Photo Shoot

I'm lucky enough to have a brother-in-law who is an amazing photographer! These are some of the pictures Josh took over Christmas, when we were 30 weeks pregnant. -Monica

33 Weeks Pregnant - January 28, 2009

Wow, what a week of growth! Poppy is definitely growing quickly these days...as is mommy! I feel like maternity shirts are starting to get shorter, my belly often bumps into counters, doors, etc. and I'm more frequently asked when I'm due. My best hours of sleep come from about 9pm-1am and after that, I'm up every few hours.

We had an awesome weekend filled with baby stuff! On Saturday, we went to our neighbors for another ultrasound. How much fun to see Poppy so much larger! Gary gave us a "full tour" and all the details (well, except for one...and an important one...still don't know if it's a boy or girl!) of what was going on in there. Poppy is in a great position right now with it's head down. And sure enough those little legs are by my right ribs...where it so often likes to curl up and put it's legs under my ribs!

We got a great profile picture of Poppy with it's lips puckered and a view of it's spine, legs, hands, heart and large feet! It definitely takes after daddy's size 16 feet! Gary took measurements and Poppy seems to be right in the 50th percentile....that is for everything except it's head size. At 33 weeks, Poppy's head is the size of a 37 week old. Oh my! Joe is still convinced it's a girl and I'm pretty sure it's a boy...at least with that size feet and head, we sure hope it's a boy:)

On Sunday, we went to our first childbirthing class. Joe & I really enjoyed it! We were one of 10 couples in attendance and the ONLY couple who didn't know what they were having! At the beginning of class, we all had to go around the room and introduce ourselves, as well as give our due date and what we were having. As each couple started introducing themselves, we realized a pattern was forming...boy, girl, boy, girl, boy, girl....and then it was our turn....don't know...girl, boy, boy. So we're figuring, we either kept the "random" pattern and Poppy is a boy or we balanced out the room and Poppy's a girl...Hmmm.....We'll find out soon!
The group ranged from 27 weeks to 35 weeks pregnant. Talking with the other couples who are also going through this experience for the first time, made me realize how normal my thoughts and feelings really are!

Poppy has been on the move this week! It seems that 9am-11am and 3pm-5pm seem to be it's most active times. Sometimes, I really think it's having a dance party in there! In fact, as I sit here and type this now, Poppy has hiccups for the second time today...quite an interesting feeling for me! I feel like I say this everytime I blog, but this entire process continues to amaze me! -Monica

32 Weeks Pregnant - January 20, 2009

31 Weeks Pregnant - January 13, 2009

Well, I think the "nesting" phase has begun! We have made a to-do list and hope to get everything checked off within the next 8 1/2 weeks...Yikes! We will be spending Monday cleaning out the garage!

Poppy is getting bigger and bigger each day and staying extremely active in there! It seems like it's favorite thing to do is scooch it's feet up under my right ribs and go to sleep!

As always, Bailey is keeping us outside on walks to the field, stream and throughout the neighborhood. And she couldn't miss her weekly photo opportunity! She loves the new green carpet in the nursery...Somehow I think that will become one of her favorite napping places:)

-Monica

30 Weeks Pregnant - January 6, 2009

Oh my gosh....30 weeks pregnant! How did we get here already??? The pregnancy is continuing to go really well! I just had my 30 week check up and everything looked good- weight gain, blood pressure, Poppy's heartbeat, etc. I passed my glucose test two weeks ago and was excited about that. It's hard to believe we only have 10 weeks until our due date....seems like so much to do in the coming weeks! Wow! -Monica

Jamestown Baby Shower

While we were home over Christmas, some of the wonderful ladies of Jamestown, (Mary, Sharon, Sandy, Marsha, Debbie and Kirstin) threw us a baby shower at the Sheldon House. It was absolutely beautiful! It was great to see everyone! We feel very blessed to be surrounded by such amazing friends & family! -Monica

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday!

Happy New Year...and Happy Birthday to me! What we thought would be an innocent night of fun at my grandma's house on New Years Eve turned into a midnight run to the ER! Yep, Joe ended up face-first into a block of ice while sledding in Chautauqua! So at 11:15pm, my dad and I drove him to the hospital....the same hospital where I was born 31 years ago to the day!

Joe ended up walking out with just 5 stitches! No broken nose, no loss of teeth and no concussion! We can laugh about it now because thankfully he's okay, but it was scary! Way to start the new year out with a BANG!

New Years Day was just like the good ol' days...People hanging out watching football and enjoying delicious stromboli and pistachio cake at my parent's house! Yummy, my favorite! -Monica