Breathing? What's that??

For the second day in a row, our little guy hasn't wanted me to breathe very much. Or should I say, enjoy breathing? ;) It seems I have a foot permanently stuck in my rib cage (only on the right side) and the other foot enjoys shoving my right side out a couple of inches on a regular basis. I'm totally amazed that a baby in utero can be so strong!!

On Saturday, Jason and I visited our neighborhood pool for the first time this season. The weather was gorgeous--breezy, sunny, and warm enough to enjoy w/o breaking a sweat. Baby Boy made a complete roll that was quite entertaining to watch...and that's when the kicks to the right side began. Before that, I'd get a few at bedtime and a few in the morning, but not really during the day. This week, it's been ALL day EVERY day. According to the sonographer on Monday morning, he's head down in the vertex position. (side-facing) Guess that's why I'm lopsided a lot these days :) And yes, I will post the sono pic and a belly shot soon...maybe after the shower on Saturday.

It took me several hours on Sunday afternoon, but I finally went through all the baby goodies we've gotten and took off tags, etc. in preparation for washing. Never realized how stinkin' expensive Dreft was!! We have two huge tubs now, so hopefully that'll last us awhile. So the (enormous) closet is all organized...now we need the room painted and we can move on with all the finishing touches. So exciting!!

My hospital bag has been packed for over a month (just in case!), and I can't help but wonder when this little guy will decide to make his debut. He's already 5 lbs, 4oz...and if he keeps gaining a 1/2 lb per week, like they say, he may be close to 9 lbs!!! (gasp!) Had a little scare yesterday--thought I'd have to call Jason to come home quickly, but think I must've just been dehydrated (have noooo idea how...I drank a ton of water!!). I was fine after some rest and more water, but makes it seem a little more real--it could be any time, now! Hopefully later than sooner since we're still 6 wks out, but still....

32 Weeks (8 mo.)

We are in the home stretch! I am very thankful our little guy is still "cooking" in here, but sooo ready to meet him, at the same time. We don't want him to come out until he's "fully baked"...and two more months seems so short, yet also seems like an eternity at the same time. I also didn't realize there are soooo many things we still need to get before he comes since trips out of the house will be few and far between... Babies are expensive (and I'm sure I don't know the half of it, yet!!)

Belly shot at 32 weeks:

In other exciting news, I think I'd mentioned that our bedding has come in!! I was excited (and relieved!) that our custom set is just as gorgeous as we envisioned since I'd 'designed' it. Picking a wall color was every bit as tough as choosing fabric, but I think we'll be going with a soft neutrally yellow to make the bedding and furniture pop. We need to have the room painted and relocate the crib so it's away from the window. The only other piece of furniture we're lacking is a glider, which will complete his room :) Please pardon the no mattress, no crib sheet issue (plus you can see the old curtains in the background, which need to come down), but here's a sneak peek of what the set looks like:



In sad news, with the rough winter we had, Mimi's tea tree plant didn't make it this year, and our 6 year old ficus tree with the braided trunk (from our wedding) didn't either. We tried our best--had them near the house, watered, and covered them when it was below freezing. But on a happier note, the Japanese maple we planted in honor of Reid (two days before the big snowfall on the first day of Spring!!) now looks amazing!! We were worried the crazy weather might've interfered, but it's gorgeous!

Losing my mind and falling apart...

Yep, I am officially losing it. My mind, that is... I have gotten to the point where even if I write it down, that doesn't mean it will be correct (as in, dates for childcare/infant CPR class) or that I'll remember to look at it (like my "bring the paper cutter to school!" note to myself that sat on the counter for half a week). I also mess up at least one thing every single time I go to the grocery store. This week, I somehow got black eyed peas rather than pinto beans. How you manage that (aside from it being the same brand), I have no idea!! Let me give some advice...they didn't go very well with tortilla soup. But they're good for you, so we ate them anyways.

I am also beginning to fall apart slowly. The back pain has set in full force. Over the weekend, I just thought maybe it was the long car trip to Houston and back, but my middle back has been killing me all week. Sitting through two nights of childcare/birthing classes from 6-10pm probably doesn't help matters. On top of that, I have apparently developed heartburn. It was only some nights for awhile (greasy Jack in the Box, anyone??), but I've pretty much had it every day this week, so guess it's here to stay. It's quite an odd feeling when the ice water you drank 10 minutes ago comes back up to say hello. Water's not a problem, but when you just had three slices of jalapeno pizza, it's not exactly a good thing. Bye bye spicy food :( Hello, Rolaids!! Sounds like we'll have a baby with a head full of hair!!

Knowing these things are temporary is great--it is all totally worth what the outcome will be, so I really don't mind. I just think it's so weird and funny sometimes! The best part, though, is having my neck hurt from watching my belly move all over the place. I was just wondering if he'd gotten too big to do that anymore, but "someone" just kicked my arm :)

To end on a very exciting note, our bedding arrived Monday!!! I will post pictures soon--we love it!

Baby Shower!

