27 Week Bump Update

Hey hey friends!  It's been a crazy workweek so you can tell I've been a bit not connected to the blog.  My backfill at work started Monday and it's been a busy week training.  I also had a big test to take on Wednesday and trying to stay all over my new role at work.  It's busy so let's just get right to it!

Due Date? September 27th is the official date, however we have a scheduled c/s for September 20th.

How far along? 27 weeks

How big is baby? The baby is the size of cauliflower about 14.5" and about 2lbs.

Weight gain? +16

Maternity clothes? Absolutely, all the time.  I'm going to eliminate this question moving forward because this answer is not going to change.  In it's place I'll start talking about what's happening at this point in the pregnancy.

What's going on with baby?  Baby looks like a thinner, redder, more wrinkled version of what he will look like at birth.  Over the next few weeks fat will fill in that thin skinny baby.  baby's immune system is continuing to mature as are the baby's lungs which are still practicing breathing amniotic fluid.

Stretchmarks? Nothing new.

Sleep? Sleep has been pretty deep, I am occasionally waking up and not able to get back to sleep easily.

Best moment this week? Hanging out with Addie all week and enjoying my time with her. We're somewhat potty training so I'm so proud that she's slowly getting it!

Movement? Yes, loads.

Food cravings? Fair food.

Gender? Boy!

Labor signs? none.

Belly button in or out? In though it's getting thinner.  It never popped last time and I'm hoping it doesn't this time.

What I miss? Being able to go hours without having to use the restroom.

What I am looking forward to? The weekend.  Just a few more hours and we'll be there.

Milestones? Viability is 90%.  We're officially in the 3rd trimester today!

Next doctor's appointment? July 5th!

-stephanie

Homemade Fruit Roll Ups

I went crazy on Sunday baking and making a ton of random snacks and baked goods.  One of the things I ran across while on Pinterest was this 3 ingredient homemade fruit roll up by Fifteen Spatulas.  I figured, might as well try it, it's only 3 ingredients, even if it doesn't work it can't be that big of a loss.  Let me tell you, it's delicious and easy!

Super easy but a little time consuming.

Here's how you do it:

Ingredients

8 oz strawberries, stems trimmed

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 tbsp sugar

Directions

1. Place the trimmed strawberries in a blender or food processor and puree them for a minute or so

until smooth. You don't want any strawberry chunks in the mixture. Transfer the strawberry puree to a

saucepan and add the lemon juice and sugar. Turn the heat to medium to medium high, and cook

the mixture for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture is thick and jammy. The goal

here is to cook out much of the moisture.

2. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees F, or as low as your oven will go, making sure it's less than 200

degrees at the highest.

3. Spread the strawberry jam into a rectangle shape onto a baking pan lined with a silpat or

parchment paper. You may use an offset spatula or a regular spatula to help spread the mixture as

evenly as possible, until the rectangle is about 1/8 inch thick. Keep in mind the fruit leather will lose

some of its thickness in the oven as it dehydrates, so make sure that none of the jam is so thin that

you can see through it as you spread.

4. Cook in the oven for 3-4 hours, until the fruit mixture no longer feels sticky, just a bit tacky. Remove

from the oven and let it cool completely. Transfer to a cutting board lined with wax paper, and use a

pizza cutter to cut long strips. Roll them up into the fruit rollups, and enjoy.

So tasty, they don't make much so I'd quadruple your recipe or make multiple at a time so you're not wasting all of that energy in the oven.

-stephanie

Lots of Weekend Pictures

We had a lot of fun this weekend so here's a slew of pictures for you!

This is Addie squeezing into Liam's bumbo.

Rick and Liam sleeping while the rest of us help move our friends into their new house.

My little Addie rockin her pigtails!

She loves that sprinkler.

Cheesin.

Our neighbors let us have their old bike.  It's still too big for Addie but she liked trying it out.

And hello!  Jeni's Ice Cream is a local ice cream shop with some amazing flavors!  Here I have brambleberry crisp, black coffee and buckeye state.  Yum!

Such a busy weekend but lots of fun.  I'm officially exhausted.

