Welcome To...Kansas City?!?!?

Yup. It's true-Rob and I are BACK in KC a few days too early. It has been a pretty interesting last 24 hours. Flew out to Denver on Monday evening-our flight was fine-all on time-rode first class. Arrived in Denver a little early-checked on our flight to Durango-On Time. We went to get a snack-flight delayed an hour. Ok-we can handle that-we were eating our snack when Mom called-telling us our flight was cancelled. Rob went to the monitors-I was still eating my soft serve yogurt-and sure enough-CANCELLED. The planes that you take to Durango are little puddle jumpers-hold probably about 20 people max. Well there was a winter storm over all of the mountains in Colorado-so everyone's flight was delayed. The customer service line was out of control. Rob was on the phone with United-as was Donna-I was talking to LeRoy about other alternatives to get there besides flying straight to Durango.

The lady talking to Rob was saying that all flights were booked and we couldn't get out there until possibly Wednesday night. We tried flying to New Mexico, Phoenix, etc. it just wasn't working. It didn't help that Durango had cancelled all of their flights for the last day and a 1/2 so everyone was still waiting from Sunday. We thought about driving-LeRoy told us it wouldn't be safe-and that some of the roads would probably be closed. We tried everything we could think of-nothing was working. United was telling us we couldn't get back to KC until late Wednesday night-Rob was NOT happy. I was hurting from walking around-and we were both super tired from being up at 5 AM. Finally was able to find a flight home yesterday afternoon-went to a hotel and stayed the night. Of course we didn't have our luggage-they said it would be at least a 3 hour wait to find it.

Flew home yesterday afternoon-went to baggage claim to get our luggage-and guess where it was...in Durango! So the luggage could get on the plane-but we couldn't. Donna said that they had 3 feet of snow already and were supposed to get at least another 12 inches. We were all so very disappointed that we couldn't make it. We had such fun things planned to do. I was looking forward to playing in the snow with Chase and making Christmas cookies-Rob was looking forward to going skiing and both of us of course were looking forward to good food and great family time.

So now we're back-still no luggage-which of course had all my stuff in it-and United is saying they can't locate it. So keep your fingers crossed...have a great Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Rob and I are busy running around today finishing up all of our last minute things before we head out to Durango. Today we get to pick up the dresser-the last thing we needed for Grayson's room, drop off the pups with the grandparents, finish last minute Christmas shopping, etc. Whew! We have Christmas with Dad and Becky and everyone tomorrow-then we leave for Durango Monday night-will spend the week there playing in the snow with Chase and everyone, and then we get back Saturday afternoon and will do Christmas with Mom, Joe, Nana and Sara.

Went to the dr. this past Wednesday-she said everything looked good-still doing my blood 4 times a day. She said she just wants to keep an eye on them-they aren't crazy out of control-a high one here and there-so we go back on Monday to talk more about them. If she still isn't happy with them-then I might start taking some kind of insulin medication one time a day. But hopefully we won't have to do that. But since I've been eating more protein, etc. I lost 4 lbs this past week-and no-Dr. P. wasn't concerned about it. So we'll see how we do this week in Durango!

Have a great and Merry Christmas everyone-and I'll post TONS of pictures when I get back from all the different fun-filled family activities!

8 Weeks?!?!?

So yup-we are officially on the end of this pregnancy train-and I for one am ready to get off! Went to Dr. P. this past Thursday-everything looked fine. Grayson's heart was a strong 160. She liked my blood sugar levels-but said that I still have to do them 4 times a day--until they level out. So I guess that means she busted me for eating the Mint M & M's. I go back on Wednesday. Last night we had Rob's work Christmas dinner and I decided to get wild and crazy and order a virgin Strawberry Dacquiri. I don't think that the guy heard me say 'virgin'-so when I got it-took a sip-and oh my! Had Rob taste it-he said-'Well there is some rum in it-but not all that much-how could you taste it?' Maybe if he hasn't smelled or tasted alcohol for the last 7 months...but then I got my nice big virgin version--in a beer mug--and just drank it down.

After listening to some of the girls I work with-and some of my other friends-I contacted the local Parents As Teachers to possibly come out when Gray is born to help us with development, etc. I need to call them back because they said they had some questions about my application. But I think that it would be beneficial for them to come and give us tips. So I'm excited about that. Rob doesn't really understand the concept behind it-he said he'll have to research it.

Rob and I are getting geared up for Colorado-and are SUPER excited to get out there and see everyone. Lots of stuff going on over the next few weeks-so this is all going to fly by. Yikes! Hold on to your seat Grayson!

Baby Shower and Belly

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. We were able to spend time with family on Friday night-then we had Mom and Joe's pups all weekend-so Tubs and Addy were taken care of. This past Saturday was the first Saturday since about September that Rob and I didn't have anything on the agenda to do. It was great! We were able to run errands, do some Christmas shopping, hang out, etc. On Sunday I had the Summa Family Baby Shower. It was so much fun! Grayson got tons of loot! Here are some pictures


Here's the basket that was on the food table-it has little animals all around it-and was stuffed with some great goodies!



Here's Lucy with Aunt Jennifer-she's helping open some of her cousin's presents-it kept her entertained for quite awhile!





I realized after I downloaded this-it's sideways-sorry. But here's Lucy singing and keeping people entertained while we snacked and ate yummy food.Here's Lucy helping me open some of my gifts. This was the gift from her-that I just HAD to open first. Surprising-there was a KU t-shirt in there-and Doug is totally not a Jayhawk fan at all! Lucy pulled it out and said 'Rock Chalk Jayhawk-Go KU!' Such a smart little girl...Here's just a little bit of the loot that Grayson scored. Not to mention his crib, jump-a-roo and swing. I can't wait to see Rob put those things together!Rob hung up the picture yesterday in the nursery-which I think looks fantastic. I just love it!


And here you go-watch out! Here I am this morning at 31 weeks and 3 days. I'm moving along. I get weekly pregnancy updates-and the task for this week was to think about what I need to bring to the hospital and making sure I have it all. Yikes! This little guy is coming soon! Rob noticed tonight that my belly button is almost popped out-and when he noticed that-I noticed that my stretch marks are now creeping around to the front of my belly. That's about it for us. Rob's fighting with the computer right now on printing labels so we can send out our Christmas cards. We go back to Dr. P. on Thursday afternoon-maybe we'll get another sneek peek at our handsome little guy. We have a pretty busy weekend this weekend-lots of stuff going on. Rob's Christmas Dinner, haircut, massage, baking cookies, spending Sunday with the girls and then Sunday night going to church with Dad and Becky. Then we start thinking about our trip to Durango! Whew! Have a fabulous week!

Message from G-Man's Daddy

For all of you that are wondering, which probably just my Mom, Aunts and a few others, Dad is hanging in there and excited for this little guy to get here. Leah is doing amazing and her attitude like always is wonderful. If it were me with the big leather basketball in my tummy I would be a grumpy jerk, but she is always smiling and being Leah. Well that is all from me, thanks for all the prayers and thoughts. The G-Man will be here in a few short months, can't wait!!

Rob

Sweet Baby Boy

We had our appointment with Dr. Piquard today-and everything went just great. She took a copy of all of my sugar levels for the past week-and said that she was really happy about them. She said that they are so low-that eventually I will only need to take my blood once a day. Sweet! But with gestational diabetes she likes to see her patients once a week--for the time being. So we scheduled 3 more visits for the rest of the month--but there is a major BONUS to all of this--we get sonograms almost every week! Yahoo! So she told Rob and I if we had time today-then we could go and get an ultrasound today-so of course we jumped on it! And for all of you baby Grayson picture lovers--here are a few from today.

The first one his head is facing us-and the sonogram lady said 'Look at his pudgy cheeks!'-wonder where those came from...The second picture is of his feet-they are smushed together--he's got the long Sullivan toes! And then the third one-I thought he was blowing bubbles-but apparently they aren't spit bubbles-it's the umbilical cord.
But the real kicker was-she said that I'm measuring about 31 weeks and 3 days-so that was quite a bit sooner than what we originally thought. On the pictures-the estimated due dates very from January 23-February 8. He's weighing in a little less than 4 pounds. Anyone want to take a guess as to when this little guy is coming?
After she took all of the measurements, etc. she was showing us all of his different parts-we saw his lungs working, his heart working, his kidneys and lots of other things. But then she looked at me and said we were done. I started to get really light headed, started sweating and thought that I was going to get sick. I had been laying flat on my back for about 20 minutes by this time and you aren't supposed to be on your back for long periods of time. Didn't feel all that great.

Other than that-nothing else going on. We go back to the nutritionist tomorrow for our follow-up appointment-she should be proud of me too. Then this weekend I have my first baby shower with the Summa side-I'm really excited about it! Pictures will be posted! Enjoy the rest of your week!

