{23 weeks}

Baby,

Welcome to hearing mommy and daddy's voices, your ears are in full function now so you can hear us singing and laughing and even music. You have a name.... Emmett. We both love it and think it will suit you perfectly, manly and strong. We found out that you have relatives on both sides with that name as well which was coincidence but seemed to make it official. The middle name for you is still being decided upon. Maybe now that you can hear us, you can give a kick to the name you like best!? Let me know! If there were any doubts about how much you weighed a few weeks ago, you are for sure 1 pound and could almost be up to 1.5! We will see at our next appt. if you are still measuring big or not but I've been working out this week to try and slow your weight gain and mine (all per Dr's orders)

How far along? 23 Weeks

Total weight gain: around 17 lbs now!
Maternity clothes? mostly maternity items but still can wear some regular shirts and pull them over the bump
Stretch marks? here and there, mostly in random places
Sleep: some nights- great, others- not so much
Best moment this week: working out- doing something for both my baby and me!
Miss Anything? sleeping on my stomach- what I wouldn't give for 1 night on my tummy!
Movement: yes usually at night
Food cravings: no cravings anymore, just constantly hungry
Anything making you queasy or sick: Tuesday night I got sick but didn't puke!!
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: No- weird to think that baby E could be born and possibly survive though!
Symptoms: some pain in my hips/tailbone.. but nothing too painful or bothersome.
Belly Button in or out? getting bigger... maybe it will eventually be an outie
Wedding rings on or off? off- sadly I cannot risk my ring getting stuck, i would rather take the finger!
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy.. although the random mood swings are happening a bit more frequently.
Looking forward to: Dr's appt. and hitting the 3rd trimester!!

{vroom baby}

So because Pierce has been crazy busy lately and driving downtown practically everyday for school, work or lacrosse....we came to the realization that his Jeep Commander was just too much money in gas and not worth all the gas money. We already got my "family" car back in October and while we loved our Commander, we decided to make a financial adult decision for the baby and get a less expensive car (in payments & gas). After a HORRIBLE experience with Honda, we walked into the Mitsubishi/Hyundai dealership to see what they could do for us and the first car they pulled out for us to test drive was this bad boy (minus the fin on the back)! And we ended up getting this one! Pierce loves it and sort of thinks it's a racing car, but I told him red cars get pulled over more than any other colored car so he better be careful! We love it and it gets such better gas mileage!

{Valentine's Day 2012}

Valentine's Day this year was amazing. Pierce said that he didn't want to do gifts because we are saving money for the babe and what not. I knew better, last year, I only got a card and was outdone by my husband with cupcakes and apple cider and flowers and a gift! So I got him some Miami Heat basketball shorts-- I thought I did so well until the day before V-day, I was given this....

Holy Smokes! It's a beautiful camera-- Nikon d3100 to be exact. I am still going to need to read the manual front to back and then back to front to know how to work this thing but I was SO shocked and SO happy! My husband fooled me again people (when will I learn).

Valentine's day, Pierce had school but he left his last class early to come spend the whole day with me...he even cancelled Lacrosse which is a big deal! He walked inside with flowers, what a sweet man- aren't they beautiful?

We went to Lunch at noodle's & co and then went with a gift card to see Chronicle, it was ok- not as good as we heard it was but still enjoyable.

Then we came home and rested for a few hours and caught up on just relaxing (which is really what my husband needs right now) then we got dolled up and headed to Cafe Rio for dinner and another movie, this time the cheesy V-day movie "The Vow" which I of course LOVED and don't think Pierce minded much either. I didn't get any pictures of us because we wanted the day to be with each other and not distracted by too much.

It was a day in paradise! I love my husband and am so grateful for him and that he does all he does for our family! Love you P!

{make room for baby: part 1}

So I am officially into my nesting stage of wanting to de-junk everything (3 DI trips in the last 4 weeks) and wanting to start on Baby E's room-- yes we can call him baby E. I originally wanted to paint the walls a light grey but daddy ex-nayed that idea so we played a game and each picked out 3 paint colors and then narrowed in on one...and it was Disney's Cinderella Blue or something dorky like that. I have to say I love it!

Some people might think that it's a tad bit too early for us to start on the room, but Pierce is literally going ALL day EVERY day and I will be thankful when I am too big to help in any way.

Obviously, it's still a work in progress-- like we need a mattress etc. but here is just a peak at before and after!

Here are some "before" pictures that I stole from Pierce's instagram, as you can see it was messy and was just an office.

My sweet husband hard at work painting! (He doesn't know I took this!)

