Welcome To The World

Annelise Corinne 

Born on October 22, 2014

Nursery Reveal: Annelise's Mint, Coral & Gold Nursery

I am just thrilled with the way our daughter's nursery turned out. We didn't really have a theme, but I decided to go with the colors Mint, Coral, and Gold and to add lots of modern aspects - like artwork, calligraphy, tissue paper garland, and yes - of course, that deer head. Don't ya just love it? ;-)

You Are So Loved Wall Decal // Papermade

Tissue Paper Garland // Glam Fete by Bri

Mint Pillow with Arrows // Chuck Two Forty Eight

Oh Baby Banner // Little Dovie

White Shag Rug // Pier One

Coral Triangle Pillow & Watercolor Giraffe Pillow // Society6

Gold Dot Blanket & Burp Cloth // Sugarplum Lane

Bookshelves & Crib // IKEA

Deer head & Lamp // Hobby Lobby

Coral Changing Pad Cover // The Buttercup Boutique

Colorful Art Print above dresser // Land of Nod

Calligraphy Prints - Thou Fount, Beautiful Girl, World is Lucky, Eat you Up // Lindsay Letters

 Giraffe Print // The Animal Print Shop

Dresser // Ashley Furniture

Bump Update: 32 Weeks

How far along:  32 weeks

Gender:  A girl
Baby Weight: 3.7 lbs

Precious moment of the week: When the doctor used the heartbeat monitor on my belly and the baby kicked it as hard as she could, it even went up in the air! 

Stretch Marks: Nope.

What we've been up to: We are almost done with the nursery! I am just IN LOVE with it and can't wait to do the nursery reveal post!! 

Cravings:  Chocolate milk.  
Total Weight Gain: taking into consideration the gaining and losing, the doctor totaled up 26 lbs for me this week! That is a HUGE deal for me because I gained almost double that with my first child. This walking 2 miles 4 times a week has really paid off this time. 
Sleep: Thankfully I am still sleeping pretty good! I have acid reflux pretty bad some nights, but not enough that a little gum and propping up won't cure. The doctor said I should be hitting my "miserable stage" by now, but I still feel pretty good. I'm just crossing my fingers, waiting. 
Belly Button In or Out: It's still in ... but barely. 
Looking forward to: I think the thing I am most looking forward to is watching my son's reaction when he sees his baby sister for the first time. That thought and excitement is definitely keeping me distracted from the thoughts of labor pains and the anxiety of having two little people we will now be responsible for.

Things have been going so great with this pregnancy. The time has just completely flown by and I can't believe that in about 8 weeks (give or take) I will be holding this sweet baby girl in my arms. She will be the perfect addition to our little family. I can't help but wonder if she will be quiet and calm or loud and rambunctious like our son. If she will have dark hair and skin like me or if we will have another blonde hair blue eyed cutie. I so can't wait to meet her. I already love her so much. 

Bump Update: 24 Weeks

How far along:  24 weeks

Gender:  A baby girl named Annelise. 

Precious moment of the week: One morning our 2 &1/2 year old son came and got in bed with us and we all laid there squeezed together. I could feel baby girl moving and was snuggled up against my precious boy and sweet husband. Life doesn't get much better than moments like that. 

Stretch Marks: Not yet.

What we've been up to: We have officially started on the nursery and I'm loving it! We are doing it in the colors Mint, Coral, and Gold. Below are some fun things I have purchased or plan on purchasing in the near future. 

Cravings:  Peanut butter and Coke Floats. Oh here we go. 

Gulliver White Krib // IKEA

Tissue Paper Garland // GlamFeteByBri

Gold and White Pillow // Caitlin Wilson

Gold Dot Blanket // Sugarplum Lane Boutique

Abstract Splatter Painting // Land of Nod

Hush Little Baby Print // Kindertype

Be Brave Print // Farmhouse Printables

Baby Giraffe Print // The Animal Print Shop

Mint Herringbone Fitted Crib Sheet // ModFox

Roam Print // Jump Off The Page

Mint & Coral Arrow Print // Melinda Wood Designs

Gender Reveal :: So We're Having A ....

Little Girl! We are so excited to have one of each. We technically found out at 14 weeks (I'm 21 now) because a friend of mine gave us a free ultrasound. She did again at 16 weeks just to check again and make sure and YEP! Still a girl. So when I had my "official" ultrasound at 20 weeks, I wasn't surprised at all when I heard those 3 words. It's a Girl.

We've decided on a name for her - Annelise. We think it is so beautiful and unique. In Hebrew it means "gracious and devoted to God." We've already started calling her baby Annelise so that my son will get used to hearing it and we've begun praying for her by name. Now I just need to figure out how to do hair (I can't even do my own! ha!) and we should be just fine. 

Honestly, either way I would have been beyond excited. Little boy or little girl. It is always fun to get a glimpse into the future and see what God wanted you to be the mother of.

How far along:  21 weeks

Gender:  She's a SHE. :) 

Weight Gain: How about we quit logging this, eh? 

