0 days?!!?

The question is: what are you waiting for Mason!? Although more people will say things like "you've got at least another week", I choose to be the optimist and believe he is going to come any moment now - nothing wrong with that, right?! My Mom is here and we've got plans to do all we can to make this happen... starting with Eggplant Parmesean for dinner today that supposedly induces women within 48 hours. Walking, Castor oil, and a trampoline are all in the near future as well. Hopefully Mason will decide the time is right, since we think it is! Now if I can just get my hospital bag packed...

Visiting!

It has been fun getting to see some folks from Freshman year in these past few months -- including Manda, Becca and Jenny during Conference weekend, Stacy at my shower, and Shauna this past weekend! Thanks goes to Kelly Clarkson- she lured Shauna to my neck of the woods! Considering it has been 6 years since my Freshman year (whoa), it is pretty cool to see how things have changed for all of us - and not changed at the same time! Here are some lovely pictures of Shauna and I on Brigham Square, highlighting the fact that I am about to pop any day now!

Jack in the box

Well, here we are, counting down -in the SINGLE DIGITS! I liked the comparison Tia used for this countdown - like a jack- in- the- box that you turn, and turn, and turn, and then...! If only it were more of an exact science. The clothes are washed, the diapers are stowed, the crib only lacks one thing - the baby! Although Sammy fits quite nicely in many of the baby items (he is somewhat attached to the diaper changing pad...), I am certain that Mason will fit the ticket better! I've been checking out different things that supposedly induce labor - anyone have some of their own family secrets for bringing about the anticipated event? I'm all ears :)

Corn Delight!

Although we went for the corn maze, I think the giant corn pit won my vote as the coolest event at CornBelly's (the huge pipe slide might have been a close second but I didn't get to slide down it bc of my 'maternal' state)! This might be partially due to the fact that we are apparently no good at mazes. :) After finding clues 4 and 5 repeatedly, we finally made it out of David Archuleta's head... whew!!

Believe it or not, that is me there in the corn - Matt even managed to bury little Mason!

Ellie showing off her corn angel abilities

I kept finding corn for the rest of the evening... including this nice pile of kernels I found as I was getting ready for bed that night!!

Camp Out!

Or Camp-in?  Whatever you want to call it, we had a sweet Young Women's 'retreat' a few weeks ago!  We stayed in this adorable cabin up Provo canyon and had a BLAST!  How could it not be awesome with amazing bbqed turkey breast (can I say 'wow'? SO GOOD), camp songs, a 'faith walk', games, testimony meeting, fabulous breakfast, and more!?  Thanks to Matt (and Brother Hines) for being troopers and staying in a tent on the lawn -in the cold- as our protectors :)  And thanks to the ladies and young women for giving up the only bed to the two pregnant women!  

Cute Cabin!

There is always room for one more!

We've got skills :)

The home stretch!

36.5 weeks - wow! I feel like a broken record, always talking about 'time' lately - how it seems like it will creep by and fly by... but really, truly, it is amazing how slowly and yet quickly time is passing! We are so excited for little Mason and we know he will be here so soon!

As you can see, there is definitely a baby in there... and I'm suspecting he'll be a good size! With my Mom's kiddos being mostly in the 8-9 lb range, I'm just trying to prepare myself for what may lie ahead :) As far as the doctor's visits go, everything is checking out a-o-k! No troubles with protein, the blood pressure is fabulous, and swelling isn't an issue either (my ankles will often feel or look puffy by the end of the day... but nothing big). And, if those babycenter and american pregnancy emails are telling the truth, word is that I won't be noticing much of a change in my measurement and weight in these last few weeks? I like the sounds of that! We'll see if the pictures tell otherwise!

The nursery is also just about complete! All I lack at this point is wall decor... which... hopefully I'll get around to doing! If not, I promise to post some pictures soon anyway. Ah, nesting at its finest! I don't think I have much else to report... just that we're excited and anxious! Till next time...

33 weeks! Yay!

Ah, a few days late on the picture again, but hey, better than nothing ! Here I am at 33 weeks(should have been taken at 32 weeks)... as you can see, I'm on the out-n-out as Mason continues growing at a generally rapid pace - he is gaining something like a half a pound a week at this point! I still can't believe how soon he'll be here - and yet not soon enough. :)

So, the other week Matt and I were in Wal-mart together when suddenly he says, "I have a surprise for you... stay here!" and wanders off into isles. I was completely clueless... and usually I am really good at guessing surprises :) Several minutes later he returns triumphantly with a body pillow in tow! He was beaming as he told me that 'everyone' said I needed one so he was insisting I get one. Unfortunately, the Wal-mart pillow had seen its day (it was the only one he could find - and he found it on the floor somewhere... it looked a little rough) so we opted to pick the pillow up another day elsewhere. Well, we finally got one and... I think I need to take a moment to say: I LOVE MY BODY PILLOW! I can't remember the last time I got as much 'good' sleep -- I woke up less than 5 times the first night and only one of those required a trip to the little ladies room (this is quite a feat!). Hallelujah!

Besides sleep-deprivation (which I realize this is just the beginning of many years), I have been feeling really good! I've got the what I'd call 'normal' aches and pains - ribs achy, feet hurting at the end of the day, etc., but all in all it really has been good. I had a check up this past Friday and had a little elevated protein, but not enough to be too worrisome -- just enough to keep an eye on. My blood pressure is still great and no swelling is going on, so we'll keep our fingers crossed that all continues well! Only a few more weeks little guy...

We are continuing to get closer and closer to feeling like we've got what we need to get this operation started -- we just got our stroller and car seat and the crib is on its way! Here is a picture of the 'travel system' (stroller & car seat)... as you can see, Sammy thinks its for him! We also have the painting done and the blinds are ordered! I look forward to posting about the process of the room and showing the finished product!