39 Weeks

Friday marked 39 weeks. May 1 is this week, the due date is upon us! I realize it can be any day now but I have been telling myself to hold tight, there is a good chance this little one will want to show up late. I am excited to meet this little one that has been enjoying my abdomen as home for so long now. I will also be grateful for fully expandable lungs. It's hard to wrap your mind and heart around the transition that is about to happen. So many changes, so much to learn, and yet so exciting (and scary)!

39.2 weeks

This weekend has been cooler and rainy. We need this kind of weather more often. It's just been so warm and dry for months now. April has proven more wintery than February. I had to break out tights, boots, and scarves for church this morning again. I wish it would stay cooler, my maternity wardrobe is quite limited and is mostly geared towards cool days.

Friday was my last pre-baby shift at work. Granted, we haven't worked out all the post-baby work stuff yet. We'll see how that plays out. But as for now, I am on leave. I have to say that I am glad to have a break but I also felt a little sad. I enjoy most of nursing, it can be quite rewarding. Also, I enjoy having some sort of useful skill to society, even if it's not the most extreme nursing job. I think I always want to be doing a little bit of nursing work as long as I can still make family and child raising a priority.

she is our only baby right now, but that is about to change.

We got a few things finished around the house this weekend. We did our usual things as well, like a long walk for Ingrid, laundry, and a slow Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon we went to Les Madeleines, a bakery and cafe sort of place. We enjoyed some special coffees and baked goods.

of course a food picture. city hall in view.

We sat outside and chatted. The weather is identical to the weather most of our time in Germany and Austria. The city hall in downtown SLC seemed very European at the moment. While sipping on a nice (decaf) latte, we reminiscenced over our trip. Everything about that moment but the busy road brought us back to that trip. We definitely desire to keep having adventures of all kinds. We also want to be very purposeful with our lives and where we currently live. There is a fine, delicate balance to that sort of life.  We don't ever want to squander time because we are so busy trying to find and do the next best thing. While we are open to all sorts of things but right now, maybe having a baby is just a fine thing to focus on.

38 weeks

38 Weeks.

Well, we made it to 38 weeks. Two weeks to the official due date but I won't be sad to have an April baby instead of May. It's been a good week with crazy weather. On Tuesday, we had a massive wind storm that blew dust and dirt all over the valley. It was about 75 degrees at lunch time. Then later it started raining, essentially mud falling from the sky. By dinner time it was snowing. Wednesday it snowed all day long. I assume our biggest snow storm for the season, a very pathetic winter. Now it's all melted again and we will be back in the high 60s this weekend.  But enough about the weather.

So, yeah, 38 weeks! At the beginning, this time seemed forever away.  But here we are! We installed the base of the car seat last weekend in my car. We also cleaned out vacuumed, and washed my car. This I do about twice a year. So baby will have a nicer car ride home. The nursery is basically finished even though baby will sleep in our room for some time while feedings are more frequent. Our last childbirth education class was this past Wednesday night, now we know EVERYTHING about babies and birthing babies. Not really, but it was helpful. My work and Davis' work have each provided a lunch celebration for baby Ware. Ingrid gets told regularly that she has to get ready to be the big fur sister soon. She doesn't get it but that is no surprise. I am sure their relationship will really take off when we come to the "drop the food on the floor/food in all the baby rolls" phase. It's started to sink in a little more of the beautiful, immense responsibility God has given us with this life. We really have no idea what will happen in our lives or in our child's life, but there is a peace that transcends my fears when I remember God is sovereign. We don't even know if we are having a boy or girl yet. There is still a ton of stuff on our registry I feel like we "need". I've never been a parent before. We've never had to the multitude of new tasks that come with being parents. There is just so much but God is present and will provide moment by moment all our needs. And I am really having to ask God to help me believe this is true.

We terrified but over joyed at all the things coming up with having a baby. I do know there will be times we are overwhelmed, doubtful, fearful, and despairing. I read the other day the best way to remember and lean on God's sovereignty is to be thankful in all things. I've been trying to lately catch myself in mid-grumble and try to give thanks instead. Also, we are totally open to all the free parenting advice available. :)

So, what do y'all think? Boy? Girl? Early? Late? Chunky? Lean? Let me know!

35 Weeks

We rang in 34 weeks by spending a lovely weekend with some of our dearest friends from our days in Fort Collins. Since those days, we've all live in separate cities but our friendships remain strong. We had a low key visit, spending most of our time eating, talking, and enjoying precious time together. Davis and I took them to some of the best food spots we know, parks, our church, and the Museum of Natural History. Also, I put on my best effort to convince both families to move to Salt Lake City :) All of us are southern transplants out west, so maybe we will all one day end up back in the south together sometime? The visit was refreshing to me. So sweet to have friends in your home. I definitely slacked off on picture taking, so here are the blogs of Lauren and Libby since I don't really have pictures to share.

