Blaine is now Full Term!!!

I wish I had more to post about, but we don't have a lot!

On the Home Front:

Not a lot new to tell.  We had our neighbor boy, Brian, come over a week or so ago and he helped organize some of the piles of building materials we had outside and he also bagged up lots of trash/foam that we had blow away, all over the property and in our 'coulee' (natural ditch area).  That was a HUGE help!! 

Scott is still periodically working on the cellar, although these last few weeks we've had some wind, some rain in the evenings, and lots of heat!  But since we are in the homestretch with Blaine, Scott and I have fell into a 'relaxing while we still can' routine.  This past weekend he was incredible - he helped me clean and do dishes all day Saturday, then we had our neighbors, Rich, Jackie and Brian, over for dinner (first time we've EVER had any one over for dinner here or in Ohio!!).  We had a lot of fun!  It was interesting to see how the cats would behave, but they actually did very well!  I was so afraid they would try to get on the table or in everyone's plates!

Nothing else new on the home front.

Baby Blaine Update
She's still in there!!!  Today was my 37 week appointment and it went really well!  She's now considered full term and can come at anytime within the next 5 weeks.  Her due date is August 18th (3 weeks from today), but I secretly have my fingers crossed for next Monday (August 3rd) as her arrival date - that's our wedding anniversary!  I was actually born on my parent's anniversary and thought it would be fun if she was born on ours too!

Blaine is measuring (with the belly measurement) at 37 weeks (that's good), my dehydration seems to be under control (finally!) and I think I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions (not positive as she could just be pushing on my belly).  The doc checked me last week and I was dilated no more than 1 cm.  Now he said unless I request (which I won't be), he won't be checking me again until I'm admitted to the hospital.

Scott is really starting to get excited (as am I!).  Over the weekend he actually put the car seat in the car, the window shades are in the car, and even my hospital bag is in the car and all ready to go!!
AND, I'm so excited to share this!!!  Last night, we were hanging out on the couch watching some of our DVDs and Blaine started really kicking and pushing.  So I grabbed Scott's hand and for the FIRST TIME, he felt her move/kick!!!!  You'd think by now he would have felt it, but every time he'd try to feel her, she'd stop!  Plus I've been couch bound for about 2-3 weeks now (no more climbing the squeaky ladder).  And that makes less Scotty time for me.  (You don't realize how much you just miss having the other person next to you until you are stuck on the couch!!)

Now Scott and I have talked about this extensively, but we've decided that when I go into labor, I will be texting/posting to FB that we are headed to the hospital!  We realize pretty much everyone we know is everywhere but Wyoming and you've all been following us through our crazy adventure, so as much as I'm able to, I'll be updating you all with our baby progress.  HOWEVER, we do ask that you do NOT call us while we are in the hospital.  If you do, we will not answer, so just be prepared.  You are welcome to text us and post to FB, but if we don't respond, please don't get upset because this is going to be a crazy time for us as we become first time parents!  If I'm able to, I will be posting/sending updates and as soon as we are home from the hospital and settled in, you are more than welcome to call!!  We would love to talk to you!  Just please don't get offended or upset if Scott and I are focused on each other and getting Blaine here in one piece.  We love you all but this is going to be a scary and exciting time for both of us and we will keep you posted as best we can!

Just keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the upcoming weeks!!!  It's going to be a crazy time for us!!

So Thankful, So Blessed!

Scott and I wanted to write this blog post just to say thank you!  We have less than 5 weeks till Blaine's due date and we are very happy and excited to meet our little lady!  The last 35 weeks have gone by so fast and if it wasn't for each of you, it would have been the most stressful 35 weeks.  We feel so blessed and lucky to have the support of so many of our wonderful friends and our family!

Blaine is one of the luckiest little girls already! Everyone's support, kind letters and notes, gifts, prayers, and well wishes had been overwhelming (in a good way!). We really truly feel that it has been a community effort to get this far!  Daily, Scott and I say how lucky and blessed we are to have each of you in our lives, to have your support through our crazy awesome journey our here, and to have your continues support as we grow our family!

Each of you have become family to us!  Because of you, these last 35 weeks have been so memorable for us.  Thank you so much, from the bottom of our hearts, for everything! 


