The toughest week so far...

I could never have anticipated having to write this post. Not only did I not expect to ever have to write this, it saddens me to know that it comes before the announcement of Eli's birth.

On Thanksgiving afternoon, we lost a wonderful woman, my mother-in-law. Debbie Bailey is Keith's biological mother and inspiration. I married a wonderful man with unbelievable manners, respect, and the kindest heart. I know that Keith would not be half of the man that he is today without the wonderful mother who raised him.

Debbie suffered from emphysema for several years, and has not been living the kind of quality life that she deserved. Her heart and desires were in a place that exceeded beyond her human abilities with the disease that was killing her. While it is sad that she has left behind many loving family members, we all know that she is truly in a better place. She no longer has to struggle with limitations that have been placed on her in the past years.

I must also add that 'Blogging Baby G' was inspired by Debbie. She was physically stuck an hour away, and could not be a part of the pregnancy like she would have wished. Therefore, she inspired me to start a blog to help share this experience with her. She wanted nothing more in life, than to meet her new grandson. She was so proud of her future grandchild, and we hoped it would be enough to inspire her to get better. While she won't be on this earth to share in the life of Eli, Keith and I are joyous to know that Eli truly has a guardian angel looking over him.

I do want to take a moment to thank everyone that has said prayers and called with their well wishes. It has meant a lot to have such a strong support system.

Despite the week's unfortunate events, Keith and I did manage to find some joy, yesterday. I have had an appointment scheduled at a 3D/4D ultrasound office for several months, and we did not want to cancel it. So, we went ahead and followed through with our appointment. It was certainly worth it, and we got some great pictures. We couldn't believe that we got some of the shots we did, surreal! I have attached them below, so you can share in the fun and games. Who do you think he looks like?

3rd Trimester!

I know, I know...I am behind! I actually have two blog posts that I have been needing to post. One is called 'The Babymoon" and the one is "A working girl's guide to pregnancy'. Naturally, one of them is about our trip to San Francisco/Carmel. The other post is pretty much about all of the things that I have encountered in the work world that has been interesting and funny.

However, I can't let either of those derail me from the all important 'THIRD

TRIMESTER"....absolutely it deserves to be in all caps. At least, that is how those two words look inside my brain. Actually, go ahead and enlarge them about 50 times and give them a spinning motion, and you will get the idea. I just can't believe it is here. Where did the time go!?! I kept talking about how slow pregnancy was moving, now it doesn't seem to be moving slow enough. I have a few conclusions that have come to me in the last few days regarding this time period.

A) I feel like I just got pregnant! Ok, I know that is not possible...nor is that how it 'went down'. But, I suppose since I just started to show a belly between 23-25 weeks, it just started getting real. Also, Keith and I are now registered and awaiting our first baby shower. I suppose 'reality' just kicked in the last few weeks...so naturally it feels like the pregnancy did too.

B) I am so thankful to have friends that are going through this at the same time! For those of you that do not know, I have quite a few friends that are pregnant, or have been during the time of my pregnancy. Not only is this the case, but I have managed to get sandwiched into the mass of ladies with my February due date. So, that means that I have a nice group of girl friends that are preceding me with advice, and a nice group of ladies that will be behind me to impart my wisdom on (yeah, right...haha). Regardless, I don't feel 'alone', and when I start to get scared, I just think about all of my wonderful friends that I am in this with (well, kind of).

C) I think having a boy will be the best thing for Keith and I. This is not to say 'they are better', but I just think Eli is best for us, right now. It excites me to see how excited Keith is to be a dad to Eli. In addition to this, I think he has more confidence in himself, which has given me more confidence. I know it sounds crazy, and we would be just as great with a little girl. However, I think the Eli has given us a little bit of a safety net.

D) I suddenly feel like I am back in college. Ok, not really at all..... because there is no similarity. However! I had an internship in between my junior and senior year of school. I had a very official corporate marketing position, to which I worked 8 to 5 day in and day out. Well, despite how much fun I had during my internship, it taught me to appreciate my life as a student. So, when I returned to school in the fall, I took advantage of every fun event, every afternoon nap, and college party that I could enjoy before I had to 'grow up'. So, I feel like this last trimester is my senior year. I have a few more weeks to enjoy sleeping in, have some personal time with Keith, and get prepared 'to grow up'.

Well, I think that is is for my 'epiphany's' for now. So, I will leave you with a few more updates.

