Day Care

I figured that finding the right day care environment would be difficult. There are so many decisions and things to look for - in-home vs. center, how many kids, do you like the provider, does it feel safe, etc, etc. Knowing that I won't be able to stay home with our little one full-time, we feel that in-home is our best option, at least for the first couple years. I started out by asking friends in the area if they had any recommendations and making calls. It didn't surprise me that most of them didn't have an infant opening, but they were willing to give me names of other providers who might. After making about 15 calls, we finally had six that would have an opening available next year for an infant. Out of those we interviewed five (one filled her opening before our interview). Once the interviews were finished, we narrowed it down to two providers - both charge the same amount and are within a 5-minute drive of our house.

On our gorgeous drive this weekend, we made the decision to go with the younger of the two providers. No, it wasn't because of her age, but we just felt like the environment that she was creating for kids was a better fit for what we wanted. She has five years experience as a nanny for a family and three years experience in a day care center. So, she has provided care for children ages six weeks to five years old (including her 2.5 year old son) and has experienced both in home and a center environment. Jason and I also really clicked with her and her husband which makes us feel even more comfortable.

I know that no matter what it's going to be hard to drop him/her off and the longer I stay home, the harder that might be, but I'm very happy with our decision and glad to have another task completed before Baby P arrives.

Freeport Baby Shower

Yesterday was my baby shower in my hometown of Freeport. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for the drive ... mid 50s! I even wore a maternity dress that was borrowed from my friend, Heather. My hostesses did a great job with the cake, punch, games and decorating.

Hostesses - Michelle (my sister), Heather, me, Janell, Jackie

In the first game, everyone had to take a piece of yarn and cut it to the size they thought I was around at the widest point. It was pretty funny to see how big some people's yarn was. My cousin, Angie, and friend, Trish, tied on the same size. I think they were probably only off by about 6 inches!

Here's my mom's attempt!

After the game, we had cake and punch (sorry, can't share pictures from that quite yet), and then it was on to the gifts.
How blessed is Baby P?!?! We got so many great gifts including that wonderful diaper cake made by my friend, Jackie, and her mom!

High School friends - Mandy, Patty w/ Makenzie, me, Jackie, & Amy w/ Lydia

The whole group!!

Jason and I unloaded everything today, and I can't believe how many diapers we already have! We have gotten so much great stuff so far and still have a couple more showers to go. Hopefully, we'll have everything we need when Baby P decides to make the grand entrance! The next one is in two weeks with Jason's family and friends, so, you'll be finding out the gender soon, I promise! :-)

28 weeks!

We have made it to the 3rd and final trimester!! How exciting is this? Only 12 weeks left give or take some time depending on when this baby decides to make it's entrance. And, yes, this is the same brown shirt that I started taking pictures in at 8 weeks. I'm really hoping it will stretch enough to make it through the end of this pregnancy.

Things are going really well. I still feel great, my weight gain is still within the recommended amount (although it is on the high end of the scale), and I'm pretty much feeling movement all day long! That is the most exciting part without a doubt!

I go back to the doctor next week and then start my appointments every two weeks! I think time will start flying then, especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas in there. Jason will be painting the nursery after Thanksgiving and then we'll be ready for our furniture to arrive!

Baby Showers

So sorry for the delay in updating...it has been super busy!

Thursday night was girls night for our small group. Little did I know that the girls were throwing me a surprise baby shower!! It was so sweet! They had it all - food, cake, games and gifts. They did a time theme so the gifts were based on the time of day - food time, nap time, play time, bath time, and mom & dad time! We got some fun and practical items to start collecting for the nursery. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me so I didn't get any pictures. I'm hoping to get some from the girls so I'll post them when I get them.

On Saturday morning, my friends, Melissa & Jean Ann, had my first planned shower. It was a perfectly sized group. We played a few games: 1) each person tried to come up with a baby's name for each letter of the alphabet (we might need this list since we haven't agreed on a name yet!), 2) "poopy" diaper musical chairs (kind of - the diaper was passed around the group and when the music stopped the person holding it was out...this got pretty hilarious at the end when they were practically throwing it between two people), and 3) a multi-tasking mommy game (you had to hold a "baby", talk on the phone and try to hang laundry). I'm not much for games, but these were perfect! I think everyone else enjoyed them, too.

working on our list of names

Kersten and the mommy game

I revealed the gender by opening the outfit we purchased on the day we found out (since we didn't have cake at 10am!). And then it was time for presents and food. We got a ton of great gifts and feel truly blessed by everyone that is so excited for baby Patterson.

Shauna, Debbie, me, Angie

Jennifer w/ John, Linda, Kersten, Kay, Sandee, and me

My wonderful hostesses and friends - Mel and Jean Ann

After the shower, I went to Hobby Lobby and Michaels to see if I could find some ideas for the nursery. Hobby Lobby had a few of the most perfect items for the walls, and they were 50% off!! I got everything pretty well organized (as much as I could) yesterday. Now, we are trying to decide on a paint color for the nursery and waiting for the furniture to arrive.

26 weeks!

Time is starting to actually go pretty quickly now. We're under 100 days to go, and I can't believe next week I'll be in the 3rd trimester (according to What to Expect...)! I'm finally feeling this baby move and kick on a pretty consistent basis although the past day or so has been pretty random. Let's hope it's because of a big growth spurt and not because I've put him/her in a sugar coma from Halloween! Baby Center says this babe is about 1 2/3 pounds and 14 inches long!

Our bedding arrived on Saturday and looks great!! Our next step is to decide what color to paint the walls and what accessories we want to buy. I'm trying to patiently wait for our furniture to arrive as well...that should be next month.