-stephanie

Top Baby Blogs Voting

If you're new here I want to briefly tell you about Top Baby Blogs.  Top Baby Blogs is literally a list of the top baby blogs out there voted on by the readers of those blogs.  Those in the top should be the best of the best baby blogs but in order to stay there, their readers are voting every day to keep them there.  It helps that blog continue to offer great discounts, reviews and giveaways.  For the past year we've been listed in the top 50 but have recently dropped in their most recent reset.  What I ask from my readers, both new and old, is to vote.  Daily if you can because it helps us stay ranked among the best baby blogs but also because we can bring you those great giveaways!  So, can you help us out and click the icon below to vote. Then feel free to come back every day and vote by clicking the button on the right!

Thanks!

-stephanie

26 Week Bump Update

It's been a long week at work.  It literally felt like the longest week ever so I'm so happy it's Friday.  Even though I have to start my day at the dentist.  Lots of stuff planned this weekend.  Art fair, concert in the park, helping some friends move, 50th birthday party for some family friends.  The list goes on and on so we'll see how much we actually get to accomplish.

Excuse the duck face.

Due Date? September 27th I got the call yesterday to schedule my c-section.  We've been scheduled for Friday, September 20th!

How far along? 26 weeks

How big is baby? The baby is the size of a hothouse cucumber (whatever that is) about 14" and about 1.75lbs.

Weight gain? +14

Maternity clothes? Yes, full on.  I love maternity clothes because they can be so comfortable but they aren't cheap.

Stretchmarks? Nothing new.

Sleep? Sleep has been heavenly.  I'm getting 8+ hours every night but I feel like I need more so I think I'm catching up on the past couple years.  Or I'm preparing myself for September.

Best moment this week? Again, with Addie.  When I put her to bed at night she asks for kisses from mama and now asks for hugs too.  I love it.  She even says muah as she kisses. 

Movement? This kid never stops moving to the point that last week my OB was trying to listen to the heartbeat and could never catch it because the little guy continued to kick the doppler.

Food cravings? Chips and salsa big time.  I'm still craving that german potato salad from last week.

Gender? Boy!

Labor signs? none.

Belly button in or out? In

What I miss? Nothing.  I was missing alcohol last week, not really alcohol but that fruity summer concoction so I bought some non-alcoholic mixers and made myself a pina colada yesterday.  It was fabulous!

What I am looking forward to? Another pina colada.  :)

Milestones? Viability is at 80-90% which is awesome.  We scheduled the c-section date and I passed the glucose test from last week which I'm super excited about!  No 3 hour test.

Next doctor's appointment? July 5th!

-stephanie

Seasame Street Live

I'm a blogger but I love to follow other blogs.  One of the blogs I follow is Stauffer Shenanigans, which I've followed for a little over a year.  About a month ago, she was hosting a Sesame Street Live giveaway for our city of Columbus.  I couldn't believe it.  Tickets to Sesame Street Live aren't cheap and I wasn't sure if it was something Addie would enjoy quite yet so I wasn't planning to buy them.  Lucky me, I won!  So Rick, Addie, her uncle Zack and I went on Saturday to the Columbus show!

The girl was so excited she really could not contain herself the entire walk there.

The lights went down a few minutes before the show telling everyone to get in their seats and she was really interested in the stage.  I love how she's holding her hands patiently waiting.

They finally started the show and she was zoned in.

She even got up and danced.

Loads of dancing.

Every time Elmo left the stage she would look at me and say "Where Elmo at?".  And then this happened.

Those people know how to market.  Elmo balloons during intermission and nearly every kid had to have one so you know they made money!  It was such a great first play/show for Addie to attend.  She did get antsy towards intermission.  It's definitely a show for a slightly older kid but she still enjoyed it a lot.  I loved watching her reaction.

Happy Father's Day!

We're a couple days late, but better late than never right?  

25 Week Bump Update

We're back at home on our routine schedule.  Trying to get Addie back onto her sleep schedule since last week we weren't on a routine schedule.  Busy weekend so I cannot wait for 4pm today when I'm signing off work.

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

How far along? 25 weeks

How big is baby? The baby is the size of a rutabaga (whatever that is) about 13.5" and about 1.5lbs.

Weight gain? +12

Maternity clothes? Yes, I think we even need to transition my non maternity tanks to maternity tanks.

Stretchmarks? Nothing new.

