booties project.

well, i messed up the ones i was making with the leftover crib skirt fabric, but the mess up afforded me the chance to learn how to sew with a pattern and understand what the directions meant.  soooo, i sewed another pair for my friend a's new baby girl cameron.  here are some pics.  the pattern is adorable and the booties don't take that long at all, so i am thinking this may be one of my new go-to baby gifts....

post-edit: the pattern is from amy butler's little stitches for little ones book.  my friend amy got it for me for my baby shower (i think there's a pic of the book in some of the baby shower pics), and it really has the cutest projects you've ever seen.  the crib skirt is from there too....

39 weeks. tick. tock.

seven days left, according to the fake math of babies and gestational periods.  i am not convinced this is all going to go down in the next seven days.  hopeful, but not convinced.  it seems the statistics are stacked against me, what with 50% of births happening after the due date.

anyway...not much else to report, other than there is no report right now.  i am trying to stay sort of busy while also getting rest and sleep.  today is my last day in the office, which is awesome.  i'll likely work from home over the next week or however long it takes for nibs to make an appearance.  jb and i are going to do some stuff around the house and the town - try to take advantage of our last few nights as an unhampered couple.  we're in really great spirits, just ready for some action (and overwhelmingly curious).

we're not planning to dress up or go anywhere for halloween (no need since i'm already a pumpkin), but i am sure we'll whip up some costumes for the pets if the spirit moves us.  pics to follow if there's anything good....

what the doc said (10 days left, arbitrarily).

in truth, not a whole lot.  it was a good appointment - the baby is head down, back towards my belly (mostly, though it rolls a bit from side to side).  heartbeat still in the 140s.  the doc said she estimates that nibs weighs about 7.5-7.75 pounds.  yowza!  so i think if i get to 40 or 41 weeks, we will probably be looking at an 8.5 pounder.  maybe a little bigger?  i think 8-8.5 sounds good....

anyway...she also said i should start re-training my brain to think of november 12 (41 weeks) as my due date because that way i won't be so discouraged if the 5th comes and goes with no event.  haha.  i wish they had told me that 2 months ago, because now that i'm in to days left, i don't think there's any way to NOT be at least a teensy bit disappointed if s/he is still in there as the due date comes and goes.

i didn't get checked for progress at the appointment yesterday.  my practice will check at 38 and a half weeks if i request it or am showing signs of eminent labor, but in general they will wait until my due date to do any internal exams.  the rationale for them is that it doesn't really help anything.  if they check and i'm making progress, i could still be 2 weeks away from going into labor, so it doesn't really help to know that and then have to keep waiting.  alternatively, they could check and i could be nowhere and i could still have a baby within 24 hours, so better to not disappoint me for no reason.  anyway...i am a little curious, but not so curious that i needed to be examined yesterday.  we have our 40 week appointment next wednesday, the third, and i will definitely want to know then.  if i haven't had a baby yet.  fingers crossed.

so that's it for today, i think.  i slept some last night and am trying to make myself take it easy more and more.  today is my last strenuous day of work and i'm hoping to do some working from home for parts of the rest of this week.

staying busy (kind of).

the full moon was ineffective.  but i am ok with that.  i think i am just going to focus on relaxing and knowing that nibs will be here sooner than i can imagine, and the longer s/he stays in there, the bigger and healthier s/he will be.  theoretically.  i am pretty sure i can maintain this attitude until my due date.  my friend a is now 8 days past her due date, so i am seeing first hand how arduous that can be, and just hoping nibs behaves and shows up at a reasonable time.  but really, whenever s/he's ready.  

this weekend, jb and i were both under the weather a little bit.  we woke up on friday with sore throats and congestion (jb blames the flu shot he got - his first ever - but i think he's full of it).  my co-workers threw a shower at work that was super sweet on friday afternoon, so when we got home we put the new stuff away and decided to just lay low.  i ordered take-out eggplant parmesan, having read that it's a helpful dish for moving things along.  apparently not the case for me at this juncture....

saturday we did a few things but didn't go buck wild as i don't have the energy right now to be too hyper-productive.  i did manage to sew a crib skirt for the nursery.  it was a project i sort of had on the back burner because i wasn't sure if i'd have time for an undertaking like that.  but i figured since i wasn't in labour, i might as well get something done.  i think it turned out pretty cute!  it matches the drapes and i think it's a nice color accent and "finishes" the look of the crib a little bit.  

the pattern came out of the amy butler sewing book amy gave me, and i'm using some of the leftover fabric to try my hand at a pair of booties.  i'll post a pic if they turn out ok...i made the first one inside out last night, so it's a little bit of a learning process (never really made anything from a pattern before).  

sunday we had some bbq at m&k's and watched the saints lose (booooo).  straightened up the house a little.  went to the dog park.  i am now working with about an hour or two of sleep and about to head to this week's dr's appt.  hopefully there will be something more exciting to report on soon....

