Face Lift

My blog was in need of a cheery face lift. 

It's kind of amazing what an uploaded background photo and a new color scheme can do! =)

(One of these days I'll sit down and actually created a banner/header for myself... for now, the text will just have to do).

Christmas Recap

So, after our fun-filled Christmas Eve evening, Jacob and I got a few hours of sleep and then got up to drive down to my parent's place outside of Eugene for Christmas Day festivities.  It was really nice not to have to be there until about noon when my brother was picking up my nephew from his mom's house.  It meant that we didn't have to leave the house until about 9 AM to get there in time to open presents.  I didn't get up until just before 8... I think that's the latest I've slept in on Christmas in a LONG time!

Jacob and I picked up some warm beverages and breakfast sandwiches at Starbucks and then made the 2.5 hour drive down.  Traffic was actually pretty non-existent... which REALLY surprised me!  I was expected a lot of holiday travelers.  I guess that we must have beat the rush.

We got down to my parents' place, visited for awhile and waiting for my brothers, sisters (in-law, to-be, and might-as-well-be) and nephew to get there and then we opened gifts.  We kids did a secret Santa gift exchange with the catch  being that everything had to be homemade... for the most part we did pretty good! lol

Jenn made Brittney a crocheted headband.

Scott got a wood carved "Legend of Scott" Nintendo game from Rob.

Jacob made Jenn a hanging photo mount/mobile thing

Scott printed up a Pendleton Roundup poster for Dustin

I made Rob a photo/document board for his office*

Brittney** made me these decoupaged switch plates.  I'm really excited to put the "Awake/Asleep" one in the nursery!

Dustin drew Jacob's name... he made him a sandwich. =)  I wasn't able to get a photo before Jacob ate it for lunch.  =)

Our unofficial "goal" on Christmas is to see who can make Mom cry with our gifts.  There were some doozies this year.  In addition to the traditional yearly photo calendar that we give her, Jenn and Brittney got super crafty:

Jenn's masterpiece

Brittney's

My nephew also got to experience the joys of homemade goodness with his Pokemon Trainer shirt c/o Jenn:

After opening presents, we played some Yahtzee, ate some Christmas goodies and then headed over to my Grandma's house for more presents, dinner and games.  My brother Scott and his fiance, Jenn, got the game HeadBanz for Christmas, so we played a little of that.  You've probably seen similar things in drinking game and/or group ice breaker format.  Someone gets a card with a word on it and that have to ask questions to figure out who/what they are.  It was pretty much hilarious:

Much later than anticipated, Jacob and I finally climbed back into the car and headed home to sleep before our last day of our mini vacation... a day of REST! Finally! lol  We had a great time with our families, but definitely appreciated a day of nothing afterward!

*Rob sent me a photo today of my gift in use... it actually looks pretty good! lol

** No, you're not reading that wrong.  Her name is Brittney, as is mine, and as is my other brother's wife (though she spells it with an "a").  It gets complicated sometimes... but we manage. =)

24 Weeks

Size of baby: According to Babyzone she's about the size of a papaya!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I need to start remembering to weigh myself at the beginning of the day, I know that my weight fluctuates about 2 lbs from beginning to end.  Right now I'm weighing in at about +21, but between the extra holiday weight and my dinner that I just consumed, I'm guessing that I'm closer to +19.  Still more than a pound from last week, but considering I consumed a LOT of crap over the Christmas weekend, I think I'm doing ok.  I'm also interested in starting to get some more exercise... anyone have any prego-friendly suggestions for me?

**Update: Weighed myself this morning (12/28) and weighed only + 18... which is in line with my expected pound a week gain.  See!  I told you!  I'm not nuts or trying to rationalize my weight. ;)

Maternity Clothes: Maternity bottoms, regular clothes tops.

Gender: It's a girl!

Movement: Still moving... more at the end of the day than the beginning.  And, when she kicks in a staff meeting at work I have a hard time not laughing at the idea that she's just as bored as I am. ;)

What I miss: Fish.  Random thought I know, but I miss eating whatever seafood I want!

Sleep: The last few nights have been really rough.  I started using a body pillow and another for back support last night.  I don't know that it helped much.  Between not sleeping well and having to get up about twice to use the bathroom I was pretty tired this morning.

