Baby Shower!

On Wednesday I attended my baby shower at work. It was so much fun! I was surrounded by people who I have had the chance to get to know and work with over the last few years. Those of you who know me quite well also know that I don't like being the center of attention. However, it was so wonderful realizing that all of these people care about me and the baby. We received so many wonderful gifts - blankets, a bouncer, cute little outfits, onesies, and socks, hooded bath towels, a bathtub, and so much more! I also received this lovely from a few of the wonderful teaching assistants:

It's a diaper bag! Vivian asked me if I trusted her (and Julie and Kathy) to pick out a diaper bag for me. She has great style so I felt confident that she would choose something super cute and she certainly didn't disappoint. I absolutely love it!

If I work with you and you are reading this, THANK YOU so much for everything! I feel so lucky to know all of you and can't wait for you to meet Baby Lynch!

28 week appointment and belly picture!

Last week was my 28 week appointment, officially marking the start of the third and final trimester of this pregnancy. Woooooo-hooooooooo! Which means we have less than 12 weeks until we get to meet our little girl!

One hour prior to my appointment I had to drink the infamous 'glucola', which is basically extremely sweet Hawaiian Fruit Punch. The first few sips weren't too bad, but it got pretty gross near the end. Luckily I chugged most of it as opposed to taking small sips:)

At my appointment they drew blood, which will be tested for gestational diabetes (which is why I had to drink the glucola). I haven't heard back yet on the results, but I don't imagine it taking more than a week. Basically either you pass it or you have to come back in for the 3-hour test. Cross your fingers for me that I passed it the first time!

Otherwise it was a pretty routine appointment - gained 4 lbs since my last appointment, heard her heartbeat, and that's about it!

Here is the most recent belly picture - I feel like I just keep growing and growing, which means that she must be growing and growing too! She is still kicking around quite a bit, although her kicks are very low so she is currently breech, but still has plenty of time to turn around in there. She mostly kicks around in the morning and evenings as I am sitting or laying down.

In other exciting news, we made great progress on the nursery this weekend! We picked up our glider and we finally found paint!! Patrick spent most of yesterday afternoon painting and it looks FABULOUS!!! I will take pictures when the room is completely ready for its' debut:)

Do you think she can sense that there is a baby in my belly?

Over the last few days Mona has taken quite the liking to my belly. I wonder if she knows that her little sister is in there:)

Oh, and I believe this is the debut of the bare baby belly:)

Martha's Baby Shower

I had the privilege to host a baby shower for one of my very best friends. Martha is due on April 30th with a little guy who will be named Ethan Jens. I had a really fun time planning the shower and am so very excited to meet Ethan!

A few of the details:

The shower favors - boxes filled with homemade cookies (chocolate chip, macaroons, chocolate peanut butter cup, and oatmeal butterscotch)

Table decor:)

The yummy treats - cupcakes from Trophy Cupcakes in Wallingford (triple chocolate, lemon, snowball, and hummingbird)

I also served lunch, but didn't get a chance to take a picture. We had chicken salad sandwiches on croissants, deviled eggs, fruit, chips, ham and cheese pastry bites, and feta and caramelized onion pastry bites. Everything was delicious!

We played two games - Guess the Baby Food and Baby Word Scramble, both of which were fun. We also decorated onesies with puffy paint, which I think was the hit of the day! Here are a few of the onesies:

It was a fantastic, but exhausting day! I have to give a huge shout out to my wonderful husband who helped clean the house and get ready for the shower:)

And CONGRATS Martha to you and Tim - Patrick and I are so happy for you guys! We love you guys tons and know you will be amazing parents.

Babymoon!

Patrick and I just got back from a wonderful trip to Las Vegas! Here are some of the highlights:

- Warm, sunny weather everyday (in the 80s), which meant we got to lay out in the sunshine by the pool (although I had to take many breaks in the shade so as not to cook Baby L). Wearing flip flops and skirts was also a highlight.

- Iced vanilla lattes from The Coffee Bean, my most favorite coffee shop EVER!!!

- Seeing the Cirque du Soliel show, O, which was really amazing. However, I think I preferred the show Love a bit more.

- Discovering the slot machine, Go Fish, which was a blast and watching Patrick play Blackjack at the tables. He taught me how to play Blackjack too - and now I am a bit addicted:) Even if we lost all our money it was still fun to gamble. We also discovered that it was best to wake up early and gamble early in order to avoid the massive crowds and icky smoke.

- Lots of yummy food, one of our favorites being Le Burger Brassierie, which was in our resort. Patrick really enjoyed the lamb burger with caramelized onions and I loved the chicken burger with red bell peppers and avocado. We ate at this place 3 times during our trip! We also enjoyed crepes, from Le Creperie, which were delicious!

Most of all though, the best part of the trip was just being together. We didn't do a bunch of stuff or spend a ton of money. It was just nice to relax and not have the distractions that come with being at home. It was nice to wake up early every morning and know that we had the day ahead of us to be together.

Baby L did a great job travelling! She has been moving a ton the last few days. My belly just keeps growing and growing. Luckily before our trip I stocked up on some new tops and my first pair of maternity jeans:) During our babymoon we spent quite a bit of time talking about her and wondering what life is going to be like with her. Patrick was amazing during the entire trip - he was so accomodating and helpful and dealt quite well with the occasional pregnancy complaint:)

Here are some pictures from our trip:

Here is a picture of our resort, The Paris

Inside our resort - it almost feels like you are outside with the blue skies and store fronts

Reading by the pool - check out the baby bump!

We took a special 20-minute cab ride to the Bass Pro Shop, Patrick's one request during the trip:) It was very similiar to Cabellas so nothing too exciting, however it was connected to a really nice casino, which actually was one of our favorites. It was a lot quieter than the casinos on the Strip. Plus at one point Patrick was playing Blackjack and went from $20.00 to $80.00!

Outside the Paris

Enjoying our Coffee Bean breakfast!

Being silly in the elevator:)

I have a bunch more photos, but they take forever to upload on here. I will possibly come back tomorrow and post the rest:)

Visiting Grandma:)

Last weekend Patrick and I headed to Glacier (near the base of Mount Baker) to visit my mom, Baby Lynch's grandma:) This was the first time she had seen us since we announced the news at Thanksgiving. Needless to say, she was so happy to see the baby belly!

We arrived Friday night and had a nice dinner - chicken, salad, bread, and chocolate molten cakes for dessert. My favorite! We spent most of the evening talking. She gave us the cutest onesie from a baby boutique in Bellingham and she wrote the sweetest letter to Baby Lynch. I know Baby Lynch will treasure it forever.

On Saturday we woke up early and cooked a yummy breakfast - eggs, banana bread, and strawberries before heading up to the top of Mount Baker. There was tons of snow up there. As a matter of fact it was snowing the entire time we were there. We headed back down, just in time for lunch. We ate at a little Italian restaurant in Glacier.

We headed back to the house and talked for a little bit longer before packing up and heading home. It was a really nice trip and so good to see her!

26 week belly picture!

And for comparison purposes here is my belly at 16 weeks, wearing the same shirt.

The belly is definitely growing! She measures about 12 inches, head to toe, and is approximately 2 lbs!

The bedding dilemma, continued....

Because you all care, right? LOL:)

Seriously, this has been driving me crazy for the last few days. How ridiculous does that sound? I really do have other things I should be thinking and worrying about. With that said, we have made some progress.

We aren't going to use a bumper for a few reasons:1) I don't want to deal with trying to attach it to the solid wood headboard on our crib2) We don't love the bumper that goes along with the sheets that we love so much!3) We don't want to have to worry about any safety issues, even though many of you reassured me that you have used a bumper with no worries (although I am not sure how many of you have a solid wood headboard)

We decided to use the little birdie sheets from the PBK collection:

We took back the PBK crib skirt, however, because it was really plain (white) and we wanted to add a bit more color, especially since we will not be using a bumper. We are now debating between two options:

Option 1:

And Option 2, in pink:

What do you think? Option 1 is definitely more of a brighter pink than Option 2. Option 1 adds a bit more character, but I don't know if it is too much with the birds.

Here are a few of the other room details, if that helps:

- We will be painting the walls a shade of green

- We are getting a chocolate brown glider

- We would like to find a nice pink rug

- We are going to put a pink lamp in the room

- The changing pad will be pink

So, which option do you like best?:)

24 week appointment....

Well, technically I had my appointment at 25 weeks. It was very quick and simple!
-Got weighed: gained 2 lbs in five weeks, which seems pretty good, right?
-Had my blood pressure taken: can't remember my exact numbers, but the nurse said they were perfect
-Met with the doctor who answered a few of my questions, such as the pain around my belly button which she predicts means it is getting ready to pop out, ick!
-Listened to the heartbeat: it was at 160
-The doctor measured my belly
-And the best part of the appointment: I scheduled all of my appointments up until she arrives, plus my post-partum appointment! After my next appointment (where I will get tested for gestational diabetes) I transition into having appointments every 2 weeks (right now I go every 4 weeks) and then in June I start going every week. It really makes the end seem near!

Overall, I am still feeling pretty good! I usually feel pretty exhausted by the end of the day, but that is to be expected after teaching 24 first graders all day, right? Speaking of which, it is now SPRING BREAK!!!!! I am so ready for a break...and a vacation! If you didn't already know, we are going to VEGAS!!!! I am ready for the sunshine and flip flops! Not too sure how I feel about the bikini yet:)

I will be back later with belly pictures!