Snow Day

On the mind...

My brain is sloppy scrambled eggs lately-here are some thoughts on the menu…

• This week I’m hoping to order baby E’s crib and dresser combo-I can’t wait to get it in and set up in his room! On that note, I’m having trouble refraining from going into his blank canvass of a nursery-one too many times a day-to imagine what it will look like soon...furniture, blankets, baby and all.
  
  

• Why are strawberries so darn expensive and harder to find now-a-days? Can’t a girl enjoy some sweet strawberries in January?
  
  
• God is getting an early start on teaching me how to live on less sleep-getting to sleep is harder and harder to do now, and I can’t imagine what it will be like a month from now. Dread.
  
  
• 1 week and 4 days till Girl Scout cookie-palooza…but who’s counting…
  
  
• Work has been rough this week-and it’s only Wednesday.
  
  
• We’ve hit a dinner slump and are running low on ideas for creative, new, and most importantly-inexpensive-recipes. Must satisfy the carb addicted picky eater- myself- as well as the garbage disposal/will eat anything without onions/Texas sized appetite, lover of food husband. Budget friendly ideas welcome.
  
  
• The weekends are increasingly less sufficient for laundry-maybe a “white load Wednesday” is in order.

Hello 3rd Trimester-my how fast you've come!

I can’t believe it’s time for the third trimester already-I feel like it’s barged in like a thief rather than knocking slowly at our door and waiting patiently for me to collect myself, pick up the laundry off the living room floor, scurry to fluff some pillows ect. Not to say that we aren’t completely excited about its arrival, just maybe a little frazzled by how fast it’s made its way here! I suppose I should be very grateful that we haven’t run into any major “traffic” along the way and have enjoyed a very easygoing pregnancy so far-here’s to hoping my good graces carry out till D-Day!

This week baby E should weigh between 2 and a quarter to 2 and a half pounds, and measure around 14.5 inches from head to toe(hard to believe looking at my stomach!). This time is especially crucial to his brain and neuron development, so I’m trying to make a better effort to get in that extra dose of nutrition and drink plenty of water-does tea count?

In other news, I’m happy to say we had a good, productive weekend. On Saturday we checked a few things off my decluttering the house game plan. In addition to the weekend basics like laundry and grocery shopping, we finally found a new home for a huge piece of furniture that was taking up much needed space in E’s room and got his name letters on the wall. Sunday was restful and full of good fellowship, starting with church and a fun lunch afterwards with some dear friends and their o-so-adorable and endlessly entertaining girls-thanks for being such great host Lori & Jonathan! Later that night Piper got a much needed bath and now smells like a cinnamon stick; it makes me think of pumpkin pie and really I could just eat him right up!

Introducing....

After countless conversations, pouring over numerous name books and websites, and "trying on" many differant ideas, Chris and I are excited to finally announce our little guy's name. We decided soon after Thanksgiving, and are happy to say it stuck! So without further adieu, I introduce to you...

Evan Matthew Scott

My sister made us these adorable wooden name letters for us at Christmastime, and we were so excited to hang them as the first official decoration in the nursery. They are too cute if I do say so myself-thanks Sam!

So what's in a name? I can't tell you how fun names are to me. This one proved a big  challenge as Chris and I had started with a TON of girls names but had no such luck with the boys. In looking for a name I was expecting something to dramatically leap off the page and immediately sing to me...instead Evan wispered gently for some time until deciding to take the mic. And now it's nothing but music to my ears :-)  A sweet name with a strong meaning, not overly popular, and very importantly-easy to spell, lol! Evan means the "graciousness of God" and finds it roots in the word "good." Chris could tell you a whole lot more about it's language origins and meanings from Greek to English, but that may be a topic for a future blog. In addition to having a special pesonal significance for us, our middle name Matthew is also biblical name. Similar to Evan, Matthew means "gift of God." Indeed he is!

I can't wait to meet you baby Evan!

Winding up the 2nd Trimester-27 Week Update

At 27 weeks along, I am exclusively in materninty clothes, figuring out the new song and dance of sleep, and craving chocolate all day long. I've never been a big chocolate fan, and now all I can think about are snowcaps, raisenettes, dove dark chocolates and m&m's. In other pregnancy news, I feel bigger and bigger everyday and am having trouble getting-and staying- comfortable at night. I don't forsee things getting any easier from here on out-rather bigger, stronger, tighter, more difficult...you name it. Oh, and I'm slowly but surely teetering the fine line between sitting down and "landing" on things-cars, couches, and office chairs beware.

Alongside all these less glamourous things though, I'm getting more and more excited about the realities of having a little one-and a baby boy at that. Looking at his tiny boy clothes and jungle friends bedding, I feel like I've really turned a corner when it comes to getting excited about "boy things," and have likewise become very fond of blues, greens and browns.

