25 Weeks

Landon wanted to pose, too. Also, I take full responsibility for the messy bathroom. Yikes.

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 25 weeks (and three days, oops!)
Size of baby: About 13.5 inches long and a a pound and a half, the size of an average rutabaga (which means absolutely nothing to me seeing as how I'm pretty sure I wouldn't even be able to identify a rutabaga in the produce section)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 14 lbs. Yes, we're in the middle of a very large growth spurt.

Maternity Clothes: Yes. I really hate maternity pants though. Why can they not make them so they actually stay up?!?

Gender: We're having a GIRL! Harper Kate :)

Movement: This girl moves a LOT. She makes my stomach dance. That creeps me out a little. 

Sleep: I'm really working on going to bed earlier than midnight.
What I miss: Having properly fitting clothing to wear. Not feeling like a whale.

Cravings: Carbs. Sugar. Dairy. Anything terrible for me. I know.
Symptoms: A huge belly, occasional heartburn, back pain (although that's pretty much under control again), a massive appetite
Best Moment this week: Personalizing the minky for Harper's tag blanket (that is inevitably at the bottom of my sewing list but has at least been started!) and picking out the fabric for her bedding

Haircuts, Parties, and Sunshine

Whew, we had a whirlwind of a weekend!

I took Avery to Miss Cindy for a very overdue hair cut. Her hair had gotten SO long, and it was a little stringy and crazy at the ends. She wanted it cut really short, so we compromised. It looks so much thicker and healthier (and darker) now! 

Matt got the yard mowed while we were gone (and after dinner, haha), and we finished the night watching Friday night Rangers (since it's the only night we get it on our TV).

On Saturday we had a fun party day! Matt went to the church work day in the morning, and the kids read books to each other while I cut a ton of fabric (at the kitchen table, not on the floor; my chiropractor would be so proud).

And after naps we went to celebrate Landon's little friend Tucker's 2nd birthday at his Thomas the Train party.

And since one party wasn't enough, we headed over to my parents' to celebrate Chelsea's birthday with fajitas and s'mores. 

And guess who got a nap on Sunday? ME! A three hour nap at that! After church and lunch out with our Sunday School class, it was all I could do to get through Avery's nap time story without falling asleep, so I somehow made it to the couch and crashed immediately. I didn't wake up until it was time to feed the kids before AWANA. Apparently my insomnia is catching up with me. 

This week will be filled with preparations for the marriage conference we're hosting at our church this weekend, and I have quite a few Etsy orders to finish. I probably shouldn't admit this, but I'm finally feeling like I'm in a good place to get it all done. Crossing my fingers and praying that it's actually the case!

Have a great week!

24 Weeks

Eek, more terrible picture lighting. I'm really bad at this blogging thing these days!

Pregnancy Highlights

 

How Far Along: 24 weeks (and two days, oops!)
Size of baby: Almost one foot long and a little over 1 pound, the size of an ear of corn

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 14 lbs. Yes, that means I gained NINE lbs between my last two appointments. Holy growth spurt! 

Maternity Clothes: Yes. I really hate maternity pants though. Why can they not make them so they actually stay up?!?

Gender: We're having a GIRL! Harper Kate :)

Movement: This girl moves a LOT. I can actually see my stomach moving already.

Sleep: Yes, please. I need it. I can't fall asleep before 1 am and then I spend the whole day exhausted.
What I miss: Having properly fitting clothing to wear. Not feeling like a whale. It's too early for this.

Cravings: Just food. Really, it's sad. I've been eating way too much cereal and sugar (hence the enormous weight gain).
Symptoms: A huge belly, occasional heartburn, back pain (although that's pretty much under control again), a massive appetite
Best Moment this week: Trying to hear Harper's heartbeat at my appointment but not being able to because she was SO wiggly that they couldn't get a measurement. I think she's doing okay in there. :) Also, hitting 24 weeks means viability! It's hard to believe that baby girl could survive if she were born today, and obviously she needs to stay put for awhile, but that means we're getting closer!

While Matt was Away

You moms with preschoolers at home and husbands who travel often have my utmost respect. I hate it when Matt's out of town. I usually get into a good groove after a couple of days, but it takes me forever to get dinner on the table when he's not here to entertain them while I get everything ready. Two on one bedtime takes twice as long. I don't get to sleep before 1 or 2 every night because I freak out about every single noise I hear. I'm a big baby. Ugh.

He was only gone for four days to take the choirs to NYC, and thankfully he only travels for work about 3 times a year, so I really shouldn't complain. The kids were awesome though, so that makes it much more fun for me!

Matt left at 4:30 am on Saturday, and I left at 7 for a craft fair. (The kids stayed at my parents' overnight so they didn't have to get up super early.) I was running on fumes since I didn't go to bed until 2:30 and had to be up by 6, but I managed to get there and set up with time to spare.

I will most likely avoid church craft fairs in the future unless it's a very established event where people actually come to shop. This fair had some awesome vendors, and it was a bad day for everybody. I hate wasting my time, so I'm just writing this off as inventory building and choosing events more wisely in the future.

