Empathy Belly

Charles and I have been going to a child birthing class for the last 3 weeks at the hospital. It isn't a lamaze (I have no idea how to spell that) class, it is more about teaching all the different stages of labor, and learning techniques for helping out if things don't go as planned. The class has been REALLY good- we have both learned a lot. I was kind of hesitant to take it, thinking it would just be kind of dumb, but it has proved to be very helpful already, just with things we have come across with the baby's position. Anyway, this week in class, Charles got to strap on the "empathy belly." It is a 35 pound belly, as you can see, that straps onto your body to try to reflect what it feels like to be pregnant. Granted... there is no way they can know what this feels like. Example: Halfway through the time he was wearing it, Charles said, why don't you just lean forward more so that it takes the pressure off everything? Hmm... doesn't quite work that way when it is a part of you :) Anyway- here are the pictures a girl in the class took for us. Hopefully you can get a good laugh out of it.

This is Charles in the fitting rooms at Motherhood Maternity- He wanted to try out the bellies they have for you there, in case you would like to be even bigger than you are :)

Charles getting all strapped up with the "empathy belly"

This is me placing the "bladder pouch" - its a pouch that goes on the inside so that it can put pressure on the bladder in just the right place ;)

Belly to belly...Now if that isn't charming, I don't know what is

Happy Birthday Charles!!

Today is Charles' 24th birthday!! WOOHOO!! I found this picture of his birthday 2 years ago blowing out the candles on the cake I made him- trying to woo him into marrying me ;) I guess it worked! I can't believe how much better my life is with him in it. I don't want to be super cheesy~ mostly because let's face it, I'm over eight months pregnant, and VERY emotional- haha. Some of my favorite things about Charles are:

~ His ability to laugh at anything, and help me when I should be able to laugh at myself
~ His innocence and humility
~ How he helps me be a better person just by being himself
~ He is one of a kind ;) and anyone who knows him knows I am not just saying that
~ He is a hard worker and passionate about whatever he does
~ His personality. There is so much more to it than that... but it is impossible to explain all the aspects of Charles that make him who he is
~ The way he reacts when he says something wrong and I let him know about it (note the countless stories documented in the blogs)
~ The way he can make me feel like a beauty queen, even when I'm in the state I am right now
~ His passion for learning and improving

There is no way I can tell you all the great things about Charles~ but I am sure lucky I found him! Happy Birthday Babe!!

Calling all Moms!!

Ok, we are getting down to crunch time here and I still have lots of things I need to decide on! I have been looking at stroller/car seat travel systems trying to pick one, but I am having a hard time deciding between all the options and don't know what to get! Does anyone have a stroller and car seat system that they really liked and would recommend? Another question about strollers- is it better to get one that is more neutral colored so that it will work for boys and girls, or do you wear them out pretty quick so go ahead and get a girl specific one? I just don't know... and for those of you who know my mind- these decisions are unreasonably hard for me to make, haha. So- any input or suggestions for strollers? OR any "must have" baby items that I probably don't know about? Bring on the comments, PLEASE!!!

One more for the day...

Ok, after my post earlier today, I have to add one more event from our evening. Charles and I were just outside doing a few things before it gets dark. He was sweeping off the driveway (so we don't get any more nails in our tires) and I was putting away the garbage can. Down the street I saw a dad on a walk with his three young kids. I was excited to meet them because we haven't met any of our neighbors yet so I was waiting for them to come up past our house. When they got to the top of the driveway, Charles spoke up first: "Oh wow, are these grandkids?" My heart skipped a beat... I knew the answer to that question. Sometimes I wish that husband and wife could communicate some other way so that we could screen things like that... I've given up on that wish though. The dad just kind of hesitated-"uh..haha... no, these are our kids- this one is 2 and a half and then the twins are 13 months." It was fun to hear Charles back pedal from that one. As soon as they walked away I just started to laugh. Charles looked at me and just said, "What?" As if he had to ask. He then defended himself with, "Well, he looked old enough to me" Haha... I just had to share because it made me laugh really hard. Oh well, there will be other kids for our children to play with, right? Haha What a day! :)

Accentuate the Positive!

Today has been a good day so far... despite a few kinks in the day. It actually makes me giggle a little to think about it, so I thought I would share another day in the life of Charles and Heather.
First of all, for a little background, our house uses propane as its main heating source (and yes, even though it is JUNE, we are still using heat) the propane tank that was here when we moved in is really old, and the gauge on it... well, it isn't attached, so we have had it 50% full for a while- until we finally realized what the problem was. Well, we called to get a new tank and switch to a cheaper gas company, but the soonest they could come do the swap wasn't until tomorrow (I called 2 weeks ago). Normally, they pump the gas out of the old tank, into the new one, but since they have no way of knowing how much is in there, they can't pump it. This was a big deal to Charles. He has been huffing and puffing about us having to buy 500 gallons of propane just because they don't know how much is in there. Well... this morning Charles turned on the shower, and let it run for a long time... the water wasn't getting hot. He went and checked the thermostat and realized, the house was at 60 degrees. He was THRILLED!!! We ran out of propane! Haha... He was like- Heather, aren't they coming tomorrow? GREAT!! He was so excited that we weren't going to have to give away any gas. Haha... it was really funny how something that would normally be really annoying, like not having hot water for two days- was suddenly a good thing thanks to my positive husband.
The next exciting part of my day was when I arrived at the Tacoma Mall (trying to be sneaky and get away to shop for Charles' birthday without him knowing) and right as I pull into the parking lot, I could tell I had a flat. It was as flat as it could be. What is more fun than changing a tire when you are 8 months pregnant, in the cold rain?? I'll tell you what... having a grandpa in wranglers and red boots... WITH FLAMES... change your tire for you! As I stood there staring at the tire deciding how to attack it, this grandpa and his grandson came over and said- "Ma'am, can we give you some help?" Can't turn that down! So the grandpa got at it after saying, "Man, I don't know nothing about these funny looking cars, that's why I drive a truck!" It brightened my day- mostly because there were two nice gentleman willing to help me when I was a little frustrated.
Well, thats all for now, I just had to share my two bits of happy things today. Hopefully it gets a grin out of y'all :)