26 weeks & a couple of nursery updates

I'm late again on posting, but this week I have an excuse since it was a Holiday weekend :) I'm thankful for the day off but most importantly for all those who have served.

Early this week I was channeling my inner crafty nerd and took a sewing class at JoAnn Fabrics. My mom was nice enough to pass down her machine to me so I wanted to figure out how to use it! The class wasn't as helpful as I was hoping, but it certainly brought me back to (7th?) grade home ec, aka the last time I used a sewing machine. I learned the basics of threading the machine and starting to sew, so I feel at this point I can study a few youtube videos and designate myself as a novice sewer! I'm looking forward to some basic sewing crafts like pillow covers, hemming pants, and maybe even baby clothes?!? We'll see! 

My machine & needle holder thingy I made

Wednesday was the worst day of the week... I was in a car accident! I'm totally okay but at the time was stressed and scared. I was not at fault - a guy hit me from behind on the interstate on the way to work. He hit me hard enough to crush his front end but the only damage to my car was the trailer hitch was bent in. I did get checked out by the paramedics since I was scared something could've happened to baby boy, but it turned out he was a-okay. I'm stuck with a rental until they evaluate and estimate the damage. I was able to fulfill my high school dream of driving a Nissan XTerra - wahoo!

My ride until further notice

We had an offsite team building meeting for work on Thursday at the bowling alley. Any excuse to get away from the office is fine with me!! I actually had my best game yet... and had to document the score to prove it!

127!

We made a few updates to the nursery this weekend. I think we're close to being set on furniture except for getting the glider and a Pinterest craft I'm going to attempt by turning spice racks into bookshelves. Other than that, all that's left is hanging the prints I bought.

Monday we went to The Wilds - Nationwide offered discounted tickets so we took advantage! The day started off kind of crummy weather-wise but ended up to be a really nice day. We went on a 2.5 hour open-air safari tour where we had a tour guide drive us through the property to see the animals. It was so fun! We were able to see giraffes, rhinos, zebras, wild dogs, cheetahs, horses, bison, etc. They also have horseback riding tours and zip-lining tours... I'd like to try those out in the future!

I have to say I'm still feeling pretty good. The swelling has gone down with the weather being cooler but the heartburn has gotten a bit worse. I bought one of those belts to help with back pain since I do experience some pain towards the end of the day and after laying down. I hope it helps!

Baby boy's hearing has developed even more and he can now apparently hear Matt's voice (and snoring!!). He weights about 1 2/3 lbs and his lungs and brain are even more developed. His eyes are starting to open and he is able to cry - hopefully he doesn't like crying much. :) 

Thursday I have my gestational diabetes test at the doctor. I have to drink some apparently nasty-tasting juice then get my blood drawn. I'm kind of nervous so please cross your fingers all goes well! I'll update you next week.

How far along? 26 weeks
Maternity clothes? Yep! Living in comfort
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Inconsistent - usually great but sometimes uncomfortable
Best moment of the week: Getting more done in the nursery
Miss anything? Being able to tie my shoes in comfort!
Movement: Yes!
Food cravings: Pizza
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet: Yes
Gender prediction: It's a boy!
Labor signs: None
Belly button in our out? In
Rings on or off? Off - wearing my fakie
Looking forward to: Doctors appointment on Thursday

Have a great week!

25 weeks

I somehow managed to blog Sunday night and I am so proud of myself! Another exhausting but fun weekend behind me.

I'm happy to report that this week, I mustered up the energy to make the front yard look halfway decent. I only inherited about 1/16 of my mother's green thumb so I'm not one of those women that get excited about landscaping and gardening... but I like our yard to look pretty so I got some low maintenance flowers and baskets from Lowe's on Monday.

Not too shabby eh? Now if I could just get someone to come and weed the mulch beds for me....

Callie and I went on a walk on Wednesday and found a lone duck in our neighborhood. I'm not sure what he was doing there as we don't have any ponds nearby but I don't think he'll be returning as Callie sure scared him off.

I told you last week that my feet and hands have been swelling. I've been noticing that it's difficult to get my ring off during the day and at night and I read online that some pregnant women have had to go to the ER to get their rings sawed off. That certainly frightened me and at this point I don't want to risk anything like that! I also don't want to look like a single pregnant lady... not that there's anything wrong with that, but Matt probably wouldn't be happy. So, I got myself a fake ring at Target (or Tar-get) to last me through the rest of the pregnancy. I"m just hoping it doesn't turn my finger green...

