Baby Shower

I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends! As most of you know, I meet monthly with a regular group of ladies for book club. It's a wonderful social time, and exposes me to lots of interesting books I might not have otherwise chosen on my own. I especially love going since working at home since it is some interaction with real people! Some of the girls in book club offered to throw me a baby shower. I was so surprised and feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends! Almost everyone from book club could make it, as well as many of my friends from my old workplace, Knape & Vogt and some other friends including Maria, Terri, Jill and Mom V. It was so nice to see everyone again! I am so thankful to have you all in my life.

A special thanks goes out to Sherrie who was a fabulous host! Her home is always so inviting, and she is a wonderful cook!

Baby G---I've told you this before, but you are so loved by so many already! Everyone is so excited to meet you and cannot wait for your arrival---although we are all in agreement that you need to wait a few weeks to make your appearance:)

You gave us a little scare on Friday before my shower by giving us multiple episodes of Braxton-Hicks contractions. Thankfully, nothing was consistent and you settled down before the shower. Thanks for reminding your Mommy she needs to remember to take it easy;)

We had a wonderful time playing games and socializing and got sooooooo many gifts! We recieved a ton of cloth diapers and wipes, butt cream and a wet bag to get us started on our cloth diaper journey from Mom and Dad V as well as a diaper sprayer from Grandma S.

We also received a baby bather, adorable frog Humidifier and monkey baby activity gym. As well as some things baby G can use a bit later, which will be so nice! Like a Bumbo, an umbrella stoller, sand pail, and shopping cart cover. Some really unique boutique items including some little argyle socks with the letter "G" all over them for baby G :) Bowls, spoons, lotions, toys, burp cloths, blankets, bottles, pacifiers, etc.! Too much to list!

There were even some handmade items!! Including the tiniest knitted booties you have ever seen from my friend Jennifer as well as a handmade hooded towel and a "magic" hanky that is a bonnet but turns into a wedding hanky for the baby (if it's a girl) or his bride (if it's a boy) from my friend Stephanie.

Mama G even got her own special gift from Terri--a gift certificate for a pedicure! Ahh...this will be fantastic time of relaxation and a much-needed outing after baby G arrives!! I plan on making it an event to remember:)

I'm sure I forgot some things, so please forgive me:)
So, without further ado...here are some photos from the event:

Here is my 30 week belly pic before the shower---new haircut this week too:)

Here are some general snapshots from the evening:

Oh, and here is a photo that would have been so cute (pretend my eyes are open! LOL.)

Thanks again everyone!!

Lots of love,

Jen, Ron and baby G

Double Digits and a Baby Night Owl

That's right! For those of you watching the little ticker at the bottom of this blog...we are officially in double digits! Eeek!! No one is more excited or more nervous than I:) I remember thinking "How many days?!" when I first loaded the ticker, because let's face it, when you are not feeling well you really don't want to be reminded that there are "only" 240-some-odd days left. Yet, here we are in double digits, essentially this means that time is running out! Suddenly I feel I have so much to do and feel as though there will never enough time to get it done.

The "nesting" instinct has taken over. (Hence why it has been a while since I have posted!) I had Ron put shelving in both the nursery and office closets and have been organizing like a mad woman. Ron really doesn't understand the need to have every closet in the house organized for arrival of the baby, but he is understanding that if it is what I need to do to feel more "prepared" (as if one could ever truly be prepared)--he humors me:) I cleaned the office last week and dumped two huge bags of paper off at the Paper Gator, (if you have never used this before, they are awesome) as well as made...er...helped Ron clean out his closet and have a whole bag of things to donate to Goodwill.

The office is already a mess again, but only because I have a work in progress:) Mom V. has been over this week working on the nursery. We got the crib skirt and curtains made as well as a liner of the clothes hamper. We also got my vinyl wall phrase in the mail from Old Barn Rescue Company on Etsy. Their stuff is so beautiful and we had a custom quote made just for our nursery! It looks like Adonna (the artist) came to my house and handpainted it just for baby G!

Yes...I know...you want to see! Well, pictures will be posted, but I want to wait until everything is finished to give you the full effect...but, we are getting close, I promise! I am so blessed to have a creative Mother who can sew anything! The nursery is going to be fantastic! Love you, Mom!!

As for the baby night owl we have on our hands....

Baby G has decided his/her favorite time of day is at about 11:30 p.m. That's when things really start moving. Usually it is just a short jig, probably just attempting to get comfortable for the night, but about 3 a.m. is when the real dance party begins!! We aren't talking little kicks and jabs, but a full-on gold-medal-worth gymnastics routine that makes me feel as if Baby G is trying to escape right through the side of my stomach. While I am so blessed to have a healthy, kicking baby and have high hopes that this means our child will have more rhythm than his/her father (hehe), it's exhausting! The past two weeks I've been wide awake for multiple hours a night, and the other day gave up on sleep altogether. Thank goodness I have a job that allows me to start work at 4 a.m.--at least I could do something productive!

We are hoping that Baby G gets this all out of his/her system since Mommy cannot go another 13 weeks on only a few hours of sleep a night. Trust me, Baby G, it is in your best interest to let me sleep now so I'm joyful and refreshed when you arrive:) Plus, don't you need your beauty sleep? I feel you all day and all night, and if you are anything like your Mommy, lack of sleep does not suit you darling, as you will be a crabby monster!
Let's hope this message hits home soon...

Last but not least...here are the latest belly photos

Looking rather tired at 25 weeks...

A little better at 26 weeks...

P.S. while my belly button has become rather flat, it is the button of my pants you can see in this photo--I am still an "innie".....for now:)

Cloth Diapers?!

Yes! Cloth diapers! Crazy?! We don't think so!

