Welcome to the world Parker!

Our crazy clan of friends got its newest member last night. Parker Valdemar Aerni joined us! He weighed in at 8 pounds and was 21 inches long. Sounds like both baby and Mom are doing well! We are just on our way to visit...we can't wait any longer to meet this little boy! Congratulations to his wonderful parents! I see many play dates with Parker and our little one in the future...hopefully, Baby Reed will be able to join us too!

This means only one more baby in our immediate circle of family and friends before ours is born! Amie & Jeff are up next, due mid-March!

Getting Ready for a Trip Home

Not too much to report right now. We did have our bi-weekly doctor's appointment this afternoon. Everything is still looking really good and right on schedule. The heartbeat today was right around 150 bpm. We also discovered that our little one is hanging out in there sideways. The head is on my left side and the feet on my right. This explains why my right side has been taking a beating over the last week or so. Ouch! Let's hope the baby decides to flip around over the next few weeks!

We are getting ready for a pretty big weekend. We haven't had one so busy in quite some time! We are heading back to Tekamah for the first time since Jess & Nick's wedding. I can't believe we haven't been there in almost 2 months. I don't think I've even been away for that long. We are definitely due for a trip home! Friday night, we are planned to enjoy dinner out with the Reinhart's. We haven't seen little Reed in a few weeks, so we need our fix! I also told Amanda we need to experience a dinner out with a newborn!

On Saturday, I'm doing a Pampered Chef show at Jess's house. This should be a good time! I haven't done an actual show since November, so I'm overdue! We have some yummy brunch recipes planned and lots of good conversation! It should be a fun time!

Then, on Sunday Auntie Jess is throwing us a baby shower for all of my family and all of Craig's. I'm so excited for this! I know Jess is going above and beyond for this one! I can't wait! I really hope a lot of the family members are able to come. I haven't seen a lot of them in quite some time...especially on Craig's side! Baby Mencke is already so spoiled, I can't imagine what it will be like after Sunday!

Between all these planned events, we will hanging out with our families and spending some quality time. Izzy will get some running in on the farm, which she loves so much! This will be good for her as this long, crazy winter has made her a little stir-crazy! This will most likely be our last trip home without a baby, which is kinda crazy to think about! It should be a great weekend, but I'm sure I'll be worn out by the time we're home on Sunday!

32 Weeks

We hit another milestone tomorrow at 32 weeks...8 months! Where has the time gone? It seems like it was just yesterday that it was a sauna out and we were adjusting to the fact that we were going to become parents. Crazy! My how time flies!

We are feeling pretty good these days! I'm having more and more swelling and back pain, but all of this is "normal" as per my doctor and to be expected. Craig says I'm huge on a regular basis, so I guess that means I'm also growing daily. He also says that I'm fidgety, and I say that's because I'm very rarely comfortable these days.

Daddy Craig is getting very impatient with the waiting game. We have a little under 2 months to go, and he's ready to meet this little one now! The nursery has become his "baby", so he spends a lot of time in there trying to make sure everything is just so! As you can see, it's coming together nicely! Izzy is also enjoying the nursery and getting used to all these baby things that are suddenly appearing in the house. I even found her napping in the nursery all by herself last week. It was very cute! I have a feeling she will be involved in all the nighttime feedings, and may even make that room part hers!

We met with a pediatrician tonight after work! She was really nice, and I am confident she will be good for us and the baby! Another big "check" off our list!

Nursery Progress

Well, I finally took pictures of our nursery progress thus far. We have made some serious strides in the last couple weeks. I'm loving how it is turning out. I cannot wait to see it when it's all finished, which won't be until after the baby is here as we have some gender and name specific elements planned.

So, let's start the tour...

Our super cool clock, so we know exactly what time those nighttime feedings are happening!

Our paper lantern mobile-ish decoration. I think the baby will be entertained by it from both the crib & the changing table. So far, these are my favorite part!

A glimpse of the changing table and the crib.

Our new Lay-Z-Boy recliner/rocker with our curtains and valance. Grandma Les made our valance for us out of some extra fabric that matches the bedding Kaitlyn & her mom are making for us.

A better picture of the crib & changing table.

So there it is in all it's green glory! Like I said I'm really loving it so far. Just a few finishing touches left! Craig has worked really hard with putting everything together and hanging everything up. He's been really patient with me throughout this process. I think he's done a great job!

We did a little photo shoot the other day with Izzy because we wanted a special picture of her to hang in the nursery. These were our favorites...

