Mama Mia!

38 weeks. 9 1/2 months. Wow! I honestly never thought I would be so lucky to make it this far. Although there are pains and a definite lack of sleep, I've had it so easy that I really can't complain. Funny thing this week......I actually managed to somehow LOSE weight. I lost 2 pounds, over Christmas! I couldn't have done that if I tried! I can only assume it's due to my limited intake because of Lily taking up so much room in my monster gut. The doctor didn't seem concerned.....surprised, but not concerned.

Lily's heartbeat is still fast and strong but she's not giving any indication of providing us with a tax deduction for this year. I'll get to see how things are progressing again next Tuesday. So until then, we'll be taking Bear on lots of walks to try to get things moving along.

Love to all and happy new year!!!

Christmas Time

Happy Holidays, everyone! Here's a picture of our cute little tree. Saying it's 6ft tall is being generous. I seriously think this is probably the smallest tree I've ever had, but I think it's cute and it serves its purpose without being too much to deal with with Lily coming so soon.

I think I'm bigger than the tree at 37 weeks.

9 months along

My lovely tennis team had a combined baby shower for me, Heather and Katie on Friday night! We had lots of fun (except the baby food sampling) and, as always, it was great spending time with everyone. Both of these lovely girls are having baby boys and are due about a week apart in March.....right when I have to go back to work. Grrr. The timing could have been better, ladies! :o)

Didn't we coordinate well? Even with the wall color!

Then Deb came over last night to help me hang shelves and decorate Lily's room. I think it turned out well, if I do say so myself. It's just missing the most important decoration of all.....the sweet baby girl!

"My colahs are blush and bashful."

"Her colahs are pink and pink!"

~Steel Magnolias~

As a kid, I collected Precious Moments so I'm pleased to find a use for them.

Crib and toys

Today started my weekly OB visits. All is well with no indications of Lily arriving anytime soon. I'm getting anxious to see her and bring her home, but it's also nice to know that she's in a safe place and with me all the time.

John is off tonight for a much deserved boys' night out. They were going out to eat at a nice steak restaurant and wrapping up the night at the AC/DC concert. Personally, I didn't realize they were still alive but there are a lot of people who were excited about tonight's show.

We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season! We are skipping Christmas cards again this year but will definitely be sending a little something out just after the new year. So please don't remove us from your distribution lists! We love getting cards from everyone and I promise to restart the tradition next year.

Just over a month to go!

What an incredibly fantastic weekend! I have the greatest friends who showered Lily and I with such love and generosity on Saturday. We are very thankful and love each and every one of you. Nana (my mom) was not able to make it because of mechanical problems with the plane, but she showed up (after finding her lost luggage on top of it all) just in time to hang out with the hostesses and a nice bottle of wine. There's nothing a little pinot grigio can't fix!

Despite our childbirth class being cancelled (John's response, "There is a God!"), I still feel much more prepared for the "event" and confident that Lily will come home to a warm, loving, CLEAN home. The nurse in me understands that it's best for her to remain right where she is and cook a little longer, but the new mom in me is ready to see her angel face, kiss her chubby cheeks and share her with the world.

Belly shot at 34 weeks

Little Nana, me/Lily & Auntie Sa

The lovely hostesses: Erin, Sa, me, Deb & Kristy

Thank you, girls, for a wonderful day!

Fun gals at the shower: Erika, Dawn, Olivia & brand new mom Courtney

The beautiful Sa & large Aud

32 Weeks

Only 54 days left until we get to meet Lily!!! I don't feel the least bit ready but I can't wait to see her face and kiss on her cheeks. She's doing well, measuring perfectly with no indications of an early delivery (yet). She's moving around every chance she gets and it's fun to watch her little feet/hands/butt shake around in my belly. She's definitely an active one.....at least one of us is starting to work off the quarter pounders with cheese.

Fall

I wanted to share our beautiful tree with everyone. It's gorgeous this time of year!
Happy Fall!

