The Nursery

It's still not as organized as I would like, but here are a few photos of the nursery. I think the only thing it is missing is a lamp. I wanted to do a big gaudy chandalier but Logan won that battle. I am thinking I might get a gaudy crystal lamp instead:)

The yellow really isn't as bright as the pictures make it look. Oh, and the crib blanket still isn't done...I will get to it this week, I swear.

The Final S-T-R-E-T-C-H

Now that I am almost 39 weeks pregnant, I am losing all sorts of pride and don't really care. This whole baby-making thing has been hard so I don't care what anyone thinks of my huge body. I think its kind of entertaining. 

37 weeks

38 weeks

See, no pride left at 38 (and a half) weeks. This is a public blog, keep in mind.

It's Raining Presents!!!

While I knew that we had some great friends and family members, I think I really underestimated them all -- no offense to any of you or anything, we just didn't expect to be so well taken care of. My mom and sister did a shower in Utah at my cousin's house in Salt Lake and we got lots of cute clothes and some amazing homemade keepsakes. My friends and former/current coworkers had a shower here near Sacramento where we were again spoiled rotten (the baby was I mean) and then the ladies in my ward did a fun shower where I was again reminded that this is going to be one well-dressed little lady. I wish I had been better about pictures...I did a rotten job of documenting the showers.

The shower in Utah:

Favors

Food

Food

Cookie pizza bar...yum!

Rodeo queen girls at the Utah shower. Sad thing is that three of these girls are pregnant and I am the only obvious one!

Aw...there's the other bump:) Chris is due two days after me but it looks like she might get to meet her bambino sooner than I will.

Diaper cake from ward shower...I was really bad about pictures here...

Favors from friend and coworker shower in Sacramento

cute and DELICIOUS cake at Sacramento shower

Former and current coworkers at Sacramento shower...this is only a small sampling of the generous crowd.

My coworkers also surprised me and my boss with a small shower at work today. My boss and his wife are having a baby about six weeks after me and Logan.

I think of all the pictures I have yet to get, I wish I had one of my mom and sister, now that my sister is showing. What are the odds we will end of pregnant together again?! They are supposed to come out to Sacramento next week, maybe they will arrive before the baby and we can have a photo opportunity!

After all these showers there really wasn't much we needed. We have been so well taken care of! I had a couple of gift cards and didn't have much in the way of baby lotion, shampoo, baby wash, etc. So yesterday, I went to Target to load up on bathroom essentials for the baby and when I got home, we had another present on the porch...It was full of lotion and baby wash:) Our friends and family are amazing!

Maternity Pictures

Though much has been going on with work and home lately, I feel like growing a brain is the only thing worth documenting. When I went home in January for a baby shower, I had my sister take some photos of us. I think I have grown a lot since then. But I feel much less excited about pictures, so it is probably good we took some pictures when we did.

Holidays, Work Update and Belly Pictures

Since I reactivated my blog, I haven't been very good about updating it. Between traveling for the holidays and being at work a lot, I have been a little drained to say the least.

Just a quick recap: We went to both Idaho and Utah for Christmas. We bought a couple of new cars the day before we left so we ended up driving the new Ford Edge home. You'd think that would mean we would have more space for the drive...um no. We took out a lot of presents, luggage and a dog, so the car was filled to the gills. Then we ended up bringing way more presents back with us so it was even more tight coming back. I spent a week at home while Logan only got a couple of days in with the family before heading to Phoenix for the Arizona National Stock Show. The good news is, it will probably be the last time he has to do that over the holidays for a while...which brings me to the reason we bought two cars.

A couple of months ago I mentioned that we had more exciting news to come. Well, it's not so exciting now because most people know, but Logan got a new job! So, he had to get his own vehicle. Then while we were looking at cars, we found a dealer who could get us out of our Nissan Altima (which we were a little upside down in due to another crappy dealer experience) and get us into a car for Logan and an SUV for me and the kid. It really was a deal too good to be true. We got a really great deal....and then weeks later the dealership realized a mistake in their contract, so it wasn't such a great deal, but still a good deal. That issue is still unresolved. Man, I hate car dealers. They are ALL the same.

Back to the job. Logan left the American Angus Association to go to work for the Western Livestock Journal. We are super excited for the freedom the new job will allow and the opportunities for our family to perhaps spend a little more time together, although there will still be plenty of travel. His territory remains the same for now, but he will be doing only the marketing and advertising side of things rather than all of that plus shows, audits, etc.  We are really looking forward to seeing what the new adventure brings.

