Smile!

Have been meaning to share Bear Cub's 24 week profile shot.  Will share a more updated version in two weeks!

The Single Digits!

Far Along: 30 weeks, 2 days
Size of Baby: Approximately 3.2 lbs and 18 inches (the size of a head of lettuce)
Total Weight Gain/Loss: +27 lbs and continuing to grow!
Maternity Clothes: All over this one.  I’m living in my jean capris, tanks and maxi dresses

Movement: Constant movement.  Up all day and up all night movement
Symptoms: Lack of sleep, sore hips/ass from sleeping on my sides and it’s unfortunate, but I was dealt the evil hand of hemorrhoids last week.  We’re back in business now, but that was NO fun
What I Miss: Sleep (I’ll miss that for awhile!), walking without a waddle and having a normal personality – I’m all over the place these days
Girl or Boy: Still a surprise!
Belly button In or Out: Total outtie now
Stretch Marks: They haven’t shown up yet
Cravings: Still craving cereal and cold milk, ice cream, chocolate (anything sweet for that matter) and toasted ravs!
Best Moment This Week: Hitting the 30 week mark and getting a ton done with the nursery, horray!  

 

So, I have a lot to fill you in on.  I can’t believe it’s been 10 weeks since I last gave an update, but that’s how I roll these days.  And by roll, I mean both literally and figuratively. 

 

Am I hanging in there?

 

Things are going well for the most part!  The summer is hot, which doesn’t make for a fun time when you’re 30 weeks pregnant, but we’re handling it as best as we can.  I mentioned above that I’m having some hip issues, but that is normal (says the doc) and happens because of the extra pressure on my legs and the way I have to sleep at night.  I’ve definitely gained nearly 30 pounds, but luckily the extra weight hasn’t hit my arms or face yet.  The rest of my body?  Not as fortunate.  Just trying to look somewhat normal until my best friend’s wedding on August 20^th.  Then my body is free to do what it needs to!

 

How is baby?

 

Henry or Avery is doing great.  I had another ultrasound at 24 weeks to see if my placenta had risen, unfortunately it didn’t.  So I’m heading back on August 5^th for what I’m hoping is my last one – I want some good news!  If it is still pretty low, a c-section may be in order, but I’m SURE that won’t be the case.

 

Our Bear Cub is punching and kicking up a storm at all hours of the day and night.  He/she keeps changing positions from a transverse lie to a vertical lie (just not sure what end is where).  And BH contractions really started kicking in this week…definitely feels like severe cramping, so I know I have a lot to look forward to come September.

 

Bear Cub’s Nursery

 

We are in a REALLY good place with the nursery.  I’m not quite ready to share pictures yet, since we’re still waiting on the crib, but it’s coming together!  Walls are painted, pictures are hung, mobile is in place, dresser/nightstand arrived, blinds/drapes are hung and we have our comfy chair in the corner.  So stay tuned!

 

The Infamous Bump Progression

22 weeks

24 weeks

26 weeks (from Key West)

28 weeks

30 weeks!

What a Feelin'!

I felt my baby move today.  Not the normal butterfly kisses or love taps, but a strong punch to the gut.  And it was THE most amazing feeling I have ever had.  Just incredible.  And I can't wait to share this with Matt when he comes home tomorrow.  I've been waiting for this day for 22 weeks!

I'll leave you with a quick video of my babe's kickboxing class :)  Start REALLY watching around the 15 second mark and the 30 second mark.  YAY!

20

It's official, folks!  Twenty weeks down, 20 to go.  We are halfway there!  


BIG NEWS!  Matt and I have decided not to find out what we're having.  We decided that this will be a really memorable surprise for both of us and at our age, you don't get that many surprises!  So we'll have to wait until September to reveal boy or girl!


Let's talk about some stats since I haven't updated since the first trimester...


