What a weekend!

WOW, did we have one busy, exhausting but fun weekend. Ben's college roommate - Ross - and his wife Erin came to visit us from Houston before Allie arrives. Ross, Ben and I were best friends in college so we re-hashed embarassing stories and laughed the entire weekend. We went to a LSU baseball game, tailgated, ate dinner with friends and hung out in "Iraq" (aka our backyard) at night.

Today, we went to the Angola Prison Rodeo which was really a cool experience. If you haven't been, I highly suggest going at least once. It was warm and humid outside...NOT a good combination for 33 weeks pregnant. Check out my swolen "Shrek" feet!

...I think I "overdid" it this weekend!

Addition Pictures

The addition is coming along!  Today the contractors framed the screened/covered porch areas and tomorrow we should have a ceiling/roof.  Here are some updated pictures I took this afternoon.

From the back of the yard looking at north side of addition.  Bedroom is to the left (you can see the window slots that need to be cut out) and living area is where door cut out is.

Close-up of the screened/covered porch areas...this is the BEST part of this entire addition!

Of course I had to take a picture of Sis...

"can't I get some privacy mom?"

From the backdoor of the addition looking in at the kitchenette area.

From the backdoor of the addition looking at the current window to main house which will turn into a door shortly...

32 week appointment

I had my 32 week doctor's appointment yesterday and everything looks great so far.  When you start going every 2 weeks all the doctor does is measure your stomach and listen to the baby's heartbeat - maybe a total of 5 minutes. 

According to Dr. Boudreaux, my stomach measurements equal the number of weeks pregnant I am and Allie's heartbeat sounds great.  With this being said, my due date is still set for June 10th.

I noticed Saturday morning that Allie had slightly "dropped" - I've carried her fairly high throughout the course of the pregnancy and things just felt different Saturday.  Sunday, I didn't notice as much but Monday, I could tell by looking in the mirror.  Her movements also feel completely different and Dr. Boudreaux confirmed she's more than likely "head down" at this point with her butt facing my stomach.  This whole process is completely unbelievable!

I have my last sonogram (yeah!!!) at 36 weeks - roughly May 12 - which will determine Allie's currrent measurements. 

Last night Ben mentioned that Allie could decide to join us at any moment - scary!  To make it even more sureal, a friend of ours who was due May 6th went into labor early this morning and is set to deliver at any time today.  It's getting REAL!

I can barely squeeze!

Although my arm/boob fat is all one now, I had to post this because it's hysterical! 

The contractor started framing the addition today so we had to inspect once Ben got home.  I must admit - it was a little tough squeezing through the studs...not sure how much longer I'm going to be able to!  LOL

Hey, life isn't fun unless you make fun of yourself.  :)

Baton Rouge Shower/Crawfish Boil

You know you have exceptional friends when the moment you spread the word that you're expecting, they get to work on planning a baby shower for you.  Given we live in south Louisiana, everything turns into a party.  SO, not only were we honored with an incredible baby shower, but a crawfish boil too! 

Both sets of parents drove from Marshall to attend which meant the world to us.  Although they wouldn't have missed it (Butch & Kim turning down a party?  NO WAY!), driving 10 hours round-trip isn't just the easiest for a quick weekend.

The party was laid-back, the weather was incredible and the company was great.  Like anything when you're the honoree, you never feel like you get to spend as much time with everyone as you had hoped so for those of you reading this who attended, please know Ben and I truly appreciate you joining us to celebrate the arrival of Allie P!

To the hosts/hostesses - you all are so special to us and Allie is incredibly lucky to be born into such an awesome group of friends.  Thank you all (again) so much for the amazing evening!

A gift from Carley, my wonderful and sweet college roommate who endured living with me for two long years...she's a doll.  And of course, we hope Allie will be a "Future DDD" at LSU!

31 weeks

I feel like a broken record, but I seriously cannot believe I only have 9 weeks of pregnancy left.  It is unbelievable how fast this is flying by.

Last week I started going to the doctor every two weeks, which will continue until 36 weeks.  As of my last appointment, I had gained 18 pounds over the course of 31 weeks...not too shabby for someone who eats whatever they want and never exercices!

Each week it seems like Allie not only grows, but gets stronger.  Her "cute movements" I wrote about 10 weeks ago are no longer so "cute" - they are on the "violent" side now.  When I lay on my side at night, it either totally cramps her style or she truly likes it because she goes nuts for what feels like minutes trying to get situated.  I told Ben earlier in the week that it feels like she tickles my left side when going to bed - it's the oddest feeling.  You can now visibly see leg and arm punches and head thrusts through my stomach...although it is often "violent" I must admit I love it.  There are not too many things about this pregnancy I have not enjoyed.

This week marked a significant milestone in my pregnancy and job...I took my last "flight" until after maternity leave.  While I must admit that I am one of those nerds who truly enjoys their job, I definitely did not shed any tears walking off the airplane last night in New Orleans.  Carrying a basketball in your stomach through an airport that seems like it's miles long, dealing with baggage and shuttles, sleeping in hotel beds...it's all for the birds once you're this far along!

Another fun item this week - two of our good friends, Danielle and Will, welcomed their little girl into the world - Emma Ray.  I had the pleasure of visiting the new family of 3 today (and Danielle's parents who were extremely sweet) which was great.  Unfortunately, the Patrick's are leaving us for north Louisiana late next week, but it will be fun for all the new baby girls at the tailgate to grow up together. 

"The Slab"

Yesterday was a fairly exciting day for the Ross' - the slab for the addition was poured. You know you're old when you look forward to seeing a blob of concrete!

A large order of lumber was delivered today and the contractor said they would start framing tomorrow - we are on a roll!

Notice Roxy in the picture - the slab was still warm this morning so she was in love...

Our "supervisors" were hard at work ensuring Mr. Jay and Johnny worked efficiently...what a life.