Thankful

I didn't need Thanksgiving to come around this year to remind me how thankful I should be for everything in my life. I am so grateful that my family is home for the holidays. It's definitely going to be different this year, but I try not to focus on that and just focus on the part where we are all able to be together and celebrate. Here are just a few of the people who I am extremely grateful for in my life:

My husband, my rock, my everything.

My parents - the best any kids could have.

My brother - the inspiration to so many

My son - honestly I know he drives me crazy some days - but if it weren't for him, I don't think I would have made it through these past 4 months. Lets face it, you can't lay in bed and cry all day when you have to take care of a toddler.


This growing baby inside of me that I cannot WAIT to meet. Even though this pregnancy has kicked my butt, I know it will be worth it :-)

The best friends a girl could ask for (Elissa is missing in this picture, but don't worry - all 6 of us will be reunited this Christmas). Each and every one of you gives me strength in your own special way.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Update...kind of

I had my 35 week appointment this morning and saw a different doctor than I did last time. I told her about how the baby was breech last time, and she didn't seem too terribly concerned saying how the baby still has some time to flip. So we did the Group B Strep test and she checked to see if anything was "happening" - but no such luck. My cervix is still closed so she couldn't tell for certain, but she thought the baby was still breech. She said we could do an ultrasound right then, but we might as well wait until next week just in case. So next Tuesday I have yet another ultrasound and an appointment. So once again, I still know nothing. I haven't been too impressed with Oakdale OBGYN to be honest, but what are you going to do? If I do have a c-section, the date will most likely be Friday December 18th.

"New" House

I've been getting asked a lot to see pictures of my parent's newly remodeled house. So I took some the night before they came home. Thanks to all of the hard workers who did so much more than just move furniture into the house. The entire kitchen got stocked, the dishes got put away, the beds were made and the clothes were all hung. Not exactly something a huge pregnant daughter could do by herself! Enjoy the pics, the house is even more beautiful now with my parents and brother living in it!

This is the great room. For those of you who know my house, this used to be our deck walking outside from the sliding glass door.

This is the kitchen. Where the "island" thing is, is where that window seat used to be. The fridge is where that big pantry of food used to be.

This is my brother's awesome bathroom. This area used to be our porch.


And here is his sweet shower, again part of the old porch.

This is Bren's desk area, this room is connected to his bathroom and is an addition off of the porch.

This is a view from the front door

Here is our living room, pretty much the same size as before.

Here is the upstairs guest bathroom. We combined my brother and I's bedrooms. So this bathroom area is kind of my brothers old room which is connected to the sleeping area which was my old bedroom.

Here is my parents bedroom

Here is my parents walk in bathroom

And here is their walk in shower...

More of the walk in shower, it's HUGE

Almost 35 weeks

Almost 35 weeks this week, crazy huh? I think the baby has dropped a little bit. I am having to pee like a million times a day and that just started. My acid reflux has still been bothering me too, so that's a bummer. I go to the doctor next Monday for the Strep B test and also to see if baby is still breach. If it is, we schedule a c-section for around week 39 (that is in 4 weeks people!) - if it isn't, let the waiting game begin :-) I will then start to go to the doctor every week! Lots of exciting things to look forward to coming up here...

What I Know For Sure : Pregnancy Round Two

Do any of you read Oprah's O Magazine? I don't usually read the magazine, but every now and then I will venture over to her website and read about her magazine. This month Ellen is on the cover with Oprah and it was a huge deal (for those of you who don't keep up with daytime TV). Ellen also did one of Oprah's columns titled "What I Know For Sure" check it out HERE

It got me thinking that this might be a fun blog topic to continue on with weekly or monthly or whenever I have a topic that fits. So I thought my first What I Know For Sure entry could be about being pregnant for the second time. So here goes nothing.

1. Taking care of a child all day long while growing a child inside of you is not an easy task. I thought it would get easier after the morning (all day) sickness subsided, but it definitely did not! And by no means is it going to get easier once it is growing outside of my belly!

2. Running after a toddler who decides to take off in the middle of the parking lot while 8 months pregnant can cause your groin muscles to stretch in ways you never thought possible. But what are you going to do – stop running after your child? Um no. The only way to feel better is scold your child, buckle them in their car seat and sob your eyes out on your entire drive home.

3. Cutting out caffeine was never an option this time around

4. Neither was the alcohol – just kidding. But I enjoy more small glasses of wine on really rough days and I NEVER did that with Jack’s pregnancy.

5. I think I've napped more during Jack’s nap time while I've been pregnant than when I did when he was first born.

6. We hardly ever talk about names for this baby. Scratch that, we hardly ever talk about this baby! Well up until now because it’s getting so close!

7. I swear I didn’t get THIS big with Jack.

8. Birthing classes? Waste of time and money, even for first time moms.

9. The first time you feel that second baby move in your tummy is just as magical as it was with your first child.

10. No matter how awful things in your pregnancy get – your mind somehow blocks out all of those memories. I’m at that point right now, like seriously – I forgot how miserable it feels to get out of bed, oh the pressure. But there is a reason your mind plays tricks on you – it’s so someday you will do it all over again. I’m scared to find out what my mind blocked out of the newborn stage….haha.

