Belly time

Here's some updated belly pics. I never feel like I've grown a ton until I take a look at the pics every week. I'm telling ya, this kid is running out of room. I can't imagine my stomach stretching even more than it has! I'm rounding out week 33 so hopefully I'll update that picture soon. Of course we obviously see my blogging pattern is not very consistent. Got to get better!

Where I'm at now.

Well my last update was week 30...Um again BLOG SLACKER!!!! Well we definitely have been busy. My hubby had a nice two weeks off in February so we figured why not bang out the nursery sooner than later!!! We made a game plan and said we wouldn't take more than a week to get the big stuff done. Well To my surprise we did just that! We started on Monday and hung new chair rail border and painted all the baseboards and trim. Tuesday...Break ;) Wednesday we painted the bottom half of the walls. I distinctly remember my hubby saying "I am not painting the top today" while we were in the process. Thursday we finished the top portion, all the edging and the closet. Phew!! Paint dunzo!! Friday I think we took a break again. Oh wait scratch that, I put together the cubbies for the closet. Nothing like more storage to make a girl happy!! Saturday we put together the dresser and hung the picture shelf. Sunday, because my sister ROCKS!! we picked up our new glider for the nursery and assembled that as well. I will say the glider assembly was the HARDEST of all we did that week. So I'm now feeling pretty good about where we are at. We still need to hang the new ceiling fan, change out the outlets and then get some more decorations on the walls. I am starting to see my vision come to life and that makes me so excited!! So here's a bit of our progress. I still have window treatments, a picture project, misc floor stuff and some other things that I need to get going on, but thankful the tough stuff is done.

Starting point...the paint color was so dingy! Blah!

The molding all painted a nice fresh Bright White!!! AHHH So refreshing to see.

The most ugly 80's ceiling fan! This was there when we bought the house.

Molding done and first color (bottom) on the walls.

Second color on the walls (on top)

Finished walls with Crib in place. Awesome sauce!!! Yes Peyton is bogarting the picture.

With the dresser and the crib in place.

With the picture shelf up

And our new glider...

Where we are at now...I still have a lot to do.

Week 30...Phew!

So last Tuesday I officially hit the 30 week mark! I am in shock at how fast time has gone by. I really thought it was going to take me forever to get to that point. Week 30 had some highs and lows though. Let's start with the highs. Last Thursday we had a scheduled 3D/4D ultrasound. I am in such awe at how technology takes us into this place where we no longer have to wait till birth to get a glimpse of our little bundles of joy! It was such an amazing experience to see him moving and breathing and sucking his thumb! He did however play the stubborn card, which I knew he would, and consistently try and keep his hands in front of his face. Even with his stubbornness we were still able to get some great shots. I just wish we could figure out who he really looks like. I guess with thatquestion we are definitely going to have to wait till April to get our answer. Here are a few of my favorites of him. I must say, I think we've got one cute kid cooking in my belly right now.

Ok onto the low part. So really it's not that low. I actually kind of expected it. So a little after Thanksgiving I discovered the source of my heartburn. I found that complex carbs (rice, pasta, bread) gave me severe heartburn along with processed sugar foods. So during my second trimester I cut back on all my complex carbs and sugar and stuck to veggies, oats, yams and my fav flax seed bread from Trader Joe's. I also stuck to fruits that were higher in fiber and lower in sugar like berries and apples. Heartburn solved!!! Whoo hoo!!! Well I wasn't surprised when last week my Dr. informed me that I had failed my Glucose Test. Even he was shocked because my initial numbers during my first test during my 1st trimester showed no signs that I was even at risk for Gestational Diabetes. So I now have the GD. But really, I'm ok with it. I really think catching my intolerance early and managing my diet as clean as I have for the last few months as well as keeping up my weekly workouts has really helped keep me at a constant weight as well as keeping the growth of Noah within the average range. Now I'm just waiting for my appointment with an endocrinologist this week so we can get a solid game plan in place as well as get me hooked up with the dreaded device where I have to prick my finger after every major meal to make sure my levels are remaining constant. At least I only have 9 weeks left. It's almost like I'm dieting for a show again ;) (all you fitness girls will sympathize with that one). Wow, did i just say 9 weeks??!!?? Starting tomorrow I'm 31 weeks!! I guess we better get our butts in gear and get into Operation Noah's Nursery really fast! I think there's a Lowes visit in my future this week...

Oh and of course my 29 and 30 Week pics

Stumbled across inspiration

So I've been going back and forth in my head as to how I want to paint and accessorize Noah's room. Well I finally found some inspiration!!!! I was searching for Nursery Closet Organizers last night when I stumbled acorss this picture!! The paint, the molding and even the closet is exactly what I want (minus the crown molding since we have yucky popcorn on our ceilings and crown molding next to that would just be blah!). The crib in the picture is even identical to ours! I am so excited to start putting all this together with our own twist to it.

Some of my favorite Pregnancy things!

Ok So I have now had probably a good 4 months to rack up some favorites in the pregnancy department. The great thing about being pregnant these days is that there are some great things to make you feel normal even though you have this huge gut protruding out the front of you. Here are some things that I have found that have gotten me excited.

Gap Pure Body!!! Hands down the best T's and Tanks you can own as a pregnant chic!!! Their Ruched, Stretchy and down right the most comfortable pieces of clothing I own! I own the Tanks in each color and have 3 long sleeves and have 2 of the new spring short sleeves sitting in my shopping cart at Gap Online.

Be Maternity Tanks by Ingrid & Isabel
You can find these at Target. They are the same makers of the Bella Band. They are Ruched, seamless, long, comfy and stretchy. I usually where these under my Pure body tanks or t's. They just seem to make everything fit well!!! I also own 3 of them. Hey I have to have all the colors!!



