March 27, 2012

Duke Lovin'

Duke lovin' on Tenley

Duke has always loved pregnant bellies, but he really loves Tenley. Whenever we snuggle on the couch he snuggles with her and EVERY Saturday & Sunday when we get to wake up all together he crawls out from the covers and snuggles with Tenley first thing. It's really cute.

First thing on sleep-in mornings this is how you will find Duke

Hanging on the couch

Hungry Hungry Hippos....Yes Please


My friends are the best! I love them. I had my shower this weekend for Tenley, and honestly just seeing a room of friends and people that I think are SO FUN is like the best thing ever. I wish that you could have friend parties every weekend, where just all your friends would get together and hang out. I mean I know people do that - hang out with friends on the weekend...but I mean like ALL your friends, a standing event every Saturday night! I would die of happiness! Why don't people do that, why would you not want to hang out with super fun people all the time...boggles the mind. Really what I would like is to buy a street...preferably on a lake and then have all my friends live on it. OH my word I think I would honestly die of happiness...I am sure heaven has got to feel like that and probably better (hard to imagine)...that's gonna be great too! But I would like to have that street here on earth too.


Anyways...I had the best shower ever, you know it's a great shower when it reflects the person it is thrown for and boy did it! Starting off with BRIGHT PINK bags and HIPPO CUPCAKES!


Followed by people dressed casually in jeans and flip-flops hanging out and talking, and finally topped off with a shower game...and not some dumb shower game that no one likes and dreads on their way to the shower...NO we had a HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPOS tournament! Bracketed like March Madness and everything! It was AMAZING. I made it to the Final Four, but then lost (but it's ok cause when the shower is for you, you always get a prize :)

Finals! (Margo won)

I truely have awesome friends, I think sometimes I think I am better friends with people then they think they are with me, but I don't care. I would be ANYWHERE is a split second for any of my friends and I would do anything for them. I hope they all know that, and I would call any of my friends if I needed them. Friends are such an important part of life. I never see them as much as I would like to (hence why I would like to introduce a standing saturday night FRIEND NIGHT). I miss them terribly when I don't see them (also why I want everyone to just live on the street with me). I seriously wish I could see my friends all the time...I'm not lying.

My Friends are great! haha

Farthest Travelling
Katie - sister - Traverse City
Margo - friend - DeWitt (by Lansing)

Anyways, I had the best shower ever with the best friends ever (those of you who weren't there you were in my heart...honestly I thought about all my friends that day, near and far). I feel so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life who make me want to be a better person. AND friends who throw the BEST showers EVER! (special thanks to Julie, Sarah, and Becky)

LOVE YOU FRIENDS...and I'm not just saying that. I really value all of you very very much!
Thank you for everything and for being a part of my life, I hope and pray Tenley is as fortunate as I am and has amazing friends of her own!

All The Pregnant Ladies!
(in order of due date starting on the left)

March 19, 2012

Sunshine And Happy Days!

I LOVE NICE WEATHER!!!! The weather lately has made me realize a couple things,
1 - the weather really affects my mood
2 - I am glad I live in Michigan where there are seasons, because I feel it gives me a great appreciation for the different seasons and I am always ready and waiting with open arms for the next one
3 - I am reflectively white and need some Sun!

Last week Wednesday was supposed to be 75 outside - ended up being closer to 80, so I planned to take the day off work. Jared was in Tulsa on a business trip so Duke and I planned a "Day O Fun"! We started out the morning by sleeping in, letting the birds wake us up.

We slept with the windows open so the breeze could blow in on us while we drooled on pillows...yes Duke has been
known to use a pillow. Sleeping with the windows open and waking up to a nice breeze and birds is honestly one of my favorite things in the whole world! We sat in the sun room while eating breakfast talking about our plans for the day. We decided that we would run a couple errands in the morning so we felt productive and then we would be ready for the SUN in the afternoon. We headed to a park on the other side of town where we went for a walk and Duke got a photo-shoot. Then we stopped by my dad's house to see my step-mom and showed her the pictures we had just taken. Then to the store for a quick Tenley supply pick up - items on sale of course. Next we headed home and spent 3 hours outside...I read my book, talked to the neighbors, and laid in the sun while Duke played Chuck-It, Soccer, made sure the yard was how he wanted it, and laid in the shade of the trees. We took a break inside for an hour or so, then my mom came over and we say on the back deck and talked while Duke again played Chuck-It. It was a marvelous day which ended how it began with us both in bed, windows open, breeze blowing and us drifting off into dreamland.

This weekend was AWESOME as well! Jared, Duke, and I packed a picnic on Saturday and headed to Saugatuck where we sat in the grass and ate, slept, and chased tennis balls. Then we went into town, walked around, and got some ice cream. It was a fantastic day. I'm pretty sure I have been outside more in the past week then in the past 3 months.

I love being outside, it's driving me crazy that I can't really do yard work and the other things I want to do cause I love doing all that stuff too. I was upset when Jared wouldn't let me shovel the snow too - I'm not lying, I really like shoveling.

Finally, Sunday we took Duke to a new park, that neither he nor I had ever been to, but it was one from Jared's youth. We walked on trails through the woods and attempted to walk down stairs in the woods - I say attempted because it ended with me twisting my ankle and rolling to the ground! It was pretty funny, my only qualm was that Jared was looking the other way when it happened ... I am pretty sure it was a hilarious fall to witness. I enjoyed laughing at myself for the next 30 minutes. The fall raised an intriguing question though... I asked Jared if I would have broken my ankle would he have been able to carry me out... he said Yes, but seeing that I have now passed him in weight I am a bit skeptical. My ankle is sore and a bit swollen, but nothing bad at all. Part of me wonders if I honestly happen to fall in the "2 seconds" Jared was looking the other way...hmm.

