40 wks and counting

Hi everyone!
So today is officially the due date.  Everything at the house and with work has come together well so we are ready for her arrival when the time comes!

Here's a picture of me at the big 4-0 (weeks, that is!).

Here are some pics of the baby's room. I think it turned out really great. It is so peaceful and the colors are nice and soft.

We painted the mural over the changing table from a kit of stencils that I ordered online -- looking back, opting for the wall stickers would have been A LOT easier! But this was a fun/creative project that we did for the room.  When we started laying the design out a few weeks ago, Jason got out his tape measure and level to try to set the clouds on the wall.  I had a good laugh at him.... "They're CLOUDS, honey! Clouds are not level and spaced out perfectly!"  Here's the website where I found the stencils http://www.mywonderfulwalls.com/

BABY BRAIN:
Speaking of a sense of humor.. I know that is one thing that has gotten us through all of the challenges of marriage, pregnancy, and I am sure parenthood will be no different.  I'm glad that my husband can find humor and help me laugh at myself as my body has morphed into its current shape. And believe me, he has had some fun watching me get dressed in the mornings! What you can't see from the exterior is how my brain (or lack of brain) function has been affected at times by pregnancy.  There have been some interesting car rides where I was driving and too many people were trying to tell me which direction to go, where to turn, etc and I would get really flustered.

On one fateful day in particular this fall, I nearly ran over a traffic cop while exiting Arrowhead Stadium and then just an hour or two later managed to mess up my car and Jason's bike in an sticky situation in the garage. The list goes on. I was making oatmeal the other day, forgot to turn off the burner, then placed a dishtowel on the open flame. After catching my mistake, I put the burning dishtowel outside on the (wooden) porch right next to the house without fully extinguishing the flames... (don't worry - this one turned out ok except for the dishtowel).  I tell myself and my husband that this is all because I use up too many brain cells at work and need to conserve when I get home :-)  I'm sure people at work would have a word or two to say about that!

Moving on... another big milestone for the week was wrapping up the 12 week Bradley "birthing course" on November 15th.  WHEW! That class was excellent but it made for some really late Tuesday nights/sleepy Wednesday mornings.  The instructor, Summer Hill, was great and I know J and I both feel really prepared.

Whatever happens with the timing of the birth, we are so looking forward to a fun Thanksgiving holiday with (or without) a new baby in our arms.  I can say that I am SO THANKFUL that the last 4 months of my pregnancy were nothing at all like the first 5 or so - I have felt really great for most of the 2nd half. Thank Heavens!

Now it's just a matter of the stars lining up and mother nature kick-starting my body into labor!  We will just have to see what she has in mind for a birthday! 

Love, Claire & Jason