Andrew did a wonderful job of putting up the lights this year. They look lovely!
Brian looks like a Christmas Ghost Dog in the doorway. His eyes really glow. But like always, he wanted to be in the picture.
We decided to get our decorations up early with the baby coming, so shortly after Thanksgiving we started decorating.
We got a NEW Christmas tree from Menards. Sooooo excited! I love it! I think it's perfect. Our poor tree that we been using the past few years needed to be retired. It was pre-lit and half the lights weren't working so we would pile on more lights and the poor thing was just overloaded. It was time to retire the poor guy.
We got red, green and white lights which I love too and a new tree skirt. So much fun! We chose to put our tree in our kitchen. Is that weird? It may sound weird but it really is the best place for it.
We stole a tradition from Travis and Katie in the past few years and we started collecting ornaments when we would travel places. I took some pictures of some of my favorite ornaments that we've collected over the years. But we haven't been doing this very long so we don't have all that many.
The ornament on the left is from San Franciso when we visited Jake and Aditi in 2008. Some woman on the street was selling them and she offered to personalize it for us. It's Lombard Street, the curviest street in America! The ornament on the right is from Chicago from our babymoon.
We decided to get ornaments this year with our names on them.
We also bought one more ornament with a fourth name on it and wrapped up the name part. When we took all four up to the counter, I looked at all the names and said, "Wow, that's a bunch of boys names." Haha! But no, seriously, I get addressed as Mr. Thornburg in my letters and emails all the time. I thought it was gaining popularity as a girl's name, dang it! Oh well. So yes, we have decided on a first name. The middle name will be a game time decision though.
We've hung our stockings by the chimney with care. These are our stockings from last year for Andrew, Brian and me. We decided Baby T needed a stocking too.
Aww, Baby T's stocking! How adorable is that? Don't worry, Baby T. We'll get you a grown up stocking when you arrive. So hurry up and get here!
Nope. No news. Still at 1 cm but at least a little more thinned out. She said 80% effaced this week at my doctor's appointment. So I guess that's progress.
Brian sees Christmas coming...
and tries to escape.
I have to draw stuff over his eyes because occasionally his eyes flash green and I can't get the red eye corrector to take it off. So I just draw on his eyes instead!
Time to check out what the websites say for 39 Weeks.
Babycenter.com:
Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.
Alphamom.com:
Your Baby: He is full-term, almost done, probably about a medium-well on the Burger Scale. He is about 20 inches long and over seven pounds, maybe, depends, who knows. (Seriously. No one knows. If you have an ultrasound this week or next, take the measurements and weight guesses with enough grains of salt to season a fresh batch of fries. Late-term ultrasounds are ridiculously imprecise, with a margin of error of up to TWO POUNDS in either direction.)
You: Oh, please. Like you need ME to tell you anything about what you’re going through at this point. I’m just gonna stand over here, out of your way, and maybe silently nudge this pint of ice cream on over to you.
ME:
Ummm, yeah. Am I done yet? Cuz I'm totally ready. It takes several attempts to get a picture of me without a sexy double chin. I continue to grow and gain weight even though "they" say I should probably stop gaining at this point. His movements are sharper and actually caused me to yell out in pain this week at work. A little embarrassing. But he jabbed my bladder HARD. What was THAT for, Baby T??? OUCH! Everyone and their brother is asking me how I'm feeling and if there's any news. Even my parents! It's so hard to not get my hopes up. Is it going to happen any time soon? I don't know. Only he knows. But it would be nice to know because I've got so much stuff going on at work right now! Which brings me to segment I like to call:
Worst Times to Go Into Labor
Tomorrow I will be driving a team of people around to look at space to lease for a new office building... in someone's government car...in 30 degree weather.
If my water breaks, they may not give me a ride back to the office!! :) Who wants to clean someone's amniotic fluid out of their work car? Barf. Not in MY job description!
So Baby T, if you're coming soon, try not to come at a time like that!
Makes for a good story though.
Well anyway, that's all I have to complain about. I'm just super excited/anxious/nervous for this child. I think Andrew and Brian are too. They jump at any odd movement from me.
What is it? What's wrong? Are you having the baby??
Oh, just wait. You'll know when the time comes. :)
Now for your weekly lessons...
I would do that at this point, if it would make me go into labor. ;) Jackhammer time!
Sometime this month is Brian's 6th birthday! Can you believe that? He is six years old. Now, yes I'm a bad dog owner for not knowing exactly when his birthday is. I have it in a filing cabinet in the basement somewhere.
Ok, ok, now you're making me feel bad. I'll go look it up.
Anyway, Brian is SIX! He's 42 in dog years. Mid-life crisis time! No wonder he's been acting out.
So yes, this post is for Brian. Let's relive some fond memories...
