39 weeks and 5 days

Stephanie and I did a little photo shoot of my baby belly today. They turned out so wonderful. I can't believe that any day now JD and I will be holding a little baby girl in our arms. But right now she's still cookin' in my belly.

Cousin Jack

Cousin Jack the cat is visiting from Laramie. Here he is joining Stephanie and I in some Sunday morning relaxing on the couch. There are now four cats in the house and it's a riot to say the least.

A nice Christmas dinner

We had a lovely Christmas dinner with our new fancy dishes yesterday. It was so much fun and I feel like such a homemaker having matching dishes and linens and glasses. The last photo is of the homemade desserts Stephanie made.... delicious!

Meowy Christmas ! ! !

In keeping with a tradition JD and I started a few years back we photographed our cats Christmas style. This was our first year however attempting the feat with 3 cats. Even with our friend Clint helping JD hold the cats we weren't able to get them to cooperate. Zihua on the right just cracks me up. Ziggy and Zihua as reindeer and Hobbs as a mighty fine Santa Cat.

Fresh snow

Even though it's only a dusting, we got fresh snow in Helena. Our deck buffalo looks frosty cold.

That photographer is pregnant

My friend Grant Hanson took these photos of me this week at a college basketball game. Baby belly is getting so big! Only 10 days till my due date now.

I love winter!

We're decorated for the holidays! The Christmas tree has actually been up since Thanksgiving weekend and JD put the final touches on our outdoor lights Sunday. The top photo shows the front of our new rental house. Which is such a treat. We moved into a 3-bedroom house on the west-side of Helena on November 1st. It's such a cozy, wonderful house. We have a spare bedroom so any friends and family have a place to stay. Although Stephanie has already called dibs on the room when the baby comes :) The house is complete with a living room just for JD in the basement. And the other nice perk of the house is the sun porch across the front. The cats absolutely love it there, except when it's -10 bellow. Putting the final touches on the baby room is on the to-do list next.

37 weeks

We're coming down the final stretch now. I'm so amazed at my skin's ability to stretch and accommodate a baby. I'm really looking forward to being able to tie my own shoes without falling over and being able to see my feet.

Zihua and the sun

In our new rental house we have a sun room that the cats absolutely love. Zihua is seen here soaking up the winter sun in the papasan chair.

Getting closer

I know we haven't posted anything new in a while... we've been busy decorating for the holidays and getting the last minute items for baby. We will post some new pictures soon!

Future Griz

During a recent shopping trip while Stephanie was visiting from Laramie we decided to try our luck at the elusive claw toy game. We were first unsuccessful at K-Mart but after $1.50 at Shopko we walked away with a Montana Grizzlies cheer bear for the baby room. Not that I'm going to encourage my daughter to be a cheerleader...it's just that we needed some kind of Griz presence in the nursery (besides the three Griz onesies, bib and cute leggings she already has) It should be noted that Cathy had little faith in Stephanie and I. But we do thank her for the quarters.

Getting stocked up

In preparation for the baby we've registered at Target. The grin on JD's face in this photo clearly shows his enjoyment of the influx of pink in our lives. So...if anyone is interested...you can view our registry at https://www.target.com/registry/baby/1EJY5OT9IAYPU hint hint hint...

There's a horse in my tummy

This photo JD took cracks me up! It was taken last month in his bedroom in Greybull. (The wall mural was custom painted by Karen Dunbar inspired by one of JD's favorite childhood books) I just love how the composition makes it look like my baby belly has a horse head.

Favorite things

JD enjoying his favorite Fall pastime... burning leaves in Wyoming with his dad.

Nurturing her Yellowstone spirit

In late October JD and I visited his hometown in Greybull, Wyoming. Instead of taking the interstate home, we decided to drive through Yellowstone. The baby needed to be exposed to the beauty that is the park. Those small dark specks in the upper left are indeed bison.

Hobbs tells JD what's up

JD and Hobbs discuss the new changes forthcoming... moving into a new house, a baby on the way and how he needs to stop tormenting the other cats during the night. Although as one of my friends pointed out, Hobbs is just preparing us for the sleep interruptions of parenthood.

She's a swimmer already

Oh my does the baby love being in the water. The first time I ever felt her move was a couple months ago. I was lap swimming and mid-flip turn I felt her turn with me. It was the greatest feeling in the world. JD and I think it's pretty cool she moved for the first time in the pool. (for those of you who don't know, JD and I are both former competitive swimmers)
This photo was taken during my swim today. As I was getting out of the pool I realized why I love the water so much... when I stepped onto the deck my back was reminded about the extra 30 pounds I'm carrying around.

Happy Halloween... I'm 32 weeks

For Halloween I decided to dress up my belly as a cute little pumpkin. I texted this photo to a couple friends and family and received one reply from our friend Jason that I just have to share...

"It's sad that pregnancy is the only time sending a pic of one's belly is appropriate."

So true Jason.

Practice makes perfect

Yes...we are guilty of dressing our cat in baby clothes. But oh my isn't Ziggy just the cutest in this pink OshKosh outfit?!

me at 29 weeks

Looking back a few weeks...

Starting a blog

After much consideration - and procrastination - I've decided to create a blog about my pregnancy and the growing bundle of joy inside me. I hope you enjoy reading about the new things JD and I are experiencing...and realizing about becoming parents!