Chris' Clever Quote and the Irish T-Shirt!

Blog Post by Kati:

As we were walking across the street in Highland Park we heard this constant beeping. So I asked, "What is that beeping?" And Chris responded in a joking-I'm-so-clever-and-funny kind of voice, "It's the sound of you backing up."

Hilarious.

Anyway, we have gotten so many adorable clothes but this one goes on the blog because Chris' cousin Caitlyn made it and his grandparents gave it to us at one of our showers. For those of you that don't know, Chris' grandma is a very proud Irishwoman...so she wanted the baby to have something to wear on St. Patrick's Day! So here is the adorable T-shirt and baby booties that Baby Goose will be sporting on March 17th. And I know lots of people are hoping she's a freckly red head. :)

Baby Shower #4!!!

Blog Post by Kati:

I had my first girls-only shower yesterday and it was a BLAST! Chris' aunts threw it for me and we had a wonderful time. It was a Mother Goose theme, and one of the games involved filling in words and lines to nursery rhymes...I learned I have some studying up to do! :) We also played a pricing game for a bunch of Target baby items and had a delicious lunch!!!After the present opening- so much great stuff (and notice the color scheme? this baby is going to be in pink 24/7! I love it!)And here are the Gosselin girls- thanks for such a wonderful afternoon!!!!!!!!And more pictures can be found here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=139099&id=650686819&l=349f90e8e2

Today is going to be low-key. I'll probably stay in my pajamas...it has been an awesome busy weekend and Chris and I are so thankful to have such an amazing, caring and supportive family...and sneaky! Multiple times throughout the weekend people tried to get me to divulge baby names. No such luck! My lips are sealed. She will remain Baby Goose until she greets the world (EARLY, please!) :)

Thanks again to everyone who made this weekend so special!

Baby Shower #3!!!!

Blog Post by Kati:

We had another FANTASTIC baby shower last night at my cousins' house- the Johnsons!!! It was another co-ed family shower so boys were allowed. :) We had great snacky foods, delicious punch, and a few fun games. Everyone attending the shower had to bring a baby picture so one of the games was guessing who was who...it was way harder than we all thought it would be! And really fun. Here is the board with all of the pictures:
Then came "The Price is Right" game where my cousins and sisters got all dolled up and did a few baby item pricing games- hilarious! My sisters both wore one of my old dresses from high school/college to be a couple of "Barker's Beauties."Here is a picture of me, the grandmothers, and two out of three great grandmothers of Baby Goose!And last but not least, a cousins picture!
Of course there were many more pictures taken, and you can find them here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=138854&id=650686819&l=372ca328f8

Thanks to the Johnson's for a WONDERFUL time last night!

Crenshaw Melon

Blog Post by Kati:

Week 36 Info!!!

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement. At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.


It is so funny that this weeks' information mentioned the meconium. We worked a little bit more in the baby's room last night and put diapers into our changing table drawer. Therefore, I dreamed about changing diapers!!! I have a feeling the serious baby dreams will be starting up very soon!

We had a REALLY great Thanksgiving! We started out the day at my parents' house with my parents, sisters and Grandma Henderson. Here we are hanging out and watching the parade with Grandma.
After our first great meal around 12:30, we headed over to the Gosselin's house for meal number two. There were about many more people there!!! I love the contrast between our two families...7 people at my parents house and 24 people at the Gosselin house! And both are equally fun. :) After another great meal and a family quiz game, we headed to Chris' aunt and uncle's house for dessert. Here we are with some of the Gosselin cousins.
I have a doctor's appointment this morning and then two of my aunts are flying in from Denver this afternoon for the weekend! The fun family weekend will continue with a co-ed shower tonight with my mom's side of the family and my first girls-only shower tomorrow with Chris' dad's side of the family and some family friends. :)