How Far Along: 20 weeks
Size of Baby: Approximately 12 ounces
Total Weight Gain/Loss: +14 pounds, but I blame that on the 33 oz. of water I had in me from the ultrasound :)
Maternity Clothes: Once you see my latest picture, you'll know the answer.  It's hard shopping for maternity clothes!  I'm still having a hard time adjusting and finding the right fit.
Movement: We have a gymnast, dancer or soccer player on our hands.  This baby is active, which is strange since my placenta is on the front and I shouldn't really feel anything yet.  Strong baby!
Symptoms: The morning sickness and fatigue left me in the first trimester, thank goodness!  I'm still super tired after work, but once I'm home I get some energy to finish out the day.  Still struggling with skin issues, but I think it's finally calming down a bit.
What I Miss: Bending over comfortably, lifting Norman into the car, not always feeling the need to eat
Girl or Boy: It's a surprise!
Belly button In or Out: I started with an innie but now it's totally flush with the rest of my stomach. I'm sure it will be an outie in no time. 
Stretch Marks: Not yet.
Cravings: Cereal with cold milk and ice cream, always ice cream!!
Best Moment This Week: Seeing our little bear cub on the ultrasound.  What a WONDERFUL experience and one that I can hardly describe.  Matt and I laughed, I cried and we watched our baby for about 30 minutes.  I'll never forget it. I'll scan in the pictures soon to share.  


And we have also finalized our baby names!  Henry Lucas and Avery Marian, both representing family members and we are so excited with our decision.


Baby is approximately 12 inches long and nearly 12 ounces.  A little more advanced than this piece of fruit :)

Baby's now the size of a cantaloupe!
Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies respond best to tastes they've already had via amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you'd like your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch.

And to top of the post, here are the bump pictures from the second trimester so far.  I'm growing fast!

14 weeks

16 weeks

18 weeks

20 weeks!

Now it's time to figure out how to decorate a gender neutral nursery!

Poppingcorn Popping and Butterfly Kisses

The greatest feeling ever.  I'm feeling my little Bear Cub move and I'm so in love :)

First Trimester Review

One word.  Ouch.

My first trimester was far from a good time.  I really struggled with fatigue and morning sickness 24/7. I'm not sure if it's worse to feel incredibly hungover at all times (how I felt) or to actually get sick.  Surely both are terrible.

But when we went to our first ultrasound, it made all of the pain worth it.  That little body, small arms and legs and a beating heart.  Wow.  I felt such a strong connection already. So I fought through it all, with help from Matt, poor guy.  And am now well on my way into my second trimester!

Just some picture background as to how I told Matt the HUGE news!...

I found out on a Tuesday and unfortunately, Matt was traveling until Thursday.  Great timing on our part!

So I planned a really nice surprise for Matt as he walked into the door...

And finally, the infamous baby bump pictures!

8 weeks

10 weeks

12 weeks

I'm so happy that this second trimester is proving to be a better experience than the first.  And I feel so incredibly blessed to have such a loving husband and supportive family and friends by my side.  This baby is going to be spoiled!

Bear Cub

I've been meaning to put a post up here with some fun news, but just haven't gotten around to it.  So finally, after a day of meetings and travel, and some much needed couch time with my pup, I am making time to share with my few loyal readers :)

Matt and I are expecting!  We've been calling my little avocado "Bear Cub" since we found out and can't wait to put a real name on him/her once we find out what we're having in May.  This has been such a whirlwind, mostly because the First Trimester was full of all of the terrible symptoms that you read about in the books, but now that the Second Trimester is in full-swing, I'm starting to feel like myself again. Phew!

So my First Trimester review will be an upcoming post, but for now, enjoy the first pictures of our little Cubbie Bear, who by the way is due September 27th!

I love...

...to bake. Seriously, if I could bake all the time, I would.  Not sure why I don't feel the same way about cooking, but I'll take what I can get.

Over the weekend, I put my skills to test with a new cookie creation.  Get this, a chocolate chip cookie baked around a Double Stuffed Oreo cookie.  Um, hello?  Why yes, don't mind if I do.

So I did.  And let me tell you.  This cookie is, well, it's incredible.

I'm not sure how I've been living without this cookie. Please, do yourself a favor and make these.  You won't regret it!
















WINNING

Bathroom Remodel

Our bathroom was dated.

A facelift wouldn't do it, so we decided to gut and remodel...ourselves.  Scary?  Yes.  Worth it?  Totally.

First we put a budget together - $3K.  That's it.  Three thousand dollars.  Doesn't sound like a whole lot when you go and do this...

And this...

But we pushed on.  We tiled...

And we sweat...

And after several weekends of hard work and dedication, we were finished.  (insert angels chorus)

Not one thing from the old bathroom remained.  New sink, new toilet, new tub, new wall color, toilet paper holder, closet space, faucet, etc.  And we stayed within our budget!  What an amazing and HUGE accomplishment for us simple DIY'ers.

This remodel then led to a kitchen facelift.  Awesome. The fun never ends!

Hello! Is it me you're looking for?

