Week 25

This comes on the heels of a week 24 update that was a few days late. I hope you will forgive my ramblings during these weekly updates, but they have become my journal of sorts during this pregnancy.

I have officially made friends with TUMS this week--they are my constant companion. As a side note, I read a pregnancy style book back before I even looked pregnant, and it recommended buying a big purse to balance out my growing midsection. I think really the best reason for the big purse is that I can carry an over-the-counter pharmacy in there, so at any given time I have almost every pregnancy safe med that a girl could need.

Last Thursday I headed out to a midnight showing of the new Harry Potter movie with Allison and Ashley. The last time I went to a midnight movie showing was the day after I found out that we were expecting (to see Eclipse!) Being out that late back in June required weeks of recovery because late night + first trimester were just too much for this girl. This time was much better although I did head to bed pretty early over the weekend. The movie was SO good, and I want to see it again.

This past weekend was very special as my husband was ordained as a deacon in our church. Our church family, along with our related family, gathered to be part of the ordination, and I am still processing what a humbling and sweet outpouring of love it was to be part of. Our church fam is an encouragement to us in many ways, but especially so since we don't live just right around the corner from our parents.

We also had a portrait session with the lovely and talented Hailey Erickson. They were combined Christmas and maternity (with a little bump!) pictures. I didn't want to wait until I was miserably swollen to take them. We posed in one of my favorite places for part of them. Any guesses?

Bring on the cold weather, a fire, and some good books to finish reading!

Week 24

This week we began getting a little more prepared, or a least organizing ourselves to get prepared for Jack's arrival.

My wonderful aunt has agreed to make his bedding, so I've picked up most of the stuff needed for it. I just need to pick the fabric, and I think we'll be ready to get moving on it. The theme of his room is, I suppose, vintage aviation, but I want it to give off a feel that the world is at his fingertips. That probably sounds weird. Oh well. We've got (what I hope will be) some cool things lined up for it with a lot of love, a bit of family history, the wonder of flight, and a tiny bit of math and science thrown in. This is a room for the son of two engineers, you know. In my head it is a masterpiece perfectly fit for a baby boy who will grow into a curious little boy very quickly. Right now it's a blank canvas. We shall see about the execution!

Last week we also registered at Babies 'R Us. When we got to the intimidating wall 'o bottles, I looked for about 5 minutes and moved on without registering for any. I figure once I decide I can get online and add them. A friend recommended not using Dr. Brown's due to the little filter parts unless he is colicky, and since we will be using bottles exclusively (aka A LOT of washing!) that sounded like excellent advice. For now I am thinking of sticking with plain, EvenFlo glass bottles. I don't like drinking out of plastic myself, so that's why we're considering glass. (Don't you love how I said "I don't like...that's why [we]..." Oh, marriage!)

These did NOT make it on the registry, but they sure made me hungry!
Jack is beginning to kick at night which is keeping me up a little bit. I could take something to knock me out, but I'm on call for work and typically I can't function in the middle of the night if I take what my doc has recommended. I'm beginning to have a couple of the less talked about unglamorous symptoms of pregnancy, but nothing unbearable. This past week I have had a couple of taco emergencies, but nothing that Taco Bell couldn't cure!

Baby Jack is bored.

Jack yawning at 24 weeks before turning away from the camera.



I've watched this video somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 million times.

I love that boy.

A Little More About Vegas

Since I was going somewhere super fun for the software conference and would have evenings free, I thought, "How boring to go by myself." Brad had been gone for over 2 weeks, and had work and other obligations back in Fort Worth as well. On a whim, I e-mailed my favorite pharmacist Alisia to see if she was free that weekend, and she was!

She flew in on Saturday and spent the day mapping our evening itinerary while I went conference functions. Saturday evening we shopped until our feet hurt. GAP was having a 40% off sale of everything in the store, so I cleaned up on long-sleeved maternity t's and tanks to get me through the winter.

