34 Weeks

At our 34 week check-up, everything was great!  It's still exciting every time to get to hear his little heart just pounding away.  He is still a very active little guy, even though he's quickly running out of room.  He has been measuring a week to a week and a half big for over half of the pregnancy.  This could mean that he might come a bit earlier, or might be a bit bigger, or it might mean nothing at all :)  We are just overjoyed that he is still a happy, healthy, growing little boy.  These pictures were technically taken at 34 1/2 weeks, but I'm sure no one is counting that closely except for me!

Our first REAL family Christmas Tree!!!!

This Christmas we decided we were tired of using a fake tree and really wanted to get a real tree.  Jayden and I had never had a real tree before, and it had been quite a while for Matt as well.  We (Matt, Jayden, Hank, and I) decided to go to Bosch's Tree Farm and it was amazing!  Jayden decided he wanted a "fat and tall tree."  We set out among their six fields to find our version of the perfect tree.  I think we will definitely do this again, despite the pokey needles.  We ended up with a beautiful blue spruce and had a great time decorating it as well.

 Matt and Jayden took turns pulling the sled before we got the tree.  Hank was especially fond of the rope attached to the sled!  He had as much fun there as we did!

The real needles made for a bit more difficult decorating session, but it was worth it!

 Matty the light master!

 Jayden looking for the perfect spot for each ornament.

 Even Cole made it for this picture....all of the boys with our Christmas tree!

Hank really loves the tree.  He even enjoys munching on the needles (ouch!).

Jayden's Gingerbread Train

For the past two years we have created a Gingerbread House and Gingerbread Village while at the Clouse House.  During Thanksgiving this year, Jayden decided to make a Gingerbread Train.  He worked really hard on his creation and was quite proud of it :)

31 Weeks...Time is flying by!

Today (11/20/12) we are 31 weeks along!  We cannot believe how quickly this pregnancy is going by.  We feel that we have so much to be thankful this Thanksgiving and holiday season!  All is going great.  We had a bit of a hiccup last week, but that was due to no fault of our own.  I had to take my 1 hour Glucose Tolerance Test last Tuesday.  Despite the fact it's a 1-hour test, the nurse decided it would be okay to take my blood after only 40 minutes.  However, much to no surprise I got a call the next day that my results were high and I needed further testing. Further testing meant I got to fast for over 12 hours between Friday and Saturday, report to the hospital Saturday morning at 7:45 am, and stay there for almost 3 1/2 hours.  After drinking twice the amount of the gross glucose drink, having my poor vein poked 4 times for blood, and waiting until Monday, I found out that I passed with flying colors and all was normal.  We are very thankful that I do not have Gestational Diabetes, however, a bit frustrated that this whole thing could have very easily been avoided.  Oh well, moving forward :)  I do not have to go back to the doctor until 34 weeks, so for now, we're just enjoying our crazy little wiggler and my ever-expanding belly!  Our countdown has now moved to single digit weeks (9 to go), which seems a bit surreal.  

Hopefully we'll soon be posting about our newly built nursery; right now we're still nailing down a contractor, but hopefully tomorrow we will be able to make the final decision.  Matt and I just ended our first trimester of school today, so that was an accomplishment.  It seems strange that the year is 1/3 of the way over already....time really does fly!

Baby Shower 10/28/12

Thank you so much to everyone for such a wonderful baby shower last Sunday!  It was a great time.  Matt and I were completely blown away by everyone's generosity.  A special thank you to Debbie, Katie and Karen for organizing the shower.  Aunt Andy deserves a special shout out as well for making all of the favors!  Thanks again everyone!!!!  I will try to post some pictures at a later date, but I can't seem to make that work right now.  I, of course, forgot my camera (I forget everything these days...Jayden says the baby is sucking out my brain!), but I'll work on getting some soon.

Halloween 2012

For Halloween this year Jayden wanted to be the Incredible Hulk.  He was a great one :)  We thought that Hank should be something too, so he was a skeleton dog (that glowed in the dark).  Hank was great with his shirt until he peed on it and it was too wet and cold to wear.....the shirt lasted for one house haha.  I stayed home and passed out candy while the boys went trick or treating.  It was a fun time!

28 weeks along!

We are officially into the third trimester of pregnancy!  It's crazy to believe how quickly it has gone by so far.  We are very blessed to have had a fairly uneventful pregnancy.  Baby is doing well and growing daily it seems.  He is still extremely wiggly and also stubborn (like how he prefers to stop being so wiggly as soon as anyone wants to feel him move).  We can't wait to meet our son :)

Baby Bump - 24 Weeks

Our baby boy is growing, growing, growing!  He moves a lot during the day.  Yesterday for the first time, Matt could actually see my stomach jumping up and down and moving all around without even touching it!  It's such a cool experience to fell your little one in there and know he is doing well.  I have not really gained too much weight at this point, but my baby bump is definitely getting larger.  I actually enjoy pregnancy, and am trying to really be thankful for this little miracle every day!

Jayden turned 6!

Jayden's 6th birthday was Wednesday, September 6.  We decided to celebrate a few days early with a few family members.  After having a pizza lunch at Bottom's Up, we all went to the Renaissance Festival.  It was a great time!  Thanks to everyone who thought of Jayden for his birthday, it was a great one this year!

Jayden's super hero cake

The Renaissance Festival even had a petting zoo (thanks Aunt Katie)!

Hmmm....this fence is intriguing!

Might as well squeeze in some time to throw a few axes.  Matt actually got 2/3....not sure if that's a good talent or a bit scary :)

We used some of Jayden's left-over cake on the actual day of his birthday (with candles this time....my pregnant brain lost the first set over the weekend haha).