What a week it's been!
To recap:
Last weekend Chris, baby's Aunt Evy, and I all went up to Minneapolis to become Godparents for my friend Emily's (that's Aunt Emily to you, little one) boys. Elijah and Eadan are just awesome little guys and watching them grow is just amazing. On our way home we also stopped and saw one of our good friends from college, Katie, her little girl, and brand spankin' new baby boy. Between playing with Emily's little men and holding Katie's 2 weeks old I had a good look at my future for the next two years. It only made me more excited that I was before...
Monday was Chris' birthday, so we celebrated in style at a great new restaurant in Schaumburg. The main component of said restaurant is whiskey, so it was less exciting for me... but it was so fun to watch him freak out over the PLETHORA of whiskey options. "I haven't even
heard of some of these!" He exclaimed while looking over the double sided extra large whiskey only menu. I love birthdays. It just goes right along with my love for Christmas, or Valentine's Day, or really any excuse to have a surprise... just because it's a special time to tell someone you love them. No, we don't
have to have a special day to tell people we love them, but the reality is that life flies by so fast it's nice to have those special reminder days to do something a little extra. And I'm a sucker for the extra. Let's be real, I like dinner to be surprise... Chris will often ask what I am making and I respond, "You'll see" as I sneakily work away on something simple like buffalo chicken. But, this is just me... I like to do something a little extra for people because the people in my life ARE wonderful. Everyone is. And everyone deserves to feel loved, remembered, special. So, I like to celebrate in any way I can.
Anyway, Monday my amazing husband turned 27 whole years old. It made me think about how at our age our parents were waiting for their babies to be born... time goes so fast! On birthdays I think about how it happened that in the course of however many years someone came to be where they are today... 27 years ago, what did Chris' parents think while looking down at his little face? What did they dream for him? Did it even cross their minds that 27 years later he would be all that he is now? Did they anticipate the trouble he would get in with his sister? The adventures they would have together? Boy scouts and soccer? Car accidents and proms? Did they think about the day he would move away to college or start a new job in Chicago? Did they think about someday becoming grandparents? With our own baby, will Chris think about those things the first time he holds his son or daughter?
I remember when I first realized that Chris was "the one" for me and how badly I couldn't wait to marry him.. to have a home... to have kids... and now here we are! Happiest of birthdays to the Prince Charming I dreamed about as a little girl... the sweetheart who stole my young adult heart... and the man who is making my dreams come true. You are a gift to me.
Tuesday we were off to another appointment with our midwife. I actually met one of the other midwives for the first time as my "usual" lovely lady was off attending to a birth. It was a great appointment hearing baby's strong heart beat and being measured for the first time. All seems to be on track... I even survived the blood draw they took for testing. I'm really happy with
Gentle Birth Care, Inc. and all the wonderful care I am getting. Exciting news is that we are moving up appointments now... no longer am I supposed to be seen just once a month! I just realized that 28 weeks is the mark of the 3rd trimester, and I will be visiting my midwives more often... I can just tell it'll be September before I even know it!
Wednesday I was woken with a fabulous text message...
Our dear friend is PREGNANT! I have been secretly wishing for a pregnancy buddy... and it's even better because our babies will only be a few short months apart! She and I have already determined that they will be BFF's or possibly an arranged marriage. Haha...
Other than that I also got to see baby's Aunt Alexis, which is always wonderful. Talk about a soul sister... Alexis and I have been great friends from the beginning of college and I am so happy to have her in my life. It's always great being with her... whether we are off on a crazy adventure or just grocery shopping. And, little baby, your Auntie Lex is making sure you are well taken care of... she made some delicious fresh juice (apples, pears, beets, and all sorts of mystery greens) just for me.
Thursday we had our first
Bradley Birth class. Again, this was a point in which the whole pregnancy just seemed to get more real. I think it'll be a fun class and I am looking forward to the opportunity to just be together with Chris and prepare for what's ahead. Sure we talk about it all the time, but it was so nice to have our homework "drive home question" and be given some direction of things to think about. I hope Chris finds it just as empowering as other people have... his brother in law and sister (Uncle Chris and Aunt Wendy) took BBM classes and told us how much they got from them. They really convinced us to give it a try. I think I must have been a bit more hormonal or just exhausted (class is from 7-9:30) but I started tearing up like 7 different times... I'm just so so so excited. Little one, I am so very excited to meet you!
Friday I had a long awaited girls night celebrating Auntie Em's birthday. It was a really nice night of just hanging out, singing along to musicals, and being with good people. And at the stroke of midnight we had officially "100 days left" of this pregnancy. I know, I know, baby might make an appearance early OR decided to hang out for a while but regardless time is flying by!
