Dear Baby

Dear Sweet Baby Boy,

 

I know we "talk" all day long, but Mommy wants to write down some of her thoughts to you so you can read them one day. Granted, when I say "talk", I mean me talking to you... telling you all about the world you're going to be meeting in a couple of months, and you kicking occasionally (either in agreement or opposition - I'm not really sure!).

 

I know I tell you every day how much Daddy and I love you and can't wait to meet you... but you really have no idea how much love our hearts are holding for you. Mommy cannot wait to hold you in her arms and just stare into your sweet bright eyes. I know it's going to be love at first sight. Mommy and Daddy prayed for you for a long time and holding you for the first time is going to be a tall glass of water after a season in the desert.

 

I hope you're ready for the cuddles, kisses, and snuggles that are waiting for you! Whether it's the middle of the day or the middle of the night, I can't wait to spend every little moment with you. Believe it or not, Mommy is already dreading going back to work. I just want to soak up every sweet little moment with you after waiting so long for you.

 

We pray for you every day... that God will give you a kind heart, a gentle spirit, and a desire to seek after Him. We pray that one day you will accept Christ as your personal savior, and that we do everything God has called us to do as your parents to introduce you to Him. You are such a gift from God, and we can't wait to show Him just how thankful we are for the blessing of you by raising you according to His word.

 

I love you with all of my heart and I can't wait for you to read this one day when you're old enough to understand just how much Mommy and Daddy love you and are looking forward to meeting you.

 

-Mommy

 



27 Weeks

How Far Along? 27 Weeks, 6 Days
Size of Baby: The size of a head of cauliflower!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained another pound this week! I am officially back up to the weight that I was when I found I was pregnant back in August. My goal is to keep my total gain within the 15-20 pound range, and with only 12 weeks to go, I think I'm right on track. :-)

Maternity Clothes: Yes! Got a few more tops and some nursing bras from my friend, Abigail. Also, got an email from Old Navy saying their maternity clothes were 40% off yesterday! So, I bought myself a few more tops from there. I haven't been crazy with how the pants from Old Navy fit, but the shirts I have ordered from there fit great and are holding up well. Here's what I ordered:

...I guess I was in a blue mood! LOL - didn't realize how much BLUE I ordered until just now. Must be the mindset of a mommy of a little boy ;-)
Gender: Bow Ties! Sweet little boy!
Movement: Lots and lots! I'm feeling him all over my belly now, so I'm curious to find out what position he's in tomorrow at my doctor's appointment.
What I miss: Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi.
Cravings: See below.
 

 
The Old Wive's Tale says you crave sweets with a baby girl... that one was definitely wrong for me! I'm thinking I'm going to have the sweetest baby boy in the world, though :-) 

Symptoms: Friday, I had my very first episode of swelling. Oy. Worked all day long, and stayed at work till almost 7pm doing work in my classroom. And when I got home, my ankles and feet were PUFFY. Of course I looked it up, and they recommend sitting with your feet elevated throughout the day. Ummmm... not going to happen! I barely sit at all except for planning time, guided reading, and lunch. The rest of the time I'm up, standing, walking around, etc. I have a feeling more puffy days are in my future.

 

Best Moment This Week: Getting some great feedback at work!
  Looking Forward To: The gender reveal party at my brother & sister-in-law's house next weekend! In less than two weeks, we will know if they are having a little prince or a little princess. I'm rooting for team PINK and already have my shirt picked out for that night :-) Of course, I'll be thrilled either way (wouldn't it be neat to have two little boys growing up together, becoming best friends?)... and there's a big part of me that would love to see them have a girl because 1) I would get to buy cute, frilly, lacy things. 2) My brother would totally be wrapped around the teeny-tiny little pinky of a baby girl and I would LOVE to see that! 3) My sister-in-law is absolutely GORGEOUS... I can just see a beautiful little version of her running around with a little Coach purse to match her Mommy's :-)
Here's Stacey's most recent bump pic... what do you think? Boy or girl?  

 

 

I can't wait to find out!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

And here I am... my bump pic this week.

27 Weeks Pregnant:

 

 

 

Glucose test in the morning... praying I pass!!! I love my sweets way too much these days.

 

See you next week :-)

26 Weeks



I'm already halfway through my 27th week, and time has just gotten away from me! I've been extra busy these last couple of weeks. I should actually be working on something for school right now... but I figured I better take the time to update the ol' blog so I can remember my 26th week of pregnancy.   How Far Along? 27 Weeks, 3 Days (but this post is about last week - my 26th week of pregnancy)   Size of Baby: A little over 2lbs and 15 inches from head to toe!       Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up one pound... officially one pound away from being back at my pre-pregnancy weight. They say after week 24 you should gain about a pound per week... and after maintaining my weight through most of the pregnancy, I'm slowly starting to gain! It's all for good cause, though :-)   Here's a pic from 10 weeks ago. You can see, I haven't really gained anywhere but my belly so far.  

  Maternity Clothes: Absolutely. Went shopping last weekend and picked up a few new shirts from Ross. Three new shirts for about $30 - can't beat that!     Gender: Sweet Baby Boy :-)    Movement: All the time! From the moment I go to bed, when I wake up, while I'm teaching, while I'm eating, while I'm sitting... this boy is moving non-stop! He's going to be just like his daddy. He has to be busy all the time - LOL :-) I love it though. He's getting big enough, too, that my entire belly jumps when he kicks with enough force. It's awesome!   What I miss: Being able to get down on the carpet with my students without needing a crane to get back up :-/ Yikes.   Cravings: Remember my dark chocolate lemon truffle craving?! Well.. my friend Ann came through! She works very close to a sweet shop, and she brought me the most amazing present last week: This beautiful gold box with a red bow. And guess what's inside?! YOU GUESSED IT! Dark chocolate lemon truffles and milk chocolate lemon truffles. They. Were. AMAZING! I may (or may not) have eaten them all in 10 minutes. Ha!         Symptoms: I continue to struggle with some pain in my left hip. I am pretty sure it is sciatica. Baby boy is awfully comfy on a certain nerve, apparently.   Best Moment This Week: My hubby and my parents all got to feel the baby kick on the night of the super bowl! Jason has been waiting to feel him kick for quite some time now... so it was awesome for him to finally experience that moment.   We also had fun at the Ice Fest that was held in downtown Chambersburg :-)               Looking Forward To: March 2nd - my 3D/4D ultrasound! March 9th - my baby shower! And of course... exactly three months from today... May 6th!!!   26 Weeks Pregnant:     See you soon for my Week 27 update!

Pinner-Approved! Recipe

I am always watching Pinterest for good recipe finds. One day, I came across this photo... and it screamed "COMFORT FOOD" to me! I pinned the recipe and have been waiting for an opportunity to make it. Tonight happened to be the night!

 

 

Yummmm-o, right?!

 

Here's what you need:

 

2 cups macaroni pasta

1 lb hamburger

1 quart tomato juice or vegetable juice

2 tsp dehydrated onion flakes or 1/2 of a small onion diced

2 tsp dehydrated celery flakes or 1 stick of celery chopped

1 tsp parsley flakes

salt and pepper

Optional: 1 can sweet corn undrained

 

My hubby is a hearty eater, and we love leftovers in our house...so I doubled the ingredients listed above. It made a heaping pot full of soup! I have plenty for lunch and dinner tomorrow, as well as several pints cooling to go into the freezer. I used ground beef in the recipe... but you could easily substitute venison or elk, if you prefer.

 

 

 

I hate buying a whole bunch of celery because I use what little bit I need and then the rest ends up going bad in my fridge... so to avoid that situation, I usually stop by a grocery store with a fresh salad bar and grab some chopped celery from the salad bar instead of buying a ton of celery that I'll never use. Saves me some chopping, too!

 

Also loved this recipe because it was ready in less than 30 minutes, start to finish.

