A few of my favorites...

Remember the maternity session we had with Val a couple of weeks ago?

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our session. Val took SO many wonderful pictures, it was difficult to pick which ones to post....




















Like I said, Val took hundreds of pictures... some showed ALOT more skin, so those cannot be included in the post. I am SO SO SO glad that we were able to have our first pregnancy captured, and by such an amazing person, friend, and photographer!!
Thanks again Val!!!

Another Busy Weekend

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.....
These first two are my 33 week pictures (well, 33.5 weeks).



We had a women's event at church on Friday night- Girls Night Out. Two members from the church offer to host a table of 8 women. Each table is responsible for decorating their table, bringing the place settings, and giving each guest a favor. It is such a fun event, we have it every other spring. I wish I would have taken pictures of the other 40 tables, but I just have a picture of the table I
co-hosted. The tables range from fine china and candles to decorative paper plates and pinatas. We chose a "springy" theme and gave our guests a homemade bookmark with Galatians 5:22 on it and a small potted flower.


My MIL and SIL hosted my third and final baby shower on Saturday. They did an open house style shower, when everyone can just come and go as they please within the alloted time. Keith went with me and helped me open the gifts.

My friend Beth (the one I have rubbed bellies with) came down for the shower with her mom, so that was extra special too.


Linda and Amy did a great job with the shower and I loved the sweets they made especially for the occasion.




Keith and Amy put our new travel system together. Keith gave it a trial run around his parents house.


I spent most of Sunday on the floor of our dining room, trying to seperate all of the baby gifts we have gotten. I only have a few returns to make and a few purchases of necessities that we haven't received yet.

And, exciting news.... Val emailed and she is working on getting our maternity pictures uploaded. So, pictures to come- SOON!

What a Wake Up Call

We had an earthquake. They say it registered 5.2 on the Richter Scale. It wasn't on the New Madrid Fault Line.

Keith and I both shot up out of bed this morning around 4:35. It sounded like someone was trying to break into our apartment. Our doors were shaking, the walls were shaking, our entire bedroom was moving. (We live on the second floor of a 4 family flat that is easily over 100 years old) We have a back porch off of our bedroom and that door flew open.

It only took us a few seconds to realize that we were experiencing an earthquake.

Keith told me to get up and stand in the doorway (grade school drills must have been coming back to him!). It only lasted about 30 seconds or so, but still freaked us out. I just kept thinking, "Oh man, don't let this last and then throw me into labor!"

I used the opportunity to take a quick pee break and attempted to go back to bed. I think I maybe dozed off for about 20 minutes before getting up for work.

It's hard to go back to sleep after an earthquake.

** We had "after shock" around 10:15 this morning. I was sitting at my desk at work and my chair started shaking, then my desk and computer screen. They say it was a 4.5.**

They Say It's Your Birthday.....

Today is a very special woman's birthday.....

My MOM'S!!!



I hope she takes time for herself today. She is such a generous person, always thinking of and doing for others. I could go on and on about her wonderful qualities... I'll just keep it simple and say that she is the greatest woman I know (seriously, I'm not just saying that cause she is my mom).

Mom, I know you'll read this and I want you to know that we are thinking of you today. We wish you the happiest birthday ever.

XOXOX,
Keith, Corie and Baby

Our Weekend

We had a pretty eventful weekend.

Friday night I had a get together with the girls in my small group. What I didn't know was that it was a surprise Baby Shower for me! I walked in and the house was decorated in pink, green and brown and everyone was sitting there just smiling.

It was a great surprise. Baby got even more wonderful gifts and they also did the thing where you ask the guests to sign a children's book instead of a card (they did this at my family shower too), so her library is growing!


Saturday we went to Decatur to spend time with my family. That was our last trip home until after Baby is here. It was bittersweet. My mom and I both got a little emotional when we left on Sunday, knowing that it may be the last time I see her before I am a mommy.


AND, Sunday morning we had our long awaited maternity session with Val! She had coffee ready for us when we got to her house. :) It was so much fun to take these pictures. Plus, Val is awesome- she puts you totally at ease and gives you these amazing compliments, so you can't help but feel beautiful. You can check out a few sneak peak pictures from our session at her blog.

I've been feeling sort of sick lately. Friday night I started having a weird sensation/pain in my lower left abdomen. Felt like something was stretching or almost ripping. It didn't hurt when I sat down, but hurt when I stood up. That lasted through Saturday night. I woke up Sunday feeling good though. But, then Sunday night came around and my stomach was so upset. I took an anti nausea med, but it didn't help. I hardly slept at all Sunday night, going back and forth from the bed to the couch. I was still upset Monday morning and had a lovely morning hovering over the toilet. It was one of the worst rounds of morning sickness I have had since I got pregnant. Bless my husband's heart, he stood by me the entire time and brought me water, wiped the toilet down and gave me damp washcloths. He is so good to me. I felt a little better after getting rid of every last thing in my stomach, but still not completely normal.


Today is my appointment with the specialist and my third ultrasound. I am hoping they will look at my sugar level records and tell me I can quit sticking 4 times a day, maybe go down to twice. I'm anxious to see Baby again. I bet she has changed so much since our last ultrasound. I'll post pictures tonight.

So, that's been our weekend. Hope you had a good one!

Mental Health Day

Just a lil note about yesterday's post...
Today I decided to take a mental health day from work. My hubby just left for work (and interview for a teaching position this fall!) and I am going to take advantage of my time to get some things done today!

