Pregnancy Comparison #3

Yay, another comparison picture! I can hear you all shouting from sheer excitment. Don't try to hide it.

Ok, I have the same shirt on, although it doesn't look like it. And I was 5 days late with this one because I forgot to take it earlier! Anyway, the tables have turned. I think I was bigger with baby girl in all of my previous comparisons, but now I think Hunter has taken the lead. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I was 10 lbs heavier with Hunter at this point compared to what I am now. No complaints here!

Christmastime

I L - O - V - E Christmastime. It really is the most wonderful time of the year, as far as I'm concerned. I found a local radio station that started playing Christmas tunes last Monday, and have been playing them everyday since then. And I L - O - V - E having a 3 year old to share this time with. It is so much fun with Hunter this year because he's aware of everything that's going on but it's all new to him, and I get to help him discover it all and tell him all about it! We both had so much fun decorating our tree this past weekend. Here's a few pictures.

Here's Hunter being a goof ball and showing the camera an ornament.

Greg didn't help decorate but my sweet husband did offer to put the tree skirt on when he saw me struggling trying to do so myself. I probably looked like a beached whale trying to lay down to get it under there! Thankfully, he had pity on me and did it for me. This is the best picture I could get of him helping though because he didn't want any documentation that he actually helped with any Christmas decorating. Bah humbug!

This last picture is the finished product, tree skirt and all. My tree skirt was handmade by my mother-in-law a few years back and every year when I pull it out, I remember just how much I really love the compilation of Christmas fabrics. Thanks, mom!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here is Hunter modeling the place cards he made during school this week.

We had our good friends Ruben, Christy, and their 7 month old Lucas over for dinner. Christy and I made so much food so there was SO much leftovers! The picture was AFTER we were all stuffed!

It was a good day though. We ended with some good dessert, and we introduced them to Apples to Apples. Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving also!

31 Weeks

Not too much of a change this week. Baby girl is just getting more crammed in there! I have another Dr's appointment on Monday and I'll be getting an internal ultrasound so they can make sure my placenta isn't in the way of having a natural delivery. Prayers are appreciated! :)

1, 2, 3, 4

He did this without any help from mom!

Hunter's Three Year Pictures

As I mentioned in my last blog, we went and got professional pictures taken since Hunter just turned three.

He did pretty well, considering the fact that he's three and, although we didn't know it at the time, he was getting sick (which we're still trying to recover from a week later!)

The hardest part was getting a genuine smile out of him, since when you tell him to smile or say cheese, he scrunches his whole face together, and his little eyes look like half-moons. Kind of something like this...


It's pretty cute, but in a funny sort of way, and not something we wanted in his professional pictures.


Anyway, here are the pictures. Sorry for the quality. They are pictures of pictures, but you at least get the idea...

And my personal favorite:

He's such a handsome man!

New Job

So let me tell you a story...

It begins on last Sunday when Greg, Hunter and I were at the mall to get Hunter's 3 year pictures (blog post of pictures coming soon...) After getting the pictures done, we decided to go into the mall and eat. After eating, we were walking past Victoria's Secret and saw they were having a panty sale! So, we went inside to get some for me. Somehow, Greg and I ended up joking about me, being 7 months pregnant, working there and if they'd ever hire me. We were laughing the whole time during this conversation because we thought it was such a ridiculous thought. Then somehow at the cash register, it came up again, and I said that we had been joking about if they'd actually ever hire a 7 month prego. The store manager happened to be standing there, and said, "Sure, why not? You can smile, and help customers. Fill out an application!" I replied that it's obvious that I like VS being that I'm 7 months pregnant! So, I left with my new VS panties and a VS application.

On the way home, Greg and I talked about if I should actually apply. My downfall (as if being pregnant isn't enough) is that I have terrible availability, and typically for holiday help, they want people with open availability. But, we decided that it wouldn't hurt to apply, and because my availability is so terrible (being only Friday nights, and all day Saturday) that God would make it clear if He wanted me to get the job. But I wasn't going to bend over backwards to try to make my availability more open to try harder to get the job.

The next day, I turned in the application to that same manager, and she scheduled an interview with me for Thursday night, even after seeing my availability. I was able to explain to her that my husband works full time, and has school at the community college in the evenings during the week, and so I'm home with our son.

Thursday came, and it was a group interview (blah!) But thankfully, there were only 4 of us and it was, again, with this same manager. (I've been in group interviews with 15+ people!) Also, thankfully, I didn't make a complete fool of myself with the interview questions (contrary to another interview I had once, when I was asked what one word I would use to describe myself and I chose "communication." Don't ask me what I meant; I don't know either. Obviously, interviews are not my forte.) Anyway, at the end of the interview, she said we would hear from her by Friday afternoon if they were interested in us. So I made the 5 minute drive home. We literally live right across the street from the mall. It's heaven! No more than 15 minutes after I got home, the manager called me and offered me the job! I seriously could not believe it. I got off the phone and Greg and I both laughed at the fact that a joke turned into a job!

