Baby Sunday...on monday: 20 weeks! Plus San Antonio Trip

Alright, now I am ready to roll! We had such a fun weekend. Matt and I decided to take a little vacation to San Antonio this weekend. Normally we do house stuff or sit around on our butts, but we decided we'd better take advantage of all the cool towns that are around us while we have more time. We saw the Alamo, the entire Riverwalk, and we went to the Zoo/Aquarium. We were going to go to SeaWorld but not all the attractions are open yet and we wanted to get our money's worth if we went. Maybe in a couple months. San Antonio is such a pretty town. It was very clean and not very crowded. My feet were about to fall off by the end of the trip from all the exploring we did. We also made it a point to find great "hole in the wall" restaurants instead of going to our familiar chain restaurants. They did not disappoint! I was able to find some yummy, fresh places to eat and one of them was even featured on the FoodNetwork. I felt very kewl. Here are some pics from the trip:

Matt had lots of fun taking almost all the pictures this trip, he would make sure it was perfect and talk about getting a really nice camera. His artsy side is coming out I guess. Here I am next to a pretty fountain, with my baby filled fat roll:)

Look at that shot! Matt did a great job.

We had to take a little detour around the river walk because they were doing some construction. This was part of it. Best detour I've ever seen.

Beautiful old buildings everywhere.

This was right along the river, just down the stairs from the Children's Museum.

The Riverwalk

Oh and me

I've decided that Hyenas are the ugliest things ever created. The way they walk, their nasty fur. Not very attractive.

It's Pumba! Most of the animals were being really lazy and didn't do much. I was very tempted to trickle a little of my water bottle on him to wake him up. Matt said we should bring a air dart gun next time.

My beautiful caterpillar:)

Matt loved this leopard. He went back to go see it while I rested on a nearby bench. Next thing I know, I see him teasing the poor thing with his ice cream cone. That man would definitely not fit in at PETA.

The snapping turtle. He stayed like this for 20 mins. Didn't move a muscle.

For Amy! hehe

Flamingos= stinky.

Matt having lots of fun at the gift shop. We were thinking about buying one of these for Olivia to scare Amy with, but our cheapness didn't want to fork out the $20 bucks for it. Sorry Liv.

Baby Sunday: 20 weeks!

7 pounds and 20 weeks later we are now at the halfway point! I can't believe how fast everything has gone by. Before I know it our baby boy is going to be here, I'm so excited!

Obsessions/Rampages: I've felt this need to get things more settled with our house. I have a list of tasks that I want to have completed before the babe arrives. My mom is coming out to visit in a couple weeks, so that will be a huge help to have her here. I have all these projects in my head but I have no clue how to complete them. My handy mother can remedy that:) I feel like my stomach has exploded this week, and I'm a little obsessed with rubbing it all the time. I've gotten to the point that I can no longer sleep on my stomach. If I try I feel like I'm on top of a cantaloupe and I can't breath. So I get comfy sleeping on my side for now. I cry at movies a lot. We watched a movie on the way home on the laptop called, "Fireproof". It's with Kirk Cameron- yes, Mike Seavers from Growing Pains. Matt wanted to watch it after he saw the Duggars from 18 kids and Counting on TLC watch it. It was so good. A perfect Sunday movie. I cried like 4 times.

Elations/Worries: Elated for the future. My fears have subsided, I feel confident that this is going to be a very fun part of our lives. Hard but fun. I have these worries in my head about something happening to Matt and then raising his baby, and I almost start sobbing if I think about it too much. I've become very protective of him now that we have a kid coming. Very weird and totally random for me. But I pray everyday that he will be watched over and protected.

Aversion/Cravings: I have been on a serious zuccini and squash kick. I love that stuff. Just sauteed with olive oil and a little salt, yummy! And grilled cheese sandwhiches with tomato were a hot ticket item this week as well. Favorite cereals are Frosted Mini Wheats and Grape Nuts Flakes.

Phew, that was a lot of posting! I am going to love reading all of this later on in life. Have a great week everyone!

Delayed Baby Sunday

We just got back from a little weekend getaway to San Antonio and I'm really tired. I'll post Baby Sunday tomorrow. Goodnight!

