Day 29 August 30th, 2010

Today, my husband took me to get a pedicure.  We heard there were nerves in your feet that can trigger labor, but that's not really th reason I went.  I just really wanted to do something relaxing because we have been stressing and so anxious the last few weeks about the baby!  We have finally given up trying the old "wives tales" and are just going to relax and stop stressing and enjoy the few days we have together before he does come!  We are both just happy that the doctor is going to induce us so that way my husband can be here for the birth and spend a little bit of time with him before he has to go back to North Carolina!  We also decided that I would fly down there for Halloween weekend and then he will be back for Christmas so we broke up the big chunk of time that we won't see each other!  Anyways, these are my pretty toes after the pedicure (and I let my husband be a "part" of the process by picking out the nail polish, which he did a good job and knows me well.)  I feel more relaxed now and I have pretty feet so you can't really go wrong with that!!

Day 28 August 29th, 2010

This is a picture of my hubby and our little pug Princess!  She is so excited to have her daddy home and it's kind of funny how much emotion she has towards him being back.  She went crazy yesterday when she first saw him and she has been attached to his hip ever since he has been back!  In this picture she is giving him lots of kisses because that is her favorite thing to do.  Right now she is very use to being an only child so we are hoping that she adjusts okay when her baby brother decides to make his appearance into the world.  I can't believe it's been almost a year since we got her (Labor Day).  She was a great first addition to the family and we are very, very excited for our second addition to the family.  We just hope that he decides to come sooner than when she will be inducing!!

Day 27 August 28th, 2010

I got busy yesterday so this is yesterday's blog picture but it is of my husband and I at the races!  He got in yesterday morning at 9:00 am and I have never been so excited to see him in my life!  It's amazing how much you miss someone until you are forced to be apart from them.  Yesterday we went and saw his dad and his brother Brandon.  We also stopped and saw his mom, sister, and neice.  Then later that night we went to the races to watch my cousin Ryan race.  We hung out with my cousin Robin and her husband and kids!  It was a blast and I'm so glad to have my husband home!  We are hoping our little one decides to come soon, but they are inducing on Friday so we can make sure that my husband gets to be here for the birth!!  We are just praying he comes a little sooner so that way daddy has a little more time to spend with him!!

Day 26 August 27th, 2010

Today, we really didn't do much, but in anticipation of my husband coming home tomorrow I had to find something worth doing!!  So I decided to take my brother to the first Cyclone football game of the season.  They Cyclones entered into a new conference that was suppose to be more challenging and competive for them (last year when my brother played we played HUGE teams and got slaughtered everytime).  The boys made a good effort, but they still couldn't pull it out.  The score when we left in the 3rd quarter was 40 to 0 West Central.  So anyways, that was my day today and I'm so excited to see my husband I doubt I will be able to sleep!  Needless, to say that he and I will probably be the picture for tomorrow :)

Day 25 August 26th, 2010

My picture today is of my mom and I because today was my parent's 32nd wedding anniversary!  They work seperate shifts though so I wasn't able to get a picture of them together.  We were all hoping that today Zander would come and be their anniversary present, but I guess that he has other plans so they had to settle for the news we got at the doctor as a present instead.  The doctor told us that if Zander doesn't come by September 2nd then on the 3rd we will be admitted into the hospital to start the induction process!  So there are only 8 days until our due date and Zander could be here in 8 to 9 days depending on how fast the induction goes!  Everyone is so excited to meet him, but we are still hoping that he decides to come naturally when his daddy gets home on Saturday!  Anyways, today was 32 years for my parents which seems like forever to me since my husband and I are just now approaching 9 months of being married.  I hope that we can have as many happy years as my parents have had and in 32 years we can be celebrating our own anniversary!!

