Pregnancy Update {21.5 Weeks}

I already posted the exciting news from this week, but thought I'd post a few more updates, along with my very first belly pic!  Here I am at 21 1/2 weeks along, feeling big and knowing I'll be getting a lot bigger!  

Let's see, where to start...

Nausea: While I've still been throwing up several mornings a week, the nausea is no longer lasting all day.  I am definitely feeling better, and look forward to when the nausea is completely gone!  Since I've been feeling better, I've even started making dinner again (maybe only once or twice a week, but hey, that's an improvement!).

Cravings:  I don't feel like I've had cravings at all this entire pregnancy, but the good news is that most days I feel like eating more than just mashed potatoes!  I do miss my daily sandwiches at lunch, so have been splurging (more often than I care to admit) on expensive Deli George sandwiches, where I was told they don't use lunch meat, but use "real" carved meat instead.  The Pilgrim's Pride is my favorite - turkey, cranberries, lettuce, and mayo.... mmmmmmm.

Clothing:  I broke down this week and bought a pair of maternity jeans.  I had been trying to still wear my regular jeans with a belly band to keep them up, but I decided with four months still to go, and with fall approaching, I wanted a pair of jeans where I wouldn't need to worry about them falling down every 5 seconds.  So now my limited wardrobe consists of four pair of pants, four skirts, and two dresses.  Not a lot of variety, but oh well!  At least I'll feel comfortable.

Sleeping:  I'm still sleeping pretty well, besides waking up 2-4 times in the night to go to the bathroom.  I am trying to sleep on my side, but often times my back is still where I end up (which my doctor said was okay as long as I felt okay).

Movement:  I have finally been able to feel the baby kick!  It's just really been the last week or so, and it's getting more frequent.  At first it was only a tiny little feeling every few days, but I feel like yesterday and today I've felt him quite a bit more, so that makes me happy.  It's a little reassuring being able to feel that movement.  I had Matt put his hand on my belly to see if he could feel anything from the outside... not yet, but I'm sure it won't be long!

And here's my favorite Kylee quote of the day:

"Mom, when you're not pregnant any more, you should be a cheerleader."

It's a Boy!!!

Ever since we found out I was pregnant, I have been anxious to hit the half way point of my pregnancy, knowing that is when I would have an ultrasound to find out the gender of our little one!  I had several people tell me that they thought I should wait so it could be a "surprise".  Ummm.... like I wasn't surprised this week when the ultrasound tech pointed at the image on the screen and told us it looked like we were having a boy!?!  We were beyond thrilled.  Of course, we would have been happy with a boy or a girl, but Matt had hoped that we would have at least one little boy in our family.  I am sure Matt is already picturing teaching our little boy how to wrestle and shoot and throw a frisbee.

It was extra fun to have Kylee join us for the ultrasound.  She was napping at the beginning of the appointment, but woke up in time to see some of the pictures and hear the heartbeat.  Definitely a special family moment for us.

Now we can start planning!  Time to start thinking about names and how to decorate the nursery!  I was looking through pinterest this morning and found this navy and orange inspiration photo.  I think I love it. Matt's working this morning, but I'm anxious to see what he thinks :-)

One last thing... my dad dropped by on Thursday night.  He wanted to give his grandson his first fishing pole! So cute and sweet!

Family Night at the Fair

I have fond memories of going to the fair two years ago with Matt and Kylee.  I remember the excitement and the happiness that I felt to be there with two people I was growing to love.  And I remember the things I didn't mention in my post from two years ago that made that night even more special.  Like the butterflies I felt in my stomach as Matt kissed me on the ferris wheel.  And how sweet Kylee called out for the first time that she loved me as we parted ways that evening. And the grin that I couldn't wipe from me face a few days later when I noticed that Matt had posted the picture of the three of us on the ferris wheel as his facebook profile picture.

Where it might be next to impossible to top the way I felt on that 2011 fair trip, we still had an awesome time this year as we went on ride after ride and ate fair food to our hearts' content.  Kylee was big enough this year to go on most of the kids rides on her own (you have to be 42" tall), but Matt and I still got to enjoy a few rides with her as well.

I love this picture because it looks like Matt is riding on his own... Kylee isn't tall enough to see over the top!

I think Kylee's favorite "ride" was the slide.  She went down it probably 4 times, and would have gone even more if we hadn't run out of tickets.  We decided next year that we should just get her a wristband and let her go down the slide all night!

And of course, you can't go to the fair without visiting the petting zoo!

Love the tongue!

