End of Week 27 and the 2nd Trimester

Good afternoon:

I have finally reached the end of the second trimester. Tomorrow I will be 28 weeks pregnant! I already feel the tiredness creeping up on me. When I workout now, I really feel as though my lungs are getting cramped as everything is pushing upwards. On Tuesday I went to a Body Pump class and I really felt winded, then I did the Elliptical on Wednesday, and felt like a different person from last week! Today when Cristina and I were hiking I was huffing and puffing! I cannot be out of shape, because I have been working out consistently, it is just that everything is changing so quickly. Anyway, it is interesting. Although I haven't been able to keep up running, I still feel that averaging five days a week throughout the first and second trimesters is a huge feat. Now if I can only keep it up until the very end, then I will be set.

Steph and I at Body Pump…I'm def. prego!

The crazy dogs on our hike…George and Tucker

Starting last week I have been going over to my friend, Ashley's, to keep her company while she "trains" her twins to be on a schedule. We decided that train is the correct word because if you are consistent, no matter your child, you can accomplish a lot when it comes to scheduling. Okay, at least when it comes to her children. They have started to catch on, and are sleeping pretty well at night, and they are only six weeks old. I am learning a lot from Ashley and Alden. I think they do things differently, and it is such a great thing for me to see because I can decide how I want to do things when Micah arrives.

Alden's twins (Neala and Rylan) & I

Conrad bought me a new camera! I am so excited, and have already taken it out on a hike to try it out. I am glad that I have a nice camera so that way I can take a million pictures! Alden has been making monthly books of her twins, which I think is a great idea. I think the weekly pictures that Conrad has been taking of me will turn out better with a nicer camera.
I was just telling Conrad that I have been doing pretty well when it comes to cooking these days. A lot of my recipes are coming out really tasty…and I spoke too soon! I tried to make cookies on wax paper the other day (NEVER SUBSTITUTE WAX PAPER FOR PARCHMENT PAPER), and then I tried to make a double layer cake, and each layer stuck to the bottom of the pan! I was so sad! It was the cause of a nervous hormonal breakdown.

Anyway, the nursery is looking great! Conrad and I make a great team. :) All we need is the crib and changing table, and we will be set! Well…and maybe a few more decorations.

Hope everyone is having a great fall. I am so happy that it is starting to cool off. :) 

Week 25

Trying on dresses was never so difficult before!

I am three weeks away from the third trimester, can you believe it? In one sense it seems like it took forever to get here, in another it seems like time has flown by quickly. My first shower is tomorrow, and my mom is throwing it. It will be so much fun to catch up with old friends.
I have started something new this week in my pregnancy: swimming! I feel like a whole new person in the pool. I have been swimming since I was a baby, and once I became a teenager I worked as a lifeguard for a few years, but I haven't swam in about three years. Being pregnant, it seems like just walking around is tough with this extra weight that I am carrying, but in the pool I feel so weightless.
Micah has been kicking around in there a lot lately. The kicks don't hurt yet, which I am grateful for because I have heard it could get quite brutal. I am prepared for what is to come though.
I have been reading a variety of articles, like having an episiotomy, and all I can say is OUCH! And NO THANK YOU! And WHAT THE HECK DID I GET MYSELF INTO!? Haha...I guess it is all part of the process, but YIKES! There are just some things that I didn't want to know! My mom says that no one told her things, and she went into the delivery room unaware of everything that would occur, and she would have rather known what was coming. Not me, I would rather NOT know. I think these days the Internet makes it too easy to learn everything there is to know. On the other hand, you can also find a bunch of garbage so you have to decipher fact from fiction. That is why asking your doctor is always the best way to go when you are unsure of something.
I took Georgie on a hike a couple of days ago. It was a rather short hike, but it had a decent climb. I am always surprised at how "athletic" Georgie is. Conrad calls Georgie athletic. Well he climbs up rocks that are larger than he is with ease! He is something else, and he will probably be neglected a little bit once Micah is born. I will try to still get him to go on his two walks a day. If anyone wants to do any favors for me, that would be it: walk George!

Conrad and I have been getting together once a month with his friends from college (my friends now too, of course). We weren't really getting to see them very often because of our schedules, but now we have decided to make time to see each other. One of the couples are expecting any day now! I am so excited for the two of them. It will be fun to continue meeting throughout, and have play dates! There are so many people that I know who have little ones, or who are expecting!

