Happy late holidays! We have LOVED getting everyone's Christmas card in the mail. Do not feel slighted...we are saving our Christmas card mailing for a special February occasion...

A lot has been happening in the Ward-Ward household, and most of it has to do with the impending birth of our daughter. As of today, Wed., Dec. 29th, Audrey is 35 internal weeks old. Scott and I have always used Christmas as an impending date signaling the coming of our daughter's birth, and now....Christmas has come and gone, which means it was time to get busy! My mom came up today and helped get some things on the walls and get a mattress ready for her crib. We had a lot of fun getting everything organized, clean, and ready. Here is a photo tour of our last couple of weeks...

Here I am, 2 weeks ago, when I still had a belly button. Kind of puts my summertime bump to shame!

Scott and I took a pic in my mom's backyard on Christmas Eve.
We put Luke in charge of photography, and he was very patient with his pregnant sister :)

On Christmas Eve the family went to church. We couldn't help but marvel at the thought that this was our last year without a daughter to spoil over the holidays. Scott kept reminding me that next year I won't be the one receiving the most packages, but little does he know I will always be the princess...It's my birthright!

When we got back from town it was time to build a crib! Scott and David worked really hard to get everything assembled. Although there were only 7 steps it took many arms to keep everything steady.

Tober supervised the construction by managing the tools. He was always right in the middle of the action, although he was never what you might call alert....


In all of our years of projects this one was by FAR our greatest success! There were very few cross words exchanged and very few pieces had to be taken apart and reassembled. You can tell by our smiling faces we were happy to be almost finished, but it's a HUGE step that we are genuinely smiling!

The finished product! Notice the blanket hanging over the edge. Anne is making me a quilt for her crib, but I couldn't help and show off my handy work. A week ago my mom came up for a few nights (to help with my holiday party at school) and she taught me how to make this baby blanket. I still have mine from when I was born, and hope that Audrey likes the one I've made for her. Of course, she will probably choose some soft blanket from a complete stranger to love forever, but a mother can dream!

My mom came up another day over the Christmas break to help me put some finishing touches on the nursery. We still have molding to attach and an alphabet to hang, but for the most part what you see is what she gets!





I'm so lucky to have so many family members that have contributed to our daughter's room. Even though we aren't close enough for everyone to physically help just having people call and check on how things are going, having people make and send things from afar, and having everyone so excited to meet our daughter feels like a total blessing. I can't put it into words how lucky I feel to have a family that is so excited to meet our daughter. We've received so many cards, gifts, phone calls, emails, and facebook posts it's amazing. I only hope I can return generosity to everyone, because it has been truly the most amazing experience. It's hard to believe in 5 short weeks all of this planning and excitement will open a door to a new chapter of the rest of our lives! (How cheese ball can I be?? Trust me... this only scratches the surface for how I feel!)

Well, it's time for a snack, and then some t.v. time. I'm pretty worthless around 5:00 these days, but I'm enjoying my couch time while I can. My days of watching evening t.v. are limited!

Even the Refs are Nervous

On Saturday the UNC Bears had a double header. That means 6 hours in a gym. NOT my favorite Saturday activity, but with Scott traveling so much, and being the devoted wife that I am, I dragged my pregnant self into the gym for some ballin'.

Little Audrey must have just popped out over night. The comments I receive have taken a 180 degree turn. No longer do I hear "You don't even LOOK like you're pregnant" or "Your SO tiny!" or "Are you sure you're due in February?"

Now I heard "Wow! You popped over night!" or "When IS your baby due?" or "FINALLY! You're looking large like I was when I was pregnant"

Even the referees are getting nervous. As I was sitting on press row shaking the hands of the officials, the head official leaned over the table and commented "You're not due tonight are you?"

In two days Audrey will be 32 weeks old. That means she could be born and her skin would not be transparent, and she most likely wouldn't need any machines to help her survive. What an amazing feat this little girl has accomplished already!

Now that we're getting to the end I find myself constantly checking to make sure she's okay by poking her little butt and feet. I feel like she likes to play when she kicks back but in reality she's probably already thinking "Darnit mom...STOP it!"

The other night I woke up to Scott poking my stomach, and when I asked what he was doing he said "I'm playing with her. You usually don't wake up... :)

I'm so excited to meet my daughter it's not even funny. I'm starting to have some hesitation about the whole "giving birth" process, but I remind myself often that if the girls on 16 and Pregnant can do it, then so can I!

Tomorrow, we intend to register. I find that I want EVERYTHING to be pink, which could prove problematic if SHE is actually a HE. I've started saving receipts...just in case :)

Library Books... (not a pregnancy related post!)