Symptoms: Having a hard time with these ligament pains... I keep moving in a way that didn't used to be a problem before and now I get a sharp muscle-pull like pain.  It's getting really annoying.

Cravings:Nothing really... at least, nothing out of the ordinary.

Best Moment this week: The holiday weekend.  I love the Christmas season and enjoyed spending the time with friends and family

What I am looking forward to: Starting to think about/plan the nursery.  Jacob and I plan to start painting in a couple of weeks, and I've been doing some Craigslist shopping for a rocker/glider to buy with my Christmas money. =)

8 Weeks

24 Weeks

Christmas Eve Recap

This was not technically our first Christmas in our new house.  Last year we closed and got our keys on Dec. 23rd and had a small Christmas celebration with the following evening with Jacob's folks, brother and niece and nephew, but this WAS our first full on Christmas... and we were asked to host Christmas Eve dinner for his extended family!

I LOVE hosting.  I enjoy the planning, organizing, decorating, etc. that goes along with it.  And, with the beautiful house that I am fortunate to have, hosting large parties in an option.

(Room for dinner parties/etc. was one of the requirements that I had when we were house hunting).

Several weekends ago, in preparation for the holiday, we went out to Sandy, Oregon to a Christmas tree farm to find our perfect tree (this is something that I haven't been able to do in YEARS!  I haven't had a big enough living space to have a tree in quite some time.  I was more than a little excited to finally be able to get one!)

Then it was time to hang our ornaments!  I had a BIG tote of Christmas stuff that has been sitting untouched for years, and Jacob's folks passed along his ornaments a couple of years back.  We decided to steer clear of the traditional colored "filler" ornament balls and leave our tree completely decorated in "memories".

I also set up my Christmas "village" and some lights.  The village is still pretty small... only a couple of buildings.  But, like I said, I haven't had the opportunity to really decorate for the holiday in quite some time.  And, to be able to have MY piano to put it on was an even greater gift.

As the hosts for Christmas Eve dinner, we expected about 24 guests, which meant we needed to move some furniture and arrange our "great room"/formal living room for dinner seating for two dozen.  With the big "L" shape that we have in our living/dining room we can totally do it! lol  I LOVE that!

When the majority of our guests had shown up for the potluck style event (Jacob's family does a waffle/breakfast bar for Christmas Eve dinner with everyone bringing an item) the cooking started... family style!  (Meaning:  I didn't have to cook solo for 24!  Woo!)  =)

After a filling dinner of waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage and a variety of different appetizers and desserts, it was time to clean up, relax, socialize and open some white elephant gifts... in our OTHER big room (I'm so lucky!)

The evening went off without a hitch.  Jacob and I both enjoyed spending some time with the family and playing hosts for the big event.  We were also happy for all of the yummy breakfast left-overs that we were left with!. ;)  Our guests were all gone by about 10:30, and we had some time to rest and relax before our Christmas Day festivities... which I'll cover in another post! =)

Christmas Baking Recap

This holiday season I set out to actually do some baking!  I love to bake, but rarely do anything in "bulk" and don't usually branch out from a few tried and true favorites.  THIS year though, I made the mistake of following the cooking blog Lulu the Baker and found myself drooling over some of her sweets recipes.

So, I made myself a list, headed to the grocery store and attempted to find all of the correct ingredients. =)  For someone who doesn't do a lot of seasonal baking, this was a bit of a task.  I must say though, the recipes were super easy to follow, the ingredients weren't too hard to track down, and the end products were FANTASTIC.  Our families, friends and I were all quite pleased with the results. =)


 First off, not via Lulu, but rather "in a jar" from my Secret Work Santa:  Mini Chocolate cupcakes:

Next up, c/o Lulu, Chocolate Mint Cookies!  I couldn't find mint chips to save my life, so I replaced with some crushed up Andes Candies and Candy Cane... they tasted awesome!

Then I experimented with some Peppermint Oreo Pops.  I thought there would be a lot more cussing involved as I figured out how to do these. lol  But, it actually turned out to be quite easy!

And, finally, the HIT of the weekend, Carmelitas!  Our families LOVED these and several people asked me to pass the recipe along.

