May Update

Well... May is a CRAZY month! Between bachelorette parties, baby showers, dress alterations appointments, OB appointments, two Mother's Day gatherings, a niece's birthday, a sister-in-law's birthday, and a best friend's birthday, working two jobs (me) and end of the school year (Ben) PLUS getting ready for Jennifer's wedding this coming Friday- it's been barely manageable chaos. So, here's a quick set of pics from some of the most recent events:

Camryn getting ready to dig in to her birthday cake. She turned 2 on May 10.

Jen, Mom, Me, and Grandma- Mother's Day dinner at the Winter Inn in Greenville.

Board games at Jen's bachelorette party! Ashley, Erin, Ashley, Jen and Karen.

Heather S and Christy rock out with some Guitar Hero at Jen's bachelorette party!

Me and Jennifer- again, at the bachelorette party in Jen's honor. =)

The ladies at Cottonwood Christian Learning Center had a lovely baby shower for me on May 21. This is Lindsey, Me, and Laurie. Lindsey and Laurie were the chief organizers of the shower.

In addition to several other really wonderful gifts, the ladies all pitched in to give us this huge stash for the baby! Highchair, bibs, diaper supplies, feeding supplies, stuffed toys, lotions, blankets, etc... it was SO AWESOME!

Started out the Herrick Mother's Day with Emerson's soccer game at the YMCA in Rockford. Emerson is the little cutie on the left side of the picture- with the pink shin guards (oh yeah!)

Our adorable nieces- Emerson (4 1/2) and Camryn (2) after the soccer game having a snack.

So, that's pretty much been the month of May. Ben attended Hopkin's Graduation last week, and this coming week is Jen's wedding, so it's crunch time! Should be lots of fun!! =)

Oh- I suppose I should post the most recent belly picture, for those who are wondering what the belly status is now:

There's week 26. We are now in week 27- so the final stretch (3rd Trimester) begins this coming Wednesday!! Wow!!

God bless, everyone!!!

Are You Having a Bird?

Perfect example of the "my, your belly is so small" phenomenon occurred today. Had my first alterations appointment for the bridesmaid dress I am wearing in Jen's wedding (now 3 1/2 weeks away). I wanted to verify with the seamstress that she'd been informed of my current state and was planning accordingly. She said she had not, but proceeded to congratulate me and ask how far along I am. "I'm in the middle of month 6 right now, will be a week into month 7 at the wedding", I replied. Her eyes got large, she leaned over for a closer, profile-view inspection of my belly and said incredulously, "Are you having a bird?"

I have to just laugh. It's the most creative "you aren't very big" comment I've had so far, that's for sure!

~Heather

One Adventure After Another

I will start with an apology on the formatting- the blog keeps squeezing all my paragraphs together, no matter how many times I hit "enter" to spread them out... so sorry it's all kind of jumbled together.

Well, it's really been ONLY a month since my last post, but it still seems like a lot has happened. So, I guess one thing at a time.

On the baby front, all is well. We are at 24 weeks now- officially in month 6. I am starting to get a little belly, though a lot of people say to me, "That's all the bigger you are?!" It's my first and I'm tall... I don't know what people expect. Lol. Here's the current belly:

I think I look pregnant... of course, I have a little help from a maternity shirt here. Those "showcase" the belly a bit more.

I did the gestational diabetes test (it's standard) this Wednesday. No results yet, but I have no reason to be concerned. We are just continuing to enjoy waiting to become parents. I love second trimester! I feel good, have more energy, and am not waddling yet. Life is spectacular! They did get all the pictures they needed at our last ultra sound, despite Little Miss' gymnastics in the belly. However, my OB is getting a new ultra sound machine for her office in the next month or two, and said she'd love to have me be a "guinea pig" as she learns it- so we might get one more peek at the little one yet! Cuz ya know, that'd just break our hearts! ;)

Let's see... what other adventures? Well- if you notice in the background of the belly picture, there is no furniture in our living room there. We had the carpet replaced in the living/dining rooms, as well as through the steps and upstairs hall. It looks great. We are pleased with it, though the installation was a bit more of a fiasco than anticipated. (That's MUCH too long of a story to type into a blog!) In any case, we feel a lot better about putting a precious little one on it to do tummy time!

We had a little plumbing adventure, too. A bathroom fixture was leaking onto our kitchen counter, so we called a plumber to figure out the problem. After punching a lovely hole in the soffet (as well as the ceiling in the cupboard), the plumber discovered a rusted out pipe under which someone had placed a metal pan to catch the water and closed the wall back up again!! We were completely flabbergasted! However, we replaced the pipe, removed the absurd metal pan, and Ben has another project for next month when school is done- drywall!

This is what it looks like right now... ugh:

How's that for some lovely kitchen decor?

The other big event pending is Jen and Justin's wedding. So, mom and I hosted a shower up in Lakeview on the 25th of April. Here are a couple pictures from that:

It doesn't show well here, but the picture in the bottom right corner of the cake is of Mario and the Princess. So cute! The lady who does cakes at Leppinks is just outstanding!

Ann, who was our Sunday school teacher when we were kids, is the most creative person! She made this bride to put atop Jen's present- out of pipe cleaner, doily, fake flowers, tulle, and a scrub brush! Soooo cute.

The bride and the pregnant lady. Yeah, that's what I'll call this one. =)

The day of Jen's bridal shower started out with an added adventure of me taking mom to the ER (she got poison oak/sumac/ivy- the rashes all look the same), so poor mom had to get two shots and some meds for it, but they are working, thank goodness! Just a little added crazy in to the day.

Finally, Ben and I chaperoned prom at Hopkins again this year. They lost their venue one week before prom due to a bank foreclosure on the place they'd chosen. It was a huge bummer- they lost their deposit and had one week to find a new facility. It turned out just gorgeous- at a golf and conference center in Saugatuck- especially for such last minute planning! Ben and I enjoyed ourselves. The students even got the DJ to call Ben out there to dance to "White and Nerdy" by Weird Al. That was a BIG hit... and very entertaining for me, as well. I'm still searching YouTube periodically, as I'm sure a video is going to pop up eventually!

That's the latest from our little corner of the world. I'll post our pics from prom when I get them, and then wedding insanity ensues from here through the end of May. SUCH FUN!!

God bless, all!!!