8 months....

Well it has been an eventful week!
Last weekend, Mr. Soup and I traveled to Wichita, KS for my baby shower. We were fortunate enough to visit one of Mr. Soup's cousins while we were there. He has known that he has a cousin living there, and last weekend he was finally able to meet her. I know it feels good for him to have family in Kansas besides my own.
On Sunday, I woke up with a sore throat, but didn't think too much of it as we headed to lunch with Abby and her family. It was really good to see her and hear about her life in her new city. However, it was disheartening to see how much she has changed since last summer. We couldn't help but think how great her life would've been if she were with us. I think we truly are worried for her health and well-being in the future, but all we can do is offer support from a distance. I will say that despite her circumstances, she seemed genuinely happy and care-free. She is really excited about her little brother arriving.
We also met up at lunch with my grandfather who was in town for the Shriner's Circus. It was good to see him as well. The last time I saw him was at Christmas and before that I think my wedding was the last time that I had seen him.
After lunch my mom and I headed to my baby shower hosted by my wonderful friends Jennifer and Katie! It truly was a shower of love and friendship! I saw old friends that I have not seen in years and I was amazed by how much love everyone has for JT! Katie and Jennifer really outdid themselves with the shower. I couldn't have asked for a better one!
My friend Amber, who is about 7 months along with her first child (a boy), was there and I got a little emotional seeing her. We've been friends since 2nd grade and I've known her husband since Kindergarten. Seeing us both enter this time in our lives together is truly a gift!
Mr. Soup even gave me my "push" prize early. I've been wanting an IPad or Kindle or Nook for a long time. He bought me the Samsung Galaxy and put some books on it for me as well. It's the perfect gift and I was so shocked that he bought it for me. While my mom and I were at the shower, he and my dad hung out most of the day. I knew one of them would come home with a new piece of technology, but I had no idea it would be for me!
We headed back to Texas and I still felt kinda icky. I decided I would take Monday off just to rest. Little did I know, I would be out for 3 days! I did not return to work until Thursday. I had some respiratory junk and there was nothing I could really take because of JT. Of course, JT makes my recovery rate a little slow. I'm still battling some congestion today, but I can say I'm close to 100%.
Mr. Soup and I also decided that we wanted to make the switch to a family-friendly vehicle. We knew that with JT coming we really couldn't afford a 2nd car payment, so we decided to trade in the newer of our two vehicles. Mr. Soup's car (09 Ford Fusion) has quite a few miles on it due to visiting Abby and commuting to school, so his was the obvious choice. My car (04 VW Jetta) is completely paid for, has relatively low miles and is still in good condition. So, Friday night we headed to the dealership to see if we could make some sort of trade and we are now owners of our parent-mobile: 11 Kia Sorento. We chose the Sorento because of the awesome warranty, redesigned model that now seats 7, fuel economy, and other family-friendly features. Mr. Soup was able to negotiate a good price in that he only pays a little bit more each month than he did before. Up until now, we had considered a mini-van mostly because of the cost; however, I think we both weren't completely ready to make the jump to a mini-van. I think if we planned to have more kids right away, we might've opted for a mini-van, but for right now it's the perfect vehicle for our little family.
On Saturday, we headed to Infant Safety/CPR class in our new vehicle. Of course, I had trouble doing CPR on our mini-baby (I couldn't get the chest to click during compressions). Mr. Soup was the best in class, of course. He probably could've taught the course. Luckily, we bought the mini-baby and DVD, so I plan to practice in the next few weeks! After our class, we headed for a late lunch at our favorite cafe in Dallas. We had plans to go to the Rangers game, but we ended up going home for a long nap!
Today, was a pretty lazy day. We didn't get up in time for Easter service at church. I'm still a little under the weather, so we spent most of the day in PJs before heading to a friend's house for an Easter celebration. After that we went and got ice cream and now we're listening to the storms outside. We are trying to enjoy our last weeks as a childless couple before JT arrives. Even though I am uncomfortable and big, I am truly enjoying this time in our lives. I love feeling my baby move and seeing Mr. Soup's face as he feels my belly. I love our quiet evenings with just the two of us walking around or watching a movie. All of this will soon change, so I want to savor as much of it as I can.
This week is another busy week for the Soups! Tomorrow I have to grade college essays, Tuesday and Wednesday is TAKS at the junior high, and Tuesday is my breast-pumping class. I also need to get an oil change on the Jetta and make my baby shower thank-you cards.

