Without Further Delay

Sorry that I am so late posting this week! I think I will do three posts today. One with my normal weekly update, one with pictures from my shower last weekend, and one with pictures of the finished nursery.

As you know from my post last week, I found out on Thursday that I pass the Bar! It was such a relief to know that I am now done with everything. It wouldn't have been the end of the world if I didn't pass, but since Toots is supposed to be born in January, there's no way I could've taken the bar again in February, so I would have had to put off taking it until next July and I'd just rather not do that. Plus, trying to study with a newborn probably wouldn't have been the easiest thing. Here's a picture of the beautiful tulips Tim brought home for me as a congratulations:

Friday, my mom came into town in the afternoon. We went downtown and ate at Mi Cocina for dinner - it was yummy. Saturday, we ran some errands and then got ready for the shower. It was in Frisco at my friend Kaitlin's house. Everything was wonderful and I got some great stuff for Toots! I am lucky to have such great friends to throw a shower for me. My Nanny, aunt, and cousin spent the night on Saturday after the shower, so we went to Joe T. Garcia's for dinner - which was also really yummy. Sunday, we went and ate breakfast with everyone and then my mom decided to go ahead and stay again on Sunday, so we ran around all day to get stuff for the nursery and went to Jason's Deli for dinner.

My mom left on Monday and I spent most of the day finishing up everything for the nursery that I could get done. I was pretty exhausted from my busy weekend. We had our second Child Birth class on Monday night and also had an Infant CPR class on Tuesday night. The infant CPR class wasn't as helpful as we had hoped and I think we could've gotten the same information online without having to pay for it. We were glad to finally get to be home last night since we hadn't been getting home until 9:30 the two nights before. Things have just been pretty busy this week so that's why I haven't posted!

Here's my belly picture for this week. I couldn't tell much of a difference from last week. I don't go to the doctor again until November 30th, so I won't know if I am still growing normally or ahead or behind until then.

And here's an update on baby this week:

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now (actually, most books and websites I've looked at have said that he is more like 17 inches this week), and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face.

He is moving around just as he was. I think he gets tired when I get tired because the days I am exhausted I don't feel him quite as much. I notice more "waves" in my stomach when he moves than just little jabs now.

Here's a picture:

This Friday, I have a final shower that Tim's work is throwing for me at noon. We are leaving after that for Waco to go to my friend Michelle's baby shower (she's due three days before me!) and spend the night in Waco. We're going to go to Boerne on Saturday and stay there Saturday night and Sunday night. Monday morning, we're driving to Austin for the swearing-in ceremony for newly licensed attorneys so then I will be a full-fledged attorney :) Hope everyone has had a wonderful week so far and has a great weekend!

Bad!

Sorry I haven't posted this week! Things have been pretty busy and I haven't had a chance to take my belly picture. Plus, I have shower and nursery pictures to put up, too. Promise I will post tonight or tomorrow!

Certified

I PASSED THE BAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Found out about 1:30 today - so I am now an attorney :) All that's left is to get sworn in.

Yippeee!!

Uncle Pennybags and Bumps in the Road

We had a pretty busy weekend!

Friday, we were planning on going to a movie, but after we went and got Tim a shirt to wear for our maternity pictures, the traffic was really bad and we decided we'd rather stick closer to home. We went to eat at Casa Rosa by our apartment (REALLY good) and then rented the movie Horsemen with Dennis Quaid. I thought it was pretty good but Tim thought they could've made it better and left some things out. I'm guessing they didn't have a whole lot to work with since I think the movie went straight to DVD.

Saturday, we got up and went to get Tim's haircut then went to Wal-Mart to get Halloween candy and get some toy cars for my costume (picture below). We had the Trunk or Treat at our church at 2:30 and then needed to go straight to our maternity pics, so we got dressed beforehand. The Trunk or Treat was a great time, ours was a graveyard - some really cute kids in their costumes AND.......we won best trunk!! We were really excited since this was our first year to participate. We got a $50 car wash giftcard and a plastic tub that looks like an old timey movie popcorn container and a big bag of popcorn. We're hoping to make participating a yearly event. Here's a picture of our trunk (not the best image because the camera died and I had to take it with my phone):

The candy was in the "graves" in front of the tombstones. The kids had to reach into the graves to get the candy. They were very skeptical about this at first, I guess thinking it was going to be gross or something was going to get them, but there were no "tricks" in them! There's a "No Trespassing" sign hanging to the right and a bat whose eyes blinked red on the left.