Our first....

How many moms does it take to work a stroller?

The mommy and daddy! Yes, John got suckered into coming for the beginning.

He's such a good guy!

The gracious hostesses, BJ and Maxine.
Thank you, ladies, for a wonderful afternoon!

I don't think it's for me to wear, but I can try anyway.

PICTURES!

So I realized that I actually HAVE been doing things. I just forgot I had pictures of some of these things. I've also included an updated belly shot!

Tennis gals at Lisle's Southern Living party. (Katie, Kindra, Lisle, Heather and I)

My sweet friend Kristy and I at Courtney's baby shower.

My personal man slave starting to paint the crib. Can you see the "supervisor" in the background?

Closer shot of the handsome supervisor.

What a tough day of painting. Does anyone wonder why I think Bear is going to have a rough time when Lily arrives? Do other dogs get treated like this? Pathetic, if you ask me. But he is sorta kinda irresistable.


30 weeks! The countdown has begun!

Long time no blog...

Other than a growing mid-section, there really hasn't been a whole lot happening in Thompson Towne. John continues to do well at work and has even been approached with a couple more job offers. (Easier to find a job when you have a job, right?)
Lily and I are doing just fine. We had a check up this week and all is well. Our next appointment is in 3 weeks and then we move to every 2 weeks! The countdown has begun! And I don't feel the least bit ready. The room just has pieces of cribs in it, nothing on the walls and several packs of diapers. The closer the time gets, the more John and I feel that Bear is going to have quite an adjustment period. Any suggestions out there of how to best prepare him? (I sound like he's a human baby for goodness sake.)
I hope everyone had a happy Halloween! I can't believe it's November already. Where did the summer go? I think I missed it. Will hopefully have some new pictures to post fairly soon. Stay tuned....

Seriously?

26 weeks and growing!

Weekend full of surprises

What a fantastic weekend! My last trip before the baby comes, thanks to John who treated me to a trip back to Houston for the weekend. The first surprise was on me. I saw my mom and Elmer pull up at the airport and saw that she was holding a nice bouquet of white lilies. I thought, how nice for a Nana to do! She really got on me to open the card before I could even put my seatbelt on! When I read the card, the tears came. It read, "To my darling wife and baby, Love Johnny." Are you KIDDING ME?!?! How sweet is he? I wish I could've brought the flowers home with me, but I'm sure mom will enjoy them as much as I did this weekend.

Surprise #2: I got to surprise Wendy for her birthday weekend. Betsy was a bit more difficult so she knew about my arrival but we had fun just the same. We watched Morgan play soccer on Saturday.....WOW! She's come a long way from just going out on the field and picking flowers back when she was 3. She's quite the athlete. I can't wait to see what she ends up doing sports-wise when she's a little older. We stayed up very late that night playing dominoes. I won! Well.....okay....I didn't exactly win, but I did almost get the highest score. (I think the goal is to have a small number. Now that I know, I'm ready to play again.)

Then Sunday I was able to truly shock and surprise my sweet friend Rebecca at her baby shower! Nobody even had an inkling of an idea that I was coming. I got a scream and some tears and we hugged so tight that I think Lily and Brady (Rebecca's baby) can say they have officially met. (It's kind of funny hugging another pregnant woman.) The shower was absolutely beautiful and it was fun to visit with everyone. Lily even seemed to know she was in the presence of other babies-to-be-delivered because she kicked and squirmed the entire time! I can tell she's going to be a pistol, just like her dad.

Brother-in-law, JR. Whose is bigger?

Lily's wonderful aunts!
Missy Moo hugging Lily
Mom, me, Rebecca and her mother, Marilyn
Our beautiful moms. Erin's, Rebecca's and my short one.