Any surprises? The fibroid tumor that my doctor found in the beginning seems to have disappeared.. ??? Either it was our prayers that were answered or maybe she saw something else to begin with and thought it was a tumor. Either way, HOORAY!  

Stretch marks:  Not yet!  .... fingers....crossed.....

Sleep:  Sleeping great! And our little boy is doing great in his big boy bed so that is helping us so much. I'm so proud of him.

Project Nursery: Ready to get started! Here is my pinterest board filled with ideas! - BABY A

Funny moment of the week:  We have a practice baby that my son has been "getting used to" around the house and now he brings it over to me and puts it under my shirt. He doesn't quite get it yet. Silly kid. 

Cravings:  Raspberries and chips & salsa. Not together though, ew. 

Bump Update: 18 Weeks

How far along:  18 weeks

Gender:  We know ... and we have a name picked out! YAY! Now we just need to decide on a middle name. Announcement coming soon. :)

Funny moment of the week: Connor has started feeling the baby, and he get's really excited. But now he is starting to feel the "baby" higher up on my body when we are in the grocery store, etc. It's sooo embarrassing!!

Any surprises?: I'm starting to feel the baby move! It's the best feeling in the world.

Stretch Marks: It's still looking promising.

What we've been up to: Starting to plan the nursery and a little shopping. This weekend we are changing our son's crib into a toddler bed, so I'm thinking we might not be sleeping so well for a couple of months! Here's to saying "get back in bed!" 

Cravings:  Slushies and smoothies. Anything cold! 

Over all, I'm LOVING being pregnant again. It is such an amazing spiritual experience. I can't believe that I am already almost half way through. I've been feeling great and even though I have this fibroid tumor growing in my uterus along with the baby, I don't feel like my middle is as large as it could be. Exercise and eating healthy (most of the time ... let's get real - sometimes I just need a big bowl of queso.) has really paid off this pregnancy. I'm so looking forward to meeting our little one and expanding our family. 

Little Man or Little Miss?

Today we found out the gender of our little sweet pea! It's always so fun and exciting to get a little glimpse into the future and see what God intended on you being the mother of (so far). We aren't ready to make the big announcement quite yet, but above is a fun wives' tales quiz that is suppose to give the mother to be an idea of what she is having! :) These never work for me, they are always usually neck and neck which this time it seems to be as well. 

Stay tuned for the reveal post soon!

How far along:  16 weeks

Gender:  We know ... but Shhh! It's a secret. 

Weight Gain: 11 lbs. So BlueBell came out with a Southern Blackberry Cobbler ice cream. What do you want from me??

Any surprises? Melasma. Not my favorite pregnancy "side effect" in the world, but I guess it could be worse! I've got these brown spots coming up on my cheeks and forehead known as Melasma. Apparently, they are due to the rush of hormones when you are pregnant and will fade soon after having the baby. 

Stretch marks:  Not yet .. but the baby is supposed to double in size in the next 4 weeks so ...

Sleep:  Pretty good. I'd say it's about time to get a body pillow though. 

Project Nursery: Starting to get my ideas together!! I will let you see them soon after the reveal. So excited!!  

Funny moment of the week:  My son does this new dance where he bends over a little to the side and spanks himself. I didn't teach it to him ..... daddy?

Cravings:  Zestie French Fries for breakfast. :)

Bump Update: 14 Weeks

When I was pregnant with my son, I kept a journal of the pregnancy, or a "bump update" every two weeks logging how big he was getting and some things going on with pregnancy. When I realized the other day that we were about to find out if this little sweet pea is a boy or a girl, I realize how I've been slacking this time with blogging my bump updates! So I'm starting this week, I just finished my 14th week of pregnancy and am going into my 15th week this weekend. Here are some fun things that are going on:

How far along:  14 weeks

Gender:  We don't know yet, but we find out in a couple of weeks! :)

Weight Gain: 12 lbs + 3 lbs - 8 lbs (I started to exercise, ha) .... so..... 7 lbs so far. 

Any surprises? Upon my first visit to the doctor, I found out that I had a fibroid tumor in my uterus that might complicate things a bit. It is the size of a golf ball, but she predicts that by the end of the pregnancy it will be the size of a softball. I'm not going to worry about it, and also blame most of my weight gain on it (doesn't that sound like a plan? ;)) and see how it goes. 

Stretch marks:  Not yet .. didn't have any with my son either, so let's keep our fingers crossed!

Sleep:  Other than a little bit of heartburn, (ok, so maybe a lot ALREADY, this kid is going to have so much hair!!! )... I've been sleeping great.

Project Nursery: Haven't even started thinking about this. We are going to have to transform our office / guestroom into the nursery so I'm waiting until we find out the sex until I even start on that exhausting task.  

Funny moment of the week:  When my husband asked our 2 yr old son if he wanted a little brother or a little sister and he replied with :  "No, it's a dog."

Cravings:  Thank goodness after about 11 weeks I finally started craving healthy foods! Mostly cantaloupe and walnuts. With my son, it was all Chinese food, burgers and pizza. I can't imagine why I gained 45 lbs!?

