Thursday: Things I'm Lovin

My friend Amber made this button and I decided I/we could put it to good use.  I'd like to list the "Things I'm Lovin" every Thursday...therefore, wait for it, wait for it...Thursday's Things I'm Lovin.  ha ha!  Clever- eh?  I might run out of things and if that's the case, then maybe I could go to an every other Thursday kind of deal.  But here we go...for the first time ever!!  Whoo hooo!

• Coupons!  I have registered myself at coupons.com and other baby related websites (Huggies and Pampers most importantly) and have become a coupon hoarder.  I am not sure if other people have known about these sites all along and I'm the last to jump on the bandwagon, but I thought it was worth sharing.  I used to trash them or just ignore them altogether b/c what's 25 cents on a tube of toothpaste...but now I love adding up my total savings at a store (whether it be Target, Walgreens, Fry's, or Safeway).  Those 25 cent deals add up!
• Bio Oil.  So this is for those pregos out there...or maybe for those that have scars and stretch marks in general, but I'm only 26 and really don't want this first baby to "ruin" my tummy.  So I try to be anal about applying bio oil every night.  It's not too nasty- no funky smell, no weird residue, but it is an oil.  It hasn't stained my clothes or anything crazy either.  I usually wait awhile to get dresses though- just so it has time to soak in before my t-shirt does the job for it.

• Blogging.  I know this seems silly.  Our good friend, Doug, who is actually now a roommate, told me to start blogging about the wedding.  He was probably the only one that checked it (and maybe my dear friend Joanna), but he told me it was boring.  Too wordy, not me, unoriginal, and plain...it lacked pizzaz. I didn't post enough pictures and I wasn't good at retelling stories/life events.  I think I've finally got the grasp of it, although it's far from perfected, but I feel friends and family know what's going on with us.  Who knows where this will lead our family, but I love that soon we will have a little bundle of joy to share with everyone.  Granted, I don't want creeps on my blog...especially when we are talking about baby B here, but I feel it's less 'drama' filled, more personal, and unique to oneself.  It kicks facebook out of the water.  That's just my opinion.  

And much like Amber always loves her little man...I will always love our Gracie Goo: (pic of Gracie's rather new sleeping position...she's pretty much sitting on the wall, but laying down.  Freak!)

A is for Avocado

HAPPY 16 WEEKS :-)
Here's the bump at 16 weeks and 1 day (forgot to take one yesterday morning):

The lump, as I call it, is growing daily.  I decided I'm going to take pictures that are more of my side, so you can see the lump growing.  That'll start next week.  I don't want to give you all a false sense of my growing belly.  I'm anxiously waiting to feel that first kick or movement.  Hoping 18 weeks seals the deal...only 2 more to go.

Baby B is the size of an avocado. As I walk through the produce section next time I go, I will surely go by the avocado and pick one up just to hold in my hand. How awesome! He/She is getting SO big.

They baby can now hear my voice and his skin.  Little hairs are growing, so he/she will have eyebrows.  It's funny b/c both Mike and I were born with a head of black hair.  I can't help but wonder if baby B will too.  The difference was that mine stayed and lightened.  Mike's completely fell out and he turned white blonde...then go darker over the years.  Interesting to see how that works.  And fun to imagine what our little bean looks like.  I pray that if I have a girl, she's born with lots of hair and keeps it.  Mike's hair is SO thin.  Fine for a guy, not so cool for a girl.  However, I will love 'it' no matter what.

I really hate using it when referring to our child.  But we don't know the gender and aren't going to till March.  So...it is an it.  Ugh.

**Don't mind the web page construction that's going on.  I don't love what my blog looks like, so I am determined to find something else.  It will probably change a couple times until I get it just right.  Sorry if it confuses things for awhile!***

I am excited b/c I think people are finally reading my blog.  Although, I sucked at blogging in the beginning, I think I am getting better.  I am happy friends on facebook are visiting my site.  And if you want to be super cool, you can become a follower.  I only have 3 currently- lol.  I'm still 'new.'  However, it's an addicting 'new thing.'  I still haven't started a pregnancy scrapbook, but I think I still will.  I dunno.  We'll see.  I like having a physical record of these 40 weeks rather than solely a digital copy.  Hummm...what to do?  What to do?

