Bags Packed, Ready to Go

38 weeks and counting--2 weeks till due date. In some ways, I am SO ready for this little gal's arrival, but in many other ways, I am hoping she stays put for another few days (or a week or two). It's the strangest thing--I told Casey last night that even though it is getting close, somehow it feels like it will never get here. He keeps warning me not to get my hopes up that the baby will arrive early, so that if she doesn't, I am not disappointed. But I am not really getting my hopes up, because there is this big part of me that doesn't expect it to EVER happen. Strange, right?

This week has been monumental in getting our house ready for Baby Girl. Over the weekend, Casey finished the cubby, and Monday night he put together the crib, which brought the final furniture pieces to completion. It was perfect timing for my parents and my sister Bekah, who came in to town for my doctor's appointment and ultrasound on Tuesday. Not only did we get another glimpse of our currently 7lb. 4oz. gal (according to the measurements of the ultrasound, which by admission, can be off up to a pound either way), but my mom and sister helped me get a TON of stuff ready.

37 1/2 Weeks

Up to this point, although I had been doing lots of planning for nursery decorations, I was really waiting for all of the furniture to be finished before doing the actual decorating. We got a good part of the book wall art completed (pictures to come), and more importantly, we got boxes opened, baby toys assembled, tags cut, and clothes washed. And everything cleaned up, to boot. By the end of Tuesday, our nursery actually looked like a nursery. It's still a work in progress, and all of my decorating projects are about half done, but here is a preview. And my favorite part.

Quilt from Aunt Bekah (and Aunt Melissa and Grandma)

My sister Bekah has become quite the seamstress this summer and she surprised Casey and I with an early birthday gift for the baby: a handmade quilt! It's the perfect way to tie the room together. Several months ago, I decided on a children's book theme for the nursery, but my color scheme has always been a little up for debate. The walls of the room are blue (and are staying that way!), and we have a chocolate brown comforter on the guest bed (which is also staying in the room), so my original thought was to add yellow and do yellow, brown, and blue (but not much blue other than the walls). The biggest problem is finding children's books that fit (just) that color scheme. Children's books are just so colorful. So I wanted to use lots of colors, but I still wanted them to "match." With the quilt, we were able to select a variety of books that have lots of color, but still fit a color scheme, too. And we are still using the yellow and brown, but not exclusively. I'm really excited about how well it's all turning out. Like I said, all of my projects are still about half finished, so I will post more pictures later once it is further along.

I also packed my hospital bag this week. Before it was packed, I kept feeling like I was running late and needed to already have it packed. Now that it's packed, I feel like it was way too early. I'm not an early packer--most of the time, I pack the night before/morning of a trip. This is different, sure, but it's still weird to have a suitcase sitting by the bedroom door, just waiting for some indefinite day.

But with all we accomplished this week, now I feel so much more ready to go. I'm actually really glad not to have gotten stuff ready before this. It only makes me more anxious for the big day!

A Rough Week for the Zima-Zoo

This has been a rough week for our cat Zima. When we first moved into our house, the back bedroom quickly became her safe haven from Trekker. We put a baby gate up in the doorway to keep Trek out of Zima's food and kitty litter, which we kept in the back closet. It didn't take long for Zima to claim ownership of the bedroom. She has several favorite places to nap back there, and anytime she is chased by the dog (who always wants to play), she knows she can escape by jumping the baby gate and taunting the dog from the opposite side. It's actually pretty cute. Oftentimes, they have been caught lying practically next to one another, with just the gate separating them.

Zima enjoys lying on the guest bed (aka "her bed")

One of the projects on our "Baby List" was moving Zima's kitty litter and food to the basement, because, well, "Zima's Room" is becoming "Baby's Room." It took us quite awhile to figure out how to keep the basement door open enough for Zima to have access to her food and litter (we didn't want to put a kitty door in because we would have to basically destroy the door to do so) and without allowing it to just hang open (and allowing Fitz to get down there). We finally decided on a long hook, which Casey installed last weekend. It is the perfect solution, and I think it is even baby-proof: I'm pretty sure the amount of space left is just enough for a cat, but not enough for a crawling infant to slip through.

On Wednesday, I was feeling highly energized, so I did some house cleaning, and while I was at it, decided to move Zima's food. Once I start projects these days, I get tunnel vision until they are complete, so we went ahead and moved her kitty litter, too. I introduced her to the new locations of each of these, and even put a comfy box with blankets in the basement, should she want to make the basement her new safe haven. Then, I chased her out of the back bedroom and shut the door.

The back closet, prior to move (still haven't taken an "after" picture)

Poor Zima! She didn't know what to do. She stood by the door and meowed for awhile. She paced the house looking lost and forlorn. She eventually laid down on our bed lethargically. She refused to eat or drink or use her new kitty litter. I started to get worried about how long she would hold out. Casey started to get worried that she was using some other place for her kitty litter (particularly, his closet). 24 hours later, still no evidence of eating, drinking, or expelling waste. Just a depressed kitty cat.

Finally, I woke up Friday morning to find that she had eaten some of her food and at least stepped inside her kitty litter box. When I went to the basement stairwell to get Fitz's food for breakfast, she ran down to meet me and meowed at my feet, finally asking for some food. I gave her more food, and she went right to work eating it. Like nothing ever happened. I guess she's a pretty tough cat. She'll bounce back.

And at least she has a couple of weeks ahead of the rest of us when it comes to adjusting to life with Baby. :)

By the way, at 37 weeks pregnant, I'm considered full-term now. This lil' girl can come anytime she pleases (but there are still 3 weeks till my due date, and I'm mentally preparing for her to come late; otherwise, I might go insane in this heat).