It's been awhile...

...but I guess I'd chime in with my perspective.  Cassie's been a trooper through all of it and hasn't called on me to do a whole lot that I normally didn't do before the news broke.  Sure, I have to lift more things and scoop the litter box more frequently, but it hasn't been the roller coaster of emotions and frequent trips to the grocery store that I anticipated.  I was expecting her to be laughing one second and then break a beer bottle over my head the next when I looked at her funny for demanding I make her an anchovy-jalapeno jello mold.  Thankfully, none of that has happened.  Yet.

People often ask me if I'm ready.  My reply has been "Yes?  No...?", mostly because I haven't read enough to really know what I should be ready for.  And of the very little that I have read, I've taken away one thing: there is nothing in your life that will prepare you for having a child.  I'm not sure I'm getting it right, but it seems that parenthood as a wonderful type of hell in which you never sleep and derive an inordinate amount of joy from merely being a slave to a 10-pound poop machine.  That joy seems to fuel you through those sleepless nights and countless runs to the baby store for more baby things.  I've never subsisted on joy alone, so am I ready?  The answer is a resounding no.

I'm fairly certain I'll never be ready, but everyone who has a child seems to think that we'll figure it out as we go and that there's no need to worry.  Of course, they follow it up with, "Now if you're gonna know one thing..." and that's where I've been zoning out for whatever reason.  About the only advice that I've taken to heart is some quote (which may be famous?) by some dude (who may also be famous, but whose identity escapes me) that goes along the lines of "The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."  I can do that.

On the more superficial level, I've packed on about 10-15 pounds of sympathy weight so far, but I'm going to make an effort to take that off before Parker gets here.  Once upon a time, I made a goal to weigh less than her at some point, but it's looking pretty unlikely.  I have been getting on the old stationary bike in the morning and I'm starting to realize there's a reason we sleep in a bed and not on a bike.  It's just so much cozier in bed, so... that whole exercise in the morning thing will probably come to an end soon.

Anyways, Cassie was sitting on the couch the other day while we were watching TV and she was just watching Parker do his thing.  She said, "It's so weird having something in your body just moving around and having no control over it.

And I said, "Now you know what it's like to have a penis."

Then Hank said, "Now you know what it's like to have a tail."

Then Stripes said, "Now you know what it's like to SHUT UP.  Where's my food?"  So we sat in silence for awhile.

TEN weeks left!!!

30 weeks and the countdown is on!!  This entire pregnancy, we've been counting up as the weeks go by and now I'm finding myself counting down until the due date.  For example, before, when people would ask me how far along I am, I'd answer with something like "six months."  Now when people ask I say "ten weeks left!"  It's a different mindset and a really exciting change.  Our due date feels so incredibly close now!

Ok, get ready for the rest of my rambling...this is a long entry!

We're starting to do more and more each day to prepare for baby boy's arrival.  We got the crib built awhile ago (see photos below of Aron building it!), but we still need a mattress.  Not high priority since baby Lum won't be in there for a few months but certainly on our to-do list.  We built a dresser for the nursery and filled it up with all the clothes we have so far.  Between my very dear friends Michaela and Amanda, we pretty much have baby's entire first-year wardrobe complete thanks to their cute hand me down outfits.  We also received several great gifts at the shower we had in Spokane to fill in the gaps.  We were so spoiled by our friends and family!  Besides the dresser we bought, we haven't had to buy anything for baby ourselves yet.  Our friends are hosting another shower for us in San Diego next weekend, and after that we'll plan to do some serious baby shopping and gather the rest of the items we need.  I haven't even bought any baby clothes of my own choosing yet!!  We've been pretty budget-conscious lately with all the changes in our lives, but I have a feeling I'll go crazy anyways in the few weeks before baby gets here.  Also on my shopping list: I want to buy a rocking chair or glider of some sort and get some cozy rugs for the nursery.

 

Hanky was very curious about this new furniture!

Kitty bunk beds! Rory is up in the crib and Stripes is hanging out below. :) Pretty sure this will be happening allll the time now.

