22 weeks!

22 weeksSymptoms:  No major changes in symptoms.  We went to Florida for a week and every night while there I had hip pain while sleeping and had to shift around a lot and didn't sleep too good, so I thought that was going to be the start of a pregancy issue os sore hips this time around, but last night in my own bed I slept great and no hip pain at all!  Must have just been the change with the firmer mattresses I slept on while away.   Feeling pretty good!

Weight Gain:  At my 20 week appt I was 145lbs so at the half way point I gained a total of 5 pounds from my start weight.  My Dr. said I am doing good as far as weight and the baby is growing and measuring normal.  Within the last 2 weeks though I have gained 4 additional pounds so some of that may be baby related or may have to do with the large meals and all the snack foods I ate over the holidays.  Everyone always wanted me to eat a ton the food while visiting family since I am eating for two and I'm not one to turn down lots of yummy food...lol.

Gender:  I am excited for another boy!  I really want to see him better so John and I are thinking of getting a 3D ultrasound at 30 weeks to see his face better.  We did that with Cory and got some good photos in the womb.  I can't wait to get the room ready, painted, and organized...just have to find the time and maybe send Cory to my parents house one weekend since he likes to "help" mommy by un-do-ing all I have just cleaned up.  It was fun looking back through my newborn clothes and showing Cory what he used to wear and what he came home wearing when he first came home from the hospital.  Another nice thing about having a boy is I wouldn't have to spend any money on stuff since I have everything needed!  It is nice to not have to worry about a registry this time around....the only thing I bought was a new bedding set from Land of Nod to go with his room colors and will be selling Cory's jungle set after he outgrows his crib. 

Movement:  None :(  I was dissapointed in a way to find out I may not feel movement for maybe another 6 or 8 weeks due to the position of my placenta.  The norm is a posterior placenta but sometimes they will implant anterior to the baby which puts the placenta in between the baby and your stomach so you may not feel movement until baby gets bigger and more power to his punches and kicks.  It is always so re-assuring to feel those movements, but I will just look forward to feeling them later on. 

Our Big Weekend!

So this past weekend was packed full but was a lot of fun.  Started out Friday morning at 8am getting our gender ultrasound.  I was anxious and just wanted to know either way so I could organize the nursery before my belly gets big and harder to bend down and lift things.  Of course I have always thought one of each would be neat to see what mixtures John and I would make from both genders and to have the experience of both but in a way I was thinking it was a boy all along and had prepared myself for another boy and was imagining how much fun Cory would have with a brother!  They would be close in age and could be like best buds growing up and play partners.  I could just see me with 2 boys.  We got to see baby Cameron in 3D and his face looked like Cory's did in the womb...chubby cheeks and he was sucking his thumb which was so cute. 

I have gone back and forth with having 2 or 3 kiddos.  It's always the tougher days when I think people must be crazy to have more than 2 and I want to rule out the possibility but then the majority of the good days I think how fun would it be to have a little bit of a larger family than I had and to have 3 kids.  John has always leaned towards only 2 and after finding out the ultrasound gender he surprised me by saying "well guess that means we will try again", because he still knows I would like a girl as well in the mix.  I have been the one to lean more towards 3 and of course there would be no guarantee for a girl next time but I think how fun would it be to have 2 boys close in age then wait several years and have a little girl who would be protected by her 2 older brothers.   I could still even see myself with 3 boys but then I think that would be God's way of telling me we need to stop there because 3 boys would be tons of fun but a handful and I couldnt even fathom 4 boys so I know 3 would be my limit :)    But before I get ahead of myself we will see how things go with 2 and then decide in a couple years when I get baby fever again! 

Friday afternoon Cory and I went over to my sisters house and we had a cookie baking day!  We made all kinds of cookies....sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies, browines, etc and decorated some of them to give to neigbors, friends and to take to the Christmas party's.  That day I also cleaned out Cory's room and prepared a little reading/sitting/play nook in a corner of his room that I think turned out cute.

