24 Weeks

I went to my 24 week appt this week. Lil Bitsy is doing well and she looks good according to the ultrasound report. They didn't discover anything wrong with her kidneys or urine collecting system either! Yay! They did say however, that my placenta was a little low. I don't have placenta previa at this point but they will need to do another ultrasound in six weeks to make sure it has moved out of the way. And they felt like it probably would move. My blood pressure was great at 110/60 and I don't know what my weight was (I do NOT look at the scale while prego) but the doc said, "Your weight is good". And that is good enough for me. I figure they'll tell me if I'm gaining too much...no need for me to stress over the numbers.

With Boo, I had some groin pain that cropped up at about 6 months that made excercising and sometimes walking quite painful. I've been experiencing that groin pain at a very low level off and on already throughout the pregnancy, but it was accompanied by some pretty intense SI (sacroiliac) joint pain earlier this week. In fact, I was standing and put my foot up on the coffee table to stretch, and got stuck! B-man had to come over and help me down. I'm happy to report that it is much better now, but still comes and goes. It's all related to my pelvis shifting on that side. Lovely! :)

So, I thought I'd join the senior ladies at the gym yesterday for water aerobics to give my joints a break from weightbearing exercise, but they were acid washing the whirlpool at the gym and suggested I not go in the pool area b/c of the chemicals. So, maybe next week.

We still haven't decided on Miss Bit's name. We've decided to try each of them out for a couple of days and see if that helps us decide. Let me also just add that Lil Bit is very active. She's a fiesty one for sure!

So, that's the report! Here is my 24 week photo. The books say my uterus is about the size of a soccer ball right now. And I'd say that's exactly how I feel...like I have a soccer ball rolling around in my belly.

Date Afternoon!

We usually go out to eat after church on Sundays. While Brian was on TDY, after church I would ask Boo if he wanted to go on a date with Mama and he would say, "Okaaaaaaaaay"! And go on to say, "I go date with Mama" the rest of the afternoon, even after the date was technically over. Anyway, I had a coupon for a $1.50 slice of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory (yeah, can you believe $1.50???) that was good for today only. And since we had to pay rent in that part of town, I asked Boo to go on another date with Mama. Again, his reply was "Okaaaaaaaay!"

So, we enjoyed a HUGE ole piece of Reese's peanut butter cup cheesecake. The layers went something like...a peanut butter frosting, caramel, chocolate cake, and cheesecake with reese's in it. And there were about 3 layers of each. It was yummy!

Sitting like a big boy in the booth all by himself!

I've never had a date play trains at the table before.
I'm pretty sure that won't stop me from going on more dates with this handsome guy.

Yumm-o!
Do you see his finger in the photo?
He was reaching out to touch the cheesecake and was saying,
"I want that one please!"

It was good and huge. I mean, we could have shared with all of you too!
It was a great little date and you can't be the price of $1.50!

Storytime and lunch with Dad!

We're super happy to report that B-man is home! He got to come home a couple of days early from his TDY trip and we couldn't be happier! I know one little boy who was especially happy to see his Daddy! And now, we can really get to work on a name for Miss Bit!

Friday morning Boo and I went to storytime at a bookstore downtown called The Twig. It was our first time there and we got a special treat. They had a child entertainer performing...singing songs and reading books. Turns out, the entertainer was at one of Boo's friends Z's birthday party back in the Spring. So, this was our 2nd time seeing him. Boo loved it and was a bit scared all at the same time. He sat there so enthralled with the music and stories...in my lap, of course. He wouldn't move...at all. I tried to move his arms to the motions and he wouldn't budge! Here are a few pics.

I cracked up when I saw this picture, b/c I was trying to take it myself of just Boo.
Look at how hard I'm concentrating. ;)


Take two :)

Mr J singing and reading!

I absolutely had to stand up after sitting on that concrete floor with a 30+ pound Boo in my lap for over 30 minutes. So, I took my chance during "If you're happy and you know it".
As you can see, Boo was participating in "if you're happy and you know it, don't make a move!"
I really do think he enjoyed it, but he was so enthralled, he couldn't do a thing.


After storytime, we picked up Daddy for lunch!

My two favorite guys!

Aren't they cute in their camou pants?

Our sweet Boo!

Giveaway!

Hi y'all!
I just wanted to share info about a giveaway for a free Miracle Blanket over at Loving My Life!
We used the SwaddleMe wrap with Lil Boo and it helped tremendously when it came to sleeping. That being said, he did figure out how to get his arms out and would wake himself up often. I heard about the miracle blanket from some friends who LOVE it and am eager to try it on Lil Bit. Anything to keep those arms in the swaddle and keep baby and mama sleeping at night:)

Summer Fun

B-man is still out of town, so Boo and I are trying to keep busy and cool. It's definitely not as hot as it was last summer, but when it's hot...it's hot!

He graduated from parent/tot swim lessons on Thursday.
It was a 2 week class and he finally blew bubbles on the very last day.

He also learned to hold on to the side of the pool and crawl down the side and he did really good lying on his back, which was a total surprise to me.
The thing we really need to work on is closing his mouth! He's terrible at it...haha. In fact, the closer his mouth gets to the water, the wider he opens it. :)

We headed over to a friends house for a backyard playdate.
She had her baby pools out to help them cool off from the heat.



I said, "Boo, say CHEESE...".
And, well, he did! :)



We went to the end of the year Moms Club Party at the Park.
Boo with a couple of his playgroup buddies.

Getting this big rock at the park.