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Weekly Updates:
The house is making progress, slowly but surely!  In the last week, Scott has continued to work on the block foundation/walls on the cellar.  It's a very slow process because he has to make sure every single block has to be level.  It's going to take quite a while to get the cellar completed, but that's the #1 goal to complete before winter (so the water in the cistern won't freeze).  Inside the house, Scott figured out why the shower was leaking!!!  And he fixed it!  On the down side, we (meaning him at this point) will be removing all the floor tiles.  But it's ok!  We want to be sure that our shower is done right and will last a long time for us.  We'd rather do it now than get it completed, get the rest of the bathroom completed and then discover there is a problem.  If you are wondering what was wrong and why the shower was leaking, here you go:  When we first planned the shower stall it was going to be 30" wide.  When we made the separating wall and set it at 30", we decided we wanted it to be wider.  Well, at this point all the plumbing including the drain for the sink, was already set in place in the foundation and couldn't be moved.  The sink drain was going to be in the shower wall itself, so when we moved the wall out another 6" that put the sink drain in the shower itself.  We said, 'No problem!' and we decided to build a 'bump out' to enclose it.  Well, the problem came down to the tile adhesive in combination to the 'water sealant' wrap that was put down.  First, the wrap didn't fit perfectly because there were areas that had to be cut to fit around the bump out.  Second, the tile adhesive wasn't meant for floors.  When we purchased it, we were specifically looking for shower floor tile adhesive but our local Lowes didn't have anything (that we could find) so we sort of winged it.  The water from our 'showers' was leaking out around the 'bump out' and getting a small portion of the bathroom floor (near the shower wall) and the kitchen floor wet.  Well, Scott fixed it!!!  He pulled up all the tile on the bump out and around that part of the wall, then he scraped up all the adhesive, and used mortar mix to fill in all the cracks around the bottom of the bump out.  Since then, NO LEAKS!!! 
Another minor update we did was to put up curtains in the living room.  I was planning on making them, but due to budget restraints, we decided to buy some really cheap curtains from Walmart and basic cheap rods too.  They are nothing fancy, but they will do the trick!  We wanted to be sure we had a way to shade the sun especially since Blaine will technically have her bedroom in the living room.  It's fun to see how our house is really starting to come together as a home just by adding something simple like curtains!
Last week, I had a day where I had a little more energy that normal so I used the Bronco and drove around areas of our property where we still had scrap wood from our build last year, and I picked up all the non-usable scraps and put them in the burn pit.  In the process, I saw my first Wyoming scorpion!!!!  The neighbors have told us about them, but I hadn't actually seen one for myself.  It wasn't very big, only about 1.5-2" long and it was nearly see-through or very lightly colored (makes sense to me because it would want to blend in with the ground).  I've been told that the scorpions here in Wyoming are not poisonous, but they will sting you. 

Baby News:  We are down to under 5 weeks till Blaine's due date!!! Just 2 more weeks and she is considered full term!  My belly is still growing everyday.  I just talked to my sister-in-law this last week and we discussed that at this stage in the pregnancy neither one of us really felt super pregnant, UNTIL we went to bed and tried to roll over or get out of bed/off the couch! HAHA! 
But I'm feeling really good, just more and more tired.  There are some days where I feel like I can't get anything accomplished, but others where I have more energy than usual and get a lot accomplished!
And I'm officially camping out on the couch! No more sleeping upstairs in bed.... I'm not having issues climbing the ladder, but going to the bathroom 4+ times a night, with a squeaky ladder, makes for a long sleepless night for Scott.  So to be nice, I'm sleeping on the couch now. 

We are so thankful to have received even more fun surprises in the mail in the last week!!  First, the Dohmes surprised us with a Rainforest Jumperoo and a Red Cross Health and Hygiene kit!!  Traci said there are a few more items coming too and I'm excited to see what they are!!  Thank you so much! The two items we've received so far were on my 'must have' list!  The Health kit will either be added to my diaper bag or put in the car for any emergencies we may have.  The jumperoo I just know will come in handy once Blaine can sit on her own!!  I have a feeling she's really going to love it!  Thank you so much!
We also received another surprise from another set of Blaine's grandparents - Don and Charlotte Willis!  Now Don and Charlotte aren't 'blood grandparents', but they were our OH neighbors and have become our family! Now there is a story behind this gift - Don has had Harley's for as long as I have known him.  Charlotte said that she and Don were at a Harley store and Don saw these 2 onesies and said they had to get them for Blaine!  One say's 'Born to ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles' and the other says 'My Grandma rides a Harley!!'   We love them!!!  Not only do they mean a lot to us because they are from you, but because of all the memories we have of you and your Harley's over the years too.  Thank you guys!!!
My next appointment is in one week (week 36) and I'll keep you all updated about it next week.  My goal is to also get pictures taken of Blaine's baby area, of the new curtains, and of the progress on the cellar too!

We just want to say thank you again for all your continued support and love!  We are overwhelmingly thankful and just so very excited for the day we can post pictures and details of Blaine's arrival!

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers!  Have a great week!

AND - We want to wish 2 very special people in our lives a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!  Both my dad and Don Willis had birthdays this last week!!!  Happy birthday you both!  We wish we could have wished you a happy birthday in person, but hope you both had great day!

Hello JULY!

We made it to July!!  The countdown is now at 46 days till my due date!  Boy this last month has gone by so fast!

We have had a few amazing weeks that I’m so excited to share with you!

House Updates

We cleaned up and organized a bit outside and Scott has started working on the plumbing indoors as we get ready to have our water hooked up!  However, Scott had to work last weekend so we didn’t make much more progress on the house.  But, this coming holiday weekend, he has a 3 day weekend and we plan on getting a lot accomplished! We should be starting on the cinder blocks for the cellar, and working more on the plumbing (especially when it’s REALLY hot in the afternoons here).

I’m hoping to work on curtains for the house during the month of July, but the budget maybe getting quite a bit tighter here soon so we are preparing for that just in case.  Which means I may not be able to make my curtains after all.  But that’s ok! If I need to, I’ll use some cheap fabric from Walmart or even some extra fabric in my stash to get us by.  We will make due one way or another!!

Last week, Scott’s cousin Ken stayed with us for a bit which was the exact kick in the pants we needed to get our house cleaned up and ready for Blaine!  We did some major cleaning and reorganizing including getting the scooters out of the house, rearranging the layout of the loft so there was more room up there, getting all the extra boxes of stuff from downstairs up in the loft, taking the 4-tiered rack out of the bathroom swapping it out for the 3 tiered rack that my sewing stuff was on, and using the 3-tiered rack for all Blaine’s baby stuff!!  Plus we finally unpacked all the baby stuff and got most of it set up too.

The house ‘arranging/cleaning’ isn’t completed, but it’s VERY close to being done and all ready for Blaine.  It’s so close, that even if she made her big debut today, it would be ready for her!

 

Baby News

There really isn’t much news right now… Blaine is still growing and we have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow so I’ll add below how that goes!  I’m really anxious to see if I actually gained weight.  It’s been so hot here lately 90-110*and I’ve had little to no appetite but have been guzzling cold water and eating lots of popsicles (not to mention sweating so much!).  She’s wiggling quite a bit but still feels very low (no weird aches/pains quite yet).  Otherwise I have no complaints at all right now! I’m feeling bigger and bigger each day, but I’m very happy with no morning sickness right now (fingers crossed it stays that way!) and just overall feeling probably the best I have over this entire pregnancy!

We went into ‘baby mode’ over the last 2 weeks and we now have her pack n’ play set up (mostly… I got frustrated with the bassinet part so it’s not together quite yet), her highchair is set up, she has a designated set of shelves with her changing table, diapers and supplies on it, plus last time I was in town I was able to wash all her clothes and got most of them hung up in her armoire.  We are actually repurposing this armoire that originally was Scott’s dads when he was a kid!!  There is a pole across the top but we got another pole for below that (since her clothes are so short) and then in the bottom we put all her extra baby wipes and a few extra packs of diapers that we have.

I still need to finish putting together the pack ‘n play (goal is this weekend), get more hangers to finish putting up the last of her clothes, vacuum/clean out the car and get the car seat in there (plus figure out how to use it and have the EMT folks at the hospital give me a safety lesson too), stock up on supplies from Costco including TP, paper towels, food for prepping in advance, and cat food/litter (one less thing to do once Blaine is here!), and we purchased a hanging shoe rack that we are going to attach to the wall and actually use it to put her pants, hats, socks, etc in since I can’t hang those in the closet.

Doctor's Appointment (33.5 weeks): All is well! Blaine is still growing and all my vitals/measurements were the same as they have been.  The doctor still has no concerns at this point.  Now I was dehydrated, so I drank 2 full bottles of water since leaving the office and I'll have to focus on drinking even more (looks like I'll be sleeping on the couch since I'll probably be peeing a lot tonight!! haha).  I asked the doctor what the likelihood is that he will actually be the one to deliver Blaine.  He said as long has he's not out of the state he will be the one.  And he said he will be out of town August 9-15 for a wedding..... Anyone making bets she will arrive during that time frame!?!?!  And what I was waiting for all day - the weight gain!!  Scott was betting 5lbs, and Abby B. said 8..... I only gained 3.4 for a total gain (so far) of 6.4lbs.  Not bad! Next appointment in 2 weeks.... stay tuned!

 

EXCITING WEEKEND FUN!!

I’m saving the best for last!!!  Last week, we had a surprise phone call from Scott’s cousin Ken!! He was in Billings on business and his stay lasted a little longer than expected so he was here for the whole weekend.  He stayed with us for 2 nights and we had a blast taking in around our area on a great weekend adventure! This was a great adventure for Scott and I too because most weekends we just end up working at the house, so this was a real treat for us too!

Friday night we drove him to the Clark Canyon and pointed out lots of local things on our way to Cody, WY.  We had dinner at the Irma Hotel too!