Wedding/Results/Nursery

Let's see-where do we begin? Lots of stuff-as always-going on in the Swindle household. As mentioned in the previous post-Jamie got married this past weekend-and of course it was fantastic. Friday was the rehearsal and dinner-and then Saturday I got to spend the day with my favorite girls-Ash, Steph and of course-the bride. We spent the day getting our hair done, and our make-up. It was good to be with them. Here are a few pictures for you to see...

Here's Jam getting her hair done by the infamous Rosemary

Steph just sitting waiting her turn...And Ash getting her make-up done in the hotel...After we were all dressed and ready to go-it was time to get in the limo and head on down to the church

The ceremony was sweet and quick-which was a great thing! I was afraid that I was going to fall of the step in my heels. Luckily-Steph was next to me to help me down the stairs at the end.

Here's Sara and I at the reception

Rob, Grayson and I danced quite a bit. Now-I can still try and get down and funky with the best of them while I'm pregnant--but sometimes the belly got in the way! And I realized that dancing the entire night away wasn't really an option for me at this time.
And finally-Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Young-so pretty. It was a fabulous day/night-and now they are enjoying themselves in sunny Mexico--I'm a little jealous.

Now onto not so fun news. I heard from the dr. yesterday-my lab results came back and I tested positive for gestational diabetes. Of course-I started to freak out-but then calmed down. Rob and I met with both a nutritionist and a diabetic nurse this morning and was overloaded with information. The nutritionist was designing a meal plan that works for me. I have to eat 3 meals and 3 snacks every day and make sure I eat protein with every meal--which if you know me-will be a little hard. But I was happy to learn that cheese is considered a protein-so bring it on! I was trying to wheel and deal with her about my eating for Thanksgiving-since it is my favorite holiday! She told me that I had to make sure that I ate lots of turkey to counteract against the starches. We go back to her next week for her to look at my meal menu of what I have been eating, etc.
What we found out from both clinics is that A) this was not brought on by something we did B) no one really knows why you get gestational diabetes C) right after delivery-more than likely my blood sugar will go back to normal. It has something to do with the placenta and the insulin. Apparently this is becoming more common in pregnant women-and especially for women-like me-who isn't considered to be 'at-risk' for this. The only category that I fell into was that I was over the age of 25.
We then went to the diabetic clinic-now this-I was a little nervous about. The nurse spoke mostly about gestational diabetes and reiterated again that this was not brought on by anything we did. They didn't catch the diabetes when I was in the hospital last month with heart palpitations because gestational diabetes doesn't show up until at least the end of the 2nd trimester. Now to the fun part-the blood sugar testing. I am now the sole proud owner of a nice finger pricking machine. I have to check my blood sugar 4 times a day and record it.
On the positive note-neither one of the nurses said that they were too concerned about me due to my levels being on the low side during both of the original tests. So they said that I have some room for error-and that if I have a day where I eat lots of sugar-I can help fix it by drinking lots of water and walking to flush out my system. So Rob is going to do the whole thing with me-all the meals and snacks-so that should really help me out. It's a bummer-but things could always be worse-and there really isn't that much longer to go. But I did go and pick up my needles and test strips from the pharmacy today-and I can re-fill those prescriptions 999 times before 11/25/2009--now that's a LOT of needles!

And now...drum roll please...Rob has finished the nursery! And it turned out better than I could have even imagined!
Here is the fantastic crib that Mom and Joe bought us-AND I helped Rob put together-Tubs and Addy have both already been in it

And here is the super awesome glider that Dad and Becky bought for us. Rob likes to sit in it every morning-the pups go in and sit with him as well.And here is a turtle that Rob made for Grayson this past weekend at Build-A-Bear. It's Grayson's Christmas present. And when you squeeze his arm he says "My dad's the coolest" and when you squeeze his leg he says "My mom rocks". All courtesy of Daddy.So now we just have to hang some pictures, buy the dresser/changing table-and just sit back and wait for the little guy to come! Rob is so proud of himself-as am I.

Wow-ok-that was a long post. I have 2 puppies sitting at my feet wanting my attention. Tomorrow we're going to Sara's apartment to make pies--I know-Sara is going to cook! Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Kids, Sara and Test

...so at work my kids are always asking when Grayson is due. They think that I should have him tomorrow and be back to work by Wednesday. So last week I was telling the kids that we won't have the Center open this Thursday because I have to work at another site for their Thanksgiving dinner. One of my girls said, "Mrs. Leah I know why you won't be here next week-it's because you are going into the hospital and getting your baby taken out of your belly!" I don't even know if I responded. Today the same little girl told me that I need to make sure my baby comes out beautiful. They never cease to amaze me...

