About Me

Hi! I'm Abby. My husband, Carl, and I are happily married since October 2007. Our little family of 2 (well, 3 if you count Chief, the dog) added one more in October 2011 when we welcomed Audrey Elizabeth, our first child into the world. Our life was forever changed. And to add to the joy and excitement, we added another daughter, Clara Marie, in May 2014. I wanted to create this blog originally to document all the milestones throughout my pregnancy with Audrey so we could remember that special time in our lives. And now I get to write all about Audrey and Clara and our life with these amazing "Larson Ladies", which is so much more fun!

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Thursday, September 29, 2011

36 Week Checkup

This week started my weekly doctor visits until Audrey is born. I was really looking forward to my appointment on Monday, but it didn't exactly go as planned.

Ever since Saturday, my right foot and ankle were MUCH more swollen than my left. So I asked the Doctor about it and she was very concerned because pregnant women are very susceptible to blood clots. She sent me to the hospital right away to get an ultrasound of my legs. She said it was probably just the way the baby is positioned in my pelvis, but she didn't want to take any chances. And I'm really appreciative of that. I was really nervous going to the hospital, but I felt better knowing that the baby is fine and healthy and they are not concerned about her at all.

We got to the hospital around 8pm. We had to wait a bit, but then they got me in for the ultrasound. I didn't really think about what was going to be involved, but the only way I can describe the ultrasound of my legs is "brutal". I know it probably doesn't compare to childbirth, but I feel like anything would have been better than this. Only because I am SO ticklish, the experience was really horrible. The ultrasound tech had to put pressure on my upper leg/groin area. Brutal. And when I say I'm ticklish, let me clarify that I am not a "Haha, that's ticklish" person (like it's cute and fun to be tickled); I am a kick-and-wince-in-pain-when-tickled type of person. I told Carl I would rather be stabbed than go through that again. I may be a little dramatic about this...I'm going to blame it on the pregnancy horomones. :)

We got the results right away and they were negative. My Doctor called the hospital on her cell and explained the results to me and that there was nothing to be concerned with. The baby is really just laying weird in there. I'm good with that. Relieved.

There was a lot of good news in the appointment...Audrey is head-down and I'm a "fingertip" dilated. People at work today were telling me that I look like I've dropped. But I don't believe them. I just need a couple more weeks.

And that's about it for all the drama this week. Well, unless you would call gaining 5 pounds in the past 2 weeks drama.  Yeah, that brings my weight gain up to 37. Oh Lord. How many calories do you burn while nursing? I'm going to need to jog WHILE nursing. Oh well. It will all be worth it in the next few weeks.

I really can't wait to meet this little girl!  ... in at least a couple weeks... :)

Friday, September 23, 2011

Week 35 Update

Today is September 23, 2011.  Baby Audrey is due to be born one month from today.  Yowzas!  I can't wait to meet that little girl.  And I know there's a lot that we want to get done before that happens.  Hopefully she waits until close to her due date to make her debut.  We want her to fully develop and take as much time as she needs to grow and develop.  I have a feeling this month will just fly by!


