Week 29

THE WEEK

29th week...approximately 10 more weeks depending on when the c-section will be planned.

 

THE GENDER

girl

 

CRAVINGS

cheese and crackers

pretzels and homemade ranch dip

Sprite

 

SYMPTOMS

She has been trying to make more room this week.

She has been nestling herself on the upper right side of my body and it is sooo uncomfortable when I am sitting for a long time and she does not move.  

She also moves sooo much at night.

It is a little exhausting.

She seems to wait until around 9:00 and does flips for like an hour.

I love staring at my stomach and watching it rumble.

WHAT NORAH IS SAYING

Well...right now I think she is realizing how her life will change.

We were eating lunch the other day and she said,

"hey mom...the next time we go to Disney World can just you, me, and daddy go?"

oops.

 

PRAYERS
After hearing that comment from Norah that has provoked some serious conversations between Joe and I.

We are excited that Norah will have a sister but we are well aware of the fact that Norah has lived the last 4 years of her life siblingless.

We do not think we have a child focused family and we work hard on not basing our lives completely around her...but she still has been the only child around for a while.

She has grown accustomed to that lifestyle and we are praying for wisdom and guidance on how to love Norah well in the midst of this huge transition.

God is a big God and I am so glad he loves us and has placed people in our lives that will speak truth to us.

The BEST week of the YEAR!

This week has been crazy..., let me say that again...crazy!

On Tuesday it was Norah's 4th birthday.

I cannot believe she is 4.

On Sunday we went to breakfast, just Norah, Joe and I to First Watch.

It was fun to get to tell Norah how much we love her and ALL of the qualities we love about her.

Then we took her to Build a Bear.

{She has always wanted to go}

I had a coupon...so we went!

This picture is of her washing her monkey.

She bought scrubs for the monkey to match her Nurse scrubs she has at home.

She named it Elephant Reindeer

...so we shorted it to Ellie Reign.

On Tuesday

We went to the park downtown at Sawyer Point and ate lunch outside at Montgomery Inn Boathouse.

It felt like vacation.

Then we had dinner outside at Andrea and Dave's house.

It was just a fun day to spend with her.

On Wednesday I took my huge NCLEX exam!

I was a nervous wreck.

I sped through the exam, had 75 questions and finished in under an hour.

Then you wait for the results.

It was sooo hard.

We went to dinner with Andrea and Dave to Teak in Mt. Adams and I cannot believe I was even focused enough to have conversation because I just wanted so badly to know the results!

Well...early Thursday morning I woke up, looked at the Kentucky Board of Nursing website and they had issued me an RN license!!  Such a relief!  I AM DONE!

So...even though we had full plates this entire week...I tried to keep my mind of the main thing!

IT IS EASTER!

On Friday Norah and I were able to spend some good time talking about the Cross.

Why Jesus had to die on the cross.

Who he died for.

Then that evening Joe and I took her to The Garden of Hope in Covington.

 

There they have a replica of what the tomb looks like where Jesus died.

It was cool for her to talk through why Jesus' body is not in the tomb and she loves to yell,

"because He's ALIVE!"

Then today we took Norah to a nature park where we hung out, explored, and had her picture taken.

Today I found myself being in a state of constant anticipation of tomorrow.

 I am so excited that Jesus is who he said he was!!!

I am so excited that I have a God who wanted to make A WAY for us to come to Him and be with Him!

OH PRAISE HIM!!!

I look forward to sharing in the excitement with Norah as well tomorrow!!

 It is a total side bar...but for Easter Joe and I wanted to get Norah a sandbox.

I think playing in the sand is something Norah loves to do more than anything else is the entire world!

So...I went to Toys R Us last night as well as researched on Amazon and I soon discovered that sandboxes are really expensive.

So...I decided we were going to make our own.

I knew I wanted a sandbox that she could not climb into...because those are gross.

So...I took an old outdoor firepit that we had...Joe cleaned it out, and we made our own!

It is not perfect...but she will love it!

 We are going to put it on wheels to easily move it in and out of the garage.  

{it is actually bigger than this picture makes it look}

Have a Happy Easter!

HE IS ALIVE!

Hello Third Trimester!

THE WEEK

28th week

1st week of the last trimester!

 

THE GENDER

little girl

 

CRAVINGS

homemade pizza with olive oil {no sauce}, green peppers, feta cheese, and olives.

The Socrates from Dewey's would satisfy as well!

 

SYMPTOMS

no swelling yet...for that I am praising the Lord!

The belly is growing.

Still wearing normal shirts but all pants officially do not button.

I ordered one of these belly bands from Amazon...it is awesome to wear.

It is even allowing me to wear some shorts that would not otherwise fit.

I am really trying not to spend a lot of money on maternity clothes because I feel as though they are WAY overpriced for the amount of time you wear them so this belly band is making clothes go farther.

I hope to not have to buy too many maternity summer clothes...

{besides the bathing suit I already purchased for vacation!}

WHAT NORAH IS SAYING

She loves to play Star Wars with a boy in the neighborhood and last night she found out the girl on Star Wars is called Princess Leia so she wants to call her sister Leia!

PRAYERS

Praying for the relationship between Norah and her.

I pray they can be close and share life together.

I have a great relationship with both of my sisters and I pray the same for them.

Week 27!

THE WEEK
27th week
about to say good bye to the 2nd trimester
i will miss you!
Thankfully...there is a newborn waiting at the end of the third!

