Monday, September 30, 2013

33 weeks



How far along: 33 weeks! (I'm actually 34 weeks and a few days as I do this update. I try to update at the end of each week, and this one is a few days behind because my in laws were in town!) 
Maternity Clothes: Still in non maternity workout clothes and lounge clothes, but jeans and most shirts are definitely maternity now!
What I miss: Just not feeling uncomfortable all the time. Sleeping through the night and not having to pee every 20 seconds.
Exercise: Only three days again this week, but it was three good ones. I've actually upped my treadmill workout a little bit... going at a 15 incline still but I've increased the speed to about 4.2. It's pretty killer, but I figure I might as well push it while I can! Truthfully, it's getting harder and harder, and with so many appointments and getting ready for baby over the next month I feel like I will probably be averaging about 3 days a week.
Cravings: Sweets!
Aversions: Nothing! Hungry all the time!
Symptoms: Braxton hicks are getting more consistent! Rib pain, indigestion, heart burn..... just the usual end of pregnancy (Oh so lovely) symptoms!
Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks every day, several times a day. More and more pressure.
Best moments of this week: We did our maternity pics this week! I am so excited to see them, and so grateful we have an uber-talented friend who does them for us! Not only did we get maternity pics, she also took some family pics and pics of the boys for us.... I can't wait to see them! I also can't believe it was already time to take them! I'm starting to feel some pressure to start getting stuff done.... packing the hospital bag, making a labor play list, getting stuff out of the attic, washing baby clothes, getting the nursery set up.... Just to name a few! In the next few weeks those things are the top of my list!



Saturday, September 21, 2013

32 weeks



How far along: 32 weeks! 
Maternity Clothes: I hit H&M this week (did you know they sell maternity clothes?!?) In search of a dress for my maternity pics. I didn't find the dress I was looking for, but I did find the one in the picture above and it's super cute and comfy! I think I will probably us it in maternity pics with a pair of boots! And the big plus? It was on sale for $7! I also found another pair of cute jeans that were on sale for $20 so I picked those up to. I don't want to buy anything else, because I have such a short time left, but these were too good of a deal to pass up! It's funny, I held out so long on switching over to maternity clothes, but now I'm remembering how comfortable they are! I mean, wouldn't it be great if all of our pants came with elastic waistbands?
What I miss: Laying on my stomach, not feeling exhausted and achy all the time.
Exercise: This week I ended up only making it three days. I told myself I would start taking it easier at this point in the pregnancy, so it's probably a good thing even though it wasn't by my choice. We changed L2's PT sessions to Tuesdays at 9, which is a much better time for him, but it means I miss out on those days. The place he goes is about 45 minutes away so I have to drop off L at school and head straight up there. This Friday the boys had Dr. appointments so I missed another day, but I still got in three good days including two yoga classes. I figure as long as I can keep the same intensity and make it four days I'll be fine!
Cravings: Nothing really this week. I ate a lot of sugar because we had to many sweets left over from L's birthday!
Aversions: Nothing! Hungry all the time!
Symptoms: Rib pain, and the leg cramps are starting up again. Worst thing ever is being woken up to a charlie horse in your calf! I love feeling this baby move, but man, when he stretches it's kind of painful! He's strong, that's for sure! And you can tell he's running out of room!
Labor Signs: Just the good old Braxton Hicks and some pressure! I actually had a lot of BH's in the beginning of the week, to the point where I almost considered going to L&D, but I managed to stop them on my own by moving around a bit!
Best moments of this week: Celebrating L's fourth birthday at the beginning of the week was definitely the main highlight. I can't believe my baby is so big! It's truly bittersweet! We also had a Dr app and got to see the baby! He looks perfect, is measuring right on and is head down and ready to go! (I also only gained two pounds which made me happy!) 



Sunday, September 15, 2013

L turns four!

Happy 4th birthday, Landon!

I really, really cannot believe it has been four years since you came into our lives. It feels like you've always been here.... I can't imagine my life without you. On the other hand, it is going to fast. I want time to slow down, but I know that is not possible, so instead I try to take in every moment. I try to appreciate every stage, from the temper tantrums to the funny things you say, because I know they will not last forever.

Here are some things that you are doing/into these days:

~Oh my child, you are so opinionated. You like things to go your way, and when they don't you tend to have a bit of an attitude or throw a tantrum.I know it's the age, but sometimes you sure know how to push a mama's buttons!

~On the flip side of that you are by far one of the sweetest little human beings I have every encountered. I love when you give me hugs and kisses. I love when you want to cuddle. I love that every night you ask for a song and when I ask if you know how much I love you you respond with "Sooooo much!!!!"

~You are very into pretend play these days. You are always using your fingers to pretend to shoot at things (Oye! It drives me crazy!) and when we go up and down the stairs you tell us to watch out for booby traps. You love playing camping and pulling all the pillows of the couch so we can play "nap".

