Lots of happenings and some pictures!

I thought that maybe after I was done with school and just working that life might slow down a bit, however this has not happened. We have been extremely busy lately spending time with friends and family, doing things around the house, and getting ready for the arrival of our little guy.

Two weeks ago Kevin, Jules, mom, and I drove out to PA for the wedding of a close family friend from our family's DC days. We left Friday evening driving part of the way before stopping to sleep and got up Saturday morning to drive the rest of the way. We arrived at our hotel just in time to change clothes and head to the wedding. The wedding took place at Cove Valley Youth Camp where we spent many summers as kids. It was a great day of walking down memory lane and catching up with friends (who are like family).

The following weekend Julia and Josh came down for a friend's wedding. It was fun to see the two of them and Jules helped to do some cleaning and decorating around the house, which was a HUGE help. On Sunday I drove up to Goshen to spend the evening at mom's house before spending Monday afternoon with my dear friends Anna and Mindy. Anna has been in Honduras since February of 08 and was home for a quick visit. It was wonderful being able to catch up and to see her after such a long time. She will be returning to Honduras this week until April of 2010. I was once again reminded of the blessing of great friends. While it had been some time since I had seen both Anna and Mindy we were able to pick-up right where we left off as if no time had passed. I wish Anna could be around when our little guy is born but we will be sure to show him lots of pictures of his aunt Anna so he will know who she is. :)

Finally, we had a doctor's visit on Wednesday. The little guy seems to be growing quite well. At the time of the appointment I was just starting week 31 but the doctor informed us that I am measuring about 2 weeks ahead at this point. So we could have an earlier arrival. Kevin and I had a brief day of panic making a new list of all the things that need to be done. We have a few things we can cross off the list, however these seem to be replaced with new things each day. We trust that some how the important things will get done and other things will just have to wait.

Today Kevin and I had some fun taking some pictures at the house and at the Arts Garden in Broadripple. Enjoy!!!

Can't Sleep

Well this is the second or third night this week that I have woken up between 4:30 and 5:00am wide awake and unable to go back to sleep!!! I guess maybe my body is trying to prepare me for the sleepless nights to come in a few months?!?!? That's right, just a few short months and our little guy will be here. So hard to believe. It feels like such a short period of time when I think about all the many, many things that we still need to do to get ready for him, but such a long period of time when I think about the fact that the weather is supposed to be 90s and humid!!

Earlier this week I sat down and created a list of all the things that we need to do around the house and in preparation for our baby's arrival. Kevin has completed a few things on the list, which is awesome, however I am lacking the motivation and the energy. I know how I want things to be (around the house) but find that when I get home from work I just don't have the desire to work around the house. It also doesn't help that we seem to have a full schedule of weddings, graduation parties, meals with friends, etc. that take away from time doing things around the house. All of these things are great and we have had some awesome times with friends and family lately, however we can't seem to get our house together. We have had several friends offer to come over and help with some projects but it's hard to know where to start! I'm hoping that most of this weekend can be spent completing several of the projects on our list or at least moving us in that direction. :)

Time for Another Update

Kevin took this picture last week while we were enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon out on our patio and playing in the yard. We are really enjoying our house, especially the patio and yard now that the weather is nice. We bought some patio furniture and we can often be founding grilling out and relaxing with a glass of lemonade. I can easily imagine a swing set and a little kiddy pool with our little guy running around.

Speaking of the little guy...he continues to be quite the little mover! Just today I have felt movements like I've never felt before. I'm not sure what he's doing in there but he must be enjoying himself. :) I never get tired of feeling him and have been known to have freak-out moments when I don't think he's been moving as much as he should or he has before. But all continues to go well. I discover new things each day that are a bit more challenging to do than they were the day before. I love my flip flops and other slide on shoes and am glad that there is an elevator at work! :) I'm still using the stairs but will be glad for the elevator, especially as I am finding I make quite a few trips up and down to the two clinics during the day.

A little note about work before signing off for the night.....I LOVE IT!!! I am really enjoying my job. I feel blessed to have had this job fall into my lap and to have my first job be one that I love. I am finding that I have had to step out and advocate for myself and promote myself and services around the clinic, which has been a different experience but a learning one. As far as what I'm doing I coordinate our our prenatal classes but my job also includes providing individual education to women and parents. I have decided to focus much of my attention on our teens (which we have quite a few of) and first time moms but am available to all women needing or wanting education on any number of topics (newborn care, breastfeeding, car seat safety, postpartum depression, labor....). It's fun being able to talk with these women about what they know and what they want to learn. I feel like I have learned so much already myself and enjoy being able to encourage the women to empower themselves by learning everything they can to better care for themselves and their babies.

Ok, it's time for me to sign-off for the night but hope to post more pictures and updates soon!

Many Happenings

It has once again been a while since my last post and so much has happened. One of the biggest updates is that I have started my first job as an MSW!!! :) I am the Program Coordinator for the Fresh Start to Life Program at the St. Vincent Primary Care Center where I had been for the past school year doing my practicum. So far I am really enjoying it. It is nice being in a familiar environment while learning a new role. The program is a prenatal program (how fitting right?!) that provides prenatal classes, education, and support to pregnant women at the clinic. My job includes coordinating the classes as well as doing some care coordination and additional one-on-one education with women who desire extra education or who have been identified as needing additional education and assistance. I have only seen a few women at this point but hope that things will pick-up as the doctors, nurses, and other staff learn my role. I enjoy everyone that I work with and am learning a lot of important and helpful things while getting paid!!

Another big happening is that I have now officially graduated from graduate school. Almost two weekends ago our families came down to help celebrate both graduation and mother's day. It was a wonderful weekend with family and friends. Two years of hard work have come to an end and I can now use the skills and knowledge that I have gained to do what I enjoy.

We are also getting settled in our new house....and WE LOVE IT!!! It is so great being in our own space. I have painted the kitchen, our bedroom, and the guest room. We still want to paint the bathrooms and the baby's room. It has always felt like home but it is now starting to look like our home. We still have some boxes to unpack and some decorating to do but it's coming right along. I will have to post some pictures or you could just come and visit!! :)

And finally, a baby update....things are great. I'm still feeling really good, although i am starting to experience some back pain and find that I can easily wear myself out. I'm learning how to take breaks and pace myself, which has taken some getting used to. He continues to be a little mover and we can now see my tummy move at times when he gets really active. This is exciting and a little crazy!!! haha I have my next appointment next Wednesday. I will get my sugars tested and receive my shot since I am Rh - and Kevin is Rh+. I continue to enjoy pregnancy and we look forward to meeting this little guy...although we still have a lot to do!!!

He's a MOVER!!

Wow! Our little guy is quite the mover. I have enjoyed feeling him move and over the last week the moves have become stronger making it possible for others to feel him. Mom got to feel him a few times this past weekend while we were together in Virginia for Jeff's graduation. Often when I feel him move I will grab the hand of whoever is sitting close for them to feel, but most of the time he becomes shy and stops moving at that time. Kevin has felt him a few times now and last night was asking him to "move for daddy!!" :) It still catches me off guard in the middle of the day when I'm working on papers or doing work at my practicum and I feel that quick movement in my belly. It's so amazing!! He seems to really enjoy moving around at night (I hope this doesn't mean he enjoys being up at night rather than during the day!!) and tonight he has been bouncing all over the place!! I have enjoyed feeling him moving around on the inside but also being able to feel that pulse on the outside. A true blessing and miracle.

What do we need?!?!

Ok, we could use some help! On Sunday Kevin and I went to Babies R Us and began our registry (we also plan on registering at Target). It was fun and also quite overwhelming. I had no idea that they could fill an entire wall with bottles!! We got a good start but I know there is more to be done so I want to throw out a few questions to all you parents out there....What are your top (lets say 10-15) must have items, especially for first time parents? And, what are the items that you would NOT recommend (are there things you registered for or bought that you didn't use or turned out to not be as great as you thought they might be)?

This is your chance to provide some helpful information and advice! :)

Oh, and for the ladies....where did you buy your maternity clothes? My friend Laura suggested Motherhood, where I have been several times and really like. Are there other suggestions...cheap suggestions? I feel like every time I turn around I'm getting bigger (which is exciting and overwhelming since I really don't want to spend lots of money on clothes).

Thanks for all the suggestions!!!

So Much Has Happened!

Wow! It has been quite a while since my last post, but so much has happened. We have been extremely busy over the last several weeks. Since my last post we have closed on our house, moved into our house (many things still in boxes), done some painting, bought a refrigerator, we began our baby registry, I am closing in on the end of grad school (two weeks till the last class and three weeks till graduation), the baby kicked hard enough for Kevin to feel him, and I got a job!

It would take a long time for me to talk about all of the above happenings so I will highlight a few. First our house. We closed on our house on April 8th. I made Kevin camp out there with me that night because I had to sleep in our first house together the first night it was officially ours. We bought an air mattress (which is now available for guest use), brought over a few things from the apartment that we needed for the night and spent our first night in our house! I absolutely love it!!! It is so great to have our own space where we can do whatever we want. Then last weekend I went up to Goshen to spend Easter weekend with the family and Kevin's dad came down to spend the weekend watching the Masters (golf I guess) with Kevin. Well that's what I thought was taking place. When I got back on Sunday afternoon (after a wonderful weekend with mom, jules, and jeff) I came to the house to discover that Kevin along with the help of many friends and his family (including his mom and sister Libby who came down for the day on Saturday) had moved us....and had begun the painting of our master bedroom. How AWESOME!! Thank you once again to all of you who helped. We have now finished the painting in our master bedroom and Kevin has started painting in the kitchen. We still have many things in boxes but it feels great being in our home!



Second highlight...I HAVE A JOB!!! I had begun to worry that I wasn't going to be able to find a social work job before the baby came. I had been finding out that many of the hospital jobs and specifically hospice jobs require a LSW. I will be eligible to take the LSW test after graduation, however finding a job before then had become quite frustrating. Then one day at my practicum I was approach by the Primary Care Center Director who told me about a grant position that she wanted me to interview for. We had several conversations and an informal interview and I was then offered the job. The position is a one year grant position as the Program Director for the Fresh Steps to Life program. It is a prenatal and follow-up program that concentrates on providing education and other services to women and their families during and following pregnancy. The program is going into its second year, however they decided after the first year that they needed a program director to help coordinate services provided by the program. I will be responsible for the budget, coordinating the classes, providing additional one on one education to women, collaborating with other programs, doing home visits, and other jobs yet to be discovered. I am extremely excited about this opportunity. I feel relieved that I have found a job that I feel excited about, where I can use the skills I have as well as develop new skills, and where I am already familiar with the setting and culture of the agency.



Lastly, the baby!!! I continue to grow and am wondering how big I will get over the next 4 months. People say that I look small for 5 months, however I feel HUGE!! haha I am enjoying pregnancy and am continuously amazed at the fact that i have life that Kevin and I created growing inside me. Kevin felt him move for the first time last night and he has been quite active today. So far I continue to enjoy feeling him move especially since it's not keeping me up at night or causing me discomfort. My next doctor's visit is a week from tomorrow. This continues to be an amazing experience!



As I said at the beginning I could write for quite some time but I think I will close this post. Here is the latest picture of me at 20 weeks. Kevin took this picture last Friday in our backyard.