26 Weeks & ENGAGED!

I feel: Elated!

Happy or Moody: Couldn’t be happier.

Showing: Every day I’m a little bigger!

Maternity Clothes: I’ve sported 75% of my tiny maternity wardrobe thus far, which will need to grow sometime this week. A few of the clothing items I packed for our trip to St. Augustine this past weekend wound up being a bit too short… Oops!

Exercise: Lots of walking around the oldest town in the nation this last weekend!

Miss Anything: Wedge salads… No bleu cheese crumbles allowed for this girl!

Anything make you sick/queasy: Too much of one thing. The second that feeling starts coming on, I put down whatever I’m eating and move on.

Movement: Bigger movements here and there which is exciting. I can distinguish between her punches/kicks and her turnovers now.

Excited for: the future! Immediate and far away.

Favorite Moment of the Week: Getting engaged to my sweet love and Baby M’s Daddy!

Michael and I spent the afternoon on Friday walking around the quaint boutique shops and antique stores in St. Augustine. It was a bit too chilly (low 40’s with wind) to dive into all of the history and sightseeing so we shopped instead. There was an absolutely adorable shop we stopped in with jewelry, custom cards, candles, books, etc. All of the jewelry was attached to pretty card stock with heartfelt or inspirational quotes. I got something as a birthday treat for myself and we kept moving. When I was perusing through a different store, Mike claimed he needed to go back and get a gift at a store we were just at, and he did – one that I could open at dinner.

We checked in at the darling B&B we were staying at and got freshened up for dinner at a local restaurant called Collage. Little did we know we were in for one of the best meals of our lives. We had heard great reviews from both shop owners and our host, but never expected what we got. The fresh homemade bread that came out before our appetizer was served with roasted garlic and olive oil. Our appetizer of choice, tenderloin bruschetta, was flavorful and delicious. Mike ordered baked golden tilefish lightly coated in a parmesan, pecan and brown sugar crust and finished with a Beurre Blanc (as delicious looking as it sounds, but since pregnant women and tilefish aren’t friends, I sadly did not get a sample), and I ordered the shrimp and scallops sautéed with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and peach brandy and finished with cream and tossed with linguine… A meal I literally could have eaten every day.

After our incredible dinner Mike asked me to open my gift. I open a pink, rectangular box (from the boutique I loved so much before) to the sweet card before. It took me a few seconds to realize that the ring attached to the card wasn’t the ring that was at the store. It was Mike’s ring… Or my ring. Michael was proposing! I think my response was, “Really? Are you sure?” and then “Yes!” with some celebratory kisses following. It was nothing like the proposal I imagined I would get, which made it absolutely

perfect. It was sweet, sincere, intimate and completely unexpected. Mike picked out the band/setting, and the diamond was his mother’s and before that his grandmother’s, so I’m flattered to be wearing such a breathtaking family heirloom.

I still can’t believe I’m getting to marry this sweet, goofy man!

My fiancé (new favorite word) and I spent the rest of the weekend sightseeing around St. Augustine and taking in the history. It’s a great place on its own, but it’s now  a place that will hold a very special part of my heart.

 

25 Weeks

I feel: Still good, but getting more tired. I’m not sure if this is thanks to the pregnancy, the business at work/home or a combination of both.

Happy or Moody: Happy, however my patience has been wearing a bit thinner these days…

Showing: Rounder and rounder!

Maternity Clothes: I tried on the few shirts I did buy and am convinced they will be wearable even when I’m not pregnant (and some as dresses instead of tops!). I’ve been caught wearing the belly band Shalon lent me under a few too-short-tanks lately.

Exercise: Dog walks… And does cleaning the shower count? These days even bending down to pick something up is harder work!

Miss Anything: Ughhh, ahi tuna.

Anything make you sick/queasy: Had an  “episode” yesterday morning at work, but I chalked it up to not having enough “filler food” for breakfast to accompany my prenatal vitamin.

Movement: She was quiet over the weekend which had me nervous, but I am pretty sure she had flipped around and her feet were at my back. She came back around on Sunday and has been moving all over again! Still very low.

Excited for: my birthday festivities!

Favorite Moment of the Week: The “Spa Themed” week I created for myself to help getting through work a little easier.

I started out my birthday work week with a pedicure yesterday. I proceeded to have a manicure today and will get a prenatal massage tomorrow after work. (If I’ve learned anything about being pregnant, it’s that you still need to do things for yourself while you’re doing everything for baby-to-be. i.e, manicures, pedicures, getting your hair done, etc. It’s important for a pregnant woman to still feel beautiful while she’s gaining all that weight!) Thursday is the big, golden birthday celebration and then Michael and I escape on Friday for our weekend in St. Augustine. Despite the chillier weather that will be with us, I couldn’t be more excited for a long weekend getaway.

As I type up my to-do list for everything that I still need to organize for the shower, nursery and delivery in general (yes, I am helping my mom and Michael’s mom with my shower. I am too much of  a control freak not to.), I keep having to remind myself that I am never going to be prepared enough, and that I need to stop being so anal retentive about everything and let things happen the way they are supposed to — and to be quite honest, the way they are going to anyway. I have been pretty relaxed throughout the last 6 1/2 months, but as time ticks on and I hear about what other people are doing/did to prepare for their baby’s arrival, I start to get anxious. Am I missing any steps? Am I doing something wrong? Am I making the right choices for me? For Baby M? There’s so much to consider. But then I stop. And I remind myself that this little girl is going to show up when she wants, where she wants and how she wants. I can have my birthing plan down to a T and she’ll decide that we’re going to do the complete opposite. She’ll come whether or not there’s a crib in her room, the stair rail is installed or her new clothes have been washed. That’s the exciting, unpredictable part. The start of this exciting, completely unpredictable adventure. So while I will continue to prep as much as possible before her arrival, whenever that may be, I won’t sit back and stress over it or hurry, because otherwise I’ll miss the ride.

