Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all! It's a little early...6:30 to be exact. Kaia was the 1st one up this morning! We came over to Josh's parents at 6, thinking that surely all the other kids would be awake and ready to open gifts. When we entered the door, all was still dark. The only other ones up were Josh's brothers. So, we're waiting for all the little ones to wake up! We went to church last night and after gifts this morning we'll be heading to Grandma and Grandpa Keller's.

We've had lots going on the last couple weeks. We got our stuff moved into our new place. Now comes the fun of trying to put it all away. We're excited for a new beginning! Kaia had her 4 month appointment: She weighed 15 lbs 10 1/2 oz. She was 24 3/4" long! She's getting so big and we're glad she's growing so well! But it's getting awfully heavy carrying her around in her car seat! She also tried cereal for the first time this week! She did better than I expected...she did well with the spoon, but not as well with swallowing! But she'll get the hang of it. She seems so big now that she can start to eat like a big girl!

We're doing well...I'll post Christmas pictures later. Enjoy your day celebrating the birth of Christ!!

New pictures!

Kaia watching Sampson and Berkeley out on the deck.

Kaia's 1st visit to Santa!

Kaia's 1st Christmas present! She's enjoying the paper!

Kaia and Kaitlyn with Baby Finn and Courtney

4 Months Old!

Kaia turned 4 months old on Saturday and we have lots of updates to share! First, Kaia has 2 new friends! Finnean Michael was born on December 2nd to our friends Michael and Courtney!! And Skyler was born to our friends Matt and Traci on December 3rd! Kaia's excited to have new friends!! Since Kaia's birth, 4 of our friends have had little ones, and they've all been boys! It's kinda funny how that works! We have some friends due in the Spring, so it'll be interesting to see if any of them have girls!

We've been busy getting ready to move and finally got the truck down to Bloomfield very late Friday night. We had Swaim family Christmas on Saturday, so we didn't get any moving done that day. But it was great to see everyone! We got the truck unloaded Sunday morning before the cold front moved in. We've had 40 degree weather this weekend, which was great for moving. In fact, it was in the 60's yesterday morning, but quickly dropped to single digits, complete with lots of sleet. We were glad we got the truck back before the weather changed. Now comes the hard part: unpacking and finding a place for everything! We have a few more things to move out of our other apartment, so we'll get that finished up this week.

Kaia's been a busy girl! She's a pro at rolling over now. She's got rolling over from her back to her tummy mastered, and is working on rolling from her tummy to her back. She's very interested in the world now, and loves looking at everything. Especially Christmas lights. She reaches for her toys and just about everything. Josh found out the hard way that he can't have food in front of him while Kaia's sitting on her lap-she dumped it all over him and the floor!! She's found her toes, so she loves reaching for those as well!

We're doing well. Busy as usual, but doing great! We'll keep you posted as we get time!! Have a great Christmas!!

Kaia all bundled up for her 1st snow!

On Thanksgiving...all that turkey must have worn her out too!

Kaia with Daddy at Grandpa Morlan's funeral

Kaia with Mommy at the Science Center

3 Months Old!

Kaia is 3 months old today! In some ways it seems to have gone by so quickly, and in others it seems that she's been part of our family for longer! I was looking at pictures of our friends Bridget and Dan's new baby Liam, and it's hard to believe how much Kaia has grown in such a short amount of time. She's such a good baby and we're so blessed. She's really starting to use her voice now and I think she's going to be a chatterbox! She loves to have people talk to her and she loves to "talk" back.

We didn't do too much to celebrate today. Josh has been out of town for a couple days working and getting our new apartment ready, so it was just Kaia and I. It was rainy this afternoon, so we just stayed in and played with the new play gym we got her this week. She loves it! She can't pull on the toys yet, but she loves to look at them and talk to them. She loves to look at herself in the baby mirror-she smiles every time she catches a glimpse of herself. We're looking forward to seeing her learn to play more and more each day.

Kaia with Grandma and Grandpa Swaim

Kaia with Grandma and Grandpa Swaim

Sooner than expected...

After I entered my last posting Kaia decided to roll all the way over for the first time!! I knew it was coming soon, but never expected her to do it within an hour of my last posting!!

Smiling and laughing before rolling over...

She made it all the way over all by herself!!!

Kaia has a new friend!

Congratulations to our friends Daniel and Bridget on the birth of their baby boy yesterday! Liam Patrick was born exactly 3 months from Kaia's due date! We're so happy for their new family and Kaia's excited to have a new friend to play with!

We are doing well. It was a crazy week last week-both Josh and I came down with the flu. All of Josh's family had it the 2 weeks before and we thought we'd miss it when we went down to visit, but ended up with it anyway. So my first week staying home was not quite what I had anticipated! But we're better now and Kaia hasn't seemed to pick it up, and we're hoping this week goes a little better!

Kaia's getting bigger every day and is almost out of her size 3 mo clothes! She's so close to rolling over, but can't quite get over her right arm. I think she'll get it in the next few weeks! She loves trying to reach for her toys and is getting better hand-eye coordination. And she's discovered the t.v., so she was glued to the Hawkeye game this weekend. She wouldn't even look away when I tried to feed her! So we just sat on the couch and watched the game together! Although I don't blame her...being a Hawkeye is in her blood!!

Happy Halloween!

Kaia was Tigger! She went trick-or-treating with her cousins!

11 Weeks old - Kaia loves to sit up!

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Kaia's First Playdate

Kaia's first playdate with her cousin Quinn!!

Getting Bigger

Kaia had her 2 month appointment last week. She weighed 12 lbs 7 oz and was 22" long. So she's gained a little over 4 lbs and grown 2 1/4" since birth! The doctor says she looks perfect! She's doing great-starting to grab at things with her hands and she's starting to want to put toys in her mouth. She really responds to sounds and is smiling more consistently, especially in the morning. She got her first cold last week, but is feeling much better now. Luckily it was just a cough and sniffles. But it's so hard to see her feeling sick because she can't tell you what's wrong!

We went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Keller this weekend, which was great. It's been about a month since we were home and they couldn't believe how much bigger she was! Kaia was full of smiles for them both, and she especially loved sitting on Grandma's lap.

Josh and I are both doing well. Friday is my last day at work, which we're both pretty excited about! And he had his first hearing last Thursday, which went well. Kaia and I are so proud of him! We're definitely keeping busy, but loving being parents to such a good little girl!

2 Months Old!

Kaia turned 2 months old yesterday! We can hardly believe it. In some ways it seems like it's flown by and in others it seems like she's always been with us. She's such a great baby-as you can tell from her pictures she loves to smile. And she's really starting to coo and respond when we talk to her. It's so amazing to see her grow and develop every day! She's starting to want to turn on her side. She gets her head turned around, but can't quite get her body to follow yet. And she absolutely loves music. She can be starting to get fussy and as soon as you turn on some music her eyes get wide and she'll get quiet. Kaia loves to have Josh play the guitar for her. Often he'll play the guitar and I'll sing and it puts her right to sleep. It's so exciting to learn her likes and dislikes at such a young age!

Such a happy baby!

Kaia at 5 1/2 Weeks

Some pictures from our visit to Grandma and Grandpa Great's last weekend...

I got the uploader to work!

Back to Work...

Well, I'm just beginning my 3rd day back at work. So far the worst part was the anticipation of going back. Sunday night I was really having a hard time with the idea of leaving Kaia all day, especially since I've rarely been away from her. But Monday went really well. I think it helped a lot knowing that she was in good hands. Josh is staying home with her for now until our lease is up in December. He's watching her during the day and doing some legal work at night and on Fridays. He never thought he'd be "Mr. Mom", but he is so great with her and will do a fantastic job during this temporary arrangement! I am so blessed to be married to such a great husband and father!
Aside from leaving Kaia, I'd say the hardest part has been how the change is affecting her sleeping habits. For the past week she'd been in a routine, sleeping about 8 hours. But the past couple nights she's gone back to only sleeping about 3 hours at a time. Needless to say, we hope she gets used to a new schedule soon and goes back to sleeping longer! The other difficult part for me after being home with her for 6 1/2 weeks has been fighting the urge to refer to myself as "mommy" in conversations! I think my co-workers would look at me rather strangely if I said "Mommy is ready to go to lunch now!"
This past Friday Kaia had her first babysitting experience. Josh's cousin Sarah and her family watched Kaia so we could have our first date night! We went out to dinner and ran a few errands. It was so strange for me to be able to sit in the front passenger seat of the car! Whenever we go anywhere I am always sitting in the back with Kaia! It was really nice to get out just by ourselves, although we kept mentioning how strange it was not to have her with us. We were nervous about how she'd do, but she was great and they did a fantastic job watching her!
I'm sorry it's been such a long time since our last post! Time just seems to get away from me! But we'll try to give at least weekly updates as to how we're doing!

