36 weeks already!

How far along?: 36 weeks

Total weight gain: 27 lbs (I asked at my appt today!)



How big is baby?: Right at 6 lbs and 18.5” long, similar in size to a crenshaw melon :)


Maternity clothes?: Yes but I am quickly running out of options. Even Jarrod’s big t shirts won’t fit comfortably over my tummy anymore.

Stretch marks?: nope

Sleep?: Aside from the frequent potty runs, it’s okay! Jarrod & I switched bed spots so that I’m closer to the bathroom.

Best moment this week?: Emma praying for Owen AND being treated to a pedi/mani by my mom (my poor feet are already swelling!)

Food cravings?: no new ones this week

Labor signs?: I have been getting some small cramps

Belly button in or out?: just ugly

What I miss: sleeping on my belly and being able to help lift heavy things

What I'm looking forward to: my shower this weekend (& my hosts coming in town to visit!!)

Milestone: Dr. Wang checked and confirmed that I have dilated 1cm and am about 25% efaced!

Take a guess....

I am borrowing an idea from a friend. With just a month left until Owen's due date I thought it would be neat to collect predictions on his birthday and stats. *I added the belly photo because of a suggestion that it would be helpful in guessing!*

Leave a comment with the following details:

Your Name

Predicted Birth Date and Time

Predicted Weight at Birth

Predicted Length at Birth

Our estimated due date is November 3rd. His sister was 3 weeks early ;) Happy guessing!

Cake class graduate

I completed the Wilton cake course #1 this morning! I even received a certificate of merit to prove it :) The class taught me a lot.....most of all that cake decorating is not easy (oh, and it requires lots of equipment). I learned several different techniques including how to properly ice a cake and how to make specific borders, designs and flowers.....including the well known Wilton rose! Our instructor, Gwen, also provided interesting useful tid bits of information about what pieces of equipment are the most important, how to transport a cake by automobile and how to make the famous Wilton buttercream frosting. My fellow coach's wife, Lauren, took the class with me and we had a fun time. I think I accomplished my goal of being able to be a little more creative and bold with cakes that I make. I have a couple of good birthday opportunites coming up soon :)


Here is my "final" cake. This is using the star flower, one of the specific techniques we learned. Course #2 teaches fondant and gum paste, but I may teach myself watching Youtube videos instead.

From now on I will really appreciate these giant sugar masterpieces because I know the work put into them!

Just a start....

With just 40 days left until Owen's estimated D-day we decided it was time to get busy decorating and organizing his nursery. Jarrod re assembled furniture and placed it where we thought it should go while I stuffed the changing table drawers full of teeny tiny diapers. We are using a sports theme with mostly primary colors. We are ending up with one large blank wall and may just spruce it up with a homemade goal post :) Here are some photos of our progress:

My in laws were so kind to bring dinner over this evening! They also came bearing gifts ~ my glider and ottoman set as well as a matching Emma size glider! This is something that I didn't have when Emma was itty bitty but knew I wanted one this go round! Here is a photo of Emma "helping" Grandpa! I am so excited about this new chair and am really looking forward to using it soon.

Here is a photo of Emma & I showing off our new matching gliders!!

35 weeks - moving right along!

How far along?: 35 wks today

Total weight gain: 30 some odd lbs...

How big is baby?: Approx 5 1/4 lbs and over 18+" long....similar in size to a honeydew melon :) His kidneys are now fully developed and he will gain mega LBS over the next few weeks.

Maternity clothes?: Of course! I love the world of elastic pants!

Stretch marks?: not to my knowledge

Sleep?: Somewhat decent, although I know I shouldn't complain because it will be close to non existent soon enough!

Best moment this week?: Receiving and purchasing more decor for the nursery! The sports theme is finally coming together and I hope to start organizing this week.

Food cravings?: Last week I got a sudden craving for Taco Bueno (which was odd because I've only had it twice ever).....I tried to ignore it, but finally had to give in and drive to the nearest Mexican food restaurant and settled for chips and queso! I went to Taco Bueno while in Waco on Fri :)

Labor signs?: Nothing big, but I have had some feelings that are certain signs that my body is preparing itself.