Baby Sunday: 19 weeks

This week we had our first homeowner catastrophe. Matt was leaving for work at around 6:30 and he noticed that water was bubbling all over the front yard and spilling into the streets. He figured it was probably just a broken sprinkler and called me later to see if I could turn it off for him. Come to find out it was definitely not a broken sprinkler but the main water pipe to our house was broken!! Matt tells me you gotta go into this hole by the side of the yard and turn the water off to the house. Well seeing as I a) had a hair appointment and needed water to wash their hair and b) there was no way I was reaching my hand down into some big, deep, water filled hole with my bare hand- Matt caught the next bus home to come and take care of it. Now I easily could have called our homebuilder to have them come and fix it asap, but seeing as they went BANKRUPT a few months ago we were pretty much on our own if we didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for someone else to fix it. Luckily our neighbor Stephanie had her brother at her house and he is a jack of all trades and was so helpful with telling us what we needed to get and how to do it. Long story short, Matt fixed it (because he's amazing like that) and we have a big muddy patch in the front yard at the moment. So much for having the nicest yard on the block- maybe next year. We also were finally caught and asked to give talks at church today. I guess that's what I get for doing the 1st counselor's wife's hair. But it was actually very rewarding. We were asked to speak on temples. I managed to get most of my tears and blubbering out at home when I read my talk for Matt, so I didn't completely fall apart at the pulpit. Matt's talk was great. I love that man. Here are some pictures of the lawn fiasco:

The Pipe. The joint had completely busted off.

Matt enjoying digging up mud. I being in my preciously pregnant state, sat by on a chair with a water bottle, wearing shorts and a t-shirt achieving the first sun burn of the season. Life is rough :) (Matt's Edit: The reason I have the towel under my knees is because the grass irritates my eczema. I could care less about getting dirty.)

Baby Sunday: 19 weeks

Belly Shot: Ok this picture does not do my belly justice. I feel huge. And I'm not even halfway yet, boy am I in trouble. It's like a constant fullness. That skirt was once my "I'm bloated and don't want anything clingy" skirt. Now it's close to being the only skirt that doesn't make me look like I'm trying to squeeze into something I shouldn't be.

Obsessions/Rampages: We made a trip to IKEA this weekend and I found a cute crib I want. I've decided I'm going to splurge on a nice comfy rocker for the baby room, so I'll go a little less expensive on the crib for now. I scored on some adorable bedding on Ebay that I hope is as cute in person. It's got little vintage airplanes and helicopters on it. I was thinking about going for a more simple, patterned bedding, but I couldn't find any that I loved and Matt likes the bedding with boy stuff on it better. We'll see once it arrives. I've started slathering stretch mark cream all over already. I know that stuff probably doesn't work and it's all genetics but I'm not taking any chances. If I can prevent even once stretch mark, I'll do it! My skin has been amazing the last few weeks, pregnancy is definitely agreeing with my face...sweet.

Elations/Worries: I can feel baby boy moving all the time. He freaks out after meal time! It feels like a little flutter and sometimes a soft kick, or at least what I think is a kick. I get all excited and tell Matt to put his hand on my tummy, but baby is still too little for Dad to feel anything. You should see Matt's face when he can't feel it. It's a cross between sadness and jealousy. Adorable. Also, one great thing about being prego- Matt thinks I'm the most beautiful creature alive!! Seriously. I mean he thought I was beautiful before but now he's always playing with the fat rolls on my stomach and HE LOVES IT! It is the funniest thing ever. That may be too intimate of a detail for some of you, but I guess you can stop reading if you'd like:)
Worries: I've just been pondering about the future of our boy and what I would do in this situation of that. Trying to prep myself for what lies ahead. The world can be a scary place to send your baby out into. I'm the Achievement Days leader for the 10-11 year old girls at church and I'm astounded by some of the things that they say go on in their schools. I mean I knew things happened but now it's become a common trend for girls to make-out with boys all the time and bully each other in horrendous ways. I barely knew boys existed when I was 10!! Luckily I'll have a few years before I have to deal with all that. For now I can enjoy the little guy growing inside me.

Aversions/Cravings: I'm sad to say that this part of the baby sunday may be getting shorter and shorter. I eat pretty much everthing. I'm just a little more particular about how a food is prepared or looks. I've given up my frequent cake binges due to the increase in headaches that I now get. I don't think the sugar rushes helped much. I drink like a fish(as in water). I've gotten back into cooking regular dinners now which I'm sure Matt is very happy about. Although that man is sooo easy to please. I asked him what he wanted for dinner today and he said, "Pork and Beans with hot dogs cut up in it." Alright! Coming right up! Easiest dinner ever. Again, I love that man!

IT'S A...

BOY!!

