Weekend Wrap-Up

 This weekend was certainly a busy one for us...again. It seems like weekend always are busy these days. Is it only us? We headed out Friday evening for dinner and to get paint for our weekend project; painting the living room. While Stephen was showering I snapped the much awaited bump photo that many of my readers have asked for in the past week:

I am almost 19 weeks in this picture and feeling rather large...I know it's only going to get worse...the important thing is that the baby is growing and thriving!

Louie felt left out and wanted some picture action too:

How sweet is he?

We had dinner at Culver's before shopping at Wal-Mart. Sometimes I like Culver's and sometimes I really don't. On Friday, I really didn't. Stephen loved his burger though and the few bites of his that I had were wonderful. That's what I get for trying to be healthy and ordering their new Asian salad. Take my word for it, it looks good in the picture but it is not good in real life. Promise.

Saturday morning the work started in the living room. Stephen's Dad came over around 8 and they got right to work. One wall in our living room had some damage from a leaky roof prior to us purchasing the home. The paint on that wall was peeling so it needed scraped. Then it also needed some drywall compound and sanding. It was more work that I would have ever imagine and I am so thankful that Dave and Stephen were able to take care of it! The painting went on almost all day, and well into the night/early morning for Stephen. I believe he came to bed around 1am Sunday morning...1am after the time change, so really 2pm. Yikes!

Some pictures from Saturday:

You can see in some of the above pictures that the color of the room was a dark tan color. It really wasn't a bad color, but with our carpet and furniture being tan I just felt it was too much tan. I also wanted a lighter, brighter color to brighten the room. Watching the new color go up always excites me!

While the men worked on Saturday, Louie and I were on the couch for the most part. I think that Louie really enjoyed all the snuggle time with me and I really enjoyed reading my book! :)

Sunday morning we woke up to dry walls and a messy living room! Since neither of us really slept in (thank you time change), we had plenty of time before church to put the living room back together, hang things back on the walls and clean up the painting mess. I am so glad that we were able to get this done before church, because the only thing on our agenda for Sunday afternoon was resting and watching movies. That is just what we did!

I snapped some photos with my phone before we left for church, so these aren't the best but you can tell the difference and see the new color. What do you think?

Like I said, on Sunday afternoon we watched movies. 3 actually. Well, I slept through half of the first one and Stephen slept through half of the second one, but still! We have actually been watching lots of Christmas movies trying to find a family friendly option to show at church in December for a family movie night. We need something family friendly and something that will hold the kids attention...any ideas? The one we tried this weekend might fit the bill, but I cried at least 3 times during it so we would need to make sure the sanctuary was well stocked with tissues!

On Saturday we also took Louie to the vet for a heart worm re-check, but more on that another day this week!

Today is the day we find out Baby D's gender. I am so anxious...totally not sure if I will get anything done today while waiting for this appointment. It is at 2pm, please pray with us that Baby D is healthy and that we can determine the gender today! :)

Happy Monday!

An Update...

Hi Folks! It's been awhile, yes? I know we are so overdue for an update and bump pictures...well, I can provide one of those things today...an update! I promise to get my photographer (husband) to take some updated bump pictures so I can share them next week. There has been some major growth going on in the belly area!

So what have we been up to recently? It seems that we have had quite a few lazy days, as this pregnancy is still knocking me down with exhaustion. I don't know if it's all the pregnancy, or if my thyroid has something to do with it too. I was told that when pregnant we would likely be increasing my snythroid (thyroid medicine), which helps with energy levels among other things. Well, my last blood work apparently showed no reason to increase so we stayed at the same dosage...I am thinking we should have increased...but that could just be me being tired of being so tired, ha. So other than going to bed by 9pm almost every night and a couple lazy Sunday's we have been working more on the baby's nursery, painting more rooms in our home and enjoying time as a family of 3 with Louie.

Oh Louie...I could do a whole update on him alone complete with adorable pictures. I will save that for next week though as we go to the vet with him tomorrow for a heart worm recheck. At this point, we have been doing treatments for over a year. Please, please pray that our pup is heart worm free at last. I hate putting him through these treatments, which I would explain as chemotherapy for dogs basically. They make him not feel good and it just breaks my heart! So please, pray for Louie to be heart worm free with us!

