Finally Friday: Halloween Style

Welp, regular blogging these days has consisted of my Thursday morning BUMPdates - and while I am proud of myself for at least being on time with those, I am missing blogging about my regular life - so here we go.

I sat on my couch last night in a quiet house because Kevin is still in the hospital.  He had quite a bit of his colon resected on Monday morning to *hopefully* take care of his diverticulitis, which has been flaring up numerous times this year.  He has been in a great deal of pain, but we just keep praying that each day gets easier and he will be back to normal in no time.

I am beyond exhausted today because Halloween in an elementary school will do a real number on the adults in said school.  My sweet fifth-sters were more than a little "off" yesterday and while that makes me exhausted, I try really hard to remember what it's like to be 10...so I try to be patient.  As exhausting as yesterday was, the sad reality is that today is going to be worse.  I will work hard to enjoy my Friday with them.  :)

After work yesterday, I stopped at my sister and brother-in-law's to see these two pumpkins:

It was a cold and dreary day, but that didn't stop these trick-or-treaters.  They came back with a bag of candy and big smiles!  :)  I was just glad that I got a chance to see them - I never get tired of it.  Ever.

My sister texted me today to give me a little sneak peak of what arrived at her door yesterday:

Yippee for baby bedding!  Any of my readers who know me in real life will be SO proud of me.  This bedding is based on the alphabet and has an elephant on it - I swore I would never do this, but I just am in love with this adorable bedding, so with a little coaxing from my mother, sister, best friend Jamie and my 5 year-old niece calmly explaining to me that I could just cover up the elephant if I was scared...I've decided I can move past this minor detail and move forward with this bedding set.

Evidently God is playing tricks with me because the next day I was going through the little welcome bag from my Target baby registry and look at the little toy included

Yep, real funny.  I get it, I'm going to try to move past my phobia - but let's not push our limits, shall we?

And lastly, I got this last night

{melt.my.heart}

So, HAPPY HALLOWEEN {a day late}

from our BOO to YOU.

Have an awesome weekend, Friends -

15 Weeks

Happy Halloween, Friends!  :)

15 Week Belly Pic: 10/30/13 -

And the side-by-side from last week:

Our little pumpkin is the size of an apple this week

It weighs about 2 1/2 ounces and is around 4 inches long.  It's lungs have very primitive air sacks which are beginning to develop.  It's legs are growing longer than it's arms and all of it's joints are able to move at this point.  Although it's eyes are still fused shut, it can sense light - if Julie flashed a flashlight against her belly, it would likely move away from the beam.  Although there really isn't anything to taste in there, it's tastebuds are beginning to form.

In other news, thank you to all of our Facebook friends for praying for and thinking about us this week as Kevin had surgery on his colon this week.  He is still in the hospital - but making progress each day and we are hopeful he will be home very soon.  It was a fairly routine procedure that was scheduled, so it certainly wasn't an emergency - but scary none the less.

We are nearing the day to find out the gender of this baby - simply CAN NOT WAIT.  November 14th can hurry up any time now!  :)

171 days until the due date!

Happy Thursday -

14 Weeks

Here is the 14 week belly picture - 10/23/13:

And the comparison from last week:

The baby is the size of a lemon this week:

It's not about 3 1/2 inches long and weights 1 1/2 ounces.  New developments this week are it's ability to squint, frown or grimace.  It's kidneys are now producing urine - if I'm being honest, the thought of them inhaling that makes me want to barf...don't do it, baby...that's icky!  It can also suck it's thumb (although, please don't baby...that's a bad habit and mommy doesn't want to break that when you come out!)  In other news, it's arms are proportionate to it's body finally, it's neck is more pronounced, and it's body is growing more rapidly than it's head for the first time.

As I have been doing baby registry things, filling out mailers for free stuff, and discussing baby shower dates - things have slowly been becoming more real to me.  I find myself allowing my mind to dream a little bit more.  Things like "next year at this time we'll have a baby..." or "this will be our last Christmas as a family of 3" or "this Christmas will be our last major holiday without this baby" - things that I have closed my mind to for the past few years.  I am finally letting myself become cautiously excited - and it feels good.

Thank you for all the love and prayers - you mean the world to us!

Love,

13 Weeks

Here is the 13 week belly picture - 10/16/13:

And the side-by-side from last week:

I don't feel like it looks that much bigger - but I just fall more in love with that belly every single day :)

The baby is the size of a pea pod this week

Fingerprints have formed on it's tiny finger tips, veins and organs are visible through it's thin skin, and it's body is starting to catch up with it's head - thank goodness!  :)  It's nearly 3 inches long and weighs nearly an ounce.

Kevin and I went and registered for baby items this week at both Babies R Us and Target - once I got past the overwhelming feeling, it was really fun - it's quite entertaining to watch my poor husband in the baby aisles...but he was an amazing sport through it all, bless his heart.  :)

184 days, friends!  :)

Mother/Daughter Weekend 2013

What an amazing weekend.  Each year for the past 3, my amazing mama has given my sister {Kim} and my might-as-well-be-sister {Jenny} a weekend away.  We shop, eat, drink, and laugh - it's so wonderful.  Our first year we went to Chicago, last year we went to Minneapolis, and this year we went to Des Moines.

*Warning, picture overload. :)*

Jenny couldn't come up until Saturday afternoon, but Kim, my mom and I left on Friday afternoon.

