My First Baby Shower

On Sunday, I drove up to Washington to attend my first baby shower. Abbey and SuAnne threw it for me at SuAnne's house. They went above and beyond what they should have done! Everything went along with the pink and brown theme. It was adorable! I enjoyed seeing all of my high school friends, some of their moms, one college friend, and many of my mom's friends. My Aunt Jil and cousin Tracy attended as well. I hadn't seen Tracy since her wedding in October. It was so fun to catch up with them. I feel little less anxious and stressed now that we have received some necessary items for our baby. We received our pack-n-play, diaper champ, bath stuff, gift cards, stuffed animals, and many clothing items. I think our daughter is going to the best dressed girl in Champaign.:) Abbey and SuAnne asked that people bring books instead of cards. So, we received many books. All of the books are signed by the person who gave them to us. I thought this was a neat idea! Now our book shelf is full of wonderful books for little girl to read. In addition to these items, my Aunt Jil spoiled us with homemade items for our nursery. She made us pink and brown curtains, pillows, and a pink and brown chair cover. Once I have it all set up in her room, I will post pictures. My description will not even begin to describe how cute everything is.
Both of my sisters and my mom were able to attend my shower too. I was glad that they were all there to share the experience with me. Kelsy won the shower game! It was the game that you have to guess what kind of baby food is in the container and what types of candy bars are in the diapers. Kacy was gagging as we were playing this game, but Kels did a great job.
I'm so thankful to have such wonderful friends and family. I don't know what I would do without these people. We are very blessed! I hate being the center of attention, so I hope I showed how thankful I was that everyone attended the shower for me! :)
Right now, I am 33 weeks! We have a doctor's appointment later today. I'm not going to post belly pics. this week because I have so many I am posting from the shower. As you can see in the pictures, my stomach is growing. I find myself walking past things and hitting my stomach alot! I guess I haven't realized how big my stomach is because I keep trying to fit into spaces that I can't fit into! I'm really enjoying being pregnant. I know I am going to miss feeling her move once she is here.
Okay, I am finally done with this post! Here are the pictures from the shower...
My high school and college friends-I love these girls!:)

Mom, Kac, me, and Kels

Jess and Kort-belly pic #3


Tracy, me, and Aunt Jil


Mom, me, Abbey, Avery, and SuAnne

St. Louis Weekend

This past weekend, Jeremiah and I went to St. Louis for one last weekend trip before the baby comes. As long as I have known Jeremiah (about 12 years) he has talked about his love for the St. Louis Blues. Jeremiah and I have been to a few hockey games (and I grew up going to them to watch Jess perform with the RiverKids). However, I had never been to a game before this weekend. It was a great experience except for when the little girl behind me was yelling, "Beat him up! Get him. Take his helmet off him and beat him up!" I wasn't too fond of hearing a little girl about 7 yell at the players when they were fighting. I know that is what hockey fans do, but it just made me feel uncomfortable when I saw this little girl yelling at the players. It was an awesome game though. I hope that Jeremiah and I can make this an annual event. After the game, we just went back to our hotel.
The next morning we woke up and went shopping at West County Mall. I was so excited to go to H & M. I tried on a few things and then realized that my pregnant body is a little bigger than I thought it was!:) After that we went to the Galleria. We met Kelsy (my sister) and he boyfriend for lunch. It was nice to spend time with Kels without the rest of the family. We enjoyed meeting Casey and getting to know him as well.
Overall, it was a fabulous getaway. It was nice to hang out with Jeremiah and not be disturbed by phone calls or emails. I just thoroughly enjoy being with Jeremiah. He is such a fun person.:)
Oh..I completely forgot to mention my Valentine's Day present from Jeremiah. Usually, we don't get eachother gifts. I guess my gift to him was going to the Blues game (but I didn't really consider it a gift because I wanted to go to St. Louis for the weekend too). For the past few weeks I have been talking to Jeremiah about how I want to get our baby's pictures taken soon after she is born. I have been researching photographers, but haven't seen anything I really like. In the future, I know that we will go to the mall to get her picture taken. We work with so many photographers (when we tape weddings) that I figured we could find someone that took great baby pictures. Anyway, on our way down to St. Louis Jeremiah handed me a card. Inside the card he had created a little card with the name of a photographer on it. He said that had looked at many websites for photographers too, but wasn't thrilled with the pictures he was seeing. So, he contacted one of the photographers that we have worked with and asked them if they would take our pictures when the baby comes. They said they usually only do family and friend pictures, but would be happy to take our pictures. I was so thrilled! They are going to come to our house after she is born. I can not wait!! Here are two pictures of us at the Blues Game.

