Week 38

It's the last couple weeks of my pregnancy, and I'm starting to feel enormous.  I'm not bothered by the extra weight (hardly any backaches!), but there are times (like when I'm in the yard trying to play catch with Sophie or when I bend down to tie my shoes) that this big belly makes things awkward.  I am thankful that I am one of those women who can honestly say that I've enjoyed being pregnant, but I am looking forward to feeling normal and much less clumsy! 

Remembering 2011

It's that time of year again... the time when everyone starts thinking of resolutions, plans, ambitions, future projects, actions and undertakings.  Even though I'm a fan of lists (a BIG fan, if I'm being completely honest), I find it a bit daunting to try to map out goals for an entire year.  So instead, sometimes I find it much easier to look backwards and remind myself of the lessons the previous year has taught me.  Here's some of what I learned in 2011:

1. Traveling is wonderful, but my favorite place to be is home.
2. Investing in warm clothes and layering can make being outside in 20-degree temps quite enjoyable.  (Why is it that an Upstate NY girl didn't learn the value of layering until she was almost 32?  Really, it's kind of pathetic.)
3. The best kinds of friends are the ones that accept you even when you're quiet and/or sad.
4. I should make a greater effort to purposely watch a sunrise.  No matter what mood I'm in, it's a sign that God is in the business of new beginnings.
5. God is also in the business of doing "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine"!
6. Beach days in the middle of the week are way more fun than going to the beach on a weekend.  I definitely need to plan more of them for next summer.
7. I never get tired of hearing "Aunt Alvana", and am so glad that I have 3 nephews and 1 niece that live close enough to see on a semi-regular basis.
8. My husband has the unique ability to turn almost anything into a fun adventure.  (Even flooding from a hurricane!)
9. I've been blessed with wonderful family members!  And that includes David's family, all of whom I proudly claim as "my family".  (I've learned this before 2011, but I still wanted to say that since there were so many moments this past year that reminded me how grateful I am for each of them.)
10. I need to give up on growing my hair.  I always wanted long hair, but I need to accept that a short hair style looks better on me.
11. Opening up my home to family/friends doesn't mean that I'm responsible for someone else to have a good time.  As long as I'm a welcoming hostess, I've done my job.  Having a good time is everyone's personal choice.
12. Learning is important and fun, and I hope that I never stop striving to increase in knowledge.
13. I'm still a shy person by nature, but trying to be outgoing goes a long ways towards actually being a more social creature.
14. All relationships have their ups and downs, but David is my best friend and my favorite person to be with.
15. Chocolate cannot bring happiness, but I'll probably keep trying anyway.

34-36 Weeks

When I look down at my belly, it doesn't look very large to me.  However, when I look at these pictures I find myself a bit surprised at my appearance.  The way a woman's body changes over the course of a pregnancy is simply amazing! 

34 Weeks - December 14th



36 Weeks - December 28th



Christmas

David and I had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope you and your families did the same!  David's family came to our house for Christmas dinner, and here's a few pictures from our evening together.



December 25th - 1 month until our due date!

 

Baby Cundey got some cute clothes from his/her Mimi and Poppop.



Julian, opening one of his gifts.

 

Sophie, wishing that she could tear into the gifts, too.  (At least that's what we guessed she was thinking about!)

 

Julian wasn't feeling well, but Mimi provided a nice place to take a nap.



David, Marney and Dad Cundey.

Construction!

David has begun, in earnest, the renovations that will turn our attic into a nursery.  He has taken 2 days off from work so far, and has had 2 friends help him in the project.

This afternoon we went to Lowe's and bought lots of materials.  Knowing that my husband becomes very determined when he has a pressing deadline, I bought paint during our excursion.  Paint for walls and a ceiling that currently don't exist.

I am praying that God keeps David physically and mentally strong during this process, and any prayers that you would like to offer up would be much appreciated, too!

What's In A Name?

I realize this may be a moot point if we have a boy, but does anyone have any girl name suggestions?  Three weeks ago David and I were set on the girl name that we had picked out... but with repitition, and as time gets closer, we've changed our minds.  Now we're back to square one!  We like smart and strong sounding girl names... nothing too cute or common.  Help us if you can!

