Water for Elephants

If you read that blog title a little too quickly like my dear friend Steph did, you may have thought my water broke...nope...not yet. Since my water is still in tact, we went and saw Water for Elephants last night and LOVED it! I considered leaving the theater a few times due to being extremely uncomfortable, but then was able to relax a bit after stretching out across three seats and leaning against Steve. Reese is stunning and Robert is much more handsome and grown up from the Twilight saga and both did a wonderful job. If you've read the book, like I have, you'll definitely see the parallels, but there are some differences as well.

As most pregnant women know, you get a weekly email update throughout your pregnancy on the growth of your unborn child. Well, today I received an email titled "Your Baby: 1 Week" which went on to congratulate me on the "big thrills" that I've been experiencing this past week...hmmmmmm...the only thrills I've received in the past week are some extra sharp jabs to my sides. My boy is officially 5 days late, BUT the end is near and Mr. Raleigh will be arriving on Thursday. Until then, I'm staying busy at work and running errands.

A huge THANK YOU to our friends and family for the emails, texts, Facebook messages, comments - we love hearing from you all and will keep you posted on our sons arrival.

A Little Bit of Sun...

Made the people of Seattle VERY happy yesterday

I swear the sun comes out (for the first day in 2011) and people come out of hibernation and decide it's time for shorts, tanks and flip flops - not sure if that attire is necessar in 65 degree temps, but whatever makes you happy. Along with the sun, comes a lot of happy people with smiles on their faces. The sun in Seattle just has a way with the locals unlike any other city...maybe you'd have to be a local to completely understand it, but it's a great feeling. I hoped the sun might entice my son to join us, but that was not the case - he's still enjoying his carefree life nuzzled directly under my rib cage and has given me zero direction as to when he'd like to join us.

The weather made for the perfect day to have a bridal shower with friends to celebrate our dear friend Diggy's wedding. Congratulations Diggy and Ryan! We can't wait to celebrate with you at Aldberbrook in July!

Here are a few things I've had on my mind lately...usually around 4am after I've struggled to get out of bed for the 3rd time of the night to go to the bathroom and have the toughest time getting back to sleep:

• My love affair with ice cream MUST come to an end sometime in the the next week.
• In the last month I've become HOOKED on shows about jail..Lockup Raw being my favorite...yes, I'm weird.
• Less than a week from now, I will be a mama.
• I want Tina Fey to be my celebrity best friend. I bought her new book Bossypants yesterday at Costco (BTW - excellent prices on books, but you probably already knew that) and am already halfway finished - she is one amazing writer and woman.
• Our yard is in complete shambles. Steve decided a week ago that our lawn wasn't quite up to par. Therefore, every night after work this week and most of the weekend has been spent on the tractor, tilling, laying a "miracle fertilizer", planting new grass seed and working on the garden...he loves this kind of stuff and I feel like I'm married to a farmer.
• I've always liked a clean house, but this "baby nesting" phase has taken my cleanliness to a whole new level. I clean and do laundry every.single.day thinking that that day or the next just might be the day my baby arrives...this has been going on for a month now.

Happy "Due Date" RJR!

Well, the day has arrived, and from the results of my doctors appointment this morning (1cm dilated and 20% effaced), it doesn't sound like our boy will be making his debut today. I'm assuming he's just be a bit too comfortable, which is not comfortble for his mama and is making his parents more anxious than ever. If nothing happens this weekend, I have an appointment scheduled for Monday morning and my doctor will induce next Thursday.

In honor and celebration of this day that we've been counting down for over nine months now, I made cupcakes to share with my co-workers. They all think I've completely lost my mind and don't understand what I'm still doing at work, but to be honest, I'd rather stay busy than sit around the house. I mean I can only rearrange the nursery, do laundry, vacuum and clean so many times a day.

Happy Due Date Raleigh! Your Grandparents would love for you to arrive before Easter so you can celebrate with us, but we're fine with you staying put for as long as you feel necessary.

Steve and I haven't had a photo together in months so we took one this morning before we left the house...maybe not the best idea...this photo is deceiving...we look miserable and appear to be half awake, but I promise we are the most excited we've ever been in our lives.

39 Weeks ~

Here I am this morning before work. Maybe this is my last day of work for a few months, maybe not? Unless my boy decides to join us this weekend, I'll be back on Monday. Also, I've let Raleigh know that I have a birthday party to attend for my dear friend Jamie this weekend so we'll see if he holds off long enough for us to celebrate JOAT and go to the Leary Traveler one last time.

The Nashelle necklace I've been been wearing for the past few weeks (the one in this photo) was a gift from my lovely Megs. She's had the same necklace with Miles and Ava's names and birthstones on it for a while now and I've always told her how much I love it so she bought one for me! Have I ever mentioned that I have the best girlfriends in the world?

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Waiting Game...

To pass the time during these final week(s) I'm staing busy and doing a bit of the following...working, going to lunch and dinner with girlfriends, shopping, cleaning and enjoying every moment with Steve as just the two of us. Everyday we find ourselves talking about the changes that are about to happen in our lives and I don't think we'll truly know how to process/embrace these changes until we're faced with them. The main thing we talk about is how we will soon be 100% responsible for another human life - we're both very independent so it's a lot to take in, but we're ready. The question now - is Raleigh ready? I had my weekly appointment this morning and he's apparently a bit too comfortable and not ready for this crazy world...yet. My next appointment is on my due date - April 21, exactly 40 weeks so we'll just wait and see what happens. My guess is that he'll arrive on April 23.

We're sort of dying to know what he's going to look like so we've gone through our old baby albums and pulled out a few photos of us as kids. As with all parents we hope he's healthy, but I also hope he's as handsome as his dad.

Full Term?!?!

As of today, I'm 37 weeks pregnant...say what?? In the pregnancy world 37 weeks equals FULL TERM - wowza!

My doctor at my appointment yesterday: "So, you realize that your baby boy could potentially be arriving any day now, right?"

Me: "Ahhhhhh...Seriously?"

The thought that my boy could be arriving at any moment is a bit perplexing. I feel like we're ready, but at he same time I'm not 100% sure we're ready. Good thing we're spending TEN HOURS at the hospital this weekend attending our birthing class...I really hope we leave on Saturday afternoon chock-full of knowledge otherwise we may not be going back on Sunday...

I have zero desire to take time off before Raleigh's arrival so my plan is to work until I can't work anymore, BUT if someone offered me a trip to Palm Springs, I wouldn't refuse...if the travel were approved. The rain outside is driving me nuts and the thought of the summer sun rarely leaves my thoughts these days. My parents are going to Maui on Monday for 6 days and I wish so badly that I could join them...however, I'm not too keen on the thought of delivering in a Hawaiian hospital...no offense Hawaii.