I HEART my friend and her photos...

These photos were taken by my friend Susie.  I have always ("always" meaning the three months I have known her) thought she was such a talented photographer (check out her business's website and blog...it's amazing!), but I just LOVE these pictures.  I was over at her house and she just decided she wanted to snap some shots of the belly - seriously took all of about five minutes...she is so good!  She will photograph the baby after he is born, so stay tuned for more awesomeness. 

Thank you, Susie!

34.5

Either I swallowed a watermelon in my sleep, or this baby is getting big!  Here we are at 34.5 weeks.  

Wowzers!

Baby's Room

Many of you have asked to see what Baby's room is looking like these days, so I finally took a couple of photos.  It's pretty much ready now, minus a few things that still need to be set up. 

Here is the view when you walk in.  Please notice the curtain rod holding up the quilt.  It has little moons on the ends and is one of my favorite touches.  I know you all are very concerned about the cat.  We got off to a shaky start with the addition of the crib - she kept jumping in it!!  I can't blame her, it's a prime spot for cozy sleeping, but it will obviously not do.  We tried the tin foil thing, which caused her to proceed with caution, but she continued to go in the crib.  Our next step was to buy a Scat Mat, which is a plastic mat that gives off static electricity when you touch it.  It doesn't harm her, but just gives an uncomfortable sensation.  It only took a couple of zaps to do the trick, and she hasn't been back in since!  We'll still be very cautious when we add Baby into the mix, but right now we feel very relieved.  I highly recommend Scat Mats for expectant parents with cats.  The mat also works for training Grandmas...my mom got shocked the first time she went in the nursery!

His closet is around the corner to the left, you can't see it in this shot.

For this one, I am standing in the corner by the door to the closet.  The crib is on my left, off the camera.  You can see the wall hangings that Grandma Peg and I made while I was visiting MN, as well as the quilt on the back of the glider, made by my good friend from CA, Jen.  I love that Baby has many things around his room to remind him and me of people we love.

We're almost at 35 weeks, not too much longer!  The baby is head down and is sitting low in my tummy.  I'm very proud of him for doing his part to get ready for the big day!  

The Leibrock's Visit OH

This weekend, my parents and sister came to visit us in Ohio.  We had a great time, but as always, it went way too quickly.  Mom and I spend a lot of time in Baby's room getting clothes washed and things in order, so the next post will give you a peek in there.  Here are some of the other activities (besides a lot of Wii played by Grace and my dad) that took place.  

Saturday was our main day of activity.  We went to the Airforce Museum first.  This museum is HUGE and there is way too much to see in one day.  We did our best, but will probably be going again the next time they come out.  The museum houses every piece of aircraft used by the Airforce...ever.  My favorite part is the WWII stuff.  

Here are Grace and my dad ready for take-off.  Unfortunately, as you can see, they forgot their flight gear, so their trip was cancelled...    

After that, we took them on a little driving tour of the base, and then came back home and had our pumpkin carving extravaganza!!!  Phil and I had our pumpkins from Young's Dairy Farm and we bought Grace a pumpkin so we could all carve together while she was here.  

Dad helped Grace cut her top out.

Please believe me when I say that there were some killer sound effects to go along with this shot of Phil scooping out the guts.  I tried to tell him you can't put sound effects on the blog, but he didn't seem to understand...

Phil was very serious about his design.  He originally thought he would have the scariest pumpkin by carving a graph of the stock market crashing, but then decided that a crazy face would come out better on a round surface.

Everyone hard at work...pretty intense!

Me with my finished creation.  Please note that while I didn't put as much thought into my design as Phil did, I should get credit for the rounded eyes, as well as being 8 months pregnant.  Yes, I'm playing the pregnant card here.

This worries me a little...

Are you scared???

The carvers with their pumpkins!

Grace packed hers into the car to take home with her, but Phil and I are proudly displaying ours in front of our house.  Phil's is an especially great sight to come home to.

I also tried a new recipe for dessert, which I got from my friend Susie.  It's so good and so easy that I need to put it up here.  I didn't take a picture, but I should have because it looks so yummy!  Pioneer Woman Apple Dumplings are dangerously delicious served with vanilla ice cream on the side!

Baby Swenson's Minnesota Party

On October 5, when Phil and I were back in Minnesota for the St. Olaf reunion, my friends Beth and Shana threw me and baby a shower at my mom's house.  It was a great shower and also so fun to see people while I was in town.  Baby and I felt very loved!

