A little update...

It's been a while, huh?  We've had a little bit of an eventful week or two.  That's just the way we do it. :)

We got the keys to our new place on the 6th.  Unfortunately, the not so wise homeowners had turned the gas off back in July.  Even though we called a week ahead of time, the gas company couldn't come out until the 9th.

We did our walk through of the house (marking down and documenting every little scrape, mark, and stain) in the cold on Friday morning/afternoon. 

We moved all of the big stuff and most of the boxes on Saturday.  It was 24 degrees outside, so you can imagine how cold it was inside.  A big HUGE thanks to my friend Laurie for helping us out!

We didn't do much on Sunday, but we decided that Michael needed to sleep at the house. The gas company was to arrive sometime on Monday and he really needed to already be at the house and set up for work as to not miss a day.  So Olivia and I dropped him off with his work computers, blankets, and a space heater.  He stayed in one room the entire time and made it through the night just fine.

The gas company arrived first thing on Monday morning, which was great.  Unfortunately, there was a piece in the furnace that was broken/missing.  The property management company couldn't come and fix it until Tuesday morning.  (Believe me when I say we will be getting those 4 days of rent credited to us!).

We finally had heat on Tuesday and were able to start moving around the house and unpacking.  We sold a lot of our furniture before moving, so we are having to figure out the logistics of things.  As of right now, Olivia's room is mostly done.  Logan's furniture is in place, but that's about all for his room.  The bathrooms are clean and the kitchen is clean (thanks again to Laurie) and unpacked.  Our family room/play room is mostly in order.  We haven't brought the TV over yet and are still needing to pick up the TV stand that we picked out.  Other than that, everything is coming along slowly but surely.  I just hope to have things in place before Logan gets here.  We shall see....

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In other news, I had my doctor's appointment last Monday.  I was 31 weeks at the time.  I was anxiously awaiting this appointment, because it was at my 31 week appointment with Olivia where things started changing.  It was the first indication of blood pressure issues and it was also the first time I started measuring ahead.  I was curious if we were going to have a repeat.

My blood pressure was "perfect" according to the nurse.  I can't remember the exact number, but I think it was something like 112/78 or something like that.

I measured at exactly 31 weeks, which was also good.

Logan's heart rate was 150.

Then my doctor dropped a bomb on me.  She is making me take yet another gestational diabetes test.  To say I am annoyed by this is putting it mildly.  I have gained half the weight that I had with Olivia at this point.  My blood pressure and fundal measurement were right on track.  There is absolutely NO indication that I am going to have issues OR that I am even having a big baby.

She is seriously stuck on the fact that Olivia was a big baby.  She is convinced that I had undetected late term gestational diabetes last time (even though it was never once mentioned last time).  She is also convinced that I am going to have a large baby that I can't fit out. UGH!

Obviously, if I do have gestational diabetes, or if I do develop it late, then I want to address it and do what I can to have a healthy baby.  I just think she is taking one piece of the puzzle and is fixating on it.

For the record, with my doctor's office in TX, they made me fast for the 1 hour test.  I passed "with flying colors".  My doctor here told me to eat a protein before my 1 hour.  I ate eggs and failed.  When I fasted for the 3 hour, I passed fine.  They took my blood 4 times and not one single number was elevated.  I'm pretty sure if I would have fasted for my 1 hour this time I would have passed.  It's so frustrating!

So... I have to go in, have my blood drawn to check my fasting number, drink the juice and then leave and eat breakfast.  Then I have to come back two hours after eating and have my blood drawn again to see how my numbers are.

Hopefully I will pass.  If so, this will be the last conversation we have about it.  Seriously.

30 Weeks, Baby #2

**I am going to try my best to get a picture today and add it later.  I never have anywhere to go on Mondays, so I don't usually get all done up.  Clearly this is becoming an issue. :) **

How far along: 30 weeks

Size of baby: for weeks 29 to 32 the baby is the size of a squash

Average size is 15.2-16.7 inches and between 2.5 to 3.8 pounds

Total weight gain/loss:+9.8

Maternity clothes: Yep.  Still rocking the same old rotation. :)  Some of my shoes are starting to get a little tight.  This was the nice thing about having Olivia in the summer.  When my shoes got too tight, I went out and bought some bigger flip flops for $5.  I don't think that is going to work this time.  So far, I've just been jamming my feet in the shoes I have.

Gender: It's a boy!

Movement: Daily as it should be.  He's even started moving around while I am on the move.  It use to be just when I was sitting/laying.  Although, I will say that he moves less than Olivia did, so I do tend to worry more with him.

Sleep: Shockingly, I have actually gotten a few good nights of sleep this week! Woo Hoo!

