Corey's pearly whites

Corey got braces on his teeth about 11 months ago.

Today the braces came off!

This is Corey before braces.

This is they day the braces went on. ouch.

And today! Oooh he's handsome. I'm one lucky lady :)

A long winter

Another five inches of snow fell over the last day or so, which means Corey got to take the snow blower/thrower out for a spin.

Corey and I decided we'd like to try "life without cable TV" ... so last week we had it disconnected. As of today we have a whopping one channel. Apparently we can connect an antenna (little bunny ear style) to the TV for some free channels, which we'll definitely be doing. In all honesty, I'm rather enjoying life without cable. I've realized that background music is much less of a distraction than TV!

We just started a six-month subscription to Netflix (thanks Jesse and Megan for the gift!) which is proving to be a great service. We've already watched one mailed DVD and one movie over the internet, on my computer. I was pleasantly surprised that the nearest Netflix distribution center is in Fargo, so our movies are delivered in one day.

Today we took a drive out to our land in the country ... it was white on white with spots of brown trees. In most places it was hard to see where the sky met the horizon. I waited in the (heated) car while Corey went exploring (and taking photos). It was a hoot watching him try to run though thigh-deep show – in jeans and tennis shoes.

Needless to say, we're still deep in winter here. More sub-zero temperatures on the way next week ... which means more sewing for me.

Less than 54 days until our due date!

Week 31: the final stretch

Well we've already passed the 31 week mark (last Thursday). It's hard to believe our due date is less then nine week away!

I've started getting more achey and uncomfortable – it was bound to happen hauling around this big belly!

My sister is on TV!

My sister, Caitlyn helped us out at work and agreed to be in a TV ad for the University of Mary. If you watched the televised U-Mary basketball games on Friday, you've probably seen it already ... but if not, here it is.

drum roll....

The "it's not about me" concept comes from a North Dakota public college and university campaign about "it's all about you" (youniversity). In comparison, at U-Mary we emphasize helping others and the community through servant leadership. And improving yourself (though education) so you can better serve. Anyway, hope that explains it.

If you watch American Idol in the Bismarck area, she'll be on during those ads too.

Frosty days

We've had some interesting weather lately ...

Fog and frost the last few mornings. But, yesterday the frost stuck around (literally) ALL DAY.

When I got home from work I had a few short minutes before dark to snap a couple photos. And I'd like to mention that my Christmas lights are not regularly on anymore, I just plugged them in for the photo, then unplugged them. They did look darn pretty though.

That is all frost - not snow. The night before, the tree didn't have a flake of white on it. The frost was really amazing – it must have been at least an inch thick – so fluffy and pretty. If it wasn't the end of January I might have busted out the Christmas music.

The weather people are forecasting a possible blizzard (like the Christmas storm) later this week. The snow blower has a full tank of gas and is ready to go, just in case.

29 weeks: I'm smuggling a beach ball

Here is my latest belly photo. Week 29!

I'm almost positive that she's head-down. Her bottom on is the left side of my belly (the side you see in the photo), just to the left of my belly button – which is now starting to stick out. Her feet wrap around the top of my belly, resting on my upper right side. She still kicks me a lot during the day, and even more during the night.

According to all my baby books, she is between two-and-a-half and three pounds and about 15 inches long.

No wonder I have heartburn!

Wow! This digital graphic from the Museum of Science and Industry shows the changes that a pregnant woman's internal body goes through. It's fascinating.

It certainly explains my recent bouts with heartburn.

What an amazing nine months!

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