28 Weeks and counting!

The last few weeks have been pretty eventful and productive for us! The baby has been getting a bit more active, or at least more "determined" in her kicking. Last week at work she gave me 4 good solid kicks that actually caused my belly to visibly jump out each time and prompted me to laugh out loud in an inopportune moment during a phone conversation. Whoops! (In fact, she is kicking pretty good at this very moment...)

I also took a routine diabetes test that showed I am negative for gestational diabetes, so that's good news!

Baby has definitely been growing, as she is getting heavier and heavier, and I am finding it a bit more challenging to move around. But thankfully I have more of a desk job these days, so I don't have to be on my feet all day. It actually looks like she/I had quite the growth spurt from week 25 to 26:

Erich and I hired Bonnie Slater to be our doula; she will assist during the birth and also meet with us before and after to offer support, training, and assistance as needed. She came highly recommended from a friend who had hired her, so we were excited that she was available. She tells us that in April/May she will be assisting with her 500th birth! Maybe we'll be the lucky #500! As an added bonus, she dabbles in photography and will take photos of us and the baby after the birth for no additional charge.

We also signed up for childbirth, infant CPR, and infant care classes through the Longmont hospital. My mom plans to join us for the infant care class and both mom and dad will be attending the infant CPR class as well.

This last weekend we managed to cross off a major item off our to-do list and bought a new car to replace the Expedition Erich had for a number of years. We found a great deal on a 2010 Toyota Highlander and snatched it up, trading in the Expedition for more money than we had anticipated.

And of course, my nesting bug has continued in full force. A few weeks ago I went shopping with my mom for various baby room decorations, and we found quite a few goodies, including a lamp that will match the nursery theme perfectly, an area rug, and a storage solution for the nursery closet. 

Portfolio 72" Antique Bronze Leaves Floor Lamp from Lowes

Baxter Marigold Rug from Crate & Barrel

Alas, the rug I really wanted and fell in love with is no longer available in the size we need:

Danita Rug from Crate & Barrel - the one that got away

Erich and I assembled the closet storage system shortly thereafter, with the help of Sleuth & Maidchen. Sleuth showed no fear whatsoever as we banged away at the rails with a heavy mallet  happily weaving in and out as we worked (leaving little doubt as to why the expression "curiosity killed the cat" exists!):

We also selected the colors we want to paint the baby room and got the accent wall done yesterday (also with Sleuth's help, who sniffed at and licked the masking tape and assisted Erich in removing screws from the walls):

The rest of the walls will have to wait until we have another free weekend day!

We also started gathering estimates for black-out window coverings for both the nursery and the master bedroom and hope to have that decision finalized soon! 

Wow, it sure has been a busy few weeks!