34 Weeks: This Baby {Bump} is Growing!

This week is special for a number of reasons.

One, it's officially summer.  I am DONE with school.  My summer plans?  Have a baby!

Two, my sister's baby is here.  Which means one thing...I'm up next!

And three, I am 34 weeks pregnant with six weeks to go.  I was born six week early, which means, really, baby could come anytime!

We accomplished two things on "the list" - I made a pre-natal appointment with a pediatrician and we bought some registry leftovers.  The big item - a high chair.  The rest of our purchases were just small items that quickly added up!  Thank goodness for coupons...I think we saved $90!  We had a busy weekend and rescheduled maternity photos for this weekend instead.  My friend Jamie is taking them and I am excited!  She will do a fantastic job!  I'm not worried about the rest of the list.  My days are pretty free now!

1) Wash all baby clothes.
2) Find a pediatrician. 
3) Get car seat installed.
4) Buy registry leftovers.
5) Order new tubes/supplies for breast pump.
6) Get some maternity photos taken--on the agenda for this weekend! :)
7) Decide on a newborn photo outfit...and maybe order a cute hat from Etsy.

In other news, we had a regular appointment last Thursday and things seem great!  I have now gained 20 pounds and I'm very happy with that!  We have another level 2 ultrasound next Monday to check on fluid levels one final time.  Please keep us in your thoughts and pray that the fluid level in Baby's brain has not increased!
How Far Along: 34 Weeks

Size of Baby:
A butternut squash (~17.2 to 18.7 inches, 4.2 to 5.8 pounds)

What's Happening (according to thebump.com):
Baby Sides' might begin to descend into my pelvis soon and is also peeing about a pint a day.  Weird!

Cravings:
Nothing specific!

Movement:
Same as last week.  My stomach ripples on the outside at times as he is squirming around in there!

Sleep:
I have not been sleeping quite as well lately.  It's getting harder and harder to find a comfortable sleeping position...especially when your dog thinks he has to lay on top of you.

Clothing:
Ahhhh comfy shorts and tank tops.  Love it!

Other Pregnancy Symptoms:
Swelling here and there.  Braxton Hicks here and there.  Acid reflux here and there.  But overall, still feeling pretty great!

Here's my 34-week baby bump!  I don't look the greatest...this was after a day at the pool...but the tight shirt sure does emphasize my bump!



Kellen Landry Copeland

Our nephew made his entrance into the world three weeks early on Friday, May 25 at 5:37 p.m.  He weighed in at 4 pounds, 9 ounces and was 18 inches long.  Despite being early, and so, so tiny, there are no health concerns or issues!  He will remain in the hospital until he's able to eat a certain amount of formula, but should likely be released today or tomorrow.  My sister is doing great and the new mommy and daddy are very much in love with their new baby boy, Kellen!

(By the way, I loooooove the name!  Great choice, Justin & Trisha!)

It's been fun being pregnant with my sister.  However, the unfortunate part is that I can't travel to Iowa to meet my new, baby nephew. :(  I've got six weeks to go in my pregnancy, but because of our baby's health condition, our doctor doesn't want us traveling.  So, unfortunately, I won't get to meet Kellen until after our baby is born.  Thank goodness for pictures and thanks to the new daddy and grandma for posting a bunch on Facebook!
Heading to the hospital on Thursday, May 24

New mama and her baby

The happy family of three
Proud papa!


New Grandparents!

Such a cutie!!
Congrats to you both!  Aunt Sarah and Uncle Craig can't wait to meet you, Baby Kellen!!!!!  And here's hoping your cousin follows your lead and decides to come a little early, as well!

Memorial Weekend Wedding

Sunday was the wedding of one of my amazing, math co-workers, Casey (check out her wedding blog here)!  She {finally} married her fiance of a year and a half!  Man, I can't imagine waiting that long to get married...our 11-month engagement seemed for last forever!  Then again, I remember when she met Jason while we were teaching summer school...3 years ago?!?  Anyway, it seems like just yesterday we were sitting on the bench outside of Mill Creek, eating our lunch in the sun, and she was telling me about the guy she met over the weekend.  The rest is history - now they are Mr. and Mrs. Becker and ready to begin this new chapter in their lives!

The wedding was gorgeous!  It was at Stony Point Hall outside of Eudora, KS.  It wasn't their first venue choice (that was shut down a year ago due to not meeting fire code), but this was perfect nonetheless...very "Casey and Jason", complete with tailgate games and all!  The ceremony was outside (it was a scorcher) and reception was inside this old, barn-looking building.  Looks can be very deceiving, as the inside of the barn was beautiful!  Casey did an awesome job planning.  Every little detail was nothing less than perfect...did you expect any less from a math teacher?  I made sure to take pictures of all the details...those were some of my favorite pictures from my wedding.  But funny, I didn't get many pics of anything else!

