21 Week Bump Update

What a busy week. Though I missed posting a couple days I couldn't miss Friday's bump update so I hope you enjoy!  More than halfway!

Due Date? September 27th (will confirm a c-section date as we approach September)

How far along? 21 weeks

How big is baby?  About the size of a pomegranate.  About 10.5" and 12.7oz (up two ounces from last week and 4 inches!)

Weight gain? +5

Maternity clothes? Yes, still mostly just work pants.  Stretchy skirts are non maternity.  Still looking for great summer dress/shirt/skirts.

Stretchmarks? Nothing new

Sleep? Sleeping well again!

Best moment this week? Mother's Day when Addie met me at the door with flowers, a balloon and a Starbucks gift card and said, "Happy Mudder's Day".  My response was, "thank you Addie, did you get this for me?"  Her response, "No, dada did".

Movement? Yes!  A lot of movement.  So much so that sometimes it's a little painful the amount of movement that's going on.

Food cravings? Chips & Salsa

Gender? Boy!

Labor signs? none.

Belly button in or out? In

What I miss? Being able to wear all of the cute clothes this summer.  Not being able to wear a bikini at the beach in a couple weeks.

What I am looking forward to? Strangely enough, I leave for a work trip Monday afternoon.  I'm looking forward to getting away and not having to do the nighttime routine.  Being able to hang out with some coworkers and not have to worry about being home by a certain time.  I'll miss Addie to death but it'll be a nice break.

Milestones? Nothing big, though the baby did grow 4 inches this week which is crazy!

Next doctor's appointment? May 24th for another ultrasound.  The technician was unable to get a clear picture of the little guy's heart so we'll have another ultrasound at that time to make sure everything is looking good!  Excited to see the little guy again.

-stephanie

MIA

Hey, remember me?  Yes, I know.  It's been a while.  Work/life balance is bad right now.  I'm working until 10:30 most nights this week with about an hour or two to spend with Addie in the early evening hours.  I can't wait for our vacation that's coming up in a few weeks so I'll finally have some quality time to myself.  So let me just do a little photo dump for you.

An iced coffee drink I made at home.  My favorite summer drink!

What I got for mother's day.  Flowers, a balloon and a Starbucks gift card.  Addie handed this to me and said, "Happy Mudder's Day"!

Little Miss Addie and her favorite Sesame Street crew.  Little does she know we'll be seeing them all live in about a month at Sesame Street Live!

-stephanie

Product Review: Cardstore

In another life I'd be a party planner.  Of course there comes some stress and the need to work non standard hours, but how much fun would it be to create a fabulous party for someone!  Anytime a friend is planning a party I immediately offer up to help if they need my assistance.  Especially when someone else is footing the bill, right?!  So my friend Lindsey is planning a party for her husband.  He turns 30 and wanted to throw a last minute party, something really informal with close friends and family.  I was so excited when she asked me to help out because I love a party, but also because I recently had the opportunity to try out cardstore.com.  

I instantly fell in love.  Not only with the cute cards they have in their database, but that you can create your own invitation or use one of their many templates.  L and I found this one and loved it!  It's so easy to design a card off of their invitation templates and literally took us 30 seconds to design!

I love the simplicity behind the design and as two full time employed women, we loved how quickly we were able to change out pieces on the invitation template to meet our needs.  The quality of the cards are phenomenal!  Right now, cardstore.com is offering 20% off sitewide by using the code CWG3507.  

I cannot wait until it's time to plan Addie's 3rd birthday in January!

-stephanie

20 Week Bump Update

Half baked today!  Woot Woot!

Due Date? September 27th (will confirm a c-section date as we approach September)

How far along? 20 weeks

How big is baby?  About the size of a banana.  About 6.5" and 10.6oz (up two ounces from last week and 1/2 inch)

Weight gain? +5

Maternity clothes? Yup, just in the pants.  My non maternity pants are getting a little tighter but I'm holding out as long as possible.  I'm in desparate need to find a lot of dresses/skirts in the maternity area.

Stretchmarks? Nothing new

Sleep? I've been waking up in the middle of the night for about an hour and unable to get back to sleep.

Best moment this week? Seeing the little guy last Friday at our anatomy ultrasound.

Movement? Yes!  A lot of movement.

Food cravings? Chocolate donuts.

Gender? Boy!

Labor signs? none.

Belly button in or out? In

What I miss? Not being able to wear non maternity clothes as we approach summer. The summer fashion right now is so cute.

What I am looking forward to? 4pm this afternoon so I can turn off work for the weekend.

Milestones? Officially half baked today!

Next doctor's appointment? May 24th for another ultrasound.  The technician was unable to get a clear picture of the little guy's heart so we'll have another ultrasound at that time to make sure everything is looking good!

-stephanie

Addie's Uncle Nick

Rick is one of five boys.  He's the oldest, so the other four are younger than him.  His youngest brother is 8 years younger than him so they were all really close in age growing up.  It's great watching Addie interact with each of her uncles because they're so caring and protective of her and she loves them all so much. But there's one uncle Addie never got to meet, her uncle Nick.  

Nick was the middle child, just 4 years younger Rick and was always the boy with a smile.  He had the biggest heart, the most energy, and there was never a person who met Nick that didn't instantly love him.  Nick joined the Army after graduating high school in 2003.

He was based out of Fort Benning, GA in the Air Assault unit.  In 2004 he began his 1 year tour in Iraq and would send emails, letters, and call us all as often as he could.  We sent him care packages full of snacks and items from home to keep his spirits up.  In January 2005, he got to come home for 2 weeks of leave.  Days before he was to return to Iraq, Columbus was hit with a huge ice storm delaying all flights out of the airport for several days.  We were all so excited because we were gifted with a handful of extra days we got to spend with him.  Soon the ice began to melt and he eventually had to catch that flight back to Iraq.  We all said our goodbye's and shared lots of hugs & kisses, telling him we'd see him in a few months when his tour in Iraq would end in June.

Unfortunately, Nick didn't make it to June.  His Humvee ran over an IED on May 8, 2005.  May 8th fell on a Sunday in 2005, Mother's Day.  We were all informed by the Army that Nick died that day and we wouldn't get to hug him again or hear his upbeat personality or see him come bouncing through the door.  It has been the hardest day any of us has ever experienced so far in life.

Today marks 8 years since Nick passed away.  Some days the hardest part is knowing Addie will never get a chance to meet him, to hug him & kiss him and play with him.  She'll never get a chance to be adored by him because we all know the two of them would have been quite the pair.  We have a picture of Nick hanging in our living room and Addie knows it's her uncle Nick.  We'll continue to talk about Nick and share pictures with her.  One day when she's old enough we'll tell her what happened and how important his life was not only to the one's who knew him best but also to America.  And to Addie.

-stephanie