A glimpse at the wee one and a surprise shower!

Today marks two months until my due date.  Where has the time gone?!  The weather has taken a turn for the awesome lately and today it hit 60 degrees - it looks like we're having an early summer in Anchorage! 

Last week we had to go in for an ultrasound to see if my placenta had moved to a more acceptable location in my uterus.  Thankfully, it did, which means I don't have to have a planned C-section, and it also gave us a chance to see the baby and check on her progress! 

As I can attest, little missy has been VERY active lately, so it was hard for the ultrasound tech to get good photos of her, but he did get a couple of good face shots.  Of course, true to form from the previous scans, she had her hands in her face.  I have a feeling this one is going to enjoy being swaddled with her hands near her mouth.  

So who do you think she looks like?!

Here's a picture of us for comparison (yes it's from Oktoberfest, but it I don't have any other recent pictures of the both of us...)

I think she has my nose...other than that, I don't know!

Some other exciting news we got at the ultrasound - our "little miss" isn't quite so little! She's currently weighing in at an estimated 4 lbs, 7 oz (WITH TWO MONTHS TO GO) which is 92nd percentile for her age.  While I hear these can be pretty inaccurate measurements, I may have to face the fact that she could be a nearly 9 pounder like her papa! We have almost no newborn clothes and I was thinking I should probably get some, but if I do, I will likely keep the tags on just in case she comes out huge!

In other exciting news this week, my coworkers threw us a surprise baby shower! Andy came over to my office and I was so surprised!  There was a ton of cake and rootbeer floats (yum!) and everyone got to guess when the baby will make her debut.  My coworkers are so sweet - nobody guessed past July 4th! They also gave us the most generous gift card to Target (so we can buy boring stuff we still need like a changing pad and baby tub), and some adorable little outfits.  Check 'em out!

Check out the bib on the last one:

My coworker admitted it was a bit of a joke.  I am hoping she is MUCH sweeter than I am.  At work I have a bit of a reputation for being the mean one - this is why I do all the enforcement!

One of my coworkers actually MADE me a beautiful (and very Alaskan!) gift for the baby:

It's called a kuspuk, and it's a very common item of clothing in Alaska.  They're traditionally worn by Alaskan natives as sort of a light jacket in the summer or over their parkas in the winter.  The ones I've seen are always made out of pretty cotton patterned fabrics and have the same little trim like this one.  While my coworker isn't an Alaskan native, she lived in Nome for many years and ALL the kiddos up there have them.  Ann also said she has one from when she was a baby that her mom has kept all of these years.  It's such an amazing gift and it will definitely be something that we treasure - I don't know many babies who have their own handmade kuspuk! Sadly my coworker wasn't able to make it to the party because her daughter, who was due to have a baby about two weeks before me, went into early labor and she had to fly to Connecticut to help care for her other grandchild.  Thankfully mom and baby are doing fine, even though he came so early.  Just another reminder that we're really headed into the final stretch and it might be time to expect the unexpected.  Tomorrow we start birthing classes (yeah, a little late, but better late than never!) and hopefully it'll help us feel a little more prepared for the baby's arrival.  She'll be here before we know it!

Outdoor Nesting

Spring has finally arrived in Alaska! While there's still a bunch of snow covering up the yard (not for long!), we've had a good stretch of warm, sunny days and there's nowhere we'd rather be right now than outside.  Last weekend we went to Lowe's to pick up something completely boring for the house and ended up bringing home a new bistro set for the patio (we just took the cushions inside for the night and I'm too lazy to put them back out to take a picture, but I'll put a picture up later...).  While perusing the patio offerings we came across a swing that we thought would be perfect for our little random deck off the living room downstairs.  Andy couldn't even wait until this weekend to buy it, and Tuesday evening found us driving home from work with a giant box in the back of the Subaru.  Since it would take some assembly, Andy had to suffer for five whole days before we could finally put it to use. 

Before we opened the box I was worried we'd have another dresser situation, but this didn't come with very many pieces.  

Within a few minutes we had the basic frame setup (note the snow in the yard, it actually looks a little better today...)