• My sister-in-law- 16 weeks pregnant, with twins!!! She will be having a boy and a girl: Jasmine and Liam.
• Our friend, Alden, who had twins 8 months ago (Rylan and Neala)! 
• My friend, Christy, who just had Aiden early this year!
• Our friend, Ashley, who just had twins a few weeks ago (identical girls, Adalynn and Aliza).
• My cousin, Megan, will be having a baby boy, Cade Victor, in November! 
• My friend, Tory, who will be having a girl, Scarlett, in November!
• Our friend, Courtney, who is expecting baby Madison any day now!

Now that is a lot of friends with babies!

Last week's picture! Getting bigger :)

My new Vera Bradley diaper bag!

I guess I have "popped"
Please ignore the mess!

Also, I wanted to give a shout out to my wonderful parents. It is their 33rd Anniversary today! I can only hope Conrad and I do half as well as they did in life. :)

An easy-going pregnancy...

Good afternoon everyone!

I hope everyone has had a good week. I'm ready for the weekend to come! I always enjoy seeing Conrad more often.

So now that I am home, I have realized that people expect more of me. I am just now getting a taste of what it feels like to be a stay-at-home mom. Although I do like to help out, I just feel like people think I need things to do. Haha, that isn't to say that YOU shouldn't ask for help if you need it, and I know that I volunteer my help (which you should take me up on it if I do). I'm just saying that Conrad and I made the decision for me to stay home to take care of our new family. Being a stay-at-home mom means that I will take care of our baby, the house, and any errands that we need to do before the baby comes. I now received a glimpse of what some people think about stay-at-home-moms.

What have I done during summer break? I have prepared our registry, I have cleaned every week, grocery shopped, cooked dinner, baked, exercised, went on lunch dates, went on Starbucks dates, went on walks with friends, assisted in caring for some adorable twins, blogged, complained, had mood swings, watched Netflix and Hulu Plus, planned and threw our gender reveal party, and I am READY to start on our nursery (which will be quite the project). So there is plenty that I can do to keep myself busy, thank you very much!

Anyway, enough complaining, but I just wanted you all to know that I do well to keep myself plenty busy...and very soon I will not have any time for doing anything except caring for Micah, so I am enjoying my time of relaxation. I hear it is the only time I will be able to truly relax for a long long time.

My grandfather and I went up to the Pecos Wilderness to spend some quality time with Conrad's parents, and to go fishing. I wanted him to get away from home for a little while and he agreed to take a little mini-vacation. It was a fun trip and we made some memories.

I am excited to be starting a bible study pretty soon with a few moms from Annunciation (the school where I last worked). That will be a fun time for us to get together to talk about motherhood and God.

I am so glad that my beautiful BFF, Steph, is back in town. She and I have established a workout routine that has been going pretty well. This is what we have decided:
Mondays- Swimming
Tuesdays- Body Pump
Wednesdays- Hiking
Thursdays- Gym
Fridays- Body Pump
Weekends- What ever we want!
I am excited with the schedule and think that it will be good for us. She will also incorporate running into her routine, but I cannot keep up with that anymore.
We have also said that we should start volunteering once a week. I have been meaning to volunteer for a few years now!

The past two weeks I have been hiking with my friend, Cristina, and we have been taking our crazy pups! I bet you can't spot the baby bump!

How far along? 23.6 weeks!

Total weight gain: I've gained a total of 14 pounds at my last appointment, probably more now.

Maternity clothes?! Of course! They are my favorite (who would have thought!?) !

Stretch marks? No fresh ones to report. Just the same couple on my boobs!

Sleep: Not too great. They say good sleep is a thing of the past at this point. :/

Miss anything? I miss red wine and running.

Movement: OMG! He is going to be an Olympian! He does a lot of somersaults. When he hears Conrad's voice he gets very worked up (it is adorable)!

Food cravings: Not really.

Anything making you queasy or sick: No, thank goodness!

Gender: A little boy: Micah Avery!

Labor signs: Thankfully not!

Symptoms: EMOTIONAL!

Belly button in or out? Oh boy is it coming out...every day it seems like it is pushing further and further out.

Happy or moody most of the time: Moody moody, but like my mom said, I have always been moody so I can't expect that to change when I am pregnant!

Looking forward to: Meeting the little guy...I still have a long way to go.