36 Weeks

Today we went in for our 36 week appointment and all is looking good. The highlights are

• I am 1/2 a centimeter dialated (which is perfect because I don't want him coming this weekend while Carter's not around).
• Mason is "sunny side up" or techinically in the "posterior position" so I am supposed to stay on my hands and knees for 30-40 minutes every day to help him turn as well as not being able to elevate my feet and a few other things. It's not bad if he doesn't turn, it will just mean a longer, harder labor for me...and who wants that??
• I am going to start drinking 2-3 cups of Red Rasberry Leaf Tea to help my body prepare for the "big" day.
• My midwife is going on vacation 2 days before my due date (YIKES) which is all the more reason why he should come a week or so early!

North Bend Church Baby Shower

On Saturday 8/20 was my church shower put on by DeAnn Russell and Tammy Bishop and it was so lovely! They also went with the Mickey theme and had it at Tammy's home on the back deck and the weather was gourgeous for an outdoor baby shower. The women of the church and a few of my co-workers joined us for the shower and it was fun chatting and visiting with everyone. We received so many cute clothes and the talent of the ladies in quilting and crocheting is amazing! Thanks to all who joined us for a wonderful lovely baby shower, Mason sure will be one well dressed baby!

 JoAnne is very gifted at cake making!

 Carter got to enjoy the cake too!

 My Mother-in-law Paula was able to join us!

My sister-in-law Sarah and nephew Grayson got to come too!

Sneak Peek

I've been working hard with Carter's help at getting Mason's room put together. Here is a sneak peek at one of the decorations I made, but I am not yet ready for the big room reveal!!

California Baby Shower

We drove down to Yuba City on Thursday the 28th and it was a pretty smooth ride despite Baby M hating the car and kicking me for over half of it. It was great getting to see my family as this is the first time that they had seen me pregnant in person and luckily Mason cooperated and they were all able to feel him move!

The baby shower was on Saturday, July 30th and my mom and sister did a STUPENDOUS job!! Everything was adorable, the games were fun, and there was a wonderful turnout of people from all parts of my life. The turnout included women who were the parents of my friends from elementary school, women who had seen me grow up at church, my kindergarten teacher, my old babysitter, and many close family friends, all who I haven't seen in years. It was also fun having everyone together because it was like a big reunion for those who hadn't seen each other in a long time! People were more than generous and we were definitely blessed with many things for Mason and our list of what we still need is much shorter now. One thing that I love was that my mom and sister asked for a book to be brought in lieu of a card so people brought all of their favorite books and now Mason's library is over 25 books larger with many classics!!

 My clever talented sister making the cake!

 Doesn't it look awesome!!!

 My lovely hostesses and mom and sister.

 A fun matching game!!!

 There was this game where people would guess whos attribute we would want the baby to have.

 My Aunt and 2nd cousin

 Gotta love family!!!

My sister, me, mom, Nanny, Aunt, 2nd cousin, cousin all on the same family side.

The Long Update

I am horrible at this thing and honestly who knows when I will get better, but until there I am going to attempt to update you on why I have been so MIA lately. I feel like this week is when our life can finally settle down and we can start thinking get ready for baby thoughts.

End of June beginning of July was our wonderful time at camp and baseball game which I already blogged about.

We were home for 4 days after camp and then moved into our 2 bedroom apartment which we are FINALLY all settled into. It is so nice having more space!!!!!!!

We finished moving on Saturday and on Sunday Carter went to Zorillo, Mexico with 6 youth joining the Vancouver Church of Christ. Carter shared that the trip was a success and a blessing for all involved. This is always a favorite trip for both Carter and the teens and the work they do there is great!

Carter got back on Sunday night and then on Monday we attended a Comfort measures for labor class sponsored by the hospital that helped us to feel more prepared for the laboring process...scared but prepared. Also, while Carter was in Mexico I attended a breastfeeding class and worked hard to unpack the apartment and get settled in.

On Tuesday night our VBS started which I am the director of and Carter helped out by teaching the 9,10,11 year olds for me which was wonderful and a huge step for him...however I think he prefers the teenage years better, not as wild!! VBS went until Friday night and was very successful with over 40 kids registered in all.

On Monday night we were able to relax, and on Tuesday was Carter's birthday followed by an infant care class that was semi-informational. Thursday night we headed to California for the weekend to spend time with my family and participate in the baby shower they threw for me which was FABULOUS!!!!!!! I was so blessed by old friends and family and my mom and sister did great but I will post more on that later.

The rest of this week was spent trying to organize Mason's room into less chaos and get everything a temporary home until his furniture gets put together. My brother Logan has also spent the week with us so it's been great getting to hang out with him, it's probably the most time we've spent together since I was home for the summer's during college.

Finally, this past weekend was Beachfest, the annual youth rally our church hosts which has kept Carter pretty busy. Saturday was spent at 3 different beaches and luckily for us the weather was great. Despite a low turnout the rally went fantastically. It was especially fun for us because Carter's long time friend Silas Fitzsimmons is who we brought in to be the guest speaker and he has stayed with us allowing them to catch up!!