35 weeks

This pregnancy is just speeding right along - 35 weeks already! At this point, we are ready for Baby Charlotte's arrival. No one moreso than me. I've had quite a bit of insomnia and the heartburn in constant, regardless of what I eat. I haven't swollen as much with this pregnancy, but I feel like the inevitable will eventually occur.

27 weeks

Well the second trimester is almost over! And I'm growing. :) I've noticed even more clear differences with this pregnancy. I can't get enough sweets! From cookies to candy, ugh the sweet tooth is terrible. Hopefully I won't have a million cavities after little Charlie arrives.

I've also started to notice the serious heartburn. More so than when I was pregnant with Joey. I've started taking more than just the occasional Tums to get through it. Hopefully this means that she will come out with a full head of hair, just like her brother did. :)

Pregnancy is coming right along. Next week, another appointment and the third trimester. For now, here's another belly shot. Unfortunately, it's another creepy bathroom selfie. I'm really discovering how horrible I am at them.

23 weeks

23 weeks and definitely growing! Baby Charlie is an active little thing. She's kicking and chopping away in there like crazy, which is always a fantastic feeling. This pregnancy is definitely trucking right along. I'm feeling pretty good. Heartburn has started to kick in and I've had trouble sleeping the past few weeks. That has started much sooner than I remember happening last time. Nesting started early as well, which is a good thing. In addition to the crazy cleaning/organizing I did over the holidays, I have continued getting things in order and "perfect". I personally think it's a combination of spring cleaning and nesting. Either way, I'm a huge fan of it!

Here's another belly shot! Pay no attention to the fact that it's a creepy bathroom selfie. :)

17 weeks

Well the first trimester has come and gone! I've noticed some major changes with this pregnancy. The most significant is morning sickness. I can count on one hand the number of times I got sick during the entire first pregnancy. Unfortunately, that has not been the case this time AT ALL. I've had a couple of different food cravings as well. While banana peppers and Chipotle have made their way back into my life, I LOVE sauerkraut on a brat (WHAT?!?).

We find out at the end of the month what this little bun is. Here is the first belly shot!

37 weeks = Full-term

Hello 37 weeks and full-term baby time! Talk about home stretch. So every week until little Joey comes, I will be posting a belly shot.

I had the first of the weekly doctor's appointment this week and discovered that he had dropped and his head down and ready. Dilation and effacement have begun, so now we wait until he's ready. In the meantime, hospital bags are being packed today, final nursery tidying and the final stretch to-do list.

Pictures! Shower #2 - Dallas

Yesterday we had the pleasure of seeing family and friends at Baby Shower #2! We enjoyed time with several people from Crystal's work in addition to the Priest side of the family. A few of the favorite photos are below, but here is a link to all of them.

A big thank you to Meagan for capturing so many shots!

35 weeks

Well it's September! Football season, cooler weather, and 5 weeks til baby.

Fun-filled Saturday

Today was the first of three Saturday's in a row that Joe has off work. Not sure what this is all about, but I'll take it! And today, we made the most of it.

We started the morning out with the intent of heading to a few local antique stores to finish up the decor in the baby's room. We arrived to quickly determine that they don't open until 10...seriously.

Plan B - head to Home Goods and the Carter outlet store. Success. We had a blast picking up a few outfits for the kiddo, including his going home outfit. This is the first purchase we'd made for the baby, aside from nursery items. It was really important to me to pick the going home outfit together.

We were home before 12 and Joe geared up to partake in a fantasy football draft. I chose to work on the letters for the wall in the baby's room. I was able to talk him into snapping a couple of pictures between draft picks.

We also started our birth preparation classes today! Can you believe tomorrow marks 6 weeks left! Whew, this is going fast. We are certainly in the home stretch.

We also utilized the day to start hanging some of the decor in the nursery. 

Pictures! Shower in Iowa

As promised, I have pictures from the shower a couple of weeks ago in Iowa. Here are a few of my favorites and the rest in case you're interested.

I discovered the heat and humidty made me swell even more than I thought. Oh well, enjoy!

28 weeks - Hello Third Trimester

The third trimester is here! I can't believe how fast this is going. This is going to start getting real really fast!

Definitely growing, but still lucky enough to feel pretty darn good. No complaints really except for heartburn and not being able to get comfortable at night. After about two nights in a row though, I'm usually so exhausted that it doesn't matter. It certainly seems to go in waves.

This week I get the glucose test for gestational diabetes. Woohoo! Can't wait! Then the doctor's appointments start happening every two weeks.

I'm feeling a lot more movement from the little man, and in different places than I used to feel. He doesn't like me to cross my arms over my belly and isn't afraid to let me know. It's a little strange when I'm in a meeting at work and my arm casually jumps. Not only strange, but distracting. I usually bust out laughing.

I hope Mother Nature starts to be a little kinder as I get bigger. We're on day 20-something in a row of at or over 100 degree temperatures. I honestly quit watching the weather around day 4 because it's just depressing. The local weatherman has resorted to rain dances on the air, which don't seem to be working. Fingers crossed we get a little relief soon. I just don't even want to go outside longer than to get the mail.

