Landon's Fun Birthday Facts....

Your baby's half birthday is February 14
Your baby's birthstone is Peridot or Jade (Married Happiness)
Your baby's Astrological Sign is Leo
Your baby's Flower is Gladiola or Poppy (Orange, Red and Light Green)
Your baby was born in the Chinese Year of The Brown Earth Cow
Your baby will start kindergarten in 2014, be old enough to drive a car in 2025, finish high school in 2027, and will graduate from college with the class of 2031, give or take a year. Can you imagine?

Basketball Belly!

My picture taking hasn't been the best lately since it seems like I've had to take them of myself the past few times. But I figure you can still tell the 'bump' is growing! And oh how it's growing...I can tell big time that I have popped out alot more just this past week. I went from a halfway small bump to a good size 'basketball'. I can tell I've definitely dropped the past week or two and I'm guessing that's what's making me look more round and stick out a little more. Needless to say this is only making me feel more uncomfortable (especially when I'm sitting) and so I'm getting more and more anxious to be at the end of this. But I keep thinking only 4 more weeks to go!

Car Seat...check!

So I officially feel like a "Mom" now! It is finally starting to sink in and seem more 'real' now that I have my car seat installed in my car. Jeff and I went to the car seat check at State Farm this afternoon where a few workers from OSF were there to install and teach you how to install your car seat. It was extremely helpful information and we were in and out of there within 20 minutes. Now Jeff knows exactly how to install the base in his car and we'll feel good knowing their in there properly.

Augh, still breech!

At my last Dr's visit on 7/31 (I was 34 weeks), we had a sono and learned that our little guy was still breech. He's definitely being one stubborn baby and just isn't wanting to cooperate with Mommy! At this sono he is weighing 4lbs. 15oz. and measuring 16 inches long. They are guessing he'll be around 7lbs. 4oz. at birth, which I think is a perfect size! His heartbeat has definitely slowed down a ton, beating at 135. Jeff attended this appt. with me since we were having a sono and I'm glad he did as we were able to talk to the Dr. about possibly getting the "External Version" procedure done where she tries to manually turn the baby from the outside. Over this past week I have done lots of research on the procedure and read of the risks that could be involved, along with asking everyone I know if they've had or know anyone that's had this procedure done. My sister knows a few people so I have been able to get additional info. from them and learn of their experiences. Jeff and I decided all along that we'd love to hear feedback and advice from other's but overall we were going to make the decision on our own and not be influenced by what others thought. At this point we were 99% sure we would go ahead with the procedure but wanted to wait till our next Dr's appt. to ask a few more questions before making our final decision.
Today (8/7/09) we had another Dr's appt. and Jeff went with me again so we could get a few more questions answered and make our decision on the procedure. She checked his position to find out he's still breech. :( Of course this was no shock to me as I can feel his head and know that it hasn't moved since last time. I have to keep a perfect posture anymore otherwise his head puts terrible pressure pain in my rib cage and makes me feel very nauseas. He seems to be a little scrunched in an awkward position right now but that must be comfortable for him. (??) Dr. still thinks I'd be a good canidate for the procedure so we have decided to give it a "go" and so we have it scheduled for Sunday, August 16th. We will most likely be at the hospital all day cause we have to be there 2 hours before, it takes anywhere from 5-45 minutes to do the procedure, and then approx. 4 hours for the epidural to wear off. Since I'm getting the epidural I shouldn't be in much pain during the procedure but I've read and heard that I'll be pretty sore and in pain the next day or so as this usually causes some bruising. After all the Dr. is putting her entire strength on my stomach and physically making the baby do a somersault inside me. Pretty amazing stuff! But please pray that all goes well and we don't run into any complications, otherwise they'll have to do an emergency c-section on the spot. This being said we have to have our bags packed with us and be ready to go just in case! But if everything goes smoothly, we'll go back home after the procedure and wait for baby Landon to come when he's ready to enter our world!
Today (for the first time) she also checked my cervix and I'm dilated to a "1" and I'm 80% efaced. Yay, we're making some progress!
This afternoon I went by my friend Robin's house to visit and see baby Alexa for the first time. She is so precious and it was nice to hang out and talk "baby" and hold sweet little Alexa...it definitely made me more anxious for Landon to come and to hang out and have playdates with my other Mommy friends. :) I have partially realized how much my life will change (for the better!) and how much I have to look forward to....I truly believe "The best is yet to come!!!"

