Happy Birthday to ME!

I turned 28 years old yesterday and had a wonderful, relaxing day, followed by the first good night of rest that I have had in some time! 

Dinner at the Coburg Pizza Company with Greg, my Aunt Linda and Uncle Dennis, cousins Janell, Amanda, and Sarah, and my Uncle Greg. 

Frozen yogurt was a must for dessert at Yo My My

My cousin Sarah drove up from Portland to spend the night and attended church with us this morning before leaving.

The only thing that could have made my day even better was having my immediate family here to celebrate. They have all been in Hawaii for what seems like a lifetime visiting my sister and I have not seen them since they got back. They had plans to come down for my birthday but my mom ended up missing her flight (how convenient huh? Stuck in paradise for a few more days!) They plan to visit sometime this week though and I'm looking forward to that. 

Some other perks on my birthday: 

1) I finally upgraded to the smartphone world! Greg got me an iPhone 4s and I have been having a lot of fun with it. I was able to FaceTime with my mom, Britt, and Kyle on my birthday. I also uploaded all of these photos from my phone. However, I still feel like a dummy when it comes to other parts of the technology. 

2) We had our midwife appointment on Friday and we are 1cm dilated and 30% effaced. I know that this could mean nothing and I may make no progress between now and our next appointment, but it was fun to hear that Alexis is at least getting prepared :)

I find myself less anxious for her arrival than I was a week ago. I think seeing milestones come and go that I knew would take place late during my pregnancy is surprisingly calming for me. Luckily I still have odds and ends like cleaning out my car, deep cleaning the house, and a few little projects to keep me busy this week. Before we know it, our due date will be here and maybe Alexis will be too!

Home Sweet Home

We moved into our new rental at the end of July and I have yet to post any pictures. We were blessed to have the opportunity to rent a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 2 car garage house from my aunt and uncle. Although a lot of work went into it (cleaning, painting, etc) I am so happy with how it has turned out and it is soooo nice to be in a house and not an apartment! Here's a peek into our home... 

This upstairs bedroom, which would be the nursery was nowhere near the color I had imagined. My mom and I decided to go with a neutral paint color for all bedrooms and you'll see how it turned out below...

I finally started decorating Alexis' room this week.

Nice that her room can double as a guest room as well.

The second bedroom was in great need of a paint job as well.

If you ever find yourself in Springfield wanting to stay the night with the Teune family there's plenty of room for you!

Our bedroom started out with VERY BLUE walls, but Mom and I took care of that. Notice the adorable bassinet...

This was given to us by a friend who was in small group with me  in Dallas.

Another view of our bedroom and master bath through that door

Dining room before

Dining room after

Our incredible kitchen that I am sure I will get spoiled with

Living room before

Living room after

Another view of the living room

Finally got shelves put up above the tv this week

Hope you enjoyed the virtual tour. Maybe you can see it in person soon... could we entice you with an adorable newborn baby??? 

Maternity Photos

I wasn't sure if I wanted to actually take any maternity photos or not, but I decided that I should do it for our daughter's sake so she can look back and see photos of her parents excitingly awaiting her arrival. My cousin Janell took the the pictures for us with my parents' DSLR camera, and with a little bit of editing in Picasa I was very pleased with how they turned out.

I need to mention that this photo had NO editing done! The light was hitting beautifully in the orchard

My belly button has definitely "popped"

In very "Greg like" fashion as we are leaning our foreheads on one another and trying to look into each other's eyes he says, "You look like a cyclops"

Needless to say I started busting up laughing! 

We are very excited to meet you Alexis! I think your daddy is ready for you to to be the subject of all of the photos instead of him... I don't think that will be difficult :)

36 Weeks Pregnant

36 weeks pregnant! I cannot believe that we are down to only 4 weeks to go, and less than a month away from our due date. We had our first childbirth class last night and it was great. The Doula is amazing and the other 8 couples in our class are really easy to talk to.

I made my To Do List for before baby arrives and have started getting some odds and ends done. At this point I don't have a feeling that Alexis will be early like I was as a baby. Our midwife said at our last appointment that she is still just a "tiny little girl" so she probably needs all the time to grow that she can get. We find out tomorrow if she has turned head down like she is supposed to. As far as I can tell, she is still transverse (sideways). If so, the midwife will try to flip her. If the midwife is unsuccessful in turning her we will explore other options like massage, acupuncture, and even chiropractic techniques.

I am not stressed or anxious right now about her positioning, but as the delivery day gets closer and she still has not turned I may begin to feel a little more anxious. Prayers for her to turn are appreciated :)

1 Year Old Macie Rae

My niece is 1 year old today! Macie has been such a blessing to our entire family this year. She has such a sweet and kind disposition. Katrina's parents put on a birthday party for Macie last month at Champoeg Park. It was fun to celebrate her first year of life with so many people who love her.

The birthday girl

She loved being the center of attention for the day

Mommy and Daddy with Macie

Her birthday pinata

The adorable cake

Enjoying her birthday cake

Watching her eat the cake brought tears to my eyes. She took a piece and fed it to my brother, and I lost it!  Such a sweetie pie. 

Here she is carrying around her FAVORITE GIFT, a book from me :) She loves books and will sit in your lap and look through books for up to an hour or so. 

Now this birthday girl is on a plane with her mommy, daddy, and grandma to visit her Aunt Brittney and Uncle Kyle in Hawaii where her grandpa is currently visiting. My dad knows my mom is coming to Hawaii but has no idea Tyler, Katrina, and Macie are coming with. I am so excited to hear about the surprise!

Happy Birthday Macie Rae! Can't wait for you to meet your little cousin soon :)

Breast Feeding

Greg and I had always planned to breast feed our daughter. I have nothing against people who choose not to, and am realizing what a touchy subject this can be. We just knew that there were health benefits for both myself and the child and it doesn't hurt to save money by not buying formula. We have our lactation class tonight at the birthing center and I am looking forward to receiving information and support as I prepare for this new experience. A few months ago a friend of mine posted a youtube video on her facebook page about breast feeding. It is AWESOME! Greg got a kick out of it too so I thought I would share.