 

1. Cook macaroni 8-10 minutes. While the macaroni is cooking, brown meat, chopped onion, and celery in a pan. Drain off fat when meat is cooked all the way through.

 

2. Drain the macaroni. Add the vegetable juice and corn to the cooked macaroni. Bring to a simmer.

 

3. Transfer the meat and cooked onion/celery to the soup mixture. Add in salt, pepper, parsley. I also add in a sprinkle of garlic powder. Let the whole pot simmer a few minutes and serve.

 

Easy-peazy :-)

 

 

Do you have a favorite comfort food recipe? :-)

This one is a good one!



Hangin' with the Hubby

Last Saturday, I was quietly working in the soon-to-be nursery, getting some cleaning done.

All of a sudden I heard a "vrrrrrrroooooooooooom" sound come from the garage. I got really still and just listened for a minute, trying to make sense of what the noise was. Next thing I know, the kitchen door to the garage is flying open and Jason is yelling, "Hey Babe... Did ya hear that?!" So I came running out the hall and said, "Yeah... what was that???" He was grinning ear-to-ear... he had just started his Mustang for the very first time.

 

He bought this old '87 Mustang a few years back... completely gutted it, inside and out. He had the whole thing painted a couple of years ago, and until this year, it has just been sitting on blocks in the garage collecting dust. Just no time to work on it. Well, Jason has had some extra time on his hands lately so he's been working under the hood... completely building everything from scratch.

 

And Saturday was a milestone because it was the first time it ever started up! Of course, like when all important things happen, I grabbed my camera and headed out to the garage to document the occasion. Here's some pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

99 More Days! Wowzers.

Last night, I was logged onto my registries and making a few changes when a couple little words caught my eye:

 

 

Oh. My. WORD. 100 Days, as of yesterday.

Which means... today, we are officially in double-digits!

99 more days till I hold my baby boy, if he arrives on May 6th.

Absolute crazyness...

 

I was on my Target registry to update my stroller/car seat/travel system choice. When I started my registries, I registered from the comfort of my couch on Christmas Eve because I was snowed in without my Hubby. When I was looking at strollers, I looked at a few things... ratings, reviews, and of course, color. HA! I want something that is gender-neutral and will match my car. Little crazy? Yes. So I found one that looked great in terms of color and reviews, and it is able to be found in stores. So, when I went to Target a few weeks later to check out strollers... imagine my surprise when I found that I managed to choose the most expensive stroller that Target has on display ($299). Grrrrrreat. Not crazy about Target's stroller display, either, because they are up really high on a shelf... not easy for a pregnant mommy to get them down and try them out on her own.

 

Well, I had dinner with my friend Amy this week and then we went to Target to go over some must-have registry items. She got my first choice of stroller down and had me practice pushing it, trying to fold it down, and then open it back up. I was disappointed because of how tall the stroller is... the handle bar that you push came up to my chest. I felt like a little girl pushing a tall girl's stroller. It was pretty easy to maneuver once I managed to get it unfolded... but when it was folded up, it took up a LOT more room that I realized.

 

So then, Amy decided to show me her stroller. She got it down, I pushed it (or, rather, the stroller pushed me... it drove so smoothly and could do a 360 degree turn in very little space thanks to a swiveling front wheel), and then folded it up and opened it up with very little difficulty. I was SOLD! Even better, the stroller comes with an awesome review from a friend who has used the stroller for two children...and the price? $89. YEP. Just needed to go home and look up the travel system for that stroller so I have a car seat that fits with it. The wheels are designed to handle all kinds of terrain... so whether I'm taking the baby for a walk down our long gravel drive, or pushing him around up on the mountain at Mom and Dad's getaway, my stroller will be able to handle it. It took up less space when folded up than my original pick, too.

 

Here they are... the old, the new:

The complete travel system with carseat/carrier is $188.99 - but that is still more than $100 cheaper than my original travel system. I'm very excited!

