21 Weeks

Oh boy - things have change a bit.

The baby belly is GROWING at a record pace, I swear.  Right now I'm about the size I was with Macie a month farther along.  

I'm pretty sure I've started having Braxton Hicks contractions.  I never had these with Macie, so it was a little startling.  I will all of the sudden get very uncomfortable, my belly will get hard, I have back pain, my heart is racing and I'm completely out of breath.  I guess I will have to start learning some breathing exercises to deal with this.  

I guess it feels a little like a panic attack.  Icky!  I didn't know what it was at first and I freaked out a little. Finally I "Googled" my symptoms and searched BabyCenter to finally figure out what was going on.  I go back to the dr. in a couple of weeks, so I will ask questions then.  From what I've read, though, it's not really anything to worry too much about.

I have finally gotten over the "boy then girl" incident {completely} and am ecstatic about having another little princess.  Even though I'm over it, we're still going to have a boy name ready.....just in case!  I learned my lesson that mistakes happen, so I'm going to make myself prepared for anything from here on out!

So girl names are coming along pretty well.  We have about 6 on a short list that we like - and that's saying a lot because it has been out biggest struggle lately.  We still haven't decided if we're going to use the "MVP" initials with this girly like we did with Macie.  There are two "M" names on the list.  I asked Chris if he thought we should and he said he thought it would be pretty cool.  We'll see.

So, we're at 21 Weeks

{Rockin' the maternity jeans}

And Starting to look more and more pregnant.

Even my elastic waist band pants and shorts are too tight and uncomfortable.

Where the elastic lands, she will kick until I move it to a different spot....then kick that spot.  I guess she thinks they're too tight too.

Macie gets more excited every day and talks all about her baby sister.  We ask her what she wants to name her and she will tell us Rapunzel, Snow White, Tiana and pretty much any Disney Princess name in the book.  She must know her sister will be a princess just like her.

So, I think that's all to update for now.  I'm going to start a timeline of my belly week to week and I plan on posting that soon.  So fun! :)

First Day of Fall

It's not quite as hot as it has been the past few months, but it's still not boots, scarves, and sweaters weather.  Oh well, I'm able to wear jeans without feeling like I'm going to overheat and sitting in the shade feels....well....pretty glorious.

We went to the park this morning for our Friday Play Group and one of the *smart* mommas brought a blanket.  So we all had a place to sit out of the sun.  It was perfect and Macie had a wonderful time, as usual.

She got to seesaw with a bunch of other girlies!

 And she made a new friend....

I love play group.

Macie gets social interaction with other kiddos...

...and I get to talk with other mommies about *mommy* things.

After the park, we came home and relaxed.  That sun is a little draining.

We can only stay at home for so long before we both get bored.

So we picked out a cute outfit and headed outside for a mini photo shoot!

{What a perfect day for taking pictures!}

AND what better reason to take pictures than the FIRST DAY OF FALL!

My little model:

Silly Girl!

Today....

I wore my first maternity t-shirt....this pregnancy!

What better occasion to break it out then my 20 week milestone?  None....I'm 20 weeks today!!!!

Oh, and please excuse the crappy pictures, my camera's battery went kaput, so I used Photo Booth on my MacBook for these puppies.

If it were up to me, I wouldn't have gotten out of bed this morning....but I was excited to rock the "belly".  AND school was calling me.

This seemed like the longest day ever.

Class at 9:25.

Another right after that.

Went to grab some lunch.

Ate it at the park.

Sat around for about an hour and a half waiting for my lab to start {thank goodness I had my MacBook with me today!}.

Went to lab.

Then right after lab, I went to a study session for my test on Thursday.

This week is just not fun.

I can't wait until it's all over and we're finally to the weekend.

So, I had this wonderful idea to put up bamboo blinds on my kitchen windows above the sink.  Chris and I were out and about in Ft. Worth on Sunday, so we made a quick trip into JCPenney to see if they carried the ones I had seen on their website.

They did!

I bought the ones I thought were the correct size....They weren't.

The next day, I went to exchange for the size in inches I measured.

Are you catching on that I've never done this before?

