merry christmas!

It is Christmas Eve and we are going to be going down to my mom & dad's in a little bit. We're spending most of the weekend down there. I can't tell you how excited I am for Grandma's Chicken Noodle soup tonight!!! Then we're going to have our Christmas with my mom, dad, sis, bro-in-law and us. Tomorrow is the whole extended family on my mom's side out at the farm. It will be a fun-filled weekend! :) Glad to report that I am feeling better, although now that I type that I'm not sure if I mentioned I was sick... Earlier this week I got the cold that Paul had last week, so that was fun. Not. I am not 100% yet, still full of snot, but at least I can breath for the most part and my head doesn't feel like a balloon anymore. Anyways, I will probably be late on my weekly post again this week. Today is actually the 25 week mark, but I have a bunch of things I need to get done and ready to go before Paul gets home so we can head out. And by the time I look decent enough to take a pic I won't have time to do the post. I will maybe see if Paul will take a pic for me before we leave. Well I better get a move on! Have a Merry Christmas!! :)

24 wks

I'm a little late on posting this time. The picture is from Friday, but I didn't have time to get online because we went out for supper that night. Saturday we were at Paul's mom & dad's for the Staples family Christmas. We had a lot of fun! It's always great to see the girls and Aaron, and they had a great time opening gifts. We also celebrated Allie's 3rd birthday since everyone was together. This year we all played a dice game that was a lot of fun too, so hopefully we'll keep that tradition going! Our Christmas cards finally came in the mail yesterday, so today I got them all addressed and ready to be sent out tomorrow morning. I wasn't going to do a card this year, but changed my mind at the last minute. I think they turned out pretty good for putting them together and ordering them all in an hour and a half! :) I am still taking pics for my December Daily album and try to keep up on the journaling, but I haven't put anything together in the album yet. Since I don't print my pictures at home it's hard, so I'll probably just wait and order them all at the end of the month and then put the album together. I am looking forward to having it complete, even if it isn't real exciting. I know we'll look back in a few years and enjoy it. Anyways, on to this week's survey!

How far along?: 24 wks 2 days
How big is baby?: Still the size of a papaya, almost a foot long and just over a pound I believe.
Weight gain?: I'm sure more than I would like. I am not a fan of my scale so I don't use it. I don't feel like I've gained too  much since last week though.
Stretch marks?: Nope not yet.
Maternity clothes?: Yep.
Sleep?: Good most nights, getting sick of sleeping on my side.
Best moment of the week?: Probably making cookies last Sunday with my mom & sister. Nothing really new with the belly this week.
Food cravings?: Still the carbs. And just food in general.
Gender?: Baby boy!
Movement?: Feeling lots of kicks and punches. Seems like whenever I stop to watch my tummy or feel them though he stops! :)
Belly button?: Same as last time.
What I miss?: Nothing comes to mind.
Labor signs?: Nada.
What I'm looking forward to?: Those stronger kicks so Paul can feel them more often.
Milestone?: Reaching Viability week! Yay!

23 weeks

Paul is zonked out on the couch right now. He hasn't been feeling great the last couple days. Heaven forbid he take it easy at all though. But that is just him, can't let feeling like crap get in the way of getting his stuff done! I'm glad he was home early tonight so he can at least rest this evening and hopefully get a good night's sleep tonight.

Well, another week went by so that means I am at 23 weeks today! I've been feeling pretty good yet, starting to get sick of getting up and down at work. I had to bring a pillow to put on my chair because my butt starts to hurt when I sit for too long. I've had some other 'issues' that I'll spare you as well. Sometimes when I am sitting I feel like my belly is resting on my legs since I am carrying pretty low. I don't think I ever put a picture of my last ultrasound on here, so I wanted to share one of those now.

How far along?: 23wks
How big is baby?: The size of a papaya! Almost a foot long and weighs about a pound.
Weight gain?: 2 pounds more than last week, so I think 20 lbs all together so far. I still need to keep an eye on it, but it's really hard this time of year. (I know, I know...excuses)
Stretch marks?: None yet.
Maternity Clothes?: Pretty much everything except sweatshirts and tees, but some of those are getting snug too.
Sleep?: Not bad, waking up in the middle of the night most of the time to use the bathroom but I go right back to sleep.
Best moment of the week?: Hmm...nothing real exciting happened this week.
Food cravings?: Stupid carbs...I could eat bread and pasta everyday and be happy. Gotta try and keep those veggies in there somewhere though.
Gender?: Baby BOY!
Movement?: Yup! Still not super strong kicks so Paul can feel them, but hopefully soon.
Belly Button?: Stretching but still an innie. I am anxious to see it pop but don't think it will be for awhile.
What I miss?: Being able to sleep on my back.
Labor signs?: Uh, no.
What I'm looking forward to?: Feeling some stronger kicks. And for the month of December to be done. Even though I love Christmas, I will be glad when the month is over and we can relax again.
Milestone?: Not sure...making another week?

Not much change that I can see. It feels heavier if that makes sense though.

22 wks

This is the first week I've noticed that I can see the baby kicking from the outside! The other night he must have been in just the right place because I sat and watched my tummy bounce for a minute or two. Other than that it's been pretty random, I have to sit and really watch. Of course the night he was the most active, Paul was in the basement doing something else and missed it. Most of the time when I feel him kick it is still in my lower stomach.

How far along?: 21w6d
How big is baby?: 12.7-20.8 oz, the size of a papaya! I'm guessing a little over a pound.
Weight gain?: I didn't weigh myself again this week. I know, I'm a chicken. I'm afraid of what I'll see... In other words I need to start watching what I eat more and back off the carbs!
Stretch marks?: Not yet!
Maternity clothes?: All pants, most tops. Still fitting into a few pre-pg tops and I live in my hoodies when I'm at home.
Sleep?: Still good for the most part. Trying not to lay on my back too much, but I still end up waking up that way a lot.
Best moment of the week?: Watching my tummy pop out when the baby was kicking!
Food cravings?: Nothing in particular. Changes by moment.
Gender?: BOY!
Movement?: Yep!
Belly button?: Stretching more and more, but still an innie.
What I miss?: Nothing.
Labor signs?: None.
What I'm looking forward to?: Seeing and feeling more of those kicks! I love it! :)
Milestone? I'm going to use seeing the kicks from the outside again. That was about the most exciting thing that happened this week as you can tell!

Little bit bigger than last week. I'm apparently having a hard time getting the camera to focus on my face, but oh well. That thing gets heavy.












December Daily Album Update: I have 12 pages of the album done, just waiting for some more Christmas supplies that I ordered to come in the mail. I've taken pics for yesterday and today and am keeping the journaling in a small notebook until the weekends, when I will hopefully have more time to put the actual pages together. I'll try and get some pics taken to share them too! :)

21 weeks

It's a....BOY!! We are very excited and I am glad that I can start planning some more things, like the nursery. I already have a few ideas! :)

Well, at my appt. on Tuesday the dr. decided to keep my due date at April 8th, so that would make me 21 weeks tomorrow. Madison is super excited that "my new baby boy cousin is coming on my birthday!!" Too cute! Since today is Thanksgiving I would like to say that I am so very thankful for having such a wonderful husband, for this little guy growing inside of me, and for my family. We are very blessed!

How far along?: 20w6d
How big is baby?: The ultrasound tech said he weight about 1 pound! According to the bump, the size of a banana.
Weight gain?: Um. Yes. Since my last appt. I apparently gained 12 lbs, 17 lbs total then. I don't totally believe that, because I had a full bladder and we had just eaten, so I'm going to keep an eye on it at home for awhile.
Stretch marks? None yet, trying to keep ahead of them with the lotion.
Maternity clothes?: Yes when it comes to pants, some shirts.
Sleep?: Still good. Getting up to pee once a night usually.
Best moment of the week?: The ultrasound and seeing our baby again!! :)
Food cravings?: Comfort foods lately. So, nothing healthy. Ha.
Gender?: BOY!!
Movement?: I usually feel some good kicks daily now.  Don't feel much from the outside yet though.
Belly button?: Still an innie, but stretching a little.
What I miss?: Not a thing.
Labor signs?: None.
What I'm looking forward to?: Seeing my family for Thanksgiving on Saturday. We had a great day with Paul's family today too!
Milestone?: Reaching the halfway point (YAY!) and finding out we are having a little boy! :)

Not a ton of change from the last picture. I actually took this on Tuesday, so it was a couple days ago.

big day tomorrow!!

Well tomorrow is finally the big day!! We're having the ultrasound and *hopefully* finding out if it's a boy or a girl! I say hopefully because there is always the chance that the baby will be moving around too much to tell. It's funny how many people have asked if we're finding out what we're having, then when I tell them yes they say that we should be surprised for the first one. It's kind of starting to bother me actually. Like, come on people, it's our decision and don't make me feel bad for it. Oh well, I'm not changing my mind now! I just want to be able to say 'he' or 'she' instead of 'it'. I still have no idea, but Paul thinks it is a boy. So we'll find out soon!!

new project!

Well, inspired by Ali Edwards and this post from Elle @ Elle's Studio, I decided to do a December Daily mini-album this year. I ordered a bunch of Christmas stuff from Two Peas in a Bucket and Elle's Studio, and I think I have everything else I'll need. Right now I am pumped about it, so hopefully that feeling continues and I don't push it aside like I tend to do with things sometimes. The main reason I decided to go for it was because I thought it would be fun to see how the month of December and the Christmas season is for us now, and do this again next year to see how much it all changes! The thing I'm worried about for this year is that I won't have a lot to put in it on certain days since, you know, we're not super exciting. Ha! I'm sure I will come up with something. That's what's so neat about this, you can do whatever you like. I am excited to see how it goes, and I will make sure to share the progress!