5...

5 more weeks until our Due Date!!!! I am so glad that it's Christmas! We are having company starting this week! I am so close to being done with all of our shopping!! I just have those 2 tough people left- my brothers-in-law! I was counting on having help from Joe, but he's been working long hours and now I only have a couple of days before the festivities begin! Maybe next year will be the year that I'm not rushing to finish last minute shopping! :)

We are all finished with our Bradley class, we have a birth plan, and our Doula is on standby! I found a rug for his room but we still have a few things to get. I have a bundle of gift cards to spend but I've managed to save them and it looks like I'll be doing some shopping after the holidays! I'm so thankful that we are having company since we aren't able to travel this year! I'm also thankful for so much excitement to distract me from my nerves! I have been pretty laid back and confident, but I get butterflies thinking about what's going to be happening in a few more weeks!


According to babycenter.com, he's probably over 18 inches long and over 5 lbs! WOW!! Our little seed has grown into a melon! It feels like I have a melon in there too! It's pretty weird, but I am really enjoying carrying my lil buddy with me! I love that he's super active and is always reminding me that he's getting ready too! It's still very surreal and even though I have seen it, it's hard to believe that there's a face with chubby cheeks in there that looks like my husband! Haha! I just can't wait!!! Not much longer before we're on the other side! I hear that life doesn't start until you have kids and once they're in your life it's hard to imagine how you lived without!

50 Days!!!!!

Here are a few photos from our trip to Kansas City last month! We had such a great time! We got to see lots of family and even went down to Oklahoma to see Uncle Richard and Aunt Phyllis! The first part of the trip, Dad, both Joes, and some friends went out to Garden for opening day of pheasant season! They didn't have the best luck, but they brought home 12 birds and had a great time doing it! I am so glad that my husband and my family get along so well! He is a perfect fit!

While the guys were out having their fun, we had some fun of our own! Mom and Ali had a baby shower for us!! I was really surprised and thankful for the turnout! It was so nice to reconnect with family that I haven't seen forever! It's really easy to get homesick and feel a little lonely out here on the West Coast so it was just awesome to see that we have so many people that love us even though we aren't as close as we wish we could be! I was also really thankful that my sister-in-law could be there and we had a couple of days to spend together! I really hope that someday we can be closer to family, but being so far away and only getting to see each other a few times a year really makes me appreciate the time that we do get!

Shockingly, at my appointment the week that we got back, I hadn't gained any weight! My doctor said that it's unusual at this stage so we're hoping for a growth spurt before our next appointment! I'm not worried, especially since he's very active and I know that he has chub on his cheeks!! We have 50 days until our due date!!! I can't believe how quickly November flew by and I'm sure that December will be the same way since we have so much going on. I'm really looking forward to having Joe's mom here before Christmas! We won't have any company on Christmas Day, oddly enough, so we're going to spend it at Joe's step-sister's house with his Dad. That will be really cool since we don't normally see them on the holidays! I'm so excited to show off my belly!! It's huge!! Then, after Christmas, Mom and Dad will be here! And THEN, the baby will be here!!!! Such an exciting time! Anticipation is so fun! We are all ready for him! I've got his clothes washed and his room ready enough for him to move in! I still need to go pick up the rug so it doesn't feel so bare in there, but after we get that and we start "living" in there, I'm sure it will warm up! I'm really happy with the way his room is turning out! Thanks to Alisha, we have the most adorable bedding and some hand-painted art for the walls!! I'm hoping to have his cousins paint pictures to hang over his changing table, too. Really though, all we need now is the baby! :)

Baby's First Photos!!!!

We got to see our little man's face for the first time last week!!!! It was the most incredible experience! He is soooo cute! Only about 9 more weeks until we get to kiss those chubby cheeks!!! It was so amazing to see him smile!!!! He has hair on his head and has Joe's lips!


Such chubby little cheeks!!


It's kinda wild that you can see the bones in his arm! I love this one because it really shows the hair that he is growing on his head!


This one might be my favorite- so precious!


He seemed to be a little irritated that his feet were in his face! Every other ultrasound we've had he was sucking his thumb- he didn't quite find it in this picture but he seemed to be satisfied chewing on his arm!


This is a cool shot of his ear, hand, and foot- it's getting cramped in there!


I'm going to try to put the video on YouTube- it's the wrong format right now though. Anyhow, I hope I can figure it out so everyone can see what happened when we took this picture- he smiled!!!!! It was amazing!!! He was definitely reactive to mine and his daddy's voice!


Good to see he has found something to play with to pass the time! :)


We had an awesome visit and trip home! I'll write more about all of that later. I'm unpacking and doing laundry but was so excited to share these!!! Hope to have a YouTube link soon!! :)

80 More Days!!!

I can't believe how much this lil guy has grown over the last 2 weeks!! So this is what the 3rd Trimester is like... :) He's supposedly about 15" and 2.25 lbs. So big yet still so tiny! I am counting the days until we get to meet him! We are looking forward to a glimpse of him at our 3d ultrasound that we have scheduled in a couple of weeks! Awww! I haven't ever posted to YouTube but we're going to get a video and try it!

We had a fun Halloween and as predicted, it feels like we're on the backside of the hill and picking up speed! We had 2 parties and I went as a nun to the first and a trailerpark mechanic to the second. We forgot the camera at the first! It was funny- Joe was a priest!

We are so ready for the holidays! Our big trip home is in a just a couple of more weeks and we can't wait!! Joe's got all of his hunting gear out and he's been out shooting a few times. We're hoping to finish the nursery this weekend so we can start moving the baby in! I'm looking forward to shopping for diapers and Christmas gifts and am going to do my best to get it done in better time than ever before! I'm always in the stores last minute and I don't know if my big belly or my feet are going to stand for that this year! I'm crossing my fingers!! Next post: 3d baby photos and memories from KC!!!!!!!

