5 weeks to go

Yep 5 more weeks.

In this picture I feel like I'm in a dove ad for a "real" pregnant woman....no makeup, in pjs, hair up, and I'm not a size 2. Jeff thought I was kidding when I asked him to take a picture. I wanted to remember what I look like right before bed after a long day. I'll probably regret this in the near future. Today I had my OB appt. From this point on I have them weekly, that's when you know things are close. My blood pressure was 102/62, the baby's heart beat was 142, and I'll spare you the details with my weight:) I've been feeling like I'll have the baby sooner than later, but I just got word that my sister is willing to come from Utah and take hospital pictures so now I'm hoping that our baby won't come early.
Today I went to Zumba, had lunch with some friends, went to my appt., came home did some laundry before picking up Sydney from school, finally showered, and cleaned up toys before twelve 8 & 9 year old girls came over for activity days. On Wednesdays Jeff goes to school and then has scouts so he doesn't get home until 8:30-9pm so after I put the kids to bed I'm usually wiped out. Instead of watching a movie like I usually do until Jeff comes home, I started to organize a closet and a few cupboards. Now I'm officially exhausted. Good night from one "dove" mom to another.

you know you're in you're 3rd trimester if.....

-you outweigh your husband.
-your pregnancy shirts don't fit anymore.
-you can already smell those medicated pads they give you at the hospital.
-your kids point out that your belly button has disappeared.
-your kids and/or husband help you put your shoes on.
-you ask your husband to help roll you outta bed
-people ask when you're due thinking you're gonna say tomorrow but you're still weeks away.
I'm know there are more. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

Daddy/daughter dance

Tonight Jeff took Sydney and Jordyn to a daddy/daughter dance at the gym we go to. There were princesses there, crafts, a horse drawn carriage, food, and a full on DJ. They all had a fun time getting dressed up and dancing around with other dads and girls.

Spring Training

Today we went to a spring training baseball game: Brewers vs. A's. I've heard a ton about spring training and so it was a lot of fun to check a game out. Someone from Jeff's work hooked us up with some tickets and we took 3 of our neighbor kids. Wow, did I get looks and unfortunately it wasn't cuz I'm cute or anything. People were staring looking at Jeff, 6 kids, and a really pregnant person. One person did tell me that ALL my kids were adorable and well behaved, which was nice.
The weather was awesome and it was great to enjoy being outside. Many people were laying out on the lawn watching the game.
We walked around the park at one point in hopes of catching a foul ball because we had 2 boys with us that were 11 and 12. All of a sudden a foul ball game our way. It hit a pole, the ground, and then Jordyn's tummy. One of the boys got the ball and EMT came to make sure Jordyn was okay. She was tearful but after the EMT gave her a new ball she seemed better.

 The whole crew including our neighbors.

Gers

The Gers came to visit us over Presidents weekend. They are Jeff's grandparents and the kid's great-grandparents. We call them the Gers in short for Geriatrics. I know it sounds kinda cruel, but they have a great sense of humor  and refer to themselves as the Gers too. It was great to have them here for a few days and get one-on-one time with them. On Monday we went to the zoo.

 Hanging out at home with Grandpa.

 The whole crew

 Spider monkeys

 On the train. Sydney got her haircut the day before. I LOVE her hair short like this. It's so cute to me.

 Grandma and Jordyn

Observing giraffes, ostriches, and some other animals.

6 weeks left

This week has been great. Feeling good. I feel like the baby is doing less kicking and more rolling and stretching. I have felt hiccups on several occasions. I did accomplish the DMV thing that I've been dreading. A friend came with me that also had stuff to do so it wasn't too bad. I also made 9 freezer meals with a few friends. They are called "dump" chicken. Dump some chicken in a bag with some ingredients and freeze. Very quick, easy, and FAST. I also moved around some boxes, opened old girl clothes, although I can't find any clothes for 0-6 months, and put the glider and pack-n-play in our room. I also bought a new over the shoulder diaper bag. Can you tell I have a strong desire to have our baby girl here already, for lots of reasons. Surprsingly, I'm sleeping through the night still. I haven't ever woke up in the night to go to the bathroom. Maybe that tells you how tired I am by the end of the day. Still thinking of names. I like Lexi, Camden, and Jocelyn. Still thinking of more.

7 more weeks

The past few weeks have been great. More nesting involved like organizing and cleaning, freezing meals and seeing a dentist. I still want to get AZ license plates and get Levi into his 3 year doctors visit. Baby seems to be good. I feel her movement a lot, mostly at night. I can feel her kick up into my ribs close to my sternum. Definitely have started the waddle stages of pregnancy especially if I've been sitting for awhile. Today Jeff asked me if I was limping....limping, waddling...same thing I guess. I think being active and exercising has been helping me feel good and getting a lot of things accomplished. I'm grateful I don't have swollen feet or many of the discomforts that come from 3rd trimester. I feel confident I won't gain as much weight as I did with Levi in Alaska. I didn't belong to a gym there and it was winter the whole time I was pregnant practically so I didn't do much outside thus gaining more weight than with any of my other kids.

