pregnancy diaries: week 38

How far along: 38 weeks

Total weight gain: ugh, let's not go there...

Maternity clothes: surprisingly, i can still fit into a few tops that are non-maternity- but almost all of my pants are maternity. loving the comfort waist band too. and jersey material skirts.

Sleep: i am now up to 3 bathroom trips each night. a few nights ago i had the most restless sleep due to worrying about my water breaking. aren't i such a first timer? :)

Best moment of this week: completing major progress on the nursery! over the weekend i finished baby seiler's quilt, shelf, crib skirt, and organized all of the baby's things.

Miss anything: my energy! i feel like a slug lately, and miss being active.

Movement: oh yes! the bigger this "little one" gets, the more painful the rib kicks are getting.

Gender: SO excited to find out soon!

Belly button in or out: more poor belly button is 100% an "outie" now.

Wedding rings on or off: pretty much off. they are already a bit tight in the warmer months, and now they are really tight.

Happy or moody most of the time: still pretty happy. this pregnancy has been great so far! i have so much to be thankful for. 

Looking forward to: where to start? meeting our sweet baby, seeing my baby, seeing ben become a dad, naming our baby, cuddles, reading books, and so much more!

Baby is the size of a: watermelon

diy: end table for the nursery

i recently acquired a small end table from my moving sister, and decided to fix it up a bit. it originally was a little girl's cabinet, with little roses painted on it.

baby seiler doesn't have specific nursery colors, but grey seems to be a good gender-neutral color. i also added a few white stripes to the top, with the help of painters tape!

here are a few before & after shots:

with only two weeks till our due date, baby seiler's arrival is feeling closer than ever! 

making baby seiler a quilt {pt. 2}

guess what is finally finished?  baby seiler's quilt! 

this is a HUGE relief & ended up being fun and easy the whole way through. the hardest part was setting aside a chunk of time to work on it. oh, and getting up and down from the floor to the sewing table at 37 weeks pregnant. i never knew sewing could be such a great workout! 

the first thing i did to celebrate the completion of this project was to wash and dry it! there is nothing greater than a clean and warm quilt. 

without further ado:

and the back:

it was hard to get a picture of the whole quilt!

and lastly here is a sneak preview of the quilt on the crib! i had the hardest time trying to find a crib skirt, and finally decided to make my own!

 

it has always been a dream to make a quilt for my baby, and to have it made (and washed!) before this little one comes is so exciting!

the foltz's send off

the foltz's will be moving back to thailand this fall with CRU! although we are so sad that they are leaving, we are thrilled for this new season of life for them. after a few years of marriage- they moved to thailand with CRU for two years. then they came back to the states to serve on a US campus- at the University of Arkansas, and have been here for the past 6 years. now they are moving back and hoping to minister on the college campuses in thailand, and also to the CRU staff there.

their church hosted a send off prayer for them, and our WHOLE family was able to attend in support of them.

these two...

 these next two make me laugh- we have a little creeper join our picture...

 after church we all grabbed a quick lunch at sonic. i love our crazy, chaotic family. dynamics will again change with the addition of two more little ones!

katie & michael's wedding

last weekend, ben was a groomsman in a college friend's wedding. we drove up to jefferson city, missouri (the state capital) after work friday in time for the rehearsal dinner. michael, the groom, works at a trophy company and made trophies for each of his groomsman with a unique award for each. ben and michael met their freshman year through being suite mates. these guys do such a great job at keeping in touch and are all still close, despite the distance. 

the rehearsal dinner:

the wedding:

 the reception:

{last out of town trip before baby s comes! 35 weeks}

 it was such a treat to be a part of katie and michael's wedding. their sweet love for each other is so evident. both the bride and groom are such genuine people, and very relational. we can't wait to see what the Lord does through this marriage!

cousins

before the allens left for colorado, we snuck in a picture of the cousins together. the next time we will see them, baby s will be here and (hopefully) have a name, and bethany will be in her last month of pregnancy. it will be so fun for these two to grow up together so close in age. baby s will either be ellanora's bestie, or best guy friend... or so we are hoping! 

my baby shower

last weekend, my sisters and friends hosted a baby shower for me. it was the cutest shower ever, and i felt loved and pampered. in attendance were friends from in and out of town, community group friends, college friends, and my favorite- both grandmas (mimi and nina)! baby seiler is going to be so loved, and i am so thankful for a great community.

on the menu: fruit kabobs, french bread and bruschetta, lemon blueberry cupcakes, pineapple lemonade punch, and a popcorn bar.

 

for those of you who don't know, i LOVE popcorn. my sweet sister, Lori, thought to have a popcorn bar for our guests. 

the girls had a few stations scattered around- one was to write note to baby seiler and the other was to write a note on a infant diaper for all those late night changes. i can't wait to see what everyone wrote!

all my sweet hostesses: madison (college friend), bethany, lori, marisa (sisters), and kelli (work friend)! so thankful for these dear friends an aunties to baby s.

i am so thankful for such great friends, and such a cute shower!

thanks to my mom for the pictures! 

{if felt weird to not have my camera with me!}

memorial weekend camping trip

ben's family has a tradition that they camp together every year for memorial weekend. it is a fun time to get together to relax, play, and eat! it has been fun "tagging along" the past few years, and is really starting to feel like a tradition.

on saturday night, we all got together to assemble kabobs (the girls) and to grill them (the boys). the toppings were numerous and our bellies satisfied after the feast.

 one morning, ben and i went on a short hike to see the lake from a lookout point. it was glorious!

playing at the lake was my favorite part of our weekend. we had a whole young life camp to ourselves, so we got to enjoy kayaks, paddle boats, rafts, and a big blue foam sheet. we all hung out on the dock, but took turns going out on the lake. the water was still a bit chilly, but luckily it was hot and sunny- so the water was enjoyable.

 i thought ben was going to flip me...

 before we left to travel home, i saw the three seiler boys together and got to take their picture.

thanks for a great weekend, ellison family- it is always a treat to spend time with you! looking forward to next year!

our maternity pictures

thanks to our brother-in-law, michael allen for taking these pictures of us and baby s! although i do have a few chigger bites- it was worth it to document this sweet time in our lives.