Absolutely None

On my way home from my workout this morning, this dirty, skanky Ford Explorer flew past me in order to turn onto the highway. This fellow, as I learned, cut me off and took an extremely dangerous, sharp turn too quickly. Now, I know I'm not always the best driver...I tend to follow too close to the car in front of me. But this one corner in particular has caused accidents, some even resulting in death, so being cautious is necessary. Plus, he's driving a car that tips...easily. As this dude and I make this turn, I see an infant seat handle sticking up over the seat through the back window. SAD. I'm hoping and praying that little bundle of joy wasn't in the car...I know several folks who leave the car seat in the car and prefer taking the baby in and out itself. I get over it, but notice his over aggressive driving. And I am pregnant and sensitive to pretty much everything around me. I think to myself, "It could be worse. The guy could be smoking in the car." I have my cruise control set (I usually always do as I tend to have a lead foot and no money for a ticket), so I pass him in the right lane mind you b/c how dare this cool dude get over...only to see HE WAS SMOKING. Three windows were cracked. But that poor baby was inhaling his cigarette smoke. Sick. I was livid as I glared at him through my sunglasses. Jerk. Oh AND, his seatbelt wasn't on.

It kills me. I hate thinking about the children who are brought into this world and know no other life. The mom who used meth her whole pregnancy and is on such a bad trip that she can't care for her children, let alone purchase anything nutritious b/c the money was used on drugs. You see several parents around this area like that. Apparently, Prescott is known for meth. I had no clue as to what this drugs is, does, or what people look like who are users. It's SICK. I've been to the park on Gracie and I's daily morning walk watching kids fight on the playground as their mom sits in the car, messed up on something, unbathed, unpresentable, unfunctionable, yelling from the car window at her kids too many times to count on one hand. It's sad.

So, ABSOLUTELY NONE of that in my house...or in my life. If you're a friend and you smoke, don't come over after you've smoked a pack and expect to hold my child. Sorry. Don't expect to be allowed to smoke in the car b/c the window is rolled down. Not going to tolerate it. It makes ME nauseous, think about how a being 1/16th of my size feels. No offense folks. Just being honest :-) We don't have friends or family that classify in any of the above. I'm just venting, sharing with you my thoughts today, and voicing my opinion.

M-I-L-K

The single thing I could be content with all day everyday. Maybe this is why cereal sounds good. I am happy with my new obsession with milk b/c I know it's great for baby, BUT it is SO SO SO SO SO strange for me. I've gone years without drinking a single glass. This might be my one major pregnancy craving. Can't wait to see what happens once he or she arrives. AND what's weird is that in college I'd randomly buy 1% or skim b/c that's what I liked in my cereal...now it's 2% or nothing. I mean I guess I'd drink 1%, but everything else seems sickening. A gallon around this house lasts a maximum of a week. 3-4 days is standard lately. Costco here we come!!

Other than milk nothing seems weird...I "crave" all things terrible for me. I usually eat them and try to counter act what they are going to do in my body with some protein. No lie- I eat wayyyyy too many carbs :-) But they're oh so yummy and right now I have NO CONTROL over turning them down. I will drive out of my way to get whatever it is that is on my mind. Those of you who knew me before know for a fact that that's not me! Especially right before the wedding. Ah!

I also got a lecture about CrossFit...and it makes me cranky. Real cranky. So I probably won't elaborate much. I've been CrossFitting for 2.5 years. My body doesn't know what it's like to not workout. I've made great gains in those two years- I'm proud of the weight I can 'throw' around and the movements I can do. I am good friends with the barbell and pull-up bar, which I've never touched before these 2.5 years. There are a lot of CrossFitters world wide. There are also a ton of CrossFit haters. And I hate them in return...no jk. You have to be extremely careful CorssFitting while prego. You also can't be stupid. Using common sense to me seems legit. As long as I understand why I can't do certain movements, I will know which movements to stay away from. It is a whole new world. And it's frustrating. I can't be competitive, I can't set PRs, I can't always do what the class is doing...it makes me sad. I know I am doing it for a fabulous reason- to keep mommy and baby healthy and safe. I'm not one to ignore what the docs tell me. And I won't start now. But it's cramping my style. Thank heavens for CrossFit Mom. They have saved my workout life thus far :)

Off to enjoy my 3 day weekend. Wishing Michael James was home with me now though...missing his company, as always!

15 weeks and counting...

It's all good from this end of things. Baby B is now the size of a navel orange!! That would be aproximately 110 grams and 120 mm. He or she is getting bigger every day : ) What is more fun for me is knowing that in a little over 4 weeks I will be five months and that's halfway..whoop, whoop. Not that I don't want to be pregnant or that I am wishing for the end (although having my very own child in my arms is pretty much one of the biggest dreams of my life and all the more reason to want the end of pregnancy), BUT that I will be officially showing, cleaning out the now "office/spare room to store our junk" for baby, and deciding on the decor of the room.