On our way, we stopped at a wonderful little outlet mall.

Yes, I'm one of those people who enjoy beginning to Christmas shop early.  Last year, I didn't begin early - my December was not even a little enjoyable because I was running around like a crazy person {along with the masses of other irresponsible procrastinators :)}  Then to top it all off, I got extremely sick and my poor husband had to go out and do his own shopping as a result.  It was awful.  So, I've pledged that I will not be doing that again.

I made a big dent this weekend.  Thankfully, my mom and sister also have this same plan...although they both admitted, I got the most done this weekend.  :)  This is all of our packages from the outlet mall...not just mine - I didn't go out of control.  :)

After we checked in and unloaded, we decided to run to Michael's (yes, there is one literally 3 minutes from my house, but it was out of the prized gift).  My nieces are both wanting The Loom...them right along with everyone else evidently because I couldn't find it anywhere.  Clearly Friday was my lucky day because the Michael's we stopped at had gotten a shipment earlier that day!  Behold the goods...

Two people's Christmas gifts...check, check.

That night, on a whim we picked out this Mexican restaurant

I had the most delicious brisket tacos (such a strange combo I would've never put together...but so thankful someone else did!)

As you're all well aware, we're expecting a baby in April...but Margarita, don't mind if I do! {perhaps this surrogacy thing isn't so bad :)}

On Saturday morning, we headed to Buy Buy Baby - OH.MY.OVERLOAD.

We were able to find some adorable stuff in the {extremely overwhelming} baby superstore.  But after more than an hour in there, I was definitely ready for a little

After lunch we did more shopping and Saturday night, we went to a dueling piano bar - ohmygosh, it was so fun!!  :)

And this, my friends, is "Jeffy" {I'm nearly certain this isn't his real name, but whatever}.

You all, I'm telling you - he was tore up.  He was sitting at the table behind us and we became quick friends through our love of the Iowa Hawkeyes and 90's pop music.  Wow, he was ridiculous...and hilarious.  Totally made our night.

This morning, we got up and did a bit of shopping, then tried to go to Scratch Bakery...not open on Sunday's.  FAIL.

Here's where our weekend took a U-turn...Jenny lost her keys.  Not a clue where they could be...anywhere in the mall we walked all the way thru, the restaurant we had breakfast in, the parking lot, no clue.  I felt so bad for her.  Basically, she had to have her best friend grab her extra set of keys and meet her in Des Moines.  Not good at all.

Anyway, now I'm home in my quiet house getting ready for another week, feeling overwhelmed with gratitude for the amazing women in my life.  What an amazing weekend.  :)

I hope you all have a wonderful week -

12 Weeks

Here is the 12 Week Belly Pic - 10/9/13:

And the side by side from last week:

Gosh, I love to watch that belly grow!!  :)  It looks rounder this week, more filled out or something?

The baby is the size of a lime this week.

Instead of the typical picture from the internet, I picked one up at the grocery store this week and snapped a picture of it in my hand.  I then promptly got tears in my eyes right there in the produce section.  It was the first really personal moment for me with this baby and it was with a lime.  :)  The visual of that little lime in my hand was just so eye opening.  There's a baby in that belly, that baby is the size of this lime I'm holding in my hand, and that baby is mine forever.  The magnitude of that is still not real I don't think.  I'm sure that sounds ridiculous week after week - but I'm just being honest.  :)

The biggest development this week is the baby's reflexes - it's fingers open and close, it's eyes clench, and it's mouth makes sucking motions.  If Julie were to push on her belly, the baby would squirm in response - although she wouldn't be able to feel it.  :)  The baby is just over 2 inches long and weighs a half of an ounce.

In other news, my adorable sister made this for me today:

So stinkin' cute!  :)  Kevin was a little disturbed by it - but she's just hanging out on my island for now because I think she's adorable!  Perfect for fall.  Now, if Baby K is a boy - this might get a little awkward in his scrapbook....but whatever, right?!

Don't forget to cast your vote in the gender poll on the right hand sidebar!
Have a great week, friends!

Crib Bedding Overload

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions in the baby registry department - I have read and reread every single one of them and I am working on trying to figure out what's going to work for us.  :)

The more fun part of this is the decorating part - but I'm telling you, the baby crib bedding business is no joke.  Here's the deal with this nursery - it's basically being built around a picture frame my mom got us last year on Spring Break just a few months after we were approved for adoption, but months before we even began this journey with Julie.  We were walking through shops in Gatlinburg, TN and I fell in love with this sweet frame.  In fact, it brought me to tears in the store.  It was gender neutral and spoke my heart exactly.  This is the only thing I really have to base my color scheme around - whatever we decide, this must fit.

I'm sorry the quality of this picture is so terrible - I really didn't feel like getting my real camera, so I just snapped it with my iPhone camera in the poorly lit spare bedroom  :)

Because you can't really see it, I'll tell you - it's a moss green, brown and tan - I love it.

Soooooo....we've narrowed the crib bedding down to these:

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

I just don't know which one I like best.  I think the top one is my favorite, but I don't know.  I'm trying to avoid registering at 24 different places, so I only looked at Babies R Us and Target so far.  Anyone have opinions?  Suggestions?  I'm wide open to a little direction.  For those of you who know me in real life - I'm extremely indecisive...except that I only like what I like - if I don't like it, there isn't much changing it.

So, I'm doing what any logical person would do and asking my closest 500 friends for advice.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!