I am VERY happy with the way everything turned out, and plan to save all of these new recipes for the future!  Thank you Lulu! =)

23 Weeks

I'm a day late... sorry. =(  Been working on a lot of projects around the house recently.  More to come on that later! =)


Size of baby: According to Babyzone she's about the size of a mango!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Approximately the same as last week: 17ish lbs... depending on what I'm wearing and what time of the day it is. =)

Maternity Clothes: Maternity bottoms, regular clothes tops.

Gender: It's a girl!

Movement: Not as much movement recently... it's a little unsettling after getting SO much last week!

What I miss: Having a drink with friends at Happy Hour.  Twice this week I went to "Happy Hour" and drank a diet Coke. lol

Sleep: I've been sleeping really good the last couple of nights.  Jacob and I have been taking nightly walks through our neighborhood and I think the fresh air and movement before bed has helped.

Symptoms: Still getting round ligament pains and my legs are starting to swell throughout the day (back to normal the next day, but sometimes a little larger in the evening), so that's kinda weird. =)

Cravings: I"m kind of disappointed that I'm almost in my 3rd trimester and haven't had any weird pregnancy cravings yet! lol  I want to be able to tell my kid stories about the weird shit I wanted to eat when I was pregnant. =)

Best Moment this week: I was getting ready for work the other morning and Jacob came into the bedroom, saw me and got this huge grin on his face.  He came over, hugged me, rubbed my belly and said that I looked pregnant. lol  While I was not particularly fond of the fact that he was commenting on my size, the joy in his face was pretty great.

What I am looking forward to: I have the next five days off of work... I couldn't be happier!  Even if they are going to be full of Christmas prep related stuff!

22 Weeks

Size of baby: Babyzone didn't send me an e-mail this week with my stats. =(  But the website says that she's about 11 inches from head to heel.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm going to say 16-17 lbs... I just weighed myself, but I JUST ate dinner, so, I'm figuring some of that will digest by the morning. =)

Maternity Clothes: Maternity pants and leggings... so comfortable!  I even bought a couple of cute dresses/tunics, too.

Gender: It's a girl!

Movement: A lot more than last week.  But I only really notice it when I'm "resting" (at home or sitting down somewhere--it makes work meetings a bit more interesting! lol)

What I miss: Being able to bend at the waist.

Sleep: Getting a little harder to get comfortable at night.  I definitely need my "cuddle pillow" to support my front half.

Symptoms: I'm doing ok.  Nothing much to report. =)

Cravings: Nothing out of the ordinary.  I'm eating a lot of carbs these days (which isn't REALLY unusual for me) and I feel like I need to get some more fruits and veggies into my diet.

Best Moment this week: Jacob felt her kick!  I've been feeling kind of guilty that I was experiencing everything and he wasn't.... so I was REALLY happy last night when he felt the "thumping" in my tummy. =)

What I am looking forward to: Starting work on the nursery... though I don't see that happening until after the holidays.  I'm feeling busy enough these days!

21 Weeks

Size of baby: According to babyzone.com, baby’s about the length of a leek.

Total Weight Gain/Loss:About 15 lbs... I either lost a pound from last week or I'm fluctuating in pregnancy just like I did pre-prego.

Maternity Clothes: Maternity pants and leggings... so comfortable!

Gender: It's a girl!

Movement: Off and on.  Some days there's a lot, some days I don't know if I realize any at all.

What I miss: Not thinking in terms of how old my baby will be when... lol

Sleep: Pretty much the same as pre-pregnancy.

Symptoms: I'm feeling good.  Having a harder time bending at the waist though!

Cravings: Right now I really want chocolate... but that's nothing unusual.

Best Moment this week: Picked out some paint samples for the nursery... I think we decided.  I'm excited to get going on that!

What I am looking forward to: Shopping for curtain fabrics this weekend with my mom, while Jacob and his folks move furniture around so that we will have a "nursery" to start work on.

Today's the Day

This is it.  Today's the day that I'm pushing myself out of my comfort zone and making my most recent project public!

