Our Luck Continues!

Still feeling so blessed to have such wonderful things in my life.  Last weekend I had my first shower and had such a great time!  We had the shower at Kevin's cabin and it was so wonderful, we played a few games, snacked on some good food, and enjoyed the great company...well I enjoyed the company, Kevin played on the boat and in the water with the little kids!  We got lots of great things...and Baby Swan's dresser and closet are slowly filling up.  Kevin has been spending more time in the nursery, well the glider to be exact.  I often find Kevin rocking in the glider, listening to music on our new snazzy CD/Ipod player from Bubba, just relaxing, soaking in the atmosphere...he's just missing baby swan in his arms!

I also was blessed last night with a shower from a few of my closest co-workers.  It was so much fun to get together and enjoy each other's company.  I might not always like my job, but my co-workers are definitely what makes it all worth it.  I truly am so lucky to have some of my greatest friendships come from my job.  They are a group of great ladies.  Baby Swan was spoiled with lots of cute outfits which I can't wait to put him in!

Yesterday I also had my 33 week appointment with my midwife.  Nothing special, things are looking good.  I'm measuring a little ahead at 34.5 weeks, but she said that's still in the normal range so they won't do anything about it.  She thinks that Baby Swan is head down, but we'll confirm that in a few weeks.  My next appointment will be at 36 weeks and then I'll switch to weekly appointments after that.  It's  hard to believe that this pregnancy is coming to an end and soon we'll be meeting Baby Swan.  Sometimes the time feels like it's dragging on and others it feels like it's flying by faster than I can keep up with.  I'm sure before we know it it'll be October.

We've also been working hard on the nursery this week.  We made a trip to Ikea to get some closet organizers and drawers to put all of baby swan's clothes, toys and paraphernalia in.  I've been working on finding a place for everything and having it organized as we go along.  Wednesday night my mom came over and helped me pick out drapes and finalize some other decisions as far as the nursery goes.  Tonight we spent our Friday night, hanging drapes, and paper lanterns over the crib.  It's fun to see my vision for the room come together and transform as I add things in.  Kevin hit the nail on the head tonight when he said..."Move over Baby Swan...Dad's moving in".  The room is getting pretty cozy and definitely feeling more and more like a nursery where a baby will soon reside.  There are still some final touches, but it is getting very close to being done!  

So the week brought lots of fun with friends and family, great showers, organizing and a little bit more settling of the nursery.  Tomorrow Kevin has his fantasy football draft and I'm heading to my parents cabin for a little relaxation on the lake.  I'm hoping to get the nursery done in the next few weeks and when I do, I'll be sure to post some pictures!

A Lot to be Thankful For

Life for the Swan family has been pretty hectic lately.  Nothing in particular stands out, but we've been running left and right, with little time to stop and smell the roses.  Awhile ago I told Kevin I was going to try and do a better job of stopping and enjoying the moment, notice the little things and take stock in all the things I'm lucky to have.  I was doing a good job for awhile, but lately have been slacking big time.  The busyness of everything has been bogging me down and I've forgotten to stop and look around.  I have the to-do list constantly running through my head, whether it be nesting or just my usual need/desire to have things in control, I've lost sight of what is really important and all the things I'm lucky to have...tonight I had an evening at home to really stop and look around at what I've got in my life, and it made me feel pretty darn lucky.

First, I'm so thankful to have a dad who is willing to make time in his work week, and his own to-do list to do things for me.  I'm also so grateful he likes to paint!  My dad has been a painting machine in our house this week.   Kevin has helped out immensely by doing all the prep work, sanding down the walls, taping, moving furniture, getting everything ready.  My dad has spent the past 4 days climbing ladders, squeezing into tight spaces, climbing around on all fours, getting more paint, listening to me pointing out places that need another coat and so on.  Due to all his hard work...our upstairs is almost entirely painted and neither Kevin or I picked up a paint brush.  We (meaning my dad) have one wall left in the living room, and then the kitchen and the entire upstairs living space will be freshly painted!  This is a project we've been talking about since May or June.  It took me forever to find a paint color, and then trying to find time to prep and get things ready and then really start painting took awhile longer.  Now in one of the hottest weeks of the Summer, my dad has been slaving away painting in our house...I can't wait to see the finish product, but so far I absolutely love it!  This painting project has also been helping with nesting, because I've been able to dust all the furniture, wipe down baseboards and just generally do some cleaning I wouldn't normally do without having everything displaced.  However, this displacement of stuff has really made me out of sorts as well!