Strawberries

So, I'm guessing JT must love strawberries. I have never been the type to get super excited about fruit. I love vegetables and meat. I could eat zuchini, carrots, peppers, and other vegetables all day long! Since becoming pregnant I crave fruits. I drink grapefruit juice daily (never did that before). I used to eat oranges everyday twice a day, but now I stick to bananas and strawberries. Man, there are some huge, plump strawberries at the market lately. I absolutely love them. I could eat them all day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'm wondering if that means that JT will like strawberries? I wonder what foods he will like? What toys will be his favorite? What things will make him happy? mad? sad? As I'm nearing the end of my pregnancy (8 months on Thursday), I start to wonder about what it will be like to have him here. I'm not looking forward to the feedings every three hours, the crying, the diapers, taking an hour to get ready to go somewhere, etc. However, I am looking forward to the feedings because it means I get to hold him close. the crying? I'll get to soothe him and hold him. I can't wait to kiss his little toes. I long to hold his little hands and look in his eyes.
I think what makes this so special is how excited Mr. Soup is too. Today he woke up and told me that while I was asleep, he spent some time talking to my belly and feeling JT move around. He also has been nesting quite a bit. Fixing things around the house and now he's decided that we should install hardwoods in the family room before JT arrives (why didn't he think of this a few months ago?). We've kind of been going back and forth on daycare. Bummed that our ideal daycare is so expensive, but not sure what to do. He keeps reminding me that the values at the daycare match ours. If we're going to have someone else watch our little man during the day, they need to be the best. Thinking about daycare makes me kind of sad already. I think I will cry when I have to go back to work in the fall. He's just a special little guy and he's already captured our hearts.

my new favorite season

spring has always been my favorite season. I absolutely love everything about it. St. Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo. March Madness. Sitting on the patio in shorts and a light jacket. walking my dogs and not freezing my butt off or sweating profusely. Yeah, all those things. Being pregnant makes it quite difficult to really enjoy spring. Who wants to sit on a patio without a drink in one's hand? Watching college basketball isn't fun without a frosty beer. And while I have become a fan of non-alcoholic brews, it's just not the same.
So, I now declare summer my favorite season. No more students, paperwork and just "work" in general. While JT will technically be born in spring, we'll be out of school, so I declare it summer. Who doesn't love the season that his or her first born came into the world during? Mr. Soup loves baseball and while I'm not the biggest fan, I can become one if I have an ice cold beer. Hot patio? bring me a margarita and we can stay out all night. Fortunately, our neighbors just built a backyard oasis. we'll have many nights outside enjoying the summer fun watching the kids play (okay, so JT won't be playing yet, but you catch my drift). summer vacation. pool-time. all those things that make summer worthwhile. While I LOVE LOVE LOVE having JT grow inside me, I'm getting to the point where I'm ready for him to come out. I can't even say it's solely because I want to meet him. It's because I just don't want to be uncomfortable anymore and I really need some alcohol and sushi. Yeah, I'm selfish, but at least I can admit it.
so during this pregnancy madness, spring has been bumped to 2nd place. Summer, you are now my new favorite season. This concludes my ode to summer.

