Wow, I feel like I have a lot to update our sweet readers (all two of you out there--thank you!!!). It has been a busy two weeks. At school, it is track and research paper season, so the double whammy has kept me pretty preoccupied since the last post, but as the smiley face cupcakes suggest, we made it through the research papers--now I just need to grade them :-). Back to my hole I go. No, really, my students are very understanding and are even sweeter now that I am growing larger every day, so they aren't begging me for them back yet. Good thing, because by 9 p.m. every night, Sara is toast. Even if I can stay up later than that, I am a useless grader. It will be interesting to see how grading goes when Baby Gahan is here this time next year. I recently found out that I am going to be teaching all 10th grade students next year, which is great considering I won't have a second prep (8th grade) but a little scary considering 10th grade is a writing course full of papers. I am already trying to figure out some strategies I can implement to insure that I won't have to bring home stacks of papers every night to grade after Baby G goes down (or doesn't go down--hopefully he will be a faithful little sleeper!).
MS Track is a totally unexpected blessing. I love the 50+ girls we have every day at practice, and they have shown both talent and heart in the two weeks of workouts we have completed already. I was honestly not looking forward to coaching while I was 7-8 months pregnant, but it has actually been a wonderful distraction for me and a way for me to get to know more girls. Glad I am doing it.
As for pregnancy, I am definitely a third trimester girl right now. My sweet husband surprised me at work last week with a bouquet of gorgeous flowers...just because. He is the best. He has been so supportive, so attentive, so understanding and eager to do whatever makes things easier on me. I don't know how he intuits so much of what he does, but all of the little things really have made me love this pregnancy. I guess what it boils down to is that I feel like we are on the same page, that he is thinking about the fact that I am pregnant and even honoring it in ways I couldn't imagine. It also makes me want to be tougher. Sure, I am going to bed early and backing way off of my workouts (especially now--last day of yoga was on Friday and I honestly don't anticipate going back until post-labor), but I also don't want to focus on the challenges of being pregnant. Are there challenges? Definitely. I can no longer touch my toes, which you wouldn't think would be that big a deal, but putting on shoes in the morning really is uncomfortable. I can't stay still for any length of time (both sitting and lying down get awkward after a bit), and I do get frustrated when I can't exercise efficiently. For example, I got on the elliptical the other day and was over it in about 10 minutes. The rest of my workout was pure willpower, but even then I was going at a pace and heartrate much lower than ever before. Walking up our apartment makes me winded, and that gets old. But I am feeling him kick more than ever now--he is VERY active--and I look at other babies and children and immediately lose track of everything else. I just want to study them, hold them, hear them laugh, see them run...it's like I am the same person I always have been but at the same time, my perspective has totally changed. And let's be honest. Pregnancy makes a woman feel pretty darn special. Everyone asks you all the time how you are feeling, strangers are willing to help you with your groceries, people smile at you when you walk down the street, and other mothers quickly become your close friends because you really do feel like you are sharing something important. I love being where we are right now--less than 3 months to go (May 31st-June 6th is the due date week!) but I still have time to focus on lots of other things and hopefully get a lot done before this little guy comes along :).
And one of those things is celebrate our good friends Kat and Nate, who are getting married May 30 (yes, friends, I WILL be sitting on the aisle for that wedding...just in case). We put together a little surprise dinner for them to celebrate and it was a big hit. They are having a potluck wedding reception--isn't that such a fun idea? People aren't giving them gifts--they are instead bringing a favorite dish to share at the reception. Love it. Love them.
As for baby things, here is a quick run-down on some things on our minds lately:
1. We are going to try cloth diapers. They have come a long way, folks. Go
here if you want to see the ones we are going to invest in.
2. Bought a vintage bassinet yesterday at a consignment sale. Hopefully it will be perfect for the time between when Baby G arrives and our move since we won't have a nursery until we are in the new house. Camden has only tried to jump in it once since I brought it home yesterday.
3. LOVE consignment sales. Go
here for a list of ones in your area. One note: if you are a new mom, expect to have a breakdown at least once while you are at one of them. When it happens, call your mom. She knows everything.
4. Supposedly omega-3 fatty acids are the important nutrient BabyG's brain needs right now. I am eating fish and walnuts every chance I get.
5. By last visit, I had gained 23 pounds. My doctor told me to reign it in a little. Note taken. Darn those girl scout cookies. Next visit is on Friday for the gestational diabetes test; I may not even look at the scale.
6. Baby G is somewhere around 2.5-3 pounds and 14 inches long. He is fully developed--now he just needs to grow bigger!
7. In terms of delivery, I told my doctor that my main goal is to have a vaginal delivery. Ultimately, whatever needs to happen for both the baby's and my health is of course most important, but what I most want to avoid is an emergency C-section. I am going to go into the labor prepared but also without set expectations of what I definitely want to happen. I am going to try to go for as long as possible without drugs, but I am not opposed to getting an epidural.
8. I am excited to experience labor firsthand. I hope it will be an intimate, empowering experience when once again I can be amazed at the female body. I am also scared out of my mind.
I hope to try to keep this more updated as we get closer!
My dear friends Katie, Heather, and Carol threw me a GPS shower at Heather's stunning house--and they somehow managed to nail the blue and green color combo that Clay and I are going for in the future nursery (which you will remember isn't set up yet because we are moving 2-3 post-Baby G). Don't you just love the chandelier above the table?
Beautiful table. Every detail was so thoughtful, so elegant.
Cupcakes=always a treat.
Even the napkins and flowers were blue and green. Somehow I have super classy and thoughtful friends.
Love my GPS friends. I love my job. I work with wonderful, wonderful people.
Aren't these the cutest? I love the little curl on baby's head.
Check out some of these adorable things now in Baby G's closet. First off: a onesie with an orange flower print tie. Perfect for his first trip to UVA.
It is hard to see these two outfits here (the one above and the one below), but these are ones I have a feeling I will pass down to Baby G's children. Tender, sweet outfits of impeccable quality. 
This one has the nativity smocked across the top--and it is sized 18 mos. Perfect for Baby's 2nd Christmas!
Susan is our Director of College Guidance--and a dear friend.
Look at this loot!
The hostesses gave me this adorable (and monogrammed) laundry basket FULL of both luxurious and invaluable gifts. Too, too generous.
Me and sweet Jill (technology teacher and fellow sophomore advisor)
I am happy--and so very lucky. 
