23 Weeks

How far along? 23 Weeks, 1 day

Total weight gain/loss: 13 pounds gained +/-

Maternity clothes? yep. p.s. i hate shopping for maternity clothes.

Sleep: hard to fall asleep. wish i could sleep on my belly again!
Movement: he's a kicker in the afternoon..

Best moment this week: since we found out we're having a boy, one of Kathryn's dolls mysteriously turned into a "boy" doll and she keeps telling me, "he's okay, he's okay." and "baby boy is hungry." another great moment, buying our new crib!!
Cravings: still want hot boiled peanuts (4 more days..) Other than that...fruit, honey wheat bagels with peanut butter and honey. oh, and cheerios

Belly Button: it's out! (hmm.. lets just plan on this section not changing for about 4 more months!)

What I miss: sweet tea daily - go figure. And turkey sandwiches (COLD). Yum. That sounds so good right now. I am not changing this section either.

What I am looking forward to: Kathryn being the coolest big sister EVER. Buying new bedding! Buying boy clothes! Arranging the rooms! Deciding on a name!!!

22 Weeks

How far along? 22 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 12 pounds gained

Maternity clothes? yep, getting bigger by the minute so now a necessity

Sleep: Can't complain, thank God!
Movement: he's practicing being a ninja. pretty sure he's going to be awesome.

Best moment this week: a new lady who was watching Kathryn at church in nursery said to me when I picked Kathryn up, "you must be having a boy. Kathryn kept saying 'mama have a baby BOY." too cute!
Cravings: Seriously. Ok, so I am dying for hot boiled peanuts and in approximately 12 days when I get to GA, my craving will finally be satisfied. Other than that...fruit, honey wheat bagels with peanut butter and honey - YUMMY, ice cream, cheese.. Last night after dinner I ate some chips and guacamole, 2 girl scout cookies, and an orange. For real.

Belly Button: it's out! (hmm.. lets just plan on this section not changing for about 4 more months!)

What I miss: sweet tea daily - go figure. And turkey sandwiches (COLD). Yum. That sounds so good right now. I am not changing this section.

What I am looking forward to: Kathryn being the coolest big sister EVER. Buying new bedding! Buying boy clothes! Arranging the rooms!

Today's a very special day. May 11, 2010. Exactly ten years ago today, I met Matt in the Chicago airport when I met up with the group of students from UNI to fly over to Poland for the summer study abroad program. I was "the girl from Georgia" and he was the hot guy with blue eyes wearing a baseball hat. Ten years later: four years of dating, an MBA, a move to NC, many vacations and travels, a beautiful wedding, an amazing daughter, a boy-on-the-way, five-years-and-counting of marriage, ups, downs, laughs, tears, many many memories and by the grace of God, we can celebrate this day.

21 Weeks

How far along? 21 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 10 pounds +/-1 (likely +)!!

Maternity clothes? yep but have to say I was a little bummed today when I went to purchase some cute maternity outfits and they still didn't fit right..

Sleep: Can't complain
Movement: Still not a ton of movement throughout the day, sometimes later in the afternoon/early evening he starts to play

Best moment this week: Kathryn saw her bouncy seat that we used to use for her and she said, "for baby brother!"
Cravings: Food. I just like food in general so what's new? (that about sums it up still..) And Cheerios. My friend Melissa mentioned a few weeks ago about having a bowl of Cheerios and I've been hooked ever since. We've literally gone through 4-5 of the HUGE boxes in the past 2.5 weeks!

Belly Button: it's out!

What I miss: sweet tea daily - go figure. And turkey sandwiches (COLD). Yum. That sounds so good right now. I am not changing this section. It is all still true and will probably be listed weekly until our little man is born. I'm adding a cold beer back to this section for now. Sometimes, it'd just be nice to have a cold one.

What I am looking forward to: Kathryn being the coolest big sister EVER. Buying new bedding! Buying boy clothes! Arranging the rooms!

Milestone: Made it to the halfway point!!! ...and then some!

So. Want to hear a few things on my mind lately...? Lets just say, when you're pregnant...