Well, I've been up since about 5:15am not being able to sleep, but I think I'm going to try and go back to bed for a little bit. I need to take advantage of the all the sleeping opportunities I can in the next month, right? :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Blog Post by Kati:

We have soooooo much to be thankful for this year...we are so blessed. Both of my sisters are in town and we were able to hang out yesterday and enjoy the day as a family!
As usual we are lucky enough to be able to spend the holiday with both of our families. So we'll start with meal #1 at my parents' house and then head over to Chris' parents' house for meal #2! Seeing as somebody is squishing some of my organs these days (stomach included), I will have to take it easy with my food consumption so I don't get too full and uncomfortable. It will be difficult, but I will do my best. :) This is a perfect day for stretchy maternity pants!!! It reminds me of the "FRIENDS" Thanksgiving episode where Joey wore Phoebe's really really ugly maternity pants so he could eat a lot of turkey...so funny!

Anyway, besides the fun day we're going to have today seeing all of our family, we'll also have a fun weekend. We have a baby shower on Friday night and another one Saturday afternoon!!!!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everybody!

Another shower and a project

Blog Post by Kati:

We went over to Chris' parents' house today for another mini shower with his family and Uncle Rich, Aunt Stacey and four kids. We played a few games and had a great sloppy joe supper! One of the highlights was the "Baby Chris" game, where everybody took turns in teams of two putting a shirt on Chris, feeding him a bottle, and making him burp like a baby. It was pretty hilarious and he was a good sport!
Here are a few more pictures of the shower...mostly of the "Baby Chris" game since it was so entertaining!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=137844&id=650686819&l=dc58a3d291

My project for the day was to make the new storage unit that we bought for the baby's room look a lot cuter. Here is what it started out as:


And here is how I spruced it up:

Lots more color and way more appropriate for a nursery, I think. :)

Books :)

Blog Post by Kati:

As many people know, I really love to read. I read before I go to bed every night. Even if I'm up really late. I can't help it. I love books. Especially the ones that are so good that when I'm done I'm really sad because I'm not ready to be done.

Yesterday I was given a beautiful basket that my wonderful co-workers put together for the baby. It was filled with tons of books (and a Partnership Academy onesie)! Chris and I had fun going through all of the books last night...we got a lot of the classics as well as ones that I had not seen before that are so cute. I can't wait to read them all to Baby Goose and hope she'll love reading as much as I do!

All was well at the doctor yesterday...my blood pressure was good. Baby's heart rate was good. No problems!

Honeydew Melon

Blog Post by Kati:

Week 35!!!

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Wow. 35 weeks. Til Christmas. Wow.

Baby Goose has definitely been active the past week. She may not have a lot of room to do flips and somersaults but she sure is making herself known in there! And she has gotten the hiccups a few times which feels funny.

Starting today I'll be going to the doctor every week! I have appointments lined up every Friday until December 18th and hope that I won't need to set up another one after that because she'll arrive!

I'm so excited for all of the family time coming up next week and getting a nice little break. I have Wednesday off so next week is only a 2-day work week! :)

My belly button is now pretty much popped and I look huge...5 more weeks!

Have a great weekend!

Busted!

Blog Post by Kati:

Kona keeps disappearing from where we are and appearing in the baby room...looking very guilty!

She is a curious big sister! :)

Breathing and the origin of babygoose806

Blog Post by Kati:

I noticed today that Baby Goose seems to be taking up some of my lung space. I get out of breath very easily and even when I'm not moving getting enough oxygen requires taking REALLY deep breaths! That means she is growing though, which is a very good thing. :)

I was talking about this with friends over the weekend and don't think I ever explained how we came up with our blog name of babygoose806. It is actually a little bit...um...lame. Chris' X-Box video game name is Goose806 (which means all of the characters on all of the games that he plays have that name...even the one where he shoots zombies). So for some reason when I was trying to figure out a name for a blog I thought just adding "baby" to the front of that name would be cute. At the time we were way into playing Rock Band, so we saw the name Goose806 a lot on his Rock Band character. Thankfully 806 does have some significance to us as 8/06 is our anniversary. :)

Anyway, even though the name may have kind of a lame back story, I'm glad that we did it because I absolutely LOVE how everyone now calls the baby "Baby Goose." Except for the couple people that still cling to other nicknames like "Clara" and "G-g-g-g". (Ahem...Laura and Big Dave) haha. And I also love how I have now become "Mother Goose." So fun!

