Vranicar Family: Party of 5

Well here we are in week 37! Hard to believe. For the longest time I didn't even consider the "due date" because we were always so far away from it. But now, with the baby only weeks away it is very, very real. None of my shoes fit- even the one pair of flats that I own are too snug on my left foot- not width wise, but length. My foot has apparently grown. My hands are now a bit swollen, but the swelling in my feet has gone down. I'm finding it harder to sleep, mostly because of the bizarre dreams I keep having! Overall I feel really great- just anxious and excited to meet our little boy or girl!

Oh Mindi . This morning Kevin and I received in an email from my friend Mindi . Telling him to think of how "beautiful" his wife is while he is playing in Las Vegas this weekend. I don't think it needs any explanation- Mindi's words: "Since I know you have an upcoming trip to Vegas and that you aren't able to take your beautiful wife along with you, I thought I would send you a photo to help you remember her beautiful face, and mine. Have a wonderful trip and you are welcome for the new photo to put in your wallet."

I've been looking for an outfit to bring the baby home in. My friend Mindi says that I need to have a boy and girl outfit; " it would be shameful to have people ask what your new baby is!" (She is totally kidding of course, kind of, and believes that we are having a girl so really- what she means is- we need to have a pink outfit ready.) :) So here is the outfit from, Baby Gap, I currently have.

An update on our Miss MN :) This year Kevin and may not have our Vegas plans set in stone, since well- we will have someone else you takes top priority (Although there have been very creative suggestions on how we could take the baby with us... I wonder how my mother in law would like being our take along sitter? ;) But none the less, we are helping Brooke prepare for Miss America, which airs live on TLC January 30th. What I want you to check out is her CD. Click here to hear samples of her three songs. If you think that you'd rather not listen, take a look at her site anyway. The proceeds from the CD are benefiting Children's Miracle Network, the official platform of the Miss America Organization.

My aunt stopped by for lunch today (from 250 miles away) and brought me this beautiful cupcake. Almost too good to eat! If you want one visit here!

Here we are at week 35. It seems the baby is on a similar schedule to mine lately. When I wake up, shortly after he/she starts moving around. When I go to bed at night, he/she moves for a little bit and then settles down. I suppose the living quarters are getting tight in there, there's more big movements now with some "kicks" here and there. I'm getting anxious though- seems like I can't sit still for too long and my body wants to move! Sitting at my desk all day is getting to be long. I'm taking trips around the office but even that doesn't satisfy me- I'd like to run! :)

I miss my mom alot . I miss her everyday, when people say not a day goes by without x, y or z I know what they mean. There literally isn't a day that has gone by that I don't think about my mom or wish she were here or that I could at least call her. With the baby coming it would be really nice to be able to ask her questions or just have her to call cause I'm scared about some of this stuff. There is just no one who can replace what a mom can do or say. I get sad for my dad and sister and brothers. Everything that changes when you lose someone. I'm not sure what spurred my sudden need to write all this- I feel it everyday but, I guess today is just...I don't know. Just a day that it all feels heightened for some reason.

That's right- after a few days of increased walking and water in take my heels fit once again and my feet are back to normal. Oh happy day! :) This is not to say I didn't bring back up flip flops just in case. Now that the heels are back I no longer feel like I should have pig tails and a backpack on. Big weekend in the nursery department. We purchased the crib mattress and glider. The baby's room is over flowing right now- there's no room for baby. We need to do a little re-organization in the office and lower level to accommodate items that we will not be using for a few months, such as the jumperoo, so we can walk in there! But it is coming together. With 37 days until the due date (yeah, yeah I know the baby is not going to look at their planner and arrive on October 20th) there really isn't an excess of time now. We made another trip to Babies R Us to go over what still needs to be purchased and have a shopping game plan set following our last two showers. Thin...

Thanks to my aunt and to Mindi I have found a cure for my swollen feet.. WALKING. :) That and I now have a box under my desk so my feet are elevated during the day. Sitting for so long does not help. Every hour I get up a few times and walk the circle around our office. People are going to think I'm strange for how many times I walk by. Kevin did his extensive research on the crib mattress this week. It looks like we may finally we ready to buy that. Which will allow us to cross one more thing off our baby list. With the weeks going so quickly its nice that our list is getting shorter and shorter.

My feet have swollen and I don't think they will return to normal for a while. Darn it. My shoes are stretched to their limits...they should sell maternity shoes. Ones that are cute and stretchy. Kevin suggested I wear a pair of moon shoes, the kind they sell at the kiosks in the Mall of America. I wish- can you imagine? I stroll into the office wearing a pair of those? :) Thankfully nothing else has decided to puff up yet, but we're not done yet so there's still time for that to happen too.

The pictures sum it up- great time with the family last weekend!

The list of things to do or buy is getting shorter. At 33 weeks I keep saying it, but time is flying. Our house looks like Babies R Us, we have a small library of children's books in our living room and there is still more on the necessity list before baby arrives. Last night Kevin and I visited our friends Jacob and Brianne to watch some football/baseball and chat. I feel so fortunate to have resources like Brianne and the other "new moms" in my life to ask all of my questions. Seeking out advice and receiving unsolicited advice hasn't been too much of an "issue". I understand that people want to be helpful and offer us their tips and tricks. Kevin and I have had conversations about this- how do you turn down someones offer to help? I guess you just tell them that we want to try this on our own for awhile and see how it goes- when we need help, we'll ask for it. I can't worry about pleasing people when we have a newborn at home. So here is the upda...