Our Small Nest and a Weekly Bumpdate

Nesting has officially set in. The other night I was wide awake at 4 in the morning going crazy pondering all that needs to be done in the next 3 months. In my mind (as to not wake Travis up) I was screaming, "THERE'S SO MUCH TO DO!!!" The next day I might have overwhelmed Travis a bit explaining all that needs to be done and all that I wanted to get. After a good chuckle he reminded me of how small our apartment is, how many bedrooms we have (2), and how if I wanted to buy anything new that would mean I'd have to get rid of something. Wahhhhh!!! 

So today I started. I emptied Anna's bedroom closet. I went through books, dvds, random boxes, clothes, and set them in keep and toss piles. It feels good to have Anna's closet complete and ready for when Juice Drop arrives because in 3 months it won't just be Anna's closet anymore. Yep, they'll be sharing a room. Which is another project in itself. Thankfully when we were decorating Anna's nursery two years ago we didn't make it too girly. The room has plenty of blacks, whites, and grays to balance it out, and we're hoping to add a touch of light blues here and there. 

This is when Anna and I were in the thick of nesting. 

And yay for her room only looking like this for 30 minutes! 

From here it'll be time to work on our own bedroom: downsizing Travis' gigantic desk that takes up most of our room making it oh, so romantic, unpacking books that have been in boxes for almost 3 years and placing them in our bookcase, adding decor, and setting up the bassinet once Juice Drop arrives. But we still have 13 more weeks (hopefully!) until we meet our little guy so until then here's a little bumpdate:

How far along? 27 Weeks

How big is baby? the size of a rutabaga (a what?!) and is showing brain activity and his brainwill keep getting more complex! 

Total weight gain: 24 pounds--I was surprised to find out I had only gained 2 pounds in a month. I'm right on track with where I was with Anna now! Phew, baby boy may not be as big as I thought at the beginning of all this.

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: same as usual, waking up at least once a night to pee and occasionally waking up and being wide awake

Best moment this week: hearing Juice Drop's heartbeat--it never gets old and passing my glucose test! No gestational diabetes for me! Yippie! 

Miss Anything? and yet again, a glass of red wine, especially tonight while my friends will be taking sips and watching the finale of the Bachelorette (did I really just admit to watching that show?! #dontjudge)

Movement: morning, noon, and night ;)

Food cravings: this week, carbs! 

Gender: baby boy!

Symptoms: major heartburn--it comes on even before I've eaten, braxton hicks, peeing all the time, out of breath, and my favorite: baby kicks! 

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: happy!

Looking forward to: our friends' baby shower this weekend! Can't wait to see them and eventually meet their baby boy in a few weeks :)

I know my nesting of cleaning out closets isn't too unusual. What's the weirdest thing you've done while nesting? I'd love to know!

So Close Yet So Far Away

Vacation was absolutely amazing but it's also great being home. It's a good feeling knowing we don't have anymore big travel plans before Juice Drop numero dos arrives. It just means we're that much closer to meeting our sweet baby boy! Ohhh, the anticipation is just killing us! People are already starting to talk about fall and all that comes along with it, like sweatshirts, pumpkin drinks at Starbucks, football, and the cooler weather. But all I can think about when fall is mentioned is finally getting to hold my baby in my arms. It still feels so far away but I know it's closer than I realize. I mean, we're in double digits folks! October 25th is less than 100 days away WAHOOOO! 

How far along? 26 Weeks

How big is baby? the size of a head of lettuce and is taking breaths--of course he's breathing amniotic fluid but he's still practicing!

Total weight gain: 22+ pounds  

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: it's been ok. Really starting to get uncomfortable. I woke up to a bloody nose a few times, and not sleeping in your own bed for 2 weeks in a row can really wear on a pregnant lady. 

Best moment this week: seeing sheer joy every time Anna played in the ocean. She loved it! 

Miss Anything? a glass of red wine. Ice cream had to suffice in the evenings--not totally bummed about this. 

Movement: morning, noon, and night ;)

Food cravings: chocolate! 

Gender: baby boy!

Symptoms: major heartburn--it comes on even before I've eaten, braxton hicks, peeing all the time, out of breath, and my favorite: baby kicks! 

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: happy!

Looking forward to: getting back into our regular routine and (fingers crossed) potty training!--well maybe not the whole training part but hopefully being diaper-less very soon! :)  

I'm already missing Island life. Anna's reaction to the beach and the waves was priceless. Post about our wonderful week on Amelia Island is to come! 

Celebrating Freedoms, Family, and Animals

July has been one of the best months this year so far--I'm hoping it doesn't surpass any of the months in the fall and thereafter considering what is to come then, however. In the last three weeks we've had family visit, a babymoon, and vacation. I think I've slept in a bed not my own more times than not. I'm not complaining. I love traveling. And I love when others travel to us. Like when we had my mom, stepdad, and sister come visit over the 4th of July weekend. My mom is simply the best. She is not your typical mom (or grandma) who carries around a Vera Bradley handbag and calls me on the phone everyday just to check in. My mom and I are polar opposites. She's a biker chick, I'm terrified of motorcycles. She has over 10 tattoos. I have zero. She loves cats and always talks about her "boys", and I would be fine if I never saw a cat again for the rest of my life. But when we get together we're like two peas in a pod. We crack each other up. The laughter doesn't stop. When they came to visit it wasn't any different.