Along with being busy and blaming my lack of posting on that, I feel like I should also be honest with you. I have been having a bit of a hard time the past couple weeks. At some points I have actually felt depressed or wondered if something was wrong. It all comes down to some personal family issues that my Florida family is dealing with, and then the exhaustion and just not feeling right from this pregnancy-not to mention working full time, plus overtime. I feel like I really can't complain because we get to go to the doctor and see the baby ALL the time, and I haven't been sick for weeks at a time, but even so...I don't enjoy being pregnant. I have been trying to focus on the amazing thing that my body was built to do by the grace of God, but some days are just rough in plain English. Please don't start to worry though, everything is good and baby is thriving away as of our last appointment.

Our last doctors appointment for the baby was on 10/26 and everything was dandy. The baby had a strong heart rate again and we were able to pick it up on the doppler so I did not have an ultrasound. Our doctor is confident in our pregnancy and prenatal care with diabetes. I still feel like we have a wonderful medical team working with us to bring this little miracle into the world! Our next appointment is actually on Monday and we will hopefully find out the gender. We are scheduled for a scan at the local hospital as opposed to going to my doctors office. I am nervous and excited at the same time. You can bet your bottom that there will be a gender announcement along with a name announcement as soon as we know something. And yes, we have both names settled on as of a couple weeks ago! Any last minute guesses as to the gender??

On our agenda for this weekend is painting the last room in our house that needs painting; our living room! I am not at all looking forward to the actual project but I am looking forward to the outcome of the project. We are so thankful that Stephen's Dad will be helping out some since I can do less and less each week it seems! We hope you all have a great weekend, see ya next week (I promise!)!

Weekend Wrap Up & Pictures!

Happy Monday!

Do you ever feel like you have a weekend with zero rest and relaxation? I have to say that is what our weekend turned into. We had plans, but they just required more work than anticipated so we got very little rest in. I actually fell asleep on the couch last night before 9pm...true story.

So what did we do this weekend? Well Friday night we had planned a little date night but we were not very creative at all. With my exhaustion at the end of each day I am not really up for too much. We had dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant and then headed to Wal-Mart to pick up paint for a little home improvement project we had planned...and then that turned into Christmas shopping. I am happy to say that we crossed off over 50% of our Christmas shopping in one evening. Granted, we already had lots of things that we have picked up throughout the year, so that helped!

Anyone else started their Christmas shopping yet?

Saturday we started painting the library at home. Or really, Stephen started painting and I wrapped Christmas presents in the living room while listening to Christmas music. :) We were able to get a few gifts wrapped and one coat of paint on the walls before my friend Dana came over to take some family photos of us. I am so thankful that she offered to do this because we usually take them with our tripod, but it's hard to get Louie in those photos! We got some decent photos and officially have our photo for this years Christmas cards picked out. Here are some:

There is definitely a bump present nowadays!

This photo obviously makes me laugh!

And last but not least, our Christmas card photo:

Saturday afternoon we did more painting and more wrapping, while watching and listening to the Gators beat the SC Gamecocks. Turns out a game I thought would be competitive ended up being a blow out, but it's a win for UF so I'll take it!

Saturday evening we had dinner at the very classy McDonald's...all because Baby D was craving a double cheeseburger! :) We also ran to church for a session of a conference they were hosting called Answers in Genesis. The session we attended was all about dinosaurs and where they are present in the Bible. It was very interesting and informative. I can say that I learned a lot!

Sunday morning we went to church and ran back to Wal-Mart for more paint to finish our project. The rest of the day was spent trimming, painting, and wrapping gifts. Man oh man! In the end, the room we painted looks amazing and almost all of our Christmas gifts are wrapped (all but 3). So it was a productive day!

We settled in to relax and watch the Amazing Race...but I fell asleep before it started. Stephen told me who was eliminated though, so I don't feel like I missed too much!

Hope you all had a good weekend too!

14 days until we know the gender of our little peanut!

31 days until Thanksgiving!

64 days until Christmas!

Christmas Card Photo Shoot Take 1

Hi guys!

I know it's been a while since I posted...and that I am behind on my bump date posts. I have been thinking about it though and do actually have a couple bump pictures to post in this post...you just have to be patient!

Last weekend we took advantage of the lovely fall colors and tried to get some decent pictures worthy of this years Christmas card. Let me just say, it was not such an easy task. First of all, I know I am pregnant, but I feel HUGE in pictures. Second, it was cold and windy so my eyes would not stop watering...which doesn't make for lovely pictures. Y'all, let me just tell you...we took A LOT. I am so thankful that I have a great husband who is always a good sport about this stuff and just smiles for the camera. Love him!