APHON Conference 2008

I just spent a nice couple of days out in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the Association of Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nursing (APHON) Conference with Colin...recipient of this year's Certified Pediatric Oncology Nurse (CPON) Award. She is very deserving of the honor and has graciously accepted all of our hullabaloo around it. When we weren't at general meetings, free meals or concurrent sessions, we had an excellent girls' weekend. We watched "Sex and the City," visited Old Town, shopped and napped. All in all, it was a nice time to catch up with my now long-distance friend.
Congratulations, Colin!!!

Accepting the award and giving her speech.....without crying!

Colin with 1/3 of her nominating committee.

Jessia, Colin & Audra after a not-so-great Mexican dinner in Old Town Albuquerque.

Colin's first trip out west. She was taken by the "mountains."

Only 4 months to go!

I hear babies are expensive. We had a car that was scaring us because of the potential cost for repairs. It started needing some special TLC that we just didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for. So, I gave up my leather seat warmers and traded in the Volvo for a barely used Ford Explorer. Blue. Only 5000 miles and still smells like new. Cheaper payments, under warranty, cheaper insurance and the gas is about the same as the Volvo. It's been a great addition! Lily and I have plenty of room now during our commute to and from work.

Weekend Away

Johnny and I headed up to Boone, NC this weekend for a little time away from the city life. He played in the 17th annual Yohnolassee Calcutta tournament and ended up winning a little bit of money for coming in 4th place. Once again, our good friends (friends of John's for about 20 years) Bob and Jana Lake, opened their home to us and were as hospitable as ever. We certainly wish we lived closer.....maybe someday.

We invited some other friends to share this special place with us this weekend. The Macintoshes made the trip with us so that Bruce could also play in the tournament. But more importantly, so that I could have some girl time with Casey and B.J. While the men watched college football, we went into Blowing Rock and had a nice leisurely lunch followed by a little window shopping, ice cream eating and picture taking along the gorgeous Blue Ridge Parkway.

As always, it was sad to leave. I can see us raising our little ones in a place like Boone. Guess I need to stop complaining about the winters here in Atlanta first!

Tennis club

MOOSE! Bob and Jana's dog. He's only just over a year old and an enormous baby!

Annual shot of Bobby Lake (III) and John. Handsome guys!

The 4th place finishers! Drew and John

The Lake Boys

Andy, Bob and Bobby

Can you tell they're related?

Casey and I near Grandfather mountain.

How could you not want to live here?

Thompsons + Macintoshes = fun weekend

The happy couple (with Lily poking out a bit)

What's in a name?

Of course John and I came to an agreement on a name for a baby boy. This happened right before finding out we were having a girl. What to do? It's been confirmed....we finally came to a decision that we both love. Our little girl will be welcomed into the world as Miss Lily Grace Thompson! I can't wait to meet her!

Ike

Just wanted to drop a note to all those who are or who might be affected by hurricane Ike this weekend. Please stay safe and dry and keep in touch.

Growing Girls

22 weeks! I gotta baby bump and loving EVERY minute of it. She kicks a ton and it makes me giggle. (Except when she aims for the bladder....that's a strange, not so comfortable feeling.) John let me go buy a few maternity items that were much needed and I've found my new favorite pants that I will wear for years to come.....at holiday meals. Not much else to report. We've started putting together some things for the nursery so I'll send updates as it progresses. Only getting started:

To find out or not find out....

John wants to know. I never wanted to know. I mean, how many true surprises are there left in life? I always dreamed of having the doctor deliver me and saying, "Congratulations! It's a .....!" In the olden days, our parents didn't have a choice. They never had the chance to look inside with ultrasounds......they got the surprise of a lifetime! I wanted to have this experience but John didn't. What is the compromise? Him to find out and not me? Yeah, right. That guy can't keep a secret if his life depended on it. Me give in to what I've always held on to? That didn't sound like a good option either.
Then I started thinking..... I know myself. I know myself well. I'm guilty of loving this generation of instant gratification. Knowing the gender is available. How could I NOT know? It's such a struggle.

ps We're having a girl!!!