31 Weeks

We're 9 weeks from our due date! 9 weeks. It's hard to believe our weekly countdown is in the single digits but here we are! Weeks 28 and 29 were pretty rough with baby Emma nestled in a cozy spot that happened to put major pressure on my sciatic nerve. I could hardly walk without being in immense pain and on top of that, I felt like my emotions were completely out of control. Needless to say I'm incredibly thankful at least the sciatic pain has subsided completely!

How far along: 31 weeks 

Baby is the size of a: broccoli stalk - about 3.3 lbs!

Gender: girl

Due date: July 26, 2016

Name: Emma Joy

Symptoms: I am tired. So tired. I'm sleeping pretty well aside from waking up a few times a night to change positions so I'm thankful for that but by the time I get home from work everyday, I feel completely pathetic. With so much I want to do, I'm realizing I need to just give in sometimes and call it a day...even if it means I don't make dinner or do any of the things I wanted to do. Aside from heartburn coming and going multiple times a day and some back pain, I feel pretty good!

Cravings: Nothing in particular.

Best moment this week: Our baby shower this past Saturday! My sisters and sweet momma put together the most perfect day to celebrate baby Emma and I'm so so grateful. They put so much thought into every detail and worked so hard to plan the perfect celebration. I felt so loved and completely spoiled by everyone involved and if possible, I'm even more excited for Emma's arrival!

Looking forward to: Finishing the nursery and purchasing the rest of the items we need for baby. We were gifted with so many of our most-needed items and baby essentials at the shower, which is a huge help but I'm looking forward to going out with Jonathan to get anything else that's left. We're also doing our hospital tour and preparation for birth class on June 12!

I still need to share a short recap of our weekend away a few weeks ago and I will, of course, be sharing more details from the shower, but I wanted to pop in for a 31 week update since we're getting down to the final countdown here. Reality is really starting to set in that we are going to parents in just a few weeks. We can't wait to meet our baby girl!

We Have So Much to Enjoy

Today is my 30th birthday and no, I'm actually not really freaking out about turning 30. I'm pretty happy with life right now and while turning 30 is kind of a big deal, I'm pretty okay with it. I would normally try to come up with some kind of birthday list to share, but I've had this post drafted and was just waiting for a good time to post and it seemed appropriate for today.

Jonathan and I fit well together for many reasons, but one of those reasons is that we are both planners. We do our fair share of living in and enjoying the moment, but we both naturally look toward the future and plan for it together. From the beginning, we talked a lot about what our future would look like - at least what we wanted it to look like. We knew early on that we'd be married one day and we talked a lot about starting a family together and all the things we wanted to do. Especially with Jonathan's business and his commitment to set us up well financially, we often find ourselves looking several years out at our lives. It's fun to plan and dream together. We've enjoyed the heck out of every stage together but we've still always talked and planned for the future with joy and excitement.

Having this trait in common is obviously such a good thing for us. I like to think our future thinking and planning ensures we are on the same page about things and when the time does come, we are ready emotionally, financially, logistically, etc. for whatever it is. One thing I'm always trying to be careful of, though, is that we don't focus so much on the future that we miss out on the sweetness and joy of the moment we're in.

Every now and then, when we have a lot of exciting things going on like weddings, trips, special events, fun plans, holidays, etc., one of us will always comment on how we have so much to look forward to. It's true...the anticipation of exciting things on our calendar is just fun. I've been trying to catch myself, though, and remind myself of this:

Life isn't all about those weekend trips to wherever. It's not just about the moving day, graduation day, wedding day, baby's arrival, etc. It's all those things mixed in with the weekends you do nothing in particular but you still stopped at one point and told each other how great a day that was. It's the day-to-day routine like 5 a.m. snuggles with your puppy in between the two of you that brings you a different kind of joy and peace. Believe it or not, it's even the painful times when your hearts were broken and as you brushed your teeth before bed one night, your husband put on Taylor Swift and forced you to dance with him because he knew it would cheer you up. It's not just looking forward to baby's arrival, but soaking in the moment when you're 6 months pregnant, tired and sore and your husband rubs cocoa butter on your pregnant belly and puts his ear to it so he can listen to your baby girl's heartbeat. It's the details of our days that we don't even notice because they are so common or ordinary but when we stop to soak it in we realize absolutely blessed we are.

