Max and I hit the 34 week mark yesterday! You know what that means...only 6 more weeks until his due date! :) <---yes, my countdown is probably going to start driving you crazy. Get over it...haha! We are excited, and we should be ;)

I had yet another doctor appointment this morning, and will have one every week until he arrives from here on out. The first thing Dr. Taavon said to me when he walked in the room was "so, are you ready for the home stretch?!" Holy cow, he's right. Max's arrival is sooo soon in the scheme of things. Granted, at the moment I am sort of inbetween feeling like it will never get here and feeling like he is sure to come before everything could possibly be ready for him! Dr. Taavon also told me that it still looks like I am "trying to grow a big one," but next week I have another ultrasound so we will see just how Max is measuring up.

This weekend is sure to be awesome! Our first baby shower is Saturday...for my side of the family, and I can't wait. I know it sounds bad to be so excited about a party that is just for giving gifts basically, but I am a huge sucker for baby stuff, and it makes it seem real- that we really are having a sweet little boy in a few weeks!

The other awesome thing about this weekend is that I get to see all of my wonderful family! Since Nick has to work (and I forbid him from taking a vacation day for a shower...I would rather him save those for when Max is actually here!) I will be riding back to Wilkes with my brother! I haven't seen him or Chelsea, his girlfriend, since pretty close after Christmas, I believe, and I can't wait to see them and spend time with them. The scary part? The next time I see them they will likely have a nephew! (Yes, Chelsea= Aunt Chelsea in our book...she is practically family!)

Life is getting so exciting...I love it!

A Note About Nesting

I have always heard about nesting from other pregnant women...but honestly never knew how crazy it could get until I experienced myself!

I remember in particular when a pregnant friend posted in her Facebook status about how much cleaning she had done on that day...and thought "wow...that is a lot to do in one day"...my nesting has affected me a little differently though (I guess it is just like all those other pregnancy symptoms...everyone experiences it a little differently).

For the past couple of weeks I have only thought of two things: Max and cleaning. Literally...I woke up extremely early one day and as I was laying in bed trying to go back to sleep all I could think about was how I really should be getting up and going to scrub our kitchen floors. I eventually talked myself out of this, but it was not easy. And for me, the cleaning bit hasn't been for me to do a million things in one day (dishes, mopping, vacuuming, dusting, organizing, etc.)...

Instead of tackling a million tasks in one day, I have instead been feeling the need to do everything very meticulously. Today, for example, I started washing dishes at 10am (that is the normal part). After that was over, I decided to vacuum the couch with the hose of our vacuum cleaner to get the cat hair off of it. THAT turned into taking all the cushions off, including the big one that you sit on, vacuuming each one, and steam cleaning the entire thing. THEN I slid the couch out of the way (it slides very easily...no worries! No heavy lifting for this momma!), vacuumed underneath it, cleaned the legs of the couch which are made of wood, and mopped the floor underneath the couch with a sponge on all fours. Let's just say our couch is definitely clean now.

This is how it is every day for me...it is all about the little things for me I guess. It might be interesting to see how in the world I will get everything done by March 1st- the deadline I set for us to have everything spic and span and completely ready for Baby Max's arrival!

Happy Weekend!

Seriously...I have never looked forward to weekends so much in my entire life! At my job I work 6 days a week (every day but Sunday) but every shift is only 4 hours or so. Even though I am really not there long every day, it still makes for a long week, and I LOVE Sundays and having them off. (PS- I really do like my job and the amazing girls I work with, but lets be honest, no matter how much you love your job everyone still prefers days off to days at work!)

This week has been a pretty good week :) Monday was Valentine's Day (duh), which Nick and I don't really celebrate very much. BUT he did buy me donuts from Krispy Kreme that I had been having a major craving for and had resisted...even though it is literally 2 minutes from our house, I drive by it at least once a day, AND they have a drive thru. It pretty much made my week...I love my husband so very much! We also went to Women's Hospital, where Max will be born, and took a tour last night. I have to say, I really appreciate how supportive Nick is. He was the only husband/significant other that came along for the tour...most of the women were alone! I was thinking the whole time that it was really more important for him to know things like where to take me for admission and where things are in the hospital, etc because goodness knows when I am in labor I won't be much help with such things.

This weekend is going to be especially awesome! Nick and I are going to our hometown (Wilkesboro) tomorrow after I get off work to stay through Sunday...for the first time since Christmas! I have seen my parents and my oldest sister, Evie, a few times since then, but I haven't seen my other three sisters and I miss them so very much! I am so excited to see everyone and spend some quality time with my family.

