17 Weeks

Finishing up 17 weeks or pregnancy and some of the tell tale 2nd trimester symptoms are starting this week. Its nothing too horrible or unbearable just noticeable and annoying! This week, I've started getting headaches pretty often. I read online that is a symptom of the 2nd trimester and boy were they right. I don't usually get headaches so maybe I just have a low tolerance for them but they have been so painful. When I get one all I want to do is go to sleep (which is what I want to do 99% of the time already). Also, this past week I've noticed my skin has started itching like crazy! This too was supposed to happen around this time but I had no idea how intense it was going to be. So I got some Eucerin lotion and as long as I remember to slather down with it from head to toe after I shower, I'm ok! Last thing I've noticed is joint pain. It sounds so super weird but that is also a symptom of the 2nd trimester. They say for some reason your joints are loosening up and it can be painful. I totally know what they mean! I really wanted to avoid any medications so I haven't taken tylenol for it yet and hopefully I won't have to.


Ok, enough complaining! Aside from those annoying symptoms this week has actually be really great! It was Thanksgiving week so Steve and I got to see a lot of family and friends and that was so fun! We also got to eat a lot of good food!! Then we continued our tradition of shopping on Black Friday which was also a ton of fun! We didn't spend very much money this year since we didn't get up early and go to any of the large retail stores we usually hit (Target, Kohls), but we still had a blast.

This week the baby has been growing his hard skeleton, he previously had developed a skeleton made of soft cartilage. He's also developing his sweat glands and the umbilical cord is thickening. The baby is about the size of a turnip and weighs about 5oz. The baby is looking something like this:
I've been reading up on everything baby related. I finished Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy. Although, not scientific at all, it was a fun book to read. I am also almost done with Sippy Cups are not for Chardonnay. That book is hilarious! Thanks again to my cousin for sending it to me! I'm also about 3/4 of the way through Baby Bargains. That book has been so helpful. I have about 10 pages of notes from the book. I can't wait to condense them so I can use them when we register. It has all kinds of helpful tips about safety and also how to save money. I'm so glad I got that book.

Exciting Moment of the Week: Not totally baby related but it was so nice to see all my family for Thanksgiving. It was great to see some of Steve's extended family (some of them had not heard yet!). It was nice to be able to spend time with my niece, Willow. It was so great to get to spend time with my parents and even a little one on one shopping time with my mom. I love those times!

What I am Missing this Week: I've been missing having energy this week. Thanksgiving can be a long day but I am usually ok through it. This year, I was so pooped by about 5pm it was ridiculous. Also, for Black Friday, I have always had enough energy but this year I was so pooped after only 3 hours and needed a major nap after we got home. I guess the baby is taking all my energy!

Symptoms this Week: Like I said above still tired and cranky...ha ha! But also having more headaches, itching and joint pain. Nothing too horrible and of course its totally worth it.

Obsessions this Week: Baby names, of course. Steve and I have been through the baby name book we got and also have both looked around on the Internet. We narrowed down names to a list of 5, but really I think we are leaning towards only 2 of the 5. We did decide to keep it a secret when we figure out the name. We don't want to disappoint anyone, but we feel like it will be better for us to keep the name to ourselves until the baby is born. I'm hoping we can decide sometime soon. It will be nice to have that decision made!

Message to Our Baby: Baby boy we are so thankful this year to have you in our lives! We can't wait till next year when we can have you out of my belly and celebrate the holidays with you! But until the time is right, you just stay put and keep growing!! We love you!

Super Thankful

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I could not be more thankful. This time of year is by far my favorite and I love getting to spend time with family, eating good food and everything that goes along with the holidays! As we approach the big turkey day, I just can't help but think about all the many blessings Steve and I have experienced this year. Even though, it hasn't been a perfect year and we have had our share of struggles and fights, we are extremely blessed. We are both blessed with very supportive and loving families. I feel so thankful that Steve's family has been so welcoming and wonderful to me. I really lucked out on in-laws! My family is amazing too and I am so thankful for them. I have the best parents and they are always willing to help and support me. They are so great and I am so blessed to have their love and support.

Even though this past year has been difficult for Steve and me, we have a place to live, we both have jobs, we have enough to eat...I mean things are great! We have had so many blessings this year it is amazing. And now we are having a baby!! I don't think either of us could be more thankful for how our lives have turned out to this point. We are both so happy and so excited for our future together (with our baby).

