"My Bags are Packed & I'm Ready to Go" (Almost)

No, I'm not "leaving on a jet plane", but I am getting ready for a life-changing trip...to the hospital!

I had a doctor's appointment Tuesday that really made me realize that Collin will be coming soon! I am still not dilated (sp?) but everything else that needs to happen to start the process has. The doctor also estimated that he weighs approximately 6 1/2 pounds - how cute! I have also started to maybe feel some Braxton Hicks contractions? I'm really not sure at this point since they don't hurt too bad & are not really frequent, but I think there is something going on!

My friend Rachel gave me this idea - and to update this list after the big event to let people know what I couldn't live without, what I really didn't need, and what I wished I had but didn't. So, here is what I have so far...

Here is what I packed in Collin's bag:

4 Outfits (complete with matching hats and booties) - Okay, I know that 4 may be a little overboard since we already know that the hospital will supply clothing for the first few days and since we will only be there for 2 days, but it was really hard to decide on my favorite outfits! Son's favorite is a FSU onesie that he bought - it says "My first FSU T-Shirt" - with a FSU hat and matching booties that our friends Winnie & Alan gave us. I packed the cutest "going home outfit" that my neighbor Frances from TX bought us. It is light blue with smocking at the top.

Receiving Blankets - I picked out a really cute elephant one that my Aunt Becky gave me at Christmas, a matching polka dot one from the same set, and a lamb one from our friend Joy (I just got this one on Sunday since Joy wasn't able to make it to the shower & it was too cute!).

Burp Cloths - Our friend Catherine gave us an adorable giraffe print burp cloth with Collin's initials embroidered on it that I just had to include!

Pacifier - We really haven't decided if we are going to give Collin a pacifier yet (I put "do not offer pacifier" in my Birth Plan), but I wanted to bring one just in case...It is a really cute green mini neo pacifier that my mom gave us - she already had a stocking made up for Collin this year at Christmas, and she had given him about 4 or 5 different types of paci's to try!

Diapers & Wipes - this also might be unnecessary since the hospital provides these also, but it was weird packing the diaper bag without any diapers in it, plus I got the cutest diapers & wipes case that I wanted to pack (am I going a little overboard here?)

Car Seat & Base - okay, this isn't actually "in" the bag, but it's by the back door - close enough

I still haven't finished packing my own bag...most of the stuff that I want to bring I use on a daily basis (toiletries, toothbrush, slippers, etc) so I am not sure how that is going to work if I have to go straight to the hospital & Son has to go home to pick up the bags!! I can just imagine what he would pack - it would probably be pretty funny!

I did go out last week & buy some comfy PJ's from Old Navy & Target. I know that I could just wear the hospital gown like everyone else, but those things are definitely not made for someone my size & I just feel really unattractive in them - I know this will probably be the last thing on my mind once Collin arrives, but is it so wrong to want to look decent in the million pictures that we are going to take at the hospital??

I originally wanted one of the BYOG gowns (http://www.shopbyog.com/) until I found out how much they cost - I don't need to spend $95 on something that I am going to wear once (but they are super cute)! When I finally do get around to packing here is what I plan on bringing:

Julie's Bag (To Be Packed Soon):

Extra Fluffy Pillow

Blanket - probably one of the quilts my grandmother made me & a few smaller throws - I've heard that it can get pretty cold in the hospital

PJ Pants & Tops

Cute "going home" outfit

Slippers

Toiletries

Book

DVD's - probably Fireproof, Disney movies, and an action movie for Son

Camera & Charger

Cell Phone Charger

**Do any of you have more ideas of things that I need to bring?? I am totally clueless here (all I have to go by is a list I got in Lamaze class). I would love some suggestions here on what I need to bring for myself, Son & Collin!! Please leave a comment if you have a suggestion.

Thanks!

Julie

PS - Only 11 more days! I can't wait!

18 Days & Counting

I went for my 37 week follow-up appointment today. It was pretty quick - we listened to the baby's heartbeat & measured my belly - everything still looks on track for the due date, which happens to be only 18 days away - WOW! They are going to check me again next week to see if I am starting to dilate, so that is exciting. They checked me last week, but nothing yet - just starting to soften & thin out.

I decided that I would like to have the baby on April 9th or 11th. Obviously what we really want is a healthy baby in God's timing - but if it were up to me I would pick one of those 2 days. Why?? Well, My birthday is March 9th & Son's birthday is July 11th, so I thought it would be neat if Collin had the same date as one of us.