Hope you all have a perfect weekend too!

33 weeks!

33 weeks...you know what this means, right? Max could be here anytime between 4 and 7 weeks from now!

So, this past week...my appetite has been completely out of control! No joke...I can currently out-eat my husband without even trying and then be truly hungry an hour later. We are not talking just eating to be eating kind of thing. My stomach is growling within an hour of eating a full meal!

And I have another thing to add to the "You know you are in your third trimester when..." list-

-...you start using the handicapped bathroom stalls just so you have a little extra room...seriously.

And last but not least for this week...here is a picture update on the ever-growing belly :)

Yet another observation...

I have made a few observations about life as a very pregnant woman in the last few days...

Story 1) Last night Nick and I went out to eat. While we were waiting on the waitress to bring back the check, Nick went to the bathroom. She brought it back, and when I picked it up the card somehow flew across the table and into the floor. I got up and walked to the other side of the table, and the card was nowhere to be seen from where I was...and then the two guys at the table next to us got up and helped me look for it AND picked it up out of the floor for me. So about this...normally if I was in a restaurant and two guys approached me it would only be to flirt or makes some smart comment. Because I am pregnant, they were just nice :) and I really appreciated it.

Story 2) I went to Target this morning to get a few things and as I was leaving I pulled my phone out of the side pocket of my purse. My chapstick also came out of the pocket and fell on the floor :/ I was about to bend down to pick it up, but the couple walking behind me literally JOGGED over saying "no! we will get it for you!" I mean, this was a very kind gesture...and I hesitate to say anything bad about it because they were just being extraordinarily nice. But I think you can all probably guess what I felt like after that one.

My observation? Because I am huge and 32 weeks pregnant, people go out of their way to help me with things. In some ways I really appreciate it. In some ways, it makes me feel like I have lost some more of my independence. Can we say mixed feelings? In reality, it was much easier for those people to get things out of the floor for me than to do it myself, and it was REALLY NICE OF THEM...I guess I will just keep letting people do nice things for me and enjoy it while I can :)

Finished Projects

I finally finished painting the last piece of furniture for Max's room, and I love it! :) It is basically just a storage chest, but it really helps make his room feel less empty.

I forgot to take a true "before" picture...but here it is with just primer. It was originally "yellowish" with a crackle finish.

This is the after :) I am so happy with the finished product!

32 weeks...

Yes, I may start to drive ya'll crazy with all these blog posts...there is just so much going on in these last few weeks, and I really want to share it!

Again, nothing going on in the baby news department...not really. Max is growing so much though! I have a doctors appointment tomorrow, so if anything new comes up during that I will keep you all updated!

Several people have still been asking about how I am feeling, so here is an update ...honestly, I still feel great outside of the tired bit. I think I will actually be happier to be tired when it is because of Max waking me up in the middle of the night to be fed or changed or held...rather than my bladder needing to be emptied or my stomach needing to be fed. I AM starting to get frustrated about all the things that I can't do very easily alone anymore. I really like having a sense of independence, and with some things I have completely lost that. I am also really ready for some normal emotions, rather than the over the top ones that I have had lately :). Last week I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things and went WAY overboard on the budget (note to self: going to the grocery store pregnant and hungry is never ever a good idea)...and I cried the entire way home, regardless of the fact that my loving and understanding husband was on the phone with me the whole way home telling me that everything was fine and it wasn't a big deal and that we probably needed all that food anyway. Did I mention how much I love him?

And I guess the nesting has set in...I spent over an hour on Sunday scrubbing a 3'x4' section of wall in the kitchen. And yesterday morning when I woke up at 7am I was laying in bed trying to decide if it was more important for me to get up and finish scrubbing the kitchen floor or if I should stay in bed. Awesome :) I mean, who thinks about kitchen floors being clean at 7am?????

Well...I am off to clean up the house and work on a few projects :) Check back later for pictures of our latest complete nursery project!!!

Lullabies that you will actually like!

A friend of mine introduced me to Rockabye Baby much earlier on in my pregnancy, but I just got a few of these yesterday, and I am completely in love!

This company has turned "rock and roll" songs into lullabies. It is amazing. They have everything from AC/DC to Bob Marley to Coldplay. And everything in between! It doesn't even sound like disgusting elevator music.

If you are pregnant or have a baby you definitely have to have some music from Rockabye Baby :) So go ahead...click that hyper-link up there in the first paragraph! You know you want to ;)

31 weeks??? what?!?!?!?