Hi.  It's me.  Stevie.  You don't remember me?  Well, I don't blame you.  I haven't blogged in nearly ten months.  Not sure why, I think I just got bored with it and felt all of this insane pressure to update on a regular basis.  More often than not, I dreaded blogging, so I stopped.


But I'm back.  My family loved keeping up with me through Stevie Unscripted and I've decided that being a sporadic blogger isn't such a bad thing. And I've really enjoyed watching some close friends jump back into the blogging world as well (you know who you are!) - so thanks for the much-needed inspiration to take the leap once again.


I have some really cool stuff to share soon.  Matt (the hubby) and I tackled some massive home remodeling projects this past year and it was quite the experience.  But by doing everything ourselves, we learned things we never thought we would and we saved a ton of money (woot!). 


Wow.  It felt nice to write this.  It's great to be back!

the month of my *birth*

Is May seriously over already?  How quickly time flies when you’re having fun, right?! 

 

It’s been a whirlwind of a month for me and the family.  We celebrated birthdays and new beginnings, went on a fabulous trip to NYC, wrapped up some more house work and of course, hung out with our little man, Norman.

 

First things first. 

 

Birthdays.  I turned 27 on May 19^th.  It wasn’t as an exciting day as I imagined.  It’s no longer fun getting older!  You don’t get as many fun presents!  And usually you’re so busy that there isn’t time to celebrate with family and friends.  At least that was the case for me.  Luckily, my wonderful husband surprised me with a trip to New York City and we had the best time.  It’s so nice to get away, especially when shopping and best friends are involved.  A quick breakdown of the trip involved: Soho, Wicked, a Yankee’s game, Times Square, runs in Central Park, eating, shopping and spending time with my bestie, Andrea and her boyfriend Dan.  The weekend couldn’t have gone by faster, but it was nice to get home to Norman.  I hadn’t been away from him for more than a day since we got him, so it was definitely hard to be gone for that long.

 

Times Square to buy Wicket tickets - w00t!

Loved Wicked

Party time!

And the Yankee's game to round out our fantastic weekend

Me and my buddy on my actual birthday!

Norman went to his first birthday party this past weekend!  Sonny, Derek and Tara's yellow lab, turned one!  Happy Birthday, Sonny!

Babies. Other May happenings included a shower for my friend, Allyson.  She’s having a baby girl, “Baby Girl Lake” on or around July 3^rd.  It’s very exciting for our group of friends because this is the first baby to come into our circle.  And boy is she going to be spoiled by all of us!

 

Allyson and her first baby - Houston

 

And not only is Allyson due next month, but a few more of my friends are pregnant as well!  I will reveal them when the time is right, but my heart is bursting for all of them.  What a blessing.

 

Bachelorette. I went to a good friends bachelorette party.  Mackenzie and Sam are getting married on June 26^th and I can’t wait to celebrate in their new journey.  I’ve seen this couple grow from the very beginning and am so excited to see Kenz walk down the aisle and marry her Sammy!

 

The Bach!

Me and Kenz!

 

Me and T, the MOH

Sass

Love this chica!

Backyard.  We finally finished our backyard!  It took a few more weeks than we thought it would due to the rain/weather, but it looks great and here’s to hoping the up keep won’t be so tough.  Norman loves it!

 

 

Bedrooms.  I never posted the before and after of our guest bedroom and master bedroom.  Here you go!

 

Guest Room - before the finishing touches

 

And done!

Master Bedroom - BEFORE

And DONE!

Bathrooms. The project has begun!  Matt and I have officially started researching costs, likes, dislikes for our master bath that we are building upstairs.  This is what we are working with - the old nursery.

Here is what we are envisioning.

 

Two of these

 One of these showers

And this color scheme

And once we finish the master bath, we’ll be on to our guest bath on the main floor.  For this one, we’re going to do a simple remodel with a color scheme of brown and white.  Very simple and crisp.

 

Bathroom now

Vision, but we'll use a pedestal sink.

 

Bubbers.  Aka Norman.  He’s almost 8 months!  I can’t believe how quickly he’s grown and he is so good at making best friends.  Cooper is his “uncle” but Sonny, Tara and Derek’s dog, is his best friend.  I’m not lying when I say they love each other.  See for yourself!

 

Bubbers

Uncle Cooper!

Norman's first swim

Norman and Sonny - BFF

Whew!  If you're still with me, thanks!  This was along post.  Happy Summer!