Congratulations Laurie and Craig!!

Here is a picture of my former co-worker's new baby William Craig (being held by Sharon)
Isn't he beautiful? Laurie moved to Iowa to be near her parents but she drove up so station 77 could meet her new baby. Oh and she didn't tell anyone she was preggers until she was like 22 weeks!! I was like what!? We could have been talking baby stuff this whole time!! Then two weeks later she moved.

Here is a picture of the new mama (sitting) and Halima and Ellen the hosts of her baby shower.
William arrived on September 10 but he wasn't due until October 16Th. Gave everyone a little scare but he is doing wonderful now!! Laurie is the only person I knew that was having a boy like me so it was sad that she moved. It would have been nice to have someone to talk to about this stuff!! My other co-worker had her daughter, Emma Shay, a couple weeks ago but I haven't had a chance to meet her yet. I hear she is adorable too!!

I still have two months before my special little guy arrives and I am counting down!! I am officially in my 8Th month and am already trying to convince "belly" that he can arrive on his due date (Nov. 24Th).

There are so many changes going on in every one's life right now. People are moving, starting school, getting engaged, having babies, etc. It is tough to keep track of everyone. I hope everything is going well for you all!

Love,

Mama Panda

"belly" looks just like his dad

My clinic only does a twenty week ultrasound unless there is reason to believe more are needed. I am grateful that our boy is developing well but I wanted to see him again!A co-worker of mine is going to school to be an ultrasound tech at Argosy and told me that they need people to do ultrasounds for instructing the students. Long story short (too late) I went and here are some pics. He showed up really well on screen but the pictures printed dark...

I wanted to show this picture bc it is his chin, lips, and nose (along with his arm and hand covering his eyes). I couldn't believe how much he looks just like Derek! You may think I am crazy but I know it 's true. Never doubt a mommy!! I already see so much of Derek in our special little guy.

Here is his profile. Again sorry the pictures printed so dark!
These are his feet.
The teacher at this ultrasound and the tech at our twenty week ultrasound both commented that our baby is very photogenic. This may sound like a mommy bragging but I don't care!! Our baby was very cooperative and it was amazing to get to see him again. He only acted up once when he flipped and pushed his butt up in the air. He does this often to me which makes my stomach stick out in an odd bump just under my right ribcage. He is measuring a little bit large, just by four days. It isn't enough to change my due date but it makes me hope he will be born sooner rather than later. 10 months is soooo long to wait!

We decided to stop looking for houses because it was too frustrating. We will continue our search in 6 months and hopefully we will have better luck. The only good part of this decision is that we are going to start putting the nursery together soon! We have to replace the carpet first but hopefully I will have pictures of "belly's" room soon.

"Belly" is healthy and I am guessing pretty happy considering what I good boy he is being for me. We can't wait for him to arrive and have already bought him a Kenneth Cole Reaction sport coat and button down shirt and Ralph Lauren Polo layette.

What? They were on sale...



Love,

Mama Panda

Stupid houses

So FYI we didn't end up buying the house we had bid on. Boo. We continue to look but haven't found anything. We have broadened our search to townhouses cuz we have seen every house this side of the Mississippi. I was feeling so very sad last night so Derek bought me flowers.
He is a sweetheart, I know I am very lucky!! How women get through pregnancy without a supportive partner baffles me. It has been vital to have him with me the last few months. Next time you see Derek tell him he is a wonderful guy!
On a lighter note, look at how fat I am...
My belly button has officially popped out but our little "turkey" isn't done till around Thanksgiving. Everything continues to go well with the pregnancy, he seems very healthy. Yay!!

People ask a lot about his name. We have one picked out that we love but we are keeping it a secret. His middle name will be Derek though as it is tradition for the first born son to have the father's name as the middle name. As of now I can confirm he is "Belly" Derek Schille. So there you have it, at least you all know most of his name!

Thanks for reading my blog!

Love,

Mama Panda

Too much to do!!

Like many expectant mothers that just entered the third trimester (yippee!) I am now feeling overwhelmed at all that must be done. I have successfully been putting off writing my integration paper for grad school (thank you, no applause please) but my October 1st deadline in approaching fast. So I have roughly 30-40 more pages to write in the next few weeks. But there are other things to do like going to the state fair...
Derek and I had a bid on a house accepted, I am not one to count my chickens before they hatch (no pun intended) so any prayers or positive energy that can be sent our way will be appreciated. If nothing catastrophic happens we will be closing by the end of the month. So between finishing my paper and practicum field work I will also (hopefully) be moving. Oh yeah and having a baby. Am I nuts?! Yes, but fortunately I am trained to talk myself off a ledge if need be. I knew someday a master's in psychology would come in handy. Thank goodness we already have the two most essential baby items purchased
The gnome was Derek's 1st father's day gift I got for him last June with the hopes it will go in the garden of a new house. Derek bought this book that details all the ways our son can break his arm and blow things up.

Perfect.

As long as my son doesn't have any head trauma I am sure I'll be able to handle it. I think I may have my hands full but it will be a lot of fun!!

Love,

Mama Panda