For several years I've been in love with my camera.  I've taken a variety of senior photos and engagement shots for friends and family.  On Thanksgiving, in fact, I took my little brother's engagement photos... and it was then, after I received so many compliments and positive feedback about them that I decided I need to give photography a try from a professional level.  So, for the past week I've spent many hours thinking about it, stressing about it, finally deciding to do it... designing the website and Facebook page for my new photography and design endeavor:  Pure and Simple:  Photography and Design.  I've designed and ordered business cards, purchased my own domain name, worked out a "business" phone number and even invested a nice, new SLR camera... now I just need to see if I can get any business!  =)

I'm a little scared, to be perfectly honest.  I thought about doing this several years ago, and even booked one appointment, but it just didn't go anywhere from there and I kind of gave up.  I have some confidence issues with my work... they always say that you are your own worst critic: it is SOO true!  Thankfully I have an awesome husband and friends/family who have been really encouraging and helpful.  So, it's with their support, that I've put my anxiety on hold and have decided to finally go for it!

I'm excited.  I LOVE photography and really enjoy the opportunity to photograph new people and places.  And, to think that I can actually turn my passion into a way to earn a few extra bucks for my growing family... even better!

In order to help move things along a bit, I have decided to start things off with a couple of specials.  You'll see these along the top of the web page:  25% off all photo sessions scheduled to take place by the end of February, and $15 in cash (or $20 photo/project credit) for every friends that any of you refer who purchases a photo session or design project.  I'm not sure how long the referral reward will go on... I guess we'll just have to see how many people take advantage of it and help me out! =)

Please, take a look around this website, contact me if you have any questions or want to book a session/project, "like" the Facebook page, and pass the links around to your friends.  My family and I would really appreciate it!

(Here's a few of my favorite photos from my photo sesh with my baby brother and his fiance, Jenn, last weekend... P.S.  Jenn has started her own wedding planning blog... I'm sure she would love some more followers/advice/ideas!)

Not the best quality on this one... but i think it's adorable. lol

Week 20

Today I hit the end of my 20th week.... halfway there! =)

Size of baby: According to babyzone.com, baby’s about the length of a carrot. 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Roughly 16 lbs.  I'm trying not to read too much into this.  I'm a "big" girl, that amount of weight looks/carries a lot differently on me than on a woman of "average" height.

Maternity Clothes: Wearing primarily maternity pants now, with the occasional pair of sweats/workout pants.  Not feeling the need for maternity tops, and I'm starting to wonder if I will.  Since I'm so tall, I don't know if I'll get a very big "bump" out front (I measured what 40 cms would be the other day... it's not that much).

Gender: Sugar and spice and everything nice! =)

Movement:  Feeling a fair share of movement this week.  It's been weird... but cool.  It's nice to know that something is actually in there and functioning. =)

What I miss: Not having to plan my work meetings around whether or not I may have to pee in the middle of them. lol

Sleep:  Pretty much the same as pre-pregnancy.

Symptoms: I'm feeling ok.  Feeling back to "normal".

Cravings: Nothing weird... just the norms.

Best Moment this week: This is a toss up between finding out the sex at my ultrasound yesterday and finally feeling identifiable movements.  She was poking me so much on the train on the way home today that I almost started to giggle.  It just feels so WEIRD! lol

What I am looking forward to:  Starting to plan the nursery.  Now that I know the gender I feel more comfortable planning/thinking about it... even though we are sticking to neutrals.  I picked up a bunch of paint samples yesterday.

"The" Ultrasound

OK, before I get to the BIG NEWS and tell you all what "kind" we're having, I feel the need to speak to those of you out there who are thinking/planning/trying to get pregnant regarding this ultrasound, as I don't feel like I had enough warning about what it actually entailed!

I went in for my anatomical ultrasound this morning.  My directions, prior to arriving at my appointment, was to empty my bladder two hours before the appointment time, then drink 32 ounces of water in the next hour, and not relieve myself again until I got the my appointment.  My OB nurse told me that this was a little ridiculous, she told me that I should be fine if I emptied my bladder an hour before the appointment and then down the 32 ounces in the hour leading up to it.  So, I split the difference.  I used the restroom a hour and a half before my appointment, then drank a bunch of water--finishing it all 30 minutes before I was supposed to be at the ultrasound.

I'm telling you, this is cruel and unusual punishment for anyone.  But for a PREGNANT woman??  I need to pee every hour any way, and now you're going to pour water into me and tell me I can't go?  What the hell??

I thought that they wanted my bladder full to give a urine sample.  Why would an ultrasound tech want me to give a UA?  I don't know, but in my mind it's the only thing that made any sense.  But boy was I wrong!  Turns out, not only did they want to fill my bladder up and then make me sit there refusing to let me near a bathroom, but they were they going to take their little wand and PUSH on my stomach!  Apparently a full bladder helps with some of the imaging.