Day 24 August 25th, 2010

Today, my picture is of my best friend Shelby's little girl.  Shelby and I have been best friends since like 2nd or 3rd grade!  We have defiantly had our ups and downs but we have always remained friends through all the bad times.  This is her little girl Harlow and she is one of the best, and happiest babies I have ever seen!  She is so cute in her little walker and she is on the go constantly now!  She has started to crawl now too so there is no stopping her!  Being around her defiantly makes me want Zander here even more.  I'm getting very impatient but I know that he will come whenever he is good and ready to come!  Tonight, Shelby, Harlow, and I just hung out and talked because it has been awhile since we got to just sit and talk!  I love just hanging out and being able to talk and catch up better than even going out or having to do something!  So anyways, that's my picture and tomorrow is my doctors appointment so I'm hoping the technique she is going to try will speed up the process and possibly get labor started in the next few days!  Plus, my hubby will be here on Saturday and I'm really excited to see him....we are just hoping Zander comes to mee his daddy too!!

Day 23 August 24th, 2010

Today, is a picture of my pregnant belly at 38 weeks and 4 days.  I picked this picture today because there are a few people that are thinking that he will come today or tomorrow because it is a full moon.  There is an old myth that more babies are born when there is a full moon.  I don't believe in all those myths, but I thought it would be a good day to use this picture to see if anyone ends up being right.  I still stand by the fact that I have a stubborn little guy on my hands who is only going to come when he is good and ready to come!  I'm a little bit miserable in these final weeks of pregnany.  It's weird looking back and knowing that I only have 10 days until my due date and that at the most in 20 days the baby will be here.  Worst case scenario is that I will be induced 10 days after my due date if he hasn't come on his own, but we are hoping that he comes on his own and in time for his daddy to see him!!  My doctor is stripping membranes on Thursday to hopefully nudge me along, which I have had a few people tell me it worked right away for them and a few people say that it didn't do anything for them so I guess we will see!!

Day 22 August 23rd, 2010

Today's picture is not a very good one because I have literally been awake 6 hours.  For some reason I have a very bad cold or allergies that has caused me to be miserable today.  Princess my little pug knew I wasn't feeling good and she made it a point to snuggle up with me and try to make me feel better!  I'm hoping taking bendryl helps me out because that's about all I'm able to take.  So I know this blog post is short but that is about all I can say about my picture and my dad.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better!

Day 21 August 22nd, 2010

Today's picture is a pretty boring one because it's Sunday and I don't normally do much on Sundays.  Mom and I went grocery shopping this morning and fought the crazy college kids at Walmart (which is always a treat).  Anyways, about my picture this is my school book for the online college class I'm taking.  I was going to be taking a full load for my early childhood education degree but a few weeks before school started I decided I wanted to change my major to nursing so I didn't want to take the early childhood education classes and waste my army spouse money.  This is just a fundamental course I needed in order to fulfill requirements for the college itself.  Right now I'm really glad I decided just to take one class because the workload is twice as much online and with a newborn baby on the way I'm not sure I would have been able to keep up.  So today I just did some homework because I'm trying to get ahead in the class so when Zander decides to come I won't have to worry about what I will miss while I'm in the hospital!!  And we are hoping that he decides to come soon :)

Day 20 August 21st, 2010

Today, was my husband's brothers wedding in Quincy and this is a picture of me before we went into the wedding.  I picked my own picture because you would not believe how hard it is to find something decent to wear to a wedding when you are 9 months pregnant.  For the last couple months I haven't felt like dressing up or doing my make up and today since I actually looked good I decided to get my picture taken and I thought it turned out nice.  The wedding was beautiful and it brought back memories of my own wedding that was only 8 months ago!  I think weddings and pregnant women just don't mix because this is the second wedding I have been too since I have been back in Illinois and I cried at both of them!  There is just somethign about people getting married that plays with you're emotions more so when you are pregnant or maybe it's when you are away from the one you love and you're watching others be so happy together!  Anyways, the day was a success and everything turned out very nicely so congrats to the happy couple!

