33 weeks

**excuse the pic this week, had to utilize the old iphone when I decided I was too tired to be troubled with recharging the camera battery!

How far along? 33 Weeks-and SERIOUSLY...JUST the size of a pineapple I ask?? That was rather questionable to me for this growing belly I keep seeing below me!
Weight loss/gain? +35 pounds, and the swelling is back...geeez! I knew it was too good to be true!
Maternity clothes? Every day, although I am happy to say the dress in this picture is actually a size Large that I bought last summer on MAJOR clearance. When I say major, I mean regular price $98, on sale for $9.99. It didn't fit me last summer but I knew we would be trying to get pregnant soon so I definitely couldn't pass on it! And with that being said, I miss shopping!!!
Stretch Marks? Not yet, and hopefully not at all ; )
Sleep? Once again, sleep just isn't what it used to be. I sure do miss that. However, I have realized that if I stop eating ice about an hour before bed I tend to get up a lot less for bathroom visits...duh Kelly!!! Easier said than done.
Best moment this week? Mom and I had another very productive Friday working on the room organizing and putting away all of the shower gifts! Jason finished a very BIG project in the nursery. And I made decisions on a rug and curtains! Eeek!!! Progress!!! I LOVE IT! 
Miss Anything? Any normal activity that I used to do which I no longer can. Jason and I took Auggie for a walk around the block one evening and I was shocked how differently a walk is now compared to before pregnancy....actually, scratch that, compared to even just 10 weeks ago!!
Movement? Constantly! Dr. B says, active in the womb, active out of the womb! We could be in trouble!
Food Cravings? Just Ice...and as much as I can get. Had my iron checked twice to make sure it wasn't low and it came out good! In the meantime, I just keep crunching on. I might also add that we are now stocking our freezer exclusively with Sonic ice by the bag.  I've managed to find which ones will sell it and it's now at least a once a week stop, sometimes twice!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Woke up in the middle of the night over the weekend with a pretty bad stomach cramp and I'm almost sure it might have been a Braxton hicks contraction but it went away and I haven't had any problems since. Maybe just a fluke!
Have you started to show yet?  Um yeah, and some people sure don't fail to comment either....
Gender? Girl!
Labor signs? No
Belly Button in or out? Still rocking the outie. Have to share a funny laugh regarding just that. I cover my belly button with tape sometimes when my shirt is a little thinner and the other day in the car Jason reached over and touched my belly as we were talking about Presley and all of a sudden he quickly jerked back his hand. I looked at him funny and he kinda shrieked, "Your belly button feels WEIRD".....I just started laughing and said, "I have tape over it" We just both died laughing at his obvious state of shock in thinking that my belly button had not only grown out but also mutated texture. Oh my!
Wedding rings on or off? I had to stop wearing my wedding band : ( Still able to wear my engagement ring though. I'm sure that's about to go too. The heat and swelling is so bad I've just about shed wearing my watch and can barely manage to get my bracelets on also
Happy or moody most of the time? Happy on days I feel good. I'd say there were probably more good days than bad this week!
Looking forward to? Meeting my baby. I daydream about her all the time now. What will she look like? Lord knows Jason and I are completely different personalities, whose personality will she have? I pay lots more attention to mothers with newborns and just really can't believe that we aren't that far away from being a family of 3 + an Auggie (can't forget my main man!)


