Making a Statement

Apparently my big ol' baby belly is making a statement of its own because many strangers (all women) in public have commented on it in the last week. At Barnes and Noble: "Ooooh, a baby's almost here! When is your due date?" At Costco: "When are you due? It probably feels like tomorrow!" (Yes, she got that right - it does feel like it could be anytime.) In my office building, "Just about there, huh??"And on and on. Since none of my coats can be zipped at this point, the tummy is especially obvious! Here's a look at the statement this little girl is making already (at 36.5 weeks):

I started my weekly check-ups last week and my doctor discovered I'm already making progress and have the potential to deliver early - yikes!! (But she admitted, no guarantees :) Either way, we weren't totally ready to hear that considering we had a few important things to purchase including the car seat/stroller travel system (it would obviously be nice to get her home from the hospital and that won't happen without a car seat!). So this weekend we pretty much wrapped up the remaining items we needed and we're feeling really good about how far we've come. The nursery is almost finished and Michael's been hard at work in there (pics to come when it's done).

I forgot to mention that at the shower thrown by my girlfriends last weekend, they encouraged all guests to give us a book to help build Baby Mlakar's little library - and boy do we have a good start! Since we're short on space, we cleared out a shelf and a half from our bookcase just for her. Here are a couple photos of her books - we think at this rate, she'll be quite the literary!

To top off a nice little weekend, we're looking forward to cheering on the Vikings tonight and are hoping for a win and subsequent Super Bowl appearance. Go Vikes!!

Girls Night In Baby Shower

Get the galoshes - the soaking continues! My best girlfriends from high school and college hosted a Girls Night In Shower on Saturday. It was an absolute blast! As with most things in life, the people you're with make the experience and this night was no different. My very best friends all came together to celebrate Baby Mlakar and it was such a great night full of fun and laughter. I keep telling my friends if the baby grows up to have girlfriends like mine, she'll have all she needs :)

The weekend began on Friday with my best friends from high school flying in from Louisville, KY (Tiffany) and Atlanta, GA (Heidi), which in and of itself was so humbling to me. The fact that they chose to fly to Minneapolis (in January, no less) to celebrate this occasion makes me so grateful. (I also made a deal with Mother Nature for no bad weather and she upheld her end of the bargain with balmy 30-degree temps all weekend :) Here are some photos from Friday night:

Before we had dinner, we met up with Heidi's Delta Gamma friends from University of Iowa - Natalie, Sarah, Heidi, me, Tiff, and Emily.

Three musketeers: Heidi, me, and Tiff at dinner at Il Gatto in Uptown.

Heidi, me, Katie, and Erin at dinner.

After dinner, Heidi and I called it a night while the rest of the crew hit the town. (Heidi is my go-to gal when I need to wrap it up early - she was my sidekick at Tiff's bachelorette party in Chicago last summer, too.)

Michael was busy on Saturday with an all-day mentor training session, so he's not represented in the pics. He is volunteering to mentor high school students at our church - which is his way of giving back. I think it's so cool :) He did find the time to cook breakfast for us girls on Saturday before the training - thanks, Mike!

Here are some pictures from the Girls Night In Shower on Saturday night:

The delicious food spread - all kinds of fancy finger foods! Katie and Beth are fabulous cooks!

With the lovely hostesses and my best buds - Heidi, Tiff, me, Beth, and Katie

Gamma Phi friends from ISU - Beth, Sara, and Lacey. Sara and Lacey made the trek up north from Iowa which meant so much to me. Lacey is due on May 28 - so another little one is on the way!

Opening the most cherished gift we received - a book full of tips, advice, words of wisdom, and sincere messages from our family and friends. Michael and I loved reading through it together. (It even matches the nursery - light pink book and each page had a fun black and white patterned paper as background.)

A fun pink polish gift for every guest - too cute!! These hostesses did not miss a beat, I tell ya!

Hands on the belly! Best friends since junior high :)

Best hostesses ever!! Best friends since our Gamma Phi days at ISU: Beth, me, and Katie.

A fierce game of baby-themed Catch Phrase (making it extra difficult, if you said the word "baby" you had to pass to the next person). It was fun! This pic is of Holly (on left) and Stacy (she lives just a block from us in Maple Grove and is due in June).

What a wonderful weekend with friends - it will be one that I'll always remember. I'm so thankful for such thoughtful, fun, and endlessly generous friends. I can't wait for these lovely ladies to meet the baby that they've shown so much love and kindness to already. And I look forward to returning the favor to each one of them someday.

It's Raining, It's Pouring!

My wonderful friend Terri was gracious enough to throw us a shower on Saturday (get it? raining and pouring... ok, bad joke). Terri and I met at Marketing Architects when I started there almost 7 years ago (!!) and she and her husband Andy and son Owen live Maple Grove about a mile from us. All of the gals at this shower are friends of mine from Marketing Architects (my previous job) - we all worked there together and there are a handful that still work there. The shower was a great opportunity to catch up and reminisce.