Since I'm the photographer of the fam, I hardly ever get in any photos with Boo.

And if I do, I usually hate them. BUT, my friend T took the camera from me at the park and got these awesome shots of me and Boo!

Giving me a kiss.
He "gives kisses" by bowing his head so that you can kiss him :)

And a big squeeze!

We topped off the week with pizza night. Most of you know we usually have pizza on Friday night. Since B-man was out of town and usually at least a few of the hubbies from our playgroup buddies are out of town or are working late for one reason or another, Boo and I hosted pizza night at our house.
We had three other Moms and their kiddos come over last night for some pizza and playtime.
Boo had so much fun...he's still asleep at 7:30 this a.m.! Hallelujer!

Have a good weekend!

Oh Sister...

...I'm in trouble!!

I couldn't resist this cuteness this morning at Kohl's!

And although this purchase wasn't totally premeditated (meaning I didn't go to Kohl's to buy Lil Bitsy and outfit), I did have enough forethought to sit down before I left the house to make a little card to carry in my purse that reads...

Nov-Feb (0-3 mos)
Feb-May (3-6 mos)
May-Aug (6-9 mos)
Aug-Nov (9-12 mos)

You know, just in case there were some summer clothes on sale, I'd know what size to buy!

Like I said, "Ooooohhhh sister...I'm in trouble"!!! ;)

Think

PINK!

This is a profile pic of our Lil Bitsy! Looks like she's a girl! She was very shy about allowing us to see that she was a girl. She had her feet right in the way. But, after some prodding and rolling around, the u/s tech upgraded her "I think it's a girl" to a "yeah, it's a girl" to the final assessment of "yeah, I'm pretty certain it's a girl". So, that's what I'm going with. I think she was pretty confident in the end. I must admit that from the view we were looking at, I couldn't tell a thing...except that I didn't see any boy parts. ;)

Anyway, we're super excited and from what I could tell, she's doing well. I saw the 4 chambers of her heart and they were beating beautifully. She has 2 arms, legs, hands, and feet. She has a nice spine and a cute stomach...all where they're supposed to be. I won't get the full report until my OB appt on the 27th, but I'm happy with what I saw.

I was feeling very nervous this morning as it was sinking in that B-man wasn't going to be there with me. I was so tense on the table at first, but then I said a little prayer to help myself let all my anxiety go and it worked. I was relaxed throughout the rest of the exam.

It was a bit of a roller coaster trying to get everyone notified. Brian missed my phone call by minutes as his connecting flight took off from Dallas and BeBe was making her way back from Europe today and arrived this evening. So, now we can put it out in the open! Whew!!

I'm still kind of in shock... a girl! I feel very blessed to be a Mama to a boy AND a girl! Now, I just need to figure out how to fix little girl's hair! lol!


We haven't decided on a name yet. We have a working list though, so it won't be long now.

Hugs to you all!

Boo's New Room

I'm happy to report that Lil Boo is now officially a big boy (well, there's still potty training, but we'll get to that)! He has been sleeping in his new room and big boy bed for 3 nights now, including naps, and is doing wonderfully! B-man had a brilliant idea when it came to buying this bed. It's from a collection that you can add on as your family grows. So, you can buy another bed and make them into bunk beds later. So, B-man thought it would be a good idea to get the rails on the bed as if it were the top bunk...this way Boo couldn't roll out. Well, I really think this has been key when it comes to Boo staying in the bed. He can easily climb in and out, but I think it provides him security at night and he's content to stay there and that makes us happy!

The curtains are carried over from his nursery.

We went with a tractor theme for this room since he loves tractors.
I got these pics above his bed from a tractor calendar and placed them in frames from Hobby Lobby.

Reading corner.
This is where we read books at bedtime.
See that snazzy tractor painting above the chair?
Well, I painted it!

I had an old canvas picture that used to hang in our Colorado house and I've never hung it since.

So I made it into a clean slate, drew a tractor on it and painted it.
It turned out great, I think...ya know, for kids art. :)

Bookshelk complete with collage photo from our Hawaii
trip that cousin E, F and Uncle A sent Boo for his bday.
He loves to stare at the photos.

Chest of drawers with tractor light on top.

This was the canvas before I painted it...

And this is after!
It's red, just like PawPaw's.

And just in case you needed further proof that he's a big boy, just check this out!

This is from our recent trip to J&R gymnastics.
I couldn't believe he held on!
He usually falls right into the pit.

20 Weeks

I bet you thought I forgot!
Here's my 20 week (5 mos) photo. And although it is posted a day late, it was actually taken on the 20th week date.
Don't I look more like 7-8 mos prego? In my defense, the shirt is very blousy. ha! Oh well, I'm livin' it up!



Happy 4th of July!

Lil Bit Gives Daddy A High Five

So, I've been about 90% sure I've been feeling Lil Bit move around over the last couple of weeks. But, in the last couple of days the percentage has increased to 100%! It's such a wonderful feeling to feel your baby moving in your belly. It's almost indescribable. Well, yesterday morning I thought I could actually see my belly moving. I was so excited because this meant that B-man might be able to feel Lil Bit too. I couldn't wait for him to get home so he could share in the experience.

And sure enough, last night when I went to bed, Lil Bit started swimming laps. I called for B-man and he came in and put his hand on my belly and just like that, Lil Bit reached up and gave him a high five, repeatedly!

And stay tuned...we have on the calendar to take 5 month pregnancy photos on Friday. So, I'll be sharing a belly shot then.