31 Weeks

At our last appointment I discovered that I have a pulled ligament in my right side which explains why I am always rubbing it!!  I also found out that I have low blood pressure as well.  So I have consent to eat Cup o' Soups and continue enjoying my salt!!  Bad thing is that my sugar intake is being more regulated and I can't have my beloved Craisens any longer.  I was also told that if I have fruit I need to have some kind of protein like peanut butter or cheese along with it!  I have also made it past the 150 pound mark and just began to realize that the weight has gone to more than just my belly (I only noticed this after looking at some recent pics).  

Jesse appears to be doing great!  He's measured just about where he should be which is great.  He is also still pointing down but has room to flip if he wants.  Oh and I've felt him get the hiccups for the first time last week which was immediately followed by me getting the hiccups!  We have most of his baby gear but have yet to tackle his bedroom, aka the office.  So it looks like it may be a last minute scramble to get it set up!!

Next appointment is January 27, at which point I will be 8 months!!!

Week 31 of Pregnancy

As your baby's senses increase, his mommy's breathing room decreases.

Your Baby in Week 31 of Pregnancy
Weighing in at three-plus pounds and measuring 18 inches long, your baby is quickly approaching his birth length — though he's got to pack on another three to five pounds before D-day. Also developing at an impressive clip: your baby's brain connections (he's got to make trillions of them!). He's now processing information, tracking light, and perceiving signals from all five senses. He's also putting in longer stretches of sleep, which is why you're probably noticing more defined patterns of wakefulness (and movement) and rest (when he’s pretty still).

Learn more about your baby in week 31 and fetal activity in the womb.

Your Body in Week 31 of Pregnancy
Chances are your diaphragm is feeling a little cramped these days. Okay, a lot cramped. That's because your uterus is pushing up against it (and all the other organs in there), crowding your lungs and making it more difficult for them to expand fully. The result: Your body is spare on air and will be until your baby drops near the end of pregnancy in preparation for birth. But don’t worry: Your baby is as happy as a clam because he’s getting his oxygen from the placenta.

30th Birthday!

Well I am officially 30 years old now!  My birthday was on the 15th.  I'm not too big on parties and suck at keeping my guests entertained so I am and was content with just hanging out and relaxing with my family.

We were going to do a homemade breakfast (by my dad) but we decided to save ourselves the work and cleanup by going to Lilly's, which has really good breakfast menu and is fairly cheap!

Joe and I (and Bo on the phone) at Lilly's

After stuffing ourselves to the max, we needed to walk around.  My mom and I went to Michael's to walk off our food, while my dad and Joe went to Sportmans.  We dropped the guys off and then went to JoAnn's to do somemore browsing.  Then later in the evening we went to Chile's.  I decided on my dinner place based upon what kind of dessert I could get and trust me it was great!

Here I am making my wish over my Molten Lava Chocolate Cake!!  Notice the 4 spoons in my hands!!

Close up of one of my favorite desserts!!

Mom and Dad posing for the camera

Thanks everyone for the kind birthday wishes!!  Joe says I'm not quite "over the hill" yet but I'm almost to the top of it!  LOL!

Ice Gallery (after)

So we made it back to the Crystal Ice Gallery to see the final product!  I'm so glad we made it back and it was a lot of fun to see the amazing things these artists created!  This year was much better for us than last year.  Last year we went later in the afternoon when the sun began setting and it got pretty cold!  Neither of us were really prepared for how cold it got and by the time we got back to the jeep we were pretty frostbitten!  

So I was a bit lazy and left my camera on the snow setting.  When I got home I realized that almost all of my pictures were really blue or cool looking.  I ended up really liking them in sepia; it just seemed like more detail was visible.  I ended up going back through all of them and manually adjusted the color to remove a lot of the blueish color.  You can see in the picture below that it still has a blue tint but I was able to add in some more warm tones!

This is a huge Christmas tree that is right next to the ice skating rink

Here Joe is giving me "the look" but I thought that the picture looked pretty neat in sepia!

This sculpture is called "Mountain Meets Sky"

"Officers Memorial"

"Hungry Caterpillar" close up

"Hungry Caterpillar" 

"Gladiolus"
This one was pretty interesting.  It's a woman on a bike riding on a wave.  You can see a seashell  at the bottom right and her hair is almost like a wave as well.  

