38 Weeks

In two days, I will be 38 weeks. These past nine months have gone by very quickly, but this last month has been slow. I've enjoyed lots of activities with my family which has made these last few weeks "bearable." My sister's family came into town last weekend for a visit and it was awesome to spend time with them. My super cute nephew, Kaleb, was so much fun to be around. I miss them so much! Jess and Kaleb will be up here for a whole right after the baby is born. Can't wait!

I know this is just my second time, but I just don't like it! You can seriously ask any one of my friends and family. I guess I complain about it, but I like to think I'm just being honest. Guy will say, how are you feeling today? And I'll tell him exactly how I feel. I'm tired, my back hurts, and I've had hearburn all day long. I'm not one of those mom's who totally bond with their baby right away either. I had a hard, unexpected pregnancy with Braylen and then it took me a good 4 weeks after he was born to really connect with him. I was over the moon to have a son, but the complete uproot of my life had me struggling. Being pregnant this time, however, I have been much more accepting of things. I knew the heartburn, back pains, swollen feet, restless nights, etc was inevitable. And I've been asking the Lord to prepare my heart for the drastic change once the baby gets here. I'm such a creature of comfort! I love "me time" which is so sinful but I always try to protect it. You definitely don't have any extra time on your hands with a baby! But, for the past few days, I'm actually starting to feel excited to hold our son, to see what he looks like, and to be a family of 4. I guess now is a good time to start feeling that way since he'll be here in 2 weeks. :) Thank you Lord for slowly changing my heart.

Movement:
He's still moving like crazy. It's been pretty painful at times. He's supposed to be around 7 pounds right now but I'm sure he's bigger. His head is in the right spot, so I've been feeling lots of kicks to the ribs.

Weight Gain:
Up to 40 pounds. Bah. Most people have been so sweet to say that I look great for how far along I am. I try to take the compliment but I just hate being this big. It really sucks! I'm nervous that the weight won't come off as easily as the first time but I'll just need to kick butt in the gym.

Sleep:
I'm up and down constantly throughout the night. I usually just wake myself up from all of the snoring, drooling, and sweating. Oh and I burp every single time I roll over to my other side. I seriously do. Nothing glamourous about being pregnant. :)

What I Miss:
Wearing normal clothes, crossing my legs, working out, drinking Coke, sleeping on my back and stomach, riding roller coasters and jumping on trampolines. I don't really get to do the last two very often but I miss them anyways.

Cravings:
Lately it's been milk shakes. Anything chocolate-like the Chocolate Devotion from Cold Stone. I don't even like Cold Stone but that particular mixture is seriously amazing. Ice cubes, hummus and pretzels.

Symptoms:
Heartburn, back aches, swollen feet and fingers. I've actually been pretty light headed today but I've just tried to drink my water and have rested a bit more. And I don't want to jinx myself, but I think the baby has dropped a little more so I've had less heartburn!

Big Brother Sayings:
Braylen loves to hug and kiss his baby brother. When I ask him what he's going to look like, he says a big, scary monster. He also says that his name should be Frosty. Today, while I was resting on the bed, he asked to see my stomach and pretended to be the "doctor." He told me how big I was and that he could hear the heart beat. He tells me everyday that my stomach is "so big!" He's really going to be a great big brother. Praying that the two of them love each other and become great friends. :)

Life Lately

Valentine's Day party at school

Happy Mardi Gras! 

Baseball practice outside

The sock hop at preschool. It was "too loud" for Braylen

He's a dancing machine at home

Last weekend before a wedding

If Beyonce can wear heels while pregnant, so can I!

I wore flats. 

Stayed home from school the other day because he's been sick

Pretty soon we'll be a family of 4! Can't wait! 

30 Things From My Childhood...

I turned 30 last week.

I love birthdays. And the month of January is always full of food, fun, birthday cards, balloons, streamers, and cake every single week. I can NEVER start a New Year's Diet during the month of January. It's literally impossible. This bday was hard for me! I'm going to blame it on my hormones but I was feeling super sorry for myself. I'm not sure why but I had all these expectations of "life starting" when you turn 30 and people just being so excited for you. Too many movies and blog reading I think...... It was good for me to be mindful that joy is NOT dependent on my circumstances but on the cross!

I really did have a great birthday week! We had a family dinner on Monday to John Phillips and it was really good! I had lunch with my grandparents at Red Lobster! Guy and I had our annual "free" Benihana's dinner (sign up for their Chef's Table and they send you a $30 gift certificate during your bday month). Guy said we'll be able to document our birthday's each year with Benihana pictures that the waiter takes. Fine with me! And then Guy schemed all week behind my back and planned a little dinner at the Tousey House with a few friends and family. I was definitely surprised! It was a really sweet night with the people that I love. I of course didn't take any pictures to document my 30th bday week (except for the lovely Benihana's photo) but I enjoyed every single memory.

Back to dinner on Monday night at John Phillips....after dinner, our families came over for cake and ice cream and to open a few gifts. My dad brought in this giant, unwrapped box. I had no clue what it was. I opened it and there were 30 wrapped gifts inside, each one had a number on it. Hilarious! Each gift was an item that I had saved in my "box" from my childhood and high school. It was a really sweet surprise and a lot of fun trying to remember why on earth I would save certain things. Here is an idea of what I saved....

This is a great book. 

School years memory book. 

My sweat towel from varsity bball in high school. why???

My Aunt Barb made this for me when I was born! 

I think my bball team all bought these during a tournament in middle school.

Anyone want some gourmet sauce? 

My mom used to collect these. cute. 

I used to collect Trolls.........

I couldn't turn this pic around. 

Braylen hates them! "Get those out of here mom!" 

I did get this sweet little rose from Braylen. 

We ended my bday celebration with an awesome free sundae from Graeter's! 

This is their 1870 Tower with black raspberry chip, molten cake, pecans, and whipped cream.

I could barely take 10 bites, but it was so good.

Time to take down the streamers, Thomas the Train balloons, and cards. I really hope that baby brother doesn't feel left out. :) The month of February we have lots of things before he comes. We've been working on his room and our house is a disaster. We moved Braylen into the office and moved the office to the basement and moving baby items from the basement to the nursery. Craziness. We lived with my parents when I was pregnant with Braylen, so we didn't have a room to prepare for him. It's been really fun preparing this nursery for the baby. 6 more weeks to go!