Here are the two pictures I have from the weekend :)

Viola and Ingrid

Post Vietnamese dinner park time

So fast forward through another week. As of today we 35 weeks plus a couple days. I feel like the baby has really grown a lot as of late. Or maybe I am just really starting to feel big and uncomfortable. I still get a lot of comments of how "small" I look. I certainly don't feel it. However, I think my longer than average torso has helped me look "smaller". I can tell my lungs can't expand as they used to and my bladder becomes more full at an increased rate. The worst part is trying to sleep with limited positioning. Left side to right side and back and forth all night as my hips alternate getting num. I also have been having more mid-back pain. It's my usual trouble spot from poor posture and nursing work but it's worse and has made sleeping more challenging now. As much as I've grown in the past month, I can't imagine what another month will do for baby and me.

35 weeks, scrub pants for a post work picture
(It's pretty obvious I am not great at this selfie thing)

 We slowly continue to become a little more ready every week. The nursery is mostly ready. I might do a little more decor with some fabric I've had for years. Most of the new items are from Ikea but the rest of the decor I've re-homed from other parts of the house or storage. It's definitely a sort of homely eclectic look, similar to the rest of our house.

Thanks to Davis, we have a few shelves over the changing table (or dresser)

good old safety belt on the changing pad

the start of our book collection, probably the
one "toy" I'm excited to have around

post cards from Albrecht Durer Museum
in Nuremburg Germany have become decor

A few essentials: crib and car seat with
the homemade quilt from Libby.
THANK YOU, LIBBY!

We've gotten names mostly narrowed down. We haven't talked about it with many people yet and I am not going to share any of the final choices on here. Plus, we still don't know the gender and therefore won't settle on a name for a long time. That will just have to wait. I am started to get more anxious about the whole "parenting" thing. Mostly it is trying to imagine myself in this new role with a child I haven't gotten to know yet. Sure, I feel the wiggles and all that but to see him or her grow up with all the strengths and weaknesses, is a whole other thing. When I start feeling worried or anxious, I try to remember to ask God for peace for this moment and to take one day at a time. It is still fairly surreal a baby will be ours and our responsibility soon!

33 weeks

March is nearly halfway over now. It's a bit crazy that today this little one is 33 weeks. Even as the day approaches swiftly, I am still lacking some motivation to get things completed.

another post work picture of high quality :)
33 weeks!

My mom came in from Georgia last weekend to help. She was able to attend the baby shower my church friends had for me. It was special to see our Utah friends show us love and support as our family grows. And having mom there is just extra special, we had a really great time. She helped me organize some baby things, added to the baby wardrobe and needs, and enjoy some final just mother daughter time.  We even managed to sneak in a symphony. Even though I still have quite a ways to go for baby preparing, I have a great start thanks to mom. Next time she visits, I'll be a mother too. That is so weird and crazy to think about.

all the yummy foods at the baby shower, appropriately garden themed.

walk to the park. mom likes our mountains :)

The little one is pretty wiggly and seems to be enjoying taking my energy and lung space. Although a lot of people comment that I don't look very big, I think this baby is just growing inside, not pushing my belly out too far, and taking up all that space my organs were suppose to occupy. According to the doctor everything is measuring just fine.

This warm weather seems determined to stay. I suppose it really is spring time here. Davis has started a few seeds in the ground. We might have some radishes, kale, beets, and carrots sooner than usual. We have put in some lilac and roses as well. We have grand plans for the yard but with the timing of the baby and me working less soon, some things just may have to wait.

the world is beginning to bloom

This weekend should be fairly quiet. We have a few house chores to do but mostly Davis and I are planning on enjoying some time together. Next weekend we are planning for the invasion from Fort Collins friends. So excited about it!

The end of February

Hello!

As of tomorrow, I'll be 31 weeks. So very crazy. It seems long and yet short. Here is a lovely post-work pajama picture from today. It seems the bump is actually growing significantly now, even if it started slow. I am not complaining though, it's been nice to not feel overly stuffed so soon.

I am not sure I mentioned this yet, but the baby room (and Ingrid's room) got painted the weekend before. It's a very light blue/green. Calm, cool colors are my favorite. We moved some of the clutter out as well. It's step one of making this room more inhabitable.

I'd prefer a different rug, but that will do for now.

We have had a few baby gifts come in. I have also visited a kid's consignment shop a couple blocks up the road and picked up some inexpensive onsies, moby wrap, and a few other odds and ends. Maybe by the time due date rolls around I'll be ready. I keep hoping for more of this rumored "nesting" thing to kick in.

First gifts:
Jesus Storybook Bible and BabyLit's
Frankenstein (it's really not about monsters)
I asked for them both, my book taste is varied!