1.) As a puppy, when we first got him we took him over to Andrew's friends' place dubbed "The Hall". He immediately peed the floor. Welcome home, Brian! Also at the hall, Brian discovered that he liked beer. We let him drink it and then he repaid us by squatting to release some loose stools in the middle of a game of bags that Andrew and his friends were playing.
Aww, he's so little!
2.) The first year of his life, we lived in an apartment in Lafayette. We didn't tell the landlords that we got a dog but Brian let them know with his incessant barking during the day. Thanks for the extra Pet Deposit Charge, Brian!
Yes, he is laughing at us.
3.) In that apartment, Brian was very destructive. He pulled up linoleum from a corner of the kitchen. He chewed through the drywall to make a nice little hole. He also chewed through the carpet to the floor because he smelled pizza that I had dropped. Luckily, we are handy little geniuses and somehow got our entire deposit back! Nice.
4.) Brian would go on runs with Andrew and one day he cut his paw on something while running around the complex. He bled all over the apartment. $100 Vet visit and a band-aid later, he was all better. :)
The only picture I have from this incident, I printed on paper and had to scan it. Poor pup.
5.) When we moved into our first house, Brian was pretty destructive there too. We would keep him in the pantry/laundry room during the day. He scratched the crap out of the door in that room. Also, whenever we would have parties, Brian would find deserted beer bottles, knock them over and drink what came out. He really likes beer.
Brian will take what is his.
6.) Brian also liked to escape from our house. During both our bachelorette and bachelor parties, Brian got out and our friends were forced to run after him. It took a VERY long time at my bachelorette party. Probably because we were dressed in 80s sequined dresses with bright blue eye shadow up to our eyebrows. The woman that found him that night asked my friend Meeghan if she was going to prom. HAHA!
Why yes, in fact, we were going to prom!
7.) At Andrew's bachelor party, Brian's dried up yard poop was used as a weapon. I don't think I want to go into any more detail on that.
I thought this picture of Brian's poop partially cleaned up was appropriate. You can see more turds in the back ground.
8.) After we sold that house, we transitioned between two more apartments before I was finally placed in my job in SB and we purchased our current home. In our new home with the TV mounted on the wall, we discovered Brian has a new trick. During Cubs games, there is always an Aflac trivia question. Before the question, the Aflac duck walks across the screen while saying AFLAC! We've always known Brian to find and bark at all animal on the tv screen. Well now, Brian thinks that any time the word Aflac is said in the right tone of voice, that that damn duck will go walking across the TV screen, EVEN WHEN THE TV IS OFF! Anyone can say it and as long as it somewhat sounds like the duck, he go running to the TV and barking his head off. It's pretty amazing. I wish I had it on tape.
Brian after a long hard day of work.
9.) Brian has enjoyed the new house very much. Lots of room to run. Lots of neighbor dogs. Lots of squirrels to bark at during the day. He doesn't destroy as much anymore. Still marks his territory occasionally. But he still likes to escape. We live next to a multi-million dollar compound of people related to a former Senator for Indiana. He likes to go over there. I've been caught by the wife a couple different times carrying Brian back to our house after he ran like a Wyld Stallyn all over their 80 acre property. She gives very dirty looks. Thanks Brian.
Yes, he cut his paw and we had to go to the Vet more than once.
10.) Brian is definitely getting older and much calmer. He still sheds like the dickens but he really has become quite a good dog, despite what all the above shows. I can't imagine our life without him and I'm sad that our son won't get to know the old Brian... the Wyld Stallyn Brian... the puppy days that taught us more about patience and raising a child than any birthing class could.
Sweet, lovable dog.
Here's to you Brian. We appreciate that day back in November of 2004 when some wily pug got out of his cage and snuck into a beagle's cage and created you. (That's the story we always told you anyway.)
Happy Birthday and we wish you many more.
It was pretty difficult to get a picture this time. He kept trying to make a run for it.
Babycenter.com:
Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after he's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)
Alphamom.com:
Your baby is officially a little chunkin, at well over six pounds and 19 1/2 inches long. He is also officially considered “full term.” In other words, he or she is STRAIGHT UP FREELOADING from here on out. He is practicing making fists and fetal breathing in anticipation of life outside the womb.
You have probably had enough of this magical special time, thank you very much. Backaches, joint aches, heartburn, indigestion, constipation, Braxton-Hicks contractions, painful kicks, bladder pressure, stretch marks, itchy skin, swollen ankles, fatigue, dry mouth, mood swings, did I miss anything else in this cavalcade of late-pregnancy hilarity? You are alternating between crazy excitement about finally meeting your baby and crazy panic about oh my God, you’re finally going to meet your baby and they’re going to expect that you take it home and like, keep it alive and stuff.
What's New This Week?