Milestones this week-lots of movement! And drumroll please.....the big event around the corner is none other than the third trimester! Man is this happening fast. From strolling the aisles of BabiesRUs and Target in creating our registries, to shopping online for nursery furniture, hanging up little baby clothes in the closet, reading "Babywise" and registering for our childbirthing classes, I am in total "baby mode." It's a little scary, sometimes stressful, and a lot of fun :-)

New Year, New Look

Obviously, this blog is undergoing a major makeover! I've been thinking about a change lately, and it seems all the more appropriate with not only the new year but also this new season of life laid before us. So please pardon my dust as I tweak the layout here and there over the next week or so-thanks!

On how I lost my belly button...

I had never thought too much about my belly button before. It was always just sort of…there.

Until one day it wasn’t.

It started with a slow and sure stretch, until finally, was pushed out of its place! For 24 years I had an “innie” and now, thanks to six & a half month old baby in the oven, I have an “outie.” Without a doubt, the loss of my once averagely inward belly button has rushed a wave of reality upon me like none before-your pregnant! Of course I’d been warned, but somehow just never thought it could happen to me. I must admit that I was not only surprised, but also slightly frightened as my belly button slowly made it’s way inward out. Bulging belly, withering waistbands and misfit moods aside, my new belly button has now and finally awoken me to the reality of baby bearing.

On the lighter side, it is a little interesting and a lot comical at times-my new button and me. Chris and I have harvested many a chuckle while witnessing the evolution from innie to outtie, laughing as we’d see it “pop” from in to out while laying down and sitting up, laying down and sitting up. That being said, I won’t be sorry to see it take a bow and exit the stage once baby arrives…here’s to wishful thinking! I’m imagining it like my past innie is on a nice vacation somewhere in the Hawaiian islands, and once baby boy comes, the outtie will be outed and my beloved button will return to me once again...okay I'm officially carried away now.

Enough about belly buttons already...on to more exciting things like little baby clothes hangers and maternity induced moments of monogramed madness. :-)

Sock Monkey Sucess...sort of, yes.

I’ve always been a big fan of sock monkeys and knew I wanted to make one for baby E on the way. A family member made me a sock monkey when I was a baby and to this day “monkey” remains one of my most treasured stuffed animals(though he’s definitely seen better days, lol). So you can imagine my joy when my mom got me a “build your own sock monkey” kit for Christmas. Very quickly into the “building” process I realized that making a homemade sock monkey is just plain hard! Not quite rocket science hard, but more of a detail oriented, hands on sewing type of hard(you know, the kind that requires patience upon patience). However, I pressed on, determined not to let this project fall into the “best laid plans…” category. In my mind, crafts are always much more exciting, easygoing, and fun. In reality, many turn out slowgoing with unforeseen problems to solve and many mistakes to mask. And of course, the outcome is always much more perfect and glamorous in my head. Not at all sloppy or camera close-up shy, lol. But I suppose that’s half the fun. :-)

I made this sock monkey with much love and many prayers. He is fluffed with care, and I appreciate him all the more knowing he’s not from a store but rather a product of my own hands. He is not perfect. His right arm may or may not be slightly shorter than the left, and I may have mismatched the colors of threads in sewing them on. And I will confess- I did glue on his button eyes. But overall I think he’s alright for my very first sock monkey, and most importantly, I don’t think baby E will mind my whipstiching too much. ;)

25 Weeks and Growing

This morning marked our 25 week appointment and glucose screening. Aside from having to drink the nauseating sugar solution for the glucose test and having my blood drawn(which was traumatic as per usual), everything is looking good and on track. Oh and by the way, the sugar solution most certainly did not taste like flat sunkist! I'm fervantly hoping and praying that we don't hear anything back about the glucose screening, as no news is good news. I can't imagine having to go through the much more intense step two of the glucose testing as step 1 was nightmare enough. I have to keep reminding myself that there are worse things than sugar sticks and needle pricks, and that I am one lucky duck to have made it this far so well.

As an aside, I was rather amused at our doctor this morning. Our practice is comprised of many OB's, so we usually see a differant one each time. Let's just say that this guy was a little loopy sounding and a lot laid back, and seeing him walk through the door on D-day might just make for the perfect Steve Martin movie moment, lol.

Some stats:
Weight Gain-I've finally breached the 120's! Today's weigh in at 122 puts me at 12 total pounds gained so far, and who knows how more to go....
BP-103/68
Baby's heartrate-Steady 150's
Milestones-Lots of kicking and movement. All of a sudden this boy moves ALL the time, and every which way.
Also, it's 2010! When did that happen? April seems so close now!

In developmental news, baby E should weigh just under 2 pounds now and measure anywhere between 13-16 inches long. He is busy growing hair and smoothing out his thin, wrinkly skin with fat. In fact, I think he's just busy growing period. I feel like my belly grows more and more everyday, and can't imagine it has much more room to go. It's amazing what the body can do!