25 Weeks (3 Days Late!)

Hello friends and family!!!

I've just got a quick note to update you with (technically last week's) bump pic!! We were 25 weeks last Wednesday, and the Peanut girl is growing and growing!! 

Here's this week's picture:

I definitely have days where I feel VERY pregnant, and some where I feel less so. Although I have an inkling that the "very pregnant" days are going to come more frequently. 

Luckily I'm still pretty much a-symptomatic, although my appetite is starting to return, which is nice. I think Jeff was worried about me there for a bit, and let's be honest, I've never been the kind of girl to order a salad when I wanted a steak. But everything seems to be pretty much returning to normal as I approach the last few weeks of my second trimester. 

We've likely got just one more weekly bump photo in this house before all our things are packed up and shipped off to Klamath Falls. I spent some time today doing future chalkboards so I can still pair them with weekly bump pics. I tried to convince Jeff that my chalkboard needed to travel with me to Oregon instead of on the truck, but he didn't buy it. So I've got two weeks of future boards all made up and ready. Yay!!

That's about it for updates. Little girl is kicking away, and she's definitely getting stronger. Jeff has felt some pretty big kicks too. If only he knew how they felt from the inside!!

Well I'm off to spend my last Saturday night in Wichita Falls with friends doing something fun. Not sure what that is yet, but I know it'll be great!!

Hopefully another update soon!!!

BaBy-Q!

Oh. My. Gosh.

I am so lucky.

Even "lucky" doesn't begin to describe how incredibly blessed I am. Last Saturday, Peanut and I were treated to the most amazing BaBy-Q baby shower ever. My two besties hosted a fabulous party with even fabulous-er food (YUM!!!) and so many of my favorite ladies came to celebrate Peanut.

I'm already starting to get emotional about leaving Sheppard and Wichita Falls, but Saturday may have put me over the edge. The women I've befriended here are AMAZING and have made the "ENJJPT experience" the awesome ride that it's been. Even as I write this, I know that my words are failing to really express just how grateful I am for each and every one of these women. As I looked around the room on Saturday, I was immediately reminded of a fond (and usually funny) memory for each face.

I love these girls.

I will miss them all terribly.

So for those of you reading who fall into this group, don't let me down! Keep in touch once I'm gone, and keep me in the loop on your lives. I promise to hold up my end of the friendship bargain, so please, please, do the same. I will Skype in for Drop Nights and send flowers for graduation. I'll assure you that there's a bigger plan at play when he doesn't get the plane he was hoping for, or it feels like he may never make it to the end of the program. I'll tell you a joke if you need it. We've got a good thing going here, you and me. Let's keep it up.

With that said, let's share some photos from the BaBy-Q!!!!

Cake Ball & Diaper center-pieces!

Decorations!

Gifts!

Delicious food!

Girlfriends! L to R: Tiffany, Victoria, Shelby, & Lisa.

Opening gifts

Canvas art sister made for Peanut's nursery. The quote is from Shakespear's A Midsummer Night's Dream

Friends!

Another shot of my beautiful pregnant friends!

My amazing hostesses, Tiffany and Maggie.

Little Sister made the trip! Wahhhooo!

24 Weeks...Has It Really Been Six Months?!?!

Happy Friday friends!!

I'm writing today's post from the couch instead of the computer, because we have a VISITOR!!!! Little sister has arrived!! We don't have big plans for the day, probably some shopping and pedicures for tomorrow's shower!!

The real point of this post, though, is to post the weekly bump pic! Here it is, the 24-week baby bump:

 Pretty much looks the same, doesn't it? Like so many of my other pics, I didn't really have an excuse to do my hair and makeup yesterday, so I'm rocking the messy french braid. Oh well. 

By my calculations, 24 weeks is pretty much six months of pregnancy, which is a little bit hard to believe. Somehow at the same time (and I know I always say this), it's flown by and also seemed to pass slowly. Six months ago we discovered that we'd be a family of three with our little Peanut, and we've watched my belly and our baby grow over those six months. The exciting thing is that now we're on the "downhill" stretch with only fourish months to go before we meet this sweet little girl. 

We. Can. Not. Wait. 

Hopefully I'll have more to share after tomorrow's BaByQ!! For now, I'm going to spend some quality time with my SISTAH!!!!

Toodles!!!

New Design!

I changed my design! Do you like it?

I figured that since now we know Peanut is a girl, I'd do something a little more girly. Plus some of my other fonts were getting on my nerves.

Happy 24 weeks! I'm hoping to work on my chalkboard today and take the picture today or tomorrow. Stay tuned!

One little side note: Jeff officially graduated from IFF (Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals) yesterday!! Wahoo!! Very excited for him, and for our next adventure. On to B-Course for the F-15C!!

I (Heart) My Bump

I almost forgot! I wanted to share this (kind of blurry...sorry) little gem we took last night with the bump pic! My good friend Tiffany gave me this shirt, and I love it! Almost as much as I love my bump!!

23 Week Bump Pic

The wait is over! Although at this rate, this is more a 24-week photo than 23, but I'm determined to have a picture from (almost) each week. Can you tell I'm starting to lose creativity about these too? I feel like I've run out of ideas, haha.

Anyway, here's the 23 week bump pic:

Not much new to see here, is there? It's not like it changes much week-to-week (I feel like I say this every time!) but it's still crazy to see the progress over time.

Little girl is definitely getting bigger in there, now weighing in at one and a quarter pounds, and I'm feeling her on my bladder more than anything. She's also, supposedly, the size of a bunch of grapes, but at this stage, who really knows for sure.