Here are a few:

Kind of like this one but don't know if it's too close up for Christmas cards...thoughts?

Not fond of this one at all, but you can definitely see baby D making an appearance here! 

This one is my favorite...

The leaves are so pretty around our house. I love fall!

And of course, the most photogenic member of our little family-Louie! :) Of course he will be making an appearance on our Christmas cards!

So after our little photo shoot on Saturday we were off running errands and picking up paint. We decided this was the weekend to paint the dreaded kitchen...and now it's done! YAY! The kitchen was a tan/pinkish color when we moved in and we had planned to change it, but it wasn't high on the priority list. Well, insert a pregnancy and a wife with a to-do list before baby arrives and now we have a painted kitchen! I am glad to no longer see the "chicken skin" colored walls as we lovingly referred to them! Can't wait to go home tonight and hang things back on the wall and see everything put together!

Unfortunately, it's a difficult room to photograph so there might not be any before and after pictures...BUT, this is the color:

It's Sherwin Williams, in cargo pant.

Sunday was spent painting, relaxing and working on a little project for the nursery that I will be revealing once complete.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend too!

Day of Silence

Today many bloggers are taking a day of silence and hitting their knees to cover the Turner family in thoughts in prayers. Julee lost her husband last weekend in a tragic car accident. Julee and her husband have an adorable little girl who is almost a year old; Preslee. Today, their entire family is saying goodbye to a loving father, husband, son, uncle, cousin and friend. My heart just aches for her as I cannot imagine what she is going through or the pain she may be feeling. Every since I found out about this on Monday she and Preslee have been on my heart and mind and in my constant prayers.

Please join me in praying for this sweet family today!

You can visit Julee's blog here.

What will Baby D be...boy or girl?

When I say that I am dying to find out the gender of this baby, I am not kidding at all. I am so anxious to know so we can settle on the name and make the announcement. Of course, we don't care if it is a boy or girl-we really have no preference. At first during this pregnancy, I really felt like this baby was a boy...but now my feelings change almost on a daily basis, ha! We had a Drs. appointment last Friday and Stephen was able to go with me for the first time. I begged to know the gender but our sweet Dr. (who I love!) said it was too early for their ultrasound machine...so we still don't know for sure at this point. She said I will find out around 20 weeks when we go to Indianapolis for our 3D and fetal echo scans...ugh, that seems like SO long to wait!

In the meantime, let's talk about old wives tales and what they indicate we are carrying!

Morning sickness: They say that little girls make their mama's sick and I have no thrown up one time, though there have been close calls. This indicates BOY!

Soft or dry skin? Mine has been dry (which was normal for me pre-pregnancy) which indicates BOY!

Are you craving citrus? Oh yes, mandarin oranges, orange juice, naval oranges...YUM. This indicated GIRL!
 
Have you felt glowing or less than beautiful and had lots of breakouts? I have had a few breakouts...more than pre-pregnancy, and no I don't feel like I am "glowing". Little girls are supposed to cause breakouts so... GIRL! 
Heartbeat indicator: All of our heartbeats have been fast; in the 170's. It is slowing down a little bit because on Friday it was in the 150s. I think this indicates GIRL!
Craving fruit or meat?: FRUIT and some chicken, but almost no beef-yuck! This indicates
GIRL!

My guess is GIRL! (This week anyways)... What are your guesses???

 

At our appointment Friday, I asked my Dr. if she believed any of these and she said no. So of course, we aren't taking any of these things to the bank so to speak. It's just fun to guess and dream about the baby boy or girl growing inside me! :)

 

Have a great Monday, friends!

 

 

Bump Date: 14 weeks!

How Far Along? 14 Weeks 5 Days

 

Size of Baby?  Lemon! 

 

Maternity Clothes? Yes! Yes! Yes! Some pre-pregnancy tops are doable but pants are totally not! I could kiss the inventor of maternity jeans, they are WONDERFUL. We stopped at an Old Navy in Chicago and I was thrilled that they offered maternity in store. I got a new pair of jeans and they are now my favorite. I might have worn them 2 times this week! :)

 

Gender? Still don't know yet. I have a Drs. appointment this afternoon and I want to ask...do you think it is too early to even get a guess?! I took several gender prediction quizzes yesterday and based on all of those, plus old wives tales we are likely having a girl. We shall see! 

