Golden Calves and Fresh Paint

We took the plunge and bought ourselves a nice camera. No more point and shoot for the Lacy's. We decided on the Nikon D3100 SLR and love it. We have been practicing a lot. 

Here are just a few photos of Sam's flag football team. He plays for the Princeton Alumni team - the Golden Calves. The reigning champions of the the 2011 season. Sam is QB. We absolutely love making the drive to Princeton, just 45 minutes, on Saturday mornings. I love to get out, the team is fun to watch and we usually spend some time in the beautiful, peaceful, historic and safe little city :)

We decided that last weekend, two weeks out, was a perfect time to do some painting and other prep for the baby. Sam worked so hard and did an amazing job painting the nursery and our living room. We thought the stripes would be gender neutral. Turns out they are slightly more boyish. If we have a girl we will just add some purple and pink accessories :)

Well folks, we are 1 week away from D Day!! 

Sam seems pretty sure that I will be going at least a couple of days late. I'm not giving up my prayers to go early. As of Friday, Baby Lacy was estimated to be a solid 8 pounds (give or take). For most of the pregnancy EVERYONE who saw me guessed I was having a boy. Recently, however, people have been guessing it's a girl? We shall soon see!

Sam and I decided that we are definitely finding out the gender of our next child as soon as we can. I love the idea of being surprised, I really do think it will encourage me through the labor but... it would be really nice to be able to buy some more things!! We went to a really great consignment sale at a local church today but everything was divided into girls and boys. There's no such thing as gender neutral pants, apparently. Every pair I saw at Target and Babys R Us had to have a flower or a ruffle, otherwise a football or a "Just like Daddy" logo. Yes, life would be a bit easier if we knew what we were having.

Sam took me out for a lovely dinner in Old City tonight. So yummy! It was our last little splurge on a date night before the baby comes. Really special. 

Thank you Sam!

SEVEN POUNDS! Three more weeks???

Last post was two months ago! Oops. That's life for ya. Time was going so fast for awhile and I was checking off the weeks like they were days. Then at about 35 weeks I feel like time slowed down only to exaggerate the final weeks of carrying a child and everything that comes with it.

I would like to start, however, with an announcement that might bring me more pleasure than the anticipation of announcing the birth of our child - sad how true this statement is...

SAM HAS TAKEN THE LSAT!!!!!!!

It's over. At least for a few weeks until we get the scores back and he decides if he will take it again. But for now? For now, we have three weeks without the LSAT filling up every corner of our lives and without a baby (on the outside). We are thinking of ways to take advantage of this sweet time with just the two of us. Sam delivered his baby and mine is still cooking so let's live it up! Not sure what that will look like at 8 1/2 months pregnant but we will do our best.

Here are a couple of recent belly pictures to set the stage

You may or may not not be too surprised to learn that our midwife estimates Baby Lacy to already weigh SEVEN POUNDS!!! That was with 3 weeks and 3 days until due date; I got scared. So I have been asking myself, if I continue to eat healthily and provide this child with vitamins and nutrients, it will only cause him/her to grow even more right? So maybe I stick to rice cakes and nonfat frozen yogurt?

I'm mostly just kidding. I will continue to eat healthy, I promise Mom, but I am concerned for how big this baby will be on D-Day!

We completed our mindful birth class and feel much better about this childbirth thing. Especially Sam. We both learned a lot and I feel very ready for "go-time". Bag is packed and all baby necessities have been purchased. We will definitely be buying lots of clothes once we find out the gender but we have enough white/yellow/green/ducky outfits to get us through the first couple weeks.

We're ready. Let's do this, Baby Lacy!

I will leave you with some pictures from the then upcoming trip to MN for a wedding I mentioned in the last post. One of my dearest friends (since kindergarten!!!!) tied the knot at one of the most unique and beautiful venues I've seen in Minneapolis. It was a blessing to go back to MN for a second time in one summer. It was 5 days of, per usual, jam-packed time with as many friends and family as we could possibly see. Loved every minute.

Some high school ladies at the rehearsal dinner

The wedding party was invited to a pre-weekend event at Target Field. So fun!

The beautiful bride. That belly hold is just a pregnancy reflex.

Got to hang out with mom and dad at the wedding reception, too!

What a good-looking soon-to-be daddy :)

So good to catch up with old high school friends!

Sweet venue right? The ceremony was on the stage which turned into a dance floor!