Today, one of my students brought up a book from our library that he had checked out. The following is our conversation.

S: Mrs. Ward, I think there is a picture in this book that is inappropriate for school.
Me: Well, let me have a look. Which picture?
S: This picture, right here. See how it has a poster? I don't think the girl on that poster is dressed appropriately.
Book: A picture of Times Square in New York. On one of the ads is what looks like a Rockette in a furry two piece bikini, definitely not appropriate for a second grade book, but only about 1 cent. tall. This kid had to be lookin'.
Me: Yes, I can see what you're talking about, but I don't think this picture is what you think it is. She's going to be in a show. This is her costume.
S: Oh. Okay. But don't you think it's inappropriate for a bird book?

Me: Turn the book over. The title of the book....Great American Birds.

Apparently, birds live in the Northeast, and the best way to describe New York is with a picture of a half dressed woman in Times Square :)

29.5 weeks

It's an interesting thing, growing a human. It is so gradual it's hard to feel like there are any changes at all and at the same time things change over night and it's undeniable that something new is a-brewin'! It seemed over night that I went from looking *perhaps* a little pregnant to having complete strangers congratulate us as we are out around town. When did the switch occur? At what point are people so confident that I'm brewin' a human that they feel they can, without hesitation, congratulate us and ask us questions? Seriously, it was over night. And it's all around us! Last Friday, at a basketball game we were congratulated by a fan that sits behind press row. People at Target stop and smile a knowing smile. The comments at work have switched from "Are you SURE you're pregnant?" to "Wow! She's growing like a weed! There's no hiding it now!"... and so on and so forth. It's actually quite amazing.

Looking over pictures from last June, when we started taking pictures of the growing belly, I remember being so impressed with my little baby bump, and now, that bump is a distant memory! Gone are the days where the bump was only visible to Scotty and I. Gone are the days where I could wear my regular pants with just the top button undone. Gone are the days where my regular shirts still reached my waste, just with a little tightness in the middle. Gone are the days where I could roll over in bed without a massive all out plan of attack. Gone are the days where putting on socks didn't make me lose my breath. Gone are the days where I only had to go to the bathroom when I woke up, after school, and when I went to bed.

This afternoon, at a women's basketball game, I could sit on press row, and visually see my little girl rolling around in my belly. Anyone sitting right beside me could have seen the bumps and wiggles the little girl was doing. It's truly amazing. As excited as I will be to have this little girl in my arms and in my life forever, there is something amazing about having this time alone with her. Only I can tell when she's awake or asleep. I have to let other people know when she's moving around. She and I dance in the car on the way to work, and she and I enjoy the nighttime snack right before bed that make her dance as I'm drifting off to sleep.

I can see why people get addicted to pregnancy. It's amazing, and awkward, and terrifying, and interesting, and lovely all at the same time. With 11 weeks to go, I'm sure things will only continue to become more interesting...AND uncomfortable at the same time :)

My husband is sleep deprived but we have a painted baby room!

I think the title of this entry says it all. Who else, but the Ward-Wards decide to paint their baby's nursery on the busiest week of the fall so far! Scott stayed up WAY too late to get the room painted, but painted it is! As I sit typing this entry I can look down our hallway and see the yellows and pinks that will welcome our little girl in February. It's unbelievable!

Here is the "Before" picture. The first step was to tape the walls of course! I was able to help with this part. You can see my contribution to the baby room along all of the baseboards (the only part I could tape sitting down...)

Lowes was more than happy to provide us with all of the necessary supplies. And Tober was more than willing to investigate these supplies consistently. He was a BIG fan of the blue tape...

Here is the happy dad painting away!

Not only did Scott GET to paint some yellow walls he also got to paint some pale pink!

Wait for it....the FINISHED PRODUCT!

The yellow is paler than it appears in pictures, but I haven't figured out the setting on our camera. Where there is a beige stripe will be a white wooden chair rail, but you get the idea.

And the green wall is now a lovely shade of pink. I can tell our little girl loves it already, and Scott did such a BEAUTIFUL job. It's really starting to come together!

swing

This may not be exciting to anyone else, but Scott and I are thrilled at the baby swing we found today. It is so cute and swingy, and we can't believe it is actually ours, for someone we will meet in February!

Delicious!

Today, I went into Noodles and Company, and little Audrey was kicking around so I was rubbing my stomach, and the guy behind the counter gave me a free rice crispy treat! He said it was because he couldn't imagine being kicked from the inside. All I can say is that was the BEST free rice crispy treat EVER!

AND! We bought paint for little girl's room :) Pale yellow and paler pink with only ONE minor meltdown along the way! (choosing paint is very daunting I tell you!)