Day 19 August 20th, 2010

Tonight, I went to my cousin Erica's Meet the Cyclones for volleyball!  I can't believe that she is a senior already this year!  They didn't scrimmage like normal though because of the downpour that we had all night!  I have to admit being back at the high school and seeing the volleyball players defiantly brought back some memories!  I can't believe that after my cousin graduates this year I will have been out of high school for 4 years!!  It doesn't seem real that, that much time has went by.  I can't wait to go watch some of the volleyball games this year though and see how the girls do!  Their first game is August 31st and my hubby will be back so I'm hoping (depending on if the baby has come or when he decides he is going to come) that we will be able to go to it especially since it is against Macomb.  I went to West Prairie in high school and my hubby went to Macomb :)  Oh, and one more thing about this picture.....#3 rocks (it was my number in volleyball too) 

Day 18 August 19th, 2010

Today, I took a picture of my silly husband showing off his muscles that he is working so hard to obtain!  I'm really proud of him because he has been sticking to his diet and his exercise routine to a T.  He is trying very hard to get promoted to make a better life for Zander and I.  I couldn't ask for a better guy to call my husband!  He can also always make me laugh no matter how depressed I am.  Just like with this funny little pose when I was feeling down in the dumps and he cheered me right up!  I know that sometimes we fight and we will never have a perfect relationship, but somehow we just work in the off balanced sort of way.  I couldn't imagine my life without him and he is going to be a wonderful father!  I love you baby!!

Day 17 August 18th, 2010

Well, today I went to a friends house and she had 7 boxes of boy clothes for me to go through and lots of shoes.  I ended up getting about 10 pairs of shoes and 4 boxes of clothes for Zander!  He now has more shoes than any baby probably ever needs and his dad thinks that he will end up gay because I'm giving him a shoe fetish already and he is not even here.  The only problem with that theory is that his daddy has a bit of a shoe fetish and buys shoes like crazy and as far as I know he is not gay!  The clothes are mostly for when Zander gets older, but there are still really cute ones that he will get to wear when he gets a little bit older!!  I'm very thankful for all the people that have helped us out with getting clothes for the baby and he defiantly has a full wardrobe up until he probably turns a year old, but I have a bit of a baby clothes shopping addiction so he will probably end up getting more outfits as time goes on!

Day 16 August 17th, 2010

I didn't do much today because I have been sick all day long, but today was a pretty tramatic day for Princess.  Baxter (my parents puggle) is like her best friend and he has a hematoma on his ear so he had to go to the vet today and have surgery.  He also had to stay over night for observation to make sure that everything went okay.  They called my mom and said that he was doing fine and would be ready to pick up tomorrow.  Princess didn't understand why he wasn't here and she searched for him all day, and had just walked around looking all depressed.  This afternoon she started sitting on the back of the chair and getting on the coffee table to look out the window like she was waiting for him to come home!  It was too cute and I took the time to capture one of the times she was looking out the window for him and she just looks so sad.  So since I didn't do anything today I just decided to use that as my blog picture because it was too cute!!  Hopefully tomorrow she will be a happier puppy because her little playmate will be home sometime in the morning!

Day 15 August 16th, 2010

Today, I didn't do much because I have had a migraine all day.  I did up my walking to twice a day, a mile each time, and I also started online school today!  As far as my picture today I decided that it might be time to make sure my bags were packed for the hospital.  I packed my bag with all the suggested things on the list except for my blankie "Fred" who I will grab on the go.  It makes me anxious knowing that delivery day is so soon, but at the same time I still have this feeling that it's going to be awhile before Zander decides to come along.  We are just praying that he decides to come by September 3rd so his daddy is able to meet him.  While I was packing my bag I decided to go ahead and pack Zander's bag with the suggested materials!  It gave me a sense of accomplishment knowing that everything is ready for his arrival and we are just waiting for him to appear!!

