Winding down...

Updates:

• We had our maternity photos yesterday--pretty hot, but I think we got some great shots and I am so excited to see how they turn out.  
• One car seat base down, one to go.
• The nursery is 97% done, but the perfectionist in me does not want to post pictures until it's done-done.
• Nesting.  Does it count as nesting if you're spending most of your time NOT in the baby's room?  i.e. sprucing up your kitchen/living area?

I've been told this time would come, but now that it's here, it seems too soon!  It's funny how time can move so quickly and so slowly at the same time.  I seriously feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER, but I have a hard time coming to grips with the fact that my due date is NEXT MONTH.  Starting next week, I will see my ob every. single. week.  Yikes.  Now that the pregnancy is coming to a close, I have spent some time thinking about these last 35 weeks.  There are definitely things that I will miss, and things that I will definitely not miss.

Things that I'll miss:
1.  Feeling little Henry squirm and kick--it's so neat that I know everything that is going on with Henry, and no one else does.  It's like I constantly have a little secret :)
2.  Constantly being told I'm "tiny."  Seriously, I get this several times a day, and it is nice to be complimented.
3.  How easy it is to care for Henry.  I'm sure when I'm waking up multiple times a night to feed the little guy, I will wish it was as easy as having an umbilical cord.
4.  The pregnancy card.  I will miss having this card in my deck of excuses; however, maybe the newborn card can take it's place?
5.  Eating for two.  Ok, so I don't eat double of what I did pre-pregnancy, in fact, I really don't eat that much more, but my metabolism is quite different, and I don't feel as guilty when I eat dessert or an extra snack...Henry wants it, not me!
6.  It being just us two.  I am confident that JP and I will love this next stage of life with little Henry, but it's a lot of fun being a young married couple with no obligations.  I'll miss being able to just fly by the seat of our pants and do whatever spontaneous activity we feel like doing (although admittedly, this control freak does not let that happen all that often).
7.  This is a silly one, but my hair and nails are so healthy and grow so fast.  It gives me an excuse to get pampered a little more often with hair cuts and pedicures.

Things that I will not miss:
1.  EVERYONE having any opinion on EVERYTHING.  It's getting very old having to hear everyone's various comments on my pregnancy.  "Are you sure you're that far along?"  "Are you sure you should be doing that/lifting that/running/exercising/eating that/working?"  "What's your birth plan--and all the controversy that goes with that..."
2.  People doting on me unnecessarily.  Seriously, I realize I am pregnant and kind of huge, but I can still do basic things for myself.  I am actually still physically able to walk, feed myself, pick things up off of the floor, carry my own purse, etc.
3.  Not being able to sleep on my back.  I am seriously so excited to sleep on my belly again.
4.  Having to pee every 5 seconds.  Enough said.
5.  Finding out every few weeks that my clothes don't fit anymore.  I haven't cried yet, but almost.
6.  Crazy hormonal emotions.  (I don't think JP will miss this either).
7.  Feeling like everyone is looking at me.  I mean, I know not EVERYONE is looking at me, but the belly does kind of draw attention to itself.  I will be happy to just fade back into the background.
8.  Having food/beverage restrictions.  I mean, I'm not a lush or anything, but knowing that I can't have things makes me want them so dang bad.  I just want a huge turkey sandwich with a Diet Dr. Pepper and a margarita to boot.
9.  Ok, this one is very superficial and silly, but seriously, I am so ready to be able to buy normal clothes.  I am a huge online shopping addict, and when I find something cute online, I have a moment of panic where I try to talk myself out of buying a particular item for fear it will not be for sale when I am back to my regular body (however long that takes.)
10.  Skipping the hard workouts.  While I have been able to exercise up to this point, and will probably continue throughout the rest of my pregnancy, I am not doing long runs, or fast runs, or doing any kind of crunch or exercise on my back.  I am honestly looking forward to hitting the gym for a hardcore workout.

So...having read my two lists above, it looks like there are more cons than there are pros.  This really isn't the case, I have truly enjoyed my pregnancy.  There is nothing quite like knowing you have life that you helped create growing inside of you.  It is the most beautiful, honoring, humbling experience a woman can have.  I highly suggest it...unless you're a man, then of course you can't relate :)

At this stage, I am just so excited for the end...I can literally see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I am so excited to get to meet our little Henry.  I'm excited to touch him and hold him and learn every detail of his little face.  I'm excited to watch him grow and develop into an individual, with his own likes and dislikes and his own little personality.  Can't wait to see you on the other side, little one (literally and figuratively, ha!).

Anniversary, Father's Day Weekend

Ok, I guess when you don't post in over a month, you end up with a lot to say....So, sorry to write two blog posts in one day, but I felt like it was necessary today, just to catch up.  Also, I felt like I needed to acknowledge the milestone weekend that this was for us: Thursday was JP's last day at Academy, Friday was our 5 year anniversary, Saturday was anniversary day take 2, and Sunday was JP's first official human Father's Day.  (I say human, because our canine children have celebrated Mother's Day and Father's Day for the last 5 years.)

We decided a while back to go out of town this past weekend for a 5 year anniversary/babymoon trip.  We decided to do a weekend in San Antonio, do the Alamo, the Riverwalk, Sea World, etc.  This sounded like a great idea in theory 4 weeks ago.  So here's the catch: I feel fine being on my feet for 12 hours at work (in the air conditioning I might add) and working around the house (also air-conditioned).  But being 34 weeks pregnant makes me almost constantly hot and after a quick trip to the zoo two weeks ago, I figured out that the Houston weather is pretty much intolerable to me right now.  Couple my constant thirst with my ever growing belly and the Texas weather and the outdoors just is not pleasant right now.  Long story short, we nixed the idea of the mostly-outdoors-San Antonio trip.

So, we came to the agreement that we would just do a special weekend here.  We didn't plan a whole lot, so Friday was spent viewing the first showing of Man of Steel, followed by a day of baby shopping/putting together the nursery.  Despite our desire to make it a special anniversary to celebrate our "we-don't-have-kids-and-can-do-whatever-we-want-weekend," we ended up doing a lot of baby stuff.  Dang kids just take over everything, haha.  At the end of the day, not very romantic.

Saturday was our JP's attempt at redemption.  I must brag on him here.  We started the day with brunch, and then I was treated to a spa pedicure and prenatal massage--which felt wonderful while I was getting it, but I'm having second thoughts today--more to come later.  I won't go into mushy details that only mean something to us, but I was very pleasantly surprised...and proud.  My hubby is not always the most romantic and he did this all on his own :)

FIVE BOUQUETS OF FLOWERS FOR FIVE YEARS OF MARRIAGE

YEAR 1

YEAR 2

YEAR 3

YEAR 4

YEAR 5

And of course, with it being Father's Day, I want to give a shout-out to all the men that have been and will be an influence on our little Henry:

My Grandpa (Joseph McArthur)
I hope Henry inherits the unique quality of being
wise and intellectual, while also being ridiculously silly

My Grandad and Henry's namesake (Robert Miller)
I hope Henry inherits his steadfastness, his sweet spirit, and his guts--(he was a turret gunner in WWII)

My Dad (Rick Miller)
I hope Henry inherits his determination and work ethic, and commitment to family.

JP's Dad (Bill Johnson)
We are so glad that Henry gets to pass on the
Johnson name.We know he would be proud.
We hope Henry inherits his generosity,
adventurous spirit, and Southern charm.

JP's Stepdad (David Jackson)
We hope Henry inherits his wisdom, his patience,
and his listening skills.

Last, but not least, Henry's Daddy.  I'm so excited to see how JP will change and grow with Henry.  I know we both have a lot of growing up and growing together coming our way, and I'm excited to get to walk through this process with my hubby.  I know he will make me a better mom, and I pray I will help make him a better dad.  I hope Henry inherits JP's sense of humor, and his ability to be so quick to forgive (a trait I do not have).  I can only imagine our little Henry being a miniature version of JP.  I think he will also inherit (whether voluntarily or forcefully) all of JP's hobbies--his love of Arkansas sports, fishing, hunting, video games, Star Wars.  I think Henry will idolize his Daddy; I just hope I can keep up :)

If we could give little Henry the longest name in the world, and an identity complex, we would have named him Henry Robert Joseph Richard William David John Johnson, but alas, he only gets one middle name.  You have a lot of big shoes to fill, kid, and we are so excited to help you and watch you fill them.

Long time no see...

Holey-moley, it has been a long time since I've written!  My intention was to write every week, but so much for that.  Lots of little updates to give this week:

1.  Hiccoughs: Henry has been getting these for several weeks, but he gets them ALL THE TIME.  Seriously, at least 2-3 times per day.  And they last at least 5-10 minutes.  It seems to really aggravate him, because he gets really active after he has the hiccoughs.  He gets that from me, I guess.  I get hiccoughs pretty bad, and they kind of make me angry...I mean, my life has to just go on hold while waiting on my body to quit hiccough-ing...but I digress.

2.  When it rains it pours!  We are so thankful to our friends and family for all of Henry's gifts.  We feel so blessed that so many of you have been supporting us during this time of change.  So many encouraging words and sweet prayers and gifts for Henry.  Really, we have been so blessed and are so thankful.  Our hearts are full.  (Note to hostesses: I'm the worst picture taker ever, and don't have good pictures of myself with the hostesses...if I did, your beautiful faces would be posted here!)  P.S.  I really have to get into this picture-taking thing, it's just frankly anti-Mom to not constantly be taking pictures, right?

JP and I at family shower

JP and I at family shower

My pregnant self at Houston shower

Diaper cake at Houston shower

3.  This has been a season of change for us in so many ways.  I think if you asked JP or myself how to sum up these past few months, we would both say, God provides.  As of July 31st, (don't worry, that is Henry's due date) my employer will change.  Honestly, not much will change for me, other than who gives me my paycheck.  My job will be pretty much 99% the same for now, but seriously, God, the timing?  I was pretty anxious about this for a few days while waiting to hear the official word from the new company, but as always, God provided and I think this will be an even better opportunity for me.  JP will start a new job tomorrow, which will be closer to home, allowing less commute time, and more Henry time for JP.  It'll be nice to have him home earlier and hopefully not as stressed :)  We will miss the discount, though.  Don't worry, we made a special trip just to get the last out of his employee discount.

Goodbye, Academy

Hello, Chaming Charlie!

4.  The belly is getting BIG.  I'm not crazy uncomfortable at this point, but it just feels so UNNATURAL.  Have you ever watched a kid that goes through a huge growth spurt and they just seem so clumsy all the time?  I can totally relate.  I'm so used to my pre-pregnancy body, that I am constantly trying to "squeeze" through places that would never have been a tight fit and sometimes, I get stuck, or have to find an alternate route.  Sometimes, I flat out run the belly into stuff...counters, chairs.  It's like I have an extra appendage that came out of nowhere.

The stages of pregnancy, presented by the Miller/Johnson family
From right to left: 1st trimester, 2nd trimester, 3rd trimester, post-term

5.  Henry is getting BIG.  SSSSHHHH, don't tell my ob, but I cheated and during a slow time at work, took a peek at Henry with our ultrasound machine.  I hadn't laid eyes on him since 18 weeks, so it was really fun to see the changes that took place from weeks 18-33.  He is so big.  Thankfully, he is head down, so all is in place (hopefully) for a smooth delivery.  It was very cool to see so much detail this time, simply because he has grown.  I saw all 10 fingers and toes (5 on each hand and foot, haha), his liver, his kidneys, and his cute little heart, with 4 chambers and 4 valves, all working in perfect harmony.  That is so cool to me.  By the way, we have a thumb sucker on our hands!  He apparently is shy about his little face, because during both ultrasounds, he had his hands up and will not for the life of him give us a peek at a profile shot. I guess we will just have to be surprised.

6.  Nesting: This has been a little slow to occur.  Honestly, JP has been "nesting" more than I have.  For the past few weeks, we have just thrown anything baby related into the nursery, but had to do a quick clean up when the last pieces of our furniture arrived.  No joke, this was our nursery until about 5 days ago.  Credit goes to JP for cleaning up the clutter, I had no part in that :)

The girls checking out our first addition to the nursery

The state of the nursery circa 6/12/13

That wraps it up, for now.  We are getting so excited for our little bundle of joy to arrive!  We keep saying things like, "When Henry gets here," or "I can't wait to do this with Henry," or "I wish Henry could see this."  We are so excited for our little family of two to turn into three.