I'm Still Here....

My due date is in T-4 days. I'm still pregnant. I think a lot of people feel sorry for me that I haven't had the baby yet, but I'm honestly doing just fine. I'm sleeping fine at night, the baby is low so she isn't in my ribs or lungs, and I'm not in any pain or anything. At this point in my pregnancy with Alayna, I was really ready to be done because I was uncomfortable, struggled sleeping, had painful cramps at night, and was on bed-rest for high blood pressure. I wasn't allowed to work, which meant I wasn't making money and didn't even have a baby to take care of, so it felt like I was wasting time and money, just waiting around to go into labor.

This has been a good week. Everything is ready for the baby so we have just been spending our days going on walks, playing at the park or in our backyard, and just enjoying the beautiful weather while it lasts. I'm enjoying a quiet house and getting rest while I can.

I have been doing a little to try and jump start my labor, but I'm not going to any extremes. I've gone for a walk every day, and the last 2 days I've done Jillian Michaels Last Chance Workout (including and especially jumping jacks, running in place, and jump roping)...I'm sure it would be really comical to watch a 9 month pregnant woman and an almost 3 year old doing that video. The doctors say everything looks great and induction or not, it should be a speedy, smooth delivery. I am already dilated 4cm.

And so, little one, I am very excited to meet you but if you need more time, I'm ok with that as well. I'm confident you're worth the wait!

August

Me at 32 Weeks, taken by my neighbor on a fun photoshoot


Me at 36 weeks, taken by my sister-in-laws sister of Visual Legacies Photography

A Life Flight Helicopter on the roof at the Children's Museum at Discovery Gateway. It's chilling but humbling at the same time that Alayna has been ON one of these as a patient, at 5 weeks old. This is the first time we went in August, with Alayna's cousins, their moms, and gram.
We went to the splash pad...a lot! At least once a week this summer. I love it.
Alayna loves it too!!!
This is the 2nd time we went to the museum this month. We took one of her very favorite people, McKay, for his 3rd birthday! These 2 just love eachother.
There are so many cool things to do there, especially for kids her age. A pretend construction zone, pretend house, grocery store, garden, farm, water play area, etc.
Labor Day weekend: we definitely didn't rest! Alayna helped Jeff paint the shed...it totally made her day
Jeff got really smart and found her her own board to paint on
Love this girl
More painting
We took this picture because one day after dinner we were letting her play outside and realized it was one of those "where are this girl's parents??" pictures. No shirt since we had just eaten dinner, she chose her own shoes (hence the snowboots in August, unzipped), and hair all scraggly, attacking a ball with a golf club. Oh yeah, we're classy!

Other August happenings:
Our anniversary was Thursday, August 18th. On Thursday morning, we slept in and Jeff finally told me what our plans were. We dropped off Alayna at my mother-in-laws and mosy'd our way to Midway, where we stayed here: http://www.johnsonmill.com/ It was tough for Jeff to plan something to do, being 5 weeks from my due date, but he did a great job and even got us a sweet discount on the room. We ate at restaurants, watched movies, roamed around Park City, and went to a movie. We came back to reality on Saturday. It was a great anniversary weekend!

I cut my hair! I donated 9 inches to http://www.pantene.com/en-US/beautiful-lengths-refresh/Pages/default.aspx Pantene makes wigs for women who have lost their hair to cancer treatments. It's a fun change for me, for a good cause.

Getting ready for the baby: We have everything out of storage and it has been washed and mostly set-out. We have had to be a little strategic in order to fit everything and have it be organized in our tiny house. My pregnancy is still going well (and fast!) and the baby is doing great.

Big Changes: Long story short, Jeff could've easily lost his job 2 weeks ago. His position was eliminated but because Sunroc absolutely adores Jeff, they made a spot for him at their Salt Lake location. He is pretty much doing the same job he was doing before he was Insulation Production Manager. He and his brother Scott are now the only inside salesmen at the Salt Lake location, so they are going to be very busy. Sunroc laid off 42 people that week, and are now even more of a skeleton crew than before. It was a very scarey, very humbling week and we were reminded how blessed we are and that the Lord is watching over us. Who knows what we would've done if Jeff had lost his job (and insurance) 4 weeks before our baby was due. The change has its pros and cons. Pro's are better work environment and less stress for Jeff. Con's: commute is farther (but still not too bad), and he won't have a company truck anymore.