33 Weeks

How far along? 33 weeks on June 30 

Joseph Ellis is the size of…a DURIAN FRUIT (whatever the heck that is…)!

Maternity Clothes: If it were socially acceptable to spend time scantily-clad while pregnant, I think I would do it. I'm getting to the point where tank tops, shorts and flowy dresses aren't enough to keep me cool…yay for the Mobile summer…just, yay.

Stretch Marks: Same old, same old.

Sleep: Not the greatest right now. Experiencing some pretty intense hip pain the last few nights. No matter which side I sleep on, I find myself being completely uncomfortable within a few minutes and end up flipping back to the other side. This process repeats itself about fifty times a night…fun, fun, fun.

Best Moment Last Week: RA and RF reading Polar Bear, Polar Bear. Well, RF was really telling RA the story instead of RA reading it word for word. RF can identify all of the animals in the book (even the leopard, the flamingo, and the peacock) and when you get to the end of the book he says, "Again." We usually end up reading the book five or six times before he is ready to move on to something else.

Movement: JE's movements have gotten to the point where they hurt. Not everytime he moves, but more often than not he will give me a good kick or jab that isn't super comfortable.

Food cravings: Pizza. I've really been craving pizza this week - haven't indulged yet, but I may not last too much longer. 

Gender: It's a BOY! 

Labor Signs: Same old, same old.

Belly Button – in or out? Out 

Wedding Rings – on or off? Back-up wedding band only. 

What I Miss: Back to really, really, really missing my coffee. I was on my way to work last week and found myself wishing I had a little cup of joe to savor during my 10 minute silent car ride that I get between the time I drop RF off at school and the time I arrive at school. Again, just a few more weeks...

What I Am Looking Forward To: Completing a few nursery projects and hopefully (next weekend) getting things moved in and set up for JE. 

Milestones: July is the last full month of us being a family of three. Come August, our lives will drastically change. Wow…only a few more weeks.

JE at 33 weeks…

Feeling uber-large right now…really, really large…

RF enjoying a homemade yogurt popsicle…trying to stay cool in this heat. 

Who knew multi-colored popsicle sticks could be so entertaining. RF was really quiet one afternoon - usually a tell-tale sign that he is in to something he shouldn't be - and this is how I found him. 

We were playing with the iPad one afternoon and I asked RF to show me his teeth. He grinned really big to show me his pearly whites. 

Too much cuteness for one photo. RF found one of RA's hats by the front door, put it on and proceeded to walk all over the house saying, "Daddy's hat on head".

We enjoyed a play-date last week with a friend at Kangarooz in Spanish Fort and this is the best photo I took of RF - he was all over the place - more proof of his amazing energy level. 

32 Weeks + Our 7-Year Anniversary

How far along? 32 weeks on June 23 

Joseph Ellis is the size of…a SQUASH!

Maternity Clothes: The Mobile heat is already brutal to this 7-months pregnant lady so I'm continuing to keep things light - tank tops, shorts and dresses.

Stretch Marks: Lightening some - I've been using some Cocoa Butter Oil on my belly as it's been itching quite a bit and in the process, the stretch marks have been lightening. Interesting.

Sleep: We're getting back into a routine in the sleep department - thankfully. RF seems to be getting over his major sleep disruptions so hopefully things will continue to get back to normal.

Best Moment Last Week: As I was putting RF to bed one night last week he (without prompting) put his hand on my belly and said, "Night Night Baby Ellis."Melt. My. Heart.

Movement: Still all over the place - having fun in there all day long and LOTS OF FUN at night while his mama is trying to sleep.

Food cravings: Nothing major this week and my appetite has had some ebbs and flows this week - some days I'm starving all the time and other days food isn't interesting to me at all. 

Gender: It's a BOY! 

Labor Signs: More BH contractions this week - surprise, surprise. I don't know if it's that my body (and my brain) now knows what they are after having already gone through one pregnancy or if they are just more intense this time around, but either way I love thinking about the fact that my body is prepared to do this again. It's almost like it's telling me to worry about something else, I got this. :-)

Belly Button – in or out? Out 

Wedding Rings – on or off? Back-up wedding band only. 