~You love your brother, but sometimes he drives you crazy. You get mad when he touches you/hits you/gets too close to you/ or touches your toys. Sometimes you have a hard time sharing with him. But you also are the first to let us know if he is upset about something and you always kiss him goodbye when you get dropped off at preschool. You often say that he is your best friend.

~You have these funny phrases that you have picked up, and I'm not totally sure where they all have come from. You say things like "Oh snap" or "please don't be rude to me" (The last one usually occurs if someone has dared to tell you no to something.) You come in first thing in the morning and let us know it's time to get up because "Hey guys, the sun is up!".

~You like to help with everything, from making lunch to carrying stuff from the car. You know most of your numbers and letters and you are getting close to reading on your own. You will flip through pages of books we read a lot and "read" the story out loud to yourself from memory.

There is so much more, but I could honestly go on for pages and pages! Just know, you are so loved. Everyday you amaze me. Some days you test me as a mom, but everyday I learn something from you. I'm glad you are so strong willed, I know it will serve you well in life. I love that I see such kindness and compassion in you, from the way you treat your friends and family. You are everything I could have every dreamed of and more. I love you more than you will ever know!

Here's a quick recap of our day in photos! We took it easy today, after the party yesterday, and just relaxed, ran errands, watched a movie and went out to a birthday dinner. Of course there were some more treats, more singing of "Happy Birthday" and more presents!

**Unfortunately I have no pics of us doing cupcakes at the end of the night because I hate our crappy computer and it won't upload the pics from my camera. All the rest of the photos are courtesy of my iPhone!


(A birthday breakfast of donuts with sprinkles, per L's request!)


(Do you see someone creeping in the background? I think he was trying to figure out how he could steal it!)

(And MORE presents!)

(And a yummy birthday dinner!)


(L2 takes his eating very seriously!)

A Happy Birthday Boy! I think four is going to be an amazing year for him!


Saturday, September 14, 2013

31 weeks



How far along: 31 weeks!
Maternity Clothes: My Old Navy maternity jean purchase was definitely a good one! I have been wearing them all the time (along with leggings) and they are so comfortable! The shorts in this weeks picture are actually my non-maternity shorts, held up with a hair tie, because we had L's birthday party outside at a park today and it was just too hot to wear jeans. I figured I could go the dress route or maxi skirt, but I decided to try these on and see if they would work and they were fine except I can't button them! Thank goodness for the hair tie trick!
What I miss: Laying on my stomach!
Exercise: I only made it in two days this week, which I feel super guilty about, but I'm trying to give myself a break. We ended up being invited to play dates on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and while I knew it meant I would miss my gym session I decided to say yes to all three. First, the boys love play dates. Second, I love having a chance to hang out with other moms, and third, I need to be able to say no. I have a hard time with feelings of guilt when I miss even a day at the gym and I don't want that drive (which overall I think is a good thing) to turn negative. So this week I relaxed and am going to be OK with fitting in two good sessions. Next week I should be back to my normal 4-5, but if something else come up, that's fine too!
Cravings: So many different things sound good. Random things. Like the other night, out of the blue, I was like "I really want waffles with Nutella!" Lol, luckily we didn't have either of those things in the house!
Aversions: Nothing! Hungry all the time!
Symptoms: Rib pain is still just getting worse. It freaking sucks. It seriously is soooo painful. Lot's a kicks, but also lot's of times when I can feel like he is just rolling or stretching out! More pressure and my feet hurt at the end of the day!
Labor Signs: Just the good old Braxton Hicks and some pressure!
Best moments of this week: Having three play dates, one with new friends and one with an old friend! I love feeling connected to other moms! Also the weather at the beginning of this week was amazing. Rainy and cloudy and cooler temps. We even got to sleep with the windows open! Makes me feel like fall might actually make an appearance!

A Pirate Party

Four years ago tonight, I was laying in bed (after eating a huge bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream for dinner) and praying that the baby would come soon. It was my due date and I was soooo uncomfortable and so disappointed he hadn't come yet. Then I felt a weird "popping" sensation and our bedsheets were soaked.... my water had broken!

Four years ago my first baby boy was born and he made me a mommy.

I love him so much.

Tomorrow is his actual birthday (as I spent 17 long hours in labor with him!!! Thanks for that, buddy!) So I'll save some of the gush for tomorrows post.

Today we had a party.  A real party. A friend party. For his past birthdays is always been a BBQ at our house with our friends and a smattering of kids who belonged to our friends. This year we invited his preschool class and had a pirate theme and a pinata. It was amazing. Despite the fact that it was 100 degrees and we had the party outside in a park, and despite the fact that I spent the morning freaking out about not having enough food/party bags/water etc..... it turned out pretty perfect.

