Home Sweet Home

Now that the dust has settled and our bags are unpacked, I've finally found a chance to write about our week last week. We didn't take the camera, but came home with much more than pictures could ever have captured.

On Monday, January 18th, Rob's grandmother Elanor, a.k.a Grambo, passed into God's arms at the glorious age of (almost) 95. While it wasn't completely unexpected, it was still sort of a shock to most of her family and friends. She was Grambo! She didn't give up! Her 80th birthday present to herself was to go heli-hiking in the Alps. She wasn't one to take life lying down, she was a wonderful person to all who knew her, and I heard her described more than once as a "firecracker!" Even though I only met her one time, her memory will be lasting, and we won't miss a chance to tell our children about her.

Tuesday morning we headed to the airport (early) and after three flights we landed in Cleveland, OH, around midnight. During one of our layovers Rob got a call from a company he applied with and was able to do a phone interview before our next plane left. Perfect timing! :) Hopefully he'll get to do a second interview in person at the beginning of next month, but more on that later.

The rest of the week was full of family time, good food, fond memories of Elanor, and exploring the city. Even though there was some sadness, it was a great way to spend the week and we know we won't soon forget our time there. It was nice to get a chance to meet (and catch up with) more of the Shankland family!

Friday morning we got up at 5:00 am, which is really 2:00 am for us west-coasters, and headed again to the airport. Flying at 6 months pregnant is uncomfortable enough, but being that tired didn't help things! We made it though, thanks to Rob. He's a wonderful daddy already!

Papa moose flew with us to Chicago, and from there he went home to Denver, and we flew to San Francisco. After 2 delays and a gate-change, it was getting late and we almost decided to just rent a car and drive home! It's only about 15 hours, we can do that, right? Yeah... Um, I'm pretty sure someone would have ended up walking home if we'd tried that... I was *a bit* cranky by this time. I'd like to take this opportunity to again thank my wonderful husband for not leaving me at the airport and continuing home without me. It wasn't the most friendly day I've ever had. Sorry, honey. :)

At long last we made it home, and I think I lasted about 20 minutes before falling dead-asleep on the couch. But what a week it was! We are so blessed to be a part of a family that loves each other so much. It was more than obvious that Elanor was a driving force in the family, someone that helped to mold and shape many of the kids that came through her home (Rob being one of them!) and she will be greatly missed. I think Rob said it best: We're sad for ourselves but happy that she's home now with God.

Thank you, Elanor, for all that you were to all of us. You'll be in our hearts forever.

Sunday Update

So, not much to report over the last few weeks, but I do have a few pictures to share!

26 Weeks:

27 Weeks:

It feels like I’m getting bigger by the minute! Here’s where the baby is at 27 weeks:

27 weeks: a cauliflower!

I’m feeling pretty good lately! We’ve started taking Bradley Birth classes, and we LOVE them. I’m really learning a lot about why so many people have complications during birth, and how to (hopefully) avoid those complications. We’re going to try and bring this baby into the world without drugs, and this class is really helping to prepare us for that.

On Tuesday we have an appointment with our doctor and we plan to discuss how they feel about natural birth. Last week we toured the hospital where we plan to deliver, and they seemed very open and willing to work with us there; I hope the doctor feels the same way. Because it’s a whole “practice” that we go to and not just one specific doctor, it’s been hard to get a feel for that kind of thing at each of our 5-minute doctor visits when we’ve gone in. So this time we’re just going to ask a ton of questions and see what we get! So many people have scoffed at us for our choice of having a natural birth, be it friends or acquaintances, unfortunately I’m kind of getting used to it. If the doctor turns out to be the same way we have no problem finding a midwife or different doctor more in tune with our expectations. I just hope we don’t have to go through that!! Wish us luck, I’m not really looking forward to that part of the appointment.