Sara moved back last Thursday--and moved into her apartment on Saturday. It's super cute-I'm going to post some pictures on here once she gets it all unpacked and ready to be seen. Last night Rob and I just got home from dinner and the phone rang. It was Sara. She had somehow lost her keys and needed to come over and stay the night. She had been in her apartment for 1 night all on her own-and already lost her keys. Rob and I just shook our heads when she walked in the door. Come to find out-she left them in her door last night when she left because someone turned them into the leasing office this morning. I made sure that she went and got us a set of keys to keep at the house in case it happens again.

Rob is going to work on putting the crib together this week-and then putting the chair and ottoman in the nursery--then I can start hanging pictures! I'm so excited--the nursery looks great! Rob has been reading in his 'What to Expect for Fathers' book and thinks that we need to get Grayson to listen to music. So tonight we are going to tape his iPod headphones to my belly and let Grayson jam a little bit. I asked what Rob wanted him to listen to-and he said it didn't matter: rock, 80's, country, KU fight song--so we'll what he likes.

I go on Wednesday for my 3 hour glucose test-hopefully this time I pass. This weekend Jamie is getting married-and I finally picked up my dress from the tailor the other day. It's super cute-and I was lucky enough to see Jamie the other day during one of her last fittings-and she looked beautiful. It's going to be such a fun weekend--I'll take lots of pictures and post them after the festivities are over. Have a great week!

Almost There...

Wanted to post some pictures of the progress Rob made this weekend on the nursery-he has done a fantastic job! Prior to starting this project-there were tons of it that he didn't know how to do-so Grayson's room was his first major project with the molding, the beadboard, etc. Here it is all taped up and ready to be painted.

The fabulous crown molding that Rob learned how to put up all on his own.The way cute fan that Rob bought. The light part is a globe-which I know the Social Studies teacher grandma would love!Ok-here it is with 2 coats on. I think Rob is going to do one more-and then he might be done! And-we went and picked up the crib yesterday-and so the next step is to put that together-and then get the glider out of storage. It's coming along...

UGH!

Just heard from Dr. P's office. I failed my glucose screening test. Ugh. But the nurse wasn't that concerned-the cut-off level is 135. My glucose was at 138. I'm thinking it was because it was right after Halloween and my birthday. So now I have to schedule a 3-hour blood test to make sure that I don't have gestational diabetes. More needles...just what I want.

Brrr...

Had our appointment with Dr. P on Wednesday. Went pretty well-except I was poked quite a bit at this appointment. I had to drink the nasty sugar juice for my glucose/diabetes test. They also were going to check my thyroid due to the heart problems I was having a few weeks ago. Then when I was done with that I was informed that I had to get a flu shot. Not fun-this all was occurring in my left arm. My husband-God love him-does NOT do well with needles-so I was there to fend for myself during the blood taking and the flu shot. They think we should know how the tests went sometime today. They will only call if something is wrong with them-so I'm hoping I won't hear from them.

Dr. P measured Grayson and said that I was right on for 25/26 weeks. I asked her about my due date-she said that she likes to go with the first sonogram to be more accurate about when the baby will come-and that one said Feb. 14. She said the 2nd sonogram sometimes is off by a few weeks. But in my mind I'm still thinking Grayson will be here Feb. 7 or a little earlier. I also asked about my nice cankle that I get on my left foot after a day of work-she said there isn't anything that I can do about it-same with my hands going numb. Her response was, "I hate to tell you Leah-but this is all going to get worse before it gets better". So the only saving grace from the appointment was that we were able to hear the little guy's heartbeat-it was a strong 160.

And from the title of the post you can see that it's starting to get cold here. Gary (the best weather man around) is saying that we have the possibility of snow and sleet on Monday! Let the winter storms begin! And on a better note-went and got gas in the Blazer today-only cost me $35 to fill up! Yahoo!! AND this time next week Aunt Sara will be home!

Rob is going to really try and have the nursery completed this weekend-so stay tuned and look for some pictures....

Nothing Special

Nothing much new to post today--just thank you to all of you that sent well wishes for my birthday! Rob and I had an excellent day of just hanging out, watching KU beat K-State, shopping, eating, etc. We went and picked out Grayson's crib yesterday-so I can't wait until it gets here! I just finished helping Rob with the nursery-I got to fill in all of the nail holes with pink putty stuff-good times!

But the nursery is moving right along-Rob thinks he'll be totally done with it by the end of next weekend! Yahoo! I'm now 26 weeks along--only about 97 days left til the big DUE DATE. But Rob and I are thinking that this little guy might make his debut a little bit early...

