29 Weeks

Does this shirt make me look pregnant?

Ha ha :)

Big news of the week: the crib and dresser has arrived!

They are still in boxes in the garage, but the nursery should be painted soon and then we'll be able to move them in and get everything set up. And I promise I'll give you a sneak peak!

Other big news: my mom is coming to visit on Thursday!

I am super-excited to spend a few days with her.

More to come soon. ;D

28 Weeks

This morning I had my glucose test at the doctor's.

I had to drink this sugary orange drink (which tasted like syrupy Fanta) and then wait an hour for them to draw my blood. Thank goodness they warned me to bring reading material (those waiting room magazines were a little outdated). If I don't hear back from the doctor's office tomorrow, I will know that I have passed the glucose test and that I do not have gestational diabetes! (Fingers crossed, everyone!)

I also did the usual check-up things and it appears as though I am right on target! The doctor measured my fundal height at 30cm, so I'm actually a little overachiever there - but everything else looked good. She said Baby Rich is head down (for now) and has a strong heartbeat at 138.

In our small group, four out of the six couples are expecting in the next five months.

(Yes, please pray for us!) The other three couples know that sweet baby girls will be joining their families. It has been interesting to hear who thinks we'll buck the trend with a baby boy and who guesses we'll add to the gaggle of girls!

 Last week at work, I was walking down a hallway that leads to our main lobby when I was met with a counselor and her client headed back for a session. The client was mid-sentence when she saw me, took one look at my belly, and exclaimed, "Congratulations on your son!" - and then proceeded to pick up right where she left off with her story. It definitely caught me off guard, but was pretty funny nonetheless! I guess we'll see if she's right in about 12 more weeks. ;D

It is absolutely crazy to think that Baby Rich will be making its debut in less than three months. I do not feel ready at all. Maybe that will change after I read the big stack of pregancy books on the bedside table and attend the infant safety/ CPR and childbirth classes. So much to do before our little bundle of joy arrives!

Weekly Wows!

It's been awhile since I last posted one of these, so I've got quite a few "wows" saved up!

Firstly, for the obvious: My new blog design has finally been installed. Hooray! Now if only I could figure out how to make the other half of the pregnancy ticker show up...


Last weekend Clay and I got to take a babymoon to a little ranch outside Weatherford, Texas. It was a bed and breakfast of sorts - the owner stocked the fridge with homemade quiche, fruit, juice, and breads to start the morning when you pleased! There was a full kitchen, so we could have cooked while we were there...but we didn't. :) Mostly we spent the weekend relaxing: walking around the downtown square and nearby antique shops, checking out the farmer's market, enjoying some of Weatherford's fine dining, and catching a movie. We didn't even take the camera. It was so nice to get away for a weekend before the two of us become the three of us!

Since Weatherford has so many car dealerships, our babymoon just so happened to include a little detour to one of them. We had been talking about upgrading my 2000 Honda Civic to a more family-friendly car and had a little time to spare, so we thought, "Why not?" After looking at several different crossovers and SUVs and test driving one, Clay and I decided that we were huge fans of the Toyota Venza. Being the accountant that he is, dear Clay had to do some research as soon as we got home and found a good deal on one at a dealership up in Plano. Betcha can't guess where he headed this Saturday. Or what he came home with.

(I'll give you a little hint:)

[via]

We have been tooling around in our new car all weekend! I have never seen Clay so excited to run errands before. :) It is definitely an adjustment to go from my manual windows and cruise-controlless Honda to the lap of luxury - but somehow I think I'll manage!

I have recently discovered the genius that is Kendi Everyday, and am subsequently suffering from a case of style envy (which is depressing when you're seven months pregnant and they don't make that in maternity sizes). She has such an eye for putting things together in an unexpected but polished way. And I LOVE her hair.

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See how cute she is? And she came up with this amazing 30 for 30 Remix Challenge: take 30 items from your closet, then mix and match them into 30 new outfits without going shopping for 30 days. (Her results are, of course, inspiring.) So not only is she adorable, but quite the thinker too! This is definitely something to tackle after Baby Rich arrives - and my closet expands again. :D

This weekend my dad came through town on his bi-annual trip to his research area in Oklahoma. It was so good to visit with him in person instead of over Skype or on the phone. The visit was a quick one as he had to head north this afternoon, but there was a little time for some scooter fun:

And oh yeah - I started my third trimester of pregnancy on Saturday. Wowsers!

25-26-27

25 Weeks                       26 Weeks                          27 Weeks

Some new experiences with this stage of pregnancy:

The belly is growing! It is becoming more challenging to bend over to put on my shoes or paint my toenails. If I look straight down (without stretching my neck), I can no longer see my feet! And the weirdest thing about all this is that I'm still able to wear a few non-maternity clothing items. Probably not for much longer, though. :)

My belly button is starting to flatten out, and I anticipate it popping out in the next several weeks. :) It's kind of wierd to be able to see the end of your belly button.

Last Saturday I felt what can best be described as really awful cramps. My stomach was tightening up and all I wanted to do was curl up in a little ball (which I did). After a little research, I realized that I was experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions. It kind of freaked me out when my pregnancy book called them "practice contractions" because they did NOT feel good at all. If those were just a warm-up, I don't know that I'm excited to feel the real thing! Fortunately, I haven't experienced any more since then.

Baby Rich is still moving and grooving in my tummy - it seems like all the time! (This added a very uncomfortable twist to the aforementioned contractions.) Our little jellybean especially likes to do a little kung fu right about the time I'm going to sleep.

Oh, what fun!

Just one more week until I'm in the THIRD TRIMESTER!

Catching Up

A lot has happened since the Lemon-Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies. (As my sister said, "Enough with the cornmeal cookies. Show me some belly pics!" Never mind that she was standing in front of me and looking at my belly.) So although this post doesn't contain any belly pics, you will find out exactly what has been keeping me away from the computer...

First of all, I have finally finished volunteer training at work! No more crazy schedules - at least for a while! Preparations for our 15th Annual Victory Over Violence Walk/ Run are revving up, so I have a feeling that more odd hours are on the horizon. But for now, I shall revel in the normalcy. :)

Lately, my nesting instinct has been operating in overdrive. I have been cleaning out every closet, drawer, and cabinet in our house, streamlining the possessions we currently have and trying to make room for all the new baby things that will soon invade those spaces. Because we only have four rooms in our house (well, technically five, but you can't really stack much in the bathroom), our nursery currently looks like this:

Just keepin' it real, folks.

You would think that 1100 square feet wouldn't hold that much stuff...but then you would be wrong. Apparently there is a lot more to get rid of than I thought! (This will probably be a work in progress for several more weeks, unfortunately.) Hopefully the baby furniture will arrive soon and help move things along. :)

A week ago Sunday we went to see the Ten Tenors at Bass Hall. And we liked it. Of all the shows coming this season to Bass and Casa, this was one that both Clay and I weren't too sure about. I mean, I love a talented musician - but several hours of straight singing? I was a little skeptical. But this group of Aussies sure kept us entertained! Their rendition of Bohemian Rhaposdy was particularly charming. We would definitely recommend.

My dear, sweet mother-in-law sent me an email last week reminding me that there were only 100 days left in my pregnancy. Yikes! It is hard to believe that almost three months from now, I will be holding Baby Rich in my arms.

On Friday, I came home to find that there were large holes surrounded by orange fencing up and down one side of our street. I'm not sure if it has something to do with the seismic testing that's been going on or if it's got something to do with the impending street construction. Either way, I have a feeling we'll be modifying our daily routines here shortly. Let's just hope they can finish the construction before I have to traverse giant holes with a baby carrier in tow!

All these goings-on have worn out these parents-to-be. That's why the hubs and I will be taking a little babymoon to a secluded ranch near Weatherford this coming weekend. Hopefully I'll return with a little more energy - and post some belly pics!

Catch you on the flip side. ;)