We Are Fam-ily!

Happy Memorial Day!
Just got done spending the weekend with my family. We celebrated Mom's 60th birthday with some good food and conversation - and a surprise visit from Sister Jen who flew in to help get the party started. Dad and Matt got in some golf, plus did manly stuff like figuring out electrical outlets and doing some heavy lifting around the house. I'm pretty sure everyone had a good time, although there was probaby some disappointment that Oliver did not listen to everyone's repeated pleas for him to come out and play while they were all here.
37 Weeks
So, on that note, happy 37 weeks to me! Oliver is considered full-term, and still taking his sweet time. Matt and I are now discussing when to ask the doctor about the likelihood of having to induce! I had the weekly doctor appointment on Friday and everything looks totally normal....in fact, it's like all of my pre-term labor symptoms never existed and the pregnancy has been on track the whole time. Mother Nature is so weird! Of course, now that there is no danger of delivering too early, and I am free to move about and go here and there and wherever, I have absolutely no energy! I am feeling every bit of Oliver's 6 lbs 11 oz. weighing me down with every step. You would think with this getting this great workout all the time, we pregnant chicks would come out of childbirth in better shape than before.

Happy Bump Day!

9 Months
So, you might have noticed I've been a little lazy with the blog lately. Yeah, sorry about that. There's just not alot new to report on these days. It appears as though Oliver may have settled in for a long winter's nap! I do have a new bump pic to display for your viewing pleasure, and in fact, think I will do a recap so we can all see how much Oliver has grown (and me) over the past few months.

You might also be wondering why I do not have the same long-sleeved grey shirt on above that I usually do in the bump pictures. My response to your query is:  So sue me. It is really freakin' hot and humid here this week and the thought of trying to squeeze myself into that shirt one more time makes me want to throw something. Oh, and I might be a tad hormonal these days. ;)
Now, here is a moving montage in descending order of size (feel free to play your own background music while perusing):

Well, apparently I only started taking these bump pics at 5 months along. This last pic is from Halloween, where I was pregnant, but no one else knew! Hey, when else am I going to be able to post a photo of our award-winning costumes?!

Put 'er there, Pardner!

It's been a good week around the Coles house. First off, Matt is officially a partner at his veterinary clinic. Woo hoo! I'm so proud! You'd think this means he's all growed up. Well, you'd be wrong! ;) But, still, being part owner of a practice is quite an accomplishment (and alot of debt) to rack up at the young old age of 33. :)
36 Weeks
In other news, the doctor visit yesterday (Thursday) went well. I am dilated to a "3" (hey, if you're uncomfortable with a little TMI, you are reading the wrong blog), but Baby's head is not "engaged", so Doctor doesn't think Oliver is coming in the "next few days". In fact, he has not dropped at all. I think he is actually trying to come out the other way, as it feels like he is climbing over my ribs. Yeesh!
Anyways, Doctor told me I can feel comfortable moving around about the house more. I am translating this to mean move about more in general! So, look for me at a Baby Gap near you.

We are off to do a car seat check today. Matt installed it a couple of weeks ago, and while he swears he has it in the correct position, I am not so sure. We have even bugged our friends who have come to visit to check it out and weigh in. Opinions are mixed. I will be sure to let you know who the winner is in the great car seat debate (assuming it is me who wins). :)
Hope everyone out there has a great weekend!

The Baby Blahs

Blech.
Was this week was the longest week ever on record for anyone else? No? Just me, eh. I know in the grand scheme of things, it's merely a blip on the radar, but my lord, if I watch any more HGTV, I am going to snap and end up rearranging all of the furniture, repainting all the rooms (and ceilings, for a more cozy and intimate feel), and covering our fireplace mantel using the newest trend in faux Venetian plastering!!!
35 Weeks
Good news from the Doctor. If my appointment and check go well this next week (read: No extreme dilation), then I can be downgraded (or would it be upgraded?) from the strictest level of bed rest and I should be able to resume a touch more activity. Like, I may actually get to leave my house every once in a while to go somewhere other than the doctor, such as the grocery store (for when I run out of Blue Bell cookies-n-cream), or the post office. These places never sounded so fun and exotic before! Now don't go thinking such crazy thoughts as I might go back to work. According to Doctor, we are still aiming for "low stress", and right before line review meetings at PSS would not qualify as such. Really. Seriously. I'm not making this up. Doctor's orders.
Who wouldn't want to hang in this crib?
I leave you with a couple of pics of the nursery, which is pretty much done, save for just a couple of wall hangings. Sure hope Oliver likes it, as he will have no say in his room decor for at least the next 5 years. :)

One small step for baby, one giant leap for the parents' checkbook!

