Babymoon!

Warning: Lots of pictures! (You have been warned.)

We left last Tuesday night after J got off work and flew to Fort Lauderdale.  We arrived early (yay!) and picked up our rental car.  They asked if we wanted a Hyundai Elantra or a VW Jetta..... no brainer!  We took off in our Jetta for our hotel, which I booked on Priceline.  We woke up the next morning, had a quick breakfast and were off to Shark Valley!

The drive took longer than we planned, but we made it! There was a lot of construction on the two lane road through the Everglades, so that slowed us down.

Shark Valley has a 15 mile loop you can bike or walk... or take the tram. My advice: TAKE THE TRAM! Not sure why I thought it was a good idea for my almost-7-month-pregnant self to ride a bike... I made it almost 5 miles before deciding to turn around.  My knee wasn't bothering me, it wasn't so much that it was hard... but my butt has never hurt so bad.  (It hurt for 2 days afterward!) So take the tram!  

We did see lots of wildlife up close.  I never anticipated seeing so many alligators up close.  It was really neat!  Then we headed out to lunch (gator nuggets and Mahi Mahi) before finding an airboat ride.  This was really fun!  I have a video I will upload at some point, but here are the pictures from the airboat ride.

We saw a gator and some raccoons, but that was it.  Riding through the mangroves was fun though!

After the airboat ride, we went to our hotel and swam before heading out to supper.  There were 6 places to choose from. 6. We ended up at a decent place and had salad and steamed shrimp. The view was nice, too!

Day 2

We had planned to go to Key Largo, but our boat ride there was canceled due to high winds, so we ended up exploring Big Cypress Preserve and going to Naples.  We took a scenic drive through the Preserve (27 miles on a dirt road) before heading to Naples for lunch.  We have never seen so many gators... we weren't expecting to see so many.  I am pretty sure we saw hundreds! Pictures along the drive:

After we finally found the main road again, we were off to Naples.  We ate at a cute restaurant where I had some amazing fish tacos (which I would later regret because I had terrible heartburn!).  We walked to the beach and enjoyed the beach for a bit before heading back.  It was a gorgeous day!

Day 3

I didn't get a phone call about our boat trip, so we were off to Key Largo!  The drive was just over two hours, but again, lots of construction on the road getting out of the Everglades.  We stopped for lunch in Key Largo before finding our boat.  It was a 45 minute ride out to the reef.  Once we arrived at the reef, we pretty much drifted around the roof. And the water was choppy. J almost got sick and I didn't feel so great, but it was neat to see and beautiful!

Barracuda!

 

We enjoyed the ride back in and were thankfully for solid ground!  We drove back to our hotel and had a quick swim before passing out for the night!

Last Day

Nothing remarkable really.  It rained and stormed.  We were on a dirt road when it was REALLY bad, but we made it out alive!  We tried to go see an area where there were manatees, but we didn't stay long since it was raining.  We are pretty sure we saw the ripples from one even if we didn't see an actual manatee.  Then, we drove to Miami, which was nothing special in our minds. After that, we went to Hollywood to the Hark Rock Casino to kill time until our flight.  We ate and played a few games, but it is rather boring really!   We headed to the airport early and just sat around until our flight.  We made it home safely, but exhausted.  We are glad to have gone, but nothing was so great we see ourselves going back.  Think we have seen all the Everglades and Keys have to offer... but we will go back to the beach!  It was a nice getaway before baby arrives at just the perfect time.

[27] and GD

This week's picture is from Naples, Florida!

27 weeks~

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Tu is the size of a head of cauliflower

Weight: + ? lbs (I haven't weighed myself since we have been on vacation)

Craving: Nothing lately, although I do love me some chicken tenders!

Maternity Clothes: Pants- duh, shirts- been a mix of regular and maternity this past week

Sleep: Not too bad... been a little restless lately and hard to find a comfy position.

Aversions: ....Ground Meat (really wish this would go away!)

Gender prediction: I am thinking boy, J is conflicted.. he may be leaning boy now.

Name(s): Picked and will be a secret until July!