Here are some pics from the baby shower we had in Spokane!  My sister, aunt, and mom all hosted and it was a huge success and really fun!  I had such a wonderful time with the guests, which included some family that I hadn't seen in years.  Thank you to everyone who came out and made the day so special!!  We truly were spoiled with gifts and love and support.  Baby boy is going to grow up so loved!  I can't wait to do it all again this weekend with our San Diego friends.  We really are lucky to be surrounded by people who are willing to listen to us blabber on about the pregnancy and our plans without getting so fed up they punch us in the face. :)

Me, my cousin RaChelle and her baby boy Rekker, my Grandma Marilyn and my sister Randi

Me and sissie!

The handsome hubby!! The boys hung out downstairs so the gals could be girlie and ooh and ahh over cute baby things. :)

One of the tables - everything was so beautiful!!

Me and Grandma

Me and my beautiful mama!! I look more and more like her every day, which is an awesome thing!!

Friends! Emily, me, Susan

Me and my Grandma Janna

An exciting event in our lives last week was that we found out I don't have gestational diabetes!  On January 3rd I went and took the two-hour glucose test and we found out the results last Monday.  I was actually pretty nervous but I passed the test with flying colors.  I actually tested on the low end of the "normal" range for all markers!  I've been joking that thanks to my sweet tooth, my body has had years of training in metabolizing sugar.  Ok ok, I know it doesn't quite work like that.  I'm just very fortunate to be healthy!  And now I can continue eating sweets for the next 10 weeks!  On Friday night I had my first real craving of the pregnancy.  As in "find this for me NOW or I will DIE" type of craving.  And of course, it was for sugar.  Raspberry sorbet in particular.  I made Aron go to the store and buy me some and I ate half the carton in one sitting.  In my defense...it was one of those baby cartons.  And it was sooooo good and just what I needed.  It was the first time I've made Aron go buy me something!  He's gotten off pretty easy this pregnancy. :)

Another exciting event in our lives this week is that I just gave my notice at work that I won't be returning after the baby is born.  That's right folks, I get to be a stay at home mom!!!  More of a work from home mom, since I'll still actively be doing my Mary Kay business.  Hopefully I'll actually be working it even more now that I won't have the bothersome 10 hours at my day job to get in the way every day. :)  I'm thrilled that I get the opportunity to stay at home and raise our baby.  Major thanks to my sugar daddy for making it happen!!  We're gonna have to give up a few fun luxuries, like my expensive seeing-movies-at-the-movie-theater habit, but it will totally be worth it to be home everyday, not missing a moment of my son's life.  That didn't sound like a smothering stay at home mom comment at all, right?!  But really, I can't wait to spend my days with baby boy, watching him grow up and become the super genius his father has predicted he'll be.

Every day my belly seems to stretch a teensy bit bigger.  Below is a photo from last week when we went to the beach, during week 29.  A summer dress at the beginning of January!  All f omy maternity dresses are in use right now as its EIGHTY-FIVE degrees here!  It'll be in the 80's all week, unbelievable!  I'm a little disappointed that my belly button hasn't "popped" yet despite my growing tummy.  But maybe I just had a very deep innie all my life.  It has definitely gotten super shallow, which is bizarre.  And no stretch marks yet, thank goodness!  Lisa sent me cocoa butter lotion which I've been using diligently every night!  My skin has been very itchy all over, which I've read is pretty common.  This next part might be TMI for family members (or my more prude friends!) so avert your eyes for a few sentences. :)  Another changing-body update - last week I started leaking colostrum, but only from my right side so far.  I first noticed when I was wearing a pajama shirt and I was very surprised!  I had to double-check online that it was about the right time that that would start happening.  It happened two or three days in a row but I haven't noticed since.  But I could just be unobservant.  It's all another sign that baby is very very close to showing his face to the world!!

Squinty-eyed in the sun. 29 weeks!

Time to wrap this entry up with a few more photos!  Here are fun ones from our time in Seattle and San Diego.  I wish I would have gotten some with the friends we saw, but it didn't cross my mind at the time.

 Diva remembering what snow is like! We put her up next to the mini snowman that Aron made :)

 The decorating committee!

 Just because. My wicked feet!

 Diva in her Christmas dress. I so wish Hanky could have been in Moscow with us too!

 Christmas morning 2013!

The family gathers. My parents cooked an amazing meal!!

Christmas 2013. 

 The soon-to-be grandparents! Love you guys!

Test post

Just seeing if I can post from my phon e, so that when the day comes, I can post things to keep you guys updated with how much cassie hates me for doing this to her.

THIRD TRIMESTER!!!

