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!

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!

 

Bump Date: 13 Weeks and an Update

How Far Along? 13 Weeks 1 Day...though the photo says 2 days, sorry I messed that up! I am pregnant here...cut me some slack! :)

 

Size of Baby?  One of my books this week said a shrimp, while the the ticker on the bottom of my blog says it's the size of a peach. I like peaches better so let's go with that! 

 

Maternity Clothes? Yes! Yes! Yes! Some pre-pregnancy tops are doable but pants are totally not!

 

Gender? We don’t know for sure and won’t for a few more weeks but I am still thinking boy...I know I could be wrong though and really it doesn't matter to us! We just pray for a healthy baby!

 

Movement? I actually thought that I felt something a couple days ago but I can't be certain. I am so looking forward to feeling movement and taking that as a sign that everything is a-okay in there for the little peanut!

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? I think I am finally over my pizza cravings. Last night I couldn't eat dinner because nothing sounded good at all...except soft ice cream from DQ so that's what I had for dinner! Was it a craving?? Maybe! 

 

What I miss?  Can't really think of anything this week, just so happy to be here! 

 

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

Best Moment Last Week? Going back and forth on a girl name and ending with what we started! Seems that we have a name picked out for both genders right now! Still working on the middle name for a girl, but we have time! Oh, and having a good friend call him/her by name last weekend. That made me SO happy! 

 

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

 

And of course, some bump photos:

 

It's getting bigger and rounder, can you tell!?

 

In other news this week, we are having some cool fall weather that I am totally loving! We actually had our first freeze on Sunday night. That means it won't be long and we can plant our fall bulbs! I have been anxiously checking the porch for packages each day hoping they will arrive soon. I guess it doesn't really matter though since we aren't totally prepared. We still need to remove our annuals and prep the soil...lots and lots of work to be done!

 

We have officially decorated for fall at our house. Stephen brought boxes up from the basement a few weeks ago and I brought all the fall colors out inside the house, but I held off decorating outside in fear that it was too early...it was still warm outside. Well, last weekend we decked the outside too! I just love this season...the cooler weather, the pumpkins, the mums...it is all so fun and pretty! Here is a shot of the front of our house:

 

This weekend we have exciting plans that take us up to Chicago. We are headed to the windy city for our anniversary weekend to celebrate! The fun will start on Friday night when we see a play in a town near ours. We will head to Chicago Saturday morning and check into the Palmer House Hilton (my favorite hotel) and spend the afternoon doing fun touristy things before enjoying dinner at a Brazilian Steakhouse. Yum! We are excited! :)

 

And you know that no post would be complete without some Louie lovin'! He was a hoot last night when we were outside taking the bump photos. I think he liked getting some fresh, cool air...but what do I know? He was running round, sniffing everything that wasn't moving and keep watch from the sidewalk:

 

How cute is his Halloween sweater? It's been cool here so he has been bundled up! Oh and I just LOVE the last picture of him! Such a cute puppy!

 

That wraps this up folks! Have a great Tuesday!

 

 

Bump Date: 12 Weeks!

 

How Far Along? 12 Weeks 2 Days

 

Size of Baby?  One of my books this week said a lemon, while the other said a plum...take your pick!
 

Maternity Clothes? Yes on pants, everything pre-maternity is just too tight. We went shopping last weekend and I got a few more maternity tops from Penny's, Sears and Kohls. I have a new pair of jeans arriving from Old Navy hopefully today. The creator of maternity jeans is my hero-they are the bomb!

 

Gender? We don’t know for sure and won’t for a few more weeks but I am still thinking boy...we have a boy name picked out (first and middle), and we finally have a girl's name too. 

 

Movement? None that I can feel yet.

Sleep? Last night was the first time that I can remember sleeping all night, and it was lovely. I  went to bed around 9 last night so I must have been TIRED! 

 

Food Cravings? Still pizza. I could literally eat it every single day. In addition to pizza, I have been a big fan of fruit and veggies recently. I have gotten a salad for lunch for the past 3 days! 

 

What I miss?  Can't really think of anything this week, just so happy to be here! 

 

Symptoms?  Still just sheer exhaustion. I am so tired all the time...I think I am a little easily set off too. Like some people are work get on my last nerve pretty quickly...maybe I just reach the end of my rope sooner?

Best Moment Last Week? We put the changing table together! 

 

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

 

Here are this week's bump pictures:

 

Louie was out on the porch with us while we were shooting pictures and he was just begging to have some photo action too. How could we resist this cute face?!