Here are the hostesses and me.

Left to right: Shana, Me, Beth.  They both went to St. Olaf with me.

All of the Olaf Girls (minus Rachel who had to leave early to catch her plane):

Laura, Shana, Me, Beth, and Steph.

Shana made this totally cute diaper cake.  It was way cuter than the ones they sell on line!  It was a hit and everyone thought she should go into business.  I think there were 85 diapers in the cake, along with lots of other cute things for baby.

Here is a close-up of the cake, along with the scrapbook page I made for the ladies to sign.

We had yummy food and a cute cake with moons and stars on it, just like in his nursery.  Shana and Beth had sweet touches like having the ladies sign birthday cards that will be sent to Baby for his first five birthdays. 

Thanks, ladies, for a great day for baby and me.  You are all awesome!

Back row: Alana, Aunt Beth, Mom (Ann), Jill, Pat, Libby

Middle row: Laura, Me, Beth, Mother-in-law (Peg)

Front row: Steph, Shana, Grace (my sister), Rachel, Nancy

Um Ya Ya!

For those of you who don't know, I am a proud graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN.  We are the only college that has a fight song in 3/4 time.  For those of you who don't know what that means...just know that it's pretty awesome.  Here are many Oles singing the fight song at the homecoming football game - we were losing terribly at the time.

Look at all the Um Ya Ya...

Phil and I traveled to Minnesota for my class's five year reunion, which was severely hyped and took place on October 3 and 4.  It was very cool to be back on campus with close friends.  By the end of the day Saturday, I was totally exhausted, but it was totally worth it.

We started by meeting in the Fireside Lounge, just like old times.  Here are Phil and me waiting for more friends to arrive.  Notice Phil sporting his Olaf gear for me that day!

Next we had lunch.  I love St. Olaf in the fall.  

Pictured here are left to right: Me, Shana, Steph, John, Beth, and Laura.

After the football game (I won't mention the final score), the class of 2003 headed to Jesse James Lanes for bowling.  I bowled one game, which proved to be a poor decision while 7 months pregnant - I was so sore afterwards!  Whatever, it was totally worth it at the time!

Here are Laura and me at bowling.  Notice the buttons on our tummies - they say "I'm a future Ole."  How cute are we?!  Laura is due with her second baby in April.

Phil, again, sporting his Um Ya Ya.

My favorite picture - Phil tying my shoes after bowling!  It's hard to reach them, ok?!

This is Old Main, an icon of St. Olaf and the oldest building on campus.  While a student, I had far fewer good feelings about this building because #1 it was the farthest walk from my dorm and #2 my spanish classes were here.  Now, however, I think it is beautiful and nostalgic.  This photo was taken by Shana...well done.

Back to School...

Many of my friends have been posting pictures of their kids going off to their first day of school, so I thought I would post this picture of my husband organizing his brand new school supplies and putting them in his brand new messenger bag, getting ready for his first day of classes at AFIT.  Even as an adult, there's just something about new school supplies...

Make new friends, but keep the old - Book Club begins!

For me, the hardest part of moving is missing my old friends and having to start over with new ones.  It's exciting, but hard at the same time.  This time, an old friend, Shannon, made the process of finding new friends a little easier.  She introduced me to her friend, Susie, who was also moving to Ohio at the same time.  Susie and I had met for all of about 10 minutes, but when we reached Ohio, I was so thankful for her and the comfort and fellowship she was able to provide for me.  We have a lot in common, including a love for scrapbooking and reading, both of which have provided opportunities for us to hang out and become closer.  

Susie decided to start a book club at her house with some of the other girls we have met since moving here.  We had our first meeting on October 6, to discuss our first book, The Red Tent.  It was great fun and so nice to sit and chat with girls!  The book was a hit, and Susie made these cute bookmarks for each of us (showcasing her scrapbooking talents!) as well as some yummy treats.  We all seemed to click really well, and I am looking forward to growing new relationships in this group.

Here are some new friends: (back - left to right) Kelly, Ashley, Me, Janelle

(front - left to right) Susie, Catie, Rachel

Awesome bookmarks made by Susie!  They had our initials on the front...mine is the one with "d" on it.

Next month we are meeting at my house and are reading Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!  

Stay tuned!