Day 14 August 15th, 2010

Today, was Tiffany Lotz and baby Lotz's baby shower and Zander let me feel better so that way I could go to it!  We had lots of fun and they had some really unique games!  I espesically liked the one where we had to use toliet paper and try to guess how big around she was.  I tried to cheat and use my pregnant belly and just suck in a little but I didn't suck in quite enough because I was still too long.  Baby Lotz got alot of really cute clothes and I told Tiffany that our babies could be dressed up as twins after they are both here because Baby Lotz got lots of the same outfits that Zander has.  Our due dates are only 33 days apart too so hopefully we can do playdates with each other because we both know what it's like to be army wives and away from our husbands!  I hope you enjoyed the baby shower as much as we did Tiffany!  I'm also secretly hoping all the baby talk will make Zander decide he should come out soon :)

Day 13 August 14th, 2010

Today, my mom and I finished the cabinet that we started a couple weeks ago for Zander!  We orginially just had the idea to paint it the yellow and green colors to match his winnie the pooh stuff that we bought him, but then we found the stickers and decided we had to incorporate them as well.  This was a really ugly cabinet that was just sitting out in our garage not getting any use and as everyone with children knows they require a lot of supplies.  I have a small bedroom so I had limited space to put everything so my mom decided we could re-do the cabinet and hang it up on the wall that the changing table is on that way I would have some space to store his baby supplies and it would be easy access for me!  The cabinet turned out alot better than we both expected it too and I think it looks darn right cute!  The only step of the process left is getting my dad in gear to hang it up for me :)

Day 12 August 13th, 2010

Well, I took this picture a little unexpectantly and Jolene didn't have her eyes open.  We went out to eat with her, her husband, her brother, and her brother's wife to a little place in Carthage.  It was actually really good food but the pop (I know I'm not suppose to be drinking pop anyways) wasn't the best because it had no fizz and was very watered down.  Afterwards, we stopped by her neices house for a little bit and chatted with them and then we stopped at Dairy Queen for dessert.  After all that not so good food we went on a walk with my mama and Princess and Jolene because I walk every night (hoping it helps with labor).  It was a pretty good night except now I'm really sick and not sure exactly what caused it, but oh well hopefully it's just a 24 hour thing and it will go away!  That pretty much sums up this picture and my day!  Jolene is like my second mom and this would have been a great photo if I had warned her first.  Lol!

Day 11 August 12th, 2010

Today, my mom and I both went to my neighbors and had her dye our hair and this picture was too priceless to pass up!  She was dying her hair burgandy (sp) and so I named her the spiked purple people eater!  It was the funniest thing ever but her hair did turn out good when she got it finished!  I was going to use a picture of my new hair color for my blog post but this picture was too funny to pass up.  Plus, I had somewhat of an emotional day and my mom and Jolene Mason cheered me up and made things seem better or made it so I didn't think about it for awhile at least.  Anways, now I can look back and remember my mom as the spiked purple people eater whenever I need a laugh!

Day 10 August 11, 2010

I got a day behind on my blog because we had a pretty eventful day yesterday!!  I had a gush of fluids and thought that my water might have broken so we went to labor and delivery but everything was okay and was still only 1 cm dilated.  I took a picture of the book I'm reading because that is what my night consisted of because I was trying to take it easy!  I have been having really bad migraines lately and its painful to really get up and do much, but I have managed to keep walking at night with my mom so I'm glad I'm able to still get my exercise!  Welp, that's all for yesterday and I will try to take a more eventful picture today!

Day 9 August 10th, 2010

Today, I picked my husband for my picture!  He is the biggest goofball and sweetest man I have ever met!  He has changed my life so much and he will never know how much I appreciate everything that he does for me and our new little family!!  He works hard for his country and never gets any credit for it but Zander, Princess, and I are proud of everything he has done and will continue to accomplish!  We have been married 8 months on August 19th and together for 15 months on the same day!  It has been the best year and a half of my life and I know that things will only continue to get better for us!  We are both excited about the arrival of our new baby boy and we know that we can make it through anything life throws at us as long as we face it together!!  I love you baby and we will be together soon :)

