Keepin' Up with the Cully Kids: September 2013

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Church Baby Shower Pictures

I thought pink would be an appropriate color to wear:)
36 weeks and 1 day

We say "Welome" instead of "Welcome" in NY...just kidding!

Beautiful cake!!!

Reading Psalm 139
Our daughter is "fearfully and wonderfully made"...

Getting ready for presents! I loved this nice big comfy seat!!

Love books!!

Barn toys...they're always thinking of Tom, too!

She's getting bigger!

Vet School/Honduras Gang!

Pictures from 37 weeks...

Nice and clean now!!

Applesauce in the making!

Ithaca Farmers' Market (hint the sign)

Yay for buying something to take back home!

Toad's Too (ice cream!!)

Forgot to mention this sweet gift...one of our friends from vet school got us this!!
We've been teasing him about pink camo for a long time, and then he pulled it off!
SO CUTE!!

Little treats/thank you's Lisa and I put together to give the nurses, midwife, staff, etc. after baby arrives.

This is where we have birthing class!

My new comfy shoes!!

Got the leggings out this week!

36 weeks and 6 days!

37 weeks!! FULL TERM!

In front of all her WASHED items!!

Friday, September 27, 2013

37 weeks...can't believe this week is finally here! (and HAPPY FALL)

How's momma feeling: Still doing great! A bit tired this week, but I think that's just from not getting as much sleep; I know it's important to get plenty of sleep, but our schedule has to be flexible to work around Tom's rotations. His next rotation won't be as early/late as the one he is currently on. Hopefully, I can sleep in a bit on Saturday/Sunday! Appetite has gone down a bit; still no major swelling. Sometimes, if I'm on my feet all day day, they start to get a little puffy at the end of the day.
Size of baby: Our appointment this week went well (quick and short). Our little one is still head down and has moved down a bit. She seemed to have flip flopped sides (usually on my right side but that day on my left), and I think she might go back and forth at her pleasure. She's still a active!! She's about 6.5 pounds and maybe about 21 inches long. Her heart rate was in the 130's, and I was measuring 36 cm.
Cravings: Not much...I am still interested in what other people are eating. I walked by a parked car the other day. The people were sitting inside with a door open, and I could see a "to-go" box. I so badly wanted to stop and ask what they had in there...so weird, but it's just what comes to mind!!
Aversions: I made a potato bacon dish and haven't touched it (good thing Tom likes it). In theory, I just don't think I want it; doesn't sound good. Maybe I'll try it this weekend.
Sleep: I am so thankful I am still sleeping well! Occasionally I will have to get up to go to the bathroom once a night, but it's not consistently. I sleep soundly and comfortably. I usually wake up a few times, but it's nothing that keeps me up.
Clothes: I pulled out a few of my fall and "bigger" clothes this week. It's been pretty cold in the mornings but warms up pretty quickly. I love fall weather! I also found a pair of comfy shoes!!! YAY! (see picture above) I wore them almost every day this week!
Exercise: Still able to do "Rockin' Body" (workout DVD's) and the gym! I wasn't able to make it to Zumba this week nor will I be able to next week. That's ok...I still just have to keep moving and strengthening! We're so close!
Looking forward to: Seeing one of my friends from PA tonight. She's coming up, and we're going to have some girl time! We also have a tea and scone date certificate we need to use up, so it will be a fun evening!
Something fun: The baby shower the church threw for us was absolutely WONDERFUL! What a blessing! We played some fun games (guess my belly measurement with yarn {a 9 year old won:)}; name that song/artist {songs with baby or baby in them}, and name the candy bar that is associated with certain pregnancy/birthing terms {ex: epidural --- life saver}. The food was so yummy...fruit, veggies, lemon bars, scotheroos, a BEAUTIFUL cake (made by one of the teens from our church and her mom), sausage pinwheels, and so much more! And the fellowship was wonderful, and the gifts were just precious! We have such CREATIVE ladies in our church. I just can't believe it! Many also chipped in for a "monster" gift which consisted of cloth diaper items off our registry! SUCH A BLESSING! I was so grateful Lisa could be there, too! It was special to share our church family with her. THANK YOU, Christ Chapel family!!
Tom met a vet student from another school who is doing rotations at Cornell at few weeks ago. They just moved here, and his wife had a baby last week. On Wednesday, I got to take them some food and meet them and see their little one. They are just wonderful! So glad to meet them and their little boy (it was good for me to be around), and I'm looking forward to spending time with her after our little one is here. They will probably only be about a month a part...so special!
FYI: Tom returned from WI over the weekend, and after he started talking and touched my belly, she started moving...I think she recognized her daddy!! That might just be an emotional mom/random thing, but I thought it was special!!
They now only let you go one week past your due date. SO, no matter what, we will have a baby in a month!! WOW!
Lisa and I got A LOT done!! We washed all the baby clothes/cloth items; cleaned and decluttered the fridge; cleaned my jewelry stand; made some applesauce; cleaned under the kitchen sink; cleaned our pots and pans cabinets; worked on our hospital bag; organized/unpacked our shower gifts; cleaned out some drawers; and had fun!! She went with me to mentoring class on Saturday. We went to Mama Goose and the Farmer's Market; on Friday, I took her to Agava...love that place!! We also got canolis and ginger beer (Ithaca has their own brand) from Wegman's (had to take her there). On Sunday we had church, snack time (some of the last to leave:)), ice cream with Tom at Toad's (I got pumpkin ice cream...HAPPY FALL!!!), and a mission trip presentation at church. She returned home on Monday, and I took the day and wrapped up everything. It was such a wonderful time!!!
My vet friends who also went to Honduras with us got to come to the shower. It was soooooo special!!! I loved having them there, too!!! It meant so much!
On Monday, I made around 4 different kinds of breads/muffins to store back for after baby!! It felt great!! One of the ladies at church also made some Happy Baby Shower applesauce for us to store back!! Such a blessing!
We found someone to cover for my maternity leave!! Hopefully, she will accept, and I can start training her on Monday! HUGE blessing!
I was the only one at birthing class last night. It was kind of fun having a little one-on-one session.
One of my friends gave us a box of girl clothes that her daughter has outgrown, as well as, a small compact stroller good for traveling/trips. We are so grateful!!
We also got a changing pad from a dear friend (randomly) this week! Such a surprise and such a blessing!!
Thank you, Lord, for: For our precious church family! WOW!! The love and support they have shown us in our time here is just beautiful. It challenges us and calls us to higher things! We're grateful for each person!!
I've been having some really good conversations with people at work; I can't even put them into words, but just what I need to hear/say before I leave...peaceful/freeing conversations. I'm just amazed this week at how the worry of leaving is going away...thank you, Lord!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Pictures from 36 weeks...

