36 weeks and Beautiful Fall Pictures...

Here is the park, which is across the street from us in the home we have now. We will be so sad to leave it and to move soon. How soon? We still don't really know. Today was a rare day with blue skies and sunshine so, we took advantage of it and went outside to take some pictures. Fall has finally peaked in the park, a lot later than last year, and we've really been hoping for a sunny day in which to take pictures of it and to take pictures together before the baby comes. We are thankful that our Saturday turned out to be that kind of day. It was so much fun, so relaxing, and SO COLD! We under dressed a bit because we thought the sun would make it warmer...but it did not:)
Josh took this one above and the next few below. He's really talented and the lighting was so great today! I love this time of year!

This one above looks like someone dancing, to me. I really liked it.

Here we are at the end of 36 weeks and going into the 37th. Things are still going along well for us. I'm looking forward to Tuesday and to hearing what the doctors at the hospital will have to say about when this little guy might really come. I'm pretty sure his head is still up... He's moving a lot though and it's really great to see. I'm feeling more tired with each day it seems, but that's just helping me ready myself for the end:)

This was a really cold shot to endure and there were plenty of people walking by looking at us:) I think most thought it was sweet, though I'm sure all thought we were strange. We probably played the "foreigner" card today in the park with all the running around, using a tripod, and posing like this with our "American smiles." They usually tease about that here!

This is one of my favorite shots:) However, Josh's hand was so cold I'm pretty sure the baby moved away from it quickly:)



I love this one of Josh- he's so cute!

Probably our last family photo before the baby comes- though I'll be sure to continue taking them of the belly as each week goes by:) What a wonderful day we had today!! I hope you are all enjoying a nice weekend as well.

Trip to the doctor...

We had our next and last check-up today with our regular OB doctor. Next week we will begin going to a doctor at the hospital where we will have the baby. Our appointment today went well. He is healthy and growing well! He is measuring long and now weighs 5 lb 14 oz. Yes, his head is still up high. I'm working on it though:) We're talking to him a lot and I'm doing my exercises.... we'll see:). Everything else is going well with the pregnancy- my BP is normal-low, no problems with any of the exams or blood work. We're really thankful to God for how everything is going. I look forward to meeting the new doctor next week and to hearing all we will need to know about the hospital.

Yesterday I washed all of the baby clothes I have here. It was fun last night to lay in bed and look over at the drying rack with those tiny clothes and socks and towels hanging on it. So fun:)

Not much else in the way of new news here. Continue to pray about our new apartment, please, and that we'll be able to move in the next few weeks. It's also getting closer to time for our Moms to travel here, so be praying for their safety as they will fly here in about 3 weeks. They will be soon followed by Josh's sister, and then my Dad and sister will come by Christmas time. It should be a fun and full holiday season this year:)

Thank you to all of you who have given us gifts or are sending gifts our way. We appreciate your excitement, help and support so much!

35 Weeks

Here's a picture at 35 weeks. Yes, I'm starting to feel a little uncomfortable now:) I'm enjoying resting a lot today at home. I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful weekend!

A lot going on...

Well, this will be another post without a picture. I really need to take a new one- I know. Life here is a little hectic right now, and the baby isn't even here, yet. Please keep us in your prayers as many changes are happening now or about to happen.

I had 2 doctors appointments this week. The first was for a general health physical and EKG. They require this here before you deliver, so that they know you were given a good general exam and that your heart is also healthy in the event you end up needing a c-section/surgery. Everything at the first appointment went well, including the EKG. The second appointment was with my obgyn. It was only supposed to be for routine blood work and fetal monitoring, but when I took my strip to him to be checked, he said he wanted to quickly check the baby's position (the strip was great, the baby is healthy, he was only curious as to the position). He quickly put a little jelly on the top of my belly and the minute he put the wand on the top part there was a big head right there, face down/away from us. So. That's that. I didn't even get to see his sweet face and I miss that. He's head up and looking away. I think he feels guilty:) haha. I'm still doing the exercises and we'll just see what happens. I'm in week 35 now, so the little guy is running out of time:) We'll be ok whatever happens and I'm still really trying not to worry about it.