Got home and started installing the new ones....they didn't work either.

So, tomorrow I hope to go exchange the ones I have right now for the size smaller and get those babies up.....because this:

Is not cutting it.  

That sunshine is pretty, especially at sunset.  But it's a KILLER when I'm sitting in the chair in the living room directly in the line of the light.

Tomorrow morning, I finally take the new car in {well, new in May} to get the hail damage fixed.  I bought it with hail damage because I "got a better deal" {which I really think I didn't....oh well}.

They're lending me a rental and I keep imagining that they'll give me some awesome sports car, but it will probably end up being something really uncool.  That's just how the cookie crumbles.  I can still dream though, I have one more sleep before I find out the verdict.

Good Morning Chai Tea

I see a lot more mornings like this in my future.

And I made this at home.
Didn't even have to leave the house.

I'm gonna need a bigger mug when it gets cooler.

Mmmmm.....

This past weekend, I took Macie out to get a few shots of her for Chris' Meemaw's Birthday present.  

She's grown up so much! 

She has started that goofy smile....I guess that one that all children go through around approximately age 3-4 and on into the early elementary {or is it primary now?} years.

I wonder if I annoyed my mom with a smile like that???

It's like she's straining to put a smile on.

Oh well, despite the "smile challenges", we still got some great shots.

I love this one!

She was being such a girly girl, dancing around. :):):)

And I wonder what she's thinking in this one.

Little Miss Priss stance - check.

 I just love my beautiful little girl!!!

19 Weeks

Knock off Bella Band {aka Bella Vonna from eBay}, thank you for allowing me to wear my skinny jeans today....

Seriously, these were $15 for a 3-pack in whatever colors tickle your fancy - you pick!

I just got black, white, and grey because those are my go-to colors.

This morning when I was getting ready for school, I couldn't find my "bloated day" skinnies, so I just grabbed my "regular day" ones.  I was in a hurry, so I didn't even notice how uncomfortable they were at first.  By the time I got to school, I thought baby girl was going to kick through my button!

Then a lightbulb went off in my head:

"Hey, you have those bands....somewhere.  Go find them silly!"

Oh. My. Goodness.  It was like the sweet angels in Heaven started to sing.

These silly things make my comfort {and bank account} feel so much better.

As long as my legs & hips stay the same size, I think I will be able to fit into my regular jeans...

MAYBE until the end!

I got to walk around like this the rest of the day....

 All while having the comfort of actually having my britches buttoned!

Let's hope I don't have to spend anymore $$$ on maternity.  

It's so depressing thinking about how I will only get to wear these clothes for a few months.

I did get a few things from a sweet friend, so that will help if I do grow too big for my regulars.

By the way, did you notice how much I've "blossomed"?

How fun is that?!

This is a little larger than I was with Macie at this point, but almost exactly the same.

I guess I like to be consistent.

Speaking of Prissy Pants, here's her belly....and her latest craving.

 Oh wait, maybe that's my craving. :)

 

I feel like a terrible person

I don't know if I should post this or not....

I really think I am absolutely positively scarred from the whole mix up with with sex of our baby.

It wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't gone over two weeks thinking we were going to have a boy.  And I keep going over in my head the tech saying, "I saw pictures and knew it was a girl, but she said y'all had already left."

How rude is that not to call your patient to say, "I think I might have made a mistake."  I know they are not so busy that they couldn't have gotten me back in to do a double check....even if it was the next day {or next Monday in my case}.  At least call to say not to go buy any baby boy stuff yet.  She was very confident with her boy decision, so I trusted her because I figured who am I to question a "professional"? 

I'm sure it's just pregnancy hormones and emotions, but I am so upset.  I think I just feel violated.  Sure I might be a little dramatic, but I really think I'm traumatized!  I still don't trust that this baby is a girl.  I'm not excited to go buy things yet because I'm afraid of the same thing happening all over again.

I JUST WANT TO CRY A MILLION BAZILLION TEARS!

I can't wait to meet our baby, but I've lost a bit of the excitement.

I think part of the crying is that I feel guilty for being a little sad.  I thought I was going to have a "perfect" family.