How far along:  35 weeks and 5 days
Size of baby:  She's 5 1/4 pounds now (the weight of a honeydew melon) and over 18 inches long
Total weight gain:  I weighed myself at the beginning of this week and I had gained 33.5 pounds total. 
Maternity clothes:  I hate wearing anything now besides yoga pants and dresses.  Seriously.  Today at work (for casual Friday), I didn't even wear jeans!  I'm wearing tights with a shirt-dress over it.  That's a first for me to pass up jeans.  Last week I joked that they needed to change it from "Jeans Friday" to "Workout pants Friday".  :)  By the way, speaking of work, they closed the bathrooms on my floor and the floor above me.  Closed them!  So I had to keep going downstairs to the lower level to go to the bathroom.  Seriously.  I feel like the bathroom already keeps getting farther and farther away now that I go so much, but now this is ridiculous!
Gender:  GIRL
Movement:  They say that the baby is now big enough to where she doesn't have as much room to move in my belly.  I still feel her a lot, but it's less flipping and flopping around and just more pressure from her kicking out or pushing out her butt. 
Sleep:  I've been tired at night and still fall asleep almost every night on the couch.  And I am still waking up about 2-3 times per night to go to the bathroom.  But I'm still feeling pretty comfy and can sleep pretty well. 
What I miss:  Diet Coke... I would chug a 2-liter right now if I could.  Yum!  I also miss wearing my wedding ring. :(  Last week, I was concerned because I would take it off at work without realizing it, and I was afraid I would lose it.  So last week on Friday, I wore a ring that we got on our Honeymoon.  It's a beautiful ring and I love it, but it's just too big for my left ring finger.  So this week, I've just been ring-less.  I did wear my wedding ring to our shower this past Sunday, but took it off immediately after.  I get claustrophobic so I know I will freak out if I get to the point where I wear the ring and it gets stuck on my finger!
Cravings:  Still craving a lot of carbs.  I think my fruit cravings have really subsided.  I've also been craving chocolate or another dessert/something sweet after I eat.  This includes lunch.  I haven't been giving in everyday, but I do crave it!  
Symptoms:  Yesterday, I was having low back pains.  I think it can be contributed to gas?  (TMI for the blog?? Oh well!)  I was just generally uncomfortable.  But I was wearing pants at work and you know how I despise wearing pants these days.  I also was still a little sore from walking on Wednesday night.  We walked 2 miles exactly, which is kind of weird that it was exact.  We just did one of our normal routes around our neighborhood.  I was wearing my support belt, but still I was really sore in my pelvis after the walk and much of the day yesterday.
Best moment this week:  Yesterday, our glider and ottoman were delivered!  Right now, they're sitting in the upstairs hallway because I still need to write thank you's for shower gifts and put the clothes and toys in the nursery away.  I hope to get a lot done tonight, but we'll see if that happens.  The shower this past Sunday was so much fun!  I will have a separate post with details about the shower.  It was in the cutest little restaurant and it was a lot of fun to see family and friends that I haven't seen in a long time.  And everyone was so generous!  Did I mention I still have to write thank you's and put away all those clothes and toys.  What a good problem to have.  :)  And this weekend, we have a big weekend.  Cynda's shower for her son, Colby due in December, is tomorrow down in Springfield.  I am riding down with Katie and Frank, then Carl's going to meet us at Cynda and Andy's later tomorrow night after the Illinois football game in Champaign.  This very well may be my last "trip" before the baby comes.  We'll see how I feel next weekend... I may be going down to Champaign for Homecoming, but that's still up in the air.  We really go down to Central Illinois a lot, don't we.  It's kinda crazy.  I wonder if having Audrey will keep us rooted more to our house?  I guess we'll see!
Best husband quote of the week:  I don't know that I have a specific quote, but I just have to give a big shout out to Carl for this week.  He has worked so much this week trying to get a lot of stuff off his plate at work so he can focus a little more on stuff around the house before Audrey comes.  He was up working until almost 3am on Monday night, past midnight on Tuesday night, then to be honest I just lost track.  I know the alarm's been going off before 5am every day and he's out the door headed to the office before 6am.  He had a really stressful week, but it will all pay off.  He's such a hard worker and so reliable at work.  He takes so much pride in the work he and his team does and that really shows.  I really believe that it will all get done... including the stuff around the house like installing car seats and finishing the closet doors in the nursery.  We still have 1 month, right?  (Maybe.)

