This is going to be one of those weeks...by the time Sunday rolls around, Amanda and I will probably want to sleep all day. It starts with Monday when we plan on selecting the colors to paint the nursery. We found the crib bedding pattern we liked at a store here in Amarillo, but all they had was the "cradle bedding" version...plus, it was a discontinued pattern. So, I had to use my well-honed online shopping skills to find the pattern in crib bedding form. Well, I found it...but the prices were running around 300 to 400 dollars. 300 to 400 bucks for crib bedding?? Are you kidding me?? Then I checked e-Bay. Fortuneately, I found one set up for auction. I watched it for a few days...no one had bid on it yet. The auction ended on a Tuesday morning so I paid very close attention to it all morning. Still no bids. So I put my initial bid on it for the opening price of 50 bucks. Time ticked down...still no other bids. With 10 seconds left, I raised my maximum bid to 150 dollars. Turned out I didn't need to do it...I won the bedding for 50 dollars (58 when you include shipping)! So, I saved us at least 250 bucks! Now that's what I'm talking about!!! Here's a picture of the crib bedding:
We now have the colors of the crib bedding, therefore we can now select the colors for the room. Monday, we'll go to Home Depot or Lowe's and do some color selections. Well, actually, we're going to do some preliminary color choices today (Sunday) then go back Monday with our choices and buy the paint and supplies we need. With any luck, we'll be able to do this Monday and not drag it out because there's plenty more going on this week.
Tuesday is our next ObGyn appointment. At our last appointment, the doctor said we would be up for another ultrasound. Now, I'm not sure if he means we'll be doing a "low grade" ultrasound there in the office, or if we'll be doing one of the "high quality" ultrasounds (the clearer pictures, plus the ability to show 3-D images). If we do a "low grade" ultrasound, then it will be done on Tuesday, if it's the "high quality" one, then it probably won't be done until later this week, at the earliest. Personally, I'm willing to wait a few more days for better-looking images. I'm really excited to see what she looks like now, though!
Wednesday, my mom (Pauline) and step-dad (Warren) fly in to town for Amanda's baby shower...which takes place on Saturday (see what I mean about a busy week!!). They haven't been to Amarillo since we moved into our house which was back in May of 2003. It will be nice to have them out here and spend some time with them. Plus, Warren has to buy me a steak because Michigan State (his alma mater) lost to Michigan (a team I've liked since I was young) in football this year...and trust me, you can get an
awesome steak out here in the Texas Panhandle. Amanda and I have to work Wednesday through Friday and that will just add to the hecticness of everything.
Thursday is Warren's birthday, so I hope to make it an enjoyable birthday for him and help him celebrate. I don't know what we'll be doing yet, but with me at work that day, that kind of limits the possibilities.
Friday should be fairly quiet (the calm before the storm, if you will), but I think our very dear friends Damon and Laurie will be driving in from Tulsa in the evening. It's always good to see them...it's too bad we live so far away from each other. They really are our best friends. In fact, they will be our daughter's Godparents.
Then Saturday arrives. Saturday is going to be Amanda's day...it's her baby shower. We briefly talked about having a "couples" baby shower, but with some many other people in town, we decided it would be best to have it be an event for the ladies. Not only will Damon and Warren be here, but so will Jim and Sylvia Westmoreland (Amanda's dad and step-mom), plus Amanda's mom (Teri) and step-dad (Carl) already live here in Amarillo. The baby shower is being held just down the road at a neighbor's house...Amy and Jameson Longanecker offered up their house to us for the shower. I can't leave Jameson to deal with all those women, so hopefully he'll join the rest of the guys over here. Basically, while the girls are at the shower, the guys will be here at our house watching sports, eating pizza, and drinking beer. Good stuff, eh? Now you see why this is going to be a long week!
A couple more things before I end this entry...first, Amanda and I feel we have decided on a first name. I won't be posting it until after the shower is done, at the very earliest. It may be even later than that because we are still discussing the middle name...and that may take some time to reslove. Second, here's the latest picture of Amanda. This represents week 30...three-quarters of the way through the pregnancy.
Let's not forget the ultrasound we had last week Friday too! Our little girl is estimated to be 3 pounds, 3 ounces right now. She's healthy and everything is normal. The only issue is she's breech meaning her head is still up, but there's plenty of time for her to get head down into the birthing position. One thing the ultrasound attendant pointed out is how much hair she already has! You know it's quite a bit when the attendant says, "bring a bow with you to the hospital." Here's an ultrasound picture...unlabeled and labeled: 
Of course, as the baby grows, so does Amanda's belly! Here's a picture of her taken in the nursery for the first time! This picture represents week #32! Amanda was in a feisty mood when this picture was taken. You can also see the two other colors in the nursery.