"Gladiolus"
Close up of the woman's face

"The Predator"
The detail on this one is amazing!

"The Predator"
At the bottom of the predator is the prey... a little bunny.

 These are just a few of the beautiful sculptures that were created for the Crystal Ice Gallery!  It's amazing that these were all just blocks of ice a few days ago!!

Ice Gallery (before)

Today we decided to go check out the ice sculptures downtown.  It's been pretty warm here (in the 40's) and there's been major meltdown, so I was worried that they'd all be melted and ugly looking before we had a chance to see them!  Imagine our surprise when we got there and realized that they were just beginning!  We plan on getting before and after shots!  

Here's Joe overseeing the construction of our future home... an igloo... lol!  No this is actually an ice maze for the little ones from New Years Eve.

Old man winter blowing his icy wind... at least he was a bit today!

Here you can really see that icy wind!

Opposite of Old man winter is a skier ready to ski right into his icy wind!

The ice carvers getting ready to begin the carving

I think these are the coolest trees around!  They have these red berry looking things on them.  When all the other trees look dead and brown, these ones look cheerful, almost like they have red Christmas lights on them!

After we looked around at the Ice Gallery we went to the mall to warm up.  While there we found this really cute 2 piece winter set for Jesse.  We were super excited to see that it was 70% off!!  We got it for $10 at JC Pennys!  

9 to 29 weeks

So here it is...a comparison of my belly at 9 weeks pregnant to 29 weeks pregnant!! Yep, Jesse's getting big!!

So what's up with little Jesse and me? Well Jesse is getting bigger, I'm guessing based upon how his movement has been changing. He still likes to get me in the ribs but it hasn't been has hard (thankfully!!) Now his movements are starting to feel less like kicks and more like elbows and knees pushing against my tummy! Belly button is most definitely an outie (until I lay on my back and then it's pretty much flat!!) Oh, when I'm laying on my side it's becoming almost painful to roll over to the other side too quickly and then Jesse starts kicking up a storm! Sleep...need I say that it's becoming more elusive?? I figure I had better get used to that so that I can be prepared when Jesse is here! I've also been trying to take advantage of sleeping in...I'm pretty sure that will be a thing of the past when March gets here! Next appointment with the Midwifes is on the 11!

Week 29 of Pregnancy

Your baby's packing on the pounds, which look so cute on her. If only you could say the same for your varicose veins….

Your Baby in Week 29 of Pregnancy
How big is your baby this week? She weighs nearly three pounds now and measures about 17 inches. Though she's getting pretty close to her birth length, she still has to chub out a bit. In fact, over the next 11 weeks, she'll more than double — or even come close to tripling — her weight. And as she grows and the room in your womb gets tighter, you'll be less likely to feel those big kicks and more likely to get poked by an elbow or jabbed by a knee.

Learn more about your baby in week 29 and baby fat.

Your Body in Week 29 of Pregnancy
Unsightly yet harmless, varicose veins are simply swollen blood vessels that often surface on your body for the first time during pregnancy, especially if your mom or grandma had them. You may have a mild case (minor achiness and swelling) or you may be unlucky enough to experience real pain and bulging blue veins, usually from the ankle to the upper thigh. There are things you can do to alleviate this veiny situation, including watching your weight, keeping your blood flowing, and avoiding heavy lifting

Happy New Year!!

This year my dad and Joe went out and got a bunch of fireworks! We were so excited to find out that we could light them in our front yard!! The guys put on a show for the neighbors!

I was having a great time messing with the settings on my camera trying to catch the fireworks. Here is what I was able to capture:

These were actually the grand finale shots. Because of the low light the camera took a lot longer to capture a single shot. I wish I would have been able to capture more of these shots but they turned out pretty good.

This one reminds me of a flower!

These shots are of sparklers and the small fireworks that you throw on the ground. These ones turned out pretty cool! I'd have to say that these are a few of my favorites as well!

Joe fell asleep on the couch around 11 but my mom and I were wide awake. When the ball was about to fall I had to wake Joe up...as you can see he still has tired eyes!

I love these ones because you can see how big my belly (Jesse) is getting!!

But I have to say this one is my favorite. I used this pic for our New Years Scrapbook page!