Baby Shower (33 weeks)

Thank you to Tia Katie and Grandma Bobbie for a fabulous baby shower this weekend. Just as I had hoped, it was full of good family, friends, food, and fun. It's amazing to think that 33 weeks have gone by and we are officially in the home stretch. Here is a sampling of photos from the party:




Sweet, a bumbo!






Pretty much says it all






Creativity at it's finest. A few onesies not pictured: "I'm a pretty cute kid" and "spit here, poo here"






Gluten-free almond cake happily co-existing with decadent chocolate cupcakes.






Excited Grandparents








The blue ducky balancing act

Fall Babies

Kate and Bubbles at 35 weeks

Kath and Rocket at 33 weeks

Baby 32 Weeks

The baby and I are both getting bigger. I have been feeling well and only in the last week or so have started the transition from feeling "cute and pregnant" to "huge and pregnant".

Last week I had my check up with ultrasound and learned that the placenta previa has completely resolved. I am glad to be back to normal and know that everything is fine. The ultrasound also gave us an awesome profile picture and revealed the baby was 4lbs 6oz. At this rate, I am likely destined for a 8 1/2 lbs baby!

We enjoyed Saturday afternoon, (the day that marked 32 weeks) at the Pierce County Fair with my mom, Aunt Sonja, and Cousin Kinsley. It was my mom's birthday! Kinsley and my mom rushed from barn to barn checking out all the farm animals, while Sonja and I tagged along. My poor city-boy husband did not do so well with the hay and had a small allergy problem.

We then enjoyed Saturday night with the Gillei, celebrating both Hillary and Jesse turning 30 this year. I have not been to a party that big in a very long time. The end of the night found the "New Year's Eve Gang" together, determined to find trouble. They did a little late night slip-n-slide action, which resulted in a lot of fun and only minor injuries.

YAY for BirthDAY

I had a fabulous birthday this year, and have to say 29 isn't too shabby. My last birthday as a 20-something and my last birthday as a "Katherin" before I celebrate birthdays as a mama.

In typical fashion, I extended my birthday for as many days as possible. The first day of birthday was spent with my parents who gave me a delicious dinner and this awesome porch swing. I love to swing!

The second day of birthday was spent with my Grandma Bernice as she turned 92! We partied it up at my Aunt Soni's house with a little home-made crub (made by my mom) and some fun party games. My cousin Kinsley was the director of fun at the party and had several very fun, but unusual games. One game was called "5 things and a story" where Carl would pick 5 random objects from a box and we each had to take turns making up a story to connect them. Also, I'm proud to report that my Cousin Kiley was the winner of the hula-hoop contest.

On my third day of birthday, Al and Bobbie made a special trip to Madison to celebrate before they jumped on the jet plane to Peru. We had an excellent lunch at Tex Tubb's.

My forth day of birthday was my actual birthday, which started at midnight with home-made cupcakes and a big glass of milk. After a quick sleep and a few hours of work, I was back home to nap with my favorite kittens. I woke from my nap to Carl arriving home from work with a card and flowers. We had talked about going out to dinner, but my stomach decided it really wanted corn dogs.... one of those foods that they just don't make gluten free. So, we took a leap of faith a converted a delicious Alton Brown recipe, and it paid off. Oh, and we had a few extra onion rings to use up, so we tossed them in too. So delicious!
After dinner we took a little walk in the neighborhood then shared some cupcakes with our upstairs neighbors.

My birthday was extended with small surprises over the next few days. It was awesome to get unexpected gifts, treats, an cards from friends in the mail. Thanks to Amy for the spoogless-body wash sample, which survived the postal service. Thanks to Huck, Kate, and Bubbles for the timely gift card to Old Navy, which I was able to buy a sweater to hide party stains on my t-shirt. And lastly, thanks to Hillary and the gang for the nursing bracelet. Carl says, "will you use that at work?" I say, "No, Carl, 'nursing' meaning breast feeding, not 'nursing' meaning work." I guess that shows we have a lot more to learn before the baby comes.

My last day of birthday was the arrival of Carl's b-day gift to me, an awesome butcher block cabinet. We are loving having just a little more space to work in the kitchen, especially with all the vegetables from the CSA that need to be tamed.

Over All Rating: Best Birthday Ever.
Rationale: Low expectations for turning 29, topped awesome friends, family, and husband can make a normal day (or week as it was) an extrordinary birthday!

Madison Restaurant Week

A crazy Madisonian possy ventured out to try some fine culinary cuisine last week. We tried Fresco, which is the restaurant on top of the Contemporary Art Museum. It was a lovely night, a lovely view, and lovely company. Unfortunately, the food was only so-so. HOWEVER, the Gail Ambrosius chocolates for dessert pretty much made up for everything. A few photos from the festivities:




The big excitement of the evening was the $110 bottle of wine Amy didn't order, but appeared on our check. I don't think I've ever seen someone in such a serious panic when receiving the bill. Fortunately it was the wait staff's mistake and not ours. But, it did end up to be quite hilarious to watch Amy sweat for a few minutes. Amy, I hope you're laughing now too! :)

Rathmann's New Addition

Even though I have hardly posted lately, doesn't mean that nothing has been going on. For example, our friend's Paul and Debbie welcomed their second daughter to the world mid June. Sarah was born on June 17th after many weeks of contractions, but only a few minutes of pushing! Crazy.







As you can see, Emily is a wonderful big sister. It was a joy to see her interact with her new sibling. However, what you don't see is that 2 seconds after taking this photo, Emily decided to give Sarah a little lick. What does a little sister taste like anyway?