We just spent a lovely long weekend with our dear friend's the Moffatts. They flew in to see us and other folks for a few days. It was good for our souls to catch up with these lovely people. Of course, I am terrible with pictures. I did get a couple of Harper. Harper seemed to have a very sisterly relationship with Ingrid. They enjoyed playing together and then fighting... well Harper wasn't a fan of how roughly Ingrid plays with her toys (she destroys them).

two little monkeys jumping on the bed

Harper's face is cute :)

sporting the pad-stache.

We miss them so very much but are thankful for the time we have with them. This weekend will be quiet for us but the following weekend my mom comes. Maybe then I'll get my preparing done!

I suppose that is all for now.

28 weeks

I am 28 weeks today. Down to the final three months. It seems like quite a bit of time but still baby shall be here before we know it. It finally feels more safe, for a lack of better words, to really start thinking about names, baby registry, nursery and allowing myself to get excited for this huge transition. Also, as time passes, I can feel more and more of this little one's movements. So beautifully strange to think there is another human being knitted together in me. Just weirded myself out a bit there. It's just so incredible.

I am still overwhelmed by most of it. The new things that we are throwing into the mix of working towards this transition is job stuff. Much contrary to what most people think about the nursing career, my nursing job has proven to be very inflexible with my desire to transition to a truly Per Diem position. Silly enough, I am already Per Diem and it shouldn't be too hard to do this... But I've basically been working part time or more and management doesn't seem to want me to do much less than this. Davis' work is also proving more challenging to get any sort of approval to work from home so we can one day a week do a switch of who will stay home with little one. I want control and for all these things (and countless other things) to go the way I desire. Daily I need the reminder to lean into God's promises to provide.  During this waiting time, we have also had several conversations about how we'd like our family dynamics to be and what values we'd like to emphasize. Lately we read an article on the Gospel Coalition website (you can read it here!) that has brought peace and reinforces what we have been thinking. It's also convicting how easy we fall into this temptation. How beautiful a life is one that is marked by peace knowing that with God, we lack nothing and miss nothing?

It's been a quiet month for us. No traveling and no visitors. I don't have any pictures of anything epic happening.  So here are a few of just regular life.

Here is the "bump" at 27 weeks.

Davis built our crib last weekend. That is about all the progress we've made :)

The weather has been the opposite of winter-like. We even opened our window
last Saturday for the fresh air.

Nature around us is responding to the warmth
I am excited for spring but nervous for either a wintery spring
or a long hot dry summer.

Ingrid soaking in her days as the only "child" while Davis studies his new favorite
cookbook of Persian recipes. Yum saffron!

Ingrid's morning nap

I had today off from work, which means I had a long slow morning. That is my favorite thing to do on my day off. Ingrid joined in by taking a nap in the sunshine. I know life will be different soon and my slow mornings will have the addition of a little one to attend. I am eager to see what joys and trials this will bring but want to soak in these last few months of our current life.

January things

I've spent the morning battling fruit flies. I am losing horribly. Seven different traps made according to several different internet resources and the flies are completely ignoring them. You see, we've been adding indoor plants to help with air quality and because we like green and living things to be in our house. But it seems there is a price to pay for such living. And that price is sharing your house with fruit flies which seem to multiply by the millions. Ugh.

I promised I'd post a few pictures of the house as things became more settled. I believe I am one of those people who never completely finishes a house. Who can do such a thing all at once? We had the realization that we need to clean out the future baby's room and actually put some baby items in there. This means I actually need to make a registry and start collecting the few more necessary pieces of furniture. This means getting things for the basement and living room will have to be weighed with more pertinent baby items all while living under the same budget. Life is expensive sometimes. Right now our "wants" list is pretty long too. But we have little need, so we are grateful. I have also realized that I am  slow to get baby things sorted anyway. Birthing classes... Pediatrician... Registry... Planning on changes for this new life... Just haven't gotten around to any of it yet. I have been more interested in planning an inexpensive babymoon though :)

the less obvious baby bump picture
with ingrid

25 weeks and a silly husband

Davis's mom just left from a long weekend visit. The weather was lovely and we had plenty of time to visit and enjoy the company. Unfortunately, Davis and I both got some mild stomach thing this weekend. Most likely from bad food but it's hard to say at this point. We tried to not let it damper our fun.

We had to go to Alta and look at the snow

And here are a few pictures of the mostly completely bedroom. I have given up making it look like all those cool spaces you see on blogs and pinterest. We live in the house and it looks clean for about 5 minutes. Ingrid jumped on the bed as soon as I made it. The dresser often becomes a collection ground for chapsticks and other assorted objects. But it's our home and we find it cozy.

Ingrid likes the pregnancy pillow. We call it her boat.

morning light

the beginning of a "gallery wall" in living room

So, that's it. I need to get moving and try to get other things done while battling these flies. I'll take any suggestions you have for this problem! Hope every is having a lovely January.

OHHHHHHH AND

My NIECE was born January 10, 2015. Isabel Marie is doing well, despite being born to parents stricken with the flu. So crazy. Everyone is thrilled she is here and I am super sad I don't get to meet her yet!