34 weeks (and 1 day)

I haven't been feeling well (a cold has made its way through our house), so my post is a day late here.


I'm 34 weeks and 1 day!  I had my doctor's appointment today and everything went well.  I was so amazed at how loud and STRONG her heart sounded today.  The doctor's eyes got wide with me and we smiled together.  We talked about how much bigger her heart is now versus the beginning-I know that is logical, but to hear the difference over time is so neat.  She's also gaining more fat now (that makes two of us) and working on her developing nervous system.

Baby's size: 18 inches and 4 3/4 lbs., like your average cantaloupe (I never liked cantaloupe until I got pregnant with Harper and then again with this pregnancy.  I can eat it up!)

Cravings:  ice cream-oh my I could kill some ice cream right now.  Chik fil a has a banana pudding milkshake that I think I could eat every day.

How I'm feeling:  puffy.  I'm starting to swell and I'm constantly hungry.  I've also fallen 3 times-my balance is off with all of this weight.  Kate is really low and I feel some low pressure now.

Sleep:  My pregnant friend said it takes a crane to turn her over when she's asleep and that just about sums it up for me.  I'm also battling head congestion so sleep is okay.

My favorite part of this week:  1.  having a banana pudding milkshake on saturday (he he); 2.  hearing that galloping heart beat so strong today; and 3.  going to the park and seeing the pregnant animals and the new babies!  I was looking forward to this again this year and it is so neat.  The goats and pig are plump and due in the next two weeks.  There was a calf and several lambs born in just the past couple of weeks.  

look at this sweet baby

I'm starting to feel and see some resemblance between me and penny sue, the pig

this momma was not happy with visitors
it is okay-all new moms get cranky sometimes

Planning:  I made 8 frozen meals in one week.  It was actually pretty easy.  The hard part will be waiting to use them since grocery shopping and cooking are getting a little harder.  I made two of each of the following:

1.  Shrimp and chicken gumbo (I added rice and chicken to Paula Dean's recipe to thicken it up and double the recipe)

2.  Salsa verde chicken enchiladas

3.  Italian polenta casserole

4.  Taco pasta shells 

I'm going to stock some spinach lasagna too, but what else?  I need to hunt for some more recipes that aren't all-carb.

Real simple has some great slow cooker recipes in this month's issue-most of them take 15 minutes or less of preparation.  They look really good and pretty healthy, so I'm going to try some of them this week.  

Can you tell I'm pregnant?  All I'm thinking about is food!  HA!

lazy days

We've been homebound for about 4 days.  Harper's just been so yucky sick that I didn't feel right taking her anywhere-especially after the temperature dropped from 75 to 20 and it snowed.  Good grief!  No wonder she's sick.  We finally got out to gymboree and the grocery store yesterday and that turned in to a disaster.  DISASTER.  She screamed the entire grocery trip, something she never does.  So, we came home and spent the rest of the day with some quiet play.

Lately, she's been so excited when Brian gets home from work.  She stands and looks outside when he leaves in the morning and says, "bye daddy" and "daddy work."  When he pulls up at night, Georgia starts to barking and Harper starts to squealing and it gets a little crazy up in here!  It sounds something like "bark bark bark daddy bark home bark eeeekkkkk bark bark daddy bark home bark yeahhhhh bark."  I can only imagine what Kate will think with all this commotion.  I'm sure Brian gets a kick out of it.   

33 Weeks

Kate has the hiccups right now and gets them a few times a day now.  She doesn't seem to like them too much because she kicks and fusses around each time.  I've got the waddle going on and things are in full swing.  In 6 weeks, or just 42 days, we'll have our baby.  I can't wait!

whoa momma!

Baby's size: 17 inches and 4 pounds, like a pineapple-mmm, I could totally go for some pineapple right now

Cravings:  sweets!  This weekend I had portions of blueberry tart, bread pudding, baby shower cake, and a Godiva truffle (or two)

How I'm feeling:  waddle-waddle, I'm getting uncomfortable

Sleep:  I sleep great still; there's the 4 am bathroom break-no matter  how I time my last drink-but I still sleep well

My favorite part of this week:  my friend Lindsay's baby shower today.  She looked so cute and got the sweetest gifts.  I've so enjoyed sharing this pregnancy with her and can't wait for our girls to be friends.