New mom Rachelle just had a baby boy, Mason, in early December and we were all so happy she brought him along! He was such a great baby and didn't fuss at all as we all took turns holding him. Marcy, another expecting mom, was such a trooper! Her due date was Sunday and she was at the shower with bells on on Saturday! Still no baby news from her yet, but soon I'm sure. She's having a girl and lives in Maple Grove too, so we look forward to play dates in our future. Here are some photos of the shower fun! Terri was a wonderful hostess and I'm so grateful and humbled she did this for us :)

Terri and Marcy hard at work on the celebrity baby name game.

Fierce competition: Me, Marin, and Katie racing to finish 3 oz. of juice through a bottle made for a newborn - not an easy task!

Getting some good, last-minute holding practice in with little Mason :)

Double belly pic! Me, Marcy, and our baby girls.

All the girls and Mason - (l to r) Marin, Katie, Rachelle, me, Ann, Marcy, and Terri

Family Photo Shoot - Mom, Dad, and Baby (Belly)

Last weekend, we decided to take some maternity photos to document this special time and remember just how round this baby belly is (at almost 34 weeks)! Rather than hire someone, we thought we could get some decent shots with our own camera by giving the tripod and timer function each a little practice. Michael took the individual shots of me - talk about a well-rounded fella (tool man turns photographer!) We plan to frame a few of these and hang them in the nursery. (By the way, as I type this, I'm fairly certain there is a foot wedged under my left rib giving me some nudges every now and then. Not exactly comfortable, but it still makes me smile :) We can't wait to meet you, little girl!!

Nice To Meet Ya, 2010!

Don't you love taking advantage of a long weekend by having fun and being productive? With the help of my parents, we enjoyed a balanced New Year's weekend of productivity and a hefty dose of fun! Here's a peek at what the final days of 2009 and the first days of 2010 had in store for us:

Watched the Cyclones in the Insight Bowl on New Year's Eve.

The boys enjoying a free celebratory jello shot (don't mind that it was for a Gopher touchdown!)

CYCLONES WIN! 13-14 Final score :)

After several hours spent watching the game, we didn't quite make it to midnight on New Year's Eve (boy, how things change over time :), but that was okay because we had a big day of painting on Friday! You'll see the paint color isn't much of a change at all, but it's more of a refresher coat (which the room was certainly in need of.) Here are some action shots:

The Master Painter (aka my mom) hard at work here - she was the crew leader.

Michael painting with the roller. We used low VOC paint, so it didn't smell at all.

My dad on tape duty - removing the tape to reveal the final product. Great job, painting crew!!

Michael and my mom even squeezed in a gym visit while my dad and I watched football and napped, respectively :). After all the hard work, we decided to take in a movie that night so we went to The Blind Side (based on the Michael Oher story and starring Sandra Bullock) - it was great!

The girls ready for dinner and a movie.

Painter by day, crocheter (is that a word?!) by night - she's a jill of all trades, folks! Mom crocheting a blanket for baby Mlakar.

Think that's about it for the weekend? Not quite! The guys were feeling ambitious on Saturday morning and cranked out two more projects before my parents headed home. Check out their efforts and handy work:

Project Crib - Accomplished!! Awesome job :)

Project Changing Table in process (they found out that smaller doesn't mean easier).

Two more missions accomplished! Way to go, guys!

Since this photo, we have fully "dressed" both the crib with a mattress and bedding and the changing table with a covered changing pad - pics to come soon!

In an effort to take advantage of date nights before this little one arrives, we met up with some friends for dinner in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday. Marissa, a friend from my previous job who has since moved to Chicago, was in town for a visit, so we enjoyed a night out on the town (despite it being -10 degrees).

With Marissa - the last time I saw her was in June '09 in Chicago (the day before we found out we're expecting).

Marissa, me, and Marin - all friends from our previous job. It was fun to catch up and reminisce!

Michael had the company of Marin's husband, so he had fun too.

World record for longest blog post? Perhaps. Thanks for reading!

Christmas Fun 2009

We had a wonderful Christmas this year - despite the winter weather conditions that hit much of the midwest. One downfall was that Ryan, Carly, and Jack couldn't make the trip up to Ames due to the weather, which was a bummer. We still enjoyed the time with my parents, Mitch, Hayley, and Malone. Here are some photos taken while in Ames for Christmas:

Merry Christmas from Malone - or is it Blitzen?? :)

Everyone channeling creative energy for Balderdash - a Ridnour family favorite game.

Hayley and Mitch contemplating their ideas.

Baby Mlakar was blessed with several gifts this Christmas including lots of cute clothes from her mom and dad, a baby doll* from her Grandma and Grandpa Ridnour, a lullaby book with a CD from Mitch and Hayley, and a pink and white Christmas ornament from a friend.

*The baby doll will eventually be for the baby, but its intended use now is to get Malone acclimated to a little one. We've heard that if you carry around a doll and protect it like the real baby for a few weeks prior to the baby's arrival, dogs get used to it and may adjust better. We're not sure if it will work, but figure it's worth a try. (Note to self: make sure the blinds are fully closed to prevent the neighbors seeing us carrying around a doll like a real human when I clearly haven't had the baby yet!!)

It was a lovely Christmas and it's a thrill to think that next year will include another family member.