Friday, July 10, 2009

Photo Fun on Friday!

All right, before I share pictures of how our little family shared the Fourth of July, I will share some new news =) Yesterday was my 24 week appointment and I must confess that I wore lightweight khakis instead of jeans, and flipflops instead of tennis shoes because I knew going in that this would be my heaviest weigh in. The good news is that I have only gained 8lbs during this pregnancy (which is hard to believe if you have seen my belly recently!), the not so great news is that 6 of those pounds were gained during these last four weeks... The doctor thinks I'm doing great still though, and says I hide my pregnancy well. Hide? I really don't know how she thinks this big ole belly is hiding, but maybe it's the fact that this baby is already on the huge side that she thinks the belly could be even bigger? We'll just have to see how well I "hide" it in a few months!
Yesterday I also had to have some bloodwork done. They tested for gestational diabetes, which involves drinking 10 oz of a syrupy drink that tastes like flat Sprite in 5 minutes. I downed it like a college frat boy in less than 2 (had to get it over with, it burned my throat!). Luckily the nurse called today and told me that I passed! I also had to be tested for anemia, and unfortunately the bloodwork revealed me to be slightly anemic. The doctor said this was very common in a lot of pregnant women, and just involves me eating more iron rich foods and taking an iron supplement. Good news is that I should start feeling less tired after taking the supplement for awhile!
Baby is doing well! I can tell he is going to be all boy already! Daddy is playing some war game on the XBox, and like normal when he hears guns, The Punisher is kicking away! I foresee GI Joe action figures in my future!
Okay, some pictures from the 4rth!:
How I start many of my trips these days...with a bathroom break:
Unfortunately the HoneyBuckets haven't been cleaned in a few days...
After our mini hike at Mount Rainier:
Where we saw a beautiful waterfall (after looking at this pic, I'm thinking horizontal stripes are not a very good look for pregnant women):

Gorgeous, sunny day up at the mountain:
After our yummy dinner, Marshall and Rachael introduced us to the hobby of geocaching. Basically, people hide things all over the world, create directions to their treasure on the internet, and you get to go hunt for it. There were a couple just right by our house, so we decided to check it out! Unfortunately we couldn't find the first one, but found the second one pretty easily. It was hidden under a bench a few blocks away from our house:

Geocaches can be anything from boxes filled with treasures to share, or just a tiny capsule with a scroll inside:

This one had a scroll that you were supposed to write your name and date that you found it. This paper was already filled up!


Kind of a cool new hobby! K liked it a lot because he got to search for a treasure!

Putting it back in the same place we found it:

Firework time!

Yes, we are in Washington where the cool fireworks are allowed, but I think the boys had the most fun dancing around with the sparklers.

Too bad they weren't the really cool kind and almost burned our hands!

Like I said before, The Punisher is all boy and went crazy when he heard the fireworks! Kind of exciting to think that next year we will have a 9 month old toddler in the pics with us!

Rachael and I relaxing and watching the fireworks. Boy do I look tired! It had been a long day!

We finished the night with some smores and milk! Perfect way to end the day!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Weekly Check In: 24 Weeks

Baby A is still Papaya size this week (well, atleast according to the charts of averages, however, The Punisher is probably onto next week fruit already!). The last time I went to the grocery, I actually picked up a papaya and couldn't believe that something that size is in my stomach, bouncing around! Pregnancy really amazes me.

How far along:
24 weeks
Maternity Clothes: Just had to go shopping for some new items. Hit up a great sale at Victoria's Secret (bought some really comfy yoga pants and a cozy cami), and then Target to get a dress for the wedding I'm photographing this Saturday
Stretch Marks: Not yet (knock on wood)
Sleep: Starting to get uncomfortable. The other night I almost woke up K to rub my back because it was spazming
Best Moment this Week: The Fourth of July weekend with Uncle Marshall and Aunt Rachel! Shopping, mountains, geocaching, fireworks, Shirley Temples and smores. Yeah, it was pretty good!
Movement: Still a mover! He really likes it when he hears Dad's voice!
Food Cravings: Fulfilled my need for fried chicken Sunday night, so now I'm just waiting for the next craving to kick in
Gender: Definite boy!!!
Labor Signs: Nope! Let's keep it that way for awhile.
Belly Button: Still an innie, but not too much depth
What I Miss: My legs sure do miss my lighter frame! I can't walk around the mall without my ankles hurting. Looks like it's time to invest in some good tennis shoes
What I'm Looking Forward to this Week: Tomorrow's lunch with Lyds, my doctor appointment on Thursday (although not looking forward to drinking the yucky glucose thing)
Weekly Wisdom: Next time, wake the husband for a back rub!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Pink & Blue Party Revisited!

Okay, time for to play catch up! You would think that as a photographer, I would be really good at downloading the photos from my computer and sharing them with others. As it turns out, I'm really good at doing that for my clients, however I am terrible when it comes to my own photos! So sorry for the delay, but here are the photos from the pink & blue party a few weeks ago! Oh, and the most recent belly photo from 20 weeks!
Surprisingly I didn't cut myself with the knife while carving this watermelon for the baby buggy!

