Hunny's home!!

Sooo relieved that Eric said he would be able to fly home tonight!!! Looks like this job is going to take longer than planned and he needs to be home... for obvious reasons :)... so he's flying in tonight and I'm picking him up!! It feels like there's been an enormous weight lifted off my chest just knowing he'll be home tonight! No more worrying about when this little one will decide to be born and whether or not daddy will be able to make it! Every little new pain I get....and there have been A LOT lately.... I think, "oh boy is this it? should I call him now!?" Don't get me wrong, I have all kinds of support around me that I'm thankful for, but nobody can replace my hunny's presence. :) Not to mention it would just be nice to spend our last couple "just the two of us" weeks with each other. We've got a lot to cram into these last couple weeks...deciding on a pediatrician, meeting the babysitter, going out for a fancy dinner one last time before baby! Did I mention I'm sooo relieved Eric's coming home tonight? :)

Oh & one more thing...

Happy Birthday Braden!!!! The big 2-1 ;o) !!!

3 weeks, 4 days to go!

Pretty eventful week around here!! First of all, Eric's side of the family threw a baby shower for me last weekend so I made a trip down there Sunday for the day to spend time with family & friends. Eric left Sunday morning for his loooong trip so he couldn't go along.... bummer :( Yep, he left just in time for this CRAZY wind storm!!! I had no idea this thing was coming until I left my baby shower Sunday evening & my entire 2 hr drive home felt like I was driving through a tornado!! Then I came home to no electricity, which was even more fun ;) Just me, portia, & kitty -- there's entertainment. :) I felt like a pioneer trying to get ready for work the next morning with nothing but candlelight;) Electricity... what a luxury:) Thankfully, there wasn't too much damage done to our house or surroundings... just minor branches down & leaves/twigs all over the place. But I survived Ike's wrath!! :) hehe


Eric should be home sometime middle of next week. Luckily, he works with his dad & uncle, who are the ones who go with him on out-of-town jobs, so that's nice. They started out in Massachusetts last Monday & were working at a huge marina. He said they spent half their time gawking at fancy million dollars yachts...waiting on someone famous to walk off one of them. ;) Actually, the jobsite wasn't ready for them yet on Monday, so they took a ferry over to Nantucket and spent the day there. A couple times this week they've gone to Cape Cod to enjoy some "awesome" sea food for dinner. They've since finished the job in Massachusetts and are now in Connecticut. I told him this sounds more like a vacation than work!! While I've been suffering through no power and being 9 months pregnant, he's enjoying "awesome" sea food dinners at Cape Cod & ferrying to Nantucket!! Bitter? Not me.... hehe;) And by "suffering" I mean, I went less than 24 hrs without electricity ;) But Still!! hehe. Oh & Eric assures me that their hotel is minutes from an airport in case he's needed ;)


Well anyways, that's what's been happening around here for the past week. Oh & I just have to mention....we lost two of our goldfish in our little water garden:( Eric & I think Bobby (the koi) might've eaten them....he's a piggy like that, and he's had a growth spurt in these last couple weeks! So it's just Bobby & Chloe now... funny how you get attached to these little creatures:)


Oh & I've been feeling great lately! Just the usual...Big & Tired:) My doctor would not check me at my appt this week to see if I'm dilating yet because she didn't want to "stir anything up" since Eric won't be back for about a week:) I said, Very good idea Doc:)


Here's a few random pictures... Enjoy:)

~~* Handmade Gifts by Our Very Talented Friends & Family *~~



**Blanket quilted by Ava's Great Aunt Deb**




**Blanket crocheted by Ava's Great Aunt Cheryl**





** Hats knitted by friends of our family **





** Blanket crocheted by another friend of our family **



** Our 2 remaining fish...Bobby & Chloe **


**Yes, I took a picture of our fish... feel free to call me a goof;) ...but you gotta admit Bobby is HUGE :) **

Baby Shower

Unfortunetly, I didn't have my camera handy at my baby shower this past weekend so I have no pictures to post at this point:( I know, can you believe that! My mind was elsewhere I guess...I'll blame it on pregnancy fog :) My mom has plenty of pics though so at some point I'll share some of those with everyone. It was the perfect day for a baby shower that is for sure! I'm so happy I got to see so many of my family members and friends. Thank you to everyone who was able to make it...that Really meant a lot to me!! Ava is going to love all her goodies...I just know it, hehe :) Our house is officially baby-fied:) I put together her swing & pack-n-play this week and they are now sitting in our living room...just waiting to be occupied by this cute lil munchkin:) I'll give it another week or so before I install her car seat into my car....although it might take us a week to figure out how to install the thing:) Her nursery is almost completely ready...just need her crib bedding! Portia knows something is going on around here...hehe...she just smells all of Ava's things & closely watches me put her things away. She's thinking "oh boy, now what are these two up to!" : )


Here's the goofball watching me put together Ava's bouncer:)











Oh & I'll stick a picture in here of my most recent belly shot. As much as this big 'ole belly drives me crazy sometimes I think I will miss having Ava all to myself. Ya know, its great right now b/c I can take her everywhere I go...hehe...she's so portable :)


















Some of Ava's goodies from our wonderful family & friends!