And, speaking of new adventures, I have some belly photos...

28 weeks

29 weeks

31 weeks

32 weeks

33 weeks

In all reality, I don't think I am looking a ton different from week to week, but boy am I feeling different. And as a side note, one good thing about these pictures is that they remind me of outfits I should never wear again. I am up about 23 lbs so far (ugh...but only up 1 lb over the holidays!!!! yay for small victories!) and it is really getting tough to move around. Every time I drop something I just stare at it on the floor for a minute trying to decide if I should leave it or pick it up. I have even resorted to asking the dog to pick things up for me. If I point to something of his and tell him to get it, he will. The same is not true for things of mine. He just stares and cocks his head at me.

I have had some pretty extreme heartburn and am really tired. My hair has been dull and limp, my nails have been brittle, but geez, my skin is GREAT! My complexion is almost reason enough to do this again. I pretty much sit at work all day and pet my cheeks:)

The hospital bag is all packed and the baby's crib bedding is almost done. After a shower in Utah next week and one in California the second week in February, I think we should be ready to welcome baby Ipsen. I think she is as excited as we are. She spends most of her days trying to kick her way out of my uterus. Really, I am terrified, especially after purchasing some creepy looking nursing bras today, but I am sure holding her for the first time will take away all the fear. That's what I'm banking on anyways.

Thankful for Thanksgiving!

This past week, my mom and stepdad and my sister and her husband came out for the holiday. It was great to see them and spend a few days hanging out with all of them. We didn't think to take any photos, which is really a shame because my sister is expecting also and it would have been fun to take a photo or two of us as our big bellies progress.

Ashlee had a retched head cold when she got here and on top of her morning sickness, I was really grateful to not be sick anymore. I guess I wasn't grateful enough because within hours of her leaving I came down with world's worst head cold. Ugh.

Other than eating too much too many times, getting sick and experiencing some insane Black Friday shopping where I didn't buy a thing, the weekend was pretty uneventful.

Winter here is in full swing and the fog has been crazy thick. So we have been inside, decorating for the holidays, finishing the baby nursery and preparing for Christmas. 

I also had my glucose tolerance test before Thanksgiving and still have some wicked bruising and knots in my arms where a really great (say that with sarcasm) phlebotomist butchered me. Let's hope I pass so we don't have to play that game again. 

Below are a few photos of the last few weeks to show how the belly is progressing...

24 weeks

25 weeks

26 weeks

Fat Lady Photos

I must admit as excited as we are to be taking this next step in our lives, watching the scale go up each week is not getting easier. But I guess that goes with the territory. Due to popular demand, I have posted some pictures of my growing body. I am confident my butt has grown more than my belly (refer to my hind end at 6 weeks compared to 20 weeks...those are the same pants).  She better be a cute little viking. Even if she is neon white.

I really had good intentions to take a weekly picture in the same clothes, but I have pretty much sucked at that. And I don't think that t-shirt even fits anymore.

6 weeks

This is the morning we found out. See, I started with good intentions.

7 weeks

8 weeks

This is when I started getting sick.

10 weeks

12 weeks

14 weeks

The end of this week is when I stopped being sick. Funny, this is also when I started to gain weight. Coincidence?

18 weeks

I swear I took a picture at 16 weeks, but I can't find it. 

Maybe when I started getting fatter it was easier to ignore the camera.

18 weeks is also when I first felt her...I think.

20 weeks

This is when I am CERTAIN I could feel her.

21 weeks

This is when I first experienced heartburn. Awesome stuff.

22 weeks. Definitely getting harder to hide.

23 weeks. I just took this one today. 

The dress (and the awesome glare) makes it hard to really see anything.

Looking back,  I feel stupid for feeling fat at 12 and 14 weeks. I am sure that in another month, I will feel stupid for feeling so fat at 23 weeks.

In other notes I'd like to remember, my skin, hair and nails look good. Mostly my nails. So I guess that partially offsets the additional 12 lbs I am packing. My lower back hurts when I sit or stand for too long and I sleep like a rock from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. I am sure that will change eventually, but I am really enjoying for now. 

I have read a lot that it isn't good to sleep on your back, but I wake up on my back all the time. Each time I do, I wake up Logan and he gets chewed out for not checking on me. Now, he nudges me several times a night to remind me to get off my back and move to my side:)

That's all for now. Stay tuned for next week!