My Abilene Baby Shower ~ November 17th 2007

My first baby shower was this weekend in my hometown, Abilene, TX. The shower was held at the Swenson House. The hostesses put on an awesome shower! It meant so much to me and it was a very special day.

Here are the hostesses and me
(from left to right: Alyssa, Kelly, Aunt Jamie, Me, Maylee and Meghan).

One of my best high school friends, Kelly.

My bosom buddy cousin, Meghan.

My younger sisters, Ashley & Alyssa.

Reese's namesake, my cousin Maylee Carol Reese.

My Mom!

My Dad hung around long enough to say 'Hi' to all of the girls and take a quick pic!

My Step Mom, Dana.

The shower theme was based on Reese's polka dot bedding.

Check out the cake!

We had lots of tasty treats.

Many of my family and high school / college friends came to the shower! It was so much fun to see everybody. You all blessed us with so many wonderful gifts!

While I was opening gifts, each person took a ribbon and cut it by the length they thought my belly was round. Alyssa was the closest followed by Erin and Stacia.

Stacia was so sweet, she took notes of all of the gifts I received as I opened them.

The gifts kept coming...

And coming...

Maylee is attending Angelo State and got Reese an ASU jumper; Matt was so excited.

And coming...

My niece, Lexi, was a big help as I continued opening...



Lexi and Maggie helped me unwrap this one...

34 gifts later, I unwrapped the last one. Wow! Reese is so loved!

After the shower, Matt came to help load up all of the wonderful gifts in the Volvo. Then, he and I met my Dad & Dana & my brother Joe and his family for dinner at the Beehive downtown.

On our way to my Aunt Jamie's house after dinner, Matt and I bought a few storage bins so we could sort and consolidate the gifts for a better fit in the Volvo on the way home. Aunt Jamie, Meghan, Maylee and Maggie helped me go through them all and pack the bins. It made it possible to get everything plus our luggage packed for our ride back to Houston.

Alyssa and Ashley came over later and the kids played while we chit chatted.

Here are Reese's cousins: Slaton (2 1/2 years old) and Maggie (3 years old).

They are so cute!

Here is Ashley with her daughter Lexi (7 years old) and Meghan's daughter Maggie. Reese will have some great cousins to play with once she arrives!

Matt, Mom and I had a great weekend in Abilene; we wished it was not such a quick trip!

Thanks again to the hostesses and the wonderful shower you had for us. And thank you to everyone who traveled near and far to attend the shower; it was so nice to see each and every one of you!

Lots of love,

A, Matt and Reese

I passed the test!

On our way to Abilene yesterday I received a call from my doctor's office. The nurse said I passed my sugar test which means I do not have gestational diabetes. Yippee! This is great news!

However, I am a little anemic as Reese is using up a lot of my iron, so I'll start taking iron supplements once a day. During my appointment, the doctor had mentioned this is very common during this stage of the pregnancy, so I was not shocked to receive the news.

I'm off to get ready for the baby shower...see you on Sunday with pictures.

Glucose Test / Dr. Appointment

I had my last 4 week visit today. It started with a little confusion (i.e. lack of proper forms to take my glucose test), but I remained calm as I traveled from Quest Diagnostics to the OGA lab to the nurses station and back to Quest where I drank the super sweet orange drink. I had 5 minutes to get it down. It wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that great either. I had to be back in exactly 1 hour after drinking the concoction which gave me just enough time to visit Dr. Leeds-Richter.

My visit went well. Here are the stats:

My weight was good (except one scale quoted me as gaining 6 lbs and another scale said 3 lbs, so I'm going with the lower of the two!)
My blood pressure was good
Reese's heartbeat was 151/minute
I am measuring at 28 (I'll be 27 weeks tomorrow)
From here on out, I will go in every 2 weeks (until the end when I go once a week, I think)

I'll get to see Dr. Leeds-Richter once more, two weeks from now, before she goes on leave to have her baby. While she is out, I will see Dr. Firpo. I've only heard good things about her; my friends who do not see Richter, see Firpo.

..As I write this post, Reese is making all kinds of movements. She is getting so active; sometimes I'm even taken aback by the poking and prodding I feel inside my belly. She really cracks me up when one of her body parts (which I cannot identify yet) pooches out making my round belly uneven...

So after my appointment, I went back to Quest for blood work. I was very strong; I didn't even have to lay down this time. If all goes well, it will be my last time to draw blood. Yay! I'll get my results sometime next week. Here's hoping I do not have gestational diabetes.

Matt has been painting Reese's room in the evenings. It's looking good!

On Friday, Matt, Mom and I are heading to Abilene for my first baby shower. I can't wait! It'll be great to see all of my family and friends. Stay tuned for pictures...

7 months ~ 26 Weeks

I am now 26 weeks, halfway through the 7th month, and Reese is getting bigger with each passing day! Matt and I keep saying how we just cannot wait to hold her.



Look at that belly!



I wonder how big it will get?



I have noticed it is getting harder to bend down and bend over now that my belly is getting bigger. It's starting to get in the way. :) Reese continues to move a lot; sometimes more at night while I am sleeping and sometimes more during the day.

Matt went to Austin today with Todd to watch the UT vs. Tech game. They met Scott, Lauren and crew.

I met Leslie and Jennifer for lunch at Ruggles Cafe and then Leslie and I treated ourselves to a manicure. I spent the rest of the day shopping!

Tomorrow, Matt and I are going to look and hopefully order Reese's baby furniture. Matt also wants to start painting her room!

Work, Work, Work!

Matt and I have been crazy busy with our jobs lately! He's been working until at least 10:00 each night! We both worked all weekend last weekend and are having a busy week this week too. Jeez this is no fun!

Needless to say, there is not much to report besides the fact we are both tired. The good thing is, I am feeling good and Reese continues to grow and move. I am early in my 7th month now and my books say she will really move a lot toward the end of this month. Neat!

We did look at two daycares last Thursday; both were Montessori. One of them does not accept children until 14 months and I am on the fence about the other. We've got to take more time to look at a few more. I am really interested in one which is right across the street from our West U house; it's at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church.

All I can think about is our to do list (I always feel better when I create a list):

Paint Reese's room pink
Get the house ready to move in (this is a huge list by itself)
Sign up & take hospital classes
Order Reese's bedroom furniture
Visit & select a pediatrician
Visit more daycares
And this list goes on and on...

I have my doctor's appointment next week, and I'll be fasting for the glucose test that morning. How fun; I wake up hungry and have to wait to eat! Luckily the appointment is at 9:00 a.m.

I am looking forward to my first baby shower in Abilene on November 17th!