We decided to do something other than go to Freedom Park this time--which is usually where we take all our guests who come to stay with us. We wanted to do something different. We choose the Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville, NC and it sure did not disappoint. We didn't know what to expect except that they had exotic animals that could come up to your car (or wagon) and you could feed them. How cool is that?! Yes, please!

I was so excited to see how Anna was going to react. She loves animals, she loved going to the Columbus Zoo, and I knew being able to be so close to these animals at the Lazy 5 Ranch was just going to rock her world.

I mean look at that face! I don't remember what she and Mami are looking at but it seems pretty exciting!

So like I said above, you could feed the animals that came up to the wagon. This buffalo sure was hungry, so much so that he salivated and slobbered all over me! 

This is my face after the drool from above got on my arm! Blech!

Anna was a little hesitant at first but eventually she wanted to feed the animals too.

The giraffe was so cool. I had never been that close to one before. Well I've never been that close to any of the other animals either but it really puts it into perspective just how tall these guys are when you have one standing over top of you. Pret-ty uh-mazing!

Anna refused to share her bucket of feed with anyone besides the animals. 

It was such a perfect way to spend time with my family. We don't get to see them as often as we wish we could. It's nice to be able to get away for a day and share memories that we can look back on. We also enjoyed walking around Plaza Midwood and eating at one of our favorite pizza places in Charlotte: Fuel Pizza. While we didn't get to see fireworks or an Independence parade we had a wonderful weekend celebrating being a family and enjoying all the freedoms that we've been blessed with.

You can see at least 4 tattoos on my mom in this pic and you'd think the motorcycle we're
standing in front of was hers, but it's not--she wishes ;) 

Anna loves her Auntie Em. She has been notably named the "baby whisperer".

I'll leave you with two of my favorite ice cream photo shoots to date. This girl can slam some ice cream. Me too, Anna, me too.

But those eyes though. Be still my heart.

A Babymoon Recap with a Little Bump

Today marks two very important events: 1. we've reached the 25 week mark. For some reason 25 just seems like a big number to me. I don't know why, it just does. And 2. we're only half way through our two week vacation. The first week was amazing and I know this week will be just as great. 

This past week Travis and I spent 4 days BY OURSELVES! Travis' mom graciously drove 7 hours from Ohio so she could spend those four days with Anna while we headed to Lake Norman for a much needed getaway. We did a lot of reading, praying, talking, eating, and sleeping-in in that little yellow house that brings a bountiful of peace whenever we walk through her doors. One of the days I slept in until 9:30 and it was glorious! My favorite part of our time together was getting the chance to pray for our children. It puts things into perspective when you remember God has given you these children for a purpose and for such a short time. We couldn't help but ask Him to guide us through these next 18 years and pray that we'd be the best parents for them, setting them up to live a life for Christ. It was just a beautiful time of humbling ourselves before God and leading us in this crazy thing called parenthood. 

I actually got to read a book! First fiction in two years. 

This man is a true fishermen--even though he caught this one and only little guy below:

And the whole reason we were even on this little excursion was because of that little bump right there.
He has my heart and I'm never giving it back. 

So Anna was in a rare mood when we returned. We were so excited to see her that when we got home I was out of the car before Travis was able to put it in park. We raced to our back gate and Anna and Mimi (Travis' mom) were there waiting at the door. I was hoping for a "Mommy!" but all we got was a blank stare. And for the next ten minutes it felt like she was giving us the cold shoulder. No hug, no kiss, no smile, no nothing. It was like she was saying "hey, you guys left me here and now you expect me to be excited when you finally get back! Think again!" But then we started tickling her and all was forgiven. Phew! I was a little worried we'd never be able to leave her again after that little episode! But only a little worried, not enough to really never leave her ;) Sometimes parents just need a little time away, amiright or amiright, ya know what I mean?!

And now for the 25 week bump update. Here he is, folks:

How far along? 25 Weeks

How big is baby? the size of a cauliflower and he knows which way is up or down now. Hopefully he enjoys being upside down so he's ready to come out the right way! 

Total weight gain: 22 pounds 

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: it was great! But that may be due to the fact that we got to sleep in since we were babe-less all week 

Best moment this week: praying for our children (still crazy to me that now we have children!) while on our babymoon. It was a sweet time of lifting them up in prayer and trusting God to help us through this crazy thing called parenting. 

Miss Anything? We went to Cowfish (a sushi restaurant) yesterday and I had to stick with shrimp tempura rolls while Travis and his mom delighted on the real stuff. So jelly!

Movement: morning, noon, and night ;)

Food cravings: chocolate! I indulged in milky ways and twix bars this week, but hey, it's vacation! 

Gender: baby boy!

Symptoms: heartburn, peeing all the time, out of breath, and my favorite: baby kicks! 

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: happy!

Looking forward to: enjoying our vacation on the beach of Amelia Island. We feel so blessed and grateful to be able to spend this next week just kicking back and relaxing in a beautiful setting. 

 Don't think I've forgotten to post about my family visiting over the 4th of July weekend, <Mom>. I'll be back to write a very nice, long post just for you that highlights all the fun we had! ;) 

Just a Sweet and Rather Large Baby Bump

I'm writing this way too late at night after a wonderful weekend with my mom, step-dad, and sister and on the front end of our babymoon and family vacation. I have to get this posted before I lose wifi for the next four days. Of course I'll have to come back later in the week once I'm around civilization again and share about our weekend we had with my family and our little getaway to Lake Norman. But for now I'll just be sharing a sweet and rather large baby bump.

How far along? 24 Weeks

How big is baby? the size of a cantaloupe and has a new pink glow, thanks to the small capillaries that have recently formed.

Total weight gain: 22 pounds 

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: it's been better this week--when I'm actually sleeping, thanks to the fireworks going off at 1 in the morning after Independence Day and Anna who's been waking up because she's getting her molars in. 

Best moment this week: My mom and sister getting to feel baby boy kick!

Miss Anything? working out. I only worked out once this week and of course that one time kicked my butt still two days after! This upcoming week I plan on working out every day. We'll see how that plan goes ;)

Movement: morning, noon, and night ;)

Food cravings: sweets--fruit and ice cream

Gender: baby boy!

Symptoms: heartburn, peeing all the time, out of breath, and my favorite: baby kicks! 

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: happy!

Looking forward to: spending the next four days on a lake, by ourselves, reading, relaxing, and just enjoying ourselves. Did I mention this is sans Anna? But Anna's a lucky girl, she gets to spend her week with Grandma Terri!

So like I said above, I'll be back later this week after we're refreshed and done missing and kissing on our little girl to post about this past weekend with my family and maybe share a little about our babymoon--but really, do you need to know a whole lot about that? ;)

What You Probably Didn't Know About Swim Diapers-Or Maybe You Did

There are so many books out there telling you the ins and outs of being a parent from how to get your baby to sleep through the night to potty training to disciplining and much, much more. But there are a few things us parents need to learn for ourselves. Or maybe it's just that not all kids are the same so not every kid meets the mold that the book is trying to portray (that was our case with Babywise--I've shunned that book for eternity!) I guess you can't write an entire book on little tidbits that we parents need to learn along the way (or maybe you could!), but it sure would be helpful, eh? 

Something we learned recently about swim diapers is that they are for catching poop, not pee. So when you go to the pool and you see a bunch of babies and toddlers in swim diapers you're still swimming in pee. Super. We had to learn the hard way, i.e. Anna peed in her swim diaper while sitting in her carseat. Who knew, right? Also (just learned this weekend), you can reuse the swim diapers (the ones that aren't filled with poop, of course). Such good news since they are so gosh darn expensive! Anna loves swimming and we try to take her as often as we can but now we know to not put her into her swim diaper until we arrive at the pool and we'll be saving money every time we swim because we'll be reusing those poop catchers (when they're not filled with poop) like it's nobody's business! That's enough of the poop talk for now--or at least until I write a post on potty training!

Only 3 days late posting this bump as opposed to last week's 8 days--woo hoo! 

How far along? 23 Weeks

How big is baby? the size of a grapefruit and he's listening to my voice and heartbeat and I'm sure when Anna gets all up on my belly he can hear all of her ramblings too :)

Total weight gain: 22 pounds 

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: still need to get that body pillow. Target was out when I looked the other day. On top of not feeling comfortable I'm feeling his every move which is super cute but also kind of not so cute at 2 in the morning. 

Best moment this week: Anna telling us whenever she went potty in her diaper! I know, it may seem weird but this is a big deal. We're one step closer to potty training! It shall commence upon returning from vacation--yippee!! 

Miss Anything? not feeling like a beached whale at the end of the evening. I have no motivation to do anything after I put Anna to sleep. I feel huge, I look huge, I'll only get more huge, and all I want to do is curl up on the couch and veg with The Office. 

Movement: morning, noon, and night ;)

Food cravings: this question always gets me. I so wish I had a fun craving like pickles and ice cream together. Last week it was turkey sandwiches. This week, just junk.

Gender: baby boy!

Symptoms: heartburn, peeing all the time, out of breath, and my favorite: baby kicks! 

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: happy!

Looking forward to: my mom, step dad, and sister coming to town for the upcoming holiday weekend! 

Going back to the whole swim diapers topic that I thoroughly discussed above, are there any tidbits not found in books that you discovered being a parent? I'd love to hear more...just so I know and can be better prepared for all the unknowns that we learn as parents!