Picture Update

I was finally able to borrow my mom's camera to get pictures from this summer and a few more recent ones (I don't bring my camera anywhere anymore for some reason...)Here are some random pictures...

The fam in Chelan

A pretty standard sight for that week...
After a morning "walk-jog" (my term for what I do now since I have to switch between walking and jogging:)) My mom got these matching outfits for Payton, Paige, and Kaitlyn.


My aunt Debbie and cousin Caiti threw a really nice baby shower for me this past weekend. I was forcing Caiti to feel Kaitlyn move...

She was a little unsure...
2 and a 1/2 more weeks until we're due!! :)

Update

We had a doctor's appointment today, and I am currently 1cm dilated and 70% effaced, and Kaitlyn's head is low. The doctor says that this is great progress for 37 weeks. I know from talking to many others that this most likely means absolutely nothing in terms of when she'll make her arrival, but it's still exciting to know that my body is doing what it's supposed to. :) I have been wondering if she was dropping pretty low because of how I've been feeling, but wasn't sure.
Everything is looking great - her heartbeat is great, and the doctor thinks that her size is right where it should be. So apparently she's evened out since 19 weeks when they told us that she was in the 94th percentile for size. :)
Here's hoping!

Yep, I'm huge!!

Kaitlyn and I are officially full term! I am 37 weeks, with 3 weeks to go until our due date. Of course, she could wait until after that, but do me a favor and send some "early" or "on time" vibes...I feel like I am getting bigger every day, and most of the time it feels like she is trying to bust right out of my belly. She's running out of room! My next appointment is tomorrow, then I start going every week. I have been feeling really good, considering the situation. :) It helps to stay active. I am dealing with some pretty attractive swelling in my ankles and feet, but other than that things are not that bad. Teaching is keeping me extremely busy, so time is flying. Jeff is, of course, still very busy with his masters work, so I think we'll both be shocked when Kaitlyn decides to make her appearance because we are so distracted.

Aside from our jobs and school work, we have been working non-stop on "projects" around the house to get ready. I don't remember what it feels like to sit and relax in front of a movie or just relax for that matter! We finally have the nursery pretty much finished, we are just waiting for the glider chair to arrive. It will go in the corner here:

Here is one of the shelves (by the door):
I had these shelves in my room growing up, and I painted them white to match Katilyn's room.
Jeff put in a closet organizer last weekend, and I had fun organizing and doing TONS of laundry!! It's so nice to have a place for everything, and have space left over. I'm sure we will have no problem filling it!

I hope their "90 percent" is accurate, because if she comes out a boy, she's going to be wearing a lot of pink!! :)
The crib...the bag is from Mollie, Kara, and Jenni. I'll be bringing it with me to the hospital. :)

And that's it for now!

Catch Up

Here are some updated pictures. I don't have one of Gina's and my graduation, but I'll post one soon. We finished our masters classes in mid-August, and I could not be happier!! It is so nice not having that or Pro-Cert ("Professional Certification" - required by the state to maintain a teaching certificate) hanging over my head this year. This will be the first teaching year without both. I am now taking a year long class in Integrated Thematic Instruction. Why, you ask? I am starting to ask myself the same question...perhaps I should have taken a bit of a break, but oh well. We are getting so much closer to Kaitlyn making her appearance. I am now 33 weeks pregnant, which means that I only have 4 more weeks to go until I am considered full term (37 weeks). Our due date is at 40 weeks, but any time 2 weeks before or after is considered "normal." I know that I'm not the only pregnant lady who has hoped this (and probably won't get my way), but I wouldn't mind if she came a bit early! My last day of work is scheduled for October 29th (due date is October 30th), and I am determined to work as long as I can in order to have as much time as possible with Kaitlyn after she's here. I will be taking about 3 and a 1/2 months off. Jeff will take a week off when she's born. I'm sure that it will be exhausting, etc., but we are incredibly excited. :) I had my first baby shower last weekend, thrown by Meagan and Carolyn. It was such a great get together; they really put a lot into it. We feel SO spoiled! It was so nice to spend a few hours with friends, and everyone was so generous. We can't wait to put Kaitlyn in all of the cute little outfits (which will promptly get messy, I'm sure). Okay, here are some random pictures. I still need to get some from my mom's camera of this summer, and Gina has a good graduation one...

