week 34

It's so hard to believe that I have (approximately..) SIX weeks left. The part of me that is uncomfortable and exhausted thinks that six weeks is entirely too long, and little Ethan needs to come sooner. The part of me that is thankful that I am not yet responsible for Ethan's little life outside the womb thinks that six weeks sounds great!

Yesterday, I decided that it was time to paint those doors. Austin took the doors down and laid them on drop cloths in the garage and I set out to paint them! They also need to be trimmed, but we're really ready to be done with the nursery so I opted to paint them first. We are crossing our fingers that trimming the bottom (an inch or two because of the thickness of our carpet) doesn't damage the paint too much...

I kind of like having the doors off. It's so much easier to shove those boxes of diapers in there when they're not in the way..(click here to see the guideline we're using on to how to stock up on diapers before baby - note that we think E will weigh more than 6 lbs, so we're minimizing the newborns). However, I know the closet won't always look this neat, and getting into the closet will be much easier when the doors have been trimmed.

The closet in his room came with this
awesome storage system!

We had a shower (thrown by the hosts of our church small group) on Saturday with some friends from church. It was so awesome! Our church takes a small group haitus in the summer, so it's always awesome to gather with them, even if it's just to hang out. We're glad they're starting back up September 9th, since Ethan shouldn't be here yet and we should get to be there! We got a lot of really awesome, useful gifts from them, including some really cute clothes. Some, in particular, support our Cougar addiction pride.

As you probably noticed, in the above closet shot, we did receive a lot of clothes from Kristin, Austin's sister, whose son is about a year older than Ethan. Unfortunately, they only had UT gear, since that's where Aunt Kristin went. Not our kid, he's a Coog like his parents!

Don't you love these?!

The cake was delicious - and so cute!

We're looking forward to the next round of showers! I have a shower with my company (more like a sweet luncheon, I think) this Friday, one thrown by my aunt & cousin-bff, and one in two weeks thrown by Aunt Kristin (& Gigi). We're so blessed that so many people want to be involved in Ethan's life & help us get started with this sweet baby!

How far along? 34 weeks

Weight gain: 19 lbs?
Maternity clothes? None, aside from my belly band! (I get excited when I get to wear normal clothes)
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: It has been great, aside from waking up with those sharp mini-contractions.
Miss anything? Being comfortable!
Movement: Lots! Little guy is still head down :)
Food cravings: None. I'm lucky if I even get hungry.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing, as long as I take my heartburn meds!
Have you started to show yet: Yes
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: Not official ones
Belly Button in or out? IN! Barely, but it is in!
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Tired. Always tired. I need that caffeine!
Looking forward to: More baby showers, Labor Day/a three-day weekend, and a fantastic date night before little E comes!

I have to say, I am finally at peace with the birthing process. It's just scary when all you hear about is the pain and the grossness of it (and a short mention about how beautiful and miraculous it is). An epidural is in the plans, however, only God knows how things will go. We've agreed to do whatever it takes to get little Ethan into this world safely... and we've been working on that for almost 8 months now! (I really can't wait to meet our son!)

love,

PS - here's a little snippet of what our evening "walks" look like with Bear. We're so fortunate to have this little bayou so close to our home!