We still need to move from our apartment into a new one by the 30th of November, which is also our due date, so you can imagine how that might feel about right now. I do believe it will all work out, but for a planner like me it's hard to remember to let go of wanting control over everything and wanting everything to work out a certain way. Things around us are continually being put into boxes with the hopes of moving soon and the hope that the baby doesn't come before the move. It's not so fun to not have a baby room yet, and to have all the babys things in boxes, but it also makes the future exciting to look forward to when I will finally get to decorate a room for the baby. I hope it happens sometime soon:) We have found some apartments we really like, so it's just a matter now of getting paperwork finalized and all that goes with that. It's just a slower process here sometimes, especially with the language barrier. Fortunately, we have a great advisor who is helping us with all of it.

As for me, I'm feeling well overall. I am definitely feeling slower and more tired, but that's normal. I've never had the weird dreams that are associated with pregnancy sometimes, until now. Every night I have the strangest and longest dreams that make no sense. I now have to go to the restroom every 30 minutes. I sometimes have random nausea during the day. I still don't have heartburn, so I'm thankful for that. My hands are "normally" swollen and achy. I still sleep pretty well at night, except for visits to the restroom. I am more clumsy and forgetful now than ever, which is frustrating. I have to constantly set reminder alarms on my phone. I can still put on my own socks and paint my own toenails, which I consider a great victory at this point. I'm too tired to blow-dry my hair all the way, so it's semi-wet sometimes in our 30-40 degree temps, which feels really good to me:) The czechs probably think I'm crazy and will definitly come down with the flu because of it. I still hate the baby hiccups.

That's life right now. Just wanted to send a little update and to say thanks for the emails and encouragement I've been getting. Keep the prayers coming, too, please. I'll really try to post some pictures soon!

The Doctor...

So, no fun pictures to go with this post, either:( I can't complain, though, because the baby and I are healthy and that's what is most important. He is still in the head up position, but he's growing well and weighing about 4 lb 14 oz. He's right where he needs to be on length and weight, and the fetal monitoring went well, also. His heart rate is strong and good. I had no problems or changes noted upon exam, and that's great as well. So, it was a good visit, but with no pictures taken and no change of position. I'll keep doing the exercises each day and hoping in 2 weeks he'll have changed. I go back next Tuesday, but only for fetal monitoring and blood work. I won't see the doctor again until the visit which is 2 weeks from now. That will be my last visit with my regular doctor and then I will have all of my last month's visits at the hospital at which we'll deliver. Thanks for all of your prayers!

Things to Remember...

Here are some random things I want to remember about this pregnancy:

1) At 32-33 weeks I began to waddle and no matter how hard I try to walk normally now, I just can't:)

2) I don't like baby hiccups. They feel like an irritating muscle spasm that won't stop.

3) I like to watch him roll around and see all of the weird shapes that it makes from the outside.

4) I like it when it seems I can feel just one or two of his fingers tracing something inside- it tickles!

5) I can't believe he was head down in so many ultrasounds until the 32nd week ultrasound- here's hoping he turns around sometime soon

6) When Josh talks to him and puts his hand on my belly he moves towards him

7) He definitely is either irritated by or in love with music, because he moves a lot whenever music starts playing near me:)

8) He still sleeps at night with me and doesn't keep me awake and I appreciate that:) He usually starts moving about 10 minutes after I wake up in the mornings

9) I still don't have heartburn and I know to be very thankful about this. The food I eat has never really seemed to bother me or him.

10) I sleep with 5 pillows now and I sleep pretty well all night, but getting up is getting harder.

11) My hands have just begun to swell a little and it makes them ache pretty badly

12) I still never really have any cravings, but things I really like are: cold milk, cereal, ice cream, grapes, orange juice, meats, pasta dishes, and lemon popsicles (which I only found here one time, but they were amazing while they lasted).

About 6 1/2 weeks left. There is still a lot to do. Today I'll be picking up some more things I will have to have at the hospital- diapers, diaper rash cream, and house shoes. Fun:) I go for my next doctors appointment this week. I'll have fetal monitoring again, an exam, and an ultrasound done. I really hope I have a good picture of him to post this time!

