T-shirts are a little tight now

My college t-shirts aren't quite fitting any more. I told Matt we'll need to do his laundry more because I'm going to start wearing all of his t-shirts.

I've also came to a conclusion, no more bare belly shots on the internet!!! I now refuse and you will only see clothed shots. It's not quite as cute anymore when you get this big.

Hospital Picture

The hospital picture is the very first picture and a very important one that will be looked back at for years. I've been going back and forth on what kind of outfit, what blanket for the background, and what position. I think I might want to go with the more preppy collared look for the little guy.

OR a funny shirt (one of my personal favorites)...

I get on the local hospital's Peek-a-boo babies site and check out the pictures and look at the fun names they come up with. Here are a few poses I like for the first picture...

http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/hospitals/5774/frame_test.asp?URLID=0180241824

http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/hospitals/5774/frame_test.asp?URLID=1931293066

http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/hospitals/5774/frame_test.asp?URLID=1157792927

Jumping on the "No birth class" bandwagon

I have heard from many of my friends, that the birthclass they offer at the hospital is not quite worth the time and money you spend. At $95, and an 8 hour day, I can pass this up to go with Option B. I learned from my great friend Amanda (who does all the research for me, I just bum all ideas from her :) ), about an option of a DVD titled Laugh and Learn about Child Birth. I decided to go with this plan for only $24. She says it gives you a lot of the info you need. That DVD added on to all the knowledge I have learned from the Internet and other books, I think we will be all set. I also ordered the Laugh and Learn Baby Care DVD for when the little guy is here and we're live in action. I thought that one couldn't hurt either. As for the breast feeding classes, I've read up on it a lot, but I guess there is a lactation consultant y0u can meet with at the hospital when you are there to ask questions and get information. Again, I'm taking the cheap way out!

So next weekend Matt and I might be planted in front of the TV watching very entertaining DVD's. I bet he'll be wishing we were watching Old School instead!!

High School Reunion

Ball Games, Pep Rallies,
Dances and School Plays,
Looking back after 10 years…
Those were the days!

That's the catchy phrase going out on our Renunion invitations. Hold your applause.

So last year I graciously volunteered myself, and Jessica (unbeknownst to her :) ), to throw our ten year high school reunion this summer. I think about 2 months later I found out I was pregnant and started to second guess that decision. But for a high school reunion in Bucyrus, there's not really a lot of planning to do. It's not like a fancy night, where you wear dresses, have a fancy dinner, and cocktails. This is come in your shorts during the Bratty Fest out back at "The Shack" where we have kegs and pizza!!! The Bucyrus way!! So, Invitations are done and ready to hit the mail for the August 16th event. Now, ask me how excited I am to go see all my high school buddies with a flat tire around my waist four weeks after giving birth!?! Doesn't that sound appetizing!! I think I'm going to wear this sign around my neck...

I Studied Hard and Passed!

I passed my 3 hr Glucose test last week. Yeh! I can still have some sugar. Thank goodness, sanity is kept.

Mother's Day Weekend

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's and Mom's-to-be. We had a great weekend around the Balster household. Friday evening, Matt's family, Pat, Scott & Jen, Braden and Kenzie came to Columbus so we could celebrate Mother's Day together. We went out to eat at Genji, our favorite Japanese Steakhouse. If you haven't tried it yet, it's a must try it atleast once restaurant. The Yum Yum sauce is to die for. Braden and Kenzie loved it! We had a talented Chef who put on a great show for them. After Genji, it was off to Cold Stone Creamery. I thought of you Jamie, Amanda and Kelli as I was downing the Like It size of Birthday Cake Remix!! At the end of the night, I thought I was going to explode!

Saturday was nice and relaxing. Matt finished all the landscaping, I cooked Brats and Hamburgers on the grill. We had a fun shopping day together (If you can believe that, I actually got him to the mall!). I got my body pillow that was long overdue! That night it was cozying up in the basement for some movie time.

Sunday I woke up to breakfast in bed. It was so yummy. He made everything- eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, pancakes and orange juice to wash it down. Another filling meal for the weekend. Then it was off to Church where we saw our friends Abi and Brett. It was great to see them and see little Izzy, their two year old. After church we drove to Bucyrus to visit my mom and grandma. There we snacked on some KFC and Long John Silvers. Yes, I think I have gained five pounds with what I ate over the weekend. I'm sure it will show this week when I jump on that dreaded scale! I need to take Amanda's advice and stop looking! But it's like a train-wreck, you have to! We also were able to stop in and visit with my Dad and Chris for awhile. RIP Buddy, we missed you (Dad's wiener dog who passed)!

Oh, and I can't forget my fun gifts from the family. Macy, Rory and Baby B got me a heating pad :) I've been talking about a heating pad for a couple months now to take away the pain that sometimes arises in my back. Then Matt, bought me my Glider and Ottoman I've been talking about. Everyone needs a rocker, right!? I've atached a pic of what it looks like, however, mine is blue and white pin striped.

So It was a great weekend at the Balster household. I hope everyone else had a nice weekend as well.

Thanks Pat and Jen

I had my first baby shower in Celina on May 3rd. It was a blast. I love going to baby showers, especially my own! :) They had a cute idea to have everyone design their own onesies with puffy paint. We ended up with some interesting onesies! The food was great. I love having a reason that I can go back for seconds. :) Check out the cake and cookies! Yum.

Thanks to Pat and Jen for a really fun day!

He Finally Beats Me!

After four and a half years, Matt finally beats me at Putt-Putt Golf. We've probably played 6-8 times and his excuse is always "I let you win". Which you shouldn't believe by the way. So I'm not sure If he's getting better at Golf or If I now have the excuse that my large pretruding stomach gets in the way. I think It's a little bit of both. So Congratulations Matt, you finally did it!! :)

Congratulations to the Hone's

Congrats Jamie and Emily on their new baby girl, Natalie Rae born Saturday am. 8 lbs 1 oz. Can't wait to have play dates!!

Mom's Surgery Went Well

Update on Mom's health. The surgery went great! The best it could have went. Once they were in there, they found a rare and bizarre tumor that was attached to her vagina, colon and tailbone. They were able to successfully remove all of it. It was sent to many locations for observation including Stanford, they still aren't sure if it's benign or malignant (I guess there's an in-between ground, who new??). Doctor's pretty certain it will not return. Mom is doing well. She will hopefully be getting out soon, maybe Thursday. We hope this is the solution to all of the pain she has had over the past couple of years, we're keeping our fingers crossed. So far she hasn't felt any of the symptoms she had before going into the surgery. Right now she's just waiting for the bowels to begin to work again, so a lot of crampiness. Thanks to all for their thoughts and prayers this week. It worked!!

28 Weeks

How your baby's growing:
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

How your life's changing:
You're in the home stretch! The third and final trimester starts this week. If you're like most women, you'll gain about 11 pounds this trimester. At this point, you'll likely visit your doctor or midwife every two weeks. Then, at 36 weeks, you'll switch to weekly visits. Depending on your risk factors, your practitioner may recommend repeating blood tests for HIV and syphilis now, as well as doing cultures for chlamydia and gonorrhea, to be certain of your status before delivery. Also, if your glucose screening test result was high and you haven't yet had follow-up testing, you'll soon be given the 3-hour glucose tolerance test.

**And of course my glucose test came back positive. So off to LabCorp I go this week for the 3 hr glucose test. Amanda, I feel your pain! Here's to hoping it's negative!!