Belly Pic

So did you notice that the baby ticker says "21 days"? Um, what?! Where in the world has the time gone? Seriously, though, I love seeing that there's just not that much time left before we get to meet Baby Fleming. He or she is considered officially "full term" as of today! What a milestone! When I think about all the worrying that I did early on, it seems even more unbelievable that we're at 37 weeks.

I had my first "weekly" appointment last week and all's well. The baby is head down and doing what he or she is supposed to be doing, and the doctor even told me how to identify the mystery parts that are sticking out of my abdomen as the feet and the butt. How cute is that?

Belly Update: Here's me at 34 weeks pregnant.

And yes, this photo is several weeks old, but you get the idea. Just imagine a bigger belly and you can see what I look like today.

Shower Power

I just had to share a few pics from the lovely shower that Maria, Wendy, and my sister Amy (with some remote assistance from Julie) threw me a few weekends ago. It was sooo special, and I just can't believe how much support and love we've found here in Orlando. I can't wait until baby gets here so he or she can meet all of our wonderful friends.

Thanks to Julie, we had some delicious cupcakes from Sweet bakery. And I know you won't think it's possible, but they were even more delicious than they were cute. I'm sorry you missed the fun, Jules, but you were there in Sweet spirit!

We were showered with so many gifts for the baby that I can say with some certainty that we are ready for the little one. And believe it or not, we have enough clothes to keep the baby styling for months to come! I find myself wandering in the nursery everyday just to take a peek at how cute everything is. Come on, baby, we're ready to put this stuff to good use. Come on out whenever you're ready!

One of my favorite parts about the shower is that my mom and sister were able to join us. We had such a fun weekend, and Mom is just as happy as she can be about her upcoming Grandmotherhood. She's holding the adorable shopping cart cover that she made for Baby Fleming - see where I get my craftiness from? And it's sad that Amy's not in any of these photos (as usual, she's the one behind the camera) because I'd love to share her baby bump with the world, too!

To my best girls here in Orlando: Thanks for all you've done for us to help us prepare for Baby Fleming. Miss Maria and Miss Wendy are going to be two of Baby's favorite people, I just know it. You're the best, ladies, and I am truly grateful for you!

Nursery Tour

Thanks to Mom and Amy, we are now able to put little videos up on the blog. Just click the player below to play. Coming soon: HD videos. I know. You're on the edge of your seat.

Enjoy!

Hospital Tour and Baby Classes

The last few weeks have been filled with assisted preparation for Baby Fleming. We're halfway through our childbirth classes, we took our hospital tour, and we got pre-registered at the hospital. Would it surprise you to know that I've been sleeping a lot better since we started these things? Like any expecting mom, I just have so many questions and while I know it's not possible to have them all answered, seeking out the experts has been a big relief. We now have an idea of what to look for to know when Baby Fleming is about to make his or her arrival and where to go to have the baby. What more do we need to know, right?

We'll be delivering at Winnie Palmer. For you folks up north, it's the hospital in Orlando that's dedicated to women and babies, so this is pretty much all they do. I'm so thankful to have this kind of resource in town. I have many friends who have delivered here, and they all had great experiences and brought home beautiful healthy babies, so I have no reason to expect anything different. They also have Wi-Fi throughout the hospital. Can you imagine who in my family was curious about this little stat?

I have so much to post about, but this has been a really long week for us (with the classes and tours and all), so I hope to get some photos up this weekend. No promises, though, because I also have a hospital bag to pack. :)

Boy or Girl?

I've been meaning to post about this for a long time, and it dawned on me that if I don't do it now, it might soon be too late. I want to know if you think Baby Fleming is a boy or a girl. Please take a minute to tell us what you think we're having and then post a comment telling why you think what you think. I really enjoy hearing people's reasons.

NOTE *** For those of you who already posted to the poll, it developed some kind of error that I was unable to fix, so I just had to remove it. If you don't mind, just put your answer in the comments section. I'm still new to all of this, so I'm pretty ineffective when something goes wrong. Thank goodness I know a pretty techy guy who might be able to help me.

Thanks for playing!

Happy Anniversary!

Nine years ago, I married my best friend. Happy Anniversary, Brian!


You don't marry someone you can live with - you marry the person who you cannot live without.
-- Author Unknown

Showered with Love

Exactly 7 years ago, Brian and I (and the entire Knepper clan) loaded up a U-haul trailer in Columbia, MO, and headed off on the adventure of a lifetime. The Kneppers only stayed for a night, but Brian and I have called Orlando home for the past seven years. In the beginning, we thought we'd have a 14-month stint in Orlando while Brian attended Full Sail and both of us lived the Florida lifestyle, but look at us now! We both found jobs here that we loved and couldn't do back in the Midwest. We bought a little house and began to call Central Florida "home."

What's made the piece of swampland our actual home are the people that we've met here. We've got an amazing network of friends, and I'm so thankful to have crossed paths with each and every one of them. And I know that I'll be even more thankful when we bring our little bundle of joy home and realize that while our families may live 1,000 miles away, we're not all alone here.

My friends have already been amazingly supportive throughout my pregnancy. From listening to my little complaints and worries to making me feel better about my feet (which have now graduated to being called Easter Hams) to being incredibly generous in helping us to prepare for Baby Fleming. Two weeks ago, my colleagues at HMH threw us a wonderful shower. We got all sorts of goodies for the baby, including a stroller and about two dozen books. What else would you expect from the Reading Department?

Such a cute (and delicious) cake!

Nothing says "Celebration" like a conference room party. Seriously, though, it was decorated with lots of cute little touches and was filled with friends and colleagues. What more could we ask for?

Later that week, the ladies in my Book Club surprised me with a little shower, too. It was so fun to celebrate with all of them, and just look at how precious this cake is!

Thanks to Becky for making the cake and to all of my book club friends for surprising me. I picked up a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar the next day. I can't wait to share it with Baby Fleming!

We have one more shower here in Orlando this weekend, and I am super excited (expect more pics next week). While I am thrilled and blessed to be the recipient of so many wonderful things for the baby, what means even more to me is the support that we continue to get from all of our loved ones here in the Sunshine State. Thanks and love to all of you!!