Are we there yet?

Headed into our 39th week appointment!

As the hours and days tick past, we hover on the precipice of great change. Today, waiting in the doctor's office, chatting with Jacob, it struck me how precious these moments are. I could have sat there and talked with him all day (except for my need to eat and use the restroom every 30 min.). We'll never be in this place again.
Quiet.
Waiting.
Excitement.
Anxiety.
The anticipation is so strong; two work friends let me know that they dreamed about me last night. Each day my mom calls and asks, "Have you had that baby yet?" Jacob is watching over me like a hawk; checking for signs of early labor. As we left the doctor's office today, we made our appointment for next Tuesday knowing we may never keep it, and if we do, we will need to scheduled our induction date. Which brings me to a question for y'all. We want to let the (not so) little blueberry take as much time as needed to grow in there, but we would like to avoid induction if possible. SO, at what point do we pull out all the stops and really try to get labor going. AND, what are the ol' wives (and husbands) remedies to give blueberry the boot?

Surprise! Jacob's a dad!

We are (once again!) overwhelmed with the kindness and generosity of our community. A couple of weeks ago, some of Jacob's fire colleagues contacted me to plan a surprise baby shower for the man of the hour. Now, Jacob is a tough one to surprise. He had us pretty much sniffed out beforehand, but that didn't stop us from celebrating him and the blueberry in grand style. Thanks to the entire Teton Helitack crew and S.O. for pulling it together!

Head-to-head diapering competition!

SKILLS.

2nd place

Jacob's favorites: survival kits and pumpkin desserts!

Week 38

Saturday night in Jackson Hole, GO MOOOOOOSE!

Luckily my black puffy coat still fits!

Jacob, "Isn't it crazy that we could have a baby this week?" Kjera, "Yes."

End of the 38th week!

LADIES NIGHT!!!

Ladies Night is a long standing tradition with this group of JH women. They are my reality check, sanity, physical therapists, life coaches and comic relief. We potluck it up about every other month (we can be so busy!) and settle in with many glasses of wine and our individual agenda items. Yes, that's right, we use an agenda and have a note-taker. Agenda items include surgeries, babies, weddings and the true important life questions, but I don't want to divulge too much of our secret society! As much as we'd like to spend time together often, we use these nights to get all caught up. This week was my last pre-baby night with these ladies, who will be there to care about all the details on the other side. Xoxo!

From left: Emily, Sara, Martha, Kelly, Martina, Cooper, Jill and Katie
(We miss you, Holly!)

Meat, meat, baby!

Despite pregnancy cravings circling around pizza, dairy products, baked goods and chocolate chips, we've managed to keep our menu on the healthy side (I can't wait for my snack of orange-clementine-pomegranate-salad today!) . . . especially when it comes to lean protein!

Brian and Kelly treated us to an evening of rich laughter . . .

. . . and butternut squash soup, elk steak and brussel sprouts!

Jacob's breakfast special:
eggs from the Culp family, Jacob's elk sausage, Blackfoot potatoes and multi grain toast!

Made with LOVE!

Week 37

With borrowed equipment we try to figure out my blood pressure . . .
The stethoscope didn't work, but at least the nurse was cute!

Celebrating our 15th month-a-versary with Thai food and The Second City.

I have achieved muffin-top with maternity pants.

37th week

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

We have exciting news as the blueberry's d-date is quickly arriving . . . we won an infant photo shoot from the talented Kisa Koenig! Our winning entry read:

"My husband, Jacob, and I are expecting our first child sometime around January 31 (soon!). We decided not to find out the gender of our baby who has affectionately become known as “the blueberry”. We like old-fashioned surprises! As my weeks of pregnancy draw to an end, my dear friend Charlotte tipped me off to your contest. We would LOVE to have the first days of our precious little one documented for our own (sleep-deprived) memories and to share with our family which is all too far away and yet so respectful of our wishes to spend those first couple of weeks as a new family, bonding and growing in a protected and natural way. Due to our conflicting school-teacher and fire-fighter schedules, it’s difficult for us to find time to travel as much as we’d like to be with our families, so photos tell much of our story. At the beginning of this pregnancy, we started our own blog to keep everyone in the loop, and it would be such a treat to jump start our baby’s debut with your light and joyful style of photos. Thank you for considering us!"


Stay tuned for some drool-worthy photos capturing the blueberry's first weeks!

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