They took several images of my cervix and then allowed me to use the bathroom before they continued.  It was slightly torturous! 

I then laid there for over an hour while they moved the wand from one side of my stomach to the other, occasionally taking a photo and typing out some codes.  I was able to watch the whole thing on the screen and would get some narrative now and then regarding what I was looking at.  On occasion this kind of hurt.  The tech would really dig the wand into my gut trying to get an angle that she needed.  Sometimes I wasn't sure if all of the discomfort I was feeling was from the wand, or if the baby was fighting back from all of the pressure it was receiving! lol

About 45 minutes into the ultrasound (in a warm room, lying down, after not sleeping well the night before... I was a little worried that I was going to fall asleep!) the tech put the wand away, wiped off my belly and told me to do some toe touches to make the baby move into a better position and that she would be back in 5 minutes. lol  I don't know if she was serious about the toe-touches or not, but, i did them anyway. =)  It was a nice stretch at least.

Five minutes later she was back, I was lying down again and the wand was out.  More pushing, poking, and prodding, and then, FINALLY, she asked if we wanted to know the sex.  I, very enthusiastically, said yes.

Now, Jacob and I wanted it to be a girl.  Obviously, if she said boy we'd be happy to, but we only want to have two kids and want at least one of them to be a girl.  But, unfortunately, I had this feeling deep down that it was going to be a boy.  And Jacob has had several dreams that it's a boy.  So, I was hoping, but ready for whatever the verdict was.  Plus, it seems like every time I watch "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and they use the "ask the audience" feature, the audience is right.  So, I was hoping that my "audience" poll that I've run on my blog the last several weeks would prove accurate, as the vote was for a girl.

Well, this is what the technician showed up when she gave us the news:

Apparently three little lines equals "Girl". =)

Week 19

Size of baby: According to babyzone.com, baby’s about the size of a tomato!  (It was the size of a grapefruit last week... which I picture as bigger than a tomato.  Is my baby shrinking??)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: My scale is broken, I can't tell! lol  (And no, I didn't break it. =P  I just need to buy a new battery).

Maternity Clothes: Wearing a lot of maternity pants/leggings these days.  They are comfy and they don't dig in to my bladder every time I sit down (which, at work, is most of my day... I was getting tired of having to take a bathroom break every hour).

Gender: Not sure yet... but we'll know next week! =)

Movement:  I *think* I may have felt some stuff today... but I don't know for sure.  It felt kinda fluttery, but it could have also been some weird stomach stuff. lol

What I miss: This is going to sound horrible, but wine and liquor.  I want to relax with a glass of wine or be able to drink a cocktail at happy hour with my friends.  I know I can have the occasional glass of wine, but why risk anything? 

Sleep:  I had a really hard time STAYING asleep last night.  Not sure what's up with that.

Symptoms: Just feeling fat and taking more time to get ready in the morning because I "don't have anything to wear!"

Cravings: Nothing weird... just the norms.

Best Moment this week: If what I felt today was baby movement, then that was the best part of my week. =)  If it was just gas bubbles, then... hmm... I booked my maternity photo session.  Still a few months out, but since I'm such a planner I wanted to make sure to have it on the books. =)

What I am looking forward to:  My wonderful weekend away (call it a babymoon, or just call it a vacation)!  We're headed out of town for the long weekend.  First Thanksgiving dinner with the fam, and then out to Crescent Lake where we've rented a cabin for the weekend with plans to relax in the jacuzzi tub and go snowmobiling! =)

Oh!  And, of course, my doctor's appointment on Monday! =)

Under Attack

That was one of my first thoughts today when I left my office building in downtown Portland to run a couple of errands on my lunch break.  Several helicopters were hovering overhead, police sirens were wailing, car horns were honking... and I was thinking, what the hell is going on??

Today Occupy Portland took to the street to "occupy" banks and bridges.  They started out this morning by protesting on the Steel Bridge and messing with several people's morning commutes when the bridge was shut down.  Thankfully I just barely made it over the bridge before they started moving in... I could them all from the MAX window.

Headed downtown, they then proceeded to "Occupy" several banks and apparently shut down one downtown Wells Fargo branch for about an hour with several people being arrested, and the police hauling out the pepper spray.