I've been thinking LONG and HARD about this issue...buying stuff for a gender neutral delivery SUCKS. However, I will know the gender of the rest of our children and there will be absolutely no holding back on going blue or going all out pink at that point in time. That makes me rest easy. So I am giving myself some more time to think about what I am looking for in a nursery. It's a toughie folks and I will save that for another post.

And, my friends, this is THE bump at 15 weeks and 2 days. This IS a bump for a girl 3 and 3/4 into her pregnancy. OK?



Leave me alone...it IS bigger. Mike can vouch for me on this...I came home from work the other day and both he and Doug were like, "Whoa! There's your belly." I must say it was the shirt I was wearing b/c when I lifted it up to reveal the "bump" they said, "oh" as if they were let down. I can't keep these guys happy for nothin...I'm either too fat or not fat enough. JK! I think Mike is as anxious as I am to be finally showing...maybe this will all seem more real to him?? Not sure. But anyways...just for the sake of my sanity, I stepped on the scale Tuesday morning and saw a typical # as of lately, at the doctor 4 hours later, I was 2 pounds up from last month and from my at home reading, and at the end of the day I was 1.6 pounds up from the reading at the doctor. I literally feel out of my element at the end of the day. I can't breath b/c there's pressure ALL OVER my stomach. No food sounds good- NOTHING. And I swear I weigh 9 times what I do in the morning. It's SO weird. That's why I wanted to see what the scale said. Out of curiosity.

As I type, here's my furry baby laying at my feet:


I can't help but wonder what she is going to think of all the changes that will come in March. What will she think of the baby? Will she be mad at Mike and I? For some reason, I can see her "blaming/hating" me b/c she is a serious daddy's girl :) But we will have to wait and see. She's still waking up once a night to go outside (ugh) and making sure she barks loud enough to wake at least one of us up in a panic. Little booger. Nonetheless, Mommy loves you to the moon and back G!

Another fun highlight about reaching 5 months (I guess there isn't too much cool about 4 months- ha!) is feeling the baby kick/move. I cannot wait till I/we can feel he or she moving. Before our doctor's appointment on Tuesday (the 21st), I was nervous for some reason. I don't feel any different, so I guess I feel as if I haven't progressed. I had nightmares about not hearing the heartbeat at the appointment (terrible). But we did. The doc put the thing-a-ma-jigy up to my belly and heard it right away. "Oh, that's great" he said, "Nice and strong." We were excited. The whole 30-40 min we were there were great. He's a great doctor...knowledgable and caring. I feel like he truly wants what's best for us...Mike, the baby, and I. It was a much needed appt since I don't know much about him...let alone any doctors in this town. It just clicked.

I'm a little bummed- I had SO much to say on Tuesday, but didn't have time before work and went to bed an hour after I got home from work, so ran short on time. Next time I will write a rough draft no matter how tired I am. Lesson learned.

Until next time...enjoy the beginning of fall, as the first official day was yesterday and take is easy!

Moving right along the produce section

The 'bean' is in fact, no longer a bean and is the size of a lemon. Odd to me b/c I imagine a lemon fairly small in comparason to a peach, but whatever. It's what they say and it makes this waiting game much more fun : )



Come on...now you've got to see the bump growing. It's there. No I don't look prego. I still look like I just ate three meals at home with my mother or father cooking. *Side note: ALL I think about is food...I plan my day around what my next meal will be and I usually have a flashback of what my choice was/will be. So going home sounds ah-mazing! Anyways...we will get there with the belly showing. Once it's "pops" I will post SO many pics, I promise. I cannot wait for that day/week...or whatever. And- just FYI I don't always wear the same thing like a sicko...I am trying to get the same type of pic at each week, so you can see the growth. They're taken weekly and I do laundry on the weekends : )

We're at 14 weeks now. THREE and A HALF WHOLE MONTHS! Yippee!! I am starting the phase of 'round ligament pain.' Not so fun. It pretty much just means that my insides are stretching, which is why you start to show in the 2nd trimester. They're growing pains...and I do feel them. Sometimes worse than others...usually worse on my left side. Strange. And what's rad is the only recommendation for making them feel better is RELAXATION...yeahh buddy! Just gotta get Mike some palm leaves to fan me and some new grapes (I just ate the last of them this morning) and we'll be set.