33 Weeks and counting. Seems so unreal that we are really this close yet it also seems so far away. There are still so many loose ends to tie up and at this point I just hope it comes together in a timely manner. I know it's not the most important thing but when life gets busy with work, etc. it also seems to sneak away from you. Basically any time of year is busy for us, for most people I'm sure. Trying to work a full time job, run a full time household, set aside time for family and friends, maintain relationships and responsibilities, squeeze in any extra unforeseen circumstances...well all that alone can make ya crazy. And it's just the way that most of our lives work. I keep telling myself that if I still worked part time I would most definitely be way more accomplished at this point and maybe be able to enjoy that "nesting" phase I hear so much about from pregnant women. But sadly that's not the case so it seems like the only time I have to get my head together and work on anything is the weekend. Not a big deal though, I know we will get there. I'm just getting a little inpatient. 
One of the biggest things we did this week was to attend a breastfeeding class which I signed us up for. I love that Baptist provides classes for your choosing to help get your feet wet if you are that type of person who needs it, which I surely do! I kind of missed the boat and waited too long on getting in for the child birth class but my doctor and I both agreed that the breastfeeding would be more beneficial anyhow. Not that I feel I am well informed and ready to go by any means but it sure helped to get some exposure and I liked having Jason there so the teachings would fall on both sets of ears. This is something that I really want to be successful with yet I also know how challenging it is going to be.
I don't think there is too much else to share this week. One thing is for sure, the summer heat is here for sure. Most days my legs/feet average about 3 times their normal size. I'm pretty sure this is the norm from here on out. It's just so hard to deal being that it makes it literally painful to be on my feet all day. But...you just gotta suck it up, as harsh as it may sound. I don't  think it'll get much better so might as well just deal. One cool thing happened this week...our glider chair for the living room came in!! I was so excited as I had taken forever to make a choice on it and we have had an empty space in our living area for weeks. We choose a glider for the living room as we realized that when we are rocking the baby we may not always want to be shut in her room separate from company or whatever.....and of course, the TV!  After much searching we found one I was really happy with looks wise and I think it fits the room well also once we got it in. Jason took his first seat in it and immediately approved it as an appropriate game day watching chair..lol...we'll see about that.



Now all it needs is an ottoman which I already have ordered.


Oh, in other big Otwell news, this week we took Auggie for his first therapy session......YES, I know we all agree he needs therapy, but Auggie was actually administering therapy. Not sure if I have included this in the blog but back in the winter Jason and I decided to enroll Auggie in training classes to become a certified therapy dog through Therapy Dogs International (TDI). Being certified through TDI, Auggie is allowed to go visit patients in hospice care in order to bring joy to them and their families. He's also allowed to visit children in schools and underprivileged areas though we haven't tackled that just yet. Jason and I were offered this opportunity and it became such a big deal to us as it more than hit home. About a year and a half ago, we lost Jason's grandma and spent about a week or so, somewhat waiting for the end while she was in hospice care. Going through that kind of process is grueling and tough on the mind and the body. We thought of how nice it would have been for the family to have a little burst of happiness every now and then. And so begins Auggie's journey as a certified therapy dog! For our first visit we went to the Hospice Inpatient care facility on the top floor of St.Vincent's hospital. We visited a few families and really had a good time. I think Auggie really enjoyed it and of course, he got lots of laughs!  It felt good to spend our Saturday to bring a smile to others.

Auggie and his therapy dog group

And last but certainly not least, I must share with you the HIGHLIGHT of my weekend.....
Yep, it's dessert of course, but isn't it beautiful??? This is the yummy peach cobbler I made for Jason's grandpa's birthday lunch on Sunday. I literally could have eaten the whole thing myself! When I was trying to decide what dessert to make, my mama reminded me that nothing says Southern Summer like a peach cobbler with ice cream....and I'm pretty sure she was right ; )


Happy week everyone!! Stay cool, we all know we're in for brutal weather from now till oh....ummmmm.....mid October???!!  : )


Cheers,
Kelly

32 Weeks- Baby shower and Baby's Daddy Day

How far along? 32 Weeks
Weight loss/gain? +32 pounds, and the swelling is back...geeez! I knew it was too good to be true!
Maternity clothes? Every day
Stretch Marks? Not yet, still fighting them as long as possible
Sleep? Most definitely a thing of the past. This week I've been up most of the night  either visiting the bathroom, moving Auggie out of my space while hanging on to the edge of a king size bed, or trying to relieve the soreness and aches in my back...Fun huh?!? lol
Best moment this week? My Baby Shower!! For sure! As well as starting two week appointments at the OB! Just a countin' on down!!! And we took some fun maternity pics this week that I'm very excited to see how they all turned out!
Miss Anything? Ankles and endurance tops the list this week!!
Movement? Constantly!
Food Cravings? More ice (as I am typing this I am reminded that I would like a big glass as a matter of fact). I also had a strong mexican craving this week, solution= Friday night dinner at On the Border!! YUMMY!!!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nothing this week! Little girl behaved herself in that division this week!
Have you started to show yet?  The bump expands every single day!
Gender? Girl!
Labor signs? No
Belly Button in or out? We have an outie!! It shows through most of my clothes!
Wedding rings on or off? I had to stop wearing my wedding band : ( Still able to wear my engagement ring though. Hanging on as long as possible!
Happy or moody most of the time? This week was a busy week but a happy week. Having Jason back home got us back on routine and we got to resume life as normal picking up where we left off in the nursery and preparing for the baby shower. Who wouldn't be happy about that!!
Looking forward to? Feeling better, if that's possible! And making more nursery progress!


HAPPY BABY SHOWER!!!!!!!!!!
This week we had my first ever baby shower! Oh yay!! How fun! I have attended and thrown many many baby showers so I have to admit I was little over excited that I would finally be able to open and play with all of the cute littles and pretties for myself. I have to say, baby stuff is WAY more fun than wedding stuff! Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my kitchen and most any time you can thrill me to pieces with a brand new kitchen gadget or appliance. But, the fun thing about baby stuff is you are envisioning all of this stuff for your new little baby and how they will look wearing it, playing with it, or just generally putting it to good use! We had a wonderful shower and I can't even believe I have friends who love me enough to go all the trouble they did! It was beyond cute and I wanted to put it all in a little box just to save and keep forever : ) We got so many great gifts that I know Miss Presley is going to love!! Let's just say that thanks to our family and friends I don't think she will ever be hurting in the style and comfort department. I could have just died going through all of the tiny little cute girly things! So much fun! Here are a few pics from Presley's big day!

The yummiest petit fours I have ever eaten!! With little P's cute little monogram! SQUEAL!!!

My girls! This group has been inseparable since we were little girls!

Me and my FANTASTIC hostesses! Love each of them so so much!!

The shower loot! We felt the love fo sho!

Saturday was obviously a huge day for us but Sunday brought a new big celebration also, Jason's first "Father's Day"....I know we aren't "technically" parents yet but it was still fun to celebrate and even though she is not here yet, we have already been faced with many parenting type decisions for her! To be honest, we didn't really have to much planned for the day other than Jason had planned to paint and work on Presley's nursery some more. I let him sleep in and enjoy his morning while I worked on a few things around the house and made more nursery decisions. That afternoon as he got to painting I ran to the grocery store and got all the things to cook a big dinner of chicken spaghetti, salad, homemade biscuits, and we had some frozen fried pies to heat up for dessert. I think he had a pretty good day and we had a fantastic meal!
 We were certainly not short on good food the entire weekend...especially after taking home like 15 of the petit fours from the shower on Saturday...holy cow they were the most delicious thing I've ever eaten and I was happy to take home as many as I could load up. I seriously have not been able to stop eating them. I know they have cost me a few extra pounds but they are so good I don't even care! HAHA...ANNNNYWAY, back on track. So for father's day, Auggie, Presley, and I came up with 2 different gifts for Jason. He had asked for a wake board bag to transport his wake board to and from the lake and protect it from getting scratched so we picked that out and ordered it. Sadly, it didn't come in in time but will be arriving in just a few days. Presley also sent a little letter via  the stork express mail carrier to her dad to let him know how excited she is to meet him and the gift she would like him to pick out for himself from her. Yes, yes...we're total cheeseballs...but if you can't be goofy with your spouse then who else?? 


I just couldn't let this holiday pass without noting how excited I am to see my husband as a father. One of the VERY first things I noticed about Jason when we met and said to myself is I knew he would be an AMAZING father. It was, along with many others, one of the reasons I knew I wanted to marry him. When I initially thought about how I wanted to word this post, I thought I wanted to record all of the small things Jason does for me that make him so special to me. But then I realized that was better saved for another time and today I wanted to note all of the ways I know he will be so special to our daughter.


