Christmas with the Bursons (39 weeks)

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

The cookies were baked... but still no children were there!

We celebrated together...

...baking sweet goods...

...in cold(ish) weather...

While remembering Christ's birth, we also think of another...

Full Term... (37 Weeks)

Well... we have made it!  We are "full term!!"  Now, many of you may be thinking... but isn't pregnancy 40 weeks?  Right you are... but at 37 weeks, the baby is usually developed enough to have a normal delivery and survive without medical intervention! :)  We are SO happy to be here!  I still remember when we first got pregnant, that our doctor told us that she takes two sighs of relief in pregnancy: one at 12 weeks (because the risk of miscarriage is drastically reduced) and one again at 37 weeks when the baby has made it to a stage where they are independently viable and the lungs no longer need more maturation before they can breathe on their own.  So here we are!  I think it has flown by!  We can't meet to meet sweet little Ethan!  To hold you over until the big day, we have a few pictures from this weekend at one of our friends' annual gingerbread house making party.  Pictures courtesy of Kristen Olsen! :)

My creation: a candy/graham cracker nursery! :)

 My belly... Ethan tried to make an appearance! :) ... 

Josh and I at the party!

32.5 weeks...

Well, I am excited to say we have had an increasingly active little Ethan in my tummy!  I guess because I have an anterior placenta, it has prevented me from feeling some of his movement until he has gotten this big!  He likes to wiggle all the time now!  It is now only 4.5 weeks until I could deliver my baby boy safely.  Wow!  Only one month away!  However, I am not convinced he would come early (being my first baby and such).  It is hard to believe that I will have a little boy sleeping in my arms likely in about 8 weeks!  Right now I am trying to catch up on MY sleep (which comes at a minimum these days!).

Anyway, thanks for being faithful blog readers!  As far as upcoming events in the Burson house, we will be having Thanksgiving at our house with the Hoffman family!  It will be our first holiday here and we are SO excited.  We are going to cook the turkey ourselves on the barbecue and of course I will make my signature cranberry sauce!  My mouth is watering for the delightful memories that we will accrue! :)  Hope your holidays also go delightfully!

Maternity Shoot! (at 30 Weeks)

I have an amazingly talented friend: Meagan Ramirez, who graciously offered to take maternity pictures for me!  We are SOOOOO pleased with all of the pictures but here is a sampling of her art!  She is truly talented and a one of a kind friend that we know we will have for a lifetime.  You can also check out her blog to see all of the images she took of us and of all of her other beautiful photography!  http://www.meaganramirez.com/?page_id=11

Family Time

In preparation for Ethan's arrival, my family threw me a shower!  Although, its not a belly shot, I thought this picture was appropriate to include... my mom and I!  We had a great time with family: eating, decorating onsies, and just getting time to visit!  Both Josh's family and mine were in town for the weekend and we were blessed by lots of fun and anticipation together to meet our sweet little Ethan!

This picture got me thinking: I wish that I had some pregnant pictures of my mom!  It would be fun to put them side by side! :) 

Gopher Glen Apple Farm (27 weeks)

We decided to take a little adventure to Avila's Gopher Glen Apple Farm.  It was so fun to get fresh apples and enjoy the warm autumn weather!  It also happened to be my 30th birthday and a wonderful way to celebrate!

Also, we got word of good news this week: my glucose test came back negative!  Yay!  The holidays will be sweet just as they always are! :)  

We hit double digits! (26 weeks)

So, we finally are in the double digits!  98 days until birth!  We are so so excited about holding our sweet little boy. :)  He is kicking and kicking these days and it is always good to know that he is there and interested in all of his surroundings.  Apparently, Ethan can now see... not a lot to look at, but he sure will have lots to look at in 3 months!  Sometimes when I think about it, I realize that the weeks make it seem shorter until his day arrives... only 14 more weeks!  That doesn't seem so long!  My belly is also getting bigger these days!  It is fun to have a physical representation of what's inside!  This week has been pretty laid back.  And next week, I am SO excited to go to gopher glen apple farm with a few friends.  We will pick apples, have a picnic and maybe go to dinner afterward!  What a wonderful season this is!  I am so thankful to have a healthy pregnancy and baby!  Here is a belly pic from today!  Enjoy! I will try to remember to post pics of the apple farm trip next week too!  God bless you!