Another photo challenge

Day 23-Your shoes

 This made me laugh...I went to take a picture of my shoes and this is all I got...(p.s. that is my giant belly, in case it wasn't obvious)

Okay...had to push my butt out a little to get this pic...but here they are. Cozy slippers for the day! 

Day 24-Inside your bathroom cabinet

My bathroom "cabinet" is nothing special...so I took a picture of my makeup basket...which admittedly, isn't anything special either.

Day 25-Green

"Wild for Mommy" lovey. So excited for Pumpkin to actually use this! 

Day 26-Night

This is Hudsy's nighttime. Taking a little nap on the couch next to me.

Day 27-Something you ate

Nothing like munching on some Wheat Thins and watching Ellen! By the way...the sundried tomato and basil are the absolute BEST.

Day 28-Money

'Round these parts this bucket is known as "The Louis Fund." It was started in hopes that all my coins and dollar bills would someday equal enough money to purchase myself a Louis Vuitton purse...however, I am for-seeing other useful places this money might be used towards when it does fill the bucket...such as part of a down payment on a house, paying off portions of my grad school loan....or my car loan, or towards a college fund for our little lady. Still....a Louis Vuitton would be so nice. Wishful dreaming! 

Ahhhh! All caught up! Stay tuned for the last picture tomorrow annnnnd that brings us to the end of February and just days away from 3rd trimester!! 

Photo Challenge Update

I'm horrible about keeping up on this...oh well...

Day 19-Something you hate to do

Laundry. Mostly I just hate the folding and putting-away part of it. 

Day 20-Handwriting

Looooong day of taking notes...

Day 21-A favorite photo of you

So I am aware that this is not the BEST picture of me...but I love it because it was the day we went to go pick up Hudson...and he looks too cute.

Day 22-Where you work

This is where I am "working" from today...aka doing homework all day. I am a part-time nanny, but I don't feel comfortable posting pictures of their house or belongings on the internet...so this is what you get instead! 

That's all for now! 

Photo Challenge Update

Day 14-Heart

I was really tired on Valentine's Day so we cancelled our dinner reservations and ordered a pizza instead. (P.s. the heart is on the candy bag)

Day 15-Phone

I HATE having a land-line phone. We only get calls from 800 numbers, so they end up not getting picked up...which means the phone rings and rings and rings and rings....

Day 16-Something New

Hannah's book collection. Hopefully she is a book worm like her Momma and Da-da!

Day 17-Time

That is 2:38AM friends....not fun. Also kind of scary to wake up to that picture on my phone...(kelly had just changed it).

Day 18-Drink

Chocolate Moo-ed Jamba Juice. Soooo delicious! 

Almost caught up! 

26 weeks!

How far along? 26 weeks-96 more days to go! Down to the double digits!! 

Size and growth of Baby Hannah?  Our pumpkin is 14 inches long and about 1.75 pounds. Her ears are better developed and more sensitive than ever. She can now hear and recognize both mine and Noah's voices when we talk. She is continuing to put on some fat and starting to plump up. 

Maternity Clothes? Of course. I actually went out and got some cute long bed t-shirts from Victoria's Secret, so I've been much more comfy at night.

Weight Gain? I haven't gained any weight this week so I am still at a total weight gain of 16 pounds.

Stretch Marks? Nothing yet!

Gender? A little missy! 

Movement? Lots! She moves all the time. She's really started kicking/moving up into my rib area, which is a little uncomfortable because it's such a strange feeling to know that something inside you is knocking into your bones....but it's still so fun to know its Pumpkin that is doing it.

Sleep? Off and on, as usual. The past couple nights have actually been really good. I've started using ice packs on my back at night and on really painful nights I take an aspirin, which helps immensely! 

Food Cravings/Aversions?  Nothing new this week! I am hungrier than usual, so I've been eating a lot more....but just a lot more of everything. 

What I Miss? I'm starting to miss my old body. I'm getting bigger by the day and it's getting harder to breathe (I can hardly imagine what I'll be feeling in another month!) so I am starting to miss how easy it was to get out of bed and put on my own socks and shoes....something you skinny-minnies shouldn't take for granted! 

