16 Weeks

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: possibly 3 pounds gained (+/-)

Maternity clothes? I received some BEAUTIFUL tops from my mother-in-law that I just love so I've been wearing those. Along with my awesome Belly-band. Still haven't worn any pants although I am wearing my "lounge" pants a lot more often around the house...(elastic waist)..
Sleep: Has been decent this past week. I feel refreshed.
Best moment this week: definitely feeling slight movements!!

Cravings: oh where should I even start? Ok, so I haven't had Arby's in at least 5 years and I've had their Jr. Roast Beef sandwich probably 5 different times in the past few weeks. I also can't get enough of the big fat burritos from Moe's or Qdoba. One day last week Matt brought home Moe's and I had the huge burrito stuffed with everything in it and Matt pulled out his order which looked like a little weiner dog wrap compared to mine. Very funny.
Gender: this week leaning towards a girl since this pregnancy has been a lot like carrying Kathryn
Belly Button: it's out!
What I miss: sweet tea daily - go figure.

What I am looking forward to: finding out the sex!! and my dr's appointment this Thursday.We should find the sex out during the week of April 12th...

Big Girl Bed

Kathryn put some of her dolls in her bed and said they were going "night-night". Then she turned her music on, shut the lights off and shut the door and a few seconds later came in to check on them. Here's Kathryn getting ready for bed with all her dolls lined up (would she have it any other way?):

 

Climbing out of cribs continued...

I said awhile ago I was baffled by people who were able to update their blog daily. Well, I'm on a hot streak as this is my THIRD post in three days. I'm feeling wild and out of control! Ha. Hope you're wearing your seat belt.

I wanted to update you on the 'climbing out of cribs' saga we've been dealing with. I say that like it's been an issue for months but it's actually just been a few nights. Interrupting my sleep equates to a few months in my book but at least you know the truth. Last night was basically a repeat of my previous post, however Kathryn slept in her "big girl bed" for the first time!! In a way, it's a major victory but truth be told, I think a dose of it was because she was just flat out tired and didn't have the energy or strength to climb back into her crib. She didn't actually fall asleep until almost 11pm -- and she was put to bed around 7:30pm. At one point when I went to check on her, this is what she had created:

Yes, there is a wipe in front of each doll and they each have their own diaper. And yes, she is wearing her Easter shoes. No worries on your end. I know you're dying to know how everything turns out so I will keep you posted.

On to another subject matter, I now have a new thing to add to Erin's Things of Hate in this world. To refresh your memory, this is fairly short to start with:

1. The Post Office
2. "Answering Services" at Dr's offices
3. The Post Office
4. Changing sheets on cribs OR toddler beds* (*This is the new one)

That's all I have for today. Enjoy your Sunday!!

Last night...& Easter Egg Hunt

I'll start with the bad and end with the good for this post. Last night was DIFFICULT to say the least. Now that Kathryn can climb out of her crib and there are no chains that I could legally purchase and use without child services putting me behind bars, it's hard keeping her in bed now. Her bedtime is around 7pm and last night she climbed out of bed at least 10 times before 9:45pm. Each time she was disciplined, we spoke about it and a few of those times prayed together yet she still continued to disobey. TWO of those times she climbed out to turn the light on and was sitting on the floor reading her little bible. I mean, what can you do!? She finally fell asleep around 10am, woke up and came into our room around 3am -- just long enough for me to wake up, carry her back to bed and then she fell asleep again but it definitely woke me up enough to not be able to fall back asleep easily -- AND I'm A SLEEP PERSON. THEN, she was bright-eyed and bushy tailed at 6:10am this morning. What a night. I've been re-strategizing for this evening. New battle, new approach. It's all good.

This morning on the other hand, was wonderful. Matt is still taking his Saturday class every other weekend so it was just us girls this morning. Our neighborhood had a Easter Egg Hunt and bouncy castle so Kathryn and I went to that together. This was her first Easter Egg Hunt and she caught on very quickly the idea of the "hunt". She was so cute. After we got home and she was going through her eggs with candy, every time she came across a mini-snickers or milky-way, she'd hand it to me and say, "Mama's..." or "Dada's...". Apparently all other candy types were hers. It was really sweet to see. Enjoy the pictures!