I was going to title this blog "28 weeks" but then I remembered it was a movie where Sandra Bullock's character goes to rehab...not exactly the images I want to conjure with this entry.  But we are at 28 weeks and officially in the third trimester!!  Happy New Year to us!!

So much has happened in the past 4 weeks since I last wrote!  It's too bad we haven't been better about updating this blog because someday I'll probably (most likely) forget all of the cool little daily things that have happened while being pregnant.  And who knows if this will be our one and only baby so I may never get the chance to relive them again!  First New Year's Resolution: update baby blog on a weekly basis!  There's only 12 more weeks...how hard could it be? ;-) ;-)

Time for baby and body updates!  In the past week, baby and I have had a few growing pains.  My stomach has been extra crampy and a lot of the time I feel stretched to the brink and about ready to pop.  SO HARD to believe I still have 3 more months of growing!  I hardly need to eat any food before I feel bloated, so I've had to switch over to mini meals to try to appease my never-ending hunger.  Which mainly means my diet now consists of snack food because I hate leftovers. :)  I've actually gotten sick more in the past month than I did in the whole second trimester.  I think certain foods or food combinations aren't sitting so well with my growing baby.

I've currently gained 17 pounds, which is in the recommended range for week 28.  Aron set up my treadmill so I can fit more exercise in during the last trimester.  And by fit more in...I mean, start exercising for the first time this pregnancy.  Ha!  I have been doing some walking...like around work, the mall, and our backyard. :)  A friend loaned me some prenatal yoga DVDs as well so hopefully I'll be toned and limber by the time baby boy gets here!  I do want to stretch A LOT because the last thing I need while giving birth is a leg cramp. :)

Baby has been SUPER kicky and mobile over this past week and he's gotten the hiccups twice!  Or what I think are the hiccups.  It's regular, rhythmic movements that last for a few minutes.  Both times it's been while lying in bed getting ready to sleep so Aron's been able to feel them with me.  So neat!!  I always like feeling the random movements but feeling something so regular was a new experience.  The first time was the night of Christmas Day...Merry Christmas milestone!  Last night Aron and I were pushing baby around in my belly and watching him roll/move from side to side.  In one of my baby books it was telling us how to identify certain body parts by how they feel or how they "bounce back" when you push down on my belly.  He was so responsive and it was fun laughing over whether or not we felt a foot or just the tiny baby head.  He's still only just over 2 pounds so it's hard to tell at this point.

These days I feel like I'm both more focused and detail-oriented on everything and extremely spacy.  I have moments of motivation to get stuff done and then at other times I can sit around for hours just watching TV.  I don't think the "nesting" feeling has quite set in yet.  And I've become worse about things like drinking enough water and taking my prenatal vitamins.  It's like my brain thinks "hey, third trimester! you're in the clear!"  But I'm determined to get back on track.  This Friday is my glucose screening test.  I hope everything goes ok!  If I don't pass the two-hour test, I'll go back for the 3 (or is it 4?) hour test.  I'm really hoping I don't get the bad news that I have gestational diabetes.  There haven't been any red flags from my first blood test or urine samples, but that doesn't mean I'm passing this one.  It takes a lot of people by surprise.  Fortunately for me (and unfortunately for her!), a friend had gestational diabetes so if I do end up with it at least I'll be able to get some good tips.  And it's only 12 more weeks!

Ok...time for some preggo pictures!  I'll post just a few from the Christmas parties we went to a few weeks ago, because I want to do a separate entry for all the fun we had in the NW over the holidays, complete with photos from our first baby shower and Christmas with my family.

Here's me at 24 weeks before my work Christmas party.  Thanks, Michaela, for the dress!  And there's Aron and I at the party.  My husband (baby daddy!) is so handsome!!!

Here's one at 25 weeks.  Most of the time I hate that Aron takes random candid shots but sometimes he gets some great ones!  Assuming I have time to look up and smile. :)

Here's another at 25 weeks, right after Aron's work Christmas dinner.  Yes, I wore the same jewelry to both parties.  Perks of not seeing that same people!  And equally awesome, that necklace was on sale for A DOLLAR at Charlotte Russe!  I love a sweet sale.

That's all for this New Years entry!  Time for me to get out of my PJs and make an attempt at being productive today.  I hope everyone's 2014 gets off to a great start!!!

