Where, oh where, have my little feet gone??

Whew! A lot has happened since my last post....this one's gonna be a doozie, folks... :)

First of all, Jamie and Emmett tied the knot on Oct 13, 2012! So very exciting! The bride was beautiful, the groom was handsome, and even the rain couldn't ruin their happy parade. Here are Mara and me at the reception - I felt beautiful that day.

 Their wedding day was monumental in their new life, and it also marked a milestone in mine/Mara's life - it was the last day I saw my ankle bones. Yes... farewell ankles and small feet... I will miss you and hope you come back after Mara arrives.. the next few days after the wedding, I had serious cankles happening. Not only was it a physical change from the outside, but my SKIN HURT. It hurt to bend and walk because, as my doctor put it, it was like squeezing sausage into too tight a casing (no joke - he used this phrase yesterday at my appointment!). I don't have proof of the infamous day-after cankles, but here's a glimpse into my daily foot appearance these days... (don't judge on the nail polish...growing a human for 34 weeks makes it really difficult to reach the tootsies...)

Have I mentioned how great HyVee is here?? They're basically our local Jewel/Dominick's/Meijer... but look what they have, right up front for parking!! This should be EVERYWHERE!

Back in the beginning of September, I went to Nashville to celebrate Jamie's bachelorette. The music city did not disappoint!! Despite being pregnant, I felt darned good and was able to stay out [relatively] late - I had my dancin' boots on, after all! Saturday night was cowgirl-themed, and thanks to Sarah, I got to capture this lovely moment at 2:30am..yeeeeeehawwww!

While in Nashville, we went on a 1-hour tour of the city (sort of dorky for a bachelorette weekend, but SO worth it - tons of fun!). One of the stops was to this yummy sweets shop that had delicious sandwiches, baked goods, and.... marshmallows. I. LOVE. MARSHMALLOWS. They had all different kinds of flavors, coatings... oh my God, it was Heavenly. They had this on their wall:

If Mara is a chunker, I am DEFINITELY calling her my little "Mara-shmallow" (Thanks, Mom, for that nickname idea!!)

OH.... so I get emails from Babycenter and Whattoexpect.com every couple of days.. great information and usually spot-on in terms of pregnancy symptoms.

Well..

Today, I got one entitled, "What labor really feels like." Now, granted, it began with how labor is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get...it's different for everyone... yadda yadda yadda... and THEN... one woman describes labor as a serrated knife being stabbed into the top of your abdomen and slowly cutting through you to your pelvis...and then having that repeat for every contraction.

Um... ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? What a terribly graphic description.. I have come to the understanding that labor is no picnic and that it's going to likely be a pain like I've never experienced before... but, uh, I was kind-of operating under the "Women have been doing it for years, some with higher pain tolerances than me, some with lower, and if they can do it, I can do it" mantra. This allowed me to recognize that it would be painful, but kept me from obsessively freaking out about how scared I was about the pain. So I'm currently trying to erase that email from my memory.. it's not like I can NOT go through labor, it's kind-of the next step after roastin' a baby for 9 months. So if you've gone through labor and it totally sucked, keep it to yourself, please. And if you have words of wisdom that don't include descriptions of being sliced open like a "Scream" film, feel free to contact me!

.....6 weeks and counting...

4-Year Anniversary

27 weeks today! (Check out the Flickr stream on the right margin for a slideshow up til now!) As today is September 5th, we are also exactly 3 months away from our due date....Grandma Grape pointed that out to me when she called the other day, and I couldn't believe it! Holy smokes - Mara is going to be here SO soon! When I told Mike, he asked if I was ready and I said NO!!! I am not ready to not sleep and have to operate on someone else's schedule! I'm quite enjoying Saturday mornings waking up whenever I darn well please.... But... I GUESS the pros of having a beautiful little daughter will outweigh the cons of not enjoying 24/7 selfishness... ;)

August 30th was our 4-year anniversary (of marriage - it's been 11 years of growing love, though!). Although Mike was traveling on the actual day of our anniversary (hey....he did that last year too...hmmmm), we celebrated over the weekend by going to Bluestem in Westport. Oh. My. Goodness. Deliciousness!! French-inspired cuisine...5 courses...mmmmmmmm So good! I was just disappointed I couldn't enjoy a glass of wine. Ha... but Mike... he was disappointed that he didn't know what "foie gras" was (neither did I, when he ordered it... I could pronounce it though! Thanks, Madame Schramski and high school French). So anyway, he ordered it and it looked like a round little slab of ... something. He took a bite and.. well.. it was HILARIOUS. He prides himself on liking just about everything (he keeps trying olives over and over, hoping that this time, he'll like like them. Never does)... he did not like foie gras. So of course we Googled it and found out it's blended duck or goose liver with mustard and celery seed. Ew. He took a few bites but the adverse effects forced him to stop. Well.. now we know what foie gras is, and that we do not like it, Sam I Am.