Symptoms?  Heartburn and general uncomfortable-ness. I am also starting to get more and more tired. I get incredibly cranky at the end of an active day...but my crazy emotional episodes have subsided...for the time being anyways. ;) 

Best Moment of the Week? I had my last "first day" of class on Saturday! I will have this class through March...but after that I am done with taking classes! Then I just have research papers, internships and student teachings to do....but finishing up the class and homework part is a big stress reliever! 

Worst Moment of the Week?  I made a little trip over to Labor and Delivery at midnight last week. I had been having really strong stabbing pains all day. They ended up going away around 4pm, but then came back in full force later in the night. I looked online, which scared me so I called the on-call doctor and she advised making a trip into the hospital. Turns out everything was okay and they were just some severe ligament pains, but it was still pretty scary! 

Other Thoughts? I'm wishing time would speed up! I can't wait for the little lady to make her appearance!

Photo Challenge Updates

So I need to catch up a little...I have been taking the pictures every day...I just haven't had a chance to post them. So here you go!

Day 8-Sun

The sun was not out today...but I did get a shot of the 520 Eagle...see him up there?

Day 9-Front Door

Pretty boring. Christmas decorations JUST came down...so maybe we can put up some Spring decor to liven it up a bit.

Day 10-Self Portrait

 1. Hudson after his morning in the mud...

2. So tired...he fell asleep on the way to the Pet Wash

3. All clean and happy!

So I know this isn't really a self-portrait of myself...but they are some pretty cute before and after pictures of Hudson! 

Day 11-Makes You Happy

Hannah's crib and stuffed animals. Pretty much anything having to do with the baby makes me happy. :) 

P.S. Kelly has gotten in the habit of changing out the outfit that lay's in the crib every day.

P.S.S. Excuse the upside down picture...I'm not an internet expert so I'm not even going to attempt to fix it. 

Day 12-Inside your closet

Nothing special. It's mostly maternity clothes...I packaged up all my other stuff and put it in storage when we moved. 

Day 13-Blue

Blue baby outfits! 

I think I'm all caught up to date now! 

25 Weeks!

How far along? 25 weeks-105 more days to go! 

Size and growth of Baby Hannah?  The Little Miss is about 13 and a half inches long and a pound and a half this week! She is starting to fill out a little bit and looking more and more like an infant every day! She is also starting to grow some hair. 

Maternity Clothes? Oh yes. I've been actually wearing regular t-shirts to bed...but even those now are becoming too tight...guess I will have to look for some bigger bed wear! 

Weight Gain? I actually lost a pound since my appointment last week so I am at a total weight gain of 16 pounds.

Stretch Marks? Still nothing yet! I've started getting pretty itchy though, so I've been slathering on the lotion lately....not that is proven to help with stretch mark prevention...but it makes me feel like I am doing something.

Gender? A little missy! 

Movement? Still lots of movement! Last week Noah was telling me a story about his day at work and all of the sudden I yelped because she kicked me SO hard out of nowhere! It was definitely her strongest kick yet! Then, on Sunday I was sitting on the couch watching a movie and all of the sudden it felt like she dragged a little hand or foot down my stomach. It was the strangest feeling! I love being able to feel her move though. :) 

Sleep? Oh this question again....still the same...no sleep due to back pain. I've tried bringing in the "boppy" again but that doesn't work as well as it did in the beginning. I do feel slightly better when I move to the recliner...but I can't actually fall asleep there, so its mostly a last resort that I move over there just to take a break from the pain. I am going to start incorporating prenatal yoga into my day to see if that helps at all. 