So, everyone have a great Thanksgiving!! :)

16 Weeks

I'm done with my 16th week of pregnancy. I'm officially 4 months prego. Holy cow! That seems like a lot. Pretty soon I'll be halfway. That is so crazy to think about. This week was a little bit different because I was in Salt Lake City for a work conference. I had a good time at the conference and got to travel with all my friends at work, so that was fun. It was really long days and nights though so that was hard on this tired pregnant lady! But overall it was fun.

Since we found out the baby is a boy, it has been a whole different ball game too. Steve and I have been thinking about names, nursery plans and everything else. (He even was talking about saving for college...lol!) It has just made the pregnancy so much more real to know that we are having a little baby boy. Unfortunately, getting us thinking more hasn't really led to any further decisions being made. We can't decide on a name we both like, so that's been hard. We have plenty of time though so I'm hopeful that we can find something we can agree on!

According to the baby books, in the next few weeks the baby is going to double his weight and add inches to his length! Go, baby go!! This week his eyese and ears are moving closer to where they should be. His scalp is beginning to develop but he won't grow his hair just yet. His toenails are also growing. He looks something like this:

All the books say that the baby is kicking up a storm inside of me and I should be feeling it anytime. While I was in Salt Lake City, I really tried to feel it, that sounds silly but I mean I tried to pay more attention so that if it was happening I would notice but nada. I think I felt some movement one night while reading before bed but it was so faint that I'm not even sure what it was. Probably the baby, but it was kind of anti climatic...lol. So I think I'll be starting to feel the baby pretty soon and I'm really looking forward to that!

Exciting Moment of the Week: Nothing particularly exciting this week. Still kind of riding the high from finding out we are having a boy. It was fun to tell people who hadn't heard yet. That is always fun to hear people's reactions. Of course, their first comment is always, "Do you have a name yet?" Uh...no! Thanks for asking. LOL

What I am Missing this Week: Since I was at the conference the thing I was missing most was probably sleep. It was hard to get up early and go all day and all night and not get back to my room until 8 or 9pm. I am used to at least 2 or 3 hours of veg out time each day!

Symptoms this Week: This week has been pretty good. I've started to get the back pain everyone is talking about. I've also noticed some headaches developing but nothing too major. Other than that, still just tired!

Obsessions this Week: Still on the baby names. I've been looking through lists and probably driving Steve crazy thinking about names. We still haven't agreed on anything so I think we are going to try each making a list and discussing them this weekend. I hope that works!

Message to Our Baby: Baby, we are so excited that you are doing so well. We had a blood test this week and the doctor said you are developing right on schedule and no sign of anything abnormal. We are so glad you are doing so well and we can't wait to meet you soon!!

15 Weeks...Big News!!!

15 Weeks of pregnancy done and we got some big news this week! We went in for our monthly ultrasound appointment and found out we are having a boy!!!



We couldn't be more excited. Steve really wanted to have a boy first, so he is very happy. I also wanted a boy but I would have been just as happy with a girl. I'm glad its a boy though so Steve can rest easy. He was really getting stressed thinking we were having a girl! Poor guy. Its so funny though, because the whole time I thought it was a girl! What do I know?!?


This week has gone by really fast. The whole week I was anticipating the ultrasound appointment we had on Thursday. Last month, the doctor told us that we might be able to find out the sex at our next appointment. I was kind of skeptical, since most of the things I was reading said you had to wait till 16 weeks to find out and the next appointment was going to be at 15 weeks. So I was trying not to get my hopes up for finding out, but it was so hard not to! Then, I read an article that said you should be able to find out during an ultrasound as early as 15 weeks. After I read that I couldn't not be excited any more! I was just hoping that the baby was in good position to see everything and we would find out. I was so nervous the whole morning of our appointment.


How we found out was so funny. As soon as the doctor put the ultrasound machine on my belly and the baby appeared on the screen, he took it away really fast. He said, "Wait, do you want to know what it is because I saw right away." Steve and I were both like "Yes!!!" He put the ultrasound back on me and was like, "Its a healthy baby boy!" We were both in shock. I think I said something like, "How do you know?" ha ha! The crazy things that pregnant ladies say. He showed us the penis and said that was how he knew. Very exciting! He also said the baby looks very healthy and his size is great. I know we talked about some other stuff after that but, I was still in shock the whole time. After the doctor left, Steve was so sweet. His eyes got all watery and he was like, "We are having a son!" What a sweetie! We are both so excited!


So this week the baby is about 4 inches long and 2 1/2 ounces in weight. Crazy! His legs are growing and are now longer than his arms. He can now move all his limbs and joints. (Its nice to be able to say "he" and know that is right!) The baby can respond to light and is also forming taste buds this week. The baby is looking something like this:

Exciting Moment of the Week: Definitely finding out we are having a boy! Steve and I were on cloud 9 pretty much the entire day after that. We called and texted just about everyone we know that day. Both of our parents were very excited too!