She looks more puppy like in this one...probably why I liked it so much!

Here she is getting ready to pounce!

And, this is her all cute and cuddly!

We had our latest check-up with the doctor today. Everything is still looking really good! I'm measuring right on schedule at 31 weeks and all of my labs are within my normal ranges. I'm also finally gaining a little weight, which is good since I hadn't much up until this point. Now, let's hope I don't balloon too much over the next 9ish weeks! Here's a picture from today, as you can see I'm definitely growing. The color got a little funky with this one...not sure why!

Another baby joins the world...

My cousin Scott and his wife Sara just welcomed their second son into the world this morning. Leo Marshall made his appearance weighing in at 10lbs 8oz. These two sure have big babies! From what I hear, "little" Leo came out with a full head of curly black hair! Congratulations Scott & Sara! I can't wait to meet the little guy!

Up next, the Aerni family! I'm predicting sometime late next week, but we shall see! I know they are ready for their little guy to enter the world, and we are so excited to finally meet him!

We hit the 30 week mark yesterday. This seems like a pretty big milestone in this pregnancy journey! I can't believe we're down to 10 years. So far time has flown by, I sure it doesn't start to drag here at the end! Yet another reminder to keep cracking on the to-do list!

Happy Friday!

Coming along nicely...

It's been a while...sorry, this post of rambling may be a long one! We finished our baby class last week. I think all-in-all it will be very helpful for us. If nothing else, it will take some of the bad "surprises" out of the birthing process. I kind of like to have an idea of what something is before it's happening to me. We are trying to take an open mind to the whole process. I'm trying really hard to not set myself up for disappointment. I hear a lot of stories about moms that have these set birth plans, no drugs, no c-sections; and then, something happens that forces them to deviate from their plan. They end up feeling disappointed and almost like a failure. I think the moms that can do it all without any drugs, are courageous and strong...I would love to be one of them, but I'm trying to be realistic and do what's best for me and our baby. I think trying to go with the flow as much as we can will be our plan, whatever happens happens and all that matters is a healthy baby in the end. The baby class also made it all the more real for both of us, which I think is a good thing! Right now, I think it was worth the time, ask me again in a few months!

We have made significant progress on the nursery over the last few days. On Saturday, Craig & Grandpa Steve put together our changing table (courtesy of Grandpa Steve & Grandma Jaccie), as well as our bassinet (courtesy of Grandpa Gordy & Grandma Les). Baby Mencke is already getting spoiled by his/her grandparents! It's still weird for me to see all this baby stuff in the house, just waiting for the new arrival. We also got our travel system yesterday, so Craig assembled that while I was getting a prenatal massage. This is also courtesy of the Bryant grandparents. I'm not going to lie, it's pretty cool. Our baby is going to be riding in style! Even Daddy Craig thinks it's cool!

It's fun to watch Izzy react to the new additions to the room. She thoroughly "inspects" every item and gets pretty playful with some of it. We had fun with the stroller last night...it got her fired up! Speaking of Izzy, I am totally convinced she knows something is going on. Aside from her behavior changing throughout the last few months. Most recently, she has started getting up multiple times a night to have a bathroom break or to eat. This is not like her at all...she has been sleeping through the night since she was a tiny puppy. It's like she knows I need to get ready for these nighttime feedings. I'm thinking...I need to be sleeping when I can now, and she's not helping! It probably doesn't help that I'm tired all the time again now!

I've been feeling all right. Not quite as good as I felt a month ago, but not horrible either. I'm really tired again and my back has been hurting more and more. It's harder for me to get comfortable every day. I've also been having more headaches again. I'm still able to get through the day and accomplish most of what I want to do, so I shouldn't complain. It will all be worth it in the end. I just have my moments when I'm feeling extra whiny! I also feel like I'm getting bigger on a daily basis, which is good because I haven't felt like I've grown a whole lot up until now!

We have our next doctor's appointment a week from today. I'm looking forward to it because I think the appointments from here on out will be more "involved". Up to this point, it's "how are you feeling?" "any questions?" "well, everything looks and sounds good, we'll see you in 4 weeks!". After this one, we'll start going every 2 weeks...another sign the end is near!

One of my goals for the week is to take and post some pictures of the nursery progress, and I may even throw one in of my growing waistline! Stay tuned...

Oh, and we're still struggling with the name game--girls specifically, so any suggestions are welcome!