35 Weeks!

My Belly at 35 weeks!

On Friday we hit 35 weeks! It is so wonderful that our little girl has decided to stay put for a little bit longer. Each day she stays in my belly is another day closer to avoiding the NICU and hopefully any complications. The little one this week is now gaining almost an ounce a day (scary) and her little brain is continuing to develop now at a rapid speed. All her vital organs should be ready to function and her lungs should be almost fully matured (especially since I got the steroid shots). That is why my doctor has said if I go into labor now they won't do anything to stop it. Although we would like for her to cook a little longer, she should be pretty healthy if born now.

 Since I am now 35 weeks my doctor said I could be off bed rest! YEAH! However....with my baby shower planned for Saturday (poor Georgia was so stressed that I wouldn't make it) David and Donna decided that I should remain on bed rest for Friday. That was probably a good thing. I had Morgan to myself for about 3 hours Thursday afternoon before David got home from work and I must say that by the time he got home I was pretty worn out, my back hurt, and I was having Braxton Hicks again. So, Friday morning Donna came over just after David left for work to pick Morgan up. Morgan was so excited to get to spend the day down at her grandparents since her Great Aunt Carol was visiting for the shower. While they spent the day having a blast reading books, playing with Sophie, feeding the birds, and more I spent the day with my feet up trying to enjoy my last day of relaxation. That evening when David came home from work we went down to their house for dinner and to pick up our little girl.

I am very thankful that I took that last day to relax because this weekend was full of excitement and we were busy the whole time! As soon as Morgan woke up Saturday morning with her usual announcement of "It's TODAY!" She immediately asked me "When is everybody coming?" It was 6 am. She was just so excited for my dad, stepmom, sister, and her two girls to arrive from PHX for the shower. Unfortunately for Morgan they would not be down until around noon. She had a long morning ahead of her. We decided to distract her by having her go with David to Tar.get and the grocery store. By the time she made it home every one had just arrived and it was almost party time. Morgan was so excited for her "big sister shower." She couldn't wait to help open all the gifts for her baby sister.

The Big Sis ready to go to the shower.

Georgia put together such an amazing shower. 

 Morgan and I watching everyone play games.

 Little ham.

She loves to wink at her Nanny.

 While everyone was playing the shower games....

 Morgan kept trying to get a sneak peak at the gifts. 

She kept asking me "Can we open presents now?"

 Morgan was spoiled along with her little sister. 

Many people brought Morgan "big sister" presents including this new baby doll from Mary Ann. 

She knows Morgan well and knows that she will need her own baby for when I am 'hogging' her sister. 

(In case you missed the Easter post Morgan told me I was hogging Macie when I was holding her for like 2 seconds).

 Me and Georgia

She is the greatest friend a girl could ask for. I think of her like another sister.

Lindsey, Me, Caity, and Morgan

Aunt Carol, Me, Donna, and Morgan

Morgan's paraprofessional, Ms. JoLynn, came to help us celebrate. 

 She brought her three youngest girls with her. Morgan just adores them and loves to play with them.

Practicing her big sister skills with Macie.

Classic!

After the shower we headed back to our house for a big sleepover with my dad, stepmom, sister, and the girls. Morgan was   very excited to have her cousins and Nanny there to play. While Morgan exhausted everyone with dancing Jen and I attempted to find places for all the wonderful gifts we received at the shower. We then headed to the store to pick up stuff for dinner. That night we didn't eat dinner until 8! By the time we finished dinner Morgan was done....however she always puts up a good fight and doesn't want to miss a thing. She had planned on watching her new movie from her cousins. We decided to let her set it up in her room. Within a few minutes of the movie starting this is how I found Morgan......

One tuckered big sister!

On Sunday morning we hurried to get all cleaned up and ready to go. JoAnne (my stepmom) had agreed to take some maternity photos for us. She has really gotten into photography and has one of those amazing cameras. So with Jen and JoAnne in tow we took off for a local park to try to find a nice spot for some pics. It was tough to find a good place with the lighting, but I think they came out really great.

This picture is funny, we had to try to crop David out. He was helping Morgan stand.

I wish I had taken Morgan's glasses off. They have transition lenses, so they were a little dark.

When we got home from the park we decided we wanted to try out a few just belly shots. Jen and I got on one of our new favorite websites Pin.terest (if you haven't checked it out you really need to). We searched for maternity photos and found this great idea: 

 JoAnne and my Dad worked together and figured out how to get the ribbon in color and the rest in black and white. I love how it turned out.

This afternoon I had my weekly doctor's appointment. Things checked out great once again. My weight is pretty much maintaining which is nice and my blood pressure looked great. When the doctor examined me this week she said I am now dilated to almost a 3 and that I am 50% effaced. Our little girl is still at station -2. That surprised me since last night I felt like she was so low, I was sure she had dropped. My next appointment is next Monday in the morning. We will see with me returning to work tomorrow if she holds on for that appointment. I will keep you all updated!