Exams! No matter how many I have in my lifetime they will never NOT be awkward. :) But I'm 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced. Things are progressing. Very happy with this news. My body seems to know what to do which is good. So it could be any time from here on out. Exciting and terrifying at the same time.
The Nursery
Finally right? Here are the pictures I've been promising to put up. It's not totally complete but this is the best we're going to do at this time. So take it or leave it!
The crib with our brown and blue turtles. (But every time I hear the word Turtles, I think of this kid.)
The changing table with the softest blue bear keeping it company.
Baby Thornburg's first sports uniforms on display.
Changing table, hamper, dresser
Closet! Look at all those clothes!
Baby T's first piggy bank
Sweet shades, man!
I love how fun these stuffed animals are.
Look at the cute little footied PJs!!! Bulldogs and polar bears and monkeys, OH MY!
Just a portion of our vast book collection for him.
His awesome Purdue gear!
It's all coming together! We're buying all the last minute items. I'm finishing up things at work. It's really happening. Now... we wait....
Last weekend my family celebrated Thanksgiving. It worked out perfectly because we were invited to Wyatt's 1st birthday party.
At Thanksgiving I didn't take that many pictures. I at least wanted a picture of all the kids (Baby T's Cousins, isn't that weird? Sounds weird.).
It was a very bad idea to wait until right before they were going to leave. It almost caused a breakdown. But look at how well it turned out! Aw! Not too shabby for a quick pic!
Then my mom said "How about a picture of my kids?" So my bros and I tried to pose for a picture. There was almost a breakdown here too. (I'm kidding. Or am I? I am known to be emotional right now. :-D)
This was about as good as the serious ones got. Not too bad. Definitely goofy, maybe a little sweaty and tired but not too bad.
But then, since we had like seven thousand guitars in the house we decided to pose with guitars which provided us with THE best picture of the three of us TO DATE.
INSTANT CLASSIC.
Then on Sunday we attended Wyatt's birthday party.
Travis was putting the final touches on Cookie Monster when we got there.
How cool is that cake??
Awww, look at the cute little man with his big boy haircut! He's so cute!
He doing the Downward Dog yoga position here. So funny!
Wyatt wants to discover just how hot fire really is. :)
Where's my cake, fools??
Now watch him eat his cake and experience the full spectrum of cake-eating emotions. :) So funny. Sorry for the jiggly camera work but I couldn't help laughing.
After cake, he opened more presents. Check out his kickin' new Converse One Stars! How cute are those????
Wyatt opened his gift from us. I think the Transformers bag and talking Transformers card scared him a little. But hopefully he liked his gift. It was a kiddie T-ball set. Hopefully the ball doesn't detach. We don't want anything to get broken when he's hitting home runs!
I can't believe it's been a year already. Time is flying by! Don't worry, Wyatt! Your heterosexual life mate is almost here!
Last week I hosted the managers' meeting in my office. My boss told me to plan it and even though I'm the northern-most county, I didn't think anything of the fact that we were having the meeting in my office. My boss said he'd like to keep me close to home instead of traveling an hour or more away since I'm so far along. Made perfect sense to me. All the while my employees were busy making other plans.
All the managers met in the morning and then went to lunch. When we got back from lunch, I walked into my office to find this.
A shower! I was completely taken aback! What a great surprise! I have no idea how they kept it from me. Little devils!
The cake was so cute and wonderfully delicious. It says, "Waiting on Baby 'T'". Aww.
This picture is funny because it's of me opening the infamous Pack N Play. I had been talking to my employees for weeks about this dang Pack N Play. We saw that it had been purchased off the registry but we never got it. So we assumed it was a mistake (we even checked with the store but they couldn't tell us who bought it) and we just bought one for ourselves. Well my employees couldn't say anything because this whole shower was a surprise. So they listened to me go on and on about this mysterious Pack N Play. Boy, did I feel like an idiot when I opened that gift. I guess it just never occurred to me that my employees bought it for me. Whoops.
Since it was my shower, all the pictures are pretty much of me so I won't post that many. Just the funny ones.
This one looks like I'm saying, "Is there still cake left?" I think I actually was saying that.
This one is more like "Whoa, whoa, whoa, that last piece is MINE."
I had to post this one because this blanket was home-made by someone who retired from the agency last year. She somehow put together all these super cute fabrics and it matches the nursery spot-on. It's kind of amazing how that happened because I'm pretty sure she only knew the nursery was blue and brown. It's just perfect!
One of the only other pictures was of the other managers at the meeting (because the women were busy actually throwing the shower).
So yeah, my district of managers is ME and all these dudes. I fit in well, huh?
The shower was marvelous. I couldn't have been more surprised. I can't believe I didn't catch on! Sometimes I forget how much of a family my workplace really is.