Food Cravings/Aversions?  So the other day Kelly was reading my blog and came down and asked why I kept saying that I didn't have any cravings. I had no idea what she was talking about until she pointed out how much fruit I eat now (the funny part is that while she mentioned this I happened to be eating a giant bowl of raspberries, strawberries and grapes that I was sprinkling with small amounts of sugar). I realized how right she was! I use to HATE eating fruit. I've always been a veggies girl. Fruit has just always been too sugary, sweet and sour for me. Now here I am eating giant bowls of fruit WITH sugar. So I've learned two things this week: 1) It is very obvious that I am having a girl due to the amount of sugar I consume on a daily basis and 2) I am not a very observant person...even when it has to do with myself! 
P.S. I asked Kelly if I have had any aversions...just to be sure and she said "no, except sometimes meat." Phew! At least I got that part right!

What I Miss? Being able to move around with ease and not being an emotional wreck. 

Symptoms? Emotional breakdowns. Seriously...it's actually insane at the amount of things I cry about. I've always considered myself to be a moderately emotional person...you know...tearing up over sad commercials and movies; perhaps shedding a few emotional tears after one too many glasses of wine (shhhh! Let's keep this one a secret from Hannah ;) but that was NOTHING compared to the emotional mess I have become. I'll give you a little taste.
I was supposed to go on a trip to Spokane with my friends last weekend to visit one of our friends (and future bride!) but had been going back and forth on whether it would be a good idea or not. It was my first weekend off from school for the quarter and I couldn't decide what would be best. In the end, I took into account how tired I have been lately and my emotional-ness...so I sadly opted to stay home and use the weekend to recuperate. 
I knew it was a good decision, but I was still very pouty about it all Friday night. Saturday I woke up late thinking I had made a really good decision. I walked downstairs and took one look at Hudson (who had been digging a hole outside and was COVERED in dirt) and burst into tears. Hmmm....not just tears....uncontrollable sobs. I was so upset that I was going to have to take Hudson down to the pet wash place, when I had ditched my friends on a fun weekend in order to get some rest. Needless to say, it wasn't that big of a deal and I was still able to enjoy some down time.
Then on Sunday I was sitting on the floor playing with our family's new puppy, Pumbaa. He got excited by something outside and started scrambling for the door, scratching my knee and knocking me in the chin in the process. For some reason it hurt really bad and I got a few tears in my eyes. Then I noticed that Noah hadn't noticed me in pain....so I started to cry....while sitting on the floor....like a child. I cried for a good 5 minutes before he noticed and came over. Then I cried even harder because I realized how ridiculous I was being and how if I cry over a small scratch and chin bump from a puppy....how on earth am I going to manage giving birth?! 
Anyways...I think we all get the point...I am SO excited to feel like myself again! 

Best Moment of the Week? Making progress on wedding planning! We officially have a photographer and are in the final stages of booking a D.J. It is SO nice that I have so much extra free time to really get going on some of this stuff.

Worst Moment of the Week?  I'm going to say the emotional breakdowns...we don't really need to get into that again...you guys get the gist. ;) 

Other Thoughts? I decided to look more into the glucose test I have to take this week to figure out what the big deal is...and I have to say I'm a little nervous about it now. According to a forum on BabyCenter a lot of soon-to-be momma's in the "May 2012 Baby" group have failed the test! Since I am due at the end of May...this group has been really helpful to turn to because they are all going through everything just one to two weeks ahead of me so it was a little disconcerting to find out that more than half of them failed it! I guess if you fail the first one, you take a second 3-hour long test...if you fail that, you are monitored closely and advised to change your diet...aka less sugar and carbs. I'm pretty much convinced that I am going to fail the first test since I am now aware of how much more sugar I am eating than normal! 
So wish me luck this week! 

Photo Challenge and Shopping!

Day 7-Buttons

Buttons on Noah's shirt. Really, it's just an excuse to take a picture of this handsome guy. :)


Also, today my mom, sisters and I went shopping at the Seattle Premium Outlets in Marysville and definitely went a little crazy on the shopping for Hannah. I'll do another post later with some of my favorite outfits from today...but I've got to get to some homework, so I will leave you with this onsie I got for $2.50...

Cute, right? :) 

Photo Challenge

Day 6-Dinner

I am clearly not a food photographer...and this looks disgusting, but it was actually pretty good. Leftovers from Italianissimo, Woodinville's only upscale restaurant. I took the kids I nanny over for dinner after we got out of C's (the little boy I nanny) appointment. However, C got pizza and K (little girl) got regular spaghetti and I so wish I could have ordered from the kids menu with them because as good as mine was, their's looked SO much better.