Baby Shower #1!!!!!!!

Blog Post by Kati:

We had a FANTASTIC first baby shower at Dale and Jean's house! The shower was with Chris' mom Mary's side of the family...it was so fun to see everyone and be together!

Chris' cousin Jean and aunt Bev planned so many fun games, activities, and special little accents that made the day special. The party started out with a delicious meal and then moved into games. Bev had asked Chris and me each a set of secret questions about each other and the baby. Then we were asked the each other's questions in front of the group to see how well we matched. I'd say we did pretty good. :) Other games included guessing baby items in bags (only by touching them!), Grandparents' charades (all the grandparents and great-grandparents did great!), and then we got to hear advice from everybody in the room. Chris got a special "Papa's Tools" apron that had pockets filled with baby paraphernalia and he had to try and figure out what everything was. He did a very good job with that- he knows more than I do! Good thing he likes reading the books and doing the research.

We got so many great presents and as soon as we got home we started organizing everything in the baby's room. Right now it is all just in piles because we only have the crib in there for furniture. But we've already talked about going to Ikea to find cute storage space and will get things in order soon. We have to because we have another couple of showers in less than 2 weeks! Baby Goose is one lucky baby!

Here are a few pictures from the shower...

Our Baby Goose cake!
The Grandparents!

And here is a link to an online photo album that has a bunch more pictures from the shower.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=136415&id=650686819&l=0a07d922c9

A million thanks to Jean and Dale and Bev and Mark for a wonderful day!!!

Blog Post By Chris:

Well I have not posted for awhile, so I have a few things to write about. The first was our parenting/birthing class last weekend. Besides the fact that is was 65 and sunny that day, and I would have rather been golfing, I don't think the class was worth the money (see how I didn't put time). One of the things that I got out of the class was being able to go up to the nursery. It was really cool seeing all the newborn babies, and being able to see the rooms where our daughter will be born. The rest of the class was just a big scare tactic to never have another kid. Who said parenting was easy? I can tell you that I may need some of the pain meds they give Kati to make it through the whole hospital thing. But it will all be worth it in the end.

41 Days until Christmas.

We watched this movie tonight called "Away we go". It was pretty good for being a chick flick. They finally made a movie that real people can relate too. People say funny things to pregnant people. If you are having or going to have a baby, you should definitely watch this movie.

This weekend also marks our first baby shower. It will be great to start getting everything together. 41 days will come up before we know it. We also have our 2nd annual Novemberfest this Saturday. It is a beer tasting event that we put on through church. Yes Lutherans have more fun than any other denomination :) Last year my beer didn't do to well, so hopefully this year I can stay out of the bottom three.

Cantaloupe

Blog Post by Kati:

Week 34 Info:
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.Aaahhh the descent into big round fruits has arrived! And it makes sense because I feel huge. People keep referring to me as "cute" but I really think it is because I look so funny. And my belly button has really started to pop out which makes me look even funnier. :)

So glad it is Friday...just have to make it through the day and then it is the weekend!!!! Have a great one!

43 Days

Blog Post by Kati:

I can't believe how SSSSSLLLLOOOOOWWWWWWW time seemed to move at the beginning of this whole process. May and June just inched along. Now, here we are in November and I can't keep up with the days fast enough! How is it already the middle of November? How is Thanksgiving just 2 weeks away? How is it that we can start counting down the DAYS instead of the WEEKS until Baby Goose arrives? It is wonderful and terrifying all at the same time. :)

I'm in a reflective kind of mood so I thought I'd make some lists.