34 Weeks
Yes! We've made it to this milestone. Barring major complications, from here on out, whenever Oliver decides to grace us with his presence, he will do so at our hospital here in Lawrence. Whew! Way to save old Mom and Dad some money there, kiddo!
And, bonus, my friend Jami who just had her daughter at LMH this past week, informed me that we new moms get an ice cream cake when we are discharged. Sweet! (Literally.) I'm sure a little sugar will totally make those labor pains worth it. Well, sugar and being able to bring home that cute little bundle of baby. ;)
Click to "do the ice cream & cake":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaPgaG3z_ks


Happy Mother's Day
I hope all of you moms had a great Sunday today. Thank you for being such strong, positive influences in the lives of everyone you meet, not just your kids!
Love you, Mom.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, back to the Dr. we go!

Introducing James Cameron's future Avatar VI: Revenge of Pandora's Box star:
Yesterday was our weekly doctor visit. I'm happy to report that, once again, I am no further progressed. I'm beginning to wonder if my body was just playing a practical joke on me the other week to start all this bruhaha. But, regardless, good news all around yesterday. At our sonogram (sadly, yesterday's will probably be the last one we get), I must have looked suitably pathetic, because the tech actually did some 3D pics and gave us a few for FREE! Sshh!
So, below is a cute close-up pic of Oliver's face. (Oh yeah! We have a name. Did I mention that? :) More on that in a bit.) Anyways, So the pic is of his face, and he's actually scowling at us. Also, he has a foot right up there at his face. And I do mean right up there. The image is kind of distorted, so his foot looks like something out of a horror movie, so try not to look at it too closely. Looks like Oliver is quite flexible. Hopefully he gets that foot out of the way when he decides to grace us with his presence!

What's in a name?
As I casually mentioned above, WE HAVE A NAME! Matt and I feel like we exhausted every possibility and combination and kept coming back to one:  Oliver. Meaning: Elf Army. Yeah, we try not to dwell on that piece of history. Not that we aren't fans of Lord Of The Rings and all but...Anyways, we just really  like the name, and hopefully, he will like it too and grow up to hate us for something other than his title. I kid, I kid.
Anyways, full name:  Oliver Welman Coles. Welman comes from my family. It was my Grandpa's middle name (Dad's side), and Grandpa apparently went by Welman over his first name growing up. My oldest cousin on Dad's side, Ben, also has it as a middle name. There was some debate over whether it is spelled with one "L" or two, and lo and behold, it is just the one.
So, now you can all come up with whatever variation you would like to call him. Doesn't matter to us. There are several fun nicknames we have already come up with:  "O", "OC", "The OC", "ODub", "Ollie" (bor-ing), "Olls Well" (as in "all's well that ends well" - Thanks, Heidi). I will probably just call him Oliver. Or most likely "Hellion" in a few years.

Shower time!

First up - Shower Power!

WOW! What a weekend. There was alot of activity at our house the past couple of days. I supervised most of it from the couch. Both Matt's parent and my parents were up, as well as Matt's sister, Meghan. Why? You might ask. Well, there was a little event thrown by my fabulous friends this weekend, and our families didn't want to miss it. We had to cancel the Lawton shower since I can't travel, and I was very diligent about doing as little as possible this week in order to ensure I would be able to attend the Lawrence baby shower.

It was interesting to have such a full house. Poor Preston didn't know what to think. He already needs one of those beepers for when he backs up to give him clearance, and this weekend, there was stuff (and people) everywhere so he had even more difficulty maneuvering around. Of course, his daily breakfast of eggs a la Chef Jerry did alot to make up for his lack of space, I'm sure! 

The shower was so much fun and it was soooo nice to get out of the house and socialize! I even put on makeup! Don't worry, I was forced to sit on Emily's couch the entire time, but it was still much more exciting to sit on her couch over mine - which is rapidly showing signs of a permanent dent from the one spot I sit on all the time.

Here are some pics of the shower. This may be the most pictures posted in one blog entry ever, so enjoy!

First up:  Here is the cute diaper cake my talented mother made for the Lawton shower. She brought it up and it survived the drive!

And here are pics from the shower. Five wonderful friends hosted it and they were definitely the hostesses with the mostestes!

More exciting news

The nursery is very nearly complete! Our friend Angie, who is an amazing artist, was commissioned to produce some original artwork for the room. We coldn't be more thrilled with the results! Thanks, Angie!

The artist herself at the shower, with some of the other girls from the Animal Hospital Of Lawrence (thanks for coming, everyone!):

And last, but definitely not least...

33 weeks! Woo hoo! One more week and we should feel confident that we can deliver at Lawrence Memorial Hospital (babies born before 34 weeks are transferred to Overland Park's NICU unit - about an hour away). This next week will probably crawl by in anticipation of hitting this next milestone. But, hey, we've already come this far, baby!