I go back to Dr. P on Wednesday to take the diabetes test. Hopefully I pass the first time around so I don't have to come back for the 3-hour version of it. I'm not worried though-while I was in the hospital-they checked me for all of that-and it was all negative.

I'll post an update after Wednesday to let you all know how Grayson is doing!
Have a good week!

Nursery and Belly

So by popular demand-I have more pictures to add. Apparently sometimes people think I get too long-winded and need to post more photos. So enjoy!

Rob has taken the last 2 days of work off to work on Baby Grayson's room. It is coming along really well! I wasn't able to get a picture before the first part of the paint was up. But you can get the gist of what it was like before.

Rob took down all the crown molding and the rail in the middle of the wall.After he took the molding down-it looks as if this room had been a nursery before. It was painted blue up top and yellow down below.

Here's the man himself-hard at work

Then just in case you wanted to see what Rob thinks Grayson looks like now...then you can see the big smiley face on the wall that Rob painted.The next step is to put crown molding back up and then some bead board/wains coat. Have no idea if I'm calling it by the right name-but it is going to be way cute when it's all done.

And now-for Aunt Sara-here is an up to date belly photo. I took it this morning before heading out to work. Here I'm a little over 6 months (24 1/2 weeks) pregnant. I feel seriously huge!

On a side note-Rob and I our celebrating our 1-year anniversary on Monday! I can't believe it's already been a year-so much has changed and it's just flown by! Wow!
While I've been writing this post-it's been storming out pretty bad. Addy is kind of a scaredy cat-and when you aren't paying attention to Tubs-he gets to be a whiny baby. Here is a picture of Addy trying to hid next to the wall.

And then Addy beating up her baby brother for being to whinyEnjoy the rest of your week!

The Final Results

Spoke with the cardiologist yesterday afternoon-and he said that all of my tests came back completely fine. He said that it seems that I have a regular elevated heart rate-and that he sees this quite a bit in pregnant women. He said that if it gets to be too out of control for me he can put me on some medication that can help with the racing heart-but that it won't bother Grayson. So that's all good news for us!

So now my next task is to find a home for a cute pregnant dog that I found at work...any takers???

Update

First off-thank you for all of your well wishes and concerns-things are getting lots better. Just returned from the cardiologist. I currently look like a robot with a heart monitor hooked up to me. I have to wear this for 24 hours-at exactly 10:30 AM on Saturday-I'll be able to take it off. Now who can say that they've been able to take off a heart monitor in a port-a-potty at the KU game?!?!?!

The dr. said that he thought everything looked good-and what I have been experiencing is pretty common in pregnant people. When he listened to my heart-he did hear a gallop of some sort. There was a fancy name for it-we just couldn't remember. So I'm going in on Monday morning to have an ultrasound done on my heart to check for an enlarged heart-or any leaky valves. But he thinks that I should be good. And he released me to return on Monday-but to take it easy.

One thing that did kind of irk me--the tech was entering in all of my information into the computer (height, weight, etc.). So on the computer-there was a WARNING--Patient is considered to be overweight-umm...thanks-just what I wanted to see right now. But she assured me that everyone is considered overweight in that program-unless you're 95 pounds. I guess the BMI doesn't take into account pregnant women...

While we were gone-apparently Tubs and Addy--but mostly Tubs-had some time on his hands. Look what he did to the couch...He threw all the cushions around to make himself a nice comfy bed.

Then just a few pictures of them looking so cute. In a few months-this blog will be filled with pictures of Baby Grayson-so I figured Tubs and Addy could have their lime light right now. Here's Tubs with a martini olive on his head.

And Addison looking nice and pretty at the old lake house...

Now we're just waiting for Donna and LeRoy to come! I'll make sure and post an update after the ultrasound on Monday. Have a great weekend.

Stressful Week for the Swindle's

So this week has been quite a bit stressful for us here at the Swindle household.
It all started this past Monday. I woke up feeling kind of weird-with some cramps-and some rapid heart movements. I thought that it would pass-but after about 6 hours of it-I decided to call the nurse line in Dr. Piquard's office. She told me to start measuring my heart rate and if it was over 100 beats per minute for over 3o mins then to call her back. And I needed to keep an eye on the cramps because they were really contractions. Checked my pulse-and it was way over 100 for about 45 mins. Called the nurse back-she told me to go to the ER. Of course I freaked out.