38 weeks.

still here, still growing a human.  i know there is absolutely no reason to expect to have this baby any earlier than my due date, but man.  i am so ready.  my ankle swelling has gone down to almost nothing today (yay!), and my heartburn is back but not with the same vengeance as before, so i am still enjoying that.  i ridiculously expect to have some sort of premonition about when i'm going to go into labour, but i haven't had one yet and i know it's absurd to think i will.  i just don't like not being able to predict the future.  haha.  anyway...as i said to mom this morning, i am happy for nibs to stay in here as long as s/he needs to to be fully ready to make his/her way out.  i just hope the agenda is sooner rather than later.

jb got his flu and pertussis vaccines yesterday, and my parents are vaccinated as well, so we should be covered.  i started getting a sore throat yesterday (the first hint of any kind of illness my whole pregnancy), and jb is feeling under the weather today, too, so we will plan to take it easy and take care of ourselves this weekend.  there will be good football games and maybe some cleaning and yard work to distract us.

last night our friends j&k threw a little fall fest party.  it was super fun - everyone's kids loved being outside and the weather, though not as cold as i want it to be, was really nice.  jb and i have discovered a hidden talent for squash bowling.  we didn't win the entire tournament (long story involving sudden death), but we did post the highest score of the evening.

38 week appointment is on monday, so i'll update with any new news....

happy birthday mom! (and etta).

today is my mom's 60th birthday.  10/20/2010.  awesome day to be born, i think - all those even numbers!

today is also etta james' first birthday.  her maturity level is improving a little bit, i think, but we're hoping to see a lot of progress in the next year.  haha!

anyway...we've been kind of on-and-off celebrating mom's 60th year since the vegas trip in july, and i imagine we'll continue the celebration with the birth of grandchild numero uno (hopefully soon).

if you happen to see this and happen to see my mom at some point today, make sure to tell her happy birthday.  60 is the new 40, after all.

(one of my favorite pics of my mom and her pal miriam at our rehearsal dinner in 2007)

final details.

jb and i are continuing to wrap stuff up around here and it feels really awesome to be able to cross all this stuff off of our lists.  this week, we switched closets.  since we moved in, my closet has been in our room and jb's closet was the one in the office (now nursery).  our house is minuscule, as i think i've mentioned before, so we don't have big enough closets for us to share the one in our room.  anyway...i am now all moved in to the closet in the nursery and jb has the one in our room.  it was a huge help to organize and eliminate some clutter - full on nesting for both of us, i guess.  while everything was in disarray and being put back together, i dusted the ceilings and walls and door frames throughout the house.  we've also done piles of laundry and gone through mail and paperwork.  super fun.

in baby prep, we have also crossed a bunch off our list.  we installed the car seat, which was a hilarious affair.  i read directions and justin thought he knew how to install it without reading or listening to the directions.  we got attacked by mosquitoes and contemplated how it's possible to make a contraption so complicated.  we've decided apple should design a car seat.  i read that 85% of car seats are installed incorrectly, and after giving it a whirl i am in no way surprised (though i'm fairly confident that after some bouts of hysterical laughter we managed to do it right).

we also filled out our hospital paperwork, made a plaster cast of my belly, and took maternity portraits.  i know none of those (except the paperwork) are necessities, but they were fun and it was stuff i really wanted to have before the baby is born.  if you have never made a cast of your belly, i highly recommend it.  it's fun and messy and super crazy to see once you pull that thing off (again, i am pretty gigantor....).  

this afternoon, i finished sewing throw pillows out of the leftover fabric from the drapes.  i figured they will be nice for propping my feet and back up, and they'll be nice little accents for the glider.  speaking of which, i don't think i ever posted a picture of the glider, so here is that, as well as a close-up of my master work of throw pillows.  haha.  

anyway....even beyond all this list accomplishment, we've had a pretty great week and weekend.  for our anniversary, we took a cooking class at central market.  we got to learn how to make pasta from scratch, hands-on.  it was awesome.  we made goat cheese stuffed ravioli with smoked tomato cream sauce, chicken marsala over fettucine, and marscapone stuffef ravioli with powdered sugar and raspberry coulis.  we would like to be italian, i think.  

also, friday night was our friends' k&r's wedding.  it was a perfect night for an outdoor wedding and we had a blast.  i think it was the first time we've hung out with a large number of our friends all without their kiddos in probably forever, so everyone was in high spirits.  i was beyond exhausted by the end of the night, but it was worth it.  here's a pic of the happy couple and their adorable daughter morgan.  congrats!  

ready...set....

today is officially the full-term mark.  yahoo!  i feel very accomplished but also like the indeterminate amount of time before this monkey is born might be forever.

a few things i wanted to note, for posterity....

