4 weeks to go!

Where has the time gone?! Dday is around the corner and this whole pregnancy has flown by! I'm kind of greatful for that. Soon our little one will be here and Brett and I couldn't be more excited!

Friday was our 36 week appointment. The first official check showed that I am 1.5-2cm dialated and 30% effaced! YEAH!!! We're on the way!!! Everything looks great, baby is still stretched out and enjoying its little home :) Now its just a waiting game......we'll see the dr every week until delivery! (which means I go back tomorrow....oy vey!) Baby already has great taste though.....

Go Pokes!! Already a cowboy fan! (Thank you Chet & Andrea)

Saturday was our official baby shower. Thank you to Kim, Mike and Kaitlyn for hosting!!!!! Everything was wonderful, good food, tasty cake and family and friends. (And nothing too girly or "fluffy")

It was great to see everyone and baby enjoyed all of its presents! Bottles, onsies, sheets, diapers, highchair and toys, just to name a few. Thank you to everyone who came and/or sent gifts! We had a great time and think we're almost ready for baby.  --More pics to come in another blog, I have to get them from other people--

The baby's room is almost together (gotta get moving on that one.....just not enough time in the day). The crib is ready to go and so is the changing table. The two most important parts. Car seats are installed in both cars, and the stroller is ready for its first walk. With all the gifts from this weekend, we're trying to get things organized and put away when we have time. If only we had a day off to get it all done at once (I'll keep dreaming.........) We're ready for baby no matter when it comes.

Brett has officially finished his FTO program!!!! And he made his first newspaper article, and on the front page too! I am super proud of Officer Brett Palmer! He has worked his tail off getting this far and now he's official :)

Work for me.... lets just say budget cuts continue, old people are cranky, I love my job, but I'm ready for maternity leave :)

More pictures to come soon of baby shower and the weekend with my family!

Love, Brett & Rachel

6 weeks and counting!

6 weeks or 45 days left until due date!!! Either way you look at it time is flying by! Brett and I are soooo excited to meet our little addition and are ready (maybe due date will come sooner... I'll start eating spicy foods to get things rolling....hahahahaha)

Today I had my 34 week appointment. As usual, the appointment was a whole ten minutes. Everything is right on track. Baby's heartbeat is strong, and it has "jacknifed" itself in my belly. Meaning the head is pointed down, the butt sticks out at my belly button and the legs are straightened with the toes sticking out my right side. This baby is hilarious!! At least its head is pointed in the right direction, thats the first step. I'll see the dr again in two weeks and then it should be weekly until baby gets here!

The baby's room hasn't changed at all.....It will get done before baby gets here, no worries :) Baby shower is in two weeks! (Invitations are in the mail, call Kim to RSVP) Thank you to Kim for hosting!!!!! And with the baby shower in two weeks, that means my family will be here in two weeks too!!!!!!! Sooooooo excited!!!!! 15 days!! We took our birthing class this past weekend. It wasn't too bad, hopefully some of it will come in handy on Dday.

With the due date around the corner, Brett and I have talked about the hospital and visitors, etc. and we want to say everything now before the time occurs. Due to many reasons we have decided to not have any visitors at the hospital. The birth is a very personal moment that we would like to spend with each other, and then after the baby is born we would like the opportunity to bond with baby before the stress of "entertaining" visitors at the hospital. We know that all of you are just as excited to meet baby, but we would ask that you refrain from visiting until we are home from the hospital. This will take alot of stress off of us as we deliver and deal with work schedules. We promise to notify all of you when baby is born, no worries!!We know that many of you won't necessarily like this or agree with it, but its something that we want and will really help eliminate some stress and allow us to focus on the birth of our baby. If you have questions or want to talk about it, just ask! :)

Brett is finishing up his training....its almost over!!!! He's enjoying every moment of it and is pumped to be out on his own soon. He's really come a long way and you can definately see a change in how he works and presents himself. I'm super proud of him! We have a police scanner at home and when I'm home alone I like to listen to him on the radio when I'm bored. Its kinda fun to actually know someone over the radio.