Lots to Celebrate!

We had lots to celebrate this past weekend! Kaia turned 1 month old, and Josh passed the Bar Exam! We are so excited for both events and are feeling very blessed! We celebrated Kaia's 1 month by taking her to the mall and making her first Build a Bear! She got a bear with a little Hawkeye cheerleading outfit! We'll celebrate Josh's accomplishment on Friday after his swearing-in ceremony. Then he'll officially be an attorney! Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers throughout this whole process! We know they helped us through this whole process!!

4 Weeks Old!

Hi everyone! Kaia is 4 weeks old today! We can hardly believe it! It seems like time is going by so fast and it seems unbelievable to think she'll be 1 month old on Saturday. I'm sorry I haven't gotten any new posts up lately. It's so hard to find time to get online, and when I do it seems our internet doesn't want to work very well.

Things have been going pretty well. We had a routine going, but then this week it seems Kaia's been fussy at night and going to bed later. So we'll see if she goes back to her old sleep cycle or starts a new one. During the day she is staying awake a lot, which is great because that helps her sleep longer at night. We're still getting up twice at night to feed her. She's basically kept her same night schedule from her first 2 weeks when we had to wake her up every 3 hours to feed her. I think she got used to that and now still wants to wake up every 3 hours. However, during the day Kaia does a great job falling asleep in our arms when it's time for a nap, but has an uncanny ability to tell when we lay her down and thinks it's time to wake back up again! That has made it difficult to get anything done, especially get our own nap in!

I posted some more pictures on our facebook album:
http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readmessage.php?t=1006909570286

I know some people have let me know they are unable to view the pictures. I wonder if turning your pop-up blocker off would help. You could also right click the link and open the link in a new window. Also, be sure to click on her name in blue underneath her picture. I'm working on trying to post some pictures to a different album that you might have better luck viewing.

We'll try to keep you updated as we have time!

Update

Hello all! We are still alive! It has been quite the transition into parenthood! I never expected to spend so much time doing so little. Take today for instance. For those of you who are already parents this will look familiar. For those of you who are not yet parents, be forewarned! We were up at 1:00, 3:30 and 6:00 feeding Kaia. After her 6:00 feeding she didn't want to go back to sleep so I stayed up with her until 7:30. She woke up at 8:30 to eat again and then Josh entertained her until she went back to sleep. In the meantime I made breakfast and then suddenly I looked at the clock and it was 11:30. Time to eat. 2:00- time to eat. I fed her again and then tried to take a nap while she slept, but couldn't fall asleep. Time to eat again at 4:00. Some friends came to visit at 5:30 and then she was hungry again at 6:15 and 8:00. She usually gets fussy at night so she didn't go to sleep until 9. Now I'm about to go wake her up to feed her again! And then we'll try to sleep for a few hours and start the cycle all over again! I feel like all I do all day is provide food and change diapers! These are the most important jobs because they are essential to our daughter's well-being, but they don't leave much time for anything else! I think this has been the biggest surprise to me about becoming a parent.

We've enjoyed having a few visitors in the past couple weeks. Since we're not able to get out much yet it's been very refreshing to have friends come to us! We were especially happy that Grandma and Grandpa Great (Grandma and Grandpa Keller) were able to visit Kaia last week! They came up for Kaitlyn's birthday and stayed a couple days. This was the first distance Grandma had traveled since her illness. Grandma did great and didn't need too much recovery time after returning home! What a blessing! We were also very thankful to have Josh's mom, Julie, help us out for the first week and a half. She ran our errands for us and taught us how to do a lot and we really appreciated having her here! She definitely made us feel more confident now that we're doing everything on our own!