Its funny how kids really just don't care what the weather is. These kids played and ran and were all soaked in sweat as parents bribed them to pause for a second to get a sip of water. L loves his school friends and it was nice to be able to chat with their parents.


Our "theme" this year was pirates. L is really into Jake and the Never land Pirates right now, and I figured (being eight months pregnant and not wanting to take on too much!) that it would be a relatively easy them, with lots of options. It was. A few trip to Party City, Target, Hobby Lobby and the grocery store and we were set. The party didn't start until 2, so instead of a sit down lunch we just laid out a bunch of snack for both kids and adults. I also made cute "name tags" for the food to go with our pirate theme. For example, we had fish and chips (goldfish crackers and chips) "Seaweed" spinach dip, Peanut Butter and "Jellyfish" sandwiches and so on. I think it turned out cute!




After we did the Pinata (way too hard for 3 and 4 years olds to break on their own... they needed some parental help!) and cupcakes it was present time! Of course this was one of L's favorite parts, but it was awesome to see how truly excited and grateful he was to receive each one. He got genuinely excited each time and thanked his friends each time. I was a pretty proud mama.


L2 did pretty good too. He's been a little cranky the last few days, I don't know if it's teething or a cold coming on or just growing pains, but I was a little nervous. The party also fell right when he normally naps so his schedule was off today, but he did great. He got a little fussy towards the end, but for the most part he wandered around and played and got people to keep giving him food!

It was a long day, but a great one. I am exhausted and my feet hurt, but I am also happy. And I'm excited that tomorrow we get to celebrate L's actual birthday as a family!


Saturday, September 7, 2013

30 weeks!



How far along: 30 weeks! (and once again, straight out of the shower, wet hair, and no makeup!)
Maternity Clothes: I finally gave in this week and went and bought a new pair of maternity jeans! I got a pair of dark skinny jeans from Old Navy that I really like. With my first pregnancy with L I had to have a pair of (super expensive) designer maternity jeans.... and now I realize what a waste that was! First off, they don't fit this pregnancy (too big) and second, my style has changed in the five years since I was first pregnant! Now, I am a huge jean snob, and all for buying expensive, good quality jeans... but for these last ten week of pregnancy I think I'm OK buying something stylish yet affordable! Anyway,  I like the way these ones look and they are super comfy! Oh and the best part? I found these jeans and decided I liked them when I was about 13 weeks pregnant and just happened to be in an Old Navy and tried a pair on. Of course I didn't buy them back then, because I didn't need them yet and I figured I would probably by up a size or two by the time I did need them. But guess what? I still fit comfortably into the size I first tried on! Yay! That makes me feel like most of my weight gain really has been in my tummy and hopefully I'll be back in my pre-pregnancy clothes a little faster!
What I miss: It would be nice to sleep through the night without getting up to pee ten times! And every time I get up I have a hard time falling back asleep!
Exercise: Still pushing, although I did only make it three days this week. Monday was a holiday so I didn't go, and Wednesday we had an early appointment, so we only went Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. I did do Power Yoga on Friday, but it was a big inversion class so I ended up not being able to a lot of it. I don't mind doing inversions still, within reason, but I'm not really comfortable doing anything that involves a lot of kicking up and stuff of the wall! To make up for missing my normal yoga classes I did hop into the weight room on Tuesday and Thursday which felt good. I always love the looks I get when me and my 7.5 month belly approach the weight rack where all the "big, burly" men are lifting!
Cravings: Pizza a little. So funny because pizza was my biggest aversion with both L and L2
Aversions: Nothing! Hungry all the time!
Symptoms: Lot's more pressure and lots of kicks to the ribs. My rib pain is steadily getting worse.... ugh, seriously the worst pain I have ever felt. I usually feel fine in the morning and it starts getting bed around mid afternoon and my night my left side is swollen and I'm laying on the couch with an ice pack!
Labor Signs: Just the good old Braxton Hicks and some pressure!
Best moments of this week: Having a shorter week and having S home an extra day! A no-kids coffee date with an old friend, picking up pumpkin scented candles and lotion from Bath and Body Works, my first salted Carmel mocha of the season, and L's first ever soccer game! 

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

A life update

So, I realized recently that about 90% of my post lately are solely pregnancy updates. And while I'm proud of myself for updating every single week, I figured it was about time for a life update. So here we go:

BEDROOM SHARING

We live in a four bedroom house, but our plan has always been to have L and L2 room together and give the new baby the old nursery. First of all, I don't want to give up my guest room, and second of all I think it will be good for the boys to share a room. I want them to create those memories of together. We knew we needed to make the transition fairly soon, as there were going to be several factors to consider. First of all, L2 is still in the crib right now, and we need that crib for the new baby. L's bed is technically part of a bunk bed set that can be used as two separate beds, so we have a big boy bed for L2, I just don't think he's quite big enough for it yet. And finally we had to make sure that this was going to work, that they would tolerate rooming together and not keep themselves (and everyone else in the house) awake all night.