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Week 34 Update

How far along: 34 weeks (and 6 days)
Size of baby: She weighs as much as a cantaloupe, about 4.75 pounds. I definitely feel like she is taking up quite a bit of room in there!
Total weight gain: At the doctor on Tuesday, I had gained exactly 32 pounds since pre-pregnancy. I joked with the nurse and the doctor that I thought it was going to be much worse because of all the good food and extra helpings of cake I ate over my birthday weekend. And they both told me to live it up...this is the time to eat all the good food. Whew! What a relief...I am 4 pounds over the max of what my main doctor told me I should gain during the whole pregnancy. I think the main thing is that the weight gain has been steady and they're pleased that I'm healthy and so is the baby. That's the main thing!
Maternity clothes: I think I can probably take this question out of future updates...it's pretty clear that I am ONLY wearing maternity clothes these days. :)
Gender: GIRL
Movement: She's really been active this week. Especially when we were at the doctor's office. She was going nuts in the waiting roo, and Carl said when I laid back on the table so we could check the heartbeat (which was in the 140s by the way), he could see my belly moving. The doctor wants me to really pay attention to her activity because that's the only way she can communicate with us right now. I've read about "kick counts" and I asked if she wanted me to keep track to that extent. She said it wasn't necessary since she's so active, but if I notice that I haven't felt her in awhile, I need to sit down, relax, get something to drink, and really focus on her movements. I need to feel at least 3 kicks in an hour.
Sleep: I'm still sleeping pretty well at night. I'm very used to the frequent bathroom breaks by now, and I'm so lucky that I can fall asleep pretty much right away after getting back into bed. The weather has been AWESOME this past week. It's been really cool at night, so it's so cozy in our bed. I'm even sleeping witha sheet covering me this week. That didn't happen at all this summer! I did wake up about 5 this morning, not able to fall back asleep, but that's okay because I needed to write this blogpost anyway. :) I'm going to yoga at 8am, so I can probably sneak back to bed for a bit before then.
What I miss: Having a "normal-sized" bladder. I feel like the bathroom at work keeps getting farther and farther away.
Cravings: I had pretty specific cravings for my birthday brunch, which I think everyone would admit turned out to be a really good brunch (thanks to my Mom!)...coffee cake and soup. I also crave sushi quite often even though I can't have it and Diet Coke too.
Symptoms: Overall limited mobility and still bad heartburn. I did have a few meals this week with marinara sauce which is high in acidity, so that probably contributed. Also, for the past month or so, I've noticed that my right shoulder feels strained. It's really sore when I lift it over my head. My only guess is that it's from sleeping on my side. I can't wait to sleep on my stomach again!
Best moment this week: Yesterday, my department at work surprised me with a baby shower!!! My supervisor, Kathy Schwiesow, planned the whole thing for me and Sapna Wilbanks, who is a Supervisor in Education Services and due 3 weeks after me. It was so nice and it made me feel so special! I got a lot of great gifts...adorable clothes, onesies, socks, and toys. And the big groupmgift...the convertible car seat we registered for!  Everyone was so generous.  What a nice surprise!!  They're putting together a scrapbook with pictures and baby advice for me, so I'll add pics when I get that.  And I have another shower in Tinley Park on Sunday.  There will be a lot of people there including friends and a lot of Carl's family.  I cannot wait to see everyone!
Best husband quote of the week:  When we were at our checkup this week, I was asking the Doctor what she felt about me traveling down to Champaign at 37 weeks for the Homecoming Football game.  Ashley and her boyfriend and maybe Amber will be there tailgating and going to the game.  Sounds like fun! Bascially, she said, "I'm sure you'll be fine... but just so you know, you'll be full term at 37 weeks, and a lot of women have babies at 37 weeks."  We were laughing and joking that her son plays football and her son and husband would be mad at her if she told me that I couldn't go to the football.  She was funny!  Ultimately, she told me to see how I was feeling and go if I was comfortable with it.  So, when Carl and I got home, I brought it up and we were joking about it some more.  And Carl says, "Wait a minute, can we talk about this?  You might have a baby in 3 weeks??"  It was one of the funniest things ever.  It really hit him that this baby is going to come, and it could be soon.  I think he's thinking of all the things that we still need to get ready before she gets here.  Today (Saturday) is my baby clothes laundry day and organizing her room and her bathroom. I'm actually looking forward to washing her clothes and putting them in the closet and in her drawers.  I bet the only times you'll hear me say that are before she's born.  I anticipate that after she's born, I won't be able to keep up with the laundry.  :)  I do hope to keep her room and bathroom organized so she can grow up knowing that everything should have a place, but we'll see how that goes.

As a side note.... I just have to mention how much I really really like the Doctor I saw this week, Dr. Butler. She is in the same practice as my main Doctor and this is the second time I've seen her in a checkup. She is very thorough, makes me feel very comfortable, and just gives me time. I don't feel rushed in any way with her. And she has children, so she has been through this process as a patient so she knows what her patients are going through. I hope that thei on-call schedule works out so that she delivers our baby. For future, I want to switch to her permanently, but for now it all just depends on when I have appointments and who's on call or in the office at that time. Dr. Butler is awesome!

