Last Days...

This is it people! My last days of being pregnant, my last days of being able to sleep when I want to, shower when and how long I feel like, leisurely do my hair and makeup. My last days of running errands without having to think of diapers, the last feeding, parking too close to another car to get the baby out or whether or not I can just 'run in' for something. My last days of just hangin' around, waiting for Baby.

And OUR last days as just the two of us.

I'm excited to meet our baby this week and to fully dive into this new life of ours. I admit, there is no real way to prepare for the change that is about to hit us as first time parents, but we are thrilled nonetheless! (I'm sure I'll have funny stories to write about.)

I'm trying hard to soak up and enjoy all these "last moments" before Cocoapuff is here. One of the things we did late last week was take a lunch date to get Round Rock Donuts! :) Hee hee. We may have to do that again before little guy comes. ;) Happy Birthweek to us!

Dear Sweet Baby Cocoapuff,

You made it to 40 weeks-good job! There are no bonus points for staying put longer though, so no need to keep us waiting. Your Mommy and Daddy and Gigi and Pops and LOTS more people are eager to meet you! Please come on your own (and soon) because Mommy doesn't exactly want to induce. Happy due date, Baby.

We love you so so much!
Mommy and Daddy

This and That

George and I had a good Anniversary. This pregnant chick just HAD to have snow crab for dinner! I ate an entire pound all by myself!! All that protein and sodium may have been the reason for not sleeping last night. Note to self: next time I'm hugely pregnant and want crab, eat it at lunch, instead of a late dinner. Here we are, most likely last real date without needing a babysitter!

I'm looking (and feeling) pretty gigantic these days! Why I can't crop this picture, I don't know. Why my hubby takes pictures with too much extraneous space, I super don't know. Yes, I STILL have frames leaning against the wall-I need different art for them...art I don't have yet.

Our glider finally came!! I am so excited that it made it here before baby! This is my new best friend and I look forwards to lots of sweet times sitting here with my sweet baby.

We also finished the mobile! His room is pretty much done-his name is even on the wall, which would explain the odd placement of these two pictures. :)

 

I've really loved pregnancy up to this point and even when I had morning sickness, I still felt pretty good. I've tried to enjoy every moment and savor the time growing this boy and the time we have left as just the two of us. That is a little bit coming to an end now...okay, maybe a lot coming to an end now. 

 

I suddenly feel very huge, very heavy and very, very exhausted. It must be baby time! I'm not even "due" until Saturday, so I feel like a whiney baby. I have a theory why I feel this way though-it's all those stupid week by week pregnancy books and websites. When you hit 37 weeks they say stuff like, "Your baby is fully cooked and can come anytime now! He's totally developed and would be perfectly healthy if born today. Get ready!" 38 weeks: "Your baby is still fully cooked and ready to come anytime now! He's just getting bigger and bigger so that it's harder to birth him and you feel more uncomfortable, you are VERY big now." 39 weeks: "Still no baby? He's been 'done' for two weeks lady! That kid just keeps getting bigger! Did you know it was possible to get even bigger than you already were? Yes, you do feel like a whale, and maybe you even resemble one." 40 weeks: "Are you STILL pregnant? I bet everyone you know was induced by now, sucks, huh? That kid is just growing and growing, hope you're ready for gigantor!" 41 weeks: "Sucks to be you, like a lot." 

So you see, they set you up to feel like you're overdue before you even hit your due date! It makes the three weeks from 37 to technically "due" seem soooooo much longer than any other 3 weeks ever in your life. My mom thinks I should start a letter writing campaign against this type of info. I'll start with the blog for now.

Happy Anniversary To US!!

2 years ago...

I'm so happy to be married to this guy! He is so incredible and I love him more each day!

...You know what a reeeeally great Anniversary present would be? A baby! Unfortunately, I don't think Cocoapuff reads the blog, so he may not get the hint.

Things I am currently obsessed with...

Here are some of my current FAVORITE things...get out your dorkometer...

One of the downsides to living in an apartment is that sometimes you get really terrible appliances! Our last dishwasher was the worst of the worst! We hand washed or re-washed most things. Then, I bit the bullet and tried out the fancy dishwasher detergent! It made a HUGE difference!! It really cut down on the things I had to hand wash and at this apartment, I don't have to re-wash anything. Definitely worth the extra money.