Nursery: All of the nursery artwork is completed! Also, we got a great shelf that matches the rest of our furniture. It looks great, and is a perfect home for monkeys, books, and toys. I put in a pictures, but just know it is only a 'mock up'. I will take official pictures when it is all said and done.

Also, Keith and I ordered our glider the other day (like the picture with no cording). We were told it can take between 6-12 weeks...so we are hoping it will be close to 6, than 12.

Belly: Yes, it is still there! I still can't get over where it came from?? I look at 23 week pictures, and no belly. Then I look at 25 week pictures, and belly! I think I picked it up in California, because I know that I didn't have one when I went their. I can actually still remember the moment when I saw it for the first time. Keith and I were in our Carmel bed and breakfast when I caught my profile in the mirror. I took a moment and realized "holy crap, where did this come from!"

Big things to come: I take my gestational diabetes test tomorrow (11/24), which I am very nervous about. Also, our big 3D/4D ultrasound is this weekend! So, we will get our first peak at baby Eli!

Here it is at week 27:

25 Weeks (updates and lots of pictures)

Hey hey! I feel like it has been forever since I posted a blog, sorry. I am sure most of you know that Keith and I went on our official 'Baby Moon' last week to San Francisco and Carmel. In addition to the baby moon, it was a birthday celebration of my big 2-9. Don't worry, the next blog post I publish will have details and pictures from our trip. But, I can say that it was really wonderful! This post is really to play catch up with everything we have had going on.

Movements:

Eli is in full swing right now, literally. I am going to assume that he has set up some swing apparatus in my belly and practices his Cirque Du Soleil around the clock. Ok, well, not 'seriously', but he is moving all the time. I hear that they are most 'active' during this time because they have the most room to move around (due to the expanded uterus), not to mention we have the ability to now feel all of those movements. However, in a few more weeks it is going to start becoming a little cramped and less roomy for him to practice his karate in.

Like usual, I feel him mostly when I am laying down or a little bit more spread out. I don't know why, but when I am sitting upright it is a little more difficult to feel him. However, that certainly isn't the case all of the time.

Every single time he moves it makes me happy. I usually smile or just take a moment to appreciate the 'action'. The only shame in the situation, is there is no way possible to 'capture' the feeling. You can't take a picture, video tape, or DVR the moment...you know? Wouldn't that be great if we had a permanent DVR/TiVo that we could record and replay some of our favorite moments? This would certainly be one of them. Not to mention, it is pretty difficult to describe, as well. I suppose down the road when I am trying my hardest to remember the feeling, I will just have to imagine my stomach or bladder growing legs and moving around.

The Nursery:

Things are really starting to pick up on the nursery front, yay!! My mom is all ready to go on the bedding, and all of the fabrics have been picked out. I think she is going to get started soon, and we will have pictures posted shortly after that. There still isn't a huge rush, as she has a few more months to be on the safe side. But, I am really excited, and can't wait to show everyone the finished product!

Also, before we left for California I had got started on some artwork for Eli's room, and just finished it last night. I had designed some pieces that went with the bedding and 'offical monkey' theme of his room. If you didn't know, I have been collecting monkeys for years, and have more than an ample amount to decorate a room (or a castle). Here are the pictures of what I have done, and keep in mind that I still am working on three pieces that will spell out his name to go over the crib. I also went ahead and threw in a few more photos for you. One of them is a great shelf that we got from my mom, and Keith painted to match the color scheme. There is also a picture included of a cute little sock monkey jack-in-the-box we picked up (too freaking cute, and matches perfectly!)

And...one more visual treat, of my monkeys....can you tell what is strange in the picture? It is like the scene out of E.T., is it not? And yes, this is how I found her one night when I couldn't find her around the house.

The Belly, or should I say 'Whoa Nelly'?!?

I have no clue what happened! Seriously, I must have 'popped'! Check out the 'Pregnant Ladybug' pictures, and I was 23 weeks, and suddenly in 2 weeks Eli has made himself known! I could tell in Cali that I was starting to have a more pronounced 'shape', but not like this...geez! I am still getting used to the idea, ha ha. Also, my belly button (World Record holder for deepest belly button in the continental United States), has still maintained it's depth and glory. Yes, I have this obnoxious canyon in the middle of my growing belly just to become enough of an eye sore to prevent a nice 'rounded look'. Oh, well....I have still got several more months, so we will see how things go from here.