After the Trunk or Treat, we went to the Stockyards to get our maternity pictures taken. Colton, who started SixFourteen Photography, did an awesome job and already has a preview of our pictures up on his website! Go look at them here: http://www.sixfourteenphotography.com/. There will be more pictures to come, but you'll get to see some of them there. Let me know what you think!

We also went to a little Halloween party. We didn't stay long because I was pretty tired from our busy day, but it was fun. Tim was the Monopoly man (Uncle Pennybags) but he didn't like to wear the mustache because it covered his mouth up, so people didn't really know what he was. Some thought he was Dr. Suess. We had the HARDEST time finding the stuff for his costume. We ended up having to find a bowtie at Hot Topic of all places and he had to use a tophat from a costume his friend didn't use because we couldn't find one. He wasn't very excited about it once it came down to it because of not being able to find everything we wanted. I was a "bump in the road" with cars going over my belly as the bump. It was a comfortable outfit and I thought it was pretty clever. ;) Here's a picture of us:

Today, we got up and went to church and went to the grocery store. We came home and started to watch the Cowboys game but I was still SO exhausted from last night so I fell asleep in Tim's lap for about 3 hours. I felt like I got run over by a car and just could not wake up. When I finally did, I felt a lot better and refreshed. We went on a walk and then I came back and made dinner. I forgot to change the clocks in the kitchen so we ended up eating about 5:30 or 6:00 instead of 6:30 or 7:00. Oops! Now Tim's been doing some work and I've been lounging around and figuring out what all I need to do this week.

Here's my belly picture for the week. I don't feel like I look a whole lot bigger, but maybe a little less definition on the sides and rounder around the belly. Only 11 more weeks to go.

And here's what's going on with baby this week:

Your baby 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 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.

Here's a picture:That's about all for the weekend. I don't have a whole lot to do this week, but I'm sure I'll stay busy. My mom is coming in town on Friday and my aunt, cousin, and Nanny (grandmother) are coming in on Saturday for the shower my friends are throwing for me in Frisco. I'm excited to see all my family and friends. I'll get my mom to bring the pictures from the last shower and I'll do a post with shower pictures.

Natalie - I noticed on my post from last week, you commented about seeing cute Peter Rabbit bedding in the Pottery Barn Kids magazine. That's actually where we are getting it from! I love it and just thought it was really classic and cute.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Wiggle Wiggle

Everything went well at the doctor today. I gained MORE weight....He says now I'm going to gain 50 pounds by the end of the pregnancy, but he's not worried about it because I was slim before and I still look slim (other than my big belly). I hate that I am gaining so much weight but I exericse 3 times a day most days (30 minutes on the elliptical, followed by pre-natal yoga, then 30 minutes of walking when Tim gets home) and I don't eat much different than I did before pregnancy, so I guess it's just going to happen.

My belly was measuring 29 cm - so a little ahead of where I am today (28 weeks 4 days), which goes along with measuring 3 days ahead at the ultrasound at 20 weeks, but it doesn't necessarily mean that. Heartbeat was 146 - Dr. had a hard time getting a reading because Toots was moving around like crazy! The doctor even said "wow!" haha. The doctor happened to have 7 H1N1 vaccines, without thimerisol (sp possibly), and so he offered one of them to me. I know some people are iffy about this vaccine but I'm not one of those people that generally worries about vaccines and I feel like the benefits outweigh the risks in this situation. My OB is a conservative guy and he strongly recommended I get it, so I trust him. Thimerisol is the additive that some people believe causes autism and other problems in kids, so that's why it's nice it wasn't in the vaccine I got. The doctor said he would still recommend me getting it even if it did have thimerisol because it has never been proven to be the cause of any problems, but luckily I didn't have to deal with that issue.