I can remember very clearly the days when I was so impatiently counting down the days to the ultrasound where we would find out if our little one would be a boy or a girl. So how the heck did I get to 31 weeks so quickly?!?!? I keep thinking to myself..."Wait, what?!?! We are having a baby in 9 weeks or less?!?!?" Time has passed by so extremely quickly...

Everything with Max seems to be going splendidly, and I really don't have much of anything interesting to share with you at the moment about him...but...

I have found that the more pregnant I get the more likely people are to say something outrageous and completely inappropriate to me about my ginormous belly and or the baby that has taken up residence inside of it. Just thought I would share a few of the best ones from the last couple of days:

1)This morning Nick and I went out for breakfast. I was wearing a Piggly Wiggly t-shirt and we ran into a man that Nick happens to know from back home (Wilkesboro). The man, who shall remain nameless, and whom I have never met before, reaches out and touches my belly (first of all WHO ARE YOU AND WHY DO YOU THINK IT IS OK TO TOUCH MY BELLY??). He says, "Congratulations! Looks like you are looking a little 'Piggly Wiggly!'" Gee, thanks. Not even sure what to say to you right now.

2) After breakfast we went to Target. We were in line and were only buying one item, and the lady in front of us had a buggy full. She looks at us and asks if that was all we were getting, and then lets us pass her. Then she points to my belly and says "looks like you have way more important things to worry about!" Yes, it was very nice of her to not make us have to wait 10 minutes in line behind her just for our one little item. But what does that have to do with me being pregnant? Confused. But thanks.<--this one is really not that bad, I know, but still.

I have saved the best one for last... enjoy!

3) I came across a lady yesterday that approached me and told me congratulations. She then started quizzing me about all sorts of birth related things..."have you taken a childbirth class? Are you choosing natural childbirth? Are you planning on using a Doula?"...and that does not even cover half of the embarrassing and inappropriate questions she felt the need to ask me. I guess she finally got the idea that I was not really interested in discussing such private matters with her, so she ends the conversation by saying, "I work with teen moms at my job, so every time I come across a teen mother I really feel pulled to reach out to them." EXCUSE ME. WHAT?!?!? NOT A TEEN MOTHER. 22, ALMOST 23, AND HAPPILY MARRIED. THANK YOU.

You know you are in the third trimester when...

I have quickly learned some interesting things about being third trimester pregnant...and let me be clear- I am still more than happy to be pregnant, for now! (I also realize that I will probably be tired of being pregnant by the time Max is born). I am just trying to turn all the unpleasant things as funny these days instead :) So here is my list...I am sure I will add to it as my third trimester progresses! I stole a few of these from the Baby Center website...

You know you are in the third trimester when...

...you spend more time at night on the toilet than you do in the bed! seriously...I have to get up and pee about every hour to 2 hours in the middle of the night lately!

...it has become an Olympic sport to shave your legs.

...your husband looks at you and says "Wow, babe. You really are pregnant!" yes, dear. I have been pregnant for 7 months now...

...you go to the bathroom when there is one nearby "just in case"

...you drop something in the floor and have to think about whether it is really important enough to pick up.

...your husband is getting in practice for the baby...by putting on your socks and shoes every day!

...it takes 5 minutes to get turned over in bed, and by the time you are comfortable again you realize you have to pee!

...elderly people off to stand and give you their seat (for example, while you are waiting to be seated at your table when you go out to eat)

...you can no longer take that tiny but awesome parking space that you just KNOW you could squeeze your car into because you know you can't squeeze YOURSELF out of the car door or between the two cars! Forget "sucking it in"...

...you can't watch commercials on TV anymore because the food ones always make you have ridiculous cravings.

...you cry over everything. Especially food and anything to do with the baby.

...every time you cry over something ridiculous your husband comforts you but says "you are so pregnant, dear"

...every time you make a grimacing face or groan your husband freaks out and says "is everything ok?!?!?!? are you sure?!?!?"

...EVERY person you come across in public asks when your due date is. And then they either follow up by saying "wow you look like you are about to POP!" or "really? There is no way you are that far along!" The other option is that they tell you some horror story about the birth of their child or when they were about as far along as I am. I work at a dance wear store and as you can imagine, most of our customers are women and children. I am sure you can also imagine that almost every single customer that I help asks me about the baby. Quite entertaining.

...it takes you 2 tries every time you get out of the car or off the couch or out of bed.