• One minute you can have all the energy in the world and the next second, be completely wiped.
• One minute you can be over the moon with excitement and joy and all good things and the next, someone can walk across your path and just infuriate you. 
• One minute you can be comfortable and the next, remind yourself you actually did NOT walk into an invisible sauna. 
• One minute you know exactly what you're about to do and the next, wonder with curiosity why you're holding the iron in your hand and standing over an ironing board. 
• One minute you'll get up for ice cream and the next, come back with dill pickles and cheese slices (happened to me last night).. 
• One minute you'll think you made a breakthrough with a friend and the next, realize 'nope, it's still all about them." 
• One minute you'll think, 'ok, how am I really going to handle this God?' and the next, be overcome with total peace. 
• One minute you can be in the middle of a conversation with your husband and the next, ask him, 'so what we were just talking about?'
• One minute you can be having a nice enjoyable evening outside with your family watching your little girl cruise on her scooter, and the next, realize you're a pregnant girl looking like a mad woman trekking it down the street trying to "catch" the older lady who lets her dog crap in other people's yards without picking it up. (happened about 45 minutes ago...)

So if one or any of the following apply to you while you're pregnant, you're not alone!

God is so GOOD

It is AMAZING to see the people God puts into your life at just the right moments. This past week when different ladies found out I was having a boy, I received several responses along the lines like, "your world is going to turn upside down with a boy" or "don't plan on having a break for the first 2 years" or "you are going to have your hands full with a boy!", and so-on, and so-on. I was floored. It was somewhat discouraging because they all seemed to have a negative spin on them. I get that boys and girls are different but come on, a baby is a baby and a two year old is a two year old and they're all BLESSINGS. I remember being pregnant with Kathryn and people trying to "prep" me for having a newborn and all the difficulties of it. I promised myself then that after Kathryn was born, if any new mom's asked for my opinion, I was going to tell them all the joy and excitement they were in for. So many women are fearful enough by themselves of the unknown, why exasperate it with a third party opinion? On top of that, the reality is it is definitely a change to life but not something to be scared or worried or fearful of. Needless to say, after hearing several of the comments this week, I wasn't exactly discouraged (because I know we are in for tons of joy and excitement whether we were having a boy or a girl) but I was struggling a little wrapping my head around it all and sad that that was how some of these mom's described their boys as just being difficult. 

Today, less than 24 hours later and still at the forefront of my brain, Kathryn and I went to Barnes and Noble - one of our favorite places to visit. I love it for the atmosphere, unlimited access to books and their delicious drinks and of course, she loves it for the "choo-choo train". It's the best of both worlds. While Kathryn was playing with the train station, wouldn't you know it...a lady came with an older daughter (4 and half years old) and a younger son (2 years old) and sat down right beside us. We were chatting within five minutes and we ended up talking for AT LEAST half an hour if not longer! It was such a fun time!!! We totally hit it off and it was such a comfort to have someone who was basically in my shoes, just a few years ahead of me. On top of that, she was thrilled to hear we were having a boy and went on and on about how fun both genders were. I was just tickled to hear that from her after all I had heard this week and then realized the perfect timing of it all. I know she didn't come across my path by accident and I'm grateful God had her on the calendar.

Visit with Grandma & Grandpa Gram

She Cracks Me Up!!!

20 Weeks

How far along? 20 Weeks and 1 day

Total weight gain/loss: 10 pounds (confirmed by the Dr today!) Whoohooo!!!

Maternity clothes? yep

Sleep: Not too bad, just miss sleeping on my belly!!
Movement: Not a ton of movement throughout the day but at least once a day, he has a great workout session with tons of punches, kicks and jumps. His quads and biceps are going to be AWESOME.

Best moment this week: Asking Kathryn what was in my belly and she said, "Mama has a budda belly!"
Cravings: Food. I just like food in general so what's new?

Belly Button: it's out!

What I miss: sweet tea daily - go figure. And turkey sandwiches (COLD). Yum. That sounds so good right now. I am not changing this section. It is all still true and will probably be listed weekly until our little man is born.

What I am looking forward to: Kathryn being the coolest big sister EVER. Buying new bedding! Buying boy clothes! Figuring out everyone's sleeping arrangements and organizing the guest room.
Milestone: Made it to the halfway point!!! 

