Nathan's messy day

Yesterday was Todd's first day back at work since Nathan was born. We were both bummed, as it has been so great to spend so much time together as our new little family unit. Unfortunately, we still haven't hit the lotto jackpot, and there are still bills to pay, so real life had to intrude.

Overall our day was pretty mellow, but Nathan decided to make things a little more interesting by exploring all of the ways that a 12-day-old can make a mess. He started right after breakfast by spitting up all over his blanket and pjs while I was pumping. This was followed by an explosive and leaky diaper that soaked through diaper, pjs, sheet saver, and sheet. During one of his evening feeding sessions (thankfully conducted in just a diaper), he decided to drench himself in milk--face, chin, chest, armpits and hair! To cap off the day, while Todd was changing the diaper, Nathan peed all over Todd's hand and all over himself! Needless to say, I am very thankful to have a washing machine and dryer in the house; I'm not sure how people with a new baby and coin operated laundry avoid going broke.

In other news, yesterday was also a big day, as Nathan lost his umbilical cord, and the plastibell from his circumcision also came off. He's getting to be a big boy! He seems to enjoy being awake after his 8:30 am feeding and his 5:30 pm feeding, and loves to stare at the quilt on the back of the couch, the ceiling fan, and his friend cow who magically appeared on the side of his crib thanks to mommy.

Nathan loves his new friend cow.

Daddy and Nathan were both worn out by the busy day yesterday.

Nathan appears to have inherited Mommy's flair for the dramatic--clearly, he is finished with dinner!

Merry Christmas!

I've got a lot of blogging to do, including Nathan's birth story, but I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and post a few photos of our little man!

36 week appointment

We had our 36 week appointment with the midwife today, kicking off what will now be weekly appointments until I deliver--eek! We met the new midwife on staff today. She is really nice, and I'm relieved that I like all three of the midwives, so I don't have to worry about who will be on call when I go into labor. Everything looks good with the baby; his heart rate was 168, and he is still head-down. The midwife said that most likely he will stay that way, as he's running out of room to move around!

36 week belly pic

Productive Weekend

This weekend we made further progress in crossing pre-baby tasks off the to-do list, and also managed to fit in some fun! Friday night we went to a holiday party at Joellen's house, which was very nice. It's always fun to see co-workers outside of the office setting.

Saturday morning I headed off to Discount Tire and got a bunch of paragraphs proofed for work while I waited to get a set of new tires put on the Subaru. When we bought the car we knew that we'd need to get new tires put on, and decided to take care of it before we start driving the little bambino around. The roads cleared up, so I haven't had a chance to really test them out yet, but Todd assures me that I'll REALLY love my Subaru with the additional performance of new tire tread! After the tire installation, I met up with Suz at Super Suppers, which is this great business that has a number of meals ready to assemble for the freezer (so no looking up recipes or shopping, you just show up and pick from the 15 or so options that they have on hand). In less than an hour I put together eight dinners to have on hand in the freezer for when the baby is here and the last thing I want to do is cook. Suz and I had a blast chatting while we worked, a great combination of fun and productivity! I also had the chance to spend some time with Suz's parents afterward--they are great people and it had been awhile since I've seen them, so that was really nice.

While I was busy with all of that Todd took Deuce on a big long hike through the woods, which was much needed--Deuce has already been pretty stir-crazy, and it's only the beginning of winter. Then he also gave Deuce a bath (it was becoming essential, especially after spending 2 hours collecting burs in the woods!).

Saturday evening we went out to Aries with Jordan, Dan and Nancy to celebrate Jordan's 27th birthday. It was a delicious meal, as always, with excellent company! :)

Sunday morning I brushed all of the knots out of Deuce's fur, and then handed him over to Todd, who spent the entire afternoon giving him a haircut. This is a very time-consuming process, made even more so because Deuce is not thrilled about the grooming process and therefore does not cooperate very well. I spent all afternoon braving the Portage crowds and getting all of the Christmas shopping done. Needless to say, Todd, Deuce and I were very happy to collapse on the couch last night and watch the movie Get Smart!

My now well-stocked freezer.


Deuce showing off his sassy haircut.

Miles of pink files

This is our busiest application reading time, so I feel like I've been buried under a mountain of pink folders! I do really enjoy reading applications, especially for the students that I have met during the fall recruiting season, but the to-do list feels a little overwhelming at the moment!

Absolutely in love...

...with my Subaru!!! We got about 8 inches of snow this weekend (which is beautiful, especially on the weekend when I don't have to be at work on time). My Subaru handled it like a champ!! I was able to drive up the driveway with no problems whatsoever, even before Todd plowed. The thought that I won't be spending the winter sliding backward down my driveway while spinning in circles will do much to improve my attitude toward the snow. :)

35 weeks

Today I'm 35 weeks pregnant--wow! Only 5 weeks (give or take) to go until we finally get to meet our little guy! Just in the last week I've been getting pretty uncomfortable. The hardest part for me is finding a comfortable position to sleep in. At the moment there are six pillows on my side of the bed that I arrange myself on in various attempts to take pressure off of my hips and my big ol' belly. I feel a little like the princess and the pea, but it does help somewhat in allowing me to get some sleep! The other recent development is that my ankles and feet have started swelling. Not only does that make it uncomfortable for me to wear socks and shoes (rather important on a snowy December day) but it hurts the vanity that I never knew I had about my formerly attractive ankles! Ah well, I guess that's a small price to pay for the privilege of growing a human!

This week we took the last of our birthing/childcare classes, so theoretically we are certified and ready to go for all of the labor and delivery and parenting adventures! Haha. I guess we'll see. :) In the last two weeks, two of the couples from our natural birthing class had their babies. Both are healthy little boys--Pacen and Thomas. Todd and I are next, as far as due dates go, and then there are three other couples due in the last few weeks of January. Exciting times!

Zoo Mob Thanksgiving!

Ten years after it was first celebrated, the Zoo Mob Thanksgiving tradition is still going strong. Since we moved into the house, Todd and I have hosted the festivities, and we now have all of the set-up down to a science. Everyone brings a dish to pass and whatever they want to drink. Todd breaks out the smoker and spends the day creating deliciousness in the form of beef brisket, pork and turkey breast. It is always a day of much laughter and eating--one of my favorite days of the year!! This year we had a really big turnout--17 people for dinner! Gillian and Dylan were in town for most of the day, but had to leave before dinner to attend a family wedding. Toby was sick, and unable to join in the festivities, so Joey and Jenny brought him a plate of food so he could at least experience a little ZMT love.

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful, relaxing and delicious Thanksgiving day. We celebrated at Dan and Nancy's house with a yummy turkey dinner and then rented Indiana Jones and watched it over at our house in the evening. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, so we had to take advantage of it with some family photos.

Nursery Progress

I've been in full nesting mode lately--trying to get things checked off the to-do list before they get me totally stressed out! The most fun has been getting Nugget's nursery organized and all of his laundry done and put away. I've posted a few pictures below, with more to come as I continue decorating. :) Notice how great the bedding that mom made looks in the crib!!

We've also finally figured out health insurance, a pediatrician and day care. WHEW!! I'm sure that getting all of this stuff done nice and early will mean that Nugget will decide to enter the world well after his due date, but at least we'll be as ready as we can be for him!

Great day with the Sarapu family

Leslie, Alex and Evan came to Michigan for a week to introduce Evan to all of his fans in the Midwest! :) By some miracle, our schedules meshed, and we were able to spend quite a bit of time together on Tuesday. It was so awesome to spend time getting to know Evan (a total cutie--I'm in love!) and to see Leslie and Alex as parents. They are really great with Evan, and it's clear that they're absolutely in love with him. Alex made some delicious chili, and we all had a great time.

Baby Shower

I know this is long overdue, but better late than never, right? :) I'll be catching up on my blogging today, and I'm going to start with the wonderful baby shower that Suzanne and Hillary threw for me on November 16. It was a delicious Sunday brunch at Suz's house, which is perfect for entertaining, and was also the site of my bridal luncheon the day before my wedding. I love how many good times and important moments have been marked at her house!

I was thrilled and touched by how many of the important women in my life were able to be there, and how many of those who weren't sent their love from afar. It is always an amazing experience to be in a room that is full of people I love, from different corners of my life and family all coming together in support of an important moment in my life. I was really struck by what a loving community I live in, and that Todd and I are bringing our son into. I can't wait to introduce him to all of these wonderful people!

The gifts we received were so generous (and all ridiculously cute!). I think that Nugget is going to be the best dressed baby in town--certainly better outfitted than his parents! :) Hillary also coordinated a really cool craft project where all of the guests made cars out of felt which Hillary turned into a wall hanging for the nursery. It turned out really cute, and I can't wait to get it up on the wall.

Here are some pics from the day:

with my lovely hostesses

Mom and I and the wonderful quilt that Mom made for Nugget--I love it!

Erin, Nancy, Todd, Cindy, Debbie, Mom and I at the end of the shower

The perfect centerpiece!

The beautiful and delicious bird cookies that Hillary made--they matched the bird on my invitation!

The girls working on the craft project

Todd and I with Nugget's quilt

Cutest laundry bag on the block

When I started my second trimester, Mom gave me a book by my favorite fabric designer, Amy Butler, called "Little Stiches for Little Ones." It is full of inspiring projects for the nursery, baby clothes and accessories, all made in Amy's gorgeous fabrics. One of the projects that caught my eye immediately was a little laundry bag with a monkey hanging off of the bottom. So I've finally gotten around to making it, and I just finished it this evening. It was my first foray into applique and using interfacing and fusible "wonder-under." I was a little intimidated at first, but luckily the directions were clear and I had a lot of fun making such a cute little monkey! Here are a few pictures:

32 Weeks

Now that we go to the doctor every two weeks, the updates aren't quite as interesting! But everything is still on track--baby's size and heartrate, my weight gain and blood pressure. Nugget weighs about 3.75 pounds right now!! I feel him move all the time, and can see his movement from the outside. Sometimes he starts going nuts in there, and my belly is moving all over the place; Todd says that it looks like a kitten inside a pillow case. :)

Zzzzz...

Poor Todd, this is what all of the other inhabitants of his household do, starting around 8:30 or 9:00 every night!

Quilting project finally completed!

I started working on this quilt in the spring, and then took a long hiatus over the summer. Quilting never seems as appealing when it's hot outside. So now that the cool weather has returned, I finally finished this quilt. During last fall's quilt retreat I was inspired by one of the other quilter's projects to try something with orange. I love the way it turned out, and it's the perfect size for curling up on the couch.

Halloween Festivities

Last night Dustin and Jen hosted a Halloween party/wedding reception at their house. They got married in Vegas in September, and wanted to have a celebration back at home for everyone who couldn't make it. Everyone got into the spirit of the party and had a lot of fun with their costumes. :)