Let's just say the first time I mentioned cloth diapering Baby G to Ron, he got that "deer in the headlights look" to which I quickly whipped up a website showing him photos of "new" cloth diapers. Don't worry hunny! No more folding, giant pins or dunking of poopy diapers involved!! He was still skeptical, but impressed by the new technology. So, I did a little more investigating, and found a business in Holland called EcoBuns. It is a small, family-run business that seemed to have lots of options and information on cloth diapers. They even offer a free class so you can learn all about cloth diapering and if it is for you! They even offer a trial program so you can try out cloth diapering and various kinds of diapers too!

You can check out their website here: http://www.ecobuns.com/

So, Saturday we took the EcoBuns class. Kellie, owner and cloth diapering mom herself, led the class. Both Mom and Dad V. joined us, along with another couple who is due only about two weeks before us. We had a blast! How can it be fun learning about poopy diapers you ask? The information was great and the statistics Kellie showed us were staggering.

For instance, did you know that a baby will go through about 9,000 diaper changes in their first 2.5 years of life? (Ron turned green at this one!) Each disposable takes 200-500 years to decompose too. Yuck!! All those nasty diapers just sitting a landfill like buried treasure for future generations!

We learned all about how it was good for Baby G too! And, the statistic Ron loved the most, that you can save on average $1,500 by choosing cloth!

Needless to say, we were all excited about cloth diapers by the time we left! Mom & Dad V were shocked at how much better the cloth diapering experience is than it was years ago when I was in cloth diapers---no pins, no rubber pants, no dunking, no soaking! They are very supportive of our choice, and Dad says as "Papa" he will even be willing to change them, especially if they include on of those fancy little liners so he doesn't have to touch anything! Haha!

We have also decided that at birth Baby G will be in disposables. Sad, yes. But, I'm just afraid that we will have enough things to worry about immediately. However, once we both get used to the frequent diaper changes and Baby G is out of the "newborn" size, we will be switching to a cloth diaper that we can use for years to come--better for everyone involved!

So, needless to say our first baby-related class was a huge success! Everyone felt like they learned a lot, and that we are making the right choice for our family, and you too Baby G!!

Also, Friday, we had another doctor's appointment. Baby G has an excellent heartbeat and the doctor says everything on the ultrasound looks normal! We were told pains I have been having in my ribs are probably just inflammation of the cartilage from the pressure of all of my organs pushing up into my rib cage to make room for Baby G. At least we know what it is, and have a few suggestions from the doctor for pain relief in the meantime.

Also, here is a photo of me in my 23rd week (taken on Saturday before our class.):

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Baby G! It's 2010 which means you are coming this year! That makes your pending arrival seem so much sooner!!

We had a wonderful New Year's Eve with our friends Josh and Linda Jo Carron. We spent the evening hanging out with great friends, enjoyed some homemade pizza, and games on the Wii. Overall, the night was so nice, low-key and relaxing! What a great way to ring in the New Year! We know it is going to be a great one!

Here is a photo on New Years day in our 22nd week:

In other news...we are beginning to get things ready for the Baby G... Mom and Dad V have been working hard refinishing an antique bassinet for us. The results are beautiful! I just wish we would have taken "before pictures" as it was a well-worn white wicker bassinet with a super ruffly cover! They refinished it to match our tastes and make sure that it was safe for Baby G!

Here are a few photos of the bassinet with the beautiful finished cover and a couple of the printed sheets Mom V made for it (there are also tons of plain ones she made that are not shown.) She made everything to match the colors we are going to use in the nursery. You can see a bit of the nursery paint color in the background. Unfortunately, you can't see well in these photos the cute little embroidery she did around the edges well..but it is there:)

Baby G, you are so loved by many already! Look at all this custom work just for you!

Merry Christmas!

Here are some photos of us this Christmas. Baby G's first photo by the Christmas tree:

We had a wonderful day of celebration by heading to Mom and Dad V's house to see them and Scott, Jill and Rocky for a Christmas morning breakfast. We were all up bright and early. Mom made breakfast strata (everyone's favorite!) with fancy breads, pears, pineapples and juice and coffee for all! Yum! We then opened gifts with everyone. We got some wonderful gifts and were excited to show everyone all we had been shopping for. We spent the afternoon there hanging out and having some ham for dinner and playing the Wii (Christmas gift from Mom and Dad G). It was so nice to spend time with everyone, but we missed all who could not be with us.

Here is a photo of Ron and I in front of Mom and Dad V's Christmas tree before Dad and Ron went out hunting. It didn't turn out too bad--we both struggled with colds all week!

Ron and I both agreed it was a great weekend, but we could not help thinking about all the things that will change next year! Ron says he will have to practice packing the car if we have to take anything else with us! :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

"Oooh, oh! We're half way there..."

Week 20

"...Take my hand and we'll make it
I swear - livin' on a prayer."
Who says it better than Bon Jovi?

20 weeks down...only 20 weeks to go! (give or take) :)

Hard to believe but Baby G is now the size of a cantaloupe...especially considering that he/she started out the size of a poppy seed!

For more interesting fruit/baby comparisons: http://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/blogs/nb_checklists/pages/how-big-is-baby.aspx?r=0

Baby G's First Photo Shoot

"I'm ready for my close-up Mr. Deville..."

Today was our first ultrasound of Baby G! He/she is weighing in at around 11 ounces and measuring at 20 weeks and 2 days ( a little ahead of the estimated due date, but not sure if it is enough to make any difference). Apparently Baby G is a bit of a Wiggle Worm, so we had an interesting time trying to get pictures, but the ultrasound was great! On the screen we could see little fingers, toes, hands, etc.

Profile view (with a little bit of Baby G's arm in the way):

Baby G facing the "camera". Here you can see hands, feet and face:

A bit of a "skeletal" view of baby's face: