36 Weeks

36 weeks pregnant and really wondering where the time has gone. I honestly can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by. Everyone told me that it would, being my second pregnancy and then with student teaching and keeping up with Sierra on top of that, it really did fly by!

I am feeling great and my appointment went very well. Everything is perfect and baby "C" is still moving around like crazy. My blood pressure was in the normal range and I picked up 3 pounds in 3 weeks. That is the most I have gained over one period of time for this pregnancy and I am certain the baby is using it to pack on the weight; my belly certainly looks like it anyway.

I saw our midwife, Nell at this appointment and she had to test me for Group B Strep; So while she was "down there" she went ahead and did a cervical exam as well. Fun! Fun! My cervix is still closed and there is no progression to report; however she did say that the head was down nice and low, which I certainly have been feeling these days!

I am pretty confident that our little precious girl is going to be "baking" for a while longer and sometimes might even guess that we will have an early March baby. Only God knows for sure though, so we will see. Just for fun though, I have set up a survey on the blog. It is directly underneath the ticker countdown for baby #2 and directly above the newest post. Back in 2008, my sister Katie guessed the birth date of Sierra right on and her husband Shaun left a cute note about how he thought Sierra would look, that was also "right on." :) Having the survey results are fun and I will be sure to announce the winner after our baby girl arrives. Please take a minute and fill in the survey! Have fun!!! :)

And now for some growing belly pictures:

My Real Job

While I was student teaching, I, of course, got the common question about where I was going to apply and work when I was done with my degree. Granted, near the end of my student teaching experience it was quite obvious that I was expecting, but in today's society of "6 weeks of maternity leave" and too many families needing to live on 2 incomes; It was still assumed that I would be looking for a teaching job after graduation.

Well, as we all know, my "real" job was already waiting to "rehire" me and I am super thankful for that position! I certainly don't take it for granted that I get to stay home with my precious girl; and although I was sad to leave the classroom and did miss it during my first few weeks away, it definitely didn't take long to fall back into my "Mommy/Wife" full time role.

In fact, I think being away has really given me an even better perspective on everything. God has really opened my eyes to the daily moments that I get to witness. Even among the occasional toddler breakdowns and constant training that is taking place around here, Sierra really is turning into such a precious little girl. I thank God daily for the brief glimpses of her heart that I get to see. I have been trying to remember each one and keep telling myself that I need to start keeping a journal (this "baby brain" Mama has trouble remembering all those moments). Unfortunately I have not written any of them down, so I thought I would at least blog about a few of the moments that I can remember. So, here we go...

"Little Mama" - Lately Sierra has been really into pretend play and she is so often seen cuddling her babies and rocking them. It is so cute to witness. She got 2 new babies for Christmas and also a stroller, a pack 'n play, and a high chair. She loves to feed her babies, lay them in their "crib" and push them around the house. Just the other day, she wrapper her baby in its blanket, laid it in the crib and walked away. As she was walking away, she pretended to make a crying sound and quickly ran back to the crib. She picked up the baby, patted it on the back and said "Don't cry, baby! Don't cry!" It was so sweet! She also have been over heard saying "No whining!" to her babies (something she hears me say to her)! And over the Christmas break she witnessed me holding her baby cousin Reid and whispering "shhhh, shhhh, shhhh" in his ear; Sure enough, she has been spotted doing the same thing. Such a little Mommy! :)

Prayers - While I was sorting through the nursery the other day, Sierra was sitting in the rocking chair and reading through some books (definitely a favorite thing of hers these days); I happened to look up and saw that she had her "God's little Princess Devotional" on her lap and her hands were folded and she was whispering lots of words that I am sure only God understood. When she spotted me watching her, she smiled and then said "Amen." So precious!

Reading books - As I mentioned above, she loves to tell stories, sit in the rocking chair, and read her books. Lately it seems that she would much rather read books to me then have them read to her. I love listening to her versions of the story and for the ones that we have read over and over and over again, she sometimes actually gets part of the story correct.

