Here we are at 36 weeks (tomorrow).  Unbelieveable.....and though I say that every time I journal, it's that much harder to comprehend & believe.

Tim & I went Christmas shopping all day today.  Our feet, backs, and legs are aching, our minds are numb & our eyes are half open.  We're exhausted!  But the great news is, I am DONE Christmas shopping before December!  That is simply unheard of for me.  I am a known procrastinator.  It feels great to be ahead of the game.  Chances are, I'll find one or two more things I need to get, but for the most part I'm home free.  AND, I've started wrapping the gifts -- craziness!

Pregnancy-wise I'm feeling every bit of being 9 months pregnant -- my biggest complaint being heartburn.  It sometimes feels like my chest and throat are on fire!  It is awful.  My lower back & hips hurt more often than not, and I've been experiencing shooting pains on occasion in my groin area - almost like I've pinched a nerve or pulled a muscle w/o doing a thing.

My biggest joys of being 9 months pregnant are feeling this Baby move & shake ALL THE TIME!  I swear this kid does not ever want to sit still!  I can always feel body parts beneath my skin, and I can sometimes "outline" a foot near my right ribcage.  How cool is that?!   Oh I will miss this time with my Baby - it is such a gift & one I will treasure dearly forever.

Tomorrow Tim starts painting Jacob's "Big Boy" room.  We chose a light blue color for the walls, and will have a sports theme.  Hopefully we'll begin the transition for him by the end of the week?  We'll see.....I am nervous about it, but know that most likely he will be fine.  Worst case scenario, we'll keep him in the nursery until sometime after the Baby comes. 

This weekend we had a nice visit with my brother Mark, SIL Bo & 17 month old niece, Ellie.  It was so much fun to watch the kids run around together - at one point after Thanksgiving dinner, they were both in just their diapers and literally running ragged all over my parents house!  It was hilarioius to see them chase each other and then dissolve into giggles!  Needless to say, they both slept very well that night. 

Last weekend we visited my brother Dan, SIL Anna & new nephew Lukas.  It was so fun to see the newborn phase again, and all its "cuteness"!  It was also a good test run for Jacob in the "Big Brother" role, and for me in the "Sleep-deprived-Mommy" role, as I had to care for Lukas for several hours during the middle of the night, as Anna got called away for an emergency with a student (she and Dan are Residents Heads in a dorm).  I think by saying it will be tough is somehow an understatement!

I have my last 2-week appointment this week, Wednesday, 11/28.  Next week I'll be on to my weekly appointments -------- WOW!  We are certainly down to the wire...

I'm off to take some Tums and get to bed.

Enjoy your week!

Okay, so I'm pretty technologically challenged, so I've only been able to upload one photo, but at least it's a recent one :)  It is of me and big brother Jacob, from October 27, 2007 (I was 31 weeks, 5 days).  In the picture he is giving the baby a "hug".  He is so SWEET!

Check out the photo album and click on the picture to enlarge. 

Other than that, not a whole lot going on.  My appointment last week was short and sweet, just the way we like 'em!  BP, weight, urine, and Baby's heartbeat were great.  Jacob came with me and said "Baby!" when the doppler was turned on. 

We are at 33 weeks today - roughly 7 weeks left; I'm hoping for a bit less, but obviously whenever the Baby is ready.  Hopefully that means before the end of 2007!  I'm getting a bit anxious about Labor & Delivery - I know I have some special challenges ahead of me with attempting a VBAC.  Ultimately, I know I am in the hands of the Great Physician.  It is my prayer that I am awake and alert during the birth and that Tim can be present as well -- whether it be a vaginal birth or repeat c/s. 

Hope this finds everyone well and enjoying the beginning of a new week.  Love and hugs to you all! 

My Dear Sweet Baby,

Your Great-Grandmother Connie passed away on Sunday, October 28^th, 2007 – roughly 8 weeks before your birth.   She was 80-years-old.  She was living in a nursing home across the street from your Uncle Jamie and Aunt Stephanie’s house – not too far from our own home.  She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 1996, and lived 11 years with a mind that was “slipping away”.  She survived a mastectomy in 2006, but sadly, the cancer metastasized and Your Papa Rich (her son) decided not to have her go through further treatments – it would have been too hard on her frail body.

Great-Grandma Connie was a lovely woman.  Though I did not know her well during my years growing up, it was an honor to get to know her throughout the last few years of her illness, and especially over this past year as she was moved from her home to Angela Hospice and then to Presbyterian Village in Redford.  I often said that she and your brother Jacob had a lot in common – the both “spoke” the same language (“Baby Babble”), and ate the same foods (soft, pureed foods – both loved bananas and ice cream!) and were doing some of the same things (reading children’s books, giggling, and enjoying company of family).  It was a very neat time to watch these two generations connect to each other in such an unexpected way. 

I got to see your Great-Grandma Connie on Saturday, October 27^th.  I didn’t feel much like going out – it was raining and cold, and I was already tired from being 8 months pregnant and thoroughly cleaning for a family gathering at our house later that night.  But God nudged me to get over and see her, and for that, I am eternally grateful.  I spent about an hour with Grandma.  I could tell from the moment that I walked in that this was possibly the last time I would see her alive again.  She slept the whole time I visited, but I talked to her like she was awake and alert.  I told her that I loved her; and that she was a wonderful Grandma to me, and a great mother to my father (your Papa Rich), and that he was an honorable man.  I told her that I would take care of her great-grandchildren, and love them a way a mother should.  I told her what your name will be if you are a boy and also if you are a girl.  This was a special thing; no one but Daddy and I know your name!  I said goodbye; a moment that I will treasure in my heart forever.

Grandparents are special people, Baby.  You will have the honor of being born to 4 absolutely amazing and wonderful Grandparents, sweet Little One.  You will have a special relationship with each one of them – different than my relationship with my own grandparents.  You will hug and kiss each other, you will tell each other how much you love the other, you will see them regularly, and you will do SO MUCH together.  God has continued to pour out his blessings upon this family through the gift of such close & wonderful relationships. 

Though this time is a sad time for us, it is also very exciting for me.  I am so encouraged by difference in relationships between Grandparents and Grandchildren in this family – on both sides of it.  I absolutely love my family, and am thankful for each and every day I get to spend as a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, an aunt, a wife, and a mother.  God has given me such a gift – I am SO VERY blessed!

One thing that is significantly different for this pregnancy is the baby dreams.  This week alone, I have dreamt that I delivered a baby girl and a baby boy, on different nights of the week.  That just leaves me even more confused than I already was -- I honestly have NO idea what this baby is - forget about mother's intuition, I have none! 

On another note, I started Christmas shopping already (8 weeks until Christmas, can you believe it?!).  I'm about halfway done I think, or close to it.  We're going to do something "easy" this year for the family, and focus primarily on the kids (nieces, nephews, cousins, etc) because otherwise it gets too out of cotrol all the way around.  Besides, it's more important to celebrate the real Reason For the Season. 

I've been having contractions (mostly Braxton Hicks, I believe) several times a day, and primarily in the evening hours.  I do notice more when I've been particularly active or overdone it during the day.  My body has a nice way of telling me when enough is enough.  Now if I could only listen to it at ALL times, huh?  Sometimes hard to do with a busy 16 month old to keep up with, along with working full time and a keeping house.  Oiy!

My next appt is next week (on bi-weekly appts already, again, hard to believe!) so I'll update more after it.