There was also a big protest on 5th and Alder... about 6 blocks from my office.  Which explains all of the chaos and over stimulation that I experienced on my lunch break.  We watched some of the live feed coverage as it was going on... lots of people, lots of police in riot gear... lots of emotionally charge scariness.  But, I had a hard time taking my eyes off of the coverage.

Last weekend as the police were moving people out of the Occupy camps downtown and putting up fences around the park, I watched for HOURS.  I couldn't help but feel a strong need to observe as I knew that I was watching history in the making.  I've never experienced anything like this in my life before.  Sociologically speaking, it's all very interesting... as long as they don't make me late for work. ;)

18 Weeks

Size of baby: According to babyzone.com, baby’s about the size of a grapefruit!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Haven't weighed myself this week.  I think I'll wait a bit longer. =)

Maternity Clothes: Been wearing a lot more maternity pants but still regular shirts.  I can still get away with regular pants, but they dig into my gut when I'm sitting down. =(

Gender: Could be a girl... or a boy.=)

Movement:  Nothing!  I'm getting kinda antsy!  I think this was suppose to be happening by now?

What I miss: Sushi.  I really want sushi.  And liquor. lol

Sleep:  Sleeping a bit better.  I'm still a bit sick, but I'm clearing up a bunch now.  I got myself one of those daylight wake up lamps... I'm hoping that will help with my mood/energy level in the mornings.

Symptoms: I think I'm getting a lot more round ligament pain recently... especially when I got really excited at the hockey game this weekend. lol

Cravings: I want sushi... and liquor. lol  I think I noted this already. =)

Best Moment this week: We went to a hockey game on Friday.  It was nice to do something out of the ordinary.  And it was a good, enjoyable game!

What I am looking forward to:  Everything to come.  It's going to be a pretty wild ride from here on out I have a feeling!

17 Weeks

Size of baby: According to babyzone.com, baby’s about the size of a red onion!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: About +12.  Though, I've only gained 7 lbs since my first ob appointment (2 months ago) so I'm ok with the current weight gain. =)

Maternity Clothes: I wore my first pair of maternity pants to work today.  I was feeling sick/icky and stretchy pants that felt like wearing pajamas all day sounded good. =)

Gender: Don't know yet, but made the appointment to find out!  November 28!

Movement:  Still nothing... I keep hearing that it should be happening soon though.

What I miss: I don't know... I think I'm doing ok right now =)

Sleep:  Sleeping ok... last night I felt all cold/congested-like, so I hope that I'm able to fight off whatever is working it's way through me so that I (and Jacob!) can get a decent night sleep tonight.

Symptoms: A little more acne than usual, but otherwise ok.

Cravings: Right now I want chocolate.. but that's nothing unusual.

Best Moment this week: My doctor's appointment.... hearing the heart beat is always the highlight.

What I am looking forward to:  Finding out if it's a he-baby or a she-baby!  Only three weeks to go!

What "Kind" Am I Having?

I had my monthly check up today.  No ultrasound this time, but heard the baby's heartbeat... 163 beats per minute.  The little guy/gal is still in there growing and moving around (the doctor heard and lost the heart beat several times... s/he's a mover!).

At this appointment I scheduled my anatomical ultrasound at the hospital.  November 28th Jacob and I will find out if we're on Team Pink or Team Blue (not that the gender will in any way be differentiated by these colors in our home, but, for traditional purposes I'm use that identifier. ;)).  I've posted a poll on the side of my blog... based on your hunches, intuitions, explanations of the symptoms I've written about, photos of my "bump", whatever... cast your vote as to whether you think there's a little man or little woman in there!  "Ask the Audience" always seems to help on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.... let's see how it works with this scenario! =)

Trick or Treat!

I'm a bad, bad blogger.  I have several posts that I've wanted/thought about writing and I've just been sitting on them waiting to have the motivation to do so.  Well, I'm going to try to knock one out right now... even if it is a week or two late. lol

First off, have to say that Halloween in our new neighborhood is AWESOME!  Last year Jacob and I bought a bunch of candy and were ready for all of the trick-or-treaters we were going to get living in such a huge apartment complex with so many kids.  Well, our doorbell rang ONCE all night long!  *sigh*  Brittney was not happy about all the leftover candy we "had" to eat over the following days/weeks.