Things I'm going to miss about being pregnant:
1) Eating without worrying about gaining weight
2) Having a great excuse to have Chris do stuff for me (though I think I can use that one for awhile after the birth by just reminding him of the fact I went THROUGH childbirth)
3) Feeling the baby move inside...it is just such a cool feeling
4) Having Chris rub my belly because his baby is inside
5) The anticipation of what is to come and the excitement of starting a family while NOT having the reality of the baby yet
6) Maternity pants!

Things I'm NOT going to miss about being pregnant:
1) Being huge
2) Not being able to move around very easily
3) Not being able to run
4) Doctor's visits all the time
5) Swollen everything
6) Running into stuff because I don't have a full awareness of my size
7) Getting decaf coffee at Starbucks
8) Not being able to drink a glass of wine after a tough day

I am sure there are many more things I could add to both lists, but that is it for now.

I have a couple of really busy days ahead of me but I am just focusing on the fun weekend that we have coming up. On Saturday our small group from church is hosting our 2nd annual "Novemberfest" which is a beer-tasting extravaganza. I am actually a little relieved to be pregnant this year so I don't have to choke down some of the (what I think are) gross beers like I did last year! haha. Then on Sunday we have our first baby shower at Chris' cousin Jean's house. We can't wait!!!!

Sleeplessness, Swelling, and Hiccups...oh my!

Blog Post by Kati:

In the past 24 hours or so three things have become obvious:

1) NO MORE GOOD SLEEP: I could not get comfortable last night and therefore did not sleep well. I still have a rockstar bladder, but the size of my belly is making every position I try uncomfortable...so we'll see about the sleep I was optimistic about getting in the next 6 weeks. I'm thinking that my sleep-through-the-night nights are numbered if not already gone. And I'm okay with that. :)

2) NO RINGS...NEW SHOES: The ends of my extremities (aka hands and feet) are doing some serious swelling. I can't wear my wedding rings any more (though I had to give up my Luther ring a couple of months ago!) even though they used to be almost too loose for me. And this morning I wore the same brown shoes I've been able to wear to work all along without too much pain, but by about 10am this morning I could barely fit my feet into them. Needless to say I was in my socks for most of the day. Except when I had to walk around the hallways and that was just really unpleasant. So I went to Famous Footwear after work and managed to find one pair of brown shoes that are glorified slippers and one pair of black clogs. Hopefully they will get me through!

3. BABY GOOSE IS A DANCER: I'm pretty sure Baby Goose was dancing tonight and also had the hiccups. I could actually feel them. I was laying on the couch earlier and the top right side of my baby bump was going crazy. For awhile it was steady little jumps, and then it would rumble around and move in waves and then go back to steady little jumps again. It was awesome. :)

Belly Pic!!!!!

Blog Post By Chris:

I love these! Kati hates them but I think they are great.

Baby Class...OMG

Blog Post by Kati:

Well, we spent 7 hours today learning all of the fun stuff about labor and birth. And by fun stuff I mean HOLY CRAP.

Neither Chris nor I could watch much of the videos, and it was hard for me to even listen to a lot of the stuff without feeling like I was going to pass out. I hope we can make it through the real thing! We practiced different kinds of breathing which will no doubt come in handy.

We got a tour of the maternity floor and saw babies in the nursery which was fun...we took the tour after all the intense stuff about the stages of labor and medication/drug talks. It was a good reminder of why we were actually there.

