All right, I must admit that I have been so busy getting ready for this baby to come that I have spent almost every spare moment sewing, crocheting, doing lesson plans for the sub, washing baby clothes and blankets, etc. So, I realized that I haven't been keeping up with my blog! Therefore, this is a rather long post of updates over the last few months. If you make it to the end you can find out some info. about my last appointment which was on February 24th! Enjoy!

First is a crochet project I did. It is called a "cocoon" with a matching beanie. So, even though I had never done anything but a flat blanket, I couldn't resist trying out this cute pattern. And here is the finished product for her to snuggle up inside!


Then, because I am ambitious (or perhaps slightly insane) I couldn't resist trying this sewing project I found on a website Nicole introduced to me. You can ask Ben about the saga of picking out the perfect material for this diaper bag. Yes, he was with me, and yes, he was patient, but I'm not sure he could say he thoroughly enjoyed it. However, the finished product turned out better than anticipated. So, if you have a baby and want to try this, let me know and I'll send you the link to the pattern!

Here it is from an outside view:


And the inside..... It has lots of pockets and if you know me at all, you know how I feel about little pockets to organize things in purses and bags. That's right, I think they're essential to a great bag or purse. :)



I also made a take-along changing pad to match:

It folds up quite nicely and fits in the diaper bag perfectly. :) The girls who started these websites are sewing geniuses!

Of course, you're probably more interested in belly pictures - especially if you haven't seen me in awhile. So here are months 7 and 8. Yes, I look like I am hiding a basketball under my shirt. It's coming straight out the front and getting, in my opinion, HUGE!

Mom has all the pictures from the shower she, Heather and Holly threw me, so I'll have to post those later. Here are some from a shower in Indiana thrown by my mother-in-law and soon to be sister-in-law!

Yes, they made me wear a bib and bonnet and taste baby food, but it wasn't so bad... :)

Here's a picture of the beautiful quilt Ben's grandma Miller made for us:

And the ladies who planned the event:

I was also blessed by a shower thrown for me by some girls from church:

The decorations were very wintery for January and beautiful!

And I was blessed with many, many baby essentials!


Thanks ladies!


And now for the promised information. I am in fact, 17 and a half days away from my due date. The baby has dropped, putting, might I add, some intense pressure on my bladder! I am 50% effaced and 2-3 cm dilated. So this is all good news and means that really she could come anytime. Or she might wait until week 42 to come. This not knowing is a little tough for a planner like me, I must admit. Needless to say, we are working hard to get last minute things ready and done and we cannot wait to see our little girl and hold her in our arms!