This year I was hoping it would be better.  We live very near an elementary school.  Granted, I rarely see ANY kids outside in our neighborhood, but I still had hope.  I went to Costco and bought a bag of mixed chocolate mini-candy bars and crossed my fingers.  Well, guess what?  We ALMOST ran out of candy!!  I think we got about 50-75 trick or treaters on Monday night.  I was giddy with excitement at all of those cute little kids in adorable costumes. =)  That is, after the initial shock/confusion/horror over our first "trick-or-treater": a 40ish year old man with two pillow cases and no costume.  I played along (hoping he had some kind of development excuse), but it was definitely weird.

Jacob and I didn't dress up for Halloween this year, but we DID dress up with a couple of friends the weekend prior to do a Halloween themed scavenger hunt.

Depending on how long you've been reading this blog, you may remember last year when we participated in the same event (put together by PDX Hunt) and won the costume contest.  Well, this year we didn't put as much effort into our costume, but kicked our race into high gear.  And we got SOO close!  Of 300 teams that participated in the race, we finished in the top 10! (We were the "Bloody Suckin' Searchers" lol)  We're going to kick some serious pumpkin ass next year! =)

Below are a few photos of our adventures along the race.

 

16 Weeks

Size of baby: According to babyzone.com, baby’s about the size of an avocado!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Haven't weighed myself this week... but I don't think I've gained more (if any) from last week.

Maternity Clothes: Still wearing all of my regular clothes.  Though I did purchase a pair of maternity pants and some leggings the other day while I was at the mall.  I figured I should be prepared =)

Gender: I have lots of "feelings", but won't know for sure for another few weeks.

Movement:  Nothing yet.  Looking forward to that moment though.

What I miss: Not thinking of every action in terms of "what is this going to  be like to do in a couple of months?"  So many things keep popping up that I realize is going to be REALLY difficult when I have a belly that I never though about before.... like getting food out of the lower cupboards in our kitchen, or the floor level safe at work.

Sleep:  Sleeping well, just want to stay in bed as long as possible.

Symptoms: Doing fine.  Nothing much to report here.

Cravings: Nothing really.  I really don't feel stereotypically pregnant.  No weird cravings or real morning sickness... sometimes I forget that there's something in there. =)

Best Moment this week: Passing out Halloween candy last night was pretty fun.  We found out that we live in a pretty popular trick-or-treating neighborhood, which I'm very excited about. =)

What I am looking forward to: My next doctor's appointment where I'll be scheduling my big ultrasound to find out the gender and make sure everything is a-ok!

And, for comparison photos, me at 6 weeks...  I'm definitely filling out.

15 Weeks

Size of baby: According to babyzone.com, baby’s about the size of an apple! Apparently it's roughly 4 inches, which means (if I did my math correctly) that it is pretty much exactly the size that I will dilate during labor... too bad I'm only about a 3rd of the way though! lol

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Since I just ate a pretty big Mexican dinner, I'm going to take off 2 llbs and say that I've gained about 8 lbs so far. =)

Maternity Clothes: Still not much of a bump.  My belly is definitely getting rounder, but it still just looks like a food baby over a real one.

Gender: 50% chance of either!

Movement:  Nope.  I hear it could potentially start happening soon though... I sometimes I wonder if I'm going to know what it is right away or if I'm going to freak out and think something's wrong.

What I miss: Not having the spotlight on me.  I'm not someone who likes to be the center of attention, so having people continually comment on it and/or give me advice/articles/suggestions/etc. it hard for me to deal with.

Sleep:  Sleeping pretty well... just wish I could do more of it.

Symptoms: Doing good.  Feel like I'm not getting enough sleep, but I think it's because I'm not. =)

Cravings: I still don't feel like I'm having any cravings outside of the norm.  Today I craved Mexican food, but I would get cravings like that before I was pregnant, too.  I've definitely been known to make french fry and/or blizzard runs in my pajamas. lol

Best Moment this week: Did a Halloween scavenger hunt this weekend and had a great time!  I'm hoping to blog about that (and some other stuff) later.

What I am looking forward to: Getting some new clothes... whenever the need finally comes (I think I'm going to need some new pants fairly soon... but, unfortunately I'm NOT looking forward to that, as I'm so tall it's hard enough to find regular pants.  Anyone know who makes maternity pants with a 35-36" inseam??)