Oh, and today is September 17th... 5 years ago today, Carl took me to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle (near where I lived) and asked me to be his wife.  It was the easiest decision I ever made to say yes.  And now look at us, planning for our growing family.  Love it!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

My 29th Birthday Weekend Celebration

This past weekend, I celebrated my 29th birthday.  It was a really really fun weekend!  It was a busy weekend, but really that's all we have these days.  :)

Saturday, I met some friends down in Champaign for the University of Illinois football game.  These were girls that I went to college with and their husbands/fiances/boyfriends.  We all were in the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority together and lived together in the house Sophomore and Junior year.  Junior year, we all lived in what came to be known as "the hallway" in the house.
From Left to Right:  Kelly (Roberts) Kroening, Kates (Gleason) Wenzel, Lindsey (Boyer) Graff, Laura (Carson) Smith, Me (and Audrey), Casey Parsons, Lisa Kellogg.  We were missing 2 members of "the hallway":  Nicole Haase and Mandy (Thompson) Vaughan

 A lot of us got together for Lindsey's wedding back in December 2009, but this was the first time all of us girls have all been together since college!  We had tickets to the game...Illinois won by the way by A LOT.  They played South Dakota State.  I think the final score was 56-3 Illinois.  But staying true to our college days, we left at halftime to go tailgate.  :)  C'mon, it was something like 35-0, so we stayed for the halftime performance (including the 3-in-1, even though there is no Chief anymore) and then walked over to the lot to tailgate.  It was so fun to hear what everyone is up to these days.  Although, since Facebook, we can really stay up on each other's lives even if we don't get to see each other that much.  But we also had so much fun just sitting around and telling stories.  I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!  I also was just so impressed by everyone's significant other.  This really is a good group of girls, and everyone's husband/fiance is so cool, such good guys.  Love this group!  By the way, I'm wearing Carl's shirt in the above picture.  All of my Illinois shirts are belly shirts on me now.  :)

Sunday (Sept 11th) was my actual birthday.  And I tell ya, it was a packed day!  I stayed at my parents house on Saturday night, so when I woke up on Sunday, Mom was already in the kitchen cooking/baking for my birthday meal.  Earlier in the week, Mom asked what I wanted to eat on Sunday... if I wanted to eat out or have her make something.  I really wanted her to make something, but I couldn't make up my mind as to what exactly I wanted.  So, on Friday I emailed her and said I couldn't decide and that she would have to decide for me... I felt like both cinnamon rolls/coffee cake and Zuppa Toscana.  She emailed me back saying "We can do brunch, we'll make it work!"  And that's exactly what she did.  It was the best!  She made an Italian Sausage Quiche (soooo good!), Coffee Cake (my fave!), Zuppa Toscana (the best soup ever!), and fresh fruit.  It really was the perfect brunch.  But of course we stuffed ourselves so full.  And that wasn't it... Mom made homemade cake just for me.  It was just like Portillo's Chocolate Cake!  I can't even describe how rich and moist and delicious this cake was.  The most perfect birthday ever!  And Mom and Dad were so generous and got me PJs and a nice robe (Juicy Couture!) that I can wear at the hospital after I have Audrey.  Love!  

Note:  My birthday, 9/11/11, was the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in NYC.  As we were eating brunch, we were watching the live broadcast from the Today Show on Tuesday, 9/11/01.  I didn't really watch the live broadcasts much on the morning of the attacks 10 years ago.  Not to say that I ignored what had happened and I didn't respect the victims, their families, and the service men/women who proved to be heroes that day... it was just hard for me to deal with because it was my birthday.  It was really bizarre watching 10 years later, knowing what was going to happen, and listening for Matt Lauer and Katie Couric's reactions.  Ok, enough of that... back to the birthday celebration details.    

