Great News!!

Baby Swenson dropped a great deal last night...which in prego terms just means that she/he has moved closer to his/her exit. But what it really means to me: I see my ribs & upper stomach again (they still do exist!), I can actually breathe now, it feels much more relaxed & empty up top, and I still need to pee (which has changed nothing about my previous situation). All I can say is "Phew! This feels GREAT!" After some mommy talk at church from some trusted older mamas, I believe there's still some dropping left to be done (don't feel like my baby is going to fall out yet because of excess pressure down there), but this is a great sign that something is *actually* happening down there & things are getting prepared!! My only sign so far! Celebrate the small successes!

(we're still several weeks away from anything so don't get hopes up about arrival just yet!!! Oh, and even with the dropping, I still have "mostly" an innie...not gonna lie: I'm sightly bummed I don't get to experience an outie..maybe next time! ;))

You Know...

when you're going to be a mommy soon when you pass up some deliciously cute yet comfy black high heels with a golden buckle for these practicial mommy shoes from an REI sale...which were both the same price & found on the same day. Oy! The mixture of joy & sadness! ;)

36 Weeks

No action to report...it's been pretty dormant around here which furthers my "coming late theory". What I thought were potential B.H. contractions ended up as Baby S stretching out so much that I couldn't breathe very well and my belly getting really tight. So, I'm pretty sure I still haven't felt them yet. We go to our last ultra-sound this week to make sure everything is where it should be location-wise. My dad is definitely disappointed that we aren't taking this chance to find out which gender! Home stretch-- can't give in now!

My body is starting to feel very pregnant and I'm HUGE. I have very few of my favorite shirts that go all the way over my basketball belly. And I'm so over having to empty my bladder every 5-8 minutes (NOT exaggerating!) W has also kindly suggested helping me shave my legs so he doesn't get prickly, hairy legs brushing up against his. I've also started to battle more exhaustion & fatigue lately.

However, I can honestly say that I'm not quite at "get this baby out of me", but I can sense that these haunting thoughts are making their way to the forefront of my mind. With some more fun things planned this month, I'm okay to be status quo for a little while longer. I'm so thankful W & I have been staying quite busy. My ideal would be to stay that way in the hopes that I can just avoid the whole waiting period all together.

My excellent and practical parents have been very good to us too. They are already asking questions we don't have the answers to, nor have really thought about. I'm hoping these will help us prepare more of the details, like getting the car seat installed (might be a good idea to do). We must still be denial since we have some very important prep work left to do & haven't shown signs of starting these projects. Umm, we definitely have our work cut out for us before Baby S arrives.

Baby Blessings!

Last month, four fabulous hostess pulled off a beautiful and lovely baby shower for Baby Swenson. I was overwhelmed by all the support and love. It was great to be able to have so many loved ones in the same place at the same time. W & I can't wait to continue to share our lives and baby with these wonderful people!

Delicious food spread!

Cute decorations!

W was valet & good thing...not much parking space!

My four fabulous hostesses!! They did such an awesome job!

Proud parents-to-be! :)

We are in such good hands with all our wonderful gifts! We are so set for having this baby and are so excited to be able to use all of our great things!! And it was great to see such talented women-- we are blown away by all our homemade goodies!! :)

Only One Month Left To Go...

for our due date that is (December 7th)-- but as many know, only like 5% of babies are born on their due date. And if I can make a wager now, I think Baby Swenson will want to bake a little longer. Then again, we all know what assuming does! ;)

Mom knows me well

and forwarded a few blogs that she thought I would like. And like, I do!! This lady and that lady are quite up my alley! Thought I'd share for all the other frugal wives & mothers out there who enjoys cooking yummy food and finds joy in the home & family life!

And this by far was a really really good read!

City Treats

At almost 35 weeks, I headed with Linds & my mom for a girls outing to the city! And I'm happy to report that I made it much longer than anyone anticipated! :) Of course, the girls were so kind & made sure to have lots of pit-stops planned into the day. After doing some shopping, our first rest was Williams-Sonoma where we were delighted to discover the author of Cookie Swap was doing a demonstration. Mom even got to participate & we all enjoyed the end products. They even had delicious apple cider to taste too-- so good!

Mom's finished cookie!

We also stopped in Crate&Barrel and had a conversation with some random yet delightful ladies who also decided to sit in the little staged living room area. One of them was also from Colorado--small world! It was a beautiful day: shopping, walking, and lunch at our favorite hole-in-the-wall cafe. And as you can see in the next picture-- I'm the only one who didn't walk away with any goods. Hubby was *so* proud (yippie, for wifey points!!)

Traditional German Food

We finally enjoyed the most delicious German supper this past weekend!! Anne cooked Traditional Goulash and W helped with the process (hopefully, to be able to re-create it in the future). Since we don't have the type of noodles she used, Anne made everything from scratch! I made some yummy pumpkin spiced cake for dessert and the boys enjoyed some authentic German beer. We had a delightful feast with the Nitches and Gillettes! I'm still waiting for her to translate her recipe into English to it can go into our recipe binder.

Happy Halloween!

From the motorcycle dude and his chef with a bun in the oven!

Getting My Fix

On Friday, I headed out to D-ville to visit one of my all-time favorite teachers at her new school. The kids had a huge costume parade--complete with the high school band playing & marching--with every single parent & grandparent out to celebrate. This school pulled out all the stops. On top of that was the 5th grade boy tradition of dressing up as girls!! So I saw a Hannah Montana, a Cinderella complete with white go-go heels & other blonde "girls"! The class was full of lots of pink, glitter, and giggles!! It was hilarious!! I loved how everyone was dressed up, even some of the parents! I never saw such collaborated spirit at our old school.

It was also a blast to hang out with 5th graders and just being in a classroom again! And the bonus of not being so exhausted after a day of leading kids!