28 Weeks - Eggplant

What a fun week!  Today is the start of 7th month and 3rd trimester, wow!!! So crazy.

I have gone on the record many times saying that I HATE baby showers.  I always say that no one wants to watch anyone open gifts for 2 hours, measuring bellies, and drinking non-alcoholic punch.  Well.... I'm eating my words.  I had such a great shower this weekend thanks to great friends and family.  Nichole really did a great job!!

Here were a few things that made it so great:

1) Friends and family from all over came in for the shower.  I wish I could have seen them longer, there just wasn't enough time to get to see all of them as much as I wanted.

2) Books!  Every person brought a book instead of a card and now Baby Ball has a stocked library.  I LOVE IT!!

3) This guest book! How cute is this?!  I love the idea!!!  They stamped and signed what day they think Baby Ball will be here.

4) What will future baby look like?  The magazine clipping artwork was awesome.. and apparently everyone hopes he looks/acts just like his dad. (hunting, camo, athletic, wine, and whiskey) .. I hope he has his dad's characteristics but looks like a kid, so I chose this one.

5) this cake..because who doesn't love a cookie cake??

6) The weekly pictures were hung, so cute

Favorite gifts??

1) the books

2) this handmade blanket/quilt made my best friend since I was 4 years old.. who I like to run half marathons with.. she's awesome!  Tummy time on this will be perfect!! (and it's in the shape of a dog.. she started me on rescue dogs!)

3) 4th generation baby blanket!  It's pink I know, but it was used by my grandfather (who baby is named after), his brother, my great Uncle, who married us! and my dad and his brothers.  My grandmother also used this baby blanket on all of us grandkids.  I love this!! And who cares that it's pink?  Apparently in the 20s pink and blue wasn't such a big deal

4).... THIS DIAPER BAG!  OMG, I love this bag.  Is it super practical? Who knows! But.. it's beautiful, and I can't wait to carry this around!!  I might start using it as a purse early..  Dave can now have his manly man diaper bag because I'll be taking this one around!

Pregnancy this week.. still at crossfit, haven't made any more modifications.  Some Kettle Bells to get around my belly, but still feeling great!

I passed my Glucose test!! Woohoo, so I got to eat that awesome cake!

I've evened out after all the vacations and am at 20 pounds gained which is right on track!

My awesome husband, who I like to brag on because he doesn't do it himself, is in the process of making this beautiful changing table. I can't wait to put it in Baby Ball's room!!

 

27 Weeks - Rutabaga - Charleston, SC!

This week The Bump says Baby Ball is the size of a Rutabaga... but... that's only half a pound and he weighs 2 pounds so I'm very confused!

This week we were very blessed to have my parents take us on a trip to Charleston, SC along with my sister and brother in law and Dave's parents came too which made it one big family trip.  It was such a great time and really the perfect trip as the last trip before baby!  Charleston is special to us too because Dave went to college there and a year or so into us dating we went there on a vacation and I swear it's where we fell in love.  Okay, maybe not, but... it was a good trip too!

We stayed on Folly Beach which had pros and cons.  The pros were that it was beautiful, a beautiful house, great fun to go on morning walks, drink coffee on the porch (half decaf of course..), and great views of the beach.  The only con was that we missed out on evening walks in downtown Charleston.

We had a busy trip filled with lots of stories, history, and tons of rich food.

We started on Friday with lunch on Kings Street then headed to the Citadel (where Dave went to college).  We got to walk around there and then see a parade.  It was the first time Dave had ever watched the parade too rather than participating.

 Dave doing log PT

 Citadel Parade

Citadel Parade

Peeking in some of the barracks

Looks like somebody messed up...

That evening we went to Bowen's Island on Folly Beach where most had raw oysters and Dave was sad that the old place had burned down and so it was a little classier than it used to be.

Saturday morning we started with breakfast at Lost Dog on Folly Beach, which turned out to be our go to place for breakfast.  We then went on a Carriage Ride to see downtown Charleston.  Afterward we walked through the market and ate at an Irish Pub (lots of eating, right?!)  After lunch, we got on a boat to Fort Sumter (I didn't even get sick!) and saw Fort Sumter.  That evening we tried numerous different restaurants, actually walked out of one, oops, because they were out of everything!  Our choices were the flounder or the grouper and they were out of the grouper.  Soo.. we ended up at The Crab Shack with more fried food!

Ready for our Carriage Ride

Headed out on the carriage

Our mules names were Carter and Cash.. after June and Johnny.. and they bickered, it was cute.

One of the many pretty churches in Charleston.

 Many pretty homes.

On the boat to Fort Sumter

I promise there were dolphins under there!

Seagulls following the boat.

My cute husband.

