The Check List

Getting a little more accomplished each day! Yesterday Travis and I purchased our glider for the nursery = ) We went with Dutailier...why not go with one of the best if we'll be spending as much time as we think in that chair! Hopefully it will look great in our nursery.

We also have my friend Thomas coming over today to check out the three small areas of the house we want to replace carpet with tile. This is definitely a 'must get done before baby or we'll never do it' kind of project! Can't wait to enter the world of tile...so many options I have a feeling Travis and I will be completely overwhelmed = )

Signing up for Classes

November just went from a nice open calendar to a very busy month! It looks like every weekend we will either have a Dr. appt (now at 2 week intervals), Baby Basics Class, Childbirth Prep Class, or Breastfeeding class. And that doesn't even include the safety classes I plan on attending at Babies R Us! Travis will be thrilled to read this post...he likes his Fall weekends scheduled around football games not classes = )

Off to spend my lunch break at the grocery store! We officially ran out of milk this morning which is an end of the world crisis for this pregnant chick = )

A Gallon of Water?!

Yes, 128 oz of water is what a pregnant woman is supposed to drink in a day according to my midwife! I didn't really have much to post today so I thought I would point out this little fact. I've been trying to get in my gallon-a-day but that is a lot of H2O= ) No wonder 'frequent urination' is a side effect of pregnancy.

Off to watch a La Cueva volleyball game this afternoon! Yay for Coach Siera!

Dr. P and Remi

My Dad and Remi in prime football viewing position. Had to share = )

Saturday, September 26th

After our Dr. Appt we headed to the lab to take my glucose test to (hopefully) rule out gestational diabetes. We're not really looking to top that 19lb baby! I had been warned about the awful sugar drink you have to endure for this test so Travis and I decided this should be captured for the blog. Maybe it was the fact that I hadn't had sugar in a while in preparation for this test, but I didn't think it was as bad as everyone made it sound. It was basically just a slightly sweeter Sunkist drink (ok, in full disclosure it definitely made me feel icky but that passed as soon as I was able to eat something salty).

You have to let the solution absorb for one hour before you get your blood work drawn so we pre-registered with the hospital and went on a tour of the L&D floor and the Women's floor to be as efficient as possible with our time. Touring Labor & Delivery was fantastic...I feel so at ease with this hospital after seeing everything we should expect. Each room is a suite equipped with baby warmer, fetal monitor, etc. so that you and your baby never have to be moved to another room (except for c-section of course). Now we just have to sign up for a few classes through the hospital and we will officially be ready for December!

Friday, September 25th

Time for a few weekend recaps! Joyce and Steve finished the white paint on Friday and it looks amazing! Above are a few shots of Joyce putting on the finishing touches! Joyce also painted an old Ikea piece we had stored in our garage with the white paint and it now resides along this wall! Definitely looking like the home of a little princess = )

Baby Belly - 27 Weeks

Still the size of an eggplant, Avery's lungs are going through some major developments these days, which (combined with the opening of previously plugged nostrils) means she's now able to practice inhaling and exhaling. The lack of air in my womb means every 'breath' is filled with amniotic fluid, but hey - its progress!

Avery played hide and seek at Saturday's Dr. appt! Our midwife had to trap her into a corner in order to get a good shot at Avery's heartbeat = ) It was pretty funny to watch! And another exciting milestone - Travis finally felt Avery kick!

Another Lovelace Weekend

Tonight is our last night with Joyce and Steve so we plan on getting in as much fun as possible! Tomorrow morning Travis and I are off to our last 4 week Dr appt...this one includes the always fantastic listening to Avery's heartbeat portion, but will be followed up with glucose testing for gestational diabetes. I don't know which is worse...the drink I will have to get down tomorrow at 9am or trying to make it until 9am without having any sugar = ) The last couple of days have been tough b/c I can't even have my usual servings of fruit b/c I don't want to throw off the test. Travis promised me some frozen yogurt tomorrow once we're done! Oh yeah, that was promised to me after I watched Travis, Steve, and Joyce enjoy fro-yo in front of me last night...tragic!