It will look similar to this, only much cuter. The yellow is paler in person. Trust me, or we wouldn't have chosen it. After much deliberation and some help from the master paint selector at Lowes, we are about to begin making a home for our little girl!

Click this link

http://www.valsparpaint.com/en/explore-colors/color-selector/index.html#1

Well, perhaps the link doesn't do what I was hoping...but if you go to Valspar our colors are "peach tickle" and "pink kiss" Very little girl appropriate :)

Happy Anniversary

Scott and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary by heading to the mountains. It looked like we had chosen the only rainy day in October to make our journey but by the time we were out of Loveland and into the canyon the rain had stopped and we had a fabulous time! Fall has come later this year than usual, so the leaves were just changing up in Estes Park and we were able to get some great photos! It is shocking to think of this anniversary as our last without a third member to our family. Right now, as I type, baby girl is doing the hand-jive-loopty-loo. I can't help but smile when she gets really active. It is the most amazing and bizarre feeling all rolled into one. Our book says she is just under a pound and a half, and is over 8 inches head to rump. Quite an amazing accomplishment for someone who started off so very small!

Part of me gets a little sad thinking about today, and how this is the last anniversary it will just be Scott and me. I have gotten used to having Scott to myself, and am not sure I'm ready to share him with another female! It's quite overwhelming to think that all of the relationship structures we have in place that make us who we are, and make me so happy, are all about to change. I know it's going to be an amazing adjustment, getting used to being married and raising a baby. Part of me wants to just close my eyes and pretend things will be the same but then I get a good solid elbow to the gut and remember there's no turning back now!

We are getting to the nitty-gritty of this baby making process. What in the WORLD will her name be? We have painting, and shopping, and building, and sewing projects to complete, and it's not like we can ask her to wait if we get behind schedule. She's coming whether we're ready or not.

Right now I sit on the couch, preparing to upload photos, my daughter is kicking my insides, my husband is snuggled watching baseball, my dog is snoozing in his chair, and I can't help but feel extremely thankful and lucky. I have the nicest friends that listen to me bemoan my pregnancy woes, the most supportive and excited family, and the most wonderful husband and partner ever. Tonight, at dinner, I was airing my anxiety woes, and thought aloud about how challenging it has to be to deal with my ever changing hormones and anxieties and Scott had the perfect response: "What fun would it be if you were a two page book?"

Well dear, our book is about to add another chapter. One I believe will have many more than 2 pages :)

Sitting on top of the "Dam Tower"

A stop to see the fall leaves

Little girls, Little girls, Everywhere I turn I Can See Them

A little tribute to Annie, even though Miss Hannigan did not sing fondly of them :)

In case you didn't know... it turns out our little growing human is a GIRL! We are SO very excited. We had our ultrasound appointment a week and a half ago, and even though the power went out halfway through and we had to come back the next day to finish up, she was very cooperative and gave us a very good view of all the important parts :)

She has two arms, two legs, two hands, two feet, a well developed brain, connected spinal cord, no cleft pallet, and best of all she has lady parts :)

You've never seen someone so excited as this little girl's dad. Scott is besides himself with happiness. I think it's every guy's dream to have a little boy to coach and mentor through life, but my husband is ecstatic for a little girl. Our next hurdle is naming the cutester! We've made it through an entire book of 30,000 names for girls, and are no closer than we were before we looked. Scott insists on making a a list of "possibilities" but if I don't like it now, I don't anticipate waking up and loving the name 4 months from now! With 30,000 names to choose from you would think we could find at LEAST one good name, but nothing sounds right! Below are some of the helpful suggestions offered from family members (some in all seriousness, and some in jest, but I won't tell you which, to keep you guessing...)

Chase Michael's suggestions (our 5 year old nephew)
Lolly or Journey

Dave's suggestion (My brother in med school)
Shar'Analice

Luke's suggestion (My brother in high school)
Labron

Brian's suggestion (My brother in college)
Baraquisha Obamaniqua

Dan's suggestion (My principal)
Danielle

The staff's suggestions (via the staff lounge)
Sasquatch
Mental
Salt
Ramon

Sharon's (my mother-in-law) suggestion
Antoinette

My student's suggestions:
Each one has kindly offered their own name as a suggestion, and a surprising amount of them think we should name her Isabelle.

So you can see why were in desperate need for a baby name book.

I have finally reached a point where I can tell that I'm pregnant without pooching out my stomach at the end of the day :) The other day on the playground one of my students put a basketball under her shirt and said "my baby is a girl too!" It's been so much fun to feel her move and kick, and I'm getting excited thinking about decorating a little girls room! One of the key components of the baby's room is going to be having her name on the wall, in little girl colors, so we're trying to pick up the pace and make a decision! Keep the suggestions coming, or little Labron Ward will be terrorizing the world soon :)

So funny!