We are thrilled! Now I can get all Matt's little baby clothes ready and shop for bedding! YEAH! We celebrated by going to Target to get a new outfit, but I couldn't find anything I liked plus I found out my mom is sending me like a suitcase full of my nephews old clothes! I'm so excited! And for the record, I asked Matt, "What if our little boy doesn't like tennis and doesn't want to play it?" He says without hesitation, "Too bad, he's playing anyways." Hahaha! Anyways, Happy St. Patty's Day and may the Luck of the Irish be with you!

Baby Sunday: 18 weeks

This week was cold and rainy. Aaaalll week. I spent the days inside cleaning, perusing Internet sites for baby stuff and watching Gilmore Girls reruns. I love that show. Matt and I baby sat for a couple in our ward. They have a 3 year old and a 3 month old. We baby sat from 6 til 12. I loved it! Matt took charge of the toddler while I cooed and fed the baby. The baby was on a new sleeping routine so he cried for a little bit once I put him down, but that's to be expected. I've always been a little timid around newborns but baby sitting gave me a surge of confidence that I am ready for motherhood-well as ready as I'll ever be:) If I ever think that I don't have the ability to be a good mom I just think, "Hey if Britney Spears can do it, I definitely can!"

Baby Sunday: 18 weeks

We find out the sex of the baby this week! I'm so excited! In honor of my excitment I have decided that the first person to comment on this blog AND guess the correct sex of the baby will recieve their favorite candy in the mail this week! So you better hurry!

Obsessions/Rampages: I'm obsessed with finding cute baby bedding. Most of the bedding is just so dang expensive. I mean the baby doesn't care what they sleep in or what kind of quality it is, Geez! I think I'm going to mix and match a bunch of bedding from different places to see what I like best. I don't sew so making my own is out of the question. We made a list in Excel of all the stuff we may need eventually for when the baby gets here and a few months after. This babe is going to break the bank, but I guess once you buy it all you don't have to buy it again!
Rampages-I put on my favorite pencil skirt today, I could only zip it up half way!! Has my mid- section grown that much in the last few weeks, apparently yes. But I wore it anyways, with a long shade shirt to cover and a cute jacket that I bought a while back. I'm also now sporting the hairband wrapped around my buttons look on my jeans now. Not that they won't zip, it's just terribly uncomfortable to sit for very long in pants that have no give around my stomach. Funny thing, the pants that are the most comfortable at the moment are a cheap pair I picked up for 15 bucks at Forever 21 several months ago- go figure. I am very excited for the sudden thickening around my middle. It means the peanut is growing! YEAH!

Elations/Worries: Elated to see the baby again on the ultrasound screen. I felt a few more movements this week, which was very fun. I'm praying that everything will be healthy and normal when we go in this week.

Aversions/ Cravings: Cravings- water! I am always thirsty. I went to the store this week and they had a whole table of cakes slices in a variety of flavors! I had to restrict myself to only buying two and rationing them over several days. Man those were good. Overall most things are starting to sound good again it just depends on what I'm in the mood for. And another craving is the Black Bean soup at Panera. Heaven. I haven't been able to find very many healthy, fresh places around here, so Panera is the place I go to for my yummy sandwhich and soup kick. Still sketchy around chicken and I don't like guacamole anymore. Something about the look and texture of it makes me nauseous. I'm am often amazed at how just a few tweaked hormones can have such an impact on a person. The human body is remarkable.

Baby Sunday: 17 weeks

When I think of this week, I have nothing pop into my head. Then I ask Matt and I realize we didn't really do a whole lot this week. I had a hair appointment on Monday. Surprisingly I've been getting a ton of clients in our new ward so that is really fun. But apparently it's ILLEGAL to do hair in your home in good ole Texas. Yeah super dumb, I know. Probably because people don't report the income on their taxes but we always do. The rest of the week revolved around Activity days for church, tennis for Matt, and putting up more pictures in the house as we decide where we want things for sure. That's it. If anyone wants to come visit and make our life more exciting you are more than welcome:) hint hint. I think we are going to go to the Rodeo this week so next weeks post should be more exciting.

Baby Sunday
I was going to post a belly shot, but nothing has changed since last week. I think I'll post belly shots once a month or so depending on girth of my stomach.

Obsessions/Rampages: I've got so much more energy this week. I work out 4 times a week and not those pansy work outs that I used to do a month ago, but the sweat your guts out kind, and I always feel sooo good afterwards. Love this new energy thing. I'm obsessed with blowing my nose at night and in the mornings. I have a chronic stuffy nose and sneeze, but only at those times in the day. I have a humidifier in our room which helps, but it feels like a sauna sometimes due to the fact that it's already like 50% humidity here. So we run out of toilet paper really fast from me not only peeing all the time, but also blowing my nose. And my complexion has been stellar this week, I'm hoping it stays that way...forever:)

Elations/Worries: Elated with my little belly. I love it! I find myself always rubbing it and holding it. I'm sure to an outsider it looks like I'm scratching away at a nasty rash or something on my donut induced gut, but I can't help it, it's so amazing that I have a little person inside me! No worries this week everything is just great!