I have another appointment in four weeks and then it will go to every two weeks, then every week. It's starting to go by quickly! I'm excited!

Oh - I noticed a I have a new follower or two, so 'hi!' and I'm glad you're here!

Prayers Please

I'd like to ask that all of you that read this please keep a couple that we know in your thoughts and/or prayers. I don't want to give a lot of personal information about them, but they got married the same day as us and we met them on our honeymoon (I'll call them M and J). We have kept in touch with them through facebook since the honeymoon. M and J were about 3 weeks behind us in their pregnancy and found out that their daughter (I'll call her A) had triploidy (a genetic disorder - you can google it and find info if you want). They had been praying and hoping for the best but A went to heaven tonight. They are very religious and put a lot of faith in God but I know this has to be terribly difficult and cannot imagine what they are going through.

Please think of them.

Third Trimester

According to all sources now, I am in the 3rd trimester! Less than 12 weeks until Brendan should be here :)

I had a wonderful shower this weekend in Beaumont. I don't have pictures to post, yet, because my mom has them and I haven't gotten them from her. The food was pregnancy cravings that the hostesses, my mom, and Tim's mom had when they were pregnant - it was really cute! They also had the food table decorated with a Peter Rabbit stuff animal, a Peter Rabbit book, carrots, radishes, and lettuce. It was just adorable. The Peter Rabbit is because that's how the nursery is going to be decorated. I spent the other part of the weekend in Boerne and that was also a great time. I got to eat Los Barrios enchiladas again (I think I mentioned them in a post awhile back). I seriously think about those enchiladas EVERY DAY - they are soooo good!

I'm posting late this week because I kept forgetting to take a belly picture. I was absolutely exhausted after this weekend so I didn't take one until last night. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, so I'll try to update again after that and let y'all know how it went. We are going tonight to get a crib mattress from Babies 'R Us. Tim's dad and stepmom are buying it for us. I have two more showers coming up. Some of my friends are giving me one in Frisco next weekend (November 7th) and then Tim's work was so sweet and offered to have one for me at their office on November 12th. This weekend, we are taking maternity pictures on Saturday as well as participating in the Trunk or Treat at our church.

Here's the belly picture for the week. I could tell a noticeable difference in how much my belly is sticking out in front from last week to this week. I have a hard time getting my socks on now, especially if I am wearing longer ones, like when I wear boots. I have to get Tim to help me when that happens!


And here's what's going on with baby this week. I am using the update from What to Expect When You're Expecting because Baby Center is behind all the other sources I use this week.

Your baby is settling into the proper position for birth, with his head facing downward (toward your body's nearest exit!). Your little work in progress is now about 2.5 pounds and almost 16 inches long. He's busy adding new skills such as blinking to an already impressive repertoire of tricks like coughing, sucking, hiccuping, and taking practice breaths. Your baby's sleep now includes the REM (rapid eye movement) phase — and that means he could be dreaming already (what do you suppose he's dreaming about?). Though his lungs are nearly fully mature (so both of you might breathe a little easier if he were born now), your baby still has plenty of growing to do.

Toots also LOVES to stick his head/back/butt out to where my belly pops out in one area. One girl online said her baby does this and she thinks it's because she will always rub that area that the baby sticks out. I think that might be the case with Toots, too, because I also rub his little head (or whatever area it is) whenever he does that. It's pretty cute! I just started feeling hiccups in the past several days - cute but sometimes a little annoying. He also really likes it when I take a bath. I take a bath everynight unless I have to wash my hair (which, honestly, isn't too often!) and he just starts kicking and kicking whenever my belly gets in the tub. Before you wonder, I know the water isn't too hot or anything, so that's not the reason why. Iread that babies often like it when the mom goes swimming because they can feel the weightlessness as well, so I think that might be why. He seems to be having a good time in there!

And here's a picture:

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Let me know if you have any suggestions for me for the last trimester of pregnancy!