“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Pregnancy Update and Nursery Projects

It has been a while since I have done an official pregnancy update so I better go ahead and do one. :)

I'm also behind on my weekly pictures, so let me get caught up on those first.

31 weeks: Fourth of July!



Pregnancy Highlights

(You'll have to forgive my picture this week...I randomly decided to take it as I was leaving a bathroom while shopping in Nashville)
 
How Far Along: 32 weeks

 
Size of baby: Still growing!! Baby now weighs in around 2.5-3.8 pounds and measures about 15.2-16.7 inches long; the size of a squash.


Total Weight Gain/Loss: She is definitely continuing to grow because my weight keeps climbing. Still putting on an average of 1-2 lbs a week. Total weight gain so far: 18 lbs.  

Maternity Clothes: Absolutely!
 
Gender: Girl! So excited! :) "Ava Rae"

 
Movement: Nothing has changed here either! She continues to be one active kiddo. Always kicking those tiny feet. Tiny feet sure do have some force at times though. :)

Sleep: Still sleeping just fine. My back has started to bother me more and getting out of bed has started to pose a challenge. But I sleep through the night just fine and don't have any trouble taking a nap now and again.

 
What I miss: Can't think of a thing! Loving pregnancy!
 
Cravings: Nothing in particular. I really feel like my appetite and food choices are the same as they were before pregnancy. I have been craving water lately though which is probably a sign that I'm dehydrated. I just notice myself anxiously craving cold water.
 
Symptoms: My feet are killing me most of the time. The only way to relieve the ache is to get off my feet and get in a nice, warm bath. I can't go a single night without a warm bath which also helps my lower back pain. The heartburn has eased up a little, surprisingly since she's getting bigger. My feet are starting to swell up easier if I am up on my feet for too long.

Best Moment this week:  By far the best moment was the 3D ultrasound. Getting to see her facial features up close really makes it all seem that much more real. That there really is a REAL person in there with already distinct features and a personality. I'm so anxious to meet her!

Nursery Update/Projects

I really still do believe that getting the nursery pretty much completed very early on in pregnancy (April) was the best idea. Wes still thinks it was way too early to turn his music room into an infant's sleeping quarters when no infant will set foot into the room for another 6 months. But I am glad I did the bulk of the work when I did.

Have I mentioned how much I love my husband and the sacrifices he has made for me and our precious first born?

(Wes would be rolling his eyes at this comment and saying, "yeah, yeah")

But he really has been a trooper in agreeing to my crazy, OCD need to get things done earlier rather than last minute. God knew exactly the man I would need in my life and He has given me just that and I am beyond grateful and couldn't ask for a better husband and father.

That being said, the nursery hasn't really been messed with in a few months because, like I said, it was pretty much completed months ago. But of course I managed to find a few "to do's" before Ava arrives.

We had bought a ceiling fan back in April but never got around to installing it. Her nursery is actually the converted garage so it can be a little warm in there at times so I knew I was going to need some type of circulating air.

Problem solved! We just picked out an inexpensive, white ceiling fan from Lowe's and it looks great! (And feels great too!!) We installed in a few weeks ago and let me tell you...it definitely proved to be a two person job. There was no way that could be done by one person. Teamwork!


Here is a look at the new ceiling fan. I said it actually now looks like a room and not just a space.
 
 



I had to turn the light off in order to get a good look at the ceiling fan. Here is the latest nursery picture with a little more light.


Her room is definitely getting very full, very quickly. However, I don't intend for the stroller and two car seats to stay in the room at all times so that will free up some floor space.

I have a feeling after having her home for about three months or so, we are going to be having the "it's time to move into a bigger house" talk. We already talk about it and realize it has to happen in the near future. But for now, this space will work while she is an infant and once she starts becoming more mobile....time to move!

The next nursery project was installing shelving in one of the closets. I was looking forward to having two closets for her clothes and other stuff but soon realized that this house is already limited in space and we are going to have to resort to just one closet for her and the other for our winter coats and other storage.

