Update time!

Just another quick update! We had another doctor's appointment this week and unfortunately Austin couldn't come with me since he was teaching. But it was a quick check-up again - weight, blood pressure, belly measurements, baby heartbeat, etc. And everything looked great! It had been awhile since we had an appointment with our doctor, we had been seeing the other doctor due to the ultrasounds and scheduling. But yesterday I was reminded how much I love our doctor. She's just super friendly and nice! She also makes me feel really good about myself! :) She kept saying how great I looked and that my ankles weren't even swollen, etc. It was pretty nice to hear! I also wanted to record the baby's heartbeat for Austin since he couldn't be there. And the little stinker kept moving around while we were trying to listen and then was pushing the probe away when we did finally find it! Such an active little baby we have! While she was measuring my belly, she kept saying that my belly is definitely all baby! And she was pretty certain that the baby is head down and even fairly low - which is great!! 

We go back to the doctor next week already! Must mean we're getting closer... :) Next week we'll get our last ultrasound to do a growth check. They'll be checking to make sure everything is still on track and to give us a rough estimate of the baby's size. 

In other news, we went to Tipton last weekend and had a fabulous baby shower! It was great to see people and again we were blessed with a ton of fun baby stuff! We were also able to go to a Cedar Rapids Titans game and see Ariel dance - which was really fun! On Sunday we headed back early because Austin had his End of the Year Awards banquet for the choir. It was a fun event and he had a lot of awards to hand out - which is great! It was also an emotional event because parents and students took some time to say thanks to Austin and let him know how much he'll be missed. There were definitely a lot of tears. 

My co-workers have also been pretty amazing and threw me a baby shower at work this week! Austin and I are so lucky to know such awesome people! The shower was a lot of fun with games and food and again, great gifts! We are so grateful for everything!! 

I've also decided how glad I am that this baby isn't due any later in the summer. Before getting pregnant, I had fairly poor circulation and was always cold! Like crazy cold, especially compared to Austin who was always warm. Since getting pregnant and the increase in blood flow, I'm always warm, if not hot! Even more so than Austin in some cases! Well I don't think I ever appreciated that being cold versus hot was a better option - at least in my opinion. I've hated being so warm all the time! It's been very uncomfortable. Early this week, we had some really warm days - in the 80's and 90's! And our air conditioning at our apartment wasn't working. Well this was not good for this pregnant lady! :) Luckily, we've gotten it fixed (or at least we hope so!) and shouldn't have that problem anymore. But thankfully this baby will be here soon and before it gets  any hotter around here! 

We've also had some questions about our next step, when we're moving, etc. We don't have a lot of answers right now. We definitely aren't moving until after the baby comes. I didn't want to mess with finding a new doctor, especially when I really love who we have now. Our plan is to move towards the end of July, that way we will still be able to have our follow up appointment with our current doctor. We don't have a place to live yet but I've been looking. A lot of places are open right now and so I'm waiting for some to open up with an August 1st move-in date. Right now we're looking at the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area. It's just a quick drive over to Dike and has more options for us. I also don't have a job. I haven't really been applying to too many either. I'll start applying to more in June and July. 

I think that's about it for now! More updates when I have them! :) 

Baby This & Baby That

With our doctor appointments taking place every two weeks, they've been pretty boring. So nothing really new to report. These visits are just a quick check - weight, blood pressure, measure the belly and baby's heartbeat. Nothing too exciting, except for hearing that heartbeat! :) I believe that we'll have one more ultrasound before the baby comes to check the growth, but I don't know when that will happen. 

It's crazy to think we're already in May and that NEXT MONTH is when this baby is coming!!  I think we're slowly getting more and more prepared for this baby. The first thing being birthing classes! We started a four week course last Thursday night. The first class was pretty basic - talking about different symptoms and what to do, what to look for with signs of early labor, some breathing techniques, etc. We also got a tour of the birthing center at the hospital we'll be having the baby at and that was pretty neat. I'm really interested in our next class because we'll be talking about pain management. :) 

Another way we're getting ready is with some pretty awesome baby showers being thrown by some pretty awesome people. :) My aunts threw us a great baby shower a couple of weeks ago when we were back in Minnesota. It was a lot of fun, great to see so many people and we got some really great stuff. Austin's family is throwing us a baby shower this weekend as well! We are so grateful and blessed to have such awesome family and friends! It also makes it more real as we start to get more and more baby stuff around the apartment! 

And speaking of our apartment, my nesting skills are coming in handy! As we'll be moving after the baby comes and we only have a one bedroom right now, I'm using my nesting energy to start getting ready for the move! Austin doesn't really enjoy this as much as me. :) I'm making sure we go through everything before we pack anything and get rid of everything we don't need. It's been great to get rid of a bunch of junk! And then we've slowly started packing up things we don't need on a day to day basis. 

That's about it for baby news. In other news, we spent a weekend in Minnesota a couple of weeks ago for the wedding of a very close friend of mine. It was the same weekend as the baby shower so needless to say it was a long and exhausting weekend - although a lot of fun! 

As the school year is coming to a close, Austin has been wrapping up with final concerts and performances. He has had a lot of great things happen at the end of the year as well! The first was a day at Solo/Ensemble Contest. Austin took 17 entries and walked away with 9 Division I (Superior) ratings and 8 Division II (Excellent) ratings! This was a record day for the choir! The choir also had a workshop day with the Wartburg Choir and during the workshop they performed for the choir and received comments and tips from members and Dr. Nelson. It was a great experience and the students really learned a lot! The Middle School concert was next and it was a great concert! The students really worked hard! Next the Concert Choir and a Treble Choir went to Large Group Contest and after two amazing performances, each group walked away with a Division I (Superior) rating! Finally, Austin had his final high school concert. Again, it was a great performance and the students did an outstanding job! The students also presented Austin with flowers and a card and thanked him for taking a "Division IV choir to a Division I choir". He then received a standing ovation from the crowd. It was amazing to see the support that Austin has received for the past three years at Riverside. 

This weekend we're heading to Tipton for our baby shower and to see a Cedar Rapids Titans game and see Ariel dance. But it'll be a quick trip as we have to return Sunday morning to get ready for the Choir End of the Year Awards Banquet on Sunday afternoon. The following weekend we're off to Dubuque for my sister's graduation! It'll be two busy weekends but should be great times with family! After that I'm done traveling until after this baby comes! I'm taking the rest of those weekends to rest and nest! :) June will be here before we know it!