I love a clean home, but I don't always enjoy the cleaning part. When I saw the commercial for this thing, I thought it was ridiculous. I got a free one at Sam's so I decided to try it out. AMAZING!! The potty is always so sparkly now! It really helps with potties in window free bathrooms with hard water, scrubbing the toilet is a total thing of the past. :)

I know I'm waaaay late on the Oxi Clean bandwagon, but I just started using this, so it's new to me! G wears a white dress shirt everyday and at this point, we choose to do work laundry at home (I am open to that changing once Cocoapuff comes, though). I wanted to have them looking nice without using bleach because it's really hard on clothes, can easily ruin other things and sometimes it makes white stuff look yellow. Oxi Clean does the trick! We really love the gel stain remover stick too. I also found out that I can use it on cloth diapers!

I swear that these heart shaped Junior Mints taste better than the regular ones...and the ones with red filling are especially good! I'm loving the special Valentine candies! 

I am also currently obsessed with cereal, but I feel like that's almost over.

And last week, I may or may not have indulged in Sonic's Chocolate M&M Blasts several times (I wish I could delete the 3.24 charges from our online bank statement so that no one would know just how many times this may or may not have happened)...which would bring me back to the freakout I had in the last post. No more blasts for me...just in case. But let me also point out that for pretty much this entire pregnancy, sweets have not been something I really wanted, it's a recent development.

I am also obsessed with my baby and his room! I just sit in there and look at everything! I hope to finish his mobile soon, but my little brother STILL hasn't got me the fishing line I need! Hint, hint....

There. Is. No. Way.

I had my Dr. appointment today, only my Dr. is out of town, so I saw her husband's Nurse Practitioner (Yes, you read that right and maybe it is a little weird. My Dr.'s husband is also in the business of lady parts and his office is next door, he has more staff than my Doc has so sometimes they share). Anywho, I had to tell the new people not to say my weight out loud and look away as is my normal practice. When I was getting my blood pressure checked though, I saw the paper on the counter. The new chick had HUGE handwriting and it was kind of messy...I think I saw the number 198. I dismissed it and thought surely I misunderstood or it was BP scribbles (we were having BP issues as well)!

It keeps coming to mind though.

After discussing with my mother, we have decided that I MUST have seen the wrong thing and her handwriting MUST be pretty messy!! It suuuuper freaked me out though. To confirm that I misunderstood, I am now gallivanting around the house in leggings and a tight tee, making sure I check myself out in EVERY mirror or reflective thing around. Yeah, I must have seen something wrong! :) Now you know why I don't look at the numbers, I wouldn't be able to think about ANYTHING else.

 

My baby is healthy, I'm blissfully unaware of my weight (again) and I WILL get back in shape.

Vacant...

Vacant...

Vacant...

Vacant...

Vacant...

VERY OCCUPIED!!

It's hard to believe that soon and very soon the opposite will be true! Everyday is more exciting as we anticipate our Cocoapuff!

Remembering my Nonnie

Today is my Nonnie's Birthday-the first one without her here. It's weird and sad and sweet all at once. I really, really miss her, but I am happy that she is no longer suffering and gets to be with Jesus. I didn't realize just how many big things would happen this first year without her. I think a lot about how she would respond and what she would say about the different situations in our lives...especially the funny or sassy things she might say! I always thought she would be at my baby shower, see my nursery and meet my baby. I'm not quite sure how heaven works, but I'd like to think that she met our Cocoapuff before he was given to us. :) My Nonnie had a hard life, a life that was wonderfully transformed by Jesus. How we miss her!

Our new pastime...

One of the things we enjoy about our new apartment is the view. Previously, we were on the first floor at the front of the building, so our view was the parking lot. That also meant that if we opened the blinds, our neighbors' view was us! Nice. Now, we are second floor and the back of the building, our view is the Golf Course. It's lovely, even though it's pretty dead right now. Imagine what it will look like in the Spring. There are a lot of beautiful birds and wildlife to watch....

There are also golfers! I'm not sure how it happened or why, but G and I have become expert golf hecklers commentators and it is so fun. We don't know much about golf, but we do know that the ball should go into the hole in as few whacks strokes as possible. We know losing the ball in or near the water is bad, and we're pretty sure kicking the ball with your fancy golf shoe is a no-no. We also assume that golf must be more fun when using foul language (the golfers that is, not the announcers). We have the perfect amount of knowledge to be amazing commentators! Kinda like these guys...

I think my other pastime is to blog more while I wait for my little Cocoapuff (2 posts in one day!). That and stare at his beautiful room, touch and refold his cute little clothes and re-clean the house.

Practice, practice...