And then after the testing fun my Dad gets into town!! Hopefully it is a nice day so that we can get out and enjoy some ABQ fresh air = ) I'll get two weekends in a row of Patyrak time b/c next weekend we are off to San Angelo for Avery's 4D Sonogram, a fabulous baby shower, and a bday celebration for my little bro! Both trips are way too short...Dad's in ABQ for about 24 hours and Travis and I are in San Angelo for about the same, but we take what we can get = )

Nursery Progress Report

Today the stripes will be painted Bright White (as opposed to the cream color our walls were originally) and I believe our small storage unit will have a fresh coat of white paint and go along the striped wall. The swing is in this picture just for its adorableness...that is actually where our glider will go in the nursery. Remi apparently wanted in on a picture so I let him make his cameo with the swing = ) I also have AVERY wooden letters to go above the crib and we will one day be adorning the walls with more than just paint! Ooohh, and she doesn't know it but I will be commissioning Denning for Avery's first portrait. What baby doesn't need an artist in the family!

I love going to the Dentist!

Is that wrong = ) Ok, I'll admit it...I wish I could go to the dentist more than the two allotted times a year. I love getting my teeth cleaned and this time more than ever b/c pregnancy definitely takes a lot out of your teeth and gums. This was probably one of my best checkups ever b/c I am the flossing nazi - anything for our little Avery.

Nursery update pics tomorrow. Our manual labor (Steve and Joyce) painted all of the silver sage yesterday and are going to finish up with the white paint tomorrow! I can't wait to unveil Avery's beautiful nursery walls! Since we don't quite pay minimum wage we let them have the day off so that they could head up to Santa Fe for the day today = ) If anyone else is interested in helping, we pay in Starbucks beverages = )

Maternity Salad

Several ladies at the San Diego shower let me in on a little LA secret...Caioti Cafe's 'The' Salad with Caioti's Balsamic Basil Vinaigrette! This famous little salad aside from being a delicious dressing is known for its labor-inducing properties. Since my due date is so close to 2010 I definitely plan on using any tasty tricks to make sure Avery makes her debut in 2009 (sorry to use her as our little tax deduction but what can I say...every little bit helps).

http://www.maternitysalad.com/

Baby Shower #2 - San Diego

Saturday was Baby Shower Day!! Aunt Susi, Kathy Deen, Gramma (and missing from the above picture, Kyle Parker) threw Avery a fabulous party = ) We had a delicious lunch, amazing desserts, and more presents than I could even handle. Kyle orchestrated a super fun Price Is Right game, a game of Guess the TV shows Avery will watch - Old and New, and of course the always a blast Baby Gift Bingo! Thank you to everyone that participated, it was such a wonderful afternoon and Avery can't wait to get her little hands on all of her new toys, clothes, and more!

Also a special thank you to Melissa who made the trip down with me from LA and to Joyce and Steve for putting us up and making it an all around fabulous weekend in San Diego!! And we wouldn't have any pictures of the event if it wasn't for the amazing photography of Kay Bickley, thank you so much! Enjoy the pics!


http://picasaweb.google.com/BethSteele1/BabyShower?authkey=Gv1sRgCNiSzt2iqaaRGQ&feat=email#

Baby Shower #1 - Dole Sales Support

Friday my Dole coworkers surprised me with a baby shower during our Teambuilding event = ) We went down to Paradise Cove in Malibu for some delicious food and fun. I will attach a link to all of the event pictures so that you can see just how fabulous my Dole crew is. Melissa and Natasha organized a baby bottle drinking competition for which Carrie took home the gold medal. It was HILARIOUS! And a huge thank you to everyone for the Pack-n-play Playard!! Travis and I have already put it together...you can't be too prepared = )

Enjoy our Malibu pics...ps - the prom style picture was all Sham's idea...haha.

http://picasaweb.google.com/pimandshalini/SalesSupportTeamOuting20091?authkey=Gv1sRgCPuH4J3WjOuTYA&feat=email#

Baby Belly - 26 Weeks

Our little lady is soaking up all of my antibodies, getting her immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and she'll soon be practicing the blink...perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes. Can't wait to get another view of her in two weeks!!

More updates to come...lots of stories from the weekend and my first two baby showers = )

PS - we are finally out of triple digits...only 98 days to go!!

Thursday, September 17th

Today's events included Dole Nutrition Institute classes on Nutrition, Science of Nutrition, Health and Longevity, and Fitness. I certainly took quite a bit of information from the classes but I have to admit that they fell around nap time so my concentration may not have been all there. The coffee smelled phenomenal but alas, I have cut out caffeine = ( Classes were followed up by a Dole Jeopardy competition and I'm proud to say my Science of Nutrition team came out with the win!

Our dinner event with the credit department was at Adobe Cantina...delicious. One of the London reps was sitting at our table so I have to admit I didn't spend much time talking Dole or credit...mainly getting all the good stories on London football firms. After watching Green Street Hooligans I can't get enough stories on these crazy soccer fans! I guess I have to add Football Factory to my netflix list...hope its as good!