And the Best Husband Ever Award Goes to....

....Brian Michael Hillins!! He is so sweet. He went out and bought Sara a piece of white cake with white frosting after knowing she was craving it. Added bonus were the sprinkles which Sara absolutely loves!! :)

37 Weeks - Full-term!

We are 37 weeks today, so we made it full-term! Yipppeee!! At the Doctor this morning we learned that his head is much further down now, but still no dilation. The cervix has thinned out quite a bit too so the Doctor is anticipating seeing dilation at our appointment next week. The Doctor did a non-stress test today to monitor the baby's movements. All looked great!

Sara had a growth spurt between the last appointment and today - she gained 2 pounds, so she's up to 28. The Doctor says that is right on track, so he's happy. Good! Wonder what it will do for next week's weigh-in when she enjoys a Pumpkin Pie blizzard this weekend and polishes off the second loaf of pumpkin bread she made this week. Oh well!! Happy Mommy equals happy baby (and husband)!

How are you feeling?

How are you feeling is common question that Sara must get about 10 times a day from work colleagues and friends, so thought we should post how Sara is feeling for all of you that don't see her on a daily basis. Sara continues to feel great - still at 26 pound weight gain, no water retention so she continues to wear high heels daily, no real cravings (although last night she really wanted a piece of white cake with white frosting), heartburn has subsided, and no real food aversions (although it's a rare occasion that she eats fruits, vegetables, or meat). She doesn't have that exhausting feeling that people talk about, but she does try to be in bed by 10:30pm. Sitting for hours at a time can get uncomfortable because the baby likes to position himself right along her ribs. Sleeping is pretty much the same. She doesn't have to get up to use the rest room a lot but she will change which side she sleeps on every few hours to avoid hip, leg, and tummy pain. Nesting hasn't really kicked in yet. Sara is all belly...from the back you can't even tell she's pregnant and depending on if she's wearing a black top you may not be able to tell from the front either. View from the side? Well that is a different story!

Sara had her H1N1 vaccine last night. No side effects at all, but she didn't with the seasonal flu vaccine either. We're just glad that she got it because now Baby Boy H should get some of the coverage/benefits too!

We're a tad jealous that Sara's parents and Brian's parents are in Vegas together. Sara's Mom surprised Sara's Dad with a trip there to celebrate his upcoming 60th birthday on November 22! Since the Hillins live just a few hours away and can't resist a trip to hit the slots or see the Roslansky's, they decided to join as well! From what we hear, a good time is being had by all!

Tonight will be a fun night - we're meeting Jim, Annie, and Sam for the Godfather's Pizza buffet. The last time we were all there was about this same time during Annie's pregnancy. Babies must like the cinnamon streusel dessert pizza. YUM!

Happy Birthday Randle!

Randle turned 5 years old today! What a big boy!! Every year we make him feel very special on his big day and this year was no exception. Last night he slept on an extra comfy bed (ie put his bed on top of piled cushions to make it super soft) and this morning he got an extra long belly rub and a peanut-butter kong filled with extra peanut butter. Yes, he still had to spend his special day in his kennel, but at night he had his real birthday celebration complete with gifts and a cake!

He received a new toy, rawhide sticks, and his favorite treat - a flossie!! We think he was in heaven. You only turn 5 once, so gotta make the most of it! He is the oldest member of the house now - 5 in doggie years equals 35 in human years. Happy Birthday Randle!!

36 Week Appt

We had our 36 week appointment today. Can we just say how much we love our Doctor? He's the absolute best!! We learned that Baby H is about 6.5 pounds, his head is down, and he has a strong heartbeat. We're not dilated yet. The Doctor thinks we are on track for the week before or the week after November 19 (due date). Sara continues to track right on to where the Doctor wants her to be and has gained 26 pounds to date still. The Doctor thinks Baby H will be between 8 and 8.5 pounds. Can't wait for the little guy to get here!!!! From here on out we have appointments every week so look for blog updates on this subject weekly!

We also learned that our hospital has new visiting rules in effect because of H1N1. We're glad they are taking precautions but a little bummed that our visitor experience will be a little different than Jeff/Dawn's and Jim/Annie's. The new rules are:
- Visiting hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Visitors must sign in and be screened for influenza-like illness
- Sibling visitors must be age 5 or older
- Non-sibling visitors must be age 16 or older
- Maximum of three visitors per patient at a time
- Visitors are asked to follow hand-hygiene procedures by washing hands or using the antibacterial foam provided throughout the hospital.
So, that means we won't be seeing Sam, Brooke or Lauren at the hospital and we can only have 2 people besides the two of us in at a time. But, we can have all the photo ops we want with everyone once we're home. The most important thing is that Baby H stay well!

3D Pic of Baby H at Week 35 and 2 Days

We had our second 3D-4D ultrasound on Saturday. It was a free session as part of a promotion and we were glad that it was indeed free because we didn't get to see much this time around. We learned that he's dropped quite a bit and he's facing Sara's back so good pictures were nearly impossible but it was fun to see him even from just a 2D angle and the few 3D images and 4D movements we did get. We got this shot near the end of the session - yep, his eye is open. A little weird but all of a sudden it's like he winked at us. So precious!!!
He's definitely filled out and continues to look like Brian did as a baby. We're pretty sure he's going to be a big baby complete with chubby cheeks to pinch. We'll see what our Doctor says at our 36 week appointment on Wednesday!

Frank, Tammy, Sienna, and Sam!

We've had quite a few visitors this past week and we love it. First we had family friends Frank, Tammy, and little Sienna over for dinner. Frank was in town on business and it was great to see them and catch up!

