Baby Blog

26 Weeks....(I know right? It's flying by!)

So another BUSY week has passed. I worked my 3 days and then watched Fletcher & Morley two afternoons. They were busy, and kinda grumpy at times, but it was fun to spend time with them. (Makes me glad I am on my first kid and not preggo with my third though). My friend Jess always says "God Gives you enough grace/strength to handle exactly what is going on right now" and let me tell you I don't have enough of either of those things to handle 3 kids full time at this moment. Or even 2 and a pregnancy. So hopefully in a few years God will provide that grace, and right now I can be thankful to only be having one!

In other baby news:

*She is around 2lbs now!

*I am feeling her move a ton and she even will respond to me pushing where she is moving and she will push back.

*She is aware of light and dark and can hear what we are saying to her

*I was a lot more tired this week and really could have napped every day (too bad I didn't get to)

*I have been pretty emotional (poor husband. This week I may have cried over the nursery, the weather, the jayhawks losing and numerous other reasons)

*26weeks is the last week in the second trimester...CRAZY!

Here are a few snapshots from the week.

I have taken so many tums in the last few weeks I had to restock! I don't really like the mint, but the assorted fruit are okay.

We went to the lake to celebrate Rob's (my bro-in-law) birthday. They have a coach outlet and even though I SWORE I wouldn't buy anything (and I guess I didn't). I found this super cute diaperbag. It is hot pink inside. Anyway, Dan said we could find a better bag (he really meant cheaper) and then went back and bought it for me. (Cause he rocks and is WAY to nice to me). I love it. And last but not least here is my 26 week picture. Dan snapped it on my phone really quick before I left for work because we forgot to take a pic yesterday. I am impressed with my phones camera quality. And very unimpressed with the PORCELAIN color of my face. ****IF THE SUN WOULD SHINE AND IT WOULD STOP SNOWING I WOULD BE ABLE TO FIX THAT ISSUE.(Just saying)

That's all I've got for now.

Love, LA

Baby Got Back

Alrighty, So the topic of discussion tonight has been BOOTYs. Yep, you know what I mean.
"Little in the middle but you got much back".
Most women either LOVE or HATE their booty. I have heard of people trying to work out so their butts get smaller, and then of people acutally buying panties that have booty pads to enhance what they don't have naturally.

It has been interesting to hear peoples opinions on what type of bootys they have vs other types of bootys other people have.

My friend Tara has an "Onion Butt" in her opinion. It is round and almost jumps right off her backside into a lovely shape. I remember in highschool we would say..."I have an onion butt, a butt that will bring tears to your eyes" (we meant it in a good way...although once I had an onion butt but that was from a can of sour cream and onion pringles and brought tears to dans eyes in a bad way, but thats a WHOLE different story...I digress)

Another friend said by the time my pregnancy was over I would have a shelf booty. I think that goes something like this....(and truly has more to do with your back than your booty)

Your butt just pops out naturally because your belly is so big.

Here is a for real shelf booty. LITERALLY.

You could fit an igloo cooler on that booty!

I currently have been labeled with the bitty booty...A butt, but not a whole bunch of one.

My favorite booty label of the night is BUTT CRACK TO MIDBACK. That one came from one of the funniest people I know. (Seriously-she gave up FB for lent and I feel that it is more of a sacrifice for all of us because we lose out on her witty commentary) BUTT CRACK TO MIDBACK is when you have a very long booty, there is a definite lower starting point at your hip/thigh area but then it kinda slopes up your back and doesn't have a definite ending point...thus butt crack to midback.

So I challenge you to assess yourself...What kind of booty to you own? Bubble? Flat? Ghetto? Shelf? Apple bottom? Bitty Booty? Butt crack to midback? Take a look in your mirror and leave me a comment. I will be intrested in hearing your conclusion!
That's all I've got for now.

Love, La

MISCELLANY MONDAY

1. I had about a million things on my agenda today. (Okay not a million, just go to the bank, hobby lobby, work on hemming some jeans at my gmas house, run to the store, make a meal for my bff, and take a dog on a walk. **I have to get all this done by 2:30 because I need to take a nap before I work tonight**) So my goal was to leave the house by 9:00am...however I still looked like this at 9:15.

I uploaded the blurry version because WOW did I look HOTTT in the clear version. Don't worry I did pull it together and leave by 930.