Jim, dad, mom, Erin at Fort Sumter

Jim and Schatzi at Fort Sumter

The two of us on Fort Sumter

Sunday morning we went on a walk on the beach and it felt like Dave and I got a little bit of a "babymoon", walking on the beach, 6 months pregnant, and enjoying the scenery was awesome.  It was such a pretty day that we all came back and had coffee on the patio and enjoyed the weather.  We tried to have lunch downtown and ran into bad food and service again, but that's okay!

On a morning walk.  Wow, I look rough..

My favorite part of Charleston is the Battery.  We all had fun walking along the Battery, through Battery Park and seeing the pretty old houses.  We happend upon the Calhoun Mansion, went on a tour, which happened to be 24,000 square feet of crap!  Not really, but this guy is a hoarder of expensive things.  They say that the family actually lives there, but I find that hard to believe.  We went from the Calhoun Mansion to the Hunley and had this adorable old guy as our tour guide.  It was neat to see something being worked on and to see a bit of history and speculate what exactly happened.

Imagining being in the Hunley.. that's a tight fit!

Later that night we ended at a rooftop bar on Market St, then Carolina's for dinner (which was a great dinner) and then Big John's, Dave's favorite dive bar, where he found his army name plate from 10 years ago.  Very fun!

Rooftop Bar, everyone enjoying a drink.  

Monday morning my sister and I got up for a sunrise walk (can you believe we actually woke up?!), then breakfast again at Lost Dog.  Erin loves bridges, so we made it over the Cooper River Bridge (I would love to do that half marathon!) and then the boys saw the Yorktown while the girls walked the bridge.  Then headed home!

Erin's and my sunrise walk - gorgeous!!

More pretty views.

 Mom and Erin on the Cooper River Bridge

Cooper River Bridge

Overall, it really was the perfect last trip before baby!!

I was sick all last week and believe it or not I did find some time to rest in between all that on this trip.  Today I had my glucose test, so fingers crossed that all comes back okay!  I've gained a couple pounds on the trip, oops, and next doc appt is now in 3 weeks.   Can't believe they're already moving up!  So crazy!

26 Weeks - Lettuce

He's the size of lettuce.  Once again, I think lettuce is smaller than canteloupe from a couple weeks ago, so I don't understand TheBump's fetus size chart, but that's okay! It's still a cute idea :)

(I'm sick, and I look sick.)

This week has been BORING!!  I'm sick, being sick is no fun, and being pregnant and sick is no fun.  I think I've officially taken every nap to be taken, watched everything on tv, pinned anything anyone can imagine, and stalked everyone on facebook.  There's nothing else to do.  I'm soo ready to feel better!

So.. since nothing exciting is going on, I'll take the time to do the pregnancy survey that everyone puts on their blog!

How Far Along: 26 weeks, 2nd trimester
Size of the Baby: lettuce?
Maternity Clothes:  Yes! and I love them! I don't understand the people who dislike maternity clothes.  Just buying a large in regular clothes isn't the same!  These clothes are meant to fit you!!
Stretch marks: None!
Weight gain/loss: 18 pounds, which is one pound up from last week, I hope this trend keeps going!!

Sleep: I'm still sleeping, yay!  No complaints yet!

Best Moment of the Week: Dave came back into town and Baby Boy was moving like crazy and we were just watching him.  Buddy laid his head down on my belly and I swear little guy was kicking him off. Dave and I couldn't stop laughing!  (and I wanted to cry it was so cute.)

Movement:  He's really moving!!
Symptoms: I thought on Friday and Saturday that I was starting to get heartburn (first time in my life..), my throat hurt really bad, and there was an acidic feeling at the back of  my throat.. but now that I'm sick, I'm hoping that it was just me getting sick because heartburn was an awful feeling! I now understand when I hear people complain about it!
Food Cravings: fruit still - strawberries to be exact, pickled okra, cereal with milk

Gender: BOY!

Belly Button in or out: out, it's been out since I swear I gained 2 pounds.
Anything making you queasy or sick: No, but I'm a little concerned that the heartburn feeling was after I ate a creamy pasta.  Let's hope not!
Labor Signs: Nope!
Wedding ring on or off: It's still on, yay!
What I miss: sushi with sake
What I am looking forward to: looking forward to the showers over the next couple weeks filled with friends and family and I really can't wait to meet him.  Every time he's kicking, I just want to hold him!
Nursery: It's a mess right now.  Hopefully soon we'll get some furniture in there and start getting it organized!!
Emotions: I think they're good, my husband says they're good, but maybe he's just saying that :)
Stupid things I have done: Um... I got all the way to work last week... and then my husband called.  He couldn't get to work because I had both sets of truck keys in my purse, oops!  That was the first real "pregnant brain" thing I have done.  I was just trying to clean off the kitchen counters!!

