The B.O.B. and The B.U.M.P.

Jason with The B.O.B., our super fancy stroller that we are so excited about!  This puppy can go off road and jogging...watch out! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Bailey:)

The "bump" at about 34 weeks last weekend.  Judging by the incredible amount of food I've been eating I'm sure I've at least doubled since - haha.

Things & Stuff & More Things...

Anyone ever notice how many "things" come with babies?  It's quite fascinating how such a small being can necessitate so many things...and stuff...and more things.  Jason and I are determined to take a minimalist approach to this whole baby / kid thing, but even we had quite a few essential items to gather and put together.  Thanks to the generosity of a lot of wonderful friends and family, we have most of our baby equipment, but spent needed to put them together and get things installed.  Now that I'm closing in on about 33 1/2 weeks I'm feeling the need to get things in order just in case our little one decides to make an early entrance.
We spent most of our Memorial Day weekend building, reading directions and organizing. The picture on the front of the blog is with our car seat, all ready to go in the Subaru..  Jason's car has a base too and we also got the stroller base to snap the infant seat in case they are sleeping and we want to walk around. 

One of my absolute favorite baby items, the Snugabunny Bouncer.  You'll notice the "baby" aka a rag doll I had when I was little serving as our guinea pig.  It was actually really helpful to practice strapping the baby in to this and the car seat.

I also washed all the baby clothes, towels, sheets we had and got the baby room a little more organized.  We are waiting on a Peter Rabbit picture to get back from framing that my parents sent us to get the room finished out.  I'll post pictures once it's totally ready to go.

Just today Jason put together the Pack N Play Bassinet the baby will use to sleep in our room for a few months.  I don't have a picture, but we wanted to set it up so Maddie can get used to it.  She spends most nights in our room so we'd like her to get used to it and make sure she doesn't think it's a new cat bed!

I'm pretty sure this is a gift more for Jason and Maddie (and myself and baby when those 2 aren't around!).   I was really suspect on recliners because they are usually not quite my style and too large for our small house, but Lazy Boy makes some more modern styles, and we love this one!  How have I lived without a recliner until this day?

This weekend was Hullabaloo, a local music / food / beer festival downtown in Wheeler Park.  It's very quirky with costumes and Flagstaff's finest eclectic crowds.  We spent the afternoon there with some friends.  It is pretty warm in Flagstaff right now, so I set up camp  under a tree on a picnic blanket. 
Jason, Baby H, and I.  No hiding that belly!

With my friend Sonia:

Jason, Sonia, and Paul:

Yesterday we also toured the Flagstaff Medical Center's Women & Infant Center.  It was really nice, big rooms, very calm atmosphere.  We feel more comfortable having seen where we'll be going once labor kicks in. Just for fun, here is a picture of Maddie and I watching TV.  Maddie loves her bed!

Lastly, some of my long time blog readers will notice the playlist is gone.  Apparently the website I used to embed the playlist has stopped allowing you to embed in other websites, so no more music!  I'll keep looking for a new options to pick it back up, but you'll just have to play your own music for awhile.

Baby Shower!

Last weekend my friend Dorlee hosted a baby shower for us.  My mom was in town and I'm so glad she was able to join us.  I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked because we were too busy visiting.  It was a really nice afternoon, and I feel so much gratitude for the generosity, thoughtfulness, and care of my family and friends.  We even had a few gifts from friends in S.C. and family in England - what a special surprise!

Here I am with the wonderful group of ladies:

Thank you to my dear friend Dorlee for hosting the shower.  Although I don't have my family with me in Flagstaff, I have some really top-notch dear, dear friends that I am so thankful for.  This baby will surely always feel surrounded by love and community.

Luckily my mom was around to help me start to organize the influx of baby things.  We've got some things to put together this weekend, clothes to wash and ready, and I need to finish a couple sewing projects to finish up the baby's room.  We are even thinking of trying to put together the car seat this weekend and take it for a spin! So looking forward to the long Memorial Day weekend to relax, sleep, and continue getting things ready for Baby H.

31 Weeks

This is baby and me at the Grand Canyon a couple of weeks ago.  It was rather warm and we took numerous breaks, but it was nice to get some fresh mountain air!

I will be 31 weeks tomorrow and feeling every week of it.  I find myself at work in a cycle of sit, walk, stretch to keep my back and hips comfortable.  I've been walking everyday and yoga twice a week, but it's getting harder and harder to avoid those pesky back aches.  I'm carrying baby on my front and my back is bowing like a lovely letter "C"!  I hit a few bumps with some elevated blood sugar levels, but I'm on a strict diet from here on out to keep it under control.  I have a follow up blood draw next week to make sure it's helping; wish me luck!

This week my co workers threw me a surprise baby shower; I truly was surprised (and I'm not an easy person to surprise).  They had a great breakfast and gifts, and it was all organized by my team, which meant so much to me.  They even tried to have Jason there, but unfortunately he was in Orlando for the past two days.  I told them at work last week that I wouldn't be returning when the baby was born, and while I am looking forward to this transition and change, I am going to miss the wonderful people I supervise and have the opportunity to work with everyday.  Baby and I will be making lots of trips to campus for walks and lunches. 

My lovely team!

My parents are coming for a quick visit this weekend and my baby shower is this weekend!  I am really looking forward to the shower, and so happy my mom will get to be there to celebrate. 

Nesting is in full force around here.  We bought some more items at Target, got the car windows tinted (Arizona sun is a bit intense for tiny babies!), bought a glider / recliner that should be here soon, and lovely gifts from our registry keep flowing in.  We are enjoying getting things ready, feeling more prepared for when baby decides to make their grand entrance.

David Sedaris

I forgot to mention in my previous post that this Friday we got to see a reading from David Sedaris at NAU.  He's a wonderfully hilarious author who writes a lot of embellished autobiographical stories.  I've read a lot of his books and his reading did not disappoint -- hilarious.
Grab one of his books if you need a good laugh.

Third Trimester

Well I've made it to the third trimester - 28 weeks and counting!  It is so hard to believe how fast it is moving, our little one will be here before we know it.  We are starting to collect some gear; we got the first part of our car seat in the mail this week...Jason is excited to practice.  We thought about strapping Maddie in and taking her for a drive...not sure that will end well.  We are collecting more clothes and putting together some pieces in the baby's room. My favorite part (scratch that - only enjoyable part) of pregnancy is that baby bounces around all day.  I really love sitting in a meeting at work and feeling little feet and arms wiggle around.

Last weekend we were in Phoenix with some friends from South Carolina.  It was record highs, hitting 100 on Sunday.  Saturday we rented a cabana by the pool and swam and relaxed.  Swimming while pregnant was amazing, I felt weightless (no small feat lately!).  It was really nice to see our good friends and get out of town for a couple of days.

Jason's last big work trip before baby was 2 weeks ago in London.  He's got a few smaller, closer trips still coming up, but at least he'll be around now pretty consistently.  That is a great thing because it is increasingly difficult for me to do a lot of things with any great sense of urgency / grace.

I have a baby shower coming up at the end of May and my parents are able to visit; it will be nice to be able to have my mom there to share in the joy and excitement! 

Today's agenda includes a long walk in the park and soft-serve yogurt -- not a bad day.
xoxo - Helen, Jason & Peanut

Coronado Island

We went to Coronado, California a couple of weeks ago for a quick vacation, and I really didn't want to leave!  It was a bit chilly and over cast, but we got some sun too.  A lot of walks on the beach, good food, naps, all the ingredients of a relaxing vacation.  On our morning walks on the beach:

The 1906 Lodge, a perfect place to stay:

We went to San Diego Zoo.  I've been a few times, but it was Jason's first visit; it is my favorite zoo.  Our favorites were the Gorillas, Hippo, and Polar Bears.  We bought a little stuffed polar bear for our Peanut:)

We took a ferry from Coronado to San Diego for lunch.  So wonderful to be on the water!!  We really miss that in AZ.  From the ferry:

At the port in San Diego:

We wanted to get a "belly" picture on the trip and Jason snapped this on the beach.  It's my favorite picture to date and I look forward to saving this to share with our little one one day.

I've been feeling really good, and surprised at how we keep growing and growing!  Peanut is wiggling, punching, and bouncing around and some of his punches and kicks are even strong enough now that we can see my stomach move.  Jason gets a real kick out of those too.  It's so amazing and I could just watch my belly all day.  Baby is especially active when I first wake up and in the evening when I'm relaxing on the couch.


It's been snowing all day today and Jason's in London.  I just hid inside and did some cleaning and laundry.  Hope to get out tomorrow and see Titanic 3D -- I was obsessed with that movie when it first came out.

Until next update...