What I am Missing this Week: Not really missing anything in particular this week. We hung out with some friends Saturday night and everyone was drinking but me. I thought I would miss drinking, but it was not so bad. I didn't fall asleep as early as I usually would so maybe not drinking has its benefits!

Symptoms this Week: Still just fatigued and a little yucky feeling sometimes but not too bad. I am really digging this 2nd trimester. Most of my symptoms have subsided or at least gotten better and I'm feeling like my old self for the most part.

Obsessions this Week: Now that we know its a boy, the baby name madness has begun. Steve and I are having a hard time agreeing on anything. (Mostly because he doesn't like any names!) We got a baby name book this weekend so I hope we can find something we both like. I really don't want to use Steven Joseph III, but Steve does. I hope I'm not a horrible wife for not wanting that...We still have 5 or 6 months to decide so I'm sure we can agree on something!

Message to Our Baby: Baby boy, we are so excited to meet you! Thank you so much for showing off your stuff at the ultrasound this week. (The doctor even commented on how big your stuff is!) I'm sure you will hate me for that comment later in your life. Keep growing in there! We love you.

14 Weeks

14 weeks of pregnancy done...seems like a lot but I still have 26 to go! That seems like a lot too! This week has been pretty good. I have turned into a real homebody this pregnancy. I've been so tired and catching up on sleep on the weekends is my first priority. And forget about doing anything during the week! That is just not going to happen. I've been sleeping like crazy, going to bed about 8pm during the week and getting up at 5am. Then on the weekends I stay up a little later (9 or 10pm!) and sleep a little later like 8am. I'm such an old lady! Oh and on Saturday or Sunday there's usually a nap involved...ha ha! It seems like sleeping has become my first priority but I figure I should do it now while I can! Plus it feels so good! I get so tired just being up all day.

This weekend we got to hang out with our niece, Willow. She is so sweet! I can't believe how big she is getting. She is talking up a storm now and knows so much. She has this little personality now too. She's super funny and jokes around all the time. Its adorable. It was great to see her and get to cuddle her. She warmed up to Steve much faster this time than she usually does. She even gave him a few kisses! So cute. Of course she was excited to see me again...as usual! ha ha! She even said my name a few times. I couldn't believe it! That has to be the sweetest thing ever to hear a little angel saying your name. Melted my heart!

Back to our baby! This week the baby has been developing his facial muscles. He can now squint, frown, grimace and suck his thumb! He's getting big too, about the size of a lemon. That seems very big from the peanut we started with! They say he's moving around like crazy in there but I won't be able to feel it for a while. I am actually kind of excited to feel the baby. Here's what he looks like this week:
My next OB appointment is next Thursday and the doctor said we might be able to find out the sex! Can you believe that? I cannot wait to find out the sex! I am so excited to start planning everything and starting thinking about this baby as a boy or a girl. Steve and I are hoping for a boy but we will be so happy either way. I hope the baby cooperates next week and we will know what we are having.

Exciting Moment of the Week: It was so fun to see our niece, Willow this weekend. That seems totally un-baby related but watching her grow over the past 2 1/2 years as really made me think about my own baby. Playing with her this weekend really reminded me that I will have one of these kiddos pretty soon. I hope ours is as sweet as she is!

What I am Missing this Week: I am really missing having the energy to do things this week. Even though sleeping all weekend feels great I do feel like I've lost some connection with my friends since we never hang out with them anymore. Also, Steve planned a date night for us on Friday and I just didn't feel like going out after working all week so we stayed in. Normally, that would be something I'd be looking forward to all week and super excited about. But I was just feeling so tired that night and didn't go. I probably need to suck it up and make myself go out with our friends...we'll see how that works! ha ha

Symptoms this Week: Well..fatigue duh! Nothing else is really that bad. Still slightly nauseous but I'm doing a lot better with that as well. I've been able to go back to eating most things and cooking is usually ok too. I've been having some back pain but not too bad. I'm really trying hard to kick the sleeping on my back habit. They recommend that you try to switch to sleeping on your sides during the 2nd trimester but its so hard! I like to sleep on my back, so that has been a struggle but I'm trying. Maybe a body pillow would help with that...(hint hint!)

Obsessions this Week: Getting excited to find out the sex! I have been boring Steve to death with discussions of if its a boy or a girl. I'm sure he is fed up hearing about that. I hope we find out next week so I can stop going crazy!

