Getting closer...!

We're 35 weeks, approaching 36 now!

Last Tues. we had our labor and delivery class ('Cliff's notes' version). Let me tell you what, that was an educational video...haha. The nurse was great, answered a lot of questions, and all the dads were thoroughly traumatized between the video, pictures & instruments being displayed.

Last Friday we had our 35 week appt. with Dr. Cole (we've almost met all the doctors now haha, all but Dr. Patridge). This was our last standard checkup and Dr. Cole was happy with the progress. I've gained 22 pounds so far (yes...I, a female, just admitted how much weight I've gained, take record lol) and will probably gain about a pound a week for the remainder of the pregnancy. Doc says based on my belly measurements and weight gain he would estimate us to have a pretty average sized baby, approximately somewhere around 7.5 lbs. Of course, this is just a guess on his part. Cole found Grahm's heartbeat very easily and looked at us and said "now thats a strong and regular heartbeat!!". We're proud, little man is sounding good! My BP was 110/70 and I've only had a little swelling in my hands and occasional feet/ankle swelling after working all day, etc...
OH! Speaking of, let me tell a quick story about ankles. So the other day I get off work, a little stressed and decide it'd be a nice evening for a long shower. So I hop in and just relax, then I think..hmm I actually have time to shave my legs and Grahm isn't buried in my ribs at the moment so lets give this a shot! As I'm shaving my legs I think to myself, "gotta watch the ankles and 'boney' areas" and at that moment I realize "oh no! WHERE ARE MY ANKLES?!". This was the remarkable moment where I discovered my new, fluffy..kankles. Good times.
Ok now that you have a visual of my fat ankles (that my sister tried to snap a picture of to show her friends...turd.) let's get back to the dr. appt. My belly measurements are on track and like our recent appts we didn't get much feedback other than "well looks good". Our next appt. is April 7th and we'll have one every week after. Next time they will do the 'fun' exam and we'll get to find out how dialated and effaced I am! We'll keep you updated more often after that because he'll be here soon!!

Grant and Jim are back in the shop working on Grahm's final piece of furniture! Here is some progress on the dresser. It's designed to match the crib with the same corners, trim and angles. After my first baby shower this past weekend, I'm going to need this soon to put some of the goodies in! We're going out to the farm again later this week to visit and work on it some more.

Progress on the dresser

It angles between the large and small drawers like the headboard of the crib.

Grant working hard!

So this weekend was very fun and eventful! Friday night we had dinner with friends for Trent's birthday. Then Saturday my sweet Natalie came into town from Little Rock so we spent time with her and enjoyed some delicious grub at Noodles. Sunday was my first baby shower! Laura Jade, Ashley & my Mom hosted it and they did a wonderful job! Sunday night we spent some time with Uncle Tony & his girlfriend Bailey (that's one of Grant's best friends) who was in town from Tulsa. We saw the movie "Bounty Hunter" with Jennifer Anniston & Gerrard Butler, it was really good!

Sara took over my camera and took some wonderful pictures at the shower. I had friends I've known since 5th grade and family from all sides there, it was such a great day to celebrate Grahm's upcoming arrival!

Natalie aka "Momma Petty" & I
She was my Discipleship Group leader at Kaleo 6 years ago in
Colorado and we've been amazing friends ever since! Love ya Nat!

Grahm's goodies! Wow, he won't go without!
He got so many pair of shoes - you know he's my kiddo lol.


Bailey, Naomi, Natalie, Sara, Ashley, Me, Morgan, Laura Jade, Meagan & Anjean!


All my girls! Love you guys :)


My Vera Bradley diaper bag from Naomi!! Thank you!!


Opening my diaper bag from Naomi, it was quite the suprise!


My lil' sis Hannah and cousin Emily carrying gifts to the table

Welcome precious little one...

The must-have Boppy pillow from mom!

This was too funny because she made me a carebear pillow

when I was born and I randomly named it Boppy! (Yes! I still have it)

So may cute outfits! Grahm is going to be styling!

The cutest little "I love Mommy, I love Daddy" sleeper

The sports themed sock-shoes from Bellas!

Look at all the baby blues - can't wait for the lil' guy to be here!

Every little boy needs a dinosaur shirt!

"G" for Grahm petite four

The diaper cake Ashley made! So cute!

Me & Naomi

Aunt Anjean (Grant's sister), Brenda aka Mee Maw (Grant's mom) & I

Me and my Mom

Sis, me and mom

Emily, 'Aunt' Denise, me, Mom, Aunt Melissa, and 'Aunt' Rhonda

Me, Connie (LJ's mom), and Laura Jade

Connie was one of my 'moms' growing up, LJ and I

have been friends since middle school

Grandma Daisy, Joan, Tiffany, Hannah & I

Thanks for the baby swing! That's going to be a life saver!

