Matt's Birthday

Last Monday was Matt's birthday.  The fun part is that his birthday is the same day as Mom's AND the girls are always here to celebrate.  Abbey wanted to plan a scavenger hunt...so she enlisted my help and Lynzee's help and we had a fun time with their Dad going through house finding clues.  We made a 3-layer chocolate cake and had such a fun time celebrating with Matt - as you can tell by the pictures.

Pregnancy Update

Here are some more maternity pictures...we're almost done!  This week is 39 weeks so technically we could be having a baby anytime.  I feel that we have been so blessed with this pregnancy - I haven't really had any problems, symptoms at all.  Whatever pains or discomforts or emotional issues that have arisen, we just keeping going and everything resolves itself eventually.  I am so excited to meet our baby girl and have her in our family and home!

27 weeks, 33 weeks, 35 weeks, 38 weeks

 

25 weeks

Here's the latest picture we have of our baby girl.  She was in the perfect position for this profile picture.  I wonder how much babies really look like they do in ultrasound pictures.  I know I'm her mother so I'm biased but she is so cute.  She looks like her dad!

Emotions

Since family left, I have been on a roller coaster of emotions.  Sometimes I just feel like crying and can't even talk without crying.  Last night I participated in a women's walking group and on the way home, cried part of the way home.  I stopped at the store for a few things and decided all I felt like having for dinner was cheddar cheese potato chips.  So, I bought myself a bag!  Yikes!!  I came home and talked/cried with Matt on the couch and told him what I had done re: the chips.  Then I felt like the worst wife because he had been busy since early in the morning and had recently arrived home as well.  He had not had dinner yet.  I wanted to get him something for dinner besides cheddar cheese chips.  I tried to explaining that to him and then I started crying that I just wanted to be a good wife.

Matt deals with me very well.  After several hugs and kisses and reassurances that I am a good wife, he heated himself up some soup, had some Strouds leftovers and all was well.  I ate my chips and had a can of guava nectar and went to bed happy.

Girls Weekend

This last weekend Mom, Jenny, Elizabeth, Becky & Maddy came out to visit.  We decided we needed a girls weekend.  Too bad the distance is so great that these can't happen very often...but, the cool thing is we get to have another one in two weeks!!

Mom, Jenny, Becky & Maddy drove out.  They drove across Colorado and Kansas on the way out and across Nebraska and Wyoming on the way back.  Including some time spent in Missouri, that's 5 new states for Maddy and 3 new states for Beck.  How exciting!


Earlier last week, we had sunny 80 degree weather.  Then the winter storm hit and it was 30's, 40's & 50's the whole time family was here.  The sun did not make an appearance until everyone left.  I was so disappointed, but we still had a great time.

Elizabeth flew in and we have a few hours before everyone else arrived.  We went to the art museum and then had fried chicken at a popular local eatery.

Saturday morning we all arose early to participate in the Kansas City Temple Run.  It's a 5K that some of us ran and some of us walked.  It was a cold, wet morning but we went and had fun.  The picture below is funny because Matt had a bright orange shirt on under his hoodie.  He was trying to lift up the hoodie to reveal the bright orange shirt but ended up revealing a bit more than he intended.  LOL!

Maddy and Elizabeth at the finish line.

That afternoon, we had pedicures and then we went for BBQ at Oklahoma Joe's.  Then we headed for downtown KC to watch The Piano Guys in concert.  It was such a great show and I think everyone really enjoyed it.

Sunday we went to Sacrament Meeting and then that afternoon we went walking in Shawnee Mission Park.  We walked for a few hours enjoying the green and helping Elizabeth identify trees.

Sunday night we went through 5 bags of baby girl clothes that Becky brought out.  I was starting to really feel overwhelmed with the clothes and where we will put all of them...and overwhelmed with a baby coming and not knowing how everything will work out.  But, a good night's sleep does wonders.

Monday morning we moved furniture.  Maddy asked if we were moving all the beds in the house.  It seemed like it!

I really enjoyed having everyone come out.  It was such a fun weekend and I really appreciated all the help. 

21 week update

I'm 21 weeks today.  In the past week I've changed doctors and hired a doula...all very good changes I feel.  I feel so confident and good about the care I will be receiving.  Baby girl is doing well.  At today's checkup, she was very active.  She kept moving around as the doctor tried to listen to her heart beat.  I couldn't feel a bit of her activity though a few time each day I will feel her little flutter movements.  The only thing is I keep losing weight with each appointment - down about 7 lbs now.  While normally this would be very exciting news, isn't one is supposed to gain weight while pregnant.  I am eating and haven't had nausea or been sick.  All is well with baby, though, and in all her sonograms she's measuring right where she should be.  The doctor didn't say a thing about it so I guess I can be happy about my weight loss.

Melony and baby movements

This morning Matt & I were making our daily smoothie for breakfast.  We put half a cantaloupe in the smoothie today.  When I tasted it I said, "Wow!  This smoothie is very melony tasting."  Matt responded and said, "I guess that's a name we won't want for our baby...Melanie."  I commented - that's a clever play on words but why wouldn't we want the name Melanie?  Matt, being a man, responded - if she has big boobs and she's named Melanie (Melony) that wouldn't be good.  Ha, ha, ha!

I think I have been feeling the baby move over the past week...feels like little beats down where she is.  Like clockwork, whenever I lay down in bed at night I can feel quite a few movements.  Occasionally I'll feel something that I initially think might be gas but realize it's not and is probably that little thing doing a somersault or rolling over inside me.  Pretty cool is what I have to say about that right now!  Also reassuring to know that I don't have to wait for doctor appts to hear a heart beat and know she's alive inside me.