Maternity Pictures

OK. it's taken me a while (this is my second attempt though, I promise!) but here are some of the maternity pictures we had taken in Nov. I can't remember what week I was at during this but it was about 2 1/2 months from my due date. One of the girls from Lightsource Photography came out to our house on a Sunday and shot these for us. We never used the bridal session from our wedding picture package so she graciously did this for us instead. I don't think Nathan was too enthusiatic to participate but he was a good sport and did it for me. There are a lot more but this is gives you a sample. For some reason, it took forever just to get these to upload.

In other baby news, I had my 36 week appt. on Wednesday. It went good but Dr. Durer said I measured a little on the small side again. He doesn't think it's anything to worry about but at my 37th week appt. they are going to do an ultrasound just to make sure everything is as it should be. He said he thinks it just because I have good abdominal muscles (yay!) so everything is nice and taught I guess AND Rocco's head is very low. I wasn't dilated yet but I guess him being so low is what is causing the uncomfortableness I've been dealing with the past week or so. It's getting harder and harder to sleep through the night and find a comfortable position. I know I don't have much longer to go and everyone says it's all worth it in the end but I ready to be done. I am ready to meet my baby boy, see what he looks like, give him lots of love and start our new life together as a family of 4. I am also ready for my old body back, to be able to wear more than just my Ugg boots, to not be swollen, etc., etc. When the Dr. asked me if I had any questions at my last appointment, I told him, 'No, I just have complaints!" He said to lay them on him. I really like him and hope is available when it's go time to deliver the baby. And let's hope there isn't a blizzard or freezing rain to deal with either (might as well ask for ideal conditions now while I can!)

-Dawn

This and That and Some Fun Websites

I can't believe that Christmas is next week. This month is flying by. I usually send Christmas cards sent out the weekend after Thanksgiving but this year I was waiting to receive our maternity pictures so I could use one of those on the card. However, by the time I received the pictures (which I will post soon. I tried to post them this past Sunday but I was experiencing technical difficulties so I gave up) I decided to forgo Christmas cards. I feel guilty not sending any but I realized we will be sending birth annoucements in a month or so and that is a lot of stamps. So in lieu of that, I have posted a fun website here for you to enjoy where you can make your own snowman. Consider this the card from the Meyer's this year. We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

https://www.umb.com/HolidayCard/index.html?ECARD_ID=1-7PVPH

Another fun website that my sister-in-law told us about on Thansksgiving tells you how many people in the US have the same name as you. Check it out at:

http://www.howmanyofme.com/

I did some research on my family and family-to-be (baby). Here are our results:

Dawn Meyer: 173
Dawn Waller: 40
Nathan Meyer: 158
Graham Meyer: 10
Rocco Meyer: 9 (This one surprises me. I didn't think there would be this many. So when our Rocco is born, there will be 10 Rocco Meyer's and 10 Graham Meyer's!)

There are 170,970 people in the U.S. with the last name Meyer.
Statistically the 163rd most popular last name.

Speaking of "Rocco", we attended the Rocco Family Christmas on Sunday. This is all of the extended family on my mom's side of the family. It's held at a rented room in a senior living center where one of our family member's lives and they reported we've been having this holiday celebration for 70 years. This year's was the biggest with 130 people. It's crazy because it just gets bigger and bigger each year with the new additions to the family. I really don't know a lot of the names of the teenagers and small children of people that are my 2nd or 3rd cousins. Anyway, someone dresses up as Santa every year and hands out presents to the kids. As Santa was calling names, I realized that once our baby boy is involved in this tradition, there could be some confusion. Santa was constantly calling out names such as JOHN ROCCO, JACKSON ROCCO, PATRICK ROCCO, etc. I realized when he just calls ROCCO or ROCCO MEYER a lot of people may start to get up or our baby will think all of the other Rocco presents are for him! :) Shoot, he may think the whole party is for him! :)

Last week Graham was the lead in his play, Elfis and the Sleigh Riders. He was Elfis and he did a really good job. I have a feeling the video we have is too big to post on here but I will see what I can do. He had a big, black wig, gold sunglasses and a white jumpsuit. Most of his lines consisted of, "Thank you, thank you very much" and "uh-huh". He did do a little spoken word over some music all by himself. It was hilarious and we were all very proud of him. The video will be used as black mail later in life, I'm sure! :) I do have some pictures I can post.