 

The happy couple at Bluestem :)

So bright side of pregnancy right now is that Mara is moving like crazy and I absolutely LOVE feeling her teeny little body kicking and twirling around. She already weighs a little more than 2 pounds! Amazing.

Mike listening to and feeling his baby girl.
(Anyone else's heart melting??)

Not so bright side... well.. I sneezed the other day and (no, I didn't pee... though I fear that day is going to come..eek).. I sneezed and the lower right side of my stomach pulled and now it is sore. My back is starting to complain that it hurts (I'm not complaining.. my back is...). And finally, I cannot stand being in the heat. We have an awesome pool at our apartment complex and Mike and I decided to spend time down there on Labor Day. I lasted an hour. I tried so hard! They have cabanas and I tried laying in there (I mean, who am I kidding?? I'm reflective in the sunlight...I wasn't going to get a tan).. but to no avail. I retreated to the air conditioning ASAP. ((I might add here, though, that Mara LOVED being in the pool! As soon as I was in there, she was going ca-raaaaazy. Water baby! Yay!)) 

Mike gives our pool a thumbs-up! To the left, there's a little waterfall. Very nice! :)

I just noticed that I have a LOT of capitals in this post (yes, I did that one on purpose). Oh well. Now you know exactly where my emphasis would be if I were talking. :) This upcoming weekend is Jamie Kay's bachelorette party -- Mara's second bachelorette experience, but this time she will be known and I can drink waters without question. Next post - Mara and Mommy Take on Nashville!! Until then... au revoir, mes amis!

Rollin' With the Punches

Believe it or not (sometimes I'm in the "not" category!)... I'm 6 months along with little Mara Lou! In two days, I'll be 26 weeks...and I've got the belly to show for it, finally! For a long time, I wasn't sure if what I was feeling inside was Mara or simply my body doin' it's thang, but now I KNOW she is an active little girl! Not only does she roll around and tickle my belly for my pleasure, but Mike got to feel her for the first time as well! On August 11th, the day of Maria's (Mike's sister's) wedding, Mike felt his daughter for the first time.

(Awwwww... "his daughter"... for some reason, referring to Mara as our daughter is significantly more real to me than using her name or the term 'baby.')

24 weeks

Ready for another cute little anecdote? Okay. I warned you that it's cute. So you can't complain. :)

The other night, I decided to read to Mara while rocking in the rocking chair my grandma gave us... I read a Fancy Nancy book about butterflies (appropriate, since I seem to be drawn to butterflies and nature-y things for her nursery). I love Fancy Nancy, by the way, because the books are always fun and educational - Fancy Nancy LOVES using big words, and always explains them with parentheses...double-whammy! You can teach vocabulary AND the implication of parentheses in a text! Anyway, the cute part of this story is that later, I told Mike that he should read to Mara, since she hears my voice to the point of exhaustion all day. He chose I Wish I Had Duck Feet by Theo. LeSieg, a funny little book about a boy who wishes he had all these different animals' body parts so he could do different things. I'm not sure which made me delightedly giggle more - the fact that Mike was reading to our daughter with my legs draped over his lap, or his voice as he read the funny book. :) After he was finished reading, I rubbed my belly and told Mara that that was her daddy reading to her and... did she like the book? Mike put his hand on with me, and she KICKED in response! Homegirl likes a good book, apparently. :)

Ah, but don't fret, you Negative Nancys out there... all isn't perfect in Lindsay-Baby-World.. Mara's kicks have caused some sleepless nights already (yes, yes, I know... they'll get worse... she'll get under my ribs...she'll make it difficult to breathe... yadda yadda yadda... but for now, I'm happy to feel her little body.. so there). :) I am choosing to be a Positive Penny (you like that alliteration, don't you?? Yeah, you do..).

Mike got me a prenatal massage as my 28th birthday gift, and of course as I laid on my back, I could feel my body start to get all funny... as in, the "I am getting hot and queasy and sweaty and I can tell I'll pass out if I don't lay on my side" funny. Luckily, I told the massage therapist that I needed to lay on my side before anything happened. All I suffered was the embarrassment of being slicker than oil while she continued the massage. I kept thinking, "Maybe she won't notice... maybe she'll just think it's the lotion..." Probably not, but she didn't say anything, so NBD. C'est la vie. At least I didn't have to cut my massage short! See.. Positive Penny!

