39 Weeks

Here's the 39 week belly shot! I'm pretty sure this boy is going to be big. Joseph was our biggest at 8lb 15oz. We'll see if this little guy beats that! Everything is pretty much washed, put up, and ready to go for his arrival. Now we just need a baby and a name! We haven't settled on a name yet, but we do have a list of several that we like. We'll probably just wait to see what he looks like.

I still don't expect him to be here before the middle of January, but he's more than welcome to come anytime. He's got 11 more hours if he wants us to reap the benefit of the tax credit. :) I somehow managed to lose a pound over Christmas (I'll never figure that one out!), so that puts me at 33 pounds total now. I stop counting at 40 weeks. :) I've been having plenty of contractions, but I usually do and they're not consistent. I have not been checked for dilation yet, which is fine with me. I'm not even really curious. Baby will come when he is ready!

Our Christmas in a Few Pictures

Happy Birthday, Noah!!

Noah is 3 today!! This is ridiculously embarrassing, but for the majority of the day yesterday I thought that it was Noah's birthday. I've always had a hard time remembering whether it was December 28 or 29, and if follows so closely on the heels of the Christmas that it has tended to get a little overlooked. I don't know if it's because my pregnant self got confused or if I'm just a bad mother, but I told him that yesterday was his birthday. So he's having two birthdays this year. :)

Anyway, Happy 3rd Birthday to our sweet, mischievous, hilarious, full-of-spunk, handfull of a cowboy!

37 Weeks

I'm 37 weeks already! It's funny to me to think that a lot of people have their babies by this point. I think I would go into shock if I went into labor before my due date! It's hard to believe that I only have 3 weeks to go...or 4 or 5. :)

I'm feeling great. Of course I have the normal aches and pains that come with being hugely pregnant, but I honestly think that the last few weeks before the baby arrives are my favorite part. I love being very obviously pregnant, feeling the baby move in his cramped little space, waking up in the middle of the night and realizing how funny it must look to see someone with a belly as big as mine trying to roll over, and being glad that no one can actually see me trying to roll over!

My varicose veins are really not bothering me much at all right now unless someone touches them. I have one near my knee that gets bumped by little people every once in a while, and that one annoys me the most. But I'm very thankful that I haven't had to wear those awful compression hose this time around! I've been trying to exercise, though I'm afraid I haven't been very successful. Our neighborhood is very hilly and taking a walk results in one long Braxton-Hicks contraction that makes it hard to keep going.

I've gained 30 lbs on the button, which is pretty much right on target for me. I gained 30 lbs with each of the girls and a little more with the boys. I actually gained 40lbs with Joshua, but I was 10lbs underweight when I started, so I suppose that's why. I have my usual third-trimester sugar craving. I'm trying to limit my sugar intake so that the baby isn't humongous, but it's hard! I ate 6 clementines yesterday afternoon for a snack. :) Of course that's better than cookies or ice cream, but it's still sugar and will still make the baby grow big and fat! If our babies were small at birth then I wouldn't worry about it. Since that's not the case, I'm trying to keep the sugar to a minimum.

Christmas Giveaways

There is a great giveaway...or rather giveaways...going on over at The Munck's Quiver. They are giving away 11 beautiful handmade items and you can enter to win as many as you would like! Click here for more details.

Finished Object Friday

I have been meaning to participate in Finished Object Friday for a couple of weeks now and have forgotten. These projects have been piling up for a few months. I just had to clarify that lest you think I sit around and crochet and sew all day long. :) I started this blanket about six months ago for our baby. I love these circular blankets! They're lots of fun to make and they are fairly easy. I can't wait to use it! I ended up not having quite enough yarn to finish this one, and when I bought a new skein it was slightly darker even though it was the same brand and same color. It is very noticeable in this picture. I don't think it's quite as bad in person. Oh well. Next time I'll be sure to buy more than I think I need to avoid the variation in colors.

I just finished this blanket last night. It is a Christmas gift for Joseph. I don't know if you remember, but he used to pull his hair out in his sleep and while he was falling asleep. A few people suggested that I give him something soft to sleep with, so I gave him a yarn blanket. He loved it and quickly began pulling on the fuzz and sucking on his finger instead of pulling out his hair and sucking his finger. It works for me! His hair has grown back in nicely. He has always loved being in his bed and he gets excited when I tell him that it's naptime. I think he must enjoy the peace and quiet. "Me time", or whatever it's called. :) Anyway, Nikki made him a blanket when he was born, and it has been very well loved. It still has plenty of life left in it, but I decided to make him another one to prolong the life of that one, and so that he would have an extra for when one is in the laundry. This is my first attempt at a rectangular blanket. The edging was a bit of a pain because the instructions were very confusing. I think I got it right though, and even if I didn't, no one will ever know! I was planning to do the whole blanket in navy blue, but Adam suggested that I do the edging in white and I really like it!

Speaking of Nikki, I made this bag for her and her new baby, Mary. The pattern was supposed to be easy, but I thought that it was rather confusing and I ended up lengthening the straps because they were so short. It was smaller than I hoped it would be too, but other than that I was happy with the way it turned out.

I also made this cute little hat for our baby. I found this free tutorial and I just couldn't resist! It's very easy and very fast and would make a great baby gift for someone if you know how to crochet.

I've already posted about my other finished objects...the hat and the hair flowers. I think that I'm all caught up now! Be sure to visit Fresh From the Chari Tree to see some other projects.

Winner!

Thanks to Random.org, the winner of the hair flower giveaway is 1HappyWife! Thanks to everyone for entering!

Another Giveaway

My good friend, Nikki, is giving away these beautiful snowflake ornaments on her blog! Go here to find out how to enter and to wish her a happy due-date. :) Her 4th baby is due today!

Picture Update

I haven't taken many pictures lately, but here are a few that show what we've been up to for the past couple of weeks. Grandma and Grandpa in Kansas (Adam's parents) came to visit for Thanksgiving. We had a fun time and we celebrated Christmas early with them while they were here. They gave all of the boys real live cowboy shirts, which they couldn't be more thrilled about! Joshua shows his shirt to everyone who walks in the door. :)

Joseph isn't quite into the whole idea of exchanging gifts yet, but he enjoyed himself nonetheless!

We got our Christmas tree and decorated it the day after Thanksgiving.

Grandma helping Abigail put an ornament on the tree...

...and Grandpa helping Esther.

Searching for the perfect tree.

Joshua found one that he liked!

Giveaway #2

Here is the second giveaway that I promised a couple of weeks ago. This is for three crocheted hair flowers - one pink, one yellow and white, and one pink and white. These would make great Christmas gifts if you don't have girls that could use them! Here are a couple pictures of Hannah (4) modeling two of them so that you can see the size.

The rules for this giveaway are the same as the last. Simply leave a comment to enter once. If you would like to enter twice, link to this giveaway on your blog or on facebook and then leave another comment letting me know that you've done so. The giveaway ends Sunday, December 11 at midnight and a winner will be posted on Monday!