Don't get me wrong, I am very thankful that I have a healthy baby....I just wish I had been excited about having another girl two weeks ago instead of getting used to the idea of a boy {which I had convinced myself I would never have AND probably never will *now* - I'll get to that later}.

I don't want to be the momma that tries over and over just to have a certain sex.  I want to be happy with what I have - I am happy with what I have, just not excited.  We didn't start this time thinking we're trying for a boy....we wanted Macie to have a sibling.  Yesterday when Chris got home, he said that he was done having babies because he doesn't want to end up with a third girl.  That made me even more sad.

I don't even want to say "oh he'll change his mind," because I don't think he will.  I am heartbroken.

Oh gosh, this has turned into a pity party and I will stop.  I just had to get it out or else I might have a nervous breakdown.

Change of plans....

 This is what I saw 2 1/2 weeks ago.....

This is what I saw today:

Surprise!  It's another girl!

And from this ultrasound picture, she looks just like her big sister.

Their profiles are almost identical.  I know this tells nothing, but I'm thinking Macie might have a look-a-like sister.

I'll admit it, I cried.  I'm still emotional.  Not because I'm mad, upset, or disappointed.....but because I'm afraid of the disappointment that others might feel.  I don't think anyone is going to be completely sad because she's a girl.....she's healthy for goodness sakes!  I just know that Chris was looking forward to his boy.  Now he will have to adjust to happiness because of another perfect girl!

Here's to hoping the next ultrasound reveals girl again!  I don't think I can emotionally handle going back again!!!

Good morning....

 Courtesy of Starbucks.

There's something about the spices in a Chai tea  that makes me all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed....well, not quite, but close enough.  It makes the drive to school an intsy bit better.

Yesterday, I finally got my new Vera Bradley book bag (or whatever you call it) delivered.  I was excited and couldn't wait to carry it to class this morning.

Yep, that was me walking to class.

Into this glorious building....

That's the science building at TSU....where I'm completely dumbfounded all.morning.long!

Check out the name on the doors in the public restroom.  Tehehe!  I just noticed this today.

I know, I'm immature....

Now it's time to walk up these steps and into my 1 hour 15 min class of doom!

I guess this post could be labeled as an "A Day in the Life".

**For the record:  This was supposed to post at about 10:00am, but I can't, for the life of me, figure out Blogger Mobile.  I'm pretty tech savvy (we'll say intermediate), so this is bothering the heck out of me.**

On our way to a nursery

I decided it was about time to start working on organizing all of Macie's things and ridding our house of unneeded clutter, so the other day I began packing up everything "girly" that isn't used anymore.  

Since finding out we're having a boy, who knows if we'll ever have another baby.  We'll have one of each - perfect right?  With this in mind, I have decided that we had better just part with all of those super cute girl clothes that my sweet growing girl just can't squeeze into anymore.  

She grows so fast - I figured this out after going through her clothes from the time she was 12 months until now.  I had given away most of her "baby" clothes {because I thought I wasn't going to have any more kiddos at that time!}, but started saving everything after that when I got the "fever" again.

Here's the result of saving {and maybe a small shopping addiction}.  P.S. There's more! :(

The soon-to-be nursery is Macie's playroom at the moment and she's not very keen on the idea of having to take all of her toys out of there so her brother can have a room.  She is now telling me that he can sleep in her room {not happening, that room was painted and personalized for Miss Macie!}.

It's a little different than this now, with a bigger bed, and we're changing it up again soon!  Everything else is the same though.

She's marked her territory in this place....I'll have one mad girl in the next few months....

Slowly, I think it will all come together.  I got the closet cleared out {again} and put away some of the things we've acquired over the last few weeks.  

Baby boy is already on his way to becoming a stylin' little guy!

Hopefully, I won't have as bad as an addiction to boy clothes as I do girls.  If I do, I'm going to be in a world or trouble!

Now, onto planning the nursery decor.  Chris wants sports, we compromised with a vintage sports theme.  What would a boy nursery be without his daddy's old jerseys and football helmets?  I'm just happy he's showing interest, I didn't think he would - he's not "that" type of guy.  I guess I underestimated my sweet hubby!

