Drake Update

I keep procrastinating because I don't have a good picture, but I want to remember the details so here it is!

I'm 28 weeks (and a day). Drake is measuring at about 30.5 weeks. Apparently, I will birth another toddler. We shall see. Good news is I only gained 4 pounds. Considering the amount of chocolate icing & popcorn I've eaten in the last 4 weeks, I'll call that a grand accomplishment.

Drake's heart rate is always steady in the 130s, which I'm hoping will be a refreshing change from my wired little girl who was always in the 160s.

He's so super low in my belly. It's a big adjustment from Ryanne who rode in my rib cage the entire pregnancy. I was talking on twitter about needing a support belt. Yes, I just said that. I always laughed & swore I'd never wear one but I fear I'm about to eat my words. Feel free to share any recommendations!

We bought the paint for his nursery, the paint for his furniture, and his crib too. His bedding has been ordered & I'm counting the days until it comes in! I'm so excited to put it together.

It's so unreal to think that 2 months from Saturday, I'll have a full term baby in my belly!! This pregnancy has certainly flown by.

This is my "view for the day" of my belly, you know because I was too lazy to get off my rear and take a picture while standing. 

Messy Mom: Car Edition

Ever feel like your car will never ever be clean no matter what effort you put into it? No? Me either. 

I swear I got so sick of the filth in my car two weeks ago that I cleaned out TWO 18 gallon tubs worth of toys, clothes, blankets, etc and took them in the house and took my car to be detailed. Two weeks later. . . you can't tell that anything was ever done. Ha!

A (not a car) phone charger, toddler sunglasses, three cups, two markers, a handful of suckers, a name badge . . . all of that is logical to have in your console, right? 

Anyone needs some goldfish crumbs? I swear that you could live for days in a pinch off the crumbs and food remnants the toddler has so generously donated to the crevices of my car. 

A sheet, a blanket, a handful of pull-ups, two coats, and a fleece hat . . . all in my front seat. Not to mention the purse, backpack, toddler backpack, and two changes of clothes in the floor board. 

I won't even go into the glorious collection of things that make their home in the back of my tahoe. I would've shared, but that involved me climbing into the back of my car to take pictures. And well, frankly, this big preggo is not climbing any where that I don't have to. 

Maybe one day when I have a nanny and a maid, I can get one of them to clean my car. In the meantime, I guess I can look at it as being prepared for the unexpected, right? ; ) 

Project 366: Week 4

Blogger is being cantankerous and won't let me put these in order, 

but you get the picture. (No pun intended) 

Random Pinning

Source: thebigmamablog.com via Leah on Pinterest

I'm in love with the neutral of this outfit, but the pop of yellow too. Oh, if only I could take Pinterest shopping with me.

Source: polyvore.com via Leah on Pinterest

Again, love the simplicity. Except those jeans look freakishly short. Or maybe that is just me.

Source: thevintagepearl.com via Leah on Pinterest

I am in love with this necklace. *Hint hint* Not that Valentine's Day is coming up or anything.

Source: bloomingbath.com via Leah on Pinterest

How cute and amazing is the baby bathtub? You just wring it out & toss it in the dryer!! I think Drake needs one.

Project 366: Week 3

I know I'm late to the game, but I thought I would jump on the project 366 train, however short lived it may be. So here's our week in pictures . . . 

Confessions

• I have no motivation to clean or organize or finish getting my house ready to house 4 people instead of 3. I'm hoping it will kick in sometime . . . maybe. 
• I cleaned out my car last week for the first time in months. There may or may not have been some life form growing in it. 
• Brushing Ryanne's teeth is my least favorite part of bedtime. 
• I just used a chi hair straightener for the first time in my life (that I remember) this past week, and it was pretty amazing. I'm kind of excited to have one in my life now. 
• There are days that I lock myself in the bathroom & pretend to shower just to get some peace. 
• I got some gray Ugg cardys for Christmas and I'm pretty sure that I've worn them at least a little while every day since then. I may be addicted. Next on my list are a pair of the slippers! 

• I need new make-up. Very badly. Any suggestions are welcome. I've worn the same stuff for years, but it's just not doing it for me anymore. 
• I can't believe that I am "adult" much less that I am about to have two kids. It just blows my mind. Does anyone else feel that way? Like what made you qualified to be a grown up? Ha!
• We played outside this afternoon with the back door open for about an hour. Why? Because it was 60+ degrees. In almost February. Insaneness! 
• I want to re-do my bedroom. Considering that I'll have a newborn in a few months, it probably won't happen though. Not to mention we haven't been in our house even two years yet. Oops. 

Nursery Inspiration

I've been planning away at a nursery, but it's just a big plan right now as we wait for the orders to pour in so I can piece together the puzzle. In the meantime, I thought I'd share a little bit of my inspiration

picture from here

I'm in love with the overall look of this nursery. Drake's room will have old barn wood, burlap/linen accents, and I think the walls are going to be cream too. 

Source: houseofturquoise.com via Leah on Pinterest

I love the scrabble letters on the wall. I think we'll do something similar, with a more rustic feel.

Source: cherryhillcottage.typepad.com via Leah on Pinterest

I'm going to get a Jenny Lind style crib like this one, and paint it as well, either aqua or red to match the room's color scheme. I haven't decided which color yet. 

Source: google.co.uk via Hannaka on Pinterest

And of course a cow hide rug kind of like this one. We're going for a modern twist on western, but certainly not cheesy cowboy. I already have several of the accents, but I've got a look out for more that I have in mind. I have a feeling my next few weeks will be filled with resale shops & flea markets, etc. 

24 Weeks, Take 2

This picture is a few days old. I totally forgot before I left this morning to take one, and by the time I got home, I just wanted to crawl in bed. So that's what I did ; ) I'll update this to a current picture tomorrow.