36 weeks and taking Tom to the airport...

at 5:45 in the morning:)

36 weeks...but nicely dressed this time!

WOW! I'm pregnant!

The brownies from the cow party!!

A scrapbook one of my friends made for us!

A new outfit from some of our friends who had us over for dinner last week!
Perfect for our little Cornell baby!

A chocolate chip zucchini cake made for me (to share of course) just because I'm pregnant!
I love being pregnant!
This was made by a sweet lady (who I met just recently) who is trying to get a cake business started up.
She is just too sweet!

Lisa's 1st night here...we had a mouse:)

Tom to the rescue!!
It made for an eventful evening and some reheating of the soup we had for dinner!

36 weeks...Definitely 8 months pregnant and 1 to go!

How's momma feeling: Still going strong! I still have energy; I can still walk the mile to our car at the end of the day. I can still do things around the house. The chairs in Sunday School are uncomfortable, so I guess a good seat is important to me at this point.
Size of baby: We had an appointment this week, and the midwife said she is about 6 pounds at this point (just an estimate). If she goes full term, she could be around 8 pounds...we'll see! Her heart beat was 135. I'm measuring between 34 and 35 cm (could point to the fact that she's dropped lower). She told me that if I go into labor at this point, they won't try to stop me:)...wow! She's still head down!
She's probably around 21 inches (about the size of a head of romain lettace or a honeydew). Her skin is getting smooth and soft.
Cravings: Nothing really this week. My appetite goes up and down. Some days I'm really hungry, and other days, not so much (less room for my stomach to fill up).
Aversions: A chicken/celery casserole I made...didn't settle well (I think that's what was making be nauseous before too). It came back up at 3 a.m. Thursday morning and after that, I felt just fine:) (sorry for the details).
Sleep: I am still able to sleep aok; I think we just seemed to get less of it this week. I slept in until 9:15 on Friday (after losing an hour to take Tom to the airport) which is pretty late for me...a sign I must have needed it.
Clothes: The weather changed this week...definitely fall weather now. Thankfully, sweaters are a great invention, and they still fit/look fine even when you are pregnant. I tried a bunch of shirts/dresses on that I was wondering if they still fit; my hope was to wear those that were close this week, but I didn't do that so well. I gravitate to the things that do fit well...oh well, I can save the others for future pregnancies (Lord willing of course; let's get this one out first:)).
Exercise: Made it to Zumba and can still keep up! Woohoo! I also got to do a pre-natal Pilates class with a new friend of mine who is an instructor. She's new to the area and wants to get her studio going, so she offered to give me a free class...it was a nice workout and the end of it (the relaxing part) almost put me to sleep! It was fun!!
Looking forward to: Some low-key weekends ahead to get all the last minute things taken care of.
Finding out what birth is like...weird and naive, I know, but I'm just so curious.
Something fun: My friend is here! My friend is here! We had a full weekend planned (both work and fun)...more to come next week!
We got to go to some friends for dinner on Saturday night. It was delicious; they also gave us a baby gift for Tom helping one of them to move. It's so cute and definitely will allow support her being a "Cornell baby":) (see the picture above).
We also went to a "cow" party on Sunday. Tom (along with many others) helped some of our friends get their cows back home awhile back (entertaining story), so they had a party to thank everyone who assisted. I made "Who Let the Cows" out brownies:)...it was fun!
On Tuesday night, we had a surprise 30th Sundae party to go to for one of our friends. He was definitely surprised! We enjoyed catching up with some vet friends that we hadn't seen in awhile, as well as, some yummy ice cream!
I took a 1/2 day on Thursday, and I had Friday off as well! WOOHOO!
FYI: We are now down to one midwife visit a week. All four of them are already scheduled. We see if we last that long!?!
Tom headed to a conference in WI this weekend. I usually love to go to those with him, but being 36 weeks pregnant, we thought it best that I don't go. Besides, my friend came, so it was perfect timing!! Tom was recognized for a scholarship he received at the conference (just a shout out to my husband...proud of him and wish I could have been there to cheer for him!).
I checked out one of our local pediatrician offices on Thursday. I know...not absolutely necessary, but it was nice just to see it, to ask a few questions, and to check that off my "list".
Thank you, Lord, for: Safe travels for Lisa and Tom...so grateful! And also for a whole 3 days with Lisa! What a blessing! Thank you for her willingness and the giving of her time, energy, etc. It means so much! Bless her for her time here and just for who she is!