Hello, 39 weeks

For anyone checking in, wondering if there is baby news, there's not a whole lot to report.  This baby girl is due to arrive in 6 days!  I'm so happy to have this day approaching and know that Kyle will be arriving in 3 days!  I'm feeling good but getting increasingly uncomfortable.  Luckily, I'm not swollen at all.  I keep checking my rings to make sure I can still get them off of my fingers easily.  As I was meeting with friends and running errands today, the thought has been in the back of my mind that this could be my last weekend before she's here and changing our world.  Several people at work last week were encouraging me to relax and maybe even start my maternity leave early.  Well, I did a lot of relaxing yesterday and got a bit bored.  It's very quiet around the house on my own and I don't want to spend hours and hours watching TV.  I've already knit two baby hats and I went and picked up 4 new books.  The projects that I'd like to have done, I either can't do them on my own or don't have the energy.  Over the next few days, I'd much rather be finishing up paperwork and some assessments at work than sitting around the house.  As long as I know that my mornings will be much more productive than my afternoons, I can get through the work day.  5 days of possible work seems like so few to begin with.  So, here I go into my last (maybe?) week of pregnancy and can't wait to finally meet this baby! 


In other news, today has been a very busy day.  My brother-in-law Leon had a layover at the Seattle airport, so I met up with him, other brother-in-law Joel, and soon to be sister-in-law Jessica for a very, very early breakfast.  It was great to have a chance to see him, as those opportunities are few and far between.  It is very nice to know that we'll have a longer time to visit and see the whole Korynta family when we're in MN in December for Joel and Jessica's wedding.  Then I went to the gym and swam.  I think it's probably going to be my last swim before the baby arrives but we'll see.  Then I met up with a fun group of ladies, two of whom have 1 yr. old daughters, and 4 others that are all currently pregnant with their first babies.  Of the seven of us, only one woman wasn't pregnant.  It was quite the fertility table :)  We had a great time talking and will hopefully be meeting regularly.  After that I went up to Seattle to join another group of fabulous ladies to say good-bye to a friend who is moving to Japan tomorrow morning.  It was a busy morning and a nap was needed when I got home. 

Here are the latest belly pictures:

 38 weeks

39 weeks

Ladies Weekend

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a weekend with some of my favorite ladies, whom I've known since I was about 11-ish years old.  We figured out that the first time the four of us spent time as a group was a trip to the mall in 6th grade :)  We also tried to remember the last time the four of us spent any time longer than a couple of hours all together.  There's a chance that it hasn't happened since high school.  There's no way we'll let it go that long again!  I think (hope and pray) it's going to become an annual event.  I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate having some "me" time before our bundle of joy arrives.  We lounged, we talked, we laughed, we shopped, and we ate a lot of fabulous food.  Julie, Katie, Mikaela, and I went over to Bainbridge Island and stayed at a B&B.  The island is a quick ferry ride from downtown Seattle.  It's a pretty little community that has a lot of art and local events like zucchini races :) Unfortunately, we needed to leave to come back to Seattle before being able to witness what a zucchini race really entails.  

 A fantastic bakery, which we visited twice!  I had forgotten how much I like tea lattes.  Julie is obviously very excited to order a delicious baked item :)

 Modeling our new wool caps.

 Showing my 37 week belly.  I think this is angle makes me look larger than I really am.  Of course, it could be the stripes, too :)

 Katie and I both had the amazing butternut squash ravioli.  Seriously amaaazingly good.

 After our dinner we went to a french restaurant for dessert.  Yes, everyone, we were treating ourselves very nicely this weekend!

 Breakfast was served in this dining room.  The porch outside was the location of my skype date with Kyle.  It was a little chilly but at least it wasn't raining!  If only the dining room would have been open earlier, I would have really enjoyed sitting inside by the fire.

Tacoma Shower

My mom, sister-in-law Brenda, and friend Kadee hosted a baby shower for me at my home in Tacoma.  They did such a great job decorating, preparing food, and making in day into a fun celebration.   It was especially fun for me to have people attend from all different areas of my life from family, to co-workers, friend from church, college friend, and other friends from Seattle.  I am continually amazed at the generosity people have for the anticipation of a new baby. 

I was also honored with shower at Hedden Elementary.  My co-workers have great advice and talents to share.  Watch for a banner in a future post that was painted by one of the 2nd grade teachers.  I want to hang it up when we bring our baby girl home from the hospital.  I'm excited to use the gift cards that we received to do some shopping!  I've been really holding back and not buying anything myself but now I can get the necessities and a few extra, fun things for the nursery.

In other news, I have reached the 37th week of pregnancy and am considered to be full-term.  That in itself is a relief to me.  Kyle and I tell our baby frequently to be patient, as Kyle will be home in 16 days and she needs to stay put!  I'm trying to get things organized at work and am looking forward to the end of this week, which is parent/teacher conferences.  With the students out of school, I should have quite a bit of time for paperwork and making sure I'm doing everything I can before maternity leave.  Maybe it's time to get a bag packed for the hospital, just in case!

The pictures below are from my shower:

 Brenda and her mother Kathryn getting ready for the shower.

 Posing with my 36 week belly by the food :)

 Lovely autumn decorations

My mother and me by the framed poster that she gave us for the nursery.  I've always loved this song.