24 weeks!

How far along? 24 weeks. 111 more days to go! Almost down to the double digits!  

Size and growth of Baby Hannah?  Han-Banan is about 12.5 inches and 1.25 pounds. She is resembling an ear of corn...
This week, her skin is becoming slightly more opaque in color. Her lungs and taste buds are developing more and more each day, and she is starting to plump up a little bit.


Maternity Clothes? Yes..My lovely friend, Amy sent me a package of her old maternity clothes, which have been nice to add to my collection. :) Thanks Aims! 

Weight Gain? A  total of 17 pounds, according to my weigh in at the doctor today. That's one big growth spurt over the past two weeks...

Stretch Marks? Not yet...

Gender? Pink!

Movement? Still moving a ton! She loves to kick my bladder and up towards my ribs. Today Kelly poked my stomach and we are almost 100% sure that the little miss tried to poke her back. Already a feisty one. :)

Sleep? Still off and on with this one. Most the time I just can't get comfortable with all this extra poundage I am carrying around.

Food Cravings/Aversions?  No new aversions or cravings. I actually always thought cravings would be more intense...but my cravings aren't any more ridiculous or more frequent from before I was pregnant. I AM a lot hungrier lately though. She is doing a lot of plumping up, so I'm sure her growth is what makes me hungry.

What I Miss? Nothing! I'm actually loving being pregnant this week! 

Symptoms? Heartburn every now and then. Backaches, rib aches, sore stomach(stretched feeling), charlie horse cramps and crazy emotional waves.  

Best Moment of the Week? Hannah's bedding came in this week and her crib and changing table are almost all set up! It makes everything seem more real!

Worst Moment of the Week?  I've had a few emotional breakdowns this week...nothing too intense. I think I just get overtired from the day and then come home and my body decides I need to over analyze and cry about everything under the sun...it's really fun for all of us. ;)

Other Thoughts? I have decided that at this point in my pregnancy I need to lower my stress levels a little bit. I have been working, going to my internship, going to school and then doing homework and wedding stuff during any free time I have. It was getting to be a lot; so my doctor, myself and my director at school have decided I should quit my internship and push it out until the Fall, right before I start Student Teaching. This has been a HUGE relief and I have already noticed a big difference in my mood and stress levels this week.

As I mentioned above, we also had a doctors appointment today. I have a total weight gain of 17 pounds and my fundal height (distance from pubic bone to top of uterus) is measuring at 25cm...which puts me a little over average. The doctor said this could be a growth spurt she went through and will just even out by the end of the pregnancy, or she could just be a big baby. I'm okay with big babies...I like em' chubby. ;)
Her heartbeat sounded perfectly and it was so fun to hear, as always. Kelly came with me today and I forgot it was her first time at one of my appointments. The doctor and I were just chatting away over the heartbeat and Kelly was having a little emotional moment because it was her first time hearing it. What a cutie...
I did get the dreaded glucose mixture to take home with me this week for my glucose test. It's basically a bottle of a very sugary drink that I have to finish in 5 minutes and then get my blood drawn one hour later to see how well my blood is breaking down the sugar. This will test for risk of gestational diabetes. I don't know why everyone dreads this test so much...could just be the anticipation of finding out about gestational diabetes, but everything I have read said the risk is very low. Knock on wood! 
Wish me luck!  

Excuse the self-portrait, iPhone pic...next week will be better :)

Photo Challenge

Day 5-10am

Hudsy hanging out in the backseat. He really likes car rides, so I brought him with me today while I ran errands. Such a sweet boy. :)

Photo Challenge

Day 4-A stranger

So I forgot to take a picture this day...luckily Kelly had this gem on her phone from when we went to Starbucks earlier in the week. I am mostly just impressed that this lady could get her hair to do that! 