 I have to say, Presley, you are one lucky little lady to belong to such an incredible man. I can't wait to see you two together and see all the things he will teach you and share with you. I also know that you two will be very close, he is a wonderful listener and problem solver so don't ever forget that, it will mean more to you than you can even imagine when you are older. Another thing I want you to know is that some people are just born with an instinct of knowing what other people in their lives need, this is one of your daddy's strongest traits. He picks up on things that most wouldn't, myself included, and often times knows what you need before you even have to ask for it. This trait is also what made me know from day one that he would make a perfect daddy to little girls. Let's face it, girls are needy, and we need ALLLL the help we can get. I can also tell you that this man already loves you quite a bit. I can see it in his eyes when we look at you on ultrasound, when we talk about you and how life will be living with you, and even when I bring in yet another bag of clothes for you and show him how small and tiny....the smile on his face is irreplaceable.  There is not one other person on this earth who could love me more than him and he has treated me nothing but wonderful since day one, I can ONLY imagine how much that love will be magnified for you. Just so you know Presley, I had you in mind when I chose him and we have dreamed about you since the day we said I do! I pray that we, together, have taken all the right steps forward in preparing for you and hope that when you look back on your life, a very long time from now, you are more than happy with the decisions that we made. And in case you ever have trouble figuring it out...he is the grounded one, much unlike myself, and if you are anything like me, he'll spend the rest of his life working to keep us both sensible and on solid ground. But I know he'll do it with not one complaint, and that's pretty special!


Happy Father's day to all the wonderful father's out there! It's got to be a pretty tough job not always made easy by the female counterpart!

31 Weeks

How far along? 31 Weeks
Weight loss/gain? +32 pounds
Maternity clothes? Every day
Stretch Marks? Not yet, still fighting them as long as possible
Sleep? Better known as something I dearly miss...my norm is getting up at least 3 times.
Best moment this week? Gee...I can't say there really was a best moment. Extremely exhausted and Jason being gone all week for work made this week incredibly tough. I guess the best thing that happened is I managed to temporarily kick my swelling to the curb...no worries, it'll be moving back in soon enough!
Miss Anything? Ankles and endurance tops the list this week!!
Movement? Constantly!
Food Cravings? Ice, ice, and more ice! Sonic got a visit from me several times this week until I finally broke down and bought a whole bag of sonic ice. And I have recently fell in love with the ice you get out of the self service bag of ice machines...RANDOM!!!!!!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Any kind of over eating makes me so so sick. I'm also having problems with bad smells. Definitely easy queasy ; )
Have you started to show yet?  The bump expands every single day!
Gender? Girl!
Labor signs? No
Belly Button in or out? We have an outie!! It shows through most of my clothes!
Wedding rings on or off? I had to stop wearing my wedding band : ( Still able to wear my engagement ring though. Hanging on as long as possible!
Happy or moody most of the time? Have to be real honest...mostly moody this week. Jason has been gone for two work weeks and it's starting to get hard to do much on my own. On my feet all day and then too tired and exhausted when I get home at night to do the things I need to. Not to mention my lack of sleep this week! Just pretty bummed out!
Looking forward to? Feeling better, if that's possible! And my upcoming baby shower!!!!


Well, this week we completed what I considered to be my last camping trip of the summer for the year. Oh my was it ever a challenge?? I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. The one great thing is that we took it real low key and didn't go all out as usual. But I can guarantee you that it definitely sealed the deal deal for me that I had had enough for this year. Just not a pregnant woman's idea of comfortable you might say. Not to mention the fact that I have two million things to do before our little girl decides to make her appearance. To be perfectly honest, it is sickening how far behind I am compared to where I'd like to be. The only time I have to dedicate to operation baby room is the weekends and I have just got to start devoting every second to it. So, plan, prep, and work now...fun later! I am a TRUE procrastinator and it's about time I get my head in the game for the finals, it's coming ready or not! I thought I would add a few pics from our trip to the lake. All in all we had a blast! Nothing I love more than summer and the lake and I am definitely looking forward to next year already when I can enjoy it post pregnancy!

Ah sweet summer!! Nothing better!!