Day 8 August 9th, 2010

Today I thought it would be fitting to take a picture of a place that I have been seeing alot lately!  This is my doctor's office for the baby and today we had our 36 and 3 day check-up.  Everything is looking good and they gave me some medicine for the migraines I have been having.  I have progressed since the last time I was seen and I'm now a cm dialated and my cervix is continueing to soften so we are headed in the right direction.  I just hope it continues to go good and he is here before his daddy leaves to go back to North Carolina!!  Chris will be here on Aug 28th and returning on Sept 5th so we are hoping that Zander is already here or will make his arrival while his daddy is back!!  Other than that the pregnancy is going well and our next appointment is on Thursday the 19th!  As long as he makes it to the 37 week mark we are free and clear to deliver at Carthage!!  *So just remain where you are until Friday Zander and then you can come whenever you would like <3 *

Day 7 August 8th, 2010

Today, is a pretty uninteresting day!  I'm pretty sore and been cramping and sorta sick to my stomach so I'm staying home and relaxing and talking to my husband on Skype!  Completely boring I know but somedays you just need days to relax and on this hot Sunday I think it's the perfect thing to do!!  Plus, I got a few things accomplished like getting batteries for my camera and taking my car to get washed so I deserve to be lazy I think.  LOL ;)

Day 6 August 7th, 2010

Last night I went to the races ( I'm a day behind on my post) to watch my cousin and uncle race.  Ryan didn't end up racing because he had a very bad migraine but my uncle Tom did.  He is the 91 car in the distance and he hasn't raced in several years.  He got 4th out of 13 cars which was pretty awesome considering how long it has been since he raced!! I hope he continues to race with my cousin.  Although, I'm really sore from sitting on the bleachers and getting up and down the bleachers when I needed to move.  All in all we had a really good time and I look forward to next Saturday (baby permitting) to do it again!!

Day 5 August 6th, 2010

Today I didn't do much but we did go to the DMV to get Zander's baby carseat professionally installed.  I was going to try to read the instruction manual and install it myself but I'm really glad I took it in to be installed because there was alot more to worry about than what the book actually covered!!  The lady was very informative and showed what a baby looked like in the seat properly (not using a real baby obviously lol) and then she showed us the different ways to install the carset and how to install it in the middle or on the either side of the car. 

Everything is ready for the baby now that the carseat has been installed!  The only thing missing is the baby but he needs to wait until next Friday so I can deliver in Carthage!!  We are very excited for his arrival and has had a fairly healthy and easy pregnancy :)

Day 4 August 5th, 2010

This is my cousin Ryan's girlfriend Brittany cutting my grandpas hair.  It was really funny to watch because my grandpa is particular about his hair and I think Brittany was a little nervous about cutting it.  Grandpa said she did a good job though and that she was a keeper because she was so gentle.  Ryan said she wasn't every gentle on his head and always jabbed him in the neck with the clippers lol!!  There was only one mishap during the whole haircut when the clippers were dropped but luckily they landed a couple inches from my grandpa's foot and not on his foot.  It's safe to say that Brittany might think twice next time she accepts a dinner invitation of turkey and noodles :)

Day 3 August 4th, 2010

I picked this picture because it's one of the outfits that we are planning on bringing Zander home in.  We bought a newborn outfit that we both loved but since they are telling me that Zander is going to be big I decided to buy something 0-3 months.  Since his daddy is in the army and is a hero in our eyes I went with this shirt and I couldn't resist!!  We are so excited to meet our little man!!

Day 2 August 3rd, 2010

I picked this picture for today because it was too cute not too.  This is Princess and she was our first addition to the Ford family.  We got her at the end of August and she just turned 1 year old in July.  She is a lot of fun and has many cute moments!  In this picture she was trying so hard to fight her sleep and was falling asleep while sitting up.  She is a very spoiled little dog so I'm curious to see how she is going to react to having a baby brother.  We are hoping they get along and everything goes smoothly!!

Day 1 August 2nd, 2010

I choose this picture today because we had our 36 week checkup.  Everything is going good with the baby and we are just hoping that he waits for his daddy's arrival to present himself into the world!  I have gestational diabetes so they are a little worried about the size but in one week I will be considered full term and should be able to deliever without any problems.  We are hoping for the best and we can't wait to meet our little guy!!