The End of Week One

Sadly, we are back from Rehoboth, so I don't get to start every morning with donuts and bagels freshly delivered by John and Orelia.  I have plenty of photos to share, though, to remind me of our wonderful vacation.  Here are the last set from our first week.

Orelia loved her morning routine and couldn't wait to get on the bike with Daddy to head to the bakery.  (I also loved the sleeping in that the routine afforded me.)

We had a great first week, and Orelia had lots of laughs with her grandparents.

She shared a few laughs with her somewhat less exciting parents too.

Daddy was, of course, willing to go into the pool while Mommy watched from the sidelines.

Sometimes Orelia loved her floatie, but most of the time it seemed to bore her.  Being in Daddy's arms was much more exciting.

In the mornings and evenings, the family often gathered on the second story deck.

Orelia often took this as an opportunity to consume as many bubbles as possible.

Why anyone would find this appetizing is beyond me, but our girl also has a taste for sand, so maybe I should not be surprised.

Just don't try to tell her she can't eat the bubbles.  "As if," she seems to be saying.

When on vacation anything goes, especially if it means we can put our feet up basking in the sun on a beautiful porch.

The Three of Us

I'm not usually in a lot of family photos, and I'm in even less these days as my belly gets bigger and bigger.   On my dad's last morning with us, I decided I needed some photos of me and my belly and Orelia.

Orelia's little brother is less than three months from his debut, and my lap is getting smaller and smaller.  Somehow we still find a way for her to fit.

Orelia has always loved being carried and is the queen of "uppies" with everyone she loves.  Lately, however, there aren't a lot of times when Mommy uppies are offered.  The other evening when we finally trekked back to the car from the boardwalk, I deemed I would finally pick her up for the final stint where we walked across the street.  She literally cheered "Mommy!  Up!" and waved her fists in the air.  Success at last, I suppose.

She will kiss her brother via my belly when requested, and is pretty good about being gentle with me when we remind her of the baby.  Things are already different for her, and he hasn't arrived yet.  It will be a big exciting adjustment for all of us, but I'm sure she will do great.

Due Date

Well it's my due date, and unless I start labor in ten seconds and pop this baby out very quickly, our daughter is not going to have a birthday of August 2nd.  Last week the baby dropped, and I started to think the baby would be born soon, but now I'm of the opinion that it's going to be awhile.  I have no idea whether  mothers actually have a sense of when their babies will arrive, but my gut tells me she is staying put.

Above you can see my progression  of presentable woman to someone who doesn't wear makeup or blow dry her hair.  Also, apparently I started shoving a basketball under my shirt.

38 Weeks and Running Out of Room

I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling that by the time you reach 38 weeks, you begin to feel like you are running out of room for more baby.  Luckily, she's not supposed to be growing at quite the same rate she previously was growing, so I may be able to tolerate another half a pound of baby in between my lungs and bladder.

I'm 38 weeks as of yesterday, when I snapped this photo on my way to the gym.  I've run out of Grey's Anatomy episodes to watch on Netflix while on the elliptical machine, so I've taken to watching 30 Rock.  People at my stage of pregnancy garner enough attention at the gym, much less ones who are giggling to themselves on the elliptical about "working on my night cheese."

After my visit to the gym, I came home and cooked for several hours so we could host a poker night for John's coworkers.  I think some people may describe me as a glutton for punishment?

Maternity Photos by Anika

Not only did Anika fly out to California and throw me a baby shower, but she also took some amazing maternity photos for us.

Anika is a wonderful photographer and now owns her own photography business - Anika Steffen Photography.

We went out to Crissy Field one afternoon to capture some images with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

This is the Golden Gate Fam blog, after all.

I haven't posted a bump photo in awhile, partially because I feel like a whale!  Anika managed to take photos that I love (where I don't look like a humpback).

I'm 37 and a half weeks now, and the doctor says the baby could essentially come at any time now.  We are so eager to get our baby girl in our arms, but I wouldn't mind if she waited to get fully cooked before she makes her debut.  

Thank you again, Anika, for the lovely photos.  I'm so happy to have this time in our life captured.  Now I just need to figure out which one to put in our daughter's baby book!

34 Weeks!

I'm 34 weeks now, and things are starting to get real.  We have selected our daughter's pediatrician and learned infant CPR this week.  Tomorrow we're taking "Baby Care" class, which I assume has something to do with changing diapers.

We had our last regularly scheduled ultrasound today, and Baby Girl is head-down like she should be.  Nice that she is obedient from the get-go.  The doctor measured her a bit and said that she had long legs - lucky gal!  We got to see her essentially suck on her fist, and the doctor proclaimed we won't need a pacifier.  Ha!  She still looks like a girl too, which is good since any son we have would be clothed exclusively in pink and purple at this point.  She barely kept still long enough for us to see what the doctor was pointing at.  Overall, she looks healthy and everything is going well.  Only a matter of weeks until we get to meet her!

Showered with Gifts and Love

At the baby shower, the guests got to play BINGO while I opened presents.  Anika made BINGO cards with the type of presents she knew I would receive, and everyone got to keep track of all my goodies while vying for the prize!  (Melissa ended up getting BINGO and won a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey - ha!!)

Natalie knew how much I loved Janie & Jack clothes, and got us an adorable matching outfit (you should see the cardigan!).

Joyce got us an Ergo baby carrier that I plan to strap on John whenever we are out and about.  (Okay, I might wear it sometimes too.)

Martha picked us all kinds of goodies a mother of two knew we would need.

My Aunt Ginny sent us amazing handmade-in-Indiana dresses for our little girl.

Melissa supplied us with some adorable cloth diapers.  Yes, I am going to attempt to cloth diaper.  Wish me luck!

Heather came from L.A. equipped with only the most stylish baby garb for our little one.

Kate found an adorable bird mobile and a cupcake book.  Apparently her mom (or "mum" as she says) was like my mom, and had a cake book that the kids were allowed to choose their own birthday cake from each year. Now that cupcakes are so popular, a cupcake book seemed just the thing!

How did Anika know how much I would love a doggie children's book?  :)

She got us all kinds of goodies, including a sleeper and a beautiful Christmas dress!

I can't thank Natalie and Anika enough for the lovely shower.  It was such a wonderful afternoon to be surrounded by friends who are all so excited to meet our baby girl.  I will be 34 weeks tomorrow, so we are getting close!