Kitties and waiting....

My boys sleeping...
Yeah, Little Kitty really thinks we bought this for her.
I guess I was done on the computer?! Yes, he's on my key board.
Playing with the boxes that J's bed came in.
Yes, I kicked him out...


Little Kitty LOVES being tucked in.


Ok, now that I got all of those cute pictures out of the way - here's a tiny update.
At my last appointment, the doctor said I was already dilating! YAY. I have another appointment on September 1st - just a little past 39 weeks. Good grief, J may never come out! I haven't even had Braxton Hicks contractions. I recruited my friend, Mindy, to go on a long walk with me the other night. I felt tightness, but no real contractions. FYI - spicy food doesn't work for me either - maybe because I eat it so much anyway. The whole oregano and basil bit is also a fail. Lame. Anyway, I realized that my cat (Meiko) loves Jackson's bed a little too much. He jumped in it THREE times - he normally is a really good listener, but he's insistant on being in this co-sleeper! I had to explain to him that even though I call him Baby Kitty, he is not infact the baby that will be in there, and I don't want cat hair on J's sheets. Poor kitty.

Jonathon is now at the point where he jumps every time I move. He asks about 5 times a day is my water has broken. I was hounded to get my hospital bag ready. I was scolded for going to the grocery store alone, where my water could have broken and he wouldn't be with me. He's too cute. I'm glad he's so into this. He has lots of plans for this baby - Jackson is already a football, basketball and baseball star. He apparently will also be a master hunter and he and Jonathon will restore an old car for Jackson's first vehicle. J will have to be a meat eater and he'll also love country music. I hope this pans out for Jonathon's sake. :)

Mindy was such a doll and went crazy at Barnes and Noble. She brought me several children's books that she feels every child should have. I love her for that. It was so thoughtful, and such a great gift! I love reading, so I hope that I can pass that to Jackson. Thanks Mindy!!

Jonathon has his first football game on Tuesday - the first. I'll make sure to take pictures to post!

Baby Gear

Here are some pictures - we have just about 190 hangers in this closet, although you can't see the sides because of the doors. My mom made the comment, "Oh, you guys will have to get those dividers that say '0-3 months, 3-6 months..'". I said, "No mom, those are ALL 0-3 months!" They aren't hanging in his closet though, they are in the spare bedroom's, because Jonathon's friend is getting out of the military and asked if he could stay here until he is done out processing - so we moved all of Baby J's things to the extra room for now. There are also some pictures of Jonathon putting together J's travel system, courtesy of Eddie Bauer - WE LOVE IT!

28 days to go

Sometimes I wish we had some sort of an idea of when our little guy is going to greet us...like a specific induction date or a c-section date. Then, I snap back into reality and thank the Lord that there is no need for me to have a c-section. However, this waiting is killing me! It's not that I want him to come today, or tomorrow - but not knowing when it's going to happen is a little nerve wracking! Officially, we're 28 days to d day.

Jonathon and I are just about done with our baby shopping. We took a trip to Sam's Club where we can buy a little over 3lbs of baby formula at a time. My parents gifted the baby's play yard to us (which we still need to order this weekend) and we have more clothes than I know what to do with. Thank you to everyone who has been so generous - you all are such a blessing in our lives!

The doctor told me today that I'm still measuring small -so it's official...no 8lb babies here! She told me that in about 2 weeks if we're 1cm dilated then she'll strip the membranes making labor come easier...and may come sooner! Wow! It's a lot to wrap your head around. We're getting excited, but Jonathon has informed me that he won't be getting nervous until I go into labor. Jonathon works on my actual due date, and my mom comes into town 2 days after - I'm not sure when a good time will be - but I'm sure our little guy will figure it out!

Our cats are having a hard time already with the changes - Hope, our little kitty - likes to take naps in the baby's boucer and Meiko - our baby kitty - refuses to realize that I can't have a 10lb cat laying on my stomach. They are so spoiled I am hoping they do ok with having our Baby J around.

In other news, Jonathon has officially made his fantasy football picks. We went to his friends house for the draft and ate pizza - just hung out. He also has training coming up as well as keeping up with his own football practices. He's a very busy guy, which is great for him. He doesn't do well as a sitting duck. I'm actually worried about his 10 days of paternity leave - he won't know what to do with that much time off. I may send him back to work! Having an active spouce is great though - I know he'll always be on top of things! He has been feeling Baby J move more and he's excited to put the play yard togther. He's really coming into the world of fatherhood well, I'm so proud of him and extremely blessed to have him. I'm looking forward to seeing him with J and watching their bond grow.

That's about it on our end! We hope everyone is doing great and know that we miss all of you SO much!

Vacation and pictures

What a strange week! Honestly, on my end, nothing too exciting happened. I mostly got caught up on "The Shield" and hung out with our kitties. I tried to take it easy after I wrenched my back trying to mop our kitchen floor. After a stint in 'labor and delivery', and a few muscle relaxers later, I was feeling much better - - tired, but better.

