Friday Five

• It's Friday!  I'm excited because it means Sean will be home with me for the next two days!   Also, can you believe we are almost at the end of June!? When did it happen that we are half way through the year? Crazy how quickly time is flying.  It's supposed to be crazy hot here in California this weekend.  Appropriate for half way through the year- but really does it need to be almost 100* for the next four days?  That seems a bit obsessive and overkill just to say welcome July!  I heard on the news this morning that there is a chance that Death Valley could possibly reach the highest temperatures ever recorded on the planet! Say what?!

• Hopefully, between a movie date night and family dinner this weekend, we will be able to make some progress in the nursery.  I really want to get my rain gutter book shelves (or spice rack shelves) up so that I can start unpacking this poor child's ever growing library! (He already has two large boxes full of books-- The perks of having an elementary teacher for a mom!)
• I can't believe there are less than 4 months (16 weeks!) until our little guy gets here!  As I am adjusting to the quiet of summer, I am starting to feel this strong urge to start nesting... knowing that the coming months will be far too hectic to make much progress otherwise.  In July, we have my birthday and celebrations, two doctors appointments, a baseball game, hopefully Drako's surgery, and at least two days of summer school subbing (hopefully a couple more).  August is even worse... three baseball games, SIX doctor appointment/classes, our baby shower, and I have a week of training for work, plus the start of the school year. What happened to my quiet relaxing summer?  Oi.....
• Earlier this week the pups had their routine Wellness Check with their vet at Banfield through Petsmart.   First off, can I just say that I am so grateful each time we take them to the vet that we chose to go with Banfield.  They are endlessly thorough and gentle with the pups and everyone there seems to love what they do, and it is more about the animals and less about profit.  (Sorry... Tangent...) Anyways, we also asked the vet to check Drako out throughly because we had noticed since moving from the apartment that he wasn't putting any pressure on one of his back legs.  We thought that maybe he had a splinter in his paw, or had gotten a small cut from the backyard, but we couldn't find anything.  Well, the vet checked him out, and turns out my poor baby has a genetic birth defect (apparently, it's very common in small dogs- especially from larger litters) and basically needs surgery to fix the problem.  It has an extremely good prognosis, but needs to be fixed before it ends up breaking on its own.  I feel so awful that my baby is in pain, and can't wait to get it fixed....

My Drako baby and his purple cow sleeping on the couch.

• I baked cookies last night, and while they are good- they just didn't quite satisfy my baking/cooking desire.  I have searched my cookbooks, and poured over Pinterest, but just can't quite find the right thing... I am thinking with the heat about making a crockpot meal either today or tomorrow, I can't decide though, or saving it for Monday when we are all busy.  

Any suggestions on your favorite warm weather recipes?  

Week 24 Wrap-Up

Wow... So these haven't exactly been weekly. (Pregnancy Fail...).  With all the craziness going on, mentioned in the last post, We have definitely slacked off on weekly pictures.  Hopefully we can get back on the bandwagon now that there is actually something to see!
Without further delay... 

Sorry about the blur!  My normal photographer wasn't around...

Weight gained: According to the doctor's appointment today, I am up 10 pounds from the end of first trimester (approximately 4-7 pounds from my starting weight).  This is exactly where my doctor wanted me to be after dropping so much weight in the first months of pregnancy.  It's a huge accomplishment, and I'm proud to have gained weight in a healthy way!

Workouts: Not really... Walking and moving as often as possible, but with the weight issue I haven't wanted to push myself too much to do additional workouts and risk burning very necessary calories.  I did try out a new prenatal workout DVD and enjoyed it. Hopefully, now that I am back on track weight wise, I can start doing my yoga/pilates dvd.  

Symptoms: Much of the normal ones... Holy Round Ligament Pain! The past two weeks or so, it has definitely made itself known.  I'm getting short on breath easier when standing for too long, or moving too quickly which is annoying.  We got a new mattress recently and it is helping with sleeping through the night- still not getting up in the middle of the night at all (*Knock on wood*).  

Movement: Holy cow! It's amazing how quickly I went from no movement to "HI MOM! I'm HERE!" It has been incredible (read: incredibly weird) to feel him in there kicking and moving up a storm.  He moves most first thing in the morning, after dinner, and whenever I try to sit down and watch TV.  Sean has felt him kick a few times now, and even seen my belly move from his little movements.  

