Christmas 2009

This was our first Christmas we did not have to travel a long distance, due to the pregnancy we were not allowed to travel afar, so thankfully much of our family traveled near to us. Because of the wintry weather conditions some family members were not able to attend, but we had fun with those who made the trek. And thankfully, everyone that did travel made it safely.

Christmas Eve was spent at my Dad's house where we ate, opened gifts, and played the Wii.

Christmas day was spent at my grandparent's house with my parents and one set of siblings. We primarily ate, opened gifts, and played the Wii (do you see a trend?). It was a very relaxing Christmas holiday and I am thankful for that because relaxing will probably become a thing of the past in the next few weeks.

Here's a sampling of our rousing Christmas activities:

My grandparents playing Wii golf.

Dad opening his gifts

Sorry, no pictures of us eating...I was too busy stuffing my own face :)

The One with all the Belly Pics

Over Thanksgiving, my multi-talented sister-in-law Candace took some maternity pictures of Kyle, me, & LG. Candace has started her own photography business and you can check out her work here. I think she did a great job capturing the moment and the way we interact with one another. Thanks Candace! We love the pictures!

Kyle is deep in thought :)

Whose belly is bigger?

This is the Kyle face I get a lot as my stomach continually grows.

Kansas Baby Shower(s) 2

I don't want to forget all the special people who made the Smith Center shower so special.

Me with my lovely sister-in-laws Candace & Audra. Thanks for all your hard work putting the shower together!

Me with the Grandma's and Great-Grandma's (L to R: Sheila, Velda, Me, Mom, & Tache)

Gracie & her mom, Candace

Candace, Sheila, Gracie, Nita, Culley, and Jodi...a picture of friends, relatives, and lots of girls from a family of primarily boys.

Me with Aly. She won the "how big is Kristen" game. They measured the roundness of my belly and then people had to guess the size of my stomach by cutting string. Aly was right on! I guess at her height she has the perfect view :)

Joy, my good friend from high school (who I just learned is engaged!!!)

Kyle's aunts (Connie, Marlene, Me, Jonell, and Cheryl) They were a great help putting the shower together and making food!

Me with the Grandma's...I think we're going to have to come up with a different name than Grandma...we'll see what LG thinks. Kyle called all of his grandparents grandma & grandpa. I didn't call any of my grandparents by the traditional name. We'll see what LG and the grandparents prefer...

Kansas Baby Shower(s)

The Friday after Thanksgiving Kyle's side of the family threw us a baby shower in Smith Center. It was a blast and just perfect for our LG. A big thanks to Candace, my sister-in-law for all the planning and decorating. Also, a big thanks to Aunt Marlene for letting us use her house. And thanks to Sheila, my mother-in-law, Audra, my sister-in-law, and all the other aunts and cousins that made it such a special evening. It was so fun to see people from back home that I rarely get to see. We ate, played a games (clothespin and how big I am), opened gifts, and chatted simultaneously. I loved it all!

The cake (orange and blue to match our nursery decor)

The food table with pictures of me and Kyle as small children with LG's ultrasound picture in the middle. It was so cute. This decoration incorporates the shower invitation. The invitation was so cute and original. To see the whole invite visit Candace's blog by clicking this link. She designed the invitation.

An adorable banner over the gift table.

A shot of the guests. There were so many people there!

Opening gifts

The quilt that Grandma Schenk lovingly made for LG.

Opening more gifts

LG received so many thoughtful, useful, and adorable gifts. We received burp clothes, clothes, 2 high chairs, changing pad, bundle me, the CAR SEAT, baby monitors, lots of diapers, the breast pump, and everyone also brought a book for LG to enjoy. We couldn't even fit everything in the car! In the next post I will introduce you to all the wonderful people who attended.

35 weeks

Picture from babycenter.com

How far along: 35 weeks

Total weight gain: 25 lbs. (holding steady for 2 weeks...that's the 1st time in a while)

Maternity clothes: Yes, almost always. I think I'm going to have to start wearing Kyle's shirts to the gym...mine are getting a little short.

Sleep: Good for the most part. I'm getting more uncomfortable, so I have to turn over more often and that takes a lot of effort :)

Best moment of the week: Baby related was hearing the heartbeat and the doctor showing us where his body parts are (not head down yet).

Movement: all the time, but nothing painful

Food cravings: None to report

Belly button in or out: still in

What I miss: being able to bend down comfortably (getting dressed is pretty comical)

What I'm looking forward to: a quite weekend of crafts and baking. And I don't want to jinx it, but we might be getting our nursery furniture next week (we've been waiting since August 1st...that's a whole 'nother blog post)

Milestones: Nothing baby related, but my 1st year of grad school is complete and I only have 3 more working days until next year!

Babymoon x2

More babymoon fun...