"I love Mama" - While she was brushing her teeth the other night (with her new spin brush that she got from her Great Aunt Julie for Christmas) she looked at me and said "I love wa-wa" (I love water). Then out of the blue, she leaned in close to me, as to give me a hug and said "I love Mama!" My heart melted right on the spot!!! Since then she has used this line several times more; in fact, just today as we were leaving play group she said "Bye Friends" and then said "I love Friends!"

The Kitty - Our cat Neko has become her favorite play mate lately. She can not seem to leave or go to bed without saying bye to the kitty. If it is bed time or nap time, she asks for a "hug and kiss." She also has just recently learned how to say the cat's name - "Neko" and will call out for her multiple times during the day. She can be heard saying "Neko, where are you?" many times and only sometimes does Neko oblige her and make herself known. Thankfully Neko is very sweet and really loves Sierra. She sure does put up with A LOT for this little toddler!

Play groups - Now that I am back at home with Sierra, it has been so wonderful to catch up with friends and watch Sierra play with her friends. We have been trying to get out 3-4 times per week to catch up with friends, especially because I know that it will be harder to get out once the baby arrives, at least for a few weeks anyways. Sierra really does love her friends and I appreciate the time that she and I both get to socialize with friends.

Well, I am sure there are more moments that I should try and document, but these are all I can recall at the moment. I will leave you with a cute video that I took the other night as Sierra was reading her bedtime stories. In the video, the 1st book is her "God's Little Princess" devotional and the character throughout the devotional is named "Gigi" - You can hear Sierra saying "Where are you Gigi?" as she is trying to find the picture of Gigi in the book. The other clips are her reading "Are you my Mother" - one of her favorite books; she loves seeing the birdie, dog, and cat in the book. The last clip is her saying her bedtime prayers. Normally she will fold her hands and pray out loud, but in this clip she is laying in the rocking chair and decided she wanted to pray "silently." Her "Amens" are very cute, but only God heard them this night. :)

Enjoy the clip! We are so blessed by this precious little child!!!

A Glimpse

It has been so cold here, not getting out of the 30's during the day and dropping into the 20's at night...Yikes! I can't handle that cold of weather, even being pregnant with extra padding for heat. I am definitely a 70's - 80's kinda girl! So on Friday when the temperatures "soared" into the 60's - this girl was happy and so was our little munchkin!

It was nice to finally get a little glimpse of what Spring will be like. Sierra and I, along with a few of our friends, were able to get out and enjoy the park. What a blessing it was! Sierra ran around, played on the swings, played with sticks & dug in the dirt (for over 30 minutes), and even went down the big, twisty slide ALL BY HERSELF - 3 times!!! Something that she wasn't willing to do the last time we ventured to the park. I was so proud of our big girl. She is growing up so fast!

I brought my camera to the park, but soon realized that I had left the SD Card in my computer - Bummer! I was able to snap these two pictures with my phone though:

Hope all of you were able to enjoy some warmer temperatures as well. The temps here have gone back down once again; hovering in the 40's. But we are thankful for this quick glimpse of Spring! Thank you Lord!!!

Thirty-one Eighteen: Handmade Designs

A sweet friend of mine runs an online business called Thirty-one Eighteen Handmade Designs.

Her name is Kimberly and she is very talented! I highly recommend you check out her web site and consider ordering from her; as you will see below, she even does custom items!!

Based on the excellent work and creativity I have seen her complete, you can only imagine my excitement when she was kind enough to make some items for Baby Girl #2.

The package of items came late this week and I couldn't wait to see all that she created for us. I took several pictures and I thought I would share them on here. As I mentioned, she did do some custom items for us and although we have not publicly shared this little ones name, I guess you will all now know that her first name starts with a "C." :) So I guess we can start calling her "Baby Girl 'C'." :)

Kimberly made several burp clothes and bibs for us, some out of a precious red, pink, and green butterfly print and the rest out of a purple and white polka dot print (even though it looks a little like navy in the pictures, it is definitely purple). All of the items are so adorable! I simply can't wait to start using them!!!

