Week 37 update

So much has happened in the last week, and frankly I have been lazy and not posted anything. Tonight I plan to recap, as best I can, all the wonderful things that have happened. Get ready for Fessler Family overload!

*Last Wednesday, 8/6/08, we went to the doctor for a check-up and we got a little unexpected news from the midwife. She told us that I was 3 cm dialated, thinning out and that Will's head was down and in position. She sent us home to get a bag packed just in case. She basically said he could come any day. Mike and I were a little shocked. We thought we had more "for sure" time to get things done, but now we are in a waiting game. Our next appointment is Thursday. If we haven't gone into labor, we will see if anything has changed.

*Last Thursday, 8/7/08, our friends Jay and Aimee suprised me with dinner and a gift for the nursery. Mike knew about this the whole time, but didn't tell me, so it truly was a suprise! :)
FYI...Jay and Aimee have been such a special couple in our lives. Mike went to high school with Jay and the two have remained close friends. Aimee and I met through our husbands and became fast friends (we are both avid readers, so that helped!). We have spent a lot of time with them and have gone through three pregnancies with them. Needless to say, I have learned so much about being pregnant from Aimee. Thanks Aim for all the advice!
Jay painted my gift on the wall in the nursery over the crib. It is perfect!

*Saturday was a lot of fun! Mike took me shopping to get some pjs and other stuff to pack for the hospital. He then sent me to get a pedicure. It was awesome! At this point in my pregnancy I would willingly pay someone everyday to rub my feet and legs.
My parents came Saturday night so that they could attend my shower the next day. They brought me a new pair of pj's to take to the hospital. Two new pair of pajamas in the same day, plus a pedicure. Life can't get much better than that!
My beautiful new french pedicure. Thank you Mike!
This was a suprise gift that came in the mail from my sister's mother-in-law. Isn't it cute! But, then again, I love things that are monogrammed with initials or names!

*Sunday my sister-in-law Joy and Aimee threw me a shower. Aimee cooked chicken enchiladas, Joy made her world famous bean dip and my friend Fibia made some awesome rice! It was wonderful! Friends from our home team at church stayed around and gave advice along with my mom and mother-in-law Debbie. Thank you to all of you for the gifts, but also for the fellowship, and support that each of you gave me.
The cake from the shower. Joy and Aimee went with a book theme. I loved it, but I am a librarian!
After the shower my mom made curtains for the nursery. I can't say enough about her talents. She is pretty amazing!

*Today was the first day of school, with students, but that wasn't the highlight. Dez, another awesome friend from our home team at church, did a photo shoot with Mike and I. We got some great belly shots tonight. She took several in the nursery and then took us into downtown Dallas. It was great for Mike and I to spend some time together away from the house, but it was also fun to spend time getting to know Dez even better. Thank you so much Dez! We can't thank you enough for the memories that you have preserved for us! We can't wait to see the pictures!

Well, that wraps it up! It was a busy week, but as you can tell it was filled with blessings from family and friends. Mike and I have really been overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and support from everyone. It is amazing what people do for you when they truly love you. I want everyone to know how grateful we are for everything that has been done for us. We could never have gotten this far without all the support!

Hurry Up and Wait!

Here it is the beginning of August. We are finally 9(10) months pregnant. Will can come at anytime and we will be thrown into parenthood. We feel like we can't wait for him to get here but, we have to wait just a little longer. For the past few weeks Mike and I have talked about how we are so ready to see Will, and even how I am ready to not be pregnant anymore, but we have also tried to focus on enjoying each other for these last few weeks. I have to brag on him, he has been so good to me during this pregnancy. He has doted on me, and not let me lift a finger. He reads all the pregnancy books with me and has even gone to every doctor's appointment. We have our next appointment on Wednesday of this week. I will now be going once a week, which makes sense, because we are four weeks away from the due date.
I started school today. It was so good to see all of my friends and to work in my library. It really gave me a sense of purpose to be working and not laying on the couch watching TLC and Jon and Kate re-runs. I was really surprised to come home and find out how tired I was. I haven't been sleeping well at night, and I did not sleep well last night. In fact, Mike had me take a nap when I got home from school because he knew I didn't sleep well. I can honestly say that I am tired right now and am looking forward to a good night's sleep, or as good as it can be at 9(10) months pregnant!
My 36 week belly
Last week, our friends Todd and Lori Magouyrk had their son Henry Monroe. We were so excited to go and visit them in the hospital and celebrate their new little boy. He is so cute and tiny and I enjoyed getting to rock him for awhile so that Lori could eat dinner. Todd and Mike go way back. They went to opposing high schools, but played East Cobb baseball together for several summers. These two are tight friends, but very competitive. They have had fun for nine months talking smack about whose son will be the better ball player and so on. I think that Lori and I just hope that Will and Henry can grow up to be good friends like their daddies, not who will strike out who or have the highest batting average! Anyways, welcome Henry. We look forward to watching you grow up!

"After" Nursery Photos

Today my mom and her good friend Pat came to paint a mural in the nursery. It turned out absolutely adorable! Pat is a teacher at my mom's school, but she is also a talented artist. She has painted several murals in my mom's school as well as my parents' old house and the house they currently live in. She wanted to paint in Will's room as a gift to us. How awesome is that!
We had originally decided that we did not want a themed nursery, but because we were both athletes we did want sports to be in the room. When we told her that she was able to incorporate a football, baseball, glove and a golf club into the mural, she was also able to put in other items that reflect Mike and I as well. She included a small UGA flag and a frog for Mike, and a portrait of Gracie and some books for me. We love the mural and feel as though it has helped to complete Will's room. Thank you Pat! You have blessed our home and helped make our nursery so cozy and cute. It is now ready for Will!
My mom decided to put in Will's name into the mural. She then decorated the letters to look like the bedding.

A frog is painted on top of the ball. Mike works at a golf course called the Frog.
Me at 34 weeks enjoying Will's chair and his new room!

I also need to brag on Mike. He spent last weekend painting the room. He did it by himself and did an incredible job. He painted three walls a pale blue and one wall brown.
Our friend Jay is going to come and paint Psalm 127:3, "Sons are a heritage from the Lord", over the crib.

Baby Shower galore!

Over the past weekend, Mike and I went home to Chattanooga for 2 baby showers. My family, two aunts and 3 cousins, decided to host me both of them for me. It was so much fun and an incredible blessing.
The first shower was on Saturday. My cousin Holly and Aunt Sharon hosted it for me. It was my "Eagle" Shower. Growing up I played softball on a competitive team called the Eagles. There was a core group of 9 girls that started playing together at age 9 and finished after our 17 year old summer. We were a close group of girls, in fact many of us went to high school together as well. Our moms were also very close and many are still good friends. We started this tradition of "Eagle" showers when we all started getting married, and now it has carried over with all of us having babies. It is always to good to get together with this group of girls, we don't reminisce about the "good old days", but we do enjoy catching up. The funny thing is, out of all of us girls I think seven of us have or are having boys and only one has a little girl. It sounds like we are getting ready to have a baseball team!

My family! Counterclockwise: me, my sister Linny, cousin Ashley, cousin Holly, cousin Katie.

Aunt Linny practicing with Baby Jake- She's going to be great with Will!

One really cool thing about this shower, was that everyone brought me a children's book instead of a card. Will got some great books this weekend, they are already in a basket by his chair. We have already read several of them together. I thought this part was so cool, but then again I am a librarian!

My mom found this book for Will called "Will, God's Mighty Warrior". We have already read it to Will twice!

My second shower was hosted by my Aunt Karen, but my Aunt Sharon and cousins Holly, Ashley and Katie helped. It was my church shower, in which lots of church family and family friends came. I got to see several people that I had not seen in awhile and catch up. I got to see a really good friend from high school that I have not seen in at least 5 years. I also got some good child birthing and breathing tips from a family friend that teaches child birthing classes at a local hospital. I will definitely use the advice that she gave, especially since we have decided not to take classes from the hospital! Any and all advice is welcome!

Mom, myself and Linny

Will's first polo shirt- He'll look just like his daddy!

This weekend was great and I just want to say thank you to my family for giving me two very special showers! I love you all!

In other news, all of Will's furniture is in his room and assembled. My mom and a teacher from her school are coming next week to paint a mural. I'm really excited about this. I think its going to turn out great. Anyways, here are some before pictures. I'll be sure to post some after pictures once everything is done.