The Chiefs game was cold and both teams were really bad, but we had fun. We had really great seats courtesy of my car pool guy. We were in row 15 at about the 20 yard line. It was closer than I normally sit at a Sterling game! Kyle and I also realized it was the 1st football game we've watched together in-person. Typically he's on the sideline and I'm in the stands. Kind of strange that in all of our years of football (12 years to be exact, and that's well over 100 games) we've never been to a game together! Pretty sure Kyle thought I was crazy with all the cheering and clapping. I had to teach him how to clap when the Chiefs had a good play :) He's such a coach.
Of course in all of Arrowhead Stadium with thousands of Chiefs fans we were seated in front of the biggest Buffalo Bills fans in the world. They were all decked out in their Bills gear and they even had signs. They flew in from New York to watch their team play the Chiefs...basically both teams are really bad...now that's reael fan dedication. We aren't huge Chiefs fans so we didn't mind their incessant cheering for the Bills, however I was a little worried that some of the die-hard Chiefs fans might be offended. But I was pleasantly surprised as most of the game the Bills and Chiefs fans commiserated about how bad each team was :)
This is LG's view of the game. Note to self: don't wear a white shirt when you're 8 months pregnant. It's reminiscent of the midsection of a snowman or perhaps a marshmallow.
Kyle and I ready for a night on the town at the Kansas City Plaza. We shopped around and then tried to go to the George Brett restaurant, but much to our disappointment it has closed. So, we chose a random BBQ place. Kyle was so proud of me because my burgeoning belly definitely got us some special treatment. When we checked in at the restaurant there was a 45 minute wait. Every place was busy, so we decided to wait. The waiting line was standing room only, but within 30 seconds of taking off my coat a nice man said he could not sit and wait if a pregnant woman had to stand. So, he offered up his two seats in the waiting area. We accepted the offer. Then within 5 minutes the manager came out and whispered in my ear that there was a booth open near the bar area and it was first come first serve...of course we accepted. So, our 45 minute wait lasted about 5 minutes. Ah, the benefits of being pregnant!

Babymoon Addition

Lots of eating

+

Shopping

+

Plaza christmas lights

+

A nice hotel room

+

a Chiefs game

= A perfect babymoon

Thanks honey for the best get-away weekend! It was fun and relaxing and just what I needed!

Now we say good-bye to our DINK status

And hello to our new phase of life...we can't wait!

The Nursery

You're all probably sick of me just talking about the nursery. So, I'm sure you're dying to actually see it...well here's is what the nursery currently looks like


That's right no furniture, no paint, no cute artwork...just piles of stuff on the floor. Hopefully the next pictures will be the actual nursery reveal :)

Christmas Decor

I finally decorated for Christmas...well if you can call it decorating. This year I decided to forgo Christmas decorating. It's not that I don't have Christmas spirit I just know that once Christmas is over and I'm 9 months pregnant I will NOT want to put the decorations away (Kyle fervently agreed). So, the picture above is the extent of my Christmas decorations for 2009.

I love the wreath and the "S" against our red door. I used scrapbook paper and mod podge to make the "S." Hope you enjoyed that tour of our Christmas decor :)

Craftastic

This weekend I decided to put the homework aside (truth be told I really haven't felt like doing homework since I took a week off for Thanksgiving break) and work on some projects for the baby and Christmas gifts. Kyle went hunting so I had the whole house to use for various craft projects. This post will only include baby items/gifts because some people who read this blog may be the recipients of my other work...

Baby legs for boys...I found it very hard to find socks that were cute and boyish. Almost all of the socks I found were very girly. Let me know if you know of a good place that has cheap, cute boy socks. I used this tutorial from the Little Birdie. It was very easy to follow. This is a really quick project (approx. 10 minutes per pair) and I think they are adorable and convenient for little ones.
I also replenished by baby gift stash. I made 15 boys burp clothes. Everyone I know having a baby in the next few months is having a boy, so this stash will soon be depleted.

Sorry, not very exciting pictures, but the real fun project reveals will have to wait until after Christmas.

33 Weeks

I had a doctor's appointment today so here's the skinny (or the not so skinny):
How far along: 33 weeks and 3 days
Total weight gain: 25 lb. Maternity clothes: Yes, almost always
Sleep: Great as long as I have a pillow between my legs
Best moment of the week: Getting to do crafts this weekend.
Movement: Often, I think he's getting a little more scrunched
Food cravings: Not really
Belly button in or out: Still hanging in there
What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach
What I'm looking forward to: Babymoon this weekend!
Milestones: This may not be a true milestone, but it means LG's arrival is approaching... at the Dr. today she told me to go ahead and put the car seat in the car just in case...I have no signs of labor, but just as a precaution.

Colorado Baby Shower: Take 2

Here's a close-up of the gifts we received at the Colorado shower. Over Thanksgiving LG had two more showers. We feel so blessed! I'll post about the other showers when I get the pictures. I think LG (and his parents) has everything he could possibly need! In fact, I'm certain he has more clothes than his daddy.

The electronics: swing frame and baby monitor.
Blankets, burp clothes, and baby wrap
Lots of useful things: toys, clothes, diaper bag, nursing cover, shoes, wipes, pacifiers, cups, etc.
Bath related items
And a close-up of the onesies we all made. Aren't they adorable!?