34 week update :)

I had an appointment with my OB this morning...everything is looking great! The only bit of advice she gave me was to eat more! Haha! Since my appt 2 weeks ago I have lost 1 pound, which she said isn't totally uncommon being that I'm nearing the end of my pregnancy I may continue to lose. She says my belly is measuring perfectly so she isn't worried about it. She just suggests that I eat more to make up for it. I feel like I eat all day long as it is, especially with this heartburn I can't eat too much at once! My stomach has gone from the size of my fist to what I feel like is the size of peanut..hehe...okay maybe it's not THAT squished in there but the smallest bit of food fills me up! So I'll have one more 2 week appt and then I'll start seeing her every week! Hallelujah its almost over! I'll soon be able to reach my feet again...who am I kidding...I'll soon be able to SEE my feet again :) I am just so excited to meet our little lovebug:) We are so thankful that my pregnancy has been a pleasant one and Ava has been healthy and developing right on track! She is a model child already:) I can only hope for a textbook delivery as well...


Eric is about to leave for his last out-of-town-trip before baby comes:( I'm just a tad nervous...this will be close to a two week trip for him. I figure if we plan for me to go in labor while he's gone then it won't happen:) So, we've packed a bag with a few necessities and told neighbors & family/friends to be ready just in case. You know it always works that way....when you're most unprepared something will take you by surprise! Eric says his work already knows to put him on the first flight home if I do need him....very reassuring! Because our little Ava has done everything by the book so far I'm sure she'll only come when she's absolutely ready, which isn't for another 4-6 weeks... *cross your fingers* I guess I'm due for my 8 1/2 month belly pic already too...I'll get that before Eric leaves town, by the time he gets back I'll be 9 months along! Very strange how you're actually pregnant for 9 1/2 to 10 months....nobody told me that in the beginning:)

Labor Day Cookout

I had to work on this beautiful labor day weekend, but we had some friends & neighbors over on Monday for a little cookout & a couple rounds of corn hole to celebrate labor day! It was a good time! Eric has really been getting into this corn hole game lately. He even brought the flood lights out when it got too dark to see where you were throwing...because the game must go on :o) In case you've never heard of corn hole, its basically like horse shoes only instead of trying to loop your horse shoe around a stake you try to throw your corn-filled bean bag through a hole on a platform. Here's a couple pics...
















Of course Portia had to get in on the fun too... :o)

One of my favorite little people...

Torie & I had a just-us-girls weekend last weekend. She completely exhausted me :) She just kept going, going, going! At one point I called my sister and said "doesn't your daughter take naps anymore?!" hehe. She really has a lot more energy than I do these days! But we had a blast....we made garden stones for my mom's birthday, decorated a picture frame with a picture of us in it, went shopping (I've never seen a 6 yr old shop like she does:), baked a cake & decorated it for mom's birthday, gave each other makeovers (which consisted of painting nails & putting on sparkly lipgloss:), and last but not least ate popcorn & watched Barbie's 12 Dancing Princesses! She also LOVES to dress up in my clothes, jewelry, and high heels:) She is one diva of a child!

Such Fun!

Okay, so I just figured out how to add different layouts to my blog & now I'm obsessed:) haha...I love scrapbooking and the layouts on thecutestblogontheblock.com website are adorable and it makes staying in touch with friends/family that much more fun! Now I don't have to envy the Hamshers for their totally cool blogs anymore...hehe!

Ava's Room...So far!

Here's Ava's room so far! I'm one of those type A people so I've been hounding Eric for weeks (more like months:) to get her room painted and ready to go. We decided a couple weeks ago to just make a weekend out of it & got her room painted, border put up, celing fan put in, and closet organizer up! Of course I've HAD to buy a few clothes for her too up to this point so I washed those and hung them up:) It's this crazy maternal nesting that's taking over me...I've had the urge lately to de-cobweb every corner of my house and basement, clean out every cupboard in my house, wipe down baseboards, and scrub the cracks of my hardwood floor....I know, YIKES, haha! And I'd really like to take the clippers to my dog and just shave her down to peach fuzz so I don't have the hair laying around...Eric says maybe we shouldn't go that far:)

Water garden project!!

It's been a slow going process but we decided to put in a small water garden in place of some ugly bushes we had taken out in our front yard this year. It's been a fun little project for Eric & I! We have four fish...3 goldfish and 1 koi...and yes, we even named them :) Bobby, Chloe, and the Twins ;o) We're really proud that our fish & plants are still living and going strong! haha! Here's a few pics ...