Flower delivery from Daddy and Landon!

Today was my office day and I was pleasantly surprised around 9:30am with a delivery of a beautiful and colorful bouquet of flowers which came from my little 'Landon'! The note on the card said: "To the greatest soon-to-be Mommy....From, Landon". Let's just say, Daddy is already teaching him well! :)

This definitely brighten my day and put the biggest smile on my face. I cannot believe how blessed and lucky I am to have such a wonderful, thoughtful, and sweet husband...he is the best and will also be the best Daddy too!!!

Second Baby Shower!

My two wonderful sister's were the hosts of my second baby shower that was held on Saturday, August 1st! Lyndsay had it at her new beautiful home and we definitely packed the living room/kitchen with all of my good friends and some family. It was such a great time! The shower was from 10-12 so we had brunch, then played two fun games that had me cracking up, and then I opened a ton of great gifts! I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family and I'm anxious to share mommy-hood with some of my close girlfriends! Jeff surprised me by showing up at the tail end of my shower, just so he could carry out all of my gifts to the car so none of us girls would have to mess with it. Now that's what I call a wonderful and thoughtful husband! When we got home and everything was carried in the house, I sat on Landon's floor and started going through the gifts, quickly becoming overwhelmed by it all. It seems these past few weeks that I have lost all motivation to do anything or get anything done. I'm not sure if this is a normal feeling or not but it has hit me pretty hard and I just feel so exhausted and worn down and I think I'm starting to get more and more mentally drained as well.

Here's the awesome diaper cake my friend Nina made...she's so creative! Thanks again Nina for making this for me...you're the best!

Here's my 2 sister's (the hosts), Lyndsay & Leslie. Thank you guys for making my day so special!

The quilt my Mom made for Landon...I absolutely love it!

Jen, Lyn, Me & Tiff

Les, Ashley, Me & Alli - my nieces are so beautiful!

This game was ridicuously hilarious! Everyone had to get in teams of 3 to cut and paste parts of me and parts of Jeff's face in order to create what Landon will look like. Then I got to be the Judge. Let's just say I hope that Landon doesn't look like any of these pictures (lol)!!

Maternity Pics, Baby Shower & 34-wk Belly Pic!

Here's a "sneak peak" of our maternity pics that Jeff and I had taken down at Bradley Park on Sunday. Samantha from S&D Photography took these and did a great job! We had alot of fun taking the pics and Jeff kept making comments and cracking jokes to make me smile and laugh...one of the things that I love about him! :) After we were done Sam asked if we'd like to take more pics at our house on another day, so of course we accepted. Sam ended up coming over tonight (Tuesday) and we took some in the nursery and a few in the bedroom. :) I'm anxious to see all of the pictures after her and her fiance get them all edited and put on a cd for us. I look forward to getting a few printed and hung in the empty frames in Landon's room. I know Landon will grow to see how much we love him and most importantly how much Mommy and Daddy love each other. Our marriage is and always will be #1, which I know will make Landon a strong and loving father/husband someday.

My first Baby Shower was hosted by my wonderful Sister-in-Law's (Christy & Amber) and Mother-in-Law. Here are just a few pictures of this fun day...the first one is of my Sister-in-Law's and darling little niece, Lexie. The middle one is of my Mom and older sister Leslie and 2 adorable nieces, Alli and Ashley. Christy had this adorable cake made for me by one of her graphic designers at work. That's me sitting on the cake...I was so impressed with this and just absolutely loved it! Thanks again Grant girls for making this such a special day!!

Well my belly is definitely growing and I'm starting to get stopped in stores with people making comments....and all of them have been nice so far. :) I am really starting to get super excited and very anxious to have my little boy!
Lately I have had a few rough days...Saturday was by far the worse day I've experienced so far. I woke up around 8am with severe stomach cramps. It was like menstrual cramps x10. While I headed to my 1st Baby Shower, I tried to ignore the horrible pain and stay as upbeat as I could. When I got home I laid on the couch literally all day and all night just praying over and over that they would go away. Jeff and I didn't know what to do, if I should call the Dr. or not, but I knew they would just send me to the hospital since it was over the weekend. I decided that I'd call if the pain was consistent through Sunday. I ended up going to bed around 9pm although I wasn't able to sleep because the pain was so strong and consistent. Thankfully when I woke up Sunday morning I felt so much better and all of my cramping was gone. I have my next Dr's appt. and sono on Friday the 31st and I can't wait to hear what she says about the cramping and to see if my little guy has changed positions yet (fingers-crossed that he's no longer breech!).