Photo Challenge

Day 3-Hands

Just a shot of my beautiful ring. :) P.S. Ignore my stubby nails...they grow so fast now, and get so brittle that I am forced to keep them short, stubby and un-polished. Ick!

Photo Challenge

Day 2-Words

Just learning about misplaced and dangling modifiers for my quiz tomorrow....exactly what I want to be doing right now. 

Photo Challenge

So I saw this photo challenge over on another blog I read, and I thought it might be a fun way to pass the month of February. The idea is to take a picture every day, based on the day's "theme" and post it. 
I thought this would be really fun because by the end of this photo challenge I will officially be in my 3rd (and final!!!!) trimester! So crazy! 

Day 1: My view today:

That would be the view from my bed...where I am happily staying all day (well until I have to go to work at 3pm) just working on homework! 

23 Weeks

It's been 2 weeks since I did a "bump update." I have been so busy with school and work that I have not had any time at all to update. But, I want to print these off and put them in a scrapbook for Hannah so she can see it one day...so I am making the time to update this morning! 


I haven't updated a picture in a while...but I promise I will do that next week! 


How far along? 23 weeks-116 more days! 

Size and growth of Baby Hannah?  This week our little munchkin is more than 11 inches long and over 1 pound. Her sense of movement is developing so all my baby websites and books suggest starting to dance around for her....hmm....I'll do it for the babe...but NOBODY gets to laugh. ;) In other developments, the blood vessels in Hannah's little lungs are developing to prepare for breathing. Her ears are also becoming very good at picking up sounds, which also prepare her for birth. Any sounds she hears regularly now (like dogs barking, vacuum cleaners, loud music, etc.) will not scare her because she will have been accustomed to them. 

Maternity Clothes? Yes, yes, yes. 

Weight Gain? A whopping total of 15 pounds! I didn't weight myself last week....but I was still shocked to see that I had gained a whole 6 pounds in the last two weeks! Hannah must have gone through a massive growth spurt....or people are just being too kind when saying that I do not look like I have gained any weight. ;)

Stretch Marks? Not yet....but with my giant weight gain the past two weeks I am just a-waiting.

Gender? Girly girl.

Movement? She is a mover! I have noticed an increase in the strength behind her kicks and movements over the past two weeks (which might explain the weight gain). She loves to kick my bladder...which is fun for everyone. She's been getting so strong that we can actually see her kicks on my stomach! Last night my mom, Noah and I were having fun watching her kick and roll around. It's a pretty cool experience. 

Sleep? This has its moments. I have nights that I am able to sleep through the whole night...but most nights I am flipping from side to side (its hard to get comfortable when you have 15 pounds of stomach hanging out in front of you), waking up with back pains and having to move to the recliner couch in our room, or getting up to use the restroom. This past week has been especially fun because Hannah's fun kicks to my bladder have me scrambling out of sleep and the bed...only to realize that I do no actually have to use the restroom....just a little kick. :)

Food Cravings/Aversions?  Chicken has been a slight aversion lately, but nothing too extreme. I have been craving candy and ice-cream lately (this might also have attributed to the 6 pound weight gain ;) 

What I Miss? Nothing really...if I had to pick one thing it would be sleeping through the night. But when I get really frustrated with not being able to sleep I think about how its just a sign that my pregnancy is going great and Hannah is getting stronger by the day....so I can't really complain! 

Symptoms? Heartburn hits me every now and then....but other than that its smooth sailing! 

Best Moment of the Week? Being able to feel the baby gain strength. Up to this point, I could really only read about her developments and gains...but it is so amazing to be able to actually feel and see those developments behind every strong kick and every movement. 
Another good moment of the week...I bought my wedding dress today!! So exciting! 

Worst Moment of the Week?  Hm..I woke up the other day with the worst cramp in my leg...but other than that everything has been going great! 

Other Thoughts? I have been crazy busy with everything lately. Having a baby, planning a wedding, working everyday, going to my internship 2 times a week, and doing crazy amounts of homework each night are really starting to catch up to me. I decided I am going to take a "mental health" break tomorrow and skip out on my internship just so I can stay home and try and catch up on homework, the blog, and some wedding stuff.