37 weeks and counting

I have made it to 37 weeks and am officially considered "full term."  Whoo hoo!  Which means that little Sam can make his appearance any day now and be just fine :)  While this is very comforting news, it also makes this all seem to be happening so fast now.  WTF have we done!  I can not believe Clint and I will be parents any day now.

Even though my due date is January 16, my doctor said that as of today, I am 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced.  Which technically means nothing, but I am progressing well, which is great news.  He said that he could take us up to labor and delivery today, break my water, and have a baby by tonight!  Again... WTF!  I think we will try to let Sam make the decision to come into our world (he won't be making many more for a long time).

I am also so thankful to have my mom here for the next few days.  She has helped get all the last minute things done and has been so much fun to have around!

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas here in Frisco!  Since I am not allowed to travel at this point in my pregnancy, it was the first time Clint and I had not celebrated Christmas in Austin in 30 years!  My parents and brothers came up to celebrate and we will get to have Clint's parents here after the new year.  We had a good 'ole Texas Christmas with chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, broccoli cheese casserole, green beans, and chocolate pie.  I screwed up the pie, but I do that every time I try to make chocolate pie!  Thank goodness my dad was here to bail me out, doctor up the pie, and make it perfect ;)

The boys played wiffle ball in the backyard.

All the stockings made it - and there was even one for Sam!

My mom and dad

Clint and me

Kyle was dressed just like the guy in the commercial :)

Making chicken fried steak!

Clint and Kyle ready to eat

Da Mamma

Mom, Dad, and Clint

Shelby and Kyle

The dogs even got their Christmas dinner!

I am so mad that Clint and I didn't get a picture together.  We always seem to forget to do that, and Clint isn't one for taking pictures, which makes it hard.  Thankfully we did remember to get a family pic before the boys left.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

School Baby Shower

My wonderful 3rd grade team threw Amy (my teacher friend that is also pregnant and due in February) and me a baby shower back in the beginning of December!

Heather, Natalie, me, Michelle, Amy, Brae, and Erin

Natalie, Erin, me, Amy, Heather, Brae, and Michelle

Thank you girls for putting together such a special shower!

36 weeks!

I can't believe I am already 36 weeks pregnant!  I have days that I am just not ready to not be pregnant anymore and then others when I just want to feel "normal" again.  All-in-all, I feel good though!  I only have just a few things that have been bothering me.  My back starts to feel sore at the end of the day and my feet and legs continue to hurt pretty bad after standing for a while.  I think I stood for too long at our Winter Party because my legs and feet hurt so bad afterwards.  I came home and rested the rest of that evening, but when I got up off the couch, I did something to my left foot/ankle.  It feels like I pulled a tendon in the back of my ankle.  I have been icing it nightly and also wrapping it during the day.  The leg/feet soreness makes daily tasks like doing dishes, laundry, etc. extremely hard because I get worn out so quickly.

I have been sleeping well, but not for long periods of time.  I have to get up to pee every few hours :)  Also, my arms fall asleep very easily which makes sleeping uncomfortable.  My doctor said this is all normal and there is not much I can do.  My body must be preparing me for something :)

I still have days that I do not feel that this experience is real.  I guess I have wanted a baby for so many years, that now that it has become a reality it is hard for me to process.  I am just so thankful and excited that this is finally happening to us!

Clint and I went to our child care basics and infant CPR class last Saturday.  It was nice to be reassured that we will figure this while parenting thing out and that we know what to do in an emergency situation.

36 weeks - you can tell that everything is getting bigger, even my face!

We bought a new SLR camera that I am super excited about!!! I have been practicing using it to on the dogs :)  but I know there will be some great shots of Sam once he makes his appearance!

My class surprised me at our Winter Party with a bunch of goodies for Sam!  They are such a generous bunch!

My friend, Kristen, had her baby, Stella, on Wednesday, November 30th!!!  We were all so excited to welcome her, and she seems pretty happy about it too :)  I was also lucky that I got a pass from my doctor so that I could travel to Austin to meet her.  She is the most beautiful baby and I can't wait to hold her again!

I guess that is all for now!  I hope everyone is doing well :)

Building a Fence

Clint has been working his butt off the last three weekends to build a new fence with our neighbor.  We have a fairly large side yard between our house and our neighbor's, so we decided to move our fence closer to the front of the house in order to incorporate more of the front yard into the backyard.  We also needed to have a wider gate so we can buy a riding lawn mower.  Here are some before, during, and after pictures.

Front yard before fence it put up.

Clint and Mark using the auger to dig holes.  They dug close to 30 holes!

Backyard - between us and neighbors.  Old fence ripped down and  new runners are up.

Backyard section done!

Backyard looking to front yard.

Looking from backyard to front yard.

Backyard: old fence gone and new fence complete!

Looking from the front yard: side fence done separating the neighbors, and some of the front completed.  Old fence is still up in the background.

Front view - fence completed!

Clint with our neighbor - job well done!

Breaking Glass

Since I have been pregnant I have broken 10+ glass items.  I have lost count.  Clint looked it up online and there is an old wives tale that it could be a sign of good luck.  I think I am just more clumsy.


The worst glass I broke was by far a half-full bottle of Goldschlager that rolled out of the freezer, crashed all over the kitchen floor, and took over an hour to fully clean up.  The other night I broke Buoy's dog bowl.  Luckily it slipped from my hands inside the sink while I was putting some water in it.  Clint was so sweet and just jumped up and said he would take care of it.  Thank goodness, because I was about to lose it.  I was so frustrated with myself.