I think our favorite part of the wedding/reception was the photo booth!  I wish I could post the pictures online, but I tried to copy them from the Internet and it wouldn't let me.  They are hilarious!  Such a fun idea!


Congrats Casey & Jason!  I wish you nothing but the best, and Casey, you will be greatly missed next year at Mill Valley!  Good luck to you both in Texas!

Happy Memorial Day!

Here's how we spent our Memorial Day!  Per-fect!
Stay tuned for more blog posts--my NEW nephew, a weekend wedding, and my 34-week pregnancy update!


33 Weeks: Feeling Good!

With each passing day, I am growing (no pun intended) more and more excited about the impending arrival of Baby Sides!  Not only is my excitement level increasing, but so are my nerves!  To say I'm scared of the delivery process is an understatement.  Terrified would be a better word!  For 33 weeks, I've been able to push (again, no pun intended) the thought out of my mind...but that is getting harder and harder to do as our anticipated due date gets closer!  I actually told Craig the other day that I want a c-section!  In reality, I don't...but it sure seems (at times) less scary than the alternative!  Seven weeks to go...seven weeks to convince myself that I can do this!

We missed our childbirth class last night.  The hubs was out of town for work, so our instructor is allowing us to go next Thursday instead.  I think she said night #2 is the night she shows a labor/delivery video....yay (sense my sarcasm)....maybe it's better we missed that!  I'm not sure it will do anything to calm the nerves.

33 weeks and the end of May also means the end of school!  Today was our last day with kids.  Teachers have two more days and then it's officially summer!  Oh, and they hired my long-term sub today - finally!  Still haven't met with HR to work out my maternity leave plans because negotiations of next year's contract are still a work-in-progress  Annoying.  Hopefully they will come to terms on soon so I can get all the little details worked out...it's hard for me to focus on sub plans when I don't even have official maternity leave plans!

In other baby news, I think we have officially decided on a name!!  But like mentioned before, we're not going to share until he's born. :)

I need to start a to-do list of things to accomplish before Baby's arrival.  Here's a start:

1) Wash all baby clothes. (Is it really necessary to use Dreft laundry detergent??)
2) Find a pediatrician. (I have a list of co-workers' and friends' pediatricians...how in the world do you choose one??)
3) Get car seat installed.
4) Buy registry leftovers. (What are necessities and what is not??)
5) Order new tubes/supplies for breast pump.
6) Get some maternity photos taken--on the agenda for this weekend! :)
7) Decide on a newborn photo outfit...and maybe order a cute hat from Etsy.

That's all I can think of right now.  Onto the weekly pregnancy update!


How Far Along: 33 Weeks

Size of Baby:
A durian--what the heck is that?? (~17.2 to 18.7 inches, 4.2 to 5.8 pounds)

What's Happening (according to thebump.com):
Baby Sides' bones are hardening and his brain continues to develop rapidly!  He is coordinating his breathing with sucking and swallowing and now keeps his eyes open while awake!

Cravings:
Nothing...unless you consider my desire for ice cream every other day a craving??

Movement:
He's still moving like crazy (I suspect he will until birth)!  Sometimes I think he stretches his arms in one direction and legs the other.  It can be slightly uncomfortable and I feel as if I need to elongate my midsection to give him more room!

Sleep:
About the same.  I don't sleep well when it's hot and the AC unit we bought has come in handy!

Clothing:
Bought a few more maternity tank tops and a few pairs of ON maternity shorts.  It's what I plan on living in from now until July!

Other Pregnancy Symptoms:
The swelling seems to come and go.  But there are times when my feet hurt so bad!  I think the reason is the extra weight I'm carrying.  It's also difficult to bend over, crouch down, and get up from a sitting position.  And I tire much easier these days.  Towards the end of the day, my body just feels so exhausted.  But for the most part, I'm still feeling great!  Can't complain about much...

Here's my 33-week baby bump!  Baby sure is growing!  (By the way, since my photographer was out of town for work last night, I had to take this with the self timer and tripod...it took about 25 shots to get one I liked!)



Math Nerd

So I ordered this onesie a few weeks ago and it finally arrived on Saturday!  My child is going to be a math nerd, just like his mommy!

A Fun Weekend

We had such a great weekend!  There wasn't one thing that made it so good - just a bunch of little things combined and the fact that we had no real plans, but sort of went with the flow instead.  Here are some highlights:


Eric Church Concert
We headed to Topeka on Friday night for the Eric Church concert, but made a dinner stop first at Free State Brewery in Lawrence.  It was the perfect little date night and we really enjoyed each others company.  The concert was great, too!  Lee Brice was the opening act, which was a nice surprise to both of us.






