It's the final countdown...

Hello everyone!

I'd like to start with a CONGRATS to Danielle & Allen Gessell for welcoming their baby boy in to the world last night. She is the last one of of my racing friends to deliver before me..so now I feel like I am in the "final countdown!" Danielle delivered about 3 weeks early and considering I am 3 weeks behind her.....ummm that means I could have a baby in my arms in 3 weeks..or if I am anything like my sister, it could be sooner. CRRRAZY :)

Adventure of the week: Corey and I decided that instead of going to a birthing class we were going to pay for the take-home kit. You go to the hospital and pick up a video that walks you through everything for birth. On Monday, I said that we really needed to sit down and watch it so I could return it on Tuesday. Corey looks and sees that it is like 2 hours long and he said, "2 hours, are you joking?" I told him to relax and about that time he opened the case and found 2 DVD's - the normal one and an "express" version--which he didn't think twice about and threw in; the video was over in about 45 min to an hour so I asked him- "what did we miss?" because he was looking at the chapters on the back of the DVD case. He responded with, "umm not much, I mean it looks like the pregnancy section was 35 min in the long version but in ours it was 18 and then we skipped 'Christina's Birth', relaxing and massaging techniques, and the rest we watched but just not as much in detail..so we didn't miss much." I said, "Oh really? Becauase I think I want to know some relaxing techniques..." Come on buddy- think a little!! So he put in the other DVD and we watched it. It wasn't a ton of new information but still good to watch.

Last week-end was a blast on the race track. We went to Fergus Falls, MN on Friday. Corey started 3 in his heat and was maintaining it well but then had a minor driver error that put him in 4th which led him to start pole in the 2nd B-feature which he won (YAY!). This placed him 17th in the main feature which he finished 9th. The car was doing great in both the features but when he came in the last time he said he could feel it giving out on him .....and after looking at it last night another push rod went through. How does this happen, you ask? We'd like to know as well. It is a blessing in disguise the racing season is coming to an end. Either way- we had a BLAST in Fergus. Saturday, we went to a wedding reception for Stacy & Dale Roufs (CONGRATS!). Corey was deployed with Dale in Iraq during his second tour. Dale also did a ton of work on our basement at our last house when we were finishing it. Dale & Stacy got married in the Spring in Mexico and had a reception here. It was great to see them again! Sunday was a very lazy day around our house...lots of laying around!

This week-end we planned on going to the State Fair but with the new motor issue we may be bringing that to get fixed. Saturday and Sunday are races in Ogilvie-but it is next to impossible for us to be able to make it. Sunday is also my baby shower in Sartell, MN at Love of Christ Church. It starts at 1:00 pm and I am super excited to see everyone and continue getting ready for Baby Girl. She has a lot (!!!!) of clothes and so my goal this week-end is also to wash them all and put them back in her drawers/hang them up. I also want to organize her toys and all of that fun stuff :)

On the baby note-
I still can't complain too much about my pregnancy. My feet still swell at night and I still get short of breath easy, but nothing I can't deal with other than the strong leg cramps. They come randomly in the middle of the night. Last night I woke up to some intense pain-if it would have been in my abdomen I would have thought I was in labor for sure. I instantly go to flex it but can barely move it, especially since my stomach begins hurting as I roll around in pain. Corey wakes up- probably thinking I am dying from me moaning like a cow thats been shot- and just keeps telling me to flex it. I couldn't move it. So he grabbed my leg and began massaging it-what a sweetheart- even though it hurt like hell. He told me I should get up and walk around, which is easier said than done ("get up" is a 60 second process). I got up and went to the bathroom and then came back--nice walk huh? I look forward to those being gone!

I am also really sick of the humidity and heat-I love Fall weather and look forward to it even more this year!

Don't scratch that itch!

I have heard that scratching your itches can create stretch marks on your belly...and I think it may be true. I have been very careful not to scratch but recently I have forgotten and have caught myself several times...this morning, like every morning..I was checking out my belly as I put on lotion and found stretch marks on my under-belly. Ew! There are not many and they are very slight (right now)---is this the cause of scratching or just my body? Not sure..but I am done with that!

I am now 32 weeks--which one would think I am 8 months and therefore only have 1 month left...nope there are 8 weeks left of this pregnancy (as explained in a prior post about actually being pregnant for longer than 9 months :) ). We had an ultrasound on Friday and Baby Girl was on the move--she was all over the place and therefore we were (unfortuntaely) not able to get a good picture. Yet, we did get to see that she has hair which was a suprise to me. First, I haven't had any heartburn (an old wives tale once linked the two), Second- I was born bald and Lastly- Corey was born bald. I guess our little one is breaking the cycle. It was fun to see her..we could see that she had a "sucking" motion with her hand right up by her face but it looked like she was sucking her fist rather than a thumb--either way we think she is a keeper :) The Dr. says that everything looks good and all my symptoms are normal at this point so we are doing good. Baby Girl is 4.4 lbs which puts her in the 60th percentile--so she is growing right on pace!

Thursday night, our friends Kyle & Lindsey Schantzen welcomed their baby BOY in to the world- Kaden Kyle- he was 8lbs 5 oz and 20" long. CONGRATULATIONS!! This means we have one more couple that we know that is due before us...so in baseball terms I guess we are "on deck." We were going to visit them on Saturday evening but they ended up getting released so we ended up having a dinner date in Maple Grove at Maple Tavern (ever been? If not, it is a GREAT choice!). We didn't do a whole lot of anything this week-end - a lot of laying around mostly.

That is about where we are at--no more news!

31 weeks and counting

It has been a little while since I last wrote but nothing has truly changed so I don't feel there is much to report.

My current symptoms:
- tired/achy calves and feet
- swollen feet in the evenings (after the races otherwise not frequent)
- short of breath after talking for a long time or walking
- exhausted- this happens randomly throughout the day, the hotter it is the faster it happens, or if I try and clean the house exhaustion sets in fast.
- harder time sleeping/getting comfortable in bed..I am finding the couch is a bit more comfortable

Baby girl is also moving around a lot more, which I am still enjoying!

Last Thursday night/Friday I had my 2 nephews and my neice over and they spent the night while my sister attended a wedding (Congrats Jess & Jay!). When I met my sister she made the comment, "Wow, that little girl is sure getting the best of you" which should be another comment that you DO NOT make to a pregnant person..so I guess my hopes that I wasn't gaining a ton of weight is out the window. It was fun to see the kids and spend time with them but Corey and I agree that we are happy we are not going from 0 to 3 kids ages 3-7. Saturday we attempted to race in Ogilvie. Corey started and ended 3rd in his heat but when he returned to the pits we found that we have.....................another motor issue! We hope to get it fixed up tonight to race tomorrow in Madison, MN but we're not sure what will happen. Sunday, we went to Willmar for Corey's grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary (Congrats Pat & Ron!) It was a very warm day so I spent the majority of it in the house. This week-end we plan on going to my dad's cabin in Park Rapids to spend time together and relax but it is supposed to rain so we may have to reschedule.

Have you received your baby shower invite? If not, save the date--Sunday, Aug 29 from 1:00-4:00 at Love of Christ Lutheran Church in Sartell, MN. It is the same church where I married the love of my life :)

Other news: we have an ultrasound on Friday where we can see little girl's growth as well as how everything is going. Let's hope that I can avoid the "full bed rest" bullet a bit longer. Currently, I am working 2 days a week from home and this has definitely helped the exhaustion!