Let’s hear it for the girl!

Ok, I’m not doing a girly nursery, so I need an outlet for my need to design something pink and very “girly”. . .and so the blog just got a PINK re-vamp. I’m sure it won’t stay for too long, as my hubby will probably disapprove of the new color scheme! I have been thinking about doing this for about 3 weeks now and just got the overwhelming urge today. Ooh La La, I love me some PINK!

26 Weeks

The baby countdown has made it to 95 days! Wow. Actually that kinda sounds like a long time, however when I say, 12 and a half weeks. . . .now that is scary!! Here we are at 26 weeks. Things are going really well. I am feeling pretty good, I passed my glucose test, both are good signs and I’m not getting my hopes up yet, but right now it seems like things might be taking a normal course! I was 29 weeks when I was first put on bed rest when I was pregnant with Stratton, so as that date is fast approaching, I am getting really nervous and a little worried. I have no reason to worry, but then everything that happened with Stratton seemed like it just hit me with no warning, too. I am trying to take it easy and stay off my feet. I can tell those days when I stand or walk a lot really wears on me. My next Dr. appointment is next Friday, June 22nd.

Pregnancy Stats:
How Far Along: 26 weeks. . . AHHH!! Less than 100 days to go!!
Size of baby: About the size of an head of lettuce; 13.6- to 14.8-inch and 1.5- to 2.5-pound range
Gender: Girl, and yes she remains nameless
Movement: She is kicking and moving like crazy! I am constantly getting beat up!
Sleep: Sleep?? Am I supposed to be sleeping?
Cravings: None at the moment, I think my appetite might be slacking off.
Symptoms: Lots of pressure and some cramps. I am trying to stay off my feet as much as I can.
Best Moment This Week: While out shopping with Jarrod on Saturday, Stratton asked if he could buy a pink golf ball he saw for his baby sister! Aww! How sweet is that?

So we are trying to talk about “the baby” a lot more. Stratton, I think is coming to terms with it being a girl. . . I think. He has his moments. I try to get him to feel her kicking, but he rarely sits still long enough. The other night while I was trying to get him to sit still so he could feel, he decided he needed to see the baby. So he pulls up my shirt and “looks” in my belly button!? He said “I see her!” . . .I guess he thinks my belly button is a porthole to be able to see the baby! Silly boy! Then I told him he needed to talk to her. So he looks down at my belly and yells ”HEY, BABY! YOU READY TO COME OUT YET??!!”. Oh my. I think baby girl may need some headphones! Good thing she only hears muffled noises!

He is also still calling her “Fiddle Fred” and actually got rather upset one day when I was telling him that her name will not be Fred. I think he was on the verge of tears. We will be making a trip to Build-A-Bear soon so that he can “build” himself a “Fiddle Fred”. And if we can ever decide on a name, I’m sure that will help, too.

I am getting restless, impatient and maybe a little moody. . . . and I think the “nesting” tendency is starting to set in. I have bought quite a bit of newborn and baby clothes and I just want to keep buying. . .it’s like a disease! haha, not really but I am way more into shopping for her than I ever was for Stratton!  Jarrod has been working in her room. All we have left to do is paint. We are going to just put a fresh coat of the same color up, as the tan is a better color for re-sale. . .and who knows how much longer we will be in this house. So I don’t want to have to paint it again in a few months. We are using the same bedding and furniture that we had when Stratton was a baby. It’s gender neutral and of course like new, so I will for-go the temptation to go crazy with the pink and wait till we move and I can really go to town on her a girly room! Plus I still love the colors we used before. We just need to decide on a name so I can work on the art for the room! While I love the stuff we used before I need to girly-it-up a little!

I passed!!

Thank you Lord!! I am in shock! I passed my 3 hour glucose test!! I am just so relieved that I won’t have to do that impossibly difficult diet and pricking my finger 4 times a day!! Thanks so much to all of you who said a prayer on my behalf! I know it’s a little thing, but blessings- even the smallest ones need to be acknowledged!

I think I’ll have a cupcake to celebrate!!

A little overboard? Nah!

So we went to Memphis with the intention of just buying a few newborn things and just having a good time browsing. But every single store we went into was having a fantastic sale and I got much more stuff than I had intended! Baby girl is set for her first month! I keep thinking we might be in the hospital for awhile, and I want her to be able to wear her own stuff. We were so unprepared when we had Stratton. I may have gone a little overboard, but it makes me feel better to have some stuff ready. . .just in case! And hey isn't my peace of mind worth something too?  By the way, my new favorite store is Itty Bitty Bella, oh wow they have the cutest stuff! I could have spent a fortune in there!

We really did have a good day. And Jarrod took me to Bonefish Grill which I love! Their crabcakes are the best I've ever had anywhere! And a trip to Memphis just wouldn't be complete without a trip to Gigi's for cupcakes!

Pop! Goes my belly!