Was able to get a hold of Rob-he had been in surgeries all day-so I wasn't sure if I was going to get him. We went to Shawnee Mission Medical Center-and they admitted me to the ER. I was there for about 7 hours. They took lots of blood-everything came back negative-no diabetes, no anemia. But the problem was-when I would go from a laying, sitting, standing position-my heart rate would jump up at least 30 beats. I was given 2 IV bags. Nothing was coming back positive-so the dr. suggested that I get a CAT Scan the next day on my chest to make sure I didn't have a blood clot in my lungs. I was able to finally leave-and we did one last walk down the hall. Sitting I was at 95-by the time I was done walking down the hall-I was at 121. So I had to just go home and rest.

Called Dr. Piquard on Tuesday-she said that I HAD to get the CAT Scan completed-so back to the hospital we went. Got another IV in my arm-by now I was getting to be a champ at getting all these needles! Luckily-the scan didn't show a blood clot-which is great because I really wasn't wanting to spend the rest of my pregnancy in the hospital. So back home I came-and laid on the couch. Rob was really not allowing me to do anything.

Went to see Dr. Piquard today-my heart was still beating pretty hard at times-and getting out of breath. Spoke with Dr. P-she thinks that I just ran myself too much and was very dehydrated. She is sending me for a cardiovascular consult on Friday morning-and a possible halter monitor to check my heart for 24 hours. She also checked Grayson's heartbeat-it was a really strong 160. She told me that I have to stay home from work for the rest of the week-and if the consult comes back ok-then I'm able to go back on Monday.

So needless to say-it hasn't been that great of a week for us. Rob has done a fantastic job with keeping me calm all week. He amazes me on a regular basis.
Donna and LeRoy are coming this weekend-so I'm going to really try and rest-and then be ready this weekend. I'll post more when I know. Happy Wednesday!

First Picture

So I finally was able to figure out how to make the scanner work-here are Grayson's first few pictures announcing he's a boy. He's so handsome! I think he's going to take after the Sullivan side-with no chin...guess we'll have to wait and see!

House and Boulder with LOTS of Pictures!

This might be a long post-lots of stuff happening in this past week. Lots of pictures to go through-so enjoy!

I said before that Rob was doing a lot of work to the upstairs bedroom to get the office moved up there, etc. Well here's a few before pictures so you could see what kind of shape it was in after Rob started with it...

Tubs and Addy wanted to get in a picture

And now for the finished product...

Doesn't it look fabulous? Rob did an amazing job!

This past weekend I went to Boulder to visit Eric, Carole and Chase. It was such a great time-thanks again guys! I was greeted Friday night at the airport by the whole Lundeen clan-with the littlest one running and jumping into my arms. I sat in the back with Chase-and he just was talking and talking the entire 45 minutes home. He was so excited that his LeLe was there to see him. He kept saying "I Love You LeLe". Carole and I have a weird obsession with Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake-we have been talking about getting one since I booked my flight 5 months ago. Well Chase thought that since they bought a cake-it was LeLe's birthday. So we busted out candles and sang Happy Birthday. Here Chase is helping with the candles

After the Birthday cake-Carole broke out her Halloween costume. She's Minnie Mouse and Chase is going to be Pluto. Too cute...

Saturday-we all got up super bright and early to go see Thomas the Train. Chase was so excited! We had to take a bus to where Thomas was. Here we all are on the bus-Chase was busy watching Thomas on the TV above our headsAnd finally...we get to see Thomas! Chase took his Nana with him...We rode Thomas for a little bit-then went around to all of the other fun things that they had there. The fire truck, the petting zoo, the little trains-and we all got fun tattoos. Wish I would of gotten a picture of that-we were all like the Wonder Twins.
After we left Thomas we drove to Golden Colorado--where I learned that Coors was made in the town. After the smell the town had-I'm not sure I want to drink that beer again. We found a cute little farmer's market-and had some yummy homemade Mexican food. I bought some homemade dog treats for the pups-and some yummy Cake Balls. Once we returned home, Carole and I decided that we were going to go to downtown Boulder and do some shopping-or actually just window shopping after seeing some of those prices! Whew! Who would of thought that a onesie was worth $60? Sorry Baby Gray-Momma couldn't fathom spending that on you yet. Carole and I just went in and out of stores and had great talks-like always. After a few hours-we decided that it was time to head back.
Once we got back Chase was still napping-he was going on 3 hours-seeing Thomas and having LeLe there was making him super tired! Once he woke up we all went to the park down the street. Chase only likes to go in style

