23 Weeks

Oh, baby!

I have a little kick boxer inside my stomach! I have read that by now, she has a regular sleep pattern and if I pay attention I can figure out her basic schedule. Well, one thing I have noticed is that right around 11pm when we climb into bed, she loves to bounce off my uteran walls! She is SO active at the time every night. Greg and I were actually able to just watch my belly move the other night from her.

We have a list of possible first names, and are just mulling over them for a while to narrow it down some more. We both have our #1 favorite, but unfortunately, they aren't the same as eachother's! It's so odd to think we are trying to think of what this little girl will be called the rest of her life!

Ohh, to be a Kid...

Homeschooling Progress

So we've been at our homeschooling preschool curriculum for 3 weeks now, and Hunter LOVES it. Whenever I ask him if he wants to do "school," his answer is always "YES!" He loves doing our calendar and weather board, and always LOVES singing the song of the week.

This past week, our theme was Farm, and I wanted to share a picture of one of our crafts we did. He was so proud of his work, and so we had to display them on the fridge. We made paper plate farm animals. He chose where all the pieces went, so it definitely looks like a toddler did it, and I LOVE it! :) I think they are so cute!
Twice a week, every week, we work on writing his name. Sometimes we get to writing it more than once, and other times, he's a little reluctant. But, since he's not even 3, I don't force him into anything. Anyway, this was written yesterday. We wrote his name the one time, and then he always likes to trace numbers. I wrote the numbers for him to trace, and dated the paper. I then walked over to the desk to pack something for the mail, and left him to trace. He called me over and told me he had written the date. If you look in the upper left hand corner, you can see that he copied just like I had written. This is the first time he has ever tried copying something and writing it by himself, as opposed to just tracing it. You can make out the 9, and the dashes, and then it's a lot of 0's and it finishes with a 10. I was SO proud of my baby boy. He is making progress even 3 weeks into it, and that is very rewarding for momma!

To finish off Farm week, our plan is to go on a field trip to a local petting zoo today. It's supposed to be about 90 though, so as long as we can handle the heat, we'll be going. And if so, I'll definitely be taking pictures!

Udder Cover

Yay, my udder cover came in the mail!!! In the picture, it kind of looks like a purse, but it's just because I have it hanging. If it were laying flat, it would be a big rectangle. It's for nursing in public, and it has the strap to go around your neck, and then it has a flexible piece of plastic or something sewn in the neckline so I can adjust it to be able to see baby while nursing. I used to just use a blanket with Hunter, and couldn't see him unless I held the blanket up, and once he got older, he would just swat the blanket off! This should take care of both of those problems. :) The best part about it is that it's normally $32, but they had a code I found (at retailmenot.com) to get it free, I just had to pay shipping. So I got it for $9.95! I considered making on myself, but this one was definitely worth it for that price.  Now, if only she were here to use it!  If you're interested in one (they have many different fabrics to choose from!) head on over to www.uddercovers.com

22 Weeks, Doctor's, and the Dentist

Well, I am 22 weeks as of yesterday, and yesterday was quite the day. First, here's the belly pics:

So I had 3 different appointments yesterday, so I felt like that's all I did. I had an OB appointment in the morning, which was a follow-up appointment to the ultrasound. Dr said baby looks great. He did say my placenta is kinda close to my cervix, so he will just check to make sure it's moved up ok at 32 weeks. He also said that, although my weight gain as of now is healthy, he wants me to get all desserts out of the house. And between 30-40 weeks, he wants me to eat 100% healthy. He said that second babies do tend to be larger than firstborn's and he is concerned for my baby's health because of it. Between 30-40 weeks is when she will go from being 3.5 lbs to 8, 9, 10 or even 11 lbs. So he wants to make sure I'm not doing any unnecessary unhealthy eating so that she doesn't gain any unnecessary weight. I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest when he told me this, but I know that's just the hormones. There are no down sides to me needing to eat healthy. It's better for me, better for her, and will make getting back down to my prepregnancy weight that much easier! So, although I am extremely upset that (of course) Thanksgiving, Christmas, AND my birthday fall in those last 10 weeks, I'm trying my absolute hardest to stick to the dr's orders and eat super healthy. I've started logging my calories today (as I do when I'm not pregnant) just so that I'm aware of how much I'm consuming. So hopefully, I can have self control and only gain the 12 more lbs he wants me to!

