Monday, March 28, 2011

It's The Final Countdown

This is a fun week! We're at 35 weeks and just 35 days until Baby Ames' is ready to grace us with his/her presence. I'm starting to feel some pressure in my tailbone, which according to my husband - the avid google researcher, is pretty typical. We have our big 36 week appointment next Monday. They do a final ultrasound to see what position the baby is in. They also discuss the birthing plan! Based on my calculations of hiccups, jabs and turns - the baby's head is down!


A few fun things happened this weekend! My friend Kourtney, who is a talented photographer, came over to take some shots of me and Baby Ames. Shakespeare, being the camera hog that he is, tried to take over the photo shoot - a couple times he was almost sequestered to "timeout." I'm anxious to see how the photographs turned out - And I'm even more anxious to show Baby Ames one day that he/she was in my tummy at that point! 


My google researcher husband also showed his handy side and put together our baby stroller on Saturday. I absolutely LOVE it! I cannot wait to put it to good use this spring and summer and walk my thighs back into shape with our darling dear peanut. Which by the way, I'm convinced I'm not having a boy or a girl but instead an octopus! This thing has eight legs based on the activity I'm feeling.


This weekend we also were involved in our first church commitment since being new members. Kurt and I were greeters at the door on Sunday! We got to welcome all the members with a warm smile and a friendly handshake. Little did we know, we had two guests surprise us! It was Grandma and Grandpa Lazar (my mom and dad). They had a wedding in Dubuque on Saturday night and decided to head towards Chicago for a quick visit. We had a lovely brunch after church and got to laugh and indulge in yumminess. 


Our hospital bags are packed - I've chosen Baby Ames' going home outfit and gotten all of our travel goodies together so we don't have to scramble last minute. The only thing we have to do yet is put in the infant car seat - and then get it checked by the fire department to ensure that it's properly put in!


If you haven't noticed, we sure are ready for this little octopus! I'm not certain Shakespeare is, he spent the better half of the Sunday sitting on the nursery rug glaring at the stroller. He also got disheveled when I showed Kurt what our child would be wearing home from the hospital. I think reality is starting to settle in with him.


To recap this week's blog entry - It's safe to say Kurt and I don't think we've ever been happier in our lives! We have been so blessed with each week and having such great things happen. I can only imagine what it will be like when we have a little octopus to love too! Thank you for your continued love and support! It's priceless in our minds!


Much love,
Tonya + Kurt

Monday, March 21, 2011

We Have Quite the Wiggle Worm

Six more weeks until Baby Ames arrives and let's been honest folks - it could really happen any day! But let's just say Baby Ames is patient (unlike his/her mommy) and decides to wait until the due date of May 2nd. That would mean we have 42 days to wait for the little peanut to join us in this amazing world.


The baby continues to wiggle around per usual. I swear he/she got up around 5:30am on Sunday to do some calisthenics for a good hour and a half in my uterus! Many of my friends and family have admitted to liking the way it feels to have the baby move around but I have to disagree. I'm not really into the kidney punch here and the jousting of the ribs there. I know it's a good sign but, sheez this monkey has some power - more than I have at age 33!

This weekend we were blessed with having a shower with friends and family here in Chicago. We had such a good time laughing and eating and then laughing and eating again. I really have to say, I have an amazing set of friends. They really put together a baby shower that I didn't even know could exist. Schyler got to feel her cousin kick a few times, I was happy she got to experience that! It's well worth the gut punch from Baby Ames' limb. 


The baby's rocking chair came in on Thursday evening, just in time for the celebration of Baby Ames! Before we know it, we'll be "rocking out" with our little newborn in the nursery. I'm tempted to try out the chair and start reading some of the children's books we've received as gifts! Practice makes perfect, right?


We got a slew of baby bottles, bibs, blankets, and more this weekend so I would say we truly are ready for D Day.  While putting the things away in the nursery it was hard not to imagine using each goodie with our little bundle of joy. 