Well, I think I have officially “popped”. I noticed this morning how wide I am getting! Ugh. It’s depressing. Even when I know it’s a good thing, and that means I’m healthy, it’s still hard to look in the mirror and see such a wide silhouette! My friend Carla, who had her baby last week, returned my maternity clothes she had borrowed yesterday and it couldn’t have been better timing! I was running out of options (and getting tired of wearing the few things that did fit)! I got a new pair of jeans Friday at Gap in Little Rock and I have already worn them 3 times! They are comfy, and look nice which is fabulous!! I like that I am starting to look visibly pregnant, and not like I just put a little weight on! Maybe people will stop giving me judgmental looks when they see me clean my plate!!

And even though I look fabulous [haha- yeah, not so much] and seem to be feeling pretty good, I still failed the one hour glucose test. I got the call Tuesday morning. I was hopeful that I’d pass this time, since I passed the initial one I had a few months ago, but it looks like I may be on the road to a diagnosis of gestational diabetes again. Ugh. So I have another 3 hour glucose test on Monday. I was lucky that my Dr. in Little Rock arranged for me to have the 3 hour test here in Jonesboro! That would have been one long day if I had to go to LR for it!! I’ll have to go in “fasting” -no food or drink after midnight Sunday, and they’ll give me some more yummy [not so much] stuff to drink, and then they’ll draw blood after one hour, two hours, and three hours. I’m not at all hopeful that I’ll pass this one. I knew the chance was really high for me to have it again from the start, so I might as well just get over it and start to deal with it. My guess is that if I fail this one, they will send me to a nutritionist , like before and I’ll just be put on a diet of very little carbs and sugar and have to check my blood sugar 4 times a day. We’ll see though, who knows. As long as I don’t have to give myself shots of insulin all the time, I’ll be ok!

So, we’re having a girl. {breathe in. . . .breathe out. . . } It’s starting to sink in. And so far I have remained pretty calm about it. I have ordered a few things for her but all in all I am keeping my composure. . . for now!  I ordered this diaper clutch, bib and burp cloth set on etsy.com yesterday, I think I will get them monogrammed when they come in, but HOW CUTE are they?! You know I love me some pink and green!!!

Update on a name. . .she’s still Fred. Actually now it’s “Fiddle Fred”, according to Stratton. When we ask him what he wants to name the baby he’ll say “it’s Fiddle Fred, ok?!”. Not okay. We’ve narrowed it down to three names. Maybe we’ll figure it out soon! It’s just so hard!!

Stratton is going to spend the weekend with my parent’s and Jarrod and I are planning on finishing up the Target registry and if I feel up to it, going to Memphis tomorrow to do a little shopping, and eating! Then we’ll go to HR on Sunday afternoon for my uncle’s bday lunch and pick to Stratton up. I am hoping the weather stays nice and cool like it is today! It’s wonderful!! I’m not ready for summer!

Archer’s Birthday Party

I can’t believe he’s already 2?! It just doesn’t seem possible! Jennifer and Daniel had the ENTIRE family out to celebrate! Jennifer did such an awesome job with the decorations, Mickey Mouse Club house themed! And the cake was adorable!! I wish I had gotten a  picture of it to share with you, it was so cute. We had a great time! Stratton had loads of fun! I had my small camera and it didn’t take any good pictures in the house- bummer.

We tried to get a shot of all the “great” grands with Memaw, but you know how that goes!

Landon, Avery, Kylie, Archer & Stratton!

Poor Archer! He looks miserable! And you gotta love his boots! He got those from his other aunt for his bday and immediately had to put them on! So cute! Notice my child- again with no shoes!

2 of us taking pictures and 2 trying to keep the kids attention! And a lot of spectators laughing!

After a lot of people had left, we sat outside on their back porch (no bugs!) Anyway the boys had a couple of balls they were throwing and chasing, and getting quite hot and sweaty! First they both shed their shirts, then Archer started pulling off his pants, and of course Stratton had to do it too! But he’s a lot faster than Archer as you can see! And about 2 seconds after I snapped this picture he decided to pull down his undies as well! I couldn’t get a picture of that, as we were all laughing so hard we were crying?! I mean we were out in the county, but really?! He is such a mess! And apparently Archer and Stratton already have a secret language. They just jabber and “talk” to each other, but it makes no sense to any of us?! Silly boys!

A Full Friday!

After the doctor's appointment we took Stratton to All Aboard for lunch. He loved it!

After lunch we went to the mall for a couple of hours and did some shopping. Stratton took a short nap in the stroller. I even bought baby girl a fabulous frilly dress for next spring!

 

We had a "double doozie" cookie break, finished up our shopping  at the mall and headed for Gene Lockwoods. We got Stratton the cutest pair of Chaco's! I just love Gene Lockwoods! I refrained from buying the itty bitty Toms. . .this time anyway! Next stop was Gander Mountain before meeting up with Jarrod's parents and Jennifer, Daniel and Archer for dinner. Then we all went back to Terry and Margie's house so Margie could open her Mother's day gifts (finally!). The boys played for awhile before Jen and Daniel took Archer home. It was such a fun (and- whew!-Full) day. I was exhausted!! I think I went to bed around 10pm? Even though I was tired, it was still hard to relax from the day's excitement!