thanks Mom!

Here are some verses that my mom wrote on a card to Luke and I when we found out about the upcoming baby. I cry a lot lately. Hurry up baby, my emotions can't take this.

"May the Lord give you increase; you and your children.

May you be blessed of the Lord, Maker of Heaven and earth."

- Psalms 115:14,15

"...All your sons will be taught of the Lord;

and the well-being of your sons will be great."

- Isaiah 54:13

Things I will miss about being pregnant..

1. I have to admit, I like the clothes they sell these days! It's getting harder now.. but for a while there, it's wasn't terribly hard to look.. cute in prego clothes!

2. The random conversations people have with you in public. Very sweet!

3. Feeling the baby move.. it's amazing. Last night in bed I felt a foot sticking in my rib on one side, probably an elbow on the other side and what feels like little ticking hands right in the middle.

4. Eating those extra calories.. mmm :)

Things I won't miss:

1. Getting huge at the very end! This baby feels so large in there!

2. Not being able to bend over, get up from the couch and move in between crowds too well.

3. Feel so tired and uncomfortable. I know I know, the tired part probably won't go away, right?

On another note.. I am 38 1/2 weeks now.. I have a check up tomorrow to see if anything has progressed. We are so close to meeting our little girl or our little man! Oh, I had a very clear dream about having a little girl last night. She was cute. And then that same night I had another dream about a baby boy.. with strangely long legs.

Won't miss those dreams.

the last days.

2 weeks to go! Hopefully in 2 weeks or less Luke and I will be holding and cuddling our little baby! ahhh!!

There's been so definite highlights to these last couple weeks. To name a few..

1. Watson took me on a wonderful birthday date (I know, I know.. it's not my birthday. For some reason, she thinks I love my birthday and knows that this year it won't be quite the same!) She took me for a pedicure (ahh wonderful, I can't touch my toes) and had a great lunch adventure in Stillwater. She's such a wonderful stinkin friend!

2. I got my hair highlighted, so that's good. Always due for some fresh blonde. Even if spring seems far away.

3. Luke bought me a prego massage at a massage place close by. It was amaazzzzing. It lasted a too-short hour, but was pure bliss. (I like the word bliss)

4. Luke and I have had some great date nights just being together, or as the super psychologist baby book says, "uninterrupted, quality alone time with your spouse" before this baby arrives! It's been great.

5. Went to brother Nate's last hockey games as a CC player. Great to see him and try to explain where my belly button went. Love being with our family!

I'll keep you posted on the arrival of the little Pross! Nothing new though. I have an appointment on Thursday to check the status. Enjoy your week!

baby can come!

Here's an update of the baby room! We finally got it all set up. This is how ridiculous I am though, well really, how ridiculous my emotions are. I was dying to get it set up and now I'm kinda glad it didn't get set up any earlier. It's realllly nice to have a place to put everything and to get it all in the right spot, but it's just making this waiting game even harder! I go in there everyday, to move something to another place, to set up something else. It's so very fun but I can't wait!

We bought the pack n' play yesterday (suuper cool) and got the stroller from our last shower on Saturday! woo hoo, so excited!

There's more to add to this room once the little miss or little mister arrives, making it more girly or boy-y. 3 weeks to go people!

latest bump picture

I'm gonna stick with an artistic, silhouette picture of my belly. let's just say it's getting really large. I think we've had enough pictures, this baby can come now! The wonderful comments from random people have gone from.. "you look great," "you're just gaining in your belly!", "you barely look 8 months pregnant"... to... "oh wow, you look really healthy!" "you look like you're ready to pop!" and again last night, "you look really healthy and ready!" healthy and ready?? what does that even mean? people....

Oh well, it's all worth it. I'll probably stick to sweat pants as much as I can these days.

Life is good. Last night Luke and I did a DQ Blizzard run, that was wonderful. And today, I did a transfer from my bed to the couch to watch Baby Mama. Now's my time to do this, right?

girl?!

I had a dream that I had a girl last night! mmm she was cute. And I just noticed, people are changing their votes huh?

Quick update.. nursery is done!! Still a few last minute touches, but after long hours of setting up and organizing (thanks Suz), it's done and looks great! Pictures are coming.. :)

I had a doctors appointment yesterday, all normal, measuring right on time. Still 4 weeks to go. The heartbeat was in the 140s.

That's all for now.

blessed.

We have been so incredibly blessed by all of our friends and family during the time. The baby showers have been awesome and the support for this unborn child is amazing! We knew we had good friends, but have been so blown away by how wonderful they are. seriously.

Here's some highlights:

Grandpa Bee (Luke's dad) wrote a sweet note to his grandchild.. so touching.

"I still remember holding your Daddy for the first time and how it blew me away and changed my life forever... I've been trained to believe that my responsibilities for you will include praying for you daily and spoiling you every chance I can. I promise that I will do that, but I pray for you even more. As you walk through this life I want to be your friend, fan and confiding teacher."

The latest shower given by my friends was so wonderful! I was surrounded by about 15 of my closest girlfriends, it was such a blessing! I am so lucky to have such good friends, from all different areas of life. Work friends, school friends, family friends, new and old friends, it was a treat. Hilary, Heidi, Watson and Suz put it together and did such a good job! Watson shared a message from her heart about being a mother, the joys and struggles of it all. People shared advice and prayed for me, Luke and the baby. Seriously, I'm crying just writing this (prego hormones).. but I'm stinkin blessed. that's it.

Hilary has been an incredible friend and shared some really encouraging words that again.. made me cry standing in the mall as I read this on my phone. I hope you don't mind Hil, but I want to share it.. so that I can have this recorded and remember it. so sweet. Here's a highlight:

"i just wanted you to know how proud of you i am. kristen, you have honestly inspired me. and i mean it.. hear my out here... you're such a beautiful woman and you even make pregnancy look beautiful and great. BUT it's also your heart, excitement and joy for bringing this child into this world that has blown me away. like no other friend i've had. it only makes me hope that i will love my unborn baby as much as you have shown. i hope i will love my kids as much as you already love your little. it's truly been refreshing to watch you as you wait for this little. thank you."

Woah, are you serious? I have the best friends ever! Can I brag about my friends? Cuz they're amazing! Here's some pictures of the shower on Sunday...

these are my thoughts..

I'm getting anxious. really anxious. For some reason, I thought I was.. above these emotions and thought that I would just coast right through this whole hormonal emotional thing (I think that's what it is..) Turns out I'm not and I find myself getting stressed and freaked out over a lot of stuff. like...

the babies room. I know, I hear myself complaining a lot about this, but really.. this baby could be here in 3 weeks and nothing is set up! ahh!

the construction of our house and putting it up for sale. horrible timing but what can you do?

I have a lot of my personal to-do list:

Finish my taxes.

Get through 4 more photo shoots and edit them all. oh man.

Help find a replacement for my Spanish position and get them trained in.

Find a pediatrician.

Buy all the other "stuff" we need for this baby.

It's not so bad, right?

I can do this.

Two other updates besides my emotional freak outs.. my dear friend Johnna took pregnant pictures of my on Sunday and my friend Kristen took more yesterday. It's great having photography friends. They look good, although you may never see them. Not that they aren't tasteful, but woah.. I'm really pregnant.

Also, my mother informed me the other day that she went into labor 2 weeks early with all 5 kids! woooah! That means that this child could be here in 3 weeks.. oh man!

We are week 35 now. The baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that it's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5.25 lbs.. about the weight of a honeydew! But it's so snug in the womb, it's not likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of kicks are about the same. The kidneys are fully developed and the liver can process some waste products. Most of the basic physical development is now complete- it'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight!