Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!  I'm so very thankful for so much in my life right now.  To the food on our table, and a roof over my head, our home, a job I love, money to pay the bills, among other things.  I have a husband who loves me/us unconditionally, our beautiful daughter that blesses our lives in so many ways, new baby on the way, family and friends who support and love us.  I am truly blessed and thankful everyday for each and everyone that is a part of my/our family's life.

We were fortunate enough to enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving turkey dinner at my in-laws house nearby.  We headed over to watch the Lions play football, enjoy some snacks, and fun times before dinner.  Hannah had a fun time playing and being a little stinker-brat.  Her Aunt Cassie and Dale helped her play with Cassie's camera, so Hannah loved taking pictures of everyone (and bossing everyone around!)

Dinner was delicious!  We all ate lots of food and were certainly stuffed!  My mother in law really did a good job with dinner - turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, squash, cranberry fluff, marsh-mellow salad, etc.  Dessert was even more delicious, but who isn't partial to the pies and sweets?!  We had a lovely Thanksgiving and as always we are thankful for family, friends, and good food!

 
                                                                       
 

36 Weeks

We are really on the home stretch, 4 weeks to go, we are down to less than 30 days now.  Between Hannah's birthday in September, Halloween, and Thanksgiving, the months have truly just flown by.  As I finish editing this post now, I am sitting at 37 weeks, I'm definitely in shock!!
  

Tonight I packed my hospital bag... I actually had to look up some suggestions online because I just couldn't get focused to get the job done.  Last time we packed the laptop, ipod/docking station, movies galore, books, etc.  We barely had time to get those bags into the labor room before Hannah arrived, so this time we will probably skip on some of the extras.

I also keep telling John to sleep with his cell phone in our bedroom (for those nights I'm at work) just in case I would slip downstairs to L&D during my shift... hopefully he will catch on to that soon.  We have to make our arrangements for Hannah still, a conversation we will be having very soon.

I have been feeling pretty good.  I'm tired, tired of being tired, tired of sleeping pretty bad, just tired.  My body feels good, minus the usual heartburn and reflux, but it will all be over soon.  I did wake up a few days before Thanksgiving with a nagging cold, runny/dry/congested nose, lovely nasal pressure, cough, slight sore throat...fun stuff!  But hopefully a little extra rest over the next few weeks (I've cut back on picking up additional shifts at work until we deliver) will do the trick.  

Besides all the crazy last minute planning for baby's arrival, we have managed to finish all of our Christmas shopping.  We ordered a fair amount online, this option was simply easier to manage then going in and out of the stores (although I really do love that part).  But we are finished, completely, and just have to get to wrapping.

Hannah is doing wonderful, we just continue to prep her about the baby's arrival.  She has been helpful with folding/sorting/putting away the baby's laundry (even trying on some teeny tiny hats)

She will be so fun, I just can't wait!

36 Week Details:
-Baby is the size of a honeydew melon (18.75 inches)
-Baby weighs 5.75 lbs
-At this point, baby is considered full term now!  Although it is "safe" to deliver, it is still important for baby's development to stay inside just a little bit longer.  Baby is still gaining weight and becoming rounder in appearance.  Baby's presentation should hopefully be head-down, and we are!  Amniotic fluid will start to decrease a bit which decreases the amount of room baby has to move around.  Organs should be fully developed and prepared for the outside world.  What an exciting time as we wait for this little one's arrival!
  

John's Opening Day (don't open if you aren't a fan of deer)

Hannah and I were over at my mother in law's house getting ready to have "opening day" dinner with everyone when we got the phone call.  It was dark outside, far too dark to be outside hunting still, so it seemed too good to be true.  It's a good story (I will let him fill you in on the details if you're really interested), hearing about the deer stalking, but none-the-less, John shot an 8-point!  He was pretty excited and I'm happy he is happy!

Hannah, my mother-in-law, and I drove out to the farm to see the prized deer.  I thought Hannah would be a little scared or skeptical, but quite honestly she loved it!  Well not loved it, but didn't mind.  I was prepping her on the way over and pointed things out before we walked into the barn.  It really didn't phase her.  She loves going out to the farm with her daddy, driving around on the tractor, and looking for deer so maybe that has something to do with it.  

John was able to package over 50lbs of meat.  He took some to a local processor to have jerky, "sausage" sticks and something similar to ring bologna made.  I'm not a big fan of the taste of deer meat, but those were actually quite good. We'll see about the meat in the freezer though...  

 
 

Game day fun with the Vogel's

We spent the afternoon at the Vogel's house "tailgating" to watch the MSU vs. UofM football game.  John and I considered going to the stadium to watch the game, but in the end decided it wasn't such a good idea at 32+ weeks pregnant.  The weather was a little crappy, the fans tend to get out of control, and it just seemed like the smart decision to pass on it and watch it from the couch.  (where I also had quicker access for bathroom breaks!)  

As always, the girls had a great time playing together.  They play nice and seem to get along really well.  It's terribly cute to hear them giggling and screaming each other's names as they run around!  

They spent some time in the bathroom tub, which led to putting on bathing suits, which ultimately ended up with 2 sneaky girlies overflowing the sinks upstairs as they dumped water over their heads... Nothing a little bit of towels couldn't clean up.  

The adults had a grand time.  Ben made some delicious pulled pork in the crock pot, D made some yummy sweet potato fries, and we had snacks, and Halloween candy to feed the entire street!  The game was AWESOME as MSU came out with the convincing W.  It's always a good day when UofM loses, so we were all pretty excited.  It is nice to have such great friends close by and be able to spend some time together kicking back and letting loose.  

The girls closed out the night with a bubble bath full of laughs and smiles.  Bathtime was followed by singing and dancing to "What does the Fox Say?" on youtube repeat!  What a fun bunch we have!!