So Busy

We have been very busy here outside of work with school (me) and finishing the basement (mostly John with some of my help) and church activities. John may not agree but I think finishing the basement is his way of nesting for the baby. I can't even begin to clean the house the way my hormones are telling me to because all of the dirt from downstairs keeps making its way up to the rest of the house. The nursery is still clean and we keep the door shut so I don't worry about that too much.

We had another doctor's appointment. This time we met with another of the doctors in the practice. She was very nice and I would not worry if she was the one on call on D-day. Baby is doing very well and still is head down. We did find out that I have very low iron so I will be taking supplements for that. The anemia explains my tiredness and shortness of breath and I am hoping that the additional iron will help with these symptoms.

We have been having some pretty wacky weather here in Iowa as I am sure the rest of the Midwest is too. On Tuesday we had blizzard advisory and many schools were cancelled or closed early. Tuesday night the wind was really strong, 40-50 miles an hour and I kept wondering if things would get launched into the glass windows. This weather was preceded by balmy 50's on Sunday and Monday. It almost felt like spring was coming but we knew better than that. The warmer weather did melt off a lot of the snow and the "blizzard" didn't leave much snow on the ground. John is able to drive his car now, at least until the next big storm.

Baby Shower

This past Saturday my dear friends Stephanie and Terra threw me a baby shower in East Peoria. It was a really fun time. Everyone was so generous with all of their gifts. John and I both feel so blessed. It was also really great to see everyone. Especially Katie who drove to Cinncinnati to be there. I have put most everything away, I think. I haven't yet tackled assembling the stroller system, the pack and play, or the high chair.

Tonight John and I went to our first baby class at the hospital. This one was about breastfeeding and John was nice enough to go with even though there isn't a lot he can do in that department. He even tried the different ways to hold the baby on the Rowdy and Emma when we got home. They did not like this very much.

John and I primed the basement bathroom last night. John also installed the dimmer and lights over the tub. They look really good. Here are some "before" pics. I forgot to take pictures before the priming but when we finally get to take "after" pictures there will be a huge difference.

P.S. If anyone has a picture from the shower of my demonstration of the Boppy can you please send it to me? I think some people will get a laugh out of that.

The boys driving home from Illinois.

Dinner Guests

Last night Luke, Audrey and Corban came up for dinner. Corban is the brave little boy who has been Rowdy and Emma's introduction to babies. He is used to his big golden retriever so he is not bothered by our little dogs. It was clear that Rowdy and Emma (especially Emma) liked Corban but we really need to work on how they express it. Rowdy lives up to his name and Emma is still a little unsure what to do. She was good and only licked his hand but Rowdy went for his face every chance he got. And if Corban was unlucky enough to drop a piece of the cereal he was eating Rowdy was right there to help clean up. Thanks to Audrey too for all the baby clothes!

Here is the lion that I painted in the nursery. He is in the corner after the first line of stencilling. He is not the most elaborate but I think the baby will like him.

And lastly here is my new sleeping arrangement (minus the dog). John was nice enough to bring the recliner in the bedroom because that is the only way I can sleep without being completely sore when I wake up.

Another Doctor Appointment

We all went to another doctor's appointment yesterday and the baby and I are doing well. Dr. says that the baby is measuring right on for my due date and his/her heart rate was 140 bpm.

We got a high chair for baby Lewis in the mail yesterday. Thanks John and Cheryl! We haven't put it together yet. I will probably do that next week. I'll post some pictures so that you can see.

Progress on the basement is going very well. The walls and ceiling in the family room and the bathroom are all textured and ready to be primed and painted. This is something that we are going to do, not our professionals. In the next few days they will be finishing the walls and ceiling in the bedroom and the storage room and then the rest will be up to us!

We woke up to 4-6" on snow this morning and it is still falling. Most of the schools around here have been closed but it never seems like they close work :( I don't ever recall having as many snow days growing up as the kids get here. I can remember maybe a couple but I bet school has been cancelled here at least 5 times so far this year. Be grateful for your snow days children of Iowa!

My First Post

If you are reading this then you know that I have finally created a blog (duh). I have been meaning to do this for a while and after reading so many other wonderful bloggers I have been inspired. I hope that family and friends can keep in touch with what we are doing way out here in Iowa. Especially with baby Lewis due to arrive in March, I imagine we will have a lot to share. I hope that John will be able to update on here too but I don't think that I have him convinced yet.


We have been working on getting the baby's room ready and have made a lot of progress so far. Here are some pictures that I took yesterday.
I stenciled the whole first verse of "Jesus Loves Me" around the top of the whole room. Unfortunately I cannot get very good pictures of it so this will have to do.

I never knew how much gear a little baby would require! We are so grateful to our family and friends for throwing us baby showers and to everyone else that has given us stuff for the baby. We are so blessed to have such generous people in our lives. It would be a lot harder without your help!

John has been working hard to get as much of the basement finished as possible before March. He did a lot of the work himself with a lot of help from friends (John, Mark, Nick, Jason to name a few though there are many more). Now we have "professionals" finishing off the drywall and man are they quick!

On another note, some people may not know but after a lot of prayer and a lot of thought I have decided what I want to be when I grow up! It took longer than I thought it would but not as long as some. I have started classes at our community college to become an RN. My first class (a prereq to the program) is Anatomy and Physiology and it started last Wednesday. I am really excited and I know this is a part of God's plan for me. I am interested to see how it will all work out with a new baby and everything that comes with that but I have faith that God will bring me through this. I hope that this eventually will lead me to a part time job in nursing so I can spend time taking care of my family. We will see!

Also if you want to read an incredible story of faith and God's miracles read this blog. It is the journey of Nate and Tricia and their new baby. Tricia has cystic fibrosis and due to complications of this she had to deliver her baby at near 25 weeks gestation. This family could use your prayers!