This weekend Matt and I went up to Cleveland to visit my parents' new house in North Ridgeville. It was definitely sad to say goodbye to our Avon Lake house that I spent age 8-18 (and college summers and random Holidays and weekends after) but I'm happy my parents have downsized and found a beautiful home. They have a pond in their backyard with a pretty fountain and it makes for a beautiful view from their deck! Plus, the pond is stocked with fish so my fisherman of a husband was stoked to try it out.

We went to dinner at this amazing Italian place in North Ridgeville called Nino's. They had really good pasta and HUGE portions - I had leftovers for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow!

Saturday evening we visited Lauren and Matt and got to see Adalyn for a bit before her bedtime. I can't get enough of that cutie pie and would love to see more of all of the Petruso's (*wink wink* nudge nudge Lauren!).

Ew, totally bad angle of me but cute of Adalyn!

Baby boy was kicking hard enough last night that Lauren got to feel his movement. I don't know if that helped with her possible baby fever... :)

I don't have many changes from last week other than that I think my belly has finally "popped". Some random lady at work said to me "oh, you don't even look pregnant from behind!" and I guess that's a compliment but I sure hope I never actually look pregnant from behind! It is nice to finally start looking pregnant and not like I just ate a really big lunch.

I've read that at this point baby boy is a pound and a half and starting to grow more baby fat. He's also growing more hair and starting to grasp his hands and wiggle his fingers and toes.

Yes, I know navy and black "clash". No, I don't care. I'm comfy :)

How far along? 25 weeks
Maternity clothes? Yep! Living in comfort
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Still pretty good 
Best moment of the week: Again, watching his movements on my belly :)
Miss anything? Being able to shave my legs in comfort
Movement: Yes!
Food cravings: All kinds of fruit
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet: Yes
Gender prediction: It's a boy!
Labor signs: None
Belly button in our out? In
Rings on or off? Off - wearing my fakie
Looking forward to: The long Holiday weekend ahead - will hopefully be productive!

That's pretty much it for now. This weekend I'm hoping to get some cleaning and rearranging done around the house, so I hope to have some updates for you next week. Have a fabulous week!

24 weeks

Sorrryyyyy for being late this week! This weekend was kind of exhausting and I was extremely productive lazy on Sunday so had no time to blog. :)

Matt and I are determined to get into better shape. I mentioned to you before that I got a "new" treadmill... and Matt is doing the Spartacus Workout. We have a nice little setup now in our basement for our workouts. Callie likes to be lazy and watch us!

I went to Kelley's Island this weekend for my friend Erica's bachelorette party. I know what you're thinking... "Oooh, a visit to the islands, how fun and tropical!" Well no. This is Ohio, and in true Ohio fashion, it was 45 degrees and windy as heck this weekend! Ugh.

A few of us drove up early Saturday morning and got to the house around 11:30am. We ate brunch, lounged and played Cards Against Humanity, ate, and drank, and ate... I even had a virgin Pina Colada!

We tried to get motivated to play cornhole and some other lawn games but it was just too cold! One of the girls is basically a Kelley's resident so she took us on a driving tour of the island. We went to dinner at The Village Pump, an awesome restaurant with great seafood and delicious Brandy Alexander's.

The evening was 80's themed, and we were supposed to wear the tackiest dress we could get our hands on. I'm a little challenged at this moment in the dress shopping department, so I was unfortunately not able to find a maternity 80's dress. I managed to throw something together that was in my closet, though!  {Sorry, I don't yet have a picture of the whole group}

Kristen, Erica & Katie in their 80's dresses

We left early Sunday morning to get back to Columbus since a few of the girls were spending the day with their mom. (Don't worry, I'll see mine next weekend!)

In pregnancy news, my feet and hands have been swelling a lot. I'm trying to monitor how much salt I'm taking in and drinking lots of water and elevating my legs when I can... but sometimes my feet just don't want to cooperate and look like potatoes :(. My doctor told me it's quite normal, so I'm not too concerned...it's just frustrating to only be able to wear a few pair of shoes!