Saturday, Scott had to work part of the day, but I wanted to be sure that Ken got to see the Beartooth Pass!  We got up early that morning and headed out after breakfast.  The last time (and only time) that I have been on the Pass, it was the opening weekend and there was so much snow that it was like driving through snow tunnels!  This time, there were patches of snow at the very top of the mountain, but we actually got to see the mountains in their full glory plus all the beautiful lakes, wildflowers and animals too!  At one of the rest areas at the top of the mountain, there were chipmunks running around everywhere and they would come up to us, perch on our hands and beg for food.  Ken bought some Little Debbie cookies called Jellyfish Cookies (cookie bottom, marshmallow top, all dipped in a coating) and he fed them to the chipmunks!! Ken even got them to sort of ‘dance’ for their cookies!!  It was hilarious!  And these chipmunks were so chubby from all their snacks, it was so funny!

Driving the Pass was so much fun! We stopped at a spot at the top of one of the mountains where there was snow.  Ken wanted to ‘play’ in the snow and he made a small snowman!!!  The temperature was 92*+ down in Red Lodge, but at the top of the mountain it was 64*!  The lakes were stunning!  This was the first time that I have seen the lakes up there (last time they were frozen over).

After the Pass, we stopped and grabbed lunch in Red Lodge, then drove back home (which is a stunning drive also).

I think we had just as much if not more fun at home that evening!  Ken surprised us with everything for a cookout, so he spent the evening putting together a grill that I think had over 1,000 pieces to it.  There were some funny moments, but he did awesome putting it together!  And we grilled out for the first time that night too.  It was delicious – grilled steak, veggies, bread slices and even a side of fresh watermelon too.  Plus every night since then, Scott and I have grilled out too!!!  It gets really hot in our house when we use the stove/oven in the evenings, so having the grill is becoming the biggest blessing!

After dinner, we had a perfectly clear night and we set up the lawn chairs to star gaze.  I’m not sure if Ken has ever seen stars/planets like we see here in Wyoming.  He said that was probably one of the highlights of the trip!  I was so tired by this time that I went inside before they did, but Scott said they saw several satellites zip across the sky too!  Overall it was a pretty incredible day!

Sunday, Scott was able to spend all day with us, so we just had to go to Yellowstone!  We drove back through Cody, stopped for a bit at the Buffalo Bill Dam, and then proceeded to Yellowstone.  This was Ken’s first time there!  Yellowstone is basically a big loop around the park with several ‘access points’ to other cities (like our access point in Cody).  We drove most of the loop including areas that Scott and I have never been to!   Shortly after getting into the park, we saw some cars stopped along side of the road so we stopped too.  There was a momma bear and her two cubs!!  I believe they were grizzlies but we found out that the momma bear was Raspberry (that’s her name)!  We didn’t see her for long because she was headed over the hill top, but just to catch a glimpse of her was so spectacular.

We drove around a good part of Yellowstone lake which is HUGE and very majestic!  At one point the traffic was stopped as several elk walked across the road! I didn’t get a picture of them, but I’ve never seen elk that big before!  Through more of the drive we also saw antelope and deer too. 

Our next stop was at Old Faithful.  This was a first for all of us!  We grabbed a quick sandwich there and headed out just in time for Old Faithful to blow!  There were thousands of people there to see it!  Although this is a big tourist attraction, this was probably the least exciting thing we saw the entire time in the park.

We continued on and stopped at (I think) the Upper Falls.  This was incredible!  There was a lookout point that was just amazing.  We were at least 350’ high (we were debating just how high up we were) and as we looked down by the river we all saw a bald eagle flying around! 

We continued on through an area where the ground was ‘burnt’ away (no vegetation) and small pools of really hot water were discoloring the ground area around them.  We didn’t stop here because the parking was insane and plus we needed to get Ken home at a decent time too. 

From here we continued on through Lamar Valley – probably one of my all-time favorite parts of the drive.  Lamar Valley is full of thousands of buffalo roaming around.  This also takes you to the Cooke City, MT entrance to the park (which was our exit point). 

We left the park then stopped in Cooke City for dinner at the Miner’s bar/grill (great burgers!!).  After dinner we drove back to our house via the Chief Joseph Highway (another popular scenic drive).

It was a long, 12+ hour day of exploring, but ended our weekend with Ken on a high note!

Ken you not only made our weekend, but the thrills we had were by far some of the best we’ve had since moving here! We can’t thank you enough for spending the weekend with us and we hope it was one you’ll never forget!

Pictures!!

There is a little bit of everything below from pictures of baby gifts we've received, improvements to our property, the second bird in the woodstove, baby bump pictures, and pictures from our weekend adventure up the Beartooth Pass and to Yellowstone!   Enjoy!!!