twin girls!  At one point I was holding Maddie and Eric was holding her no-name twin and the babies waved at each other.  Haha!

With two months left to go, I don't even want to imagine any other possibilities!

Feeling Behind

I'm behind in updating, so bullets it is:

• Everything from the hotel rant got worked out. Money has been refunded and we even received a credit of two free nights at any Hyatt in the nation. I'm thinking we might take advantage of those nights sometime after the baby is born. You know, a weekend getaway to catch up on sleep. :)

• The baby shower at school was fabulous! My fourth grade team pulled together a beautiful shower and Eric and I felt totally spoiled by the gifts we received. Maddie's closet is filling up!

• We attempted the 3D/4D ultrasound again. This time our baby girl was more cooperative, although she did start the session off by covering her face with her hands. The tech sent us home with a DVD of the session along with a CD of about 100 pictures. I am kind of disappointed with the image quality, but it was neat to see her moving in real time.

• I turned in my school keys on Friday. I thought that I'd be extremely happy to do it, but instead I left the building feeling like I've lost my identity. I may not have enjoyed teaching, but I knew who I was--Mrs. T, 4th grade math and science teacher. Now I'm left with a weird, empty feeling.

• It is crazy to see the elephant on the ticker at the top of the page getting closer and closer to the end. There are days when I see its movement as exciting and other days when I'm like, "Can someone slow that thing down?!" I know we still have a couple of months and I know we'll have everything ready by the time she gets here, but it's hard to imagine that our little family of two (plus Lucy) is about to become a family of three!

Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?

Not me, I paid for mine!  I totally didn't realize that my school cafeteria account could be refunded, so what did I do?  I bought 14 cookies!  You should have seen the looks I got walking back to class with my arms loaded with individually bagged chocolate chip cookies.