What I miss: ease of movement


Cravings: nothing in particular

Symptoms: This week it has been an aching back.  There is just one spot that has a kink in it or something.  No matter what I do, I cannot get it to go away.  I've also just had a general uncomfortable feeling.  Oh, and some Braxton Hicks too.

Fun Purchases: Nothing for baby Logan.  He has gotten put on the back burner for the last few weeks.  We had to put a deposit on the house, and we know we are going to have to buy some items for it when we move it, so we have been trying not to spend anything.  The only things that were purchased this week were Christmas related items for Olivia.

Surprises: I am pleasantly surprised that I am not swelling as much this time around.  At this point with Olivia, I had already been without my wedding rings for a month due to swelling.  I think part of it has to do with the season (hot vs cold), part of it has to do with the fact that I've gained half as much weight, and *hopefully* part of it has to due with the fact that I am not going to have high blood pressure issues this time. :)

Milestones: 10 weeks to go! 70 days to be exact.  Of course, that is if he comes on his due date.  I am anticipating that we will not go that long.  Either way, that is not that long at all.  A lot of the normal baby planning has been put on hold because of our current situation.  So as soon as we move I feel like I have a TON of stuff to get done--decorate a room, make meals to freeze, finish buying needed items....  Ahhh! He is going to be here so soon!!

We plan...

... and God laughs.

Yeah.  Ever hear that one?  It pretty much sums up the last 3 years of my life.  As a side note, please do not use the cliched line that "God is testing me".  I may vomit on your shoes.  If I had a dollar for every time someone has said that to me in the last few years--all of Olivia's medical bills would be paid off.

So, if you remember, the "plan" was to stay at Michael's mom's house until after Logan arrived.  I didn't really want to move twice in one pregnancy and we didn't have the opportunity ahead of time to find a place.  Also, it would have been great to save some money.

Fast forward a few months and we have decided to move.

(source)

There really are multiple reasons why we came to this conclusion.  However, the thing that pushed us over the edge was a talk I had with a friend.  I was trying to be OK with all of the sacrifices that would have needed to be made to bring a baby home here (no nursery, shuffling visitors around others schedules, etc).  She reminded me that the newborn stage is a very special time that only happens a few times (twice, in my case) in your life.  Not only is it a special time, but it is also a very emotional time.  It is important to come home from the hospital to my own space.  The farther along I get in this pregnancy, the more I realize that this is going to be important to me.

That led us to looking for a rental house.  The nice thing about Michael working from home is that we weren't limited to a specific location.  We were able to find something that was within our budget and will meet our families needs nicely.  It's a little farther out that we wanted to be, but the extra space was worth the drive.

We will be moving on Friday.  Yes, I will be 30 week pregnant.  Don't worry.  The only thing I will be doing is packing up some clothes and toys that we unpacked, and then unpacking at the new place.  We sold a lot of our furniture before our move back, so we will slowly have to piece the house together one room at a time.  We are both excited though.  It has 4 bedrooms, two living spaces (which we really wanted), two and a half baths, a two car garage, and LOTS of room for storage.  It will be so nice to be "settled".

Wildlights at the Zoo

We knew that we wanted to hit up the zoo for the wild lights.  We decided to go ahead and do it this weekend before it gets really cold out.  It was cold enough as it was.  It was hovering right around 40 degrees while we were there.

We made sure to bundle Olivia up.

She was SO excited.  She is really into Christmas this year (mainly the decorations at this point) and started talking about the lights as soon as she got a first glimpse.

We headed to the aquarium first.  There were all sorts of fun fish and water creature lights that were right up Olivia's Nemo loving alley.

We finally got inside the aquarium and it was PACKED. People were just sitting/standing everywhere instead of moving through as usual.  We quickly found out that Santa was going to be diving in 5 minutes.  We were waiting off to the side and some kids had to leave, so Olivia was able to get right up to the window.  We waited for a bit, and then Santa came down the ladder right in front of us.

He even came up to the window and gave he a high five.

It's hard to tell, but Santa is feeding some fish in front of her.

We saw a few more animals and then headed to the food court for some dinner.  I packed Olivia something to eat and Michael and I shared a sandwich.

We headed to the other side of the zoo to see some favorites, but stumbled upon a light show along the way.

The lights around the pond were synchronized to music, so we stopped for the show.

Then we just ran into Mr. Polar Bear

I am pretty sure the Polar Bear was trying to sign language to comment about Olivia's cheeks. :)

She gave him a hug, but once again I was a little slow with the picture.

We saw some of Olivia's favorites, oohed and aahed at the lights, and have a fun family night.

Let the festivities begin!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I am thankful for so many things.  This year, I am mostly thankful for my sweet little family.