29 Years

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday! Yesterday was wonderful. Kathryn and I had yummy muffins for breakfast together. Matt got me an AWESOME camera!! I'm so excited to learn how to use it properly :) I also got some BEAUTIFUL tops from Matt's parents that I just love and several sweet cards from friends. After breakfast, we packed a picnic and met my dear friend Melissa and her daughter Payton at the coolest park EVER and let the girls play and run around and enjoy our little picnic together. Afterwards, while Kathryn was napping, I made an oreo and fudge ice cream cake! How can you go wrong with any of those ingredients?? It was delicious!! Matt picked us up dinner - my current favorite craving of the week! And the evening was wrapped up with a few girls from my small group coming over for some excellent discussion, fellowship and chowing down on the best Oreo and Fudge Ice Cream Cake ever! Could a girl ask for more!? Here are a few cute pictures of the girls at the park earlier today:

Climbing out of cribs...

Storytime... Yesterday, as I was putting Kathryn down for a nap, she climbed "into" her crib and then showed me she apparently also knows how to climb "out" of her crib. This was the first time I had seen either attempt. Today, when I was laying her down for a nap, I didn't want to say anything to her about climbing out because I didn't want to draw attention to it and remind her of yesterday if possibly she had no intentions in the first place of climbing out today! I laid her down. Shut her door and started doing a little work in the room next door. Approximately .004 seconds later, she was opening my door and saying, "Mama? Mama?" looking for me. Not only can she climb out of her crib, she's fast and she's SILENT! She may be the next ninja in the making. So I picked her up, put her back in the crib and had a little "come to Jesus" talk with her if she ever climbed out of the crib again. I was very clear what the consequences would be and very firm. She's in her cute little pig tails again today and as always, just as cute as cute can be so while I'm talking to her, I just can't help but think how precious she is! (Even though of course I'm basically threatening her with her life if she climbs out again..) So she acknowledges that she understands and I lay her down again. I shut the door and go back into the other room to work. Half an hour goes by and by this point I am PUMPED. Just when a little pride starts to settle over my body, I hear Kathryn in the hallway, "Mama? Mama?" and I open the door so she sees me and I can give her my, "You didn't listen to me" face before I discipline her. And she goes, "Kathryn went pooh-pooh in crib, Mama". Sure enough, she was right. So............I actually chuckled a little because I probably should have clarified: "Do not get out of the crib UNLESS you have to go pooh-pooh!" Oh the things you learn!

15 Weeks

How far along? 15 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: possibly 2 pounds gained

Maternity clothes? still refusing to wear them but I now have to wear my new handy-dandy belly band which I LOVE. what a great invention!!
Sleep: HARD to fall asleep. Not a fan of only being able to sleep on my side
Best moment this week: feeling very, very, very slight flutterings! bragging to Matt about how awesome my belly band is and he said he wanted one for himself! also, my belly "popped" this week so it is so exciting having a little pooch now!

Cravings: smoothies, sweet tea (that will probably never change), mexican!
Gender: absolutely no idea
Belly Button: it's out!
What I miss: sweet tea daily, sleeping on my stomach

What I am looking forward to: finding out the sex
Weekly Wisdom: Purchase multiple belly bands in different colors to go with more clothes!

Pigtails

A special little girl of mine happens to look ADORABLE in pigtails!! I put her hair up like this for the first time today. Not only did I love them, she loved them too! She kept shaking her head back and forth so her hair would touch her face. Way too cute!

The picture below, she insisted on her baby doll being in the picture as well.

Saying "CHHHHEEEEEESSSSEEE"

This picture is from this morning. After breakfast, she and I put about 20 stickers on each other. She was introduced to "Winnie the Pooh" today with one of the stickers. She looked at me funny when I said "Pooh" and started giggling. She is definitely Matt's girl!

Lollipops, Friends and Thank You Lord!

What a great week! Today we were driving in the car and Kathryn randomly yells out "Thank You LORD!" It was one of the sweetest things I've ever heard in my life. I usually say that to her during the day or while we're driving - or of course if we were able to get our favorite Chic-fil-a breakfast (#2 three-count with a sweet tea), or if it's a beautiful day, or if we finally got rain we've been needing... But today, I'm pretty sure she said it because it is ABSOLUTELY beautiful outside! Spring is "officially" tomorrow but today we had warm weather, a beautiful blue sky and lots of green around us. I told Kathryn she was exactly right! It was such a sweet moment.

Yesterday we got to meet up with some of our dear friends for a few hours. The picture below is of Kathryn and her sweet friend Payton. They have such a blast together! (Obviously you can tell from the picture!)

And lastly...I saw from another friend's blog (CJ) ...the power of a lollipop... (ahem!) Needless to say, I bought a bag full of THREE HUNDRED LOLLIPOPS. Don't worry, they're all not for Kathryn and that was the smallest amount they sold! We'll be passing most of them out to the neighbors and any strangers we can think to get rid of most of them but nonetheless, they are certainly a powerful tool. I had to lay the ground rules down with Matt and Kathryn. This is a MAJOR treat so hand diligently.

14 Weeks

My friend Mary started this with her second pregnancy and I thought it was such a fun way to track the progress of the pregnancy! This should hopefully keep me a bit more accountable to at least posting weekly. Although, I am really trying to get into a routine of posting more regularly. I actually could easily type a few Kathryn stories daily if I took the time to. Ok, ok, I convinced myself. Here's one from today:
Mama: (I sneezed)
Kathryn: Bless shu Mama, Bless shu (she thinks you're supposed to say Bless You twice)
Mama: Thank you Kathryn!
Kathryn: Mama coughed
Mama: No, mama sneezed.
Kathryn: Oh mama sneezed.
Mama: Yep. Kathryn, you're such a smart girl!
Kathryn: Thank you Mama! (all proud like)

How far along? 14 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: probably the same (+/- 1 pound)

Maternity clothes? nope, still working my favorite jeans for as long as possible
Sleep: HARD to fall asleep. Not a fan of sleeping on my side
Best moment this week: Asking Kathryn if we're having a baby boy or baby girl. Her proud response, "a giiirrl"

Cravings: fruit, sweet tea!!
Gender: absolutely no idea. very very slight feeling of being a boy
Belly Button: still in and normal
What I miss: sweet tea daily

What I am looking forward to: finding out the sex
Weekly Wisdom: Lord if I had any... Stayed tuned in for next week ;)

Milestones: made it through 1st trimester with no morning sickness!!

Happy Update!!!

First things first, we heard the heartbeat and our sweet baby is alive and well!!!! Praise the Lord. Thank you so much for your prayers. I hope I never forget the feelings I had that day. It's so hard for me to explain but a big part of me was prepared for the sadness that I believed was coming and all the while, I knew and could feel God just carrying us and loving on us through everyone. On top of that, I had an unexplainable peace that whatever was to happen, we were going to be okay. I was definitely anxious to know the truth but not a panic, worrisome anxiousness.

I am sorry for not posting earlier than now to update. The past 12 days have been a whirlwind to me and I've just been counting down to today for a breather. I'm so glad it's finally here!

Somehow, and I still don't understand it, but Kathryn gets cuter and cuter by the day. She's learned to play Simon Says and pretty much rocks at it. She's speaking so much now - sentences - so we carry on all day long. It's probably a fair bet that she says, "mama" about 3,742 times a day. "Mama, whatcha doin', huuhh?", "There's a bird, mama", "Birds talking, mama", "What's Cooper doin', mama?", "Kathryn go potty, mama", "Whatcha doin' mama, huuhhh?" - I meant to put that in there twice. She says that throughout the day. What else can you do but smile when you hear your name!? Oh what a sweet little girl.

God is so good.