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.