We decided that the best plan of action was to use the the day weekend to move L2's crib into L's room and at least get them used to sharing. We figured if that worked in a few weeks we would turn the crib into a toddler bed and see how L2 did with that. If that went over fine then by mid October we should be able to make a decision as to whether he was ready to try the big bed or if we should buy a toddler bed for him.

I'm not going to lie, I was nervous. I figured the would be waking each other up and not letting each other go back to sleep. I thought L would be annoyed with L2 invading his space. I was worried they would end up waking each other (and me) up at the crack of dawn.

It went so smoothly.

Honestly, I was shocked. We're on night five and they have had no problem going to sleep at night and they both have still been sleeping until 7:30. Naps have been fine too. L is pretty hit or miss on if he actually sleeps, but he knows he has to stay in his room and be quite and read or play until it's time to get up. The only big difference is when they wake up from nap time they spend about 20 minutes "talking" and laughing and being crazy with each other before I come in and get them. I think they're actually kind of digging sharing a room!


GETTING READY FOR BABY

I'm actually feeling pretty unprepared for this baby. I mean, this is my third, I know we have everything we need, and honestly babies really don't need much for the first few months. But with L and L2, at this point in my pregnancies, I was ready to go. Baby clothes were washed, the nursery was done, hospital bag was starting to get packed. Not so much this time. I have pulled some clothes out of storage, but that's about it. We need to do the nursery (yes we are redoing the nursery again to personalize it for this baby!), a lot of stuff needs to come down from storage, stuff needs to be washed and sterilized.... you get the idea.

I feel a little accomplished that we moved the boys in together, that was definitely the first step to getting things done. Next I need to transfer all of L2's to L's room and organize everything. This weekend I finally made myself a list (I love lists.... I know, it's weird) I'm figuring if I can cross one or two things of every week I should be good to go by the time this babe gets here!



The one thing I have gotten done for baby is I finished his blanket. I have made a special blanket for each of my boys, so of course this one is no different! I just learned to do the Chevron pattern a few months ago, and I used the same color theme we will be using in the new nursery (light grey and powder blue). I love it and I'm very happy with the way it turned out!


I had some leftover yarn so I also made him a cute little hat that I"m going to pack in the hospital bag!!!!


FALL

I know I probably say the exact same thing this time every year, but I'll say it again: I am so sick of the hot weather and I am so ready for fall. This year the fall craving is coming on especially strong because fall=baby. Growing up in Northern Nevada, where we have four pretty distinct seasons, I don't remember craving the fall like this. In fact, I remember mourning the end of summer as the days got shorter and the weather cooled down. But now, living in a place where the temp are still in the 100's and "sweater weather" doesn't even seem like a possibility, I desperately want for fall weather. I want to wear boot and sweaters and cozy pj pants. I've stocked up on pumpkin scented candles and the pumpkin spice lotion at Bath and Body Works. I totally get when people get excited about the release of the pumpkin spice latte, even though I'm more of a fan of the gingerbread latter or the salted Carmel mocha. (But pumpkin beer? Bring it on. I love the fall seasonal releases of all the beer flavors. I told S I want some waiting for me when I get home from the hospital!) I'm looking so forward to the day when the temps here fall enough that I can put my boys in some cute sweaters and we can finally turn off the AC. 




So for now, we're faking it until it becomes reality.And I really hope it become a reality quick!

So that's it for now. That's pretty much what we've been up to! I'll be back later this week for our 30 week pregnancy update and to start counting down these last 10 weeks!


Soccer Star

L started soccer this week. Can I just say, I cannot believe that I have a little boy that is old enough and big enough to be on an organized sport team! He's a September birthday baby (He'll be 4 in just a few weeks!!!) so he tends to be right on the verge of age cutoffs for just about everything (school, sports, etc.) Luckily, he made the soccer cutoff by about 15 days. He's definitely the youngest kid on his team, and one of the smallest but he is having so much fun!


S and I are both soccer players. I my whole life through high school, did intramural soccer in college and for about four years S and I played on a coed team together. We both love the game and to see our little guy our there learning it is pretty special for us.

With all that being said, watching a bunch of 3 and 4 year old play soccer is pretty comical. They pretty much run around in circle yelling tripping over balls. None of them really seem to get the concept of "no hands" and I've definitely seen each and every one of them fall over in an attempt to stop a slow rolling ball. Comical may not be the right word..... it's down right hilarious. S had thrown around the idea of coaching or assistant coaching when we signed L up, but after watching two practices, you really have to have the patient of a saint to coach this age group!


The important thing is he loves it. He's having so much fun already. And I love that we are finally getting to participate in these activities. I'm officially a "soccer mom" and that makes me so happy. Our first game is this Saturday, so wish our little soccer star luck!