 

In other news, I had a dentist appointment yesterday for a cleaning and when I was scheduling my next one it occurred to me that in 6 months when I come back to the dentist, I will have a little baby boy or girl. It just felt so surreal!

Oh, and it's cold here today. I actually saw frost on the grass and rooftops as I was driving this morning. Also, I could see my breath! The cold weather is coming and I am thrilled! I just love fall and winter!

Have a great day everyone!

Baby Bucket List Part 2

I wanted to take some time and revisit our baby bucket list...mostly for my benefit and memory. We have been very busy around the house almost every weekend and we are slowly making progress. I think we will finish this list WAY before baby arrives, which is fine with me. I want to slow down and enjoy the little time we have left as a family of two plus our puppy, Louie. Let's take a look at our progress, shall we?

Baby Bucket List

·         Have one garage door working with an opener by Thanksgiving

·         Build in closet in master bedroom

·         Move jewelry armoire into bathroom

·         Move dresser from nursery into master bedroom

·         Paint living room & repair ceiling

·         Paint Library

·         Paint kitchen

·         Have windows professionally cleaned

·         Have carpets professionally cleaned

·         Get bassinet from Florida

·         Paint mud-room door

Wants/Needs

·         Baby crib

·         Changing table/dresser

·         Glider rocker for nursery

·         Glider rocker for living room (check)

·         Travel system, stroller and car seat

·         A baby!! J

See? We have several things crossed off already! A big thanks to the help of Stephen's parents. Dave worked so hard on building my closet and now that it is near complete I love it!

What do you think we should work on next? I am leaning towards moving the furniture since that will be easy...then I think we should paint something. Will it be the library or the kitchen? Time will tell!

And since my post is complete without a picture (in my mind), here is our sweet boy after getting groomed last week:

He was just snuggling with my on the couch and I was soaking up every minute of it. We sure do love him!

Have a great day!

Another photo of Baby D!

First of all, HAPPY FRIDAY! We survived another work week, woo! It has felt like a long, long week to me so I am thrilled to be here on Friday staring at the weekend. Bring it on! Anyone else had an incredibly long, difficult week?

Secondly, I want to wish my mom a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Today is her day and I hope she makes it all about her. I am thinking, eat some cake and go get a pedicure Mom. Heck, eat cake while getting a pedicure. Sounds good to me!

And last but certainly not least: I had another doctor's appointment yesterday and was able to see sweet Baby D. Everything is great according to my doctor and the baby is growing/developing at a normal rate. I am so thankful that I have been going to the Dr. every week and getting scans. Nothing makes me happier than to see the baby on the screen and hear the sweet sweet sounds of his/her heart beating.

 I am in love!

My next appointment is scheduled for the 26th, which is more than a week but the office had a full schedule. The Dr. said pushing it a few days past a week would be fine. I can't wait to go back and see the baby again, yay!

I am off to resume my countdown to 5pm...have a great weekend everyone!

Bump Date-11 weeks!

How Far Along? 11 weeks and 3 days as of today, but 11 weeks and 2 days in these pictures. Same as last week...noticing a trend?

 

Size of Baby? A lime!
 

Maternity Clothes? Yes on pants, everything pre-maternity is just too tight. I have a couple (2) maternity tops that are doable right now, but mostly tops are regular still. The top in this photo is maternity and I will wear it through every season. Today I paired it with a cardigan but not in the photos...I was hot at home! :) Should have worn a cardigan in the photos though...sorry for my ghostly white arms!
 

Gender? We don’t know for sure and won’t for a few more weeks but I am still thinking boy...we have a boy name picked out (first and middle), but no girl name for sure yet. We have two first names that are high candidates though...
 

Movement? None that I can feel yet.

Sleep? Pretty good minus the potty breaks. Thankfully I have always been able to fall asleep quickly so getting back to sleep isn't a problem. I just bought a new mattress topper today for our bed and I am excited to see what additional support that provides! Thank you Kohls!
 

Food Cravings? Oh my, pizza! Can we have pizza for dinner tonight hun?? (hubs reads the blog)
 

What I miss?  Checking my blood sugar 8 times a day instead of 20. I am crazy about checking my blood sugar now. I wonder when the insurance company will cut me off and stop supplying test strips? There should really be an underground market for those things!

 

Symptoms?  Still just sheer exhaustion. I am so tired all the time...I think I am a little easily set off too. Like some people are work get on my last nerve pretty quickly...maybe I just reach the end of my rope sooner?

Best Moment Last Week? Putting together the crib and seeing it in the nursery! It just makes it seem to much more real! I have been spending more time than usual in the nursery too-I enjoy going in there to pray for sweet baby D!

 

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