Also, I took the glucose test for gestational diabetes last week and passed with flying colors. I am SO GLAD I don’t have to do that again- whoever decided that making an already dizzy pregnant lady drink some overly-sweet, syrupy, sugar-high-inducing drink and then drawing her blood, was a cruel, evil person. Oh, and did I forget to mention that they don’t want you to eat anything other than toast before the test?? It was awful! I thought I might pass out in the lab as we were leaving, and I think I scared another pregnant mom walking in after me… oops! But at least she knew what she was in for! YUCK, I don’t look forward to doing that again for the next baby. But, lets not get ahead of ourselves there… :)

In other news, we started the Dave Ramsey envelope system for our money this month, and so far it’s working pretty well. It will take another month or so to get used to it, and get out of the habit of just handing over the plastic card all the time. Even with debit cards it’s too easy to just spend and not think about it, so this cash-only system seems like it will help us immensely. So far so good! My sis-in-law Katrina sent me a link to a really neat site that has templates to make your own envelopes to use (go here to check it out!), and I got out my craft stuff and went to work! I’ll post pictures of how it turned out later, but I’m pretty impressed!

And now, I would like to highly recommend you all go out and get a new bed. Not just any bed, THIS bed. We were blessed with it as a Christmas gift (THANK YOU MAMA AND POP SHANKLAND!!) and until we slept on it for a few nights I really had no idea how bad our other mattress had gotten. So go. Now. Go out and get one! It will change your life. I promise. :)

100 Days!

I'm sort of having a freak-out moment here. 100 days left until baby Shankland is due. Really? Wait, where did the time go?!? I can remember sitting on the couch with Rob talking and planning our wedding, and then there was the entire year after we got married that I nagged him about starting our family and having our first baby... and now there are only 100 days left until she's here!? HOLY COW!!!

It seems like the waiting and waiting and waiting is really, finally, getting close to being over!! I can't wait to meet our baby girl!!

I am so excited I can hardly stand it! Migraines, swollen feet, heartburn, I can take it.

Only 100 days to go. :)

Happy New Year! It's 2010!!

This week marks 25 weeks pregnant! HOLY COW time is flying!! I’m not very good at marking our progress with the weekly pictures anymore because it seems like the pages are just flying off the calendar faster than I can keep up with them! But, here I am at 25 weeks, in the nursery that we’ve been working on!

And here’s the punkin at 25 weeks, too!

25 weeks- a rutabaga!

She’s been kicking up a storm these last few weeks, and Rob’s had the chance to feel her quite a bit! I’m also noticing fun things like pinched nerves, swollen ankles, and that oh-so-fun heartburn, none of which are too bad, but all are still VERY annoying!

So, we’ve been spending a little time in the baby’s room getting things put together. We don’t really have a theme, but we are going with mostly pink and green. I did find some cute bedding that has pink elephants on it, though! Rob painted the walls and hung the blinds and the curtain rod, and we got a beautiful baby quilt from mom and a few cute pink outfits for Christmas. I think it’s starting to come together!

Here is the room so far. (Hooray for Other Mothers, they have great stuff for a good price! We got the crib, stroller, pack-n-play, and a bouncer there. I’m sure we’ll be back!)

A close-up of the quilt my mom made. It’s so soft, and just the right colors! I can’t wait to wrap our baby girl in it!!

We found a dresser on Craigslist the other day too, we just need to paint it. It’s cream and pink, but the rest of the furniture will be white, so the poor dresser looks like it’s yellow. So, Rob’s going to paint it white for me.

We still have a lot to do, but I feel like we’ve come a long way! All we need furniture-wise is a changing table and a glider. So far so good!

As it IS New Years Day, I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you about some of our plans for 2010. Can you believe another decade has passed? I’m starting to feel like the older I get, the faster the time goes! I guess my folks were right. :)

Of course, the biggest part of this next year for Rob and I will be the arrival of our baby girl. We can’t wait!!