What I Miss: This weekend RA and I missed RF a whole bunch. Friday afternoon Lola picked him up from school and kept him until this morning. First time in his life that we have been away from him for three nights in a row. And while we really enjoyed time to ourselves, we really missed that little stinker boy.

Happy to have you home, buddy!

What I Am Looking Forward To: Dr. appt. tomorrow, which means hearing that sweet heartbeat again. 

Milestones: Only 8 more weeks. I cannot believe we are already that close to the end of this pregnancy.

JEH @ 32 weeks…
Bummin' it at home today with my little family...

And happy anniversary to my handsome husband. Seven years ago today we officially became husband and wife. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful partner in this journey of life. Thanks for picking me, RAH. We make a darn good team. :-)

31 Weeks.

How far along? 31 weeks on June 16 

Joseph Ellis is the size of…a PINEAPPLE!

Maternity Clothes: Nothing new…just trying to keep cool.

Stretch Marks: Same.

Sleep: We kept our rough sleep thing going this week. RF really only had two nights where he slept well. Hoping it's just a sleep regression and in the meantime I am thankful this is happening over summer break (if it had to happen) and before JE arrives. Hoping that we will be able to get back into our normal routine here soon.

Best Moment Last Week: Getting to see JE again via ultrasound. We had our last ultrasound last Tuesday and he put on a little show for us as he was constantly moving and had the hiccups while we watched.

Can't wait to kiss on this sweet face...

Movement: Yep, he's a squirmer. He's still letting me know that he's happily enjoying his little home.

Food cravings: Still on the lemonade kick, but also have really been craving fresh fruit this week. 

Gender: It's a BOY! 

Labor Signs: Same with the BH contractions. Nothing new.

Belly Button – in or out? Out 

Wedding Rings – on or off? Back-up wedding band only. 

What I Miss: I've really been missing coffee this week. More than likely this is the result of the sleeplessness we have been experiencing with RF, but I was in the grocery store recently and I had to just stand next to the coffee grinder for a minute and smell the freshly ground coffee that a lady was bagging. I'm sure she thought I was the weirdest person ever, but eh - who cares. 

What I Am Looking Forward To: Setting up JE's nursery and putting our little family-centered, love of history touches on it. I know that he will spend his first weeks home in the bassinet next to our bed, but I feel like each baby deserves their 'space' in the house. Slowly but surely things are getting done…slowly but surely.

Milestones: Hot and waddling. I've entered the "I want it 60 degrees in my house" stage and then "Wiggle-waddle to and fro" stage.

JEH @ 31 weeks…

 Three things I notice in this photo…I am large and in-charge looking, RF in action - running down the hallway with his shoes in his hands begging us to put them on him so that he could go outside, and I really need to clean the air in-take vent - yuk. 

30 Weeks

How far along? 30 weeks on June 9 

Joseph Ellis is the size of…a CUCUMBER!

Maternity Clothes: Same. I've spent most of the past week in flowy dresses trying to keep cool in this already miserable Mobile heat.

Stretch Marks: Same.

Sleep: Spoke too soon on the sleep issues last week. RF has had a rough week of sleeping - tossing and turning so much that he has spent the last three nights in our bed so that we could all get some sleep. Not sure if it's a sleep regression, a new developmental stage, teething, allergies, etc., but mama is definitely missing her consistent 10+ straight hours without interruption.

Best Moment Last Week: Mrs. Margie arrived in Mobile on Friday afternoon and accompanied me to pick RF up from school. As soon as he saw me in his classroom window he started grinning and then when Nana peeked her head around the corner, he dropped what he was doing and ran (seriously, he ran) with his arms held up over to her saying, "Nana! Nana! Nana!" It was the sweetest thing. He LOVES his Nana.

Movement: All over the place all the time! 

