5 weeks to go...

We are getting closer! Almost 2 weeks ago we had our last appointment and our little boy is doing well. We had yet another ultrasound to make sure that my size was not due to a overly large baby and 2 of the pictures are posted...the pictures seem to be getting less and less clear, so we are just posting the best of the group. He is measuring in the 50th percentile and I am still measuring large because of extra fluid. According to all of my classroom parents, my belly has dropped significantly over the past week and they all laugh when I say that I am planning on being around until Thanksgiving. :) I have noticed that my belly has dropped, more because I have several maternity shirts that are no longer long enough to cover the entire belly. Today's highlight was Jared being able to hear the baby's heartbeat by just placing his ear to my belly (thankfully he didn't get kicked in the process).



The apartment is looking more and more like a home of a family of three. Thanks to mom and dad Nies, there is a baby swing, ready for a passenger, in the living room. There are blankets from family and friends stacked here and there. The car seat has been installed in the car and the baby dresser is clothed in a changing pad and a basket of supplies. Everything has also been through the laundry and is folded. Yes, I still have some deep cleaning to do, our laundry is sitting in baskets, and I have dreams of baking and cooking over the weekend and preparing meals in advanced, but I think that if he decides to come early, we are ready, I just need to get our hospital bag packed. Thank you for all of your prayers and kind thoughts so far through this pregnancy, please continue to think about and pray for our child as he finishes the first stage of his life!

Hopefully the next update will come sooner than later...we have our next appointment on Wednesday and they now are going to come every week! :)

Weekend Project

Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of things that I need to get done (like mop the kitchen floor), but for a couple of blissful hours on Saturday afternoon, I got to pull out my sewing machine and play with a new pattern. One of my mom's friends mentioned that she had a pattern for a boppy cover and would be willing to lend it to me. I was so excited! After looking at the pattern, I figured out that I could use some of the receiving blankets that I have gotten at showers already for the fabric. (We have gotten 20 so far, so I figured that I could spare a couple for a baby project) Unfortunately, the regular size receiving blankets are too small by about two inches (although my cover is a little big, so I still may be able to do it), but I had a set of four, Noah's ark blankets that were just perfect. I am so happy with how the first one came out!



I have never done piping before, but was surprised on how easy it was, although the inside curves were challenging. I didn't even use a zipper foot, because I don't have one, but was still able to sew right along my hemline. Hopefully I didn't mess up the alignment of my sewing machine in the process. :)



I have the second one cut and ready to go, piping pinned onto the front of the top piece, but I broke my last sewing machine needle on the very last stitch of the first cover, so it will have to wait the week until I have a chance to go and buy another pack of needles and maybe a zipper foot too.

I feel as I should give an update on Jared...he is somewhere amongst his books. He spent the entire weekend studying, with a break for a quick picnic in the park with wonderful friends, and is still studying as I am writing. He really enjoys it though, so don't think that he is being tortured. :)

an apple a day keeps the doctor away?

The past two weeks or so have really brought on the onset of fall here in St. Louis, or at least the last of the 90 degree days (I hope!). Jared and I celebrated two weekends ago by going to the apple orchard and picking almost 40 pounds of delicious apples. So far, we have been eating them and making applesauce, apple crisp, and pork-chops-with-apples-and-onions. I think a pie may be looming in the weekend plans...





I had my latest doctor's appointment yesterday and everything seems to be going well. I am continuing to measure large, so in 2 weeks, at my next appointment, I will have another ultrasound. I am starting to wonder how large I will end up being in the 8 weeks I have left...hopefully not too much larger, because my belly is starting to outgrow some of my maternity clothing. I am also having to prop myself in odd ways to sleep comfortably and bending over is going to be soon a thing of the past. But other than sore feet and some extra tiredness, I am feeling great and blessed to have minor discomforts in the big picture. The baby stuff is starting to cycle through the wash and the car seat has been pulled out of the basement storage so I can clean it up. I started knitting another hat after the one I made this summer was way to large, but I haven't been able to really work on it. I am hoping that after our 1st quarter report cards go out in just over a week, I will be able to work on it again and maybe get a matching sweater done as well.