Next, I had a dental appt. I have been having some toothaches and wanted to get them checked out, and also was in dire need of a cleaning. Thankfully, we finally have dental insurance for the first time in almost 3 years, so I was able to take care of these things! In order to avoid waiting 6 months for an appt, I took a 1:40 and a 4:40 for the two procedures because they had just happened to have cancellations. I saw the dentist for my aches first, and am thankful I went in. Apparently my filling that I've had since I was about 6 or 7 years old was cracked and needed to be replaced. The good thing about this is that I originally had a silver filling, but got it replaced with the tooth colored one. And since this is my only filling I've ever had, it was nice to get rid of that awful silver in my mouth! Also, it came up with the dentist that Hunter is almost three so I was able to talk to him about how they get kids acclimated to going to the dentist. He suggested I bring him in for my cleaning that afternoon so he could sit in on it and see mommy getting her teeth nice and clean, and then go for a spin in the chair himself. So, that is just what we did! Daddy and Hunter sat and watched, and I had a wonderful hygienist who didn't mind one bit, and talked to Hunter about each step she was doing. Then, she let him sit in my lap and showed him the tooth polisher that they put that (awful tasting) toothpaste on, which she referred to as the "tickle brush." She spun it on his finger, and he loved it. That was going to be the end of it, but Hunter opened his mouth (without anyone suggesting it!) to have her "tickle" his teeth, like he saw her doing to mom's teeth. I was so proud of him! So she did one little tooth and he didn't mind it one bit! He did so wonderful, and I'm really glad we took him in. So, I'm going to schedule his own appointment to get his teeth polished soon, while the experience is still fresh in his mind.

As always, I was chastised for not flossing, and I swear my doctor and dentist are in together about telling me no sweets! But, I am going to try really hard to floss for the next six months and make the dentist proud. Ask me in a month how I'm doing! ;)

Meatball Subs

I made these for lunch today and they were a big hit with my boys! Greg even came into the kitchen to tell me again during clean up that he liked them. I can't remember the last time that happened! Anyway, it's a modified Pioneer Woman recipe. Here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/07/16-minute-meal-3-mini-meatball-sandwiches/ is her recipe for mini meatball sandwiches. Thanks to a suggestion from a friend, I just made bigger meatballs and put it on sub bread instead. It was YUM-O and a good recipe for fall!  Let me know if you try them!

It's a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had our ultrasound last night and it went WONDERFULLY! While we were waiting to go into the room, she was going crazy and kicking, and Greg even got to feel 3 kicks for the first time since his birthday! It was very special. :)
Our baby girl is healthy as can be, and measuring just fine. :) Here is a picture of her little face.

The tech asked us when we walked in the room if we wanted to know the sex, and we both gave enthusiastic 'yes's! Then she confirmed once again when she was there making sure we wanted to know. When we said yes again, she said, "It's a girl." I let out a HUGE gasp, and said, "Oh my gosh, are you serious? Are you SURE?" And she said, "yep!" I'd already asked her how long she had been doing ultrasounds, and her answer was, "since 1983," so I was pretty sure I could trust her. ;) I couldn't believe it and started to get teary eyed, but held back because I didn't think balling like a baby was appropriate during an ultrasound showing a healthy baby. Then, a little while later, she showed us the proof. Once we both saw it, Greg said, "Aww, man. That's definitely a girl. I was hoping there was a LITTLE chance it wasn't." This next picture is the proof with it labeled so, but the following picture shows it even better. Please skip over the photos if you'd rather not see. ;)
Next, we have her precious little baby foot that I can't wait to kiss!

And that's that. I was definitely disappointed that she didn't give us any profile pictures of her, but I am just thankful for a healthy baby.

EVERYONE (a large majority anyway) thought it was a boy, so I was so excited to tell them otherwise.

Greg is acting disappointed about it, but I know when he holds her in his arms, he will fall in love.

So now, we have 4 months to decide on a name. We definitely have a lot of work ahead of us because we were so sure it was a boy, we didn't even discuss girl's names!

But for today, I will start tackling the baby girl's bedroom...

Today is the Day!

In just about THREE HOURS, Greg and I will be at our appointment for our anatomy ultrasound and, Lord willing, we'll find out if it's a boy or a girl! I have been trying to keep myself busy all day to pass the time, and thankfully, I think it's worked because time seems to be going by pretty swiftly.

As I've said before, I want a girl and Greg wants a boy. However, a part of both of us just want to KNOW what the baby is so we can take care of this...

Yep, thats the future nursery. Greg and I recently went home to Michigan and got all of our stuff that had been sitting at our parent's houses since we've been married. We also got all my baby stuff that Liz, my sister, borrowed for her youngest, AND all the girl clothes from her. We're trying to clear out the garage to fit a car in it, so we just put all the baby stuff (boy and girl) into the nursery to be sorted once we found out the gender. Then, we would put what needed to go into the attic up there.

Now, our bedroom floor plan in our house is kind of weird. They added on a 4th bedroom, which is the largest bedroom, so it's our master. But because of the set up of the house on the lot, the only place to add it was behind another bedroom. (Is this making sense?) So, the room in the picture is the nursery, and you have to walk through the nursery to our bedroom. So this is what we've had to look at for the past 2 months everytime we go to our room. Needless to say, we're pretty sick of it.

So, I have been praying long and hard that baby will show the goods and I can start tackling that room tomorrow, and sorting through what we'll need and what will go in the attic.

I CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT! :)

21 Weeks

Ok, all of the sudden this week (mainly the past few days,) I have felt like I am HUGE and my skin is being stretched to the brim. Then I look at these pictures and my thoughts are confirmed...
As you can see, I think it's about time I pack up my size medium t-shirts for a while!

Dumbo!

20 Weeks, 5 Days

I learned one thing today - I'm not wearing heels again until after this baby is born. I didn't think about the fact that I can't walk gracefully in FLAT shoes these days. Then you throw heels on me...I was clodhopping around the whole morning. Then by the time church was through, my feet hurt SO bad. But hey, at least I looked cute standing still!

Push Ups

Smallest to Largest

Also take note that my child has clothes on. That's right - momma dressed him this morning! It's even a little cool today so I put him in pants. He looked down at them funny and ran to the mirror to have a look at these odd things mom was calling "pants." Kids are so funny!

Pumpkin Cookies

As requested by a friend, I'm posting my pumpkin cookie recipe. These are such a good treat in the fall...a little time consuming, but so worth it!

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze (recipe follows)


PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease baking sheets.

COMBINE flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.

BAKE for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle Glaze over cookies.

FOR GLAZE:
COMBINE 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in small bowl until smooth.

Tips:

*After mixing glaze, I put it in a ziploc bag, and snip off a small corner to drizzle.

*After frosting, place cookies in fridge for a few minutes to set the glaze.

*When storing, place wax paper in between layers of cookies so you don't ruin your glaze designs.

Enjoy! And let me know what you think if you decide to make them!

20 Weeks

Wow! We're halfway already! I'm so excited to be on the downhill part of this journey. I'm also excited that with fall being here, that means the holidays will soon be approaching and make time fly by, and then it will be baby time! I can't wait to hold this little one in my arms. :)
Baby is as big as a banana. My belly is showing it too because I discovered today that if I look down, I can no longer see my feet!

Having fun (and getting messy) with school day #2!

Silly boy!

Greg's Birthday Weekend

This past Saturday was Greg's birthday. It was a relaxing day of just being together as a family. Saturday morning we went to the local farmer's market. The VA Beach Farmer's Market is actually open 7 days a week. This is convenient, however, it also means that you aren't going there to save money. We didn't buy much. They do have an old fashioned candy shop though, and mommy and Hunter got chocolate and m&m covered pretzels. YUM! Here is Hunter enjoying his.

Even though we didn't buy much, it was still fun looking at all the different shops. After that, we went to Lone Star for lunch, and I (of course) told the servers it was his birthday so they came over and embarrassed him. He hates when I do that, but he doesn't understand that him hating it just makes it that much more fun!!!:)

I also got new glasses on Saturday. These are my first new frames since my sophomore year in high school, so I was VERY excited for the change, and I absolutely LOVE them! Here they are.

After lunch, we came home and Greg worked on his transmission. (Working on car parts on your birthday. Is that a guy birthday, or what?!) I don't think I blogged about this (probably because I was so mad) but Greg's transmission blew in his truck two months ago, so he has had my car since then. It gets pretty boring sitting at home without even the OPTION to go anywhere, but I know he can't help it. Anyway, he's been working on rebuilding the transmission so he can have his truck back! That's how he spent the afternoon. He's still not done, but he got some good progress in.

We had a lazy evening, and were too full from lunch still for cake, so we went to bed.

Sunday was church, and then we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner with a birthday coupon Greg had gotten. When we got home, we did candles and cake. Hunter and I (and by saying that, I simply mean 'I') sang daddy 'happy birthday' and we enjoyed cake. Here's a couple pictures of his presents from us.

We got him a super-cool spatula for his grill.

And a koozy for beer.
He loves them both. :)

19 Weeks

WOW, this second trimester is going by SOO fast! I canNOT believe I am almost half way through already. No complaints though. I feel absolutely wonderful - the best I've felt in a LONGGG time. I have been keeping up with housework and everything. I honestly can't remember the last time our house was as clean as it is right now (and I can't believe I'm admitting that to the world, but it's true!) Not only could we have company show up at our door unannounced and not have any straightening to do, but they would see my clean sink with no dishes in it that has been scrubbed clean three times in the last week! I made a daily schedule for when we start school next week, and I broke up the house into 5 days of cleaning, and I've just done really well with keeping with it. I feel great, I really do. And I'm so glad for that. I don't feel pregnant at all, besides the fact that my belly is getting rather large and it's difficult to complete some tasks because of it. Greg cleaned the shower for me last week because it's so hard to bend and do it myself. Isn't that sweet?? I've got a definite keeper! Also, baby is moving ALLLL the time, and Greg even got to feel baby move for the first time this weekend! He felt them on his birthday. I told him baby was really active at the moment so he put his hand on my belly. It took a couple minutes of waiting for him to feel. Baby kept kicking where his hand was and then finally gave him a good one and he felt it. It was their way of saying, "happy birthday, daddy!" Or maybe it was their way of saying, "get that thing outta here!" Either way, daddy got to feel baby. :)

Here's the latest belly pics...