35 Weeks and Counting

How far along? 35 weeks as of yesterday, so only 34 days until my due date!
Maternity clothes? Most of the time, but I still mix it up with my regular old t-shirts :0)
Stretch Marks? Keep knocking on wood, no new ones as of today!
Miss Anything? A frozen Margarita has been calling my name...and not to whine, but it would be nice to not have to use the restroom every hour! Oh, and not having heartburn every day would be nice.
Movement: A lot still, she moves a few times an hour it seems. Following after her big sister as active one!
Food cravings: Cheese, milk, fruit
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Gender: Girl :)
Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks contractions, and I found out at my last doctor appointment that she's head down!
Symptoms: varicose veins, heartburn, moving slower than before.
Belly Button in or out? In, it is getting a tad bit flatter.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Mood: Much better since the cool down we've had in the weather! I had no idea how much the heat was effecting my mood, ambition, and I had a lot more contractions when it was hot.
Looking forward to: Enjoying the rest of summer break with my family and friends. Oh, and seeing the rest of our family/3 year old/ maternity photos!

Mommy Times

Reader Beware! I couldn't help but share my daughter's skills, I am not trying to brag, I really am super proud of her.

Grace has loved puzzles since she got one for her first birthday (thanks Aunt Jessica!) Well, almost 2 years later, our little puzzle lover has advanced to the 60 piece puzzle range. Tonight she finished a 60 piece puzzle mainly by herself. (I guided her a tiny bit to help ease frustration, but she put all of the pieces in herself!) Here is our little logic-lover-glorified-goof-ball, with her beloved puzzle.

By the way--thanks to our neighbors for giving her the puzzle!

Here is also a picture of me...33 weeks pregnant with baby girl #2

I give my compliments to Mike's t-shirt.

Night y'all!

Adventures in Camping

Last weekend we ventured on our first camping trip, in a tent, as a family. We went to Claybanks to join Mike's familys' annual camping weekend. We ended up buying a new tent, which we love! It is very spacious and the kiddos camping with us had fun using it as a "bounce house." The best part was having Mike's cousins come over to help us set it up, since we weren't quite sure what we were doing. I skirted out of there and got to watch the set up from a distance, while munching on yummy corn salad :) Needless to say, we were on our own for taking it down, but we did well!

Gracie really enjoyed getting to play in the "Big Lake" (Lake Michigan :) and had a blast playing with her cousins.

Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves so much, that we are thinking about going camping more in the summers to come. Mike has already started looking up different cooking tools he could buy to be a successful griller outdoors!

I wish we would have remembered to get a family shot :( But Mike and I were there too!)



 

31 Weeks :)

How far along? 31 Weeks today, I will be 8 months next week.

Maternity clothes? Yes, and I just bought some new maternity shorts from Old Navy on-line and I love them! (I had only one other pair before, and they were second hand when I had Grace...so it was time for something new!)
Stretch Marks? Keep crossing your fingers and toes! My old ones are still there, but no new ones!! I have a slow weight gain to thank for this, Pure Romance's Stretch Mark oil, and I just purchased a Shey Butter lotion that is also supposed to prevent stretch marks, so we'll see!
Miss Anything? I miss being as active with Grace as I was. It's harder for me to squat down on her level, so I'm usually sitting or standing, and sitting on the floor with her hurts my stomach sometimes too. I'm not sure what the beginning of the school year will look like, since I'm always on the floor working with my students!
Movement: All...of...the...time. The doctor gave me a chart to track her movement a few times a day, and I asked, "how much movement are you looking for?" She explained around 10 movements a day. I laughed because she moves about 10 times every hour!
Grace was a mover too, and she is still a very active little girl (she rolled over at 1 month!) SO...I'm wondering if this new little pearl will follow in her big sissy's footsteps.
Food cravings: Anything that DOESN'T give me heartburn. And actually, a BLT sounded wonderful the other day, so my talented husband whipped us up some this afternoon, and they were delightful :).
Anything making you queasy or sick: Smoke
Gender: Girl :)
Labor Signs: I've had mild cramping, but my doctor said that it's common right now because of the heat. By the way, today's rain and cool down was AWESOME! Being pregnant during a heat wave/drought sucks, one thing that I'm looking forward to when we get back to work is the air conditioning!
Symptoms: More varicose veins :( , heartburn, and cramping, but my doctor says that I have no problems with my overall health, and that it's not very common in their practice, so I'm considering myself lucky!
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Mood: Anxious, I'd like to have the girl's rooms done, and a bunch of other projects done around the house...but I am moving slower: the heat, my classwork, my work work...the rooms will get done, and I will look for motivation to finish the other house projects once my class is over.
Looking forward to: My grad class ending. However, that means I need to get to work on my projects...but after this class I have one more, and then I can apply for my professional certificate!

