32 weeks...aka 7 months! :o

The visit from my mother-in-law, Terri, was so great!! We are so thankful she was able to make a trip out here to see us and help us around the house. She did SO much!

I have owned a sewing machine for almost five years and until about 3 months ago, it was still in it's original box! I got it out and set it on a table in our office and stared at it... My mother-in-law showed me how to use it :) so now I'm very excited to start more projects! While she was here, we got started almost right away working on a bed skirt for "Harry's" crib.

Of course Toblakai had to be apart of it too... He likes to "help" with anything and everything!

We also made a valence for the window in the nursery! Super cute!

While we were hard at work, sewing ;) Daniel made us a refreshing drink. He found the recipe online. It's made with kumquats (my new favorite fruit obsession/addiction), club soda, sugar, and pink peppercorns.

"Hey! I'm here too!"

Terri also helped me with my front yard! I promise, I did not treat her as my slave while she was here ;) I asked her before she came out if she wanted to help me with it or not and she absolutely loves working in the yard (her beautiful yard is proof!) so she was more than happy to help! And so sweet to do so.

We all took a trip (or two, ha!) to Home Depot lol got the soil and flowers and got it all done in about an hour, or less! And I love love love how it turned out!! :) It isn't completely done yet but I still love it! Every time I drive up the driveway, it just looks so great! I wish I had done it sooner at this house. Because even though we are just renting, I still want to make it feel like home as much as I can. ;)

I water the pretty flowers every night :)

--I cannot wait to get my Fall decorations down from the attic!--

We also took Toblakai to the park with my mother-in-law!

And then went to Dead Fish Grill. I had a Groupon that was $30 off at lunch. Their patio allows dogs :)

I got the country fried chicken and I didn't even eat half of it...it was huge! And I was craving hush puppies...

The restaurant has a great view of the lake! And the lake has turtles - my mother-in-law's favorite ;)

How far along?: 32 weeks!! Just two more months? How crazy...

How big is baby?: 16.7 in. About the size of a large jicama (whatever that is...lol) Weighing about 3.75 lbs!

Morning sickness?: Yes! Horrible nausea this morning. I think I stood up too fast after waking up...

Cravings?: Fruit. All kinds. Mostly kumquats! And anything refreshing.....juice, cold water...

And salt and vinegar chips.

Aversions?: Nope.

Mood swings?: Not this week!

Weight gain/loss?: 118.1 lbs.

Eating?: Eating has begun to be uncomfortable.

Wedding ring on or off?: Still on.

Maternity clothes?: Majority of the time, yes!

Stretch marks?: Nope.

Sleep?: Same 'ol, same 'ol. Not sleeping great at night. Naps are better but I still wake up from naps with some discomfort.

Best moment this week?: Having my Mother-in-law here!! She was a great comfort and encouragement during this mourning time of the loss of my Grampa. She helped so much around the house! We worked on the nursery and the yard. And we took her around parts of town we wanted to show her. We hope she enjoyed her visit as much as we enjoyed having her here!

Movement?: Yes.

Labor signs?: Nothing new.

Belly button - in or out?: Out!

Happy or moody most of the time?: Happy!

What I miss?: Sleeping/resting on my stomach!!

And missing family so much.

What I am looking forward to?: Family coming to visit to meet "Harry" :)

Milestones?: I have been continuously stressed about my glucose test! But test results came back and they were "normal"; praise Jesus!! :)

Anything making you queasy or sick?: Laying down. And most of the time, when I lay down, I feel like I'm being suffocated by my own uterus.

Upcoming appointments/events?: Follow up appointment at the Chiro. And OB appointment on Thursday this week.

Bump picture?:

Forgot to take one this week! We were just so busy! :/

It is well with my soul.

My maternal grandfather passed away today! Please pray for my family. I am not able to travel now that I am in my third trimester, so I will not make it home. This is a very difficult time. He was an amazing man that will truly be missed! We take solace in knowing he is no longer in pain and he is cradling baby Tripp in heaven. <3 He will forever be missed. I hope to make him proud! Our hearts are broken. Miss you always, Grampa! I will always cherish every moment we had with him. I still have not accepted the reality that he is no longer here. Going back home to Georgia is going to be forever different...

His laugh was like none other!! <3

My mother-in-law flew in today and we are very excited to have her visit for a week!! :) She will be here until Sunday and we plan on working on the nursery together!

I do believe this is my "happy place" in this pregnancy, both physically and emotionally. I'm big and fat and uncomfortable already, but "Harry" is moving all around so much that I enjoy just feeling him, most of the time. There are times when he hurts me but for the most part, I love feeling him move! And making Daniel feel him too! Haha. I'm enjoying getting all the baby stuff ready and we are both excited for "Harry" to be here ;) aside from him taking over my body, I physically feel ok and content with my weight. The "honeymoon" trimester (the second trimester) was not fun because I just looked fat but now I actually feel pregnant and I think strangers recognize I'm pregnant and not just eating big meals! ;P I am finding myself to be more and more happy and excited for baby boy's arrival. I almost want to stay in this stage and not get any bigger but I know that the further along I am, the closer we get to meeting our baby!

How far along?: 31 weeks.

How big is baby?: About 16.25 inches long. Weighing almost 3.3 lbs!! Oh my...

Morning sickness?: Nope.

Cravings?: Ramen noodles.

Aversions?: Nah.

Mood swings?: Probably!

Weight gain/loss?: 117.8 lbs!

Eating?: Eating has been ok. I often feel like the food is staying in my esophagus which is uncomfortable.

Wedding ring on or off?: On!!

Maternity clothes?: Most of the time when we go somewhere.

Stretch marks?: Not yet.

Sleep?: I do not sleep well most nights. So thankful for Daniel. He is an outstanding husband! He is so compassionate and understanding.

Best moment this week?: I have a few:

My mother-in-law flew in today to visit for a week! :)

Also, on Thursday, last week, I had a wonderful lunch date with my old piano teacher and her father. It was so great seeing them! Hadn't seen them since our wedding. :) they live in Texas now so we met up because, why not?! ;)

Then, on Friday night, I took Daniel on a dinner date to Salado. One of my favorite little towns here in Texas, about 45 minutes away from our house. We have been a couple of times since moving here last year! There is a small river that runs through the town and there are many different cute shops, wine houses, and cafés.

I found a gift certificate on Restaurants.com for a nice, fancy ;) restaurant on the river. It was for $50 worth of food for $8! :D

We had a very yummy dinner and loved getting away for just a few hours and enjoy each other! Because once "Harry" gets here, we won't have that kind of freedom!

Movement?: Yep! <3

Labor signs?: Same 'ol Braxton Hicks...

Belly button - in or out?: It's pretty out there...

Happy or moody most of the time?: Moody. 

What I miss?: Being able to cross my legs...

What I am looking forward to?: Losing this baby weight!

Milestones?: Went to the chiropractor on Thursday! So excited about going back and seeing a decrease in my pain.

Anything making you queasy or sick?: Nah.

Upcoming appointments/events?: Still waiting for my glucose test results...

Bump picture?:

30 weeks.

How far along?: 30 weeks and 3 days.

How big is baby?: 15.7 in. About the size of a cabbage. Weighing about 2.75 lbs! Big boy!!

Morning sickness?: Nope.

Cravings?: Arby's...weird, I know.

Aversions?: None.

Mood swings?: Meh...

Weight gain/loss?: 117.6 lbs.

Eating?: I haven't been eating as much this week. Feeling full on top of feeling fat, the motivation to eat just isn't there some days.

Wedding ring on or off?: On!

Maternity clothes?: Yep...

Stretch marks?: None yet :)

Sleep?: Still difficult to sleep at night. I sleep better during a nap. My lungs feel like they are unable to fill up all the way when I lay down and that is beginning to freak me out... I also wish I could sleep on my stomach. Or even on my back would be nice!

Best moment this week?: Got more done in the nursery! :)

Movement?: Yeppers!! All the time :)

Labor signs?: Nah.

Belly button - in or out?: It's out there!

Happy or moody most of the time?: Happy-go-lucky ;) 

What I miss?: Feeling confident. I have many moments where I just ask myself, "How do you think you can be a mommy?!" and "Is there anything I'm doing wrong so far?" or "How are you going to handle the pain?"  I often call a friend from Georgia for her to talk me off the ledge lol sometimes we just need others to help us through our emotions. I've needed it a lot lately.

What I am looking forward to?: Having my pre baby body back!

Milestones?: 30 weeks! That's pretty big, literally! ;P

Anything making you queasy or sick?: My medicines are starting to get stuck in my esophagus and not go down, no matter how much I drink taking them. And that's makes me queasy! Also, baby boy is moving a lot and sometimes the movement still makes me queasy/sick to my stomach.