2. I am REALLY excited to go part-time at work. That means working 2 nights a week instead of 3. And yes I know I am spoiled that full time is 3 nights a week. However in my defense that is still 36 hours crammed into 3 nights. I am just tired of working 3 nights a week. I feel kinda bad for dan that he will most likely have to work full time until he is 65. YUCK.

3. Speaking of Going part time and having less moolah. Have you all heard of Dave Ramsey? I just really appreciate him and how he has taught us to manage our finances. Check him out here. You won't regret it.

4. I am making black bean chili to take to emily and wyatt. Here is the recipe. It is delish and also very healthy. (I thought I would HATE it when my friend made it the first time, but YUMMY!)

Black Bean Chili

2 tsp olive oil

1 lg onion

1lg green pepper (or half red, half green)

(sauté)

green chillis (canned)

1 tblspn chilli powder

1tsp cumin

1tsp oregano

1/8tsp cayenne pepper

1 14oz can diced tomatos

2 16oz cans black beans

1 cup corn

1/3 cup fresh cilantro

(add rest & simmer)

I usually add a few can fulls of water to make it more soupy. YUMMY!

*I also ususally add part of a chopped up zucchini and yellow squash, just because I love those veggies. And I never do fresh cilantro because it isn't my favorite.

That's all I've got for now

Love, LA

25 weeks

I pretty much updated about this week in my last post however, I figured I would at least put up a belly pic and update a little about baby this week.

Baby girl is growing huh? I think so at least! I can now no longer bend over to tie my shoes easily. Its hard to imagine getting much bigger, but no doubt I will!

She weights about 1.5lbs and is about 8.5 inches head to butt.

She is moving around a ton and is kinda protective of "her space"... for instance, as I am typing right now the laptop is resting partly on my legs, partly on my tummy and she keeps pushing against it. Yep, the girl has attitude already. Earlier today I was holding baby Clara on my chest/tummy and she keep punching her all over too. It was kinda amusing. Clara didn't mind, she slept right though it.

No major food cravings or new symptoms.

I've been really tired but I think that is just because this week was so crazy busy. The upcoming week looks like it will be just as busy. Helps the time go by fast though- We will get to meet our little gal so quickly!

That's all for now!

Love, La

My newest little friend Clara

It has been a super eventful week and I am TIRED and this is the reason why*.

Tuesday I got up early, went to a crafting morning at a friends house, then went back home to meet up with Amanda she brought me these WONDERFUL Chocolate-chip banana bars (just because she is nice and I am pregnant). She posted the recipe here on her blog. Anyway I chatted with her for a few minutes, then another close friend Jess came over to chat. (I love that girl. She is so life giving!) Then I took a nap because WOW that was a busy day and it was only 330pm.

LUCKY FOR ME I TOOK A NAP! Cause around 8pm Emily texted me saying she was having regular contractions (P.S. I forgot to mention she was pregnant and her due date was the next day) Her husband texted me again at 10:30 saying they were closer together and still going. So I decided to head to bed because it may endup being a long night. (They had asked me to come to the delivery)

So I went to bed. Unfortunately I was so excited I couldn't sleep. I tried, but then since my adrenaline was high so was baby girls and she was having a little dance party. (she was excited about the birth of her future bff). I think I slept all of about 30minutes for the 3 hours I was in bed.

Finally around 130 Wyatt texted me saying I should head over. So I got up, got ready and was on my way. She labored at home for a bit longer, then we headed into the hospital. She labored at the hospital from 330ish-8ish then her Dr sent her home again to be more comfortable. (I got to sneak in a 45minute nap at the house). Then around 1 things started really moving and we headed back to the hospital.

Emily and Wyatt decided to try for an all natural birth. No drugs. Nothing. They were VERY well prepared and I was confident she would succeed (this is the same birth plan I have). Anyway- It wasn't easy but she did it! From the time we left the house to the time she delivered WAS THE LONGEST 4ish HOURS of my life- so I can only imagine how long it was to her. Seriously Transition is a B-word. (remember what I gave up for lent? I'm failing at not cussing misserably, but at least I can control it here)

It was rough because she couldn't get comfortable and couldn't get relaxed. Here was the issue. She had to be monitored 20 continuous mins of every hour (Which is RIDICULOUS because baby was doing GREAT). So she HAD to be in bed for that time- the monitor really only picked up well if she was on her back or on her side. And she was uncomfortable both ways. Anyway- She made it through. I have no clue how, and I am seriously SO PROUD of her that she did. Because that monitoring standard did not make it easy.