All in all it was an informative day...just learned we both need to buck up a little before Baby Goose begins her journey into the world. :)

On an unrelated note, here's a cute picture of Kona cuddling her baby sister. :)

Doctor's Visit/Quasi-Ordeal

Blog Post by Kati:

Well, the following story is going to make me sound like:

1) I was in a time crunch
2) I am not an elementary school teacher
3) I am not pregnant with a baby

All three of those things are not true...but I felt like a scrooge this morning. :)

So my appointment was at 11:15 and I ended up waiting in the waiting room for about 35 minutes. During that time I had to listen to a super chatty new mom talk to everybody in the waiting room in a loud voice. I apologize to those that may enjoy talking to strangers, but this morning I was irritated having to listen to it. Then a couple of kids started running around in circles in the middle of the room so that every time they ran past me I had to move my leg so they wouldn't trip and fall. Then a woman who couldn't have been more than 23 came in with a double stroller with three kids under the age of three and pregnant with a fourth. Her kids decided to add to the madness that was the waiting room. And it was one of the kid's birthdays so the whole waiting room sang "Happy Birthday." And all of it was totally irritating to me, being a pregnant elementary school teacher who had no plans for the rest of the day! ha ha ha.

Anyway I finally got called back, got my blood pressure taken and then waited another 25 minutes for the doctor. She came in for about 7 minutes and that was it! Everything was fine. Heart rate was good (132 bpm I think) and after feeling around the doctor thought the baby was a little over 5 pounds. And I got the H1N1 vaccination shot. I go back in 2 weeks, and then every week after that. All my appointments are scheduled through December 18th. Here's hoping that I won't need to schedule another one because Baby Goose will arrive on time! :)

Pineapple

Blog Post by Kati:

Week 33 Info:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.I have today off because we had conferences Tuesday and Thursday night (so 2 twelve+ hour days this week) and am so excited to have time to myself and a day to relax. It has been a really busy couple of weeks so this is a much needed break! Especially since we have our baby class tomorrow from 8-4! I have a doctor's appointment at 11:15 today and other than that have no plans. Love it! It'll be a girls day with me and Kona. :)

Happy Friday!!!!!

Blog Post by Chris:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Grandma Gosselin and Gus!!! No ages again will be posted :)

DONUT

Blog Post by Kati:

No, the baby is not the size of a donut, but I want a donut really badly. Anything out of this box would be just great!

I had conferences tonight so I was at work until 8. When I was walking to my car I smelled something greasy that reminded me of donuts and now it is all I can think about. Chris is on his way home from Southdale with instructions to find me one, so hopefully he'll be successful at 8:49 at night.

This is my first real craving I think. I hope if I do start craving more things, my cravings are for broccoli and peas or something healthy.

But right now, seriously. DONUTS. Yummmmmmmm.........

Lunch Buddy

Blog Post by Chris:

My lunch buddy went home sick today so I did not get to volunteer today. Hopefully he will be there next week so I can have a funny quote from him.

Vikings Update

Blog Post by Chris:

I will talk about the Vikings this week. They are now 7-1. Today they played the Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI. It was a great game, that got a little too close in the 4th quarter, but A.P. and Favre pretty much put the game away. Next week is a BYE week, so there will be no update. We actually have a lot going on next weekend. We have our baby class and also have my Grandma's #%th birthday ( I kept the number blank just for you Grandma). That's it for now, but a quick congratulations to Dave Lenninger and his wife Erin who just celebrated the birth of their baby girl this past week.

Bun in the Oven

Blog Post by Kati:

Happy (Belated) Halloween! Here are a couple of pictures of our costumes: A Master Baker and the Bun in the Oven: Pretty easy and fun! We got a lot of laughs and compliments. So thanks to whoever gave us our wedding gift in the big white Kohl's box, because it was the perfect box for making an oven! And Chris' baker hat is made out of poster board and tissue paper! I was feeling very creative yesterday. It was crunch time and I needed to make something happen. :)We went to a party at Chris' brother Dan's house which was fun. Lots of people in lots of wacky costumes!

Now it is November! There is going to be Christmas stuff up everywhere, we're going to start having baby showers, we're going to baby class, and time is going to fly by...it is going to be a crazy, exciting, tiring, awesome, busy, happy, and FAST 8 weeks!