Ripley found some grass to lay on and he was a happy dog while we assembled.

Within an hour we had our swing! Andy's in heaven.  Ripley doesn't know what to think about it and Fro is annoyed that we ruined her view out of the window (note the new placement of the cat tower!)

Ripley decided that the box was a nice place to take a nap. 

I tried it out, too.  It's REALLY comfortable (I was sitting like that because, just moments before, I had been lying with my head on Andy's lap and then he was mean and got up...and took a super unflattering picture of me, too.)

Since I allowed myself to (kind of) be photographed, I thought I'd do a belly update.  I'm 30 weeks today! How is this possible?!

Andy also took one with my face in it and I basically just look pregnant in the chins, so I didn't use that one, sorry.

Here's a comparison with my 20 week picture:

What's funny is that I do wear that tan sweater a lot, and it fits a LOT different now, but honestly I figured the difference would be a lot more dramatic.  I FEEL a whole lot bigger but side by side I guess I don't really look it.  I think in person it might be more dramatic.






We've been going to our (not bi-weekly) doctor's appointments and everything's been perfect - I'm measuring exactly where I'm supposed to be and I have no serious complaints about pregnancy at this point, just kind of going with the flow.  It's hard to believe that she'll be here sometime in the next 10 or so weeks! Happy Easter everyone!

Crafty!

For the past couple of weeks I've been working on a fun little craft project for the baby's room.  This all came about when I was cruising Pinterest for mobile ideas that I could make myself, when I was having a hard time finding a cute one we both liked.  Obviously, we found one:

But I don't think it's possible to really have too many cute things for her to look at, and I thought this "mobile" could be good for over the changing table.  Here's the inspiration:

It really annoyed me that people were taking this craft project, which really did not involve much effort at all, and selling it to people on Etsy for $125 or more, so it almost became a challenge for me to see if I could make something just as cute all by myself. 

So here's the play by play.  Honestly, if you didn't do it in 1-2 hour increments in front of the TV like I did, you could finish this project in one weekend instead of a month.  

First, start with a handy pre-made pattern from the internet.  Here's the link: bird pattern

Then you need some really pretty fabric.  I found this pack of quilt squares on amazon for about $20.  I only needed about 9 of these, and I got 40 or so, so maybe I'll start making birds and selling them on Etsy, too?!

I love the colors! If I had a sewing machine and knew how to do anything more than simple hand stitches, I would make a quilt out of these!

Fro was very helpful in the process and also very attracted to the red/pink colors.

Then, the annoying part.  This was really the hardest part of the whole thing - tracing and cutting out the pieces.

I ended up making 9 birds.  Once I got father in the project, I probably could have done with about 6, but I really liked the fabric, so I couldn't stop.

Then you have to sit in front of the TV for a number of hours and stitch them together according to the pattern.  I hand-sewed mine.  You could PROBABLY use a sewing machine, but I think it would be kind of difficult since you have to sew them just right to make two pieces into a 3-D bird.  Also, I really liked them inside out with the rough edge.  I think maybe if I did this project again, I might consider just hand sewing them right side out and letting them look a little rougher.

Once they're sewed together, you have to flip them right side out.  They're really narrow at the tail, so it wasn't the easiest thing, but I used a knitting needle to help push them through.

Now the birds are ready to stuff!

I recommend stuffing the birds with some help from furry friends.  Also, it helps to put a marathon of something on TV so you don't have to change the channel ever.  I think I was rewatching season 1 of Game of Thrones while I was stuffing the birds. 

Once they're stuffed, you have to attach them to something.  I thought about the sticks, but that seemed dirty and all of my trees are covered in snow.  Also, I didn't want to deal with having to balance the mobile.  Then I was cruising pinterest and saw someone with fake birds in embroidery hoops.  Cheap and easy - sold!

Here's the finished product (hanging over the dresser/changing table):

I repositioned them so you can see that some of the hoops have two birds in them...

And then I had an extra which I hung up on the other side of the room.

So there's my project! I think they turned out awesome! The whole thing cost about $40 including fabric, the hoops, the stuffing and the hooks and fishing line to hang them from the ceiling.  I like that they add a little girly touch to the room and give you something fun to look at.  Now I need to start mass producing them and make my fortune!