Food cravings: Lemonade. I want lots and lots of lemonade. 

Gender: It's a BOY! 

Labor Signs: Normal BH contractions, but nothing more.

Belly Button – in or out? Out 

Wedding Rings – on or off? Back-up wedding band only 

What I Miss: Being nausea-free. The nausea is back with a vengeance and I am not enjoying it at all. I have tried to take it easy and let it pass, but with a 19-month old running around, I'm having to grin and bear it most of the time. 

What I Am Looking Forward To: Completing some projects for JE's nursery. I've started working on a few of the little homemade elements and am slowly getting things ready to be set up in his room. Luckily, there's not a ton that has to be done other than moving out some furniture that is currently in the room and moving in JE's crib, changing table and armoire. Hopefully I'll be able to get some things done steadily over the next few weeks. 

Milestones: I believe I have entered the uncomfortable stage. I'm feeling swollen, tired and nauseas. 10 more weeks to go!

JEH @ 30 weeks + 1 Day…

Looking ROUGH in this photo…I think the sleeping issues are catching up to me. 

29 Weeks + Make Something Monday

How far along? 29 weeks on June 2 

Joseph Ellis is the size of…an ACORN SQUASH!

Maternity Clothes: Nothing new here - same old, same old.

Stretch Marks: Again, nothing new.

Sleep: Hopefully we are coming out of the sleep issues that plagued us last week and are moving back towards our normal all night, consistent sleep - fingers-crossed.

Best Moment Last Week: This moment…

RF and I were sitting on the floor of our living room watching nursery rhymes on YouTube (well, actually we were watching The Wheels on the Bus over, and over, and over again…) when RF held out his hand and grabbed mine. No words, just a little boy holding his mama's hand. :-)

Movement: Still an active little boy and I love every minute of it. 

Food cravings: I'm back to really craving icees and smoothies. Maybe it's the heat, but dang, they're all I can think of right now. I can't wait to get a frozen lemonade from Panera sometime this week - yummy! 

Gender: It's a BOY! 

Labor Signs: Glad that I have a dr. appt. on Wednesday because I have had a few really intense BH contractions lately - one in particular that made me squeal so loud RA heard me in the backyard. There isn't any consistency to them, so I'm sure they are just my body getting ready, but they are not my favorite things in the world to feel.

Belly Button – in or out? Out 

Wedding Rings – on or off? This one is going to be the same from here on out - back-up titanium wedding band it is. 

What I Miss: Normal sized calves and ankles - they are already swelling and it is driving me crazy. 

What I Am Looking Forward To: Dr. appt. Wednesday to check up on JE and then another ultrasound next week to get one last sneak peek of our little man. 

Milestones: School is out for the summer!

JEH @ 29 weeks…

Make Something Monday
I'm trying out a schedule with RF this summer to try and keep him entertained in the afternoons. "Make Something Monday" was great fun today - photos are below.

An icee cup coated in peanut butter and bird seed compliments of RF...

Finished product hanging on one of our crape myrtle trees….

RF wanted to make sure the birds had enough to eat so he decided to spread out the left over bird seed on the window ledge...

And then in true RF style - it was time to clean up the mess...

Hard at work...

A few pieces of bird seed went behind the box so RF promptly moved the box in order to make sure he cleaned up all of his mess...

Then it was time to pick up individual bird seeds, place them in the dust pan and throw them in the flower bed. Notice the sweaty hair? He was having a blast and wasn't the least bit concerned with taking time to sit down and rest, but did manage to steadily drink water to stay hydrated...

And of course the dogs decided to join us on the front porch for some outside time...

Lucky lady keeping a watchful eye on RF...

Gracie being her sweet, kind-hearted self...

RF spotted a bird sitting on the power lines above the house...

He was pointing up at the bird on the power line saying, "Bird eat." He was particularly annoyed that the bird wasn't coming down to eat all of the bird seed that he had carefully placed (thrown) onto the ground. 

Such a fun little boy…can't wait for him to be a big brother to JE. :-)