Third Trimester

I am so happy because today I am exactly 28 weeks, which officially puts me in the third and final trimester! I can't believe how this pregnancy is flying by. The second trimester was so great, and I am going to continue to enjoy every second I can of the third.

My doctor's appointment was today and Presley is doing great. Her heart rate was 150 bpm, and she cooperated very well this time. No crazy kung fu moves were performed on the doppler. My fundal height (measurement from the top of the pubic bone to the top of the uterus) was 31cm. The average at 28 weeks is between 24 cm and 32cm, so it looks like I just barely made it into that category. The doctor just said, "Wow, she's really grown"! This, of course, has me worried that I'm now going to give birth to a gigantic child. I will also be going to the doctor every 2 weeks now instead of once a month. I know a lot of people who are annoyed by this change, but I really look forward to them. I'll take any chance I get to hear that sweet heart beat and know she's doing well.

As for me, I'm still feeling really good minus a few things. My ribs have started to seperate to make room for Miss Priss (gross, I know), and it's not the best feeling. I have also had some shortness of breathe when I'm sitting. This is because my organs are having to move to make room for baby, and are pushing on my lungs. Lovely. The most annoying thing thus far is not being able to jog outside. I was really looking forward to taking advantage of the cooler weather. However, by the time I make one lap, I have to go potty. Nothing like a baby bouncing up and down on your bladder. I tried toughing it out the other day, but thought I should pick a less crowded day to experiment. I really didn't want to wet myself in front of everyone. I am still able to jog 4 miles a day on the treadmill (minus hopping off for potty breaks every few minutes), and hope to continue doing this as long as possible. I'm also still wearing my prepregnancy jeans thanks to an amazing little trick that I have to share.Yup...a hair tie. Remember this if your ever thinking about having a baby. It will save you so much money!

In honor of the third trimester, I will leave you with 3 belly shots:
This is my point of view when I'm sitting on the couch. Pardon the boobs. I tried to get them out of the shot, but at this point, they are pretty much unavoidable. Here is a full on front shot.Check out that belly button. You can also see the hole from my belly button ring...so pretty.
And the side view
In light of a couple tragic situations I heard about this week, I would just like to say again how incredibly blessed Brandon and I feel. We would do anything in the world for this baby, and already can't imagine her not in our lives. I thank God every day for this incredible gift he has given us. My heart goes out to those families and, they are in our thoughts and prayers.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

If you didn't get the hint from my previous post, I love pumpkin! I got the easiest cookie recipe ever from my friend Sarah, and have been making them ever since. I decided that I NEEDED to make them today, and thought I would share. Just a side note, my Kroger was OUT, yes, OUT of canned pumpkin today. They said that there was a shortage because of the fall weather. Guess I'm not the only one that has been bitten by the fall bug (Casey, if your reading this, you will appreciate this fact).

Ingredients:
1 pkg. spice cake
1 15oz. can solid pack pumpkin (today I used Libby's pumpkin pie mix and the cookies tasted just as good).

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet
2. In a large bowl, stir together pumpkin and spice cake until well blended.3. Drop rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. (I use my egg white separator as a scoop to get a better circle.4. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool.
These cookies tend to be more cake like (which is why I love them) and will not come out looking like perfect shaped cookies. They are also fairly low in fat, but I like to add cream cheese frosting. Which now makes them fattening, but who wants low fat cookies anyway???

Cream cheese frosting
Ingredients:
1 pkg. cream cheese
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1/8 cup of milk

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and beat until creamy.
The final Product:
Easy Peasy! Hope you enjoy!

Fall is in the Air

I wanted to post this yesterday, as it was officially the first day of fall. However, our computer has had a terrible virus, and I couldn't get on the computer...boo! Anyway, if you don't already know, Fall is my absolute favorite season. Here is a list of my favorite fall things:

1. My fall scented candles (Pumpkin Pie, Harvest,& Vanilla Pumpkin by Yankee Candle)
2. Halloween
3. My birthday (October 18th to be exact)
4. Pumpkin flavored anything at Starbucks
5. Scarves
6. Chunky sweaters
7. Cooler weather
8. Jogging outside without sweating to death
9. Eating on the patio
10. Mums on the front porch
11. Football season (mainly college..GO HORNS!)
12. An excuse to wear my crazy pumpkin socks
13. Pretty much anything pumpkin and/or pumpkin related
14. Watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (totally immature...I know this.)