Labor signs: No

Belly Button in or out: In, but getting shallower.  It is definitely a weird shape, too.

Wedding rings on or off: On 

Feeling:  I have still had some Braxton Hicks this week and I have had to use the bathroom a lot.

Looking Forward to:  Seeing Tu Friday!

Movement: All the time!  And I have been feeling it in different parts of my belly, so I guess Tu is growing!  The kicks are definitely getting stronger!

Development: Can open and close eyes this week!

Next Appointment:  I found out this week that I have gestational diabetes, so I have an appointment with a specialist Friday, April 19.  I will get an ultrasound though! I will have two f0llow ups the next week (I think) and will be monitored almost every week (again, I think).  Next OB appointment is April 25.
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Soundtrack

Pretty sure Tu takes this song to heart every 45 minutes or so!

We're in the Everglades, so I'll be updating when we get back!

[26]

We took the picture pretty quickly because it is FREEZING in our apartment, so excuse the so-so picture. I wasn't willing to try to get a better one!
 

26 weeks~

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Tu is the size of a head of lettuce

Weight: +17 lbs (~ 2 lbs of that is baby! also, this is a guess as I have been forgetting to weigh myself lately! I am sure the sweet overload lately has put on a couple of pounds!)

Craving: Nothing lately, although I do love me some chicken tenders!

Maternity Clothes: Pants- duh, shirts- been a mix of regular and maternity this past week

Sleep: Not too bad... been a little restless lately and hard to find a comfy position.

Aversions: ....Ground Meat (really wish this would go away!)

Gender prediction: I am thinking boy, J is conflicted.. he may be leaning boy now.

Name(s): Picked and will be a secret until July!

Labor signs: No

Belly Button in or out: In, but getting shallower.  It is definitely a weird shape, too.

Wedding rings on or off: On 

Feeling:  I started having a few Braxton Hicks on Friday and had several throughout the weekend, but haven't really noticed any since then.  Maybe it was all the traveling!  But in general, I still feel good!

Looking Forward to: Spring Break!!! Starts Friday at 2:25!

Movement: All the time!  And I have been feeling it in different parts of my belly, so I guess Tu is growing!  The kicks are definitely getting stronger

Development: Air sacs are developing

Next Appointment: April 25, then I start appointments every 2 weeks!
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I heard back from the doctor that I failed the glucose screening.  So on Monday I have the three hour test... yuck! 
Also, next week the post will be late as we will be in Florida :)

Easter

We had a great, but short, trip to KY this past weekend.  We went on sugar overload with three different kinds of cake! I also got lots of baby stuff from my cousins.  I love borrowing stuff instead of buying it!  I also found the cutest outfits for a little girl just in case Tu is a girl.  They will be sweet coming home outfits.  I need to be on the lookout for a couple of cute boy outfits!

Hope you had a great Easter!

[25]

 
25 weeks~

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Tu is the size of an eggplant

Weight: +15 lbs (~ 1.5 lb of that is baby!)

Craving: Lucky Charms and cold canned peaches (but not together :))

Maternity Clothes: Since it has been cold lately (Spring, where are you?!) I have just been wearing regular shirts with maternity pants.

Sleep: Not too bad... been a little restless lately and hard to find a comfy position.

Aversions: ....Ground Meat (really wish this would go away!)

Gender prediction: I am thinking boy, J is conflicted.. he may be leaning boy now.

Name(s): Picked and will be a secret until July!

Labor signs: No

Belly Button in or out: In, but getting shallower.  It is definitely a weird shape, too.

Wedding rings on or off: On 

Feeling:  Pretty good this week.  I have been tired, but overall it has been a good week!

Looking Forward to: Our trip to KY this weekend!

Movement: All the time! 3:51 am included.  And I am 100% sure there is a foot in my rib, which I feel an awful lot!

Development: Tu's hair is getting color this week.... our bet it that it is brown! ;)

Next Appointment: April 25, then I start appointments every 2 weeks!
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My appointment today was pretty uneventful.  I did drink the orange glucose drink (they were out of lemon-lime :( ) The hardest part for me was that it was so cold it gave me brainfreeze!  No news is good news, so I am hoping for no news next week.  I am measuring right on track and the heartbeat was good and strong.

