Ohmigoodness, the FRUSTRATION! We had another ultrasound yesterday morning, and the pictures are LAME! I had hoped to get a better picture of my little man on here. Jonathan was able to video record a little of it, so at least he’s got something fun. There’s a great picture of Caleb’s foot, but it’s really not exciting enough to put on this website. (Certainly not as exciting as a blurry picture of me in my beautiful orange dress!)

On the upside, we did verify that he's still a boy. Whew!

SO! It looks like we’re going to keep a late October/early November due date, which is a-okay with me. I got a little nervous when my friend Terra, an L&D nurse, measured me on Saturday and I was measuring 36 weeks, which is consistent with the six weeks ahead idea. But according to the ultrasound, the artist formerly known as Jellybean is only three weeks ahead of schedule ~ and it’s normal for them to have jumps like that, apparently, so he very well may slow down shortly. He's already four pounds, 5 oz with a head circumference of 30 cm! Holy CROW!

He’s still breech, though. Looks like that’s the only thing of concern right now. But I think he’s flipping his little bottom around an awful lot, so I’m really not worried about it. Still, it means I get one more ultrasound before we’re done – and maybe there will be halfway decent pictures this time!

Regardless of how early he comes, at the latest, we’re looking at only TWO MONTHS left of pregnancy! (Which isn’t a lot, considering all that has to be done.) But let me tell you about my friends. My friends are the absolute best in the world. Johnna, Terra and Angela all came over on Saturday and spent the whole day helping me plan! Johnna Weber, I owe you big time, my love. She brought over all her scrapbooking stuff so we could plan announcements, bought wooden animal figures to put in the nursery, helped me plan how to paint the nursery, and brought Caleb an adorable little alligator hoodie to boot!

The four of us all made various birth announcements, and I think we’ll end up doing an amalgamation of a bunch of them. If we hadn’t filled in the birthday, weight and length, I would have used the ones we MADE! They’re super cute. And it was fun spending time with the girls – and Angela’s three precious boys, who are a constant reminder to me of what I’m getting myself into!

Another beautiful day in the big city – don’t you wish you jogged? This is the kind of day where you watch joggers, and they look like they’re having such a good time, and you think, “I could do that.”

Except you can’t. Or rather, you shouldn’t. Because they’re not really having fun – it’s a conspiracy to make non-joggers jealous. They’re really miserable, but they get points for inspiring other people to be miserable as well. Don’t fall for the trap, my friends. It’s what THEY would want.

Oy! Sorry for the side note! Just trying to get the word out. And the word of the day is joggers. If you say it four times, as I have in the past three paragraphs, it starts to sound hilarious in your head. Go ahead, you know you want to. Stay tuned for next week’s word! (It might be bloggers. Oh, those crazy rhymes.)

The whole reason I wanted to write this morning had nothing to do with the insanity you see above. I promise. It just occurred to me, with everyone asking, that I hadn’t shared the MOST EXCITING NEWS OF MY PREGNANCY THUS FAR! (Being pregnant and knowing it’s a boy are but a distant second and third.) I am officially two weeks off of Zofran, my anti-nausea medication. Hooray, hooray, hooray! I was down to a half a pill a day for a long time, but if I didn’t get that half a pill, all was not well.

But NOW! Freedom from pills! Yay! (Except for the thyroid pill, which I forgot to take for a long time when I quit the Zofran.) This is the FUN part of pregnancy that I’ve been waiting so long for! I feel good, I don’t look TOO overwhelmingly fat, and I’m getting to the point where I’m realizing that my son is only two or so months away from entering our world! Hooray!

It’s a beautiful morning here in Denver, and I just feel like doing something SPECTACULAR! Of course, all of the spectacular things I could do would mean missing the day at work. Hmm… I hadn’t thought of that. Really, the two have no connection at all!

Still, it’s a great day to go to the zoo, I think. But alas, my desire to keep my job outweighs my willingness to play hooky to do something fun. That, my friends, is what they call being RESPONSIBLE. Who says I’m not ready to have a kiddo, huh? (Besides, Jonathan and I couldn’t BOTH get off, anyway, right?)

I’m to the point where I have to go to my OB every two weeks now! The countdown begins in earnest. As the doc said at my last visit on Monday, I’m anywhere from two-thirds to three-quarters done with this pregnancy. Aw, just when I was starting to enjoy it!

Speaking of my Monday visit, here’s an oddity that just makes me giggle – I’m measuring six weeks ahead – meaning that by the size of my uterus (sorry, boys) I should technically be at 34 weeks rather than the 28 that we’ve all been assuming. So on my next appointment, I’ll have yet another ultrasound to see if there’s a big boy ready to come a lot earlier, or maybe something just strange about me.

And contrary to my – and my father’s – initial assumption, this has NOTHING to do with what I’ve been eating! Sheesh! My weight is still doing great.

I’m really excited about what the coming weeks bring. Alisa should be closing on her wonderful new place at the end of the month, which means we’ll be able to get a carpet cleaner in and get the nursery started! Terra and Johnna have graciously offered their services in the design department, and we’re going to start planning next weekend. Praise the Lord for talented and creative friends.

Although, I bet my own idea gets implemented – throw up a coat of paint and hang a valance instead of the thick, icky curtains. The end. Maybe they can convince me to do something clever…

Day care isn’t going to be as traumatic as I had thought, guys! I’m actually VERY relieved after having toured my first day care yesterday. Yes, it’s expensive. Yes, it’s not as good as having Mommy raise Caleb. And yes, it’s terrifying to leave a precious little one in the care of someone else. BUT! God knows the desire of my heart is to have someone wonderful take care of my son while I’m trying to work out a way to stay home with him ~ and it looks like it’s going to happen!

