Showered with Love

This past weekend, my wonderful mom and mom-in-law threw me my first ever baby shower! I had such a great time and was really touched by how generous everyone was towards our growing family.

Here is Linny (my mom-in-law), Mew Mew (my mom) , and me!

All of the delicious food - yummy, yummy!

Cute table decorations!

Lots of love for our little guy.

A cute, little stool monogrammed with our baby's name!

Michael and my dad, who had fun watching a movie during then shower and then got to load up the car afterwards.

Loads of Fun!

Loads of fun, indeed! Thanks to my fantastic new washer and dryer, doing laundry will be even more fun (yes, I'm a freak that enjoys doing laundry). On Monday I came home and was greeted with a new front loading washer and dryer - a wonderful present from my wonderful husband. He explained that these were my present for giving birth to our son. Most people don't get their present until after the birth, but he figured that these would come in handy the next few weeks while I was washing little baby clothes and blankets as one of the final things to do before our baby boy arrives. I love it!! And my apologies for the pictures, we have a pretty small, narrow laundry room, so it was difficult to get a good picture of the shiny new appliances!

32 Weeks!

2 months...8 weeks...approximately 56 days left!

Glenwood Triathalon 2010

THE ATHLETIC SUPPORTERS (+ ZACH WHO WAS AN ATHLETE):




THE ATHLETES:

Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday...

The famous wedding speech from "The Princess Bride" referenced in the title of this post was discussed as part of the wedding ceremony - very fun! Anyways, yesterday the Pretekin's were able to share in Caren and Josh's special day. First up was the ceremony. Valet parking was available for the guests and after we parked, we walked a few blocks down to the church. Yesterday was a pretty warm day (in the 90s) and I began to feel pretty light-headed (I knew I should have eaten a little snack before we left...). Luckily I made it into the church, but decided we should sit in the back row, just in case something happened and I needed to leave quickly. Turns I wasn't the only one who was overheated (and maybe had some low blood sugar going on). TWO of the four bridesmaids fainted during the ceremony. Everyone was ok though, and Caren and Josh were able to say their "I do's!" Next up was the reception. It was at the Curtis Hotel. I'd never been there, but it is a pretty neat hotel - very quirky. Apparently every floor is a different, somewhat unusual theme. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures at the reception, but if you ever get a chance, it's definitely a hotel you should check out. We had a wonderful night out, and wish Caren and the Josh love and happiness for many years to come!

Back to School!

A few weeks ago, I began my third year teaching at my current school and my 6th year (!) teaching overall. Tonight was our back to school night, which went great! I had an excellent conversation with some parents of my students who were very informed about special education. It was nice to really be able to talk about what I know and do everyday and help reassure them that there child's learning needs are being met. Since it was back to school night, and first impressions are important, Baby P got a bit dressed up for the event!

Here's my first attempt at using the self-timer to take a picture of the dressed up bump. When you're not used to your new camera and you're moving a bit slower these days, this is the result.


Here's the best picture I got of myself. Not great, but it will have to do since Michael was working late and the bump was ready to be adorned by comfy pj's!

28 Weeks!

Here we are at 28 weeks! Happy Third Trimester - this is the home stretch. I know I keep saying it, but I really cannot believe how quickly the time has gone. I can't believe how soon we will be seeing our little guy's face!

So, as I have done for every month of the pregnancy I took a few belly shots for month 7. Notice that the belly button is going to pop out here at any second.






Here is a picture of my swollen feet. To celebrate the beginning of the third trimester, I went back to work. Somehow I managed to work for the first and third trimesters, when you are more uncomfortable and be off during the second trimester, when you feel the best and have the most energy. Oh well. Despite the swollen feet from the heat and running around all day, everything went well.


Another update: last week I had my doctor's appointment. The doctor said that the baby was measuring right on target and that everything looked good. I also did the glucose screener at this appointment, which screens you to see if you need to be tested for gestational diabetes. My screener results came back high, meaning that I would need to take the 3 hour glucose tolerance test to determine if I did indeed have gestational diabetes. When I got the news that my screener was high, I completely freaked out. I just wanted the baby to be okay and while there are many things that can be done to control the diabetes and most babies are born perfectly fine, I was still very worried. I scheduled the 3 hour test for the next day, and Michael, being the great husband that he is, took the morning off of work to come with me. You have to fast before the test and when you get there, the lab techs immediately take your blood. You then drink a liquid that is very concentrated with sugar and your blood is taken every hour for the next three hours. After a long morning and being poked by needles, I went home to nap (that sugar crash sure makes you tired)!! The next day I received a call from the nurse at my doctor's office telling me that everything had come back perfectly normal and I did NOT have gestational diabetes. *Huge sigh of relief* Here's to hoping that this last trimester is smooth sailing!

Baby Morph!

