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We have my 36 week appointment tomorrow, and we'll go every week now until the baby comes.  I'm pretty swollen and have a really hard time sleeping....29 days to go.

Chuck is off for the rest of the year, and I just work this next week and then am off the following week.  It is amazing that Christmas is here already...and even more amazing that we are now counting down my pregnancy in DAYS.  Whew - time flies!!

We celebrated Christmas with my side of the family yesterday and had a wonderful time at Michael, Carrie, and Sofia's.  Sofia loved ALL of her gifts. :) ChooChoo got in on the gift action even though s/he isn't even here yet!! (I think the grandparents might be excited to have a new grandbaby soon...).

Happy Holidays!

And, I FINALLY added some of our photos from 2009 --> HERE

5 weeks and counting...

Not too much exciting from here - still pregnant! :) The good news is that the baby is not measuring as big (as of the ultrasound last week). The "forecasted" size is looking more like 8 lbs instead of 10 lbs is we make it full term. Sounds much better to me. The size forecasting isn't a precise science by any means, but at least the baby is down from the 92nd percentile to the 77th. :)

We celebrated the holidays with a get together at my office on Friday. It was a low key party, but it will still nice to relax with my coworkers. Yesterday we went to cookie party at Tricia's house (ok, it was really to meet her boyfriend!!). :) Baby likes cookies.

Chuck has the last two weeks of the year off, and I have the last week of the year off, so we have just one more 5 day work week this year! I'll work the week of Christmas, but it will be nice to have that last week off together.

I'm feeling pretty good - my feet and ankles are swollen pretty much all the time, but my blood pressure remains good, so it is more discomfort than anything to be concerned about. I am going to have to break down and buy some bigger shoes for work though. Crocs do the trick on the weekends (when there isn't snow on the ground!), but Crocs aren't really bank appropriate footwear. Ha!

Holidays are here!

We have been busy preparing for the baby and for the holidays! Our tree is up, stockings are hung (next year there will be 4...yes, of course the cat has a stocking), and we have about 3-4 inches of snow on the ground!! The holidays are definitely here! The nursery is all done, outside of hanging some decorations on the wall.

Tomorrow I'll be 34 weeks - just 6 to go! I am still measuring big, so we're having another ultrasound tomorrow morning to check on the size of our "little" one. My doctor doesn't think I'll go early, but wants to know "what we are dealing with" as far as size. I have had a good amount of fluid as well in the last ultrasounds, so she wants to see if it is more baby or more fluid. I am thinking a combination of both as it was at the 28 week ultrasound.

I am very tired - mostly because I can only sleep in 1-2 hour stretches (preparing me!) due to back and hip pain while sleeping. :( And my back has been giving me fits. I really don't have it all that bad - it is just the fun of the third trimester!! Chuck is a wonderful masseuse and support for me. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband. The baby moves a lot (seems kinda squished in there!) and I look like I have an alien inside me when s/he really gets moving!! I've given up on attending after work events for both my board duties and work. I am simply too exhausted (and swollen) after working all day. And I intend to work up until the baby comes.

So, we are mostly all set (no, my bag isn't packed, but I made a list...need to get it packed!) and are looking forward to meeting the new member of our family. The cat still chooses not to listen when we tell him about the baby and he still attempts to snuggle with me (not easy, for either of us!).

We are getting some payback for the mild winter we had last year so far in Colorado. We had a few days in the teens last week, and it won't get above freezing until Thursday of this week - burr!! We have some snow on the ground now and there is more in the forecast...nothing substantial in the city, but enough to make my 45 miles in the car each day last much longer than normal.

We're celebrating Christmas with my family in a couple of weeks before Michael, Carrie, and Sofia head to Iowa and Mom and Dick head to CA for the actual Christmas weekend. Mom has given ChooChoo strict orders not to be born while she is gone! We'll spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with the Nellises at Alex, Jeremiah, Maddie, and Ana's house, which is just about 5 minutes away from our house. :)

Showered with love!!

I had a wonderful baby shower yesterday. This baby of ours is spoiled already!! I am so lucky to have such generous and amazing family and friends. I'll get some photos added one of these days (I am behind on all of our photos...sorry...the real reason is that I am not thrilled with photos of my preggo self being shared with the world...). Amy came all the way from Oregon to help throw the shower with Kari and it was just awesome.

Amy helped me put most things away today (such a huge help!!). Choo-Choo now has a great start on a library (everyone brought a book as part of their gift), and lots of great clothes, toys, and more. I have some very crafty and talented friends and family - the baby has knitted sweaters, knitted blankets, hats, quilts and afghans to keep him or her warm!! :)

I took today off, so I get a short day this week (yeah!) and next week is just a 3 day week for me as I am taking Friday off (banks are open the day after Thanksgiving). Awesome! :) We are "hosting" Thanksgiving here with some of our family. The ""s are because everyone is bringing the meal and we are providing the house to enjoy the gathering. My back and ankles appreciate the I am not going to be in the kitchen all day...

Ok, we are off to put the clothes away! This is such an exciting time and we just might be the luckiest mom and dad that there has ever been. Thank you to everyone who are making this time so very special for us. We can't wait for each of you (all 3 that read this) to meet our little one.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

As you can see, we carved our pumpkins tonight. :) And yes, we do use templates. Chuck's took about 2 hours! Mine was much quicker as I do not have the patience to do anything so fancy! We'll put them out once we get home from the CU game tomorrow. :) We get quite a few trick-or-treaters through the development.

