37 Weeks: Merry Christmas!

Becoming so outwardly pregnant, moving around so slowly, and feeling like a giant whale were all in the very back of my mind this week!  There were too many great things going on to focus on feeling uncomfortable.

It's Christmas!  First, this means that school is on break, giving me a much needed two week break.  I wrapped everything up at work anyway, just in case Will decided to grace us with his presence early (so far he is indicating he's going to cook for a bit longer in the oven.  :)

(Although this actually happened last week, I only recently got the pictures uploaded, so I'll just add it in under the Christmas week blog!) We had a blast at our Bible Study group's annual White Elephant holiday gathering, and I was FINALLY able to get rid of Old Iron Sides, James' grandmother's ironing board.  It is heavy, worn down, and has the worst possible screech when it opens.  The lucky Luces took that bad boy home!

 Who wouldn't want an ironing board that weighs at least 10 lbs?!

  Priceless!

Kristin lucked out with a whoopie cushion costume! 

Kim was thrilled with this hand-made kleenex kozy!

It will match any bathroom decor, obviously.

James and I love this time of year, even if there is no snow on the ground.  We decorated our house and had a few days to relax in Lawrence.

Then, we made a quick trip back to Neosho, MO for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  It was really a wonderful time!  Not only was my grandpa in town (one of Will's namesake's, but he goes by Bill), but so was my brother, and my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew Connor.  Connor is nearly five months old and cute as can be!

 Me and Grandpa (Bill) Zastera, my mom's dad

Will's stocking 

 Me, Mom, and Dad

 A picture of Four Generations!  

Connor, his mom, his grandma, and his great grandpa

 James and I going to the Christmas Eve church service

 Baby Connor getting a bath

 Baby Connor

 Baby Connor

 Baby Connor at Christmas

What a cutie pie!

James got a cram session for new dads.  He changed his first 'live' diaper, which he felt was a harrowing experience because everyone was telling him the baby could possibly pee on him if he wasn't careful.

He also learned how to use the baby carrier that Robin and Scott gave us for Christmas.  He did great, and already looks at home wearing it.

Of course, part of the fun of Christmas is getting presents!  James surprised me with a cute fox print he got in Lawrence at an art fair.  I think it will look great in the nursery.

Foxy!

Sadly, we had to leave Neosho practically as soon as we arrived because James' parents, sister, and brother-in-law visited us in Lawrence, and arrived Christmas evening.

Due to crossed communication lines, when they arrived at 8:45 pm, there was no dinner waiting for them (bad Mildren hosts! yikes!).  Luckily a local Chinese restaurant was open, and we had yummy take-out.  It wasn't the traditional meal, but everyone ate their fill.  Of course, we had plenty of sweets and James' mom brought some back-up cookies, too!  We opened more presents as a family, and had a great evening!

 Mark and Mia settled right in

 Lynda is encouraging Baby Will to embrace his Ozarkian heritage! 

 James' sister Libby and her husband, Raul

 We received lots of great baby books for Christmas from both grandmothers-to-be!

 Mark and Lynda

James relaxing with Mia

The Mildren family photo

Christmas 2011

We had a marvelous holiday, even though the time spent with family was shorter than we would have liked.  

It's hard to believe that next year Baby Mildren will be nearly one year old! WOW!  

36 Weeks: The 9th Month

Is this the beginning of the end?  Technically at the end of this week, I will be considered full term, so they won't stop Baby Mildren if he decides now is the time! Yikes!  Keep praying for Will to wait for January to roll around!!!

During my last appointment at 34 weeks, I was 'measuring small,' (basically belly size) but apparently not small enough to warrant an immediate sonogram, since every previous visit had me 'measuring' precisely where I was supposed to be.  My doctor thought it was probably just the baby's position, but to be sure, I had a sonogram this week just to be sure everything was alright with Will.

...And the Sonogrammy Goes To....

You can make out Will's head/profile, and that is his hand above his forehead.  

(The bubbly looking stuff by his mouth is the umbilical cord.)