Lately it has been really hard to concentrate at work! I think that I am just so excited that it is hard to think about anything else, plus I have finished training the people that will be filling in for me, and I am not taking on any new major projects, so I have more down-time than usual. I have really gotten caught up on a lot of things that I had been putting off, but it's been difficult to stay focused & motivated.

In other news, Son's sister Tram will be coming to visit sometime this summer (probably June) so we are excited about seeing her, Brian & their son, Jaeden! Here are some recent pics of Jaeden, isn't he gorgeous!!! I can't wait for him to meet Collin. They will have fun growing up together,I just wished they lived a little closer than Hawaii! Although, maybe if they are still there in a few years we will be able to save up & make a trip to the island! That would be fun!

Jaeden driving his tractor around with dad watching!
Have a great day!

Happy Birthday Mom!

In honor of my mom's birthday (which was this past Saturday), here are 10 things that make me want to be just like her!

1. She loves me unconditionally & she let me know it - no matter how bratty I could be (and trust me, bratty is putting it nicely) to her while I was growing up she always let me know how much she loved me! I am sure that sometimes she wanted to slap me, but she was always there to hug me, say an encouraging word, or give me a chance to apologize.

2. She is fun to be around & very outgoing - my mom has tons of amazing friends (and many of them I am happy to call my friends too!) and she was always encouraging me to be more outgoing and talk to people. I have a tendency to be shy & a little nervous in big groups of people, but my mom was (and still is) always there to make me feel better.

3. She taught me manners - this is a big deal. I had the words "Yes, ma'am" drilled into my brain from a very early age, and if I didn't use them then I had to say it again! Now, when I hear children talking to adults without saying "Yes, ma'am" or "No, sir" it drives me crazy! It has actually become so much of a habit to me that I say it to pretty much anyone...this is definitely going to be high on my priority list with Collin. Also when we were growing up and we were invited to a birthday party we were supposed to go up to the friend's parent and thank them - this was incredibly embarrassing, but I am glad now that she made me do it.

4. She made me go to church - she was a great influence on me in this area and I realize now how blessed I am to have such wonderful godly parents who brought me up to love the Lord. Also, when I moved to Florida she found First Baptist for me. When she came to visit me we went to "big church" together and she picked up one of the brochures with all of the phone numbers on it - then she threatened me that if I didn't start going to Sunday School and meet some people that she would call the Singles Ministry and have them come visit me! I think I was in Sunday School the very next week :) Also, this is where I met Son, so if she hadn't made me get involved we may have never met...thanks Mom!!

5. She loves my dad - this is another thing that I appreciate more and more now as I get older. I never once worried that my parents were going to separate or get divorced - my mom used to say that they had taken that word out of the dictionary. Believe it or not, I cannot remember one single fight or argument that they ever had! I am sure that there were several behind closed doors "discussions" as every couple have, but growing up I was never aware of it - and this is a huge blessing for a child to grow up in such a secure home.

6. She lets me make my own decisions - my mom never oversteps her bounds or tries to be pushy with me - sometimes I even wish she would tell me what she thinks I should do more. She is so sweet to Son & I and never once has she criticized us or any of our decisions. I know so many people who always dread holidays and trying to please their own parents along with the in-laws, but with my mom she makes it effortless. She is also very open minded. I am sure that there have been several times that I have come to her with some idea that she probably thought I was crazy - but she always listened to me and let me explain where I was coming from before she gave her opinion.

7. She makes me feel special - I know that this is pretty much a mom requirement, but my mom really has this mastered! She was always telling me how beautiful I was, how good I was at dance, how smart I was, etc. This was a big help to my self esteem especially in difficult times, she was always there with an encouraging word to make me feel better!

8. She always takes my side - whenever I had a problem or was upset about something she was unconditionally my #1 supporter. This continues to mean a great deal to me because I know that no matter what the situation, she is always there to back me up & I knew that no matter what I had to tell her that she would always believe me. I know that if she is able to be here when Collin arrives (and we are praying hard that she is!) that she will be a great advocate for me in the hospital. I know that Son will be amazing also, but together, the two of them will have me totally relaxed & taken care of! I remember one time at school I had gotten in trouble for something that really wasn't my fault or a big deal, but the vice-principal had called me in his office and made me cry - well I think that my mom was in his office the next day letting him know how she felt about the way he talked to me. Way to go mom!

