Beautiful Snow and Baby Gear!

St. Louis got 6" of snow on Wednesday...which is already melting, sadly. But doesn't our house look beautiful covered in snow? 

Thursday night we set up the car seat, stroller, and pack and play, figuring if the baby comes early, these are the things we need most and first. 

More Progress!

In between working on the crib quilt, I made this (maybe less important than the quilt, but SO CUTE!) elephant. Ed spent this weekend and several nights this week working on the window, door and floor molding. Thanks to his new favorite toy, a nail gun, the floor molding is done! I think I'm still ahead in the competition though...especially because I'll be spending the weekend sewing while Ed is in Aspen skiing! :)

Baby room progress

I would say that in the race to finish our projects for the baby room, Ed and I are about tied right now. We did bring in a ringer to help this week...mom flew down for a few days to help us keep moving along. She was a huge help! (And without her, I would definitely be in the lead...)

On Tuesday, she and I sorted baby clothes/blankets/towels/supplies, washing everything new, and making piles until the dresser is done.

On Wednesday, while Ed and I worked, she painted the walls of the baby room.

On Thursday, she painted the molding for the room.

She also helped me make huge progress on the baby quilt. She cut and ironed while I sewed. I still need to assemble the quilt, but here's a preview. 

34 week belly shot and baby room progress

Here's my latest belly shot...sorry, no wet suit for this one! 

With the weekends before d-day rapidly disappearing, the long weekend for MLK day was filled with baby room work! Ed taped and mudded the dry wall in the closet and the cracks in the rooms, and I squeezed into my paint clothes to test our color choice on the wall.

Ruble Family Baby Shower

The weekend of January 10th, Ed and I took (my) last trip before the baby comes: to northeastern Ohio for the annual Ruble family Christmas party at a lodge. This year had an added activity: a baby shower! Alice and Alli did a wonderful job planning from afar--everything was so well organized that you'd never know the food, decorations and favors had made the trip from NC to Ohio! It was great to spend time with all the aunts and cousins for a few hours (the men were kicked out of the room for the event). The shower featured pulled pork sandwiches and pasta salad, a delicious cake from a local bakery, and color-coordinated (teal and brown) decorations and favors. We received some fantastic gifts to help welcome our baby into the world!

31 week and 32 week belly shots

I couldn't resist putting a second wetsuit shot in here for the 31 week shot...who knew they made them in maternity sizes? (we'll be exchanging it for a slightly smaller size that the non-pregnant me can wear this summer!) 

32 weeks...my belly is definitely getting in the way of ordinary activities now! (like putting on socks, bending over, rolling over, etc.) I hope this tank top that I've been wearing in all these pictures makes it to the end! 

13, 2200, 5

Those are the vital stats of our holiday adventure. 13 days, 2200 miles in the car, and 5 different beds. Whew! It was worth it, but we sure are glad to be home now. 

Swenson family Christmas

From Lexington, we drove to Milwaukee by way of an overnight stop in Cincinnati to see friends. We had some more wonderful relaxing days in Milwaukee with my family, with of course, more good food. We watched Northwestern almost pull out its first bowl win in 50+ years, celebrated Barb and Frank's 34th wedding anniversary with them and mom and dad at dinner, and simply hung out. On "Christmas morning," Ed and I modeled our wetsuits...he wanted to get me one with a little extra space, but didn't think I'd actually be able to get it over my belly now! I call this my Shamu picture. Mom and Dad got books from Jenn to ensure that the baby understands its' cheesehead roots. Ed and I got gifts for ourselves--ski bags--and a super soft lion for the zoo-themed baby room. We spent New Year's Eve in Madison with Jenn and Patrick at the Melting Pot (yay!) and had our traditional Christmas brunch with Grandma, just on a different day. We capped the trip off with another family tradition, a trip to Maggiano's for loads of family-style Italian food. Definitely part two of a great Christmas trip!

Ruble family Christmas

We started the holiday season at the Rubles' house in Lexington, NC. Our days there were great: lots of food, relaxing, and spending quality time together. We even took a trip to the YMCA to swim and went to Cooks', one of the local BBQ joints for dinner one night. Yum!  There were 10 of us this year--next year we'll be 12! The weather wasn't the sunny days that NC has a reputation for, but we did get out in the rowboat on Christmas day--a far cry from a white Christmas! 

Ed brought his guitar, since he'd been practicing Christmas carols, and let Jakin strum while he played the chords. After Alice and the kids made cut-out cookies, I helped Annie and Corban decorate--with lots of frosting, lots of sprinkles! Mary Beth and I both got cute outfits for the babies, which we tried on the guys' stomachs. Ed and I got some adorable smartwool socks for the baby (and some for ourselves too)! I brought my snoogle pillow to help me sleep, and Corban, Annie, and Ed all tried it out as well. Ed loved his new argyle sweater vest--doesn't it look great with the plaid pajama pants and red shirt? Mary Beth and I took another belly shot, with some help from Annie, who is very excited about her little sister to be and kept talking to the "peanut" in my belly. We really enjoyed the four days of togetherness and can't believe that the family will have two new members the next time we get together!