We had a "rash" of activity this weekend.....

Boy, where do I start? Dad and Thomas were down for the weekend and between the whole team we accomplished a ton!!!

Dad washed all of the bedding and baby clothes, he washed and organized all of the bottles, finished some last minute decorating, fixed the blinds, got the crib completely ready and drove me around all weekend to shop (a task which is increasingly difficult with this belly in the way).

On a related note, I was telling Dad about the scar I have on my stomach from a boiling water incident. Josh adds his two cents and says, "Yeah, on Mom's big, HUGE belly!" Nice, huh?

Dustin mowed, fixed another mower and re-sealed the driveway.





Let me tell you...the driveway looks amazing!! Dustin did a great job!

Sunday morning was the March of Dimes walk and Josh and I went down to help hand out water at the K-mart stop. Josh had so much fun.





It was a perfect morning and as each walker passed I was reminded how blessed we are to have a healthy son and a healthy baby on the way. Seeing all these moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, brothers and sisters walk for this cause was truly inspiring. Most had "Team" shirts with names of babies who didn't have a chance to live in this world. Again...I was overwhelmed with appreciation.

The best part of the walk is shown below...


Way to go, Titi!!

With such a big weekend everyone was WIPED by last night. Dad and I found the "boy" outfit and came home to find this...


Pretty much says everything!

Now this morning I take Josh to Jaime's and as I turn onto her street he says his neck itches. I assume he just got a bug bite. Uh, nope. He has an awful rash all over his neck and ears. So I call the doctor's office from Jaime's.

They said to give him some Benedryl and watch to see if it spreads to his face. So I put him back in the car and we stopped to pick up the medicine and a couple of movies. I have to admit, after such a busy weekend, it couldn't be better timing for an unexpected day off!!

Finally, 5 weeks from today I should be in recovery right now and holding a brand new baby!!! I should take some of Josh's Benedryl, because I am literally "itching" with anticipation!!!

I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream!

Well, Josh had preschool yesterday and they had an exciting field trip planned. A Cedar Rapids city bus was going to come and pick up the kids and drive around Hiawatha. Josh was very excited and talked about it all morning.

Well, I dropped him off and told him to be a good boy and make sure he went potty on the potty. We've started having problems with him having accidents during the day. I completely expected this once the baby came but I was completely caught off guard with it starting this early. Anyway, Dustin went to pick him up and the teacher came out and called Dustin into the classroom.

Immediaely Dustin assumed Josh had wet himself. So Dustin walks in and all the kids were laughing. The teacher informed Dustin that he had to go over to Dairy Queen and settle up the tab. Confused, Dustin says, "Okay?".

She informed him that as the bus drove by the Dairy Queen Josh screamed, "LET'S STOP!!!". Mrs. Switzer told Josh that they didn't have enough money for everyone to get ice cream and Josh replied, "I have enough money's for everyone in my train bank!!".

Dustin called me laughing and informed me that maybe we'd been going to Diary Queen a little too much lately. Uh...ya think?

Officially less than 6 weeks!!!

Well, the title should say it all. We are on official "Baby Watch"! Seems so unreal, so close, so far away and so many other things all at once!

I hadn't posted a picture of my gorgeous men from Easter so here it is...


Aren't they adorable?!?! This picture was taken at about 5:45 am (hence Josh rubbing his eyes). It's amazing how fast a child will get ready when he knows there's candy downstairs!

These last few weeks are going to be filled with last minute projects and tasks. This weekend we officially finished the foyer. The tile is down and grouted, the doors are replaced and the trim is officially up and nailed! We were up until 11:30 Friday night getting the last bit of moulding up. I was at the saw and Dustin used his mighty nail gun. Baby did NOT like the sound of the saw. Every time I made a cut it would squirm around.

Then Saturday was Grandma Verabeth's 80th birthday party. Josh had SOOOOO much fun. My body was still throbbing from the night before so I didn't get any pictures of him playing with the animals and cousins. Sorry.

Then Sunday we refinished and painted the front door. Josh got to help and it was a small price to pay for a few minutes of quiet.