• my heartburn went away yesterday.  randomly.  i have had it every day that i can remember since 9 weeks, so this is pretty much the most amazing occurrence of pregnancy for me so far.  haha.  
• my belly button is still in.  like, pretty far in (tip of the finger).  i don't think it's going to pop out, which i find hilarious.  in the beginning, i thought the pop out was creepy and weird, now i feel like a mutant with this innie.  
• i still don't have stretch marks, which is a miracle unto itself.  i credit my cajun skin.  i also weigh the most i have ever weighed in my life.  yikes!  
• my belly's circumference is standing firm at 46 inches.  it's been that way for a few weeks now, even though i feel like i am bigger.  
• the dogs are very clingy now, even more so than they have been earlier in my pregnancy.  especially when we're out walking and other dogs are around - etta pretty much wedges herself between me and any other human/animal.  
• i am surprised by the amount i'm hoping the full moon sends me into labour.  i always thought people were over-dramatizing the situation when they seemed "so ready" at the end, but i am so unbelievably curious, i can't help myself.  

that's all for now, i think.  yay for the weekend!  

tres anos.

three years ago today, justin and i got married.  it was a really really fun day.  i can also honestly say that pretty much every day since then has been fun as well.  this is not to say that we've not had spats here and there, and random trials and tribulations.  of course we have.  but when i look at the whole of our marriage so far, the predominant reaction i have is to smile really big and giggle a little bit.  i hope i can continue to say that for many many more years.  i feel very lucky.

today we had our 37 week appointment and everything is still looking good, thankfully.  i have confirmed that i am having some contractions, which is exciting.  i didn't really think anything was happening, but jb felt my belly last night at one point and was like "dude i think that's a contraction".  we asked the midwife this morning, and she confirmed that that is, indeed, what a contraction feels like.  hilarious that my husband had to tell me....

heartbeat was in the 140s today, and the baby is still head down and cooperating, which is great news.  the midwife is predicting that it weighs about 6 or 6.5 pounds right now, and she's estimating 8-8.5 as the birth weight.  sounds great to me.  i also got a flu shot today, which i wasn't crazy about doing, but i think after weighing all the options it was the right decision.  i've definitely put on more weight than i had hoped, and the swelling has begun in my ankles (as of yesterday), but we are close to d-day, so there is no use crying over spilt milk, i suppose.  our stroller is purchased (thanks mom and dad!) and ready for me to start running again as soon as nibs and i are ready....

so that's it.  appointments are weekly now, so we see one of the OBs next tuesday.  the full moon is also next friday, the 22nd, so we'll see if all these old wives are on the money with that tale.  i would love love love to make it to next friday, and then this monkey can show up any time his/her heart desires....

new bed and wall decor.

a few weeks ago, etta went a little crazy for no particular reason and ate/shredded/destroyed the dog bed.  we have a crate that usually just hangs out with the door open that both dogs love, and then we had just a regular foam dog bed that they would alternate in and out of as well.  if you've read the art of racing in the rain (a super great book if you like dogs at all), you may remember the zebra scene.  i imagine this is exactly what happens to etta's brain in times where she's destroying something random: she is overcome by some sort of fever and forgets all rules and manners.  then she attacks whatever inanimate object is the source of her mania and destroys it.  frequently, this item is a pair of my flip flops (which i should obviously learn not to leave lying around), but on this occasion it was their bed.

so anyway.  dog beds are pricey.  you go to petco or one of those other dog stores and a dog bed for a biggish pup is at least $50.  this is when costco becomes the greatest place on earth.  we don't have a costco membership, because it's not effective to buy in bulk when your house is the size of a shoebox.  but, our friends w&d do, and they are awesome.  i had asked w if i could trek with her next time she went so i could pick up a dog bed to replace the destroyed one.  the big ones (with cedar in them to eliminate odors) over there are like $17!  it's incredible.  anyway.  she said sure, but then they were just over there one day and decided to pick it up for us and bring it by.  phenomenal.  and the dogs LOVE it.  it's much sturdier than the foam one, so i'm hoping etta doesn't eat it quite as quickly.  they both do this adorable dog thing where they burrow their little faces in it and root around and make cute dog noises.  it's pretty great.  they also both fit on it, and i managed to catch a picture of the two of them relaxing a couple of nights ago.  love this.