Message to the Baby: Baby, I cannot wait to find out if you are a boy or a girl! I'm sorry if I have called you a boy on here and you turn out to be a girl! We love you so much already no matter what you turn out to be! We are so excited to find out though!!

More Doggie Pictures

Thought you guys might like to see some more pictures of the doggies!
Here's everyone hanging out on the couch.




Dogs that think they are cats...they love to sit on the back of the couch!

There's Zeusy just lounging around. Doesn't he look so handsome in his winter sweater? :)

I just love how they squish the cushions...NOT! ha ha!

Zora and Zander watching out the front window for daddy to come home...don't they make cute couple! ha ha!

Aww :)

First Purchases

A long time ago, I mentioned that Steve and I had made some of our first purchases for the nursery. Since we finally got the camera working, I figured I could show those off.

We snagged 2 awesome pieces of nursery furniture from Craigslist a few weeks ago. Craigslist is the most amazing website. You can literally find anything. Its unbelievable!

Anyways, I found an ad for a solid wood dresser/changing table the other day. We were interested in getting a dresser with a changing table on top due to the space in the nursery. Its a pretty small room so we knew we wouldn't have enough space for 2 separate pieces of furniture. Also, we really wanted to get something quality and not flimsy like some of the baby furniture we have seen. So this seemed to fit the bill. The lady originally had the dresser listed for $150. I thought that was kind of high so I emailed and asked if she would go down to $100. She said yes, but the more I thought about it, I thought we would wait. (Mostly because I wasn't super crazy about the light colored wood and it didn't have a matching crib.) So I told her thank you but we changed our mind. Well, then a week later she emailed me and said no one had come to get it and they needed to get rid of this thing. She asked if I would take it for $50...um yes please! So Steve and I zipped over there one day after work and picked it up. Here's a picture of the front:

It really is an nice piece of furniture. It is in great condition with no scratches or anything. They said they had 3 kids so I was impressed no one had colored on it over the years. Also, it is super sturdy. It is solid wood and is really heavy. Here's the top, which will be the changing area.

My mom brought over some blankets and that Care Bear from my childhood. So cute!

A few days later, another awesome bargain came our way! I saw this glider/rocker on Craigslist for $50! It looks brand new! Its in such great condition. Much better than I had anticipated. So we drove out and picked this baby up:

I'd say that's an awesome deal since some of the gliders we saw in the store could be up to $300! This one is really nice and is in great condition.

So Steve and I are feeling pretty good about getting a few things for the nursery super cheap. Its a small start but it feels great to have some things in there!

I am reading the Baby Bargains book right now, which is all about what the best and least expensive things are to buy for baby. I want to get through that book and see their recommendations before we buy anything else. Plus there's Christmas coming up and hopefully a baby shower or two so we'll see what we still need after that. Just thought I would share what we have so far!

Doggy Fall Photo Shoot

I think its about time for an update on the doggies! Poor guys, I've been neglecting them on this blog. I took some super cute pictures of them last weekend while we were raking leaves but, they were lost on my crazy camera. Well this weekend, Steve figured out the other camera we have (with some help from the Best Buy guy) so we are back in business! I took some pictures of the dogs outside in the fall leaves. They look so cute!!

Here's Zander being very regal...

Me and my #1 girl, Zora.

The sun was bright that day but I think these look kind of cool:

Freckles was enjoying a stick in the yard.

LOL. Doesn't he look so funny here?

Zander doing his "sit" command. He looks so serious. And tough with that snaggle tooth! ha ha

These two like to hang out.

And finally, the first video on my blog! So exciting! Its Zeusy acting crazy, enjoying himself outside and being his good, obedient self...

Camera Drama

I need to vent. I am having some major camera issues and it really makes me super mad! What the heck, camera? When I need you the most you poop out on me? Why!?! The camera I have is Nikon Coolpix (purple) and its been great for probably about 3 years now. But over the past few months its really been acting crazy! First it started turning off whenever it wanted to and not turning on all the time...then the lens wouldn't open all the time and I would get "Lens Error" whenever I tried to take pictures. Now, its doing the weirdest thing of all! Its hard to explain so let me give an example:

Last weekend we went to Steve's cousin's wedding and on our way there, I cleared the memory card on the camera. (Delete all!) During the wedding and reception I took a ton of pictures and wanted to post them on here, but the next day when I go to turn on the camera there are no pictures from the wedding. Instead, there's pictures from earlier this year. A few from February, some from August...What the heck!?!