Dr's Appt - 32 1/2 Weeks

I had my 2 week check up today and unfortunately found out that he's now in the breech position. 2 weeks ago he was head down but between then and now he has decided to flip. I have to admit I was pretty upset after hearing this as I really want to deliver naturally. Dr. says there is still time for him to flip back and she gave me a few things to try that might help out. We discussed the option of doing the procedure to try and flip him (this is done at 37 weeks) but there are some risks involved in that. I go back in 2 weeks and will get a sono at that time so we'll see if he's still in the breech position or not. I'm praying he cooperates with Mommy! Everything else is going good and I'm still measuring right on (at 32 weeks), and baby's heartbeat was 153 today.
I'm still feeling about the same...having the same aches and pains and my feet are starting to swell a little more and becoming a little more painful. I'm just getting more and more ready to have my little guy! :)

Middle Name....check!

Well Jeff and I finally figured out what Landon's middle name will be. We are using Jeff's Father's middle name which is "Jay". Jeff is the one that came up with this while I was the one researching every modern name out there. We both decided it would be perfect, to pass on a family name (Jeff's middle name is also his Father's first name) and we also think it has a cute ring to it. I think "Landon Jay Grant" flows very well, and we figured we could always call him "LJ" for short if we wanted to. We were anxious to tell his Dad the news, so we went over last weekend and shared this with him. He was pleasantly surprised and extremely happy and honored. He gave Jeff a big hug, so it was kind of a neat moment. It seems like we stress over the little things at times, so I'm glad to know we're getting a bunch of things checked off our list of 'things to do'.

Diaper Bag....check!

I'm sooo excited I finally got the diaper bag I've been eyeing for the past few months! I'm so glad Jeff let me "splurge" on my OiOi bag!!! :-) Also it's great that it's a neutral bag so it will also look great over Jeff's shoulder!

BabyMoon and 32 week belly pic!!!!

Jeff and I took our BabyMoon trip to Lake Geneva this past weekend and had a WONDERFUL time!! It's always good for the two of us to get away together and this trip was especially nice and special since it was our last trip before having our little Landon around. We both have of course decided that these trips will still be needed for the two of us after he is here but we also know that it will never be the same, as I'm sure we'd spend alot of the time missing and thinking about him. I really surprised myself this weekend as I thought for sure I'd spend half of the time crying and feeling sad that it was our last trip. Although it was bittersweet, I was full of excitement and happiness that my wonderful Hubby and I will be starting a "family" together and we are both sooo excited to meet him and can hardly wait another 2 months for his arrival! On this trip we did just what we wanted and needed to do....R-E-L-A-X!!!!! A few of the things we did was go to the beach (my absolutely fav!), walk around and shop, go out to eat and take a carriage ride. To me that was a perfect day! I have to add that I am constantly reminded of the most amazing husband that I have. He always puts me first, takes care of my every need and is so attentive to me...sometimes I wonder how he puts up with me! :)

Landon is definitely growing and my belly is getting bigger and bigger!

Lake Geneva, WI

Here are a few pics of our trip! We always get a picture taken in front of this fountain....the carriage ride was so nice and relaxing....and the last pic is just one of me and my growing belly outside of our lakefront hotel. We absolutely love Lake Geneva and look forward to going back soon!

My growing belly!

At 31 weeks and 2 days my belly is definitely growing and I'm starting to get pretty uncomfortable and not feeling as good, so it's hard to imagine that I have 2 months to go (I'm hoping to go a little early). I've been feeling nauseas quite a bit this past week and I'm starting to lose my appetite...nothing sounds good to me anymore. Also I am super uncomfortable at night so I'm losing more and more sleep all the time. It's mostly my hips...they hurt so severly that it is hard to stand at times. I also had a rough time at the hair salon last Friday. While getting my foils put in I passed out, broke out in a complete sweat and was fighting to not get sick. Needless to say I took it easy the rest of the day and then visited my parents that evening and just laid on their couch all night (Jeff was out of town). I had another prenatal massage last night and that helped with my low back pain, at least for now. Oh how I love my bi-weekly massages!!! Jeff and I had our second Childbirth class tonight and got to tour the labor & delivery area of the hospital and learned about false and true labor, contractions, and got quite a bit of massage from our hubby's...that was nice! :)

Childbirth Class and Dr's Appt.