[24]

24 weeks~

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Tu is the size of an ear of corn (almost a foot long)

Weight: +15 lbs (over 1 lb of that is baby!)

Craving: Lucky Charms and cold canned peaches (but not together :))

Maternity Clothes: I have worn a couple of maternity shirts this week!  My short sleeve shirts aren't as long as my long sleeved ones, so when the weather is warm out I have been wearing maternity shirts.  If it is cooler (which I would rather it not be!), I am still wearing my regular shirts.

Sleep: It has been pretty good lately. Love my Snoogle! (Wrote that yesterday... jinxed myself as last night I was up from 2:15-5:00.. joy)

Aversions: ....Ground Meat (really wish this would go away!)

Gender prediction: I am thinking boy, J is thinking girl. All my friends at work have guesses boy, and even the strangers I meet say they think it is a boy.  I have not had one person tell me they think it is girl! Weird!

Name(s): Picked and will be a secret until July!

Labor signs: No

Belly Button in or out: In, but getting shallower.  It is also oblong now instead of round.

Wedding rings on or off: On 

Feeling:  HEARTBURN, leg/foot cramps, itchy legs... pretty much had it all this week! Despite all that, I do feel pretty good!

Looking Forward to: Spring Weather! (soon, I hope)

Movement: Everyday!  It can be distracting sometimes, but I still love every bump I feel, even though a couple have hurt! And I am pretty sure one foot found my ribs.  It isn't really painful... yet.  J feels movement every day (and night), too. 

Development: Tu's skin is getting pinker this week! And the nostrils are opening up.. no one likes clogged nostrils!

Next Appointment: Next week!- time for the glucose test!
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Hey, it's still light outside!

To break up this post, I will be putting pictures from our day in Chattanooga throughout. :)

Tennessee Aquarium

I went to the knee doctor last week.  I was hoping to be able to walk, not limp, out of there.  Well, the doctor thinks I have Patellofemoral syndrome.  And... there is not much I can do about it, especially since I am pregnant.  I can't take anti-inflammatory medication to stop the swelling or the pain.  The doctor suggested I do specific exercises (when I am pain free... which is pretty much never) to strengthen my muscles and hope that it will improve.  I am also supposed to ice it everyday.  He did give me a shot (which made things worse for the next couple of days) that eventually helped, so I have been able to exercise some.  It has been better, but not 100%.

We had a great time with our visitors last weekend!  We did some shopping and relaxing.  We went to Georgia Baby, which is supposed to be one of the top baby stores in America.  It did have lots of baby stuff, and man! Some of it was expensive.  $2000 cribs? check! What!?  And I am sure people pay for it too.  We also hit up IKEA and since it was Bring Your Own Friend Day, we got free breakfast and free blue bags.  We also tried a restaurant I had been wanting to check out- J. Christopher's.  It's a breakfast/brunch place, so it's not open at night when we usually go out.  It was SO good! Of course, I rarely find a breakfast I don't like.

 

We have finally decided on a church (only took 3.5 months here vs 9 in NC!).  We talked to the preacher about it today, so I guess we are now members (or will be once it is in the bulletin- that's what makes it official, right?).  We still haven't met anyone our age, and the youth minister just left, but everyone is pretty friendly and the worship is great.

 

I have less than 2 months until I am done with my Master's!  It is crunch time.  I have 2 HUGE individual projects and one group project due between now and May 2nd.  I wish I had more motivation, although all three projects have been started.  My group project is going really well and since there are other people motivating me to do my part, I am pretty sure that one will be done early.  I have a paper and presentation due April 18, which account for 30% of my grade in one of the classes.  I have good ideas for the presentation, but have yet to start on the 15 page paper... ugh! And I hate when there is a page number I have to hit.  Then finally, I have my Master's presentation on May 2nd.  I think it is about halfway complete, but I will probably worry about it after I finish the others.  I am soooo looking forward to being finished!

