37 weeks and 4 days

Only 2 1/2 weeks left! Tyler and I are both very excited and anxious to meet our boy. Things are changing quickly already and the thought that any day our baby could come just makes things even more interesting. I have one week left of work and then it's time to relax at home and wait for baby to arrive. Tyler did the sweetest thing the other day and sent me these flowers at work.


What a special surprise to have delivered. They help brighten up my desk for my last week.

We are still putting the finishing touches on the nursery - i have hung one picture frame with the only baby pictures i have at this time and look forward to filling the rest of the frames in the room soon with new baby photos.


We are hoping he chooses to arrive a little early (as i am feeling quite large and ready to meet my little boy). We just have to wait and see 'cause he'll come when he's ready. My bags are packed (or almost completely packed) and I am trying to stay active and enjoy the sleep I can get now - 'cause very soon things will change :)

The New Room

While my parents where up for Christmas they did a wonderful job of painting the babies room for us. I didn't make it an easy project as I chose three different colors for the walls and another color for the molding. But they were up for the task and it turned out just how I wanted. Here are a few pictures. There are still quite a few details to finish such as pictures in the frames, the decals on the walls and more baskets for the dresser but the hard part is done and I am so happy with it.





We had a great visit with my parents and are excited to be abel to have them back once the baby arrives. About 5 weeks left until our family grows and we are excited. I have started to feel a little anxious and wondering how everything will get done before baby arrives. There is lots to do in the house to get ready but one project/chore at a time. I'll post more pictures of the nursery once all the details are finished (this may not be until baby Gates has been here for awhile).

Christmas Goodies and Good Friends

Last weekend the girls and I all got together to bake some Christmas goodies and hangout. I always have such a great time with these girls. It was wonderful to finally get some time off work to just relax, visit and bake (one of my favorite past times). Everyone come up with some ideas of what to make and we ended up with several plates of delicious sweets.




What a great idea Renee had to bake goodies. While we all said how we planned on taking the plates of goodies to our neighbors some of us were less successful at this then others. They were just so good that they disappeared off the platters shortly after arriving home with them.


We missed having Brandy, Liz and Melanie there with us and I look forward to when we can all be back together again. What a blessing the Lord has brought to my life through the friendships he has given me with all of you.

Below the double digits - in weeks

I am at the 31 1/2 week mark; which means that we only have 8 1/2 weeks left to go until baby Gates joins us.


I thought I would be more organized by now - such as having the nursery painted and the crib put together and his quilt started...but time has gotten away from me and none of this has happened (or even been started). However, my parents are coming up for Christmas and have so graciously offered to paint the nursery for us while they are here. What a blessing it will be and so fun to get to set stuff up in the freshly painted room with my mom while she is here.

My new most favorite thing is the recliner that we just got. Our couches, though usually very comfortable, are not quite comfy for me at this point. The recliner was a much needed and welcome addition to our living room. It will also be very handy in helping rock baby Gates to sleep.

The Christmas season has come very quickly this year. Tyler and I have been so busy at work that it has snuck up on us. I am finally starting to get Christmas decorations up and this weekend we got our Christmas tree. I stayed back this year on the annual tree trek and allowed Tyler to choose our tree. Tromping through the snow and cold is not quite as easy as it was pre-pregnancy. I had a wonderful "tree trek" by sitting by the fire up at the property, quilting, sipping hot tea and holding my new nephew Titus. Tyler got a great tree, by AK standards, and it will soon look and smell like Christmas in our house.


One week 'till my parents come. Two weeks 'till Christmas and two months 'till baby arrives -- we have lots happening here in the next few weeks/months.

Baby Gates - 26 weeks

Today we went in for an appointment and we got to get more pictures and video of baby Gates. It was fun to see him at this stage. He cooperated well this time without moving quite as much, allowing us to get some good shots of him. Here are a few photos and video of baby Gates at 26 weeks.

The most crazy thing is that next time we get to see him will be in the delivery room - 3 months left and time is flying.

25 weeks

I am now 25 weeks along. Baby Gates is very active lately and is moving around all the time. No suprise really since during both ultrasounds you could see him moving and "jumping" and the technician had hard time keeping up. He is definitely active - maybe he'll calm down a bit when he comes out.

I have to say that the second trimester has definitly been great. I have read that the second trimester is the "honeymoon" of pregnancy and I would have to agree. I feel great and and it is so fun to feel the baby moving. Tyler and I will sit on the couch at night and just watch my belly and feel the baby move while we watch TV - a great way to spend a relaxing evening.

I was so blessed the other day to receive a free crib and changing table from some friends of my sister-in-law. The crib is the exact style and color that I wanted so it a perfect match and a great blessing. The changing table is in great shape but we are going to try and find a way to paint it a dark brown to better match the crib. Here is a glimps of what they look like ---

Now we need to clear out this room so we can paint and set everything up. As you can see it will be quite a long weekend project to get this room cleared out (probably several weekends). I hope to post finished nursery pictures in the next few months.

We go back to the doctor next week for a long appointment that includes a Glucose test and ultrasound. We are excited for the ultrasound but I am not so excited to take the glucose test - drinking a glass of concentrated sugar-type water does not sound appealing to me...but surely it can't be that bad.

Fall is still here which is crazy for this time of year. Not a drop of snow yet. Usually we would have snow already - maybe not sticking around but usually a few snow falls that come and go. We have tried to make the most of this extended fall by going to the dog park with Yawkey when it isn't raining. He loves it outside but is a wimp when it comes to cold weather so his outdoor adventures are going to come to an abrupt halt in the next month.

Kicking and Active

I am now 21 weeks and on the second half of this pregnancy. I am loving second trimester and feel way better then I did first trimester.

Yesterday was the first day I felt baby Gates give me a good kick. I was sitting at my desk at work resting my hand on my belly and siddenly he kicked about 5 times right where my hand was resting. I guess he didn't like my hand in his space :). It was so fun to finally feel him on the outside with my hand. I tired to get him to kick more last night so Tyler could feel him but had no luck.

I am starting to get excited about decorating the nursery, now that we know we're having a boy. Our plan is to clear out the nursery this weekend so in the next few weeks hopefully we can start painting and getting things set-up.