She's here!

Lookie who decided to show up a week early. She made her big debut Saturday morning at 11:02 am., 7 lbs 6.5 ounces and 19 inches long. She's perfect. =)

Mean, Mean Wii

Hey everyone! I'm still around....no baby yet. The two most common things I hear on a daily basis are "Are you Ready?" and "How much longer?" This week I have complete strangers ask me how much longer...and yet they look shocked when I say next week! I mean, if you're bold enough to ask, wouldn't you think it would be sometime really soon???? I seriously have to plan way ahead for random "stoppings" in the hall. I had a meeting this afternoon and I made sure to leave way ahead so I'd have plenty of time to get a refill for my beverage, and sure enough I was stopped 3 times and ended up about 5 minutes late! But it is nice to have so many people care, and we've gotten an absolute insane amount of stuff for babygirl. I bought about 100 thank-you cards thinking that would be more than plenty, and I'm down to about 10 left, with a few more to write for things we've received this week. It's very fun to come home and have surprise packages on the porch, and we feel very blessed for all the people in our lives who already care so much for babygirl!

Anyway, things are "progressing" (without sharing TMI), and we're on the books to be induced on the 29th! So, just over a week, max, and we should have a little sis for Pippin to lick and sit on! Very exciting stuff. And we're about as ready as we can be. Everything is washed, assembled, and I really can't think of anything big or small that we "need".

I'm still working out, last week I made it to the gym twice. That's not a great record, but between doc appts, pediatrician interviews, etc I only had two available days to go. I did the elliptical one day and the treadmill the other, and I still walk a mile in the afternoons with one of my coworkers (on the days we don't have conflicting meetings, etc.) So, I'm still staying active and feeling good. Each time I leave the gym I wonder if it's my last pre-baby workout, and man, do I look forward to some post-baby workouts and just burning some calories.

Speaking of, we got a Wii Fit back when they came out last summer. I think it's a fun toy and all, but nothing I would consider a weight loss tool. But, it's still a nice way to track your weight and the games are fun. I quit using it sometime back in August or so when it moved me into overweight and got a little "rude" about it! But I did want to get back on it so I'd have a high point to help me track my weight loss, post baby. Saturday I popped on, and here's how the Wii Fit treated me:

First, it declared me Obese. (Niice).








Then it wanted me to consider what could cause such a huge weight gain....









And they offered me some suggestions.....none of them really applied and after considering Indigestion I ended up going with "I don't know".








Then it got a little "smart" with me about not knowing.....








And then it kicked me in the face by rounding out my Mii, adding the weight gain and making me look like a Weeble-Wobble.









So yeah, pregnant people - the Wii Fit is mean and they need to add a pregnancy option to that sucker!

I didn't get to watch the inauguration today (lots o' meetings at work), but I have gotten to read various snippets of it online. The job of Prez is one I'd never want, and no matter if the person you voted for won or not, you have to support someone in that tough a job. I disagree with many things Bush did, but it's still rude to boo him on his final moments in office. We've all done stupid things, but most of us don't have them broadcast publicly, and he deserves respect for all the things he has done right, and for protecting us the last 8 years. And whether or not I agree with the new Prez he also deserves my respect, too! So anyway, here's some snippets of Warren's invocation, which hopefully a lot of people will take to heart in these crazy times. Have a great night!

Help us, oh God, to remember that we are Americans, are united not by race or religion or blood but by our commitment to freedom and justice for all.

When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us. . . . When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the Earth with the respect they deserve, forgive us.

May we have...civility in our attitude, even where we differ. Help us to share, to serve, and to seek the common good of all.

And then there were 3.....and thankfully Jack Bauer saved them all.

Pretty much 10 minutes after I wrote my last post Jennifer Garner had her baby, so that leaves 3 celebs between me and BabyGirl, and 2 of them really don't count since I don't even know who they are. So, Alison Sweeney (from Days + Biggest Loser), who is due about 11 days before me, is all that stands between us and a BABY.

One of the other major "milestones" for me has also happened now - the season premier of 24! FINALLY!!!! It seems like FOREVER since we've had the always fab Jack Bauer out saving the world. When we heard the season would start in mid-January I remember thinking "Hmmm....we'll almost have a baby then!" And here we are - the awesome season opener just ended, and we're 2.5 weeks from a kid, tops! Crazy!

I've had other, non-celeb, non-TV goals, too. One of my goals was to keep hitting the gym through the end of December, which I did plus some. I made it to the Y twice last week. It's hard with all the doc appointments and other stuff going on, so whenever I do have a normal day I try my best to get over there. I would've made it 3 days if I knew the pediatrician we were going to interview was going to have to move our appointment at the last minute. Oh well! The downtown Y buildout is almost done, and the new areas look SO awesome! Of course it all opens up the first week of February, so one of babygirl's first outings may be just to walk through it and see this place she's already been so many times. They've already gotten a ton of great new equipment over the last few weeks, including a few new machines I can't wait to try. And they opened up the expanded parts of the women's locker room, and it is SO nice!

It's funny, but now that I'm so close to D-day I am in total "game day" mode. I'm huge on visualization, in anything I set out to accomplish. When I was taking the CPA exam (back when they actually made it difficult, vs now when it's all multiple choice and you can take it ONE part at a time, pansies), I would visualize passing it every day when I was studying, and I completely hit my goals. Granted I studied a minimum of 1-2 hours every single night for about 9 months, plus a LOT more on weekends, but I think visualization was a huge part of it. And same thing with my first marathon, every training run I'd visual the finish, and how I wanted to feel, and honestly, that was the "easiest" of all my marathons because I took it so seriously. Well, I'm already there and ready for whatever labor brings. Everything after - well, that's a totally different story! But I am SO ready to get back in shape, and hopefully a January baby means I'll have plenty of time to be swimsuit ready before the pools reopen on Memorial Day!

Well, that's all I've got for now! At tomorrow's doc appointment we'll get to pick an induce date, so that's pretty exciting - a final "light" at the end of the tunnel, if she doesn't decide to arrive earlier. Other than that, we're mostly just waiting for her to show up, and doing final things around the house. We had our last shower today, so I have a ton of thank-yous I'd like to wrap up this week & get the new things put away.

Have a great week!

And then there were 4.....

Celebrities, that is. It's strange the various ways you count down to baby day, but one of my main ones has been the "who's next" slideshow on a massive secret addiction site I look at each day. I really am not a celeb stalker, but there's just something about seeing them pork up the way I have that's just been somewhat addictive. Of course they have much nicer strollers and professional nursery designers, but as far as the whole process goes - for once we're all on a level playing field. For months and months there's been 20 ahead of me, then teens, and now just 4! The official baby count is down to just 26 days, but my doc will induce any day that week - so 26 is a max, not a min! Very exciting stuff!

The holidays were an absolute blur! We had SO many activities and obligations this year - of both the baby and holiday variety! It seems like we were on the go the whole time. I think I seriously baked about 16 dozen cookies/candies to give as gifts! I went through about 4 boxes of eggs, 6 or 7 boxes of butter and about 10 pounds each of flour, sugar and brown/powdered sugars. But I love doing stuff like that, so it's not a big deal!

For Christmas Brent and I brined a turkey, and it was the BEST turkey ever! It was so tender and flavorful, absolutely delicious. We had a nice relaxing day, and just enjoyed a quiet Christmas (before spending Christmas with our families later over the break). Brent got me Rock Band for Christmas, so there's been some Wii playing going on around here, and he also got me my ultimate request - a cute little popcorn machine (like what they have at the movies). I've always wanted a popcorn machine and it's so cute and matches our kitchen perfectly.

And our biggest gift this holiday is probably our new car! We got a great deal on a little SUV, and now we're styling and have room for baby! It's even got a DVD player in the back and front and rear heated seats. Brent installed the car seat yesterday, so we're good to go!

We had a great New Years and enjoyed a party at some friend's house. I highly doubted I'd even be able to stay up until midnight, but it really wasn't tough and we ended up staying up until around 1:30 or so in the morning. New Years Day was our 10th wedding anniversary! It's so hard to believe we've been married 10 years already. We had a nice, low key day and had lunch at my fave burrito joint and did some shopping for last minute must-haves for baby - like the 3 outfits I have for her for Valentines Day!

Since then it's been back to work and back to getting ready for baby! Our house is becoming pretty clean and organized, and we're getting a lot of little projects done. With all the activities going on I haven't had much time to get to the gym, and this week is going to be a tough one, too. Besides today's appt, I've got pediatrician interviews, Pippin's annual shots, and a dentist appointment this week, but I'm going to try to make it twice this week and walk on the treadmill. I am SO not looking forward to all the New Year's converts!

So, I guess that's all the news around here! Hopefully it won't be another 2 weeks before I have a chance to catch up on here! Happy New Year everyone!