The Nursery (Almost Done)

There are still a few things I want to add (like wall decals and a framed print of one of our maternity photos), but here it is almost finished.

This was Jason's changing table when he was a baby.











This is the blank spot I want to fill. Up high I want to do some kind of vinyl branch (like this.) And then a little lower I'll hang the maternity photo print. I also want to do another vinyl design above the crib.



And her closet!

Baby's Mooning the Camera!

Maddie likes to stick her butt out. It's pretty strange how it completely morphs the shape of my tummy to one side or the other. I finally caught it on camera.

Me Lately

This is where I can be found (sometimes with an extra cat) a lot of the time lately. :)

Amber Update

She's finally getting better!!!

Things were pretty rough for a while. She was going to the vet daily (HOLY VET BILLS, BATMAN!!!!!) to try to diagnose her and to receive medication and fluids. She wasn't drinking anything and was having a tough time eating. One of the days they almost kept her for the day on an IV. That's what the plan was when I was driving her over and I just broke down in tears at the thought of leaving her alone in a scary place while she's sick.

But now she has finally stopped vomiting, she's eating better, she's drinking, we're getting her meds down her easier, she's acting more like herself, and things are starting to work themselves out on the "other end." Jase and I are SO HAPPY!!! I swear we were about to have a party to celebrate. There were times where we weren't really sure what was going to happen to her. :( I love my little girl so much and am over the moon that she's going to be okay!!!

Last night was our 5th night of sleeping in shifts and hopefully our last. I'm just hoping we don't have any set-backs. One thing we still need to do, though, is go back in on Monday to re-test her for the muscle enzyme level to make sure it's decreasing. That result is still un-explained and worrisome, but I'm trying not to think about it too much.

Thanks for everyone's "Get Well" wishes! I really appreciated it.

35 Week Belly Pics

Here are a couple photos from 35 weeks and 5 days. (I'm actually 36 weeks along now!! Eeee.)





I've actually been feeling pretty great most of the time. I definitely have short phases of fatigue, back pain, etc... But for the most part, I'm surprisingly comfortable for being so far along. I was much more uncomfortable around Thanksgiving, but a lot of that passed. :)

The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth

As my due date approaches (less than one month!!), J and I are getting really anxious for her to be here. One thing we didn't quite anticipate, though, is being so busy in these last weeks.

I decided less than a month ago that my goal is to have a completely un-medicated delivery of our daughter. Jase is really excited about the idea, also, and has been amazing in the preparation process.

We decided to go with the Bradley Method because of it's focus on a husband-coached birth. It's a way for him to be a true part of Madison's birth. :) Many of our evenings are now spent reading the material, doing the exercises, and role-playing the relaxation techniques and coaching methods. Typically preparation is started LONG ago, so we have a lot of catching up to do.

The interest that Jason has taken to doing everything he can to ensure that I have the birth experience I want and that Maddie gets brought into this world safely just shows what an amazing husband he is and what an outstanding father he will be. I can't wait to see our daughter in his arms.

Our Poor Kitty

Our little girl kitty, Amber, is really sick. :( It started with just a head cold kind of thing with tons of sneezing... But now she hasn't been able to keep any food down and has been getting sick to her stomach even w/o food.

So DH and I have been sleeping in shifts to keep an eye on her the last two nights. When she vomits she tends to pass out (terrifying!) and handle it really badly so we're too worried not to keep an eye on her.

We took her to the vet yesterday morning. They did xrays to make sure there weren't any masses or blockages. Nothing bad showed on the xrays, so they gave her fluids, antibiotics, anti-nausea meds, and ran blood work.

She was still pretty miserable all yesterday and got sick again despite the anti-nausea meds. :( I am taking her in at 10:20 today to get the results of her blood work and to make sure she isn't dehydrated.

We've been watching her every move and I'm pretty darn exhausted, but I just want to make sure she's alright. I've never seen a kitty go through something like this. :(

I'm hoping the blood work looks good and that she keeps getting better. Thank goodness I'm working from home today.

And just for kicks: a pic of our little monkey.

Maternity Photos

Yesterday Jason & I headed to Baker Beach in San Francisco to do a maternity photo shoot with Kelly Marie! She was wonderful and we already love the few sample shots she emailed over yesterday. Take a look!













Kelly M Photography

32 Weeks

I'm hoping to get a big update here all in one post.

Our Move & New Apartment

Thanks to our awesome friends and family who helped us unload ALL of our belongings from the POD into our apartment in absolute record time!!! That was on the 15th. Now (on the 20th) we are down to only a few boxes! Even the nursery is starting to come together. :) I'll have to take more photos of the place, but for now here are a couple of me mid-nursery-set-up:





We're still not set up with any phone/internet/TV services. We're trying to go with Uverse, but they're telling us it's going to be a MONTH until they can do the install. HUH? Seriously? So I'm often MIA on my email, etc. Sorry!

A HUGE thanks to Z & S for letting us invade their pad while we were "homeless." We had such a fun time while we were there! :-D

And our kitties sure made themselves at home!



Birthing Classes

We started our birthing classes a couple weeks ago. They're once a week for 5 weeks. So far it has been informative an comforting. Last week we watched some of the infamous videos. They weren't completely traumatizing and, per usual, I cried as soon as that baby was born! *lol* Pregnancy has turned me into such a sap.

The Pregnancy

So those little week to month converters are telling me I'm 8 months pregnant. EIGHT MONTHS!? Wow time is flying. I have to say: I'm starting to feel it. I've been lucky and have had a relatively easy pregnancy so far (aside from the morning sickness), but I'm starting to feel it now. My general comfort level has gone down a lot and I'm in pain a lot of the time. Most of the time it's the nerve in my back pinching (which makes it hard to move/walk.) So now I'm just starting to take it a little easier and stay off my feet more. As long as she's in there growing / kicking / thriving, then I'm happy. :)

Some Photos

30 Weeks



31 Weeks (On a day-trip to Monterey w/ Joann & Sarah!)

An update on us.

Well, it's a bit of a long story, but after a situation with the Home Owner's Association that we could not control, the loan (and therefore the entire house-purchase) crumbled just days before we were scheduled to close and we will no longer be home-owners (for now.)

It's frustrating and we were definitely disappointed, but we've accepted that it happened, are hoping it's because a better place is meant to come along, and we're moving on.

On the note of moving on, we've already signed a 6-month lease on an apartment that we really like. It's not far from our previous apartment and the floor plan is really cool!



For now we're living with our great friends, Zak & Sarah. We "moved" in on Sunday with our two kitties since we had to be out of my Father-in-Law's home due to it's sale. We'll be kicking it here in Z & S's rockin' "guest suite" until this Friday or Monday.

We also (finally) bought a second car. 2009 Toyota Corolla S in a Dark Shimmery Grey. It will primarily be baby & my car. It's been really great being able to get by with one car, but now that I am going to be home on maternity leave eventually and then working from home part of the time, it was necessary to get a 2nd one.



Baby Madison is doing great! We have an appointment tomorrow morning, but it's a very routine one. I'll post more photos soon. She seems to be growing quickly! I CANNOT wait to get her nursery set up. :) Soon! So soon!