Growth Spurt!! 26 Down- 14 To Go!

He is getting so big!!! According to babycenter.com, he's now about 14" from head to toe and 1.7 lbs! I feel like he went through a growth spurt in the last 2 weeks- I'm huge! I love my baby belly but I'm a little nervous about how big it will be in 14 weeks! We had an appointment last week and got to hear his little heart beating! The doctor said he is measuring a little bit big- maybe that will mean that he will come a little bit early! :) We only have one more "monthly" appointment then we will start going twice a month. That means we only have 6 more before his due date! We're making a little progress on the nursery. The ceiling, shelves, and doors are done- now I just need to paint the walls and Joe has some lights to put in and we need to put up the beadboard paneling and chair rail. Seems like a lot still! I'm not worried though. I know it's going to get done and it's going to look great when it does! Our weekends are filling up though and we're going to be pretty busy this next couple of months. I feel like we're on the downhill and it's going to go by really quickly! It's so exciting!!

The bigger my belly gets, the more nervous I'm becoming about never fitting into my clothes again and, more importantly, how he's going to be arriving! We've started a class on the Bradley Method of natural childbirth, and I'm really hoping that it will help me build my confidence! So far I really like the class and our instructor. Joe wasn't too excited about having to go to 10 classes! I'm really glad that we'll have some preparation though and hope that he can feel included in the birth process! Only 14(ish) more weeks! It sounds like forever, but at the same time right around the corner! We've been making the most of our time together and have been enjoying each other a little extra- we're never going to be a family of 2 again! It's been amazing, but we're ready and really super excited about growing our own little family tree!

24 Weeks and Growing!!!

It's definitely sinking in that we're really going to have a BABY!!! Holy smokes! It's a little hard to imagine how much our lives are going to change, but I'm so ready! I had a moment of panic last week thinking about how much we still have to do! We don't have a single diaper, the nursery's not even close to ready, and I'm going to give birth! Luckily, it really was just about a moment, and I remembered we have plenty of time... after all, it seems like it's taken forever to get to where we are! We don't have too much longer left though really. My Belly Book says that the third trimester starts in Week 26 although I think it's really Week 28... either way, it's close! I am sooo excited to get a 3d/4d ultrasound so we can see our little guy's face!!! I'm even more excited for him to get here so I can kiss his cheeks and hold him and love on him! :) He weighs a little over a pound now and is about a foot long. It's amaaaazing how strong he is getting too! He seems to be most active late in the evening while I'm laying down. This week I have been putting one hand on my lower belly and one on the upper and I can feel him with both hands! It's like his head is down and his butt is up and I can feel it in the palm of my hand! I love being able to feel him just kinda wiggling around! I know that it won't be long before Joe gets to feel some different kinds of movement and see them too! We don't have a lot going on this weekend. We have one more coat to put down on the patio before we "move in" and a guy's is coming to texture the ceiling in the baby's room!! One project almost done and on to the next! xxoo

Moving Right Along!

We haven't had a lot going on lately so I haven't felt like I've had much to write about! I wanted to blog last week, but I accidently erased the pictures I wanted to post... oops! I was so impressed last weekend that I took pictures of the amazing breakfast that Joe made for me- they were the most beautiful Belgian waffles with strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream! I am so lucky to have such a loving (and super handsome) husband! :) We've really been enjoying each other and looking forward to welcoming our son! It was a fun summer, but I'm really ready for fall. We are all set to stain the concrete on the back patio and are just waiting for it to cool off a little! I think this may be the week that we're able to get it done! Joe installed some outdoor speakers under the eaves and after the concrete's stained I'll paint the cabinets that we're moving out there and our patio project will be complete! We've been dreaming about it for years now so we're very excited to enjoy it!

We are 22 weeks this week! The baby is doing great! We had a doctor's appointment last Friday. My belly measured right where it was supposed to and our weight gain is looking good! The baby weighs a whole pound now!! He's about 11" from head to toe. It's really awesome feeling him growing! Joe felt him move for the first time last week!! It was really exciting for me- I've been feeling him for a while now and I have been so anxious to share some of this lil miracle with Daddy! He is pretty active. While the doctor was listening for his heartbeat he was kicking a lot! We did get to hear it though and it sounded great at 144 bpm! Joe had his ear up to my belly yesterday and got a little punch on the cheek! I read that the baby already has the same sleep pattern as a newborn. He's most active later in the evenings. He seems pretty laid back for the most part though, so I'm hoping that he won't give us too much of a hard time after he gets here! :) I also read that his hearing is developing and he should be able to hear us now. I've been reading to him everyday out of Where the Sidewalk Ends. They say that babies will become familiar with rhythms in utero and they will recognize them after birth! We listen to music everyday also- I know that classical is supposed to be best, but I've been more in the mood for jazz! I am sure that he's going to be a pretty smart cookie no matter what! :) Speaking of smarts, the doctor mentioned that I need to get a lot of Omega-3's to help with that! My prenatal vitamins already have DHA which is an Omega-3, but we bought a big bag of walnuts for me to snack on and we're going to start eating more fish. I don't really care much for cooked fish or really any freshwater fish, so if anyone has a good idea or recipe please share! We grilled salmon last night with lemon and lemon pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms. It was pretty good, but still fish! I'm hoping that the more I eat it, the better it starts to taste! We'll see!

We should start growing a little quicker! I'm hoping to have a nice round belly for Halloween! xxoo