Stayed at the park for a bit-then went home and then to dinner. When we got back we were all sitting around watching TV. Well Chase wanted to jump from the ottoman onto my belly. Carole and Eric both got on him explaining that he couldn't jump on LeLe's belly because I had a baby in there. He came and sat next to me and started touching my belly and said "LeLe's Baby". I told him his name was Grayson-and Chase came up with "Jimmy" instead. So maybe Grayson will be Jimmy to Chase?!?! For those that don't know-Chase carries around a stuffed lion that he named NaNa. So he went around and gathered all of his NaNa's (I think 5 total-all different sizes) and piled them on my belly and said "Here LeLe and Rop's baby" He hasn't really gotten the 'B' down yet in Rob's name. He then went on and picked up some of his trains and put them on my belly too. I wish I would of had my camera-he was so proud of himself.

Sunday Carole had to work so I got to hang out with Eric and Chase. Eric and I watched the ChooChoo Soul on You Tube for about 45 minutes. It's a really catchy tune...I highly recommend it. Chase and I played for quite sometime-he didn't really want me to leave. We had to tell him on Saturday that I was leaving on Sunday so that he could understand. When it was time to go to the airport-Chase kept saying "LeLe up" which meant that he knew I was going in an airplane. Got to the airport-and I got out to say good-bye-Chase started crying-it broke my heart. I couldn't figure out if it was because I was leaving or if it was because he wanted to go inside the airport-but it was still sad. So we all said our good-byes-and I told him I would see him soon. Here he was helping me pack before I left

It was such a great weekend-thanks again guys and we can't wait to see you in a few short months!
Grayson enjoyed his first plane ride-he was moving and grooving quite a bit-and we can't wait to do it again in December! Have a great week!

Boy Oh Boy...Grayson John Swindle

Yup-that's right-Bean is a BOY! We are so excited. The sonogram lady was able to see everything and get some good pictures of it all. Everything looks perfect. Gray is a little big already-11 oz. I'm measuring at 21 weeks-so not officially yet-but my due date is now supposed to be around February 7th.

If I'm able to get the scanner at home working-I'm going to put some of his first pictures up here so everyone can see how handsome he is!

I'm headed to Denver this weekend to stay with Sis, Eric and Chase. I'm so excited! We are going to do lots of fun stuff-and most important-eat Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake! I'll post pictures when I get back.

Have a great week!

Almost time

I can't wait! Only 1 more day until the BIG sonogram! Bean gets excited when I think about it!

What other fun news...we have decided to go with Missy-the in-home daycare provider for the first few years. She was super excited when Rob called and told her. Yesterday one of the neighbors backed into my car-and didn't tell us about it. Another neighbor saw it happen and told us. The joys of having to get your car fixed...

Rob has done a TON of work to the house-it's pretty amazing. The upstairs is totally gutted and he's going to paint it tomorrow-then on Thursday we get brand new carpeting! So fun! I need to start taking pictures of the demolition-and then put up the updated ones.

After the big appointment on Wednesday I'll post the news in a fun way. Stay tuned...

Nothing Important...

...nothing important to post-just that this time next week we will know what we are having! We can't wait! Rob already said he better catch up on his sleep because he knows I won't let him sleep the night before!

If you don't already know-Rob and I are totally in love with our pups. Well we started playing the Baby Noise CD this morning for Tubs and Addy. We want to get them used to the baby sounds. While the baby laughing was playing-there was a part where it sounds kind of like a scream. I was getting ready and Addy comes in and sits at my feet-whining and making a little barking noise. I look down at her-and she runs in front of me-and gets me to follow her. She runs into the office-stares at Rob's computer-due to the sound coming out of it-and just wags her tail and jumps on my leg-trying to get my attention. I tell her that the baby is fine and that she was such a good girl for being concerned. Hopefully that's all she does when the real thing comes home!

This should be interesting....

12 Days and Counting...

Well this is one time that I'm happy Rob has to go out of town. Some training came up for him for work on October 1 when we were supposed to go find out what Bean is. So I had to call and re-schedule-and lucky for him they were able to get us in a whole week earlier! Yahoo! Now we go on September 24 to see our Bean! I'm so excited!

No Naked Belly...

Not much going on this week-but I did take another picture of my belly. I can tell that I've grown in the last 4 weeks. I tried a naked belly pic-and I just couldn't bring myself to put it up on here-I looked about as wide as a house! So needless to say-here's one from earlier today at 17 1/2 weeks.

Here's a picture of Tubs. I took this right after the belly shot-he kind of has a look on his face saying 'What are you doing Momma???'

