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.

baby bump: 22 weeks

How far along:  22 weeks.

Size of baby:  Spaghetti squash or papaya.   

Maternity clothes:  All day everyday.  Except when I get home and put on one of Ehren's large shirts. 

Weight gain:  I had a doctor's appointment on Friday and I think I've gained about 10 pounds. 

Stretch marks:  Nope.

Sleep:  I'm a stomach sleeper with my knee hiked up to my chest (so I'm not flat on my stomach) and I'm still able to sleep like that.  However, when I roll over there is a considerable bump to overcome.  It's nice to have a little reminder that I'm smashing my little papaya in the middle of the night.  

Exercise:  What's that?  Work was enough for me this week!

Best moment of the week:  Having a social weekend with friends and family.  We met a large group of friends on The Plaza for dinner Friday night and had a get together at my mom's house for the KU football game Saturday night.  

Movement:  I can now see my stomach move when she kicks!  And I can poke my belly and she kicks back about 5-10" later.  So surreal. 

Cravings:  If I have a hot meal, I'm pretty much a happy camper.  

Gender:  I looked at our sono pics today and she's still a girl!

Belly button in or out:  Out.  It looks like a frog eyelid.   

Wedding ring on or off:  On.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Really just smells.  Oh, and patients clearing large amounts of sputum.  I almost vomited with a patient this week, I had to step out.  I even did the gag/almost puke thing.  Ew. 

What I miss:  Red wine while with friends and family. 

What I am looking forward to:  Thanksgiving!  We will be having 3 separate Thanksgivings and I couldn't be happier about it.  I will try and be pregnant during Thanksgiving with all my pregnancies.  

What I am not looking forward to:  The sadness following the holidays.  I just love them so much. 

Labor signs:  No.

Symptoms:  Nothing out of the ordinary.  

Nursery:  I primed the lovely blood red paint in the nursery since I had a paint roller full of primer.  I'm ready to pick out the final paint color and get to work!

Emotions:  

I may be pregnant but I will always share my popcorn with my little man.  Especially when we're waiting for dad to come home from work.  I seriously don't know what I would do without Cozy during the week.  Most nights Ehren doesn't get home until 7 or so and that makes for a long wait. 

We dog sat for one of my co-workers who has a GSP as well.  His name is Otto and he's just a larger version of Cozy.

We went over to my sister's house for our Saturday morning coffee ritual with our dad.  The boys were holding their pointers… wait that sounds bad.  They were holding their German Shorthairs and point at things saying "you suck!" in funny voices.  It was hilarious.

And then Mr. Bruno discreetly climbed up and around Ehren's shoulders without him noticing and cuddled for a while.  It was precious.

Kong toys full of treats!  A GSP's dream.

Ehren got up and Jake took his spot, so naturally Ehren sat on Jake.

Otto likes to be covered up with his blanket.  As in all the way.

Apparently Otto his a "Honey Bunches of Oats" fan.

Otto fell asleep and he began snoring.  Cozy got very concerned and leaned up against me, tilting his head to the side with every snore like "what the hell is that noise, mom?!"

It was a food, dog, friends, family filled weekend… the best kind!

baby bump: 21 weeks

How far along:  21 weeks.

Size of baby:  Pomegranate.  

Maternity clothes:  I'm not even going to try and put on a regular shirt.  I've officially switched over to Ehren's shirts and sweatpants.  I haven't doubled in size or anything but they definitely make me feel less restricted. 

Weight gain:  I'm just gonna go with yes. 

Stretch marks:  Nope.

Sleep:  Sleeping well but since I've had a slight head cold this week it hasn't been as refreshing as it usually is.  

Exercise:  We painted the hallway upstairs (walls, trim, doors... 6 coats of paint total) and I stood up from the floor and sat down on the floor so many times without using my hands (due to paint brush/roller in hand)  I feel like I did lunges all the way down our block.  It feels so good to be sore!  I can't wait to do some intense (as I can tolerate) exercise post baby. 

Best moment of the week:  Friday night date night at home with Ehren.  We haven't had one since September due to being out of town or having other things going on.  Our ritual is making a carb-loaded dinner together and watching some shows.  We watched Parenthood on Amazon Prime as we're trying to get caught up to this season.  It was a rough week at work and Ehren was incredibly busy (9 appointments this week!) so we needed a chill night with the next day off. 

Movement:  Lots!  I'm now feeling her when I'm standing up and moving around as opposed to sitting and waiting for her to kick.  It's still the weirdest feeling ever. 

Cravings:  I craved pizza Saturday night.. good thing Ehren is always up for pizza!  Or any food for that matter.

Gender:  Umm.. still a girl!

Belly button in or out:  Out.  

Wedding ring on or off:  On.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Let's just say a husband who tailgates all day and then comes home.  Do you catch my whiff drift?  

What I miss:  Being able to just throw on regular clothes.   

What I am looking forward to:  Getting more projects done so we can move onto the nursery.  I nested hardcore and had more energy than I've ever had this weekend.  We got another project checked off, so we're that much closer!

What I am not looking forward to:  Getting bigger in places other than my belly.  I hear it's normal to gain weight all over in pregnancy?  Sarcasm.  

