Belly Pics #9

It's the final countdown! We're getting so close to meeting our little girl. And at least one of us is getting ready for the big day. Ty is nesting as I type this. Our bathroom has never been cleaner. 

{37 Weeks-July 21}

 I think I'm getting more mentally prepared for this big change. I don't know if people ever feel ready to be parents. I'm realizing more and more that people just make this stuff up as they go and we won't be any different. We'll make mistakes. We'll figure it out. 

{This was somewhere between 37 and 38 weeks}

 Plus I'm getting more physically uncomfortable. My feet have never been bigger and Ty refers to my fingers as sausages. (I started it, he's just making sure the phrase catches on.) I waddle uncontrollably. I get winded every time I go up the stairs. Getting out of bed is practically an Olympic event and on more than one occasion, I've found myself wedged between the wall and door of a bathroom stall thanks to my protruding belly. These are all things I won't miss once the little lady has made her appearance. 

{39 Weeks-August 4}

There are a few things I will miss once she's made her grand entry. I will miss feeling her move from the inside even when it makes me sick. Especially her little feet that always find a perch on my left side. And I will miss knowing she is safe. I'll probably really miss that when she starts middle school. I will miss the closeness. There's just no words to explain what it's like.

However, one thing I've been trying to do this whole pregnancy is to appreciate my experience as it's happening. Not wish or hope for past or future experiences. And I've actually done a really good job with that. I have no regrets. I am so excited to meet this girl, but I'm very happy to enjoy the last few days of pregnancy and life with just the two of us. 

Sound the Alarm!!

I'm not having my baby yet. Sorry for the fake out.

I AM having some serious anxiety though. We have about ten days til my due date and while everyone else is getting more and more excited for my sassafras of a baby girl to arrive, I'm getting more and more panicked about her intended exit route. And the part where I have another human to worry about for the rest of my life. Tough break. Should have thought about that nine months ago.

So yeah, this is happening.

Luckily, while I pretend its not happening and continue my anti-nesting vendetta, Ty has taken on the role of most excited almost daddy in the whole wide world. He tries to coax her out on a nightly basis, "Hey baby girl, come out and play. I'm way more fun than your mom's stomach."

I am most nervous about all of the uncertainties that may or may not happen in the next two weeks. When things will happen. Will I have to be induced? Emergency C-Section. What about Ty's finals? But I know I'm getting a beautiful little girl out of the deal, plus I already have the most supportive husband who has such confidence in me and especially in our Heavenly Father.

Plus I knew he would be a great dad before I knew I wanted to marry him. When we were dating, he wanted me to meet his niece more than anyone else. And then when I did meet her, it was like I wasn't really there. I was replaced by a 10 month old. I remember feeling a little neglected and thinking, "This is just his niece. His own kids are going to be love smothered."

And now that he's mine, and I'm his and his kids are our kids, that's the only way I want them.

Love smothered.

Belly Pics #8

So we didn't do any pictures for 34 weeks because Ty was out of town so this picture from the shower is the closest we're gonna get to 34 weeks. I actually look tiny in this picture since it's not a profile shot so it's not really that accurate looking anyway. 

{34 Weeks-June 30}

Leading up to 35 weeks, my parents were in town for the 4th and we bought a midsize SUV from them in preparation for our sweet babe. I'm gonna look so fly in all of its silvery blue glory, with the sun roof open, the wind flying through my hair, and one arm behind me trying to find a binkie while keeping my eyes on the road. 

{35 Weeks- July 7. This is late at night. I actually changed out of my pajamas for this picture.}

At 36 weeks, I'm starting to completely panic on a regular basis. In (probably) less than 30 days, I'll be a mom. What?! It seems like not long ago I was hoping/wishing/praying to be pregnant and then I blinked. I eat cold cereal for all three meals more often than I eat real food. And this isn't just a pregnancy thing, it's the way I've been my whole life. Something about that feels like I shouldn't be allowed to be a parent. When my parents left town, I cried like a baby because I won't see them til after I have a baby. When I was little, I thought moms never cried. Clearly I'm on a mission to prove myself wrong. As panicked as I am, I know I'll be fine. I've got the best husband in the world and if Snookie can do it, I've probably already got a leg up on this whole motherhood biz. 

{36 Weeks- July 14}

As for the actual child inside of me, everything is going fine with her. She's getting bigger. I know this because her little feet have become painful at times and sometimes it feels like she's burrowing an escape route through my bellybutton. Who knew a 5 lb bundle of joy could be so violent? And surprise, surprise, I'm measuring small which means Baby G is small or I don't have enough amniotic fluid. Judging from family history though, it's probably the first but they'll start checking me next week to verify. The doctor told me I'm probably going to have a 6-6.5 lb baby and I'm pretty dang alright with that. I just can't imagine some 10 pounder making it's way out of me. No way. 

Baby Showers!!

I have been so lucky the last two weekends to be "showered" by some of my family and friends. Two weekends ago, my friend Ali threw me a shower. Ali and I have been friends for over 4 years now. We met in one of our math classes and terrorized every single math professor after that with our dual presence in their classrooms and our incessant questions. 

Ali had a cute "Ready to Pop" theme for my shower so everything had something to do with "popping". I got tons of pictures of the food and decorations but only thought of taking pictures of actual humans until after the shower so I only got pictures with Ali and Natalie. 

{The whole room}

{The super cute "Ready to Pop" banner}

{Poppyseed Muffins}

{Cute waters with balloon labels}

{Popsicles}

{Favors}

{The hostess with the mostess, Ali}

{Me and Natalie, another lovely Math friend.}

{Peyton and Jackson testing out my new Boppy.}

This last weekend, my mumzy threw a shower for me with all of her sisters and my cousins. I had the opposite problem at this shower and took pictures of all of the people there but didn't take any pictures of the decorations or food. Oh well. You can't win them all. 

{Me and the handsome man}

{Mom, me, and Grandma}

{Me and the Aunties. Mom, Cherie, Me, Leslie, Jamilee, Grandma, Bonnie and  Emy}

{All the girl cousins minus my sister, Jessica, and cousin, Ally. T: Miki, Lauran, Me, Brittan, Kierstan,  and Emma. B:Anna, Katie and Jillian.}

They were both fun showers and this girl and mama were spoiled. Let's just say Baby Gardner will not go naked or ever be cold for the first 9 months of her life. Thanks to everyone who came and made both of these days so special. 

Belly Pics #7

We've been up to tons in the last couple weeks. Belly pictures first, update towards the end. 

{Father's Day-32 Weeks}

I bought these scrubs for Ty for his first unofficial Father's Day.  They're supposed to be for the hospital when our babe is born but as long as he wears them around the house, I'll be happy.They came in the mail a week early and  it was one of the hardest secrets to keep in the whole world. I love surprises. I love surprising Ty. So I think they were just as fun for me as they were for him. He's been wearing them all over the place for the last week so things are looking pretty good. 

{The back of his scrubs}

{33 Weeks - June 23}

As mentioned before, my heartburn is back. I got my Whooping Cough Vaccine at my last doctor's appointment. What they didn't tell me was that it was also a tetanus shot and that those hurt for days and days after the fact. But baby looks good and to say she is active is the biggest understatement in the world. I told the doctor I felt her feet by my left hip and her head up under my ribs on the right side. The doctor felt around my stomach and said I was feeling her feet but what I thought was her head was really her little bum. And her head is down by my pelvic bones, exactly where it should be which is good. 

My friend, Emily, from our Wymount ward is a photographer and offered to do some maternity photos for me. This is just a little teaser because I don't have the cd yet but I'm so excited to see the rest of them. 

Lastly, we (me, Brittany, and Penny) threw a bridal shower for our new sister in law to be. Ashley and Jon love hiking, rock climbing i.e. anything outdoorsy so the theme for the shower was "The Great Outdoors." For some reason, I only took pictures of the food and no people so this is it. Everything we did, we tried to keep it camping related. It turned out super cute. 

We have also decided to continue staying with Ty's parents until after the baby is born. We found a perfect apartment for us but afterwards we both felt weird about it. It comes down to the fact that we are hopeful that everything will go perfectly with our babe's labor and delivery but we're very aware there's a lot that can go wrong. We are lucky to be in a position where we can save money for a little while and decided that we'll just continue doing that until we know how our little babe is doing. It feels really good to have some kind of stability since we've been in this limbo place for the last couple months. 