DUI Checkpoint
Of course I have to mention this!  On our way back from the concert on Friday, we went through a sobriety checkpoint - a mere block from our house!  I've always been curious about those things and was glad to finally experience one - sober, of course! :)  They are a big deal!  The police disguise it as road construction and put it in a location that is hard to see until you are right upon it.  Every car gets stopped, any passengers are escorted to the little "waiting" area, and the driver must perform the sobriety tests.  It seemed like there were 50+ police officers and there was even a mobile/trailer unit set up...though I'm not sure what it was used for.  Crazy stuff, I tell ya!  I waited about 15 or 20 minutes for Craig and though I knew he was fine to drive, a tiny part of me was still a bit nervous!  It was definitely a good place to people watch...I think I could have hung out there and watched the spectacle for hours!  Such an interesting experience!  And in case you're wondering, the hubs passed the breathalyzer with flying colors, but only after failing two of the sobriety tests first because he was so nervous!


Legends Shopping
Since we had no plans for Saturday, we headed to the Legends to hit up the Banana Republic outlet...something we typically do two or three times per year.  The hubs usually spends quite a bit of money there, but it's literally the only time/place he ever shops all year long!  I always enjoy our trips there because it's fun for me to help him pick out new clothes! :)  And the weather was perfect for a day outdoors at the Legends!  We even stopped in Carters and Gymboree with gift cards to spend, but came away from both empty-handed.  (Nothing that was the right size really jumped out at us, unfortunately.)


Grilling Out
Saturday evening we hung out on our deck, listened to music, and tried a new recipe - steak fajitas on the grill!  Definitely a keeper and something we will be making again!  Sitting on the deck and grilling are two of my favorite things!  I even made sponge cake with strawberries for dessert.  Yum!

Firepit
Later in the evening on Saturday, we sat around our fire pit in our driveway and listened to more music.  Just myself, the hubs, and the schnauz!  The schnauz even got his own chair!



Smoked Chicken
And today, we finally tested out the smoker Craig got for Christmas!  We attempted a beer-can chicken and it turned out pretty good!  Can't wait to smoke some more meat throughout the summer!



It's hard to believe next weekend is the official kick-off to summer!  I say, bring it on!  Summer means lots more great weekends to come!

Spoiled Pup

Often, I wake up to find the schnauz like this.  And no, that is not a doggy pillow.  It's his mommy's Snoogle (i.e. $50 pregnancy pillow).  He's lucky I love him so much...



The Times They Are A-Changin

This weekend four years ago was a special one.  It was the weekend I met my future hubs!  Here's a picture...our very first picture together, in fact!

In case you've never heard the story, we met on a pub crawl!  A pub crawl that cures cancer!  Crawl for Cancer is a national fundraiser pub crawl that raises tons of money for cancer research.  It began in Kansas City 10ish years ago and has expanded to other cities all across the country.

Anyway, our meeting wasn't a totally random one.  We were on the same pub crawl team, linked through a chain of friends.  I was friends with a co-worker's friend (my connection to the team), who was friends with a guy from college, who played softball with Craig.  And technically, we met long before the beer began flowing and before we arrived at the bar...so I'm happy to say I did not meet my husband at a bar!

It was a gorgeous, sunny, summer-like day and we had the best time doing our part to cure cancer.  We played flippy cup, hopped from bar to bar, and made a lot of great memories that day.  And the rest is history. 

Anyway, fast forward two years and we decided to organize our own C4C team.  Here we are in 2010.
 And again last year, in 2011.
The past two years were definitely fun, but not quite the same as the first.  Partially because of the weather.  We had to fight chilly, rainy, dreary weather in both 2010 and 2011, which made walking from bar to bar slightly miserable.  Regardless, we still had a great time with great friends!

Today was the day for C4C 2012.  And for the first time in four years, it was a perfect, summer-like day.  Sunny, warm, awesome.  Perfect beer-drinking weather.

But obviously, we didn't partake this year.  There were multiple times throughout the day that I mentioned how great of a day it would have been.

However, I wouldn't trade our current situation for anything.  Maybe someday we'll go back and celebrate just like the old times, but for now, I'll cheers my non-alcoholic beer to the little human being that's growing inside me and be grateful for the fact that the times they are a-changin! 



Nursery: Almost Finished Product!

Our chair finally arrived last Tuesday!  And now I think it's safe to assume the nursery is complete!  Well, with the exception of the ottoman.  We decided to order that a few weeks after ordering the chair...but it's just a small detail in the grand scheme of things.

I love it so much!  I just went and sat in the chair one night this week.  It's definitely my new "happy place" in our house.  Here are some pics!

Might replace the b-a-b-y letters with his name...we'll see!

I just love these bookshelves!




Got a breathable bumper, but it covers up part of the bedding. :(

Scrapbook on the wall = Pinterest idea!

Mommy's DIY projects - diaper box totes and closet dividers
Found these on Etsy...and created my own!  Of course, Kinnick's name will be replaced with Baby's!

More Pinterest ideas...footprints will be Baby's real footprints!
Now, all we need is a baby!