For the first time last Thursday, my twice-weekly spin class was uncomfortable. I've been attending this spin class every Tuesday and Thursday (give or take) for over a year, and I love the routine and the cardio. I should have probably heeded the warnings of my other pregnant friends who attend the class, that eventually it would be more uncomfortable, because it definitely was. Luckily (or not, depending on how you look at it) I only have two more weeks of class until I'll have to shift my focus to our upcoming move. I'll miss the routine and the class, but hopefully I can find something to do to stay active once we get to Klamath. I have no doubt I'll be able to get in a walk or two with my little beagle nugget, Bailey, while I'm home visiting my parents. I'm told she loves walks these days, and I need to do something to stay active.

Not much other news to report, the little Peanut bugger is still kicking away. Jeff's had the chance to feel it a few times, but I still can't wait until she gets even bigger and her kicks are more pronounced. It was nice though, the other day he got to feel quite a few big ones. He loves this little girl so much, it's just too cute.

Not that it makes a difference, since we're not sharing, but Peanut girl still doesn't have a name, and the drama continues. Jeff and I came into our marriage pretty well prepared for it. We knew each other's feelings on the important stuff, and have been able to come to an agreement or compromise on everything so far.

But this?

Who knew naming our child would be such a struggle, and find us on such opposite ends of the spectrum? I'm sure we'll find some middle ground somewhere, but I'm thinking we may never be able to settle on a list, like we'd planned. It might be asking too much of us to agree on a short list of names to choose from. One (first and middle) might be all we can come up with. We shall see!

I'm super excited this week, for two reasons. I shared with you last Thursday that my little sister is coming for a long weekend visit, which I am SUPER stoked about. I haven't really spent much time with her in a while, and no real one-on-one sister time since she visited last October. I'm sure we'll find no shortage of fun things to do while she's here.

I'm also SUPER excited for my upcoming BaByQ!!! The weather should be nice enough this weekend, and I'm really looking forward to spending time with my awesome lady friends celebrating Peanut. It should be a fantastic time. Maybe I'll have some photos to share with you afterward.

I did attend a baby shower this past weekend (my 4th so far in three months) and had a GREAT time!! We celebrated our friends Courtney and Kristin and their upcoming little ones. We even got a chance to take a photo of four of us who are currently pregnant:

From Left (due): Courtney (July), Shelby (Aug), Kristin (Sep), Tiffany (June)

Hopefully they don't mind being featured on my blog! What a blessing it has been to travel this unusual and interesting road with so many companions!! I'm never without a friend who understands what I'm feeling; physically, mentally, and emotionally, and it's amazing. These ladies are the best!!!!

One more shower to wrap up the season, at least for now. No other ladies have stepped forward with big news, so for now it's just us, and I'll be the last one. It'll also be a nice little send-off too, one last chance to spend quality time with my friends before I leave. Bittersweet the whole way around.

I think that's about all I've got for today. The 24 week pic is due up in just a couple days, and I'll try to be better about it this time. I cannot believe that roughly six months of pregnancy have gone by already, and there are only four(ish) months until our Peanut girl makes her big arrival. So very exciting.

Take care my loves!!

23 Weeks & Still No Pic!

I'm sorry friends (and family!) I have really been slacking on my chalkboard this week. The problem is, it's been SUPER sunshiny outside, and this Oregon kid would much rather be outside soaking up some Vitamin D than inside doing anything else. I will try my very hardest to get it done and posted today or tomorrow.

But really, would you choose being inside over this???

I get that it's just a view of my neighborhood from my driveway, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky, the grass is (slowly) starting to green up, and it was a beautiful day. I think more than that though is all the people that this view can see. At least three of my friends' houses are in this actual picture, and so many more live just beyond the frame.

Now that we're really getting close to our departure date, I'm really trying to take advantage of everything Sheppard and Wichita Falls have to offer us. The sunshine, the good friends, the tasty food, all of it. All the things I'll miss dearly. I've got just three weeks left, and I'm trying to make the most of it.

I realize so far this post hasn't really been Peanut-related, but there isn't too much to update. She's still kicking away, and I've felt her kicks quite a bit more on the outside of my belly. It seems more believable if I can feel her with my hands than just feeling movement inside my belly, so I always try to feel for her when she's kicking. Still nothing violent or painful, but I'm sure those are coming from my lazy little baby.

We have our last appointment here at Sheppard on April 22, and I'll be due for another appointment right after we (hopefully) move into a house in Klamath, so I've been doing some research on doctors there. Luckily another girl from the ENJJPT program just had her baby there, so she's been great pointing me in the right direction. I just need to figure out what I need to do to make sure all my records and such make it to our next location.

We still haven't found a house in Klamath Falls (which is stressing both Jeff and I out a bit at this point), but we think we're closing in. We inquired about a SUPER cute one the other night, so we're waiting to hear back from the realtor about it. Fingers crossed it works out, that'll be one less thing on our worry list. It sounds like the Travel Management Office (TMO) has arranged a moving company for us, so hopefully they can accommodate our requested dates and we can get our things packed and loaded before the end of the month. Then its a few days crashing with our life-partner couple, the Lackeys, before separately heading west. Lucky me gets to fly, my trip will only take a few hours (okay, probably more than a few, but still), while poor Jeff's trip will take days. He'll get to spend a few days in Vegas when he stops there, so I'm sure he'll be fine. He and my dad seem to relish the opportunity to hang out on the open road. Weirdos.

That's probably about all the updates I have for right now. I need to get some breakfast, but after that maybe I'll work on my chalkboard so I can take my picture today (although I promise the bump hasn't changed much, haha).

Toodle-oo!