Second, I'm the luckiest lady on earth to have the most awesome husband.  Kevin has been working long hours at the office, only to come home to have to do more work and try and tackle the to-do list I have running as well.  This week he's taken his very few spare moments to prep for my dad to paint, so it gets done, which he knows is something I've been waiting for.  He's also been spear-heading the daycare search and trying to get those loose ends tied up, so I can yet again cross another thing off my list!  I'm lucky to have someone who will go to the ends of the earth to make me happy and try to appease me, putting himself and his needs behind mine.  I'm also so proud of him for all the hours he puts in at the office and outside of work, to make sure that our family is well taken care of and we have all that we need.  We've  had some crazy busy nights lately and Kevin keeps plowing through them with a smile, something I wish I could say about myself.

I could go on and on about the things that I've reflected on tonight and feel so lucky to have, but the list would be long, and likely boring to others so I'll spare you.  The last thing though, is baby swan.  I'm one lucky soon-to-be mama.  I've had an easy pregnancy, I've so enjoyed feeling small little taps to the bigger more frequent rolls and rib-jabs and just feel blessed to have a little boy that will be coming home with us in just a couple of months.  I can't wait to meet him, see who he looks like, discover his personality and see all the joy he brings to Kevin and I and our friends and families.  I already know he's going to be amazing.  So while I've had to endure nights of restless sleep, swollen ankles in this hot Summer, and feeling like my ribs are being used as guitar strings, I'm also so thankful to have the opportunity to experience all of this.  To know that inside of me is a strong, healthy, growing baby boy.  Someone who I already am head over heels in love with and so anxious to meet.  In the meantime, I'll keep checking things off the to-do list preparing for baby swan's arrival.  When things get crazy and I start feeling overwhelmed with all that still needs to be done, I'll make myself stop, take a deep breath and remember all the things I'm truly thankful for.

The Latest Happenings in the Swan Family

Things have been going along well for us the past few weeks.  As Kevin said my Dad graciously came over and was going to help me paint the nursery, but ended up doing it all himself.  I wasn't planning on painting the whole thing again, but he ended up doing it, and I love that there is a fresh coat of paint.  The nursery is slowly coming together.  We made a trip to Ikea this weekend for a bookcase and a night stand for next to our glider (which hopefully we will get soon), and put the bookcase together.  I also found some curtains and just need to grab a curtain rod, and then we can start putting the nursery together a little more.  The paper lanterns I ordered for above the crib arrived, and are waiting in the crib to be hung.  I'm hoping this weekend we can spend some time adding some of the details to the Nursery and really start to see it come together. 

I celebrated my 27th birthday a few days ago...weird to think that my next birthday will be celebrated with our little boy!  I spent the morning getting a massage and the afternoon with my mom and dad and we all had dinner together that evening.  Kevin spent the evening golfing, but they beat the 1st place team, so it looks like they are making a run at winning their leauge again!  Kevin surprised me for my birthday and bought me a video camera...I'm excited to be able to take videos of baby swan and have those memories documented.  My sisters and I love to watch our old home videos and I'm hoping someday baby swan and his siblings will enjoy the same thing too. 

We also made it through our first weekend of child preparation classes.  We attended the baby basics and breastfeeding class.  The baby basics didn't teach us much we didn't already know, but the breastfeeding class had some good information.  I think we both thought it was going to be worse than it was, and we got out early so we were impressed!  This weekend we have the childbirth class, which since neither one of us have any experience with this I think will be good.  We opted for the full day class so we don't have to miss out on any other weekends at the cabins, so it will likely be a long Saturday, but hopefully informative and get us ready for baby swan when he decides to make his appearance! 

On the job front I had another meeting with my boss yesterday.  She made it seem more promising that I might be able to come back part-time in January after my maternity leave.  She also made it well known that she can't promise anything as of now, so we're still in limbo, wondering what the future will bring but I feel better about it and know that it will all work out like it's supposed to.  I just have to let go of it and see what happens!

It's hard to believe how fast Summer is going, and to think that October will be here before we know it.  We still have some other projects to get done around the house that we've been putting off for awhile, but I know they will get done before baby swan makes his appearance.  And as Kevin said...we do have a lot done, and I fully trust that should something happen sooner than expected we'd be okay.  Although, I'm cherishing the last few months we have just the two of us to finish a few things and get even more organized for baby swan when he gets here.  Nothing too exciting to report, just nursery decorating, home project doing and enjoying our last couple months of Summer.