Will's Crib

Will's chair-The mural will be painted on the wall behind the chair.

Gracie in Will's crib- she wasn't so crazy about it, I think she thought she was in doggie jail. She loves Will's room though, especially his chair. There are times when I can look all over the house for her not knowing where she is hiding only to find her sitting in the chair in his room. She must find his room comforting!

32 weeks- We're getting busy

Well, we're ready to have Will! We had our hospital tour today, so we know where to go and what to do once the big day comes. Well, maybe not quite, we still have a Breastfeeding class, a childbirth class and an epidural class to take. But, still going on the tour did give us some comfort. Now we know where to go once we get to the hospital, Mike knows where to park and we know where to have our family wait. It was nice having those simple questions answered along with many others.

I'm getting to the point where I want as much comfort as possible, emotionally and physically. I am a little apprehensive of going through the birth, which everyone says is natural. So I am hoping that the childbirth class and the epidural class will help to ease my mind a little. I just want to be prepared, maybe I'm a dork, but even in school I couldn't stand the thought of not being prepared for a test or a quiz. I'm thinking childbirth is a little bigger deal than a test, so I REALLY want to be prepared.

This week is going to be busy, which for me is a big deal! We have to go pick up Will's chair and ottoman, go to a Dr.'s appt and take our Breast feeding class on Tuesday. I have Bible Study and an Epidural class on Wednesday. Then we head to Chattanooga this weekend where my family has graciously decided to host some showers in our honor. I can't wait, and it will get me up off the couch, for a little while at least. :)


My 32 week belly- Thanks to Aimee for loaning the gaucho pants. They have been a lifesaver!

Dinner with friends

Tonight Mike and I went out to eat with our friends Brad and Brandy Kleeman. Brandy and I go way back. We have played ball against each other in Chattanooga since we were young, we even went to rival high schools. But we got the chance to play together in college, TN Tech, and became good friends. Brad and Mike played ball at Tech together as well. They are expecting their first child, Parker, on September 4th, just 5 days after us. It was fun to get to see them and spend time with them. We can't wait to have Will and Parker play together. Maybe one day they will be playing for the Braves!


Brandy and I


Brad and Mike

Thanks for a fun night out! We enjoyed spending time and reliving the good old days from Tech with you!

A visit from Gran

My grandmother and my great-aunt Pete came to visit yesterday. They were going to see my mom, and decided to spend the night with me to break up the trip. We had a great visit. I haven't seen my grandmother since New Year's Day. She informed me that this was the longest amount of time that the two of us have gone without seeing each other in my lifetime. My Gran, as we call her, lives in Panama City, FL. Since I was born, my parents have driven down to visit her at least 3 times a year. After I was done playing ball in college, I took it upon myself to start driving to visit my grandparents every Spring Break. This year was the first time that I was unable to go. Mike, my Gran and I all decided that it was best for me not to drive the 5 and 1/2 hours by myself being pregnant. So needless to say it was very good to get to hug my gran and talk to her in person instead of over the phone. I just hate that she didn't get to stay longer. She is such an awesome person with an incredible servant's heart. She has an amazing testimony and I don't know a single person who has ever met her that didn't fall in love with her instantly. She is always laughing and makes chocolate chip cookies that melt in your mouth. Mike has grown to love her just as much as I do, he even calls her Gran, and we were so glad to be able to just sit and talk with her and Aunt Pete for the evening. We love you Gran!

July 4th is tomorrow. Where has the summer gone? I have to go back to school in 4 weeks. I don't how I'll be able to find the energy to get out of bed and get dressed. This summer I have truly enjoyed lounging on the couch and resting. I'm still feeling really good, but I have started to experience a few occasional back aches. Some days my stomach feels really heavy and it just feels good to lay with a pillow propped under it.

There's not much to do when laying on the couch, so I watch a lot of TV. My favorite channels are HGTV, Food network and TLC. I have really gotten into a show called Jon and Kate plus 8 on TLC. It is about a couple who had infertility problems early in their marriage. They got help and had a set of twin girls. They wanted to try again for 1 more and wound up with sextuplets. They have a total of 8 kids. Can you imagine? Mike even watches the show with me sometimes. It's hilarious. If you have never seen it, tune in M-F from 11-12. I think the new episodes air Monday night at 9.