I really don't understand how the camera can recover deleted pictures and delete pictures I just took! It is so frustrating!!

So I need a new camera. If we don't get one for Christmas, we will have to buy one soon after that. I'm not having that stuff happening to my baby pictures! So at first I thought I wanted a DSLR but I'm thinking maybe, more in the budget would just be a better point and shoot. Just something that takes good quality pictures and isn't too difficult to operate. Doesn't sound too difficult right? I am hoping that there will be some good deals online for Black Friday or Cyber Monday that we can take advantage of because we certainly don't have $400 to drop on a camera right now. Boo for broken cameras :(

Oh and I'll let you know if the "lost" pictures ever reappear...

13 Weeks...Starting to show

Can't believe I'm over 3 months pregnant. It seems surreal.

Well folks, this 13th week has been all about the belly. Girls at work noticed it and outed me forcing me to tell sooner than I had planned. (And then when I did tell, the ladies at work were all like "Oh, we knew it!" How annoying!!) Regular pants are definitely not able to contain the belly anymore. People at social events are noticing it (and touching it). Strangers out in public are looking at it. Steve has even commented a couple times on the belly. So I guess, its true. I am an official pregnant lady! I mean I knew I was pregnant before but something weird happens when you start to show. Its kind of like undeniable evidence that your body is changing due to the baby growing inside of you! Before this week, I knew in my head that my baby was growing and my body was changing but this week its like Bam! Baby on Board! Everyone watch out! If I can get my camera to cooperate I will put up some pictures of this new *development*.

Besides growing a gargantuan belly this week, things have been going well. I've had a good amount of energy lately. Enough to get through the day but I still crash in the evening. But at least I'm not crashing at 10am anymore! I read that migraines are supposed to start in the 2nd trimester and I'm not looking forward to that at all. I've had some extra aches and pains but no migraines yet...thank goodness.

This week the baby is forming fingerprints, teeth and vocal cords! Their body is starting to catch up with their huge head! And the intestines are working hard to move inside the baby's body from outside their body. (gross). The baby is looking something like this:

The baby is about the size of a peach. A peach, people! That's pretty darn big!

So we are finally "out" as far as the pregnancy is concerned. Like I said the belly pretty much outed us...but we told all our friends, family, work and even people on Facebook. Kind of crazy to let the entire world know a secret that we've tried to keep for so long. But its exciting! Everyone has been super supportive and I couldn't have been blessed with a better family and group of friends. In fact, my friends are so supportive that when I told them this week I was going to get my hair dyed, 2 of my friends made it a point to tell me I couldn't do that. They are so sweet. Apparently, ladies used to not be able to dye their hair during pregnancy but now we can. It was nice to have some overprotective friends looking out for this peanut!

Exciting Moment of the Week: This is going to sound completely corny but finding out I am able to take my allergy medicine this week was AMAZING. I have super bad allergies and sneeze, cough, etc. all the time. When I first got pregnant the OB told me I couldn't take the miracle allergy drug I've been on anymore. (this stuff is amazing people!) I was sad but I understood so the allergy doctor gave me generic Zyrtec and friends, its just not the same! (We are talking sneezing all the time, even waking up to sneeze! Ugh) So I made an appointment to see what else they could do to help me because if Momma ain't breathing that ain't good. Well she informed me that my *miracle* allergy medicine has been downgraded and can be taken after the first trimester now! I called my OB to confirm and Hallelujah! I can take it. And let me tell you...breathing is amazing.

What I am Missing this Week: Control over my body! It just seems like my body is doing is own thing and its kind of frustrating and weird at the same time. My boobs are getting bigger, my stomach is growing and my body is telling me I'm too tired all the time. Annoying! I know its for a good cause though ;)

Symptoms this Week: Not too much new going on symptom wise. Still super tired but I have much more energy than I did during the first trimester.

Obsessions this Week: Baby Names! I have been obsessing about baby names for a while now, jut haven't mentioned it on here. And of course, Steve and I have TOTALLY different ideas of what names we like. We decided not to discuss it until we know the sex (maybe next month!!) to save 2 arguments when we can only have 1...but I honestly hope he starts to like some of the names I like because I seriously cannot even stomach some of the crazy names he is throwing out. We are naming a baby here, not a comic book character!

Message to the Baby: Baby, you are getting so huge in mommy's belly! This week your daddy and I can start to really imagine you are growing inside of there and it is crazy! We love you so much already and can't wait to meet you and take care of you! I hope you show us your stuff at our next appointment so we can find out if you are a baby boy or baby girl!