First Preparations

Babu received all sorts of nice things for Christmas including some furniture for the nursery! Josh decided to get started on putting the dresser together and found what seemed to be a million pieces after opening the box. He got through 9 of the 38 steps and decided to call it a night. He’s hoping to get it done within the next day or so so he can tackle the crib. I think the crib should be easier as it doesn’t have half as many parts!

I only have half a day of work tomorrow, so I’m planning on coming home and doing some cleaning/organizing. We have a lot of things to move around and go through as we prepare for little Babu. Anyone have any carpet remnants lying around? We’re looking for a couple to put in the basement for our sewing and music studios.

Another exciting thing is that Josh and I found a great rocking chair and ottoman at a great price! It is a discontinued model, so we got it for 30% off of the sale price! Plus, it’s only going to take 7-14 days to arrive, whereas the custom ones we were looking at would take anywhere from 6-12 weeks. This furniture piece will also require some assembly...sorry Josh. One thing we both really like about it is that when not in the baby room, it is a nice style that will look great in our living room.

Only 15 weeks left! If any of you get an urge to clean/organize, pop on over!

A Very Merry Christmas

Josh and I are so thankful to have had the opportunity to spend longer amounts of time with each side of our family this year. Even with both of us working retail, we managed to have off the majority of Christmas Eve through the 26th. We are also thankful that the “snowpocalypse” didn’t turn out as bad as everyone was predicting! We had plenty of snow for a white Christmas (somewhere around 18-20 inches) but were still able to travel the roads safely.

The ornament in the picture above was a gift from my friends, Corynn and Jamie. Isn’t is the cutest?! Being “in the family way” (as Josh’s Amma says) for Christmas put a whole new meaning on family gatherings and how important they are to us. We are so excited to have a little one scooting around next year! I’m pretty sure all the soon-to-be aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, and great-grandparents are looking forward to that too.

My grandma Kontak from Indiana traveled to Minnesota to be with us this Christmas. We hadn’t seen her in two years! It was a special treat to have her with us. Thank you grandma for traveling to be here! The picture below is of us Kontak kids with our Grandma.

Quarter of a Century Birthday

Hooray for turning 25 years old! My birthday landed on a Saturday this year so Josh and I made sure to take the day off from our retail jobs. We spent the whole day in Mankato to take advantage of the day off and spend time with family, something we don’t get to do very often anymore. We had a nice brunch in the morning, errand running and decorating my parents’ Christmas tree in the afternoon, and a delicious family dinner in the evening. Josh and my mom surprised me by making rouladen, one of my favorite German dishes!

The next day after finishing a day of work at REI, I went downtown Minneapolis with my girlfriends, Jamie, Corynn and Lara (in order as shown in the pictures). We went to Palomino and had a happy hour full of delicious cocktails (mine were all non-alcoholic, of course), yummy appetizers and a sweet birthday treat! It was great fun to get together with the girls for a night out. 

We also celebrated my birthday at MSAADA...twice actually! Scott (the architect) brought a delicious chocolate cake from the Twin Cities favorite Wuollet bakery. The frosting was like a layer of fudge...mmm. We celebrated twice because we first cut the cake on Friday the 11th, but several people were out of the office that day so we celebrated again with everyone else the following Monday. I’m okay with multiple day birthday celebrations!

Since this post is late, I’ll also write that yesterday was our friend Lara’s birthday (the girl with me in the second photo)! Josh and I joined her and her husband, along with another couple Lara and Erik know from Bethlehem Lutheran Church, at Pizza Luce in Uptown. We all had a beer (mine was root) and pizza. Josh’s favorite was the baked potato pizza and mine was the greek Athena pizza. :) It’s so nice to find time in our busy schedules to spend time with friends. Happy Birthday Lara!

There is yet more to write about these past couple weeks, but my pillow is calling. I can’t wait until morning and go to our 24 week appointment! Can you believe I’m already 24 weeks pregnant?! Me either. 

Wiggles from outside the belly

Josh was able to feel Babu tonight! I could tell Babu’s movements were stronger while I was at work at REI but wasn’t quite sure if they were strong enough to feel from the outside. After I got home and sat down on the couch I felt Babu move again and put my hand on my belly to check it out...I could feel Babu moving like crazy! I messaged Josh and said, “You’d better hurry because you can feel Babu from the outside!” Josh was only a couple minutes away, and when he got home, sure enough, Babu was still wiggling! It’s pretty amazing that both of us can now feel our precious little baby.

The fortune in the picture above came from a cookie Josh ate a week ago at a Chinese restaurant. Pretty cool, huh?

The bump at 22 weeks

I have a feeling I’ve reached the point where there’s no mistaking I have a baby bump! I actually had a co-worker at REI ask me, “You’re getting a bump, right? Cause you wouldn’t be getting fat...” Hah! I’m glad I could answer yes! Josh took these pictures on Sunday. The first to show off the growing Babu bump, and the second was taken before heading to a holiday get together with some girlfriends. 

Babu, according to some baby sites, should be close to 10 inches long and almost a pound in weight! I’m starting to be able to tell when Babu is sleeping or awake. The movements are definitely more distinct and noticeable. Josh hasn’t felt Babu move yet, but I think he will soon. They told me at my last appointment that the placenta is anterior so that muffles movements, but I think it’ll be strong enough to feel from the outside by Christmas.

Only 18 weeks to go!