I had a great dr. appointment today. Blood pressure, weight gain, and the baby's heartbeat were all on track. She said I was measuring 18 weeks (versus 20) but said I likely would measure smaller because I have a long torso. She also mentioned an option about having progesterone shots weekly since Kathryn was preterm so Matt and I have to decide in the next few days if we're going through with that. She said while the shots have worked in the past to prolong pregnancies, there were no guarantees whether it would work or not. And with me having a perfectly normal pregnancy with Kathryn and no signs or reason for the preterm labor, it was a toss up whether I would have the next one early without the shots or even go full term to 40 weeks. We are leaning against the shots but will research a little more tonight. We believe the following: 1.) God is in control regardless 2.) there are no guarantees 3.) why put something additional into my body when the outcome is still uncertain. Yes, we can play devil's advocate with all of the above but God is still in control of all things.

19 Weeks

How far along? 19 weeks and 5 days

Total weight gain/loss: 6 pounds gained (+/-) probably a little more..I hungry A LOT these days

Maternity clothes? some but man is it hard to find maternity pants that look decent on me!

Sleep: Not too bad, just miss sleeping on my belly!!
Movement: He is a kicking machine. He's been moving around like crazy. He especially loved hearing Beth Moore's telecast yesterday. I think he secretly wanted to meet her...

Best moment this week: Realizing that Matt and our little man can go fishing together and Kathryn and I can have girl nights together!
Cravings: You will not believe this. I actually wanted Chinese food today and I don't think I've eaten it in over a year! Matt was thrilled. Also I've been craving nuts and dried fruit..

Belly Button: it's out!

What I miss: sweet tea daily - go figure. And turkey sandwiches (COLD). Yum. That sounds so good right now. I am not changing this section. It is all still true and will probably be listed weekly until our little man is born. Maybe I would add having a cold beer every once in a while too.

What I am looking forward to: Kathryn being the coolest big sister EVER. Buying new bedding! Buying boy clothes! Figuring out everyone's sleeping arrangements and organizing the guest room.

18 Weeks

How far along? 18 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 6 pounds gained (+/-) (I'm pretty sure I gained atleast a pound yesterday with all I ate!!!)

Maternity clothes? Bought some really cute maternity shorts and two great "regular" skirts!

Sleep: Can't complain, just miss sleeping on my belly!!

Best moment this week: FINDING OUT WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!!!
Cravings: I purchased my second cantaloupe ever and sliced it up this past week to satisfy a craving. Sweets. Lots of sweets too.

Gender: Boy oh BOY! Kathryn was right! All this time when I've been asking her if I'm having a baby boy or a baby girl, I thought she was saying "Baby guuurrllll". I think about 40% of the time, she was saying that but about two weeks ago, I realized the other 60% of the time she was actually saying, "Baby Koooollle" (Baby Kole is my friends baby who Kathryn loves) which sounded to me like "Baby Girl" with a southern drawl to it. She's been saying all week the word "boy" when I've asked her and that's crystal clear to understand! How cool!!

Belly Button: it's out!

What I miss: sweet tea daily - go figure. And turkey sandwiches (COLD). Yum. That sounds so good right now.

What I am looking forward to: Buying some new bedding for our little man!!

17 Weeks

I'm sorry this is a day late! Yesterday was a busy day and I didn't log on to the blog at all. I can't believe we're already at 17 weeks!!! Time is going by just so fast!

How far along? 17 weeks and 1 day

Total weight gain/loss: 5 pounds gained (+/-)

Maternity clothes? In need of purchasing some maternity shorts. My belly band is one of the world's greatest inventions so I can still wear my regular shorts with it but I don't have as many shorts as I remember from last summer! Skirts with elastic waists are another fav - especially with our weather lately!
Sleep: Has been a lot better! Feeling great!!
Best moment this week: Feeling baby move around :)

Cravings: I purchased my first cantaloupe and sliced it up this past week to satisfy a craving. I also bought some $5 pickles in a jar from our produce man that just looked way too tempting. Who does that? And yes of course, I made a stop at Arby's for a Jr. Roast Beef sandwich...
Gender: wow, I'm at a total standstill. 50/50. I'll say boy this week because that's what Kathryn said she thought it was for the FIRST time this week!
Belly Button: it's out!
What I miss: sweet tea daily - go figure. Don't plan on that changing. Also, not being able to move things that are heavy. We're having our carpets cleaned and I couldn't help Matt move any furniture and I can't take the trash can up to the road on Trash Day. Now that I type this I am seeing how most anyone else would be like, "seriously, this girl is sad she can't take the trash out...what a freak" but I know it's something that helps Matt and I wish I could help contribute!!

What I am looking forward to: By this time next week we'll know if Kathryn's going to have a baby brother or a baby sister!!