Sausage Fingers

You always hear, "pregnancy is such a beautiful thing." Well, in the past week I've noticed throughout the day my fingers resembling Jimmy Dean links. It's not something I'm dealing with 24 hours a day, but I've certainly noticed a trend of my fingers starting to swell. I'm still able to wear my rings, but there is a point when those puppies aren't coming off if you paid me. I feel pretty lucky that I'm experiencing this later in my pregnancy, so only a few more weeks of my sausage fingers - I think I can handle that.

This past weekend we put our parenting skills to the test. Our friends Melissa and Christian were in town for a wedding, so we had the pleasure of watching the Medford girls. We've watched them in the past, but it's always nice to have a "trial run." We had a night planned of dinner, decorating a gingerbread house, and watching any Disney movie Madison picked. 

Julianne immediately took a liking to Mitch. They were buds all night long. Let's just say Mitch wasn't complaining about holding an adorable baby girl all night. I think it made him even more excited for Baby H's arrival. He even got to test our our new rocking chair, and had positive reviews to report. While Julianne and Mitch hung out, Madison and I decorated her Gingerbread house. We put an apron on her, and gave her plenty of candy to work with. I think she even snuck a few in her pocket to eat later. She did a wonderful job, and it came out perfect. She was so excited to show her parents the next morning! Below are some pictures from our fun night with the Medford girls. 

Madison & her awesome gingerbread house! 

Mitch and his bud, Julianne.

Since we're halfway through week 36, we've started our weekly doctor's appointments. We met with the doctor Monday night and got an update. Everything seems to be on schedule. They said I'm dilated to 1cm, and Baby H's head is down. It sounds like she is cooperating so far to arrive as planned. 

With Thanksgiving just around the corner I know the next few weeks will fly by. We have a few things we still need to do before Baby H is welcomed into the world. I need to start thinking about what I want and need to bring to the hospital, and actually pack my bag. We have a list of numbers ready to go, so Mitch can text updates. I feel like if we can be as prepared as possible, that will help make things go a little smoother. I know things never go as exactly as planned and really I just need to go with the flow. I'm going into this whole process with an open mind!

23 days to go! 

Until next time...

The Helleen's