A big weekend

This was a pretty eventful weekend. On Saturday, Chase and I attended a childbirth class from the hospital. It was ALL day long, from 9am-4pm. I felt like I didn't learn too much that I didn't know already, but it was good to hear it from a more dependable source than blogs from pinterest. I did learn that I actually have felt a few contractions already. My doctor has been asking at the last several appointments if I'd experienced any contractions yet, and my answer was always no. But the class instructor explained that a contraction may just feel like my whole stomach is hard, instead of just where the baby's back or bottom is. Nothing painful or serious, it's just interesting.

My dad flew into Atlanta on Saturday also, so we got to spend some time with him on Saturday evening and Sunday. We spent our time going to Ikea (Chase had never been to any Ikea before), eating dinner at the cafeteria, and buying a daybed. We had a lot of fun trying to fit it into our Nissan. Chase and Dad had some nice bonding time putting it together.

Obviously we're still working on the nursery. At least I got the gifts and clothes sorted. 

Brothers and Baby Showers

It was a pretty exciting week for us - a returned missionary and the baby shower (and a bunch of less exciting stuff, too).

Chase's brother Jordan came home from San Bernadino, California on Wednesday. We had planned to meet his family at the airport to welcome him home, but we got hung up in traffic. Fortunately we made it just in time for me to drop Chase off at the terminal to see Jordan come out. Then we all went up to our church building where the member of the stake presidency released Jordan as a full time missionary. Chase was SO happy to have his brother home, he was bouncing around like an excited puppy!
We also got to hear Jordan talk in church today, and he had some pretty amazing stories to tell about being led by the Spirit and the power of the priesthood. My favorite was about how they randomly knocked on the door of a woman who "no hable ingles!" Well, luckily these were the Spanish speaking elders! When they asked if she had heard of the missionaries, the Mormons, she responded, "oh yeah! My brother is a 70!" Wait, what?

After dinner on Sunday.

 On Saturday morning, my friend Kara Harward (from my old ward - Paper Mill) threw a baby shower for me! We had a really good mix of people there - ward members and family and friends of Chase's family, and my friends, and a co-worker of Chase's. It was really fun and I was gifted with lots of really adorable baby clothes and a diaper bag and some blankets.

I can't believe I'm almost 37 weeks pregnant! I'm feeling rather huge, but lots of people tell me that I still look (relatively) small. That's good, I guess. Good for my vanity, anyways. My newest development is swollen ankles. Not so good for the vanity. But all things considered, I'm feeling great and looking good!

Last week - 35 weeks, 6 days!

July 19 - 36 weeks, 5 days!

Meet the Newest Member of Our Family

Ta Da!

We've been wanting to buy a vehicle that would better accommodate a car seat and a growing family. Plus, Chase's car is falling apart and has no air conditioning. After some extensive internet research, we went to CarMax and decided that we really liked the Nissan Rogue. Small SUV, pretty good gas mileage, and a back-up camera.

Also our car seat and stroller came this week, courtesy of Mom and Dad Briscoe. Yay for having the necessities covered!

36 weeks on Tuesday, or one month from yesterday. We're getting close!

4th of July

It's been a very rainy holiday weekend. Chase and I both had Friday off as a paid holiday, which was wonderful. We had Kara and Richard over to see our new apartment and have lunch (quinoa, lentils, and cashew stuffed bell peppers - surprisingly wonderful).

On the 4th we woke up late and had a lazy morning - no where to go, especially in the pouring rain. But by noon or so it was clearing up, so we headed over to Smith's house. They live next to the neighborhood pool, and there's traditionally a pool party for the 4th with hot dogs and hamburgers and pot luck sides. Thank you, Lisa, for the maternity swimsuit. I finally had the opportunity to hang out at the pool and get some sun.

Eventually we packed up and headed into town for the fireworks at Lenox. We left a lot later than we did last year, and consequently were stuck in much worse traffic. Luckily Chase agreed to the driving for me. We finally got to the family fireworks spot - a small lawn area next to a parking garage and some restaurants about two blocks from Lenox Square. We hung out there for a while eating food and chatting before we noticed the flashing blue lights. Some cops had decided to enforce the "no parking" zone where we traditionally park. Rather than pay for parking, Chase and I decided to go home and watch Captain America. It's the most patriotic movie I could think of.

Here's a 4th of July baby bump picture featuring the fun shirt Kara gave me!