Baby, it's time for you to come!

39 Weeks Today.

I want baby to come.

I'm tired of being pregnant.

Please pray that baby will come this week, I am having a hard time waiting.

I've been patient long enough, it's been NINE months.

Fall Family Photos

I have wanted to take pictures with the beatiful leaves and our entire family before I wasn't pregnant anymore. Me, Jon, Baby Bump and Aspen. And Nate was nice enough to say yes to the picture taking. We met both Nate and Kristen at a park up the canyon and then headed up the road to Squaw Peak to find the perfect place. The road was INCREDIBLY bumby, not very comfy for a pregnant lady. Nonetheless, we made it up and down the horrible road without going into labor. It was a beautiful evening and so fun to be out in the crisp weather. Nate did such a good job with the pictures, as you can see and Kristen was nice enough to hold Aspen when she wasn't in the pictures. We just love Nate and Kristen. After the pictures we went to dinner at a BBQ place. It was a very fun night.

So many great things are happening...

The Crib:

Jon has been working tirelessly on Chase's crib. It has been a huge part of his life for the past 3 months and it is amazing to see how talented and dedicated he is. I knew that he was close to finishing but the completion was a complete surprise to me. One morning last week, I got up and got ready to go see my friend Alisa. Just as I was about to leave, Jon was getting up and I went upstairs to say goodbye. I noticed that there was a piece of paper on Chase's door....

When I opened the door I saw this...

and then I began screaming!!!

The crib was complete and SO BEAUTIFUL!!

I was so excited I couldn't stop screaming and telling Jon how much I loved him:).

It's absolutely beautiful and crafted with such love. There is no doubt in mind that Jon already loves this little baby.

We're still in the process of making the nursery cute enough for this beautiful piece of furniture, but it's coming around. We have a little more time before he comes (I hope). And if not, we have the essentials and the rest will come in time.

So now you should text Jon and tell him he's the man... because he is:)

After all the excitement I drove to Gardner Village to meet my dear friend Alisa who was in town. This is me at 37 1/2 weeks and Alisa at 19 weeks.

We had so much fun talking about being a mom, I loved gleaning from her experiences.

Move back to Utah, please?!?

And this is me on 10.9.11 (Hilary's Birthday)

Week 38.

I have to say, I really have enjoyed being pregnant for the most part. I didn't like the first 3 months and now the Sciatica in my legs is pretty uncomfy at times, but for the most part I have loved carrying our little baby. It has been such a special time for Jon and I as we talk and plan and do projects for our little man. We have put a lot of thought and effort into how we want our labor and delivery to happen and how we want to welcome him to our family. We've chosen to use the Hypnobirthing techniques for a natural birth. It has allowed us to make decisions about labor and delivery instead of allowing others to decide for us. If you want to know more, just ask, I'm a huge advocate of it now. I will post more about it after delivery.

A tender farewell

I began working at Maple Lake almost four years ago and what a journey it has been. From the beginning, I felt so blessed to have a job that was in the field that not only I studied in school but have felt so passionate about. I have loved learning about learning differences and how to interact with people. I would like to say I'm a different person because of my time at Maple Lake, it has been a refining process. I have loved being involved with the process of change of the girls that I worked with, it has been a matter of the heart. I will miss being part of the girls' lives and seeing their progress.

Maple Lake is such a special place and was created by people that truly want to help kids with learning differences succeed in life. I have been greatly inspired by those that I have worked with and have made lifelong friendships with them. I will greatly miss seeing them on a daily basis.

My last day was Sept. 30 and it was a tender day. They took me to lunch at Carabas and then one of the therapists and the girls did a surprise farewell for me. It was a very sweet ending to an awesome experience. I will be doing some work from home working with prospective parents and doing some staff trainings after the baby comes. It will be nice to still be involved but not have so much responsibility.

Heather, Wendy, Me, Beth, Patti, Megan

Lovely, lovely ladies.

The girls made the collage of hands and the blanket for baby. So sweet, huh? I wish I could post a picture of them but I can't and the feeling behind it is more important than the faces anyway.

A Labor of Love

This past week, Jon has worked continuously on the crib. He has spent hours upon hours sanding, shellacking, staining, polyurethaning (yes, that's a word) and more sanding. I came home from work one day and he was covered in dust, this is the picture of that. This man is so dedicated and is such a work horse, I don't know how he stays focused for so long. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that our due date is in three weeks from today!!

He hung the four sides from the ceiling so that he could stain it.

The other labor of love....me. Here I am 36 1/2 weeks pregnant. It's getting increasingly more uncomfortable to perform my daily tasks, like getting out of bed, leaning over, getting in and out of the car, climbing stairs and other such things that use to be easy. I'm still not quite ready for him to come so I can handle it for a bit longer. It has been so fun thinking about and planning for our little man's arrival. It's still hard to believe we are going to be parents. I've had so many thoughts and emotions recently. We are so excited to meet him!

9.28.11