maternity firefighter

So...I stepped way out of my comfort zone & did something I never thought I would!  Craig & I did a little maternity photo session...&, I honestly have to admit, it turned out way better than I expected!  :)  While I was researching photographers for Little Miss when she arrives, I came across a blog (which I didn't realize at the time was my sister-in-law's photog, who actually is the photog we chose...& the one that my sis-in-laws & mother-in-law got us the package for) where the photog had a friend of his who was pregnant pose in her husband's fire gear!  I, of course, couldn't resist showing Craig because anyone that knows him at all, knows that he absolutely LOVES being a fireman!  Wait, let me rephrase that...he's OBSESSED with being a fireman!  Haha!  He thought it was the absolute coolest maternity pic...which, I knew he would!  And, of course, he suggested that I do the same thing!  Wellllllll...you could say that I am just a bit modest...okay, maybe a LOT modest, so I definitely wasn't all about doing maternity photos anyway.  But, after thinking about it for a while & getting a little motivation from Craig & his sis, Ash, I decided that, okay...maybe I can do this!  :)  So, we did it!  :)  Craig took on the photog role, & I took on the firefighter role (talk about role-reversal...hahaha), & the pictures turned out really well!  We actually had a lot of fun with it.  We did a few pictures at home, & then, a few in at the firehouse with the trucks.  So, here are some of our favs...hope you enjoy them, as well!  :)

For Daddy:
All men are created equal, then a few become firemen. ~ Anonymous

37 weeks

It's still so hard for us to believe, but we are SO close to meeting our baby girl!  We went yesterday for our 37 week visit to Dr Ertmoed, & we couldn't have gotten better news!  Everything is still progressing perfectly in his eyes, AND...I'm making progress, too!  :)  Dr E says he figures we can live our lives pretty normally for another week, but anything after that...all bets are off!  I'm also having very light & irregular contractions here & there, so that's great news, as well!  My body is definitely getting in practice.  Ahhhhh, I'm so excited...it truly could be any day now!  :)  Hopefully we'll have an over-acheiver like Daddy...he was three weeks early! 

Here is my baby belly at 37 weeks - definitely ready to pop!  :)

37 weeks & so ready to meet our Little Miss!

April showers bring May babies!

Well, once again, I am completely overwhelmed with gratefulness for the people in our lives!  We are truly blessed!  Last weekend (April 2nd), my mom, with the help of some of her best friends, threw me another gorgeous shower!  :)  How she turned my dad's pulling shop into a beautifully decorated baby shower is still beyond me!  It was too cute with all of the yellow spring-y decor.  And, the cake...well, I can't even say enough about it!  I would have loved to have shalacked (sp?) it & used it as decoration in Little Miss' room!  It was unbelievable how much it looked like her bedding!  There will definitely be pictures below, so be sure to check them out.  Everything was completely perfect!  And, as if all of that wasn't enough, I barely had enough room in my Tahoe to get all of the awesome gifts home!  After all of the gifts we received from each shower, literally, the only thing we need to complete our house & the nursery is our baby girl!  :)  Again, we are beyond blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives! 

Mom - Thank you again for such a wonderful shower!  We appreciate you more than you know!  You're already a wonderful grandmother!  And, we love you!  :)

Without further a-due...here are some pics from my Indiana/Koester family shower...

Just part of the group & a little view of some of the decor.  :)

Table decor - how cute are those little chicks?!?  LOVED them!

The cake table.

Look at that AMAZING cake!  Not only was it gorgeous...it was yummy, too!

It matched her bedding PERFECTLY!  I still can't get over how pretty this was!

Getting ready to dive into my moutain of gifts...our friends & family are AMAZING!

So happy!

Some of our guests.

Some more of our guests.

I think this is while I was thanking everyone for coming & spending two hours of a completely gorgeous Saturday with me for my shower.  :)

My mother-in-law, Susie, sent yet ANOTHER gift for Little Miss.  There were three absolutely adorable outfits & several hand-made burp cloths, some of which were pink John Deere fabric!  Those are BY FAR Daddy's favorites, of course!  It was so thoughtful of her to send another gift with me.  She stayed home in IL to take care of Daddy & Grandpa while they worked in the field.  Gotta love the farming family teamwork!  :)  Thanks, Susie, for the gift & for taking care of Craig while I was gone.  :)

There's one of the adorable outfits!  I absolutely love the gray & yellow...just like her room!  :)

Of course, I had to add this picture.  Hahahaha! 
After the shower was over, my cousin, Amber, came back to hang out with me while I went through all of the gifts & sorted them out.  We had way too much fun playing with Little Miss' new things!  Too funny!!!  Love you, crazy cousin!!!

So, as you can see...we have TONS of reasons to be so grateful & feel so fortunate for the family & friends we have been blessed with!  I know I have said this many, many times, but I honestly cannot wait to bring our little girl into the world with so many wonderful people to surround her!  Craig & I really couldn't ask for better!  :)

Last, but not least, I have been just a little negligent on getting pictures of my belly, so here it is at 35 weeks!  Little Miss is still VERY active, & she's definitely not shy about letting me know when she doesn't like something I've eaten or the position I'm in.  I'm afraid she's may have just a little of the Koester hard-headedness in her!  Of course, they always say you pay for your raising!  I'm sure we're in for it!  :)

35 weeks & SO ready to meet our little girl!

Next week, I go for my final "every-two-weeks" appointment.  We are finally in the homestretch!  And, I must admit, I'm getting rather impatient!  I just had a friend tell me on Friday that the last month seems to go slower than the whole pregnancy prior to that last month...and, I have to say, I completely agree!  :)  With only 5 weeks until our due date, I'm definitely chomping at the bit!  Like I said earlier...the only thing our house is missing now is our baby girl!  We can't wait! 

I'll try to update again after our appointment next week, so be sure to check back in!  :)

Last, but not least, a HUGE thank you to Brenna Tobin for taking pictures for me during the shower!  I appreciated it so much!!!  Thank you, again!