The Final Countdown!

Here we go! The 9th and final month! Looking large and in charge! Sometimes I just set the timer on my camera to take my monthly pic but Ryan actually gets the credit for this one. It took him a few tries though because he kept doing weird things like cutting off my feet which canNOT happen because I just got a wonderful pedicure thanks so some awesome friends from work! It was such a nice treat and so much fun! Ryan thought I would want to edit out my cankles but then of course he got in trouble because I don't HAVE cankles... yet. I'm expecting those will be an a part of the next few weeks as I'm swelling more lately. I think I learned in college that when the baby gets to a certain size he cuts off the filter system that prevents swelling. I'll take that as he is definitely getting bigger. I think my face, butt, arms, and thighs are REALLY swollen (haha) so I'm ready for this baby to come and get back down to normal over the next few months. Karen Hurd can expect my call as I say adios to sugar once again.

I'm fully aware that taking care of a baby will be lots of work and hard with little sleep but seriously though, I am welcoming that change not only to finally meet him but also to be able to sit and lay and walk more comfortably. It's trading one kind of hard for a new but better kind of hard. I have guilt for not really "enjoying" being pregnant. I can't complain too much... except for the kidney stone, I want to complain about that because it was horrific... but other wise it has been ok. I'm just looking forward to getting this baby in my arms and having our family.

Ryan and I are not the only ones excited to meet this baby... or shall I say meat this baby. Big cousin Caden wrote this sweet note for baby! He's excited to meat you too cadeo... and strike you out! jk!

These two little ones probably don't know about the baby yet. When I ask Lucas where his baby cousin is he points to his tummy. I brought little gizmo over to my parents last week for some training sessions. One training session was exposure to unpredictable babies (ie:Lucas) and just a chance to sniff out the place and practice going outside at their house. She has been over there lots of times but I wanted to bring her over a few more times since she will be having a sleepover or two here when the baby comes. Mimi and Papa are the puppy sitters.

On the drive back from Christa's wedding reception last month we stopped at the outlets for a little shopping. Ryan bought me this amazing ring for my christmas/graduation/valentines/anniversary/push present. I'll just call it my push present... even though I didn't push yet... I know I will so this is my "good job, you pushed out a baby" gift. I'm wearing it on my ring finger right now since my wedding ring doesn't fit my swollen fingers but I'm going to eventually wear it on my middle finger of my right hand. I'm also going to get the baby's name on the inside. I love diamonds! :) It's so sparkly!!! Thanks Ryan!!!

The babies room was MOSTLY done last month but now its really done and ready for a person to live in it. The papers on the wall cover up his name. I had these wooden letters and instead of painting them I got some awesome scrap booking paper and glue sticked it right onto the wood. It looks SO good but you will have to take my word for it for now. It makes the whole room look awesome and yes it actually even introduces a little color too.

I really like that over the door thing from babies r us. All sorts of important things will be right at an arms reach. All of his clothes are washed and ready to wear and yesterday I just bought the last thing I can think of that he might need right away - baby shampoo. I was talking to Katie as I was grabbing it at Target and she convinced me to go with the burt's bees (which I love) and also talked me into frangrance free (which is actually pretty important because frangrances stimulate the immune system) and then she was like smell it, it smells so good. So I did, and yup, nothing. It doesn't smell. So the frangrance free is legit.

My parents found another box of clothes at their house that I went through the other day and they also gave me "THE blanket." I didn't even know there was a blanket. Apparently it is the blanket my sisters and I all came home from the hospital in. So that is sitting in this pic on the changing pad along with his going home outfit as I'm starting to pack things up for our hospital stay.

Also the diaper bag on the door handle was made by my parents' neighbor Vanessa. It's so nice! So much better than a bag I could have found at the store. I love the size and weight of it. It's perfect!

I'm not really sure what will go on these shelves yet and I know it doesn't look awesome yet. The little elephant is from my aunt Lisa who just got back from Uganda. Their translater hand made it for me for our baby! So special! I had a big talk with Ryan at lunch today about if he is SURE that we picked the right name for the baby. He is VERY sure. I keep wavering a little bit because I want to make sure it's right. The t-ball glove (on the shelf) that I gave Ryan for his b-day when I told him the news says Easton on it. I love that name but Ryan says that it is a better little brother name. So if you were guessing Easton, guess again. But that was probably our 2nd place choice and may or may not be the name of an upcoming child.

The other new addition to the room is a rug. I was trying to explain tummy time to Ryan and that he needs a softer place to play. I love this rug because the price was right and it is surprisingly really soft! It makes the whole room more cozy too. It's a little hard to tell from the picture but it is kind of shaggy and has beige and cream and white all mixed together.

On to the basement. This is our (Ryan's) baseball stuff. I found that cartoon of his uncle Cliff on the right online last summer.

Ryan's uncle passed away a few weeks ago. It was really sad. We visited him in Boise two summers ago but Ryan did not think that would be his last time seeing him. They spent many summers together at the ranch and Ryan loved him a lot. It was a hard loss for him

Here is little Ryan and high school Ryan of course loving baseball!

And here is Ryan's new office. He has been spending way too much time on taxes lately down here.

We went to the wolves game the other night. Everyone got a white t-shirt to wear for the "white out." Everyone wore it except for all the laker fans (maybe not a great night to do a white out when we were playing a popular opposing team) and the fat guy behind us that yells way too loud way too much. Luckily the shirt was XL so I could squeeze into it. Speaking of wearing XL, I finally wised up and raided Ryan's closet. Bigger clothes are way more comfortable than tight clothes. Back to the wolves, Rubio went down in the last few seconds with a torn ACL. We were so upset and I think my hormones made me extra upset. He was so fun to watch! And now he's out for the season. Oh well, bring on the Twins season.

It really FEELS like Twins season with this amazing 65 degree weather! We are laying around watching a preseason game right now and are about to go for a walk at Calhoun. Spring time is just what the dr ordered. The snow is gone and the baby is right around the corner! I can't wait!

The nice weather even introduced a whole to dimension to nesting for me too. Yesterday was so nice out! I aired out the house, cleaned all the walls (I know, "what the?" is what I think about that too but its so fast and easy with my mom's norwex dry mop), cleaned all the floors, washed all the curtains in the house (again, what the?) and washed the windows outside and cleaned up the porch. I love nice weather!