 

Yesterday, we went to Chattanooga for the day.  It was such a great day to go!  The weather was amazing.  We got there in time for an early lunch.  I decided on The Blue Plate.  It was a great choice.  It was right on the river and pretty tasty!  J had chicken and a pancake (the thickest pancake I have ever seen) with loaded hashbrowns.  I would drive back just for the hashbrowns.  I had French Toast.  J's was definitely better than mine, but we would recommend it for sure.

 

We walked around downtown and across the Walnut Street Bridge.  There were lots of people going to the aquarium- the line to buy tickets was insanely long.  I thought people would want to be outside instead of inside!  Thankfully, Riverwalk, but you have to take stairs to get there and I am supposed to avoid stairs when possible.

 We drove around and found Chattem foods, which is really close to Ruby Falls.  Then we drove to Collegedale where McKee Foods is located.  It seemed much more our speed.  We drove around the area for a while and had a little snack at Sonic during Happy Hour (they have 99c snacks during Happy Hour).  We also went into the Super Bilo in Ooltewah.  It was the nicest grocery store I have been to in a long time!  Then we made our way back home.  

Look! It's a Duck!

I booked a rental car on Priceline for our trip to the Everglades next month.  I am still working on planning a couple of days and getting a hotel near the airport the first night.

We also have our trip to KY coming up.  My friend Natalie is getting married in 3 weeks.  Marion graduates in May, plus we will have some baby classes (which I still need to register for!)  Then we have our trip to the beach with J's family and Anna's wedding.  It will be June before we know it!

Nursery!

J's mom and sister came last week and brought the crib! We got it put together and set up.  We also went to IKEA and got the dresser and bookshelf, among other odds and ends.  We still have some boxes we need to move, but Tu at least has a place for books, clothes, and a place to sleep!  Excuse the mess in the pictures though... we still have a few months to get it looking good!

Crib outfitted with the bedding

Dresser! If it is a girl, we might change the knobs to make it more girly... we'll see.  We like the blue :)

Close up of bedding. Love all the colors and how it fits in with the rest of the apartment.

Lampshade... it doesn't fit the lamp we have, so we need to get a new lamp or a piece from Walmart to make it fit.

Bookshelf with added legs to make it taller. LOVE it! It is SO much sturdier than one from Target or Walmart

Hooks! How cute are they?!

A HUGE thanks to KK and J's family for furnishing the nursery so far. Tu is so blessed!

[23]

People this week and said I have 'popped.'  I think I believe them!

23 weeks~

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Tu is the size of a large mango (about 11 inches long)

Weight: +14 lbs (over 1 lb of that is baby!)

Craving: Lucky Charms and cold canned peaches (but not together :))

Maternity Clothes: Still only wearing maternity pants full time with regular shirts.  I am not quite big enough for maternity shirts, but I am sure it is coming soon! I did wear one maternity shirt this week though, but not sure when I will again.

Sleep: Since I figured out the Snoogle last week, I have been sleeping really well! (Except for one night when my knee was bothering me.)

Aversions: ....Ground Meat (really wish this would go away!)

Gender prediction: I am thinking boy, J is thinking girl. Everyone at work tells me they think we are having a boy.

Name(s): Picked and will be a secret until July!

Labor signs: No

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding rings on or off: On 

Feeling: This past week, I have felt pretty good!  One thing I haven't mentioned is that throughout my entire pregnancy my legs have been terribly itchy.  I keep in the lotion!

Looking Forward to: A beautiful weekend! Maybe hiking, maybe a daytrip to Chattanooga.

Movement: Everyday!  It can be distracting sometimes, but I still love every bump I feel, even though a couple have hurt! And I am pretty sure one foot has found my ribs.  It isn't really painful... yet.  J feels movement every day (and night), too. 

Development: Tu can feel all my movements now.. walking, swaying, etc!

Next Appointment:March 28- time for the glucose test!
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Hopefully, I will get around to a J&C update soon!