That afternoon, I drove home and was greeted by Carl and Chief who both gave me a big happy birthday greeting!  Carl had my presents sitting out.  All I asked for was a case for my Kindle, but there were a couple packages on the counter.  First, before I get into that, I have to mention the card that Carl gave me.  It was the most touching card ever.  He made me cry.. like really cry!  The card itself was very meaningful, and then what he wrote it in was so touching.  He of course wished me a happy birthday and thanked me for giving him the greatest gift in the world.  Aw!  Seriously meant so much to me.  And at the same time, I feel like Audrey is the greatest gift in the world he could have given me.  So, I opened the first package and it was in fact a case for my Kindle... perfect!  Then, I opened the 2nd package.  It was a case for something I couldn't quite tell, then I big box.  I opened the box and revealed a Lenovo Ideapad Tablet!!!!  It is a tablet similar to the iPad but with an Android-operating system.  Here is a pic of it from Amazon:
I love it!  I can play Words with Friends, check my email, check Facebook, read the blogs I follow, etc. all from my couch!  Love!  I love it so much I told Carl that we can just cancel my smartphone data package because I really don't need it anymore.  And good timing with this present because the screen on my Droid (cell phone) broke this weekend.  He really spoiled me this year.  Oh my!

Then, Sunday night, we went to dinner with Carl's parents, sister, and his Grandma and Grandpa Bockelmann.  We went to White Fence Farm for fried chicken dinner.  It was delicious!  They had these corn fritters that tasted like cake donuts, the best fried chicken, and really good mashed potatoes.  Then, we came back to our house and had more cake!  Carl went out and got a cake and candles for me.  How special!  Here is the obligatory picture of me blowing out the candles:
Notice the Portillo's cake (that my Mom made) on the table.  Everyone loved both cakes!  Oh, and more gifts!  (Did I mention that I'm spoiled??)  Carl and Joyce gave me a much appreciated gift certificate to Mario Tricoci for a pedicure or some type of service after Audrey comes.  And they said babysitting is included!  Time to myself - yeah!  And Jennifer got me an Amazon gift card, which is perfect so I can purchase books for my Kindle.  I anticipate being up late at night needing to keep awake while I feed the baby.  She joked that she didn't really know what to get me because normally she gets me clothes.  Ha - I told her it was a good choice not to go with clothes this year!  :)

And that sums up my wonderful birthday weekend...or should I say marathon-eating weekend.  But it's always that way the weekend before I have my doctor's checkup.  I wouldn't trade this weekend for anything.  Even though I was exhausted and I still (on Tuesday) have mad "cankles".  

Thank you to everyone who made me feel so special.  29 is really going to be a great year.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

My Little Cupcake Baby Shower

My cousin Keely was so nice to throw me this wonderful shower at my Aunt Faye's house in Decatur on August 27th, 2011.  Here is a pic of me and the host:
Note:  I had a goal to get a picture with everyone at the shower, but somehow I didn't get a picture with my Aunt Faye.. what the heck!  

It was the most beautiful shower!  The theme was "My Little Cupcake".  Here are some pics of the cute invitation that set the tone for the shower and gave indication that we would probably have some cupcakes at the shower.  Yum!
  

Look at how beautiful the decorations were!  This was the front room and what everyone saw when they first entered the house.  Isn't my Aunt's house gorgeous!

The tables were just beautiful.  I love the pink and the green together.  The centerpieces were gorgeous flowers and floating candles in square vases.  Would you believe that the flowers came from my Aunt Faye's garden?  Seriously.  They are Annabelle Hydrangeas.  (Fun fact: Keely's daughter's name is Chloe Annabelle, named after this beautiful flower!)  Keely is so creative... if you look closely, you may be able to see that the base of the flower is unique.  It's a bottle (a real baby bottle!) with diapers wrapped around it.  Isn't that such a good idea?  She sent all the bottles and the diapers home with me.  And at each place setting, she had candy favors for everyone.  The pink goody package on the plates says, "Sugar & Spice And everything nice That's what little girls are made of".  And she special ordered the jelly beans cups to say "Abby's Shower, Sweet Thanks".  

The food was delicious!  See my post from last week about the "good food weekend"... yeah, I was talking about this food!  I drank about 4 glasses of pink lemonade - yum!  One of my favorite things in the world is chicken salad on a croissant.  So good!  And they also had a beautiful fruit platter, delicious mixed salad of mixed greens, strawberries, and pecans, and coleslaw. 

