3 Weeks to Go!

The above picture is of Samantha Harry, who is an October (2008) baby....she's the daughter of a friend of mine from work.

I shouldn't have to explain who these four characters are (Mom, Grandma, Dawn, and Laurie)

Mom and Me

I love gift cards (in spite of the funny face I made in this picture)!

(L to R) Katherine Harry, Jennifer Miller, Barbara Sanders, and Jennifer Audifre...all friends from work

The gift table

Darlene and 6-year old A'sharea Peele

Carol Sandidge and Judy Smith (more friends from work)

This is the last bare-belly picture I'm going to post....hopefully it won't get too much bigger than this!

37 Weeks Pregnant and about to Pop!

Chase and I have made it to the final stretch (no pun intended, ha, ha!) of this pregnancy. It's been another exciting week beginning with last Wednesday's OB appointment. Blood pressure, weight, belly measurement, and fetal heartbeat were all great; AND, Dr. Yonker said I was 1 cm dilated.

On Saturday, my lady friends from work hosted a surprise baby shower for me at the Briar Patch Tea Room in Poquoson (all of the above pics except the bare belly shots are from the shower). Barbara Sanders handled the invitations and decorations, and she did a fabulous job! Another beautiful nautical/"fishy" themed shower! It's neat because all of the showers have been so unique even though the themes have been similar. This one was especially fun because I had no idea where it was going to be held and who all would be there. My sisters gave me a ride to the Tea Room Saturday morning and I was pleasantly surprised to find a few close friends from work there as well as my mom and grandma. The food was good and Chase was spoiled with even more gifts! It was a great way to conclude all of the baby showers. Now, Tim and I are officially ready to nest. We spent this past Sunday after church buying some of the last few items off of our registry that we hadn't already received. Between gift cards and a few exchanges, we didn't have to spend any money! Praise God!!! All of these showers have been a huge financial break for us in preparing for Chase's arrival. We are beyond blessed.

Today, Tim and I went for my 37 week check-up. My belly measurement is at 38 weeks now (it was only at 36 weeks last week so I've grown 2 cm in just a week!). I'm still 1 cm dilated. I tested negative for the Group Strep test (yay!). Now, it's just a waiting game to see when Chase will arrive. Will he be early, on time, or late? I hope not the latter....I'm so anxious that I don't think I could stand it if he was a week or two late! On the flip side, I know every additional day in the womb is beneficial for Chase so I'm trying not to be selfish. I haven't had any contractions up to this point....just a few really minor Braxton and Hicks, but even those are hard for me to pin-point because when Chase moves he makes my whole belly tighten which almost feels like a contraction. He is running out of room in there!

For now, I'm on no restrictions. I'm still working, walking, and living life as I normally do. I'm going to take it one day at a time and see how things go as far as work is concerned. Since I have an office job, I really have no excuse not to work at this point since things are going so well health-wise. I should be at work through next week and probably the following week if things don't progress between now and then.

I'll be sending out an update if anything eventful happens at next week's appointment; otherwise, you can assume that everything is going well. When the "big day" does finally come, Tim and I will try to keep you in the loop as much as possible. Tim's not much of a blogger and we're not into lap-tops or blackberries, so please don't be offended if you don't hear the news right away. We'll try to inform immediate family first and let the news trickle down the chain from there.