24 Weeks & Nursery/Shower Sneak Peaks!

I feel: great!

Happy or Moody: Happy

Showing: Definitely.

Maternity Clothes: Owned, but still not worn. Planning on debuting a few of the tops next week for my birthday and our trip to St. Augustine. Still in my own pants. It’s becoming a personal mission of mine to see how long I can stay in them before getting too uncomfortable.

Exercise: Dog walks.

Miss Anything: Started missing sushi this week.

Anything make you sick/queasy: Not consistently. One minute I can eat one thing and 5 minutes later it tastes horrible. This week – sweet potatoes and cooked spinach.

Movement: Yes! Feeling some bigger movements here and there.

Excited for: my birthday and our weekend getaway to St. Augustine next weekend!

Favorite Moment of the Week: Getting the nursery underway. I have colors picked out, a design in plan, and some DIY decor projects in mind. I am just hoping everything pans out the way it is in my head.

The baby shower invitation. The idea was completely copied from an Etsy invite I saw via Pinterest, but it only made me wish I had the time (and clientele) to make invitations for a living!

A nursery sneak peak. About 2-inches tall, this glittery letter (along with the other 6 of our baby’s name) will be used to create a name banner.

The nursery colors: Primose White (top) and Java White (bottom). After a battle with myself to stay away from gray since our new futon for the room is a fabulous golden/tan color, I fell in love with these two colors. I haven’t decided which will be the primary color yet, but I am so excited!

23 Weeks – The belly has arrived!

I feel: stupid saying this, but I still feel really good! It’s so nice to be out of the tired/sick trimester and back to normal.

Happy or Moody: I’m still pretty calm and happy, much less stressed now that the holidays are over. A few things agitate me a little more easily than that might normally, but I’m only human ; )

Showing: I’m telling you, this belly is growing over night. And yes, I really that it is, in fact, growing over night, but it’s kind of insane. Even Michael has been looking at me some days and goes, “WHOA.”

Maternity Clothes: Officially owned, not officially worn. I wore a tighter top this week (pictured) and the belly button (still an inny) shows through a bit. I guess it’s time to retire the tighter pre-pregnancy tops.

Exercise: I went to the gym! Claps for me! Rigby and I started with a short (and I do mean short, like maybe .25 miles if I’m lucky) jog, and then I went to the YouFit across the street from the new place. Quite the upgrade from what I’m used to. Two days after 30 minutes of weight training, and I’m still a little sore = SUCCESS!

Miss Anything: Medium rare burgers and steak. Only 17 more weeks! ; )

Anything make you sick/queasy: Nope.

Movement: Yes! She still is showing the same active patterns, and last night while we were laying down watching Shameless (new favorite), we even got to see it a little! I can’t wait for the movements to be bigger and more often so I can record it.

Excited for: upcoming trips – Michael and my getaway to St. Augustine the weekend of my birthday, and traveling with my mom and my sister to Ohio the last weekend of the month for my grandma’s 90th.

Favorite Moment of the Week: Finishing the shower invites! Can’t wait to send them out. Once they have a few days to be delivered I may just preview them on here. After all, they do have Baby M’s name on them.

Just wanted to say thank you to you all for hanging in there during my time of procrastination. Even my aunt texted me thinking she missed a post because I am so behind. But OF COURSE it was my plan all along to give you a double feature (Weeks 22 & 23)… Not.

My glucose test is Wednesday, and I’m beyond nervous to suck down that fruit punch flavored syrupy drink in less than 5 minutes. But it is nice to have the check up so close since the last one (just 2 1/2 weeks ago we confirmed Baby M’s gender!). There is nothing more reassuring than a positive check up. It’s absolutely crazy to think that a month from now we will be in the 3rd trimester with only 13 weeks left to go. The time is seriously flying, and I am so excited and proud of how quickly things are coming together!

22 Weeks

I feel: As normal as a pregnant girl can feel!

Happy or Moody: Happy!

Showing: A little more every day.

Maternity Clothes: I haven’t worn any yet, but the four tops I ordered from Pink Blush Maternity came in, and now when we’re out browsing stores I find myself only looking for blousey tops or tops that I know will “bounce back” after baby. I haven’t had to purchase bottoms yet, but it’s only a matter of time… Quite literally days or weeks until I have to.

Exercise: Rigby walks.

Miss Anything: Ahi tuna. Aghhh it’s my favorite, and the one thing that sounds good on every menu.

Anything make you sick/queasy: Nope! There are things that just don’t sound good at a particular time, but nothing that triggers the queasiness.

Movement: Lots! Baby M is still active in the mornings and at night and after meals. It’s my favorite time of day when she’s moving and kicking around in there, and I can’t wait til the movements get even more frequent and stronger.

Excited for: Being able to spend this coming weekend with Michael. Often our schedules are very conflicting, and we might only get a week night or two together (which is really only about 3 hours with my bedtime). So it’s exciting to have an entire weekend to look forward to!

Favorite Moment of the Week: A New Year’s Eve full of pampering (new hairdo for this mama!) and great times with good friends. Even if I did have to take a quick 20-minute nap before the ball dropped (and then left immediately after – so tired!).