9. She was always involved in my life - when I was growing up it seemed like my mom was at my school every day! She was a homeroom mom, art mom, and PTA volunteer for like a million years! I remember that in 2nd grade she even filled in as a substitute teacher a few times - once she had bought me I think some cowboy boots and brought them into the class to show me - I felt so special! She also always took me to dance practice and gymnastics class and stayed to watch me most of the time - I loved that. She always made friends with my teachers, the school nurse, and the principal so that she would know what was going on, and so that they would know that I belonged to her! I always knew that she was very proud of me!

10. She is my mom! She belongs to me & I know that she would do anything in the world for me. No one else has a mom like mine (okay, except for my sister - but even then she always made me feel special and one-of-a-kind) and even today she does all of these wonderful things for me - even from a thousand miles away!!

Happy Birthday Mom (2 days late)! I love you!!

Pictures!!

Here are some recent pics of what we have been up to lately & of course the 36 week bump - it's now funny to call something so huge a "bump" I think mountain might be more appropriate!

Matt & Annie helping us out hanging the letters above the crib - as previously mentioned in another post, this project was not as easy as it looks...

Son goofing around with the diaper cake - I love this picture!

The 36-Week "Bump" haha - I think it is a little larger than normal because I just finished eating Chinese Food when this picture was taken - yum! I really wanted sweet & sour chicken and the veggie dinner - so Son ordered me both! How embarrasing that I ordered 2 entrees! Oh well, I guess I should take advantage of it now while I have somewhat of an excuse...and I am sure that Son will enjoy having the leftovers tomorrow!

Pictures from the wonderful shower that Rachel & Annie hosted for me:

Me & Angela

The wonderful hostesses - Rachel & Annie!!

What a cute table for all the goodies!

Tama, Angela & Jessica filling out the guest book pages - these were so fun to go through! Each guest had to draw a picture of me, tell a funny story about me or Son, and guess the details of when & how Collin would make his entrance into the world - along with several other fun questions.

Baby Lilo (my niece) hanging out on the couch after the shower & then in Collin's swing watching Baby Einstein videos - I think she was upset that I was blocking her view of the TV! We had a great time with our visitors, I just wish they could have stayed longer. BTW - isn't her hair the absolute cutest! It sticks straight up like that all the time - I love it!

36 Weeks!

I received one of the Pregnancy Update emails this morning that I had subscribed to when I first found out I was expecting - and it says that at the end of this week my baby is considered "full term" and could come at any time! Wow! It is really exciting to know that he would be perfectly healthy, but scary that it could happen any day now.


We actually have some friends (Ryan & Mandy) who originally had the same due date as us, but they soon found out they were having twins, which I guess come early like 99.9% of the time, so their due date was adjusted to the end of March. Well, they had their twins last week and everything went great. They had to stay in the hospital a few extra days, but are healthy and doing well. They each weighed over 5 lbs. I am really excited to meet the first of Collin's little friends!


This weekend Matt & Annie came over for dinner Saturday night, and we got the letters hung over the crib that spell out Collin's name - it was a real pain to get them straight, but it looks so cute! Son & I also packed Collin's bag for the hospital.

Happy Monday!

Quick Note

This past weekend really flew by! We had a lot planned, and had a great time - here is a run-down of what we did:

Friday Night - Son's mom, twin brother, Quoc, our sister-in-law, Kim, and their daughter, Lilo, cam in town to visit us!! We went over to a family friend's house for dinner (it was a great Vietnamese meal - I have really missed Vietnamese food since we haven't been able to travel to Pensacola in a while).

Saturday Morning - Saturday morning Son got up and made us all breakfast - waffles, bacon & eggs - yum!! While we ate Lilo watched some of the Baby Einstein DVDs that we have for Collin - it was so cute to watch her, even at 3 months you could tell that she really got into it.

Saturday Afternoon - Then we got ready for the Baby Shower that my friends Rachel (www.thehotpinkpolka-dot.com) and Annie hosted for me. We got there around 11:45 and I was totally overwhelmed with everything they had done! Rachel has pictures on her blog, so you can check them out there - I will be posting them here soon, but our Internet crashed at home last night, so I will have to try again tonight. The theme was "King of the Jungle" and everything was so adorable. They truly must have spent countless hours making all the decorations & getting everything ready. The shower was scheduled to be 12 - 2, but everyone was having such a great time that several people stayed till after 4pm! They really set the bar high for future baby showers in our group - and we have quite a few coming up in the next few months...