Names area just another story, so don't even ask. :)

Macie's new accessory

Today, I had to go for an eye exam and new glasses and we had about an hour to kill before I had to pick up the glasses.  Macie has been bothering me to have her ears pierced for a while now - probably about 2 or 3 months.  She wants to be big like her cousin Hannah.  

We went to the Disney Store, ate some lunch, got Macie some new shoes {she insisted on light-up Sketchers}, and then went to pick up my glasses.  On our way out, we passed by a jewelry store and I asked Macie if she wanted to get them done while we were out and I was thinking about it {because Lord knows I forget everything nowadays}.  She said "YES!"

We went in and filled out the paperwork and she and I started talking.  I told her she had to be very brave and I think that one single word - brave - hit the wrong key in her head and she started to want to back out.  I felt bad because the girls were all ready for her and she was about to change her mind.  I told her that we weren't coming back and finally convinced her to just have it done {the two suckers the girl offered her helped too}.

Two yellow suckers are what made her get them pierced - what a little stink.

They did a dual piercing and thank goodness for that!  She wouldn't have sat through a second one!!!

She cried for about one minute and thought the world was going to end.

But, I think she's happy with the end result!

I've officially got a "BIG GIRL" on my hands.

She says she's, "big like Momma, Hannah, and Aunt Lindsey, but not like Noah.  He said he wasn't going to do it last year."

Whatever kiddo. :)

So, Macie got her ears pierced and I got some lovely new glasses that I'm so excited about!

Hello September....and Just Rambling

Hello September!  Where did you come from???

Hello 17 weeks pregnant!

 When I'm in public, I hide it because it just looks like I've gotten a little "fluffy".  Yeah, I like fluffy...not.

 

+2 pounds and at a full 9 toilet paper squares {yes, I forgot to do Toilet Paper Tuesday again....ugh}.  Bumpity bump is getting bigger and bigger and my jeans are getting tighter and tighter.  Already ordered some maternity jeans!

I have started to feel more flutters...some say gas, I say a lady does not get gas {tehehe}.  It's all baby, I just know it.  Little mister has been in acrobat mode every time I've had an u/s done.

Losing my mind...well, yes, my mind...and eyesight!  My eyes went all cooky with Macie too, so I'm going to go see the eye dr. soon.  Neither of these are beneficial to my status as "student of the year"....well, maybe I won't go that far....but it's not helping with my attempt at being a decent student.

I still can't believe he's a boy, but I've surely gotten used to the idea.  Baby boy {I'm sure he won't have a name until last minute, just like with his big sister} has gotten a few pieces to add to his closet.  Too many, probably, but I couldn't help it.....I've never had a boy.  That's a good excuse, right? 

Speaking of closet, I have got to get all of Macie's things out of there!  It has sort of been my storage for all things Macie has outgrown.  I'll have to go through everything and figure out what is gender neutral {because we don't want any "girly" boys around here ha!} and get rid of the rest.  I'm done hoarding baby stuff!

As of right now we're not planning on having more, but you never know.  I've heard the more the merrier....and also less is more {wait, I'm not sure that was necessarily about children}.  Whatever floats your boat.  We'll see how much energy this next little Pike comes out with, then we'll make up our minds. 

This little person definitely takes a lot of our energy already....how are we going to do it with two?

Since there are always new "guidelines" in baby gear, the bed we had for Macie isn't considered "safe" since it is a drop side.  I know there is some kind of contraption you can call the crib company and ask for, but the bed is so old (it was my 9 year old niece's bed) that I would just rather get a new one.  You can find them at pretty inexpensive prices and I'm not planning on doing a real detailed room that would require a big fancy bed.  We're going to go simple.  

I have a few ideas that I'm going to throw in my MIL's direction and seek her advice for further planning.  She's the one with decorating skills around these parts!  I get a lot of ideas from Pinterest, though. 

I love Pinterest and all of the creativity it makes me feel like I have.  I think I'm really just living vicariously through all of the talented people on there.

Nothing special, but here's a link to my boards.  Just if you want to take a look!