Anyday Now!

How far along: 39 weeks & 4 days (but who's counting!)

Total weight gain: About 40. But I haven't gained more than 3 in the last few weeks (phew!)

Maternity clothes: Absolutely & Brett's clothes.
Sleep: Still pretty good. I have a rough night here & there because I have to get up & pee, am congested or have a sore back

Best moment this week: CHRISTMAS!! Brett got me a Pandora bracelet from Kinsley with a baby carriage charm on it. Also, a Willow Tree Angel representing 'New Life' with a Mommy & Daddy with their new baby. I cried.<3>

Movement: Jabs all the time. Oh, & the doctor confirmed that her head's on my bladder. Yikes!

Food cravings: mostly sweets just because it's the holidays. Isn't that what EVERYONE'S craving! haha.

Gender: Better still be a little princess!
Labor signs: She's dropped, I'm thinning & starting to dilate. Pressure every now & again.

Belly-button: My 'done button' is completely popped!

Stretch marks: NONE.. thank heavens!

What am I most looking forward to: Holding Kinsley, looking at her sweet little face & seeing Brett hold her :)

Weekly Wisdom: Take life one day at a time.

Baby Shower with my Co-Workers

On Saturday, December 11th, my AMAZING co-workers threw a baby shower for me in Buckhannon. They held it at the 88 Restaurant in Buckhannon. We had dinner, cake & presents. Some other close friends attended and my parents were able to make it, as well! I was so happy they could come because this was the first time they got to meet most of my co-workers.

Again, we received so many wonderful gifts & had such a great time. It was just a small gathering of close friends & we had so much fun. The restaurant was decorated so pretty for Christmas too! Brett & my dad had dinner on the other side & then joined us for cake & present opening. One of the neatest presents we received came from Kim Klaus, my boss. She recently returned to the states after spending 3 weeks in Austria with her family. She brought back an authentic Austrian rattle for Kinsley. HOW COOL!
Brett & I sorted through all those presents as soon as we got home & my parents left for Ohio. It's so much fun to play with everything & really enjoy it after the fact (I found that out after both showers). We had everything organized & put away within an hour or two. The next day was my favorite, we decided to take all the money & giftcards we received from both showers & go SHOPPING!
We went to Target & pretty much finished EVERYTHING that was left on our registry. We had so much fun! Brett's a GREAT help!!! The best part about Target, is after your shower is over, they immediately send you a 10% coupon for everything left on your registry. Boy, oh, boy did we take advantage of that! Plus, I was finally able to decide on some bottles & other little things like that that I hadn't done before. Kinsley is a special little girl & only deserves the best & that's just what we got her! :)

Kinsley's Nursery

After the first baby shower, the nursery was a MESS. And if you know me, it wasn't going to last long because I have a mild case of OCD. We were able to complete finish Miss Kinsley's nursery. I sorted through everything the Friday following the shower & wrote thank-you's. Then came my favorite part, ORGANIZING. It's a hobby of mine, not even kidding. I got all of her clothes, blankets & towels washed & did some serious organizing. Things for the first 3 months went in drawers, everything else in a storage container organized by age.

The best part was my early Christmas gift. All I asked Brett for for Christmas for Kinsley & I was a glider. I finally found one that was neutral & black on Target's website. We had it within a few days & Brett put it together immediately. Now, I can't keep myself out of it, it's AMAZING! I absolutely love going in there in the evenings with just her little bedside lamp on & rocking in it as I catch up with my mom on the phone. Soon enough, I'll be in there rocking Kinsley. I cannot wait. It's absolutely perfect just like she's going to be!

Her room is so absolutely cozy. I find myself in there from time to time throughout the day for no real reason, just looking around because it puts a smile on her face. I also find myself walking over to the crib & just looking inside. It seems like we'd never be ready for her. But now that we are & everything's in order, I just cannot wait to look into that crib & see her in there sound asleep (or crying! haha). Brett & I are completely in love with the room & her & just cannot wait to have her here with us & show her the place that will be her new home! :)

Getting ready for Christmas

Brett & I had a GREAT time getting our house ready for Christmas. Mom & Dad gave us their old Christmas tree that we put up in our closed-in front porch which we call our 'Ohio State Room'. So Brett had the idea to have an Ohio State tree. I like his style! ;) After one of our daily Walmart runs we came back with a whole assortment of red & silver decorations for the tree, new lights and all sorts of other things. We had such a great time decorating the house.

