35 weeks

Ryan's baby shower was this past Sunday. My good friends Samantha and Jayme put it on for me, with a little bit of help from my mom, Barbara, and Samantha's mom, Rita. They did such a great job! We had it at Briscoe Park in one of the little buildings you can rent. The decorations were really cute with lots of pretty balloons, pink and brown toile plates and napkins, daisies, and baby girl decor. We had some snacks first - Sam made some meatballs that were out of this world! And Jayme made some sort of veggie and bean dip that was so delicious. We also had lots of healthy fruits and veggies, punch (yum!), and chicken nuggets.

After everyone mingled for a little bit and had some snacks, we played some games. First, Jayme gave each of us a baby bottle full of fruit punch and the first person to drink it all was the winner. I think they may have been newborn bottles because the hole in the nipple was SO tiny, almost nothing would come out. It was looking like the game was going to last all day, but then my friend Ami had the idea to bite a bigger hole in the top of her nipple...she had the fruit juice down in no time and she won!

Next we played a word scrabble game. Jayme passed out sheets of paper that had baby related words on them that were jumbled and we had a minute and a half to get as many un-jumbled as we could. After that, the girls passed around a roll of toilet paper and everyone had to rip off a piece that they thought would fit around my belly, and whoever got the closest won. Holly and my friend Mandie both got it exactly right...most people were SEVERAL squares over....thanks guys :)

After the games, I opened Ryan's presents for her. She got so many gifts, it is overwhelming! So many people love her so much already. Samantha had to unwrap some of the bigger gifts for me, since I couldn't bend over all the way to get the paper off of the bottom. Ryan got some cute clothes, including a onsie that says "Wee-publican" on it with a little elephant on it. She got some big items too - a pack and play from Nana B, a Jeep walker from Aunt Cathy, and a bouncy activity chair from Nana. She also got 2 bath time goody baskets filled with soap, shampoo, baby powder, etc. Samantha knitted her a baby cocoon so that I can take some pictures of her in it - sometimes the best things are handmade! She also got some hand-me-downs from her friends Russ, Molly and Max. We had dinner at their house a few weekends ago and I commented on how much I loved Max's high chair, and since he is too big for it now, he gave it to Ryan! I love it!!

After the gifts, we had CAKE!! I have been looking forward to the cake for 2 months! Mom got a strawberry cake and 2 dozen petitfors from Rhodes bakery (they also made my wedding cake...they are the absolute best bakery around here.) Needless to say, the cake was over-the-top delicious.

Samantha and Jayme did such a wonderful job putting the shower on for Ryan and I. I am so thankful for their friendship. Everything was above and beyond what I had expected, and they were so organized! Hopefully I can repay them by throwing them each a shower some day :)

While we were having the shower, Dave had some of the husbands over to the house for some ribs on the grill and yard games. Samantha let us borrow a cornhole set, and Dave also got yard golf (so much fun!). There was supposed to be ping pong as well, but somebody forgot to get ping pong balls, so that kind of fell through!

Dave and I both had such a wonderful day (Grimm and Tonka did too...they are exhausted!). We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives. It meant the world to us that our friends and family came out for the day to show love and support for us and our baby girl. Thank you everyone!!!

My cousins, Leah and Lane, flew down from Illinois Wednesday to spend the week with my mom. We went to pick them up at the airport that morning, and they were so tired that we let them sleep until the afternoon while mom and I worked on some things for the baby. Mom patched and mended the rug for the baby's room (it is an old quilt top that she made into a rug a long time ago) and worked on quilting the crib quilt, while I started on a vintage-looking felt lamb doll for Ryan.

Thursday afternoon the girls came with mom and I to my doctors appointment. Dave couldn't get away from work, so he wasn't able to go. We had to wait for a really long time because another patient had to get picked up by an ambulance. We are not sure what happened to her, but she was pregnant, so I hope everything turns out okay for her.

Our check up went well. Everything is still going as good as it possibly can. I have gained a few more pounds than I would like...I am very limited on what I will eat right now because I don't want another acid reflux episode, so I eat a lot of plain foods like bread, crackers, tuna, cheese and milk. Fruits are too acidy...I am even afraid to eat grapes. Sigh...I miss tomatoes. Anyhow, our next appointment is in 2 weeks, then after that we go to once a week. My doctor told me today that in two weeks, I can go ahead and have the baby any time...meaning that if I were to go into labor right now, they would probably want to give me drugs to stop it and then put me on bed rest, but in two weeks, they would just let me deliver. I am excited.

After the appointment, we went to Babies R Us to get some absolute essentials that we were still needing (mainly the carseat/stroller...so we can bring her home...kind of important!) We got a few big things we were needing, like a baby monitor and a humidifier, but they did not have the stroller/carseat that I wanted, so I came home and ordered it online. I also got some gifts for my friend, Ami, who is having her shower this Saturday. She is 2 weeks more pregnant than I am, which is a huge coincidence. She has been on partial bedrest for her 3rd trimester, but she came out to my shower last weekend anyway - she is a really great friend! (if you were at our wedding, she is the girl that caught the bouquet).

We have almost everything we could possibly need for the baby now. I need to go Target sometime and grab a few things with all of the gift cards people have given us. We still need a baby gate that has a "door" on it, so I am planning on using the cards to get that. The one we have now is the old-fashioned kind that you just have to step over...not a good idea with a baby in your arms!

I am going to start letting the dogs go into the nursery this week. Everything is almost completely set up, and I read that it is best to let the dogs go ahead and sniff around BEFORE the baby comes so that it is less of a shock when you bring her home.

Here we are at 35 weeks...

I will have to post pictures from the baby shower later. My friend, Jayme, gave me the day off as photographer and took care of the pictures for me. I need to drop by her house this weekend and pick them up...so stay tuned for that!

Have a great week!

~the Sullivans