Abby's Room Update

Welcome to the evolving nursery of Abby Reese. Once again your tour will be guided by Nekkid Will... Here's what you see when you come in. It all looks a little monochrome right now, but the color punch is on the way. That big empty wall is going to be home to Abby's photo gallery and her newborn shots will include plenty of color. We're also going to be adding some funky pillows to that couch this week.

Here was the project of the week. The couch and canopy. I adore the canopy, and so do Anne and Will.

Here's the view from the couch. The curtains will get hung this week. The bumper is being returned tomorrow. That will throw some color over onto this side of the room. Will could use some color too, come to think of it.

Does This Baby Make Me Look Fat?

This cracks me up! On the plus side (no, not the plus size!...), I think my giant belly makes my butt look relatively small. Don't you guys think so? Oh, and sadly enough, that adorable prego is NOT me. I wish, but no. Alas, I won't get in front of a camera until I have a better sense of humor about the whole thing. Abby is weighing close to six pounds now and I'm ready to meet the little stinker!

What's Dad up to these Days?

Well, he's mostly working. I know everyone is asking, so here's the scoop on that. Brandon is in "Start up School" this week and next week. They have to be retrained on the unit at within 3 months of Start-Up, so there is something of a deadline. It looks like he might be back on shift by the end of the year. He's getting to sleep in til 6:30ish this week and said today that he's starting to feel rested, like he hasn't been waking up at 3:45 for the past two years. So that's the story on work. When he comes home he has a few beers in the pub. Will is learning the ropes in there. He'll be taking tips by Christmas time.

After a pint or two, he's no good. He crashes out around 7ish and that's when Will takes advantage of Poor Dad. There is a Dr. Suess book that we read around here called Hop on Pop. It also one of our favorite games. Well, mine and Will's anyway. It's hard to say how Pop really feels about it. You'd have to see his face. I do have to apologize for the junky pictures. Will was moving so fast that he's just a blur, but that's what it looks like in reality too, so...

To Do List

I have a list a mile long of stuff that needs to get done. Stuff that needs to be taken care of before the baby comes. Before I can relax. Hopefully I'll get it all done and get to do that relax thing before she comes. But the list is pretty long. Some things are more important than others. And the list is daunting. I just stare at it. Rewrite it. Look for some motivation. But what do I DO? Nothing from this list. I mostly lounge around the house. I wear very little and stay away from mirrors (Poor Will). I eat something. I drift off. Will makes sure that I don't stay asleep for longer than one second. Just long enough to scare the beegees out of me. Anyway, here's my list. I'm looking for a concierge of sorts that can just take care of it for me.

TO DO LIST

• Design 6 Budoir Albums
• Edit 2 Weddings
• Attack the laundry pile, ours and the baby's
• Trim out the floor in Abby's room
• Hang the chandelier in Abby's room
• Finish painting Abby's room
• Hang the giant mirror in Abby's room
• Reupholster the couch in Abby's room (Is it me or does she seem high maintenance? I'm just noticing a recurring theme here...)
• My eyebrows - I can't get close enough to a mirror to even pluck them. There's this giant bump that keeps me a few feet from a mirror and that's probably good.
• My hair. It's doing a giant mushroom type formation.
• My feet. They just hurt. I really have always wanted to do one of those mommy to be pedicures. I'm not seeing that one getting crossed off my list, though.
• Pack for the Hospital. I thought I was maybe jumping the gun on this one, but apparently everyone else at my stage of the game has been packed for weeks. Now I'm just panicking.

Dr.'s Appointment - Update

Not much of an update, really. Just that I went.

The doctor dished out his usual string of fat jokes. "Are you trying to float home?!" (It was raining.) He sure has alot of fat jokes. I've yet to hear the same one twice, and that's remarkable in his line of work. He said, "I'm just giving you a hard time cause your husband can't". He did say that I am cute as a button and to not diet on behalf of everyone else. In his words, "There is nothing crankier than a dieting pregnant woman. Please eat something."

I was really excited to ask him about the baby dropping. I know I'm a few weeks early, but you know how it is at the end...you just really love some sign that it is actually going to end. So I go in with my newly lazy belly and say, "Check it out. I think the baby dropped." And he said, "Well, look at that. It looks like it sure did." And I spazzily ask..."SO...what does that mean?!"

And he grins and says, "Nothing!"

:(

I go back in two weeks and start the REALLY personal exams. Now that is a sign that it's almost over. Who ever gets excited about "one of those" exams? I woman in her last month of pregnancy, that's who.

Deja Vu

Ever feel like you've done something like this before? Feels familiar. So yesterday the baby dropped and I find out that there is a surprise tropical storm, possibly a hurricane, on the way to ME. I'm not worried. But I bet Grandma and Grandpa are.

:)

Boring Sunday

We did a whole lotta nothing today. We sat around being lazy. We went to Wal-Mart and bought playdough. We watched a movie and ate fruit loops. And apparently the baby dropped. Who in the world knows what that means? I don't. I think it mostly means that I look goofy and my balance is off and the threat of my belly hanging out the bottom of my shirt is now very real. So if you love me...tell me when that happens.

My New Favorite Movie

I know I already told everyone I know about this movie, but in case you missed it, it's Penelope. Just rent it. Just buy it. You can even watch it with your grandpa without blushing. Love it.

Hands On

Today was a very hands-on day for us. We started the day with a trip to Home Depot for the Kids' Workshop. Today we made a flag holder. Kind of random, but it has something to do with the Olympics, but it's free and the kids like to hammer stuff, so we were all about it. It's pretty cute to see them in their aprons and safety glasses and all.

Next stop was the hospital for the Sibling Class. That was all over the place. The kids learned how to swaddle babies (holy moly, i hope Will never attempts that!), and YIKES, surprise cartoon birth that was super graphic and freaky. Then we toured the hospital room. That was cool. Will is going to have a ball harassing me with all the buttons on the bed. They actually taught him how to do that. Nice. And then they brought out the big guns. A real newborn. Which apparently scared the poo out of Will. He had a mini panic attack, reaching for me saying "Hold you. Hold you. Hold you, Mommy". When I told him that it wasn't our baby he calmed right down. Wouldn't that be nice. Go to the hospital. Watch the video. Get qualified with the swaddling and place your order. They simply wheel the kiddo out. Ha. Anyway, the real intro to Baby Abby is going to be interesting. He definately did get the idea that we are going to the hospital, seeing a doctor, and coming home with a baby.

Anne's story is funny. We are basically coaching her on how to lie so she can come onto the floor. They only allow siblings. Since she attended the sibling class we assumed they would make an exception, but the teacher obnoxiously pointed out that that was not the case. But it was too late. She had already handed out the goody bags which contained Big Brother and Big Sister badges. She's been instructed to guard that badge and pretend to be mute.

Here are the kids wrapping their baby sister into a baby burrito. I was hoping that Abby might look a little more like me than blondie Will who is Brandon's little clone. But by the look of Will's baby Abby I've got some explaining to do.