Not too much longer....

Some things to note in the last few weeks:

We enjoyed our summer getaway to Montana very much.....this is a picture of me at the top of the Storm Castle hike. We thought it would be an 800 (1000 foot at the most) elevation gain....it ended up being 1900 feet. Pretty much uphill the whole way...switchbacks back and forth. I had to take a few good breaks...even stopped towards the top to eat my PB&J sandwich...but I made it! As we passed a few hikers on our way down, they would ask how much further to the top...then they would look at me....and you could see the wheels spin in their head as they realized "if SHE can do it...then certainly I can make it to the top!"

And pic of JVD....

And a video, too!

Took a day trip to Yellowstone and saw two coyote and two Bison on our hike....extremely awe-inspiring to be out in the middle of a field in Yellowstone, away from cars and roads. Looking forward to exploring some other hikes next summer.

We returned a week ago and what a full week it has been. I had a cold...bummer. I had a 3 hour glucose test...which turned out to be negative (meaning, GOOD! :) ) and JVD and our friend John painted the baby's room (yay!) The room is now the color of melted chocolate icecream....warm and yummy. We went to Ikea and bought some colorful and fun rugs and accessories and I look forward to this coming weekend when we can put everything back into the room and organize it all.

9 weeks to go, folks!

I must say I appreciate being pregnant in this day and age of technology. I have updates sent to from "what to expect.com" and "babycenter.com" and without fail on any given day, I will begin to wonder if what I am feeling is "normal" and I check my gmail account and lo and behold, there is an email from one of those baby sites that inform me that I what I am feeling is, indeed, normal. Like this week for example....I feel like my lungs at times feel so tight and constricted...is it because of my lingering cold.....or why do I feel so short of breath? Ta da! Woudn't you know I have an email article from 'what to expect' that talks about shortness of breath....which is normal as my uterus is pushing up against my lungs making it more difficult to get a full breath in these days. How nice!

Overall, I do feel more "weighted" down these days. My midwife is completely pleased with the amount of weight I have gained with this pregnancy....not too little, not too much...just right. :) But even with being just right I have now gained almost 25% of my total weight...which is crazy! And it is all centered in one main area...which is also crazy!

But there are some really cool things happening, too. The baby's movements are so much more distinct. I can definitely tell when he or she is hiccuping. I can definitely tell when he or she is moving around/changing positions. I can now feel a foot (I think it is a foot?) that likes to push out on my right side right below my ribs. And, with envisioning the baby's room and unwrapping a pack of onesies that someone bought for us and seeing the teeny tiny little sample diapers I received from Target - there is something in me that is excited to see our little baby in one of those onesies, wearing one of those itty bitty diapers and sleeping in his or her crib in the room we are preparing for him or her.

I am not so excited about the Labor and Delivery part of this adventure....but I am sure it will be well worth it to finally meet our son or daughter!