All Things Baby!

30 weeks today!  Only 10 more to go...and I'm feeling the nesting urge and time crunch to have everything perfect for Baby Sam's arrival.  The nursery is coming together, I have a list of must-haves that I need to shop for, and my growing belly serves as a constant reminder that we are in the home stretch.  And we couldn't be more excited!  Blaine and I talk daily about meeting her for the first time and what our lives will be like once she's here.  She's moving constantly and we enjoy watching and feeling her little squirms, punches, and kicks.  Aside from swollen feet and fingers (my wedding rings are officially stuck and will probably have to be cut off soon), and some backaches, I'm feeling great and anxiously look forward to delivery day!

To capture this amazing time, we decided to take some maternity pictures.  I set out to hire a photographer, but decided that we could do them ourselves to save some money.  We scouted out areas with nice backgrounds, bought a wireless shutter remote for the camera, and set out with our tripod and gear on a beautiful and sunny Saturday afternoon!  I was skeptical, but, to my surprise, I think we got some really nice shots.  And we learned that Blaine is actually a great photographer!  Out of 400 photos, we ended up with about 40 that I would actually put into an album.  I look at these pictures and still laugh because the photographer I was talking with wanted me to wait another five to seven weeks so that my belly would be "nice and round".  I don't think that was a problem for these pictures...and I don't think I will want to be photographed in another five to seven weeks.  ;)

We went in yesterday for a 4-D ultrasound, something I wasn't sure we would do, but decided on it after all.  Mainly, I wanted to see her again and make sure she was doing well in there.  Our ultrasound tech was AMAZING, taking the time to go over every detail and she checked out all of her measurements again to ensure her growth is right on track.  She also checked (for the third time at my request) that she is, indeed, a girl.  :)  Samantha was not very cooperative, hiding her face in my side, but we got some decent shots.  Our tech (again, LOVE her) said she could get better shots and scheduled us to come back in two weeks to try again...for free!  Maybe I'll have some better pictures then, but for now, you can get some idea of what our precious girl looks like.  We think she is beautiful!

Little fingers and feet!

Side of her face...and yes, she is smiling!  Check out those chubby cheeks!!  As soon as I saw this image on the screen, I thought she looked just like my mom.  And my mom thought that was funny because when I was born, she and my dad said the same thing about me...that I looked like my grandma!

I'll post more ultrasound pictures in two weeks, granted we get some better ones.  And I'm sure my blog posts will consist of baby stuff, nursery pictures, etc. over the next 10 weeks...since that's ALL that's on my mind!  :)