List of to-do's for today:
- laundry: getting our outfits clean and picked out for our maternity session with
Val on Sunday!
- post office: to mail my baby shower thank you's and another thank you package
- pick up a gift card for a friend
- get my mom and dad's birthday cards
- pay a few bills that are coming up
- drop off recycling
- call recommended pediatricians
- mani/pedi: for the maternity session, if I have time
- general cleaning of the apartment
- get together with the girls tonight
- pack for our trip to Decatur tomorrow

So, that should keep me pretty busy today. Hope it doesn't rain all day.
Oh, and if I have any "leftover" time, I'd like to catch up on some of the shows we have tivo'd. I'm about 2 weeks behind.

Hope everyone has a Happy Friday!

Needing a Breather

Overwhelming busy- that is how I describe my life right now. It is a HUGE change for me, since I have really been taking easy for most of my pregnancy.

On top of my full-time job, I am still trying to find time for the extra doctor appointments, cleaning, cooking, getting the apartment ready for Baby, laundry and other day to day activities. I know, I know, Einstein had the same 24 hours a day that I have.... I hope this doesn't come across as a "poor me" post, I just needed to vent a bit.

So, tonight I am meeting a friend to do some shopping for a women's event we have at church next weekend, then we have small group tonight. Tomorrow we are having a girl's night for the girls who come to our small group. Saturday we will be making the trip to my mom's for the weekend. Sunday are our maternity pictures with Val, along with spending time with my family while we are home, since this will be the last trip we make until after Baby arrives. Again, I know that most of these to-do's are not necessary and I could have not planned them, but I WANT to do them.

I have my appt. with the specialist at the hospital next Tuesday and next weekend is even busier than this one. I keep wondering when I am going to find time to clean the apartment like I want to and make room in closets and storage. I think we are going to have to lock ourselves in our apartment for the first weekend in May and just work our tails off. Plus, I want to get all of this done while I am still comfortable and able.

WHEW! I've just over-booked myself and feeling the stretch... that's all.
If you made it to the end of this complain-y post- I congratulate you.
_______________________________________________________________________________
** Oh geez, I am almost embarrassed to post this... I re-read what I had written and I am complaining about such trivial things. Shame on me. I am going to post anyway because after reading what I wrote, my outlook is already different (for the better). I will do what I can do and be joyful while doing it. After all, I won't have ANY time after Baby comes! :)

Rubbin' Bellies

My friend Beth and I are pregnant, at the same time... she is due May 29th and I'm due June 2. It's really exciting to be able to share my pregnancy with one of my best friends.

Keith thinks that pregnant women see each other and rub their bellies together. Do not ask me why he thinks this is what we do. But, when he knows I am going to see a pregnant friend, in this case, Beth, he says, "Are you guys gonna rub bellies?".

So, Beth and I did rub bellies last weekend. This picture was proof for Keith.


Cute picture, isn't it?

I was home for Emma's birthday party and my first baby shower! My friends Beth, Nicole and Tracy threw me an amazing shower last Sunday. I didn't take any pictures with my camera, but am patiently waiting for the three of them to email me their pictures so I can post. So, more about the shower when I get pictures....

In the meantime, I'll have to stick to posts about bellies.

Celebrating 3 Decades!!!

My wonderfully, amazing husband turned 30 on Friday! I think he was a little anxious about leaving his 20s behind, but he transitioned into the 30s with grace and ease.

Here are just a couple of pictures from his birthday weekend.....

This is Keith with his 6 feet, 5 inches of lotto scratch offs (who knew that 30 scratch off tickets would be as tall as he is?!?)


Us, getting ready to go to Maggiano's on Friday night...


Keith, opening his new Nike driver, on Sunday. I figured he wouldn't be buying a new driver for some time after the baby comes, so had to splurge on him for his 30th!


Oh, we had massages on Saturday morning too (no pictures of that). Keith had a swedish massage and I had my first prenatal massage. Let's just say that I hope I can squeeze another one into our budget before my due date!

Happy 30th Birthday sweetie!
Hope you had a great weekend!!
XOXOX

Lancets, Test Strips, Glucometers... OH MY!

I have to go to the hospital today for a diabetes class.....
Yep, my 1 hour GTT test came back with high blood sugar levels, so I took the dreaded 3 hour GTT. My fasting blood sugar level came back high for some reason, so my OB referred me to a perinatologist, who asked that I come in for a diabetes class today.

So, I got a prescription for lancets and test strips. I have to prick my finger FOUR TIMES a day and check my blood sugar levels. Can you believe that?!?! FOUR TIMES A DAY! And, they aren't the safety lancets, which are the ones I am used to using at work. (Sigh).

My class is today at 11:30. They told me to expect to be there for a few hours. This means even more time off from work. I'm going to use all of my time before the baby even gets here.

So, I'll check my levels every day and in two weeks, go back to meet with the maternal health specialist, to go over my numbers and to have another ultrasound. They want to monitor the baby's growth, to make sure she isn't getting too big. I don't think she is. Our last ultrasound showed that she was in the 40th percentile and I lost a lb. at my last OB appt. But, on the upside- I get to see our baby girl for a 3rd time! (Smiles) The only bummer is that Keith can't be at this ultrasound with me.

So, I am bracing myself for the fact that they are probably going to tell me no more sweets. No more ice cream, no more cupcakes, no more cookies, no more chocolate and peanut butter! How will I ever survive the next 8 weeks?!?!?!