What a great baby shower!

Elaine, Anna Ruth, and Melissa (my in-laws) threw a baby shower for me on Saturday, January 24th! It was incredibly wonderful and special--in fact, it even snowed for the occasion! I got so many wonderful things from our registry that John and I feel very well prepared for the coming of Meredith/Ben. Thank you to everyone who came and we missed those who could not! I was so excited about all the things we received that I opened everything, put it all away, and washed all the clothes by the end of the day. I think my nesting instinct is stretching over months rather than a few days before going into labor.

Speaking of labor, John and I are attending our pregnancy class every Monday night starting two Mondays ago. We have already learned about the physical/emotional changes (a little too late, I think) as well as what to expect prior to going into labor and during labor. It became really real when during our second class, we found out that one of the girls in the class already gave birth the previous week when she was only 33 weeks pregnant! In fact, John and I had a hospital visit on Monday and actually saw the baby in the nursery!!!!! It is crazy that I could truly go any time. I will be 35 weeks pregnant on Sunday which means that I will most likely have the baby within 3-7 weeks!!!!!! I have another doctor appointment tomorrow which will give me information about how I and Meredith/Ben are doing. I can tell you that I am having stronger and more frequent Braxton Hicks contractions that are really inconvenient while teaching--they are strong enough to take away my breath which makes it difficult to teach! I think my biggest anxiety, though, is my water breaking in front of my ninth graders...that would go over really well! At least I teach Science, I guess, and I could make it into a lesson :). Pray that the pregnancy continues to go well and I look forward to seeing alot of you soon!

We are into our 33rd week of pregnancy!

Well, we had our 32 week check-up on Friday! I had to wait for quite a while due to the fact that, my luck, the doctor had to rush to the hospital to deliver a baby. You know, if it isn't my baby, it is kind of an inconvenience :)! However, after an hour and a half of waiting, we found out that my blood pressure is good, I am still measuring 2 cm larger than I am supposed to, the heart rate was at 120 and Baby Partin is still doing lots of shifting and moving around causing it to not be in its permanent "ready to exit" position. Some concerns that I had were that the heart rate was 120 even though it has been 150 and that the baby gets the hiccups about 4-5 times a day. What I found out is that the baby's heart rate peaks as high as 160 and as low as 120, so we may have caught it when it was very very calm. The doctor did not seem to be concerned. As far as the hiccups, apparently it is a sign of a healthy baby in that it is practice for breathing. My mother said that I had the hiccups A LOT and my brothers did not--does that mean that I am carrying a Meredith rather than a Ben? I will let you all continue to guess and decide! All in all, we are both doing fine and John is doing an incredible job taking care of us. Because he understands the importance of my comfort at this point, he took me to Motherhood and got me a few new clothing pieces to help me maintain as much comfort as possible. We will update you again soon!

It has finally hit me...

It has finally hit me why all of those teacher friends that already have children smiled at me so sweetly in the beginning of the year when I announced my pregnancy! When I made small complaints about the side effects, got excited about finally wearing maternity clothes, and anticipating actually being able to feel the baby move, they weren't smiling and thinking "how sweet...she is such an excited mother-to-be..." Oh no, friends!!! In their minds, they were thinking "how cute, just wait until she hits that 8th month....we will see how bad those side effects really were in the 1st trimester OR we'll see how she really feels about maternity clothes then OR we'll see how much she really really loves feeling the baby move whenever possible. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE being pregnant. I LOVE that I can predict the baby's routine by movement, that we are even able to have children, and that this pregnancy has been flawless for the most part. But there are weak moments in time when the baby gets the hiccups when I am attempting to sleep, when he/she puts alot of pressure on my bladder in the middle of me teaching a class, and when I look at my feet that seem to be suffering from elephantitis that makes me VERY ready to meet the little one. We currently have a few pregnant women at the school and when I hear them talk about minor swelling in the feet in the beginning of the second trimester, I pass along the sweet smile that I have received way too many times. In my mind I say, just wait.....