31 weeks

On Friday, Jeremiah and I went to our doctor's appointment. I didn't gain any weight, which I thought was unbelievable (maybe it was just their scale..because I know I have gained weight!). Our doctor wasn't concerned because I have gained weight since December. The doctor felt my stomach and was able to tell that the head is down low and the butt is up high. I was so happy to hear that because I was worried that baby would be breech. I know that she can still turn around in the next 2 months, but I am happy for now! We scheduled our doctor's appointments until April. It was a good feeling to get that done. The doctor doesn't think we need to do another ultrasound because everything looks great! I'm thankful that the pregnancy is going well so far. For the most part, I am feeling fantastic. Usually, I come home from school exhausted and my back hurts pretty bad. Other than that, I am doing great!
I'm so excited that we only have 9 weeks left. I go to a breastfeeding class this Thursday with Nicci and Anne. It's fun that we get to go to this class together. Next week, Jeremiah and I start our 4 weeks of childbirth classes.
Can I just brag on my husband for a minute? I think I'm allowed to do this!:) Jeremiah has been absolutely wonderful during the past many months. He won't let me do anything around the house...seriously. Basically, every night he cooks dinner, cleans up, and then does whatever else needs to be done around the house. If I try to do something, he tells me to go sit down. He won't let me help out because he says I'm doing enough carrying our baby. So, I've been trying to clean the house on Sunday mornings when he is working so I can do my part!:) He is just such an amazing person and I'm so blessed that he is my hubby! I think that's one of the things I'm so excited about..is seeing Jeremiah become a daddy. He is going to be an outstanding dad. Only a few more weeks--woohoo!
Here are some pictures of me at 31 weeks......



This weekend Quest had its annual Volunteer Party. It was a 70's/80's disco theme. Jeremiah found a 70's shirt in his closet. I didn't really look ahead of time because I had a few shirts that I "knew I could wear" to represent the 70's. However, when I was getting ready for the party I realized I could not fit into those shirts I thought I could wear! Jeremiah and I were cracking up at how tight the shirts were on me. They both looked horrid! I tried to find something else to wear, because I love to dress up. I couldn't find anything that fit me, so I just decided to go without a costume. I was bummed, but Erin and Jon put me in a better mood. They dressed the part perfectly. I have attached a pic of them. Enjoy!:)

30 weeks

Two weekends ago my family met in Bloomington to celebrate my mom's birthday. After that we went to another birthday party for a family friend. When I first saw my sister she told me that I looked really big. It's funny because I don't think I look that big. I hadn't seen my family for a few weeks, so I guess little Cox grew quite a bit in that time. :) Here are a few pictures from the day. I don't have many pregnant pictures with my parents. Actually, I think this may be the only one I have of us! My parents are wonderful and they are so thrilled to meet our little one.

Jeremiah and me at Ruth's 85th party

Mom, me, and Dad

28 weeks

Only 12 weeks go to people! Although this pregnancy is flying by, it still feels like it will be a long time before we meet little Cox. I am constantly feeling her move now. Last night I just kept looking at my stomach because it was moving around. I love feeling her move in two or three different places at the same time now. She keeps poking me with something round on my right side and I think it may be her elbow. I can't decide what it is!:)
Even though Jeremiah and I have set up the nursery, I still feel a little anxious about baby stuff. We don't have anything besides her crib and dresser. I am fortunate to have great friends and family who are throwing us a few showers in February. Hopefully, we will get most of the stuff we need at those showers. It's just kind of overwhelming to think about all the stuff we need to take care of our little one.
Last week Jeremiah and I went to see our doctor. I had to get my 28 week blood tests done and everything came back normal. I was kind of getting annoyed because I hadn't been measured before we went to our appointment. Finally, they measured me for the first time. The doctor said everything looks great and I have gained the perfect amount of weight. Although, I feel like I have gained a ton of weight!:) Also, I had to get a shot because I have RH- blood. I'll probably have to get one after I deliver too.
Here are some pics of me at 28 weeks.

27 weeks

Over Christmas Break, I did alot of relaxing and hanging out with friends. It was nice to just chill out and not have to worry about school stuff. Jeremiah and I reorganized a few rooms in our house. Now, all of the things we wanted to get done before little Cox arrives are finished. Therefore, I wasn't too upset when I had to go back to school last week. Before break, one of my students said, "Mrs. Cox. You don't really look that pregnant." When I saw her after break she said, "Okay, now you look pregnant Mrs. Cox!" It was pretty cute!
This time of year is always stressful for me. After Christmas Break it is ISAT crunch time. If you are a teacher, you understand my stress. If not, it probably sounds silly to you that I am so stressed about the ISAT tests. Usually, I find myself being crabby to my class because I am so stressed. This year, I hope things will be different. Last week, I started to get upset with my class. Then I felt baby Cox kick me and I just smiled. I realize there are more important things to worry about then ISAT tests. So, I am just focusing on this little miracle inside of me instead. It's so hard to get upset or frustrated when I feel her moving in me.
27 weeks

Happy New Year!

Jeremiah and I had fun on New Year's Eve with some of our friends. We went out to dinner at The Great Impasta and then over to Celina and Jon's house. Since so many of our friends are pregnant or have kids, we rang in the New Year a little early. Then Jeremiah and I came home and watched the countdown. Here are some pictures of us on New Year's Eve. I believe I was almost 27 weeks in these pics.

Jeremiah and me at The Great Impasta



These pics were taken after we rang in the New Year!