Keely and Aunt Faye really made this shower so special for me and our guests.  Here are some pics of me with my good friends that were in attendance:
From top left (clockwise):  Cynda Marr (25 weeks pregnant!) and her mom, Sherry Derbort; Kristen Legner; Barb Wilkey & Maci Whetstone, Crystal Whetstone's mom & daughter; Crystal Whetstone.  It really meant a lot to me to have my closest friends with me!  Also in attendance was Joyce and Jennifer Larson, my Mother--in-Law and Sister-in-Law (I didn't get a pic with them either, shame on me!) and my Mom and sisters.  Here is a pic of me with my Mom and sisters at my parents house before the shower:


Everyone was so generous!  We received so many gifts for baby Audrey.  I will post pics of the gifts soon...

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Week 32 Update

This past weekend (Saturday, August 27th) was my first baby shower!  It was beautiful and so much fun!  My cousin, Keely, threw the shower for me at my Aunt Faye's house in Decatur.  It was perfect.  I took a lot of pictures on my sister, Amber's, camera and she's working on uploading them and getting them to me so I can post them to the blog.  Look forward to a separate blog post dedicated just to the shower.


How far along:  32 weeks and 5 days
Size of baby:  Audrey weighs as much as a large jicama, about 3.75 pounds.  She is about 16.75 inches, head to heel.
Total weight gain:  I had my 32-week checkup on Monday, the day after a good food weekend.  Doesn't it always happen like that?  Well, at my appt I had gained 29.8 pounds (not to 30 yet, folks!).  But I think my eating habits have kinda evened me out this week because this morning I was only up 29 pounds.  Either way, I'm close to hitting the 30 milestone.
Maternity clothes:  I finally bought the support belt this week!  I really like it.  I went to the maternity store on Monday night and they were so helpful!  The one sales lady helped me try on all the different support belts in the store.  Literally, she put them on me in the middle of the store.  I ended up going with this one, the Loving Comfort Maternity Support Belt:

It has 3 pieces to it:  (1) The front piece that goes on the "underneath" of the front of the belly; (2) the larger piece that goes around my back; and (3) the band that goes on top of the belly.  It really does make a big difference, not only to relieve the pressure on my pelvis and belly, but also in my back which I didn't anticipate. And my back (especially my upper back) has really been bothering me this week.  So glad I finally got around to purchasing this support belt!  I don't wear it to work, only on walks and sometimes when I'm laying around at home.  Oh, and of course when I was in the maternity store, I had to look around and purchased some really good items. They had a big sale that I took advantage of (of course!) where all sale items were an additional 40% off.  Really.  So I got a black hoodie, black comfy shorts, shirt (casual or to wear to work), and a black sweater cardigan.  And ya know what?  The total of those 4 items was less than the support belt alone.  That's a good shopping trip!
Gender:  Girl
Movement:  She has been all up in my ribs this week.  And she's been moving like crazy.  It gets a little uncomfortable sitting down all day since she's sitting/kicking so high.  But it's worth it.  Still so cool to feel her moving all around!
Sleep:  I've been sleeping okay lately.  Still very tired and falling asleep very easily at night.  When I wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I feel Audrey moving quite a bit.  I know that's just a phase, though... once she's born, she's going to sleep all through the night.  Right?  ;)
What I miss:  Bending over or moving my body quickly.  I'm feeling pretty limited in my mobility lately.  I've really started to feel this just over the past few weeks.  And a lot of times I'll forget that I can't bend over until I'm already doing it.  Sometimes I just forget how big my belly is.  
What I don't miss:  (I added this category this week)  I just have to mention that I love my complexion during this pregnancy.  My face isn't oily (and it's summer, which is the oiliest time of year!) and my hair is not greasy.  I could probably get away with not washing my hair every day.  I only did that once, though, and it threw me off my game not having my normal routine in the morning getting ready for work.  (Note:  I took a shower, just didn't wash my hair!)  I only get the occasional blemish on my face.  I'm loving these pregnancy hormones!
Cravings:  Last grocery store trip, I picked up Honey Teddy Grahams.  How long has it been since you've had Teddy Grahams?  They're so good!  They caught my eye and I couldn't pass them up.  :)
Symptoms:  General uncomfortableness most days from kicking in my ribs; upper back pain; peeing a lot.  That sums it up for my complaints this week.
Best moment this week:  Of course it's always great to hear Audrey's heartbeat at the checkup.  And it's nice hearing that my health and Audrey's health are good.  We also started talking about Pediatricians, which is exciting.  But the best moment by far was my baby shower on Saturday.  It was so much fun!  It was so great to be surrounded by family and such great friends.  It was a small, intimate shower that was just perfect.  And did I mention that it was beautifully decorated and had great food?!  I can't wait to post about it!