I know our blogs are supposed to be totally focused around the baby, because the baby is exciting, and growing, and makes itself known these days, but I have two funny stories from work that I feel must be documented.

The first involves a student I had last year. He is one of my most special students, he and I created a bond over Super Mario. He has a tough time at school, and has had some trouble adjusting to third grade, so he and I hang out at recess when I have duty and he is outside playing (a side note: 2nd grade has recess at the same time as 3rd and 4th, so I see my old students weekly, which is AWESOME!) So anyway, on Wednesday morning last week I noticed my little friend moping around the playground, so I went up and asked him to patrol the playground with me so we could chat. We began talking about the usual subjects, Super Mario, trips to Utah, homework, etc, when the conversation took a humorous turn.

Me: " M., how are your sisters doing?"
M: "You know my sister who goes to school here, she is doing fine. But do you remember my sister H?"
Me: "Sure!"
M: Well! She joined the swim team!
Me: "That's great!"
M: "AND! She started her period! And she barely had any cramps at all!"

Me: "Um....FABULOUS!?!"


My other story does involve our little growing human. I am trying to get my students to guess that I am pregnant, rather than just telling them outright. Yesterday, I cracked.

Here are my clues (They go from abstract to what I feel are very obvious)

1. 2+ 1 =3
2.My secret makes me hungry
3. My secret makes my clothes feel tight
4. My secret can get sick from germs (SO WASH YOUR HANDS was the hidden message)
5. My secret has arms, legs, hands, feet, eyes, ears, and a nose
6. My secret needs a place to live (this was the clue the day we bought our house)
7. My secret is with me ALL the time. It's there when I sleep, when I eat, when I work, when I go home, it's in the room RIGHT NOW!

Each day I allow my students to guess my secret in my ear. I told them that once they guessed it became their secret too. Until yesterday, when I cracked, only 2 students had guessed it. Now, I know I'm not huge, but come 3:00 it is obvious that my stomach is not the shape it should be, so while all these clues are being given, I am walking around with what looks like a mini-basketball shoved under my shirt.

My student guesses:
I am getting a new fish (does a fish have HANDS?)
I am getting a dog (Does my dog make my clothes feel tight?)
Mr. Scotty is coming in (Is Mr. Scotty in the room RIGHT NOW???)
and my all time favorite...You are getting a new watch! (WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN!)

This went on for days, students repeatedly guessing the same terrible guesses, but the tipping point occurred as we were leaving yesterday. I was going back through all the clues, while sticking out my stomach and pointing to it, and someone said "OH I KNOW! YOU'RE HAVING A BABY!" To which another student turned and said "THAT was not a good guess."

I cracked. I bellied over laughing and said that YES in fact I WAS having a baby! In February. All the students looked disappointed. I think they were hoping for a fish.

Chunky!

How come, when I wear my regular clothes, I look like I over ate spaghetti, but at night, when we take the pictures, it's obvious that I'm growing a human? (At least in our opinion :) :) :) )

Hilarious!

I was on the phone with a friend of mine recently and she told me the funniest story! It has nothing to do with the pregnancy or with the Ward-Wards, but it's something I want to have written down when I need a good laugh!

My friend's nephew, who is 11, was at school when he had "the talk" about changing bodies. That evening he came home and was walking around the house just saying the word s * x over and over and over again. His mom stopped him and asked if he knew what that meant, and he said no, so she decided it was time to have "the talk" at home.

She got out a book and was going through the pictures of the changing bodies and the boy showed little interest until they got to the inter* course page. At that point he got a disgusted look on his face and said 'THAT'S DISGUSTING!'

His mom's response was "No honey, when it's with a girl you love it can actually be quite wonderful."

Her son's response?

"DO I HAVE TO DO IT WITH YOU???"

At that point the mom gave up the talk and turned the matter over to her husband saying "I tried to have 'The Talk" and ended up teaching about incest. You have a go at it"

HAH!

Likes and Dislikes

Being pregnant teaches you many things about your unborn baby. For instance, I have a very in depth knowledge of what my baby likes, and dislikes. He/She has no problem telling me when he/she is upset, and usually feels it is appropriate to induce some sort of unpleasantness on its unsuspecting mother! Below, is a list i have accumulated thus far.

Likes:
Sleeping in
Watching television
Waffles
Chocolate ice cream
Nitrate Free hot dogs (thanks to my sister-in-law Anne and Karen for finding an excellent supply!)
Grapes
Apples
Swimming laps
chocolate cake
fruit snacks
m & m's
SONIC SLUSHIES!

