So, it's been a while . . .

Okay, so it's been a while since I've posted. We had our first baby shower (pictures below). Tera did a great job of planning, but no amount of planning can compensate for lack of power. So, we all had a great baby shower by candlelight, complete with a generator, shop lights, and lots of coats and scarves. But, it ws still great to be with friends and family. Very generous friends and family. Darcy got lots of GREAT stuff!

Some of my good friends - Amy, Andi, and Jesse

Leah (my sister), Mom, Tera, and my Grandma

Grandma Bookout, Aunt Alisa, and my mother-in-law, Janet

So many cute clothes!

Trying to guess who brought Darcy this book . . . It was my mom.

Thanks to Tera for a wonderful baby shower!

This week has proved to be interesting. Last weekend, we got to spend time with Brad's family, and we picked out a glider for Darcy's room. It took a little while to figure out which one we wanted, but I'm very pleased with the one we have. It will serve us well for all of the little ones God has planned for us.

Then, on Monday night, I came down with the flu. The full-blown, really gross flu. Apparently it dehydrated me enough that I started having contractions, which was a little scary. But, I knew it wasn't REALLY labor. But, still. I wasn't even able to keep water down. So, Brad called the doctor in the morning, and she sent us to the hospital for fluids and monitoring. I was actually still having contrations, just not as close together. Things settled down after IV fluids and being able to keep some food down, and we were able to go home.

I've spent the last couple of days trying to recouperate. Should be back to work tomorrow. I know my parents have been concerned. They've been calling and texting a lot. Brad has been great. He stayed home to take care of me on Tuesday (which was great, considering we were at the hospital for a good chunk of the day). I am SO blessed to have such a wonderful husband. He is going to be a fantastic dad. I'm so excited to watch him with our daughter.

We were 33 weeks along yesterday. So, seven weeks to go. We have a baby shower at Brad's office tomorrow, one at my office next Friday, and another with our friends and family in Kansas City. It is so nice that so many people care.

My belly is officially huge. I'll have to get a picture posted this weekend. I had a lady at Dillard's ask me if I was about to pop. She was horrified when I told her that I still had seven weeks left. Nice. We've hit the stage where people feel free to comment on your size. Since when did that become okay, for the record?

I can feel Darcy's every little movement now. She is moving A LOT! My belly is starting to have corners, I think. Different body parts poking out here and there. I'm trying to enjoy every minute, as uncomfortable as I am, because I know that this is a time that we will never have again. It is one to be treasured. As much as we will enjoy having Darcy here and enjoying every second with her, the time for us to feel her move now is limited. The time we have as just the two of us is limited. It's a gift, and I want to treasure all of the gifts God has given us.

Home Stretch, or So They Say . . .

Here are the pictures of my belly I keep promising. It is definitely bigger. Much bigger.

27 weeks

27 weeks Not my most flattering picture. Thanks, Babe!

28.5 weeks

Days keep going by, melting into weeks as we wait for Darcy to decide to make her appearance. (I can definitely wait a little longer, though. She still has some cookin' to do!) It's amazing to me that so many weeks have gone by already. It's definitely gone faster than I thought it would. I'm sure that the rest of the time is going to drag on now.

Brad worked on Darcy's closet today. I am so blessed to have a handy husband! He outfitted her closet with adjustable shelves that he built himself and a drawer system so that we have plenty of storage. He did such a great job!! Now, it just needs to be painted.

We still have quite a bit to do in Darcy's room. Still have some of my books and things to relocate. But, her furniture is all set up.

13 weeks and counting

So, the countdown has begun. We only have 13 weeks until Darcy is supposed to arrive. She is definitely an active little girl. My belly is starting to visibly move when she gets going! We have also discovered that she really likes hot chocolate . . . That's my girl!

We finally got our furniture ordered. On New Year's Day. Didn't really expect to order it then, but it was an offer we couldn't refuse. And it wasn't the color I thought I wanted, but again - offer I couldn't refuse. Here's what it looks like.

We got the crib and the dresser, but not the armoir. Should be in within a week to 10 days. Very excited to get her room set up. The bedding came in, too. Lady bugs!!

My belly is definitely getting bigger and bigger. I'll have to get another picture posted soon.

Hello 2010

It's hard to believe that 2009 is already ending. It has been quite a year! But, 2010 is promising to bring us lots of excitement - especially in the first half!

We really enjoyed spending a quiet Christmas with our families. Probably the last quiet Christmas for a while . . . We're enjoying the same quiet this New Year's Eve.

Darcy is definitely growing. It seems that every single day, I think my belly is bigger than it was the day before. Strangers now notice that I'm pregnant. We've also entered the period of time where she is most active (which is between 24 and 28 weeks, I think). She is definitely doing flips, kicks, and all kinds of other wiggles. She likes to kick me when I'm getting hungry, and then she settles down a little after I've eaten. Pretty amusing.

We are officially on the downhill slope. Only 14 weeks to go! We ordered Darcy's baby bedding, and it arrived yesterday. I'll try to post pictures soon. We don't have the crib yet, so the nursery pictures will have to wait a little bit. But, the bedding is lady bugs. Really cute!!

Brad borrowed a bassinet and brought that home this week. It made things a little more real for me. You'd think that the expanding abdomen would do that, but apparently I'm still living in a little bit of denial. I know she'll be here soon, but it sinks in a little bit more with each piece of baby gear we bring home.

We'll get another picture posted pretty soon. We are going to take this weekend and relax. Try to stock up on our rest before April gets here! Hello 2010 . . .

Stubborn Little Girl

So, we had another ultrasound today to check on Darcy's growth and for our 3D/4D ultrasound. Growth is fine. She weighs about 1 lb. 10 oz. already. However, as typical for each of our other ultrasounds, she didn't cooperate. She managed to get herself into a very difficult position - breech. Pretty much, it was like someone had dropped her into a barrel butt-first, with her feet in her face. Thankfully, Kim was able to still get some shots of her cute little face. But, we did get lots of shots of her feet.

Here are some of the pictures from today. Let us know who you think she looks like . . .

This is probably my favorite one.

Profile shot

This should give you an idea of her position for the ultrasound. Yes, those are her feet in her face. Apparently, this child is very flexible.

Gymnast Baby

Okay, so it's been a little while since I've posted. The night after my last post, we had a trip to the emergency room. Kidney stones. Oh, the joys of pregnancy . . .

And, things were pretty busy for a while getting that HUGE paper done. But, now that's over, and things at work will be settling down soon, so hopefully we can focus on enjoying this last holiday as just the two of us.

I'm really feeling the baby move now. Brad is too, which is fun for both of us. Sometimes I think she's doing flips! Might have a future as a gymnast . . .

I can't believe that we're only 16 weeks away from our due date. It's really going by fast. Here's a fairly current picture, taken a couple of days ago. The belly is definitely growing!

23.5 weeks

20 Weeks

Things have been pretty busy the last couple of weeks. We've been working a lot, and then I've been working on my HUGE paper.

But, we're half way there at 20 weeks! We had a good report from the doctor today. They did another ultrasound today, and Darcy looked great. Brain, heart, kidneys, all that stuff looked good. She was sticking out her tongue and swallowing. So cool to watch!

Anyway, here are some updated pics - belly pictures from earlier this week and pictures from today's ultrasound. Enjoy!

19.5 weeks

Getting rounder!

Mouth open. She wasn't going to cooperate very much to let us get a shot of that perfect little profile.

Precious little feet

Still a little skeletal

I think she may be sticking out her tongue a bit. She was doing that a couple of times during the ultrasound.

Scary face