Friday night was our church's adult Christmas party and that was a lot of fun for John and I!  My parents didn't go so Cory actually went to their house and had a slumber party and he had a great time there.   Then Saturday John and I prepared for our family Christmas/Gender reveal party at our house that evening.  We made a gender cake with blue icing in the middle for the family to cut into and finished wrapping presents and cleaning.  That evening was fun to see my parents reaction to the gender and they were both excited and my Mom is looking forward to adding another boy in the family since on her side it was always all girls and no boys!  Opening presents was so fun to see how excited the kids got with their gifts and Cory loved all of his and could open them all by himself and his reactions were priceless.  And he was so well-mannered, he always said thank you after opening his gifts without me telling him to say it, which made me smile.  He got a big train set and LOVED it.....when he saw it he ran to it with the biggest grin and started playing right away and has played with it a ton so far.

  The cake:

 Our snack area before we put all the food out:

 Cory playing with the balloon

Cory's excited for a boy!

 

 Or is he???  Haha no more pics Mom!

 Jen and Ken

 My Mom and Dad and Clay cutting the cake

 Yay for another Boy! 

 Passing out presents!

 Cory opening his gifts

 Car wheelie ramp!

Clay loved his Leapster Explorer!

 Kayla loved her cookset!

 Cory loved his train set!

Sunday was the kids Christmas party with my Church and picture with Santa.  Cory was so tired from the day before that he actually slept through part of it and was sleeping when it was his turn to see Santa (my Dad) so we put him in his lap anyway half asleep and he had the most confused look on his face but just sat there for a minute for a picture and we picked him back up.  We also got some good news over the weekend that we got aproved for the re-financing on our house that we applied for which we are switching from a 30 year loan down to a 15 year loan that would save us $75,000 in interest in the long run with the lower 2.75% interest rate so that was exciting to us.  Also the appraisal report showed our house appraised for $30,000 over what we bought it for 2 years ago so it is nice to see that the market is picking up now!  We do plan on staying in the house for 10 or maybe more years unless we outgrow it with more kiddos and need a 4th bedroom or when the kids get older it would be super nice to have a finished basement, but we are content where we are and the school sytems are great in Oldham County for the kids.  Sunday we went on and let the pups open their stockings early and Cory will get his after Christmas and Florida trip.  The puppies loved their doggie toys!

The pups stockings:

 Lucky playing

 Nick playing

 Cory sleeping before sitting in Santa's lap.

When we sat him in Santa's lap he wasn't sure what was going on



 I want my Daddy!

I am looking forward to our Florida trip and we leave Friday morning for a week.  I just hope Cory will do well on the drive since we chose to drive but the nice thing is we are breaking it up to 6 hours to Alabama and staying the night with my Grandparents, then drive the rest of the way to Pensacola the next morning and will break up the trip like that on the way back as well.  Hoping all will go smoothly and I will need to get busy packing and preparing for that this week.   Have a very Merry Christmas!!

Can't wait for Friday!

We find out Friday what the baby's gender is and I can't hardly wait for the next few days to go by!  Last pregnancy I didn't have that long of a wait because we paid to do a 3D ultrasound at 16 weeks along so I knew early on but these last 4 weeks have seemed sooo long having to wait until 20 weeks.  I finally got the baby's room cleaned out at least so it is ready to start preparing.  I have been a total house cleaning slacker the last couple weeks so I finally got my act together and got lots of needed cleaning done over the weekend.  I would have maybe thought stay at home Mom's would have more time to clean and keep a cleaner house but I really feel the house stays so messy from being home all day and toys are the biggest challenge so if I spent all day picking everything up I would have no quality time with Cory which is the reason I am staying home in the first place so we just play and I try to clean in the evenings.  Cory did help me yesterday fill up 2 big boxes of stuff to donate to goodwill. 

We went to Light Up LaGrange on Friday night and that was a lot more fun for Cory this year since he loves all the lights and was just excited about the train ride and seeing Santa Claus.  Friday morning Cory and Kayla went to storytime at the library and Cory moved up to the bigger kid class so they have a craft they do at every class and fun activities so that is lots of fun for us all!  Saturday just had a lazy day at the house and Sunday I went to an ornament exchange party with the ladies from church and had a great time.  Here I am at 19 weeks...can't believe almost half way!  I know there's nothing much showing yet but this is how I was with Cory as well.  Once it pops out more though you will notice a difference each week. 

