End of Semester and Snow!

Friday was the last day of the first semester.  I can't believe the school year is half over.  It also means that baby Ciancio will be here soon, Saturday marked 33 weeks!  Right after school on Friday Lise drove me to Atlanta so I could catch a flight home.  I landed just as the snow started coming down here.  The offical measurement ended up being 20.5 inches, 3 would have been plenty for me!  Yesterday was a pretty lazy day seeing as it was too bad to go out anywhere.  I was able to visit Mom Mom and Pop Pop though.  Mom Mom seemed tired, but considering everything she has gone through she seemed to be doing well.  Other than that Mom and I made some cookies and watched Rudolph.  The snow finally stopped about 10 last night, hopefully we can do something today :)
Between last Sunday and Monday morning the baby definitely dropped.  I woke up Monday morning and felt like I could breath again, which was nice!  Wednesday I went to the doctor and he said I measured at 33 cm, which is right on target.  They said I should measure the same in centimeters as I am weeks.  We finally got to meet the two new babies in small group.  They are both super precious!  I know it makes Bryce all the more excited to meet Kaylea/Jack.  Monday night we had our second child birthing class.  We went to the hospital to visit the maternity ward so we would know what to expect.  Fortunately every room is private.  We got to see the labor and delivery rooms and then the recovery rooms.  After looking at the rooms, they took us by the nursery.  There was a nurse swaddling a newborn, he couldn't have been more than a few hours old.  After she swaddled him and got his knit hat on, she put him in a stocking to take his picture.  It was too cute!  I don't know that the child birthing classes have made me feel anymore ready to give birth, but people do extraordinary things when they have to, so I figure hormones will take over and I will be ok.   

Thanksgiving and more!

     Monday after work we were able to leave for Maryland.  We drove part of the way Monday then got to Mom and Dad's house about 6 pm on Tuesday.  As soon as we got home I went over to see Mom Mom and Pop Pop.  Unfortunately Mom Mom had to go to the hospital as soon as I got there, but she was able to come home on Friday morning.  Wednesday we went to lunch with Mom and Dad then to visit Mom Mom and later that night I made my dish for Thanksgiving dinner.  Thanksgiving was good, of course we all missed Mom Mom but we know it was more important for her to be getting better in the hospital.  Dinner was amazing everyone pitched in and made different dishes.  My favorites are dressing, macaroni and cheese and of course pumpkin pie :)  Most of the family was there at least part of the day.  After dinner I went up to the hospital with Mom to see Mom Mom. Friday morning Bryce went shopping, only to a couple places, but I stayed and slept!  Then Friday afternoon we watched the Iron Bowl, we should have won, but I was proud that we played tough and made a game of it after how poorly we lost last year.  Saturday morning I got my haircut and I love it, but I hate that I can't find anyone that I like as well here to cut my hair because I know I won't get it cut again until the summer when I can make it back up to MD and have Haylin cut it again!  Saturday Kelly, Aunt Georgia, Aunt Mary and Mom had a baby shower for Baby C.  It was really nice and I can't thank them enough.  Baby C got lots of good and useful stuff.  Now I am excited to start getting it all together and organized.  Unfortunately we had to leave Saturday after the shower.  I wish we could have stayed longer but we had to get on the road.  It was good that we did so we could get home today at a decent time.  The puppies were sad to leave Gammyland because they love all the treats and waffles (and not having to be in kennels), but they were excited to be back home.
     Over Christmas break Bryce will finish up painting in the nursery.  There are just a couple places to touch up and then he needs to paint the chair rail as well.  Mom and Dad will be down to visit just after Christmas and are buying the crib then.  That will be really exciting because then everything will be coming together!  At Christmas time it will only be about 6 weeks until the baby is due!  Hard to believe!  At my last appointment the baby was head down, but a week or so ago I could tell that it had flipped again to long ways across my belly but now I can tell it is back to head down.  My next appointment is on Thursday, then next Monday starts childbirthing classes!  I know these last 3 weeks of school will fly by.  I am almost done with the Spanish book, they will finish Friday of next week!  The last week of school is always a little crazy, the kids are ready for a break and after they take their final, they are done (in their minds anyway!) even when there is still a few days to go.  We are so excited to meet the two new babies from small group!  Crazy how we went from (in baseball terms because that is how Bryce likes to put it) from in the hole to on deck to up to bat now within less than a week (we are next in line to give birth)!  This weekend we are going to cut down our Christmas tree!  I am pretty excited, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it is less commercialized but Christmas is my favorite to decorate for!  I have added a couple of pictures from the shower and also the cake from my first shower.  

Coming down the home stretch!