NJ Baby Shower

I was blessed for a third time this past weekend, as my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and aunt-in-law gave me another baby shower.  This one was held in Woodbury, NJ, only about 15 minutes from where we live and was attended by many of David's family members.  My dear friend, Karen, drove up from Maryland for the event, and a few of my good friends from church attended also.  I received many gifts and had a wonderful afternoon.  Thank you Mom, Marney and Aunt Cathy!

David's cousins, Mia and Lisa, along with his Mommom and Aunt Diane.



Enjoying many delicious foods.

 

Crib sheets... one of our gifts from Mom and Marney.



A stuffed animal from Aunt Jayne.



Jade, Aunt Catherine, Pam, Mom and Lisa.



Karen, Maria, Leslie, me, Regina, Shawn and Jan.
(Hmm... I never realized how big a size difference there is between me and many of my friends!  Am I really that short?)



David's Family:
Carol, Mommom, Pam, Aunt Catherine, Mom Cundey, Jade, me, Barbara, Aunt Diane, Aunt Jayne
Mia
Lisa, Aunt Cathy and Marney



Surprise Baby Shower

I work with a great group of ladies, and we always get together and celebrate each other's birthdays with cake and cards.  Therefore I thought nothing was out of the ordinary when we all received an email this past week saying that the conference rooms were booked during our usual meeting time and we'd have to celebrate Joyce's birthday at lunch time instead.  Wow, did they fool me!!  I walked into the conference room today to find out that Joyce had delayed her birthday celebration so that they could throw me a surprise baby shower! 

I've never been a fan of walking into a room and suddenly being the center of attention, but it turned out that it wasn't too bad to be surprised.  It helped that there was a big lunch planned and we only had 45 minutes to celebrate... so I opened gifts while everyone enjoyed the food.

One of my coworkers, Lisa, is extremely talented in making cakes (in fact, usually she charges for them!), and she made the jungle-animals cake that we all enjoyed.

I am grateful to have spent the last 4 years working with such nice ladies, and I am blown away by their generosity and kindness!

Crosby Thanksgiving and Christmas

David and I usually spend our Thanksgiving with his family (and always have a wonderful time!), but this year plans changed.  We found out that Howie's family was going to be in Delaware (visiting Hannah's family) during the week of Thanksgiving, and Alenna's family decided to join us in NJ so they would be close enough to meet Howie's new son, Gavin.  When Dad found out that 3 of his "kids" were going to be in one area, he and Gene decided to drive up from NC. 



Dad and Gene.

This was the first time I'd ever hosted a Thanksgiving, so I was a bit overwhelmed that so many people were attending!  But Alenna offered to help me with the entire meal, so it turned out to be nowhere near as stressful as I had envisioned.  The guys helped out too by frying the turkey out in our garage.  Everything turned out great, and we all enjoyed the company and the food!


Dad and Howie "supervising" the frying turkey.

Our delicious dinner!

Dan and David... relaxing after our big meal.



Howie didn't get too far with carrying this heavy load!

 

Howie, Hannah, Ellie and Gavin

 

Sophie was tired after our long day... so Cora laid down to keep her company!



Dan, Alenna, Aiden, Seth and Cora

We knew that we wouldn't all be together again this year, so we decided to get together on Saturday morning to give gifts to the kids and celebrate Christmas together.  The kids were told that they would get to open gifts from youngest to oldest, and I assumed that Gavin would have the first turn.  But then Hannah told me that our baby had gifts too!

David opening a gift for our baby.



Me with Seth and Aiden.

Ellie opening one of her gifts.

  

Aiden with one of his gifts.

 

Cora shows off a Christmas dress that David and I gave to her.

It's been 10 years since I was with my father, sister and brother for Thanksgiving, and it was wonderful to be together for a few days last week.  Now that I've hosted my first Thanksgiving, I won't be intimidated if my family joins us again.  In fact, I hope we don't let another 10 years go by before we do it again!

30 Weeks and A Haircut

Hard to believe that we're at 30 weeks today!  The last 15 weeks have flown by, just like everyone said they would.  Things have been going well, and I'm really enjoying this pregnancy.  I haven't taken on any water weight yet (that I can tell) so the typical 3rd trimester complaint isn't an issue, and for the most part I'm able to sleep. 

While I'm settling into this new role as a mother (as best I can, since it still seems very surreal!), I decided to take on a mom haircut.  And, I've got to admit, the additional 10 minutes each morning does make a huge difference!  I'm not completely sure that this is the style I want to stick with, but for the time being it's working out well.