On a side note, I have gone organizationally crazy this week making sure paperwork is ready for our rush to the hospital in about seven weeks or less. I have compiled a check list for during labor and after, compiled 4 copies of my birth plan and hospital admission form to keep in various places in case labor comes unexpected, included copies of insurance information, pediatrician information, etc. etc. etc. It is my attempt to be in some kind of control when that uncontrollable situation hits. The doctor appointment is tomorrow, I will make sure to include an update with an updated 32 week picture soon!

Milo is a Partin no more!

Milo is no longer a Partin pet. Apparently that smart little booger used his sweet, kitten appeal to win over our neighbors who have children. The kids have gotten really attached and today, our neighbors asked us if it would be ok to keep Milo as their indoor family cat. Of course, since Milo would be an outdoor pet for us and we will be distracted come March, we expressed our excitement that they will be taking such great care of Milo. So, if you became as big a fan as we were becoming, don't fret, friends, we will give you something to be even more excited about around March 5th!

By the way, not that I want to throw around my political preferences or anything :), but did you see the Presidential debate tonight? I am so excited about how well Huckabee did and his ability to stick to the issue at hand and not stick it to the candidates surrounding him. I am so thankful that he is a frontrunner and so forthright in standing up for his belief that this country was built on our Heavenly Father and those principles laid out in our Holy Bible. Go Huckabee Go!

Do we have to go to work tomorrow? We have been so productive!

John and I are very blessed to be North Carolina State employees--we have had a 10 day vacation! With that 10 day vacation came the opportunity to get ALOT done around the house that we have put off for some time. I spent the days kicking off the "nesting" stage of pregnancy. I have cleaned the house top to bottom, reupholstered the ottoman and made pillows for our family room (with help from my sainted Mother-in-Law, Elaine) and working HARD on Baby Partin's nursery. John has been the sweetest most hardworking father-to-be by working EXTRA HARD on the nursery, refinishing our two rocking chairs, power washing the house, reorganizing the garage, and picking up anything off the floor that I can no longer reach. Below are pictures of some of the work we did.

Reupholstered Ottoman













Newly sewn and stuffed pillows in family room













Refinished Rocking Chairs



















NURSERY PICTURES-Classic Winnie the Pooh Theme

From the hallway (New crib, bedding, and Melissa-Elaine Sewn Drapes)













John and Melissa's Painted Stripes below Chair Molding













The New Glider with a New Melissa-Sewn Pillow



















Repainted Bookshelf and Chair Molding (with lots of hand-me-down toys--thanks, Aunt Anna Ruth and Aunt Melissa!)













Newly Painted Changing Table













Dresser with New Hardware to match the nursery













Close-up Shot of the Crib

Meet Milo!

Well, the day after Christmas, I was walking towards our laundry room and heard a VERY loud "MEEEEOOOOOW!!!!" at the back garage door. When I opened the door, there was an adorable gray kitten looking at me in the most pathetic way. Because we do not want another pet, John and I both walked to a couple nearby neighbors to see if they had lost their sweet kitten. Unfortunately, everyone replied with a "no" and "good luck"! John and I decided to not feed the kitten that evening but to see if it hung around. After another day and a half of the little one pawing at our windows as if to say "Aren't I cute? Don't you want to love me? Don't I look HUNGRY?!", John decided it was time to feed the kitten. We gave Milo a little milk and some of Lucy's food which she inhaled like she had not eaten in a week. It has now been a week and this sweet baby has not left our front door. We decided to name her and have decided to keep her as an outdoor kitten. So friends, meet Milo--our lost kitten who found her way to our door! Maybe God had her come to us because He knew we were suckers for animals and would take good care of her.

Oh! By the way, for those of you concerned about how Lucy and Milo are getting along...take a look at this picture. Lucy adores Milo and Milo purrs away when Lucy comes around. They enjoy long walks on the Partin lawn rubbing on each other and taking in the view.