It's hard to believe I'm at 36 weeks already! But I'm definitely ready to be on the other side of pregnancy. Sadly, I ran my last run (somewhere around week 31 or 32) of this pregnancy. The baby is just sitting too low for it to be comfortable for me anymore. I'm still regularly doing barre workouts, walking at the beach with the dogs, and the elliptical (so glad we have that!). I'm super anxious to get back to running and harder workouts, but I know I still have a little bit of time before that happens.

It's all starting to feel a little more real, unlike most of the past 8 months where I've felt like I was living in someone else's reality. We had maternity shots taken at week 34, which turned out wonderfully and I may post a few here once I get them all. Plus this past weekend, we finally kicked it into gear and bought a ton of the baby stuff we were still missing. We still have a few more things to buy, but we're off to a good start.

I picked out lots of cute clothes (plus my mom sent me a bunch - thanks, Mom!), our nursery is almost entirely furnished, and my hospital bag is packed. We decided to go the cloth diapering route and just use disposables when we travel or for day trips, so I ordered all of those items. Admittedly, it's a little overwhelming and I'm not entirely sure I know what I'm doing, but like everything else I do, I'll figure it out along the way.

D has been busy getting other things around the house ready - refinishing furniture, finishing our garage (including adding a ductless heating and cooling system) and relocating his office there, and getting other things organized. And, among all of the millions of other things he's been doing, he built and painted a custom closet in the nursery (bottom left picture). That's Pantone's 2013 Color of the Year, Emerald, inside the closet.

While D has been busy building things, I've been busy making artwork for the nursery (above Shel Silverstein quote, which I plan to print and mount on a wood block) and food for after the baby arrives. 

I know I won't be in the mood (read: I'll be too exhausted) to cook at that point, so I've been making meals and sticking them in our new chest freezer. So far I've made two lasagnas (one with pumpkin, one regular), both from this recipe by Pinch of Yum, a spring vegetable casserole from Blue Apron, and an enchilada bake from Two Peas and their Pod.

I'm still not in maternity clothes, although I probably will pick up a just a few dresses from Target or Old Navy to get me through the next couple of weeks. I don't have too many complaints as far as how pregnancy has treated me so far. I've had a few issues (and those were definitely not pleasant), but overall, I feel as good as I probably can at this point in my pregnancy.

And, of course, no "recent snapshots" post would be complete without pictures of my first four babies and the beach.

There are still so many things I want to (and many that I need to) do before the baby arrives, some personal and some to prepare for him. I have no idea if I'll actually get to them, but here's my current list:

Personal stuff

1. Decorate the house. It's sad, really. We moved in back in September and our walls are still bare and our decorations are all still in boxes. This needs to change. 
2. Bathe the dogs. Sounds silly to have this on the list, but with four dogs who go to the beach a lot and with everything else we've had going on, they've gotten pretty stinky lately. Time for a scrub down. 
3. Update my professional website. I'm taking some classes on Skillshare (I love that website, by the way!) to get me into gear as far as re-branding and I'd like to get my updated site finished before the baby arrives. I'd love to migrate it over to Wordpress instead of using Wix, but I really don't see that happening. I'm ambitious, but I'm also realistic(ish). 
4. Get our family blog ready. Rather than post the baby's face (and life) all over Instagram, Facebook, or this blog, I want to create a private blog for friends and family who want to keep up with our adventures, while we still maintain some sense of family privacy. 
5. Make some jewelry! I've taken a few classes and have a sketchbook filled with ideas. I really, really miss making jewelry and really want to get a few pieces made. I'm also working on a slight re-brand for my (sad, neglected) Etsy store (and I'd love to get my own site up using Shopify or Indiemade, but again, probably not realistic with the time I've got left before the baby arrives). 
6. Clean out my closet and take those items, plus the boxes of items I cleaned out months ago to a consignment shop or Goodwill. 

Baby-related stuff

1. Finish (or order) the rest of the artwork for the nursery and get that 100 percent ready, decorated, and organized.
2. Order the rest of the items we still need (baby carrier/wrap, diaper bag, feeding items, etc). 
3. Make at least five or six more freezer meals. I started a board on Pinterest to keep me organized and I should be able to get this done over the next week or so. 
4. Get the last of the odds and ends for my hospital bag. 

I'm sure there's more I should be or need to be doing, but I've only go so much time and I'm planning on working up until I go into labor, so I've only got evenings and weekends to squeeze it all in. Here's hoping I can keep my (fading) energy up.