Planning:  Kate's baby blanket came in this week.  We got her the same one we got Harper, but in a different color.  It is called a "My Blankee."  I also want to start making and freezing some meals for when it is just me and the girls at home by ourselves.  

This little sweet potato wanted to enjoy some nice weather on Friday.  Shortly thereafter, on Saturday, she got slammed with a 103 degree fever and we had to go to the doctor.  Poor baby has strep and is taking antibiotics.  

She's barely ever sick and unfortunately picked a weekend that we had friends in from out of town.  They had to leave with their 9 month old baby, so we were all pretty bummed.  She seems a little better today.

My name is Harper, and I like to dance

You might be a parent of a toddler if you know what that title is in reference to...

At any rate, I took some iphone video of Harper tonight and she was cracking me up.  Be warned-there's some cackling and, I dare say, some snorting going on in the video, so you may want to turn off the sound. 

Harper's Birthday Party

Harper had a great time at her birthday party at Gymboree.  I'm so glad we had it there; it is her favorite place and it made things really easy (i.e. no cleaning).  I think the kids had a really good time.  The theme was Minnie Mouse.

We had a Minnie pull-apart cupcake cake.  I gave the bakery at Giant a picture and they made it for me!  They were delicious! 

The kiddos took home balloons and goodie bags with Mickey and Minnie play-doh, bubbles, and stickers.

Harper's birthday banner

The kids' tables

I made these cupcake toppers 

The birthday girl

having fun

Brian and Harper dancing

Me and Harper

The mouse ears I made for the kids.  I saved 70 dollars by just making them myself.  They're toddler headbands wrapped in felt with foam padded felt ears.

These are the ears supplies

With a little help from bakeat350.blogspot.com, I made cookies for the adults to take home

Our family of 3

Harper, by the way, does not eat cupcakes

The birthday friends

Our family is so far away, so none of them could make it.  We really miss them, but thankfully we have very sweet friends here who make things easier and surround Harper with love.  

Kate's Room

Kate's room is ready for her and I love this space.  It is clean, calm, cheerful, and bright.  The wall color is Antiguan Sky by Benjamin Moore, and I paired it with chocolate brown, pink, and white.  I'm no designer, though-I took a picture from Pottery Barn Kids and went from there.

This is the dresser and big window.  The flower pillow, and many of the accessories, are from Home Goods (love it).  The glider will go where the pillow is when the Wallace's bring it in April.

The furniture is from Babies R Us.  The photograph really dwarfs the furniture and art, but they're BIG.  

The crib again

And again

One last look 

32 Weeks

At 32 weeks, things are starting to get real for me.  Kate has fingernails, toenails, and hair.  That actually makes me tear up (well, that and the hormones).  She is fattening up-I guess we both are.  ha!  Seriously, I am starting to swell.  I tried to get a pair of shoes yesterday; they felt great and then my feet swelled overnight and I had to take them back to the store today.  Pretty funny to me.  That's okay-I'll just wait until spring.

Baby's size: 16.7 inches and 3.75 lbs, like a large jicama (because we all know what that looks like)

jicama picture, from of wegmans.com

Cravings:  soda.  I'm going to limit that to one a week; I'm trying not to swell like I did last time...good luck

How I'm feeling:  starting to feel puffy and awkward; emotionally, I'm up and down but overall thrilled

Sleep:  Harper seems to have serious molar pains, but giving her pain relief at night is giving me sleep relief.  I sleep like a rock.

My favorite part of this week:  reading that Kate has toenails and hair; we'll be painting and brushing those one day!  

Planning:  We finished the nursery-including all of the clothes, blankets and bibs!  I go in there at least once a day and just smile.  Ray painted the room for us at Christmas and then Brian did most of the other hard parts, like building all of the furniture by himself, carrying down boxes of my stuff from the closet, hanging the curtains, and nailing the art.  I just point and say "thank you."  I haven't had a chance to take pictures because of the crazy double birthday weekend, but I will tomorrow in the light.  

pajama girls watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

skinny jeans at the National Aquarium

I'll close with these two sweeties who had a wonderful weekend together.  Matt, Kathryn, and Avery came up and stayed with us and we loved having them.  The girls get along great and Harper cried when they had to leave today.  They are such dear friends to us.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Harper Rose!

Harper Rose, you are 2 years old today.  I can't believe 2 years have gone by so quickly and you've changed so much.  Our time is precious, and I never forget it.  You are the light of our lives-really and truly-and I thank God every single day for you.  

8 1/2 weeks pregnant

expecting our girl

seeing you for the first time

at the hospital with daddy

my bow girl

your baptism

your 1st birthday party

Harper, at 2 years old you...

• are long and lean still-we'll get the measurements next week, but you're around 23 pounds and you're tall!
• speak in sentences and are very polite with "please" and "thank you."
• are getting your 2 year molars.
• LOVE to read, play outside, paint, play with your best friend Sunny, cuddle with mommy at bedtime, take bubble baths, go to gymboree, and watch those coveted cartoons.
• love your dog Georgia.  You kiss and hug her when we leave the house.
• have a Toy Story obsession (at least it isn't Barney).
• are a momma's girl for sure.
• eat great!
• have a ton of energy; you run and run and run.  You are FAST and we think you'll be athletic.
• love to dance.  It is one of your favorite things in the world and you make us come dance with you.
• will sit and read to yourself for 30 minutes to an hour.  You've always loved books.
• have learned the word "mine," which I do not like.  I want you to be generous, and you usually are.
• have the best laugh and use it often.
• are a great helper and a cleaner-you like to put things in the right place and at art class you're always the one running around cleaning up.
• are so beautiful and smart-to us, at least.  We just sit in awe of you sometimes.  We can't believe you're ours.  We love you!

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Kate McRae

Don't be alarmed when I write, "Pray for Kate."  Our Kate is doing great.  I had my checkup today and she's right on track.  There's another Kate I've been following and praying hard for for the past 2 years.  Her name is Kate McRae and I don't even know her, but for some reason I feel compelled to follow her battle with cancer and pray for her.  I'm not a wallower, and although it breaks my heart to see her go through this, I can't even imagine what her family is going through.  Kate is a trooper, though, and you wouldn't believe how inspiring this just-turned-7-year-old is. 


Please check out her Caringbridge site and pray for Kate as she has some new spots on her brain and goes for a PET scan tomorrow.  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate/journal


Thank you

31 weeks and 31 years

I'll be 31 this week and our sweet Kate is 31 weeks.  I am officially tired with a capital T.  I haven't slept much this week because Harper is going through some kind of thing where she is up for about 4 hours in the middle of the night until it is actually time to get up.  I think it is molars.  Plus, the baby is VERY active lately so I'm getting no sleep.  I thought I'd have a couple more months before that started, but oh well.

Kate is very active and that is great news.  I think she flipped to head-down some time last week because now I suddenly feel movement very low.  That may also account for the hourly bathroom runs I have to make-ha!  I'm definitely in the 3rd trimester, folks.

Baby's size: over 16 inches and 3.3 lbs, like 4 naval oranges

Cravings:  ice cream and sweets.  I have to control myself-this is when I gained all of my weight last time

How I'm feeling:  I'm very tired.  She's also sitting right on my bladder now.  

Sleep:  What is this word, "sleep?"  I suddenly have no sleep.  She's moving all around at night and Harper is having a tough time too.

My favorite part of this week:  this is selfish, but having 2 hours to myself to get my hair done.  It was just so relaxing and I enjoyed every second of it.

Planning:  We got the double stroller this weekend.  I think we're officially finished "getting" stuff.  I'm glad, too.  I debated the whole double stroller thing, but since I am home with both of them and want to take them places like the park, etc. by myself, I will really like it.  It fits our bucket car seat and also reclines to 150 degrees for each child.  I found a great website through youtube that shows reviews of kids products by this group of moms.  They have 7 minute videos of strollers.  I also asked around to friends and looked at commercial reviews.  The website is http://www.babygizmo.com/media/index.php and is great!  

I'm in that embarrassing stage where I have to constantly make sure my stomach isn't hanging out of the bottom of my shirt.  Lovely.  I especially like it when I have my hands full and I'm holding Harper and I can't pull down my shirt, and I just know my beautiful belly is hanging out there in the cold.  

The people at the grocery store this week liked it too, I'm sure.

I'm off to bed!  Good night!