Speaking of Penny... my sweet little cousin Penny was born about a month ago! Penelope Jayne. She and Mara Louise are going to be best of friends, even if they do live a few states away from each other. :) Isn't she adorable??

Oh, and I almost forgot... my massage was in Mike's gym near his office.. and this sign was posted on the glass next to the door:

...wait... so you mean I can't come packin' to the gym?? ....I'm not joking. This was totally on the door. I understand that I'm now living in a place where people more commonly exercise their right to bear arms (there are signs along the highways between here and Chicago in support of this)... but who brings their gun to the gym, honestly? (Say this with a British accent a la Austin Powers..way more fun...) How about another movie reference?  "Exercise causes endorphins..endorphins make people happy..happy people don't shoot their husbands." Name that movie. Seriously. Be my blog's second comment-maker and name the film. I dare you...

This past weekend, Mara experienced her first baseball game.. the Royals played the White Sox in KC. I thought it fitting that we should see our old-home team play our new-home team. Oddly enough, it took a move to Kansas City to see the Sox play for the first time! (I'm a Cubbie at heart - I couldn't finish the 'root root root for the Royals' line in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" because it just felt weird.)

All in all, things are great here in the Anderson baby world! I am absolutely beyond blessed ...healthy mama, loving and supportive husband/daddy..and a healthy and active little Mara Lou :)

...Like Bein' 16 Again...

You know how when you turned 16 you jumped at any excuse to drive anywhere? On my 16th birthday, I drove 20 minutes to Meijer just to buy Lipsmackers lip gloss. I was SO excited to just get behind the wheel and experience that sense of freedom and independence! Well..that little 16-year-old Lindsay is ME in KC right now! My dad and Suzanne graciously brought down our second car from Michigan last weekend (thank-you, thank-you, THANK-YOU to them and Patti and Dick for the gift) and now I am driving wherever I can. I honestly kind-of enjoyed driving around downtown and spending time at the DMV yesterday...now THAT should communicate my desperation to get out of the apartment! ;)

As August begins, I can't help but think about teaching. It's a very weird feeling, after always being busy and working...to know that I won't be working as a full-time teacher this fall. It's almost like a bit of an identity crisis...not a crisis, maybe an ... ummm... identity struggle? I am excited to have the opportunity to tutor and maybe even volunteer at a school or for an after-school program, though. Not just to work with kids (which I miss already, just knowing I won't be in my usual capacity), but to simply have a purpose - something that demands my time and challenges me intellectually.

Yesterday was my first OBGYN appointment in KC! Dr. Bishop was recommended to me by my Aunt Sissy, who lived here 18 years ago.. "The Bish," as she fondly refers to him, was her OBGYN during her pregnancy for my cousin Jack... crazy! He was absolutely LOVELY. I learned about his family and a little about his travels as he learned about me. He made a point of mentioning how the doctors at his practice focus on personal relationships with patients and I seriously felt like I was living in a dream - I thought nice doctors like him only existed in the movies!! As he left, he told me, "Make yourself at home, this is your second home now!" with a smile. OMG I couldn't stop smiling and thinking about how lucky I was to have such a rockstar doctor!

Little updates with me and Mara:

• Baby girl keeps streeeetching her little self out and putting pressure on my bladder. Not painful, but definitely lets me know she's there. :)
• Had another weird little episode where I felt nauseous, light-headed, and went into a cold sweat again...while laying down...and waiting for The Bish to come in to the appointment... luckily, he just smiled and nodded as I told him of the ER visit and this second episode, so apparently I'm fine.
• Still working on the most comfortable way to sleep on my side without my hips or shoulders hurting, but it seems that a body pillow between the knees, one pillow under my head, and another pillow layered between the two gives the best positioning without forcing me to clench my teeth or wake up whining about my joints aching. It also helps if Shermie props up against my back. :)
• Mara Lou's heartbeat is strong, so she's growing well and staying healthy! Maybe that's part of the reason why I feel tired unless I get 11 hours of sleep every night!

It's a bird! ... It's a plane! ... It's a .... GIRL?!?!

Yes! Believe it or not, Baby Anderson is really a little baby girl. I was so absolutely shocked during the ultrasound. I had convinced myself that I was absolutely having a boy, even trending toward boy bedding and nursery decor. But little Baby Anderson is a sweet little trickster. I'm sure this will be one of her many surprises. :) *Note: Pink is a pretty color and all... but I definitely am more attracted to non-pink colors for Baby Girl; blues, greens, yellows, even purples...

