Maternity PIctures

Love, love, love them!! Sarah Fitzgibbons did a WONDERFUL job! She will also be doing our newborn pictures. I can't wait. Luckily, we caught her before her price went up! :] Each picture came in color, black and white, and sephia.

I apologize for the amount of pictures in this post. I just couldn't decide on a few of my favorites; they were all my favorite. There are a lot of other pictures on her websitehere if you want to see all the ones she took. I also apologize for the size/quality. I had uploaded them to facebook from my desktop (my Mac wouldn't read the disk) and then I saved them to my computer from facebook.

The Past Week (or 2 or 3)

Here are some pictures of the recent weeks. I wish I had the excuse that Hunter arrived and that is why I haven't updated. I just haven't felt like waiting for the pictures to upload (anyone else having issues with how long it takes for pictures to upload?!).

On Mother's Day Carl and I had maternity pictures taken. The proofs look awesome and I'm in love. As soon as the CD comes in the mail, I will post pictures on here. The photo session motivated Carl to get Hunter's letters up in his room and the pack and play in our room. He definitely wasn't trying to avoid having his picture taken, not my husband. :] Koal actually appears in a few photos. We will be using her for our newborn pictures as well.

We also went strawberry picking out in Pungo on Mother's Day with my sister, her 3 girls, and her mother-in-law. I love fresh strawberries, they are just so much better than store bought. I think they taste even better when they have been sitting in the sun than once they have been put in the fridge. I filled a huge kitchen mop bucket (clean of course) and paid $9! The little containers at the store are like $5 and I probably had 10 of those in my bucket. We did have a little bit of an issue with a thief by the name of Molly. If you weren't looking, she would steal your berries from the bucket and eat them. The farmer probably should have weighed her before and after our adventure and charged us for her. It reminded me of 2 years ago with Ryleigh. My sister has more pictures from our adventure (and some of me picking strawberries a few days before I was "officially" 9 months pregnant).

Deja vu?

Ashley, Devyn, and I met up for a lunch date for all of our birthdays. Miss Ella has gotten so big! She was such a little ham. Ashley ate one of her Cheerios and she looked at Devyn like, "Mom, did you see that?! That lady just ate one of MY Cheerios!" It was so funny. The next time we go on a lunch date we won't be able to say it is a "girl's lunch" since we will have Hunter. :]

My last day at The Little Gym before Hunter was yesterday. It is very bittersweet. I LOVE my job there; it is rewarding to watch the kids grow and progress. I've had a lot of those kids since I started and my Parent/Child kids I've had for 2 semesters. I'm hoping to teach my Parent/Child class in the fall. Carl and I will be taking Hunter to class starting in the fall at 8:30 on Saturday mornings. I'm very excited. It isn't exactly his age group (okay, it isn't his age group, it is the one up from his age group) but we are unable to make it to his age group classes since they are during the day during the week. But I truly believe in our program, which is why he will be attending classes there. Only 3 more years until he can go into an independent class, haha.

We have basically finished Hunter's nursery. I have a few collages I need to find frames for and hang around his room. I've packed his hospital bag, mine is somewhat packed, and we had the car seat installed by the fire department yesterday. It is crazy seeing a car seat in the back of my car. I told Hunter he can now come because we are totally ready (well, I'd like to get one more good house scrubbing in before he comes).

His lovey is waiting for him

The link is a lot shorter than that now!

I love the blanket Ashley made. I don't want him to get it dirty yet, so it is wall decor.

Look at all of those books!

My favorite spot :]

I think we are set on diapers for a while

Tomorrow marks 37 weeks. Saturday night I was waking up every hour with really good contractions. I really thought I was going into labor. But, no, by 5 AM they had stopped. Boo. Anyways... there will be no more naked belly pictures. I wish I could brag and say I am like my sister with no stretch marks. But, I have gotten a few on the lower part of my belly. Ugh. So much for getting back into a bikini. Looks like the ones in storage will have to find a new home.

I'll have Carl take a better one... but this is my "I want the swelling in my ankles to go away look" after cleaning.

I'm not sure how much bigger this thing can get

MS Ed., CF-SLP

I can officially start signing my name this way (okay, so not really until my degree posts in June, but still). I graduated with my Master's on Saturday! Yay! It feels great knowing that I am finished with school.... FOREVER! If I go back, it isn't because I have to, but because I want to. But that wouldn't be for a loooong time.

When I first started the program, I told my family that when I was finished, I would not go to my graduation. My undergrad graduation was awful and I didn't know anyone (I graduated a year before all my friends, and no one was in the same "college" as me, so I still wouldn't have been able to sit with them). But, after 3 years of being with the same people, they become your family. I love all the girls I have met in our program. And I met one of my best friends the first day of grad school, so how could I not want to celebrate our big achievement?!

Celebrating after our last exam

Anyways, we had to line up in our football garage (when I graduated with my BS, we lined up inside one of our buildings, with A/C) and we stood there for about an hour and a half.

I'll admit, I sat on the ground for the last 20 minutes or so because it was just getting way too hot to stand.

We then proceeded to march across the courtyard and stomp on the seal (you don't step on it until graduation, it is a superstition).

We went inside the Ted Constant Center and took our seats. I have no idea what our speaker said, we were too busy taking pictures and text messaging (I know, rude).

We went, had our pictures taken a few times, handed our name card off to the name announcer, and shook hands with (I believe) our president. There are two lines on either side of the stage, so I'm not sure if we were in the line our president was in.

Funny side note... his last name is Broderick and he sounds just like the actor Matthew Broderick.

After graduation, Carl and I went to the SLP reception in our child study center (where I spent three semesters doing therapy, talking with families, and writing therapy plans, progress reports, semester work plans, and end of the semester reports). Carl met a few of my professors and one of my on-campus supervisors. I did not introduce him to one of my professors because I know she likes to corner people and then they eventually have to be rescued. She is very sweet, but she is a close talker and my husband is already uncomfortable in social situations where he doesn't really know anyone.

We loved this professor. We would come into class and she would say, "You won't have this slide in your notes because the article just came out yesterday." Why can't all professors have current information relevant to our field?! 1960 research that is incorrect now, does not help.

In front of our Child Study Center

That's Ashley and Chris.

We went to lunch with Ashley and her family and her fiance, Chris, and his family at Baker's Crust. It was yummy! Carl and I had never been, and I don't think Ashley and Chris had ever been either. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Miller for a wonderful lunch!

Now it is just waiting for little Hunter to arrive. Ashley and I plan to go to the beach/pool and make the most of the month she has before she starts work at CHKD. I'm so excited that she was hired for the job she has been holding out for! Yay Ashley!

Thanks Carl for all your love and support during these past 3 crazy years of grad school!