Home Stretch

We are officially on the home stretch... T-3 weeks. It's hard to believe our family is going to soon grow by 33%. Judging from all of the baby paraphernalia that surrounds us, it's going to feel like 150% after the big birthday.

In the last week, we took a Child/Infant CPR class as well as a Childbirthing class. Both were about as exciting as we thought they'd be, but we feel better that we faced the challenge.

I'm now going to the doctor weekly. So far, our daughter has shown us that she's quite comfortable in the womb (aside from her constant kicks and jabs). Although our daughter is nice and cozy, I've officially entered the "I'd-rather-not-be-pregnant-anymore" phase. From growing out of all of my maternity clothes to getting 30 minutes of sleep at a time, I think I'm officially ready for our daughter's big debut;)

March in Austin is the BEST - beautiful weather and great energy

36.5 weeks

Staycation 2012

Since I'm not allowed to travel anymore, we decided to squeeze in one more babymoon in the form of a staycation last weekend.

We started off the day with a delicious lunch at Bouldin Creek Coffee House - very Austin: vegetarian fare, servers that slightly smell of BO, patrons mostly donning cut offs/bare feet/dreads. We completed the meal with a stop at Sugar Mama's, our favorite cupcake spot.

Our friends, George and Kathy, recently opened up Heywood, a boutique hotel on the East Side of Austin. They converted a charming old bungalow to a modern 7 room hotel... what an amazing transformation! From the decor, to the service, to the cool East Side vibe, our expectations were certainly exceeded.

We ended the evening with dinner at Justine's, a quaint French restaurant, on the East Side. Our friends, Mark and Elisa Dennis, joined us - they are due with their first baby the day before we are. We are looking forward to our girls enjoying many play dates together!

We are officially on the home stretch! I'm feeling very pregnant and looking forward to the arrival of our daughter. If only I had a magic wand to finish all of the nagging little pre-baby tasks;)

Our daughter is a mover and a shaker. She's either having a constant dance party in there or consistently karate chopping me. We've learned that she loves when I move, and can't stand it when I sit still.

On tap for this week - Infant CPR class as well as a Childbirthing class. Plus, we have our 36 week appointment with the doctor tomorrow, so a full week of everything Baby T.

A little behind on posting - 35 weeks (1 week old)

Austin Shower

As you can tell from our lack of blogging, we've been VERY busy prepping for our daughter's big debut. I think Justin's hit his limit of errand running, to do lists, closet cleaning, furniture re-arranging, etc. Only a husband as wonderful as he is would put up with it all. We've been super productive, but somehow my list keeps growing...

We took a break from all of the preparations for a baby shower, lovingly hosted by our dear friends Meghan Hack, Meredith Greager, and Allison Beadle. Mom and Katie made it down for the shower, and we had the best time. Luckily, they also put up with me bossing them around with preparations for Baby T.

Lovely Hostesses : Meredith, Meghan & Allison

 

 

Fuzzy picture but great company. Brunch shower hosted at Annie's Cafe in Downtown Austin.

While I loved ALL of my thoughtful gifts, this one was truly special. Great Aunt Sally's handmade slip + gown from when she was a baby. So precious! Baby T has big shoes to fill:)

Beautiful baby blanket hand made by the wonderful woman, Ginny, who took care of me starting at 3 months old.  I hope we're lucky enough to find someone as amazing as Ginny to take care of our daughter.

Hostess Allison with her adorable daughter, Audrey. We are so fortunate to have them as neighbors. Audrey is going to show our daughter the ropes and have some killer play dates in the very near future.

Beautiful Mommy to Be and Grandma to Be flowers from the hostesses

Even Aunt To Be flowers - how thoughtful...

While most of the weekend was dominated with female only activities, we managed to get Justin involved in a delicious dinner at Backspace.

In the spirit of all things baby, we watched the documentary Babies last weekend - A look at one year in the life of four babies from around the world, from Mongolia to Namibia to San Francisco to Tokyo. It was remarkable how different each of the four cultures were, yet all four babies experienced the same milestones. I never thought I'd enjoy a movie without dialogue or subtitles so much. Super sweet...

I had my 34 week checkup today, and everything is going smoothly. We are officially on the home stretch of this pregnancy journey and are getting anxious to meet our daughter.

Sweet Home Chicago

We had the best time in Chicago last weekend! We miss our friends and the city, but we do not miss the winters.

Our incredibly thoughtful friends, Erin McGiffert and Lindsey Clancey, threw us a beautiful baby shower. It was great to catch up with old friends and visit what we still consider home. The food was delicious, thanks to Linds and Erin slaving away in the kitchen all day. And what baby shower isn't complete with a little gambling? Shut the Box was a bit hit. We were showered with amazing gifts... it's safe to say that our daughter is already spoiled rotten!

We were also lucky enough to have Justin's parents come down for the party - they get the MVP award for traveling the farthest;)

All is well with the baby - my belly is getting huge, and I'm much slower (both physically and mentally) these days. I'm in full on nesting mode, and I hope that Justin is prepared to put up with my antics over the coming weeks. Finalizing the nursery, buying the gear, reading up on childbirth - lots to do!

We are mildly obsessed with Olivia Clancey. Most well behaved 4 month old EVER. All bundled up ready for lunch at Southport Grocer with the grownups.

We joined the Chicago crew for the bi-weekly installment of Pizza Pals. Sono was a hit!

Lucky parents, lucky baby, to be showered with so much love from friends and family;)

I think I ate my weight in cake balls.

31 weeks and growing

The Big Apple

We had an amazing time in NYC... we basically spent 4 days eating, walking, eating, walking, and shopping. I learned 3 important lessons while there. 1) I'm pregnant and can't run around like a non-prego person anymore 2) We've become total wimps with cold weather. 3) I think college is overrated and want my daughter to become a chef.

With the help of our foodie friend, Andy Sabola, we had quite the lineup for our gorgefest:
Thursday: Saxon+Parole
Friday: Momofuko, Giorgione's
Saturday: Dutch, Casa Mono
Sunday: Pulino's

My neurotic and anal retentive ways are setting in, and I'm in full blown nesting mode. I think it's probably premature, but maybe the baby is a planner like me and is sending subliminal messages? Even though we just moved into the new house in May, I'm suddenly interested in reorganizing every closet and purging non-essentials to make room for baby paraphernalia.

I had my 30 week appointment this week, and the doctor is pleased with measurements/weight/movement/overall health. We feel very fortunate to have had a smooth pregnancy and seemingly healthy baby. We can't wait to meet our daughter - the big birthday will be here before we know it:)

New World Trade Center site - our first hotel was right across the street

Justin anxiously awaiting lunch at Momofuko - props to David Chang's culinary delights

Converse anyone?

Wonderful dinner out with one of my oldest friends, Meredith Imber. Great to catch up with Mer and her new husband, Greg.

All things Lebowski. Too bad the shop wasn't open yet...

Ridic brunch at Dutch. Fried chicken and honey butter biscuits before noon? Yes, please!

In heaven sitting at the chef's counter at Casa Mono.

30 weeks

3rd Trimester

As we dive into the 3rd trimester, we're now realizing everything we have to accomplish before our daughter's birthday... an exciting yet somewhat anxiety ridden time.

We had our 28 week (4D) sonogram this week, and it was incredible at just how much you can see. I immediately started crying as I saw our baby's nose and mouth form up on the screen. Baby T in 4D made pending parenthood all the more real. While she still looks sort of like an alien (a beautiful alien), we are beyond thrilled with our new mug shots. It's all we can do to not look at them 82 times a day.

We think she has Daddy's mouth and Mommy's nose.

Hopefully she's this peaceful out of the womb...

Apparently, our baby girl is in the 63rd percentile, so we're wondering if she really ours:) Baby T already weighs 3 pounds, and if she continues on this path without plateauing, we'll have a ~9 lb baby... yikes.

Lately, I've had every stranger known to man tell me that I'm having a boy, even AFTER I tell them that we're having a girl. I expressed my concern to the sonographer, and she assured me that Baby T has girl parts.

We made a trip to Dallas yesterday to pick up my mom mobile. Goodbye Chicago "city" sedan, hello SUV. While it feels huge to me right now, I'm sure the new wheels will seem much smaller once the stroller, car seat, and baby paraphernalia is loaded in.

We are headed to NYC this week. Justin has his annual sales meeting, and I just ride his coattails and soak in some urban living. We miss living in a big city, so this gives us the opportunity to live the fast life for a week in the Big Apple. Visiting friends and colleagues, cheering on the Jayhawks at a local KU bar, and eating our way through NYC - I'm sure to come back exhausted, but we can't wait.

Navidad & Nuptials

It was Christmas at the beach for the Thomases this year! This was the first time all of us were together for a holiday in years. We don't sleep much, we drink a LOT of coffee, and we all love to talk... great times. This was an extra special trip due to brother Nick getting hitched.  There's nothing better than the beach, family, and some R&R. I've known and loved Jane for years, but this was the first time to meet and spend some quality time with the Novotny Family - Bob, Cindy, and Bob... We had a blast sharing food, cocktails, and stories. Hopefully the Thomas Family Antics didn't scare them off... "BOOM."

We spent 2 nights at Watercolor Inn for our "Babymoon" - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babymoon) complete with giving a new restaurant a try, a spa day, and a day walking around Seaside.

We continued the tradition of meeting up with the Hales post-Xmas. We were introduced to Mr. Jack Hale, who is just as adorable as his pictures promised (Baby T and Olivia Clancey are gonna have a blast with him at KU). Maggie and Dylan have this parenting gig nailed. We hit up The Red Bar (http://www.theredbar.com/) with the Hales where we promptly planned our next trip to Santa Rosa Beach.

The Thomas Family Bike Ride made a comeback after 20 years. As kids, we spent many an afternoon biking around as a family... we loved it. This time our recent additions joined us. Me, Sarah, Mom, Dad, Tom, Meghan, and Elizabeth all joined in on the fun. I was so proud that everyone made it unharmed and uninjured. Elizabeth was not at all happy to get in the caboose that Tom pulled, but she was a champ as were her parents. Sarah was obviously the MVP completing a 12 mile bike ride 27 weeks pregnant. 

Now that we're back in Austin, we're in full baby mode: building nursery furniture, cleaning closets, and our 28 week doctor's appointment. Word on the street is that we'll have 3D pictures from the sonogram, if our active little girl will sit still to have her picture taken. Stay tuned for glamour shots on our next post. 

Pics and Video are below:


Our niece, Elizabeth, kept us entertained the entire week. Uncle Nick and Auntie Jane dressed up as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus on Christmas Eve, and as you can see in this video, Elizabeth would have nothing of it.

This was our gorgeous view from our room at Watercolor Inn.

Pre-rehearsal dinner. Sporting my traditional nuptial mustache for the occasion.

The newlyweds and Norm post-ceremony.

Tom and Elizabeth all dolled up... precious. Elizabeth was on her best behavior all evening.

Not a bad view post-ceremony...

The Thomas and Novotny Family Unite! An incredible dinner at Fish Out of Water's private wine room. Delicious food and wonderful company completed the memorable day.

 

Prego on a cruiser. The Thomases all returned in 1 piece after the 12 mile trek.

 

 

 

 

27 weeks