The pushing was great- I knew Emily would excel at this aspect of labor. And her sweet baby girl was born without any complications around 615pm after 22hour of labor. I am seriously in love with that little girl. (Good thing I have one coming soon or I might have to move in with Em and Wy to see that baby everyday**).

They named her Clara Rose Bury which in my humble opinion is a WONDERFUL name. It fits her perfectly. Here they are right after the delivery.

And here is a pretty picture of em and I-just because I feel mean for posting one of her JUST AFTER SHE HAD A BABY. (even though I think she looks lovely-she will hate the picture)
And here is one of her and Wyatt from early February. Just because this shows why I love this girl so much...this is at our white trash themed b-day party so just know she doesn't usually dress like this.
Yep. Check out that Outfit. And her preggo belly in all its glory. And the hair BAH!

Anyway- It was a wonderful to be with her and support her as she worked hard to bring that beautiful baby into the world. I am so thankful she wanted me there.

On another note- I may have freaked out afterwards and told My husband that I couldn't do that, and neither could he. However, after having time to process here is what I have decided.

I am pretty sure I couldn't have a baby in the hospital under the circumstances that she did and not get an epidural. She had a long labor and again I won't go off on the monitoring, but it was excessive in my opinion for a completely healthy, normal labor.

That is why I again am standing by our decision to have our baby with a midwife-and most likely at a birthing center. (I know- go ahead, collective GASP, "What is she thinking" "She is an RN she should know better" ect ect ect) I truly believe for MOST people labor is a natural healthy process and in america we try to make it an emergency situation. I am aware emergencies happen, and I fully trust my midwife to be looking out for me and act before we get into a pickle if that should be me. And I will deal with that when it comes.

Anyhow- that is a huge digression and probably a topic for an entire blog post. All this to say I am so very proud of my bestie. She truly did wonderful in labor and will do wonderful as a mom too.

That's all for now

Love, La

*wasn't trying to complain about how tired I am- I am sure Em &Wy are exhausted, but I am pregnant and 36hours of being awake with only a couple 45 minute cat-naps won't do for this girl-and I seriously have been exhausted since waking up Thursday morning.
**15weeks baby girl and I will get to meet you! I cannot wait!

24 WEEKS!

So another week has already past! WOW are flying by or what?!

To recap this week...

I babysat one day,

I worked 3 days, (which in my world =36 hours -okay only 32 this week)

Went to two small groups/missional communities,

Had a nasty "bug" that involved lots of nausea and trips to the bathroom,

The above item mandated a trip to see my midwife (apparently nausea, prolonged diarrhea, and abdominal cramping are signs of preterm labor) -Which then got me a day of bed-rest

Which leads us to right now. Technically my 24 hours or bedrest ended 2 minutes ago, however, I am still somewhat crampy, so I am not gonna push my luck. This baby girl has AT LEAST 12 more weeks to cook (12 weeks?!?! THAT IS GOING TO BE HERE SO SOON!!!!) (P.S. I am aware that it will be longer than 12 weeks!)

Info about the week-

*Baby is about 1.2-1.3 pounds & about 8.4 inches head to rump length.

*Baby girl is moving a lot more! I really think that if Dan would be patient enough to wait to feel her he would be able to. So far after a few minutes of nothing he gets frustrated and gives up. Soon for sure though. ***update***Dan felt her move for the first time late last night. He finally had enough patience to wait. When he felt it he looked up at me with the biggest grin on her face. It was a cool moment!

*I am definitely looking preggo now. My uterus sits about 2 inches above my belly button, and I have a much fuller looking belly this week.

*It was a bummer feeling sick all week. Hopefully it is just a bug and not something else!

*Favorite thing I ate today? uhhh this thing.

My best friend (who is just 2 days shy of her due date) is a pastry chef and she made these. Yep, best cinnamon roll I have EVER HAD. no kidding.

That's all I've got for now,

Love, LA

Fashion and Lent

Firstly I wanted to share this...

This is my husband (He is kinda my favorite guy around). When we met he had three outfits. His starbucks work outfit. A blue and white pen-stripped ong sleve shift that he rolled up to be 3/4 sleeve (he never actually washed or unbuttoned this shirt ust would slip it on and off and then throw it in the dryer to freshen it up-YUCK!). He wore that with LIGHT washed jeans that had slits at the bottom because they were originally tapered leg (I think) and they didn’t fit over his shoes. (Sadly I don’t have a picture of this outfit, but considering he wore it on our first 8 dates I have it saved in my memory)

This outfit, which was his "summer outfit.