Upcoming appointments/events?: Had the one hour glucose test and my levels were elevated. So I went back this week for the three hour test and that was no fun. On a happier note, my Mother-in-Law comes into town on Monday and we are so excited!! :)

Bump picture?:

29 weeks!

Originally written on Wednesday but forgot to "post".

Daniel can't believe it either.
29 weeks.
The time is flying by and I cannot believe we have only ~10 weeks until we hold our sweet baby boy!!

Some "just because" pictures from this week:

He's at it again! Laying down at his water bowl ;)

He didn't like it when I knitted this week...he kept biting my needle.

So Daniel has made me realize a lot about myself! One of which, I'm "weird" when it comes to eating corn on the cob. Which I love corn, by the way! Apparently, eating it row by row is unusual. Because Daniel eats his random. But, to me, his way is weird for the simple fact that he misses kernels!! This is our life ;P

Our aquaponics system is doing great! Almost too great...so much produce growing, we are barely able to keep up with it all ;P

There is still work to be done to it and Toblakai has taken a liking to the bamboo so we've found him chewing on it :/ but that's our own fault for letting him get bored lol.

The cover over it was to cool it down from the blazing Texas sun because some of the plants were getting burnt and we think the fish's water was getting too hot...

Tomatoes!

"Juliet tomatoes" but to me, they look kind of NOT like a tomato...at all lol.

So much green!!!! :D

A couple "highlights" from this week:
(pretty much just things I feel like sharing/giving mentions to...) ;)

• We bought a new computer (desktop), and it has Windows 8.1. I don't get it. Off to watch YouTube videos titled "Windows 8 for Dummies"...

Update: This video was pretty helpful! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2chVtfIrhY

• We attended a carseat safety course at the local fire department. It consisted of a 15 minute video and after, we received a convertible carseat! Pretty sweet!

• I got a belly support band from my doctor. She prescribed it when I mentioned my discomfort with Sciatica. It looks uncomfortable but it has been great!!

• My mother is an amazing woman! She is strong, caring, gracious, and incredibly patient!! And, also beautiful inside AND out! My family is going through a really really hard time right now, and she is sacrificing so much and staying strong for everyone involved.

How far along?: 29 weeks and 3 days.

How big is baby?: 15.25 in. About the size of a butternut squash. Weighing almost 2.5 lbs...though I would argue that he's about 8 lbs right now!! :P

Morning sickness?: No.

Cravings?: Pretzels. And crushed ice.

Aversions?: Nothing this week.

Mood swings?: Yes...

Weight gain/loss?: 117.0 lbs!!!! I promise you, I will cry when I reach more than 120.

Eating?: I have been SO bad these past two weeks. Eating unhealthy and eating out more than eating at home. :/ I have to stop!! I can feel my stomach expanding and my chin duplicating!

Wedding ring on or off?: Definitely still on!

Maternity clothes?: Pretty much every time we go somewhere. Which isn't very often but when it does happen, I go for the larger clothing ;P

Stretch marks?: Nope.

Sleep?: Still the same...not sleeping well at night and having a difficult time falling asleep. My now daily 2 hour nap during the day is when I sleep best.

Best moment this week?: It's been a rough week for me, emotionally. I suppose my worst moment could be the best moment, in that, it was God's plans and not my plans! Basically, I planned to work throughout this pregnancy and, even still, after the baby was born! I worked part time, for a wonderful company, doing what I love, in the comfort of our home here in Texas. But that came to an end on Thursday. I miss the job dearly and I look forward to resuming work for them when we return to Georgia :) I know this is for the best and it only allows me to give more attention to my health and to baby boy when he arrives!

Movement?: All day long. It seems like he never rests...

Gender?: This question can be deleted...it's still a boy, as far as we know lol.

Labor signs?: Nothing to be concerned about.

Belly button - in or out?: Barely in but not yet fully out.

Happy or moody most of the time?: I cannot lie, I've been moody. For many reasons.

What I miss?: Having abs...not that I had great ones prior but they were at least there!

What I am looking forward to?: Rocking and feeding baby boy in the nursery.

Milestones?: My back has officially starred hurting lol.

Anything making you queasy or sick?: Nope.

Upcoming appointments/events?: I had the one hour glucose test this morning. And they took blood...bleh!

Bump picture?:

We forgot this week :/