The roses that my Uncle cut from his garden for me! Unfortunately my aunt and uncle weren't able to attend, but aren't the flowers gorgeous? Thanks Uncle Lance!

My niece who couldn't decide whether she thought the baby was a boy or girl, so she wore a dress with both colors and was "right" when we announced the big news!

My grandma and me! We had a great day hanging out!

Thanks again Dad for manning the grill!

How we announced our big news!

Werner was the only guy man enough to wear pink! His wife Joyce thought it was a girl as well, and bought us a girly present, but came prepared with a boy backup gift! =)

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Fruit of the Week...Still a Papaya!

Like I said last week, Baby will be a papaya for another few weeks. I'm now entering my 6th month of pregnancy at 23 weeks! I really can't believe that there are only 17 more weeks left until we get to meet this little guy! There are still soooo many things left to do, that time is going to fly by.
After hours of searching on the internet and in fabric stores, I have finally decided on the fabric for the nursery. I've decided to keep it really simple with a royal blue, light blue, red, and khaki striped print. Then I'll match it with solids. I figure there is going to be quite a bit going on with the travel theme that I should keep the fabrics simple. Plus this fabric matches the Paddington Bear we bought in London at Harrods (who is now resting on the new dresser).
Now for the baby news...
The Punisher is definitely growing! And he LOVES chocolate!!! Last night I indulged with a double chocolate Haagan Daz ice cream bar, and he was doing acrobatics for over two hours straight.

How far along: 23 weeks
Maternity Clothes: Still getting away with the prepregnancy tops, but when it's really hot you can usually find me chilling on the couch in a pair of Keenan's boxers and a tank top
Stretch Marks: Not yet (knock on wood)
Sleep: Interrupted with bathroom breaks and dreams of talking kittens
Best Moment this Week: Saturday in Seattle! I had a morning photo session, then had a great lunch with the hubs and some shopping!!!
Movement: I'm thinking we're in for an active baby! Last night he performed acrobatics for over two hours!!!
Food Cravings: Last night I really wanted some fried chicken! But the craving wasn't too big, so I just ignored it. Figured I would save up my "send the hubby to the store" trips for when I really need them.
Gender: Definite boy!!!
Labor Signs: Nope! Let's keep it that way for awhile.
Belly Button: Still an innie, but not for too much longer
What I Miss: Not having to get up to empty my bladder three times a night, oh, and lemonade with blueberry vodka
What I'm Looking Forward to this Week: Spending the Fourth with our company!
Weekly Wisdom: The sooner you drag yourself out of bed to use the restroom, the sooner you can get back to sleep!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Fruit of the Week: 22 Weeks

So apparently we're running out of large fruits, because from this point on the weekly fruits are replaced by monthly fruits. So for the next few weeks, The Punisher is a variety of sizes of papaya! He can also hear things outside of the womb (and apparently he is total boy already, because he was going crazy in there when he heard the gun blasts from a movie we were watching. Why do I see a collection of GI Joe's in my near future?). He is also starting to taste things, and he LOVES the Costco chocolate cake =)

Monday, June 22, 2009

Decisions, Decisions

So I've been making so many decisions (or atleast trying to) that I think my brain is fried! The good news is that thanks to Grandpa B, the nursery is coming along nicely! I'm still not 100% certain on the top color, but figure once I have my fabrics I can decide if I want to change it or not. The crib is almost put together (just need to put together the drawer and attach it), and I scored big time with my dresser purchase! It was regularly $430, discontinued so it was marked down to $299. BabiesRUs didn't have any left in the warehouse, so I had to take the floor model. I got a discount for that, and I had a 15% off coupon, so the total came to $229!
As for fabrics, I received the sample that I had ordered from the first fabric listed below and decided it was more green than I was going for. And I'm worried that the prints are too busy for the look I'm trying to accomplish, so I'm back to square one. I think now that the crib is up, the dresser is in place and I've started my first travel themed painting that I can better start picturing exactly what I want.
I'm just hoping that I'll be able to finish all these projects before The Punisher gets here =)

21 weeks, 6 days

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Fruit of the Week: 21 Weeks

He's a banana this week (a really active banana!). His tastebuds are now working, and I'm pretty sure he loves the taste of Costco's triple chocolate cake! The past few nights I've indulged in small(ish) portions of that cake with a tall glass of milk, and a little while later he always starts to go crazy. Too much sugar, perhaps?
Grandpa B has started work on the nursery! I wasn't sure about the paint colors I had picked out once I saw them go on the walls, but figure I can change it at a later date if I'm really not happy. I'm trying to pick out the fabrics for his nursery, and these are the ones I like so far:
So many projects! I've barely started and already my mind is going crazy! I should just host a huge "Come Work on Our Nursery" Party! I may even supply pizza to those who show up! Who's game?