baby bump: 25 weeks

How far along:  25 weeks.

Size of baby:  Head of cauliflower.

Maternity clothes:  With the cold weather here, my winter coats aren't exactly fitting this year.  They fit but they don't zip up.  I've started wearing Ehren's large winter coat which I'm swimming in.  Oh well, it keeps me and the bun warm. 

Weight gain:  I should be gaining about a pound a week from now on.  It's weird to be semi okay with gaining weight.  It's such a backwards way of thinking!  I just have to remember it's not all fat, it's extra blood, placenta, boobs, etc.  Ugh.  Being a girl is hard sometimes, especially when you're particularly hard on yourself. 

Stretch marks:  Nope.

Sleep:  I'm wanting to be in bed at 8-8:30 and can barely keep my eyes open at 9:30.  I really can't complain as I am on my feet all day and haven't been taking naps when I get home.  I sleep hard and have no problem getting back to sleep with all the bathroom trips in the middle of the night.  Cozy has been more cuddly in bed; he's always sleeping against me or on top of me and always has his little liver head draped over my leg.  

Exercise:  Sure.

Best moment of the week:  There were multiple best moments this week.  

1.  I was at work doing some therapy with this cute little 87 year old female who was pretty ornery.  She talked a lot and was full of personality.  We walked in the hallway and she made it known to everyone she walked by that she was doing great and that she's ornery.  When we got back to the room, she again said that she was ornery, then proceeded to violently tickle my baby bump.  I asked her, "are you tickling my baby?" and she said, "Yes! And I'm going to pet her, too!" and then she began petting my belly.  And then all of a sudden, she got serious and started to gently rub my belly.  She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and told me she was going to pray for my baby and me.  I literally started crying then and there.  I think when someone tells you they have/will pray for you, it's the biggest compliment.  She made my day and I will always remember her.

2.  Ehren, my sister, and I drove up to Omaha this weekend to visit our cousins and participate in the "Ugly Sweater Run".  It was so good to see our cousins as Thanksgiving/Christmas isn't the same anymore.  We had some great quality time making cookies, shopping, veging out, and of course the Ugly Sweater Run.  

Movement:  I didn't really feel her much for a couple of days, which of course worried me, but then all of a sudden as we were pulling into Omaha she started going nuts.  (Probably because I had to pee really bad and my bladder was crowding her).  She's now in full force, acting like she's trying to escape.  I love it!  

Cravings:  I seriously eat just about anything and I feel like that's a luxury in a pregnancy. Especially when with a group of people trying to make a decision on where to eat.  I get excited about any type of food.  

Gender:  She's a she. 

Belly button in or out:  It's out and in full force.  People are noticing, too. 

Wedding ring on or off:  On.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope.  Except for maybe really frustrating KU basketball games?

What I miss:  Boring weekends at home.  I love the holidays and spending time with family but there is nothing like a weekend at home!  

What I am looking forward to:  Weekends with family and holiday parties.  As much as I love being at home, there is nothing like being with family!  

What I am not looking forward to:  Getting bigger and not feeling comfortable in my own body.  I know it will give me guilt since my body is doing what it needs to do to create a human, but it's still hard to deal with.  I'll just avoid full length mirrors from now on :)

Labor signs:  Nope. 

Symptoms:  Just lots of movement.   

Nursery:  We got some furniture in the mail!  We got the crib and the side table that will go next to the glider.  Eeeek!  I want to put it together but we won't until the tail end as it won't fit into the nursery through the doorway.  We will have to put it together in the room and I don't want to do that before we've done all the painting and building.  

Emotions:  Like I said earlier, I'm having a hard time with body image.  I look in the mirror and don't see my usual self and that's really hard.  It's also hard on Ehren as he sees something completely different than me.  I hate hearing the phrase "you're not fat, you're pregnant".  Yes, I know that's true but it also means "you're fat because you're pregnant, not because you're slacking off at the gym and eating junk".  I get really down about myself until I feel her kick me.  Then the pregnancy light bulb instantly goes off and I think, "I don't care what I look like!  I'm making our daughter and my body is doing what it needs to do in order to create life!"  