This weekend is Labor Day weekend - 3 day weekend, yeah!  Cynda and Crystal are coming up and we, along with Katie Korte, are having a girls weekend. I'm really looking forward to it!


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

31 Weeks

We had a really eventful and fun weekend to end week 30 and bring in week 31.

Friday night we had pizza at Carl's parents house (yum!) and then went out shopping!  They wanted to purchase the glider and ottoman for us.  I'm so excited about this glider.  Remember a few weeks back when "the Carl's" had to take 2 trips from Buy Buy Baby to transport the crib and dresser?  Well, my Mom and I hung out in the glider section at Buy Buy Baby to wait for them and I just fell in love with this one particular upholstered glider.  It's the Braxton Glider and Ottoman by Best Chairs.  It's so comfortable!!!  And that's the one we chose to go with - Carl and his parents all took a turn sitting in it and comparing to the other gliders and we were all in agreement that was the one for us.  We decided to go with the same color and fabric on the floor model; it's a neutral "Buckwheat" color so we can use it in any room in the house.  Once we got the crib and dresser set up in the nursery, I started to think that we might not have any room in there for a glider.  We'll play around with the layout, but I'm thinking that the glider will probably fit best out in the loft.  I know this glider will last us a long long time... maybe even for a couple (?) more babies.  And if we decide not to use it for babies down the road, it would work great in any room in the house!  I'm so glad Joyce wanted to go this past weekend because it's going to take 8-12 weeks to come in!  We might be doing feedings on the couch if Audrey comes before the glider/ottoman does.  And then, as if that wasn't generous enough, they really wanted to buy us this really nice Canon video camera.  I mean, really nice.  It can take HD videos and also still shots.  I joked with Carl that we might regret having HD video on Christmas mornings when we're looking alert, awake, and at our utmost best.  Ha!  What a wonderful gift to us.  We'll definitely be able to capture a lot of Audrey's "first's".  So cool.

Audrey's grandparents are so generous!  Carl and I are so spoiled between both sets of our parents.  We really can't thank them enough for all their support and generosity.

Then Saturday, Carl golfed in the annual golf outing for the Martin J. Larson II Foundation.  I just read a Facebook post today that they had their biggest year yet raising over $31,900 for the Foundation!  This money goes to benefit different charities:  Lincolnway High School Scholarships, American Cancer Society, Multiple Sclerosis (in honor of Erik Larson who was diagnosed with MS), Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Foundation (in honor of Grandma Larson who passed away from this disease in 2008), and other local charities.  They always have a really great outing and I was sad to miss it this year.  The "celebrity" this year was Staley the Bear, the Chicago Bears mascot.
Staley
Photo courtesy of The Chicago Bears - http://www.chicagobears.com/staley/staleysbio.asp

As I mentioned, I had to miss the outing, but for very good reason.  Maci Whetstone (Crystal Wilkey Whetstone's daughter) turned 1 on August 18th and they had her birthday party on Saturday.  Take a look at how cute this little girl is.  The tutu just kills me.  And she was wearing a onesie that had the number 1 and Maci embroidered on it.  And of course the little headband with the flower.  I'm in love with this cute little girl.  She's so curious and laid-back.  So cute!



I didn't get any pictures of it, but she opened all her presents (and there were a TON of presents) and even had a cupcake.  Although, I'm pretty sure she didn't eat any of it... she basically crushed it between her fingers and smeared it all over her highchair.  So stinkin cute!  The party was so much fun, not only because I got to see Maci, but I got to hang out with my best friends, Crystal, Cynda, and Katie.  Katie and I see each other quite often because she lives up in Chicagoland and is engaged to Carl's best friend, Frank.  But I don't get to see Cynda and Crystal but every couple months.  And rarely do the 4 of us get to hang out.  And we took pictures this time... imagine that!  In these pictures, I'm 31 weeks and Cynda is 24 weeks pregnant - check out Cynda's baby bump!