We're getting ready for the arrival of our precious little one. This weekend we got in some more car seat practice. A sock monkey was the closest thing we had to a baby doll.

George did great-I think we're set!

Feels Like Home!

Here's what's going on...

-I love our new apartment! I just can't get over how blessed we are! This place feels like home already and I am so thankful that we get to live here.

-Allergies or a cold are kicking my butt. I didn't realize how quick I am to take drugs when I'm feeling sick until I couldn't take the good stuff!

-Allergies or a cold are kicking George's butt too. Today, he told me he feels like his eyes are gonna pop out of his head like our friends' dog. They have a Shih Tzu...

I'm not sure that I can say I have EVER felt like one of these! Lol!

-This baby could come anytime! That's so exciting! I'm trying to just slow down and enjoy our final days (or weeks) as just the two of us...even though I am really looking forward to meeting our little man!

-People I love are going through some hard stuff lately. That makes me sad for them. What's worse is, their struggles seem really abstract to a lot of the people around them, so it adds hurt to what's already happening. I wish I could make it better. God is big though and He can.

-I should probably be cooking and freezing food for when Cocoapuff comes. I'm not though. I have George and my Mama nearby! Hee hee.

-I'm just loving life right now! I look forward to what each day holds and to what new joys and challenges parenthood will bring us. How fun!

2 years!

Today is George's 2 Years In America Anniversary!! So much has transpired in just two years, it's kind of hard to believe. I'm so proud of my wonderful husband and so happy that we are together. He's done an amazing job adjusting to and learning a new culture. Our life is wonderful, yet somehow keeps getting better.

Moved and almost baby ready!

What a weekend!! Moving very pregnant is a challenge, but it was easily surmountable due to the fact that I have an amazing family! My oldest two brothers seemed to actually be racing each other with heavy boxes in arms...it got the job done fast! It was so fun to have most of the gang around to help and support us. My parents especially went WAAAAYYY above and beyond normal helping. They stayed all day Saturday and came back over on Sunday to help us. It would take me at least a week more to get done what they helped us knock out in two days. Thanks, Mom and Dad, you really have know idea what a huge help you were!!

I accidentally left the camera at our old apartment during the move, so I have no "action pics"...surprise. I do have a pic of my huge belly though!

 Doing my regular morning stretches...

 We really can't believe how amazingly God has provided for us! G and I keep looking around our new home and have nothing to say but, "Thank you, God!" It's bigger than we had hoped for, has a grrreat layout, beautiful view and is close to G's job. We are still in awe and so grateful. Since we are in a space so much bigger than our last one, it's still a little bit of a work in progress (a.k.a. we don't have enough furniture yet:). I really loved setting up Cocoapuff's room and newborn area. I just go in there and look at it throughout the day and night. :) Dad and G should get an award for putting together the huge furniture!

Ta-da! I LOVE IT!

 We still haven't made the mobile...hopefully we'll get to that this week. His name will go above the crib and when his glider comes, it will go to the right of the crib.

His changing room.

As George says, this is Cocoapuff's second room (which is funny, but not true-this is OUR room!). We have his bassinet w/ changer, bouncer, newborn sleepwear and tiny cloth and disposable diapers all ready to go in the "sitting area" of our room. I love waking up to see this and imagining what it will be like when he is actually here!

Despite the fact that my parents left us with a home nearly completely set up, I've still done a lot today! Unfortunately, because of the holiday, Time Warner Cable and my haircut place were closed. I will try again tomorrow. After I get a haircut, Cocoapuff can come anytime!

Ready, Set, Move!!

It's finally here! I get the keys to our new place tonight and the big move happens tomorrow (though in true Bethany fashion, the closet will be moved in tonight). I am so thrilled about this!! We're really in the home stretch now to be Baby Ready. The rumors I've heard about nesting are true...I have a lot of energy to clean and get things ready (well, for the first half of the day anyway) and I'm really enjoying it. Yesterday, I found a very cool Laundromat and washed our gigantic comforter-that was very important to me.

I was expecting to be miserable these last weeks of pregnancy, simply because that's what I've heard from other people, but I'm not and I'm loving it. There is something so sweet and exciting about knowing your baby could come anytime, but not knowing what that time is. I've been knocking things around and bumping into tons of stuff with my belly, but I'm still really enjoying pregnancy. I've told Cocoapuff that he absolutely cannot come or start labor until AFTER our new home is set up! My Dr. thinks there is actually something to the will of a mother to keep her baby in-she joked that she would see me at the hospital on Sunday. ;) I doubt it, but that would be funny! I hope to take lots of pics over the next few days and be a more interesting blogger-because picture posts are always better.