And a couple of outakes from the photoshoot. :)

 

[22]

  

22 weeks~

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Tu is the size of a spaghetti squash

Weight: +13 lbs (1 lb of that is baby!)

Craving: Lucky Charms

Maternity Clothes: Still only wearing maternity pants full time with regular shirts.  I am not quite big enough for maternity shirts, but I am sure it is coming soon!

Sleep: I discovered a way to position my Snoogle this week that allows for optimum sleep. SO much better this week!

Aversions: ....Ground Meat (really wish this would go away!)

Gender prediction: I am thinking boy, J is thinking girl

Name(s): Picked and will be a secret until July!

Labor signs: No

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding rings on or off: On 

Feeling: This past week, I have felt pretty good!

Looking Forward to: Getting the crib and dresser this weekend! I am also looking forward to going to the knee doctor next week!

Movement: Everyday!  It can be distracting sometimes, but I still love every bump I feel! J feels it every, too.  We even saw my belly move by itself one time this week.

Development: Tu can grip this week!  Also getting hair, but it doesn't have pigment yet.

Next Appointment:March 28- time for the glucose test!
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My mom and I were talking the other day about how many grandparents and great grandparents Tu will have.  Tu will be one of the most loved babies ever! We are so thankful for that.

Random Catch-Up

What's been happening?

 

Kroger only has one of these spots, so it is usually full.  Not that I really need it, but I did use it on a rainy day (as you can tell from the picture.)

 

 

During my President's Day break, I finally got the guest room curtains up.  The only room in the apartment that we even have curtains for... oh well.  And just act like you don't notice the mirror that still needs to hung.  

 

  

I also started on our gallery wall, like we had in the house.  This wall is much smaller, so I didn't hang everything like we had it.  It definitely feels more like home now that we have pictures out!

 

Caitlin made a quick trip here last weekend.  We tried out a new restaurant called Pier 213.  They have a restaurant in Mobile and only use seafood from the Gulf. SO GOOD! We had crab claws, fried shrimp, crawfish, and a crab cake sandwich.  The only thing that was lackluster was the hushpuppies, but the sweet tea more than made up for it.  If you come see us, we probably be going here!

We also made a trip to Raleigh over President's Day weekend.  It was so good to see our friends.  We even got to meet the newest member of the bunch, Alana.  I can't believe we will have a baby that small in just a few short months!

It snowed!!! It snowed on our drive from about Lexington all the way to Holly Springs.  It wasn't sticking much except for around Holly Springs, so we got to play in it!  Here is our snowman we made with Audrey.

Audrey making the head of the snowman.

We got to see everyone and catch up.  It's hard to believe we have been gone 3 months! But then we see how much bigger all the kids are and it's not that  hard.  Church was canceled Sunday morning, so we got to enjoy a lazy morning with the Spencers.  Audrey came to play with us at 7:45 because she 'accidentally woke up.'  Too cute!  We had lunch with Anna and Danny.  The next time we see them they will be getting married... and I'll be much larger :)

 

On our way back from Raleigh, we stopped at the outlets in Gaffney.  Here is what we picked up! It is bigger than our other rug and fills up the space better.  The ottoman covers up most of the green, but we like the other colors it adds.  We both love it! 

I have also started buying cloth diapers.  I think I am addicted.  I discovered a forum where you can buy diapers... that combined with ebay means we don't need many more!  They are sooo cute.  Our baby's booty will be so cute. :) 

I am going to the eye doctor this afternoon.  I hope I can find some cute glasses!  I am also going to the knee doctor the week after next.  I can't hobble around until July, so hopefully I can get something that will help.  My midwife said I was allowed to take 1 Aleve before 32 weeks, so I did that yesterday.  Seriously, yesterday was amazing. No limping and my knot was 1/4 of the size it has been lately.  Hopefully it won't get big again and I can just get some good medicine to keep it from bothering me.

We have booked our flights and hotel in the Everglades, but I still have to get a rental car.  It's just a little over a month away, so I need to get to planning what we'll be doing.  Hopefully my knee will allow us to do some active things (walking/hiking).  We are also planning to go down to the Keys for a day... Woot!