24 weeks and hotter than Haiti

With near 100* days and record breaking heat, we are doing everything possible to stay cool here in lovely Texas. It seems this unseasonably warm weather and pregnancy must go hand-in-hand. =) I hope we will see some sort of relief soon, but time will tell.

What a busy week we've had! Joe and I had a blast setting up baby registeries this week. A little more overwhelming than bridal registry, but Joe had fun once again with the scanner gun. We spent a nice evening together on Friday celebrating our anniversary. It's hard to celebrate in the middle of the week, so we chose to spend some time together when we could. We also welcomed my parents into town this weekend. They arrived on Saturday and we enjoyed catching up and spending some quality time all day and again today. And, of course, Father's Day today! Happy Father's Day to you dads out there! This was the first Father's Day with my dad in at least 9 years - and Joe's first Father's Day as a daddy-to-be. We were all able to spend time together this morning and enjoy breakfast before Joe headed into work.

With such a busy weekend, unfortunately I don't have any pictures. I will get better about taking pictures - I promise! To not leave everyone high and dry, here's a belly shot. Another self portrait. Enjoy!

And on an exciting note, we were able to see baby's kicks this week! Seeing my belly move with his movements was truly one of the most exciting things I've ever seen. Just thankful to see it when Joe was able to see it.

Canton Trade Days

As mentioned in the previous post, we went to Canton for Trade Days this weekend. This was my first trip and I had no idea what I was getting myself into! We had a great time taking in the sites and making a few purchases - a few for ourselves and a couple for the baby's room.

 Vintage kids skis

Vintage kids ice skates

There was so much to see, I don't think we even came close to seeing everything, but I'm happy with the things we did find. The 100* heat was rough and I could only hang about 4 hours, but had a blast spending the day with the hubs seeing what we could find.

This was also a great opportunity for us to spend some time with the in-laws, as we headed to their property out in East Texas. It always amazes me how quiet and peaceful it is out there. Our dogs enjoy every second they are there, running around like crazy enjoying the fresh air and nature. Much needed for sure.

And...as pointed out by many, the last belly shot wasn't sufficient enough to show real growth. So, here's a 22 week belly shot for everyone to enjoy.

Memorial Weekend

We have had a very busy Memorial weekend! I'd like to start off by wishing everyone a Happy Memorial Day and giving a big thank you to those who are serving or have served our country. I am enjoying my Monday off work and thought this was a great opportunity to blog while watching Regis & Kelly (guilty pleasure).

Memorial weekend has always been a favorite of mine. There's something about the unofficial kick-off to the summer that has always been exciting to me. Growing up in Iowa, this weekend ususally had at least one day of rain, wind and cold but would turn into a nice weekend - most of the time. In Texas, we are enjoying 90* temps with high humidity. I guess you can't have it all. =)

We kicked the weekend off with a wedding on Saturday night. We had a great time and this was a perfect excuse for me to sneak a picture of Joe in for his debut. You can also get a small glimpse of my growing baby bump.

Sunday was a little more low key, but it was also my birthday. I turned 29 on the 29th. =) I spent the day getting a jump start on cleaning out the nursery while Joe worked. We celebrated my birthday together Friday night, but went out for another dinner Sunday. Joe got me a Sony Bloggie (handheld video camera) so get ready for video posts, especially after the baby arrives! Joe also recevied a "gift." He had the opportunity to feel the baby kick for the first time!

Today, perhaps a neighborhood BBQ, some relaxing and a little shopping. I just love 3-day weekends, especially when it transitions to a 4-day work week.

This week was an exciting baby week for us. We found out the gender on Tuesday, I felt the baby kick for the first time on Thursday (and Joe felt it on Sunday). We also selected the nursery bedding and the overall theme. Here's a sneak peak:

I found a lamp and wall decor piece that coordinated perfectly and had to pick them up. I'm trying not to go too crazy to quickly, which is a hard thing to do!

Next weekend we are headed to East Texas for Canton Trade Days (the largest flea market in the area) and will be able to spend time with Joe's parents in the process. The goal is to find some super cute stuff for the nursery. Fingers crossed!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mama's! I received two Mommy-to-Be cards. One from Joe and one from my mom. It made my day for sure! A big thank you to all of your sweet phone calls, text messages and Facebook posts as well. So many sweet, thoughtful people out there.

As promised to many, I took 18 week belly shots tonight! Bear with me. Joe's still at work - 12 hour work day - so I winged this one myself. Thank goodness for the self-timer mode on my camera.

A definite change in the last two weeks. And in two more weeks we find out what we're having! May has always been a crazy busy month for us and I'm sure it will be again this year, which means it will fly by for sure.

16 weeks

16 weeks is here! And as promised, the first belly shot. My apologies, I'm a day late on this post. Enjoy!

Carrying high or low? We are interested to see if anyone else has gender guesses.