Picture Catch Up

Blogger seems to be having some issues with their picture upload feature. I have been trying to put these pictures on for a while, but seem to get error messages each time. Hopefully this time it works, and you can actually see the pictures. Please let me know if you just see empty boxes where the pictures are supposed to be.

Here are the past few weeks of pregnancy pictures:

34 weeks:



35 weeks:



36 weeks:



37 weeks:



As you can see, the baby is growing and growing and growing. I'm going to the doctor later on today. I have to go weekly now, and today they start checking if I am dilated. Only 3 weeks to go. Aughhh!

Here's the new crib that I wrote about in the last post. It's neat because it can turn into a toddler bed and then be used as a headboard and footboard for a full sized bed when the baby is big enough:



And here is the picture of our office closet with my new, super cool pegboard for organizing my craft/scrapbook supplies:




(all of those white boxes on the top shelf are pieces for countdown boxes.) I love the pegboard. It's so nice to be able to use that wall space and get to things like ribbon and tape without digging through a box. And do I ever really use a hammer when I'm scrapbooking? No. But that's a tiny little hammer that would get beat up by the real hammers if I put it on Ernie's pegboard in the garage.

How many Norwoods does it take to put a crib together?

Step 1. Notice in the weekly Target ad that cribs are on sale. Discuss getting a new one for the upcoming baby.

Step 2. Do absolutely nothing about this.

Step 3. Bring Samuel's old crib up from the basement.

Step 4. Contemplate why you kept this crib since:
a) it was bought used off craigslist in Denver 4 years ago.
b) the function to raise and lower the side rails has never worked.
c) actual pieces of crib are being held on with zip ties.

Step 5. Figure everything in Step 4 really isn't all that bad and proceed to put the crib together anyway.

Step 6. Get 7 out of 8 screws to work, do their job, and actually hold pieces of the crib together.

Step 7. Attempt to get screw #8 to work.

Step 8. Repeat Step 7 until you are ready to tear your hair out.

Step 9. Decide old crib is going in the trash.

Step 10. Go to Target to buy new crib. Make sure this is one day after the crib sale is over. Because, you know, it's fun to pay more money for the exact same crib that was on sale until the DAY BEFORE.

Step 11. Decline offer from Grandpa Bob to take his truck because surely the crib will fit in the Jeep.

Step 12. Wrong.

Step 13. As helpful Target employees try to fit enormous crib box in Jeep, realize there is no way to fit yourself, your mother-in-law, your child who has not napped all day, and a super huge crib box all into 1 car.

Step 14. Call Grandpa Bob and ask him to bring his truck to Target.

Step 15. Entertain non-napping child for 15 minutes in the Target parking lot. Decide it would be a good idea to get him some popcorn from the Target snack area and let him eat it in the Jeep.

Step 16. Wonder how 1 bag of popcorn can make such a huge mess.

Step 17. See Grandpa Bob arrive. Have Target employees load crib into the back of his truck.

Step 18. Drive home and unload super huge crib box. Ignore the fact that somehow the popcorn has multiplied and now there is more popcorn on the floor of the Jeep than there was originally in the bag you purchased.

Step 19. Rejoice that screws on this crib actually work and that there are no zip ties in the hardware packet.

Step 20. Take picture of new crib for blog (coming soon.)

Step 21. Fill with baby (also coming soon.)

Zucchini

This summer we planted watermelon, zucchini, and radish seeds out back. The only thing that has grown so far is the zucchini. Here are some pictures of the 3 of us displaying some of the zucchini that our plants have produced:







And here's Samuel wearing Ernie's hat:



And here I am at 32 and 33 weeks pregnant ( I forgot to flip the pictures in photoshop, so the numbers are backwards in the mirror) :





Those pictures are from a few weeks ago. I still need to take weeks 34 and 35 and get those posted. I had a doctor's appointment this morning, where my stomach measured 35 cm, so I am right on track. The baby's heartbeat was at 150 again, which is right in the middle. I now start going to the doctor every week for a checkup. I'm not having any contractions or anything yet, so I'm not worried about the baby coming early. Of course, I know that can change at any second, but so far everything feels just fine. The baby moves a ton (mostly at night) and gets the hiccups now, which I remember Samuel did all the time too.

Everyone asks me if I think the baby is a boy or a girl. I honestly have no idea. With Samuel, even before we got the ultrasound, I always felt like he was a boy. With this baby, I really have no clue. It will be a total surprise, which I am excited about.

In general, I feel a lot more relaxed about this pregnancy than I did with the first one. I'm sure it's because things are not as new as they were last time. Examples:

1. Last time, I remember waiting eagerly for the weekly email from babycenter where it told you what size the baby was (a sweet potato! a melon! etc...) This time around, I still get those emails, but sometimes I don't even have the time to read them. I figure that I can feel the baby move, and I can see that the baby is growing, so everything else will just fall into place.

2. I'm not making some complicated birth plan (I didn't have one last time either).

3. I packed my bag for the hospital and put hardly anything in there since last time all I used from home was a pair of socks.

4. I have yet to enter a Babies R Us since we have just about everything we need left over from Samuel.

5. We're not taking birthing classes this time around. We're not even going on a tour of the hospital in Fort Wayne. I imagine someone will just direct us to the right floor when I am in labor (either that or people in the cafeteria will get more than they bargained for with their meal).

I have heard that people are more laid back with their second kids. Hopefully that attitude will stick around once the baby is actually here!