Week 23 (photo catch up!)

I can't believe it's already week TWENTY THREE!  Less than 4 months to go!  Our due date feels so close now.  I know time will continue to fly this next month with the holidays and the trips we have planned.  We're off to Vegas for Thanksgiving to see Aron's family and off to Seattle to see friends and then Moscow to see my family for Christmas.  The Christmas trip will most likely be our last big trip before the baby is born.  We may do a babymoon in January, but we'll probably stay close to home...a Bed & Breakfast in Julian or a fun weekend in LA.  We'll see how energetic I feel at that point.  So far everything is going along great so we've been cleared to travel/fly right up until the end of February.  Knock on wood that nothing changes and everything continues to progress perfectly.

The best thing to happen in the pregnancy the past few weeks is the start of little baby Lum's belly acrobatics!!  I feel him kicking all the time now and it's still thrilling me each time!  He usually gives me a nudge or two hello right when I wake up, and then he's quiet until after lunch, when he starts his afternoon exercises.  Then there will be another lull, and he's really active in the evening and after dinner.  This is the window when Aron's been able to feel him kick quite a few times.  Which is soooo cool!  I love watching Aron's reaction and seeing the surprised and amazed look on his face when he feels the baby.  Because the pregnancy is going so smoothly right now, there are times when I forget I'm pregnant and I'll feel baby boy kick and be momentarily surprised.  As I type this baby just kicked (or punched, or elbowed) me twice!  I think he can feel my happiness.

A not so fun part of the pregnancy the past few weeks is the heartburn.  I only get it at night, usually right before bed.  It's like my body knows I'm winding down and wants to give me a little kick in the chest to top off the day.  I've taken Tums a few times, but mostly it hasn't been too awful and I've been able to ride it out.  Some nights I fall asleep propped up a bit but that's about as inconvenient as it's been.  More inconvenient to my sleeping is the body pillow I'm sleeping with.  I've been a back sleeper for as long as I can remember and having to sleep on my left side now has been horrible.  I got one of the big u-shaped pillows to keep me wedged in on my side but I still fight my way out of it most nights and end up on my back.  I've never been a restless sleeper so waking up 2-3 times a night is annoying.  Oh well, I'm sure soon enough baby will be keeping me up or I'll have to pee all the time and it'll be the norm to wake up that many times anyways.

Aron and I have been really bad about taking pictures with all of the exciting things that have been going on the past few weeks, but we did manage to snap a few shots.  This is our Week 17 produce picture...the last one we took!  And it's kind of blurry; I blame the mint green walls in the background (yes, this is the color of some of the walls in our new house!).  The camera has no idea what's in the background and can never focus...and this color is impossible to match, decor-wise.  Believe me, I've been trying!

Week 17 and baby is the size of an onion!  A lot of the websites say turnip, but I was not buying a turnip just for the sake of photos.  I found one site that said onion, and an onion we will always eat.  Spanish tortilla, baby!!

Here's my Week 18 belly photo:

And here's the Week 21 belly photo...where I am QUITE a bit bigger!  

Holy cats, my belly looks BIG!  I'd say it's officially "popped."  It also might have something to do with the jump in weight gain this past week.  I finally managed to put on a few more pounds, putting my total weight gain at 9 pounds now.  I can tell some of this weight is going to my arms and face though...argh. :)  Time to start the push-ups!  Side benefit - stronger arms to haul around baby boy!  Overall I'm pleased to be up 9 pounds.  In the next 17 weeks I hope to gain 11 more pounds, 6-7ish of which better be all baby!!  According to the books, little baby Lum is only just over 1 pound now.  But already a foot long!  It's amazing that I can already feel something so tiny moving around inside me.  I can't wait for baby boy to put on more pounds so I can really see his baby kicks and punches.

Aron and I went to a gala for my work last week and luckily I still had one dress from party season last year that fit me and my new belly.  Courtesy of my friend Michaela, who gave me awesome maternity clothes, now I have a few more options to wear to the two other holiday parties we have on our calendars this year.  So I don't have to rock this same dress all December. :)  I do love this dress though, even sans the cute belt that normally goes with it!

In case I don't get around to adding a few more updates this week, I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!!

We're halfway there!!

And boy (oh boy!!!!) do we have a lot to catch up on!  Ok, so now we're technically at 22 weeks and past the halfway mark.  I've been very slow to update the blog with all the exciting things happening the past few weeks so this is the first entry of 3 or 4 that need to happen.