Jonathon on the other hand headed out to Nebraska and Iowa for Dustin and Tabatha's wedding. They called me from an outdoor bar in Okoboji, and had me log onto the bar's website to see their webcam. I had already missed Jonathon, and I was so sad I didn't get to hang out with Dustin and Tabatha - but seeing them wave to me at the bar's webcam made me REALLY unhappy I wasn't there to share in their weekend. I know Jonathon had a lot of fun - probably too much fun (thanks to the Pittacks for taking care of him). He enjoyed just relaxing at his parent's house for a couple of days and spending time with the family he doesn't get to see very often. Overall his trip was a huge success. Now he's back and into the daily grind. He has joined a football team on base and enjoys going to those practices. We're on the downward stretch unil Jackson is here - 5 1/2 weeks - so much of our time is planning on that. However, I still find time to get him to watch Dr. Phil with me and we still go on our walks. We aren't planning any trips for several months now, so it will be exciting to just be at home together.
Lastly, here are some of the pictures my Aunt Michelle took in Colorado...enjoy.

July 17

Just a few little updates - nothing too exciting!

Jonathon was able to go to the doctor with me, which was nice. The doctor told me my blood pressure is getting higher and I'm borderline "abnormally small" - which means I'm one centimeter away from getting sent to labor and delivery for an ultra sound. However, they also said our little guy's heart beat is really strong (a good 130-140). As long as he's strong, I'm not too worried...we just have to watch my blood pressure. He moves A TON - he never seems to run out of energy. I'm excited to meet him! Only 7 weeks left!

I'm working through the massive piles of baby things we have. We actually need to make a target run and get some storage containers for some of this. We have so much, it's unreal. We started out with a ton, and then Jonathon's friends who have 3 boys sent over a couple of tubs of stuff, too - so now we have double of so many items...but I'm not complaining. I'll admit I've never had any hand me downs - but she kept her stuff in such perfect condition, and it was overwhelmingly generous of them to think of us. Friends can be such blessings!

After going through this whole process - as relatively easy as it's been - Jonathon and I decided we only want 2 children (as opposed to the original number 3). I thought we may wait another 5 years, but Jon is thinking more like 2 - so we'll see, but I think we'll be hanging onto all of this baby loot - just have to find room!

Jonathon leaves for the Midwest in a few days. I'm so glad he'll get to attend his friend's wedding. I know that he'll enjoy having some guy time, and neither of us will be going anywhere for a few months now, so it will be good he is squeezing this trip in. He'll also see his parents for a couple of days in Nebraska. This will be his 3rd trip home since he's been back from the desert, I have 4 trips home, so he has a little catching up to do!

It's so strange being so far away from family! It will be nice when my mom comes out, but weird that no one else in my family will see our little guy until Christmas time. Jonathon's mom may come out this fall, as well, but we know it's a long trip - we just need to move back to the Midwest! It's easier to live here now, but we're not really into the busy city scene and all of the craziness that comes with it. He and I are actually talking about moving to Arizona (Hello Aunt Michelle and Uncle Lance!) - I lived there, and depending on the area, it is really nice! We'll see when he gets back from his next deployment.

So, I'll be here for 5 days all alone, which will be entirely weird! I already made plans with Mindy to come out Wednesday night (the day Jonathon leaves) to cook dinner with me and watch some girlie movies. I also saved the task of cleaning the fridge shelves for when he's gone. I'm sure I used to have a life... :)

I hope everyone is doing great, and everyone enjoyed their week! I'll leave you with a few pictures of the kiddos and their sparklers on the 4th - and our little guy got "his" picture taken too!

Baby shower and the 4th of July!

Oh goodness!! What a crazy couple of weeks we've had. I spent 10 days in Colorado (my last trip for a long while..) and loved every second of it. I think this trip was the hardest to take - Jonathon and I seemed to miss eachother more than normal...considering half of our relationship has been long distance.

My parents threw an AMAZING baby shower on the 4th. It was so laid back and so much fun. It was co-ed, and followed the lines of a 4th of July barbecue. My mom had emailed Jonathon a list of baby related questions, and he replied with his best guesses - then, I had to guess his answers. I got 7 out of 12 right, although some of his answers were WAY off, they were cute. (He predicted 4 hours of labor..) Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us!! My parents' next door neighbor is an elderly couple that have lived there for the 15 years we've been there. She crocheted us an amazing blanket for our baby boy. It was such a personal gift, I love it! We also got some amazingly cute clothes courtesy of my Aunt Laurie, cousin Megan and some family friends. We are incredibly blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives, and our boy is lucky to inherit such great surroundings.

We enjoyed some great cooking by my dad, and some amazing desserts by my mom. I also got to spend time with the kiddos - whom I miss SO SO SO much. Emilie and I went to see "The Proposal", and had quality girl time. I also played Guitar Hero with Matthew - I'm getting pretty good! My sister, Jennifer, and I got to eat out at our favorite places, and we played "Uno" for hours!

Another highlight is my Aunt Michelle and Uncle Lance flew in from Arizona. They brought along my little cousins, Trevor and Alex. (Jonathon and I borrowed them for our wedding to be our flower girl and ring bearer) My Aunt Michelle has taken up photography and is quite good!! She has a growing business and portfolio and I was lucky enough to get her to take maternity shots for me. (No way in heck was I letting anyone else do them!) She spent several days taking my picture, and I'm so excited to see what she came up with. I'm thinking of a great way to thank her still, because no one would have taken as much time as she did!

After all of that, though I miss everyone, it's nice to be home in Maryland with Jonathon and our kitties. We're a pretty good bunch, and it's good to be back in our routine. I'm looking forward to my mom coming out in a couple of months to help me transition when Jonathon goes back to work after our baby is born.

We hope your holiday weekend was as great as ours. Here are a couple of pictures courtesy of my sister and my Aunt Michelle!