Colorado Springs Shower

MY WEEKEND:I was in Arizona with my great friends Kate Unger, Noel Dahlby, and Julia Crusius over this Mother's Day weekend. (Happy Mother's Day to Mama Noel... mother to my godson, the fabulous Bjorn, by the way). What a perfect weekend we had at the Ungers resort, The Hermosa Inn! I vow to keep such weekends a part of my life, post-baby, though we'll see if those are famous last words or not! :) MY HUSBAND AND ME:Some friends say that their husbands gave them Mother's Day presents when they were pregnant. In no way did I expect Steve to do this. Not because he isn't thoughtful and good about these things, but we still forget that we aren't going to Mexico anymore in six months! It just isn't totally real to us. I am thinking next Mother's Day it will more than be reality as our lives will be completely (though in a great way) changed.
THE MOMS:For an early Mom's Day gift, we went to The Broadmoor with our moms (shout out to Carol and Brenda) for an awesome brunch. We hadn't told them we were expecting, and gave them "Read to Me Grandma" books to break the news. They (some might say "over") reacted by crying and loudly exclaiming their joy. It was great. My sly dad, though I will never know how, whispered to me before they opened the books that he pretty much knew what was coming. I tried to play it off, but he insisted he knew what was up. I swear I gave no clues that would give this away, but it must be father's intuition. Pretty savvy!
Hope your weekend was a great one, too!Love, Me

What a great weekend!
"The Girls"...Noel, Kate, and Brooke flew in Thursday night for a packed few days.
On Friday morning, we 'spa-ed it' at The Garden of the Gods Club. I treated myself to a massage and mini-facial...a mom-to-be combo 31st birthday present to myself :). We ate lunch downtown, joined by Lindsey and my mom, and then Kate and Noel met up with Julia at her parents Monument home for some hard work!
The baking and slaving away in the kitchen into the wee hours of the night paid off. We snuck in a quick dinner with my parents, but most of the night was dedicated to shower prep....much, much thanks ladies!
Saturday's shower was perfect in every way. Such a classy, memorable morning with great brunch food, beautiful flowers and presentation, and sweet treats for favors to top it off.
So many people from all parts of my life were able to come...childhood friends and parents of my friends, high school buddies, family friends from years past, my in-laws and family, old neighbors, etc.! As great as it was to see everyone, like my wedding, it was hard not to be able to have the one-on-one conversations I'd wanted to have. And I still can't believe all the super generous gifts we received. It was humbling!
Saturday, post-shower, was spent mostly on the couch watching football and "Knocked Up", with the exception of getting ourselves downtown for dinner. Sunday morning we slept in a bit (yeah!), shopped a bit, ate some bar food, and then airport time. SO COLD...Sunday was the first sign of winter, too, which made baby-time seem even closer to me!
In closing to this long entry :), THANK YOU to every guest who was a part of making the day special (Brooke and Sarah extra points for flying in). EXTRA THANKS to Julia, Kate, and Noel for not only your labor, but for your special, very thoughtful gift and every little detail that made this shower unforgettable!

October so far...

BIG BELLY:
Well, I am as big as hopefully I am going to get as leaning over just isn't as easy as it once was and it is quite a task to roll over on the couch or in bed. Big belly!
CHANGES and PREPARATION:
Luckily, I am still sleeping fine through the night (this will end soon whether it is end of pregnancy or new baby that causes it, I know :)), which is a blessing with this very busy school year. I am trying to get all my "ducks in a row" at school to make the transition smooth for my sub and myself. And also at home...final nursery stages (furniture is finally in, more pictures to come), putting away goodies we have been receiving, and finishing (hopefully!) our little home-construction projects that will seemingly never end.
OUR NANNY!:
Steve and I were so lucky to find a nanny that was willing to accomodate for our odd situation...2 1/2 months starting late February and ending in May when I get out of school. Brooke offered (so nice) to fly out for the first few days I go back to work, and new-nanny Lindsay will take over thereafter. She has a lot of experience, is a mom of a 3month old, and is a former 3rd grade teacher like me...such a relief to have that in place!
STEVE:
Steve is currently in Chile and returning in a few days. So, those who were worried about the possibility of me giving birth this early, looks like we are almost in the clear. He's having a great time there and I am glad he got to experience it since I don't know how doable it would have been post-baby.
SHOWERS, BABY CLASSES, FALL FUN, BIRTH:
Over a month until our due date and we have a packed schedule until then. Almost every weekend is 'booked' with a shower or baby class, in addition to some fun festivities...Friends Thanksgiving, my 31st and Steve's 32nd birthdays and a few Oktoberfest and Halloween parties.
Busy until birth time, that's for sure!