First up, because I know everyone's curious, I'll tell you about our anatomy scan and our big gender reveal dinner.  We don't have our printer/scanner unpacked so no ultrasound pictures up here yet (and I've been too lazy to take them to work and scan them :); I'll post them later.  For now, I'll just try and explain how UNBELIEVABLY awesome it was to see our baby on TV!!  The scan took about 45 minutes and we watched the whole thing except for when our tech got to the sex-revealing part.  We looked away and it seriously took some willpower not to have her just tell us.  And we only had to wait until dinner!  I can't imagine how some people go the whole pregnancy without knowing.  The rest of the ultrasound was so neat, getting to see baby's heart beating and pumping, see the brain, the lungs, and every little bitty limb wiggle around.  Baby was super active during the ultrasound, starting out by laying down flat in my belly, then curling up into a cute little ball and then turning head-down, facing my spine.  I was in awe watching this little person come to life and then settle back down.  Aron and I held hands throughout the whole scan and just like our first ultrasound, the whole appointment felt perfect and right.  The way I felt when Aron and I were looking at our baby onscreen is possibly the happiest I've ever been.  I can only imagine what it will feel like when we're looking down at our actual baby.  On the medical side of things, our baby checked out perfectly!  No red flags, no issues to be on the alert for.  Everything looked so great that we didn't even talk to a doctor the day of the scan.  When we had our appointment with our OB last week she confirmed that everything looked awesome and baby is healthy and happy!

After the scan, Aron and I went to our jobs, where I only halfheartedly completed my urgent tasks because I was so anxious to know what we were having!  I ended up getting to leave early to go meet the cable guy at our new house.  Which was a waste of time, because the cable guy ended up not being able to show.  Aron came home and we waited around for an extra hour past the specified time-frame before finally getting a call that he was hung up at the appointment before us.  ARGH!  All the waiting and extra anxiousness for nothing!  After rescheduling for the next day, off we went on our dinner adventure!  We had originally planned to go to this place called Best Pizza and Brew, which we'd never checked out in person.  Turns out, it's a tiny little place and more of just a quick bite and drink restaurant.  Not really the vibe I was looking for to find out what we were having.  On to plan B - Pizza Hut!  Which turned out to be the most awesome choice ever because they so enthusiastically embraced our plan!  So this pizza hut is a good old fashioned eat-in Pizza Hut.  Which I haven't seen since Moscow!  That fact alone already made the dinner special, because I had nostalgia and the memory of many family pizza dinners on my mind.  When the waitress got to our table, we explained our plan that we wanted the cook to put a "B" or a "G" on the pizza, depending on what was in the sealed envelope we were about to hand her.  She was on board and so were the cooks!  The 10 minutes it took to make our pizza were the longest ever!!  Finally...it was here!  Our waitress volunteered to snap some shots and she got some great ones!  I'll let the pictures do the talking for the next little bit.

Me: Oh! Um, what is it?

Aron: Ohhhhhhhhh!!!!

Me: I still can't read it! I'm blind! I never learned my letters!

Aron: It's a BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB!!!!

Me: Oh! A boy! A boy!

Aron: Yeahhhhhhh a boy! A boy!

Me:  Oh...a...boy. Huh. Well. What the hell am I going to do with a boy?!

Aron:  I'm way happier than you right now, huh? :)

Our "B" pizza!












Me and the B

Aron and the B














After dinner, the Pizza Hut crew brought out a surprise "boy" dessert! This totally made me cry because it was so thoughtful and sweet.

And then Aron got a little too creative with the baby boy news.  If there's been any question about whether our child will play with his food...yes, yes he will.

When we got home, the pets were eager to find out what the sex was!

 

Mom! Mom! What is it?! What is it?!

      WHAT?! Another BOY?! It's already 3 against one! NOT FAIR.

A what? Is that a food?

Ooh let me see, let me see...what?! He better like dress up.

I won't tell you what I think until you get this balloon off me. 