Gap Demi Panel Always Skinny Jean in True Black. I got these for Christmas and LOVE them!!! They have been perfect to wear with my boots when it's too cold for leggings.



My newest find is b-buckles ! I have been fortunate to be able to fit in all my pre-maternity jeans and was about to lose hope that I was going to have to hang them up till April because the rubberband was just not cutting it anymore when I found this!! They have been a great jean saver and have some super cute styles. Just snap and go!!!!



The Last thing for now is my Water Bobble. I actually found this before I found out I was pregnant. I take this with me every where I go. What is it? Well It's a water bottle with the top being a built in filter!!! I can always have clean water where ever I go. And you know how much water you need to drink while pregnant and certainly after, it was well worth the $12.95 for my 34oz bottle! You can find them either on their website, at Bed Bath & Beyond and now at Target. There are different color filters to choose from and after about 300 fills you just need to replace the top which is $6. Do you realize how much $$$ in bottled water you save?!?! Plus the bottles are BPA free and FDA Approved! They make all different sizes and even make ones for toddlers and kids. You can bet my kid will be a bobble kid!!



Water Bobble

Holy Blog Slacker Batman!!!

Yeah Yeah, when it comes to blogging, I'm kind of a Slacker. You would think with all this time on my hands I would have endless hours to ramble about the inner workings of my day, but really, I'm not that exciting. I'm hoping that once the little man arrives there will be a whole lot more to talk about.

So what's been going on since December 8th where I left off? Well, we made it through the holidays. They seemed to come faster this year than any other year before. I'm just glad that this year the decision has been made that we will no longer travel for Christmas. We're starting our own traditions of staying home and having Noah be in his bed and in front of his tree for Christmas. Of course, our house is completely open to anyone that wants to join us.

December 27th Stevo and I celebrated our 13th Wedding Anniversary! To celebrate, Stevo surprised me with going crib shopping and actually purchasing our crib and putting it together. I thought it was the perfect way to spend our anniversary preparing for our new adventure together. The crib we picked (or should I say I picked, because he just kept saying "whatever you want") is just perfect. It matches the vision I had in my head with the bedding we chose and the theme we are going for. I can't wait to bring it all together.
Here's our starting point...now we just need paint, decor, and remainder of furniture.

So now We are into January. A couple weeks ago I made a quick overnight trip up to the Bay area to hit up Ikea for a Dresser for the baby's room. I love Ikea and especially the prices. We didn't have issues dropping some coin on the crib, but we did have issues with the matching dresser being almost as expensive if not more than the crib. Ah yeah NO don't think so. So I was able to find a great dresser at Ikea that will double as a changing table as well. It's a functional piece that he will be able to grow with. I think it's going to match perfectly with his crib!

I also picked up a bunch of 5x7 and 8x10 Black frames for this really cool picture shelf I got from there back in July. I've already decided on the pics of the pups that I'm going to transfer over to Sepia Color and print out adding to the Puppy/Dog theme in his room. Our pups are such a huge part of our lives that I wanted to be sure that they were incorporated into his life as well.

On the actual baby front, I think I've got a kick boxer for a child. We have one very active little guy. He can't quite figure out what side he wants to settle on and has a fun time tap dancing on my bladder!!! It's the craziest but the absolute best feeling in the world to feel him move around.

Hmmm and I guess I'll top it off with some pics. The last time I posted a pic I was 21 weeks So here are the rest...BTW I'm in my 3rd Trimester officially this week (haven't taken the pic yet though)!!! I can't believe how fast this has gone! Still so much to do!!!

Milestones while Embracing with Grace

So I've been a blog slacker! You would think since I don't work I would have plenty of time to spout off every random thought I have, but really I'm just a slacker LOL.
So I'm definitely noticeably pregnant now. No more in between Buddha bellies. We've got a severe gut growing! I definitely have had a couple of emotional breakdowns since I was having some issues with perspective. For those of you have gone through pregnancy know that the sudden growth, weight gain and changes you go through can sometimes send you for a loop. But as my coach Lauren told me last week "You're pregnant girl!!!" She reminded me that pregnancy is a beautiful transformation and that I need to accept it in that way. We all go through changes and we all grow in those changes differently. Thanks Lauren!! I've definitely been living my new motto Embrace with Grace!
So the milestones we've been experiencing...well we definitely have flutters and some rolling. This started almost 2 weeks ago. Luckily for the fun rolling Stevo has actually been home. I was always afraid that with his traveling he was going to miss out on those. Luckily, little Noah has been considerate enough to wait till his daddy got home. The rolling movement was crazy. It felt like a little fist rolling around on the inside of my belly and my stomach was SUPER hard.
Our next milestone was small flutter kicks when Stevo decided to blast Metallica in the car when we were headed to the Bay Area last Saturday. I say it was Noah trying to get away from the "noise". He begs to differ. My pay back was last night as I was listening to my Kaskade station on Slacker Radio while waiting at the airport for Stevo to deplane. The little man went active!! Of course Stevo says he was trying to get away from the "noise" LOL. I'll just hope this child has and eclectic taste in music :)
Our big milestone happened last night around 11:30 while laying in bed. I felt and saw a nice kick on the middle of my belly. Can you say WHOA!! So Stevo put his hand on my belly and started pushing to see if we could get another kick. Luckily, Noah cooperated! It was so crazy to feel and see a kick from a this little life inside. Every milestone definitely makes this whole process feel more real all the time. April seems so far away, but I know it will be here before we know it!

and now the belly pics...


Week 22 included in next blog post...