Father's Day Weekend Visitors 2016

For the first time in almost six months, we had MN visitors! Last weekend happened to be Father's Day weekend, and both Dan's and my parents came to visit, along with his grandpa and Sadie.

Even though it was super hot and humid, it was a lot of fun! Dan's parents arrived Saturday morning and stayed until Sunday afternoon, and my mom and dad came Sunday and stayed until Monday morning. We had a good time eating out, visiting, and shopping the going-out-of-business sales at KMart (twice! we got some good deals on baby clothes!). 

Thank you all for coming to see us! It meant a lot that you made the long trip here.

Today, I get to do the 24-hour urine test again. Yay... I've been having a little swelling (although I'm sure that has more to do with the heat than anything), a little dizziness and nausea, and at my appointment on Tuesday I had high blood pressure and protein in my urine. They took a blood panel, and wanted to get the 24-hour sample as soon as possible (I was NOT going to bring that giant orange jug to work though!) so I started it yesterday and have to get it to the clinic before they close today.

I'm almost done using my vacation days now...after today and Monday, I should have one day left. My plans were to get some organizing done today, but I woke up hurting so much I could hardly turn over, and actually getting out of bed was even more difficult. I think as the day goes on, it'll get better though. Still, I'm probably going to spend a lot of the day sitting (so much for getting groceries!).

Oh, well. Not much longer now....

Baby Update {36 Weeks}

Four weeks to go (give or take), and already ready to be done...not only is it getting more difficult to move around without hurting or having to catch my breath, but I'm desperately ready for a break from work (and so is Dan). We can't even take a vacation day without getting calls from work. I can only imagine that I'll be in the middle of giving birth and we'll still be getting calls....

Not to mention, we are anxious to see our baby, who is now the size of a papaya at around 19 inches long and weighing in at about six pounds. She should be starting to move down, getting ready to be born. Although I think she's been head-down for quite some time, I'm starting to feel more pressure (especially on my bladder!), and I've gotten a few comments lately from people saying it looks like she's dropping.

Now that the showers are over, we have been working on compiling the last few items we need, which isn't much. I've also been working on writing out thank-you cards, plus trying to get the house in order (which isn't happening very quickly!). I did finish/distribute the cards from the office shower - now to start on the rest...which I suspect will take a while!

A few deliveries from Target and Amazon have already arrived, and we should be getting one more in the next few days.

bottle starter set, car seat cover, bib clip, and changing table cover

sleepers, gripe water, and gas drops

We also received the curtains for the nursery, but that pic will have to wait until they have been hung up!

I'm hoping to finish packing our hospital bag this weekend...we already unpacked the stroller and car seat and just need to install the car seat in the car, then we'll be ready. As ready as I am, though, hopefully she'll stay in for another 3-4 weeks! No longer than that, hopefully....

MN Baby Shower {Part 2}

After the shower, we loaded up the car and headed back home to Huron. It took a few trips from the car to the house, but we finally got everything unloaded, and I was able to show Dan all the fun little baby things. We are extremely fortunate; there is very little we still need to buy.

In this post, I'm just going to share pictures of everything we received that hasn't been shared in previous "baby update" posts. They are grouped together at random, in no particular order...

fun little floor play mat

stuffed owl, giraffe teether toy, sippy cups, shoes, pacifiers, hanging toy

muslin blanket, headbands, co-sleeper, swing

handprint kit, thermometer, booties & crown, fleece swaddle, crib sheet, utensils, towels, blankets

stroller organizer, lullaby cd, fresh food feeder, hanging toy, books, nasal aspirators

baby monitors, outlet plugs, diapers, ear swabs, pacifiers, hand scrub & cream (for mom ;)

silicone teether, sun bonnets, monkey teether toy, bibs, washcloths, amber teething necklace

crocheted blanket, wall decor, spiral toy

spoons, bibs, teething tablets, wipes

teddy bear, pacifiers, crocheted washcloth, pacifier clip, car seat strap covers, mirror, nail clippers

grass drying rack and accessories, teething giraffe, bottle brush, stuffed lamb

books!

muslin blankets, hanging toy, onesies, and leggings

clothes...

clothes & burp cloth

pajamas, booties, fuzzy socks (for at the hospital!), and hat

clothes and tights

travel system and (personalized) diaper bag

Thanks again to everyone! I have a feeling I will be working on thank you notes for a little while, so they might not get sent out for a couple weeks, but I promise they will be sent.

Since I had the day off on Monday, I was able to wash all the baby clothes and get a lot organized in the nursery. There's still a bit to do, and I have to finish packing the hospital bag, but I did choose a couple outfits to bring along. We unpacked the stroller and car seat, and now we just need to install the car seat in my car...then we should be pretty much ready to go any time!

That's all for now...I'll be back in a week with another update (will be 36 weeks!).

MN Baby Shower {Part 1}

We traveled back to Minnesota for our second baby shower (with family and friends). It was such a fun weekend!

Our families were absolutely amazing, and they put together a very nice shower. A huge thank you to everyone who helped, and to everyone who came. It really meant a lot!

I think this is going to get pretty long, so I'm going to break it up into a couple different posts. I actually didn't take any pictures myself (for once!) so I am "borrowing" some from a few other people.

The Decorations

guess the birth details, plus name suggestions

rubber duckies in the punch!

The Activities & Guests

Jeremy was a big helper with opening gifts.

Playing the "guess the belly size" game...

Vera was really enjoying the snacks! Isabelle doesn't look quite sure about her food, though...

The Group Photos

These are a few of the group pictures from the shower; I know there were others, so I'll have to add them later if I come across them.

I'm going to leave it at that for this post. The next will mainly consist of pictures I took of all the wonderful gifts we received as I was showing them to Dan!