Finding out the sex of the baby was definitely the highlight of week 18.  I was so nervous before the ultrasound that we wouldn't be able to find out because baby would be crossing it's legs or something and it was such a relief to KNOW.  I was a little ambivalent about the baby being a boy at first...I just couldn't absorb what that meant.  Aron was very excited though and that rubbed off on me and all the congrats and well wishes we got made me really pretty happy that we were having a boy first.  We got a few adorable baby boy outfits over the next few weeks which made the whole pregnancy seem so much more real.  Not only was there a tiny baby in my belly, there was a tiny baby boy who would one day soon fit into these very cute baby outfits.  To repeat our blog title...holy crap!!

A lot more has happened in the past few weeks (the house! engagements! meeting new babies! my belly popped! visits with friends!) but those stories will have to wait for the next few blog posts.  

The week of my favorite number! 17!

I started this blog entry yesterday but never got around to publishing.  Now that's its Tuesday, I'll fill you in on the baby appointment we had today!  It went very well.  We finally met the OB we chose, Dr. Erin Gross.  We liked her a lot!  She seemed very calm, didn't act rushed at all, and actually seemed to care about the things I was telling her.  All good signs for the rest of our appointments.  Baby is doing well by all appearances/sounds.  My uterus is in the right place, just starting to raise up towards my belly button and baby's heartbeat was a strong 160.  What a rush it still is to hear that quick swishing sound!  It made me all the more excited for our anatomy scan next week.  Eeee!  I weighed in at 164 again this appointment which reinforces my thought that my weight at the last appointment wasn't correct (because I know I've actually gained a few pounds this time).  But whatever, as long as I'm tracking it on my own I feel pretty good about it.  I would like to avoid becoming a total blimp during this pregnancy!

Here's the entry I wrote yesterday.  Keep on scrolling for the pictures!  :)

Written Monday, October 14:

Week 17, friends!!  And what an exciting week it is!  The next 9 days are going to be awesome.  Tomorrow we have our baby check-up, on Friday we get the keys to our new house, next Monday the movers come, and next Tuesday is our anatomy scan!!  For some reason, I'm nervous for tomorrow's appointment but just plain excited for next Tuesday, which makes no sense.  I should be nervous for both at this point!  Only nervous because the past week has again been a totally chill one, filled with lots of activities and going out.  This can't be normal!!  Haha.  I can't wait to hear baby's heartbeat tomorrow to be reassured that we made it safe and sound through another month.  It's hard to believe it's been 4 weeks since our last appointment and 8 weeks since our first ultrasound.  On days like today I feel like the time has flown by.

This past weekend I got to hang out with THREE of my pregnant friends!  One of whom is due this Saturday!  After we ate out, we went back to her place so she could show me her nursery.  It's ADORABLE and really made me hope for a girl!  Of course a boy's nursery could be adorable as well, but girls have the edge there I think.  Hers was done in white furniture with purple and butterfly accents.  So pretty.  I think we're leaning towards darker furniture, but we aren't too particular which is good because we're getting a lot of items loaned to us!  I can tie anything together with cute bedding and decor. :)  My weekend was also filled with baby shower bliss and gave me lots of good ideas for either my shower if I get to help or for the first shower I host for one of my friends.

Speaking of gender things, I've been doing some gender predictions online!  The gender prediction quiz on parents.com says we're having a girl.  The chinese predictor says we're also having a girl.  The quiz on babymed.com says girl.  Should I stop while I'm 3 for 3 and keep hoping for a girl?  No, it's too fun!  The quiz on childbirth.org says girl!  Common themes that point to a girl so far are spreading horizontally instead of more in front, craving sweets, feet feeling warmer than usual, no nose change, baby's heart beat is over 140, my skin has gotten worse, I'm not extra hairy, and my urine is brightly colored even when hydrated (tmi?).  There are a few "boy" signs though, like craving cheese and the old wives tale about the husband/partner gaining weight along with the woman (sorry, babe!).  And I feel like I'll carry my baby low, but I can't really tell yet.

We're still behind in posting photos, so here's week 16.  Baby is the size of an avocado!  I tried to find an avocado bigger than the apple from last week.  Doing these produce pictures really brings home the fact that there is a HUMAN this actual size inside my belly (or fairly close to this size).  Some days I just have to say "seriously?! I'm making a PERSON?!"  It continues to amaze me.

The cats are in box heaven while we get ready for the move! They'll be so sad when they no longer have entire obstacle courses in the living room.