Since yesterday was the first day of Fall, I jumped at the chance to start decorating the house. I put up all of my summery candles and pulled out my Fall ones. Then made a trip to Hobby Lobby for some fall foliage at half off...score! Technically, Hobby Lobby has almost everything half off all the time, but I still feel like a got a good deal. Here is the beginning of my decorating...trust me there is much more to come. I'm saving my money because I plan on buying out Canton next weekend!

Wreath on the front door

Entry hall

Just a few of my fall candles

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Godmothering and such

This past weekend I officially became the proud Godmother to my nephew, Jackson. Have I mentioned that I am completely gaga over this child? Anyway, When I was told that Melissa had chosen me as his Godmother, I was completely honored! It got me thinking about all the ways that I was going to be the best Godmother to my sweet nephew. Well, after the Baptism, everyone went out to lunch and guess who was the only one that didn't get Jackson a present. Yep...that would be me...first day as a Godmother...FAIL!

Don't worry Jackson Wade, I will make up for this by getting you something beyond amazing. It will probably make lots of noise and really annoy your Mommy, but those are the best kind aren't they?

Besides the present mishap, It was a great day. Here are some pics of my Godson.

Cat in a Bob

My sister bought me the BOB jogging stroller that I have been drooling over (thanks, Mel), and it looks like someone else is as excited about it as I am. I have a feeling Rambo might have some trouble adjusting when Miss Priss arrives... Speaking of the BOB(big 'ole belly), here is mine at 26 weeks

Nursery in Progress: Part 2

The nursery is finally starting to come together! I would lie awake at night trying to figure out what fabric I wanted to use for the baby bedding. If I did sleep, fabric samples would haunt my dreams. I'm not a theme person, and didn't want anything too babyish (yes, I do realize this room is for a baby), so I was having some trouble. After searching every fabric store in Dallas and Houston, I finally found what I wanted online. I am so blessed to have an extremely talented Mother in Law, who so graciously volunteered to sew everything for me. Here is a sneak peek of the bedding (the damask is actually brown, but looks black in the pictures):
This is part of the bumper. I am going to get the pink part monogrammed with Presley's initials. The crib skirt Here is what the bed skirt looks like on the crib
Along with putting my sweet mom-n-law to work, I also had plans for the boys. Gary and Brandon got some great father/son bonding in while putting up bead board. The finished Product
I found an adorable pink shag rug online, and had to have it! I wanted it so bad that I ordered it without having my fabrics picked out ( of course, I made sure I could return it first). Thank goodness it worked! I may have gone into a state of depression if it didn't.

Then I found this chandelier at Canton. I would also like to add that I will be referring to Canton as "Heaven". I went for the first time last weekend and am officially addicted! Back to the chandelier, it came without any of the crystals. You had to buy them separately, so you could mix and match what you wanted. I am still playing around with them, but this is what I have so far. The only big thing I have left is too have the nursery repainted. Yes, that does say repainted. The first pink I picked out looked awesome on the sample, but not so awesome on the walls. I think I have finally found the perfect shade after testing about 12 different pinks.I am also on the hunt for a glider. Knowing me, I will probably have to get it custom made (but I'm trying really hard not to). If you know of any good places to get one, let me know!

6 months and counting

I should have posted this a week ago, but better late then never! Last Wednesday marked 24 weeks, which means I am officially 6 months! Here are some things that have been going on:

I am unquestionably pregnant now. For the longest time, it looked like I just ate way too much for lunch. Brandon and I like to refer to my belly as "Big 'ole" or "B.O.B" (Big ole Belly), and we are on a daily belly button watch. The top part has popped out, but the bottom has not(yes, it looks as strange as it sounds). This leaves us suspensefully ( not sure if that's a word) waiting to see when it will become an official outie. I also have strangers coming up to me and asking me all about the baby. Along with that comes the belly touching. However, I don't mind it...at least not yet, anyway. Oh, and nothing fits me anymore. Shirts that I thought would last throughout the whole pregnancy have gotten too short, and lets not even discuss my pants. My belly isn't the only thing that's growing. I have noticed some rapid growth in a certain area directly above my belly ( I'll let you figure out what I'm talking about), and I do NOT enjoy this near as much as I thought I would.