A long sleeved shirt that he pushed up and black gym shorts and his pumas. Keep in mind I made him wear the shirt inside out cause it was a band shirt and had an extremely inappropriate picture of a girl in a martini glass on it.

And here he is today before work! I mean seriously the man looks GOOD! He has on an Argyle Sweater and just happens to have matching argyle socks. Oh what 4 years, the influence of a woman, and a full length mirror can do for a man!

Speaking of four years ago. I just wanted to mention that Dan and I started hanging out/had our first date four years ago- I don't know the exact date, but It was during spring break of March 2007. I am so thankful for him.

On to other things. Today Lent starts. (I didn't realize this till last night but was wondering why all my co-workers were talking about getting wasted on a tuesday night).

So to prepare myself for the Easter season and the magnitude of the sacrifice that Christ made for us I have decided to do two things.

1. Give up cussing. I seriously have a bad mouth these days. I mean I kinda joke about it but when the F word flows out of your mouth multiple times a week & very naturally. Yep I need to work on it. (Plus, sweet baby girl can hear me now! I don't want her hearing that!)

2. In my last post I talked a lot about self image and donning the belt of truth. So my other goal is to Daily don myself with the belt of truth FIRST. So that means no social networking, blogging, tv, email, phone, ect ect until I spend a bit of time in the word. Those things seriously distract me the most first thing in the AM, and then I forget all about spending time in the word and go about my day. Takes 30 days to make a habit. Isn't Lent 40?

That's all I've got for now!

Love, LA

What Eve and I have in common

This weekend after taking about 45 pictures to find one to post on my blog to show my belly progress I was defeated and pretty much super down on myself. I was upset with Dan’s inability to get a good photo, upset with myself in how I look, and just being really hard on myself & Dan. Anyway- a bit later Dan said something (that me maybe has said a few times before) but he said “You really need to work on how you see yourself. God created you so beautifully, you are created in his image, and you do not see that”

He is right. Completely right. And I cannot argue with his statement one bit.

I often think about Eve and how she believed the snake when he told her “you will not die if you eat the fruit”. How could she believe a snake? I mean she believed a slithering animal above the Creator that she knew well, had relationship with, & walked with in the cool of the evening? How could she not believe what God said above what the snake said?

Our small group is reading “Waking the Dead” by John Eldredge- In the first chapter he talks about how we are at battle and says this- (talking about Satan_) …”Unable to overthrow the Mighty One, he turned his sights on those who bore his image. He lied to us about where true life was to be found, and we believed him.” This hit me hard. I always think harshly of Eve…how foolish she was to not believe what God had spoken to her. And then the way he phrases this sentence… “HE LIED TO US”.

Here I am living my life, being lied to everyday by Satan and I BELIEVE him! God tells me all the time I am beautiful, He tells me through others, he tells me in his Word, He tells me in my quiet times with Him. Yet, I choose to believe the lies Satan is telling him.

Eldredge later writes …. “Paul says, "arm yourselves", and the first piece of equipment he urges us to don is the belt of truth (Eph 6:10-18) We arm ourselves by getting a good, solid grip on our situation, by getting some clarity on the battle over our lives.”

So this week I am acknowledging and fighting this battle over my life. And I am going to start by daily donning myself with the belt of truth.

Just wanted to share.

That’s all I’ve got for now

Love- LA

BABY BLOG 23 WEEKS

This is my picture from yesterday at 23weeks. You can tell that my uterus is still just level with my belly button because you can see the indent that is my (rapidly widening & extremely shallow) belly button.

I took a few more today. (when I say a few I mean probably 30) I wanted to get a "good picture" funny thing is though, when your body is growing out of control getting a "good picture" becomes a daunting task and might have (or did) lead to COMPLETELY unnecessary tears)

This one I took after eating a hot dog and cheese fries from The New York Dawg Pound check them out. YUMMY! Anyway my belly is NICE AND ROUND here...thanks to the hotdog =)

And then of course I couldn't help but take one with Mira. You can tell she is thrilled. (And getting really heavy for me to pick up)

How far along am I? 23 weeks 1 day

Any new symptoms? Not really. Baby girl is moving a ton. Which is a very odd feeling sometimes. Still having lots of heartburn & at really random times. More tired that I have been the last few weeks

Fav thing I ate today? By far a bite of dans Chili Cheese Dog at "New York Dawg Pound" the cheese fries were AWESOME too. I ordered a dog with sauerkraut and mustard (also delish).