I think Josh realizes that something big is about to happen. He is so HYPER lately! I will have to admit, however, that there is a small chance my perspective on what is HYPER has changed. My new definition of hyper is someone who moves more in 10 minutes than I do all day. Lugging this body around is proving to be more difficult every day and poor Josh doesn't really have 100% of his mommy right now.

He has become quite the helper. I had some difficulty getting propped up in bed on Saturday morning and in positioning all of the pillows I knocked the remote off the bed. After I stopped crying with frustration, I called out to my son who was playing in his room. I asked him to come in and pick up the remote for mommy.

He said, "Why sure!". Picks it up and sets in by my hand and then touches my hand and says, "Mommy, you let me know if you need something else. Okay? Am I a good helper?". Isn't he going to be the greatest big brother?

This weeks update on baby said this:
Your baby now measures about 20.25 inches (45cm) in total length and weighs around 5.5 lbs (2550g). Crown to rump measurement is about 13.2 inches (33cm).

He continues to grow and fatten up, especially in the shoulder area, and kicks regularly.

The fine lanugo hair that covered your baby is shedding, though some may still be present when your baby is born.

Your baby's eyes are blue, though this may change soon after birth or much later after birth.

Your baby's fingernails are growing. They already reach the tips of his fingers and they may even look quite long and pointy by the time he is born. Your baby may even have some scratch marks from scratching his face with his fingernails.

Your baby is probably feeling quite cramped right now and his movements are restricted by his growing size.

I am now going to the doctor every 2 weeks. My last appointment was on Thursday. I am still not at the weight I was when I first found out I was pregnant, but I'm getting there! Baby's heart rate was 135 (exactly what Josh's was at my 34 week appointment). Otherwise everything looked good!! Thank God!

And it's been another month.....

Good, God!

Well, tax season is over in T minus 2 weeks. THANK THE HEAVENS! I'm still working Saturdays but knowing that I only have 2 more certainly make life more enjoyable. Then I get to ride the pregnancy easy train until the arrival of the ENORMOUS child growing in my stomach.

Yes, I am huge! My last doctor's appointment was March 20th and I measured 39 weeks pregnant. Do the math people. I measured 42 weeks when I was pregnant with Josh...WHEN I WAS FULL TERM! Sleeping is becoming impossible, I had to go buy "stretchier" shirts because the knit one's I had were becoming constricting, and I am having hot flashes like a menopausal woman. Oh...and here is a little known fact. When a woman is pregnant her body produces this hormone that helps relax the tissue in joints. This is supposed to help things be more "flexible" when the time comes to bear a child. While I am 100% positive that women appreciate this hormone at the exact moment of birth, every other time during a pregnancy this hormone causes pain. Let me explain.

Think of how much it would hurt to put all of your weight on a fractured hip or pelvis. Think of all the different joints in your body and if all of them were a little more "loose". This hormone is why pregnant women tend to have problems with carpal tunnel syndrome and is also the reason I can't move my legs from side to side.

In other news I am not diabetic, I am significantly anemic (which explains why I've been so short of breath), I fell on my stomach about a month ago and was in labor and delivery for about 4 hours but everything is fine and Josh is still excited to have a baby!

I got my 31 week update today and can't believe how much has happened...

Your baby now weighs about 3.5 lbs (1600g) and measures about 18 inches (40cm) in total and about 11.2 inches (28cm) from crown to rump.

Your baby's increasing size means that she has less room to move around in your uterus.

Your baby could already be moving into the head-down position.

Your baby's lungs are maturing and their lining, which prevents air sacs from collapsing, is growing. This lung development means that your baby would have a much greater chance of survival if he were born prematurely.

About 16 fluid ounces of blood are flowing through the wall of your uterus to the site of the placenta, though your blood never mixes with your baby's blood. It is separated by the placental barrier which is a very thin wall. Water, nutrients and waste are exchanged across this barrier at a rate of 0.3 fluid ounces per second.

Your baby swallows amniotic fluid and urinates.

Your baby's ears are sufficiently developed to hear and recognize your voice, the voices of other family members as well as familiar musical tunes.