I am beyond blessed and thankful to be walking through this journey with my husband, Michael.  He loves me, respects me, balances me, and understands me.  While we don't agree on everything, we tend to be on the same page with a lot of things.  It's such a blessing to have that unity.  He makes me laugh, listens, encourages me, and works hard to give our family what it needs.  He is my best friend and I am honored to be his wife.

I am also so blessed to be Olivia's mommy.  She is my pride and joy.  She makes me laugh daily!  She is smart, compassionate, energetic, enthusiastic, sweet, and sometimes a handful.  She challenges me to be a better person just by being her.  She is simply amazing and I am honored to be her mom.

I am blessed to be carrying this little bundle in my belly.  I can't wait to meet him, to see what he looks like, and to watch him grow into the little guy he will be.  He will complete our family, and I know he will bring so much more to the table than is already there.  I have been blessed to be able to get pregnant easily, which I don't take for granted.  I have also been blessed with relatively easy pregnancies.  While I marvel at every kick, punch, and flip in my belly, I am looking forward to holding my little boy.  I am honored to carry, birth, and love him.

Let it Snow!

Olivia got her first chance to play in snow yesterday.  She saw snow last year on Christmas day, but we weren't really able to get out and play in it.  We had a dusting last week too, which got her excited, but it wasn't enough to play in.  So when the snow started to fall on Monday night, Michael and I made plans to take Olivia out to play in it.  She woke up to a white wonderland and she was SO excited!

She wasn't sure about walking in it until Michael went out and started rolling the snow.  It was great packing snow!

Once she saw that it was alright, she was off!

Michael showed her how to make a snowball.  Don't mind his gloves!  Of course neither of us could find our gloves, so he just grabbed a pair of gardening gloves out the garage. :)

This is another benefit of having Michael work from home!  He got to experience the fun with us.  It was dark by the time he got off work, so this wouldn't have been able to happen with him otherwise.

She got hit with a snowball. ;)

She tried throwing one back... only half of it stuck to her mitten.

This is fun!

 

Rolling a big ball

She kept talking about the beautiful trees...

So of course she had to hug one.  Don't ask.  I have no idea why she likes to hug trees.

She kept shaking the snow off of the trees and then laughing this huge (fake) belly laugh.  Apparently she cracks herself up!

Ha ha!

Leaving peanuts for the squirrels

She kept having Michael shake the snow off the branches onto her as well.

We love the snow!

29 Weeks, Baby #2

How far along: 29 weeks

Size of baby: for weeks 29 to 32 (month 7) the baby is the size of a squash

Average size is 15.2-16.7 inches and between 2.5 to 3.8 pounds

Total weight gain/loss: +9 (the same as the last 2 weeks)

I actually weighed myself again after eating breakfast and lunch just to make sure my scale wasn't broken.  Nope.  It works.  I had gained 20.6 pounds with Olivia at this point!

Maternity clothes: I'm feeling like my options are a little limited, but I'm doing my best to layer and make do with what I have.

Gender: It's a boy!  Logan Michael is on his way!

Movement: He seemed to have slowed down for a bit this week, but he picked up where he left on on Sunday.  At one point it felt like he kicked me on one side and punched me on the other side at the same time.  I was trying to nap, but I wish I would have been able to see what my stomach looked like for that one!

Sleep: I get about 6 hours of sleep a night.  Sometimes I get a nap, sometimes I don't.

What I miss: sleep, ease of movement, etc.

Cravings: apples (good ones, not red delicious)

Symptoms: I don't know what it was about this week, but I suddenly feel pregnant.  VERY pregnant.  It seems to have started on Thursday.  I told my friend that I felt like I was carrying around 40 extra pounds instead of 9. My body also felt like I ran a marathon, only I wasn't getting a medal, cookies, or a silver cape.  I thought I was short of breath before, but I am getting so winded and out of breath now.  I know that is a side effect of low iron, but still.  Little tasks seem to be taking a lot out of me.  I guess this could go under "surprises" too, but I told Michael that I was fully expecting to have gained a minimum of 2 pounds this week.  Mostly because I felt like I gained 10.  Needless to say, I was shocked that my weight stayed the same.  Maybe Logan just shifted into a different position that is making me feel this way?

Fun Purchases:  I bought a few supplies for baby crafts, but have yet to start any projects.  I'm feeling a little intimidated by them, but I know I can do it.

Surprises: Michael's best friend has two little boys.  He was over having a guys night this weekend and they told him that we are welcome to any of their baby clothes.  One of the little guys was born at the end of November and one was born in January, so the seasons should match up well.  I guess I am suppose to go over and go through their stuff.  This will be a HUGE blessing for us (especially since the consignment sales aren't great around here).

Milestones: I'm in my 7th month!!