As far as Presley goes, Miss Priss is moving around all the time. I love feeling her and knowing she is okay in there. Brandon likes to talk to my belly, and every time he does she starts kicking. He talks to her in this weird high pitched voice that completely cracks me up. With all of the moving around, my belly has taken on some interesting shapes. Sometimes she will stick her little bottom out, which leaves me looking very lopsided. At my last Dr.'s appointment, they had trouble getting a good heart rate because she kept kicking right at the doppler. The nurse came to the conclusion that Presley didn't like it, and gave us a close enough guess at 144 BPM. Our little lady is getting bigger everyday and should now be around 1.5 lbs. and over a foot long (Is Subway sounding good to anyone else right now?).

Well, that's about all I have as far as updates go. We just can't wait to meet our sweet baby girl!

Babymoon in the Big Apple: Day 5

This was our last day in New York, and we were sad to go. However, it's always so nice to come home and sleep in your own bed. We didn't have a whole lot of time, but wanted to take full advantage of what time we had left. We started our morning out with a huge breakfast from a delicious restaurant called Juniors. Supposedly, they make the #1 cheesecake in NY, but I never got around to trying it. Probably because I was too busy stuffing my face elsewhere. After breakfast we spent time buying souvenirs in Times Square, and ran into the Naked Cowboy. I looked for him the whole time, and finally, got to see him on the last day. After snapping a few pictures, we were able to meet up with Adam for lunch again. I actually didn't eat anything this time because I was still so stuffed from breakfast. Then we hopped on the subway to get a peek of the Great lawn in Central park. This time we went the right way on the subway, but thought we were going the wrong way. We hopped off and got back on going the wrong way, only to realize we had been right the first time. By the time we made it to Central park, we only had 15 minutes, but we squeezed in one last picture.

This trip was really important for Brandon and I to take. One of things we talk about a lot is spending time with just us. Now that we are having a baby, it is even more important for us to get quality time together. After the baby is born, we still want to continue to get time to reconnect as a couple. It doesn't have to be a big trip, but definitely a date night here and there. Thank goodness this baby has some fabulous grandparents that would love to babysit.

Babymoon in the Big Apple: Day 4

Day 4 was such a beautiful day! We woke up and decided that we were going to see the Statue of Liberty. However, on our way to the subway, we stumbled across a huge flea market in Times Square. Suprisingly, Brandon enjoyed it as much as I did, and we picked up some great Christmas gifts for the family.Then we hopped on the subway (going the right direction this time) headed for Lady Liberty. We decided not to take a boat out for time reasons. I was content seeing her from Battery park.Brandon wanted a picture of Presley with everything we did, so we could tell her she had been there.
After the Staue of Liberty, we walked towards the financial district to get a quick peek of Wall street.Historic South Street Seaport was our intended next stop, but it ended up being Gap. I have been very stubborn about wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans, but that day I just couldn't take it (this may have had something to do with all the food I had consumed thus far). Brandon bought me a dress and it was like Heaven! Anyway, South Street Seaport is a really neat place. It's an old boardwalk with a great view of the Brooklyn Bridge.Brandon, once again, thought Presley should be photographed with the bridge. After seeing the bridge so close, I decided we needed to cross it. Well, it took us so long to find the entrance that our feet just weren't up to walking across anymore. Determined to make it into Brooklyn, we jumped on the subway. Yes, you guessed it, we went the wrong way. We also managed to go the wrong way again, trying to back track. Finally, we figured it out and got off in the cutest little neighborhood called Brooklyn Heights. It was amazing how quiet it was compared to the city. I loved the little brownstones, so I had to get quick picture. Then we walked to the famous Grimaldi's pizza. We were warned about their 3 hour wait, but didn't believe it would actually be that long. Well, when we arrived the line was super long and moving super slow. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time to wait, so we walked around the corner to a place called "The Pizza" and it was amazing!With very full stomachs, we headed back into the city so we could make it to Top of the Rock. It's a building in Rockafeller Center that is 70 stories tall. I'm a little squeamish about heights, but once I saw the view, I got over it. It was so incredible, and our pictures do not do it justice.You can see Central Park behind Brandon in this picture. After Top of the Rock, we hurried back to the hotel because we had dinner reservations at Tavern on the Green. Another total tourist trap, but it was worth the money. The room we dined in was all glass and you could see all the tress lit up outside. After dinner, Brandon arranged for a carriage ride and talked him into dropping us off all the way at 5th avenue. We purposely didn't have dessert at Tavern on the Green because I had to go to Serendipity. We made it there around 10:30pm and only had to wait 15 minutes. Oprah told me I had to order the Frozen Hot Chocolate, and I told Brandon he had to order the Broadway Sundae.Yummmmm! Both were absolutely amazing, and we didn't even come close to finishing either one. I was delerious from chocolate and thought Brandon might have to roll me home. Once again, we ended our last night in New York stuffed and happy.

