30 weeks

Not loving the picture this week!  I almost skipped the picture this week.  I had Jason take it last night instead of this morning and I had him take more of a close up.  Not really a fan of my hair/make-up by the end of the day and the angle and closeness didn't really help!  Oh well.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 30 weeks.  I can't believe I only have 10 weeks left!  Time if flying and I'm not nearly as far along with nursery progress and just overall readiness as I was at this point with Bryce.

Maternity clothes: Mostly evertything is maternity, but I'm still enjoying wearing a few of my regular shirts.

Gender: It's a girl.  And I wish we could decided on a name already!

Movement: Yes!  She seems to be more active during the day now rather than at night.  I'm feeling a lot more kicks in my ribs and the top of my stomach.

Sleep: Pretty good.

Cravings: All things chocolate and peppermint.  I'm loving the chocolate peppermint milkshakes from Chick Fil A.  Jason and I usually share a milkshake but he doesn't like peppermint so I'm forced to drink it by myslef.  Not good!  I'm also loving pepperming hot chocolate from Starbucks.  Jason's sister brought me one yesterday and it was SO good!  I'm also patiently awaiting the dark chocolate peppermint ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery.  They normally start serving it in December.  That's TOMORROW!

Symptoms: I'm a little more tired in the evenings

Total weight gain: 16 pounds.  Only a pound since last week.  Not bad considering Thanksgiving!

What I miss: I had thought of something good for this, but I've forgotten.  Probably something along the lines of being able to reach my legs to put lotion on them!

Best Moment of the week: Getting a good report at the doctor on Monday.  My weight was good, my blood pressure was great, and the baby's heartbeat was the same as last time!

What I'm looking forward to: This has nothing to do with pregnancy, but I'm looking forward to and already enjoying Bryce's excitement about ALL things Christmas!  This year is going to be so much fun!



doing boy stuff

The boys had some outside fun yesterday while I ran out to pick paint samples for the nursery.  Bryce enjoyed raking up leaves!

Of course if there wasn't jumping involved, I'm sure he wouldn't have been as interested in raking them!

Get ready....

Jump!

We took down the fall decorations yesterday to get ready for Christmas decorations so Bryce had some fun hammering golf tees into the pumpkins. 

It wasn't long before Jason had him out in the driveway hitting the pumpkins with a sledge hammer.  Boys really do need their dads!  This mom would never have thought to do something like this! 

Hitting something a little more his size.

Thanksgiving

We had a nice visit in North Carolina with  my dad's family for Thanksgiving.  We were in lots of pictures as a family, but just not with my camera!  I do have a few shots of my boys though.  The chocolate cake was Bryce's favorite!  I personally enjoyed the pecan pie the best.  Wonder what the scales will say next week on my weekly post?!?

After lunch Bryce and Jason got a hold of my camera.  They enjoyed a mini photo shoot between the two of them!

A student in my class gave me a cute book for the baby and Bryce has been reading it this week.  It is a Baby Einstein book with mirrors and one of the pages is to make a monkey face like this!

Bryce even got a shot of Jason and his monkey face!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

29 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 29 weeks

Maternity clothes: All pants are, but I'm still wearing regular shirts.  I just pulled out my tub of maternity clothes from when I was pregnant with Bryce and got rid of all the things that were out of style or too big.  I found a few sweaters that I liked, but not much.

Gender: It's a girl.  We talked about names more the other night.  I had two names in mind when we found out we were having a girl.  Olivia was my first choice, but Jason doesn't like it because he thinks it's too popular.  I have one other name that I like.  Not sure if I love it, but I can't get it out of my mind to think about other names.

Movement: Yes and I love it!

Sleep: I think I jinxed myself last week when I said I was sleeping so well.  I can get to sleep, but staying asleep is another story!

Cravings: Nothing really. 

Symptoms: PIDs (pregnancy induced dumbness).  I lost my credit card last week.  Enough said!  Well I guess I should explain.  I had a horrible experience at the gas pump last week and left with 4 cents worth of gas.  That's right, FOUR!  I must have gotten flustered and I dropped my credit card.  Luckily when Jason went back to the gas station 3 hours later, it was still laying in front of the pump.  All I can say is Thank you God!

Total weight gain: still at 15 pounds.  No weight gain this week and we even had a Thanksgiving meal over the weekend!

What I miss: nothing really!

Best moment of the week: Getting our Christmas cards in the mail.  I'm usually very late in ordering them and this year I got a head start.  I ordered them on Sunday night and they were here by Tuesday.  I love Shutterfly!  I must say, these are our best cards to date!  Once I send them out, I will post one to the blog!

What I'm looking forward to: Waiting for a few more nursery pieces to come in the mail so I can finish putting the crib together and a few other accessories.

holiday tradition

We headed to Bass Pro Shop tonight for our free picture with Santa.  We actually got a few free pictures because a lady from our church was one of "Santa's helpers".  I really thought this would be the year Bryce was old enough or should I say brave enough to handle Santa, but you can clearly see that Jason and I are in the picture yet again this year. 

Bryce made it about half way down the aisle before he realized he didn't really want to talk to Santa.  We were able to get him to give Santa a high five (rather than sit in his lap) and he told him he wants a bow and arrow for Christmas (he is totally Jason's son).   Santa didn't have his hat on, but Bryce did!  Before we left the house he made sure to tell me we couldn't forget his hat.  Not sure why he thought he should wear it, but luckily I was able to find it before we left.  Unfortunately it didn't help in the bravery department!  And just for fun, here is the  link to our trip to Bass Pro Shop last year. 

