Edouard

No that's not the baby's name! It's the tropical storm going over our house right now! Not too bad - as you can see we still have power - but we have gotten a few inches of rain already. Lenny and I are hanging out doing "work" on our laptops. Both our employers gave us the day off due to the weather. It's nice to be able to take it easy for a day without having to plan in relaxation time.

I had my Houston baby shower over the weekend and it was fantastic! Betsy went all out on the invites and rocket diaper cake! They were awesome! It was at Katie's house and Ami, Kylie, Steph, and Heather helped decorate and set-up - thank you so much! So many friends came too - it was fun seeing everyone and getting advice - especially when I opened a gift and had no idea what to do with it :) Motherhood will be quite a learning experience.

We are almost ready for the baby to come - we still have to get some of the big items - the pack'n play, the bedding (though, I'm not sure she'll ever use the quilt with Texas temps, but it sure is cute!), a high chair, and a few small things that I haven't got on a list yet. We have to finish decorating the babies room...we have it all laid out, we just need to hang things on the walls. Lenny also redid the baby's closet and we designed and installed new shelving from the container store. It's really cool and as she grows we can change it around to fit bigger clothes. We will be picking our pediatrician next week too. We have one last interview with a doctor that's supposed to be really good and we can make a decision in plenty of time.

We also started our Lamaze class - which is Lamaze and a bunch of other topics - we covered breastfeeding last night and we went over natural delivery and induced deliveries in previous classes. We'll go over c-sections, epidurals (I'm very interested in this one), and child care for the remainder of the class. It's been pretty educational. I have had a lot of friends explain these things to me, but my engineering mind needs visuals and numbers...and they certainly provide those with all the videos and instruction in the class. Lenny got to see what it was like to be pregnant the first night - the instructor had him wear a 30 lb backpack around his front torso - it was a hoot to watch him try to sit on the floor and get up. So I think he may get a small understanding of how I just can't be graceful when I attempt the same thing.

Now for a bit a depressing news (for me at least)...I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. It's a form of diabetes (like regular type 2) that you only get during pregnancy. There's not rhyme or reason for why I got it, it just happens to some of us. It is controllable with diet and exercise and I don't feel any different - In fact for being so big I feel pretty good. The depressing part is that I have to watch what I eat very closely - no more pasta, very little bread, and no sweets. All my weaknesses during pregnancy and all I crave! I got pretty angry when I first found out...I am easing into though and am probably eating the healthiest I have ever eaten in my life. So I suppose it's a good thing in a way. But I still mourn the uneaten plate of spaghetti, the chocolate bar I have to give up, and the pizza I will not be able to order. I better stop, I am starting to drool...better go get that celery stick with peanut butter.

Here's the 31 week belly picture with the rocket diaper cake Betsy made!