in other news, we have made tons of progress on the pre-baby lists.  we packed our hospital bag this weekend, took our last class (breastfeeding class - it was really good), and cleared out an area in the kitchen for bottles, etc.  with a small house, i am trying to make sure we have designated areas for niblet things so it's not completely overwhelming and taking over our space.  the glider came in a couple weeks ago (4 weeks early YAY!), so jb set that up too.  finally, last night we hung up the paintings my friend a did for us for my austin shower.  too cute, really.  i need to take some full pics of the completed nursery (i think we still need a rug, but that's really it), but here are a couple of the crib and the art.

 in case you can't read (the file size of these pics is pretty small), the paintings say: i sleep, i wake, i eat, i play, i love.  

i think we are going to opt out of bumpers for the crib for now, and i am going to try to pick out some fabric to sew the dust ruffle this weekend.  other than that, i am cautiously saying the room is ready to go....

this friday is 37 weeks, which some websites consider full-term (or at least, babies born at 37 weeks and beyond are not considered preemies).  i am psyched to have made it to this point, and getting very excited/anxious to meet this little creature.  we have an appointment tomorrow (and it's also our three year anniversary), so i will post an update and hopefully more pictures soon.  i also need to post about the austin shower, but i haven't gotten any of the pics yet, so i'll do that when i can provide visual aids...

full timing.

for the past year and a half (almost 2), i have been working part time.  kind of.  it has been a job-share situation - i have a "partner" that i divide some responsibilities with and she works every day but wednesday, and i work every day but friday.  it has been a really sweet gig in a lot of ways...i took the part time job because i wanted to get into marketing, and because i was in school and it was phenomenal to have fridays to get homework and house stuff done. it made a huge difference in my stress level and was an awesome arrangement in every way except salary, of course, which obviously suffered a little bit.  fortunately, jb was supportive and we were willing to scrimp a little for a couple of years, thinking that i'd coast right into some awesome, lucrative full-time arrangement upon graduation.

well, graduation came and went, and i was pregnant.  so, i submitted a proposal to my boss (in early may), and i asked to move to full time, but i also felt like i wasn't in a great position to barter with the powers that be at my current job, nor did i feel like i was in a position to look for a new job elsewhere (because you know how everyone is just dying to hire women in the middle of a pregnancy).  so, of course, this has been a source of great anxiety for me.  and jb, i think, but mostly me.  i had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that i wasn't going to be full time, i wasn't going to get to do the job i wanted to do, and even if i did get the move it either a) wouldn't happen until after maternity leave and/or b) would be for not as much money as i was really hoping for/needing.

BUT.  this week, my boss let me know that i'm full time NOW (she said it was up to me and i said now is always better than later).  and i also am in a comfortable place, salary-wise.  oh, and to top it all off, the focus of my role is much more where i was hoping it would be (content development, etc etc).

i cannot possibly begin to express the relief and excitement this news has brought with it.  i feel like i can now be pumped about having this little niblet in a way i was a little bit scared to be before (so many variables and uncertainties....).  of course i will miss my freedom fridays - it's been awesome to be able to play and go to lunch and do projects on fridays every week since school has been out - but i feel like i am back in the adult world that i have tried so hard to be a part of.  and i feel like i can look forward to the job i'll be coming back to after nibs is born.  yay for career satisfaction - so rewarding.

fruit bat.

when my parents were in town a week and a half ago for the austin baby shower, we were watching the pups play and my mom commented on the fact that etta is about 8 different kinds of mutt.  it's true - we really haven't been able to figure out what she is.  but i am pretty sure whatever it is, fruit bat is contained in there in some capacity.  like...really really cute fruit bat.

three years old.

this should have been posted last week, but i am woefully behind on pictures and posts and updates, so you'll have to forgive me....

despite the fact that it's somewhat ridiculous to celebrate pets' birthdays, i'm a big believer in it.  to me, pets (especially dogs) are an essential component in my happiness and fulfillment in life, so i like to celebrate the day they came to be part of the world.  even if that day is sometimes a little made-up because i wasn't actually there.  anyway.  ollie turned three on september 30.  i think that's like 19 or 21 in dog years, but he's super mature for his age.  we celebrated by giving him a rawhide (which etta promptly stole even though she had her own), taking them on 2 or 3 walks, and eating dinner outside where they could romp and have our company.  it was a good day, even by our dogs' standards (where every day is really a good day).  

my favorite thing about dogs is how every small thing is an utter delight to them.  when i get home from work, it's like there could be no greater or more phenomenal gift in the world than me showing up at the place where i live.  when we ask them if they want to go on a walk, you'd swear we were offering them millions of dollars as well as immortality.  i just love the joy they embody at all times and how little it takes to get them totally stoked about the smallest things.  

happy numero tres ollivander!