Aversions/Cravings: This week has been a momentus occasion in the food department. I ate meat!! Only a couple bites, but still I ate it! We went to Outback, which is currently the ONLY restaurant I will go to because it doesn't smell funny and I can get a salad and baked potato-my new favorite dinner. Anyways, Matt ordered a steak and it looked nice and salty and juicy so I asked for a taste and was rejoicing when I found its flavor very appealing. And my new favorite lunch combo is a sandwhich with lots of mustard, just a little mayo, shredded cheese, 4 slices of tomato, and get this BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES! It really is the best thing I've ever tasted in my life. My mom would make something similar growing up and now I have rediscovered it. I ate it 4 days in a row for lunch. I think I may add cucumbers to it next time for more crunch. yum yum yum. We also bought girl scout cookies this week, which I can already tell you was a bad idea. I have to be careful I don't eat a whole sleeve in one sitting. Salad always sounds good still and all other meats are out of the question for the time being. Overall the aversions are subsiding some and food is my second husband:)

Baby Sunday: 16 weeks aka 4 months

This week has been fabulous! I'm feeling a new surge of energy this week and am slowly getting my regimen back together. Matt and I went up to Dave and Buster's this week for a work thing and I had a grand ole time annihilating him in Mario Kart AND Nascar. Awesome. The next night we went on up to the Woodlands Mall and come to find out it was Go Texan Day (the 27th)! We walked around and looked at the festivities and giggled (well I giggled) at the cute kids in cowboy hats and shirts. So adorable! And of course we stopped at Borders to read and sip hot chocolate. It was surprisingly chilly that night, probably about 50 degrees. :) I also had the chance to visit the beloved Galleria Mall. That place is addicting. I could have spent an entire day just walking around and eating. It is huuuge. They have every single store you could ever want, and I mean every store from cheap to the snazzy places you feel like you have to be dressed up for to even enter. Those are a few highlights from the week. Now for your regularly scheduled program...Baby Sunday!

Belly Shot. Please ignore the pigsty in the background. :) I took a bare belly shot after this one but my albino stomach blended in with the sheets so you couldn't really see it.

Obsession/Rampages: This week I was obsessed with my growing tummy. You can't see it but I can feel it! Baby is definitely starting to grow and the ligaments around my uterus are happy to oblige causing me to feel like I have sore muscles. Amazing how the human body can adapt to any situation. Matt has said he finally notices my tummy. The other day he tickled me and grabbed my tummy and said, "Whoa, I can feel a difference". Finally! I've been asking him for weeks if he notices a difference and he would always say, "Not really". But now all my constant eating has finally paid off. :) Also, I have to pee all the time. No rampages this week, just very happy to be at this phase in our lives.

Elations/Worries: I was worried for a little bit the other day when I felt a sharp pain in my lower abdomen and it kept happening depending on how I was sitting. I came to find out it is ligament pain from the babe growing. But I was still scared. I had Matt give me a blessing, and then I felt this little flutter in my tummy! It was so comforting. It was like the baby was saying, "Don't worry mama I'm still here!" I started bawling! Which isn't unusual for a pregnant lady but it was a very special moment for me. I'm elated for the months that follow. We find out what we are having in a couple weeks. I've been rooting for a boy, but lately I see these sweet little girls running around in pig tails at church and my heart melts. I guess I want whatever, as long as it's healthy.

Aversions/Cravings: Mmmm food! But not all food, just some foods. A simple dinner salad always sounds so good. And I have a new found love for baked potatoes- Kiersten you would be so proud. Oh and get this, did you know that HEB(the best grocery store ever!) sells cake BY THE SLICE! Heaven. I was dying for some chocolate and I almost bought an entire chocolate cake knowing I'd regret it later, but suddenly I saw a little plastic container with a single piece of chocolately goodness staring right at me! Whoever's idea it was to sell cake by the slice is a genius and I should send them a letter. Mmm chocolate. Still love beans, fruit and tomatoes. You know that big container they sell at Costco of cherry tomatoes? Well I finished that entire thing off in 4 days.

That's all for Baby Sunday, see you next week!