The common question after the gender reveal is, "Do you have a name?" Yep. Sure do. And yes, I have no problem sharing! Her name is Mara Louise, a tribute to two of our grandmothers - Marilyn (Mike's maternal) and Regina Louise (my mom's maternal grandma). The first name, Mara, sounds like the letter "R" with an 'mmmmm' and an 'uh' around it. I'm hoping she won't be that kid whose teachers all pronounce her name wrong, causing her to hate it! ;-) Oh well.. I always wanted to be Rebecca for some random reason, so I'm sure she'll want to change her name to Shenandoah at some point down the road.

Mara at 21 weeks!

We were in Chicago when we found out (last appt there - awwww).. However, that ultrasound wasn't my only visit to the hospital. The following day, I graced them with my presence in the ER because I nearly passed out during brunch. You know what? It's incredibly embarrassing to arrive at the Emergency Room not feeling like you have an emergency anymore.. as I walked myself up to the check-in desk, appearing completely unscathed, I checked out the people around me - broken arms, broken legs, and a big ol' gash across some guy's forehead. I began with, "I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be here, but..."

Okay, here's the story..

Out to brunch with Jamie Kay at my FAVORITE brunch spot in Chi-town: Orange. I was on Cloud 9. Had frushi (fruit sushi, a MUST), a few sips of their orange-infused coffee, and half of a delicious egg and veggie chorizo wrap. Drank a glass and a half of water. Had just finished when suddenly, I began to feel nauseous. Realizing this was no little game my body was playing, I told Jamie I had to go outside for some air because I felt sick. Naturally, I shooed away her offer to escort me, saying I just needed a minute.

WELL, when I got out there, I didn't just feel nauseous; I began to get all clammy. And faint. And suddenly, I couldn't really hold myself up against the brick building anymore. So what does a girl do? Get on all fours on Clark Street in a cute green dress, of course. A nice couple had just parked their car and asked if I needed help, but I was still being Stubborn Sally and said I'd be fine....

NOPE. After another minute, I realized it was getting worse and I couldn't really see as well. Luckily, Maria (one half of the parked car party) had waited (she's much smarter than I) and quickly retrieved Jamie Kay. Then, her other half of the parked car party, Julio, came out and shared the job of holding me up to walk to a chair with Jamie Kay. I must have looked like a hot mess. I couldn't hold myself up, I was cold and sweaty, and I couldn't really respond to questions (except for the "Do you want an ambulance?" to which I [vehemently] croaked, "No").

Jamie drove me to the ER, where Mike met us and I was told that I was probably dehydrated. Four hours, one saline bag, three small viles of blood, one urine test, and several ridiculously good-looking doctors later, we left the ER. Mara was totally fine throughout all of this. She was probably rolling her eyes at me, wondering why her mama can't just pick up a glass of water and drink it!

Kickin' it in the ER

Later that evening, we celebrated the happy happy union of our friends Dustin and Phoebe - now Mr. and Mrs. Cahan!! :) Congratulations, you two!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

* First off, let me say thank-you to our friend Rosco, who re-designed the background of the blog! *

Thank-you, Rosco! :)

The Good

At a little over 19 weeks now, I am close to finding out if Baby Anderson is a girl or a boy! (Official find-out date is July 20th...stay tuned for that post!) I am finally starting to really show that I'm pregnant...woohoo! 

On our first morning in Kansas City (Tuesday, July 10th), I groggily woke up to Mike getting ready for work at 6:55am. And wouldn't you know it, so did Baby A! I felt the first movements of our precious little one that morning. It felt like a light, sweet little muscle spasm....an eye-twitch of sorts, but in my belly... so exciting! I can't wait for Mike to feel the baby, too. That day will be incredible. :)

Another 'good' is that we made our first baby nursery purchases! Teeheehee! We bought a crib and a changing table - both should be delivered next week. I cannot wait! I'll absolutely post pictures of the nursery in progress. Discovering the style I want for the nursery has definitely been an adventure. I don't see myself getting into an animal theme or transportation theme (both of which I see a lot of on websites).. don't get me wrong, some of those little elements are SUPER cute! But I want our baby's room to be a reflection of us and our happiness, since that's what the baby is. Pictures of places we've been, happy memories, family, and of course momentos of the pregnancy... a room of love. :)

The Bad

Honestly, I have had a glorious pregnancy thus far... aside from feeling nauseous for the first trimester, I have been so blessed! I feel great. (Partly because I am sleeping around 10-12 hours every night, I'm sure! I'm a lucky girl on many levels.)

