33 Weeks and Counting...

So I am 33 weeks pregnant this week. Wow - how the time has flown! I only have 6.5 weeks left until the due date! I am ready to have this baby physically (it's getting tough), but not in any other way. I still have 4 birth class, 3 baby showers, and a nursery to finish! Although, I must say that Luke and I have made some major progress with the nursery since last week. The main paint on the walls is done (cream on top, navy on bottom) and Luke finished the white chair rail. All the furniture is put together and in place. Now I just have to finish the Calvin and Hobbes mural painting on the wall. I have started it and it is looking great, but I have a ways to go.

I have discovered that working in a cube 40 hours per week when you're this pregnant really sucks. Thankfully, I was just approved to work from home every Monday for the rest of the pregnancy. At least I'll have that one day where I don't have to commute and can work in the comfort of my own home. :)

It is going to be a busy Noah-focused weekend! Our maternity photo shoot done by none other than CT Ryan is happening this Friday and that will be really fun I'm sure! My first of three baby showers is this Saturday. I'm excited because I've never had a shower in my life. Luke and I had to plan our wedding in two weeks before he deployed to Iraq, so I never had a wedding shower. Then our first of four birth and parenting classes is this Sunday at United Hospital. This one is "All About Babies," and we will learn how to care for an infant. More photos coming soon...

Noah's 3D/4D Ultrasound

Christmas 2009

Christmas time is here and I love it! I love the decorations, lights, music - it all makes me very happy. This will be our last Christmas as a family of 3 (including Jake dog of course). Next year the holidays will be much more fun with our little man here!

Christmas cards are always a big deal for me. I'm a graphic designer, and I try to be as creative as possible. We modeled this year's card after the "It's a Wonderful Life" DVD cover. I'm pleased with how it turned out. It was a good way to announce Noah's upcoming arrival as well. CT Ryan took the photo, so you can't go wrong there! We sent out about 200 cards this year. Wonderful!

Getting Tired.....

Finally into the third trimester. I'm feeling very tired lately and hope that I maintain enough energy to finish everything that has to get done. I am a bit stressed and overwhelmed. Included in my list of things to do in the next 2 months are... Christmas and everything that involves, finishing the nursery (way behind on that!), 4 birth and parenting classes, 3 baby showers, and organizing the house. I wish I could just take 2 weeks off work and get it all done. But unfortunately, all sick and vacation days must be saved for maternity leave. That stinks. Being pregnant and working full time is really hard. It's tough getting up in the morning because every morning I wake up feeling like I'm 80. My hips ache, my back aches, and it's really hard to get moving. Then I go to work and sit in a cube all day, which doesn't help with the aches and pains at all. Ugh. I just can't wait until the end of February. Hopefully by then I can say that my to do list is completely done and I'll be getting ready to greet little Noah!

Karate Kid

Noah is moving like crazy these days. Luke and I say that he's practicing karate in my tummy. Last night we were in bed watching a movie and we could see him rolling around, back and forth. We had never seen so much movement. It was so much fun! Luke thought it was kind of "weird" - LOL. Although I have to admit that the movie Alien popped into my head once. It's just so strange thinking that there is a real being growing inside of you! I hope that near the end of the pregnancy we can see imprints of little hands and feet. That would be so precious. Less than three months to go! :)

25 Weeks and Counting

My belly is so big and round now - I love it! I'm sticking straight out and it looks like a basketball. Definitely all boy! :) Noah is very active. I feel him move all the time now and he seems to be getting stronger as the weeks go by. Luke and I can actually see the movements now, and that is really neat. It's so entertaining to watch!

Not much progress has been made on the nursery, and I'm getting a little nervous. Only 3 more months until our little boy arrives and I have so much to do! We're hoping to get a lot of painting done over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. I'm pretty much done with my registries at Target and Babies R Us, although they do need a little tweaking. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone. I feel like it was just yesterday that I saw "YES" on that little stick. :)

♪ Noah's Song ♫

Luke and I co-wrote a song for Noah and we like to sing it to him together. Here's how it goes:

"Little Noah, how are you?
What do ya look like?
What do ya do?
Where will you go
And who will you be?
Who will you meet
And what will ya see?
I can't wait 'til
You...are...free!"

Nursery Planning is Fun!

Luke and I have decided how we're going to design Noah's nursery. Originally I had thought a Noah's Ark theme would be fitting. Luke said that was too obvious and not really original - we could come up with something more creative. So then I thought of having a Calvin and Hobbes theme. Luke loved Calvin and Hobbes when he was growing up, so naturally he thought the idea was awesome! The concept of Calvin and Hobbes surrounds the adventures and imagination of a little boy. This is a concept that can grow with Noah. It's definitely a unique theme, and it will be super fun to decorate!

Right now the room is bright orange. It was my office. About a week ago we managed to clean and move all of my office stuff downstairs to what used to be the guest bedroom. This was a large task considering that my office had become my "junk room." I really didn't do a good job of keeping it clean and organized. Many hours and six bags of trash later, it was moved! Then we moved the nursery furniture from the garage to the nursery closet. Now it's time to paint. We purchased all of the paint, but have yet to get started. We have decided that the upper walls will be a creme color, followed by a white chair rail, and navy blue for the lower walls. As for the Calvin and Hobbes theme, I will be painting a mural and several other illustrations throughout the room. I'm excited! Noah is going to have the most awesome nursery! :)

We have decided on this scene for the full wall mural :

I will paint this smaller illustration above Noah's crib :

I will paint & frame this with a note saying, "Love, Mom & Dad" :

Luke and Noah

Luke finally felt Noah moving last night! We were lying in bed watching a movie. I had just eaten a Schwan's Silver Mint Bar. I think the sugar got to Noah because he was very active. I touched my stomach to see if I could feel him from the outside (this attempt had been unsuccessful up until this point). But lo and behold I felt him this time! So I told Luke to feel. Noah moved again right away and Luke looked at me with bright eyes and said, "Is that him?!" I told him it was and I nearly started crying. Noah stayed active for awhile and Luke felt him the whole time. It was such a special moment! :)

It's Noah Matteson Stombaugh!

It's a boy and I couldn't be happier! I've been praying for God to prepare my heart for either gender all along the way, and he most certainly did. I can't wait to meet my little man! We had our big ultrasound yesterday. It was so much fun! It's amazing how at just 19 weeks pregnant, my baby already looks like a real baby. I'm overjoyed with love for him. Here are some photos from my 19-week ultrasound on October 7.