9 months...36 weeks...is it over yet?

Last Saturday marked the beginning of my ninth month of pregnancy, I can't believe I'm here already. And yet at the same time I can't believe I'm STILL pregnant! I feel like I swallowed a 20 pound turkey whole. For most of the day I feel great, but come 5:00 I'm sore and tired and ready to claw my stomach open to relieve the itchiness. I keep telling myself that all this comes with a precious bundle of joy at the end, and I try not to think that one day this kid will be screaming "I hate you mom!". Jason and I had our prenatal class on Tuesday where I saw a placenta being delivered for the first time, that was disgusting. If you've never seen one, don't, it'll give you nightmares! 24 days to go till my due date.... thank god!

Goetz Family Update

May is turning out to be much hotter than I had anticipated. Since last Tuesday it's been hot and humid every day, kids are already swimming in the lake! I had expected that the end of June and the beginning of July might be a little unbearable for me, but it's only May and my ankles and feet are so swollen they've become cankles. Ew. Luckily I officially started my Matenity leave at 5:00 pm on May 19th so I can relax in the shade and have a nap whenever I get sleepy. I've been cooking up a storm lately so I can freeze meals and take some of the burden off of us in the kitchen once the baby arrives. The freezer is packed, there's *almost* not enough room for my ice cream!

The baby is doing great according to my O.B. He says it's still upright (hence why I look so big) and it's heart beat is strong. They say babies start to slow down in movement as they start to run out of room but not this kid, it's as active as ever. We're watching my tummy and playing the "was that a foot or an elbow?" game. I've been cleared for travelling from my doctor so I'm going to be heading up to Ottawa on June 5th for the week. Hopefully Jason will be alright all by his lonesome.

Speaking of Jason, he recently wrote a test and had an interview for a new position at work and we found out the other day he got the job! I'm so proud of him, you should of seen how thick the 3 binders of material he had to study were! The new job doesn't start until December which leaves Jason with time in the summer to take a month of paternity leave so we can travel around and everyone can meet the baby. It also means that I can stay home and take care of the baby as long as I like which is a dream come true for us.

So that's the happenings in Kincardine right now. Time for some ice cream!

Amanda

8 months...and the stretch marks are popping up everywhere!

I can't possibly get any bigger can I? I mean, this is getting ridiculous. I'm going to deliver a 4 year old at this rate. I still feel pretty good, sleeping is getting a little harder but not impossible. I thought I had escaped the dreaded curse of the stretch marks since I didn't have a single one until last week, but they're not too bad. 8 weeks to go...

Our 1st Anniversay at Phil & PJ's Reception

1. Here we are, 1 year later and happier than ever! 2. The bride and groom, Phil and Paula-Jane, giving their speech. 3. The bride and groom having a great time listening to all the speeches.

We celebrated our 1st Anniversary by celebrating the marriage of our dear friends Phil and PJ. Jason and I spent the night in a historic hotel and had a great time at the reception. Jason even worked up the nerve to give a speech...after a couple glasses of red wine! We hadn't seen some of the guests, including the bride and groom, since the wedding in Mexico in January so it was quite a shock for them to see me almost 8 months pregnant. It was a fun night and I learned a valuable lesson, women as far along as me in their pregnancies shouldn't wear heels! Ouch!

A Daddy Moment

Today I managed to capture the daily ritual Jason and the baby share. Everyday, most days more than once, Jason will lift my shirt and talk to the baby through my belly button. He always says "Hello baby, this is your daddy speaking, I love you!" Some days he goes on a bit telling the baby how excited we are for it's arrival and everything he plans to do with the baby. Other days he leaves it at "I love you" and then just rests his head on my belly and listens for a reaction from the baby. He always ends their little moments with some kisses and then he rubs my stomach. It's my favourite part of the day.

Grandma Hewens' Baby Shower

Me and Abigail, I'm getting some practice!


The top of the adorable cake my Aunt Sue made


It was soooo good! mmmmmmmm....cake


The birthday girls, Erin and my Grandma.


Here I am protesting for the 23rd time that "No, I am NOT having twins, I'm just HUGE!"


My godson Riley accessorising his outfit


Debbie, Pam and Mia deep in discussion over what I assume is when the cake will be served!


My Aunt Nancy and April playing the cottonball game and Michelle wiping away tears of boredom in the background, just kidding!


My Aunt Brenda made this quilt for the baby.


Here's April helping me with the gifts, she wanted to see if the baby on the bag looked like me.


Opening cute baby clothes


The Winnie the Pooh activity mat from Keira and Tish, the baby will have lots of fun on this


More baby clothes, you can never have enough!


Soft and snuggly baby blanket, good to have for the snowbelt!


It's a Onesie!


A toast to everyone for coming to see us and for all the beautiful gifts. Jason and I are blessed to have such warm and loving family and friends.


I came home and washed everything and put it all away, I'm impressed with myself!


Baby's well stocked dresser


It's looking more like a baby's room now

Although it was another short visit, Jason and I always love getting a chance to see everyone. We wanted to thank my mom & dad, April and Julie for all their hard work in throwing us this party and everyone else for coming and all the generous and much appreciated presents. The next time you see us you'll get to meet the baby!