The place that I went to look at is actually held within a Baptist church two blocks from my house. The program manager gave us a tour – my Mom came with me since she knows more questions to ask – and I couldn’t have been more impressed. Every kid was happy and ACTIVE, every provider seemed genuinely enjoying herself, and there was an overall sense of serenity, even in the midst of rambunctious kids. Plus, they have a nurse on staff and all the staff is CPR and First Aid certified.

I made sure to ask about how they handle crying babies. I know that there’s a huge disparity between schools of thought on that one: let ‘em cry or let ‘em cuddle. She had a very positive response in that they will do whatever they need to do to find out what is going to comfort the baby. She said some babies like to rock in a swing, some like to be held, some like to be swaddled up and every variation you could possibly think of. So if being held is what will keep my Caleb happy, that’s what they’ll do.

So my heart is relieved, and my mind is calmed with one simple tour. I don’t want to keep him there for very long, but even if we did have to leave him there for a couple years, I am tremendously pleased with the environment. I’ll still check out some other places, but by golly am I happy with this! (And yes, so is my Mom!)

We registered at Babies ‘R’ Us on Sunday! AARGH! It’s getting more real every day! We’ve been meaning to go register forever. Jonathan spent Friday and Saturday night at a hoity-toity hotel in Vail for his job, and when he came home, we decided to do it. Tah-dahh! It took a long time, though. But it was so much fun to be together and to think about all the things that Caleb is going to be doing when he uses this stuff!

Funny story, though – Jonathan was holding the registration clicker and got a little tag-happy! He registered for a $140 Jeep jogging stroller that we TOTALLY don’t need, just because it looks “cool.” (I went in and edited it, don’t worry!)

Last night, I was reading a magazine in bed, resting the magazine on my tummy. A couple of times, I could feel Caleb kicking and the magazine would wobble a little – and then he kicked RIGHT where it was, and the magazine JUMPED. It was so cute! I got Jonny to hold my tummy and feel him moving all around.

Caleb is less than a third of the weight he’ll be when he’s born! I can’t even fathom what it’s going to feel like when he gets bigger, because his every movement is so evident to me right now. I’m definitely at the fun part of pregnancy now. To be able to feel my son growing inside me and not need to vomit a million times a day is really a great thing!

Ohmigoodness gracious golly Jehosophat! Let me tell you about the stupidest thing Jonathan and I have done in a long time! Last night, we were reading a wonderful article on MSNBC about a man who was about to be a Daddy for the first time going through labor. When we're done with it- hilarious! - Jonathan said, “I wonder if there are any pictures of labor that we can find?”

My immediate reaction was a good one, I think – “Are you insane?” We are taking the childbirth classes in a little over a month, and I think it’s fine to put off that kind of terrifying mental image. But his curiosity got me curious, and hence, we found a wonderful NOVA special on the “miracle of birth.”

Miracle of GROSSNESS! (No offense, Lord!) What the craziness were we thinking, procreating? Ew, ew, ew! You sort of understand the women who say, “This baby has got to stay IN!”

Hey, on the upside, the nausea is subsiding. What a tradeoff! Nauseous because of the baby inside me or nauseous at the IDEA of the baby getting to the outside.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, yes? Well, friends, this weekend, the blessings that flowed from God came from the general direction of the Smith residence! My sweet pal Angela worked at a garage sale on Friday, and had a gal set aside a car seat/stroller for me for $25. Hooray! Then while she was there, she found a Snugli carrier that looked brand new for $5! First baby purchases here, guys ~ very exciting, if I do say so myself!

Then Saturday, she found a crib mattress and a baby swing! The swing, car seat and stroller are all Graco, which is a VERY good brand! And then, to top it all off, Angela – and all four of the Smith males – blessed us with additional toys, blankets, bottles, and bibs out the wazoo. Didn’t I say the blessings were a’flowing?!

So! At this rate, Jonathan and I can afford a child! I’m thinking that we need not much more than a crib, some baby gates, and a few other odds and ends, which makes me feel VERY confident about our ability to get everything done! (It may be a false confidence, but you know I’ll take it over all the stress and worry I was feeling!) Angela Marie (formerly Rideout) Smith, I smooch you on your precious little head! A LOT!

Also, I’m touring a day care facility next week. It’s at a Baptist church near my home, and might be a very good thing. They don’t have room right now, but obviously, I don’t NEED them to have room right now! By January, they’ll have expanded their infant area to accommodate the growing number of itty-bitty babies in our neighborhood. There’s really not a waiting list, so I’m not sure how we’ll proceed if it looks like something we’ll be interested in, but I’m trusting God that if it’s the place for us, all will go smoothly. Pray for us for wisdom if it crosses your mind!

OH! We also had the supreme pleasure of enjoying Fatburger for the first time yesterday! Pastor John has a severe weakness for the place, and kept hammering on it at church yesterday, and we were helpless against the onslaught of stomach juices! We actually met up with a family from church there, and ended up joining them for our Baby Fats. (Talk about too MUCH truth in advertising!) Anyway, it might not be as good as Pastor John led us to believe, but it sure beats Mickey D’s! Now I’m just jonesing to try In ‘n’ Out Burger – which might be a few more years, unless they expand this far east!

Ohmgoodness! I’m pretty darn close – if not already in – my third trimester! That’s pretty stinking exciting, right?