I'd like to share with you those things that make us grateful today:
-The abundance of love and support from such an amazing family and circle of friends
-The generosity of baby goods to help us start our journey with our little peanut
-Adding memories to our many volumes of treasured moments, this weekend is the newest entry


Weeks continue to breeze by and and we have officially embarked upon spring time! It's safe to say, we are getting close to having our lives get flipped upside down in a good way. At that point I grant Baby Ames an infinite amount of kicks and wiggles - until then, I'll grip tightly through each field goal kick (football) or shuffle ball change (tap dancing) that I am blessed with.


Lots of love,
Tonya + Kurt

Monday, March 14, 2011

Honeydew This, Honeydew That

Well, we're at week 33 and I know I say this all the time but holy cow time is passing by quickly! We could have this baby in four weeks and at that point we'll be "full-term." Where did time go? In a month there's a chance Baby Ames will be with us. 


This weekend we had a weekend of Baby Bliss! We spent the full day on Saturday at Prentice, where we'll be welcoming our little peanut into the world. We took a labor and delivery class and got a tour of the hospital. It was a lot of information and videos to take in from 8:30am to 4:30pm. While we were learning about the different stages of labor and seeing some close ups of babies being born, the city of Chicago was indulging in Guinness and painting the town green. Boy have things changed for Kurt and myself - we were no longer celebrating our faux-Irish heritage. Sunday we took a CPR and safety class. I've already filled out the emergency numbers to call and have them taped to our cabinet just in case. We hope we'll never have to call those numbers but better to be safe than sorry!


Baby Ames sure is growing - he/she is the size of honeydew. Who knew Baby Ames would grow like a weed and already weighing a whopping 4 pounds? Yowzers! And the baby continues to move like a monkey, I swear he/she is swinging from organ to organ. Yesterday I got kidney punched a good handful of times!


I just got home from seeing my friend Erin and her new baby, Cate (who was born on Tuesday). We have a potential girlfriend or best friend for Baby Ames! I had a talk with Cate tonight and told her to rest up bc there's lots of fun to be had between the two of them. Holding the newborn made me excited yet nervous bc I just don't know what we're going to do with a newborn! I guess we'll learn as we go. Isn't that what most parents do?


Well, expect a few panicked calls from Kurt or myself - I'm sure we'll have all of your numbers on speed dial asking what do we do with our honeydew. Until then we'll read up on things and take our final newborn class!


Well grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles and friends - get ready bc a whirlwind of the Baby Ames storm is on the horizon!! Don't touch that dial!!


Lots of Love,
Tonya + Kurt

Monday, March 7, 2011

Childhood is Calling

We are at 32 weeks today and Baby Ames is the size of a squash. It's amazing the activity that the baby is starting to undertake. I swear he/she just does flips and turns all day long. And at times the baby tends to kick an organ here and there. I've also had to move a limb away from my rib cage by squeezing down on my belly like I would a tube of toothpaste! This baby is a ball of energy! They say it's a good thing that he/she is so active so we'll take it.


This weekend we had the pleasure to stroll down memory lane with a few good friends. We went to Des Moines to see my good friend, Mary Berdo, get inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Girls State Tournament. I think we laughed nearly the entire time! Basketball was such a large part of my childhood and that was something that Mary and I enjoyed together. We were teammates from 7th grade until we graduated high school. She was with me during my "bad perms and braces" years and still loves me. Now that's a friend.


We really enjoyed turning the pages of our childhood and talking with our parents of all the fun times we endured. It made me giddy inside knowing that my child will soon embark in similar memories with friends and family just as I have. I'm super anxious to be with him/her every step of the way! And I have a feeling they will be warm memories just as I have of my childhood that we'll be sharing with our peanut.


Being pregnant has really brought a lot of things to the forefront that I had locked away in my treasure chest of memories. It's been so rewarding going through these 32 weeks and thinking about my childhood vs the one our child will soon have. So many things will be different yet I hope we share a commonality - and that's good friends, warm memories and a ton of laughter!


So we have 8 weeks left until we start the new journey of childhood and laughter. On our car ride home from Iowa I told Kurt this was the last road trip we'd take without our baby. From here on out, it's the three of us - well four of us counting Shakespeare. I don't think Shakes was too keen on the idea of sharing a backseat with Baby Ames.  Regardless, we're keen on sharing treasured memories with our soon-to-be son or daughter!