Anyway, that's it for now. We'll just continue freaking out since our baby could get here basically anytime between the next 4 and 8 weeks. 

What We've Been Up To

So our summer is nuts and between the beginning of May and our baby's due date, there were only 3 free weekends. We've already passed one, another has since been booked which leaves June 22 if anyone wants to hang out that day. 

For Memorial Day weekend, we drove up to Boise for my cousin's wedding reception. My whole family met us there as well and we had a great time being with them. My sister's kids, Ashley and Ryan, have so much personality. One morning, we were at breakfast and Ashley looked at my plate and then says, "Your baby likes to eat." 

Ry baby is just barely one and he loves his mom but as long as you gave him food, he's your best friend. This is just a little ice cream facial hair. 

Also, I think my child is a secret weapon. Since I've been pregnant, I can calm down any child. Ryan was so whiny and tired and I just held him for a little while and he conked out. He doesn't look so much like a baby here. 

And surprisingly, we have no pictures of Ashley. She wanted to ride in our car so for the majority of the weekend, her car seat was in our car. She said the funniest things like, "Turn on the music Ty!" and "Emily.. (long pause)... I love you." She also had us convinced she knew all the words to "Trouble" by Taylor Swift and only afterwards we found out she had never heard the song. 

I sure wish those babies lived closer to me. 

Next, one of my very best friends is having a baby at the beginning of July and I made and tied this blanket for her. She's up in Washington so I wasn't able to attend her shower. She doesn't know the gender of her baby but she's having a cute forest theme for her nursery. She and I have been friends since the first day of second grade when we wore the exact same shirt to school. The extra special thing about this blanket is that the lace and the yellow ties are the exact same as the lace and yellow ties I put on a blanket for my little girl. These babes will be best friends whether they like it or not. 

Ty and I have been seeing a lot of these cute kids. Peyton and Jackson are our niece and nephew on his side. Jackson has recently added several recognizable words to his vocabulary but he's also very fluent in his own language. Sometimes he gets so mad, I'm sure he's using baby swear words at us. Peyton has been make-believing so much lately and it's hilarious. I was in the car with Britt and her kids and from the backseat we hear, "Ladies and Gentlemen! *clears throat* I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! Ladies and Gentlemen!" 

Lastly, this is a picture from Ty's cousin's wedding. This is not a good picture but it is the best one from the whole day. We spent tons of time with his sweet grandparents who just had the funniest things to say. And the weather was fantastic. They couldn't have asked for a better day. 

And now in the next few weeks, we've got Ty's brother's wedding as well as a shower for Ashley, his sweet wife to be. My parents will be in town for the 4th of July and another cousin wedding for us. Seriously, June 22 is your last chance to be our friends. 

Belly Pics #6

Somewhere between graduation and this moment, I really lost interest in the whole chalkboard biz. I always thought about it late at night or we were just so busy with different things. (Mainly weddings. Every single one of our cousins got married. Not really. It just felt like it.)  So here's a few more and you'll just have to fill in the rest in your mind. 

{May 19}

I started my third trimester which brought on an extra wave of panic along with a heavy dose of heartburn. Thanks crazy baby. 

{June 9}

I also started to wear Ty's clothes when we're at home. (At least it's not when I go out in public.. most of the time) I'm getting so uncomfortable and the only other option is to hang out in my unmentionables and I just don't think my in-laws would approve. 

My child is also getting wild. Extra wild. So wild in fact that at my last doctors appointment, the doctor was having a hard time finding her heartbeat because she was wiggling so much. He finally got it and said, "Well that's an active baby." Yes I know because I feel it ALL. THE. TIME. Her newest trick is to wedge a foot right above my hip and stretch her hands up close to my ribs. I imagine this is what it would feel like if you swallowed a squirrel whole. 

All complaining aside, we're getting so excited and nervous but mostly excited. This pregnancy has gone by so fast and the summer is just zooming by. I won't see my sister and her kids or my cute brother in law til October and my brother until next May. It's hard to believe that "we" will be a family of three by then. And we just can't wait to snuggle our cute girl.