Baby Shower

This previous weekend I had my first baby shower, hosted by my sister, Alenna, and one of my best friends, Carla (with help from my cousin, Kim, and friend, Launa).  I thought it was a great event, and I really appreciated the time that I got to chat with many friends.  The attendees included 7 family members, 2 high school friends, 3 previous co-workers, 2 ladies that I met through the church I attended while growing up, 1 friend from college and 1 friend that I originally met while at camp as a teenager!  Quite the mixture of friendships, and I felt loved by the overwhelming excitement and joy for this new child.

Thank you to everyone who attended!  I appreciated having you there!

Preparations

David and I began taking birthing classes with a local, independent teacher at the end of September, and we are both enjoying it. But, much more important than our enjoyable experience, we are learning a lot! Our instructor, Morgan, has been teaching this class for over 10 years, yet it is still obvious to see her passion for a natural birth process. It is encouraging to hear someone talk about childbirth in such a positive way, instead of with the anxiety and trepidation that many in our culture associate it with.

Costume Party

This past Friday David and I were invited to a surprise 50th birthday party, which was also a costume party.  We stayed up way too late on Thursday night getting our costumes completed.  Here's David, making the wall that would become part of my costume.

The party was in honor of a friend of the Cundey family, so David's mother and sister were at the party too.  Here we are with Mom Cundey, Cherish (daughter of the guest-of-honor) and Marney.  And yes, that large, crazy looking "lady" in the purple moo moo is my darling husband!  We found his outfit at a local consignment store and, because of the embroidered cats, David thought it would work perfect as a "crazy cat-lady" costume (over his fat-lady costume from many years ago).  A lot of people commented on the originality of our outfits and said that we had the best costumes of the whole party!

Here is the finished product of the costume that David helped make for me... Humpty-Dumpty!  Unfortunately I cannot claim to have thought of this idea myself because I saw the instructions on a homemade costume website.  Also, except for stuffing Humpty's legs and buying his shoes, David was the one who made the entire costume a reality!  Thankfully it was warm at the party, so my painted, but bare belly didn't get too cold.

This was the first time in years that I've actually enjoyed dressing up for Halloween.  And, even though I have some fond memories of Halloween costumes when I was a child, I know this was my favorite Halloween party ever.  I used to dislike the extra attention that comes with wearing a costume, but this year, the costume wasn't about me, it was about my baby belly!  Also, since I've gotten to the point where my stomach gathers a lot of looks, it was fun to "show off" the area that, at times, has brought me some unwanted attention.  I never thought that I could have such a great time at a costume party!

Linvilla Orchards

After church today David and I went to Linvilla Orchards with some friends.  Neither of us had ever been there even thouh it's only about 20 minutes from our house. 

Fall used to be my least favorite season of the year... the end of summer, going back to school, the cold, rainy days and everything in nature dying.  But, ever since moving to NJ, I enjoy it just as much as the other seasons.  In Upstate NY it seemed as though autumn would sneak up and overwhelm us within a matter of days.  But in southern NJ the transition from summer to fall is a mostly smooth ride, highlighted by crisp mornings and cloudless days.  Now I embrace fall and the beautiful days like this one!



Baby Growth

I love to read, so I've enjoyed reading about the growth that Baby Cundey is making each week.  Here's a few things (from AmericanPregnancy.org) that I found interesting...

Week 22 - his/her eyes have completely formed, but the iris still lacks pigment

Week 23 - he/she weighs approximately 1 pound

Week 24 - Baby Cundey's taste buds are developing

Week 25 - Baby's home (my uterus) is approximately the size of a soccer ball

As you can see, growth seems to be happening at a rapid rate these days!  But, thankfully, except for nightly backaches and being tired, I'm feeling well and enjoying my pregnancy. 

Get Away

David's birthday falls at a perfect time of year. The humidity of the summer is (usually) gone and the stressfulness of David's summer work schedule is behind us. It's a wonderful time to get away for a vacation, or at least a mini-vacation.

Since we had a great time in Sandbridge, VA last year (for the Crosby reunion) we decided to go there again. We rented a pet-friendly house only 1 block from the beach and arrived on Thursday night, September 29th.

Sophie didn't let us waste any of the beautiful weather on Friday... she woke us up at 7am and we took a walk on the beach before breakfast.

The day warmed up to about 80 degrees, so we spent part of the afternoon hanging out on the beach. There were too many people on the beach to allow Sophie off her leash, but she didn't seem to mind the limitations to her movement.

(Thankfully I still can wear my non-maternity swimsuit... but it was a tight fit!)
Like any young child, Sophie played on the beach until she was past the point of exhaustion, then crashed onto her bed at home for a nap before dinner.

We spent Saturday visiting with some of my college friends, Nate and Deb Barnhart and their son, Micah, who drove up from Northern NC to see us. It had been about 5 years since we'd seen them, so we really appreciated them making the drive to hang out!

David's parents also arrived on Saturday, en route to their Myrtle Beach vacation. They stayed with us until Sunday afternoon, and, as always, it was lovely to spend time with them.

Sunday afternoon, David's 33rd birthday, we took some pictures on the beach before Mom and Dad Cundey continued on their trip to SC.

I was so thankful for this vacation! I've been stressed lately (letting my pregnancy hormones get the best of me, I fear), and it was very relaxing to be away from the day-to-day responsibilities at home. This was just what I needed!

Heartbeats and Kicks

I've been wondering if I was feeling the baby move since the end of August, but I wasn't sure about it until Tuesday, September 6th when I was listening on the doppler. The next day, when we were 20 weeks, David felt the baby move too!

Here's a recording from earlier today of our baby's heartbeat. Every time there's a little blip in the recording (which sounds like static interference), that's a movement. As you can tell, he/she was moving a lot today!

The Snuggler

Sophie is almost 16 months old now, yet she still loves to run around the yard and play like a puppy. However, when she's tired from all that playing she turns into a snuggle bug! If either of us sits on the floor when Sophie is in a cuddling mood, then we're apt to get sat on or leaned against. It's not always comfortable to have a 60 pound pup think that she's a lap-dog, but it sure is cute!

20 Week Ultrasound

Here's some pictures of Baby Cundey from our ultrasound on September 6th! The baby was moving so much that it was a little difficult for the technician to get a clear picture.

Half-Way Mark!

20 weeks into pregnancy... 20 weeks to go!

We had another ultrasound yesterday, and the baby is looking good. We had the opportunity to find out the gender but decided to wait until the birth. David said that finding out now would be "like peeking at our Christmas presents", and I agree that it will be more fun to wait.

I tried to scan my ultrasound pictures and also to take pictures of them, but so far I haven't been able to get any shots that are clear. So, for now, here's a picture of how the baby is changing me!