Squeezed in some quality family time. Shucking some MN sweet corn on the deck.

Did some sight seeing in my own home state. That's the St. Paul Cathedral in the back. We're standing on the steps of the capital building.

Grandma and Grandpa. xoxo

Oh how I miss spending time in these MN parks and walking the Minneapolis trails through the city!

On the Stone Arch Bridge

A little flash back to us our first week of dating in front of the stone arch bridge. We had no idea what the next 4 years would hold!

Alright folks, today I am exactly 37 weeks. That means full term! That means it could reasonably happen any day :) WE CANNOT WAIT TO MEET OUR SWEET BABY!!!

Third trimester starts with a bang!

Well, until today (August 6th) life had been pretty uneventful since we returned from Texas. 

Sam started his LSAT class which is 3-4 days a week plus LOTS of homework time. He usually works on LSAT several hours during the day and then, after putting his sleepy wife to bed, works for another few hours. When he isn't doing LSAT he is usually running.

I have just been working the usual hours and trying to stay as active as I can. Sam walks with me and I try and get to the gym at least three times a week. I have also found a prenatal Pilates program I love. I don't want this baby to immobilize me anymore than the expected difficulty of essentially having an 18lb medicine ball attached to my belly. 

Last weekend we went to an orchard about an hour out of Philly with our small group from church. It was a lovely day out of the city! The orchard was beautiful, we picked blueberries, raspberries and blackberries to last a couple of weeks and they had the most delicious market for lunch. A very fun retreat.

Loving the gravel roads and greenery.

This is what Sam had for lunch. Then ice cream of course.

Soaking up the sunshine.

Now, here are some belly pics. A little more up close and personal so scroll down quickly if you're not interested in seeing skin.

It just keeps on growing! Sam seriously believes it gets bigger every day. I sure hope not considering I have three months to go. Yup, third trimester started yesterday (August 5th). I have accepted the fact that things are just going to get less and less comfortable from here on out. 

So here comes the 'bang' I referred to in the title...

Monday morning (today) - wake up, get ready for work, eat a good breakfast and drink two glasses of water before heading out the door. I was feeling totally fine. Start driving to work and about 10 minutes from home something is very wrong. 

I suddenly feel light-headed, dizzy, my vision is bright/blurry, I'm nauseous, sweating buckets and just know I'm about to pass out. This all comes on within a matter of a few blocks. I was able to pull over (in a NO PARKING ANYTIME zone). I called 911 and was able to slowly slur out the fact that I was 6 months pregnant and about to pass out. The problem was, I could not tell them where I was. For the life of me I could not think of the name of the cross streets I was at.

I tried yelling out the window to ask people walking by but no one seemed to hear me - just like in a nightmare!! Finally, one guy noticed that I was hanging half out of the car and came over. He took one look at my ghost white and sweating face and when I asked "Where am I?" he said he would drive me to the hospital! Kindness in Philly???

So this sweet guy drives me to the hospital, I never even got his name. We hope God blessed his good deed! I made it to a bed before I started throwing up. Somehow I managed to remain conscious through the entire thing - barely. Poor Sam got a text message saying "Come to Pennsy ER". A kind friend from church drove him to meet me. They did all kinds of tests which all came back normal except that I am still anemic. I've been working on getting my iron up for months now - gotta step up my efforts :(

Anyways, what they decided happened was that probably the baby just settled in a position that constricted some big important vein that delivers blood to the brain. So my blood pressure plummeted and I very nearly passed out. Thank goodness I didn't. Also glad I wasn't driving on the highway at the time! The doctor called this a vasovagal episode which I think is essentially fainting.

They gave me lots of fluids, we got to watch the olympics on T.V. and then went home. Exhausted form the whole experience but baby Lacy and I are fine! Just kinda scary that they could not say with 100% certainty that is what it was and also that there is nothing I can do to prevent it from happening again.

Praying, praying, praying for God to get us through 3rd trimester healthy. I can't wait to have this baby on the outside of my body!

Hoping nothing more eventful will come up until the baby comes. Except our trip to MN for my dear friend Amy's wedding in two weeks! My bridesmaid dress is at the tailor's. Hope she can do some magic to make my belly fit :)

Good 'Ol Texas

Our week in Texas was a blast! So much fun with family, lots and lots of laughter and absurd amounts of amazing southern food. 