Work for me is insane, especially with the preparation of the upcoming budget. There are many changes in store and it'll be interesting to see how it all pans out. Too bad I'm not due at the end of June or I could avoid the start of the changes....hehehehehe

Well enjoy the rest of your week! We're excited to see most of you in two weeks at the baby shower! Don't forget to rsvp :)

Love,
Brett & Rachel

32 weeks

Yesterday was my 32 week appointment and things are moving along great! I'm right on track with everything, baby's heartbeat is strong. I love listening to it each time I go. And baby had decided to wedge itself sideways yesterday, which makes my belly look big. Its quite funny.

The baby's room is slowing coming along. Furniture is put together and in place, however thats about as far as we've gotten. Still plenty of time left to get it all done.....and I know pieces of it are coming in April with my family..... :)

Things here are definately keeping Brett and I busy. Brett is still in training (I'm not sure it ever ends...lol) but he is loving the job. He's writing a lot of tickets and learning new aspects of the job daily. He's really found his passion in life.

Work for me is heading into the busy season. Recreation programs are more eventful in the warmer months. Currently I'm preparing for the 33rd Annual Arts Festival in April and 80s and over month in May. And to top it all off my department is undergoing some "changes", not sure what they all are yet, but we shall see as they unfold.

However all of my senior participants are continually asking me when I'm due, and what the baby is. I think I've answered those questions at least 50 times the past two days. I'm going to make a sign and attach it to my belly so I can quit answering the same question over and over again.

And I've discovered why pregnant women are so sensitive about their weight and how they look..... Because there are many people who seem to think its ok to tell a pregnant woman that she is gaining weight or getting big! I was shocked to hear that yesterday....to which my response was the baby is gaining weight :) A more appropriate statement would be your belly looks cute. People amaze me every day.... I just bite my tongue when appropriate.

Here is another fun pic.....

This is my best friend Kim and I at the beginning of March. Kim is due in July with her second, a baby boy! Only 8 weeks apart! Its fun having someone to share pregnancy with, someone who is actually going through the same things as you. I'm sure our babies will be close friends with lots of play dates!

Brett and I have our birthing class this weekend, so hopefully we learn something and are prepared for the big day! Its coming up soon!!! 8 weeks till due date or 58 days....not that I'm counting! :) Can't wait to meet baby!!!!!!

Love,
Brett and Rachel

Utrasound :)

Thursday was our last ultrasound. We had a lot of fun watching baby kick, yawn, wiggle and just enjoy its little world. Brett became very curious to know how the ultrasound machine worked, so he started asking a ton of questions. Finally the technician told him he needed to go to college! Hahahahaha! We got a good laugh out of that one. She was teasing and answered what she could. Brett always keeps me on my toes :)

Here is baby!!! (Sorry its so blurry....we forgot to bring a cd for pictures so its a picture of the picture).

Baby weighs about 3lbs 3 oz and dr says baby is about 16 inches long. Cute little baby!!! We can't wait to meet baby, he/she will be here in approximately 11 weeks. Can't wait! Baby is healthy and right on track with its growth.

Yesterday, Brett and I attended a Storm Spotter Training class hosted by the National Weather Service. We had a lot of fun learning about how storms form, what to look for and all sorts of other details. So we are officially storm spotters, not to be confused with storm chasers.....however I think we would both have more fun chasing. Storm season is right around the corner!

Hope you all enjoy the week ahead!!!
Love,
Brett & Rachel

82 days left

Baby Update:


We have our final ultrasound Thursday. We're looking forward to seeing baby kick and move. Baby is enjoying moving. I've read that baby has set sleep and awake cycles, and its actually easy to tell that it does. And baby is still very nice about kicking. It doesn't hurt and it never kicks my insides, it always kicks out. (Knock on wood that that might change :) ) But baby is doing good.

The "baby" room is still non-existant. We haven't had the time to work on it. However we do have the crib and dresser/changing table. Thank you to Aunt Sarah and Uncle Paul!!!! Pictures to come once its put together. Both are very simple, color is coffee and are perfect.

My sisters tried really hard last weekend to figure out sex the baby is. Good attempt, but it failed. It was fun looking at baby clothes of all types!!! We did get a cute little onesie that says 'I (Heart) Daddy'. Soooo cute!
 