Labor signs:  No.

Symptoms:  Now I'm tired from DIYing all weekend!   

Nursery:  We got the closet doors primed and painted one coat since we had the paint out for the hallway project.  Eeeek!

Emotions:   Energized and ready to get as much as we can get done, done.  I'm enjoying this nesting energy while I have it.  I have so many ideas for the nursery I can't wait until we fully start working on it.  As we approach the holidays, it's crazy to think that this will be our last Thanksgiving/Christmas just the two of us.  It's bittersweet because I enjoy spending the holidays with Ehren and family but next year it will have a whole different meaning.  I'm just trying to make the most of our limited time as a family of two.  Well, three if you count Cozy, which I do. 

Week in review:

Painting the dark doors white!  It brights up our dark, windowless hallway so much. 

Painted the walls a light grey (stoning ton grey by Benjamin Moore) and the trim white (as opposed to off-white).

Cozy thinks DIY is boring.

Ehren got me "thank you for making a human" flowers.  It was a nice surprise. 

Cozy still thinks DIY is boring.

Maybe my inspiration pillow for the nursery?

Trucking right along.  It's getting cold outside so no excuse to slack off on indoor projects!  Can't wait. 

baby bump: 20 weeks

(ORIGINALLY WRITTEN NOVEMBER 10th, 2013)

How far along:  20 weeks.

Size of baby:  Banana.  Not sure how she went from being a mango to a banana but I'll take it. 

Maternity clothes:  Yes.  All the time.. unless I'm in one of Ehren's shirts which are equally amazing. 

Weight gain:  I don't even know where our scale is. 

Stretch marks:  Nope.

Sleep:  Daylight saving affected me more than I thought it would.  It's easier to wake up now which is always a bonus.  

Exercise:  I do what I can. 

Best moment of the week:  FINDING OUT WE'RE HAVING A GIRL!!!  And seeing her perfect, little, healthy body via ultrasound.  This week was the first time we've ever seen her.  It also makes this whole pregnancy thing feel real - literally felt like when she put the ultrasound head on my belly that there wouldn't be anything in there.  Girl Boy was I wrong!

Movement:  It varies but every time I feel her kick, I smile.  It's seriously the coolest feeling ever.   

Cravings:  Still loving soups, especially now that the weather has gotten colder. 

Gender:  Girl.  All girl!  We are so excited!

Belly button in or out:  Still out.  

Wedding ring on or off:  On

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nothing sticks out in my mind this week.  

What I miss:  Hard workouts.  I miss Bikram Yoga and running and feeling exhausted after a work out.  I'm already plotting my workouts post-baby.  

What I am looking forward to:  Obviously being a mom to a little girl.  And definitely watching Ehren be a dad to a daughter.  He's going to be the best dad.  And he's going to be wrapped around her little finger.  

What I am not looking forward to:  Honestly I'm on such a high from finding out the gender and seeing our baby for the first time on ultrasound that I can't think of anything I'm not looking forward to.  It's a good feeling.   

Labor signs:  No.

Symptoms:  Happiness.   

Nursery:  Went shopping this weekend at the outlet stores in Branson.. definitely bought some clothes for our little girl!

Emotions:   Ehren has always wanted a girl and I was hoping for a girl.  I don't want a girl just to dress her up and wear frilly things - I am NOT that kind of girl.  I want a girl because I love the relationship I have with my mom.  I love that we meet for coffee, that we meet at Target to walk around, that I love hanging out with her on a Friday night.  Whenever we're together, I still cuddle with her on the couch like I'm five.  She still tells me stories but now it's stories about what it was like when she was pregnant with me and what I was like as a baby.  

Being pregnant has added a new dimension to our relationship.  When I was complaining about fatigue, she assured me that it would get better in the 2nd trimester.  When I talked about how (in the beginning) I didn't think I wanted to do this after all, that I was completely overwhelmed and emotionally not ready to be pregnant and have a baby, she assured me that she felt the same way in the beginning.  She remembered the up and down emotional roller coaster of the 1st trimester and it calmed my fears and worries.  

It's weird to think that when she was 29, she was pregnant with me, just like I'm 29 and pregnant with my first daughter.  It's crazy how life comes full circle and repeats itself.  I feel like whenever we have our little girl, I will, for the first time, understand how much my mom loves me. 

Week in Review:

We told family in town by wearing this pink bow under a jacket and opening the jacket to reveal the gender.  Of course we got it on film.  It was hilarious.  When my mom found out she is a she, she said, "okay, now I'm going to get really stupid".  When my dad found out he said, "that was my other guess!".  

To make it Facebook official, I put this picture up.  Ehren wore pink on pink to work the next day.  Ehren has always wanted a girl.  And so has Cozy.

Could that profile be any cuter?

Hello, lady parts!

Cuddle time on mom's belly.

Cuddle time on dad's lap.

We went to Springfield to visit some very good friends of ours.  Strangely, this is the only picture I took.  Cozy would make a good babysitter, right?  Free daycare for us... SCORE!

I look forward to this tree changing every year in the Fall right behind this old basketball goal.  And my favorite part?  It always coincides with the start of Kansas basketball.

Rock chalk, baby.