Party in the USA - HILARIOUS

What's YOUR favorite part???

Shake Your Booty

This is kind of a long video - but it's too cute not to share. Did he get these moves from mom or dad?

Jack's NEW Room!

We have finally moved Jack into his new room. On Thursday, for whatever reason, I decided I would move all of Jack's furniture into his new room - since all of the painting was done. I had to disassemble his entire crib to get it through the doorway. I'm not gonna lie, I thought I might go into labor when it was all over. We still have some decorating to do on the walls - but that's fine. I also put together the new baby's changing table and we are borrowing a friend's white crib for the new baby too. The baby's room is going to stay pretty plain until it arrives - I'm not a fan of gender neutral rooms like we had with Jack. I thought the bright green color of these baskets would look nice with some pinks or blues, and I also like the brownish accents too. I still need to organize the baby's closet and get those odds and ends put together. First here are two pictures of the baby's new furniture. Then you can see the before and after pictures of Jack's room.


New Baby's Crib - boring, I know

Changing Table

BEFORE - walking into Jack's room


AFTER - walking into Jack's room

BEFORE - closet area

AFTER - closet area (yes even the inside is now organized)

BEFORE - window area

AFTER - window area

Baby Pool - enter your guess now!

Ok people - it's that time! Enter your guesses of our 2nd baby. You can either click the link on the upper right side of this blog - or you can click HERE

Since I don't know for sure whether I'm having a c-section or not - we are just going to pretend that I'm not. If it turns out I have to, then the dates will be taken out of the pool. I will leave it open for you to make changes though, so don't worry!

Here are some facts about my pregnancy with Jack

• I was due on December 22 and he was born on December 24
• Other than a little spotting at the beginning - Jack's pregnancy was a breeze
• No morning sickness, I can remember a few days at work thinking about food and getting grossed out but that's it
• I first started getting contractions in the afternoon, then they really hit around 4. Got to the hospital at 6 and he was born at 9:04 PM.
• Jack weighed 8 lbs 1 oz and was 21 inches long
• His heart rate ranged from 130 - 150. Although it was in the 130s at the end.
• We didn't find out the sex and Tom and I both had no gut feelings. Although about 2 hours before Jack popped out - Tom told me he knew it was going to be a boy. Sure enough - it was!

Here are some facts about this pregnancy:

• My due date is 12/25/09
• The heart rate was consistantly in the 150s, now it's more common for it to be in the 140s.
• This pregnancy has been the opposite of a breeze - from the placenta issues, to it being breech, to multiple ultrasounds, acid reflux, the list goes on
• I definitely experienced morning sickness. I never actually puked, but I wanted to. This went on until I was probably 15 weeks along.
• We ask Jack if it's a boy or girl and he has no idea what we are saying and never even repeats the word boy or girl. In his world we are having a "yellow baby'
• Tom and I don't have any gut feelings on the sex. Most days I think it's a girl, but every time I'm at the doctor's office I think it's a boy.

Click HERE to see the 31 week comparison picture of my belly

If you have any other questions you'd like to ask before you place your bets, just leave a comment and I will get back to you! And we are doing this out of fun, sorry there won't be any huge prize - although maybe I will dedicate a blog posting to the winner. What do you think?

A "Surprise" of a Day

You are NOT going to believe the morning I've had. I had my ultrasound at 8 AM. Placenta has moved up enough where it's not a concern anymore - hip hip hooray! However, the baby is breech. Not good - considering how far along I am. So after the ultrasound - I waited for my dr. She comes in and says well the good news is that your placenta is no longer an issue. The bad news is that HE is breech. I heard this word he and about crapped my pants. I didn't say anything to her, because I didn't know if she just refers to every baby as a boy, or if she actually knew it was a boy - I didn't want to make her feel bad that I didn't know. So anyway - we'll check the baby's position again in 3 weeks along with my Strep B test and if it's still breech, we will schedule the c-section at that point in time. So I STILL don't know whether I'm having a section or not. That aside, I come home and tell Tom I am 98% sure we are having a boy. I told him what the doctor said and he's like oh my gosh. So then we are just debating on whether we should call the clinic to find out 100%. My whole point was - the surprise is already ruined if it is a boy. I don't want to spend the next month in a half thinking it's probably a boy - when I could just know for sure. So on Tom's way to work, he calls my clinic. They have to call him back and this is what we found out: The sex is not documented anywhere in my file. Since I told them I didn't want to know, they didn't write it down so there wouldn't be any slip ups. The nurse even asked the ultrasound tech if she knew the sex and she said no. So really, there is no way the dr this morning knew the sex - because if that would have been the case, we would be able to know right now too. HA. Can you believe this? So now we are back to not knowing. I'm so glad that we tried to find out though, because now even if it is a boy - I will still be surprised. I just like that the surprise element is back on the table. Now it's REALLY fun not knowing. What a day though, I tell you! I swear, by the rate this pregnancy is going - this baby is bound to give me a run for my money. This is the reason part of me thinks it's a girl. ha.

So I go back in 3 weeks - the week of Thanksgiving and I'll know FOR SURE whether a c-section is needed. I feel like I've been saying that for the past 4 months. ha. Ok I am going to start a baby pool now and I will post that later on.