Grahm's cake

Welcome Grahm! The delicious cake from Shelby Lynn's bakery!

Grant just hanging out feeling Grahm kick & squirm

Wooo big belly!

35 weeks!

Tryston's 5th birthday party at Mee Maw & Gdads!

We can't believe he'll be starting kindergarten next year!

Our sweet puppies snuggled up on the couch

Grant & I at Powerhouse for Laura Jade's 25th birthday

Meagan, LJ & I at Powerhouse. Aww love my girls!

A few weeks ago we got to go to the Hog's baseball game. I took Sara, Dad & Tiffany and we had a great time (Grant had to work, boo...). Sooie was hugging on sis!

Woo pig sooie!

Sara, Dad & Tiffany

Me and Sis at the Hogs game!

It was still a bit chilly out!

Batter up!

Well perfect timing! Grant just called & he's on his way home from work! Hope you enjoy the pictures and updates & we'll keep you posted!

Love,

G&B (+1)

And we will call him Grahm ______.......

33 weeks! Wow...we can't believe how quickly time has gone by!
We had our 32/33 week appt last Wednesday. This time we met Dr. David Duke. He was a little more distant than the previous doctors but very informative which we really liked. It seems like often times I go in, they measure, weight, exam, etc...and then say "well, looks good. Any questions?" and there we are going "umm..uh..??". We feel like we've asked all the obvious questions along the way. Duke took time to walk us through was to expect, what to be concerned about, and such. He explained what is happening with my body and Grahm's growth in detail. I really loved his comment "now your ligaments and pelvic bones will really start to relax soon and you'll start to waddle". Haha start to waddle?...did he mean waddle more?! Oh boy, get ready for a funny sight folks!
My weight, BP, and measurements are on track and he didn't express any concerns. He was less concerned with my appendectomy scar in comparison with the other doctors. Maybe he's seen similar ones before. He did say scar tissue doesn't stretch as well which can cause tenderness (yes...this I've experienced). However, he also said pregnancy can help pull scar tissue away from things internally that it might have connected to that it shouldn't have (how delightful, right?).
Grahm's heart rate was a steady 140 with no irregularities. It's still so incredible to sit there with Grant and hear his little heartbeat! Duke said I have no restrictions right now and we go back for our 34/35 week appt on Friday, March 26th.

Now for the embarassing but necessary belly pictures...(p.s. don't hate on my hair, my CHI straightener broke and I'm lost without it, boo).

32 weeks!

He's getting so big!

Ok. So other big news! It's been a toss up for months now what Grahm's middle name will be. We've struggled between new names, family names, odd names, you name it! We also considered initials. I mean think about it, if we went with something like "Andrew", his initials would be G.A.S. - so "A" names were out. We really are considerate parents aren't we? haha. It wasn't a debate, but more that we just couldn't decide. It boiled down to us saying the names out loud and seeing what 'fit' and felt right when we said it all together. It was pretty entertaining b/c we all remember that our parents rarely used our middle name unless we were in trouble, so we felt like we were getting on to him already haha. Practice, right? We ended up chosing the one we really like and feel will fit him well. So the verdcit is....

Other news...in addition to my swelling belly, my fingers are starting to lose their slender shape. So with only a month and a half to go, we decided that it would be fun to get a ring for my wedding finger that will serve both as a temporary left-hand ring and a right-hand keepsake for after his birth. We talked about getting a plain band and having his name engraved in it or something along those lines. While shopping at Kate Austen Jewelry and Gifts, I saw these rings that could be personalized with initials. It'll be fun to look down over the next, and last, few weeks to see Grahm's initials.

Grahm Emerson Skelton

The nursery!! It has progressed quite a bit since our last blog! Grant and Jim finished the crib almost 2 weeks ago and brought it home! It was so exciting and emotional to walk into what used to be a painted, but empty room, and for the first time feel like it was Grahm's nursery where he'll be in less than 2 months! And by emotional, I mean literally breaking down and crying in front of Grant, Jim & Brenda. lol. They put the crib together and had the bedding set up and everything when I got home. I still can't get over how beautiful the crib is and how special it is that Daddy and Gdad built it themselves. Well enough babbling...look for yourselves!

Grahm's crib!

Crib with bedding

Here you can see the curved side rails and angled sleigh-bed headboard.

The detail is so impressive!

(Someone needs to start a furniture business!)

Grahm's nursery so far!

Grant & Jim have started on the dresser/changing table. So his sweet room is almost fully furnished and ready for use!

