Weeks Change to Days: 35 Day Countdown!!!

Jiminy Cricket! 35 is the magic number! Today marks 35 weeks which also means only 35 days to go!

It has been pretty quiet lately. HAHA! Psych! As usual, we have a plate full of things that we are diving into. But, I think we've been taking it all with stride thanks to level heads and support from loved ones.

We recently made a trip to the Great Dairyland! It's always nice to cruise around Lake MI to the Milwaukee area to see my parents and siblings. And, this particular trip was full of family fun. To kick start things, my lovely mom planned a baby shower for me. And, to end the weekend, she also planned a surprise retirement party for my dad. {No wonder I have such a great hostess gene!}

The drive was great! Snow was finally starting to melt, spring in the air, sun peaking through the clouds... And, as usual we stumbled across some Journey just as we were heading into Chicago! Life is good. {DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'} I must admit, my husband is becoming quiet the experienced Chicago driver -- thanks to his navigating wife. We make a good team. And, we love road trips. We have some of our best and most thought provoking conversations when we drive. Helps pass the time and so does belting music when things get lame.

The shower was lovely. It was touching to see close friends and family. Some we haven't seen since our wedding and others even longer! We were "showered" once again with gifts, hugs, and well wishes from everyone. Baby muffin is already so humbled. Mom is so good to us! And, thank goodness for brothers! My brother Matt, brother-in-law Grant, and Eric all hit the road to Milwaukee for the Sprecher brewery tour. Eric is a bit spoiled from his production experience at New Holland so he wasn't too impressed. But, it was special to hear that he enjoyed "cackling" with the guys more than the tour itself. I'm glad those dudes {all very different} can entertain one another in good clean fun.

We literally had to shoe {shoo?} some of the gals from the shower out of the house to make it to the car dealership for one of mom's great plans. You see, my dad's retirement gift to himself is a new Toyota Tacoma {Much deserved!}. So, mom made a pact with the dealership that they would call her when it was in and if dad inquired, they would say it wasn't in yet. Mean, just mean. But, it allowed us women to meet the guys after the Sprecher tour and take a picture with dad's new truck. It was quite the adventure and "a beautiful thing" as Dad would say.



The whole Seib-family! Growing each day!

Dad's surprise retirement party took place at the Fox and Hound restaurant. An awesome setting tucked back in the woods. Just a small group of his closest friends, coworkers, and some family. Unfortunately he was feeling under the weather but mom convinced him that the family needed to celebrate his achievement over brunch since all the kids were in town. Let me tell you, the love and the energy from everyone must have perked him right up! He was surprised by all of the people that traveled a short distance and also with the fun gifts that he received as recognition for his hard work. You see.... dad is a private guy. A hard working German man. The kind of guy that always worked 2-3 jobs - jobs he didn't even like and shifts that caused him to sleep in 3 hr increments at a time. He is an inspiration -- not many people can comfortably retire at age 55 nor do they stay employed at a company they don't like for 30+ years! But, my dad did and it brought him to a great place. I'm so proud of him! And, over all of the years he was able to keep a strong faith in God. In fact, I'm sure that's what got him through it all. {One of those lengthy conversations on the ride back to MI!}

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On the homefront - we got good news about the house. So, Eric has spent the last week going there for a couple hours at time to work on plumbing repairs. Next step, FHA appraisal/inspection. Then repair more according to their standards. Then inspect again. Tentatively scheduled to close on the house end of April {Conveniently, a week before baby is due}.

Our 34 week appointment was a breeze. Muffin was all jacked up on something because she was moving around so much we could barely hear her heartbeat. All is well. She's not measuring as big as anticipated {Good grief, thank goodness!} and I got a high five for only gaining 2 lbs in the last 2 weeks. Head is down but cocked a little to the right side and her little butt is always popping out from under my rib. So, she's in a decent position now, she just needs to wiggle down.

Holy roundness!

How Far Along: 35 weeks

Size of Baby: Size of a honeydew melon. 18 inches and 5.5 pounds of cuteness!

Belly: Fricken stretch marks are creeping in! I'm not sure when they took up residence on the underside of my belly... but Eric pointed them out the other day. Oh well. Still loving the tumtum! Eric said to me this week, "Babe, is it weird that I can't even picture you without your beautiful belly?" He is so sweet! But really.... what did I look like?!

Movement: Not a whole lot of room to move these days. No more summersaults. Just some rolling movements and some kicks. And, man, do those hard kicks make me jump sometimes. I enjoy watching my belly morph as she moves. She's getting big!

Symptoms: None? Is that possible at 35 weeks?!! The only symptom I have {other than frequent urination which is.... duh!} is occasional swelling of the feet. I'm feeling pretty good these days.

Food Cravings: Nothing in particular. Loving me some watermelon from time to time and I drink milk like its going out of style.

Gender: Getting excited to make her woodland animal themed nursery in the new house.... eventually

Moods Ups and Downs: Because I've been feeling so great, my mood is great! I think I'm more pleasant now that I was pre-pregnancy. No joke.

What I miss: As much as I miss late nights, conversations with human beings {you know, someone more interesting than my dog}, beer, adventures, ect... I'm content these days. I'm happy just to be comfortable, functional, sleeping well, and still able to do many things on my own {Though, telling Eric that I can't do laundry anymore because I lost my balance and nearly feel down the stairs is probably the best thing yet!}

What I'm looking forward to: Last baby shower tomorrow! I'm not going to lie, I'll be glad when it's over - I'm tuckered out. But, I'm excited to see the tribe and more family. Hopefully muffin will grace someone with her presence. She is so dang shy around the belly touchers! Oh, and I'm excited to go get a pedicure with my girl, Alex! She's hosting this shower at her home and she deserves a little TLC too. {Thanks to my friend Jordan for the pedi gift certificate! Just in time for warmer weather and a round belly!}

Milestones/Moments: So close to being less than a month away!

Whip out the flip-flops, Michigan. It's supposed to be in the 50s soon!