25 Weeks - Cauliflower

25 Weeks - Cauliflower

Don't mind the workout clothes.. for once I was actually working out while wearing them, instead of just living in them. Lululemon Racerback tank is AWESOME for pregnancy and I hear that it goes right back to normal after too!

The past week has been a fun one, very productive, and got to see lots of friends after the holidays.

Dave has started on the changing table, we're doing a copy cat (except cuter) of the Ultimate Changing Table from Pottery Barn.

I'll definitely post pictures of the actual one soon.

Dave also made this adorable coat rack for our friend.  I think I want to start selling them, they're just too cute not to!

I made a baby blanket for Baby Ball, I got the tutorial from here.  I've made one with the minky dot material and it's soooo soft, but it's really expensive!  I went with fleece instead because it's easier to work with and it's a third of the cost.

After the baby shower for a friend, I got to see another friend's baby (does anyone else feel like the second you're pregnant, everyone you know is having babies or is a mom?!?!)  Anyway, he was SOO cute and it really made me want to meet Baby Ball right now!

We also had a friend's birthday at Lucky Strike, pregnant bowling was interesting, but very fun!  A great weekend with friends!

I'm also very proud of Dave!  He tested into the advanced group at Crossfit.  There's scaled, intermediate, and advanced.  You can only do the workout that's as high as you've tested into.  So along with a muscle up, this was another one of his goals.

The test included:

3 - 135 lb squat cleans with good form

3 - 95lb squat snatches with good form

5 - ring dips

5 - GHD situps

5 - chest to bar pullups

45 second handstand hold

If I could do even one of those I would be VERY happy!!  But... I haven't had to make any more adjustments with what I do while crossfit and pregnant.  I feel very strong right now actually!

Speaking of Crossfit, did anyone see Crossfit all over The Biggest Loser last night?! I would soo want to be on Bob's team!  No thank you on the treadmills!

And - the 4 pounds I gained over the 2 weeks of Christmas/New Years is now 2 pounds!  So, I'm back to my one pound a week! Yay!! I then gained a pound this week so it's 18 pounds total.

24 Weeks - Cantaloupe

24 Weeks - Cantaloupe

Last week we announced the baby name, James Charles Ball, after both our fathers.  Apparently when I tagged our parents on facebook it looked like the baby had 5 middle names...oops.  We've also had lots of questions of what we call him.  We think James, but some people are already saying Jim Chuck... oh no.

I remember when I was taking pictures with a little green olive, and now a cantaloupe??  One of my main pregnancy cravings has been fruit, so I'm thrilled that this week's cantaloupe will make some yummy breakfasts and snacks!  The other craving this week is pickled okra - yum - I can't get enough of it!!

Weight gain?  Over the past two weeks I think I've gained 4 pounds so that's a total of 19 in the 24 weeks.  I'm a little afraid of that number but hoping that since all I've done is eat and not exercise for Christmas and New Years that that number will soon change a bit!?

We had such a good time with family this past week.  On New Year's Eve Eve we had a fondue party.  It was so much fun!

Habers - New Years Eve Eve

Balls - New Years Eve Eve

Dave and me!

The whole crew!

Habers and Seiters - New Years Eve Eve

We then drove back on New Years Eve (in snow and rain the ENTIRE way with 2 dogs that were PERFECT!!) and made it in time for a friend's New Year's party.  Fun!  I got the oreo balls out of the freezer and they were a hit again.  Please don't notice that I have very few maternity clothes and am wearing the same thing in most pics..




                                        Actual New Years Eve at midnight!  With my non-alcoholic bubbly!

I read on a friend's blog about her 2013 fitness goals.  Obviously, I can't make any huge goals for the next few months but I can make some post baby goals.  Of course first and foremost it's to have a healthy pregnancy, delivery, and baby.  After that though, she said that she wants to do a muscle up.  Read about that here.  That's one impressive goal!!! So, Dave now has that same goal (if  a girl can do it he can too..) and I would like to be able to do a strict pullup.  I got a couple kipping pullups right before I got pregnant and so a strict pullup is a big goal!!  I'd also like to run a half marathon faster than before, sub 2.5 hours.  I can't really work on those goals right now, but I have them for the future and between now and then I'll continue to safely workout while pregnant!

Nursery?  Yay, the blinds are up in the nursery and we've picked bedding!  While fixing up our house we've now officially replaced every set of blinds in the whole house!  We're done!!

We did wainscoting in the nursery, painted it a pretty gray, and went with a moose, bear, buffalo theme.  So the bedding we chose is Dwell Studio Woodland.  It's neutral and has cute foresty animals on it! Super cute.


This week I hope to pick out a crib and get started!