Baby boy is still a little wiggle monster. I still love feeling his kicks and jabs... sometimes they feel so strong and it makes me wonder what they will feel like a month or two from now! I read that he's just over a pound right now and at this point about 50% of babies born have a chance of surviving. While that is somewhat reassuring, we are still nowhere near being ready for him! His eyes are also developing and will open soon, and he's continuing to grow hair on his little head.

I know this is sappy, but sometimes I think about meeting him and I just start to cry. The hormones are in full swing but I have been very lucky up to this point with my pregnancy and I am just SO excited to meet our little man. It's just so crazy to sit and think that there is a living thing developing inside of me... and he will soon be here to change our lives forever! :)

Okay, enough of the cheesy talk...

How far along? 24 weeks
Maternity clothes? Yep! Living in comfort
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Still pretty good 
Best moment of the week: Watching his movements on my belly
Miss anything? Turkey sandwiches...again!
Movement: Yes!
Food cravings: Still watermelon
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet: Yes
Gender prediction: It's a boy!
Labor signs: None
Belly button in our out? In
Rings on or off? On but fingers (& feet) are definitely swollen
Looking forward to: Working on the nursery some more and seeing my parents this weekend!

That's all for now! :)

23 weeks

I need to stop writing my blog posts on Sunday evening... I am exhausted! The week itself was pretty uneventful but this weekend was busy and lots of fun! :)

On Saturday afternoon, I helped throw a baby shower for my wonderful friend Angela and her husband Brent. Brent's mom had it at her home in Dublin and we had a beautiful day for an outdoor BabyQ! It was a casual couple's shower and turned out to be a great time.

Idea found here: http://pinterest.com/pin/283586107758491534

Idea found here: http://www.iheartnaptime.net/hair-bows-for-baby/

Idea found here: http://www.best-babysites.com/storage/5-bbq-080712.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1344085712048

Idea found here: http://pinterest.com/pin/32721534765165084/

Idea found here: http://pinterest.com/pin/283586107758601076/

Idea found here: http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2012/10/free-printable-whole-alphabet-banner.html

It was such a beautiful day and Angela and Brent are truly a wonderful couple. I am so happy for them and can't wait to meet baby Ava! (One of baby boy's future girlfriends :) )

Today was fairly low key since I had the shower yesterday and Matt had an all day fishing tournament and we were both tired! But, we mustered up the energy to put the crib together. Yes, we! I don't know how he could've done it himself... I was mostly the project manager but had to help Matt hold a few pieces while he screwed them in. I'm pretty proud of us because this is the fist furniture project where there were no curse words! It really wasn't too hard.

Callie helped...

I put the sheets on too... love how it looks! I'm really glad the crib is put together... now I can work on decorating baby boy's room! :)

In pregnancy news, I'm still feeling pretty great (*knock on wood*). I know my mom is going to be mad at me for bringing this up again, but I have to say with it being Cinco de Mayo today, I could really go for a Corono or a margarita. My mom said I sound like a raging alcoholic with all the complaining I do, but this not drinking thing is hard with all the socializing I've been doing lately! Plus, who doesn't enjoy a nice glass of wine after a long day of work? Ok, done complaining mom! :)

Baby boy has been sooo active. His kicks and punches are feeling stronger and stronger and I just love feeling him squirm around. He does seem to enjoy kicking my bladder a lot and that is not the best feeling, especially when it's full! I've started to even notice his movements on the top of my belly...it's so cool! It looks like I have a little alien moving around in there!

I had my doctor's appointment on Thursday and it was just a check up with the doctor. Baby boy is still doing great and his measurements and my weight gain (12 lbs... :/) are all normal. We talked about classes I can look into and he gave me the lovely gestational diabetes juice I have to drink for my next appointment in 4 weeks.

How far along? 23 weeks
Maternity clothes? Yep, and pretty comfy in them
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Still pretty good at this point, hope it stays that way!
Best moment of the week: Hearing baby boy's heartbeat on Thursday, love that sound :)
Miss anything? In the spirit of Cinco de Mayo... margaritas :)
Movement: Yes! Soo active
Food cravings: Fruit
Anything making you queasy or sick: No, still lucky
Have you started to show yet: Yes
Gender prediction: It's a boy!
Labor signs: None
Belly button in our out? In
Rings on or off? On but fingers (& feet) are definitely swollen
Looking forward to: Working on the nursery

Have a great week!!