A few nights later, a very, very small piece of glass that gotten stuck in our floor mats caught my toe and sliced me open.  I was able to grab a paper towel and hobble to a chair.  Unfortunately, my huge, giant, big fat pregnant belly was limiting my ability to bend over to reach my foot.  It was quite the sight.  I was home alone, blood squirting from my toe, and I couldn't decide if I should call my neighbor to come and get the glass out of my toe or if I could do it.  I couldn't go get tweezers because I would have tracked blood all over the house.  I kept at it, having to bend down for a few seconds and then sit back up to catch my breath.  I finally got it out though.


Pregnancy lessons I learned?  Try really hard not to injure my feet or toes, because I can not reach them anymore.  Use plastic whenever possible.

Happy Halloween!

Clint and I have this life-size mad scientist for Halloween named "Dr. Shivers."  He used to move his head and say spooky (really funny) sayings like, "Let's play a game. It's called, 'Fun With Electricity! hahaa!' or 'I need a victim, I...I...I... mean volunteer."  He is pretty awesome.  He also has a microphone hook up so you can talk for him.


The first year in our house I had him on the front porch on a motion sensor.  I knew someone was coming when we started talking!  Of course, the first trick-or-treater to come was a 3-year-old little girl who started bawling crying because she was scared of Dr. Shivers.  The parents also felt the need to give me a lecture on how he was "too scary" to have on the porch like that.  Oh, brother!


Now Dr. Shivers stands in our front window during the month of October.  Everyone who comes by the house does a double take trying to figure out why that strange man is always in the window!  Here is a picture of him from that first year.

So, this year for Halloween, I didn't tell Clint my costume.  Well, I dressed up as Dr. Shivers!!  Clint's face was priceless when I walked out.

Although the trick-or-treaters this year were few and far between, it was still fun to sit on the driveway, hand out candy, and watch the families come by to take pictures with Dr. Shivers and some of our other decorations.  It is also neat when people compliment the house.  We had one mom tell us that her son makes them drive by every day, just so he can see our decorations!


This Halloween also made us even more excited for next Halloween when we will have our own little trick-or-treater to dress up and take to pumpkin patches!


Hope you had a spooktacular Halloween too!


Other guests that love Dr. Shivers....

Jeff & Dr. Shivers

My parents & Dr. Shivers

Updates!

Some pregnancy happenings:

Sam is getting much bigger and it has been so neat to really feel him moving around now.  There are times that you can see my stomach pushing out!  He is over 2 lbs, and feeling that extra weight in my tummy is a big change.  The best way for me to describe it is that it's like having a 2 pound dumbbell jiggling around in your belly.  It definitely makes walking or moving fast a challenge.  I totally get the "waddling" that pregnant women do.  It is so much more comfortable to walk that way!  I am trying not to though :)  Don't want to make it a habit.  So, if you catch me waddling, tell me to quit it!

I had my glucose test last week and I found out yesterday that I passed!  Yay!  The day of the test was so hard.  I couldn't have any sugar 24 hours before my appointment.  I didn't realize how much sugar I eat each day.  I accidently had my coffee that morning.  I didn't even think twice about putting sugar in it! Ooops!  But, I laid off the cereal, didn't eat my brown sugar Pop Tarts, my chocolate chip granola bars, or any of the yummy treats my team brought in to celebrate one of our fellow team member's birthday that day!  All worth it though, since now I don't have to go back in to do the 3 hour test had I failed.

Being pregnant has proven to be such a blessing and an amazing experience.  Every day is a new experience!

It's almost Halloween!

Clint and I will be at our house for the first time together since we moved in in 2007!  We usually travel to Austin to spend Halloween at his parents house.  His parent's house is known as the "Halloween House" in Northwest Hills.  Sharon, Clint's mom, sets up 5-6 different scenes all around the driveway and the front of the house.  They hand out full size candy bars, and at any given time, there is a line that stretches all the way down the driveway and into the street.

Clint's mom handing out candy

Just the first half of the line!

Although we will miss being with our family and friends in Austin, it will be fun to be home and enjoy our own (although small compared to the Culp's) decorations and trick-or-treaters.  I am looking forward to sharing pictures of my costume :)

Another exciting thing in my life is that my brother, Kyle, and one of his childhood friends are starting their own CrossFit training company!  He  has been working out using the CrossFit model for several years and is now going to start training others!  Check out his new website!  http://SandlotFitness.com/  Kyle's girlfriend, Alex, started teaching Zumba!  I can't wait to take a class of hers in the spring!  Her site is http://www.zumbayourkiesteroff.com/

My dad also stared his own website/gallery for the Colt .45s: http://colt45scards.squarespace.com/

I guess we are becoming a website family!

Baby Shower

Wes & Megan (Clint's brother and our sister-in-law) and Mom & Dad Culp threw us a baby shower this weekend!  It was so fun!  Megan decked out her house in Halloween decor and everyone went all out with yummy food and treats!  It is has been so much fun to celebrate with family and friends!

Megan spent hours and hours creating these adorable invites!  Didn't they turn out cute?

Megan & Wes

Spooky diaper cake and baby pumpkin

Clint & his mom

Soon-to-be grandmas!  My mom & Clint's mom

Aunt Juuuuuuuudy, Alex, my brother Kyle, & my Dad

Feeling the bellies! 

Courtney, me, and Kay-Kay

Jessica, Chase, & Kyle

Josh, Jeremy, & Katherine

Mom, Juuuuuudy, Alex, & Kyle

My mommy-in-law!

Baby Fund!!
I started collecting change several years ago that I named, the "Baby Fund."  I had no idea that my brother, Kyle, had been collecting change for us too!  This jar is almost full!!!  Such an awesome baby gift!  Thanks, Brother Bear :)

Thank you, Wes, Megan, Sharon, and Ray for a spooktacular time!!!