She Works Hard for the Money

Again, feeling blessed to have such amazing people in our lives. It doesn't matter which aspect of our lives you look at: family, friends, co-workers......

The hostess with the mostess.....Shauna (not pictured, Missy)

 Below are some of the great co-workers that showered Baby Marlowe and myself. 

 

I was thoroughly overwhelmed with the thoughtfulness and support from my work family. They have given me wonderful advice and provided me with fun stories of their own children. I am excited to have some of my own to share!

Look at all the goodies

Some great reads to get our nightly bedtime stories started

Comfies for Baby Marlowe....with some words of encouragement for myself (may be needed in the next few weeks)

Cute cocoon swaddle blanket knitted from Robin-she is also giving me lessons so that I can learn

Baby Marlowe has all the gear he/she needs to cheer on the Cyclones!

We continue to be showered with love along our journey to parenthood, stay tuned as we continue to prepare as much as we can.............

Enjoying the Experience

As we all love to see ourselves grow bigger, really not so much....pregnancy is a unique time to embrace it. I have always looked forward to the time of having children, but even with all the experience with children and seeing so many family & friends going through it I wasn't quite sure how I would feel or handle it. 

As we gear up for the last 8 weeks, I felt that it was a great time to reflect on this experience and share my ever-growing baby belly. 

Felt really tired, didn't really feel like eating, still in shock that we will be having our own little one

Still really tired, looking forward to sharing our news with our friends & family, we got to see our first ultrasound

Excited to have been able to share our exciting news....it started feeling more real, between this milestone & before the next I started feeling flutters created by Baby M

Month 4: Baby M- we had a mover, liked to push his/her legs

The growth of the baby bump really started right around this time. Not looking just like I was gaining weight, but that there is a baby in there! Blake was able to feel Baby M move.

Month 6: photos of our growing family

Month 7: so grateful that this pregnancy has gone so well, decided to stop wearing my wedding ring so that it wouldn't get stuck-when I get hot my fingers well

Month 8: starting to feel the pressure. There are times that I feel that I need to slow down-muscle cramping when I'm pushing myself, noticing that I am getting out of breath, but making sure that I am resting. We also went to our first baby/childbirth class.

It is difficult to sum up all the emotions and experiences that come with pregnancy. No words will do it justice. As I've heard, everyone's pregnancy is their own. Mine has been a wonderful time-nothing to complain about-even as sleeping throughout the nigh is no longer an option. My thoughts on pregnancy is, it has been one of the most amazing and strangest experiences that I have been through in life. I am so grateful that I have a supportive husband, family, friends, and work community to share it. I am just trying to take it all in and enjoy. 

Stay tuned for the count down.....8 weeks to go!

In the works

Blake has been hard at work preparing the nursery.....painting, assembling furniture, adding special touches to add a little something. 

 Blake working hard on adding the border. He & my dad painted the room together.

The border, we may add another thin piece above

I love the big bay window

He deserves a BIG thanks

I can see my vision coming to life, Baby M will have a wonderful nursery upon arrival. 

I will post finished pictures as it comes together, stay tuned....

Sushi Surprise

Today we had a doctor appointment....it was a BIG one, getting ready to enter my 28th week-which means 3rd trimester! There was the glucose screening (passed), rhogam shot, and the last of my monthly visits-now we move onto every 2 weeks! The rhogam shot is something extra I get because I am RH negative-meaning that I don't carry the RH protein on my cells. Technically it won't affect this pregnancy, it is more of a precaution to help in future pregnancies so my body does't attack an RH positive baby.

The drink....it actually didn't taste too bad-like orange soda, if I liked pop I don't think I would've minded at all

More 6 month pictures, thanks to our great photographer (my sister)

Blake was a  good sport, he dislikes having his picture taken-but knew that I really wanted some & that it would be nice to share with Baby M.

On to the surprise!

 I work with some wonderful people and have made some great friends over the years at Madison. Well, some of these wonderful people surprised me tonight at our monthly (we try) sushi dinner date. They brought Baby M some goodies to support the cyclones! No matter how the teams will be, Baby will look good:) My sushi order has had to change quite a bit over the last few months, but I'm glad that I am able to still come along and get a lil taste-the cucumber roll & shrimp tempura curb my cravings for my favorite sake bomb and naked rolls they serve at Taki.

 Stay tuned....as more surprises are sure to come!

Friends are family

Baby M and I were honored by a wonderful shower at Bravo with many friends....I am very lucky to have friends from all parts of my life coming together to share in this happy adventure. 

These ladies are amazing hostesses....

My sister and mom

 Homemade from Amy :)

The game master...
we played the price is right and match the celebrity baby with the dad. 

Most of the guests, a few had to sneak out early

There were games, delicious treats, and many goodies for Baby M. A huge thank you to the ladies that put this together and those that were able to make it in person, and those that sent items to shower Baby M. 

Stay tuned...more to come as the end of this week we enter trimester 3!

Party on.......

The festivities continue.....this time, my sister put together an amazing family shower for Baby M. Most of my aunts were able to attend as well as a few close family friends. Unfortunately because Blake's family live so far away they were not able to attend. However, they did surprise us by sending some special and generous gifts. 

Blake's mom, Karen, is very crafty and has knitted some things for Baby M. I love having these home-made items and look forward to snuggling him/her with them. 

My sister really made the shower special....adding touches that she knew I would appreciate. 

The yummy lemon raspberry cupcakes!

Centerpiece of Blake and I as babies, if you look closely some of them are hard to tell which one is who. Baby M will have some big ears to grow into!

 

My Aunt Nicki added some special touches as well.....these adorable elephant cookies were delicious and adorable.