Levi kissing his baby sister 

valentines

I'm glad valentine's is over. I'm so over candy right now I despise even talking about. I'm not a fan of those conversation hearts. I'd rather have chocolate, but by now, I don't want chocolate EVER again. This poor baby is on sugar over load...I feel bad and guilty. Anywho, we did celebrate. I do the "love mail" with the kids every year, writing them a love note and putting a little piece of candy in their mail box. They look forward to the morning to open their mailboxes. I even did something for Jeff everyday leading up to Valentines. I don't usually do much for him, but this year I was feeling like I should and I'm glad I took the extra effort. I think he felt special and he should because he is special to me. I hear the argument that some don't celebrate v-day with their spouse because they don't need a holiday to remind them to be more loving. I don't either, but it's nice to do something out of the ordinary wether it's a holiday, birthday, or just another boring/dull Monday. Here are some of the little gifts I left in his car every morning.

 Fortune I made out of paper and put my own fortunes inside

 The kids always love to bake and decorate cookies or cupcakes.

 Valentine pancakes one morning

 Wax lips they got in their mail boxes.

 Jeff made me a candy gram and had the kids help. I think you can read it by the picture. The kids love the idea and were super excited to surprise me with it.

A few days before V-day, I was wearing a red sports bra since I had just worked out. Jordyn, "Look dad. Mom has red boobs just in time for v-day."

On V-day I left one last note and little candy (big wax lips and a moustache for Levi) in their mail box along with a new book and bathing suit. We picked up Sydney for lunch and the 5 of us went to a pizza place by her school. Everyone loved that. For dinner we enjoyed chicken teriyaki and friend rice with some pink soda and each of us went around the table telling each other why we loved each other. That night when the kids were in bed, Jeff and I watched "Survivor!" We love that show. It was a great few weeks and I have to admit I'm glad we're moving on from hearts, red, and chocolate.

this week

      9 weeks to go now and almost 8 months prego. Thursday morning I had another appt. My new doctor is Rebecca Conrad. My blood pressure was 104/56. Jeff says that explains why I'm so mellow. The baby's heart rate was 147. Baby is head down still. This weeks workout: 2 hours of zumba, 1 hour pilates, 30 min of precor machine, 30 minutes of weights, 45 min of restorative yoga and lots of stairs.
     On Wednesday we got a new kitchen table. We've had my parents old table for the past 10 years and they had it for like 8 years before they gave it to us. It was round and an 90's brown look. With 3 kids climbing on it my dad had to fix it twice. We sold it in AK and I had been dreaming of a new kitchen table once we knew we were moving from AK to AZ. Since AZ we've been eating on a craft table and a few folding chairs we've had. We didn't have enough seats for everyone so with all this said you can imagine my joy when the table was delivered. I love the black and brown, the wide bench, the distressed look and how it looks in our kitchen. Our first meal on it: spaghetti with sausage, veggies, and strawberries. Also on Wednesday I got my hair colored. Needless to say, Wednesday was a good day.
   I thought I'd include something I participated in on Instagram:
5 things you may or may not know about me:
1. I have a dream and fear about being a stand up comic. I'd prefer improv. The irony in this is that I'm not even funny.
2. I have absolutely no fondness towards cats and Jeff's allergic so we will never own one.
3. Without fail whenever I get my hair done the person always makes a comment about just how thick my hair is. My translation is that my hair is nappy. I've known that for years.
4. I'm a planner. So much so that I made my own will when I was 8. I know I must have had issues, but that is a different story. I like planning but I love surprises and surprising people just as much.
5. Speaking of odd behavior like writing a will when I was 8, I wouldn't mind being a witness to a bank robbery. Again, I have a plan...I would have no fear. Distract the bad guys (perhaps with comedic improv and from a nappy, white girl no less) and get their weapons, tie them up with help from others until the cops came and be a HERO. It'd be cool to save a life or two. Hey, I didn't say I was good at planning:)

 The new table!

 Since I'm taking puffy face, pregnant pictures of myself I thought I'd throw in one of me at 7am. It adds one more element to the glamor of pregnancy. Yep this is what I look like in the morning. About to throw my hair up and head to a dr. appt. Not sure why I schedule them so early.

Me and part of our master closet. I love our closet. It's very organized thanks to the husband we bought it from who designed and built it. Okay, just if you're wondering, I don't normally pose, take pictures of myself, and post them, but since I'm a documentor (if that's even a word) I thought you should know that this is for baby #4 and not be a self absorbing, look-at-me girl.