37 Weeks!

Hey family and friends!!  I thought I would give an update on me and the baby since I haven't really done one of those in a while.  I'm 37 weeks tomorrow which means I have 18 days left as of tomorrow.  I will tell you I feel like the time is dragging, but when I look at a calendar and realize I have 2 weeks of work left then I panic and realize it's flying by.  I'm feeling great!  I mean I wouldn't say great all day everyday but for being 37 weeks pregnant and it deciding to be 90 degrees out, I'm doing good.  My little man in there is still moving around quite a bit.  Paige felt him have the hiccups the other night and she thought it was so funny!  Work has started to realize that I don't have much time left so we're constantly planning and prepping for me to leave.  I'm not ready to leave work.  I love the people I work with and I love what I do.  Our business moves so fast that when I come back in 2 months things will be so different and that makes me nervous.  But oh well I don't have a choice.

Rob and I are finalizing some stuff around the house.  We talk more and more about it with Paige.  Explaining that the baby will cry in the middle of the night.  That he wont eat anything but bottles.  Her and I sat and went through his diaper bag the other night.  She didn't know what a diaper bag was and wanted to know all about it.  We also went through all of the pictures on our computer of everyone visiting her at the hospital when she was born.  She thought that was so amazing, but thought I was lying when I told her that baby was her.  She said, "Mom that's not my hair" I had to explain that she had dark hair when she was born.  She's very ready for her brother to get here.  I tell her that she's preaching to the choir.  I still need to pack for the hospital and pack for Paige to go to her grandparents. I need to finish up gifts for her daycare teachers as next week is her last week in the 2 year old room and she officially moves into the 3 year old preschool room.  I also need to finish up her big sister gift.

Here is a picture of me today.  I went to the doctor today.  She told me that I should just keep doing what I'm doing.  My feet are only swelling at night since it's gotten warm out.  But my blood pressure is still great and the baby is very active.  I've had no signs of early labor, but that doesn't mean anything I'm aware.  I'm doing everything I can to keep him in until June 4th.  With all of the change and things going on in our lives right now I think I would really appreciate him coming on the day we've planned for.  It's been a long journey with a bunch of up and downs but I can't wait to meet this little man more then anything.

Here are some pictures of Paigey.  She had crazy week at daycare, so each day is something different.  She's been LOVING it.

Mismatch day is below.  This was the hardest for me.  I'm really into matching and things looking good.  But I let this little girl pick what she wanted and off she went.

 Yesterday was crazy hair day.  This is what we did.  She loved that as well.  I guess she was telling people at daycare not to touch it haha.  Today was backward day and tomorrow is just PJ & movie day.  Rob has made me take tomorrow off to relax.  I'm excited for my date day with him.  It will be nice to just sit and relax for a moment.  Hope all is well with everyone.

Amazing Weather!!

First of all the weather in Iowa has been AMAZING!!  I wish it wasn't leaving tomorrow.  Paige is so happy to finally be outside and enjoying the backyard its so nice!!  Last night she came home from daycare and just played out in the backyard until supper.  Have I also mentioned how much I love having a fenced in backyard.  I don't worry about her back there at all.

So this weekend was busy but so much fun!  Saturday we started the day out early.  We went to Newton to help some people out.  Mom needed help getting a piano out of her house, so Rob and an amazing friend, and an amazing brother in law came over and helped move it from her living room onto a trailer in the drive way.  We then went over to my sister Chantelle's house to help them.  Chantelle and Brett just bought a new house and moved in this past weekend.  So Rob helped move some furniture from the garage to the rooms it needed to be in.  It was great to see so much family and for Paige to get to play with her cousin Dylann.

Paigey riding Chase's big wheel

Once we were back in Ankeny that afternoon it was time to be outside.  Paige played in her water table and sandbox pretty much all afternoon.  Our friends/neighbors came over to hang out on the deck.  It was so nice to sit in the sun.  I even got my toenails painted by myself (yes Rob took a picture and no it's not getting posted LOL).  We enjoyed a great evening grilling out and having a fire in the fire pit that night.

