Flying By

My pregnancy seems to be flying by - I really hope the last four weeks continue on this same pace. I truly feel blessed to have had such a great pregnancy, but yesterday was tough. From the moment I woke up from when I went to bed last night I just didn't feel very good (I'm thinking it was something I ate), but today is a new day and I woke up feeling like things were back to normal - thank goodness because we have a full/fun weekend ahead of us...Sounders game, dinner with friends, concert and photoshoots.

How on earth am I one month away (or less!) from becoming a mamma? I'm excited (can't wait to meet my boy and to see Steve as a dad), nervous (really hoping I don't give birth in the car like my friend Nadine) and emotional. My hope is that Steve and I are able to give our son the world and pray that we will exceed the expectations as parents that we currently have for ourselves.

Me And My Boy...Showered By My Girls

Saturday was my baby shower with my girlfriends and it could not have been more perfect. Since my fabulous hostesses were both from out of town (Megs and Cabe - I can't thank you enough!! Love you two!), I offered up my house as the location, which worked out great. It forced Steve and I to do some major spring cleaning and to finish up he nursery (more on that soon). The weather was ideal, the food was excellent and the friends that were able to make it made my day perfect. As I've said many times before, I feel like the luckiest gal in the world to call these girls my dear friends. Raleigh is going to be one fortunate little guy to call all of you his aunties. Thank you all for making the trek south and spending a couple of hours with me - it means the world to me! And an extra special thanks to the friends that flew in, drove long distances and took the train to come out and celebrate with us!

All of the friends!






JOAT's red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting - Delish!

All of the pregnant Mama's! (L to R) Becki (girl), Max (twin boys), Me (boy), Megan (boy), Steph (boy), Rauh (boy), Lynne (finds out tomorrow!!), Delane (doesn't know yet), Katy (doesn't know yet).

Opening Stacie's package - mailed from Boston with 80 - $0.23 stamps




The soon-to-be Grandma's

Showered with Love

Two weekends ago my aunt Kathleen and one of my mom's closest friends, Sheila, hosted a baby shower for Raleigh and I at my aunt's house with all of my aunts and my mom's girlfriends. There were about 18 women that attended and absolutely spoiled my baby boy and I with so much love and fabulous gifts. I've always told my parents how fortunate my sister and I are that we were raised among their incredible group of friends, but it's times like this when everyone comes together that you truly see how special of a bond this relationship is - thank you to everyone that was able to attend!

This past weekend was my shower with twenty of my mother-in-laws friends and Steve's aunts, hosted by the fabulous Alison and Carol Becker, but unfortunately I don't think any photos were taken. Just as my sister and I have been so fortunate being raised around such a wonderful "village" of our parents friends, Steve and his brother Scott have had the exact same relationship with their parents friends. The similarities between my parents friends and Mike & Mo's friends is pretty remarkable. My cup (and Raleigh's) overfloweth. Thank you for already spoiling my boy with love.

The Best is Yet to Come

Happy Two Year Anniversary to the man that has made me a better woman. Two years ago today, I married my airport love, my sailor, my younger man, in the most beautiful atmosphere among our nearest and dearest family and friends.

Steve - I love with you all of my heart. I will say "I Do" to you one hundred times over today, tomorrow and forever. Thank you for continuing to fulfill every expectation that I have for you as the man of my dreams.

I Love You
Today I get to celebrate our two years of marriage AND the upcoming arrival of our baby boy at my first baby shower. No wonder I had a tough time sleeping last night, today is going to be a fabulous day!

In Awe and Deeply In Love...

With pregnancy and everything that comes along with it. How on EARTH does a 3 lb. 15 inch boy (according to BabyCenter) currently reside in my belly? Everyday he moves, making himself just a bit more comfortable, but I just don't get it - science in general amazes me, but the fact that there is a life inside of me amazes me even more. I could go on and on about the questions and thoughts that race through my mind about my boy on a daily (and middle of the night) basis, but I won't bore you with those details.

Here I am this morning at 30 Weeks (in the nursery)...ummmm...most women give birth around 40 weeks...errrrrr...that's TEN.WEEKS.AWAY people! Chances are, that in less than TEN WEEKS, I will be a mamma and Steve will not only be my husband, but a father and also my baby daddy...awww that has such a sweet sound to it, right? This week, we've been anxiously working away on the nursery and furniture - we're loving the results so far and can't wait for the project to be finished.

What's in a Name?

For Steve and I, we knew years ago that we'd be naming our first boy after his paternal Grandfather who was a World War II veteran and a member of the famous Black Sheep Squadron - his name was Roland "Rollie" Rinabarger. Unfortunately, I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but fell in love with the idea of naming our son after him.  So, since the day we found out we were having a boy, we've referred to him by his name and every time I hear Steve say it, I get a smile on my face. We've altered the spelling a bit, but the full name of our son is...

Raleigh John Rinabarger

I took this photo when we spent the weekend out at Seabrook, two weeks ago, for my mother-in-laws birthday. I hadn't been to the WA coast in years and despite the rain absolutely loved it.  This "new" town is adorable!  Can't wait to go back when it's sunny out.

As you can tell, I'm a bit behind in blogging as our office is in the process of being transformed into the nursery (more to come on that) and our guest room, living room and dining room have now become our temporary storage.  All in all, Life is good and I'm counting down the days until I get to meet my baby boy.

Sleeping Through the Night

Because of my beloved Snoogle

Seriously...if you are an expectant mom and experiencing any sort of sleep deprivation, buy this pillow - it's a dream come true (pun intended). It's so dreamy, that it may become a permanent fixture (or blockade as Steve likes to refer to it) in our bed. I bought mine at Babies R Us, but you can also order online. Speaking of Babies R Us, we had to get some registering done and went last night at 9pm (after stopping and buying our rocker/recliner - woohoo!) and it was perfect...we were pretty much the only people in the store - made things very easy. Made me realize (once again) how lucky I am to have such an easy going husband - his only request was for a bag of microwave popcorn waiting in the car for the 15 minute drive.

Now I'm curious...in a few months when my sweet boy wakes me up in the middle of the night, will the Snoogle get me back to sleep? I sure hope so!

* A huge thank you to my mamma friend Courtney for the advice on this gem.

"Ohhhhh We're Halfway There..."

Woah Livin' on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it - I swear
Woah Livin' on a prayer- The sweet words of Bon Jovi 

Today marks the official halfway point (20 weeks) of Baby Rinabarger's life in utero. So, in honor of his tiny little body and this milestone, I figured I'd post a photo of my progress. As I've said to many that ask, there isn't much to see, but here you go. Please forgive the cell phone photo quality - I was going to have Steve take a photo, but he left before I was ready this morning. As I'm typing, he's quite active right now - probably curious as to when he'll be fed lunch.

In other news, I'm proudly sporting my Cougar shirt today amongst a large group of huskies and hoping that every bit of Courgar pride, I can contribute, will help them pull out an upset victory tomorrow in Pullman.

It's a...

From the very beginning, we had a strong suspicion that the bean in my belly was a boy {good parental instincts, I guess} and today those predictions were confirmed! Come April, he'll be making his debut and we could not be more excited. After taking measurements, multiple times, and looking at measurments from previous appointments, my due date is officially confirmed for April 21.(and has not changed once).  Baby Boy Rinabarger appears to be growing strong and in excellent health - two statements from the technician today that gave us an overwhelming sense of happiness.

People keep telling me "let the shopping begin" but little do they know that the shopping began about 4 years ago when my obsession with childrens clothing (and just about anything involving babies) truly took off...it's a serious condition, that I will gladly take to a new level with my boy.  I think it's time to invest in a larger "bin" for all of my finds.

* and then there were three *

After months of keeping the biggest secret of our lives, mostly private, we've decided it's time to share...

We're Having a Baby!

And feel completely overjoyed about this next adventure of our lives. When I think back to the day I took the pregnancy test and we saw the word 'Pregnant,' I immediately began to think about how our world was only going to improve from here on out. The two of us cherish and love our time together and now eagerly await for the day {sometime in mid April} that we can share our love with our baby.

I've dreamed about becoming a mom for most of my adult life and since falling in love with Steve, I have dreamed about having children with him. It's simple...I LOVE children...my friends children, my cousins children, strangers children, I love them all. And now looking at the ultrasounds and seeing this tiny little RinaCoffeybean growing inside of me, I get a smile on my face at the thought of loving my own as much as I love all of these other children.

* The fortune on the ultrasound was one that Steve brought home from dinner, two months before we got pregnant. I kept it...in hopes that out of all the fortunes in the world of promising wealth and luck, that this one fortune (in the way we had deciphered the meaning) would come true for us...and it did.