Will!  The sonogram revealed a healthy baby boy weighing 6 lbs. 8 oz.  He had a strong heartbeat, good bone length measurements, and YES, he is still a boy!  Whew!  We were very relieved to get such good news, and happy to get another glimpse of our soon-to-be-son.  They decided it was probably just his position at the last appointment, because this week my belly size was back on track.

--

A baby purchase came in this week that we can't wait to see Baby Mildren wearing!

  ...sssssssssssss...

You can take James away from the snakes, but you can't take the snakes away from James!  We both thought this little outfit was made for James' kid, considering his past with those beloved reptilian pets.  :)

35 weeks: Party Time!

Week 35 has been very busy but very fun!

First and foremost, I completed ALL of the requirements for my education administration practicum, which has been quite a feat, because it is supposed to be a year-long practicum which I worked hard to complete by the last meeting of the semester, knowing that I will be busy with Baby Will next semester and I will have no time (or energy) to devote to more than my typical job responsibilities.  Hooray!

Next, we had a few sets of friends staying with us to attend James' work Christmas party for Pennington & Co.  It was very fun to get all glammed up!  Everyone danced the night away (except for me, the joy of dancing just isn't the same if you're sober and 8 months pregnant), though I had fun catching up with lots of James' coworkers in the meantime.

Then I spent the weekend making some wall decorations for Will's nursery.  I just stenciled some animals onto canvas, painted them, and added some cute edging...  James got to choose which animals went on the wall (surprise, they are all amphibians!) and I chose the color scheme.  I think they turned out pretty well!

34 weeks: 8 1/2 months

At 8 1/2 months in, everything is going great!

Over Thanksgiving break, we acquired some of our own baby pictures to be able to compare to once Baby Will arrives....

 Me

James

We are fairly confident our little bundle of joy will be a chubster with light colored eyes and not much hair, but you never know!

33 Weeks: Thanksgiving

There are so many things to be thankful for this year!  Of course, we are thankful to be expecting little Will Mildren in January.  More than that, God has been so good to us in so many ways.  James and I are thankful to have jobs -- jobs that we like, working with people we care about.  We are thankful for our friends near and far.  It's wonderful to have such great people in our lives!

We are thankful for our family (and our family-to-be!).  We had fun visiting James' parents in West Plains, MO, and my parents and twin brother in Neosho, MO.  There isn't much to post about...unless you count eating your weight in Thanksgiving dinner and desserts!

 Dad carving the turkey

Mom preparing for Thanksgiving dinner

 Tim and Mitzi

 

James' parents gave us an early Christmas gift for our house:

 personalized stockings!

It was very relaxing and joyful to get to be around our loved ones, and hopefully fun for them, too!

32 Weeks: 8 Months!

Yep, that's right, I'm 32 weeks pregnant!  

Contrary to popular belief (including my own, until I got pregnant..), you don't give birth AT nine months, you are pregnant THROUGH the 9th month, for a grand total of 40 weeks.  That's a long time!!  But a fun time so far, and it has been a very fun week!

Baby Mildren got two baby showers this week from each of our work places!

OHE

First, my wonderful elementary school I worked at for quite awhile, Oak Hill Elementary, threw a cute jungle-themed baby shower complete with delicious cupcakes and designer diapers!!  It was great to connect with my OHE friends, and great now that we have some more needed baby gear!  Have I mentioned how much I love diaper cakes?  They are awesome!

Cute little jungle table centerpieces  :)

 Home-made baby booties and hat!

 A cute book, Whose Ears?

 So many sweet baby items!

 A decoration for the nursery 

Monkey!

 Friends Mitzi and Betsy

(Betsy took all the pics for the shower, thank you, Bets!)

 Chelsey, friend and mom of Baby Nolan 

(his pic made a blog appearance recently! What a doll)

A cute argyle Pampers diaper -- I love it!!

 P & C

Then, James' company threw him a shower, complete with an ice cream cake, a generous Babies R Us gift card, and big box of diapers!

The cake reads, "...and Baby Makes Three"

 "Is this how you hold a baby?"

 ...Taking advice from coworkers on baby naming 

You can never have too many diapers...

We are so grateful for such supporting friends and workplaces!  Everyone has been super excited for us, and we appreciate the enthusiasm immensely!