And on that note, we’ve both decided that it’s time for a “money makeover” if you will, and I’ve started reading Dave Ramsey’s book Financial Peace. We hope to be able to be a one-income family when the baby arrives, and we need some help to get to that position financially between now and then so I can stay at home with her if at all possible.

I gotta say, after reading only the first few chapters of his book, I can really see why so many people rave about Dave Ramsey and his money strategy. It’s not gimicky, or schemey, or complicated, or anything like that. It’s just common sense tools to use to help you better manage your money. If you haven’t read the book yet, I highly recommend it.

(Sheesh, I sound like he’s paying me to advertize! I promise he’s not, I’m just a big believer already. I’m excited about getting back in control of our money!)

I also hope to start sewing a little more, at least as much as possible with a new little one in the house, and Rob wants to find a more stable job. He has a few feelers out there, wish us luck! If we can we’d also like to take a trip to Seattle to see my brother and his family, and our friends there. We have a wedding to go to on the East coast in October (yay Andy and Alex!) and want to make a stop in Denver somewhere in there too. I guess I’ll learn what it’s like to travel with a baby! :)

No matter what the year brings, we' both feel very blessed to be where we are, and hope to be able to spend lots of time with family and friends. Here’s to a great 2009, and an even better 2010! Cheers!!

23 Weeks!

I really can’t believe how fast time is flying now. 23 weeks already?! Wow. She’ll be here before we know it!

So, these pictures were taken last week, and tomorrow is technically 24 weeks, but I didn’t want to miss posting these.

Getting bigger!

Me and dad in front of the tree at their house. 

We’re just days away from Christmas and I’m happy to say that I’ve got all my decorating, shopping, sewing, and wrapping done. Finally. YAY! All that’s left is the baking!

I’m excited for Christmas this year. My nephew Hayden is about 11 months old, and this (of course) will be his first Christmas. I can’t wait to watch the mayhem that ensues when they put him in front of the presents and let him go at it!! :) Hopefully we’ll have some more good pictures to post soon!

 

Baby Pictures!

I finally got around to taking some still shots of the ultrasound DVD they gave us at the doctor’s office a few weeks ago, and here they are! Enjoy our baby's first "pictures"!

In this first one her hand is up by her head, so it looks like she’s got a little Mohawk! But it’s just her fingers.

Here’s the one the tech said was like “she’s sitting on a copy machine”. She looked for a long time and was very confident the baby is a girl. Rob suspected that was the case all along! Hopefully she’ll forgive me later for posting this one.

Now we just need a name… Any suggestions?? :)

Also, today marks 22 weeks! I have had a terrible head cold all week, so no pictures of the tummy to share. But here’s where the punkin is:

22 weeks, a spaghetti squash! WOW!

I’ve been feeling kicks a lot more regularly than I had before, which does wonders to ease a worrying mind (which I always seem to have lately). I can’t wait to meet her!

This weekend I’m hoping to get started on my Christmas baking and get my Christmas cards sent out. Here’s to hoping I get it all done!!

Have a great week everyone!

Today

Have you ever had that “stuck-in-a-rut” feeling, like you’ve been doing the same thing for too many days in a row and you just need a change? Me too!

Today I got the chance to go with my mom to get out of the house and do a little Christmas shopping. We had a great time! We got a little of this, and a little of that, and I was able to cross a few things off my Christmas gift list.

We also stopped in the maternity section at Kohls, and I ended up with these (thanks, mom!):

GREATEST MATERNITY PANTS EVER. And they’re corduroys, who would have thought?! I’ve never owned a pair of cords that I can remember, but I’m telling you now, if you don’t have some, YOU NEED SOME. They are fantastic!

Also, my Dad had picked out a shirt for a Christmas present, but somehow it ended up as a Happy New Shirt present for me today instead. See?

It’s a great shirt! Very comfy, and the sleeves actually fit my too-long ape arms. I think I need about 17 more of these!

So, a nice day out and a few new clothes can really make a difference. I feel great today! I’m feeling the baby kick here and there also, which is just about the greatest thing ever. :)

How was your day today?