 

I wanted to do the Elf on the Shelf this year for Cory so I started it with him.  Just the actual elf I never thought was all that cute (just in my personal opinion) so I found this on amazon and it is the same thing with a different story and a cuter elf.  At first I just thought it was just a knock off and I wanted the actual one but after reading through all of the many positive reviews, it sounded just as good and I was just drawn to the cute little elf so here is what we are doing.  Christopher Pop-In-Kins.  I read Cory the book earlier this month and now every day I hide the elf somewhere super easy and ask him to find it in the mornings. He enjoys looking for it but next year when he understands even more I will do some silly tricks with the elf and see what mischief around the house the little elf can get into.  :)

 

 

Baby's name!

So John and I have come up with the name and it will be the same regardless boy or girl just the spelling will be different.  We still have to come up with a middle name but will probably wait until next week when we find out whether boy or girl. 

If it's a boy, it will be Cameron and we may call him "Cam" for short. 
If it's a girl, it will be Camryn and we may call her "Cami" for short. 

We may not use the shorter nickname version of the names but if we do that is what they would be. 
Can't wait for next Friday at 8am to find out!

18 Weeks!

18 Weeks

Syptoms:  This week I haven't had any new or unusual pregnancy symptoms.  I haven't really been too hungry lately but I think it is because I have been taking care of sick boys and that kinda made me lose my appetite!  But I have been craving some Rafferty's chicken fingers!

Weight Gain:  According to my scale at home, I have lost a little from what I was at the doctors but based on my at home scale I have gained 3 pounds from my pre pregnancy weight.  This is the exact same as last pregnancy which is a little surprising to me because I thought I would pack on the pounds much earlier this time around, but as long as the baby's healthy I can't complain! 

Gender:  Still unknown but we find out in 12 more days!  Woo hoo this is more exciting than Christmas at the moment.  The signs all lead me to believe it's a boy so if it is a girl I would be very shocked but excited for either.  Only difference was Cory's heartbeat was always low 140's and this one has been steady in the 150's each time.  I know that whatever it is, it will be what we are meant to have!  Everyone always assumes I must want a girl this time around but reality is when you meet and get to know your baby boy or girl, what you thought you wanted goes out the window and you can't imagine your life without the child God blessed you with!  That's why before Cory came along I would have said to anyone I leaned toward a girl but now I think I may lean towards boy...lol... but if it is a girl, after she arrives I wouldn't be able to imagine life without her so it really doesn't matter!  Either way it is a blessing and I can't wait to know so I can prep the baby's room!  It would be neat to see what a girl mixture of John and I are since I can't imagine other boy mixtures other than another baby exactly like Cory ;)

Movement:  Nothing!  I want to feel some movement!  I have had some rumbles in my stomach but I never know if it is the baby or just my stomach churning.  I can't wait to feel the movement and kicks!  I didn't feel Cory move until closer to 20 weeks though so may be a couple more weeks!

Before and Beyond Thanksgiving!

I am just going to do a bit of updating with some recent pics of what we have been up to. Before the weather turned so cold, Cory, his cousins and friends went on a hike at a nature preserve.  Cory loved it and that was his first hike in the woods other than romping around in our backyard woods.   He was the smallest one there but kept up with the bigger kids!

 

 

Below is Cory and his friend Avery coloring a pretty picture at the art desk!

 

My little dinosaur wanted to wear his costume for several weeks after Halloween was over :)

 

 

Cory in his new monster hat and mittens...getting ready for the colder weather.

 

Just me, Cory and Nick!

 

The days when I vacuum out the couch turn into "make a fort" day for the boys which is so fun for Cory!

 

 

My first pinterest project I did.... sunburst mirror made out of posterboard.

 

Cory now loves to wear Mommy's big boots around the house which always cracks me up!