And now, the "After"

{when you walk in}

{another angle of the room}

{the crib minus the mattress}

{Ikea dresser that was once mine, this is where we will put the changing pad}

{the closet- clearly needing some organization still...that's for another day}

{and my office is to the side by the closet- fits great}

So we still have a TON to do but I am happy with the improvements and painting! I think we will do a subtle jungle theme- and I don't even dare to say theme- I mainly want it to be colors but I found the following 2 pictures that we may use! My mom and I are going to make the bedding because I can't find anything I love or exactly what I am wanting. I am thinking Chevron and polka dots for the bedding in some fun colors!

{this awesome elephant lamp from HomeGoods}

{and these animal prints from etsy}

{life as a preggers: week 22}

If I could pick one word to describe this week, it would be BIG! I can feel BIG movements, we made some BIG moves in preparing for baby's room (notice the blue wall behind me), Daddy gave me a BIG fancy camera for Valentine's day, mommy's BIG zits, and of course as the Doc said-- you are measuring BIG (a week and a half big to be exact).

{life as a preggers: week 21}

21 things I would have never known 21 weeks ago:

1. I was pregnant (dur)

2. we would be having a boy!

3. I really like baked potatoes from Wendy's

4. I wouldn't want yogurt

5. I would be sick in the 2nd trimester

6. I would make my husband gag me because I never can do it myself...gross and true!

7. I would forget everything!!

8. Not only forget things, but do weird things because my brain is shut off-- like putting the milk in the cupboard...

9. Cocoa butter would be my best friend! I think it really has helped me so far!

10. The boob fairy would actually come visit me! (this is based off a legit song called the Boob Fairy)

11. The moment when you hear the heartbeat and you think "oh, there really is a baby in there"

12. How holidays now become more meaningful because you think of traditions you get to start with your own little family.

13. I would love my dogs that much more, because the mominess has kicked into high gear.

14. We would have 2 new cars-- all based on a little guy who won't even drive for 16 more years.

15. We would have apartment issues but have it end up being a great blessing.

16. I wouldn't go back to school, and I don't mind at all!

17. We would be showered with love and gifts this early on!

18. That I would have a new awesome job that lets me be a mom and stay home! Such a blessing!!

19. The hairs on my legs and armpits could grow so incredibly fast that I could be a super-hero with hairy powers!

20. That I could be amazed and somehow self-conscious about this bump.

21. That a little guy will be joining us in just a few short months!

{showering of the baby}

A few weeks ago, my mom and friend Haley threw me a great baby shower for our little guy! My mother-in-law also helped with the food- which of course was my favorite part!

The babe was spoiled and I will say that I may or may not have the cutest clothing to dress our stud muffin up in!! Here are just a couple pictures that I snapped on my phone and I will have to get some of the rest from my MIL and mom (and yes I realize that all my pictures are food related- even if the diaper cake isn't edible).

cupcakes made by haley

the left overs of my cupcake the next day

the AMAZING diaper cake my mom made for me

and the famous cake-pops made by my mom. I won't say that she made these for the Super Bowl as well and that I ate 5 yesterday....

{week 20: halfway}

Dear Baby,

You are officially 20 weeks old...close to 1 pound and we made a HUGE milestone besides those 2 things. Yes, I can FINALLY feel you kickin' in there! Dad even felt it once, you seem to be a night owl which I've heard is pretty common. One thing I'm not so happy about is the high-school acne you've now given me this week. Zits everywhere! I even have some on my arms-weird. Oh well, I guess it's ok to look like a knocked up teenager for you! I think I've gained close to 4 pounds this week, it didn't help that I ate myself silly for the Super Bowl but I guess now is my chance to eat however much I want! We have a Dr's appt this week and I can't wait to hear your little heartbeat again!

Love you!

Mom

horrible quality- thanks to iPhone, i really need to start using my camera for these!

How far along? 20 Weeks
Total weight gain: 13 lbs
Maternity clothes? mostly maternity items but still can wear some regular stuff
Stretch marks? here and there
Sleep: some nights- great, others- not so much
Best moment this week: feeling that little guy kick and move!
Miss Anything? having adult skin
Movement: YES! confirmed by Pierce!
Food cravings: back to hot dogs, salsa, salad
Anything making you queasy or sick: not this week!
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: some pain in my hips/tailbone.. but nothing too painful or bothersome.
Belly Button in or out? getting bigger... maybe it will eventually be an outie
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy.. although the random mood swings are happening a bit more frequently.
Looking forward to: my next dr's appt!