Also during the shower Son had a guys get-together at our house. The grilled out burgers, played basketball, and darts. On a side note - Beau loves to be outside when we are, so Son had let him out to hang out with the guys. After a while he noticed that he didn't see Beau around so they all had a mini search party to find him...to make a long story short eventually Son found him sitting in the car, just hanging out & watching all the guys look for him! I can laugh about this now, but if I had been there I would have been hysterically crying, trying to call 911 & probably about to kill Son! All's well that ends well...

Saturday Evening - After the shower I was completely exhausted! I went home and we visited with our guests until they had to leave around 5:30, then I took a nap for a few hours and we went back over to Annie's house to hang out!

Sunday - Sunday morning we went to church, and were supposed to go to lunch with Rachel & Jeff before they had to head back home to Charleston, but I got a call from work that I had to come in at 2pm, so I had to rush home & get ready. I was already planning on working Sunday, but the original plan was to go in around 6pm. I got home around 8:30 and crashed!

Monday - Monday was my birthday!! I woke up and went to work, but on the way in Son called me and was the first person to wish me happy birthday, then my mom called about 10 minutes later, and my dad called me about 5 minutes after that - so the day started off great with lots of good wishes. Then my co-workers took my to Crisper's for lunch (which, BTW I don't know if anyone else has been there lately, but I do not like their new menu! They got rid of like my 3 favorite things!) That night Son took me to a special birthday dinner at Ruth's Chris - we had an awesome waterfront table overlooking the St. John's river & the main street bridge - it was so nice!!

So, that's a summary of our crazy/wonderful weekend! I promise pics as soon as my home computer is cooperating again!

20 Pounds, 34 Weeks & Counting

Well, it's official - I am now 34 weeks & have reached the 20 lb mark...I know that this is totally normal, but it's still a little scary to step on the scale & see an additional 20 pounds! According to my doctor, you are supposed to gain 25 - 35 lbs, and since I was short/small to begin with they guessed that I would be at the 30-35 lb range. I just thought "there is no way" that I would gain that much - especially since the baby will probably be 6 - 8 lbs. Apparently it's all the other "stuff" that really is the majority of the weight - and trust me, I have plenty of the other "stuff" right now! My friend Elizabeth is very honest on her blog about the other "stuff" so it made me take a good look in the mirror lately and yes, sadly, I now have the dreaded "back fat" as much as I hate to admit it.

Up to this point I have really loved being pregnant - and I still do, but lately I have started to feel really tired again, and now my back is killing me by the end of the day. I know that it will be all worth it once I finally get to meet this little baby that is growing so quickly!

This past weekend I finally got around to washing all of the clothes that we have gotten so far. We have really been blessed and little Collin is going to have a full wardrobe by the time he arrives. We received several hand-me-downs from Son's sister Tram - she has a son, Jaeden, who turned 1 in September and has given us several of his outfits. Then last week, a girl at work who has a 1-year-old brought in 2 huge bags of clothes that he has outgrown!

This past weekend I also hosted a baby shower with Angela for our friend Mary Beth who is due 1 day before me! Here is a group picture while we were getting everything set-up for the big event. From L to R: Angela (Approx 11 weeks), Julie (34 weeks), Mary Beth (34 Weeks), Whitney (Approx 16 weeks), and Erin (not pregnant - that we know of :) - That's a lot of pregnant bellies in 1 picture!

This Friday my mother-in-law, Son's brother Quoc, and his wife Kim are all coming in town to visit and Kim & Quoc they are bringing their baby girl Lilo - she was born in December. We got to see here over Christmas, but I can't wait to see how much she has grown since then! I'll post plenty of pictures after the big weekend! They are coming in town for my baby shower on Saturday that my friends Rachel & Annie are giving me - I am so excited!!!

And, last but not least - an updated pic of the bump. These were actually taken last week, so they are the 33 week pics. The picture on the left I took myself, so it's a little awkward. The one on the right Son took for me (notice the TV in the background - he was willing to take the picture but didn't want to get up off the couch - haha!)

Happy Monday!

PS - Special Prayer Request: Son and I have started praying about a big decision that we have to make for our family and are praying that God would give us the wisdom to make the right choice, and that we would be able to distinguish God's will from our own. The prayer request is unspoken for now. Thanks!

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." James 5:16