Drake looked excellent at the doctor!! My stomach as grown 6 cm since last appt so now it's measuring 2 cm ahead of what it should be. My blood pressure was perfect, and his sweet heart beat was between 138-150. Next month I have my glucose screening, and it's my last 4 week appointment. That is so crazy to me!! 

Baby Milestones: Baby is about 11.8 in long, and 1 lb, 7 oz. The air sacs of the lungs are forming, and hair is beginning to grow longer on his head. (That is providing that he actually has hair unlike his sister)

Weight Gain: I'm up to 6 pounds gained so far. 

Clothes: I bought my first {ever} maternity pants (I rocked the belly band when I was pregnant with Ry) and I'm in love. I might just wear them non-stop. After I give birth.

Gender: It's a boy!! Drake James!

Movement: He is quite the kicker lately. His kicks are much stronger than Ryanne's were, but less frequent.

Sleep: Sleep is pretty much typical of my non-pregnant self now. Occasionally, I need a nap. I did notice the beginnings of leg cramps the other day, so I'm sure sleep will soon start to fade.

What I miss: Remember when I said I miss raw cookie dough? I discovered egg free cookie dough via the pinterest and helped myself to a bowl full a couple nights ago. So I'm pretty much missing nothing right now. I would say caffeine, except I'm most certainly not on a caffeine hiatus like I was when pregnant with Ryanne. Forgive me, Drake, but your sister requires much energy from Momma!

Cravings: Fruit, cookie dough {see above}, and white chocolate covered pretzels. The latter may have been a side effect of Christmas and not so much one of pregnancy, however.

Symptoms: My belly is growing :)

Best Moment this week: Teaching Ryanne about Drake & watching her interact with and kiss my belly. I hope she loves him as much when he's here rocking her world as she does right now.

Bling Bling

Do you love seeing other people's wedding rings as much as I do? Or just jewelry in general? I thought I'd join in the fun and share my bling! You can read about our engagement or our marriage if you're interested.

 

This is my engagement ring. Trey can probably tell you more about it that I can. Ha! (His mom managed a jewelry store for lots of years) It's a little over a carat, and set in white gold. 

 

This is my wedding set. The total weight is close to 2 carats, but I don't remember exactly. The most important thing is what the ring stands for. I love that I can always looked down at it and know how blessed I am to have him as my husband, best friend, and the father to my kids. 

Five Halves

What in the world is our 2 1/2 year old up to?

For starters, she's towering above most kids her age at 38 inches tall and weighing in at 34 pounds. Most of her clothes are now 3T, with a few 4T things.

She loves to pray in a quiet, shy voice that I only dream of hearing any other time of day.

Big girl bed status is official now. Most days are terrific. She's been in it for several months and we have our occasional nap time battles, but overall she's done well with the conversion. If only I could finish the design change . . .

Homer Horse, Connie Cow, Dexter Donkey and the like have taken over our conversations. See a trend? Her school teaches phonics with these clever names. So now every animal has its own alliteration of a name.

Lion King, Ice Age, and Charlotte's Web are a few of her favorite movies. She loves to sing Hakuna Matata & picked up on her new favorite phrase "Don't you understand?" courtesy of Nala.

Sassy Susan has definitely made a stop at our house lately, but they say that stubbornness leads to success later in life, right? Crossing my fingers!!

Her vocabulary has taken over our lives at this point and become practically limitless. There are days I wonder why I ever wanted her to talk more ;)

She loves to kiss Mommy's belly button and give Drake love since he's "stuck in there" I sure hope she loves her brother as much once he joins her world.

This age is more challenging that dividing with fractions (did anyone ever really figure that out?) but is so entertaining and fun too. Ryanne's personality is {mostly} sweet, outspoken, and sensitive and watching her grow gets more fun with each day. Or maybe I just get more excited for the terrific threes each day ;) Time will tell . . .

 

PS. . . You may've noticed she's picked up a lovely new "cheese" face that entails closing her eyes and grinning goofily. That face? Can go away any time it chooses and it would not hurt my feelings. 

12 Goals for 2012

1.  First and foremost, my goal is to survive the rest of this pregnancy and the transition from one kid to two while I'm finishing up my semester of nursing school. 
2. Last year, especially lately, I was pretty lousy at blogging. I love the journal that it is for our family, so my goal is to post more regularly, at least twice a week. Ambitious, huh? ; ) But I'm trying to be realistic. I know there will be times when that will be a stretch. 
3. I want to be better about photographing Ryanne {and Drake}. I'd like to do an annual photo book, but that means I've got to take more pictures!
4. I'd like to read at least 2 (non-text)books during the summer. I love reading, but have put it on the back burner lately. 
5. I want to be more patient with Ryanne and Trey. 
6. I want to be better about putting away laundry. I have decided I will not wash a new load of clothes until the current one is put away. (I'm excluding this goal from the month after Drake is born. Ha!) 
7. I want to do some type of craft/project/creative thing with Ryanne at least twice a month. 
8. I will have the TV off by 10:30 unless it is the weekend and are watching a movie together or something. I need to quit wasting so much time with the tv. 
9. I want to not worry about my weight until 2013 and just enjoy this year :)
10.  By the end of January, I want everything to be better organized in the house & to keep it that way throughout the year. I put this off when we moved in, and it is long overdue.
11. I want to be a better wife. 
12. I want to remember that I'm only one me, and that me is human. I tend to be too hard on myself, so hopefully I can give myself a little break in 2012 too :) 

I mainly posted these so that I could look back at them next year & see how well I've done, and to hold myself accountable. I just like to set goals, new year or not, to try  improve myself and our family.

Hope you all have had a great New Year's Day!