On my way home from work yesterday I was jamming out to a little Proud Mary by Ms. Tina Turner. I've decided that either Bean was really enjoying his/her mommy singing--or he/she really enjoys listening to Tina Turner and dancing around. Rob said he thinks Bean was moving around and dancing trying to tell his mommy to stop singing because it was hurting his ears-I beg to differ on that.

Nothing else new and exciting to report for this week. We have just been counting down the days until we go in for our next sonogram. Rob has already figured out how we are going to tell everyone-don't worry-it will all be posted. Only 21 more days and counting...

4 Month check-up and More!

Well we've had a busy week in the Swindle household. This past weekend Rob, Sara, Joe and myself threw Mom a surprise 60th Dancing Queen Birthday Party. And we totally pulled it off! She was so surprised! Sara flew in for the Labor Day weekend and I kept her hidden at our house until the big reveal on Saturday. Mom was so proud of me for keeping a big secret from her for the last 3 months! We then spent some time with the family and the dogs on the boat on Sunday-it was a great day.

While I was out to breakfast with the girls on Monday-I came home and Rob had been very busy. I walked upstairs to our bedroom and Rob had demolished and completely removed the entire closet at the top of the stairs. We are starting the process of getting the nursery ready! Yahoo! The next step is to get someone in to re-sheet rock the area-and then Rob is going to paint, texture-and some other things that I don't really understand. But I think that we are going to be going with our original nursery that we bought a few weeks back instead of the one below. Here's the one that we are about 98% sure we are going with. I had to contact the manufacturer because there were some pieces that I wanted to purchase but you can't find them anywhere-they told me where to go and look-so hopefully we will find it.On to more exciting news--we had our 4 month check-up yesterday with Dr. Piquard. It went fantastic. She gave me a prescription that I can use on my face-so now I don't have to find a dermatologist. We listened to Bean's heartbeat-165. Dr. P said that we have a really happy baby in my belly--let's hope that he/she stays that way once he/she pops out! I tried to talk Dr. P into letting us come back in 2 weeks for the BIG sonogram-she really wasn't having it. So we have to wait until October 1 to find out what kind of baby Bean is. Only a few more weeks to go! Rob and I both have our gut feelings-but we will have to wait and see if we were right!

Found out last night that Rob and I are going to have another niece! Lucy is going to have a baby sister!

Doug and Michele are due the week of Christmas-so Christmas will be all kinds of different this year! Rob and I in Durango with Mama Donna, LeRoy, Carole, Eric, Chase and hopefully Aunt Gail and Uncle John-and Doug, Michele, Lucy and baby in the hospital...Santa may have to come early this year for the Sullivan/Pearce/Swindle clan.

Have a great week! Rob and I are headed to Lawrence this weekend for our first KU game of the season-I'm getting excited because the weather is changing to fall already-bring on the cold!

Nursery, etc.

Rob and I decided to take the plunge this weekend-we entered the world of Babies R Us. Yikes is all I can say. Who would of thought that there was so much stuff for a baby? We decided that we could start registering for diapers, pacifiers, etc. As we were walking down the aisles-we each became more and more confused. It was very overwhelming-and how do you know what it is you need?!?! Do they write it down somewhere for you? I know that we don't need a baby butt wipe warmer-and an electric bedside bottle warmer. I left Rob for 2 seconds and he proceeded to register for 3 KU pacifier clips--I told him that was a little overboard. He kind of likes this registering thing. Of course B R Us tells you for a happy and healthy baby you need ALL of it. Umm...no. We spent about 45 mins. just in the stroller/car seat department alone. Ahh...good times ahead for us Swindles!

We did pick out our bedding which is super cute. Of course it's not baby-like at all-more modern. It works for either a Boy Bean or a Girl Bean.

Now that we have the bedding picked out-that means Rob can start working on getting the office upstairs and the nursery started...

We went last week to look at Calvary Lutheran Church school-and we fell in love with it. The classes are great-I was just impressed that they were finger painting with a 6 month old-they weren't just letting them sit there with a toy and drool everywhere. We put our name on the waiting list-and they said that we should call towards the end of the year to see where we were on the wait list to start in May 2009. Really?!?! You would of thought we were trying to get Bean into some big prestigious school or something. Yikes! So Rob and I also received a list of in-home day cares in our area-did some drive-by's of the houses-some were on the ok-let's call list--and some were not.

That's about it for the Swindle's. Rob is getting Bean geared up for KU football season-Bean listened to the fight song quite a few times yesterday-and I'm sure that he/she was Waving the Wheat! Have a great week!