35 week appt. and then some

so this week my friend lauren and i scheduled prenatal massages... we didn't quite know what to expect, but ended up being very pleasantly surprised. i went first and the masseuse's name was udo. if germany had sumo wrestlers, he would be one. he was massive and if you just picture shrek as a german, you pretty much have a visual. i was intimidated, but just started chatting him up so he didn't try anything crazy. he was awesome....very friendly and talented. if time and baby allows i may have to sneak another one of these in before llamalips joins us and life is no longer how we know it. :)

today i (yes i, brant couldn't make it) went to my 35 week visit with doctor locher. they did all the standard tests, 30 mins. of fetal monitoring (the baby was punching the monitor again...so for half an hour the room sounded like the soft lull of its heartbeat accompanied by karate chops every few minutes), and an ultrasound. baby is still head down as it's been the whole pregnancy. photos of the sleeping one:





also this week we've been receiving an influx of gifts for this kid! i'm afraid it's already spoiled! it's exciting to get all this help in setting up the nursery and getting some baby essentials so we feel a little bit more ready. i must say brant and i set up a mat the other night that has toys and a mirror dangling from it (i don't know what the word for it is in baby gear land) and we just sat there and stared at it for about ten minutes afterwards....um yeah, the fact that we're going to be using this soon is really weird. ;) our house is just full of all these gifts....and i want to thank everyone a thousand times over. being so far away, we still feel very loved. :)

brant and i both start grad school this month. brant starts next week and i start in two weeks. my program was supposed to be covered by a military program (for up to $6000) and we just found out that after this class, they've cut the funding. soooo, we'll be paying out of pocket for the program. thankfully it's a part-time program spanning two years, so it's just one class at a time unless i choose to increase it to two. brant's program is fully covered though, so that's a bonus.

we plan to go to luxembourg this saturday night for a getaway and then to belgium to the flea market on sunday. hopefully we'll get lucky and come home with some hot euro finds.

i am taking a photography class this week and learning a lot about my new camera. i'll be taking pregnancy photos of a friend next week utilizing my new skills...

my car made it to germany and is sitting at port. we hope to get it delivered here in a week or two. finally!

brant is LOVING his job here. he flies a lot and has no stress whatsoever which is a massive change from life in vegas. he loves teaching the other pilots although he admits that it is hard work at times. he gives props to the teaching profession daily for how draining it can be....yet unbelievably rewarding.

all for now,
love,
s