Lately

June has proven to be the quickest and busiest month we've had in a long time! We have something almost every night, in addition to the regular busy-ness! Unfortunately, my body has decided that it's time for me to slow down, but more on that later.

1. The first week of June Mike started planting a flower bed in our front yard. I took some pictures a couple hours ago, but have decided not to post them because almost all the pots (plants that have not yet been planted) are laying on their sides due to the crazy storm we had last night/this morning. Mike has been busy planting some calla lilies and oriental lilies in the flower bed after he pulled up the ugly bushes that came with the house. Once he pulled them up, we realized that we had a massive amount of ground to cover. Neither one of us is proficient in garden design, so this is very much a trial and error thing. I'll post pictures when it is finished!

2. Earlier this month we worked super-hard to get the baby's room ready... mostly because we had maternity pictures coming up! It's a good thing we got a head-start on that (before the shower) because we found out that they are discontinuing our whole bedding theme and everything was on clearance! I would be really annoyed if we had waited, and everything was discontinued, and we weren't able to continue the adorable Noah's Ark theme! (And NO, his name will not be Noah) Here are some pictures!

3. Maternity Pictures! On June 8th, we had maternity pictures taken by Nate Crouch Photography, (http://www.natecrouch.com/) and we had a blast! We've been friends with Nate and his wife, Sarah for years. It was such a fun shoot, and it was especially fun because it was with our good friends. We have not bought the package yet, so if you want to see the pictures, you'll have to head over to my facebook page.

4. I am down to doctors appointments every 2 weeks now, and this will continue until week 35 or 36, when I'll start going every week. It's getting tiring and killing my sick time... but then again, it's kind of fun because it's getting closer all the time!!

5. My energy has taken a significant nose dive. It's like I'm back to the first trimester energy level. I can bring a basket of laundry down the stairs, put it in the washer, take a load out of the dryer and fold it and... I'm DONE. SO tired. Plus, last week I was sick with another round of coughing, head congestion, no voice, etc. We had family over for Father's Day celebration a week early, and getting ready for company and cleaning up afterwards completely took it out of me, even though my fabulous MIL came over and helped. She's an angel, by the way. :) Mike is having to help me out a little more, but honestly I don't think he understands how much more he'll have to help me once baby comes. He's in for a rude awakening.

6. We went to our first baby class on Saturday, Newborn Express. This class included instruction on how to care for your baby in the first month (touched on breastfeeding, car seat installation, bathing, soothing, feeding, swaddling, etc) and also Infant CPR. We met some really nice couples, and even a couple who had their baby 5 weeks early, so their baby was actually at the class! It was definitely an eye-opening experience for Mike, who realized that he didn't know as much as he thought about caring for a newborn. He was a bit overwhelmed, but so glad to have the information.

7. We start our 5-week Lamaze class this week. It's becoming more real now! I'm really excited to watch Mike go through these classes.

8. Blood pressure scare:: Yesterday at church I was feeling extra-puffy, and I had a hunch that my blood pressure was too high.... well I was right. After we saw The Green Lantern yesterday, we stopped at CVS and I had my pressure tested twice, at 138/87 and 135/88.... scared me to death! In church I felt like my knees were puffy, and I could hardly hold a pen b/c my fingers felt so big. I called the doctor and because of the lack of other symptoms, he said that I didn't have anything to worry about... whew! We're not ready for a baby at 33 weeks!! My BP is usually in the 100s/70s, so this was a pretty big leap. But I go for my regular 2-week appt on Wednesday so we'll see what it is on that day.

This is me at 33 weeks 3 days... livin' LARGE!

That's all that has happened up to this point. Plenty of crazy times to come! But I say, bring it on!! Only 6.5 weeks till baby!!! Woo hoo!