7 months and still growing!

Here we are, 7 months and 18lbs of belly. My 3rd trimester started Saturday and with it began trouble sleeping at night. Heartburn is still my nemesis, it doesn't seem to matter what I eat, it's there. Other than that we're doing fantastic! The baby is a future soccer player, kicking me every chance it gets. Jason seems to be the cure for kicking, everytime he tries to feel the baby kick, it stops. He managed to feel it once, but the baby hasn't been fooled again. I have my first appointment with my OB on the 1st and we're registering for pre-natal class. Time seems to be speeding up, July is coming quick!

Easter with the Goetz's

1. Mackenzie showing off her easter cookie deocrating skills 2. Can't have a Goetz get-togetehr without the cards! 3. Jason getting his butt whipped by his nephews at basketball.

Easter was hosted at Denise and Doug's this year. Most of the Goetz clan was able to attend and it was a great day of catching up, food and dirty jokes at the dinner table.

Fajitas and Friends

We popped up to Ottawa for the easter weekend to visit friends and family. On Saturday night we headed out to the Lone Star to see all the future aunties and uncles. Sangria and daiquiris flowed (sigh, I had iced tea) and the laughs never stopped. My belly must have been rubbed about 127 times, but the baby loved it!

Practice Makes Perfect!

1. Jason perfecting his newborn cradling 2. Ryan Elgin Baynton 3. Jason, me, Eric and Ryan

Today we went to visit Craig, Laura and Eric and their new baby Ryan. He was 4 days old today and it was the perfect excuse to squeeze in a bit of practice time. He's so tiny. I forgot how little they are when they're first born. Eric's pretty excited he has a little brother and refers to Ryan as "our baby", it was very sweet. 3 1/2 months until we have one of our own!

The Nursery - Stage 1

1. Jason putting the dresser together in our dining room 2. Jason sorting out the directions for the crib 3. Jason working on the crib 4. Baby's sturdy new crib 5. Baby's sturdy new dresser/change table 6. Baby's closet looking the neatest it ever will.

We started work on the nursery this week. It used to be our office, so everything in there got moved to our guest room. The guest room isn't as spacious as it used to be, but it's still cozy! The nursery walls are 2 shades of yellow stripes on 2 walls and the other two are painted in the softer shade of yellow. We haven't "decorated" yet because we're still hoping to find out what we're having. I'm drawn to lambs though, so I may give in and get some stuff before then. We'll take more pictures when we really start to decorate.

The view from here

I noticed today that I can no longer see my feet. sigh.

6 months down, 4 to go!

Here we are at 6 months. It seems to be going by so fast. I keep reading how around this time women start to get bored with the pregnancy and just want it to be over. How can you be bored with the constant backache and heartburn to keep you busy? ha ha! We're all doing great. The baby loves to flip and turn and kick, it seems this kid isn't fond of sleep which doesn't bode well for us. I spent the week emptying out the office (hello garage sale!) and planning the nursery. We bought the crib and a dresser/change table. Jason put the dresser together right away, but I made him hold off on the crib cause our dining room was running out of space! We're very anxious to meet this baby, but I'm enjoying my pregnancy too much to wish it through faster, and Jason loves being the skinny one :) We're really looking forward to our visit at the end of April. Until then, keep checking the blog. We love and miss you all!

Baby's First Car Accident

Yesterday I left for work and it was a day like any other. After driving an hour I made it into Owen Sound. As I was coming up to a set of lights I got this stabbing pain in my tummy right around where I've been feeling most of the baby's movements. It completely caught me off guard and scared me and I looked down, I have no idea what I expected to see, but there I was looking at my belly. When I looked up again there was a large white van making a left turn from the parking lot on my right, right in front of me. I slammed on the brakes and tried to steer to the right of the van but the road was slick and I ended up slamming into the rear right side. I came to a dead stop and the van kept making it's turn to stop a little behind me. I sat there for a couple of minutes with a death grip on the steering wheel trying to get a hold on what just happened. The pain was gone and my car was a mess. I didn't hit the van hard enough to deploy the airbag, thank god, or have any seatbelt burn, but where I hit on the van, and where I hit on my car, it looks like the car may be a write off. I eventually stumbled out of the car clutching my cell phone and shaking. The other driver came over and when she saw I was pregnant was so nice and comforting and helped me to sit down in her van. They called an ambulance even though I felt okay and I spent the next three hours at the hospital taking a bunch of tests and talking to the OPP. That wasn't fun. The accident was totally my fault but the OPP was very nice and understanding and felt the accident was caused by mitigating circumstances. He made me feel a lot better. I still was charged with running a red light and I got fined, but never having been in an accident before I wasn't sure what to expect and thought I was going to be arrested or something, so it was quite a relief. Jason showed up at the hospital as I was giving my statement and was there for one of the tests the doctors performed to check on the baby. I not only felt the baby kick for the first time during the test, but we actually saw it on a sonogram print out. That was the biggest relief of all. We don't know what's happening with the car as of yet, but as long as the baby's okay, all's right with the world.