First Baby Shower!

Last night my friends and teammates Christie and Sarah gave me my first Baby Shower. It was a surprise to me when they told me a week ago to plan on being at this event. It was so exciting to have all of my friends in one place for the first time. God has truly blessed me with many loving friends over the past 3 years here. They seemed to have an enjoyable time together as there were all anticipating this party and what it would really be like. We heard from several of them that they had only seen this type of thing done in the movies. :) It's not a tradition here to have a party for an expecting woman, but they thought it was a very generous way to help a friend and to celebrate motherhood.

Christie, Sarah, and our friend Maria prepared and decorated for the party. They did a great job and the place looked wonderful. We had the party up at our new facility and it was also a great opportunity to show all of our friends where we host many of our programs and events now.

Sarah is now around 22 weeks pregnant and I am 33 weeks pregnant. It's been a blessing to share this experience together. She is also expecting a boy!


Here are some of the foods we made for the party. You can see the traditional, open-faced sandwiches that are often served at events here. We've really grown to love them. One of my favorites is the one I made for the party with the mandarin oranges on top. It's a fresh garlic, paprika, and tvaroh cheese spread with the oranges on top. It sounds like a strange combination, but it is so good. The cheese is not a kind you can find in the US, so I'll miss it one day when I can't make it just like this anymore.


As you have heard before, it is a tradition amongst our team to make shape-cakes at times of celebration. Of course, you can see the special shape I received for my baby shower:) Christie, as always, did a great job of making the cake and the icing was homemade, also. It was very yummy, even if it did make my face turn red at first:)


They also made me a diaper cake, which had bottles on the inside holding it up. I love it! It also came with special tea bags on the inside. They have a tea here that they encourage you to begin drinking right after delivery. It's supposed to help with recovery and with breastfeeding. All new Moms here recommend it and encourage you to drink it in the hospital to help you after delivery. One thing we've discovered over the years is that they have a tea here for everything!


So, after we all got to know each other better and had some time to eat, we began playing some games:) Here you can see my good friend, Petra, racing me and my friend Jana in a bottle-drinking contest. Petra won. The bottles were for newborns and you had to suck so hard to get any juice to come out. I ran out of breath and energy and had to pass mine off to a teammate to finish:) It was a lot harder than I thought it would be!

Here you can see Evan, Jana, and Maria racing to pass a pacifier from one pen to another without dropping it. This was a really funny game and also more difficult than it first seemed it would be. Me and my friend Stana were laughing to hard to do it well and kept dropping it between us so, again, my team didn't win this competition either:) But we had fun!


Then I spent some time opening gifts from everyone. We were blessed to receive many wonderful gifts. My friends here were very generous and we are so thankful for them. You can see my good friend Stana sitting beside me. She is due 8 days before me. It's been really great to go through our pregnancies together. We've enjoyed many laughs together, as well as sharing information about where to buy things for the babies.


We played some more games together. In these two pictures you can see by our faces that it was not as enjoyable of a game:) (by the way, you can see my friend Petra's sweet belly here- she's due 2 weeks before me) We had to test different baby foods and guess what their flavors were. Again, this game was harder than it first seemed. The carrots tasted so much like tomatoes that we lost that one when we guessed incorrectly! Below you can see me tasting a green pea and rabbit combination that I will never try again:) We got the green pea part, but we knew there was some horrible kick to it that we couldn't identifty.... I would have never guessed it was rabbit. Yuck! We also had a rice and tuna combo that we didn't guess had tuna in it, but we guessed correctly the califlower one. You couldn't miss it. I drank a lot of sweet juice after this game to get rid of the tastes. Wow, our poor kids.... :)

You can also see in this picture a pacifier hanging around my neck. They were going to make me suck on it anytime I lost at a game. I'm glad they changed their minds, because I lost at every game we played!

Here is just one last picture of everyone together enjoying visiting and eating the yummy food. We had a really great time together and I'm so thankful for everything Sarah and Christie did to make me feel so loved and special! It was a great party!