Still Pregnant!

So lots have happened in the past 2 weeks, but none of them include having a baby! After the news that I could "go any day" and will quite possibly (and hopefully!) deliver pretty quickly, we decided it would be best for the Moms to make their way down to Knoxville. Grandma Betty arrived Friday, Sept. 17th and Grandma Marla rolled in on Wednesay, Sept. 22nd. Since arriving, they have been a HUGE help. We have deep cleaned the house, car, and dogs while also spending lots of time cooking and walking. Amidst the To-Do lists and taking care of Kacey, I have been very pampered and they are spoiling me rotten! I won't know what to do when they leave! We have had tons of fun together and have made some hilarious memories to tell the baby someday. Yesterday, we had no bathroom because when Kacey started to fix our leaking toilet in the morning, the bowl cracked in several places and we had to get an entirely new one. This was bad timing, with three women, one of which is pregnant, home all day. We made due though and tried not to drink quite as much so we wouldn't have to make too many trips to Panera and the neighbors to relief ourselves. Kacey worked hard, though, and with our neighbor Steve's help, we had a funtioning toilet by the time we went to bed. He was rewarded with the most delicious pumpkin muffins I've ever tasted and some good ole' "Office". In between fixing toilets and taking care of three women, Kacey has found time to work on the baby room and we now have painted walls and lights and a fan!!! So exciting!! Below we are admiring Kacey's hadiwork and also seeing how the baby bedding will look with the blue/green walls.

He put the first coat of stain on the hardwood floor (which is about the color of the ceiling fan blades) and it looks wonderful! The fumes were so potent, though, we had to spend the night at the Quality Inn when he applied the stain.....so, Kacey shared a hotel room with his mom, mother-in-law, and pregnant wife! hahah....what a trooper.

This Kacey and I working on the sanding right before he started painting (it's funny that Marla got this picture because there has been so little that I can help with on the room, and she caught the few minutes that I was able to work!)

Kacey and I also went on one last date before we become a three-some. It was a blast! We went to the Fazolis that we had eaten at when we were in Knoxville for a track meet several years ago and then saw the movie "Inception"...a very creative movie.

Also big news....Kacey found a new mower for us!! Yay! Our other mower died at least three times every time he would mow and the last time the muffler fell off. Needless to say, we needed a new one. So, Kacey found a riding lawn mower and he is super pumped! It was like a little kid at Christmas. Below he is teaching me how to use it.

Marla snapped a picture of Bear doing the only trick he knows....sitting on his haunches like a real bear! We don't think they really know a baby is on the way, but we can't wait to introduce them. I think they will love having a kid to play with!
And here is a belly shot at 38 weeks:

Also, we went to another doctor's appointment yesterday and found out that I am still only 2cm dialated, but have progressed to 90% effaced. What does this mean? Your guess is as good as mine! The baby could still stay put for awhile, so we've kind of quit making assumptions that it is coming soon. We are sure getting anxious to meet the little guy or girl, but God knows best and His timing will be better than ours. So, maybe we will send out one more update and maybe the next one will have a little baby to show off!

Hot Zone

The baby room is coming along very nicely, although the past few days it has turned into a restricted area as Kacey has begun the major portion of sanding the floors. With potentially not-so-healthy dust flying everywhere, he decided to close off the room with plastic sheets and duct tape. He also wears a heavy duty respirator to keep from inhaling hazardous materials. All of this looks strangely reminiscent of those viral outbreak movies and brings back unpleasant memories of the Ebola outbreak that we learned about in high school Biology (Bekah, you'll know what I'm talking about!). I tried to read the book "Hot Zone" about Ebola...how the outbreak happened, what it does to your body, how they stopped it from spreading, etc. I think I made it through the first chapter, but when they started detailing the blood rupturing out of every bodily pore, I had to call it quits. Anyways, I'm thankful that sawdust is the only thing we are trying to keep quarentined!
Kacey has to crawl under the sheet everytime he enters the room...

After several Darth Vadar impersonations, Kacey got serious with the respirator (even though it has pink sides, which he was very upset about) and sanded like it was nobody's business.

Here is my belly at about 36.5 weeks.

It looks and feels like I am about to pop! Rolling over in bed has become especially difficult...at 3am when I have roll from side to side to gain momentum, I find myself relating well to Ralphie's little brother on "A Christmas Story". He gets bundled in so many layers that he can't get up after falling in the snow :(

This past week the baby has dropped and I can certainly feel it...and just when I thought I couldn't possibly feel anymore pelvic pressure! The Moms are kind of on call now because although I'm several weeks away from the due date (Oct. 9), I found out at my doc. appointment today that I have effaced 80% already. I've still only dialated 1cm, but apparently, if I get to 100% effacement, labor will come shortly after. I think Baby Carr would surprise us all if he/she stayed put until October, although we've had big surprises before! We are just praying we can make it to this Saturday when the baby will be officially full term.

The Home Stretch

The time is drawing near! Only ONE month left! And that is if Baby Carr can make it all the way to 40 weeks. One week from tomorrow I'll actually be considered full-term, so who knows! The past week or so I have been feeling pretty crampy and have had my first Braxton-Hicks contractions. It is getting harder to find comfortable positions, both when sitting and lying down, but thankfully I still have not had any major complaints or concerns. Things have actually cooled off quite a bit here and it has been gorgeous weather! Can't wait till the leaves start changing! This past Tuesday was the start of my weekly visit to the doctor and according to her measurements I have dialated 1cm... not much to brag about yet! I have tried to take things a bit easier, though, and have skipped out on a few longer walks. An early baby would definitely complicate getting his/her room finished.... Here are some pictures of the belly at about 35 weeks.

Also, a HUGE, HUGE thanks to all those who sent lots of gifts and love through the mail shower!! Last Wednesday I found my porch stacked with tons of boxes! How exciting it was to to open all of that wonderful baby stuff with Kacey. It was a total surprise and I am so thankful for all the amazing people in our lives.... you are all so generous and thoughtful! I now have all my clothe diapers and just about everything else we will need. Also, my sincere apologies for not completing our registry! I did not put great efforts into finishing because 1). I did not expect a shower, and 2). it was so overwhelming! I had no idea what type of bottle, toys, clothes, blankets, gadgets, etc. we would need and with the hundreds of brands to choose from, I was over my head. But everyone guessed right and I only need a few small things to complete the baby collection.

Two of my favorite gifts are hanging on our fridge...

The one on the left is from Bronwynn and is entitled "Popcorn". THe one on the left is from Kameryn and is called "Rainbow Ball" and dispalys her first attempt with scissors. So precious!!

Over Labor Day, we had a wonderful visit from some Illinois folks! Ryan and Dev drove down to help with the baby room and it was a lot of fun! Ryan and Kacey worked on the drywall most of the time and Dev helped me organize the house and take inventory of all the baby stuff. We also enjoyed a fun dinner at Littons (the famous hamburger joint here in Knoxville) and a BBQ lunch with Dev's cousin and wife (who is also expecting and due in Feb.!). They also just recently moved to Knoxville. We also let Jaba (the bunny) go in our yard after introducing him to Ryan and Dev. Even though it was good to see him return to the wild, it was really sad and we keep watching to see if he will make a reappearance. It was also hard to see Ryan and Dev go at the end of the weekend! Below is a picture of the boys working on the dry wall.

Ryan puts up the last piece of dry-wall!!

Kacey hard at work mudding the room.