A little outing to Deception Pass the day before school started. Hiking up those hills is a little different when you're 7 and a 1/2 months pregnant...and I've even been exercising. Oh, and this picture is a lesson in not wearing a hooded sweatshirt with a big belly. Not flattering.
A good view.
Mom's birthday dinner at the Keg. Jeff and Rob thought they could beat me in a belly contest after a big meal. Ha!





31 weeks - duh.

Gowey Pool Party

Kathryn and Albert had the Gowey family over for a pool party. It was a good day for a cold pool!
My brother and me cooling off: Couldn't skip a cute picture of Amanda:
Part of the fam in the pool:

After the uncles got tired of seeing who could make the biggest splash, they moved on to see who could jump off the diving board with a successful landing onto the blow up airplane:
Uncle John had it nailed after about an hour:

Rob flying:
Good times! :)

Tired of Baby Stuff Yet?

Okay, here are a couple of updated nursery pictures. I promise (well, maybe...) to wait until it's done to post any more. Here is the hutch/changing table, and below is the crib (in case you couldn't figure it out ;)) . We love how the colors look with the rest of the room. It's so hard to know until actually seeing it. I have to say that actually having the crib in her room makes things seem just a little bit more "real." We can't believe that she's going to be actually using this stuff in less than three months. :)
We are very, very lucky to have received our "BOB" (brand) stroller from Jeff's parents. This is a very generous gift, and we are so excited to have the coolest stroller ever (in our opinion...) It's a jogger, but is a bit more compact than others, and has a rotating front wheel, so it turns like a champ. The front wheel can be locked for jogging. Bonnie and Roger also bought the "infant seat adaptor" so that Kaitlyn's carseat can fit in during the early months. We are so spoiled!!
Here is the stroller. I came upstairs the other day to see that Jeff had put Riley in it to "practice." I made him reinact it for a picture, and I'm sure that Jeff will be thrilled to see that it made it on here. :) (I'm too lazy to go back and rotate the picture.)

Jeff wanted to practice taking it up stairs. Riley was a great sport! Ahhh...how our lives have changed already; why would we want to go out on a Friday night when we have a stroller to play with?!
We have our first baby class this evening at the hospital. Tonight is "Newborn Care," tomorrow is "Breastfeeding Basics," and we have an intensive (all day) birthing class next weekend. Bring it on! I'm sure they will all be interesting...(they better be for what they charge!)

That's "all" for now!

Update

I thought I would give a quick update on the life of the Collins family. :)
Jeff is continuing to work hard (too hard, if you ask me) in his master's program. The poor guy always has a paper to work on, is working full time, and really has to juggle other activities. He tries to fit in the "fun stuff," but unfortunately, that hasn't been easy. We are both looking forward to the "end" next spring. He is a trooper!
The end is in sight for me. This weekend will be my final presentation for my program, and I will be completely finished after Sunday. Just in time! Let's just say that I am ready to move on, and reap the financial benefits... :) Funny how having a baby on the way makes that even more appealing!
I had my monthly "baby appointment" today, and everything is looking great. Kaitlyn was measuring big at my last two appointments, but is now supposedly measuring right on track. We'll see if she gets another major growth spurt; I'm still not convinced that she's going to be under 9 pounds. :) I am now officially in the 3rd trimester (28 weeks), and will now start seeing my doctor every 3 weeks. Time is flying!! We are so excited for everything to come, but are grateful to have a few more months to get ready.
Rob (my brother) moved back from Colorado a couple of months ago (yay!:)), and he's been helping (mentoring? He worked for a painting company in CO) Jeff paint the nursery. They just finished painting the other day, and it looks beautiful, if you ask me. I am so happy with how the colors turned out, am extremely grateful for all of their hard work (I picked out the colors, and they went from there ;)), and am excited about decorating now. :) We got a crib and changing table a few weeks ago, so those will be going in soon. For now, here's a couple of pictures of the colors. The pics definetely don't do it justice. It's yellow on top and brownish/beige on the bottom:





And, for some entertainment, here's a picture from last night. My friend Tracie is moving to Austin, TX next week, so there was a little send-off gathering. I am sporting a plastic visor with shades connected to it. There's a lever that brings down the shades - yep, coolest thing ever.
I feel like I get bigger by the day! Can't imagine the waddling that will be happening before this is all said and done...