JT update

So this week has been one for many JT/mama-to-be updates ---Last week I received the results of my glucose screening: No gestational diabetes! Woo-hoo! I don't have to take the 3 hour test, thank God! No syphilis (I know you all were worried!). I am slightly anemic, but I can aid that by taking an OTC iron pill each day with my prenatal vitamins. So, nothing major from last week. ---Yesterday I went to the doctor. All is well with JT. He's growing as he should each day. His movements are more frequent and boy are they stronger. I think he must roll around quite a bit because I swear, I feel an alien moving in there. Okay, not an alien, but when I see my belly move I am reminded of the movie Aliens. Is Joel going to shoot out of my belly? ---So, I went to the doctor and she harped on me about my swollen ankles. Apparently, some of my varicose veins are now visible and she's afraid they will burst. So, now I get to wear the lovely support stockings! Yeah, Sexy! They're incredibly hot (in the literal sense)...which brings me to my next pregnancy must-have purchase....Aveda Rosemary Mint body lotion. It really cools the skin like none other. When you're pregnant you are hot all the time. However, you still need to moisturize your skin. Aveda's lotion is light-weight, moisturizing, invigorating and cooling. Oh and did I mention it smells great? So, if you are pregnant or sweat profusely, invest in this lotion. So worth it! Okay, so that's my plug! ----One area in which my doctor has not harped on me is my weight gain and I think she needs to do that! I have now gained 25 pounds and I'm only 31 weeks. I was doing okay, but I have gained 5 pounds since my last visit. Eek! Fortunately, my best friend (who happens to be a doctor and new mom) told me I won't gain too much these next 9 weeks, but still. It's not like I can lose weight during pregnancy. I just need to manage it better. I didn't do a good job of picking healthy snacks the last two weeks. My appetite picked up and I would eat whatever I could find. This weekend it's back to more health conscious shopping. It's also hard when your handsome husband has successfully dropped 12 pounds in the last month and counting. I am very proud of him because I know he wants to be in shape for when JT arrives, but it's weird that we could weigh the same amount in 10 weeks if he keeps this weight loss up!!!! He promised to help me lose the baby weight after JT arrives and I'm holding him to it. Oh and just to brag on him a little bit---he cleaned out the garage this weekend and did some repairs around the house! He's nesting! ---Last night I attended a breastfeeding class. Boy was that interesting. First, it's weird to see other people's boobs. No we didn't expose ourselves in class (some women brought their husbands), but we did watch a 20 minute video full of breasts in all shapes, sizes and colors. I guess since I'm used to seeing only my boobs, it was interesting to see how other women's boobs look. Does that make me weird? One thing that seems like a blessing when you are first pregnant is the increase in boob-size. I've always had sort of average boobs, but pregnancy has made them huge. Last night I learned that they will get even bigger when I feed. I almost fainted when I heard that. I seriously cannot imagine having boobs bigger than what they are now. I no longer envy the girls with big boobs or fake ones. Underwire bras are now uncomfortable and boob-sweat is common. I can't believe that for the next year I'm going to look like a porn star in almost every shirt I wear.... ---Tonight, Mr. Soup and I visited our first in-home daycare. I'm kind of still on a high from this visit, but we've scheduled some more in the next few weeks. This was/is our first choice because of the proximity and the alignment with our values and expectations. The in-home center is 4 houses down the street from us. It is operated by a mother/daughter team. They speak Spanish to the children and also teach basic sign language. When we went there, I had my list of 30+ questions to ask. By the time the tour was over, I think they had answered all but 2. I felt a good vibe from them and felt that my baby would be not only safe and well taken care of, but also loved. They are by far the most expensive provider we've contacted, but we would save a ton because they provide diapers and wipes...oh and we wouldn't spend money on gas. Visiting their home showed me how much daycare has changed since I was a child....no sitting in front of the TV all day. They have days jam-packed with activities. It just seemed like a very active and nurturing environment. While our goal is not to have JT in daycare all day (we're really hoping Mr. Soup gets licensed as a social worker and will have more flexibility with his job), we still want him to go to daycare at least part-time. We still have some other in homes to visit though. We both feel strongly that he needs socialization, routine, etc. There are some downsides to the daycare...they don't offer part-time hours or drop-in hours. Another bummer is that during the summer we would have to pay full-price to hold our spot. If we end up going with this daycare, it means no new car for me for a while. I'm actually okay with it because even though my car is small, it's in great condition. I can easily fit a carseat into it and it is a very safe car. I wasn't really sold on getting a mini-van. I tried to tell myself that I was, but I kept fantasizing about 7 passenger SUVs. This way we can either save more for an SUV or wait until I'm fully ready to make the dive into becoming a minivan mom. Plus, maybe having a smaller car will be good birth control? Mr. Soup is already convinced that I'm going to want another little one soon...I can honestly say that is not true. I think it's going to be difficult enough to balance my new role as mother with all my other roles. I honestly just want to spoil JT with love and attention all the time, but I know I can't do that. I know in order to be a good mom, I've got to make time for myself, my marriage, my dogs, my family, my friends, traveling, etc. Who knows maybe I will want another one soon. for right now I just want semi-spoil him (okay, who am I kidding? I'm going spoil him with so much attention. He'll never learn to walk because he'll be in my arms!). So, that's it for JT updates. This weekend, Mr. Soup and I are doing a date night (finally) except we changed it to Sunday...why? I'm BABYSITTING! I'm babysitting my best friend's 2 (almost 3) year old daughter on Saturday! I'm pretty excited! So, Mr. Soup and I are going to church on Sunday, then to lunch with the TNT (twenties n' thirties) group and then dinner and a movie Sunday night. Should be fun. He and his brother are going to the Dallas car convention on Saturday. He's trying to get in his boys' time before JT arrives. Fun times in the Soup house!