This is a busy week for the Meyer's but most of our plans are separate. Monday I had a Christmas dinner with some friends at Dave and Buster's. It was a nice time. There are 3 of us pregnant and almost everyone else there has had kids so there was a lot of pregnancy and labor/delivery talk. Last night, Nathan and Graham went to the Blues Hockey game where they honored Bret Hall. Tonight I have a baby doctor appt. and Nathan has a consultaion appointment about the new tatoo he is getting next week (this is his Christmas present!). Tomorrow, he has a Christmas party for the new company that he's working for and then Friday I have a Christmas dinner with some friends from high school. I don't think we have anything on Sat. but then Sunday is the Meyer family Christmas over at my in-laws.

After today, my doctor appointments will be weekly. As of tomorrow, I will be 35 weeks! Not much longer yet some days I think 5 more weeks still sounds like forever.

Anyway, we hope everyone has a great week and a Happy Holiday!

Thanks,
Dawn

7 Weeks To Go!

I haven't posted much lately so I figured a little update was due. We have been getting ready for the holidays and waiting for baby Rocco. The nursery is done and everything is bought and ready. I have one more shower (at work) next week. I think we'll get gift cards at that one so that will be nice to have once the baby is here and we figure out other stuff that we need.

Our Thanksgiving was nice. We had my family over for brunch and then headed to Nathan's parents' house for dessert. We never a "traditional" Thanksgiving meal but we were perfectly OK with that. Maybe we'll go back to that next year though so Rocco doesn't think Thanksgiving consists of pancakes, sausage, donuts, fruit, etc. :)

I had a doctor appt. this week and all is well. I got the H1N1 vaccination. The baby is measuring good and I got a lot of questions answered. In addition, Nathan and Dr. Durer had a little debate over such topics as vaccinations, population control, etc. As the dr. was leaving, he said they would tackle gun control next time! I told them when I am in labor and delivery, I may have to cut them off at that point so they can focus on me. It was pretty funny to see them have a friendly debate about this stuff.

Here's what's going on with Rocco and me at 33 weeks pregnant:

The 33rd week of pregnancy and the four weeks that follow mark a time of astounding growth as your baby reaches his ultimate birth weight.

He weighs about 4 1/2 pounds and might grow a full inch in length this week alone! He's grown to about 12 1/2 inches from crown to rump, or about the length of an average pumpkin.

Your baby continues to gain weight rapidly — about a half pound a week.

The pupils of his eyes can now adjust to bright or dim light, just like yours.

His lungs continue to develop.

Your amniotic fluid has reached its maximum level now — there's simply no more room! With less fluid to cushion them, your baby's kicks might feel a bit uncomfortable. This is definitely true. I feel like he scrapes against my skin these days rather than kicks!

When you're 33 weeks pregnant and in the weeks to come, your body prepares for the upcoming demands of labor and delivery.

Your muscles are probably sore all over from carrying your almost full-grown baby! YES!

Your growing baby might be making it more difficult for you to sleep. YES!!

You're likely to feel practice contractions or false labor pains (Braxton-Hicks) soon. I had this once a few weeks ago.

You probably will continue to gain about a pound a week during the 33rd week of pregnancy and the next several weeks.

You're probably thinking about labor and delivery right now. It's natural for you to feel excited as well as anxious. Or scared Sh*tless!


I woke up this morning with the worst Charlie Horse in my leg. I was screaming and just kept thinking, "Is this what I'm in for (but in a different region) during labor?" If so, GIVE ME THE EPIDURAL ASAP!!!

I'm hoping to get our maternity pictures back soon. I may try to use one for our Christmas cards if I get them in time. Either way, I may pass on cards this year since we'll be sending out birth annoucements in the new year! I will also try to post some pictures of the nursery soon. In the meantime, we hope everyone else is doing well!