Denver Baby Shower

DENVER SHOWER:
MANY, MANY thanks to Aimee and Heather who hosted an awesome shower. I knew it would be great with them in charge and with the oh-so-fabulous guest list, but it was even greater than I'd hoped for. The champagne and mimosas were a flowin', the games were creative and non-painful :), the food delicious, cake cute and yummy, fun favors, and the gifts were so adorable and thoughtful! THANK YOU to all who came. I had a blast and am now even more excited for the showers ahead (I feel spoiled already!).

Our "Babymoon"

As many of you know, our "extra" money (okay credit card accumulations :)), usually goes towards traveling. A big life change for us will be the fact that our getaways will be fewer and farther in between once baby comes.

SO...I have heard of these "babymoons"...basically, a last little trip before baby comes. Steve will be taking his own BIG BABYMOON when he visits friends in Chile at the end of this month, so we fit a road trip in over Labor Day since we had the three day weekend off.
We had a relaxing weekend in Taos, NM. (Thanks to the CSprings and Denver Nunns for some great recommendations, by the way!). We rented a small house off main street, ate great food, Tucker and Steve went for a hike, Cara went for a spa day (a great one at that!), visited the Taos Pueblos, and the rest of the time was spent walking around the plaza and just laying low. I could do this every weekend :)!

Only a few more months to go!...registeries are updated, showers are coming soon, and the nursery still awaits furniture and work!

SO LONG SUMMER:
Summer behind me, or at least summer break as I know it, and things are going well back at school. I was worried that I would be EXHASTED by the day's end once reality kicked in, but not too bad so far. Spending the day with 25 fourth graders isn't exactly relaxing or anything, I am just making sure I get to bed earlier these days!
CHANGES:
The belly has definitly grown! Other than that, no major changes. I am still in that "happy medium" stage...no sickness like first trimester and I can sleep well and am too enormous yet to be at that "uncomfortable point". Enjoy it while it lasts, they say :)
LATEST DR. APPT.:
I had an appt. on Monday that included the glucose test and regular check-up. Glucose was negative, wasn't sure because of my "off" sugar levels prior to pregnancy, so it was nice to hear that I can have sweets now and then since I'm no longer worried about gestational diabetes (that knowledge could be a bad thing, actually!). The baby measured a-okay...not a big head like the Gugat side and not a small Havenar head. Since I had to wait for half an hour, my doctor let me have an ultrasound so I could see the baby again....so fun! He/she was moving around a lot, as usual, and looking darling, of course :)!
PREDICTIONS:
I sent out an email to family and friends to get their predictions on boy or girl. If you haven't sent yours my way, please do so! Reward for winner is some Coleman beef...just in time for the holidays :). Silly or not, it is fun for me to see what people predict so thanks for playing!
THE BELLY:
I have definitley "popped" and my belly button has pushed out to almost look flat. Bizarre!
NURSERY:
For now, the middle stages of beadbooard have gone up. Thanks to Alex and Steve! Bless my husband's heart, (I need to praise him as I admit to have made his nursery projects harder than originally planned which he has often reminded me of) he has worked SO HARD and I really do appreciate his support.
DAY CARE?:
So many people have said I should start looking into day care since I am planning on finishing out the school year after my maternity leave. Seemed premature to me as I haven't even named my child, let alone given birth to him or her! APPARENTLY NOT...the two places I am interested in have waiting lists that don't look so promising. Who would have known? Not me, I guess. Oh well...things will work out in the end, I know it!
LONG entry...it's been a while! I will keep things shorter and sweeter from now on (will try to, anyway).
Thanks for checking in on us and happy fall!
Next up....our "Babymoon". Cheesy, maybe, but I will take the chance to getaway anyhow before baby arrives. Taos for Labor Day...can't wait! Will post updates when we get back :)

JULY SO FAR:
Despite some painful acid relflex that is now under control, ugh!, July has been a wonderful month. I am taking advantage of feeling good and not being too big yet. Tucker, our only child/dog, has benefited daily from this summer-o-fun, too! We have gone camping in Wyoming and to our sister-in-law's lake house in Texas, dog in tow, during the last few weeks. I have felt good and am loving the summer times spent with Steve (who has been the perfect husband to a pregnant wife!) and Tuck...school starts when? :(
THE ULTRASOUND:
We had our "big" ultrasound last night. It was such a relief to see the baby and know that he or she is developing along according to plan. He or she...that's right, we aren't finding out the gender! Anyone who knows me can't quite believe this and I apologize...yet again....to those I persisted to find out their baby's sex over the years :)!
MATERNITY CLOTHES:
I am just starting to creep into some maternity clothes. The boobs and belly are growing :), so the 'early stage' maternity things are feeling comfortable, even if not a perfect fit. I am expecting that one of these days I will pop and grow like a weed, so I am trying to enjoy the fact I haven't had to change much of my clothing as of yet. Thanks to Caroline, Leigh, Aunt Donna, my mom, and Mandy for providing me with my maternity wardrobe!

Thanks for checking in!