Dislikes:
Grad school projects
Laundry
Cleaning the house
Kentucky Fried Chicken
Milk (white and chocolate...which is sadly depressing because I LOVE milk)
Mexican food (also a severe disappointment)
Heat
Ginger
house hunting
nachos
baseball :)

Well...It's been a little while, but that is only because I didn't think I could post an entry without letting our big news slip!
WE'RE HAVING A BABY!

We've been holding our breath until our doctor's appointment this morning, to hear the heartbeat. Once we heard that 160 beats-per-min. sound reality hit, and we realized that in 7 months there will be one more Ward-Ward in this world! PRETTY SCARY!

It's been the fastest long three months of our marriage so far. It all started when we heard from our landlord that he was selling our condo, and we were going to have to move. As we were looking for new places to rent, or POSSIBLY rent, we got that faint pink like that indicates a baby is on the way. Although the line was so faint you had to squint and turn your head sideways to see it, in the words of my dad..."You can't be a little pregnant". 14 pregnancy tests and 2 weeks later we new for a fact, but needed to wait to make the official internet announcement until we knew we were growing a human, and I wasn't growing a water melon instead :)
Everything started off with a bang...no troubles, and then, at 8 weeks, the nausea set in. Scott has been so helpful, documenting all the milestones along the way, and below, you can see documented proof of morning sickness (although it should really be called all day sickness. The morning part is a LIE!).

Tober has been very helpful the whole time. Always right by my side, wanting to be in the middle of all the fun...

Scott has busied himself by reading "What to Expect When You're Expecting", a book I have threatened to throw in the trash MULTIPLE times. I'm sure it is a useful guide for many pregnant women, and Scott enjoys reading all about what is going to happen in the following days, weeks, and months, but I find reading about burping, barfing, and bellybuttons is disturbing, and tend to stick to watching Sixteen and Pregnant on MTV. If those girls can handle it, I know I'll be okay. And there's nothing like referring to MTV when deciding on what's "normal". I'll sign off this post with our eleven week picture. We take a picture each week, late at night, when everything is swollen and tired, but it sure is hard to deny where that baby is!

Now that the word is out, you can expect many more updates :)

It's not easy growing a human...but in the words of the last comic standing, "It's easier than building a shed!"

Unaware

It's the last week of school you know, and I have a student that is...how shall I say...unaware of most goings-on in the classroom. Just today, on our 30 millionth trip to the computer lab, where each time they squirt their hands with sanitizer, he asked...

"Mrs. Ward? Do I need hand sanitizer?"
"Yes" I say
"Where is it?" He asks, as he is leaning against it's dispenser...where it has been the entire year...

And yesterday, the icing on the cake.

8:45
*Random assortment of students* "MRS. WARD! Our butterflies have hatched!!!"
Due to my compulsive nature to not allow my students to climb all over themselves in the classroom, creating one gigantic mass of 2nd graders in the middle of the floor, I assured them I would bring the butterflies to each of their desks, ONE at a time.

So I do this. I take the butterfly box and put it on EACH students desk, and ask them what they notice and we get all excited to see our butterflies out of their chrysalis homes..

9:45 (an hour later)
My dear little unaware student...

"MRS. WARD! I was just by the bookshelf, and the BUTTERFLIES have HATCHED!"

What more was there for me to say but..

"You bet!" but I wanted to add...

"Try and keep it a secret until someone else notices...."

:) Only 3 days until summer!

Kindergarten

Two cute stories from kindergarten recess:

A co-worker told me this first story yesterday, and I think it's hysterical!

A kindergarten girl comes running up to the recess teacher. She says...

"Mrs. L, that boy over there said a cuss word!"
Mrsl L: "What word did he say?"
Kinder: "You know...the K word...?"
Mrs. L. "The K word?"
Kinder: Yes...He said the word "shi*"

As she says this a kinder boy comes running up saying
"She's lying! She's lying! I didn't say a bad word! I said the word Shik!"

-------------------------

The second story is first hand experience :) We share our last recess with one kindergarten class. A group of 3 second grade boys and one kinder boy were playing basketball. The following ensued...

Kinder: Mrs. Ward! That boy stole the ball from me!
Me: Well, stealing is aloud in basketball.
Kinder: No! No it's not!
Me: Yes, it is allowed as long as no one is fouled.
Kinder: Stealing isn't aloud in kindergarten basketball.
Me: Well, right now you're playing with second graders, so that means you need to play with second grade rules.
Kinder: How is THAT going to learn me anything?

:)