Food Aversions: None really.  Food has come easy lately.  The tricky part has been finding what I want in the moment.  I am avoiding PB&J like the plague lately- I've tried, just can't handle it.  

Food Cravings: Nothing crazy- anything LIQUID (I get so thirsty!).  Smoothies and otter pops have been top contenders lately, but if I don't have them it's okay.  Mostly, I've just craved food in general- anything munchy or crunchy.  I haven't really craved salty or sweet lately.  ....At this exact moment though- a doughnut or two would be amazing....

Sleep: As I mentioned, so much better the past two weeks.  We got a new Simmons BeautyRest Black, and it has been God-sent.  The first night or two I wasn't too sure, but I am only waking up maybe once a night now to readjust.  I also gave up on sleeping with a body pillow at night, and am thinking that has helped too... I move too much in my sleep and it just got in the way. 

Stretch marks? Not yet.  Getting itchy though...

Miss Anything? Not really.  Maybe a good glass of wine, or trying sips of Sean's beers... I do miss a good cut of Sushi... I will be indulging in that before I get out of the hospital after delivery- you can count on that.  

Happy or moody most of the time: I'd say happy most of the time.  I find myself getting stressed and overwhelmed rather easily which has made me mildly moody, but I'm doing my best all things considered...

Belly Button in or out? In- and strangely getting deeper by the week... Wider too.  It's been kind of a weird thing to watch happen.  I feel like the deepening has started to slow down, and the widening has started to pick up pace... Maybe we will even out and I'll just go flat?
Wedding rings on or off? On, but definitely snug.  I won't last being able to wear them the whole pregnancy.... Not a chance. Hopefully, I can at least wear them until after the baby shower?
New Baby Items: Fun and/or Interesting Things from the Week: Lots of things this week.  We have officially been putting a huge dent into our Registry lists, planning the nursery, and generally getting excited.  

Had our 24 week appointment today, and doctor said everything is measuring as it should, and I look healthy.  Happy Day.  She ordered my Glucose and Anemia Tests. Sad Day.  

we are preparing to order our crib and mattress in the next week or two which is fully exciting. Today I bought receiving blankets at Marshall's because I just couldn't resist! They are so cute, and bright and I just love!

Looking Forward To: So many things...  

We signed up for all of our Kaiser Baby Prep classes today at my appointment (ie: Breastfeeding, Newborn Care, Preparing for Childbirth, Coping with Natural Birth). We also scheduled my 28 week and 32 week appointments, and we have our Late Pregnancy Class in two weeks... So much baby stuff... Wow it's busy!

We also spent part of the past weekend, sitting down with our mom's and talking about what our "ideal" Baby Shower would look like.  We have decided to do one big one (both families, and friends) in a Co-Ed BBQ.  A little unconventional.  A little Disney.  A lot perfection.  

Wow... Radio Silence... Yikes

Hi friends!

Talk about radio silence... It's been a busy last month, hence the lack of updates.  We have hardly had a chance to take my weekly baby bump photos, much less actually get on here and write posts. 
Lets see... What has changed?
1. We moved out of our old apartment and into sharing a house with my in-laws.  It's been a great alternative, and an equally wonderful opportunity for Sean and I to save money for our future home.  Moving out of the apartment, and adjusting to life sharing a home (with only two small bedrooms to ourselves) has been interesting and busy.  We are finally starting to feel unpacked and comfortable with everything.
2. I got busy wrapping up my school year.  Hard to believe my little babies from September are now big bad second graders! I will miss that class of kids terribly, but I have been given an opportunity for the coming school year that will allow me to still see them daily and interact with quite a few of them.  It was quite a quick wrap up to the school year, and the final week was more hectic and filled with activities than I could have possibly imagined.  It was the perfect send off from first grade and welcome to summer though, and all my children left happy and excited.
3. We had our 20 week anatomy/body scan ultrasound a few weeks ago, and excitedly found out that baby is measuring directly on track, if not a couple days ahead, and has a perfect looking body build.  Now to just get those cute, chubby cheeks and thighs! (More on this during this weeks bump watch-- I swear there will be one :P) It's been exciting. 
4. Sean and I have been trying to work on our baby registry and I have found as with many other women these days the most helpful place for reference besides a plethora of searches on pinterest has been the book Baby Bargains available (here). There are just so many options and decisions to make, so it's been helpful having something make it simple and clear to sort through.  

That's all for now... Back to cleaning/organizing!  I promise not to leave you all for so long again!