Love,
Dawn

Baby Shower #2

Last weekend my friends threw me a baby shower on Sat., Nov. 7th. It was very nice and I appreciate all of the time and effort that was put into the planning. There were a lot of people there and we got a lot of nice things for the baby. The theme went along with our nursery (stars and moons) and I feel very lucky and blessed to have such great friends. Thanks to everyone who planned, attended and gave gifts. My mother-in-law took some pictures while I was opening presents so I'll post those for now. Kelly is going to email me the pictures she took that will show other highlights from the day. I will post those when I get them from her.

Ann and Amy playing a game

Today we are getting some pregnancy pictures taken by Lightsource Photography. They did our wedding pictures and they turned out awesome. The wedding package we purchased came with a bridal session (just me in my dress on a non-wedding day) but I never got around to scheduling the session. So the nice photographers agreed to do a maternity session for me instead. I'm not sure how I feel about this. Part of me wants to get the pictures because being pregnant is a special time in any woman's life and who knows if I'll even go through this again or not (but hopefully at least one more time!). Also, I haven't really taken a lot of pictures since I've been pregnant. And the ones that I have, aren't the most attractive. So I figure a professional can capture this moment in the most beautiful way. However, another part of me wonders if it's corny or stupid. But I pushing that part aside and sticking with the positive. I'm sure I'll look back on the photos one day and smile about the 9 months of pregnancy I endured to bring our child into this world. Needless to say, Nathan is not excited about this but I appreciate him going through with it for my sake. I'm not sure how long it will take for us to get the pictures back but you know I will post them when I do!

Have a great week,

Dawn

(10 weeks and counting!)

Baby Shower #1 / Halloween

Last weekend was my first baby shower. It turned out fabulous! It was held at one of my favorite restaurants, Cannoli's. My mom and mother-in-law did an excellent job of hosting. The food was delicious, the guests were many and the gifts were generous. This was a family baby shower; my friend shower is next week. And I think I will have a work shower in December. Nathan and I are very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. Here are a few pictures from the Shower #1. (Again, ignore the date stamp!)

Cupcake Cake

Me opening gifts

Crystal and Aunt Carol playing a game

My diaper cake

The sheet/pillow case gift that made me tear up!

Aubrey, Rachel, Bethany, Jessica and me

Some of our loot!

The sock bouquet that my mother-in-law made

*******

Nathan and I attended two Halloween parties this year. The first one was at Ann and Tim's house last weekend. I dressed as Miss Piggy and Nathan wore some big, old man hands. Don't ask! Looking at the pictures, I realized that Miss Piggy wasn't the most attractive costume for a pregnant lady to wear. And I should never dye my hair platinum blonde!

Last night, we went to a Halloween party at my brother's friends' house, Jason and Amanda. It was also a 30th birthday party for Josh who officially celebrated 30 years of life on Wednesday, Oct. 28th. Happy Birthday to my little bro! Anyway, this Halloween party was one of the best house parties I have seen in a long time. There was food, free drinks, games, costumes, great decorations, lots of people and an awesome DJ that had many people up and dancing. We decided to go the easy route for this party and dress as a biker couple. (Nathan didn't look much different that he does most days though! ha! ha!)

Miss Piggy

All of the dressed up ladies

Wacko Jacko!

Bun in the oven (Toni is pregnant for real!)

Nathan, Jason (aka: Buddy from Elf) and Josh

Josh with a HUGE tennis racket

Christa

Josh and Nathan playing beer pong

me and Christa

me and Nathan ( Bikers! :) )

Josh's bday cake

Josh cutting his cake

Today is actually Halloween. Since Graham doesn't want to dress up and go trick or treating, we are handing candy out at home and then I think we're heading over to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law's house (Rachel and Eric) to hang out with them and their kids. Hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween!

-Dawn

Third trimester, Baby!