Our internet access has been a little erratic lately, so I've had some difficulty in posting new pictures. But, I promise that I'll get some new ones up soon. It's amazing to see that she changes every day!

Facebook Album...

I should clarify: click on the "Kaia Mae Swaim" that's in blue underneath her picture to get to the album, not her name in black at the top. I'm sorry for any confusion!

KAIA MAE SWAIM

Our picture uploader isn't working, so I'm attaching a link to a photo album on facebook so you can all see pictures of our little girl! Click the link below and then click on Kaia Mae Swaim. We'll actually probably be uploading pictures this way anyhow since you can add more at one time than on the blog. But we'll attach links to the albums and let you know when more pictures are posted. And we'll still add posts to let you know how things are going.

http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=14816265&k=YYBU6ZUZW4XM5FFDVKV4YP

She's doing great- sleeping a lot and working on learning how to nurse. We are certainly understanding why so many people advised us to get lots of rest before she came. We're not getting too much now! But Josh's mom is here helping us, which has been a huge blessing! We celebrated our 1st anniversary yesterday. We can't say that 1 year ago we would have guessed we'd celebrate our 1st anniversary by changing diapers! But we wouldn't have it any other way. Kaia is certainly worth celebrating as well! We are just so thankful to have a healthy little girl and feel very blessed to have her complete our family!

IT'S A GIRL!!

We have a new addition to the Swaim family! Kaia Mae Swaim was born on August 13th at 6:04 pm. She weighed 8 lbs 4 oz and was 19 3/4" long! Mom and baby are both doing great! Thank you all so much for all your thoughts and prayers! And congratulations to all of you who voted correctly on our poll!

More False Labor

Still no baby! It's about 4 am on Wednesday, so we're technically into our 5th day overdue. I usually fall asleep around 10 pm and sleep hard until about 3 am, and then toss and turn. Since I couldn't sleep, I decided to give those of you who faithfully check our blog the news: that there's nothing new. I've been walking like crazy and had pretty strong contractions yesterday, coming every five minutes. With my previous experience of false labor, I waited until I'd had them regularly for about 5 hours before going in. Unfortunately, I still hadn't made any progress. So we came home. I'm still having contractions, but have to wait for them to get worse before going back in. It's very frustrating! So we are going to continue to play the waiting game and hopefully watch Michael Phelps win more gold medals in the process!

+ 3

We're still waiting! The last ultrasound that I had, which was about a month ago, put our due date at August 8th. (One day earlier than previously expected) So...I am currently 3 days past my due date. I had my doctor's appointment this morning, and am still at a 4 but am 80% effaced. The doctor said 80% of women have their baby within a week of their due date, and I already knew that going past the due date is very common for first babies. So, she expects me to have the baby by Friday. I hope so! Knowing that it's natural to go past your due date is entirely different from actually going past it! It's driving me crazy!! At least I feel better knowing they won't let me go past next Monday. When my Grandma was pregnant with her first she went a MONTH over! She's an amazing woman-I don't know how she did it!

I am very thankful that the Olympics have started, since that has become a welcome distraction. Although I will admit I'm a little disappointed Baby Swaim didn't make his or her debut on 8-8-08. But I know the Lord has a special birth date for our baby! A few months ago Josh jokingly mentioned that I could have our baby on my birthday: 8-19. I told him there was no way that would happen, but now it's looking like a possibility! It's also a possibility that he or she could be born on our anniversary: 8-17. Hopefully it doesn't take that long, but we'll see. We'll keep you posted!

No Baby Yet...

Baby Swaim still has yet to make his or her appearance. The time seems to be crawling by. By Tuesday we started to go stir crazy and decided to start making the most of our time. Walking around the mall wasn't cutting it and there's only so much you can buy when you don't know what you're having. So we've spent the last 3 days going to the zoo, a baseball game, and to the first day of the state fair. I think I've walked at least 5 miles in the past 3 days, but still no contractions. At least none that are strong enough to bring on active labor. So we'll continue to wait and try to rack our brains for more things to keep our minds off of waiting! This is harder than being a little kid and waiting for Christmas! Hopefully we'll have good news for you soon!

