9 1/2 months pregnant (38 weeks)

Alright we are down to the wire here. I am ready to pop. I had a tiny meltdown today because I am ready for baby Carter to come out. Anyone who says they love being pregnant in the ninth month is lying, crazy or so bloated that their brain is not working properly. I have tried to remain positive but my swollen Shrek ankles, hot dog fingers, belly feeling like it could rip open at anytime, never ending bathroom trips and no sleep are making it rather difficult. My wedding ring is now around my neck on a chain, I didn’t feel right walking around with no wedding ring on and pregnant, call me old fashioned. Pregnancy is the wildest adventure I have ever been on. Something so monumental with absolutely no predictability, let me tell you for someone with OCD this is not easy. I literally have no idea when this child is coming and that scares me, oh just a little bit. I have been having contractions which are not pleasant but I get so excited because I am like okay this is it and then they go away. I pray every night that my water will break while I am sleeping but I wake to pee and find myself very disappointed. I start my weekly appointments this week hopefully the doctor will tell me I am in labor when I get there and send me straight to the hospital, cross your fingers for me, if not I going to try slipping him some extra cash to get this show on the road. Remember about a month ago when I didn’t want advice, now I am looking for it. I need any vital tricks that will work to help baby along. I know of at least one and let’s just say Eric is feeling like a used piece of meat right now. I will keep you all posted on our journey to labor!!!!

The house is decorated for Christmas

With only two weeks to go I thought we should definatly get the house decorated while we still have a chance. However the house may stay decorated until February but oh well because I love Christmas decorations. Eric did an outstanding job on the outside lights. (I will put pictures up later, it was foggy out so the pictures didn't turn out.)As you can see Papa was exhausted from all of his efforts to make the lights just perfect.

Missing the lighting of the Christmas tree

This was the first year in many years that I missed the lighting of the Christmas tree in Seattle. However I firgured since I am the size of two people right now, fighting the crowd would not be such a fun idea. Instead Eric and I went to meet Tiffany, Olly, and Hayden in Sumner to watch the lighting of the bridge. Which we actually missed, but got a glimpse of it from the freeway. I only got a tad bit emotional, nothing to dramatic. We made the most of it and ended up going out to dinner and then visiting the Canary in Sumner. Next year, we will take Baby Carter to his first lighting of the Christmas tree in Seattle. Eric loves the crowd city, HA! HA!

More turkey fun. . .

Happy Turkey Day!

It is official the holidays have begun, which means our little one will soon be arriving. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving although I felt more stuffed than our turkey was! My fabulous mother helped me create a beautiful spread of delicious treats for our Thanksgiving festivities. Other contributions were made by the outstanding baker of the family, my mother in law Georgia. I heard one guest say her pie was one of the best pies she had ever eaten in her lifetime. My brother’s good friend Brett also contributed some fabulous appetizers. We were all very well feed to say the least.

In the pictures you will notice our nice and tidy little white outfits. Those are a Becker family tradition. Every year we break out the pilgrim outfits and some how we manage to never spill our wine on them.

New glider for the nursery

My loving girlfriend Maria was kind enough to give us her glider and ottoman. I decided to change it up a little bit to match Carter's nursery. Here it is before and after.

Mama's new ride

After weeks of searching and crazy car dealerships we purchased a new family car! We got a Touring Acura MDX. It is ever so lovely. This weekend Eric and I put all of Carter's belongings inside so we are ready for the hospital, which ever day that will be. . . hopefully soon!

9 months (36 weeks)

We are in the homestretch now baby! I sometimes have to remind myself that pretty soon this little one has to come out. I am so used to being pregnant, I felt like it was never going to end. Now to know it could happen anytime in the next month is crazy. We went to the doctor today and had an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed his sweet face and big puckered lips. We could even see hair on top of his head. It was so amazing! Baby Carter is in the 42% for growth, right now he weighs about 5lbs. 11 ounces. My doctor said that he would probably be just about 7 pounds when he was born. He also said that there is a large amount of amniotic fluid in my belly, which would explain why my belly is so tight. He also reassured me the Braxton Hicks I have been having which come at any random time and are very uncomfortable. He said they were normal and not to go into the hospital unless my contractions are 5 minutes apart for an hour. So here comes the waiting game. When will little Carter be here? I have all of our bags packed, just in case. And you know I made a spread sheet for the bags so Eric can check off everything on our lists before we race out the door!

Genny & Brad's wedding

Last event I will have to dress up for being pregnant! Yippie! Next pregnancy I just may invest in a maternity dress but my other black dresses in the closet did the trick! However by the end of the night my ankles were resembling Shrek's, an uncontrollable effect of pregnancy. Not for long though. . .

I did have more then one person come up and ask to touch my belly. Isn't it funny how a pregnant belly can draw in complete strangers who want to touch you? (In the pictures those aren't strangers, obviously Eric is in one and the other is our good friend Mike Day who's lovely wife is in the other picture.)

Finding things to wear. . .

We went out to dinner on Saturday night for Vanessa’s birthday. We went to a yummy restaurant in Bellevue. We had a great time and didn’t get home until after 9:30. Late night, watch out!
Lately I have noticed getting dressed has been quite the task. I think I will stick with all black for the next month. It seems to work. Here are the latest pictures of the oversized belly stay tuned for next weeks! Ahh!!!

Shower at school

My wonderful and exceptional staff at school had a shower for me last Friday. I am so lucky to work with such caring and giving people. I consider each of them a part of my family. Their gifts were extremely generous and now Baby Carter is set. All he needs to do is come out now. (Small minor details) Thank you, thank you, and thank you to all of my beautiful staff for giving me an outstanding shower! And I should also mention that I do appreciate the 10 new mothers I have inherited at school, when if anything is going wrong they are there in my room in a heartbeat to check on me and take care of my every need! Love you all!

(In the pictures, they are digging for safety pins in rice. You may think it looks easy but I dare you to try it!)

Grandma Carol's birthday

We had lunch at Duke's on Alki to celebrate my mama's birthday. I won't tell you how young she is, it's a secret. The lady is young at heart and that is all that matters. This last weekend we went shopping and she got a facial at Nordstrom's for her b-day. Bare Minerals is a must for women of all ages! Try it, you will never go back to regular make-up.