*GROWL* *OUCH* *YAWN* *WAHHH*

OK, I'll admit it-- ever since my third trimester began, I've pretty much done nothing but eat, sleep, complain, and have mood swings. Although others are FINALLY saying I'm really growing, I don't see it! I feel so sorry for Baby Reese because I feel like she's getting really cramped in there. She's constantly nudging and kicking me, and I swear she flips daily. A new discovery I have made is that if I lay on my left side (as they say you're supposed to) I get seriously nauseous, and I had absolutely the worst sleep ever the week I spent in Indy sleeping on the left side of the bed. When I lay on my back, I can hardly move and I feel super uncomfortable. Plus, it's hard to get enough oxygen to my lungs as she pushes up into my ribs... yes, even when I prop myself up! So right side it is... ALL the time. Laying on my right side, although the most comfortable out of the three, is far from wonderful. She creeps up to my ribs and tries to push her feet between them, and twists and turns as if she hates it there! So yes, sleep is a distant memory! But I just love her. Even the aches and pains bring a smile to my face as I imagine her stretching her little legs out and curling her little toes as she settles in to a comfy spot. =) I've also found that her activity hasn't decreased with her size. If anything, it has increased. We may be in trouble. She may NEVER sleep!

Christmas was fun. We were blasted with a snowstorm the Friday before, and I spent a relaxing weekend cleaning my house, visiting with John's friends, and attending church. We spent our traditional Christmas Eve with the Konyesni family, celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday at the stroke of midnight. I ate way too much that night. John and I went home around 12:30, and of course I was spent but I stayed up until almost 2 a.m. to finish packing and to get things done before we left in the morning. We also let the dogs dig into their stockings, while John and I exchanged our gifts. This year we went small, with stocking stuffers and a few small things (mostly for Reese because that's all I really wanted).

Merry Christmas!

We headed to Indiana on Christmas Day and stayed until Sunday. It was a nice little break, but I was ready to get back to work! Week 31 lasted wayyy too long when that was all I had to think about!

Another fun time we had in Indy was my Indiana baby shower! I was excited that some close friends threw a shower for me, although I don't see many people back in Indy anymore. It was a lot of fun, I got a lot of cute things, and the cake was adorable! I felt really fat and round that day, but oh well! The woes of the last couple months!

So cute!!

I've been thinking more about slowing down at work, and sometimes I can't do certain things so people are starting to help me out more in my classes. It's a very physical job, and I'm hoping to stay until I deliver, teaching what I can and passing off what I can't. I'm glad I have a great group of coworkers to help me out! I've also been trying to keep up with my workouts, but I've had to drop off a day or two. It used to be a 5-6 day a week thing for me with combinations of lifting (lighter weights) and cardio. I don't run more than 2 minutes at a time anymore because my lower abs KILL when I do, so I walk a lot on the treadmill, do Zumba, and dance cardio videos. My new favorite thing is my prenatal yoga DVD that I've had for couple months but have rarely done because I didn't feel it was intense enough! HA! It's a wonderful feeling at the end of the day when there is pain in my back and sciatic nerve and I pop in this DVD. At the end, not only does my body feel better, but I also feel like Reese has more room to move. The hardest part about the DVD are the kegels... haha. I guess I need to work on those because they're not very strong! TMI? ;o)

So here we are...33 weeks... only 4 weeks until I'm full term and 7 weeks until Reese's due date. I'm still praying she comes in February, but as it nears I realize it may end up being March and I'm starting to accept that. I'll see the doctor the day before 35 weeks where he'll start to check my cervix, and I'll make my weekly visits. I'm so excited for her to be here. I have labor dreams all the time, but they never end with the baby. Last night, she finally came and it was literally the best dream I've ever had. It was so real. I held her on my chest, John was right next to me, and I just fell in love. =) It WAS a dream though, and I should've known it as I started to nurse her through a tube and screamed at John to hurry up and call my mom to let her know I had the baby. I'm sure there will be no tubes... and my mom will be there for the birth! February 2nd is my Ohio shower, and I'm excited to celebrate her again with more family and friends. I don't even care about the gifts, I'm happy to have the support system I have even though half of the people I love live so far away! John and I already have plans to make our last "romantic night out" a Valentine's dinner at The Melting Pot because that's where I want to go, and after that hopefully we'll be welcoming her within a few days! (I'm officially 38 weeks ON Valentine's Day!) So this may be my second-to-last post before she's here! I can't wait to see what month #9 brings! =)