Rob and Paige having fun with the water table

Have I mentioned my husband can grill a mean piece of fish!!

Love the fire pit!

Saturday night Rob and I were talking about how we wanted to go to the outlet mall sometime.  I explained the only time we could go would be the next day.  So we packed up that morning and went to Williamsburg.  I love this picture of Paige.  Not only did she need to be covered up in the car but so did her monkey Charlie.

When we got home my nesting bug settled in (unfortunately it hasn't left yet either)  I started cleaning the kitchen then it was time to wash all of the bottles so that they can be put away.  Rob and I used to complain all the time about washing bottles for Paige.  It all came back to me why on Sunday as it is still not as fun as I remember.

Yesterday was still amazing weather.  Paigey wore a dress to daycare and was so happy about it.  Except from what we've been told she didn't get to wear that dress all day as we have to teach here it's not ok to constantly pull your dress up to your chin and show off your undies.  I told her on Saturday when she had a dress on that if she can't keep them down where they are supposed to go I was going to give them all to Laek (My best friend Graham's daughter).  She didn't like that too much.  We'll have to keep working on it :)

Most of you are fully aware I'm an over planner.  So we have a dry erase calendar at our house where we write down our meals for the week.  I filled it out for May last night and a little of June.  I told Rob things are serious now because Baby Hartz has made it up there.  That's how close we are to him arriving!!  I have 35 days left (but who's counting).  I'm doing pretty good.  I get mixed comments from people.  Some day I look amazing and I'm still not waddling others are like you are really getting out there.  But now that people realize May is tomorrow when I say I'm due in June they usually realize I don't have that much time left.  I start going to the doctor every week starting next week.  Crazy to think I only have 4 appointments left.  I'm slowing down or at least I think I am.  Morning queezy is back so I have to keep my belly full or I don't feel good.  I told Heather that apparently my body just wanted me to really feel done when he gets here.  I gave you an updated belly picture from today.

I hope everyone is doing well!!  We'll be seeing a lot of you soon with our busy May weekends.  Vander Waal's we'll see you in a couple weeks, and don't be surprised if this Mama is happy just in her lawn chair and not trying to play games hahaha.

Fun Weekend!

Well last week Rob was in MN for work.  He was gone from Monday - Thursday night.  Monday was pretty sad morning for us Hartz girls.  Paige really wanted to go with me to take Rob to get his rental car.  So we get to Enterprise and drop him off.  I got out of the car to give him a hug and he gave Paige one while she was in her seat.  Well he went inside and I looked in the backseat.  I had a little girl who was so sad her daddy was leaving.  She started bawling which got mom to have tears running down her cheeks.  I ended up having to stop the car to go back and give her a hug to calm her down.  Luckily the rest of the week was pretty easy.  She slept really well, and we had something going on almost every night.  Rob got home Thursday night and was exhausted.  Friday night we didn't do much of anything, we were all tired.  Saturday we hung out around our house and then had dinner with Rob's cousin Austin and his family.

We haven't seen the Smith's in a while, but it was so much fun to go over there and hang out.  Paige and Mason have so much fun!!  It's entertaining to watch a 2 and 3 year old.  The two of them are so animated I was laughing so hard.  Paige of course was loving on Baby Riley most of the night.  Rob even got some good baby cuddling time in.  It was so great to spend some time with them.  Rob was able to get these amazing pictures of the kids and we have no idea how it happened.  We didn't have to bribe them with anything!!

Paige and Riley

Riley, Paige, and Mason

Paige let us sleep in Sunday morning.  She didn't say anything to us until 7:45!  Mom and Dad were both super thankful for that.  My friend Brittany and I wanted to go to Buy Buy Baby today and just look at all the fun baby stuff!  Before I left I found Paige and her Daddy cuddling watching TV like this.

Once I got home and Paige got up from her nap it was time to play outside!  It was so nice outside until the wind picked up.  Paige did some bike riding and then played in the backyard.  I can tell this summer is going to be a lot different as she actually just went off and played by herself in the sandbox and Rob and I were able to sit on the deck and just watch.

Tonight I was talking on the phone to my mom and sister while sitting in the rocking chair.  I asked Paige to come in and cuddle with me.  She decided that she was going to sit and read me books.  It was so much fun to sit there and realize how much she retains from us reading.  She's been such a big help with getting baby stuff ready.  I did a lot of stuff this weekend and even felt very over whelmed and under prepared.  But Paigey was right there with me going through bottles and pump parts, blankets and outfits.  I'm feeling a little better about it all.

Best quote of the night from my daughter.  I was getting her in her pjs and putting on lotion.  The way I was sitting when the baby moved it felt really weird.  I said watch it baby when he was moving.  Paige looked straight at my belly and goes, "Baby, you be nice to mommy or you will go to time out when you get here." Rob and I just started laughing.  I asked her if right when he gets here he has to go to time out.  She said YEP!!  I can see where this is going to go all summer.

Baby Hartz's Room is DONE!!!

I'm so excited to say that the baby's room is done!!!  Rob and I hung the last piece today and I couldn't be happier.  Here is a tour of his room!!

This is the view from his door

Here is a view you have seen before.  His window and crib.

His bed is finally put together!  Gail recovered a bumper and made a crib skirt for us.  Also she covered a pillow that we use in the rocking chair.

This is a corner I'm sure we'll be spending a lot of time.

I thought I would do some pictures of details in his room.  I'm so proud of the stuff Rob and I have done that I have been just dying to show it all off.

These are his possible going home outfits from the hospital.  I bought a newborn and a 3 month.  After talking to my doctor last week she told me there is a very good chance he'll be over 8 lbs.  Paige was basically 8 lbs and she said boys are usually bigger anyway.

Here is his bed!!  Love it!

The elephant above his bed.  An amazing friend of my made this for me.  I love how it brings in another color to his room besides just blue.

Now for the piece I can't wait to show off.  I found a blog online that showed how to make these amazing shelves.  I showed it to Rob and he was so excited to build it.  So today we finally assembled it after painting it.  It looks so great on the wall!!  It's my favorite piece in the room!!!

Sullivan Kids Have a Birthday Party!

So last weekend Graham and Pat threw a birthday party for their kids.  There was once a time when Graham and I were rotating a baby a year and then I broke that cycle LOL.  Sean turned 2 on March 28th, Paige turned 3 on March 31st, and Laek turned 4 on April 9th.  So it's a busy time of the year in our families.

Graham and Pat hosted a very cute pirate party at their house.  We always try and get there early so the girls can play before the rest of the guests arrive.  So Laek and Paige asked me to turn on the DVD player in Laek's room and I of course went in there and turned it on.  When I came back about 40 mins later this is what I found.  Just like their Moms used to do in high school and college.

Once we got them away from the movie.  Graham of course had to deck them all out in their pirate gear.  I love these two so much!  They play so well together and Graham and I just hope it stays this way!

Later we had some supper.  Paige is just hanging out with Sean.  She had so much fun and we were there way later then I thought we were going to be.  She was one tired peanut when we got home.  

On Friday we got home from daycare and Paige was so excited to see our neighbors outside.  She ran over to talk to them.  Janet proceeded to tell her that she had made her something.  She came out with this amazing pink stocking hat that she made.  Paige LOVES it!  I told Janet nice job on the color as it's Paige's favorite.  

Quick baby update.  I'm 32 weeks today with only 53 days to go!  HOLY CRAP!  This has been moving so fast, but I'm so ready and excited for him to join our family.  As you can tell the belly is getting out there.  I haven't been sleeping the greatest which is leading to people at work asking if I'm doing ok.  I just tell them if I wasn't I would tell them LOL.  I told Heather on the phone the other day if I get asked, "Are you ok?" "Do you have a name yet?" or "Should be carrying that?" one more time I might freak out hahaha. Hopefully this weekend I'll have a final nursery post for you guys.  Rob and I are hanging the finishing touches this weekend and then I'll take pictures.  I love going into that room.  I love just sitting in the rocking chair and looking around.  I remember doing the same thing in Paige's room, in fact I sat in the rocking chair the whole time I had contractions at home before I had her.  I can't wait to bring that baby home and actually use the room.  I've been so worried about how am I going to balance everything, how am I going to keep the relationship I have with Paige, how am I going to work, find time to run, be a wife, and be a mom of two.  Lately though it's just seemed to go away.  I'm no longer worried about that stuff.  I must have told myself it will come with time a few too many times.  We'll adjust and move forward just like we did with Paigey.  Now my worries are about the actual day (Thank you to Michelle and Jenn who have answered a million questions for me about scheduled c-sections).  I only have 5 doctors appointments left until we meet our little man.  Paige's paper chain is getting really short.  Keep us in your thoughts as we do our final preparations in completing our little family.  Love you all!!