My cousin who had her baby on Thanksgiving was not able to come to Omaha but she sent lots of pictures and videos.  Harper is just so cute and perfect and I get this stupid grin when I look at her.  It's amazing to see the first great granddaughter and I'm so happy for my cousin and her husband.  What is surreal is that when I look at her I have to remind myself that I will have one of "those" too!  I can't imagine how I'm going to feel about my own when I feel that way about my cousin's baby.  Ugh.  Humans are capable of so much love and I can't wait until my love tank is even more full than it already is.  

Week in review:

We have a family message board on Facebook called McLovin because our family is made up of McCauleys and McCunes.  This is where we communicate, share funny videos, and of course new pictures of the newest great grandchild.  When we got out of the car in downtown Omaha, the first thing we saw was this store called "McLovin".  We had to get a photo.  And post it on McLovin of course.

Who needs a rolling pin when you have a wine bottle?

I don't know if Rudy is hoping Ehren will drop his cookie or his beer.

Andrew Wiggins, baby.

The runners getting ready to head out for the the "Ugly Sweater Run".  Aren't they hideous?

Josie cruising in at an easy 21 minutes.  No big deal.

Gotta try and stay warm in the balmy 20 degree weather. 

It was a great weekend full of cookies and cousins and Christmas sweaters.  I think were thinking of making this a tradition from now on. 

baby bump: 24 weeks

How far along:  24 weeks.

Size of baby:  Cantaloupe.

Maternity clothes:  Let's just call them paternity clothes from now on as I am pretty much wearing Ehren's clothes when I'm not at work. 

Weight gain:  Sure. 

Stretch marks:  Nope.

Sleep:  Sleeping very well with our flannel sheets.  There is no other way when it's this cold out! 

Exercise:  Yes.  In the form of a lot of walking. 

Best moment of the week:  Putting up Christmas decorations while watching "Christmas Vacation".  I wish we had time to put decorations up sooner. 

Movement:  She kicked me so hard the other night that I screamed.  I poked her and she straight up double roundhouse kicked me.  You honestly cannot get used to someone kicking you from the inside.  It is the craziest and happiest thing ever.  If I'm having a bad moment at work or just feel overwhelmed and tired about life and she kicks me?  Instantly makes me smile.  She really puts things into perspective and I haven't even met her yet. 

Cravings:  Snickers Blast from Sonic.  I rarely eat ice cream but I downed a small one in about 15 minutes (which is fast for me). 

Gender:  She is of the female variety. 

Belly button in or out:  It looks like a tiny umbilical hernia.    

Wedding ring on or off:  On.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  We went to the KU Volleyball game Friday night and the smell of hot dogs kinda grossed me out.  Good thing I'm not supposed to eat them! 

What I miss:  Being able to get out of bed by just doing a sit up.  Now I feel like a beached whale rolling out of bed.  Good thing I work on bed mobility with all my patients at work.  I've got some tricks up my sleeve.   

What I am looking forward to:  Everything Christmas.  I love this time of year. 

What I am not looking forward to:  Bed mobility getting more difficult.  As well as walking and climbing stairs. 

Labor signs:  No.

Symptoms:  Just a little girl going all Chuck Norris on my insides. 

Nursery:  It's begging to be de-wallpapered and painted!

Emotions:  Anxious to get more projects done so we can start on the nursery.  I'm just worried that by the time we are able to dig in, I won't have any energy to do so.  But then again, I think my excitement will trump my exhaustion.  DIY and decorating is what I love to do.  I'm sure I can muster up  some pregnant elbow grease and get it done. 

Week in review:

It was our last weekend before the craziness of the end of the year (read: busy or out of town every weekend) so there was a lot of this going on…

I laid down after work one night and Cozy cuddled with me for a while.  But when he was ready to go downstairs/outside, he had his way of telling me.  Here he is thinking, "I'll just sit here and stare at her until she gets it".

We went to the first round of the NCAA volleyball tournament as KU was hosting and playing.  It was fun and they won!

We finally started decorating for Christmas.  W'ere going low key this year. 

Clearly Ehren is my little decorating elf.  Instead of setting up all 30 of our Christmas Village houses (yes, literally 30) we just did 15.  It's not completely finished in this picture but you get the idea.