Then Sunday we had our Birthing Class at Christ Hospital where we will be delivering.  (Can you believe that all this has happened in 1 weekend?  Seriously...)  I'll post a separate post about the Birthing Class.  It was a really great experience and really got us excited and geared up to have our baby and become parents!

Here is my update on how I am feeling at 31 weeks...
How far along:  31 (and a half!) weeks
Size of baby:  Audrey now weighs as much as four (4) navel oranges (about 3.5 pounds) and is over 16 inches long.  My updates tell me she's accumulating much-needed fat.
Total weight gain:  This question is really starting to bother me... :)  I've gained 27.5 pounds so far in this pregnancy.
Maternity clothes:  Nothing's really changed here... still wearing a lot of dresses.  I did wear my new full panel jeans from Target and I love them!  I got a lot of compliments on them when I wore them to work last Friday.  In fact, my boss told me that I was so lucky that I have gained weight only in my belly.  Ha!  I told her I thought it was an "optical illusion".  :)  That's how good these jeans are!  Still haven't gotten the support belt.  I just need to go to the maternity store and buy it, but I haven't been by there in awhile.
Gender:  Girl
Movement:  She's still really active!  I feel her at all different times of day, but I find I feel her moving around the most when I stop for the day and sit (or lay down) on the couch or in bed.
Sleep:  I've been really exhausted this week.  I fell asleep on Monday night around 8pm and slept through the entire night.  Then today, Wednesday, I left work early to come home and work from home in the afternoon.  I got my work done, but I was able to change into shorts and a t-shirt and even fell asleep for a short nap.  (Don't tell my boss!)  Not sure what's going on... maybe I just needed to catch up from this weekend?  I swear I'm taking my iron supplements!
What I miss:  Relaxing with a nice alcoholic beverage.  Especially being at Maci's party, Crystal and Katie popped open a bottle of Chardonnay.  Yum - there is nothing better than a cold glass of white wine on a nice hot summer day.
Cravings:  Today I didn't really feel that well, so I've just been craving carbs.  But that's really not unusual for me.  I haven't really had too many weird food cravings during this pregancy.  Carl said guys at work ask him if I have any spontaneous requests for him to rush out and get me food to satisfy my weird cravings.  Carl and I joked that it's no more than normal!  I do like my ice cream so I suggest that regularly.  :)
Symptoms:  Monday night, I was cooking dinner when I got home from work while Carl and Chief were out on a run.  All of a sudden, I got light headed and felt nauseous.  I got a tall glass of water thinking that would help and knew that eating would help too.  I finished my dinner, then I ran to the bathroom thinking I was going to throw-up.  Weird, right?  I wasn't even sick in my first trimester!  I didn't get sick, but I just felt really terrible.  Hence the falling asleep at 8pm and sleeping through the night.  When I woke up on Tuesday morning, I had a headache.  Not sure if that's all related?  And then today (Wednesday), I felt overall just crummy and run-down so I left work early and worked from home this afternoon.  Maybe I just really need to rest and get some more sleep?  Not sure, but hopefully I get over this soon!
Best moment this week:  Gosh, how can I decide one moment from all that happened this past weekend.  Let's just say it was a really fun weekend full of a lot of "best moments".  As far as the pregnancy goes, the Birthing Class was a big highlight for me (and I think Carl, too).  I'm so excited to deliver at Christ and really excited to become a mother to our Audrey.
Best husband quote of the week:  We were in the car with Joyce and Carl going from Buy Buy Baby to Best Buy and Carl was saying that I haven't been seeking a lot of attention during this pregnancy.  He thanked me for not being an "Attention [______]".  I'm not posting the actual word he used, but we all got a big laugh out of it and even joked that this was going to show up as my "husband quote of the week".

This next weekend is a big one... my first baby shower!  My cousin Keely is throwing this shower for me on Saturday, August 27th, at my Aunt Faye's house in Decatur.  We've already received some gifts in the mail from people who can't make it.  I'll be sure to take a lot of pictures and post about it next week!