Almost Halfway

I've reached nineteen weeks!

I went to the zoo yesterday with my mom and my two aunts. It was fun walking around, chatting, seeing all of the animals, AND seeing all of the cute little kids! So many small children and babies! I am even more excited about having our own little one.

We also went to Opry Mills to eat lunch and go shopping. It was fun, but I was SO TIRED by the time I got home. I was also not feeling well, and I realized later it was from dehydration. Moving around all day and spending time in the sun means I need more water, not less! Gotta be more aware of my fluid intake these days...

Appointment, Mom Time, and a Surprise!

GREAT DAY TODAY!

My mom brought me to my most boring doctor's appointment. Do you want testing? Nope.

Well, the heartbeat was exciting to hear again-it was 149 this time I think. I've gained a pound or so since my last appointment. My blood pressure is great. The doctor told me to drink lots of water and wear sunscreen, because baby hormones make me more prone to sunburn. She also said that when I take a long trip (like the one we're taking to see my grandparents in North Carolina come July) that I should stay hydrated and take walking breaks to avoid blood clots. We laughed about how drinking lots of water will make me take plenty of breaks. She said it is good to go ahead and start looking for a pediatrician, but had no specific suggestions.

THEN SHE SAID MY ULTRASOUND WILL BE IN TWO WEEKS!!!

I thought I was going to have to wait four more weeks for the ultrasound, but the doctor said that two weeks is just fine. I won't see her again for another four weeks for the actual appointment. We scheduled it for July 6th at 3pm.

I'm still so excited. We get to find out whether we are having a boy or a girl in just two weeks!!!!!!!

I also took an 18 week picture:

Yay for maternity shorts!

Mom and I decided to be crafty. She bought cloth diapers and special laundry detergent, and brought scraps of cloth.  I helped cut and iron; she pinned and sewed.

We did a happy dance when we finished our super cute burp cloths!! Being productive and creative is so much fun!

Good appointment, great surprise about the ultrasound, and fun times crafting with mom :) Definitely a fantastic day!

Daily Creativity Update

I've been convicted about how I spend my time, and felt the need to include some creativity daily.

Friday:

I made a new paper frame! I had made one as an experiment for a Mother's Day present, and put the experiment on Alex's desk. It had been folded too many times and kept falling apart. So I made a new one for him, so he can keep it on his desk.

Saturday:

I baked bread and chocolate chip pan cookies. I fed the sourdough start either Saturday or Sunday-I don't actually remember. If I'm going to keep it alive I should probably keep up with when I last fed it.

Sunday:

Sunday was Father's day. I had made Father's Day cards for Alex, my dad, and his dad sometime earlier in the week. Alex preached on Sunday about having a passion for Jesus and sharing Him with our friends. I was convicted. I count my creativity to be spending a wonderful amount of  time with both my family and his.

Today:

Mondays are always cleaning the house days. I've learned that I should never plan social events on a Monday, because it stresses me out and I think I don't have time to clean our apartment. I now have plenty of time. I made cornmeal pancakes to go with our slow-cooker BBQ ribs and green beans. I tried to make creative shapes...like a squiggle and a heart...and my "x" turned into a blob...so then I just started making circle-ish shapes. They taste yummy!

I'm going to the doctor tomorrow, AND my mom is coming over! I'll have an appointment update, and possibly another creativity post with mom.

Creativity

It's easy to keep routine. I get into a rut of dishes, laundry, cleaning, facebooking, pinteresting, sometimes reading books, and "Words with Friend"-ing. Sometimes the daily grind seems pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of life.

I read my Bible in the morning, and today I read on our balcony. Reading outside is refreshing, and brings a new perspective to my prayer life. I have the freedom to pray out loud and see God's creation around me-even if most of it is hidden by the surrounding apartment buildings. God is not only a loving, perfect, powerful  God. He is also amazingly creative. I feel as if I've lost some of the creativity when falling into the everyday. I want to be creative with my current family of two, and soon to be family of three. 

Therefore, I'm going to try to do at least one creative, out of the ordinary thing every day. Today is coffee cake.

 I was ravenous this morning (I've already eaten the equivalent of two breakfasts) and my loving husband asked if we could make some coffee cake as well. I immediately agreed.

Yum!

I don't think I've ever made coffee cake before. Here is the recipe. It's very easy!

Making Room

Week 17 update: not much new. I still eat a lot of food, try to exercise consistently, and love to sleep.

This week Anna at AnnaMadeIt filmed Alex for a youth group video.

The link is to her photography facebook page, and Alex is helping her set up her website. Unfortunately, GoDaddy was not functioning when she was over, so they could not work on her site. Hopefully we can get it up and running soon. This girl has skills with her camera!

In this picture, we moved everything out of the dining area, because the lighting and walls were better. We made a mess moving everything around! I told Alex to keep some things moved, so that I could vacuum some places that hadn't been vacuumed in months!


Cleaning up this week is also helping me get rid of some unneeded stuff in our apartment. Having a small space helps me to re-evaluate what we really need. My young sister-in-law Emma asked me today if we have an attic-we don't. I replied "We have an extra room to put some stuff in for a while." To which my mother-in-law replied, "Not for much longer!"

She's right, and the more I think about needing the space for baby stuff, the more I want to get rid of more and more stuff. When I actually start the process, I have to fight nostalgia, and decide whether it is really worth keeping.

Alex and I decided that if we ever move, we're only going to keep the stuff we really need, so that we don't have to keep moving stuff that we never use. Maybe I should start going through stuff with such a mentality. Here's to cleaning and organizing the rest of today!

A new baby!!

Yesterday I had a wonderful time with friends and family. I got to see my mom and grandma, and then we all went over to see Bethany and her new baby Connor! Caiden and Mrs. Linda were also there, and Caiden showed me around the house. He was super cute showing me around. He showed me his room, the kitches, "my candy bar" in the kitchen, and the bonus room. 

Connor slept the entire time I was there! I guess I forget how much babies sleep. He got a little fussy, and then Bethany swaddled him and he calmed down right away! We were talking pretty loudly, and he still slept soundly.

Bethany showed me  her closet for Connor-it's already full of baby wipes and diapers! She said that she started stocking up when she and Shadrick found out they were expecting. She said she picked up a pack as she went grocery shopping-what a great idea! She also showed me a super-cute dress she wore home from the hospital. Definitely going to be looking for a cute "going home" dress.

So great holding a baby a week old! I'm so excited about continuing to prepare for our own little one!

Picture Time!

I've made it to sixteen weeks, and apparently the child inside of me is about the size of an avocado:

So to mark the event, I took a "selfie" according to Blimey Cow:

To compare:

Nine Weeks

Sixteen Weeks

I can definitely see a difference! I didn't notice until I took a picture today! How exciting :)