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Pregnancy Update: 24 Weeks

Sunday, January 18, 2015

How far along? 24 weeks
Total weight gain: 10 lbs.
I'm living in: My pre-pregnancy pants were getting extremely uncomfortable (especially my work pants) so I finally caved and purchased a couple pairs to accommodate this growing bump. So far my favorites include the Lululemon Groove pant and my new JCrew maternity 'Minnie' pants. It was embarrassing how many days I'd end up with my pants unbuttoned and unzipped.
Bellybutton in or out? I think we have a few more weeks before we can call it an official outtie
Sleep: This past week has taken so much out of me that I've been stuck in a state of exhaustion. It started with caring for Parker while she was sick fighting off the stomach bug, which then eventually lead to Matt and I following suit four days later. My parents took Parker Friday through Saturday, so Matt and I could get our rest in attempt to bounce back quickly. Since then, I've been trying to sneak in as much rest as possible. 
Food urges: Everything! I've been on a strict diet of plain toast, bananas, white rice and applesauce so anything but sounds amazinggggg.
Food aversions: None
I really miss: Being able to keep up our wild child! My hips have been a trouble area this pregnancy for a while so it's tougher to keep up with Parker these days.
Movement: We have quite the active babe. She must take 10 minute naps, followed by 10 minutes of action constantly throughout the day because I feel her move almost every hour. It'll be interesting to see if she's as active out of the womb.
Gender: Girl
Best moment this week? Hanging around Parker and hearing the funny things she has to say. Parker is terrified of bugs,  especially stink bugs. Tonight she came out to the living room and Matt pointed out the stink bug on the wall. Before I could divert Parker's attention, I noticed her tiny eyes locked in on it. I was expecting her to scream and run (due to past experiences) but she just looked at me with big eyes and said, 'Mama, that's a stinky bug?!'. I died. They will now forever be called stinky bugs from here on out.
Looking forward to: Our baby moon, a chiropractor visit and diving into a big bowl of ice cream.

Baby, It's Cold Outside Baby Shower

Sunday, January 11, 2015
I hope you are all having a good weekend! In the winter months, we try to sneak away to the mountain as much as we can on the weekends and we are currently stuck at the condo waiting for a certain little someone to kick her first ever stomach bug. Or at least enough to last an hour car ride home without any incidents. We've been pretty lucky that this is our first encounter with an intense stomach bug, but seeing her so sick breaks my heart! We're hoping for a quick recovery and a happy, energetic girl in no time.

Last month was my bestie's baby shower, where my girlfriends and I collaborated with Abby's family to throw her a 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' baby shower. Since it was held a couple days after Christmas, the theme was perfect! It was also great to see so many of our friends come together to celebrate the soon to be arrival of a new baby. The shower was made complete by a hot cocoa bar, grilled cheese & tomato soup on the menu and wintry decorations that transformed the venue into a chilly, cozy winter wonderland. 



How cute is this little train name sign?!


The cutest mama to be! 





The girls and I had so much fun putting together this hot cocoa bar. It was easy to throw together and was a huge hit. We hit up Target and Walmart and grabbed easy ingredients to add to the cocoa such as chocolate chips, mini Andes candies, peppermint sticks, coconut flakes, Fluff etc. Maybe one of my favorite things were the cute hippos in top hats cinnamon sugar shakers. 








One of my favorite details of the shower was the grilled cheese & tomato soup display. It's one of Abby's favorite foods and I loved the simplicity of it all. It was perfectly customized to celebrate her and baby Vinny.




Parker loves her some baby. This is her and my friend's baby, Kenley. To say Parker is enamored is an understatement. Whenever she is around Kenley she is constantly running over to check on her to see if she needs her pacifier and to bend and move her tiny arms. I know she will be the best big sister.

The thing about showers is that they go by so fast, and you always want them to happen again. We are so excited to meet Mr. Vinny come February!


Pregnancy Update: 20 Weeks {and 18 Week Catch-Up)

Sunday, January 4, 2015
I'm sitting here trying to figure out how we're halfway through our pregnancy already. I've heard the second one flies by. I'm sure it has something to do with constantly trying to keep up with a 2 year old wild child. Also, I apologize in advance for the lame preggo selfies and lack of chalkboard. Have I mentioned that the weeks have been flying by?


How far along? 20 weeks
Total weight gain: 8 lbs.
I'm living in: Sticking with comfy sweaters & chunky scarves
Bellybutton in or out? 70% out, 30% in... probably the weirdest stage
Sleep: Matt got me the body pillow I've been eyeing for months and it's my favorite thing ever! Parker has also been sleeping in later which means that we get a couple more hours of sleep on the weekends. 
Food urges: Strawberry frozen yogurt
Food aversions: EVERYTHING sounds good to me, so no
I really miss: A good cocktail after a challenging day
Movement: So much movement! I can officially see my stomach move which always freaks me out
Gender: Little baby GIRL
Best moment this week? Recovering from the holidays has been both relaxing and mind clearing. We've packed away all of the Christmas decorations so our house feels like it has so much more room. I've also packed away a bunch of Parker's older toys to make room for the newer ones.
Looking forward to: Our baby moon planned in the third week of January. I am so ready for some sun and serious relaxation.


