28 weeks and counting

Today is the day that I get to drink a disgusting sugary drink and then get my blood drawn an hour later to find out if I have gestational diabetes. How exciting. On a seriously exciting note, I am now in my third trimester. This pregnancy is flying by. Just 10 (or 11 or 12 or 13 or 14) more weeks until we get to meet sweet Afton face to face. The nursery is coming together quite nicely. Jess worked hard re-staining all of the wood trim, touching up all of the paint, and installing a gorgeous closet organizer for the new little addition. Now we're waiting on my parents to move up here because they have our crib, recliner, and tons of other goodies generously donated to us from my brother and sister-in-law.

I didn't think that when I moved up to Portland 5 years ago that my parents would soon follow. My folks have lived in Turlock, CA for 31 years. In ten days, they will live a quick 8 minute drive from me in Fairview, OR. I feel so incredibly blessed that my kids will get to grow up so close to both sets of grandparents. I realize just how rare this is and plan to both cherish and take advantage of it. With 3 out of 4 grandparents retired, I plan to get some free babysitting. I grew up 2 hours from my closest grandparents and while I still got to spend a decent amount of time with them, and got to know them well, I know that it's a different world when your grandparents are only a 10-15 minute drive away.

Afton has been keeping active. She's big enough that I feel her every movement. When she swims around she rubs up against my ribs, my stomach, my bladder... While much of the pressure is uncomfortable, it is also incredibly cool to know that this little adventurer is in me. There's nothing more surreal than carrying a life inside of you. She has a spirit, a personality, energy, desires, eyes, a nose, a mouth, fingers, toes, and either blonde or red hair (Jess is convinced she'll be blonde while I'm holding out that he owes me at least one red-head, so if it's not Afton, it'll be one of the next ones).

My first baby shower went off well. The most notable gift I received was a 4 1/2 foot tall teddy bear from Jess' Aunt Becky. The bear takes up 1/4 of the nursery right now. While storage may become a bit of an issue, I know that Afton will LOVE climbing all over the huge soft animal in about 12-18 months.

We are so excited to be bringing this life into the world to shower with love. Sweet Afton, we love you so much already!