I went in for orientation last night, which was a lot of boring videos, and then I'll shadow someone tomorrow. I normally wouldn't work Sunday's but because they want me to get trained by Black Friday, I told them I could come in tomorrow to train since it's less than a week until Thanksgiving.

So anyway, although I hadn't planned on even trying to get a seasonal help job, I am very excited about it. I really do love Victoria's Secret and know I can be honest in telling women they have great products. :) And for all you fellow Financial Peace University-ers, now our gazelle is running a little faster, even if just for a couple months.

Legos

He loves building "big houses!"

30 Weeks

Blech, please ignore everything but the belly! 75% of the way through! I can't believe I'm in the 30s! She could come in 7 weeks...that makes me so nervous! I still have so much to do. I have officially started to sew her crib set, but I'm only on the first piece. It's weird. I know we have a baby coming in about two months. My mind knows it but it just doesn't FEEL like it so I'm having a hard time getting energy to really buckle down and get ready for her. Nesting bug, where are you?!

I've been doing pretty good per Dr's orders on weight gain. I currently weigh 30 lbs lighter than I did when I delivered Hunter. So unless I fall off the deep end in the next 10 weeks, I think it's safe to say I'll weigh less than I did with him at delivery. I really am being careful because I don't want to have a c-section just because I couldn't control myself with eating. And it will make getting back down to pre-pregnancy weight that much easier!

She feels like she's full term already with how she tries to push her way out of my belly. She's so painful already - I hope she comes in early January! It seems that she has a feisty side already and makes it clear if she doesn't like how I'm positioned. All I can think is that we may have another Amerie (my niece) on our hands and that terrifies me. If you know Amerie and her feistiness, you understand what I mean!

29 Weeks

Getting closer!! Remember that energy I said I had? Yeah, apparently I used it all up. Well, that's not entirely true, but if I wake up with energy, it doesn't last through the whole day. It's amazing how little it takes to wear me out compared to when I'm not pregnant. I did a lot of cleaning the other day, and Hunter and I walked to the park. The next day I woke up feeling like I'd done an ab workout. So I'm just trying to be better about spacing stuff evenly throughout the week.  So I have officially made the decision to make baby girl's nursery set. My mom ordered me a whole bolt of the fabric and it came in the mail today. (Thanks mom!) Tomorrow, Hunter and I are off to the fabric store to get the last of what I need to make everything and then the sewing will begin! Can't wait to post pictures of the finished product!

Four Legged Monster

He did this all on his own. 

28 Weeks

Hello third trimester! Oh, how I have longed for you to come...but don't make yourself too comfortable.

I am SO excited that I could potentially have her in 9 weeks, and I'd be full term! However, that makes me also think of everything I have to do in 9 weeks and stresses me out a little.

Fatigue has set in again. I was talking to my friend Jenny, who is due just 2 days before me, and she mentioned that pregnancy fatigue was here again. I didn't even think that it is probably pregnancy until she mentioned it. All I knew is that I have been super tired again lately!

She is getting SO big. I mentioned this last week, I believe, that my belly will be distorted when she is awake and active. But last night, I was just relaxing on the couch and she actually made me jump and wince a couple times because she was hurting me! I don't remember Hunter hurting this early, which is a little scary. All of his 23 inches was big enough; I can't imagine a bigger baby!

I went to the endocrinologist again on Monday. Good news - she said my thyroid levels from back in Sept when I first met with her and from last week both came back normal. So she said my thyroid seems to be functioning normally, althhough she can still feel a bit of enlargement. So I have to watch for any symptoms (especially in the first year after baby is here) but if nothing happens, she said she doesn't need to see me again. Praise God!

Since I'm getting super large, my sweet husband went grocery shopping with me yesterday. I am capable of going by myself, but it definitely does help to have a handsome, strapping man to do all the heavy lifting for me. :)

Voting

Here is Hunter waiting in line to vote. He was very cute. I told him we had to get in line so he insisted I stand in line, and he stand in line behind me. :) Don't tell the officials but someone other than Emma Wehrman pressed the "cast ballot" button. His name starts with H and rhymes with punter. 

Halloween

We had such a wonderful time trick-or-treating! I got his dragon costume at a consignment shop a few weeks ago, so when I brought it home and discovered it was a bit small, we really didn't have any options since I couldn't return it. By yesterday morning it was even smaller, but we discovered with no diaper on, we got some much needed room in the length of the torso! So, before we went out, we put big boy underwear on him and prayed he wouldn't pee. (He did great, and stayed dry the whole time! Now if only we could get him over his fear of pooping in the potty...) We'd been prepping Hunter for a couple of days about what was going to happen and were practicing saying "trick or treat" and everything.

We went to our neighbors that we're friends with first, and although he was reluctant, he finally did say "trick or treat" to them. Then, once we went up to a house of people we didn't know, he slowly walked up with a look on his face like, "you expect me to talk to these people too?!" It took a while, but he finally did start saying it at every house. And he said "thank you" after they gave him candy too. He had lots of fun, but after 45 minutes he was glad to go home and see all the goodies he got. He did very well and mom is enjoying the "when all your dinner is gone, you get to pick a piece of candy" bribe. ;)