The kids had a great time hanging out with my parents though! I joined them for dinner afterward. I missed those little boogers!

After church on Sunday we had a baby shower for my friend Shanna, who's having a baby girl this summer. The preschoolers in her Sunday School class sure did love "helping" deliver all the gifts!

On Monday we went grocery shopping and errand running, so I treated the kids to Chick-fil-a for lunch (and before you roll your eyes at me, it's been over a MONTH since we've been there! I know!).

Hooray for Facetime! We even dress alike when we're miles apart. Only this time nobody had to switch outfits. :)

The kids had Mother's Day Out on Tuesday, we went to the fabric store afterward, I made breakfast for dinner, and we went on a walk with our neighbors Whitney and Heston before I got the kids in bed so I could go pick up Matt from his delayed flight while my mom sat at the house. (How's that for a long but correctly punctuated sentence?)

Matt's school is awesome and even gave him today off on "school business." I'm so glad he's home!

And now he only has one more short trip for the school year. Summer will be here before we know it!

23 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

 

How Far Along: 23 weeks
Size of baby: A little over 11 inches long and 1 pound, the size of a large mango

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 5 lbs (but I have a feeling that number will be going way up at my appointment next week)

Maternity Clothes: Yes. I really hate maternity pants though. Why can they not make them so they actually stay up?!?

Gender: We're having a GIRL! Harper Kate :)

Movement: This girl moves a LOT. I can actually see my stomach moving already.

Sleep: Yes, please. I need it. I can't fall asleep before 1 am and then I spend the whole day exhausted.
What I miss: Having properly fitting clothing to wear.

Cravings: Carbs. Oh my goodness, I don't even want to admit how many types of bread are currently in our refrigerator. After our trip to Panera for breakfast a couple weeks ago I remembered how much I love cinnamon bagels. Oops.
Symptoms: I'm not feeling so awesome this week. I've been sewing like crazy, and that's not helping the back situation. Plus this current growth spurt is killing me. I just really feel pregnant right now.
Best Moment this week: Getting Avery/Harper's closet much more under control today! The whole room sharing thing is going to take some organizational creativity, but I feel a lot better about it now.

Finally Some Pictures

I have become the world's worst mom when it comes to taking pictures. Maybe that'll change when Harper is born, but for now the daily snapshots are scarce! I really want to be more intentional about photographing regular life so I can remember these sweet (and sometimes not-so-sweet) moments.

So here are a few phone pics that haven't yet made it to the blog!

Landon loves the tech booth at church! He also loves singing. And baseball hats.

Family breakfast at Panera! Mmmm, bagels.

Playing at Grandma and Grandaddy's house. Landon is super snuggly right after his naps!

Hooray for a zoo membership renewal! Although maybe next time I'll bring an extra pair of shorts for Landon in the likely event that he sits in the children's zoo water area again. That's a rookie mom mistake. I better get my act together before Harper gets here and I really have no excuses!

We didn't get to go to Opening Day this year, but we went to the Saturday game! Unfortunately it was not the Rangers' best day, but we had a fun date anyway.

I really like my MOPS table this semester! This is most of our group (minus Becca) at tonight's Mom's Night Out. Three of us are pregnant, so stay away if you don't want to catch it. ;) Also, if you're in town, you have to try Branded Burger. It's SO good (and the inside is really cute)!

I told you the pictures were scarce! Matt's parents were even in town this weekend, but I have no photographic proof. I guess you'll just have to take my word for it.

I'd really like to be able to sleep again, so maybe tonight I'll get to bed before 1:30. A girl can dream. (Pun totally intended.) 

Happy mid-week!

22 Weeks

1) Sorry about the terrible lighting. 2) HOLY GROWTH SPURT!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 22 weeks
Size of baby: About 11 inches long and almost 1 pound

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 5 lbs (but I have a feeling that number will be going way up at my appointment next week)

Maternity Clothes: Yes. I really hate maternity pants though. Why can they not make them so they actually stay up?!?

Gender: We're having a GIRL! Harper Kate :)

Movement: This girl is a mover! I feel her wiggling around all the time these days, although she's most active at night.

Sleep: Yes, please. I need it.
What I miss: Having properly fitting clothing to wear.

Cravings: Carbs. Oh my goodness, I don't even want to admit how many types of bread are currently in our refrigerator. After our trip to Panera for breakfast a couple weeks ago I remembered how much I love cinnamon bagels. Oops.
Symptoms: This is the first week I'm actually starting to feel pregnant. I've been going back to the chiropractor every week right now to get through this growth spurt, so that helps a ton. She can help me breathe again with just a shift of my ribs. Crazy! And awesome. 
Best Moment this week: This isn't baby related at all, but baseball came back this week! I love the sounds of my radio blaring the games every day (you know, since we have very limited TV channels and can't actually watch most of the games). It's a beautiful feeling.