The puppies were just plain uncooperative for their avocado baby pictures!  Neither would sit still; Diva had to be perched on the cat tower, where she immediately freezes because she's afraid of heights.  And then we accidentally forgot about her up there for about 5 minutes.  My god, how are we going to be parents?! 

My pets are the cutest pets!  The baby is gonna have to be super cute to compete with all this going on!

I forgot to post this pic a few weeks ago.  My sister got us this adorable frame for our ultrasound picture!!  That's Little Baby Lum in the frame!  I just packed up all of our frames so baby had to go away for a week.  The nice thing about procrastinating most of our packing until this past weekend is only having to go one week without our things.  Well, depending on how long it takes us to unpack at the new place.  Only a few more days until big house, tons of storage, real garage, fenced-in yard bliss!!

More week 16 fun!

I've had a thought in my head all day that I've wanted to get down in the blog, and as soon as I opened the new entry, the thought flew away!  Can I blame baby brain yet?  :)  Since I can't remember what I wanted to write about, I'll just post some pictures!  These are from last week, when baby was the size of an apple.  Once again, when I'm pregnant, everyone's pregnant!

 

Rory and Hank! I don't know how long they're going to put up with these fruit shenanagins but they're both pretty darn cute!

Stripes and Diva!  Our big kitty and little puppy.  Stripes has the funniest face!  It's cracking me up how tiny Diva is behind the apple.

I like to think my skin looks better and my hair is bouncier in this photo!  Something is definitely happening with my hair.  It's almost becoming coarser, which I think is giving it some volume.  Can't complain about that!  But it's also frizzier, so I've been experimenting with different types of hair products (all of which I've always had because I'm a beauty product junkie!).  The skin part has been a bit of a battle.  For the first 6 weeks (basically the entire first trimester) after finding out I was pregnant I stayed away from all of my acne products except benzoyl peroxide, which was the only one on my doctor's "approved" list of topical creams.  After staying consistent with that and my TimeWise moisturizer, my face skin cleared up quite nicely.  However, my chest and back have been another story.  I've always struggled with body acne and in my mid-20's I finally discovered the perfect balance of products that kept my skin clear.  One of these things was salicylic acid toner.  I cut it out of my regimen per my orders, and my skin freaked out.  It has stayed freaked out ever since so last week I finally caved and started using the toner again.  10 days later, already better!  I did a bunch of reading and while there's definitely some controversy, a lot of sites deem it safe for topical use once or twice a day.  I'm only using it once a day, and fairly sparingly...so hang in there, baby!!  Once I get all cleared up I'll go off it again and wait until my skin freaks out the second time around.  I also have a call in to my derm to see about getting my prescription for clindamycin renewed.  This is safe for pregnancy use, although I'm not entirely sure it'll work this time around since I'm sure the problems are more hormonal/internal rather than bacterial/external.  Worth a shot though!

Ok, long paragraph about my skin!  But everyone knows how much I love to talk about skin and skin problems and skin solutions.  There's a reason I became a Mary Kay consultant!

These are my week 16 clothed-belly photos.  I'm slightly angled forward because let's be honest, my belly isn't ALL baby.  Ha!  I've had a little bit of the preggo bump going for the past year. :-p  But I do think the lower part is starting to protrude a teensy bit more and my belly is starting to feel a lot harder.  Which is very bizarre!  Less flab and more solid stretch I guess.  I can't wait for it to really start taking shape in the next few weeks.  Then I can break out the maternity tops that have been loaned to me!

Here I am in the same tank top as the first pictures I took .  I think it'll be fun to keep this one going the whole time.  This is a tank top from Target and they're super soft and stretchy, so I'm sure it'll be around the whole 9 months.

Same day as above (10/9), I wore this sweater dress to work.  Because it was raining and finally felt like fall!  Today it's back in the 70's and sunny. Pfft.  Anyways, it's very nice to be pregnant and not have to suck in when wearing form-fitting outfits.  In this outfit I got a few comments like "aww you're starting to show!" which I enthusiastically agreed to.  Today I'm back to a flowy printed top, which is very high in the comfy ratings like this dress was.  I'm gonna be all about comfort!  BUT I've promised myself I will be in heels until at least December, unless my balance issues/clumsiness really get a hold of me.  I managed heels 4 out of 5 work days last week, but I'm only 2 for 4 so far this week.  Tomorrow I'm planning to wear heeled boots with my Friday casual outfit.  I love Fridays!!!