So Thankful

I can’t begin to tell you how thankful I am this year. There are so many things I’m grateful for, I don’t even know where to begin…

My wonderful husband. What a year we’ve had! A new job, a few ups and downs, and now starting a family! I love you very much!

A baby! We are very blessed to be pregnant and can’t wait to meet our daughter in April. I can’t believe I’m already more than half way there! Time is sure flying by these days.

A supportive (and understanding) family. I couldn’t ask for better parents or parents-in-law, or better sisters or brothers, or nephews! Thank you all for being there for me and being patient with me this year, and especially these last few months in particular! I couldn’t do this without you.

A nice house, good cars, clothes, food, basic necessities. There are so many people out there without these things, I do my best not to take what I have for granted. Sometimes it’s tough.

Stable jobs for Rob and I. While there may be changes coming, it’s wonderful to have good jobs right now and a (more or less!) stable future. And no matter what the future holds, we’ll get through it together.

We had a fantastic- if eventful- Thanksgiving! The food was good, the company great, and only one person needed stitches! :) Poor mom, just as the turkey was being carved and we were sitting down to eat, she cut her finger and dad had to take her to the hospital. It could have been far worse though! 7 stitches and 2+ hours later, they were home and we finally got to eat all the fantastic food! I think I was full all weekend.

The baby is doing great and kicking all over the place! Rob finally got to feel the “mini mango-tree legs” in action! Maybe we have another soccer player on our hands. :) We go in again tomorrow to the doctor to review the ultrasound results; he wasn’t there last week when we got the ultrasound done. The tech didn’t see any problems, and was VERY certain that she’s a she, but the doc will tell us all the details tomorrow. Almost 21 weeks! Sheesh!!

I hope your Thanksgiving was as good as ours was. And now it’s time for Christmas!! I can’t wait. We decorated our tree and the living room last night. Here’s to hoping I’m able to get the Christmas cards out on time! :)

Long Awaited

I have to apologize for the delay since the last post. It's been a while! We've been fighting off a flu (well, Rob has, I didn't get it thank goodness), working on Christmas presents, gearing up for Thanksgiving, things have just been busy lately!

I don't have any pictures to post, but I do have one bit of news I'd like to share. We went to the doctor today for our 20 week ultrasound. 20 weeks already! Time is flying! So, the baby is healthy and was moving around a lot, she said the size and height measurements were right on track for our April 14 due date. And...

We couldn't be more excited!! Thanksgiving is this Thursday, so we'll have lots of picture-taking opportunities! I'll make sure to get a few good ones and post them shortly. We hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving too! We sure have a lot to be thankful for this year. :)

Celebrate!

We have lots to celebrate this week! We hit the 17 week mark with the baby on Wednesday, my good friend Lesley got married on Saturday, and Rob was baptized on Sunday! Hooray!! I don't have pictures of the wedding or the baptism yet but as soon as I get them, I'll be sure to share.

I do have pictures of 17 weeks! It really seems like time is starting to fly by lately! I have been getting LOTS of headaches, but a little Tylenol and (doctor recommended) caffeine here and there is really seeming to help. Now if I could just find a good solution to the 4 AM snack breaks, we'd be all set! Unfortunately I am not a big fan of waking up to eat. I guess it's good preparation for when I'll be getting up to feed someone else though, right?


Rob wanted to be included this week also, so here he is at 17 weeks too! :)

And last but of course not least, here's the punkin this week!

17 weeks: a turnip!

My mom is out of town for three weeks training for her new job at Dex. We're all very excited for her! It's actually the same job she retired from 9 years ago, but it had been calling her back and she couldn't stay away. She said she feels as if she never left! I'm glad it's working out so well, but we do miss her when she's gone! Good job, MOM! :)

Well, not much else to report on this week. I have a few friends that are pregnant and one that is getting pretty close to her due date. We're praying for you, Jess! Hang in there!

Have a good week everyone!