THE GENDER
GIRL. GIRL. GIRL.
The more I think about it the more excited I get about the fact we will have 2 girls!

CRAVINGS
It is weird...food in general just sounds awesome to me!
I could eat about anything, at any time.

SYMPTOMS
I think she had hiccups this morning.
I had my hand on my belly and I was feeling a very rythmic movement.
Joe felt it also...so fun!
I also jogged a 5k this morning with some serious walk breaks in between.
I have ran a 5k every month since I have been pregnant.
Every month I wonder if I will be able to do it the next month.
It was hard, I am sore and stiff.
It is good to workout though and I appreciate doing it during pregnancy.

WHAT NORAH IS SAYING
oh my gosh...she has been sooo funny this week.
She is determined to feel the baby move but does not hold the patience to sit there until she does so she pretends that she can see the baby move.
She will say, "oh mom, I just saw the baby move."
It is not real movement but she wants it to be so badly.
The other day she was sitting at the kitchen table and I was walking away from her.
She all of a sudden says, "MOM! I just saw the baby move, she is in your back now!!"
Clearly does not understand the concept but I love her effort and desire to experience the baby movement.

PRAYERS
This week I have been praying for my attitude. As the second trimester winds down and the third one is beginning I am scared and not excited about it. My belly will get a lot bigger, the aches and pains will continue to rise and I pray that I can experience all of these things with an uncomplaining heart inside and out.
I am also really excited to meet her...now I just have 12 weeks to finish 2 bedrooms! haha!

Week 26

The Week
26th week.

The Gender
Girl.
Name still unknown.

Little facts about her: she weighs around 2 lbs. and the statistics say she should be around 14 1/4 inches long so I assume she is about 12 inches long because lets face it...height is not on our side!
She opens and closes her eyes and probably has found her fingers to suck on! She might even have enough hair that you would be able to determine the color and texture of it.
How awesome is our God!!
When I lay in bed at night and think about her and how she is growing inside of me it blows my mind. I think just the idea that she is inside of me is just a testament of How Big and Real our God is. What a gift he has entrusted us with.
It is so cool that just sitting here being still I can feel her fluttering and moving around.

Cravings
hmm...cravings have not been as rampant lately.
All food just sounds good to me. I find I get full really quick though because I think she is invading the stomach room a little bit.

Symptoms
My achy breaky body.
Poor Joe...my legs have started to ache more as well as my hips and back.
Besides that I feel great.
I have found a machine at the gym that seems to help me find relief from the hip pain.
It is a glorious machine.
I also have enjoyed playing tennis a couple times already this year but I must say I definitely pay for it later on in the day with stiffness.


What Norah is saying
She is constantly thinking of things she will have to teach her sister.
She will make a great teacher.

Prayers
Joe and I do not take lightly the responsibility that God places on us to raise our children. He entrusts these little lives to us to love and raise up well. I pray that I can diligently and without ceasing raise these girls to love the Lord and love others well. I fully am aware that I cannot change their hearts BUT I have faith to know that GOD can.

week 25- 15 more to go!

THE WEEK
25th week

THE GENDER/NAME
still a girl.
Norah keeps asking, "when the baby grows up will she be a boy?"
genders still confuse her.
Name is still unknown, we have one we have been saying a lot this week...it is a possibility!

CRAVINGS
UDF chocolate malts which happen to be on sale currently!

SYMPTOMS
belly getting bigger.
it is hard to bend over.
I was pulling weeds and playing tennis this week.
Both activities were hard to bend over multiple times.

WHAT NORAH IS SAYING
She is constantly asking when her baby sister will arrive.
I really should get her a calender.
She knows we still have to make it through her birthday, Easter,
mommys birthday, daddys birthday, and vacation before the baby arrives.

MOVEMENT
Norah really wants to feel the baby move but she is not patient enough to do so.
My favorite thing is to lay down at night and watch my belly flutter.
She is sooo active in the late evening.
This week was the week of my NURSING SCHOOL PINNING!
Norah said to me the day of...
"mom, I hope the baby doesn't kick while you are getting pinned that could hurt."
ha.

Week 24

THE WEEK
24 weeks and counting
The second trimester is winding down.

THE NAME
Okay..this is a touchy subject.
There is nothing we both LOVE.
We have read through hundreds of names, tried a few out for a few days...and VETOED them all.
I really would like to have a few names picked out then narrow it down after she is born, but even that is hard right now.

CRAVINGS
I just eat...a lot.

SYMPTOMS
I feel like there are just a few more weeks of feeling "GOOD" before you just cannot wait to meet her and for her to be out.
I already feel myself getting excited to meet her and hold her and love her. CANNOT wait!
I am feeling bigger and the belly is starting to get in the way.
We are going on vacation just a couple weeks before our due date {shhhh, do not tell my doctors}
so I bought a pregnancy bathing suit...ewwww.
All worth it...but ewww none the less.

WHAT NORAH IS SAYING
Norah bought a baby doll with her own money this week.
She is going to learn to change her diaper, wrap her in a blanket, and she is even struggling to come up with a name. She is excited to take care of her baby and learn how to care for the new baby well.
Love her and I am excited to see her be an amazing big sister.

PRAYERS
I am so excited to meet her I just pray that we can raise her well and do what is right with raising both of our daughters.