So as of yesterday (10/22) I am 27 weeks pregnant. However, as of Wednesday (10/21), I am officially in my third trimester (according to me since I'm 3 months from my due date). So I guess I'm in the home stretch. Since it seems that almost everyone I know is having baby boys, I keep thinking that there is something going on to cause this. I have no idea what it is but I've just never heard of so many baby boys on the way (or maybe I've never quite paid attention like I do now). But I was reading a blog post from www.dooce.com and found this story to be pretty funny regarding the drama/intensity/craziness of raising a girl so I thought I'd share. Maybe you can comment if you agree or not. I know when I was hoping for a baby girl, a lot of my friends told me that their baby boys are so sweet and less dramatic. Although if Graham has his way, our baby boy will be a drama king (He told Nathan and I one night that he hopes the baby is dramatic!) Anyway, here is the post (Leta is the 5 1/2 year old daughter of Heather and Jon Armstrong. Katey is Heather's assistant):

All grown up
Jon calls me into the kitchen where Leta is having a snack, and our assistant Katey has just finished up some paper work. I ask what's going on, and he motions for all of us to look at Leta. The three of us surround her as Jon tries to stick his finger in her mouth, a risk not unlike trying to pet an alligator.
"STOP IT!" she screams and immediately covers her mouth with both hands.

"Leta," Jon says with a tone of exasperation that has filled this house for oh, five and a half years. "Show them your tooth."

She vigorously shakes her head without removing her hands as Jon explains that her front left tooth is loose, and both Katey and I cannot help but SQUEEEE!!!! Our little baby Leta is about to lose her first tooth! We both remember when she had none!

Leta interprets our squeeeing as mockery, and hops off her chair. "IT'S NOT FUNNY!" she yells, temporarily letting her arms hang by her side. So we explain in great detail why we made that horrible, high-pitched noise, tell her that this is a Huge Event In Her Life, and doesn't she know? Oh Leta! THE VERY BEST PART! The Tooth Fairy is coming!

"But I don't want the tooth fairy to come," she says, only because that's what girls do. They want drama, they thrive on irrational thinking, they want you to scratch your head and go WTF?!!

"Leta," I start to explain, "the Tooth Fairy comes and leaves you money. MONEY. M-O-N-E-Y."

"But I don't want money!" she says. "I want presents!"

That's when all three of us, Jon, Katey and I, we simultaneously groan, "YOU CAN USE THE MONEY TO BUY PRESENTS, LETA."

She stands there blinking her eyes for several seconds, and then she reaches up into her mouth to feel her loose tooth.

"Okay," she says calmly. "I can work with that."

Are you pregnant and expecting a girl? GOOD LUCK.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that I'm probably going to be thankful for having a baby boy who will hopefully be a little less dramatic and a little easier to deal with. I can tell you from working all females, that I know women can be moody, catty, crazy and just dreadful sometimes. In fact, the book I'm reading right now is called, "Men are Stupid, Women are Crazy". (So men shouldn't be all high and mighty either! :) )

Looking forward to my family baby shower this Sunday. I will hopefully take some pictures to post next week!

Have a great weekend,
Dawn

Pumpkin Patch

So we took our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch this past Sat. but we tried a new place this year called Eagle Fork in Troy, MO. I liked it but the pumpkin selection wasn't the greatest. They either had ginormous pumpkins or small pumpkins. My sister-in-law said they had a lot more when she was there a few weekends ago so maybe they just can't keep up with the demand. But we had a good time and it wasn't as cold as I thought it would be. Here are some pictures. Ignore the date stamp on them!

L-R: Graham. Lexie, Clayton & Elaina

Adelyn

Graham

Lexie and Graham after Rachel dumped corn kernels down his back

Chantel

Clayton

Graham

Elaina

Nathan

Graham running through the corn maze

Graham and Clayton in the corn maze

Heavenly Fried Twinkie! Yes, I ate the whole thing by myself!

Sunday we picked up the dresser we bought for the baby's room. We love it but it sure does seem a lot bigger in the little room than it seemed at the store. It almost matches our crib perfectly. I'll post some pictures of the room when it's finished. We have a few things to hang up in there still, need to get some curtains and need to get the bedding at one of the upcoming showers (hopefully at the one this weekend!).

Have a great week!

-Dawn