 We're going to a tacky Christmas sweater party soon and I had Ehren put a sweater on that I made years ago (all I did was sew ugly ornaments on a sweater).  Cozy thought they were toys and tried to gently pull them off.  It was hilarious.

I have a feeling Cozy will try and take our little baby's toys but he will eventually learn which ones are his and which are hers.  Eeek, it's getting closer!

baby bump: 23 weeks

How far along:  23 weeks.

Size of baby:  Ear of corn… ?   Or grapefruit.

Maternity clothes:  My regular clothes have been pushed to the side in my closet.  

Weight gain:  Well, it was Thanksgiving this week, if that explains anything. 

Stretch marks:  Nope.

Sleep:  Not so good this week as I slept on a blow up mattress that slowly deflated and every time Ehren rolled over or moved I almost got thrown off.  That, and we spent a couple nights at Ehren's parents' house in a full size bed with a full size dog.  We try and get him to sleep on the floor but he just looks at us like, "ha, yea right" and jumps back in bed, scooting us to the side. 

Exercise:  We bought a treadmill off Craigslist this week and I'm pretty excited about it.  It's nothing fancy but it will be nice while the weather is cold (and really hot later in the summer).  In the mornings when Ehren does P90X I'll walk and cheer him on. 

Best moment of the week:  Spending time with family for Thanksgiving.  And eating (pretty much) whatever I wanted without feeling like a complete fatty.. even though I looked 9 months pregnant when I was done eating. 

Oh, and my cousin Jessica had her baby on Thanksgiving evening.  They didn't find out the gender and they kept the name a surprise.  Her name is Harper and she is absolutely adorable.  And the craziest part?  On the McCauley side there are 7 granddaughters and now 2 great granddaughters.  No boys.  What are the odds?  Clearly not 50%!

Movement:  All the time.  I tried to take a nap the other day and she was kicking me so much it took me a while to fall asleep.  And now I can see her moving from the outside which is crazy.  When we were driving back from Meade we were singing (at the top of our lungs) to Miley's CD and she was kicking like crazy.  And don't hate, her album is actually really good.  

Cravings:  I think the multiple Thanksgiving meals satisfied most of my cravings!  And I think I'm actually tired of eating.  I could just eat 5 lbs. of clementines a day and be just fine.  

Gender:  I'm finally getting used to saying she, her, daughter. 

Belly button in or out:  You can see it from a mile away in my maternity shirts.   

Wedding ring on or off:  On.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nothing in particular. 

What I miss:  My bed.  I'm about to fix that here pretty soon.  

What I am looking forward to:  Getting nursery furniture that has been ordered!

What I am not looking forward to:  Going back to work after 5 days off. 

Labor signs:  No.

Symptoms:  Lots of kicking.  

Nursery:  Like I said above, nursery furniture has been ordered.  Now we just need to get other projects done so we can officially get started on the nursery.  I'm thinking it will happen early 2014. 

Emotions:  Just getting more and more excited all the time.  I hope I'm doing everything right and hope the things I'm doing wrong aren't going to ruin her little life.  I'm beginning to understand the pressure of being a good mom and it's overwhelming and scary. 

Week in review:

Our loving father agreed to watch all four granddogs while we went up to our grandparent's house.  He gave them each a bone and they were almost gone by the time we left my sister's house. 

And here is where all the shoes collect at my grandma's house.  It's amazing that she's had the same white carpet since they moved in about 18 years ago and it is still spotless despite all of our traffic.  And Kit Kat-eating.  And 14 grandkids and 2 great grandkids. 

My grandma made scalloped cabbage which is my FAVORITE.  I know she kept her pregnant granddaughter in mind while planning the Thanksgiving meal. 

She's laughing because I asked her where the other pan was for everyone else to eat… since that 9x13" dish was just for me.

Rolls!

Green beans picked and canned by my grandmother herself!

I found a heart-shaped potato while peeling twenty-seven pounds lots of potatoes.

Ehren practiced his "father of a daughter" skills and braided my cousin Kacia's hair.  It was entertaining to watch but he actually did a pretty good job.  And Josh is totally judging every cross over.

Yep… still separating the hair into three pieces…..

  
Focused with a furrowed brow and everything. 

