Happy feet

Nothing like a pedicure to make

happy feet!

Since I took the day off, my mom treated me to a pedicure and lunch. It's always fun to get pampered. My poor feet were in need of some love and attention. The best part was the foot and leg massage!
After getting our toes done, we decided we were in need of some new sandals. We were careful to not ruin our nicely done toes as we tried on lots of shoes:) We both ended up getting two pairs. (Sandals are my standard footwear.)

Tired

I must say that the effects of being pregnant are finally starting to get me. I am 35 weeks now. This last week of work was more tiring then usual. The extra weight is slowing me down and I have to pace myself. Saturday morning I woke up around 8 am but felt like a bump on a log until around 12 noon. I even had to lay down again for a little nap. Eventually Kevin and I went out to run some errands. We bought a few things for the baby which was fun. I was walking slowly the whole day though because my legs were a little sore and getting in and out of the car was quite the process:) Luckily this week is my last week teaching. I actually only have 4 days left since I'm taking Tuesday off. I'm really looking forward to my 4 weeks off before the baby comes! I hope I have enough energy to get some things accomplished (and have a little fun) during my time off before the baby.

Wicked

Kevin and I saw "Wicked" yesterday. We went with my two youngest sisters, Rachel and Rebecca, my Grandma Carter and our friends Cameron and Jane. In case you're wondering, Wicked is the story behind the good and wicked witch from "The Wizard of Oz"...it definitely puts a new twist on the original. It is such a fun show, the characters are hilarious (namely, Glinda) and of course the music is great! There were a couple of real intense, loud music moments where the baby was squirming around like crazy...I'm not sure if he was dancing along or trying to jump out of my belly!
Here we are with Cameron and Jane after the show. There were way too many people all around but we managed to get a quick picture before moving out with the herd:)
I really wanted a picture of us outside but there was no way that was going to happen. So I had to just snap a picture of the signs and call it good. Such a fun afternoon!

Just Checking In

At my last doctor's appointment my belly measured a llittle smaller for being 33+ weeks. (And the previous visit it measured bigger.) Our Dr. told us that she would like us to get an ultrasound to check the baby's size. She said the measurement being off could be due to my height but she wanted to be on the safe side and have him checked. Well, we had the ultrasound today and everything looks good! In fact the baby is measuring big for our due date...they said he's about 6 lbs. right now. So that means this baby will be 8 lbs or so at birth. This doesn't surprise me as all my siblings (including myself) were 8 lbs or more. We are just very happy that everything is OK and that our little boy is growing strong and healthy. It was fun being able to see him since our last ultrasound was back in December. Now I know which body parts have been kicking and poking me this last little while:)

We also pre-registered at the hospital today so that's one less thing I have to worry about. We were told that May will be a busy month for delivering babies. The time is just flying by...awhile back April seemed so far away and now we're in April with just a few weeks left before the due date. By the way, I've enjoyed my Spring Break this week and I'm very excited that I only have 2 more weeks left of teaching. I plan on getting some last minute things done during my time-off before the baby arrives.

Completed

We completed our 6-week Childbirth course this past Thursday. It was a lot of fun, very informative and we met some really nice couples. We all exchanged contact info so we can email our birth updates to one another and keep in touch. One couple didn't make it to the last class because the wife's water broke that very evening. The husband stopped by real quick to let us know how things were going. I realized that very soon Kevin and I would in the same situation as that couple. It's very exciting now that the due date is so close. I only have 7 more weeks to go! We have our next appointment on Monday.

My Basketball

Many of the teachers that I work with refer to my belly as a basketball. So here I am showing it off! In this first picture I'm headless but I think it shows the roundness of my belly pretty well:)

Here's the classic sideview...my belly is definitely growing! I am 31 weeks now which means in about 2 months we will have a little baby boy here with us! It is both exciting and scary to think about. We still need to get the baby's room set up...which is the room you can see down the hallway. That is our main project for this month.
Here's a shot outside on our patio. Kevin is such an amazing photographer:)

Spring is here!

We had a little rain here in Torrance...and I mean a little. It was actually a very dark and gloomy day...I would have preferred staying home in my pajamas all day to going to work. At the least the rain came after school was over...I really don't like rainy day schedule school days. Hope you had a great first day of Spring.

Happy Spring!

Preparing for Childbrith

We had our first Prepared Childbirth class on Thursday night. It's a 6 week course and the class is 2 hours and 15 minutes. Kevin thought that was a little long but we had a great time at our first class. Our instructor is very high energy and keeps things interesting. The other couples in the class are a good mix of personalities...I think we'll have a lot of fun these next few weeks. The first class was mainly introductions of the couples and an overview of what we'll be learning about the next 5 weeks. We even did a little bit of relaxation and breathing at the end of the class. There were two other couples that had the same due date: May 25th. One of those couples we chatted with a little bit at the break and found we had a lot in common with them. We're both having boys (with the same due date), both of us teach, we've had easy pregnancies and we were even wearing similar outfits. It was just kind of funny...we're hoping to get to know them a little better as the weeks go on. It would be nice to have friends with a child the same age as our own. I'm looking forward to the rest of the class!

