Eight months

It's hard to believe that it's already been eight months...which means just a little more than a month and a half to go.

Here's the rundown on what's going on in there these days (again, the gender designation is not by me).

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb.

Everything continues to go well pregnancy-wise! I will see if we get more bump shots from our camping trip this weekend. Everyone stay cool, we finally have sun in the NW!

Update: no pics from the camping trip (at least ones I would publicize) but I will post ones from our time this week with my nephew soon. As for the camping trip, 100+ degree temps and a tent didn't make for the most comfortable experience but the company was a blast!

We live here?

We've been in the process of getting the house ready to sell and while we knew it would take a lot of work we didn't realize how much work that actually meant. Projects that have been lurking for two years suddenly needed to be done in two weeks, if not two days, and let's just say it was pretty daunting, in particular when one of you is entering the eighth month of pregnancy. Rob did some amazing work and between the two of us, the house is in the best shape we could imagine. As the final wafts of ammonia and trim paint leave the house, it's ready and on the market as of tomorrow.

In honor of our little abode and with fingers crossed that it will sell in prompt fashion, you can check out the collection of photos that were taken for the listing. While some of the staging isn't representative of our specific tastes (i.e. my master vision for the baby's room is currently on hold), it looks, and feels, wonderful and spacious.

Side note, living in a staged house is like living in constant fear that you're going to accidentally leave out your generic, non-lifestyle dish soap, bump a towel into disarray and never, ever get that pillow back into its original fluffy/firm ratio. Seriously, we're scared about living in our own house for fear of mess, which is an entirely foreign concept to both Rob and me. On the flip side, it's teaching us to be more thoughtful when we change our clothes, let alone leave the house since it has to be in pristine shape, just in case someone calls to see the house while we run an errand.

Shameless plug - if you know anyone who is looking to buy a great home in one of the best Seattle neighborhoods, have them call or email us.

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These little guys were too cute to pass up...maybe our baby will inherit owl wisdom by osmosis? In the least, maybe Rob and I will.

Feathering the crib, part deux

Well, it probably would have been easier to buy it but the crib set, including the bumper, is now done! I am happy to have this off my plate. Even without a pattern, it turned out pretty well. It took much longer than I had hoped but nonetheless, it's done. The crib is officially open for business, or a baby rather:).

Off to start on the remaining projects including the diaper bag, nursing cover, plush blocks, bibs, blankets, gifts and more (seriously, I don't know what I was thinking). Like I said earlier, it's going to be a sweat shop here for the next month or so!

Chutes and ladders

When we first started thinking about the baby's room, I wanted to find an older, white ladder to use for displaying and storing baby blankets. Finding a decent ladder that would work well proved really difficult and I was so happy and grateful when my mom said she would take on the task. Discovering a fantastic old-growth fir ladder that was hiding out on the family homestead, my mom whipped it into shape and cut it down to be just the right size and exactly what I wanted! We put it the room when we got back from visiting and it looks great. Add to that a wonderful crocheted baby blanket that my maternal grandmother made for me when I was a baby and you have a family heirloom in the making! Thank you Mom!

A mini shower

Last weekend we had the chance to visit my mom and dad who were watching the youngest of my five nieces and nephews. Kaden, Kayla and Hannah helped my mom make this adorable rubber ducky cake (very impressive) which we enjoyed at my aunt and uncle's house. The kids also went to the store to get sweet little gifts for their future cousin. Their excitement was so cute...as you can see my mom has some sweet cake skills and Kayla loves showing her missing bottom teeth.

HD baby

We met our new doctor Monday and with that were told that it would be a good idea to have another ultrasound since the last one didn't provide a satisfactory view of the baby's heart (okay, okay I might have pointed out the technician's notes and the doctor said she agreed). Finding out that the 3D ultrasound was available and a nominal fee, Rob and I decided it was worth it.

Of course, kids make liars out of you from an early age, even in the womb. As it turns out, the baby is currently in a Frank breech position which means that we have a contortionist in there and a little one who is very camera shy. It was hilarious to see he/she basically kicking themselves in the head while we watched via the ultrasound. The technician was very kind in taking his time and trying to get some good shots for us. Rob and I couldn't stop laughing when we discovered that our baby was giving us a thumbs' up. Already a people pleaser...the other one is a clear shot of the foot that seemed attached to his or her head at all times. I will see if there are any other good face shots, but so far I think we've definitely got more Faw than Fox in there.

Outside of the u/s, everything appears to be going well for the baby, with heartbeat and growth on track. The one thing that remains to grow besides my belly is our love for this little baby, getting to see him or her one more time before we go into the last couple of months was really fun and a good reminder that in the end, all will be okay.