A Whirlwind Weekend in Seattle

Last weekend I went down to Seattle because two of my most wonderful friends, Lauren and Megan, threw me a baby shower! As you will see, we had a great weekend!

I took Ann - my Alaska bestie - with me to get her out of Anchorage for awhile and I think it also made Andy feel a little better that I wasn't traveling alone.  On the flight down Ann said she'd never seen it rain in Seattle.  Well, I think the gods were listening because we landed in the middle of a torrential downpour.  It was raining harder than I've ever seen it rain in Seattle.  Thankfully, it got better as we headed towards town.

Rainbow!

 By the time we crested the hill on I-5 it was beautiful outside!

We mostly just hung out at Lauren and Garrett's the first night, and we even got Mexican food! (This is especially exciting because there is no good Mexican food in Alaska).  

On Saturday we had some errands to run for the shower.

First we went to Pike Place Market and picked out some beautiful flowers.  Being in Anchorage where late March definitely does NOT mean Spring, it felt really great to see all the colors of the season. Tulips everywhere! Ann was excited, as you can see.

So pretty.  I couldn't get enough of them.  I wanted to ship them all home with me.  There's Lauren and her sister, Michelle picking the perfect bouquets.

We also had lunch at the Market (Lowell's - yum!) and as we stepped out, Michelle spotted a treasure in the floor tiles:  

Mr. Dick, if that is your real name, you really should consider spelling out your middle name or just leaving the initial off altogether.  And yes, I understand how immature we are for loving this so much.

The flowers we picked were so pretty!

After lunch, it was time for pedicures!! When we landed I told Lauren all I wanted to do that weekend was get a pedicure.  She was way ahead of me and had already booked us appointments for Saturday afternoon!  She. Is. The. Best.  Meanwhile, Megan had made her way up from Portland and got to Seattle just in time to join us.

This is my first attempt to take a picture of our toes after the pedicures.  Something's in the way...

Much better!

Sunday was baby shower day!!  (I didn't have my camera, but many people were taking pictures.  These are all from my friend Michal, who is such a talented photographer!).  The baby shower was full of great food (I mean, really really great), great friends, and lots of "awwwwws" - just like it should be.

Here's Lauren making final preparations.  I love her house! She was an excellent hostess!

Ann and Megan.  These two are photogenic!  Who else looks this good in a candid picture!?

 I got so many adorable presents - these onesies are from Andy's mom.  We love them.

I was in shoes for most of the party, but then I ditched them.  Michal got this great picture of me barefoot and pregnant.

Rachel and Tessa! I've known Rachel since third grade and Tessa since high school.  Even though we've always been fairly far apart since we graduated, I love that we're all in each others' lives and get to share all the best events.  I love these girls!

Rachel brought her baby, Cooper.  Isn't he the sweetest?  He basically did this the whole time, or just sat on the floor and entertained himself.  I would like our little one to be just as easygoing, please!

Andy's mom was there and his dad stopped by to say hello for a minute.  It was so great to see them!

There were so many other people at the shower, but I didn't get pictures of them.  I know Michelle was taking lots of pictures and I think I got a picture with just about everyone to put in my baby book.  

The baby shower went by so fast.  It kind of felt like my wedding because by the end people were leaving and I didn't feel like I got to talk to any of them!   I need to start being a better phone person so I can actually catch up with all of my friends...

After everyone left, the weather made another change for the beautiful and so we ventured out to enjoy the afternoon.  Everyone said the cherry blossoms were in top form at UW, so we hopped over there to take some pictures and soak up some Spring.

Red Square...

Walking toward the fountain.  The pink cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

We wandered around campus and then headed to the quad.  There were approximately one million people there to look at the trees.

I had such a wonderful weekend celebrating with my best friends and family and having a little getaway before the baby comes.  I can't believe it's spring already (especially as I sit here looking at all the snow in the yard, but I know it's coming!).  This means we're getting closer and closer to the baby's arrival! She'll be here before we know it!