So now I sit here with the windows still open, I am loving this summer weather, but I don't want to miss spring. One of my other favorite things is THUNDERSTORMS! (Duke hates them) So for my sake I am hoping they come ROLLIN' IN soon...Duke is hoping we have escaped them.

Here's me at 30 weeks:


March 11, 2012

Realizations


I think I have said this before, but things never HIT me until they are over and done with. There to fore, I am fully expecting some of these realizations to hit me:
  • When we get in the car and leave the hospital, I am fully planning on hysterically laughing...or crying...thinking what the heck...they are sending us home with this girl!
  • When we get home thinking...well we are home, what am I supposed to do now?
  • Many times throughout the first week...when is someone going to come pick this thing up...wait you mean she's not leaving!
  • All the time throughout the first year...and beyond... HA I'm a mom! Poor Kid! Jared did you know we are parents! (since for well into the 1st and 2nd year of marriage sometimes it would just hit me and I would just randomly start laughing and look at Jared and say "we are married! You are my hubby! HAHA)
Things just don't hit me until they have already happened or far after they happened. I think it's a blessing because by that time it's already part of my life...I didn't really stress out beforehand because it never HIT me and now I am in it so there is nothing I can do about it anyways but keep going...I gotta say it's a trait I like having.

Also, even though I know those realizations are coming and I can sit here and think about it, it doesn't stress me out at all, I just think, Yup...that's probably going to happen...then my brain moves on to other things. - Nothing dwelling on or worrying about is going to do anyways. I'm sure there are many other realizations I will have after the fact, and some I have now that are just slipping my mind at the moment. Speaking of slipping...I've hit the clumsy phase of pregnancy as well, yesterday alone I think I dropped like 11 things! This does not bode well for our family since Jared is a little clumsy himself...Oh well...at least we both have a good sense of humor about it :)

Me last week at 28 weeks...now I am 29...11 more to go!

March 05, 2012

HAHA


If you need a pick me up check out some of these pictures! Click here for more.

Prego Update

Well, third trimester is officially upon us. Here is how I know: I have acid reflux, Jared has to help pull me off the couch, I am questioning whether things that fall are worth bending down to pick up, I breath heavy when I go up some stairs or walk at a brisk pace for a very short time, I can feel my Braxton Hicks contractions, I am starting to really want an afternoon nap again, and I am sick of being pregnant…OH and today I nearly started to cry when Jared was pouring some cereal into my bowl that I was really looking forward to eating and all the “dust” at the end of the bag fell on top of my cereal and ruined it!



I am making it sound bad, but it’s really not at all. I really don’t have many complaints, everything is going great. Yes, I am getting tired and it’s getting not so easy to get a comfy good night’s rest, but that’s ok. My acid reflux is annoying and gets worse when I drink water…can’t quite figure that one out, but I have managed to find some great Berry Flavored Tums that are quite tasty. I don’t really like bending or walking fast, but I am too determined to not be limited yet by my belly to let that stop me so I walk fast, then breath hard…then eventually sit down.



I have a dr’s appointment on Wednesday and then I will start going every two weeks. I decided today that I really don’t love being pregnant. I have heard of people who love it, and people who hate it. I would rather leave it then take it, but I am hoping the end result will make it worthwhile J. The only thing I like is that I get to feel Tenley kick and move around all the time. (Which she is doing a LOT of right now as I write this)



Speaking of third trimester, I have a new annoyance, now instead of being asked the question “how are you feeling?” 20 times a day (which in itself is a valid question and I find myself wanting to ask it to other pregnant women…but when you are asked the same question seriously like 20 times a day…I was just ready for a new question! That one’s not really bothering me anymore), now I always hear people talking about “nesting”. Nesting – My new annoyance. I have a number of words that annoy me I don’t blame people for using them, but they just annoy me and “nesting” is one of them…”nursery” is the other one recently.



Nesting – Let’s first get this straight…not everyone goes through this phase AND for some people it’s nothing out of the ordinary. Now MAYBE I haven’t hit nesting yet, but whenever I do anything to get ready for Tenley everyone is like “OOOOO you are nesting”. Here are activities associated with nesting according to my book,





  • painting, cleaning, arranging the nursery



  • Eliminating unnecessary clutter



  • Organizing like items (food, books, tools, photos)



  • Overall home cleanliness or finishing major home projects



  • Procuring/arranging baby clothes



  • Baking and cooking food for freezer storage



  • Packing suitcase for the hospital”

I do almost all of these on a regular basis whether I am pregnant or not (minus the baking/cooking…if that happens I’M NESTING!!!). I always purge things and get rid of clutter, I always arrange and organize things, I am a prepared person believing that as soon as I know something has to get done I might as well do it, because I know things will come up that I am not expecting – hence Tenley’s room has been done for a while, I bought some clothes like 3 years ago for a baby, and I also have had a list going of things I want to bring to the hospital since day 1 of pregnancy. I looked at cribs and toys before we were even trying to get pregnant because again…I knew someday we would need that stuff and I might as well get an idea of what I want ahead of time so I am not stressed when I HAVE to get something.



Hence to forth I do not feel I am nesting, I am just like that. So don’t try to fit my normal activities into the label of “nesting” because I am “supposed” to be – I’m just being me people!



I like to do things ahead of time!



Anyways…Tenley is about 2.25lbs now and 15 inches, she is moving around a lot and doing well. I’ll put a picture up when I get one, Jared and I have been a little slow on taking them lately…sorry!