 

 

Here is our Christmas tree all decorated

 

 

Cheese!

 

 

Me and Nick in our reindeer ears :)

 

 

Cory's stocking is up...still have to put up Nick and Lucky's since John and I don't put one up for us. 

 

 

Cory LOVED decorating the tree this year!  He was so into it and just adores the Christmas tree....he wakes up every morning and that is the first thing he wants to look at and his eyes light up with a big grin on his face so it is really cute to see through his eyes! 

 

 

My latest photo at 17 weeks along!  So excited to find out the gender in just over 2 more weeks! 

 

 

We had a great Thanksgiving over at my sister's house with my parents and Ken's (my brother in laws) parents and the kids.  I didn't get any photos but there was lots of yummy food and we had a great time!  The weekend was lots of fun too and John took me out on a date night for my birthday and we watched Breaking Dawn part 2 in theater and I loved it!  My Mom and sister also took me out for a girls night to Rafferty's and to hang out while my Dad "Pap Pap" was the babysitter :)  John is out of town now for the week but he hasn't had to stay over night for a while now which has been nice.  He left Monday and he could have commuted but it was a 3 hour drive one way so we thought it would be best if he just stayed over the week but the good thing is he will be back Thursday evening because he always get Fri, Sat, Sun off during the week which has been great for all of us!  Turning 30 wasn't bad at all.  I guess I always thought that was so old when I was younger but I still feel like a kid somedays and Cory keeps me young so I don't feel any different to be out of my 20's.  :) 

16 weeks!

Week 16: These weeks are flying by without major change in my symptoms or my belly size so every 2 weeks is all I will probably keep up with.  Last Friday I had my 16 week appointment and heard the heartbeat again which was in the 150's still.  This will be the last belly shot because I'm pretty sure next time at 18 weeks you will be able to see my belly pooch out in my clothes.  It may just look like I had 1 too many twinkies though rather than a baby ;)

Syptoms: No symptoms hardly.  So far this pregnancy has been good to me!  Sleeping great and feeling great...only thing is my bladder gets full fast to where i have to pee a lot but that is normal.  Also when I run (which I have only been running about twice a week now) it feels like there is pressure on my bladder which is a little uncomfortable but I want to stay somewhat active so I will keep running until I get too big. 

Weight Gain:  At the doctor this time I was 3 pounds over what my start weight was.  I don't attribute this to the baby but this is the result of how much we have been eating out in a short span of time.  With veteran's day and so many places giving free meals, we ate free at Applebee's, Ponderosa all you can eat buffet, and Red Robin all in that weekend...lol.  Then my parents took us out to Cracker Barrel shortly after and our friends from church Terra and Victor took us out to El Nopal and my Mom and Dad took me out when John was out of town to El Alcupulco where I ate the whole plate of chicken chimichangas!  Makes me feel stuffed just thinking about it!  Now with my birthday on Wed, Thanksgiving on Thurs, and Christmas around the corner, there will be lots and lots of food so my belly may expand more than it should...lol.

 Gender: Still unknown until Dec 14th.  I thought it would be fun to have a small gender reveal party with the fam and make them wait to find out until they come over to my house that evening and I was going to make a cake and put with blue or pink icing in the center.  My Mom keeps telling me she wouldn't be able to stand the wait but I think it would make it more exciting than just telling my parents over the phone while they are at work.  My appt is 8:30am so I will see if I am even able to resist sharing right away. 

Movement: Still nothing yet but now that I am getting closer to 18 weeks I think it will happen soon so I am excited!  

My 4 boys!

All of my 4 boys! Aren't they cute!

14 weeks!

I haven't really been posting much about the pregnancy because often times I feel there not much to post so far about it but I did want to start maybe doing a little weekly post with pic to show my growth and just any new things from the week.  Here is my current pic taken today at 14 weeks.  Sorry for the belly shot, just didn't think it did the little bump any justice with my shirt down and here you can at least see that a little bump is forming. 