Is she really old enough for that?

So after Paige's birthday party and the entire family took naps, Paige said she wanted to go outside.  Rob and I agreed as we were all sick of being inside.  I asked Paige if she wanted to ride her new big bike.  After a little bit of hesitation she decided it would be ok.  Now the reason she's on a real 2 wheeled bike is because she is too tall for her tricycle that she rode last year.

So Rob put on her training wheels while Paige supervised.

Then she was ready to go!  SERIOUSLY, is she really old enough for this!!  It took her a while to get the hang of it and not brake over and over.  But she rode to our old duplex to visit our friends and rode around their driveway for a while.  She's so proud of herself.  I just can't believe that she's big enough to ride a real bike.

Yesterday for Easter we went to dinner at my Dad and Pat's house.  We loaded us all up after nap time and while driving down the interstate I turned around and this is what I saw.  I busted out laughing.  She's watching a movie with her new leappad on her lap and her own bottle of water in her cup holder. I took this picture so Rob could see what I was seeing and he said, "Gee, I wonder who her parents are?" strictly because if you know Rob and I you know that we own A LOT of electronics ourselves.  The nice thing is she doesn't rely on them and isn't connected to them at all times.  She does read books and play pretend all the time.  From the way her dolls get treated, she's going to be the greatest Mom in the world some day.

30 week baby update and more random stuff

So last Friday I turned 30 weeks pregnant.  As of April 4th I officially have 60 days left!  I think I'm finally counting the number of days till I'm done.  I'm starting to get pretty big and noticing I can't keep going at my normal pace, though I give a really good effort at it!  I went to the doctor and my chiropractor last week and both said that I'm doing amazing.  My doctor told me that I'm healthy, all my tests have come back good and that I can keep on keeping on.  I have slowed down a bit at home which only means I ask Rob to help me carry stuff downstairs thats about it.  Work I'm still running a million miles an hour and people keep telling me to take it easy.  I also heard today ,"When is your due date again?"  Which I took to mean that my belly is REALLY getting out there.

Last week was a crazy but so much fun week.  I took this picture of Paige and I because when she put on her sunglasses in the car I couldn't believe how much she looked like me.  She's my girl and will forever be my partner in crime.  Do I want to kill her some days, absolutely.  But I'm never going to deny that I have no idea where her attitude or temper came from.  Just like the song, "She got it from her Mama" and thankfully I think I'm doing pretty good at teaching her when she can have a sassy attitude and when it's time to put it away.

I went bowling for work last week Thursday!  Apparently I'm a really good bowler while pregnant.  If you can see both of these pictures below I broke 100 TWICE!  I  normally average 60 when bowling.  I'm not good at all.  So the belly must have done something for me!  Man was a sore the next day though, HOLY MOLY!

Paige also started swim lessons again on Thursday.  First time she's in the pool w/out Mom or Dad.  Rob and I couldn't have been more proud on how well she did.  I can't wait to see how the next 4 weeks go.  She's so excited about them she keeps asking when she gets to go back.  

But unfortunately on my way to get Paige for swim lessons I got a flat tire.  By the time Rob came to get me we had to hurry to get Paigey to lessons on time.  It was a pretty stressful Thursday, and I can only hope this Thursday goes much better.

Finally enjoy the belly picture.  This is on Friday at 30 weeks.  I have a super active little boy in there who I can tell is getting A LOT bigger.  I'm going to start taking bets on how big he's going to be because good golly he feels HUGE!