Wait, what is this?  Is this my grandmother sitting down on Thanksgiving Day?!  I felt like a National Geographic photographer getting this rare image.

My sister holding my mom.  So sweet.  And do you see how white that carpet is?  

After a couple nights at the Shirley Farm, we headed back for Thanksgiving with our dad.  It started off with biscuits and gravy of course. 

They are totally looking up recipes for Thanksgiving dinner. 

My sister and I made a blueberry pie from scratch as this is our dad's favorite dessert.  Kind of nerve-wracking. 

Katie was in charge of the fine details. 

My dad has always smoked a giant turkey for our big family get togethers.  He's always enjoyed cooking the turkey but he absolutely hates turkey.  He has suggested before to do Calvin Trillin's alternative Thanksgiving dinner idea: spaghetti carbonara.  He says that if Christopher Columbus discovered America then we should have an Italian meal instead of turkey.  My sister and I decided to surprise him with this meal plan.

The week before Thanksgiving when we were all hanging out, dad said "hey, I have an idea, instead of turkey we should do the alt--" and then we abruptly interrupted him saying "no, dad!  We want to try and make a traditional turkey since it's our first Thanksgiving hosting!"  He totally believed us.  He even texted us tips on defrosting a turkey if we bought a frozen one.

So when he came over for Thanksgiving, me, the type A, planner-of-a-daughter said: "So, dad, how do you cook a turkey?"  He looked at me, bewildered, "well, how are you going to cook it?"  I said, shrugging, "I don't know, I haven't thought about that part yet."  His jaw drops.  We wait a second and then say "Just kidding!  We're going to have the alternative Thanksgiving dinner… spaghetti carbonara!"  He was thrilled, surprised, and immediately much more excited about dinner.

The great thing about spaghetti carbonara?  All you do is boil some spaghetti, crisp some bacon, add some wine, mix some eggs with parmesan and pecorino romano, then pour over the hot pasta.  That's it.  It comes together in minutes and way less likely to get screwed up.

The pasta was yummy and the blueberry pie turned out pretty darn well for our first "completely from scratch" pie attempt.  After digesting that giant meal, Ehren and I headed to Meade the next morning with our fur child in tow.  He got so excited that he was going for a ride but he wasn't sure where he was going.  And because of that, it took him until Emporia (an hour and a half away) to finally calm down and lie down in the back seat.

At one point, he rolled down the window when we were going 70mph.  Scared the crap out of us!  Child locks on from now on.

When we were in Meade, we were looking through old pictures.  This may be one of my favorite pictures of Ehren of all time.  I mean, he's in a hotel room, naked, eating McDonald's and holding his a french fry?  I hope our daughter is half as cute as him.

I envision many pictures like this one with Ehren giving the kisses to our daughter.

Ehren's lovely parents before there was an Ehren.  He is truly a product of his parents: looks-wise and personality-wise. 

Benefits of having a doctor in the family and running a small town clinic?  A little doppler session to hear the heartbeat on a Saturday.

Ehren is a man who needs some direction/guidance when it comes to household stuff because sometimes he just doesn't notice things (shower needs to be cleaned, laundry needs switched over, etc). I have no problem with this because if he's asked to do it, he does it.  And he does a damn good job of it.  Like, I was making dinner one time and asked if he would vacuum.  Boy, did he vacuum!  He moved all the furniture out and vacuumed every square inch of the house.  I ask him to clean the shower, because frankly, I don't do showers.  It may have taken him 2 hours to do it, but it was the cleanest shower I've ever seen and if I didn't know we had clear glass shower doors, I would have walked right into them.  I'm a very impatient person and can do things very fast; Ehren is much slower but much more thorough.  I may get frustrated sometimes but when he does a better job than I could ever do, how could I be upset for long?

And you know how people say "you can't change a person"?  I knew I wouldn't be able to change him when I saw this report card from his kindergarten teacher:  

I think I fell more in love with him when I read that note from his teacher.

I end this lengthy Thanksgiving post with this picture of Ava.  This little hot mess is Ehren's parents' dog.  And this picture is a good representation of how I felt after our Thanksgivings that encompassed almost the entire state of Kansas.

Cheers to a long, family-filled, stomach-stuffed weekend.  It does a pregnant lady good.