For starters (by the way, isn't that a funny phrase?) yesterday morning I had a midwife appointment at 9:30. It went well, though I can't think of too much that we talked about. Strep B a bit, me having cabin fever, how swollen my feet are (they're perma-swollen, even first thing in the morning) roughly how big the baby is at this point (3.5-4lb's!) how big I'm measuring (1 cm ahead of where I should be, which is pretty consistent for me), the position of the baby (still head-down) and so on. We listened to his heart beat mixed with feedback from him kicking and shifting around, which he was doing a lot. The morning is his most active time anyway, but he started wriggling everywhere when the midwife couldn't tell what position he was in right away. She had to push around a lot before being sure, and he and I didn't like it much apparently!
Then, right after my midwife appointment I picked up Matt and went for my 3D ultrasound. It was GREAT! I'd do it again with future pregnancies (should I be so incredibly blessed) and I'd recommend it to everyone. Apparently next week is the last time I could have gone and had decent photos of Elijah because he's quickly running out of room. If I'd known that I would have booked sooner, because he was being a little difficult at first, and I wouldn't have been able to reschedule. I was waiting until I was further along to go, though, because I figured then he'd have filled out more and looked more like how he will when he comes out.
For the first 15 minutes of the session he had his hands and one foot around his face and it was difficult to get a good photo of him (even though I personally thought the little hands were adorable!)
I was a little worried though because it was only supposed to be a 30 minute session. We ended up going 10 minutes over, free-of-charge, which I thought was super nice. The good little boy started co-operating and we got some of our best photos in that extra 10 minutes.
Oh, and we got a gender confirmation, and Elijah IS, indeed, a "he." Like, if there were any doubts in our minds before then, there couldn't possibly be after yesterday. Why? Because you could see detail, contour and all! For the sake of not embarassing him and having the photos come back to haunt him on his wedding day, I won't post the proof on here, but boy, what a boy!
We also got this sequence of photos taken one after the other which, if put together, creates some sortof video. It looks a bit like stop motion, but here's the video:
Overall, it cost $125 for the session, a dvd of the session, and about 110 photos on a cd, plus one that they printed out for us. Not bad, in my opinion, considering how amazing it was to see more than just a silhouette on the screen. He seems so REAL now, and yet at the same time I feel like I'm waiting for someone to pop up and say that this has all been a very elaborately staged ruse. Denial, I know.
So after that we drove back, had lunch, I ran some errands that involved a new blender, the first Christmas present purchase of the season, and some new maternity pants and pj's, and then I came home. I started to write a blog post, but realized that I wanted to develop some photos and that it'd take time to get through them all. Then I called Matt's mum to tell her I was bringing some photos by after my Primary presidency meet that evening, talked to Aaron and found out he and Rachelle are (most likely) having a girl (YAY!) and then was late picking Matt up for dinner. We got home, made dinner quickly, ate, tidied, and then I drove Matt to Dave and Farrah's, and then I did some more running around. I picked up my photos from Walmart, grabbed Aaron and Rachelle a very pink congratulatory present, wrapped it in the car, and then headed over to Matt's mum's to drop off the photos. No-one was home, and I was sad, but reminded myself that I DID tell her I'd be by after my meeting and not before. I knocked on Aaron and Rachelle's door and opened it because there were lights on, but no-one was home, so I left the gift on a table for them.
Then I was sitting there trying to figure out what to do. It was only shortly after 7 and my meeting wasn't until 7:30, but as I didn't have time to do anything else, I drove to the chapel and figured I'd sit around for the 20 minutes until Dianna and Janine got there.
When I arrived at the chapel I was surprised by the number of cars there. At first I thought it must be an elder's quorum activity, but then I noticed some cars that women drove. I saw Janine looking through the far door looking not entirely amused, and I must confess, I was convinced that Relief Society had failed to get the announcements to us down in Primary, and that some activity was going on that we had never even been told about. In my own (judgmental) defense, they really are bad at getting us the announcements, though it had not yet gone as far as an activity not even being mentioned. I was upset to say the least, and decided to go in through that door rather than Janine's so that I could see what was going on.
I grab my stuff, go to the door and walk in only to notice the RS door covered in little blue booties and streamers.
Yes, that's right, I had been completely duped, and I was so unsuspicious that I didn't know until they yelled "SURPRISE!!!" what was going on (despite the LARGE number of vehicles in the parking lot!) They were good. VERY sneaky and good. My shower at the chapel wasn't supposed to be until the following Wednesday!
So I was kind of right, in the end. There really WAS an activity involving RS sisters that I hadn't been informed of...hahaha. When I saw Dianna, she said we'll have our meeting next week, seeing as I'm obviously free for then.
So anyway, it was a lot of fun! I got a little emotional and red in the face from surprise and embarassment when I walked in; I was so overwhelmed that I wasn't really taking any faces in. And there were so many people there! It was beautiful and fun and I was so happy to see all of my friends there. We played games, socialized, ate good food, and I opened my presents with the help of two 4-year-olds who were so eager to rip and tear things that I had to be hyper-vigilant and make sure they didn't rush ahead of me. As soon as I opened something they'd have something else in my lap before I could admire what I had just received! It was cute though, and they kept me on my toes and within a good time limit.
Everything was so amazing, and I feel so incredibly blessed by such good friends and family.
Now, the reason I haven't posted anything until now, almost 11pm the next day, is because I did something that I think was pretty smart today. We unloaded the car and put everything onto and around the couch in the living room. Every bag had the corresponding card with it, and so as I unloaded each back and organized it, I wrote the thank-you card, so that I didn't forget what the specific gift looked like (I mean, how descriptive can "blue sleeper" be, when your whole laundry basket is blue???) It took me FOREVER and my head felt fried, but between that and spending 2 hr's on the phone talking with my sister, mom and Farrah today, I finished all 34 thank-you cards by 7:45 pm this evening!!! Am I proud? OHHHHH just a little. See, it took me almost 6 months to get out my wedding thank-you cards, and after that long, you kindof lose heart. It was great doing it this way though, because it was like opening each gift all over again, and I was really truly thankful with each TY card I wrote.
I'm also proud because it had been my goal to have these all done before the family shower on Dec. 5th, and that's still 2 weeks away! AH I'm so relieved and excited.
Anyway, that has been my day, or last 2 days. They've been beyond excellent, and the only things that could have changed for the better would be if my sister and mom could have been there last night, and if my feet hadn't swollen up more than they ever had, to the point where they felt numb.
And now I believe it is time to get this thoroughly exhausted Holly to bed.
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