After work on Friday, Jason and I drove down to north Houston to visit family and for my baby shower on Saturday. Mandy and her mom generously offered to throw me one in Houston, which was really nice so that no one had to travel up to Dallas just for that. Everything was beautiful and so special, but the best part was seeing old friends and neighbors for the first time in years. Well, maybe the cake (made by a French pastry chef) tied with that...it was absolutely delicious--I ended up having two pieces...one at the shower and one that evening! Mmmm... Here's a picture of the yummy cake, pretty decorations, and my mom, whom I still affectionately refer to as "Shorty."

The game we played was sculpting (from Play-Doh) what baby Reid will look like. We obviously had many talented sculptors, but unfortunately I had to pick just one "winner." They were all cute, but I had to go with Carrie's, the green one. I think it was the big smile and the cute little blanket. Mine was the white one--long legs/arms and a big ol' body. Based on what I've felt so far, I'm thinking that's what he must look like to some degree.

I was blown away by the generous gifts, and each person brought a book rather than a card (looooooved that idea--thanks, Em!). I am so, so excited I'll be able to read them to Reid and tell him about each person from whom the book came!! This one was especially special because it was personalized for Reid by Aunt Laura and Uncle Matt, all the way from Australia. It stinks having Laura so far away, but we did get to talk later that night...that's as close as it gets when thousands of miles separate you. On a more fun note, she already has her plane tickets to come see us once our bundle of joy arrives in June!! I can't wait to see her and see how big her little guys are!

It was so fun to catch up with everyone--wish we'd had longer to chat, but I was grateful for the time we did have and for all the ladies who came to see me :) I hope I look like Mary after Reid arrives--can you believe she just had her third little guy a month ago??

And this is another special guest--Carly was a student in my very first class!! She is now a model and a full time college student...and has taken the time to keep up with her ol' teach all these years later. She and her mom Bonnie are just wonderful, and I'm so thankful they could come. They were also gracious enough to snap pics on my camera throughout the event :)

Miss Carolyn has emailed me the link for the pictures from her camera, so I will have to post some of those later. I'm so grateful for great friends and a safe trip!

Furry, four-legged babies

Dixie and Samson, our four-legged "fur babies," are often our entertainment at home. Dixie is a smart, sneaky thing who will stop at no lengths to get a piece of Samson's food (the higher fat kind that we have to keep in the pantry in hopes that only he has access to eat it...but she finds ways to sneak in a bite here or there) or to have some people food on occasion. Her absolute favorite nights are when Jason grills...well...ANYthing. She loves tuna steak, ribeyes, chicken, virtually anytime the grilling utensils come out, she's a meowing machine! Samson could care less about people food...unless he hears the whipped cream cannister come out of the fridge. He'll eat his AND his sister's portions. It's gotten so bad lately that he knows once dinner time is over, if anyone opens the fridge/freezer, it's dessert time, for the whole family. (Jason lovingly refers to Reid as his "little tub of ice cream" sometimes. I didn't think it was really that bad until I saw that we did indeed have four different kinds of ice cream in our freezer...and none of them lasted that long!)

So in honor of our kitties, the pictures today will highlight Easter at the French household. We went to church, had a bite out to eat, did the usual grocery shopping, then decided it's probably about time to figure out the stroller and car seat situation. I was so bummed when I got an email from Babies R Us a few months back saying that our stroller/car seat combo were being discontinued. (not a part of any of the recalls) We'd looked at tons, and this one was lightweight, semi unique, and pretty colors/pattern. I lamented this information to my sister, and we had a special package delivered the next week. Who says the older sister takes care of the younger one? ;) Anyhow, I digress...today Jason pulled all the parts out of the box and we sat down to assemble it. Unbeknownst to us, Dixie apparently has skills:

If that video post worked, I will attempt to capture Reid's antics on a video. He doesn't perform on demand, but hopefully I could catch him on a day like today. After all that action, we were tired and being that it was a nice, cloudy Sunday afternoon, a nap seemed the perfect activity for all of us. (except for Reid, who has been rolling, kicking, and generally moving most of the day--love it!!) We ended up sleeping quite soundly, and I woke up to this hilarious vision, which looked like Jason gave birth to a furry 15 pounder:

We often wonder how the cats will adjust to a squirmy little screaming human invading "their" house... I didn't realize they'd never really been around kids until my roommate's nephews (toddler and 4ish) came over one day when I was in my third or fourth year of teaching. Dixie immediately hissed, ran away, and hid under the bed. Samson was scared at first, but then came out to investigate. They also haven't been around too many babies. The first time Samson ever heard one was when we lived in Spring and friends brought their newborn over to watch an LSU football game. The baby was in her car seat on top of the kitchen table--Samson bolted into the room, up onto the table (a big no-no for the cats) and stuck his nose in to see what the crying mini human was upset about. It was pretty cute! Dixie, being the calico with the attitude, wanted nothing to do with the baby. It will be interesting to see how they adjust...and what baby things they 'claim' for themselves. We thought the car seat was going to double as a cat bed for awhile there today...