Yay Surprises!

I'm not really much of a surprise person. I usually find out what surprises are before they happen because I'm too curious to just let them happen to me or because I'm suspicious of people when they act differently around me. However, I have to say that I'm looking forward to two big "surprises" this weekend. :)

My wonderful sister-in-law has been lovingly planning a baby shower for me since almost the moment she found out that Tony and I were expecting, but she has kept the details other than the location and the guest list a secret from me. I haven't seen an invitation, I don't know the theme, I haven't heard about the games or food...and I'm excited to see what she's put together since I know she's been working hard and is pretty excited to get to use pink! :)

The second surprise I actually got last night. One of my friends from college currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and another lives in Madison, Wisconsin. I figured the friend from Madison would try to make it to the shower, but I didn't think the one from Baltimore would be able to make it (and I certainly didn't expect her to fly back for the occasion). However, Baltimore friend decided to use the weekend as a chance to come visit for a bit and Madison friend is coming to...and they are both staying overnight! :) It's going to be like a good old fashioned college slumber party since the sister-in-law, her husband, and my nephew are also staying overnight. I'm so excited to see them all and celebrate and spend some quality time in the same place, since none of us are very good about keeping in touch.

So, I'm trying to get through this week as quickly as possible so I can get to the weekend and enjoy all the surprises! :) Now if only I could stop checking on our baby registries to see what awesome things people are purchasing for baby Dixon! What can I say...I can't totally change my approach to surprises! ;)

It's Been Confirmed...

After our doctor's appointment yesterday and ultrasound, I'm happy to say that we are going to be welcoming a little girl in November...for sure. I have been suspicious since the first ultrasound as the tech seemed less than sure of herself back at 20 weeks. Yesterday, she had no doubt. Thank goodness because we have so many cute pink and little girl things! :) She somewhere between 4 pounds 12 ounces and 5 pounds 4 ounces right now which is between the 50th and 72nd percentile. Everything is growing exactly as it should be, so we are very thankful. I'm sure the next 7 weeks are going to fly by!

Weekend Fun!

Well, I spent two weekends in a row in Morton - the first for a baby shower with many Central Illinois family and friends and the second attending some Pumpkin Festival festivities and my nephew's 1st birthday party. Both were wonderful weekends, but I think I'll try to stay home for awhile to rest up after all the traveling. :)

I felt really blessed at my 1st baby shower (and really hot and sweaty while trying to open presents...this whole pregnancy thing surprises me sometimes as I used to always be cold). Tony and I received so many wonderful gifts from family and friends as we prepare to welcome our little baby to the world. I've been too overwhelmed by the generosity to even put any of it away yet. It's all just sitting in the nursery waiting for organization.

This past weekend's highlights were definitely pumpkin ice cream (thanks mom!) and celebrating George's birthday. It's hard to believe that he's already a year old. I still remember when he was born, so small and fragile looking. He's definitely grown and changed a lot. He's such an amazing little guy (probably because he has such great parents). Hopefully he and our little one will enjoy being cousins as they grow up! :) I'll leave you with a picture of George and the awesome tractor that Uncle Tony built for him.

Running Ragged...

It seems like the past couple of weeks have just been non-stop action, and I get tired just thinking about what the next couple of weeks hold for Tony and me. We are traveling all over the place, and the stresses of balancing work and home and other obligations are taking their toll on our tired bodies (due to my restless sleeping and incessant leg cramps these days).

On the plus side, we will have the chance to visit with our families this weekend for our nephew/godson's first birthday party, and I will get to eat some pumpkin ice cream! I know that we will survive; it's just that sometimes I wish I could stop time to just cross some things off of my list. :)

Unexpected Conversations...

Today was our church's outdoor worship service and servant event. Uncle Keith surprised us by coming out for the church service and then going with Tony to his assigned worksite for the day. They spent about 4 hours cutting back overgrown trees and bushes and then came back to our house for a little bit before Tony had to head off to youth group for the night.

The best part of my day, however, was getting to talk with my sister-in-law on Facebook for quite awhile. We haven't seen each other since the 4th of July and since we both admittedly have issues with using phones to keep in touch, sometimes the time gets away from us. However, this afternoon was fabulous as we just got a catch up a little bit. I'm excited to see her in two weeks for my nephew's (and godson's) first birthday. It's crazy how fast he's growing up! :)

In other news, the second load of dishes for the day is in the dishwasher. When Jack had that whole flea episode the house kind of fell apart. We're slowly digging out. :)

Tonight is....

JUNK FOOD NIGHT!!! This is what Tony and I do when we have zero inspiration to cook and just want to be lazy. He's having buffalo wings (they smell super spicy), and I will be having a corn dog. I also ate some more of my homemade salsa and got very sad when I had to stop due to running out of tortilla chips!

In other news, I feel like baby Dixon has doubled in size this week and therefore my middle has followed suit. Week 30 here we come! We have nothing planned for this long weekend except for the outdoor church service on Sunday followed by the "Church Has Left the Building." I think I'll find a job that doesn't require much manual labor. :)