Interesting fact: your (or my) uterus expands 14 times in size and 20 pounds in weight. Pretty cool huh? All because a woman can carry a baby inside it. SO fun to know. I'm getting more 'sentimental' about my tummy, the being growing inside it, and eventually bringing that being into the world.

What baby can do this month: thumb sucking, toe wiggling, urine making, and breathing the amniotic fluid...it's a busy lil thing. Oh, and it's growing HAIR!!!

Other fun things...Mike is FINALLY home. He went to an air show in the boonies of IL over the weekend. 4 whole days without him were long and lonely!! And he flew himself there in a school plane, which always has me on edge. Even though he's an outstanding pilot. We also got two cool gifts this week. One from Kyle Mays and Alyssa Garcia (Kyle was a groomsman, obviously both attended the wedding and got engaged about a month ago I wanna say)...the Cherish Willow Tree figure. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. I cannot wait to add to our 'family' collection as I know there are so really sweet ones out there. Exciting. (Pic to come) And our trainer's wife, Andrea, bought us some bottles, binkies, and nipples on sale...and even threw in some hair gel for Mike : ) The bottles were $1.79 each, nipples 89 cents, and binkies $1.19. Crazy bargains and a great gift!


Alright, off to shower before lunch and work- cheers!

We've Got A Peach

And the bump @ 13 weeks



Not much is new this week. Feeling much more normal now and very, very, very (did I say very?) excited that we have officially crossed into the Second Trimester. All my email this week were saying "Welcome to the Second Trimester" and "Welcome to the trimester most women claim as their favorite." All kinds of positive vibes coming our way! Yayyy! Finally. I know it was only 3 months...but it was a LONGGGG 3 months.

Labor Day Weekend

Yesterday was an awesome day. We went down to Scottsdale for a 'nuchal translucency' test. It's a non-invasive test for Down's Syndrome. We are not at risk by any means, but our insurance covered it and we thought, why not? Better to be prepared! So, we got a Level 2 ultrasound and I got a lovely finger prick. Let me tell you...the stupid needle stabbing your finger hurts worse than getting your blood drawn. Stupid, yes? Why, I have NO freaking clue! But my little index finger is still sore. Ggggrrrr.....

Level 2 ultrasound is really cool. I guess they're just more in depth than a normal ultrasound. And this place had 3D machines in every room...so everyone got a 3D ultrasound too! We saw SO much. Two legs, two hands, two eyes, a heart (all four chambers developing- really cool to see), the brain (you could see the different sections, or lobes?), stomach, umbilical cord, nasal bone, jaw, and then placenta and my ovaries. The 3D part was really, really, really cool. BUT it freaked me out. Sorry, baby B, but you look funny in there. The black and white ultrasounds look much bigger...and the 3D shows this tiny little scrawny thing! It was awesome to see you moving though. Arms and legs going hog wild in there. Too bad I can't feel you yet. We've still got a few more weeks for that fun to begin!





I must say I feel 99.9% better. Maybe it is in part b/c I know we got passed the highest percentage of miscarriages. Maybe it's b/c I've let myself know it's the beginning of the 2nd trimester and things are going to be different. And maybe it's b/c I so desperately wanted to feel all around better. I know, I know...I didn't ever feel that bad. However, mentally I was a basket case! I am not as tired. I am more positive. I am anxious and eager to get everything ready. I am beginning to finally show (although, it's small...it's there!). No weird 'cravings' but when I want something...I best get it, soon preferably. Poor Mike : ) For example, last night I saw an image of something that looked like a green Mike & Ike and it was downhill from there. Mike & Ike's it was for me while watching The Last Song...good movie. Sad. I absolutely HATE watching movies where the Dad dies (and moms too, of course). I refuse to ever think about that...and as far as I am concerned, nobody else in my family is going to pass away. Anyways..before I get all teary eyed again. Geesh.

I am still an emotional basket of fun. I snap at Mike w/out meaning to and when he responds (however, I must say he could react differently), I cry. Ha ha. Help us all.

Matt Lyons is coming into town to hang with us this weekend. Although, we have nothing planned. Well, the boys have a football draft tomorrow, but that has nothing to do with me. It was great b/c I got my fill of my hubby yesterday...now he can have "man time" the rest of the weekend. I don't have Monday off either...bummer! But we never see Matt, so it should be fun just hanging out. So, it's a low key prego holiday. Yippee! What I would give for a Z Tejas Chambord margarita with a Patron floater...you don't even know : ) Oh little baby...I can't wait until you come out! Yes, I will survive though.

Hope everyone has a Happy and Safe Labor Day! Cheers!