Jeff and I attended our first Childbirth Education class on Tuesday evening, and we have 3 more to go. We actually have a big class with quite a few young couples, so it's great sharing the same experiences with others in the class. We learned the tools of lamaze, anatomy & physiology, different stages of labor, passive relaxation and watched a few videos. I especially enjoyed the last 20 minutes of class where we got to lay in a comfortable position (mine was of course laying into my Hubby!) and focused on breathing (I have this mastered from prenatal yoga) and just relaxing. I took this time to focus on me and my baby! :) I'm looking forward to the next class where we also get to take a tour of the hospital. Jeff and I are already glad we chose to take this class as we feel it will better prepare us for the delivery of our son.

I had my 2-week appt. on Thursday and again everything is going perfectly as planned! His heartbeat is starting to drop more (147) and he's in the correct position...now lets just hope he stays that way! I go for my final sono in one month, in which I'll be 34 weeks along. I am definitely feeling the aches and pains of the last trimester. My low back is aching so badly all the way across, I get stabbing pains in my stomach from time to time, I am so exhausted, super uncomfortable when sleeping at night and my hips ache so bad it's hard for me to sleep. Dr. thinks I won't start to really feel uncomfortable until week 36, so I'm thinking the next 5 weeks can go slow! :) No really I'm super excited to meet my little Landon and can't wait for it to get here!!

29 weeks

Well I'm finally starting to show more where people can actually tell I'm preggo! And I'm starting to show in more than just my belly...boo! But I'm fine with it since I know it's for my baby boy! :) I have been feeling some pretty strange movements inside so I'm guessing he's doing somersaults and just having a little kickboxing fun! This week he's growing eyelashes and I have to admit that I hope he has some like me, as I have nice long lashes. But all the other features I hope he gets from my handsome hubby!! Happy 1st Father's Day Sweetheart!

Ever since Jeff put the crib together Princeton has been laying under there all the time...it's so cute! Whenever I can't find him I know he's under there sleeping. It's hard to tell he's under the crib but this was the best picture I could get, and don't mind the green eyes...haha. My babies have no idea there will be another little boy in the house real soon! Man, mommy is going to be surrounded by boys!! :)

Dr's appt. - 28 1/2 weeks

I had an "in-and-out" appt. yesterday cause luckily I didn't have to wait, there's been no problems, and I only had a few questions to ask. Thankfully everything is going great and my weight and belly measurements are right on track. Although nothing compares to seeing your little one through sono, I still look forward to hearing his heartbeat, as it's always reassuring that he's in there. His heartbeat has stayed in the 150's for quite some time, as this time it was at 156. I am feeling him kick all throughout the day and have noticed some daily patterns already. I have to say that I'm not sure I like the thought of him being so active EVERY night when I lay down for bed around 10:30pm...yikes, that's going to be a problem! :) Well it's hard to believe that I start going to the Dr. every 2 weeks now....I really am getting close! Although Jeff always says it can't get here soon enough. Needless to say he is reeaally excited!

Also last night we had a meet-and-greet with a Pediatrician that I've received many referrals on. It was nice to ask her some questions beforehand and get to know her a little bit before we start taking our little one to her. Jeff and I feel that she will be a perfect fit for us and Landon too! Just another thing we can mark off our list!

Jeff got the last piece of furniture put together last night....the crib! So Landon's room finally looks like a "nursery". This weekend I will try working on the wall decor and can hopefully post some pics soon...so stay tuned! Everything is coming together and I'm hoping to just be able to relax some the last month of my pregnancy.

Another exciting thing is that a friend of ours is giving us her hot tub for free!! Just ask Jeff, I have wanted a hot tub for a few years now as I really think it'll help with my fibromyalgia pain, and will be fun to have friends over and spend some relaxing nights in it. Although I feel bad for adding another project to Jeff's to-do list, it's all worth it to keep the Wifey happy! :)