 

Movement? I have been feeling some flutters but I am not 100% sure that it's baby movement...hard to tell!

 

Sleep? Not really a problem, but it does seem that I can't get enough. I am still so exhausted at the end of each day. I have heard that's to be expected though...

 

Food Cravings? Nothing that I can think of, well except pineapple. I love pineapple! 

 

What I miss?  Coffee every morning. I know I can have coffee and I have a couple of times, but I limit my intake whereas before I had it whenever I wanted! 

 

Symptoms?  Exhaustion, gas (!!!) and hunger!

Best Moment Last Week? Having another good doctors appointment and hearing the little peanuts strong heartbeat! 

 

Looking Forward to? Feeling movements, hearing the heartbeat again at my appointment today and finding out the gender!!! :) 

Have a great Friday and weekend everyone!

 

Anniversary Weekend Celebration: Chicago

On Tuesday, October 2nd we celebrated our second wedding anniversary. I really just cannot believe it has been 2 whole years already. They say time flies when you are having fun and it honestly has flown by. I've heard that it doesn't ever slow down, especially once you have children...I guess I have been warned!

Last weekend we took off for Chicago (about 3 hours away) for a little anniversary get-away. Stephen's parents were nice enough to stay at our house and take care of sweet Louie so I was actually about to relax and not worry about the fur ball every second. Thank you Dave & Bev for taking such good care of him for us!

On the way to Chicago we stopped in Michigan City to hit the outlet mall. The damage was minimal...as it turns out, shopping isn't as much fun when you are pregnant! Stephen did get some new tennis shoes though and that was the purpose of the detour, so I could it a success. We arrived in Chicago at the perfect time to check into our hotel-The Palmer House Hilton. Rant: I have loved this hotel in the past and this is the 3rd time I have stayed there. This time? It did not impress me at all. Also, I didn't sleep well...now, I don't know if that's the hotels fault or my pregnant body's fault. That has yet to be determined. We did decide to try a new hotel next year though! :)

After checking in, I had planned for us to hit the Willis tower but that just didn't happen. I was feeling so tired and Stephen must have been too because he did not object when I suggested to stay in the room and rest/nap. It was so nice!

After resting up, we headed out to our dinner reservations at Texas De Brazil. The walk there was beautiful along the river:

Have you ever been to Texas De Brazil? Oh my, it was DELICIOUS. I may or may not have dreamed about the meal for a couple nights afterwards. No lie. Here we are waiting for our table:

You have to have desert on your anniversary, right?

Walking back from dinner was even better than walking there. The city is just beautiful at night. Seriously, check these out: (taken with iPhone so the quality is not the best, sorry)

Sunday morning we woke up and checked out of our hotel. After checking out we stopped in the city for breakfast at a little corner cafe. We ate here last year and loved it, but this year they seemed to be out of almost everything. It ended up being good anyways and we enjoyed eating outside in the cool weather. Fall has arrived and I am loving it!

After breakfast, where do you think we headed? If you guess Ikea, you are right! We planned on spending some time shopping for a few things for throughout the house and for sweet Baby D. The trip was a total success and we were there for several hours. I really don't see how you could go to Ikea and not be there for at least 2 hours. It's just crazy huge!

Sunday night when we got home the first thing we did was love on Louie. We also settled in to watch The Amazing Race before bed. Monday was coming fast after a busy and fun weekend! As it turns out though, I took a sick day from work due to pregnancy sickies so Monday was actually a nice day spent sleeping in and watching many, many episodes of Grey's Anatomy for me!

Tuesday at work, these beauties arrived:

Aren't they beautiful!?

Tuesday night we decided to use a gift certificate we had for a restaurant in town. It was nice not to cook or clean! We took some pictures before leaving and even made Louie join us for one!

Stephen will probably want to kill me for posting the above picture, but it makes me laugh each time I look at it. He makes the funniest faces when I am testing lighting for photos, it just cracks me up!

And lastly (and not anniversary related), a photo of one of our front tress. It is changing colors and so beautiful! Now it is almost all orange and will soon turn to yellow! I just love fall!

Well, if you made it through this super long anniversary re-cap-congratulations and thanks for reading! I am behind on my weekly bump date, but I hope to have that ready to post tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a great week!