No Noah for Baby

George and I are very fortunate that our cultural differences are obvious. Since we do have such obviously different pasts, we don't take for granted our backgrounds and assume that the other person has the same view or experience. We feel very blessed by this. Of course, it has led to lots of conversations about how we are going to "do life" from those first days of him being in America, to the place where we are now, how are we going to parent?

We aren't dumb enough to think that we can figure out how to be good parents and everything will just work out, especially before baby is even here. We know there will be lots of learning along the way, but we want to start somewhere and we want to be purposeful in our parenting.

We have a lot of dreams and expectations for Cocoapuff and ideas about our parenting style. However, the most important thing for us as parents is that our son (and any future children) knows the Lord. That he hears scripture regularly, that he learns who God is and who God wants him to be, and that ultimately, he makes the choice to have a relationship with our great Savior. We want him to feel comfortable asking questions about God and all the confusing things in the Bible (even if we don't have the answers). We want him to trust that God is BIG and is intimately involved in his life (especially when the day comes that he doesn't feel that way). We want him to carefully examine what people say about God and Scripture and Christian living so that he is not easily led astray. That's a big job! We aren't sure exactly how we'll do this, but with prayer and help, we have faith that we can raise kids this way....and when we put this first, everything else will fall into place.

This is why Cocoapuff won't have Noah story books. In fact, all of his Christian/Bible stories will be carefully screened. While I think it's totally sweet to try and make scripture understandable for small children, I don't think all of those stories are suitable for that audience, and I think that it leads to some great confusion. Noah is my biggest pet peeve (though the Veggie Tales about David's sin with Bathsheba being dumbed down to rubber duckies is pretty high on my list as well). I think the majority of children's books about Noah put an emphasis on the animals, a boat and rain. They make it look all sweet and cute and happy, like God had created the first zoo, or cruise vacation. What is missed however, is that this is a story about God's wrath and an amazing promise. I mean seriously, He destroyed EVERYTHING!! The difference is huge and makes God out to be a very different type of guy. I think it's tough on kids to dumb down scripture so much that they don't get the picture of who God is and then one day, hope that they will all of the sudden get it. (BTW, I don't know what books any of my bloggy friends read their kids and if yours read Noah, not a big deal! I'm not judging people who do read Baby Bible Stories, just saying why I won't.) So obviously, I think too much about this kind of thing, but it's my blog so I can put it out there.

While I search for Baby Bible Stories that I do think are appropriate, Cocoapuff will hear straight up scripture-but not the parts about sex or killing or the end of the world...he'll have plenty of time for that later.

Life and Baby Happenings...

We move THIS weekend! I am so excited to get into our bigger place and set up our little boy's room and his newborn area in our room! I can't believe it's actually here. I'm glad I started packing early or I don't think I would finish in time. The messy/boxed up/organized yet disorganized home thing is kind of driving me crazy!! I think this weekend will actually be a lot of fun, we have a lot of help from family so I'm sure it will turn into more of a moving party than just a boring move.

Nine months is a long time. Sometimes it seems like years ago that we found out we were having a baby and others I'm shocked that his arrival is so soon!! He'll be "full term" this weekend so I guess we can expect him anytime. He and I have had several conversations about when is an okay time to come and when is not...hopefully, he's obedient and we have some more time. ;) He continues to be healthy, active and measure right on target.

Life is about to change for us in a huge way. I feel really happy and excited about it all (I do have freak out moments when I'm afraid I won't hear him cry in the night, but other than that, I'm excited). I wonder all the time what he will look like and what his personality will be like. I'm really looking forward to meeting him and will strive to take everything in and really be in the moment. What a fun way to start a new year!

One Month!

The countdown has begun! Cocoapuff is due one month from today!! I had a great Dr.'s appointment today and pre-registered at the hospital. Now, I just need to move, get a haircut and pack a bag. :) Things are about to get a lot more fun around here!

The State of Our Union

For as long as I can remember, in the week between Christmas and New Years, my parents would go on a long date and discuss the past year and the goals and expectations of the future. They called this their State of the Union Date and made it a priority. We are following their lead and do the same thing. It's pretty fun actually.