Babymoon in the Big Apple: Day 3

Day 3 in New York was so Much fun because we were able to meet up with some of our friends, Adam and Jumarie. We used to be neighbors in Los Angeles, but they are now living right outside the big apple. We met up in Times Square and decided to go to China Town. It was so nice being able to rely on someone that knew the city, and we welcomed a day of not having to figure out the subway!

China Town was crazy! People would come up to you everywhere trying to get you to buy purses, perfume, jewelry, food, etc. Jumarie and I decided we wanted to check out the purses, and this turned into quite an adventure. First this little Chinese lady made us follow her for two blocks. Then we had to crawl into her van, where she had every knock off purse under the sun, and locked Jumarie and I in. When we had made our purchase, she had to walkie talkie to her husband to see if it was okay to let us back out. Brandon and Adam thought we were crazy! We also got some great deals on perfume before heading to Little Italy.

Little Italy was filled with tons of the best smelling restaurants. I decided I had to have a canoli, so we all stopped in at a local bakery. Everything looked amazing, which meant there was no way I could pick just one. I narrowed it down to three different types of canoli's (they were tiny) and ate them right in the middle of the street!
After Little Italy, we decided to go to the 9/11 memorial site. The subway just happened to drop us off right at the entrance of the Brooklyn Bridge. I was so tempted to walk across for some Grimaldi's pizza, but decided to save it for another day.
We also saw Wyclef around the corner, promoting for some music event.
While we were looking for the 9/11 sight, I stumbled across the most beautiful church and had to go inside. I am so glad I did because it happened to be St. Paul's Cathedral. This church was built in 1766 and George Washington worshipped there during his inaguration. This tiny church sits almost directly in front of where the towers used to be, and served as a place of refuge for all the recovery workers after the attack. They would post flyers of people that were still missing in the church, in hopes that some of the volunteers might have seen them. The boots and equipment that the firemen used scuffed up the pews pretty badly. However, the church decided not to repair the pews, so we would always remember. After looking around at the inside, we walked out to the cemetary. We found gravestones from the 1700's, but most were so old you could no longer read them. Right behind the cemetary is the 9/11 site. They are rebuilding so there isn't too much to see. However, there is a huge hole in the middle of New York city, and it's pretty eerie. I just kept imagining what it must have been like that day. We decided that it was probably time to head back towards Times Square, but not before seeing what Century 21 was all about. I kept seeing people with bags from this place everywhere I went. It turned out to be a huge discount department store with amazing deals. However, it was completely packed, and I just couldn't take the crowds. Of course, I was starving again, so we headed to a little brewery in Times Square for dinner. New York has some of the most amazing food. Thank goodness we walked a million miles a day or I might have come back looking like I was having twins!After dinner, we got them to take one last picture of us in Times Square at night and then said goodbye. Brandon and I were still not ready to call it a night, so we walked over to Rockafeller Center. Of course, the famous ice skating rink wasn't there, but it was still cool to see.My feet and back were letting me know it was time to quit, so we walked back to the hotel. Well, actually, I made Brandon stop in and pick up the largest M&M cookie I have ever seen from a little deli across the street...for us to share, of course. Then we made it to our hotel.