That being said, I knew I was going to need more room to hang clothes and shelves to store all the extra baby stuff. So we went to Lowe's and bought the wire shelving that would allow us to hang clothes on it as well.

Too bad what sounds like an "easy" project with an "easy" install turns out to be a nightmare. We cut the shelves,to what we thought was the right size, in the store. Only to get home and realize we needed just about a half inch more cut off.

Wire shelves....we didn't have anything at home to cut through wire....great....

Another trip to Lowe's and a Dremel later...we were cutting away at wire in the nursery with sparks flying. That is a pretty powerful little tool, I must say!

Two hours later, we had two shelves installed. I had hoped to fit three in the one closet but our alarm system box got in the way and we could only install two. I'm thinking about getting a tension rod for the top of the closet just for extra hanging room if I need it.

New closet organization!


The baskets came from Michael's and were all 40% off. Very cute and great price!!



Now I mentioned in my previous post that I would be talking about Ava's growing wardrobe. No, her wardrobe has not grown because I have been crazy, buying clothes for her.



The last time I actually bought something for her was probably back in April after we found out for sure she was a girl. Even then, I bought the clothes from a consignment store and so I have not paid full price for anything she owns thus far.

Well, about two weeks before going to Nashville, my sister sends me a text telling me that a guy she works with was offering her a car seat for $50 and also size 0-9 months baby girl clothes (at no charge) if I wanted them.

No charge?? Can't pass up that offer!!

Ashlie has no clue how many clothes he was talking about giving to us. She figured it would maybe be a few onesizies, a couple sleepers, and a blanket or two.

Oh were we ALL wrong..... TWO, FULL boxes of clothes!!

Okay, baby clothes are pretty darn small so to fill two good size boxes with baby clothes....there's a LOT in there. All of these clothes look practically brand new, maybe worn once or twice.

At this rate, she has enough onesizies that she can wear a new one every time we change her diaper. haha (Who knows, that still might not allow her to wear them all before she grows out of them!)

I took an extra suitcase to Nashville so I could bring back as many as I could but only got HALF loaded. Ashlie is going to have to ship the rest.



This is a picture of what didn't fit in my suitcase that will be shipped to Lawton.

This is why I bought the baskets because I knew not all these clothes were going to fit in her dresser. The plan is to put them into the baskets by size so when she goes into the next size, they are all together.
 
Yes...if you don't already know me well...I'm one of those crazy, has to be organized, person. :)

I tried taking pictures of the other half of the clothes once I got them organized...
This basket is just pants...FULL of all sizes and colors.

Like I said...SO many onesizies!! These are all 0-6 months.


Her dresser drawer which is already FULL.  
 

One of my favorites. :)

We just couldn't believe the amount of clothes and he didn't ask for a dime! This would have cost us a lot of money if we were to have gone out and bought this amount of clothes for her.
 
We of course had to do something nice for him and his family as a "thank you". We ended up getting them $150 in gift cards to local restaurants in Nashville. Some for he and his wife to enjoy and a few to places that their kids could enjoy too.
 
I am beyond grateful to this family, who doesn't even know Wes and I, for giving us more than we could have ever imagined.
 
We are SO blessed and will forever be grateful for their generosity to our growing family.
 
Things are definitely falling into place as we prepare for one of the most important days in our lives.
 


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Monday, July 16, 2012

Love at First Sight

I went back and forth on whether or not to do a 3D ultrasound with this pregnancy but with the trip to Nashville falling at such an "opportune" time, I decided to go ahead and do it and I am SO glad I did!

I was nervous that Ava wouldn't be in a good position to get the best pictures. And let me tell you, these ultrasounds are not cheap so the last thing I wanted was to spend the money only to get "so-so" pictures.

But she did GREAT! She started out with her hand over her face but with a little cold water and poking around on her, she moved her hands and gave us a good look at her!

This is just in 2D before the tech started the 3D portion, but this shows her with her hand up near her face. We were joking around saying it looks like she's "tebowing". haha

 


I will let you all decide for yourselves who you think she might look like. So many people have said it's still so hard to tell but Wes and I think she definitely has my nose.

She really likes having her hands near her face. I think the bottom right looks like she's praying. :) She was very active during the whole process though....yawning, sucking her hands, and yes...she even stuck her tongue out at us!


And as soon as she did, she apparently thought it was funny because we got a little smirk out of her.

A good profile of her nose and mouth.
She looks like she has very full lips and we aren't quite sure who she is getting that from.

Mom calls the left picture her "angelic" look. And the right picture looks like another little smile.
Crazy to think how much she has developed in just 32 weeks. Such a miracle.

Hands near the face again but got a good look at her tiny ear. :)

She's perfect and she's all ours. <3

We can't wait to finally meet you sweet Ava! You are loved more than you know already. <3



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Nashville in Pictures

I just finished uploading all the pictures from Nashville, and I think the best way to give everyone a recap of the trip is to make this a picture post and caption the pictures with stories along the way. :)

Mom and I at the Lawton airport just before boarding the plane. Next stop....Nashville!!


Okay, I will warn my readers now...we ate a lot of great food while we were there and every good meal has to come with pictures. I'm pretty sure we took a picture of just about every meal we ate. :)

The night we got into Nashville, we didn't do much. Made a trip to the grocery store for the week and I ordered Chinese take out for dinner. It was really good but not necessarily picture worthy, so sorry to disappoint you...no picture of my Beef Lo Mein. But it hit the spot and we all hit the hay to make sure we were well rested for the next day's shopping adventures.

First stop Monday was lunch at a restaurant called, Rafferty's. Very similar to Charleston's if you live in the OKC area. Ashlie had mentioned their croissants and so Mom just had to try them and compare to Charleston's.

Charleston's still might have them beat on the honey drizzled croissants, but these were pretty darn good! Mmm!!

We went to one of the many malls in the area that afternoon. Mainly browsed around and only shopped at Sephora and Pottery Barn Kids. Then it was time for a little break from shopping and time for a sweet snack! Cookie with frosting filling....Baby Ava loves her sweets!! haha

By this time, my feet were killing me (this is becoming a usual occurrence now) and we were all ready for a nap. So we headed back home and took a nap. Then, of course, time to eat again! Pizza delivery it was and it was SO good! I'm not a huge pizza person but this made me become one.

It was from "A Pie in the Sky", we ordered "Happy Family" Look at all those mushrooms! Mmm!!
(now this picture looks kinda gross, but I promise, it was awesome!)

The next day was supposed to be my appointment for the 3D/4D ultrasound but they had to reschedule me for Wednesday, so plans changed a little but we still had good eats and good shopping!

And for lunch....the historic Loveless Cafe! Check out their website to learn more about the history behind this roadside cafe..... www.lovelesscafe.com
I took more pictures here than any place just because of the "quaintness" of it. GREAT food!!

Mom and I in front of the cafe.


Sisters! 


Okay, we had way too much fun with this! Pretty sure we were all laughing so hard we were crying.
Good times! 



Loveless Cafe is well known for their amazing biscuits that come with every meal and fresh blackberry, strawberry and peach preserves to go with it. Mmm!!

Read about the history behind the homemade biscuits and "The Biscuit Lady" here......

Now time for the food pictures...Ashlie ordered the French Toast. It smelled amazing... piled with tons of powdered sugar and cinnamon.  


I chose to get one of their "staple" foods...BLT sandwhich but with Fried Green Tomatoes.
VERY good!!

Of course they had a gift shop and I didn't have any trouble picking out a few souviner's for home. I bought Wes a t-shirt, me a coffee mug, kitchen towel, the famous biscuit mix with biscuit cutters
and....how could I pass up this onesizie for Ava? SO cute!
(hard to tell in this picture, but it is a pale yellow color) 

This was one of my favorite places we went by far. I look forward to coming back again the next time I visit. The next time, Ava can experience it first hand. :)

The weather was kind of rainy and dreary that day so we stopped at a few little stores before heading back home for...you guessed it! Nap time! Eating and shopping is tough work!

After our nap, we just ate at home and watched "The Help" that we rented earlier that day. Mom hadn't seen it yet so we figured it was a good excuse to stay home and take it easy.

Because....the next morning was Ava's big debut! 3D/4D ultrasound!! Yay!! I have been looking forward to this for about two weeks since I decided to schedule it.


Now I don't want to disappoint anybody, but I am saving the actual pictures for a separate post. But here is a look at the cute room I had the ultrasound done in.

Plenty of room for family to sit and enjoy the experience. Mom and Ashlie loved it!


After the ultrasound we headed to lunch at a local and very popular bakery called, The Puffy Muffin. My parents have been here a few times during their visits to Nashville, but I am the only one who hasn't gone so of course I had to experience it too!

Mom and Ashlie talked me into getting their Ginger Tea. Really good!

 I ordered the Spinach Quiche which came with frozen strawberry salad and two slices of their AMAZING poppy seed bread. YUM!

Just next to The Puffy Muffin were a few cute stores I have heard so much about since Ashlie moved to Nashville. One was called "Hot Pink" and had such cute baby stuff. But I spent so much at Loveless Cafe and the ultrasound that I walked out without anything. :(

Next to "Hot Pink" was a "Fresh Market" grocery store that Ashlie had to go into to buy blueberry frosted-covered pretzels. This place reminds me a lot of a Whole Foods just at a smaller scale and more local feel.

TONS of candy!!!



Also TONS of gourmet nuts, dried fruit, candy covered pretzels....

As part of my "new mommy gift" at Stork Vision, I got a few 10-20% off coupons to use at a maternity store and kids store. Wanting to take advantage of the coupons, we drove over to "Pickles and Ice Cream" and "Kids Too".

For once, I don't have pictures of my purchases to show you but I did find a very cute diaper bag, a sleepwear outfit for the hospital, and a pregnancy t-shirt that has a picture of pink baby feet with "What's Kicking" written underneath. I will try to take a picture of me in this shirt the next time I wear it. I did wear it when I got back to OKC and got SO many compliments on it. Glad my mom insisted she buy it for me. :) Thanks Mom!

And our last stop of the day was dinner at a seafood restaurant, "BoneFish Grill".

"Bang Bang" Shrimp for our appetizer.  
 

And my meal...Shrimp and Scallops with Au Gratin potatoes and Seasonal Veggies
SO SO good!!

Then it was back home to get all packed up.  The trip was already over. :(

Although we were able to relax, it went by so quick. I can't believe it's already the start of a new week and back to work. I was looking forward to Nashville with so much anticipation and just like that...the trip has come and gone. Now it's time to patiently anticipate the arrival of sweet, baby Ava.

Wes and I keep telling each other she is going to be here before we know it. I think the countdown is now down to just under 50 days!

On the plane ride back to Oklahoma, I couldn't help but take a picture of this dad and his diaper bag he was carrying...

Hmm... Doesn't that bag look really familiar?? That's right! It's exactly the same Diaper Dude diaper bag I got Wes. And his looked to be worn in quite a bit so I felt good knowing I made a good choice. :)

That's all I've got for Nashville pictures. Pictures never can do justice to the fun we had and how enjoyable the trip really was. It was great to spend time with family before Ava arrives. The next time I see Ashlie, I will be holding a newborn baby in my arms. <3

Next post to come soon! 3D/4D of Ava, nursery pictures/projects, baby bump pictures, and Ava's growing wardrobe!


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