But this is supposed to be the 'bad' part... so let me get to that. Though I've been sleeping a lot, it hasn't been uninterrupted! I'm a back sleeper by nature, so sleeping on my side has been a huge adjustment. I constantly wake up on my back again, even though I've tried to make my body stay on its side! Arg! Last night, I slept with a body pillow and new regular pillow (designed specifically for side-sleepers)... it was better, but my shoulders still squish and I woke up once with pain in my hips... maybe once we get our actual furniture delivered from Chicago, things will be better. I don't think pregnant women were meant to sleep on blow-up mattresses. (Not to mention that sleeping on my side facing away from Mike is difficult when the weight of his body makes my body want to roll down toward the middle! I'd sleep all snuggly and facing toward him if I didn't seriously fear that he'd punch me in the face with one of his twitches - it's happened before!) 

And then... The Dreams. Holy smokes, the weird dreams I've had while pregnant! I can't remember them right now, but you know how a CRAZY dream can totally shake you for a while after you wake up? That's what pregnant dreams have been for me. Sometimes frustrating (as in, I'm trying to teach a class of kids but no one listens, no matter what I do), sometimes scary (as in, people trying to kill me, loved ones dying), and usually too real. 

Can I also add that bras are beginning to feel like corsets? Geez-oh-peets!

The Ugly

Ahhh the digestive fun! ;) I won't go too much into detail here, but let's just say I've spent some time standing on my head lately. (Truly a great way to pass gas, and it always makes me giggle when it happens. Not a glamorous or lady-like comment, but I'm just trying to pass along the good word!) But seriously, I've looked twice as pregnant because of all the air bubbles in my belly that seem absolutely opposed to exiting in any way. Not fun. And not pretty, either. Dare I say... ugly? 

Wedding, Shower, and Birthday Weekend

We had a busy few days full of love and happiness this weekend! On Friday, our very good friends Shana and Dave got married (congrats again, Shave! We love you and are so incredibly excited for your life together)! At the [gorgeous] reception, Mike had the chance to tickle our funny bones, along with Adrian and Matt, as they all introduced the wedding party a la Will Ferrell announcing the Bulls. Props, boys, Dwandy gives you a big thumbs-up - you had everyone rolling! When the dancing began, we were all on the dance floor, and Dwandy even got the chance to share a song with a partner, thanks to our friend Laura. :)

Dwandy's first dance - Baby A really loved Laura's attention and groovy moves!
<3

On Saturday, we celebrated my nephew, Liam's, third birthday. I don't get to see him often (a statement that will soon be even more true after this KC move, sadly), so I gobbled EVERY moment I could steal with him. Luckily, he seemed to like me a bit, so we had several moments. :) Here's one in my car (which he wanted to stay in and drive to cousin Livvy's house).

Liam and "ZZ" - both wearing ZZ's glasses while in ZZ's car. :)

When I first saw Liam, he came up to me and requested to see my baby. I knelt down and pointed to my stomach. Then, he instructed me to lift my shirt a little so he could see my belly. I obediently followed his instruction... Not yet satisfied, he asked, "Can you open it?" HAHAHAHA I calmly explained that the baby was still growing and that we couldn't open my belly to see the baby until Christmas - like a present. Poor kid's now obsessed with the snow coming!

Liam will also apparently be teaching my future child to chop down trees (Liam the Lumberjack has a nice ring..).

When Liam was having quiet time before bed that evening, he was laying between my dad and me. He got up and decided he wanted to talk to the baby. After each of his "Hi!"s, I playfully pushed my stomach up and said, "Hi!" Despite my efforts, each time, he said, "I can't hear it!" So, he rolled over to my dad (who looks very in shape, by the way) and said, "Let me see your baby," looking expectantly at his stomach. Too funny!

Okay, last cute Liam story.. I promise! Same evening, during quiet time... sweet little Liam decides to show his affection by rubbing "my baby" in circles and then patting "my baby." Unfortunately.... his aim was a little off and his love ended up happening at a higher 'bump' on my body...one of two higher bumps... oops! It's the thought that counts, right??

On Sunday, I got to share in the happiness of my cousin's baby-to-be. She is due 5 months before me...which means she's due July 5! Morgan is a beaming and beautiful pregnant woman...radiant would probably be the best description. The company was great, the food was scrumptious, and I must admit that Dwandy and I got some excellent ideas for our own baby registry! ;) (Hey, at least I'm honest!)