Time has been flying by!  This Saturday will mark week 29, only 11 more to go!  Hard to believe that I am already in the last trimester.  Sometimes it feels like it goes slowly and then I look back and can't believe how fast it has gone.  I feel like I couldn't possibly get any bigger, but I still have a ways to go in the belly department!  I went to the doctor a little over a week ago and she said that I am measuring a week early and that the baby is already positioned head down.  After speaking with a couple of nurses they said that the baby very well could stay head down because I am in the 3rd trimester.  The baby has had the hiccups frequently now.  It feels funny especially when it has the hiccups and kicks or pokes at the same time.  A couple of weeks ago we bought a heartbeat monitor and it is pretty special to be able to hear the heartbeat.  It is even more special because it is the actual amplified sound of the baby's heart.  At the doctor's office the Doppler monitor they use just processes the sound waves and then it synthesizes a sound.  Monday evening we will be leaving to go to Maryland for Thanksgiving!  I am really excited.  I miss my family and can't wait to see them.  Only 18 school days left this semester!  I know the 3 weeks that will be left when we return from Thanksgiving will fly by.  Hopefully we can relax and rest over Christmas because it will really be the last time we can for a long while (probably like 18 years!). 

Mom came to visit :)

Mom came for a short visit this weekend, but it was good :)  Lise and I picked her up on Thursday after school and Bryce and I are going to take her to the airport after church today.  This weekend a few of our co-workers got together and had a shower for Baby Ciancio.  It was really nice and we got a lot of great stuff for the baby.  It was exciting because it is one step closer to Baby Ciancio getting here.  I will post a picture of the cake when we get back from the airport.  It was too cute!  It had jungle animals on it and said "Welcome Baby Ciancio." Of course as usual Mom spoiled the puppies like crazy, we can only imagine what it will be like when there is a grandbaby versus grandpuppies :)  Harold came on Thursday as well and hung the chair rail in the baby's room.  It looks really good, I am excited for it to be painted, it will definitely complete the room.   We have off of school this Wednesday which will be nice, but hopefully it doesn't make the week drag on.  It is weird but sometimes at school the 4 day weeks seem the longest.  Wednesday I also have a doctor's appointment.  Starting after this one I will go every two weeks instead of once a month.  It is hard to believe that on this upcoming Saturday I will be 28 weeks, right at the 6 month mark!  Before we know it Thanksgiving will be here and I am really excited that we are going to Maryland and I can see my family.  I love living here, but it is really hard to be this far away from my family especially during this exciting time.  Once we get back from Thanksgiving we only have 3 weeks of school left until Christmas break!  Also in December we start child birthing classes.  I feel like I am still so far away from the baby being here, yet at the same time so close because I know time will fly by with the upcoming holidays and how busy we are at the end of the semester at school.  We are going to celebrate Christmas here with Bryce's family since I will only be about 5-6 weeks away from delivery.  Although Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, Christmas is my favorite holiday to decorate for, hopefully this year we can get out early enough one day to pick out and chop down our own tree.

25 weeks!

Yesterday I hit the 25 week mark! Hard to believe that the baby should be here in about 15 weeks, that is less than 4 months! On their way down Mom and Dad had a bit of car trouble and had to have their transmission replaced while the were here. They were scheduled to leave Monday but the car was not ready until Wednesday and so they could not leave until then. It was a great visit though. They painted the nursery and spoiled the puppies like crazy! The nursery looks great it is a light yellow and soon we are going to put up a white chair rail to finish it off. Thursday was my doctor's appointment, Bryce could not go with me so Lise took me. It was a good thing that she went with me, I had my glucose tolerance test and had to wait around for them to check my blood sugar an hour after I drank the sugary drink, and my blood sugar dropped to 53 (normal is 70-100). Needless to say I was not feeling well and was glad someone was there to drive me home. But I am glad that I do not have to deal with gestational diabetes. Today we officially joined St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. It has been a blessing for us to grow in the church family, we love our small group and have already made some great friendships that have really blessed us. We look forward to raising our child with everyone else in the group who is expecting too!

3D Ultrasound!

Today my parents came were in town so we went to Babywaves in Columbus and had the 3D/4D ultrasound done. It was pretty amazing. My favorite picture is probably the last one where the baby is sucking it's thumb. Still not finding out what it is :) A while ago I had a dream that it was a girl and last night dreamt that it was a boy, but neither dream gave me a true feeling one way or another what it is. The ultrasound tech said the baby weighs 1 pound and 7 ounces! She couldn't tell a length because the baby was curled up. But it didn't matter, it was really special to see the baby again and be able to share it with my parents and Lise. The ultrasound tech even gave a special picture to mom and Lise. The puppies have already been inundated with treats from Gammy! And they love every minute of it :)

Auburn vs TN and more!

This past weekend we went to Knoxville, TN to watch Auburn play. It was a good game and we had a great time. It was a long trip, but we figure it will be one of the last trips like that we will be able to make. Besides the game, this has been an exciting week. Monday, I was sitting on the couch after school with my hand on my belly and the baby kicked so hard it made my hand jump off my belly! I have also been able to look down at my belly and see the baby kicking, it kind of looks like I am having muscle spasms in my belly. This upcoming weekend will mark the 23 week! Hard to believe how fast it is going by. As of now this looks like the first weekend all fall that we do not have any plans! I know I am excited to just stay home and relax! The puppies' countdown continues, only 9 days until Gammy and Gampy are here!