A family friend of the Ripley's, Linda Hill, has given Brett an authentic Santa Clause each year since he was born. I had heard so much about this Santa collection & although I didn't know much about it, I wanted to make it special for him when they came out of storage. I was at Michael's one day & found this great garland for the mantle & white lights (my favorite Christmas combination). When he got those guys out & we started putting everything together, I couldn't believe how beautiful it looked. Linda was so excited when I posted pictures on facebook because #1 she hadn't seen all those Santas together in years, but also was happy to see that the Santas meant as much to as as they did to her. What a fun Christmas tradition! :)

Ohio Valley Baby Shower

Sunday, November 28th was our Baby Shower & was it ever perfect! It was held at Generations Restaurant in Wheeling (a halfway point for both families). Everything was PINK & I LOVED it! We had such a great turn out. I couldn't have asked for anything better. We had about 50 in attendance, played just a few games (nothing too cheesy) & gave out awesome gifts from Bath & Body Works products, homemade wreaths my Aunt Jacki made & poinsettias that were the centerpieces on each table. We were served a light lunch of chicken salad croissants & fruit salad.

Everyone was so happy because Brett came to meet everyone & open presents, sometime not very common at showers. He was such a great help & it was so nice to have him there with Kinsley & I. She loves her Daddy & was excited for him to see all the new things she had gotten! We got soooooooo many gifts I couldn't believe it. From essentials, home made blankets, clothes, toys, bouncer, shopping cart cover.. just everything! And my absolute favorite.. my COACH baby bag!! =D

My mom also had a golf bag diaper cake made for Brett & surprised him with a pair of golf shoe slippers for little baby girls that he got to open. He was so excited, and is hoping for a little golfer in the future!

We actually got soooo many presents we couldn't fit them all in the Trail Blazer to take back to Buckhannon. My mom ended up having to take some home with her & bring them down later! Kinsley-Baby hit the jackpot. We had such a wonderful day though & are so blessed & lucky to have such wonderful friends & family in our lives & to welcome Kinsley too.

Catching up -- Thanksgiving

Brett & I were able to travel back to the Ohio Valley for the last time before the baby to be with our families for the holiday. On Thanksgiving Day we were able to have dinner with my side of the family then, traveled to New Martinsville to spend the second half of the day at the Ripley's. Everyone was SO excited to see how much Kinsley had grown over the last several weeks.

Friday, I met my mom in Wheeling to do some Black Friday shopping while Brett spent some time with his family. That night, Coach Ripley & the Magnolia Blue Eagles solidified their spot in the WV Class AA State Championship game with a BIG win over Greenbrier West. This weekend was heading in a great direction!

Saturday we were all at the Blazeski residence in Dillonvale for 12:00 of The Ohio State Buckeyes as they played rival Michigan. Brett's parents were able to make it up for the big game as were Cheddie, Julie & Tori (cousins from Columbus). We spent the afternoon in the living room in front of the 47-inch flat screen watching the game in HD & eating a TON of food. For the 7th year in a row, the Buckeyes prevailed!

That night Brett & I traveled to Glen Dale for Joe Blatt's engagement party. Joe, long time friend of Brett's, & his fiance' Holly will marry in May & Brett is a groomsmen in the wedding. It was so nice to finally meet them & spend some time meeting some people close to Brett's childhood. After some story sharing, good food, a few drinks for a Brett (punch for me) & great people, it was time to go back to Dillonvale to prepare for the BABY SHOWER!

Sunday morning was hectic, but I was soooo anxious & excited for our baby shower. This was the first time some of my family & friends would be meeting Brett, meeting Kinsley & I was so excited to see everyone! I'll do a separate blog for the shower, which by the way, hats off to my mom, WAS AMAZING!!

8 Months

How far along: 32 weeks & 4 days.
Total weight gain: 25 pounds (we'll see what they say tomorrow at my appt.)
Maternity clothes: Here & there, I'm still getting away with regular clothes that my dad always said were for pregnant women, perfect!
Sleep: Like a baby. No pun intended. She doesn't keep me up at all considering Brett said he felt her doing 'jumping jacks' in the middle of the night a few weeks ago!
Best moment this week: Seeing the nursery finally coming together
Movement: sleeps soundly then she's a little jitter-bug!
Food cravings: Pumpkin pie blizzard from DQ
Gender: Pink, pink, pink!
Labor Signs: Braxton-Hicks have officially kicked in.
Belly-button: definitely popping more all of a sudden
Stretch marks: none... yet, thank heavens!
What am I looking for to: Brett & I finishing travel, getting the nursery finished, Thanksgiving, Ohio State v. Michigan football game & my baby showers!
Weekly Wisdom: "Keep your eye on the prize."

For 32 weeks pregnant, I'm feeling great. Last week I dealt with some SERIOUS foot/ankle swelling. I was having VERY, VERY busy days back-to-back with very little time to rest, lie down, raise feet, etc. It made me super nervous, but since this past Sunday, everything has been normal.

Braxton-Hicks contractions have officially set in over the last week or two. Everything will be fine & dandy then suddenly in the middle of Walmart, YIKES! Squinch my eyes for a second, hold my breath & then it passes. Apparently these are 'warm up' contractions for the real thing. 32-week check-up is tomorrow so we'll see what the doctor says about everything. Otherwise, in my book, everything is right on track!