The Lacy brothers are the best. Sam can always jump back in the middle of them like he was never gone. It never stops amazing me that Sam's mother, Jo, had FOUR boys in FIVE years. It is so much fun now but can you imagine going to the grocery store with a 1, 2, 4 and 5 year old? We want a big family but we are going to do our best to space the babies out a little more. We'll see what God has in store for us though. It truly is a blessing to spend time with the boys and wives and now the children. I cherish the short time we get to spend with all of the Dallas Lacy's!

Brother sandwich minus Matt 

(Jared on the left & Jack on the right)

Tickle fight!!

Jack and Steph's three-year-old, Hannah, loves play time with Uncle Jared

It was truly a refreshing week of vacation for Sam and me. Jared and Kristen were kind enough to let us stay in their guest bedroom for the whole week. It was like being at a bed & breakfast! Sam and I completely sank into the suburban life of huge yards, quiet neighborhoods, spacious homes (mansions compared to our apartment in PA). 

Sam went running every day we were there and really appreciated being able to run more than one block without hitting a lighted intersection. He preferred the dry Texas heat to the humidity of Philly too. I went for walks and did not have to carry my pepper spray! 

We also indulged ourselves with the T.V. Sports Center for Sam and Food Network for me. It was lovely. It made me miss television. Sam said the week gave him his fix and now he doesn't feel the need to buy a T.V. For now. 

And of course... the FOOD!!

Breakfast on morning #1. Welcome to Texas.

I personally LOVE biscuits and gravy. The Lacy's know how to do it! Some other Texas-specific delicacies I particularly enjoyed: 

7am Diet Dr. Pepper with Kristen

FURR'S country buffet

Jared's smoked ribs and chicken

Breakfast donuts from the bakery near Jared and Kristen

Yogurtville frozen yogurt

Souper Salad Buffett

Sam had been on a pretty good diet but let himself go in Texas (good thing he kept the runs up!). On several mornings he woke up and helped himself to a Coke, a Twix and some Fudge Rounds. SERIOUSLY! Also lots and lots of Oreo's consumed that week. We were ready for a little detox when we got back but we really, really, really enjoyed the week of yummy treats!

We got to celebrate three incredible years of marriage while we were there. I can't say that it was intentional to get married on a national holiday but I have to say I'm glad we did. It is nice that everyone gets the day off of work and can hang out with us every year on the 4th of July. Not to mention the big get-togethers, the food and of course fireworks that are pretty much a given on our anniversary every year. 

I think I have said this every year so far but - it seems like we have been married longer than three years! 

From the time we got engaged (December 2008) to now we have moved a total of SEVEN times. Since then I have had EIGHT different employers! 

Sam has read countless books, written hundreds of pages on history and religion, studied for multiple standardized tests and written several applications. Everything that got us where we are today. Whew!

We are finally in an apartment we THINK we can see ourselves in for more than a year. I feel more like a grown-up having some stability. Having this baby will really bring us into full-blown adulthood. Can't wait. 

It was a wonderful anniversary spent with the family! Relaxing day then dinner and fireworks.

 Pre-dinner photo shoot in Jared and Kristen's back yard.

Happy Anniversary!

Gecko is also pregnant?

SURPRISE!!!! Our big family dinner was also a baby shower - so sweet!!! Love my sisters-in-law!!

A beautiful and DELICIOUS creation by Kristen Lacy - thank you!!

Our sweetie-pie nieces Clara and Hannah. Cute cousins just one month apart.

"Another Lacy Baby". Apparently our not finding out the gender messed up some gifting plans. Hence the neutral black personalized onesie - thanks J and K!

This adorable onesie will work for a boy or girl - love it, J and S!

I think Jared is the favorite uncle!

After dinner we went back to Matt and Rebecca's for cake and bib decorating! 

Love from the TX Aunties :)

L to R - Kristen, Stephanie and Rebecca on my right xoxo

Sam's parents.

Time for fireworks!!

The first grandchild, Asher, is growing so fast! 5 years old and sooo big!

On the 5th we had an amazing BBQ at J and K's then went to an outdoor concert on the lake with a splash park and surprise fireworks again - so fun!

Friday night the brothers went to the Rangers/Twins game - guess who Sam cheered for...

One week out of the summer and every other Christmas is just never enough 

with our sweet nieces and nephew!

We miss our Texas family already. We can't wait until we can go back and bring our baby with us! 

God blessed Texas ;)