Belly button in or out?: straight out

What I miss: having a girlish figure and eating caesar salad

What I'm looking forward to: my hospital tour on Tues

Milestone: Owen gave me some rough kicks yesterday at Wal Mart....they are waaaay past the sweet stage ;)

Weekend update

Ta da!! So this is my new phone. It is the BlackBerry Storm. Yes, a little intimidating for this technically challenged gal :) Luckily Jarrod got an identical one so we are learning and experimenting together! I spent all of last week trying to convince AT&T to release us from our contract (a couple of months early) without a penalty fee. We had no reception at our new house. In fact, there was an 'X' where bars should be. AT&T told me that there showed to be moderately fair reception in our zip code and that the fine print on our contract states that cellular phones are not guaranteed to work inside homes or buildings. They also assured me that I should be able to talk outside in my yard. WHAT?! To make a long story short, I climbed the supervisor ladder and by the end of last week was able to get our fee waived...woo hoo!! We are now proud Verizon customers and have perfect reception in our house :) Oh, and fancy phones to figure out. We need all sorts of gadgets....hard covers, cases, etc. We had a pretty busy weekend. On Friday night we traveled to Waco ISD stadium to watch the Yoemen beat the Lorena Leopards 27-17!! It was an exciting game to watch and the Yoemen dominated all four quarters :) I expect to see very little of Coach Smith this week as our huge rival game is on Friday (and it is our first district game). We play Rockdale in the "Battle of the bell", a 50+ year old Milam county tradition. Last year they even had TWO pep rallies to get the community excited :) By the way, PLEASE vote for Cameron vs. Rockdale in the KWTX Marquee Matchup. Voting ends Wed so vote early and often: http://www.kwtx.com/marqueematchup.

On Saturday we traveled back to Waco for the Baylor home opener. Unfortunately we lost to UConn :( Too bad I didn't get a picture of my Aggie husband wearing green & gold!! Next week we are going to the Aggie game...it's a fair trade off!

On the way to Waco we met our good friend Brandon half way. He had some goodies for Owen! Kirstie, his mother in law, is the most crafty lady I know! She made these awesome O-W-E-N letters to match the nursery. She also made Emma's 3 yrs ago :) Among those goodies was also a toy organizer.....I am thrilled to have it and plan to get Emma the matching one.

Emma absolutely hated the swing when she was an infant. She had no hesitation crawling in it this afternoon - this is how I found her! As you can tell from the photo there is no organization in Owen's nursery thus far. I'm hoping to change that very soon!

My dad came over today to start building a fence. He was such a lifesaver and also helped organize our garage, repair/transport Emma's chest of drawers to her room and created a computer work space among other things. THANKS DAD!! Emma kept begging him to sit down and play with her. They ate goldfish together and made silly faces for the camera :)

We went to Cracker Barrell for lunch today. I love their little shop! Emma pointed out a huge pink lollipop that she wanted. I told her that she could have it if she went potty. Low and behold, she made it happen! I couldn't go back on my word so we went home with a gigantic lollipop. Since she was wearing pink dress/bow/shoes I just had to take photos!

TO DO

So I have a list of things TO DO prior to Owen's arrival. I am a huge list person.....which is among just a hand full of things I consider myself organized about :) It makes me happy to be able to cross things off of lists. Below is a list of just some of the things that need to take care of, in no particular order of priority. With these items completed I know that I will be able to relax and enjoy our new addition as much as possible :)

-renew drivers license (expires in early Oct) - WILL DO MON SEPT 28!

-get an eye check up (and a new stash of contacts!) - DONE

- start (and finish) decorating and organizing Owen's nursery - STARTED

-Finish tagging my items for the Just Between Friends consignment sale - DONE

-Find a few more Halloween costume pieces for Emma (she will be a Bumble bee and I need to find black antennas, wings and some sort of top)

-Christmas shop (get as much done as possible)

-Finish unpacking all moving boxes, get the house decorated, buy area rugs, curtains, smoke detectors and other necessities

-Finish Emma's scrapbook

-figure this whole breast feeding thing out

-Prepare for Emma's 3rd bday party

-Prepare for Jarrod's 30th bday

-Make and freeze meals for when Owen arrives (must wait for stove to arrive!)

-Pack our hospital bag as well as Emma's bag

-Grocery shop so that we have plenty of extras and won't run the risk of running out of anything - STARTED