Reminder again: Baby Shower is Saturday April 24 at 12:30pm. Lunch will be served. The shower is being hosted by Kim (THANK YOU!!!! and thanks for putting up with me!) Invitations will go out sometime in March. We are registered at Babies R Us & Target, but gifts are not needed. We just want to see everyone and hang out before the baby is here.
 
Everything else is going good. Brett is on his final week of nights! He switches to evening shift on Sunday, which means only 6 weeks left of training! Its gone by alot faster than we thought it would. And work for me is the same. My seniors are starting to find out about the pregnancy (I can't hide it anymore) so I'm starting to deal with that.
 
And my note of the day......I am not comfortable with anyone and everyone asking to see my belly and/or touching my belly. It makes me extremely uncomfortable and I will probably get an attitude with you. (my apologies in advanced). Its my body and please respect my "personal bubble".
 
Pictures to come later this week after the ultrasound! :) Can't wait till Thursday!!!
 
Love,
Brett & Rachel

Happy Birthday Adyson

Yesterday, was our neice's 2nd birthday :) So we drove down to Clint and Courtney's to celebrate with presents and cupcakes! It was a great little party with family and friends. Adyson wore this cute tutu that was fluffiest tutu I've ever seen!

The birthday girl

She gots lots of presents. It was funny to watch her open them. The toys she wanted to play with and the clothes she just threw at mom. Hahahaha too funny. Then she got new shoes, and as a normal female she wanted to put them on. Well two pairs are these squeaker shoes that squeak with every step. She couldn't figure it out at first, but then she fell in love with them. Then she got a pair of tennis shoes so she tried them on and stood up, stomped her foot and nothing. They didn't squeak. It was the funniest thing.

Oh and don't worry.....luckily I was sitting next to the grandma that bought those and we've already discussed how my child can not have those. (Good thing the squeaker can be removed!)

Brett and I enjoyed seeing all the family. Although Brett was tired (he's still working nights) and I am dealing with allergies that have put me in a fog, we had a great time.

Happy Birthday Adyson!

2/3rds cooked!

Third tri-mester starts this weekend which means we're 2/3rds cooked. Baby is doing great. It has discovered how to stretch and enjoys attempting to crawl through my stomach to get out. Its cute, but rather annoying. We are already starting to have little talks about how mom doesn't like that. Brett even helps reprimand too. Our checkup last week went smoothly. The glucose screen came back normal, so we'll see the doctor in 4 weeks for our 30 week checkup.

Baby did receive its first baby gift in the mail yesterday from "aunt" Megan and soon-to-be "uncle" Matt. Thank you both and hope to see you super super soon!!!!!!!! xoxoxoxo

Baby still has not revealed its sex. And is NOT going to until birth. And honestly I'm starting to get sick of people asking. Brett puts up with it better than I do. But I'm to the point that if you ask me again, I'm not going to tell you when the baby is born. If its a shopping thing, its still possible to shop without knowing. There are plenty of things baby needs that are not color specific (check the registry if you can't find something). If its just a nosy thing, get over it. (sorry if I'm mean but I'm sick of everyone asking. Its not your decision, so respect our decision).

Brett has switched to night shift. He just finished his second week last night. Two more weeks on nights and then he goes to evenings for 4 weeks. Training is never ending. He is loving nights and is learning alot. He got his first DUI over the weekend and was super excited about it. He has wednesday and thursday nights off, and sleeps through the day. So if you need him, the best time to get ahold of him is from 6-9pm.

I'm just working and keeping myself busy. I'm headed to Texas this weekend with Katie to see Sarah and Paul and we are pumped! Friday afternoon can't come soon enough. And I'm looking forward to the baby shower weekend because my Mom, Dad and Rebecca will be here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 65 days!!!!!!!!! Sarah is also coming up that weekend so it'll be a crazy weekend with all the Janway's :)

Baby shower is Saturday April 24 at 1pm. I know it conflicts with a couple of people, we did our best at planning it around what we knew was occuring. So mark your calendars! Everyone is welcome to come, just let me know so I can get you the info.

Well enjoy the rest of your week! Hope to see you all sometime when schedules allow!
Love, Brett & Rachel