Other stuff? I have been super emotional. I serious have cried 3 times today. Once about the pictures, once a few minutes later about that again. And then when I got frustrated with the bed skirt I was making.

Speaking of bed skirts Dan and I started working on baby girl's bed skirt today. He wanted to help and really did help a lot! I was wanting to add a ruffle and got frustrated when it wasn't working how I wanted it too. I think I am giving up on the ruffle. We "paused" the project for now, we will probably finish next weekend. It wasn't worth the tears today.

Something else funny- Today Dan ran a red light, it was yellow and he just kept going once it turned red- my response was "wow" and he replied... "Hey I am not going to get yelled at by the pregnant lady because I was driving too slow and missed the light"

All I could do was laugh because he does drive slow and ALWAYS misses lights because of it, and I ALWAYS comment on it. *I Already said I was emotional right? well I guess he noticed too...

Anyway- That's all I've got for now.

I am thankful for a healthy baby girl and for a loving husband who is more patient with me than I deserve!

Love, LA

I cannot believe it is already friday. These weeks are just FLYING by!

Wednesday was pretty much the best day ever. So much exciting stuff happened. A few things that were a huge answer to prayer. I have been super stressed out about finding a rug for the nursery...yep, I know its kinda a dumb thing to stress about, however it matters to me. They are all super expensive and I haven't found any that I like (except a $600 one from PB...pretty sure dan would say NO to that). So anyway I went to this great fabric store that I didn't realize also had discount rugs and I found a great one! Best part, it was only 100bucks!

Then I went to a JBF sale (super huge baby consignment sale) that night with my mom. We have several bigger items that I am guessing we wouldn't get at a shower that I was looking for. It was a HUGE success. I found this stroller for 70$

It is the one that our carseat fits into and has great ratings.

I found this highchair.

It is the same type that the people I babysit for have- I freaking love that highchair. It is not obtrussive or annoying, it is super easy to clean, and I just really wanted THAT one. Bad news is that it is WAY more than I would ever pay for a highchair or ever put on a registry cause it is that pricy-I looked on craigslist several times but didn't find much so I kinda gave up, until I found it yesterday for 70bucks! It is in great condition too!

We also got a pretty much brand new mattress for 30$.

To top it all off later that evening I was checking out what was happening on facebook and I saw my wedding photographer (I love her- check out her pics here ) was doing a special on baby photography. So we are getting a maternity shoot (no naked belly pics I promise) a newborn shoot, and then a shoot every other month till 1 year for 700bucks! Best part is we get a CD and rights to all the edited images. YEP...that was definitely the cherry on top of a wonderful day! I know 700 bucks sounds like a lot of moolah (or at least to me it does) but that is by far the best bang for our buck we have found.

Sucessful Day? Yep I would say so.

That's all I've got

LA

tuesdays top picks

So here we are...IT IS MARCH! Which is very exciting for a few reasons. First off, my BFF will welcome her sweet baby girl this month. And that also means (as of tomorrow) my due date is in FOUR months! CRAZY how fast time goes!

So a new theme for Tuesdays... "Tuesday's top picks" -just some things I like and will write about on tuesday

So here we go!

*I got a new phone the Sprint Epic...I am obsessed! It has a keyboard and is a touch screen. I LOVE IT! OBSESSED. (did I mention I like it a lot?)

*While meandering down the frozen novelty aisle at price chopper I came across a glorious ice cream! It is Belfonte Premium "denali express" MOOSE TRACKS. Pretty much it is chocolate ice cream with a fudge ribbon (we aren't talking about a chocolate streak here people, it is FROZEN FUDGE, thick yummy creamy fudge!) with mini chocolate fudge filled cups. It is so rich it is better to eat by the spoonful randomly throughout the day instead of a bowl in one sitting...but YUMMY!

*Willow Smith (it may help that I am watching Oprah right now and she is on) but the girl has talent. She can dance, she can sing-and she makes me want to "whip my hair back and forth". Hopefully she can avoid turning out like Miley cyrus and Brittney spears.

*SPRING! Any day that the sun is shining and it is in the high 50's-mid 60's. LOVE IT. I cannot wait for summer and to rock my preggo belly in my swimsuit. This will definitely be a pool summer!

*this is a bit random, but today I had lunch and hung out with my friend Amanda. We met at a college ministry at KSU. It was super fun and I am glad we are living in the same city again!

That's all I've got for now-

LA