31 weeks, Baby shower and Mother's day...

I must preface this entry by saying that I'm sorry that the dates don't seem to match up in some places. I started an entry Sunday night, but didn't publish it. I wrote the bulk of it on Monday, but it published with Sunday's date since that's when it was started. I tried to fix it but only made things worse. Meh.

I can't even begin to describe how lucky I feel to have so many wonderful friends and family surrounding me in everything that I do. The lovely ladies in my life (including my sister, my mom, my step mom and her mom) and my dad... I can't leave him out... all worked so hard to throw Shaun and I a really beautiful baby shower this weekend. It was a gorgeous day and I had so many wonderful people to share it with. Thanks to everyone who joined us and for all the thoughtful gifts for our sweet angel. We now have the travel system we need to take Kayla visiting, her bouncer to keep her occupied when we need both hands for a second (when paired with the swaddler this comes with it actually looks quite cozy, although I've taken to referring to it as the "baby prison"), her bumbo seat to help her sit up, the boppy pillow for those late night feedings and MANY other wonderful and helpful things that I can't wait to use. I am feeling a little less anxious about being ready to bring her home. My hospital bag may not be packed yet, but the car seat bases are installed and aligned in both cars. Now to spend time strapping a stuffed animal into the seat so we're sure we can manage that. I swear you need an engineering degree to properly operate some of these items!

Here are a few pictures from the event (thanks Jenelle!):

(I am not in pain - I am astounded... my grandmother made this amazing quilt for Kayla. The amount of love for this little girl is just incredible.)

The absolutely delicious cake. I am so looking forward to another piece of this when I get home from my appointment tonight.

PS - I am working diligently to update the Photobucket account with pictures from the shower and the newly organized nursery as I get them from our friends and family/actually get organized. Check back often to see what appears!

We had a nice mother's day, even though we gave our moms their gifts at the shower. Gabriel, Beamer, Tinsel and Kayla (AKA Shaun) got me a really sweet card and another Willow Tree figurine. This time it was Angel of Mine. We spent the morning sorting, unboxing, assembling, washing and organizing all the shower gifts. Once that was done, we went out for lunch and then to WalMart to pick up some more of the basic items I was itching to buy. We got some newborn size onesies for her, some plain white onesies in 0 - 3 and 3 - 6 month sizes, some socks, bibs and burp cloths. I now feel like we're a lot more prepared. We still need a few things, but we're getting there. I'm really looking forward to our trip to Babies R Us next weekend before our birthing class.

I have an appointment with a CNS tomorrow, so I think that will be just an informational/sit and chat kind of appointment; it may or may not be update worthy. I need to take my birth plan and my FMLA paperwork with me so I can figure out what I'm doing in those areas. Perhaps they'll be able to squeeze me in with a midwife for a quick heartbeat/measurement check. I am pretty sure all is well, but I've been extra vigilant since Kayla had a quiet night last Thursday. I don't need any more of those thank you very much. I'm already in total "Mom mode" worrying myself half sick about her all the time.

In any case, things are really starting to get exciting now... we have our birthing class next Saturday and Sunday, then it's Memorial Day weekend already. Under 9 weeks to go now - 2 months till my due date!

31W 1D