False Labor

On Friday I had contractions all afternoon, which gradually got stronger. Once they'd been at 5 minutes apart for a couple hours, we went to the hospital. We were so excited, thinking that maybe my labor had started. We went in at 7 pm and the nurse hooked me up to the monitor, which tracks the baby's heartbeat and my contractions. After consistently having contractions ranging from 2-4 minutes apart for 4 hours, the doctor checked me. I was still at 3 cm, so they sent us home. The doctor said the contractions were either early labor or false labor, depending upon how they progressed. They continued through the night and into the morning, but gradually subsided on Saturday afternoon. Turns out I was having false labor. To be honest, I was pretty disappointed. I was so excited to meet our little one! After another day of few contractions, I've started to come to terms with the fact that we may just have to wait! Baby Swaim is just not quite ready yet. But, as I've been reminded by friends who already have kids, it's nice to enjoy this time of relaxation and rest. So that's our plan until whenever Baby decides to come! We'll let you know!

All done!

Josh is all done with his test! He had his last day yesterday. It was hard, but he got through it! Thank you all so much for all your thoughts and prayers! We celebrated today by going out to eat and going to see The Dark Knight. It was a great movie-we definitely recommend it!
I've been feeling pretty well. It's definitely feeling like August weather now-must mean the fair is around the corner! I went to the doctor yesterday and am dilated to 3! Whether that means Baby comes sooner or later we still don't know! Hopefully sooner. For so long we were praying he or she didn't come during Josh's test, but now that it's over we just want to meet our little one! And I have a feeling we might have to wait a little while. Oh well- we know it's the Lord's timing! We'll keep you updated!!

10 Days!

We're at the 10 day countdown! No baby yet. Josh is in the second day of his test, with one more day to go. Please continue to keep him in your prayers as he finishes the last leg tomorrow! Friday was my last day of work before the baby comes, so I've been busy getting things done at home. Gotta love that laundry! Josh's mom came up to help me this week, and it's very comforting to know someone is around just in case! I've been feeling pretty well and will be feeling much better once Josh is done. Then Baby can come anytime! We can't wait to meet him or her! We'll keep you all posted!
-Kaitlyn

37 Weeks!

Courtesy of babycenter.com...

Your Pregnancy: 37 Weeks

How your baby's growing: Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

18 Days!

We're starting to count down in days now! The nice thing about having your baby due around the start of the Olympics is that NBC is constantly reminding you of how many days are left! Every night after the news it flashes on the screen. Of course, this number is only a guesstimate, since in our childbirth class they informed us that only about 5% of babies actually come on their due date. But it's a point of reference at least.

Josh is also counting down the days to his test. One week from today it begins. It's safe to say he's not looking forward to it with the same joy and anticipation. So please keep him in your prayers as he continues to study hard this week!

I've been feeling pretty well. I've started having Braxton-Hicks contractions, or at least have started feeling them. They're occasional and not too painful, but are a reminder that soon our baby will be coming! Other than some very itchy stretch marks and mild swelling of my feet, my ailments have been few so I am very thankful.

We look forward to introducing Baby Swaim to you soon!!

-Kaitlyn

Family Update!

Josh got the baby's car seat all installed. We can't believe there will be a little one in there soon!!!

Berkeley and Sampson got their blood drawn for their heartworm test. Poor Sampson will get his haircut after Josh is all done with his test.

36 Weeks!!

courtesy of babycenter.com...

Your pregnancy: 36 weeks

How your baby's growing:
Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.)

1 Month to Go!!

We are officially one month away from Baby Swaim's due date!! And 3 weeks from tonight Josh will be all done with the Bar exam! (Josh just read my last sentence and is going to get more coffee.) Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he's studying these last few weeks.

While we're planning on still having 4 1/2 weeks until Baby Swaim's arrival, I am continually being reminded that the Baby will come whenever he/she is ready! So, if you haven't already you should get in your votes for whether our new family member will be a boy or girl. I decided to include a list of my latest cravings so it might help you in your decision.

• macaroni and cheese
• bacon
• chocolate cupcakes
• snickers
• cashews
• Oreo Blizzards

35 Weeks!

Courtesy of babycenter.com...

Your Pregnancy: 35 Weeks

How your baby's growing:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Interesting Quotes

Since we're into week 35 now, I thought I'd share some interesting things complete strangers have said to me throughout my pregnancy. When I first found out I was pregnant I always heard people will say the strangest things to you that they'd never say if you weren't pregnant. Now I've found out that it's true!

• "How's the Baby?" -random guy in the hallway at work.
• "I like your belly!" -random girl in the hallway at work.
• "Her belly really sticks out, doesn't it?" - another random girl at work to my friend Rachel as she walks past Rachel's desk.
• "I have 2 kids of my own. You must be 7 1/2 - 8 months along." -stranger (guy) at Wal-Mart when I was 6 months pregnant.
• "I have to share something with you a good friend of mine told me. He's a pediatrician. He says that all kids are insane. And they'll make you insane while you're raising them." -older gentleman who decided to approach Josh and I while we were eating at a restaurant.
• "You look like you're having twins." -several strangers at work.
• "You look like you're going to pop!" -random girl in the cafeteria at work, and a stranger in the Wireless store.
• "Turn around so I can see how wide you are."-cashier at a store who wanted to guess whether I'm having a boy or girl.

We're Having Twins! =)

Just kidding...but Josh is an extremely good sport to let me post this picture! =)

Grandma's Home!!

Kaitlyn, Grandma Hazel, and Baby Swaim after Grandma came home!!! What a blessing!!!

Only 6 to go!!

Courtesy of babycenter.com...

Your pregnancy: 34 weeks

How your baby's growing:Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

34 Weeks!

We're at 34 weeks now! It's hard to believe we only have 6 left to go! The baby is really moving around! My favorite is when he/she has hiccups! But it's definitely starting to get uncomfortable! Josh got a taste of that tonight at our class-he got to wear the empathy belly. Not so fun!

Anybody who's had a baby probably understands my pain in trying to sleep in the third trimester-literally. I've never been one to sleep on my side-usually I sleep on my stomach, which you obviously can't do when you're pregnant! But since the very early weeks the only way I could sleep was on my back...which is also a big no no, for those of you who don't already know. Apparently this cuts off oxygen to the baby. So it's been a constant battle to make myself sleep on my side. I have a huge pregnancy pillow, which is basically a special body pillow, to help me sleep on my side. So I usually start out on my left side, the one doctors say you're supposed to sleep on. Then when my hip starts hurting too badly I shift my whole body, which is pretty large by this point, and the body pillow to my right side. I sleep that way until my right hip hurts too much and then switch back. Then I have to get up to go to the bathroom, and then it starts all over again! Needless to say I think Josh is ready for me to have this baby just so he can get a little sleep at night!

We're getting excited! Our friends Bridge and Dan just found out they're having a boy!! Bridge and I have had pretty similar pregnancies so far, so it'll be interesting to find out if we're having the same!! Just a few weeks away!!

Anatomy of Putting Together a Stroller

Just Out of the Box...

Halfway Through!!

All Ready for Baby!!!

A Great Day!

We had a great day yesterday! We had our 32 week checkup and everything is going great- right on schedule with no complications! And...Grandma Hazel came home for good! She has gradually worked up to this point, visiting for a day 2 weekends ago and for an overnight visit last weekend. We are so thankful for the huge miracle the Lord is working in her life! 2 months ago we would have been hard pressed to believe she would actually be able to move back home. She still has a long period of adjustment ahead and more work to do to get better, but hopefully being in a familiar environment will spark her recovery even further! Thanks so much for all of your kind words and prayers! And please pray for her continued recovery and adjustment to being at home. She has fought so hard during her entire illness to be able to meet our baby and we are excited to know that moment is only weeks away!

32 Weeks!

Courtesy of babycenter.com...

Your pregnancy: 32 weeks

How your baby's growing:By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Quinn Marie

Congratulations to Brandon and Laura on the birth of Quinn Marie yesterday morning!! We can't wait to meet her and we're excited to have baby cousins that are so close in age!!
(For those who aren't familiar with Brandon and Laura- Laura is Josh's cousin and Brandon is her husband!)

Less than 2 months!!

We're under the 2 month mark!! Two months from today Baby Swaim is due!! We're into week 31 now, which means we have less than 9 weeks to go! We had our first Childbirth Ed class tonight. Nothing too exciting yet...although Kaitlyn is very excited for the class when Josh has to wear the sympathy belly! There are 15 other couples in our class and this week we just learned a little about the process and a few breathing techniques. Afterwards we went to the grocery store and then came home to discover that while we were gone, Sampson (we realize he's in desperate need of a haircut) had a little third trimester craving for carbs. I guess that means another trip to the grocery store...

30 Weeks!

Courtesy of babycenter.com...

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

The 10 Week Countdown Begins!

We're down to 10 weeks left! It's funny how much closer 10 weeks sounds than 11. Maybe it's because next week we'll be down to the single digits! June is already here and it will definitely fly by even faster than May. Josh has his first week of the state Bar review in and is working on the second. He'll have class every day but Sunday through the end of June, then it's time to study like crazy on his own! The baby is definitely starting to move around more...or at least I'm noticing the movement a lot more now. I think he/she was doing somersaults last night when I was trying to go to sleep. Luckily I haven't had any trouble sleeping and the baby usually is the most active when I'm sitting or have just laid down. All this movement just makes us more excited to meet him or her and reminds us that the time is coming very soon!!
-Kaitlyn

Update on Grandma

I just wanted to give an update for everyone on Grandma Hazel. She's been moved to the rehab unit and has been making great progress! She's walking with the help of a walker and working on being able to walk on her own. They've removed the trach and she's able to feed herself. She's having to relearn all the things we take for granted every day, but she's getting a little better each day! We're hoping they can get her to the point where she can come home soon! Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers! She's already done a complete 180 from where she was a couple months ago and we believe the Lord will continue the miracle He's started in her! Please continue to pray for her complete recovery, especially of her memory. She suffered a stroke sometime in the first weeks she was in the hospital, and it has mostly affected her short term memory. It seems to be better now than it has been and this is something the therapists will focus on while she's in the rehab unit, but it is still a prominent concern. Thanks to everyone for continuing to check up on her and sending all the wonderful cards! We really appreciate it!
-Kaitlyn

29 Weeks!

Courtesy of babycenter.com...

Your Pregnancy at 29 weeks:
How your baby's growing:Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Another week closer!

We've made it through another week! The above picture is for all those who have been asking to see how big I've gotten. I probably look a little different from the last time most of you saw me! =) This picture was taken yesterday, before we went to a baseball game with some friends.

Seeing this might sway some of your votes for whether the baby is a boy or girl!

28 Weeks

Courtesy of Babycenter.com...

Your pregnancy: 28 weeks

How your baby's growing: By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Welcome!

Welcome to our new website! Thanks to Gabe, Carolyn and Grace Haugland for introducing us to blogspot! We've enjoyed seeing their pictures and posts about baby Grace so much that we decided to create one of our own!

We're at 28 weeks now, as of Sunday the 18th. Less than 12 left to go until Baby Swaim graces us with his/her presence! As most of you know, we've decided to hold out and not find out whether our baby is a boy or girl until he/she arrives! It's been tough! Every day one of us will say, "I wonder if the baby is a boy or a girl." When we had our ultrasound at 18 weeks Josh had to tell the tech before the ultrasound began that we didn't want to know the sex, because if we had waited until she asked us it would have been extremely difficult to say no! But we are excited for the biggest surprise of our lives!

We are all moved in to our new place now and mostly settled. Now we get to work on the baby's room! Josh graduated on Saturday, May 17th and is studying for the Bar exam in July. We're hoping the baby doesn't decide to make an early appearance! At least not before he's done with the Bar. Kaitlyn's busy with work and getting everything ready for the baby. It'll be a busy summer and it'll fly by! We can't wait!