 

Time for the weekly update!

 

How Far Along? 25 Weeks, 6 Days

 

Size of Baby: Weighs 2lbs and is about 11 inches long!

 

 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained a solid pound this week... FINALLY! :-) Grow, baby, grow!

 

Maternity Clothes: Yep, absolute necessity at this point!

 

Gender: A little prince.

 

Movement: Lots! Many kicks and punches all day long.

 

What I miss: Being able to shave my legs without doing a balancing act, LOL

 

Cravings: This week, nothing in particular! Other than chocolate and milk (same as last week).

 

Symptoms: Thankfully, I haven't had much heartburn. I have been having some crazy dreams here lately. A lot of them end up being about breastfeeding. You could say I'm a little bit anxious about breastfeeding because I want it to work out soooo badly! I guess we will see. Oh, and my feet are starting to disappear.    

 

Best Moment This Week: Went shopping with my Mom for some baby shower decorations and invitations! Very excited to celebrate the arrival of my baby boy with my family and friends.

 

Looking Forward To: Scheduling an elective 3D/4D ultrasound for mid-February! Can't wait to see my little guy on the big screen.

 

25 Weeks Pregnant:

 

 

 

xoxox



Happies & Crappies

Thought I'd join a fun link-up today for Happies & Crappies!

 

Happies:

 

 -Waking up to a 2-hour delay yesterday morning and then having a 2-hour early dismissal today... LOVE some extra time off here and there!

 

-Having an impromptu lunch date with my BFF today since we got out of school early.

 

-Spending time with my friend Amy last night! We had dinner and then went to Target to go over the must-haves for my registry. It was sooo helpful and very informative. You should've seen us in the stroller aisle. Amy showed me the stroller she loves, and then had me try out the one I registered for... and I'm totally sold on hers! She had me practice folding it up and everything - it was a lot of fun, and we had a pretty good laugh as I struggled to maneuver the stroller I had originally picked out.

 

-Receiving hugs from my kiddos. They make me smile everday!

-Working together with my teammates lately has helped to make the lesson-planning process super efficient! I feel like we are finally getting into a good "groove" and embracing the Common Core. Don't get me wrong - the six of us have always worked well together - but I feel like we have been very productive lately! It's great.

-Observing random acts of kindness in my classroom. Was so blessed by a little girl in my class today who reached out to another peer who was having a rough day. Made my heart melt!

-Shopping with my mom for baby shower goodies!

-Feeling my baby's kicks

-Finding a lullaby song to sing to my little boy. I heard this particular song a long time ago by one of my favorite bands, and now I've been singing it and humming the melody a lot to get my little mister used to hearing it. Hopefully it will help soothe him when he's finally here, since it will be familiar to him.

-Seeing the joy on my hubby's face when the mustang he's been working on for a few years now finally STARTED for the first time over the weekend. He came to the kitchen door, all excited, and said, "Babe, did you hear that?!?" So I headed out to the garage with my camera to capture the memory :-)

-Watching my belly grow and grow as my baby boy gets closer and closer to making his big debut. I was relaxing on the couch when I got home, just enjoying feeling the baby move. Snapped this picture as I was watching my belly in complete and utter amazement at the miracle of my baby boy.

 

Crappies:

-Receiving unkind remarks about my pregnancy.
"Woah, Kristin... You're HUGE!"
"Look how big you are...That's going to be a really big baby boy"!
"Geez, you really POPPED!"
...Ummmmmm, thanks?!
Pregnant or not, I don't think anyone should have the right to comment on your size... no matter how big/small you are! It's just plain rude... Pregnancy is such a beautiful time in one's life and the very last thing you want to hear over and over is how big you are.
*rant over*

-Not seeing my Hubby much this week due to our crazy schedules.

-Realizing I can't get out to go get some chocolate ice cream because of the snow. And I really want chocolate ice cream. Boohoo.



***SO glad I have more HAPPIES than CRAPPIES!***

Do you have any Happies or Crappies to share?