14 Weeks

(This is one of a series of scheduled posts that I've written since I found out that Jacob and I were expecting our first child.  The original composition date is included below).

Oct 18:

Size of baby: According to babyzone.com, baby’s about the size of a lemon!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Haven't weighed myself this week... and I'm ok with that.  Especially since I ate a LOT of pizza yesterday... and then cried at the TV.  Yup.  I'm pregnant. =P

Maternity Clothes: No real bump yet to have to dress...

Gender: 50% chance of either! =)

Movement:  Nothing yet.  I think I still have a few weeks until anything is supposed to happen...?

What I miss: Daylight.  This whole getting-dark-earlier, getting-light-later thing is messing with me.

Sleep:  Sleeping ok... but I've had a cold for the last week, so it's been a constant struggle between waking up having to pee, or having to blow my nose or cough.

Symptoms: I'm doing ok.  I get these weird little cramps every now and then, and I don't know whether to blame it on baby or gas! lol

Cravings: No real cravings.  Unless you count that last night anything warm and bready sounded good to me.

Best Moment this week: Let everyone at work in on the news.  I sent out an all agency e-mail with the subject line:  Not (just) eating a lot of cake.  =)

What I am looking forward to: Finally starting to think/plan about baby stuff.  I didn't really let myself think/talk about it much during the first trimester (fear), but now I'm starting to feel more confident in the whole thing.

13 Weeks

(This is one of a series of scheduled posts that I've written since I found out that Jacob and I were expecting our first child.  The original composition date is included below).

Oct 11:

Size of baby: According to babyzone.com, baby’s about the size of an egg!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: As of my doctor’s appointment yesterday, I am up a grant total of 7.5 pounds… but my appointment was in the afternoon, so, obviously I weighed a bit more. =)

Maternity Clothes: Nope.  All of my clothes still fit… even if my bridesmaid’s dress last weekend DID make me look pregnant. lol

Gender: 50% chance of either! =)

Movement: Haven’t felt anything yet, but the doctor yesterday said that the little one was quite the mover… she had a hard time getting the heart rate as the little sucker kept doing cat-cow during the ultrasound. =)

What I miss: There isn’t much that I miss right now… everything is going pretty well.

Sleep:  I have a cold… so my sleep last night wasn’t great.  So far I’m not overly congested, but I have a HORRIBLE sore throat that kills every time I swallow… including waking me up in the middle of the night, which then leads to me having to get up to pee. =P

Symptoms: I’m doing ok… just waiting for my baby bump.

Cravings: I haven’t really had cravings at all during the pregnancy so far.  I still love my carbs and dairy, but that’s pretty typical.

Best Moment this week: Seeing my little brother get married this weekend was pretty good… and finally telling the “world” that I’m pregnant felt good, too!  Bring on the second trimester!

What I am looking forward to: Finding out the gender… we have about 6ish weeks to go before this happens, but I’m definitely looking forward to it.

12 Weeks

(This is one of a series of scheduled posts that I've written since I found out that Jacob and I were expecting our first child.  The original composition date is included below).

Oct 4:

Size of baby: According to babyzone.com, baby's about the size of a kiwi!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I seem to have lost weight since last week, so I’m done to only +5 total.  I’m ok with that. =)

Maternity Clothes: Not yet… but I did buy some new sweaters this week and bought them a size larger than I would have so that I’d have some room to grow.

Gender: 50% chance of either! =)

Movement: Nope, but I’m kind of looking forward to experiencing that.

What I miss: Not much really.  I’m feeling a lot better these days.  This last week just FLEW by.

Sleep:  Still sleeping quite well, with the exception of the nightly bathroom break.

Symptoms: Nothing really.  I seem to be back to “normal” (whatever that was!)

Cravings: I don’t know if it’s a craving or not, but carbs, salt and chocolate.  It’s what I always craved right around “that time of the month”, so I can’t tell if it’s pregnancy related or not. =)

Best Moment this week: Hmm… I don’t know.  Like I said earlier, the week flew by.  I don’t really remember it much!

What I am looking forward to: My next appointment is less than a week away… one week from today, when I have finished my first trimester, we make it “Facebook (and blog) official!”