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.