Yesterday, we had a great day and finished it off with our State of the Union meeting. No one can really foresee what a year will hold, but this past year definitely threw us some curve balls. My brother mentioned recently that when one of us (my family members) suffers, we all suffer. So true. We suffered through death, job loss, health issues, hard waiting, financial distress and more that can't be mentioned. There were a lot of tears and many unanswered questions. Basically, it was a tough year! I took great joy in throwing away my 2011 calendar...it had things on it that I didn't want to see or remember. In spite of all those things, it was a good year too. God did not fail us. We have grown in so many ways this year-as a family, as a couple and as individuals. As an added bonus and much to my surprise, we actually achieved a lot of our goals!

2012 will be so different, wonderfully different. For starters, we're adding a baby pretty soon here! Secondly, G is only working 1 job, which actually has career growth and I am not working outside the house. We're moving soon as well! We have a lot of hopes and dreams and goals for 2012. Who knows what will happen this year? I don't, but the One who does has got my back. I plan to enjoy the ride and take things as they come. Goodbye 2011. Bring it on 2012!

Christmas Wrap-Up

This was a truly wonderful Christmas! In addition to marvelling at what God has done, we had some really wonderful festivities with family!!

G had to work until noon on Christmas Eve, so I headed to Ryan and Tiffany's without him. They hosted a wonderful brunch that was full of great food and laughter. JJ stole the show and we all enjoyed being a part of his 1st Christmas. Uncle G and Aunt Bethany gave him (and future foster kids) a play tent with tunnel. I love this picture...that's 5, yes 5 adults putting the tent and tunnel together.

 JJ is a hefty little fellow and none of the 1st Christmas shirts came in his size, so he wore it unbuttoned. It kept sneaking up out of his jeans and looked like a whale tale!! It killed me! The sweet little guy had a blast in the tent (so did Uncle Justin) and loved being the center of attention.

 Once G got off, we enjoyed some relaxing couple time, then joined Mom and Dad and headed to our church for the Christmas Eve service. It was packed, but SO SO wonderful!! My favorite part is when the lights are turned out and one candle starts the lighting of the the thousands! Then, it snows! :)

 Afterwards, it was party time! Christmas Eve at Justin and Kim's! The boys were all looking very dapper.

 And I look fat, instead of pregnant in this pic. Oh well.

 We had so much fun as a family and again, the food was delish! JJ of course, continued to have a captive audience.

 On Christmas morning, G and I opened our gifts and hung out for a bit before heading to my parents'. George is so sweet and thoughtful and really loves to give great gifts. This one is especially sweet. It's a Michael Kors watch that G bought because it looks like and reminds him of the watch I wore when we first met. How flippin' sweet is that?

Aaaaaand, the Coach diaper bag I've had my eye on! I will get LOTS of use out of this!! I'm pretty excited about it!

My dad made a really cool sign for Justin. Notice Dad's new "Pops hat"? Cool, I know.

 This was a small family year for us-only 6 people stayed all day! My mom took advantage of the smaller crowd and SERIOUSLY outdid herself in the food department. The standing rib roast was a huge hit.  

 It was a wonderfully relaxing and restful day!

 We finished our festivities with this KILLER cake! It's chocolate gingerbread with ganache layers and the frosting is ginger infused whipped cream. Like I said, mom outdid herself.

Who knows what next year will be like? I have a feeling that relaxing and restful might not be on top of the list with a little one. ;)

Ready for Christmas!!

I am so looking forward to family time this weekend and all the Christmas festivities!! My dad is off today, so we are gonna head out to lunch and do some last-minute shopping together! :o)

Tomorrow, my sister and her hubby are hosting a Christmas Eve brunch at their house; we have a Christmas Eve service at church (I'm not gonna lie-I will be so mad if we get put in overflow again this year and miss the "snow") and thhhhheeeennnnnn, Christmas Eve, a.k.a PARTY OF THE YEAR at my brother and sister-in-law's house! It's gonna be so fun! G works tomorrow, but only for 3 hours so we can totally deal. :)

In baby news, Cocoapuff is still doing great and his growth is right on target-34 weeks tomorrow! I'm feeling pretty huge lately, but I don't mind. My Dr. mentioned this week that even in-utero boys are stronger (typically bigger), have different muscle-mass and temperaments and really do just kick harder than girls. I feel like Cocoapuff heard her and is trying to prove his manhood lately! Also, my pregnancy giggles have not let up...the latest thing that keeps me laughing is that G calls diapers Baby Panties. I don't know why, but that is SO FUNNY to me!

Merry Christmas! Hopefully I won't be lame this year and I will actually take pictures. :)