24 Weeks and Kicking



Weight gain: +15
w/ Maddox: +19    w/ Grady: ???

I'm dreaming up a sunshine nursery.  We have gray paint waiting to go on the walls and this is on order from Saltbox House on Etsy.  So excited!

The Great Outdoors

Last weekend was our first camping trip of the year with hopefully more to come.  Camping equals...

Getting dirty...

A morning game of softball with firewood as our bases…

Bike/Scooter rides…



A lot of time spent at the park…

Ladder golf and washers…

Quality time with cousins…

Late night campfires (playing Draw Something on our phones around the fire J)…

 

 

A lot of good food including smores of course…

The pictures say it all.  It was an awesome weekend.  Can't wait for another camping trip.

22 weeks

22 weeks…over halfway there! In fact, if she’s like Maddox then maybe I only have 16 weeks to go. J Speaking of Maddox, he is sooo in love with her already. He’s always rubbing my belly (“Can I pet your baby mommy?”), kissing my belly, and singing songs to her. Melts my heart. Grady is still pretty oblivious to the fact that there is a baby in my tummy.

This baby girl is so active. She’s constantly moving around in there and her kicks are already really strong and can be seen and easily felt. I love it. I’m still feeling great, other than the pelvic pain. That’s been my only complaint the last two pregnancies also. I just can’t wait until it gets to the point where it hurts to step in and out of my vehicle and to roll over in bed. I’m still running with the boys, only a few days a week when it’s nice out. I have a modified route that I take sometimes now that avoids the big hill, but unfortunately also avoids the park and little bridge (my break). I’m wearing mostly maternity shirts but NO maternity pants.  Some of my regular pants still button, others I use the be-band.

I had to wake up at 3:30 this morning for work, can you tell...

Weight gain: + 12 lb
w/ Maddox: +17 lb    w/ Grady: +17 lb

I seriously loooooooove being pregnant. I love that people are noticing at work now. Yes, all my coworkers in my office know, but there’s 2,000 other people that I don’t see all the time. I love how they kind of just quietly ask with excitement “Are you…?” while pointing at my belly because heaven forbid they say pregnant without knowing but pointing at my belly is okay. J I love how excited everyone gets when I tell them we’re having a girl. I love feeling that movement all day long. I love watching my belly grow. I just love love love it.

Lucky to have my Pictures

If I didn't have pictures, I don't think I would know what to blog about.  I look back and can't hardly remember what we've done in the last few weeks even though this spring is a busy spring!  So I just plug in my camera (and phone) and OH YEAH, that's what we did!
I remember things at work.  I remember all these numbers and codes and store them all in my head.  I remember the months and years that we did things and the people who were involved.  I corrected someone the other day who thought they knew what the cost center was for THEIR department (not even mine) and they said "Your brain must be exhuasted.  How do you remember all that stuff?"  I shut it down after work, let it rest.  Or at least that's my excuse for having no brain power at home.  Thank God for digital cameras.

And the pictures say....we've been working on the boys new bedroom!

They love having all of their toys and all of that space to play upstairs.  I love it too.  I also love having the computer downstairs again and our bedroom on the main floor.  Left to do: paint (light blue), get a dresser, get a toybox.  I did move all of my hanging clothes downstairs and into our bedroom and moved the boy's hanging clothes upstairs.  But we still have a lot of clothes shuffling to do.  More pictures to follow (hopefully soon).

We went to the VEISHEA parade which as usual was rainy and cold. 

Lala and Maddox

We always made a trip to Iowa City for my cousin, Zach and his new wife, Kim's wedding reception.  I didn't get any pictures...too busy chasing around my maniac kids and their cousins Alexa and Avery. :) 

We've tried to enjoy the weather as much as it allows us.  It'll be 90 degrees one day and 50 and rainy the next.

And we had visitors this weekend!  Grandpa Mark and Grandma Chris.

Again, cold rainy weather but we still made a quick trip to the park and caught some baseball.

I guess I've been lazy and taking more phone pics than camera pics recently.  Oh well, a picture is a picture.  Now I'm off to do more house work.  My to do list seems to be growing faster than I can cross items off.

20 weeks and it's a.......

