Final entry before baby!

So this is the month that baby is due. Where did the time go? The showers, nursery prep, and baby classes have made things more realistic, but turning that calendar was really that "Ready or not, here it comes!" moment for me :)

BIRTHDAYS:
Steve and I recently celebrated our nice and relaxed birthdays together. For mine, Steve made an AMAZING dinner that took him hours to prepare. Better and more romantic than any restaurant. I was very, very impressed and loved the special night he put together. His birthday was mellow, as he always wants it to be, and we had presents and his favorite cake here before he went out for some last "boys nights" before baby comes.

BABY CLASSES:
We are done with our baby classes as a couple (Steve still had "Daddy Boot Camp" coming up which he may or may not attend if baby comes a few days early as it is close to our due date). Having always been afraid of my future labor, it was actually a relief to take these classes and I feel somewhat better (though not excited by any means!) to go through it all. The challenges of the pain, possible complications, post-partum "stuff", breastfeeding, lack of sleep, etc., will just come as they do so it was nice to receive some information and tips about it all. Also comforting to meet other couples who will be taking this 'baby thing' on for the first time, too!

THANKSGIVING EARLY:
We celebrated 4th Annual Friends Thanksgiving yesterday. I feel a sense of relief that we were able to enjoy our Turkey Day fixings as we may be in the hospital (perhaps pushing baby :)) when the holiday comes. It's all about food these days! The "three F's"...food, friends, and football (GO KU, by the way!!!), made for a perfect night. A tradition I love and am very thankful for! :)

NURSERY:
Nursery update is that all is organized, painted, and prepped with the exception of the gender specific items to come :). Wall letters and girly or boyish bedding (both picked out and ready to arrive when "it" does :)) will be added when we know what Baby Havenar will be! Can't wait for that part of it! We are really appreciating the fact that we didn't find out the sex as it is helping me get through this last bit of pregnancy and our curiosity is increasing. Send those predictions my way if you haven't already (gender and date)!

LAST NOTES UNTIL BABY IS HERE:
I am sleeping well, though not completely comfortably, and my only big complaint is the heartburn that never goes away (though medicine helps most of it). After those first months of sickness, I really have nothing to gripe about as I remind myself what a miracle this whole process is.
I already know I will miss being pregnant for some reasons...like the special kicks, rolling around, and hiccups that I can lay back and feel through my tummy. The relaxing, thinking, talking, and family-of-three time (Tuck is included, of course :)) that we know and love will also be missed.
I also know, though, that once baby does come, we won't want to imagine our lives any other way (minus the lack of sleep part, that is:)), and we really are so excited for this life change to occur.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers (may I specifically request a "hope Cara as an easy, easy labor prayer"?...to be added to the "healthy baby" prayer, of course :)). We will contact you all as soon as he or she arrives. Until then, thanks for reading up on us along the way...whether you have wanted to or have felt obligated as a good family member or friend :).
We appreciate and love you all!

Work Shower

I was so lucky to have three great showers...spoiled!
Christine Loehr hosted the Rose Hill Elementary shower at her great house near old town. It was perfect and thank you to everyone who helped with the food and beverage (part of why people stayed so long!). This was my "five hour shower" which flew by as does time when you are having so much fun!
So many generous and nice gifts again. It was so kind of all the teachers, especially some who are new this year and hardly know me, to give the great gifts that they did (and I know firsthand what a teacher's budget is like :)). THANK YOU to everyone!
Steve was able to come by for a while in between work duties, and my mom also came up from Colorado Springs. There were about twenty people in all...some good friends from past Rose Hill years and many current work folks. Such a fun mix!
As it was my last shower, I was able to start the "organizing" process of washing and putting away items, finding the right spots in my little house for everything from big swings to little booties, and just settling in!
THANK YOU again, Rose Hill....I will miss your daily fun and faces in the next months of my maternity leave!

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!