I live for days like this

Today was another family fun day.  This year Jason's aunt and uncle in Maryland were hosting his mom's side of the family for Thanksgiving. Today was the day so we decided to leave early this morning and take a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium before hand.  We knew Bryce would love this! 

Enjoying the warm temperatures in the Rainforest.

Bryce loved looking at the sharks and the sting rays.  Scuba divers were feeding the sting rays while we were watching and they did a little demonstration for Bryce through the glass.

My sweet little buddy!

Bryce loved the dolphin show the most.

We headed to Jason's aunt's house after the aquarium for some fun and a delicious meal.  Bryce enjoyed playing with the other great-grandchildren. 

We have got to get this boy a trampoline.



Despite the 3 hour car ride (each way) it was a great day.  I love doing fun things as a family and making happy memories for Bryce.  I can't wait for the fun we'll have as a family of 4!

28 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 28 weeks

Maternity clothes: None of my outfit today is maternity!  This never would have been possible when I was pregnant with Bryce.  Most days I've been wearing everything maternity.

Gender: It's a girl.  Jason has been coming up with all sorts of names.  This week he likes Haley, Riley, and Darla.  Darla has quite the story behind it, ha!  I'm not sure I want to name a child after a Little Rascals character.

Movement: This little girl is a night owl.  Hopefully she will quickly/easily adjust her sleep/wake periods when she arrives!  Last night I thought she was throwing a party in my belly she was moving so much.  Maybe she was enjoying the sugar high from my glucose test yesterday!  I'm thinking I will hear the results tomorrow since I didn't hear anything today.

Sleep: Sleeping like a champ!  Just an occasional bathroom break around 4, which gives me just a little more time to sleep before the alarm goes off.

Cravings: FOOD!  Candy, ice cream, hot chocolate, snacks, you name it!  I'm not necessarily indulging in all of the cravings though. 

Symptoms: Growing belly.  My belly always feels like it's stretching and growing. 

Total weight gain: 14.5 pounds (that half a pound is a big deal because I didn't gain a whole pound this week!).  I ate really well for two days to ensure good results on the glucose test (even though I really wasn't worried), so I'm sure I will be back to a pound a week this week. 

What I miss: After reading another blog yesterday, I'm really going to miss champagne and brie at my annual fourth grade Christmas party! 

Best moment of the week: hearing a strong heartbeat at the doctor yesterday and getting a good report.  I was really excited when the doctor measured me and said I was right on track and I was all baby.  I was all fat with Bryce, ha!

What I'm looking forward to: I got an email today with UPS shipment confirmation on the nursery bedding.  It should be here by Friday.  Then I will be able to pick a paint color and put my mom to work! 

flashback

Some of the baby items are slowly making their way down from the attic and Bryce is loving it!  He tested out the bouncy seat tonight.

Here he was at 2 months in the bouncy seat.

So sweet!



science kid museum

Jason was off yesterday so he took Bryce to the Science Museum, or the Science Kid Museum as Bryce calls it.

Bryce really enjoyed going to the museum with Kelly a while back and he has been talking about it ever since.  Apparently these blocks were his favorite because he asked about them as soon as he got there.  Jason was just glad he figured out what he was talking about.

Bryce met a little girlfriend while he was there.  Jason said Valerie was very interested in Bryce!

The highlight of the trip was watching the rats play basketball since he missed it the last time he went.  Unfortunately Jason didn't take any pictures of it!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 27 weeks

Maternity clothes: All pants and dresses are maternity, but I'm still wearing some regular tops.

Gender: girl

Movement: All the time.  She's still the most active in the evening.

Sleep: Pretty good, but I've started getting up to go the bathroom in the middle of the night again.

Cravings: EVERYTHING.  I just feel the urge to eat like a pregnant woman.  I'm trying to keep it under control, but I have lost all will power between stress at school and the availability of Halloween candy ALL around me!

Symptoms: I get full really quickly and my belly gets really uncomfortable.  Unfortunately it's not stopping me from eating any, ha!

Total weight gain: 14 pounds.  I went ahead and gained a pound for this week and a pound for last week since I didn't gain anything.  Oh me!

What I miss: I miss laying on my stomach and having fewer positions to lay and actually be comfortable.

Best moment of the week: I've just been enjoying the fun things we do as a family of three.  I know things will be drastically different with a baby in the house.

What I'm looking forward to: Looking forward to things we do as a family of four!



train day and goats

Bryce's friend Charlie invited us over to see his baby goats and other farm animals today.  Bryce has been talking about it for a while and got Chase excited about it too, so he tagged along!

They enjoyed feeding the big goats and the chickens.

I was surprised that they were so willing to go in with the goats and interact with them.

Bryce loved the trampoline. We're thinking about getting him one for Christmas or his birthday.

We made our way to train day after playing at Charlie's house. Here is Bryce racing trains with another little boy because Chase wouldn't have any part of it. He yelled Ready, Set, Go so the man would push the button to start the trains.

His train was the fastest!

The boys enjoyed watching the model trains go around the track. Charlie even got to press the button to make the whistle blow. Bryce and Chase weren't so sure about it.

Jason, Bryce, Charlie, and Russ

 I was excited that Bryce was so brave this year. He wanted to try out everything.

We had a great time despite the cold weather.  I told Jason I may have to skip train day next year to stay warm with our little girl.  Maybe we'll go shopping instead!

happy birthday taylor

Bryce and the birthday girl.

We went up to church tonight for Taylor's birthday party.  Bryce really wanted to help Taylor open her presents.  She was a good sport and let him help!

The kids were excited about putting the toys in the car because they got to ride down the ramp on the sidewalk.  They waited very patiently.

Taylor turned 2 on Tuesday.  If you ask her, she's 4!  Happy Birthday!