I love dreaming and planning for the future with my husband. I love the excitement and giddiness I feel every Tuesday when we're another week closer to welcoming our baby girl into the world. I love looking forward to all the joyous occasions we get to enjoy in this life.

I just want to make sure I don't let the special time in between those big occasions slip by because I was too focused on what was to come. We absolutely have so much to look forward to, but good Lord, we have so very much to enjoy.

Weekend Snapshots

Happy Tuesday! It was another great weekend around here and with another unforgettable weekend coming up, I wanted to pop in and share a few highlights from the last few days.

The weekend started on a high note when this was waiting on our doorstep on Friday afternoon. I waited a little too long to finally give in and purchase one of these but my goodness, was it worth the wait. It's already been a huge help in me getting comfortable and staying comfortable through the night and I know I'll be extra thankful for it as I continue to get bigger (and more uncomfortable) in the next few weeks. 

I used to enjoy coming home on a Friday and pouring a glass of wine to celebrate the weekend. This was equally as satisfying. 

We had some pretty gorgeous weather all weekend so I put a little more effort into breakfast Saturday and enjoyed it on the back patio before kicking off a day full of chores and errands.

I picked up a pretty new collar for Abby and Target had these adorable slide-on flowers, so naturally, she absolutely needed one. 

I woke up around 8 a.m. Sunday to a strangely quiet house and no husband next to me. These Mother's Day goodies were waiting for me on the kitchen table and I found my sweet man working on stuff in the nursery. He made me a delicious breakfast and I joined him in the nursery to make some progress in there before we both left to spend the day with our mommas. 

Finally! Emma's dresser/changing table is put together and I couldn't be happier. It seemed like this came in a million pieces that had been scattered all over the bedroom floor so I am relieved it's done and we can start getting the room organized as we continue to get everything we need.

I spent the rest of Sunday with my family at my sister's house and Jonathan surprised his mom by taking her horseback riding as a Mother's Day treat. By the time I made it home at 7 (with a very sleepy puppy in tow) we were all ready for an early bedtime. 

I hope your weekend was full of happiness and Mother's Day celebrations. I turn 30 on Thursday (holy cow) and we're headed to Tampa for weekend getaway on Friday. It's safe to say this will be our last little getaway before Emma arrives in July and I'm really looking forward to some quality time away with my man.

28 Weeks

We're officially in our third trimester! I would tell you this doesn't make me panic at all but that would big a huge lie. My panic has nothing to do with the fact that in 12 weeks (or less) I'll be having a baby, but more to do with the fact that it finally hit me how quickly time is flying by and I still feel like there is a lot to do between now and Emma's arrival. I've been relatively cool, calm and collected about everything but last Tuesday at my doctor appointment, the doctor asked if I'd pre-registered at the hospital yet. I said no and kind of looked at him in a panic. To make me feel better, he said we have plenty of time but that only made me more certain we don't have plenty of time. "Plenty of time" is what we said when we were 8 weeks or 12 weeks pregnant. I don't feel like 12 weeks or less is plenty of time and this is when I officially started to panic.

I went home from my appointment and started listing all the things we needed to do/schedule/organize/figure out before the baby and then I looked in the nursery which is in a state of chaos still because Jonathan is in the slow process of putting together the million pieces that is a dresser/changing table. I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry this day. I think I'm more concerned because Jonathan's busy season at work is already in full swing so I feel like time with him to get things done is going to minimal here. I know trying to coordinate all of the things we want/need to do with his work schedule is going to be challenging and it's safe to say I worked myself into a little bit of a meltdown. Have I mentioned I feel like in the last week or so my emotions have become completely unhinged? Oh yes, because they certainly have.

The good news is that I know we'll get it all taken care of and knowing I'll be holding a sweet baby girl in my arms just 3 months from now makes me forget about our to do list. I've enjoyed this pregnancy so much and I know despite feeling a little overwhelmed (and a lot emotional), I'm going to enjoy these last few months.