Another Family Campout at "The Farm"

We had so much fun camping over the 4th of July that we planned another camping trip just days after we got home.  It's a little bit of a drive for us to get to Matt's grandparent's home (about 3 1/2 hours), but we decided it was worth it.  I was a little nervous how this trip would go with just the three of us.  Kylee has been such a great little camper, but I didn't know if she liked camping because there were so many people and so much to do, or if she really liked the spirit of camping.  She proved to us this trip that she just loves camping!

We had tons of fun with just the three of us... we went fishing (of course!), went on some family four wheeler rides around the property, went on a nature scavenger hunt, played ring toss with glow in the dark necklaces, made smores, and more.

Speaking of smores, here's a conversation Kylee and I had while up camping:

Kylee: When can I have a snore.

Me: A smore?

Kylee: Yeah, a snore.

Me: Do you know what a snore is?

Kylee: Yeah, it has marshmallow and chocolate and graham crackers.

Haha, she called it a snore most of the trip.  It just made me giggle.  I finally got her to pronounce it right by the end of the trip, but it was just so cute listening to her ask for a snore.  She also told me that she liked her marshmallows burned.  I asked her if she really liked them burned, where they catch on fire and turn all black, or if she just liked them toasted where they got a little brown.  We definitely got that straightened out!

Here's a little fishing video from this trip... Matt actually ended up catching three fish with the net (although one of them jumped through a hole in the net and got away).

I'm guessing we won't be able to fit in another camping trip this year, and it was fun talking to Kylee about camping next year... when we will be a family of four!

The BOB!

I've been doing quite a bit of research on baby related items. I posted a couple weeks ago about my car seat purchase, and today's post is about my stroller!  Meet the BOB Revolution - I have been told that this will be my Best. Purchase. EVER.

I had wanted a good every day stroller, but I had also been intrigued by the jogger strollers (I have visions of jogging with the baby... not sure if that will really happen or not, but I wanted the option!).  I also decided it would be nice to have a stroller that would snap in the carseat.  So after much research and recommendations from friends, I settled on the BOB Revolution.  The problem is they are close to $400 brand new.  Ugh.  So probably 5 weeks ago, I started checking craigslist for a BOB in good condition.  I rarely saw one out there, and when I was lucky enough to see one posted, it was snapped up in like 5 seconds.  Finally a week or two ago I posted a "wanted" ad in craigslist, and I was lucky enough yesterday to be contacted by someone willing to sell to me!  The stroller is in excellent condition - very clean, no fading or tears... score!  When Matt first saw it he asked if I bought a brand new one!

So at this point I'm set with the big items - a crib (we have Kylee's old crib), a car seat, and a stroller.  Oh, and I also bought a baby monitor on amazon this week because it was like half off, and who can pass up a deal like that?  But I think I'm done shopping for now.  In a couple weeks we'll get to find out the gender of the baby and that will help me figure out what I want to register for :-)

And finally, for an update on me and baby.  I am bummed to say that at 18 1/2 weeks I've still been sick!  I am definitely better than I was earlier in the pregnancy, but I'm still throwing up several times a week even with the medication.  My acne is still prevalent, and add to that heart burn and constipation.  Oh lovely!  As rotten as I've felt at times, I know it is worth every second.  I know a little miracle is growing inside me.  I love reading about what's happening inside my body each week, and talking with Matt and Kylee about our growing family. I also love that Kylee incorporates the baby into many of her pictures... either drawing the baby or drawing our house and adding an extra window for "the baby's room".  This morning she came and gave me a hug, and then gave me a second hug and told me she was hugging the baby.  So sweet.  

I have my next doctor's appointment tomorrow and am anxious to hear the heartbeat.  I haven't been able to feel the baby yet.  I have read that a lot of times first time moms don't feel the baby very early because they dismiss any movement as air bubbles or gas.  Well, I can tell you, I haven't dismissed a single feeling!  I keep waiting and waiting to see if I can feel the baby and I am thinking the baby just hasn't been very active, because I'm certain I would feel it if it was kicking!

Matt's New Hobby

Matt decided recently that with moving back to a night schedule he needed a new hobby... and settled on wood carving!  He bought some blocks of wood and some carving knives and it has been fun to come check in the mornings to see what his latest piece is.  While on our family camping trip this last week (post coming soon!), Matt carved Kylee a couple animals.  I've mentioned before how she loves to play with little figurines, so these were perfect!

I've been impressed with the detail that he has been able to get... and the alligator was carved with only light from the fire and Matt's headlamp.

Matt has some big ideas for some of his next pieces, so stay tuned!