Here is a package of 1 bib and 1 burp cloth

Here is 1 of the bibs with side snap and 1 pre-fold diaper burp cloth

Here is another bib in the purple fabric and 1 appliqued burp cloth on terry

I thought this print was absolutely precious!

Here is 1 appliqued bib, 1 appliqued burp cloth on a pre-fold diaper, and another decorated burp cloth on a pre-fold diaper

Lastly, we didn't want to leave out "Big Sister" Sierra, so Kimberly made this wonderful toddler size ring sling. It will be perfect for Sierra to carry her baby dolls around in, just like Mama will be carrying around Baby "C" in my sling.

As you can see, Kimberly is so very talented! Head over to Thirty-one Eighteen today and be sure to place an order with her! You won't regret it!!! Even if you, yourself aren't expecting, Kimberly's items are sure to make any Mom-to-be happy! Give some as a gift!!!

32/34 Weeks

I had my 32 week check-up last week and all is looking great! Baby girl is happily head-down, or so my midwife thinks. :) Her heart rate was lower, but still sounding very healthy and in the 120's. I gained between 1/2 - 1 pound, bringing me to a total of 5 pounds gained so far. I was extremely excited about that because God knows I ate way too much food over the Christmas season. Also, my blood pressure was more of a normal level at 122/74.

So, given all those stats, things are continuing to go well. I was actually 33 weeks pregnant at this check-up (I missed the 32 week window due to Christmas and being out of town). Since I should have had another appointment at 34 weeks, we decided to fore go that appointment and just meet up again at 36 weeks, which is also when I will have my Group B Strep test done.

I have been feeling really well; just a little tired from not sleeping very good due to 8 month pregnancy symptoms. I also have been feeling some soreness in my groin area and I did ask my midwife about it and she assures me that it is completely normal and sets in for almost all pregnant women around 31 weeks. She says I probably just don't remember it during my pregnancy with Sierra; and I can assure you, I don't remember it. It is similar to the soreness that I experienced following Sierra's birth; mostly just sore "down there" when I get up and down off the couch, in and out of bed, rolling over in bed, or going up and down the stairs. I was sure it was because I stopped student teaching and starting doing A LOT more lifting of my near 30 pound toddler, along with A LOT more going up and down the stairs; however, that occurred at the same time that I turned 31 weeks, so who really knows! It certainly isn't anything to complain too much about, just worth mentioning and noting.

Emotionally, I seem to be very sensitive lately. The impending birth and leaving Sierra continues to bring tears to my eyes and the feeling that we are not physically ready AT ALL around this house to welcome a new baby, is making me very anxious. Brian's current schedule is not conducive to helping me get anything done and when Sierra is in bed or napping, my energy level finds me right on the couch; trying to get some rest. Yikes! Hopefully my mom will be able to come here for a couple days in early February and help me a little; also hopefully soon Brian's schedule will slow down a little bit and he will be around more to help as well. Our biggest undertaking is to prepare the guest bedroom and make it a toddler bedroom and then "train" our toddler in her new "big girl" bed. Prayers are definitely accepted on that front! :)

Thankfully, I was looking back at old blog posts and at 34 weeks pregnant with Sierra (which I am currently), we had nothing purchased/ready/done, etc. I am sure that God will not give me more than I can handle and this baby will stay put for a while longer so we can prepare a bit more. :) Here's praying for that!!!

Well, speaking of finding energy, my sweet 21 month old toddler is waking up and saying "I get you, Mama" over the monitor. My cue to get up and go get her!!! :) As I mentioned, we have our next check-up in 2 weeks; so until then, thanks for the continued prayers!

Oh, and what is a "Prego Post" without a Prego Pic?!?! Here is the baby belly at 33 weeks: