Saturday, September 17, 2011

Ohhhh... dancin' in September!

Random title, I know.  It's just that every September I can't seem to get Earth, Wind, and Fire out of my head, so I thought I'd get it stuck in your head today, too!  At the start of this month, I was convinced that I was going to be a great blogger because so much has been going on!  What I didn't account for is that since so much has been going on, I don't find a whole heck of time to blog!  Not to mention that I've been working my tail off to try and wrap things up with work before maternity leave.  So alas, although my intentions were good, here is everything (well, not everything... but close enough) wrapped up into one blog post.  Here's what we've been up to this month so far:

We've been having more fun times with the family... Jake is loving all of the fun with cousin Adam!



 Enjoying the last days of summer... although it already feels like fall (and we're loving it)!


Crafting!  A few weeks ago Josh took Jake down to Georgia for a couple of nights to help his dad move up here (hooray for having more family in town!) so I drove up to Cincinnati to stay with Mindy and Adam for a couple of days, since her hubby was on a trip, too.  We stayed up way late one day working on some fun projects with my friend from my UT days, Laura.  Together they made this beautiful cushion for the bench in our entryway:


And here it is up close.  We almost didn't have enough fabric (HA!) but it came out beautifully and I love it!  It makes such a difference since the bench was just boring and plain before.  Now our shoes have a place to live!


While they worked on that, I had a project of my own.  Since Jake has his name spelled out in his room (remember this?):


Well, they actually don't hang like that in his new room, but you get the picture.  I knew that Miss Lillian needed letters of her own, so while I originally just planned on painting them white, Mindy and Laura had ideas of their own and introduced me to the (very messy) art of Mod Podge (which I had never even heard of!).  So we started with plain wooden letters, scrapbook paper, Mod Podge glue, and a paint brush...


And after a few hours of (extremely) tedious and messy work, ended up with these beauties:


And yes, that is my belly peeking into the picture!  We used 3 different combinations of the paper... here they are up close:




I love the outcome despite the meticulous work they required.  The project itself was actually pretty easy- a lot like paper mache actually- but my one word of advice is to avoid doing this to anything with any grooves or beveled edges.  These letters had both, which slowed me down a bit.  Oh, and we did spray paint them white first, just in case we didn't get paper on every part.  My sister is already looking for something new to Mod Podge.  Me?  I'm taking a break for awhile, although I'm sure I'll do it again in the future to a picture frame or something to match her room.

Speaking of arts and crafts, our son is very into Crayons lately.  Here is his latest artwork:


Jake's Pawpaw was watching him when he got away with this!  The funny part of the story is that when we got home and asked Jake, "who did this?" he said "Pawpaw!"  What a stinker!  Luckily I had a spare can of wall paint to cover it up again and we're now working on, "Jake, where do we color?"  "On paper!"  The message still has not sunk in.

Wow, like I said, September has been a full month.  Last Sunday night I took my most favorite person in the world on a date night for his birthday to see Rob Schneider at the comedy club here in town and then we had a nice dinner outside.  His comedy was great... we highly recommend seeing the show if you ever have the chance!  After the show, he was nice enough to do a meet and greet with everyone there.  Josh and I decided that he has got to be one of the nicest celebrities ever!  He talked to us for a good three or four minutes, asking when the baby is due and congratulating us on her arrival.  He even rubbed my belly and told me I looked fantastic... always a nice thing to hear at nine months pregnant! 


Other than that, we've just been enjoying our last days as a family of three.  As excited as I am to have our daughter join us, there is a part of me that is a little bit sad that Jake won't be our only one... I know it sounds silly, but he's been my little buddy since day one and it's just me and him on a lot of days.  I don't worry about having enough love for the both of them considering that every parent in the world will tell you that there is more than enough, but sharing my time will be an adjustment, especially since he's a bit of a mama's boy.  But we'll get through it... every family does.  And as long as he keeps entertaining us with bits like this, it will be all smiles in Mauneyland:


The fun just doesn't stop... my Mom arrived into town last night as well as Michael, Mindy, and Adam, who will be down again next weekend in the hopes that Lilly might decide to make an appearance before or during their visit.  Tonight we are having friends over for Josh's 29th birthday celebration while we cheer on the Vols and the Cats and tomorrow Josh will be preaching again, which is what he loves to do most.  I can't wait.  And then next week, we should probably all slow down a bit (yeah, right!), take it easy, and do a lot of this in preparation for baby #2:


So that wraps up the first half of the month and I know the second half will be even more exciting as our due date approaches.  The family is here now so she has full permission to arrive anytime now!  Stay tuned...    :)

Thursday, September 1, 2011

35 Week Bumpdate... It's Lilly Month!

September is HERE... which means that we are within 30 days of meeting our baby girl and this mama is more than ready!  


Between Braxton Hicks contractions (which I never had with Jake), backaches (which I don't remember with Jake), heartburn, and the constant rearranging of my insides, I will be happy to be the only occupant of this body again.  So even though I generally don't do these prego-surveys, I thought that since it's been so long it might be worth it this time around.  So here goes...


How far along: 35 weeks, 6 days (so almost 36 weeks if you want to get specific)
Total weight gain/loss: Ha!  Like I'm going to tell you that!  Let's just say that I have surpassed the highest weight I ever reached while carrying Jake (and started this one about 4 pounds lighter).  In other words... A LOT.
Maternity clothes: Yeah, since about week 8.  You know it's time when you're belly is showing in even your longest maternity shirts.  And several pairs of my maternity pants no longer fit.
Stretch marks: A few pinkish ones around my belly button.  I got a few like this after Jake was born (how unfair is that?) and they went away over time, so I'm hoping that these are temporary, too.
Sleep: Sleep?  What's that?  Between a body temperature that stays around 145 degrees and a toddler who still occasionally wants to have a middle-of-the-night party, I can't remember the last time I slept through the night.  But it's no big deal considering that the situation is not going to change any time soon.  I get the occasional nap and that works just fine for me!
Best moment this week: Ummm... we've had lots of good moments since our move, so I'm not entirely sure.  Seeing my sisters and their families as frequently as I have been has probably been the highlight.
Movement: She beats me up a lot more than Jake ever did.  I'd get an occasional jab or kick from him, but she likes to press my insides outward and then move, creating this odd sensation and a sight to watch!  I had an ultrasound today and the doctor said that I have lots of fluid in there (which thankfully might be why I'm measuring big... and by big I mean a week or two ahead of schedule) so she still has plenty of room to move around.  It's no wonder that I am short of breath so often!
Food cravings: Oh wow, what don't I crave?  The biggest one this time around has been Coke floats.  Weird I know.  I'm also really enjoying chips and cheese dip these days.
Food aversions: None.  Baby likes to eat!
Labor Signs: I had one day of some pretty good contractions and it was conveniently on a day when I had a doctor appointment.  According to the monitoring (which I get weekly), my uterus was demonstrating "erratic behavior," whatever that means.  The next day I was fine though and aside from some mild Braxton Hicks, all is business as usual... no dilation yet either... she must like it in there.
Belly Button in or out? Like a turkey thermometer, it's popped out.  This bird is cooked!
What I miss: Not going to lie... a frosty beverage or a glass of red wine would be heavenly!  And I'm kind of (and that's a very small kind of) getting antsy to run again.  I think it has something to do with living near my favorite running buddies.
What I am looking forward to: Meeting her (duh!)
Weekly Wisdom: This should probably be something about getting plenty of rest before baby, but I can't seem to do that.  I'm a busy-body.  I have managed to slow down a bit, but should probably stop and put my feet up more often.  
Milestones: Ummmm.... I couldn't really tell you.  In about a week I'll be considered full-term, so that's kind of what I'm waiting on right now.  I'm still set to be induced at 39 weeks (like I was with Jake and will be with every child I ever have) but I'm hoping that she decides to come a couple of days early so that I can experience what it's like to go into labor.  We'll see.


So I think that covers everything and more and makes up for my lack of posts about the bump this time around.  And since no decent bumpdate is complete without a photo, here is the latest:



I don't have one from my pregnancy with Jake at 36/37 weeks, but I do have one from 38 weeks with him for comparison purposes:




I think she's siting a little bit higher than he did, but I am glad to see that they are fairly similar.  As I've mentioned previously, the extra weight gain is in my lower back, love handles, and rear, which thankfully does not show up in photos!

So now you're updated, which is good considering that I'm not sure if another one will happen or not before her arrival.  Now it's just a matter of counting the days... and oh how I can't wait to kiss those sweet cheeks!