Sunday night we dressed up and headed down to Treasure Island (currently trying to rebrand themselves with the more hip name t.i.--so weird) for the Cirque du Soleil show, Mystere. While we had a bit of a hard time following the storyline, the show was incredible! I had never been to one before, and I was just amazed at the flexibility and strength of the cast. After the show, we headed to Spago for dinner.

Alisia flew back to Texas the next day to work, and I had conference functions the rest of the time I was there.

I'm so glad to be home and have no where to go for a while. I've barely begun my Christmas shopping, and I've got to get moving on a room for this tiny boy to live in!

The one picture I have of us, at the show!

Week 23

This past week was pretty eventful in that Baby Jack went to Las Vegas, and his dad put his baby bed together!

Brad got home from a long work trip on Tuesday night (over a week ago.) While he was gone, Jack's crib came in, and being the impatient person that I am, I loaded up in his truck a few weeks ago and picked it up at the store. After unloading it in our garage, I spent the next TWO weeks thinking about how capable I am to put something like that together. But I guess it is a right of passage for a dad to have to figure it out. I sat on the daybed in Jack's room and took pictures and made "suggestions" while Brad constructed it on Wednesday.



Friday I headed out to Vegas for a software conference. I stayed at the MGM Grand and did quite a bit of walking back and forth to the conference center there at the resort. I discovered quickly that the heels I packed were not gonna work and spent the rest of my days in flats. My feet are still recovering today.

On Monday night, I don't know if I'd been on my feet too much that day or what (most of my days are spent at a desk, you see), but I nearly fell out on my colleagues and business associates. We were at a meet and greet at Lagasse's Stadium at the Palazzo, and all of a sudden I started feeling very faint. Someone grabbed me a chair while another told me to put my head between my legs (easier said than done when you have someone the size of youth league football in your midsection.) The entire time I'm imagining them calling an ambulance and otherwise having the situation being blown out of proportion if the pregnant girl passes out. After a few minutes of deep breathing, head down, and a Sprite, I was back to myself enough to grab a cab and head to bed. The next few days I took it much easier.

Other than the one passing spell, I feel great. I am beginning to get a little winded, and to pack my suitcase to come home, I finally had to just get down on my knees because it was too uncomfortable to keep bending over. Maybe one of these days I'll get a pic of my in my current state up on this old blog!

Weather Preparedness

I took this pic a few weekends ago whilst visiting my family. The light was so strange with dark low clouds, surrounded by sunshine highlighting the golden fall pasture. It was the day before the giant tornado in Rice, TX. My parents live not too far south of there.

Twenty minutes before I grabbed this photo, I was hunkered down in the laundry room because we were under a tornado warning. While I was gathering my dog into her crate and searching for pillows to pad me and my tiny, in-utero son, I had to laugh that my brother was doing the exact opposite--standing out on the back porch looking up to the sky as the weather blew into our area and launched my parents patio furniture into the pasture. We are so very different, but we come from the same place. Maybe that's the difference in boys and girls, or first-born to second?

Either way, I think it's a good thing.

Week 22

This week was another great one. I realized that I'm beginning to slow down a little bit, as in, I can't jump in and out of my car quite as fast as usual. I have to stop and take a deep breath on occasion, but from what I've read, all of this is quite normal.

One thing that has surprised me is that nesting has kicked in--BIG time. Maybe it's because I am always fluffing my little nest with one project or another, but all of a sudden I feel a greater sense of urgency to complete some of the stuff I just haven't gotten around to. So pretty much every closet in my house has been put on notice, and I finished one of them this weekend. I also finally ordered and had a portrait framed from our session with Hailey last fall. As in, one year ago. It's hung in our bedroom and will look fabulous for the makeover that room is getting this December. That's right--why paint one room (Jack's) when you could paint two?!? Poor B!

Coming up next week, I'm taking the baby to Vegas!

(Don't get too excited--I'm going to a software conference.)