What We've Been Up To: These last couple of weeks have been all about focusing on our son. He won't be an only child for much longer, so I'm trying to soak up as much "us" time as I can right now. We've had lots of mommy & son dates and days at the park. Within the next couple of weeks, we've decided to try and start potty training (Heaven help us) so that won't have 2 in diapers at the same time, and also change his bed to a big boy bed so I don't have to lift him up over that huge crib anymore. Speaking of that cute kiddo....

I haven't updated you in a while but he is growing like a weed! We went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and they measured him - 37 inches which is the average height of a 4 year old. Since my son isn't even 2 & 1/2 yet, and he has stayed in the 90% since he was born, she suspects that he will be 6'4 as a grown man.  I better scoop him up and hold him as much as I can while I have the chance!! 

He is also just the funniest, most sweet spirited kid I've ever seen. He constantly makes us laugh. Recently, he added a new dance move to his repertoire : leaning over a little forwards and sideways and spanking his own hiney. Not sure where he learned that one ..... dad?

THIRTY SEVEN WEEKS

I figured I better start updating week by week now... since we only have THREE more to go!! Wow. That's crazy. And really, I don't think we will make it that long. This is it. We are down to the wire. Now we just.... WAIT. No new cravings this week, not many physical changes, except he is now the size of a watermelon and I am considered "Full Term". He could be born any day now and be perfectly healthy and ok. ... Perfect. You know, it's weird. My arms feel so empty. Like they've been missing something all along. The song above, when I first heard it, I was instantly moved. I know it wasn't written for the love of a mother and her child, but it sure does seem like it fits. "Every breath,
Every hour has come to this
One step closer
And I have died everyday
Waiting for you
All along I believed
I would find you
Time has brought
Your heart to me

I have loved you for a
Thousand years...
... I'll love you for a
Thousand more."

THIRTY SIX WEEKS

I really wanted to name this post : "Ok. This isn't fun anymore." But I decided against it.

PAIN WITH A PURPOSE.

I don't remember who exactly it was that got that phrase stuck in my head, but they were right. I just keep telling myself that, and the purpose is so worth it.

As most of you know, I was in the hospital for a week last week with lots of complications. I'm back at home now and feeling much better, and more importantly, Connor is doing great. He is a healthy, growing boy.

Thank you all so much for your thoughts, prayers, texts, calls, and facebook messages.

All I can say is, he is SO READY to meet all of you.

Here is what is going on with Baby Connor this week:

Our baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his nine-month amniotic bath. Our baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of his first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, our baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely he's in a head-down position. But if he isn't, our practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax our baby into a head-down position by manipulating him from the outside of my belly. {babycenter.com}

PHYSICAL CHANGES:

Well, I joked with some of my friends on Halloween that I was going as the "Stay Puft Marshmallow Man" this year and sent them a picture of my feet and ankles. Because the hospital forgot to turn down the fluid being pumped into my IV when they were supposed to and flooded my lungs, (its a long story... hit me up if you want to hear the other ways I could have died because of negligence sometime)... the swelling in my feet just would not go down. But I think they have finally found their way back to my normal size. Whew.

I'm also at that point that I never felt I would get to. The dreaded uncomfortable stage. Yeah. I get it now. Sleep is just a word to me and I'm not sure how to really get any with a 6 lb munchkin rolling around inside me.

But I will say, other than these two things, and needing to be at home resting and 20 minutes from the hospital until he comes, I really REALLY can't complain. I'm just that much closer to holding this precious little boy in my arms. He could make his debut just any day now.

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO:

Well, life hasn't been too eventful lately since we have been in and out of the hospital. But the day before I checked in the first time, one of my friends/coworkers had an amazing baby shower for me. It was so much fun and I got to see some of my best friends that I haven't seen in almost 4 years. It was definitely one of the best weekends of 2011 in my book. Here are some pics:

[My Girls! Crystal Vega, Crystal Vann, and Leslie Davis.]


[One of my best friends, Ashley- she threw the shower for me. Everything looked so precious and the homemade snacks were delicious! :)]
CRAVINGS:

I've been waiting all 9 months for it. And it has finally hit me. A weird actual craving.
Scrambled Egg Sandwiches
I know, right? I even wake up at 3am wanting one.
Bazaar.
SWEET BABY MOMENT OF THE WEEK:
You want to know what LOVE is?
It is having your husband, help pick you up out of the warm bath because you are 40 lbs heavier than you were before you were expecting, with you having a look of disgust on your face because of back pains, and no makeup on, and hair a complete mess, and having him wrap a towel around you ... still telling you how beautiful you look because you are carrying his child.
Or, it's at 2am in the morning when you are on the papasan cushion on the living room floor, straddling a body pillow, tossing and turning because you can't get comfortable, and you hear a thud next to your head, to sit up and find that your husband just took all of the covers and pillows off of the bed and laid down right beside you because he couldn't sleep either, without you.
I just really don't deserve him.
I can't wait to know that Connor has a heart like his daddy.
We are ready to meet you.
Any day now, my sweet boy.