Last night we had the pleasure of watching Sam. He is growing up so fast!!! He loved our pack and play probably because it has the vibrate feature. Big thank you to Aunt Kathy, Uncle Bob, and cousins Sarah and Emily!! He was so intent on getting the elephant, but he'll have to wait a bit until his arms are a bit longer!!

Such Wonderful Sister-in-Laws and 35 Weeks!

Today is Baby H's 35 week birthday - only 5 or so weeks left!!! Amazing!! Here is today's belly pic:

Sara had an appointment with an anesthesiologist today to determine if she was a candidate for an epidural given her mild scoliosis. Good news on that front! If she decides she wants an epidural, she can get one and it should be successful. The anesthesiologist made Sara's day when the doctor told Sara it was good that she was skinny because she could easily see and feel her spine to see the space where the epidural would go. You don't hear those words everyday, especially after gaining 26 pounds to-date!!

Our sister-in-laws are the best and wanted to let the world know that via this blog! Both Annie and Dawn have been borrowing Sara maternity clothes to wear this pregnancy and such cute clothes at that. Sara keeps them in a separate closet and enjoys going shopping in her other closet on some days! Sara gets compliments at work every day (no, not even exaggerating) on her wardrobe and people are impressed that she hardly wears the same things twice. HA! Just wait people, she will soon. But, a big thank you to Annie and Dawn for borrowing Sara such cute clothes for the next few weeks! She really appreciates it!

Winter is Here!

We had a fabulous anniversary weekend!! After dropping Randle off at his favorite home away from home, we headed to Stillwater, the city where Brian proposed. We checked into a Bed and Breakfast, had a few cocktails (or mocktails for Sara) and played a game of Yahtzee. We found a game Sara sucks at - Brian beat her by a landslide!! Then we headed to the restaurant that we ate at after getting engaged. We even had the same table!!

After dinner we hit a local bar to catch a few innings of the Twins/Yankees game...ironic considering during our wedding the Twins were playing the Yankees and the Yankees were staying at the downtown hotel we hosted our wedding reception at. In our room we had a wood burning fireplace which was nice. It reminded us of our old house. Our "new" house has only gas fireplaces. Thank goodness that kept us warm because we woke up to snow on the ground!!!

So, we'd say that winter is officially here. Although today it is a bit warmer out so Sara went out to take some pics of the beautiful fall foliage.

Tonight our good family friends Frank, Tammy, and their new daughter Sienna will be visiting us. They are in town for Frank's work so we're excited they have time to come over and have dinner It will be great to catch up and meet Sienna!

Happy 5 Year Anniversary!

5 years ago today on a beautiful fall day in MN, we were married! It's hard to believe that it was 5 years ago, because it seems like yesterday. We've had a lot of special memories in the past few years and know there are many more yet to come!

We got married on October 9, 2004 and engaged on October 10, 2003 so this time of year is always special for us. We usually spend part of this weekend every year in Stillwater, MN where Brian proposed and this year is no different. Brian planned an awesome weekend that starts at 3pm today. More to come later!

We had our 34 week appt yesterday and learned that everything is still looking good. Measuring right on track, have gained 25 pounds to date, my cervix is closed (no dilation), and the head is down. What a great week we're having!!

Interesting Prediction

We found online a labor prediction quiz and our results are:
"You won't need to try any secret recipes to bring on labor. Have your emergency numbers ready. Don't wait until the last minute to get your nursery ready. We predict your baby will come 1-2 weeks early. Your baby will most likely be born in the morning. Justmommies predicts that your baby will weigh approximately 7.5 pounds and that your labor will be about 11 hours long."
Of course, this is just for entertainment purposes, but we can't help but wonder if it will be true?!?!?

Sam!

We had a wonderful day watching our nephew Sam. He's such a good baby. Hardly made a peep except for his baby babbling. We can't believe he'll be 7 weeks old tomorrow, it doesn't seem that long ago we were visiting him in the hospital when he was just an hour old. He is so alert, attentive, and strong. He will be rolling over in no time. He can already go from his back to his side without any trouble. He loved playing with his future cousin's toys...especially the bouncy chair with mirror and the swing!

No real updates on Sara's pregnancy. We're 33 weeks now but at our Doctor's appt he reminded us that we should really be ready for between 4 and 8 weeks. We thought about going long, but never really thought about going early. This news made us realize we really should pack the hospital bag and install the car seat soon!!

Sara continues to enjoy pregnancy. It's easy to say when you have no real symptoms except the weight gain. However, she has experienced a few bouts of heartburn in the past week or so. At first she thought it was due to chocolate, but then realized that it was happening at the same time in the afternoon...so she bought her first ever bottle of Tums. Exciting stuff at the Hillins household!!

This weekend has been a weekend of staying in, which has been nice given the weather. Brrrr!!! It's definitely moved into Fall now...or possibly Winter. 45 degrees is a tad cold even for Sara who has a built in heater for the next few weeks. But, we are enjoying our basement. We are so glad that we finished it last summer. It has just about everything we need in it so once we're down there we barely come upstairs except for sleeping!

Tomorrow we'll head over to Jim and Annie's to have dinner with them as well as Annie's brother Paul, his wife Nicki, and their two little ones Brennan and Lola. So, at least we'll leave the house once this weekend (minus church), but it will be great to see everyone! And Monday.....are you ready for some football? Vikings versus Packers. Skol Vikes!

Baby H 4D Ultrasound Video

We are still so amazed by technology. Here is one of the videos that was captured from his 3D/4D ultrasound. We love this little guy so much!!