And with the whirlwind of the holidays, I completely forgot to post my 18 week update. So here it is!


How far along? 18 weeks 5 days
Total weight gain: 5 lbs.
I'm living in: I've been dressing the bump almost exclusively in chunky scarves and over sized sweaters lately. I typically pair them with boyfriends and heels or skinnies and tall boots to add a little style to an otherwise basic look.
Bellybutton in or out? It's undecided at the moment ;)
Sleep: I'm no longer a child and can stay awake past 10pm!
Food urges: Anything peppermint chocolate flavored. Thankfully none of this is allowed to be stocked in our house as it would prove to be a dangerous situation. I have been drooling over this (and this!)cookie recipe for a while. They are top contenders for this year's Santa cookies. 
Food aversions: No real turn offs lately
I really miss: Ski season is coming up, so I'm definitely going to miss doing a few runs with the hubs. We are hoping to introduce Parker to skiing this year, so I should be safe on the beginner hills with our very own bunny. 
Movement: We're experiencing lots of movement the past few days. This week they have become strong enough that Matt can feel the little punches, too. It makes me so excited to get to the point where Parker will be able to feel them. I can only imagine her reaction and the things she will say. 
Gender prediction: STRONG girl vibes lately. It might be just because we are having a tough time agreeing on a few girl names, but I have become consumed. Since we already have names and nursery ideas for a boy, I feel like we need to even up the score for a girl just so that we can be prepared. I can't believe we find out what we're having next week! 
Best moment this week? We took Parker to see Santa over the weekend. Her reaction was as expected. A little freaked out about the pressure of having to sit on a strangers lap and talk to him. It has never really occurred to me how awkward the whole thing was until this year when I was convincing Parker that it was okay. 'Now you have to sit on his lap and tell him Merry Christmas.' I would have been skeptical too. One candy cane and a forced smile later, we were thanking Santa and telling him Merry Christmas and we were off to lunch. I'm making sure to take time and completely embrace this time when we can fully soak in 1:1 time with Parker before her side kick comes along. I can't wait to see her as a big sister but also don't want to forget the time when it was just Lulu and us. 
Looking forward to: Christmas and our next ultrasound! I'm so eager to see the little one's face to see how similar to/different he or she looks from Parker.

Baby Girl's Nursery Inspiration

Saturday, January 3, 2015
Before we dive in, I wanted to express a huge thank you for every one's sweet comments, texts, emails and calls around the news of our baby GIRL! I wake up each morning looking forward to our future life with two pretty little babes running around. Not to mention, I'm over the moon that some of my favorite items from Parker's wardrobe will be resurfacing soon! Eeeeeeeeeee. 

I mentioned before that I was obnoxiously hesitant about finding out the gender of this baby, however I'm so glad we decided to. Since we didn't find out the gender with Parker, we were tasked with creating a neutral nursery for her (which you can find here). Ultimately, we ended up with a black and white color scheme which worked perfectly with the hints of lavender that we added after Parker was born. 

This time around, it has been gratifying to use hues and details without worrying if the overall feel of the room leaned one way over the other. When compiling all the aspects of girl nurseries that I've been drooling over, the main concepts that seemed to be continual were the color pallets of tan, gray and dusty pink. From there everything kind of came together. I can't pinpoint exact terms for this look except for a smorgasbord of desert-Moroccan-rose-natural chic. Is that a thing?


Of the compilation, my favorites are the hardware for the dresser (the earring looking gadgets at the top right), the crazy cozy looking throw blanket, baby alpaca print and the girl-y Aztec styled area rug.


My beyond talented cousin, gifted me with this amazing painting of a buffalo & donuts ;). It's such a conversation piece, and if you knew my cousin, you would totally understand it. We've been meaning to hang it in the kitchen area, but now I am leaning towards finding a home for it in the new nursery. It would go along with the rustic'ness of the theme and add some meaningful personal touches to boot! You can check out more of her work here!

With Parker's big girl room well underway and now taking on this redesign project, I am in pure heaven!

2014

Thursday, January 1, 2015

For the past few years it seems major events that have added so much joy to my life have been on a roll one after the other. However, 2014 will forever be one of the years that holds substantial value. A wedding, countless milestones, vacations, life changing events for friends and family, and a baby on the way; this year will be a difficult one to top. Looking back on years prior always make me optimistic for what's to come. Thank you for allowing us to share a small part of our world with you!




























Wishing you and yours a wonderful and prosperous year ahead! Xx
 
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