I thought it would be funny to try out one of those websites that takes your pictures and shows you what your potential child would look like. A lot of times the result is a weird looking, alien baby. I thought ours actually didn't turn out so bad, although he/she has some odd looking hair and I'm not sure what's going with the shadow on the left side of the face. Still fun to do, and I can't to wait to see what he REALLY looks like!

Camera Upgrade!

I haven't taken the opportunity to brag about the new camera my hubby got me for our anniversary! I had a camera that my parents had gotten me when I graduated college, and while it worked, it was outdated and was slowly losing steam. I'm not the excellent photographer that Michael is, so it's nothing too fancy, but it's perfect for me. And it's red!

Changing Pad for Baby or Awesome Cat Bed?

Cheers to One Year!!

J&M from Jenny Pretekin on Vimeo.

24 Weeks!

I can hardly believe that we are already that we are already at the 6 month mark. Time sure does fly! Our little guy will be here before you know it!

I know some women are very opposed to the belly shots, but I love them! I think they will be a great reminder in years to come of this exciting time in the Pretekin family!

A Nursery In Progress & Time Flies

The nursery for our baby boy is underway! Last week my mom helped me paint the room (a nice sage green) and we picked out the fabrics for the crib. My mom, who has excellent sewing skills, will be making the skirt and the bumper for the crib, as well as pillows for the room. The fabrics (a green, yellow, and red plaid, as well as a red gingham and a yellow gingham) will be perfect! The crib and dresser are on their way, and I am working on painting a bookshelf black to match. I can't wait to see the finished product! Pictures will be posted once everything has come together.

On a separate note, I can't believe that we are now more than halfway there. The other day I was talking to Michael and suddenly realized I would be going back to work here in about a month. Once I'm back at work, things will get busy and before I know it, our little one will be here. I can't wait to meet him!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!!

On Sat., Michael and I went to the Rockies games with my parents! Their Fourth of July celebration was held a day early since the Rockies were not playing a night game on the 4th. We had a great time, despite the very hot weather, my incredibly swollen feet, and the Rockies losing. Happy 4th of July!!

Baby's first baseball game and fireworks display! I think he enjoyed the fireworks, as he did a little moving around then!

A beautiful shot of Coors Field!

This Week in Weird...

These speed limit signs are posted all over the complex where my doctor's office is. How does one drive at 17 1/2 miles an hour? What happens if you go 17 mph? How about 18?

20 Weeks!

Here I am at 20 weeks! We're halfway there and can't wait to meet out little guy!

Boy, Oh Boy!!

It's official! Baby Pretekin is a boy! We had our appointment on Tuesday and found out that not only is Baby Pretekin a boy, but he is healthy and growing right on schedule. We couldn't be more excited!

I went to a little breakfast gathering at my mother-in-law's house, where she and some of our friends guessed the sex of the baby. Not everyone made it to the gathering, but we had a lot of guesses. There were 7 votes for a girl and 6 votes for a boy.


There was a boy duck and a girl duck...

The boy duck!!

And they called it kitty love...

Summertime Fun!

Here's a Pretekin Update:
Jenny: I am finished with school for the summer!! I am excited to continue to work on organizing our office and to paint the baby's room. I am also thrilled that in about 2 weeks my mom and dad will permanently be moved back here from their time living overseas. Basically, I am planning on having a relaxing summer spending time with friends and family before going back to work and before the little one arrives late next fall.
Michael: M is continuing to work hard this summer. He seems to be enjoying his job and finding a lot of success there. He is also hard at work in pursuing his electrical engineering degree. In online degrees you don't get to take the summer off, but luckily we will be taking a short trip to California to celebrate his cousins graduation, which should be a wonderful time. Otherwise, he will be hard at work and will continue to be a supportive and caring husband to his pregnant wife.
Baby P: Our last appointment went well, and Baby P continues to grow. The heart rate was again 160, which still puts the baby in the "girl" range. (Quicker hear rates - anything over 140 beats per minute - tend to be indicative of a girl. I am told that the quick heart rate is a 75% predictor that the baby will be a girl) Our next appointment is June 15th and this is the big one! Hopefully Baby P will cooperate and we will be able to see if we are having a boy or a girl. After feeling the belly and sensing the "baby energy," our friends and family are split on their guess of our child's gender. Place your bets! I am also looking forward to being able to feel Baby P move here very shortly!
Cheers to Summer!

Bumps & Booty

First up, the baby bump: Baby P has gone through quite the growth spurt in the past few weeks. Here I am, 15 weeks along and definitely looking preggers.


Next, the baby booty: We have been so blessed to receive some generous gifts for the baby! We have gotten quite a few books. My mom sent us "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Chronicles of Narnia" popup books by Robert Sabuda. These books are unbelievable - the popups are truly amazing! I don't think my pictures even come close to doing these books justice. We have also received some other cute items for baby - a little outfit, a bath towel, a bib, and a teddy bear.