...BABY!  I was starting to worry that it was a frog the way it's jumping around in there.

We started the ultrasound and the tech knowing that we wanted to know the sex looked right away.  She got a good shot and said "Ohh! Do you see that?!"  My heart started beating out of my chest and my eyes started to fill with tears and I said "Well, I DON'T see something between those two legs."  I was right...

IT'S A GIRL!!

We couldn't believe it.  We still can't believe it.  I don't think we'll believe it until she's born and even then I'm not sure I'll believe it.  But it was undoubtedly a girl, I have multiple pictures to remind myself of that.  A perfectly healthy, SQUIRMY girl at that.

Apparantly she likes V8 Splash.  I had some before the ultrasound and we could literally see her gulping that stuff down.  It was amazing.  You can see her mouth open here mid gulp.  She also kept hitting herself in the face.

Beautiful 4-chamber heart and a strong heartbeat at 159 bpm

Two little baby feet

Stretching and arching that spine.  I think the spine pictures are the coolest.

Everything else at my 20 week appointment with the doctor looked great.  Good weight gain and baby is measuring right on track just over 20 weeks. 

And what do you do after you find out you're having a baby girl?  You go shopping of course!  We're in for it!

I can't believe I'm halfway there.  She'll be here before we know it.

Weight gain: 9 lb
w/ Maddox: 15 lb    w/ Grady: 12 lb

Just Spring and Stuff

Yesterday was crappy.  Tornado outbreaks everywhere.
Tornados...boo...

Grady's mad face

Maddox's mad donut face

Fortunately it all stayed south of us.  We just got a ton of rain and a little thunder and lightning.

Let me out!

Today, on the other hand was perfect.  Maybe a little windy, but perfect.  After a morning trip to Lowe's, I spent the boy's nap time doing yard work - pulling weeds and laying mulch.  I like yard work.  Maddox does too.  When he got up, he helped to water the plants over and over and over again as if they didn't get enough rain last night.

I hope this weather sticks around for a little while.

Yesterday sitting at the table for lunch, Maddox asked me if I was big and he was little.  I agreed that yes, I was bigger than him, but told him some day he would probably be bigger than me.  He said, "Yeah, and I'll have a big baby in my belly!!"

Maddox Picture Commentary

Because I've gotten a little behind on posting some of these favorites (all the way back to February)...

"He's trying to get that blanket on him."

"I'm being a duck - saying quack quack.  ha!"

"I'm trying to lay down and play with...why's he playing with that toy?  He's playing with his diesel. I wanna go play with my trains.  Mommy, can I go play with my trains?"

Fella is getting on my bed!



"Snowing!!"

"WE'RE MAKING A SNOWMAN!!  And we're making hands."

I'm watching Dumbo with Alexa!

And a couple weeks ago I was cooking dinner and Grady walked up to me with a nickel he had found.  Whenever they find money, they get to put it in their banks, so we went to put it in his "froggy bank."  I went back to cooking and he walked up with another nickel.  Wow, lucky guy, we went and put that in his frog too.  I go back to cooking and he walks up with yet another nickel.  What the heck?  So we put it in his frog and I follow him this time.....

Yes, that's my wallet.

Easter on the Farm

We headed east for Easter.

First we went to Grandpa Mark and Grandma Chris’ for a night. The boys acted like their crazy selves jumping off furniture and throwing balls at Van’s head, while he sat like a little angel on the floor playing quietly with toys. J Everyone can’t believe how much Grady looks and acts like Mitch as a toddler.

Saturday, we stopped at Papa Harley and Grandma Karey’s house for the afternoon and then headed out to the farm. Easter on the farm consisted of…

Playing in the new camper that we can’t wait to actually camp in!

Loading 8 people into the pickup to check on cows. 

Hunting baskets Easter morning.

Attending Easter service at “the country church” which was the longest service ever but the boys sat surprisingly well through.

Hunting for eggs and candy in the front lawn.

Hmm, not the most photogenic kids this year!

Shoot, I can't get the video to load of the Easter Bunny walking across the yard from the machine shed.  Hilarious...kids screaming and running in the opposite direction.  I'll make sure to get it up later.

Sure sign of an awesome weekend...