Sleep? Sleeping really well now that we're back at home in our bed.  To the point where I wake up and think I need another couple hours.  Hopefully that stays around for a while.

Best moment this week? I realize I've been listing my best moments as usually those with Addie and not so much with this kid.  I think I'll appreciate it all more once he's here.  Every day I get my hands on Addie and give hugs and kisses I love it. 

Movement? When is there not.  This kid is so active.

Food cravings? Back to Mexican.  Or a gyro.  That sounds good right now.  Wait, so does german potato salad.

Gender? Boy!

Labor signs? none.  Though it feels as if he's trying to escape.

Belly button in or out? In

What I miss? Again, nothing really.  I'm sure I'll miss alcohol again at the party on Saturday that we're planning to go to.

What I am looking forward to? Big weekend plans.  Saturday we're taking Addie to Sesame Street Live and I can't wait to see how she reacts.  We also have a party Saturday evening and Sunday is father's day.

Milestones? We did officially hit the viability point.  Though that mark is 50-80% which is a large range and still a big chance to not work out so well.  So this guy needs to stay put a bit longer.

Next doctor's appointment? Today along with the glucose test which I'm nervous about.  Fingers crossed I pass.

-stephanie

Myrtle Beach 2013

Last week we were in Myrtle Beach for vacation.  We're big time Myrtle Beach fans.  I've been nearly 10 times in my life.  I just love it.  There's a lot to do but if you want to do nothing at all except sit on the beach, you can do that too.

We drove down Friday evening and stopped midway in North Carolina.  That was a great decision.  Addie can make it in her carseat about 5 hours before meltdowns begin.  We pushed for 6 and needed that stop.  Lots of movie watching, coloring, snacks, etc to keep her entertained that long.

We checked into the hotel and ran in for a late night dinner.  This picture cracks me up.

Saturday morning we continued on from North Carolina the last 4 hours to Myrtle Beach.  When we arrived Saturday afternoon it was sunny skies so we took advantage of a couple hours at the beach.

I even managed to capture one of my bump, though it wasn't the best time of day to get a realistic shot.

This was by far the worst weather we had experienced while in Myrtle Beach.  Luckily this condo had an indoor pool so we could spend the rainy day at the pool.

We did take advantage of the nice weather though and spent a lot of time outside.  There's a great place called Barefoot Landing that has tons of shopping and food but also a nice little outdoor area for kids.

I came around the corner and Rick was about to put Addie on this trampoline contraption.  My immediate reaction was no way.  She won't do it, she'll get up there and freak out and we're out $10.  The guy was nice enough to let us put her up first to make sure she would do it before we paid so I said why not.

Shockingly, she loved it.

I still can't believe she did it.

Our friends, who met up with us for the week, wanted to do mini golf.  I was really hesitant to participate with them because of Addie's attention span.  We tried it anyway.

She did pretty good.  Made it to hole 12 before she was done so we rushed through the last 6.  Our friends decided to stay and play some more and we decided some drinks on the beach were in order.

The Cherry Grove Pier is one of our favorite places for drinks and food.  Not to mention the gorgeous view.

Random crashing happened occasionally after a long beach day.

Super cute swimsuit from Old Navy that came literally an hour before we left.

Bump shot.

On our second to last night a tropical storm came roaring in but just hours before it started we decided to enjoy the beach.

I love, love, love this picture.  Straight out of the camera, no editing.  She's gorgeous with her blonde hair, blue eyes and drool hanging from her bottom lip.

Chunky little feet in the sand.

We couldn't keep her out of the water.  She's an Aquarius so it makes sense I suppose.

She really wanted to make sure the sticks and plants being kicked up by the surf went back to the water where they came from.

Crazy skies that night.

Because of the tropical storm the weather Friday was pretty rough so we decided to skip the beach and head over to Ripley's Aquarium for the day which is located at Broadway at the Beach.  Broadway at the Beach is one of my favorite places in Myrtle Beach.  Like Barefoot Landing there is a lot to see and do.  Tons of shopping and dining.  Lots of walking so be prepared.

The girl could not get enough of those sharks.

They had a room for younger kids to play in as well.  I loved this light bright board.

Our last night was a little windy but gorgeous for pictures.

Such a great vacation and we're already planning next years trip!

-stephanie