30 Weeks

How far along? 30 Weeks
Weight loss/gain? +30 pounds- Plus some swelling : ( would love for this to disappear but it's obvious the summer is upon us!
Maternity clothes? Yes! 
Stretch Marks? Nope
Sleep? Sleeping a lot less through the night these days. I'm averaging getting up 2-3 times a night
Best moment this week? Working on the nursery full force!! I'm loving seeing it piece together!!!
Miss Anything? Let's just say that 30 weeks makes you realize what a different person you are. I'm dealing.
Movement? Lots, could be what seems to be making me sick from time to time.
Food Cravings? Lots of ICE, sweets, and fruit. Honestly, I seem to have sort of lost my appetite more times than not...except for sugar...always say yes to the sugar! 
Anything making you queasy or sick? I must be having reverse first trimester symptoms....suddenly certain strange smells make me queasy, I've had random bouts of all day nausea, and of course I'm just tired all the time!
Have you started to show yet?  The bump expands every single day!
Gender? Girl!
Labor signs? No
Belly Button in or out? Kinda out, kinda in. It looks sorta funny! 
Wedding rings on or off? I had to stop wearing my wedding band : ( Still able to wear my engagement ring though. Hanging on as long as possible!
Happy or moody most of the time? Happy except on days I feel sick or have limited mobility..then I tend to get a little irritated. Somethings are just hard to understand. Like why I can't tackle things as usual. In my head it seems far too early to be so debilitated but  I've been told it's totally normal!
Looking forward to? Finishing P's room! Having the most fun with it right now!!!


Well this week we really started getting our hands dirty in the nursery!! I have been BEYOND stressed that I've let it get this far behind so close to my due date. When I found out I was pregnant, the VERY first thing I got the most excited about was being able to design a nursery. I love home decor and have been dreaming for years of how I would do a nursery. Designing a room for a little person, just seems sooo fun!! I just knew we would start on it the very day we found out the gender! Well, I guess, once again, I didn't know myself that well. It took me forever to make decisions on some of the most important things such as the actual color scheme, crib, etc. Not to mention it was a chore just to get the room cleaned out. So of course once it hit me that we are only a big 10 weeks away from due date, I totally panicked. Not surprising to myself of course. I'm a big fan of dragging and dragging my heels and then freaking out at the last minute. And as usual, Jessica came to my rescue and reassured me that we had more than enough time and not to worry...little secret...I still worried. Well, she definitely made me eat my words on that. On one little weekend I feel like we got so much done! On Friday my mom came up and helped me get organized. Every single time I would go into that room and see what else I had to relocate from the closet I would literally about start crying and just walk out. No clue where to put all this stuff we've been storing in there forever. Enter mother!!! She is wonderful at things like that and doesn't get intimidated at all, much unlike her frantic daughter. So I had to be patient and give her time to get done with school so she would have a little extra time on her hands. On Friday she came up to help me organize and store mine and Jason's stuff and find a place for the stuff I've collected for the little one. Basically what this meant was a lot of closet organizing and re locating. So we spent all day Friday doing just that and boy was she amazing! She didn't mess around at all about getting rid of things or finding the perfect place for the stuff to keep. It really felt nice to find a great place for all of those question marks.  We also got quite a bit of little P's clothes hung up and organized by size. We purchased bins and organization for the closet and I even found my guest bedroom   getting a total overhaul as she found a place for all of the stuff in that room as well. I could finally see the floor of my beautiful new guest room I just re-did, since the nursery took over the previous guest room. Aren't mothers great? That's just what they are there for....to help you out when you just wanna throw your hands in the air and lose it. We were very proud of our work and the lovely stack of "stuff" we created for Jason to haul to the attic! He was equally thrilled : )  Now, if all that wasn't enough, as soon as my mom had to leave to head back home I get a call from Jessica saying she is on her way down for us to start painting furniture....YAY!!! The fun continued! I was a little tired but no complaints at all because I was so happy to be getting things accomplished and even more ready to see the vision starting to fall together.  So Friday night and most all day Saturday Jessica, Jason, and I, mostly Jessica and Jason : ), worked super hard and made some major headway.Of course, no pictures now, but I am dying to show it off once it's all complete! 


That's about the highlights for this week I'd say. Also good news, my swelling went down tremendously!! I feel SO much better and can really tell a difference. I've been told to enjoy it because it's about to go back to being the norm from here on out when the temperatures go back up! All I can say is, just 10 mo'!