The Baby Shower!

Last Saturday, I had my baby shower. Friday night my Mom and Anna came over and helped get some things ready. My mom and I stayed up late baking the sugar cookies. Early Saturday morning Anna, Mom and I frosted them. They turned out better than I had hoped, which is always good. They helped me clean up the house then before I knew it it was already an hour and a half before it was to start.


Heather showed up and all of us began getting the food ready, some people showed up early and pitched in as well. I had a great time. Some weren't able to make it, which is the way things are, but there was definitely a house-full. I couldn't get the AC turned down enough to make it really cool...but at least it wasn't terribly hot in the house.



Heather made adorable favors for everyone and put together some fun games. We played "have you ever" where someone would say something they have never done and everyone else who has never done that also would put a coin in the Danae's piggy bank. Her first piggy bank is full and heavy! Then we played a unscramble the baby words, which was also fun. While I opened gifts, the guests had filled in their own bingo cards with a list of words provided and played bingo marking off words I said as I opened gifts. Rylee was such a help with opening gifts!

We got a lot of useful and adorable gifts...THANKS to everyone!! We are going to Phoenix tomorrow to pick up what we still need. Heather put a lot of work into the shower from the invitations to the games to the food to the favors.... THANKS Heather!! ...and thanks everyone else who pitched in to get things ready!


While the baby shower was going on, Michael, Jason, Nando, Micah & Weston all went fishing. Micah and Weston caught their first fish. Jason didn't really want to come down, its hot and he had other things he needed to do, but he did so Michael wouldn't be left hangin'. I think it made Jason feel better about going when one of the boys told him "this is the best day ever!". I think they liked catching fish. (I didn't get many pictures, but here they are)

Visit to the Sunflower State

Michael and I took a last minute, short trip to Kansas to see his family and see how his Mom is doing after a medical issue. I don't always get to go to Kansas when the sunflower fields are in bloom, this is one of those times they were! So, when they are, I can't pass up going and taking in the scenery. I couldn't pass up taking some pregnancy pictures in the field either...so, here are some of them.






The drive wasn't too bad, my back is telling me how much it didn't like sitting in the car for over 12 hours! On the way there, thanks to the low tire pressure light in the car, we caught a problem with one of our tires (a slow leak through the sidewall) before it became a big problem...like a blow-out on the interstate! Michael had checked everything before we went and about 7 hours in, we discovered the leak in the tire. When we were loaded up and ready to leave on Monday morning, the jeep wouldn't start. The battery was done for...beyond a jump start...there was a small hole in the battery. So, another trip to the automotive store for a new battery. I am just grateful we weren't in the middle of nowhere (which is a common place to be on this trek). So, we came home with a new tire and a new battery...but we also came home with a cooler of home raised beef. Looking at the bright side makes it so much better. It was good to see everyone though and I got a steak, potato and corn dinner for my birthday with strawberry shortcake to top it off!! It was all worth it :)

Who needs kids.....?

Who needs kids to make messes and stains when you have pets like ours. Emily (the Cocatoo) found an ink pen, snapped it and Jade found the ink on the floor and managed to step in it and track it all over the kitchen and carpet...that has been very fun to clean (most of it has come up, but not without a lot of effort). This is the same cat that sits outsid the dog's room and teases them through the gate and acts like she did nothing when they get over the gate and get yelled at, she eats the plants, and steals jewlery and small items. Bring on Danae!

Danae's Room

Over the past two weekends, Michael and I have been painting the walls in Danae's room. We did striping on the bottom, trim accross the middle and floorboard, and I painted a mural of "Bullseye" from Toy Story. Just a few more things to do and the room will be ready for her arrival!

Soccer

A week ago from this past weekend, Michael and I went to Flagstaff to watch Micah & Weston play a good game of soccer. Afterward we went to Sonic for shakes. Rylee cracked me up when she stuck out her stomach and compared it to mine and said "I'm as full as you are". It was good times and the boys are quite the soccer players! Go Green Gatorades!

Is This a Sign?

Last night, yes when it was light in the house, I was walking into the family room and failed to negotiate around the vaccum and whacked my left pinki toe on the edge of the vaccuumn (at walking speed). Now I waddle more than I have already started to. My pinki toe is black and blue and probably broken.

Could it be a sign I should take a break from housework?! j/k

Baby Danae This Week

Thought it would be fun to post info on where Danae is in the growing process.

Week 25: Baby's Breath: Fetal Lung Development
Your baby is about nine inches long and more than a pound and a half in weight this week. And don't look now (as if you could), but your baby's skin is turning pinker as small blood vessels form under the skin and fill with blood. Lungs and nostrils are also growing at this stage of fetal development.
At nine inches and more than a pound and a half in weight, your baby is taller than two juice boxes stacked one on top of the other, and almost as heavy as four of those little boxes (an analogy you'll find particularly apropos in a few years, when those juice boxes start taking over your refrigerator, your pantry, your car.…).

Don't look now (as if you could), but your baby's skin is turning pinker. No, not because he or she's getting overheated (in fact, the amniotic fluid is perfectly climate controlled, keeping your baby at an always comfortable temperature), but because small blood vessels, called capillaries, are forming under the skin and filling with blood. Later this week, blood vessels will also develop in your baby's lungs, bringing them one step closer to full maturity — and one step closer to taking that first breath of fresh air. But those lungs are still very much works in progress. Though they are already beginning to develop surfactant, a substance that will help the lungs expand after the baby is born, the lungs are still too undeveloped to sufficiently send oxygen to the bloodstream and release carbon dioxide when he or she exhales.


The lungs aren't the only system that's gearing up for air intake. Your baby's nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, are starting to open this week. This actually allows your little one to begin taking practice breaths. (Of course since there's no air in there, your baby is really only "breathing" amniotic fluid, but it's the practice that counts, right?)