Sandi

My sister Sandi came to visit last weekend....Thursday through Tuesday. It was fun having her down from Utah so we could spend some time together. It was her first time seeing me since I've been pregnant. This picture was taken on Monday. I took the day off and Sandi, my mom, and I went up to San Pedro, had lunch, and visited Grandma and Pa Hansen. It was a fun weekend!

Happy Heart Day!

How did you spend your Valentine's Day?

We went to a Clippers game. My grandpa won 4 tickets and gave them to us to use. Cameron and Jane Chow joined us. Normally I wouldn't be that excited about a sporting event but we had really good seats. This picture was taken from our seats so you can see that we're only 6 rows from the court.

Here's us after the game...I was a bit sleepy by this time. I probably did more people watching than game watching but I had a good time. Happy Valentine's Day!

Desk Documentary

Desk Building 101: Follow the instruction manual.

Use the proper tools. Make sure you have all the pieces. Don't work at late hours of the night. Getting close!To be continued...

It's a desk!

Here is the desk completely put together...what a journey it has been:) The next step is getting all the desk supplies organized and put away.

Week 23

110 days to go...I can't believe I'm over 5 months pregnant! I really started to pop out this last week or so. Here's a picture Kevin took tonight after the Superbowl.

Big Move

We are finally in our own place! And thank you to all of our "moving crew!" I barely had to lift a finger:) We found ourselves a nice 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment in Torrance. We've been apartment hunting the past 2 months knowing we wanted to be moved by March at the latest...to have time to get settled in before the baby comes...and we came upon this place quite by chance. It's on a nice quiet street and it's a great location. We're 10 minutes away from both our families and from my work. As much as I enjoyed our 4 1/2 years in San Pedro I will not miss the 30 minute drive to work and family.
Right now we're working on getting rid of the new paint smell and getting settled in. Unfortunately I have been sick the past 2 days so I haven't been as productive as I would have liked. I had to take Thursday and Friday off from work but I am feeling better today so I'm hoping I can still get a few things done this weekend. I will post some pictures soon now that we have our internet up and running.

Oh, boy!

We had our ultrasound Thursday, December 28th and found out we're having a boy! The doctor said that he looks healthy and is the right size for this time so we couldn't be happier. I'll have to admit I was a bit surprised to hear the words "it's a boy" because I always thought I would have a girl first. But I'm very happy and getting use to the idea of having a little boy. And of course Kevin is excited that he is going to have a son. This baby has made his presence known for the last 2 weeks...I guess I should have known it was an active little boy growing inside me!

Christmas Afternoon

Here's Grandma Carter trying out the new Wii game system. She's playing the baseball game if you can't tell from her wind-up. She was having a great time and we all enjoyed watching her play!
Mom with Rebecca (my youngest sister) who was about to open her "big" gift. Can you see the anticipation? These are the only decent photos I have to share:)

Christmas Day

We had a yummy breakfast at Kevin's family's house Christmas morning! Here is some of the action:

Here's J-Lynn with the Snow White doll Kevin and I bought her.

And here's Benjamin (and mom, Kelle) with his cool new phone from us. He's always stealing the nearest cell phone or remote so we thought he could use a phone of his own! Isn't he a cutie?

Kevin's mom couldn't wait to buy the baby something so she gave us a set of girl and boy onesies. Now I know we'll be keeping the boy set:)

Here's the family in front of the soon-to-be new fireplace. Kevin's family added a great big family room onto their house. It's not quite done but we still had to enjoy the room on Christmas day. We can't wait for this room to be finished!

Christmastime with Family

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas with family and friends! We had a nice Christmas and I thought I would share some pictures from our holiday fun with family.

This is the Friday before Christmas with all of my mom's family: Grandma and Grandpa Hansen and sister Kristen Coppa and family. We enjoyed a delicious prime rib dinner, opening presents and just spending time together.

Here's Kevin with my sisters Rachel and Kelly.

Right behind Kevin is Ryker and then Blaize.

Kevin and Amber

Moving around

I'm feeling the baby move which is very exciting. It started with a little "gurgle" in my belly while driving to work one morning. And now I'm feeling the baby move daily. It's little legs and arms are stretching and moving around inside me. It is so neat to feel! Kevin can't wait until he can feel the baby move. He tries now even though I tell him he won't feel anything:) He's very cute.

Another thing I am excited about is finding out if this baby is a boy or a girl...and so is our family! This Thursday, December 28th, we have an ultrasound appointment. They should be able to tell us the sex of the baby then so we'll keep you updated. Also, I will post some pictures soon since I'm on Winter Break now. I need these 2 weeks to rest up. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

We're having a baby!!!

Kevin and I are happy to announce that we are expecting. The big day is May 25th but you know how that can change. We hope to find out next week if it is a boy or a girl. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted...