It's a boy??

I have been getting lots of opinions on the gender of our baby this past week and it seems pretty unanimous that it's a boy. Ethan and I will be happy with whatever we have, but Ethan said he might be kind of disappointed if we have a girl, now that people keep saying they think it's a boy.

My mom and grandma Cena are coming to visit this weekend. My friend Emily is throwing me a small baby shower this weekend. I plan to have a 'meet and greet' for family and old family friends in Ogallala later this fall when baby Mann is finally here.

I have been feeling more aches and pains this week. I think the little stinker is pushing up on a nerve on my left side as I will get some very sharp, shooting pains from the front all the way around to the back that is only relieved if I change positions. I got in to the chiropractor on Saturday and got an adjustment for my neck. I went back Monday also and have felt much better, although I don't have full range motion to the right side. As a pleasant surprise, one of my co-workers is a massage therapist and had her maternity table with her Monday, so she stopped by the house and gave me a massage. What a nice treat!

We are still waiting on one last piece of baby furniture, then I will get some pictures posted. We have decided to wait until the baby gets here to pick bedding, so it looks a little bare, but we are excited to wait and make a more gender-specific room. It hasn't been hard to wait on the gender; I'm more anxious to see what the baby looks like. I can't imagine what Ethan and I managed to form :).

Pictures to come this weekend. :)

t-minus 8 weeks and counting

Another few weeks have passed. We have been getting some rain and thunderstorms, but nothing like the rain in Iowa where my sister-in-law and my cousin Katie live. Keep all of the flooded areas in your prayers. We have been fortunate enough to get just enough to keep the grass green and flowers happy without being saturated. For those of you who have heard about the tragic tornado at Little Sioux almost two weeks ago, Ethan was in Colorado that night so Nima and I were home alone. Luckily we did not get any tornados, but I was really scared. God was really watching over us. Keep the families of the Boy Scouts in your prayers as well.

As for us, things keep moving along. I hit the 32 week mark this past Tuesday and had a midwife appointment Wednesday. Everything is going great; I am measuring right on track still despite only gaining 6 ounces. I think the little one is growing because I have been feeling a lot more pressure on my bladder and colon and my ligaments are sore. I have also been more fatigued and have taken a nap after work almost every night this week. I haven't been sleeping well at night and this morning woke up with either a pinched nerve or very sore neck muscle. If I move the wrong way it will catch and almost makes me cry. Unfortunately my chiropractor is not open on Saturdays, so I may have to find an alternative for today.

Last week I had my first birth dream with delivery. I had a dream that I was at Bradley class in labor and said "HELLOOOO, I am having a baby over here, literally" and out came my baby...BOY. Yes, it was a boy in my dream. This is the first dream I've had where I actually had the baby and knew the gender. I have been thinking it is a boy most of my pregnancy, so we shall see.

Ethan is out golfing this morning and I will be going in to work later. I have been volunteering to be on-call some weekends to add to my PTO when the baby comes. I had to miss out on the fun of golfing, but Ethan thinks I am done for the year :(. He has more pictures from the video camera to post, so I will remind him to do that.

Have a fabulous week!

PS. I apologize for the picture formatting issues. The captions are a little "off".

Left: Nima by her tree in the back yard

Below: Nima got a haircut Monday and she was very tired

Left: A view off of our back deck. In the background is our small garden (strawberries, two tomato plants, two zucchini hills)

First Below: Our Bradley class (our last class was this past Tuesday). From left to right starting in the back we are in order of due date with me being the latest due date. I am in the front on the right. Also, the girl in the black shirt in the back on the left just had her baby Thursday. Congrats to her! She was in early labor at class; what a trooper. The one with the baby had hers very early due to HELP syndrome, but mom and baby are doing well and healthy and we all loved seeing the baby on our last day of class. It made me anxious!

Second Below: Our coaches, in no particular order. Ethan is second from the right in the back. The lady is the mom of the girl who just had her baby; her husband had class on Tuesdays so her mom was her Bradley coach.

June, already?

My baby bump and me at the beach (28weeks, 4 days)

A lighthouse from the view at the beach house
Ethan and me at tee #3 at Fenwick
A look at my peonies

Emily, Kellie, and me

Ethan, Kendal, Ryan


My mommy and me at the Obermeier-Dodge wedding

Another of us at the reception (my 29 week, 4 day belly)


Well, well...imagine me being almost another month before posting a new blog. I apologize. I guess you can say we've been a little busy. Ethan and I were treated to a trip to Connecticut from my mom for Memorial Day weekend. We went to Hartford, New Haven (to see Yale), Old Saybrook/Fenwick (the beach house), and a few places in between. It was a quick trip, just three days, but we got to see the beach (overlooks Long Island Sound) and play some golf.

When we returned I was pleased to see my peonies had bloomed. I took that photo because we were expecting a storm and I didn't know if they'd last. They actually survived another week, but have since died and it is time for Ethan to trim them back. They were gorgeous and smelled nice for a short time.

Our 3 year anniversary was May 27th. Time really flies! We were able to go out for dinner before Bradley class. Ethan bought me my "breastfeeding recliner" and I told him to get whatever he wants/needs. I never know what to get him!

We had a midwife appointment the 28th. I am up to 145# and growing "right on schedule". I took my glucose tolerance test that revealed I do not have (and am not at risk for) gestational diabetes. Phew! God continues to bless us with a fanastic pregnancy. I continue to grow, but this evening Ethan told me I don't look very big. He will be gone this coming week, so we'll see what he thinks when he gets back!

Our friends Kellie Obermeier and Kendal Dodge were married May 31, 2008. I was matron of honor and Ethan was an usher, so we were both very busy that weekend. They had a wonderful day. I even made it through my toast without crying, although I was a mess during their picture slide show. We've been through a lot together. Now our "little gang" is all married.

This week Ethan and I picked out our baby furniture and I think we decided on bedding. It is kind of hard to find unisex colors that aren't green or yellow. We want something bold, like chocolate brown and teal. We are trying to get things together because our due date is coming up quickly and there is also the possibility of an early surprise (although I also know there is the possibility of it being late).

I believe that brings you up to date. Ethan leaves for Colorado on Wednesday for a work trip. He'll have to blog more specifics about that. Nima and I will spend some quality time together. In case you were wondering, Nima went to "camp" which is at Ethan's parent's in Wayne. She spent 10 days up there playing with the cats and she has been pretty sleepy all week.

Have a great day, week, month...who knows when I'll blog again ;)