Checking In

One December a couple of years ago, Kyle made a paper link chain in holiday colors that we pinned up around our living room.  I don't remember if we ever meant to tear off a link as a count down to Christmas, but if we had, we would have had to start in August at least, given how long that chain was :)  I've found myself thinking about making a paper chain of links to count down the days until our due date.  Today, I would have torn off #29.  I'm not going to make that chain because I am not that motivated but the countdown is on my mind all the time.  Right next to the countdown to the day that Kyle gets home!  After 36 weeks of pregnancy, 4 weeks seems like nothing!  Especially since babies are born at 38 weeks all the time.  Kyle and I have been talking with our baby about being patient and waiting until her due date.  I'm pretty sure she's on board :)  It's definitely been a relief to move into the point in time where babies can be born and have a very good chance of being healthy.  

I've been feeling a spoiled lately with the baby showers that are being held for me and so appreciative of everyone's excitement.  Here are a few belly pictures from the last few weeks:

 Week 34

 Gorgeous flower arrangements for my shower at Discovery Primary.  All the flowers were brought in from my coworkers' gardens.  I didn't know that flowers were still blooming like this at at the end of Sept.  The staff room was absolutely full of flowers.

 

Week 35

100,000 Miles

Our car, which I fondly call "Nali", reached 100,000 miles on Sunday.  All but 25 of those miles were traveled by myself and/or Kyle in the last 5 years.  I've been thinking about the places that were covered, starting up in Anchorage.  There were many trips made around Alaska to Girdwood, Seward, Homer, and north to Denali, and Fairbanks, not to mention the many drives all over Anchorage for work and fun.  I made the drive down to Seattle with our friend Brooke and I moved to Seattle.  That summer we did a huge loop through Montana and Wyoming.  Kyle and I have driven to Montana several times, including the trip to Hyalite Canyon for our wedding, and further to North Dakota and Minnesota.  We've taken summer trips down the Oregon coast and along the Washington peninsula.  Our car has been used at campsites to help tie up a tarp to block rain from the tent.  Nali has been a good car on ice and snow, with Kyle definitely being the better driver in those conditions.  The time spent in the car has included a whole lot of music, books on cd, laughter, and conversation.  Kyle also has spent time driving to hockey games all over the Seattle area.  Of course, the majority of the miles in the last couple of years have been for my commute to work; first from Lynnwood and then from Seattle.  It was fitting that I reached that 100,000 mark on I-5 heading south and had just entered Milton, where one of my schools is located.  Sometime soon, we'll be making an important drive when we bring our baby home for the first time.  I expect that we have many, many more miles to go in our car and I look forward to seeing where our travels take us. 

33 weeks and counting

I feel like I'm getting into the groove of this 3rd trimester.  I have a sleeping schedule that I can anticipate with a 2am and 5am wake up to use the bathroom.  I'm usually able to fall back asleep after 5am but sometimes "Gjertrud" starts doing morning yoga or gets the hiccups.  It's pretty hard to get to sleep after that.  Of course, heartburn is a daily visitor and I get out of breathe if I try to walk and talk too much at the same time.  There's a lot of competition happening for space in my torso.   I'm really enjoying swimming for exercise at least 3 times a week.  Flipturns make me dizzy, so it's been a bit annoying to have to stop and turn at each wall.  I do appreciate that there aren't many swimmers at the gym, so I usually have my own lane.  That's quite a change from all those years spent chasing the toes in front of me and sharing a lane with at least 5 or more other people.  I had a check-up this evening and my belly is measuring right at 33.5 weeks.  Time is going by so fast!  I unpacked the carseat a few nights ago and am planning to go to a community carseat safety check on Sept. 24th.  I also put together a baby swing that is on loan from my brother and sister-in-law.  The nursery still hasn't been decorated or organized yet.  I'm hoping that some type of energy for nesting kicks in soon. 

31 weeks

33 weeks

This past weekend my mom and I babysat my niece Kayla and nephew Brett while my brother and sister-in-law celebrated their 5th anniversary.  We had a great time going to the Nisqually Refuge and then to a great park close to their house.  It's getting much more difficult to chase the kids around now that I'm eight months pregnant!  Whew, I was tired by the next day.  

This is the view that we had of the kids for most of the boardwalk loop :)

Labor Day Weekend

I began the week before Labor Day without any big plans for the weekend but ended up having a weekend filled with family, friends, and time on the water.  On Saturday, I joined Jonathan, Brenda, and their kids at Brenda's family's marina on Johnson Point by Olympia.  Nearly all of her siblings brought their families and close friends and we headed out on the Zittel's boat.  We boated around Puget Sound to an island with a good beach, dropped anchor, and spent the afternoon enjoying the sun.  It was wonderful to relax and spend time outside on the water.  I was very happy to have been invited along!

On Sunday, I went up to church and then met my brother-in-law Joel and his fiance Jessica on the Seattle waterfront for lunch.  We had a table along the side of one of the piers and had some tasty fish and chips.  Sundays are always a nice day to go to Pike Market because several blocks along the market are blocked off for pedestrians only.  It's something I think they should do daily.  The crowds were definitely out and the market was packed.  After leaving Seattle, I made a quick stop at my house in Tacoma and then headed out to Allyn, WA, which is past Gig Harbor and sits right on a little cove.  A co-worker/friend had invited me to join her and several others for dinner at a family house right by the water.  The house had a perfect deck for soaking up the warm summer evening.  We ate some delicious food and enjoyed the great company. 

These pictures are all from Saturday.

 The Zittel's boats

 The girl cousins had a great time in the water.

 Giving the baby bump a little sunshine at 32 weeks.