Week 14:  I am measuring a couple days ahead at the doctor but they left my due date May 5th since it wasn't much off.  So far this pregnancy has been easy and no major symptoms so sometimes I may even forget or not think about the fact that I am pregnant.  I am staying busy with Cory and always taking care of him that the time is going quicker so far.  Last pregnancy I was obsessed with reading all the week by week books and knowing exactly what was going on and this one I was going to but haven't opened a book yet so I have a lot of catching up to do.  Not that I am not as excited or concerned with this one but I guess I just kind of have gotten lazy in that area this time around or something.  Last time I knew always what week I was in and usually even what day but now when asked what week I am on I sometimes forget if it is 13 or 14 or what week it is.  But I do want to be more aware and keep up with this one and fill out my pregnancy journal and not let myself get lazy in the future with taking pics and keepsakes for the new baby.  I think Cory had 1,000 photos by the time he was like 3 months old so I don't want to be one to not capture the same specials memories for my next. 

Syptoms:  The only symptom I have had was slight nausea in the first trimester.  Never to the point of having to run to the bathroom to relieve it, I could always control it eating small meals throughout the day.  Now that I am out of the first trimester I think I am in the clear because I have felt great for a week or so without any nausea.  No trouble sleeping, no other issues. 

Weight Gain:  I am actually about 3 pounds less than when I first found out I was pregnant.  Maybe the excersize and half marathon had something to do with that because I am eating a ton!  I am still wearing all my same clothes but today I did pull out my maternity box because I am excited for when I do start showing and get a "new" wardrobe.  I did wear a maternity top today, not because I needed to but because I wanted to :)

Gender:  Unknown at this point.  I find out at 20weeks, my appointment is Dec 14th and I can't wait!  John thinks girl, I think it will be a boy because everything has been exact same this pregnancy so far with syptoms and all and the heartbeat has been 150's. 

Movement:  None yet but this is something I am so excited for and I think will make the pregnancy so much more real when I feel the little flutters and kicks! 

October in a nutshell!

I was going to do a couple different post but thought I'd just do one to wrap up our month in October.  This month flew by as did the last months.  Seems like time doesn't slow down any but just keeps moving along and before ya know another year has past.  I am excited about my New Year's Resolutions already for next year and have kinda started early on them which I will get to in another post :).  I am already looking forward to Christmas and am pretty much finished shopping since I shop early when things go on great deals throughout the year and keep them stored in a gift closet.  Just have to still get my Dad, and hubby.  I think the best gift I could give my hubby would be organizing his closet which I have thrown some junk in and it is just looking cluttered and full.  I think I may just surprise him with a closet make-over sometime in Dec and have everything organized, little stuff labeled and maybe add in a couple new work shirts as well to have something new as an early Christmas surprise.   I am most excited for Cory to see his big train set for Christmas...here's a pic...even I would like to play with it!  He got other stuff as well but this is the gift I am most anxious to see him open..not sure yet if it will be from Santa or us. It comes with all the cute assessories.

October was such beautiful weather most of the month so it was filled with lots of outdoor play, going to parks and playing in the leaves, & playing at the playground!  I usually don't bring my camera to the park but this time I did and got some cute shots of Cory and BFF Avery who comes over to play twice a week. 

 

 

Cory painted his first pumpkin and I carved my first one and scraped it out (John usually does that but I wanted to try).
I want to make it a yearly tradition  because Cory loved it!  I don't know why but I was a little grossed out by scraping out the inside...lol. But it was fun!  Cory just watched me do the scraping and carving but at the end he gave it several good stabs of his own.



 

 

 

 

 

 

After we painted I got Cory to put his handprint on paper and I would like to do this each year as well to see his hands grow.  I have a newborn, 1 yr and now 2 yr.  I may put them in a scrapbook or something.  Lastly is just a pic of Nick my dog...such a sweet boy!

 

 

October we also had my Grandparents from Alabama come in town to visit, which I failed to get any photos except on my phone and we had the Indianapolis marathon two weekends ago, which I decided since I hadn't trained as much as I would have liked, I just did the half so it won't count for me in our big goal but I plan to return next year and John can cheer me on :)