The last few weeks have been busy. The baby continues to grow...fast! We had a ultrasound at my 28 week appointment and the baby is measuring about 3 weeks ahead. Now we know why I look 8 months pregnant when I am 7 months! Ha! My glucose test came back normal, so it looks like I am "just" growing another big ol' Nellis baby! The head is measuring the most ahead, but the belly and femur are looking big as well. No news on what this will mean for when Choo Choo will arrive as things can change quite a bit by then. I'm feeling good, just large! Chuck continues to be an amazing support - taking care of pretty much everything for me.

Corinne made a quick (24 hour) trip to town last weekend. :) She was quite the fairy-godmother - she took me shopping for some great fall and winter clothes to get me through the next couple of months. Our antics seemed to entertain the girls working at Motherhood, so I think it is safe to say we had a great time. She even hemmed the sleeves for my short arms before she left!! Such service!! :)

We had a freak October snow storm this week. We only got about 16 inches over the 2 days. I say "only" because many other areas had even twice that much. Chuck got to use the new (to us) snow blower generously passed on to us from Mom and Dick. Although many offices closed for part of the storm, both of us still made the trek into work all week. The melt-0ff started already today.

Oh, and as an update to the post below, we selected a Primrose School for daycare. We both felt really comfortable with the staff there. Plus, the center goes all the way through pre-school and even has before/after school for kids up to 12. I feel really good to know that Choo Choo has care all set up.

Tomorrow is Homecoming at CU. We have some friends coming into town for the game, so it will be great fun. While Chuck was working on his intricate pumpkin, I made some caramel apples for the tailgate. Yum!

30s last week, 80s today....Coloado weather!

Well, winter shower up last weekend with a vengeance, and was ushered out just as quickly by the return of summer! We had a dusting of snow and really cold temps for October (enough to postpone the Rockies playoff game last Saturday), and now it is 80 degrees outside. Ah, Colorado weather...wait 5 minutes and it will change! Fortunately, we didn't have a CU home game last week - we tailgated yesterday under blue skies and 70 degrees. :) CU pulled off a win over the #16/17 ranked Kansas Jayhawks at home last night. It was a nail-biter at the end (CU gave up a 20 pt lead!), but they pulled it off. The fans were really into it, so it was a fun game (although chilly in the the second half).

Last Sunday we celebrated Darby and my birthdays (a bit late...Darby is a Sept baby and I'm a July baby) with the Nellises - it takes us a long time to get our schedules in line! Tarah treated us to a YUMMY meal at Maggiano's. We ate way too much, and the baby had to kick around all that food!! We had a great time and realized how much little Ana has grown! She is 3 months old already!!

So, 13 weeks to go! Time flies. 13 weeks seems really close, but also really far away! I have been starting organizing things like lists for the hospital for Mom, Dad, and baby. I bought our first pack of diapers in preparation...the first of MANY. Choo Choo continues to kick a bunch. S/he has "kicked" Mimi (my mom), Uncle Michael, Aunt Darby and Kari so far. S/he likes to kick in response to Daddy talking to my belly, which is pretty special. :)

We are both off work tomorrow to investigate day care. We have a Goddard School just 2 blocks away that they built in the neighborhood last year, so that is our first stop. And, a Primrose School is going in across the street from the Goddard School mid-2010. They both have similar philosophies, and the convenience is certainly intriguing! We also are going to see if Maddie and Ana's daycare has any references for us (she is full for now). The idea of giving up the care of 3 month old baby that we haven't even met for 40+ hours a week is daunting to say the least.

Lots of kicking!

25 weeks and counting. Choo Choo is making his/her presence known these days with lots of kicking/punching! Chuck has been able to feel the baby kick several times now, and I frequently giggle when it happens...even at work. Ha! :) We have been working more on the house to prepare - cleaning closets, organizing filing, etc. Not very exciting chores, but something I would much rather have us do before the baby arrives!

The last couple of weeks have been good. I took Chuck with me on a day business trip to Steamboat to visit a completed construction project last Monday. We had to drive in some snow over the passes, but it wasn't bad at all. It was nice to have a day in the office be spent in the mountains!! Tuesday and Wednesday our house was invaded by a very nasty stomach bug. It seems that I got the worst of it, and then gave it to Chuck since he was my nurse all day on Tuesday. The best news is that it was short lived since we left for Vegas on Sunday!

My cousin Laura and her new hubby, Eric, chose a destination wedding in Vegas last week. Eric has been a part of the family for a while now, and we were so happy to be there to make it official! Laura was a beautiful bride, and her two sisters (and two other friends) were gorgeous next to her!! The best part for me was my Uncle John being able to walk Laura down the aisle. His health has made the past few years hard on him, but he and Aunt Toni were just beaming as they walked Laura toward her new husband. Vegas 6 months pregnant was a bit less exciting for me than years past, but we had a great time. We stayed at Caesar's Palace and they had just redone their pool area - it was great! We even played blackjack at the swim up tables - so fun. We also got to see Scott and Vita Bauer (they live in Vegas). :)

This weekend has been filled with chores and organization. We did have Anderson Snyders hang out with us for a few hours yesterday. He is about 9 months old and is just adorable. He was particularly amused with our sliding door blinds. Chuck watched us both have a nap yesterday mid-morning! Ha! The cat was none too impressed with the house guest. And to make it worse for Zack, Indy hung out for a few hours after Mom and Dick came down with the snow-blower so we could go to lunch. A dog and a baby...rough day for the cat.

I'm feeling pretty good. Bending over is becoming increasingly hard! Chuck has been a wonderful help to me! Getting off the couch is a lot harder than I would like to admit...