I've been on quite the crafting kick lately! I've always loved to paint, but my previous two years of grad. school in addition to working full time and being involved in all our activities prevented me from having the extra time. Our friends, Trent and Naomi's daughter Bryley celebrated her 2nd birthday today at Chuck-E-Cheese. They too are huge Hogs fans so I made Bryley a red, white, and black Razorback tutu for Hogs games. She recently got new bedding (also by Renee!), so I painted her a matching pink and brown picture frame with a B for Bryley. Tonight I finished a painting for Grahm's room! For those of you that know us well, we're big football fans, especially the Hogs and Cowboys. So Grahm has to represent! Here is the painting I did to match his room but also incorporate the Hogs!

He'll be calling the Hogs in no time! Wooo Pig Sooie!

Go Hogs!

This past Saturday we celebrated Jenni and Kent's upcoming wedding! We had a shower for her and prayed over their marriage. Jenni is on staff at Fellowship with student ministry. Not only does she minister to and bless the students, she is a HUGE blessing to us other leaders! We've all grown very close to her and are so excited for her big day! Here are some fun pictures from the shower.

Some of us girls putting on our prettiest faces! haha

(Jenni is in the grey in the middle!)

Kat, Prego, Katie, Marie, & Jenni!

Jenni & Kent's wedding invitation

Some more of the girls!

So, I feel like I've thoroughly updated everyone (and given Grant the opportunity to watch about 3 FarScape episodes lol). So it's time to go relax. Grant and I are both off the next two days! I can't wait to see Mom and Dad Skelton tomorrow and spend time with Hubby!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

"Let them give thanks to the Lord for

his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for men.

For he satisfies the thirtsy

and fills the hungry with good

things."

-Psalm 107:8-9

Love,

G&B

It's been a while since our last post. This weekend we'll be 30 weeks!
We recently had our 28 week appointment with Dr. Seale. Grant had been sick so he wasn't able to come this time. Dr. Seale said my blood pressure is "gorgeous" and my blood work/glucose screening came back fine. She also said my weight and 'tummy' measurements are right on track. My scar has continued to be tender so hopefully that will remain a mild annoyance and not cause any serious complications. Grahm's heartbeat was 150 the day of the appointment, still so exciting to hear!

29 weeks. "Hi little man!"

Haha let's compare week 12 and week 29 baby bumps...!

Grant is finally off overnights! His last night was two nights ago and he's off until this Sunday. He'll then start a "normal" schedule. For those who don't know, there is no such thing as a normal schedule in Wal-Mart store ops. He'll work 3 days on, 3 off from 8am-8pm. But hey, that works for us! He'll be home everynight and won't be so worn out from having to shift his sleeping schedule. We're both very excited! Praise God for such awesome timing with his schedule change and for good careers.

We've been very busy getting things ready for Grahm to arrive! His room is nearing completion as we have started getting all the pieces together. I picked up his bedding from Renee this weekend. She did an incredible job and everything matches the nursery perfectly! The crib isn't in the room yet, so we set the bedding up on the floor so we could show pictures.

Back and side bumpers, a pillow, and the little diaper wipe case she made...

The front bumper (that can also be reversed to brown & stripes) and the bed skirt

Another angle with the round minky pillow...

Here it is!

We'll post more pics when we get it all set up in the crib...

Renee McCue is a local lady who did the bedding for us. If anyone needs bedding, curtains, etc..., we would recommend her. Her contact # is 479-750-9398.

The hardest part has been getting the finishing touches on the walls! Getting all the lines straight and level was tough, but painting evenly on textured walls is even tougher!

Finally got the brown stripes painted!

This is the wall that the crib will be against.

We'll hang the "G-R-A-H-M" letters across the green above the crib.

So Grant and Jim have been busy wrapping up their big project too! Here are the latest pictures of the crib!! Today they put the sealant on and all that's left is a top coat and of course the frame & mattress! We might be able to bring it home next week! (Ok I'm a little excited!). I still can't get over how talented they are...they created this from raw wood, it's so amazing to me. It's something so special that our family will always have. Thank you...thank you...thank you Daddy & Gdad!

Grahm's crib - it's really almost done!

Mr. Grahm's bed

What else...? Middle name update...we've got nothing. Our list has grown rather than get narrowed down. So, we'll just continue to keep everyone posted on that decision!

Oh! I have had some pretty funny dreams lately. One involves pirates and a potty accident (yep...I admitted it. I poo'd my pants in my dream b/c I couldn't find an open bathroom in the pirate port...but only in my dream lol). And in the other I was a guy (Tokyo Drift type guy) that had to steal this legendary motorcycle to stay alive...it was really intense! So those have been very interesting haha!

Well I hope everyone enjoys the pictures and updates (and laughs on my behalf ha!). Grant and I are going to relax and watch a movie...we'll see what Netflix sent us this week!

Take care and God bless!

Love,

G&B