How far along: 28 weeks

Baby is the size of a: large eggplant

Gender: girl

Due date: July 26, 2016

Name: Emma Joy

Symptoms: I have to admit I'm starting to get pretty uncomfortable. It's really just my lower back but it's incredibly sore at all times. I'm sure this will only get worse and if that's my biggest complaint it's all good, but my goodness. Ouch. Otherwise, my ankles and feet have been swollen on occasion which is really cute...haha. It's also already 90 degrees in Orlando which I'm actually dealing okay with right now. As my bump expands and the temperatures rise, though, I fear there will be days in the near future I'll absolutely dread stepping outside and popsicles will need to be on hand at all times.

Cravings: Nothing in particular, actually. No aversions, either! I haven't had a huge appetite for dinner and I'm still snacking on pickles quite a bit, but that's about it.

Appointments: We've reached the point where I'm seeing the doctor every two weeks now. I think we'll have one more ultrasound around 36 weeks, which I'm sure will be here before I know it!

Looking forward to: Our weekend trip to Tampa to celebrate my 30th birthday/our babymoon and my baby shower the weekend after that! When I received my shower invitation in the mail a few weeks ago, I sat in the driveway and cried the happiest tears because I already know my sisters and momma are throwing me the most perfect shower and I can't wait to celebrate with them.

Recent memorable moments: One of Jonathan's clients gave us a huge box of children's books we need to go through and select a few for baby Emma. In the meantime, Jonathan has been reading to me and Emma and I can't get enough of it. He chooses Cat in the Hat every single time but I don't care because I could listen to him read the newspaper to our baby and it would be the sweetest thing in the world.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the nursery come together here soon and organizing all of baby's necessities as we get them. Even now as I fold tiny onesies and burp cloths, I feel so overwhelmed by this huge blessing that's about to enter our lives.

Weekend Snapshots

By the time Friday came, I was itching to get the weekend started already. I felt completely exhausted and craving some quality time with my man. I kicked things off with a nap on the hammock during my lunch break because I was absolutely struggling to make it through the workday.

I had no intention of going anywhere that evening, but Jonathan wanted to try a new restaurant up the street so we enjoyed a nice unplanned date night and attempted to watch a movie when we got home. I'm pretty sure we weren't five minutes into the movie when we were both falling asleep so we called it a night and were snoozing by 10:30 PM. No complaints here.

Saturday we had plans to host our friends for dinner so I was up early prepping food and cleaning the house so I wasn't rushing to get everything done later in the day. I had these snickerdoodle blondies in the oven by 7:30 a.m. and proceeded to prep just about everything for dinner, clean the house, give Abby a bath and spend a few hours writing at Starbucks before our friends showed up that evening. I may have overdone it because I was completely exhausted and emotional by the end of the day but we had a great night with friends and I'm so thankful for that.

After such a productive and busy Saturday, my Sunday started pretty slowly. I woke up when Jonathan left for work at 7 long enough to toast a bagel and pack a lunch for him and it was back to bed for me until 9 or so. It felt good to wake up a few times and doze off again just a few minutes later in no rush to get up and do anything in particular. This girl was totally on board with our lazy morning. 

My baby sister got engaged a few weeks ago and wanted to kick off her wedding planning fun by going to a bridal show on Sunday. I am over-the-moon excited for her and obviously said yes when she invited me to join her. We thoroughly enjoyed the cake samples and free goodies and spent the afternoon talking about all things wedding. I just loved spending my whole Sunday with this girl. Isn't she cute?

Speaking of weddings, I get a whole lot of joy out of putting together gift baskets and goodies so naturally, when my sister got engaged I ran out and started gathering a few items for her. I could easily get carried away so I tried to keep it simple with a bottle of champagne, some wedding magazines, jewelry cleaner, thank you cards, nail polish, ring holder and I painted this gold B for her soon-to-be new last name. She's been working on a gallery wall in their house and I thought this would be the perfect addition. Also, this basket is from World Market and I almost wanted to buy one for our house it's so adorable.

I hope your weekend was fantastic! I can't believe it's already May. Holy cow!