Triez. House Update

This is the first pregnancy photo of me with Baby Girl #2. I am 27 weeks and just transitioning into the 3rd trimester. I have been slightly more uncomfortabe recently, but nothing out of the ordinary. We are really looking forward to getting the guest bedroom set up for Gracie's "big girl" room, and then I will be able to organize Baby Girl's room for her. This switching of rooms is going to really make me realize that I have another kid coming shortly!

In other news, this little guy has been a life saver! Grace started potty training last week (we had a rough start), but has really gotten into it in the last few days. She's already going by herself, without any help! I am thanking this frog potty from Meijer $12.99 that she picked out herself. (She also really liked it because one of her best buddies also has this potty!) Needless to say, I never knew how proud I would be over my almost 3 year old independently using the potty chair. Our next adventure in going potty is going to be using the toilet when we're not at home, and staying dry through the night!

My life outside of motherhood (yes, I know this isn't really possible once you have children...but this section is just for me!) has really calmed down since summer started. I finished my spring grad class (4.0 baby, yeah!), and I start my summer sememster class on Monday (boo!). Mike and I will be celebrating our 4th anniversary on the 28th, and we are looking forward to using some free movie passes, going out to dinner (without a toddler), and maybe doing a little shopping...yes we have a nice little Thursday planned :). I have also been blessed by getting to spend some quality time with some of my favorite girls, Bethanie and I went to see What to Expect When You're Expecting (it's a must see! HIlarious!) and tomorrow Erin, Bethanie, and I are going out to Shot's to celebrate another great friend of ours birthday.

Last, but not least I will be spoiling myself for the first time in a while tomorrow...I have my first pregancy massage scheduled, and I can't wait! 

It's a Girl!

Many of you already know that we found out that Baby T #2 is a girl! We are very excited to have another sugar and spice and everything nice little one. I have not shared much about my pregnancy in a while, so here it goes...enjoy!

How far along? 26 weeks on Thursday, I will be in the third trimester very soon!
Maternity clothes? Mainly, they are generally more comfortable, but I still have a few non-maternity tops that I wear sometimes.
Stretch Marks? Knock on wood for me, but no new ones yet!
Miss Anything? My legs. I have developed varicose veins...I was hoping that I had skated by this dreaded part of pregnancy since I didn't have any with Grace, but I have one large one on my left leg, and two smaller ones there as well. The large one hurts at times, but I am doing my best to keep them elevated, and my doctor recommended vitamin E.
Movement: Lots! She is kicking me as I type this. It has been fun to have Mike, Erin, and Bethanie be able to feel her, Grace has not actually felt it yet...but she thinks she has!
Food cravings: Not really any cravings, I guess anything that won't give me heartburn.
Anything making you queasy or sick: No
Gender: Girl :)
Labor Signs: Too early.
Symptoms: Rounding ligaments, varicose veins, heartburn, and just moving a little slower than before.
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Mood: Much better since our summer break started!
Looking forward to: Getting Gracie's big girl room ready for her to move in, so we can organize the nursery for Baby T #2. We are also going to the Trufant flea market on Thursday, so I am looking forward to finding some great steals!

Summer is Here!

Up North

Yesterday, we headed "up north" to my parents cabin at Higgin's Lake. Here is a picture of this gorgeous lake:




I have been going to Higgin's since before I can remember, and I am so excited to start making memories there with my own family!

Some highlights from our overnight stay include:
an exceptionally fast drive time on the way there, Grace singing a song that she "wrote" herself. It goes a little something like this: I can do it! I can do it! I can do it! With each verse she would venture further into the water. Grace making friends with some distant cousins. Finding all kinds of gorgeous rocks, fossils, shells, and some yucky bugs! Having a date night with Mike while Grace stayed at the cabin with Grammy and Poppa. (By the way Coyle's is the bomb!)


A late night walk down the "two track" streets of the inland cabins with the family. Grace sleeping in until 9 AM, and my first night of more than 7 hours of sleep since the school year started! Drinking yummy coffee with the family with the sound of the waves in the background. Going on a morning walk with Mike and Grace, skipping stones, and watching Mike skip stones as good as Erin. Yes Erin, he skipped several 5 or 6 times! Watching Grace get to know her grammy and poppa better, and the feeling of overall relaxation that can only come from a day at the beach  and being "up north."