Changes.

Week 31/32-

(Week 31 both Chris and I were feeling completely under the weather and therefore did not do much of anything besides work, eat, sleep and REST! So I decided to group these two weeks together to make it at least a little more interesting!)

As I sit here writing this, Autumn is as active as ever.   I feel like I'm playing some type of treasure hunt attempting to feel for and guess what body part I see swooping across my belly.  I think I have rarely succeeded in figuring it out but it sure is ah-mazing to watch!  I keep telling myself that one of these days I'm going to capture it on video...one day in between midnight and 4am. Oh wait, it's almost midnight.  Hmm...too tired so probably not going to be tonight!

This week began with a terrible, awful cold and is going out much more calm, and peaceful.  There are some things that happened this week that I feel can't be attributed to the fact that I am barely able to take a breath because my nose is running 24/7..I'll spare the dramatic details.  Given that Monday was a recovery day from our sickness (and homework day for Chris), I really was banking on Tuesday evening to be the lets-get-the-house-in-order- night.  Needless to say the tally at the end of the night was sickness 1, house 0.  It could wait another night I suppose.  (I have a feeling that I will be saying this ALOT in the future when little Autumn arrives.) Wednesday night I spent running errands after work for an upcoming wedding as well as making a stop at the Fresh Market in Destin where I spend a very wonderful hour admiring how I wish I could shop there everyday.  From the freshest of produce to to a meat counter spread that would make any carnivore drool, I was in food heaven.  Thursday evening was a final AbFab consultation after work with our 11/11/11 bride and it made us even more anxious for the Big Day to be here.  We are beyond thrilled for this wedding and adore the visits we have had with the mother of the groom and the bride herself.  That night, post-meeting, was another couch night from tiredness, lack of motivation, and the inability to want to get up and really get a move on the chores that were stacking up from us having a chaotic couple of weeks.

How Big is Autumn

Think of a large jicama, the resources tell me this week, and that is how big she is measuring!  Around 3.75 pounds and nearing in 17+ inches she is definitely beginning to feel cramped in those quarters At this point she has toenails, fingernails, and real hair ( at least a bit of fuzz :-)    8 more weeks....where has the time gone??

A few changes I have been feeling this week that may/may not be attributed to the cold...I have a feeling it's definitely part of this 'growing' phase that Autumn is embarking on, doubling her weight in the next 8 weeks!

1. I have been feeling short of breath more than ever.  When I sit down, when I lay down, I am more uncomfortable than I have been the entire pregnancy.  I have a longer than average torso but when I sit down I feel as if my belly is up to my chin!  I have a feeling that she has done some major growing in the past week and a half and that I am just beginning to feel the side-effects of it.  
2.  I have had heartburn more this week than I have had my entire pregnancy (and from wives tales say this is when she might be growing more hair).  I have been popping the antacid tablets when I can and it seems to simmer things down a bit. 
3. My sleep patterns have been at their worst.  I know that the cold has a lot to do with it but I feel I am now up no short of 5 times each night AT LEAST to use the restroom and drink water because of cotton mouth.  Its a vicious cycle I tell ya but I keep telling myself in the back of my head it's only preparation for the real deal.

My hopes are high that starting with week 33, I will get acclimated to these new changes and that things will start to look up again!  I have spent far too many evenings resting, watching movies on the couch and downing cup after cup of tea in hopes of kicking this cold.  It really forced my exercising to the backburner and I can feel the atrophy setting in (worst feeling EVER.)  I even lost a pound this week I think for 2 reasons: 1.) having hardly any appetite from the cold 2.) my muscle tone is decreasing!  And rightfully so, I knew with pregnancy and not being able to stick to my normal routine would make me loose muscle so it is not shocking and something I hope I can quickly recover from post baby.  Until then, next week I'll be hitting the gym again now that I am feeling better and do my best to continue to stay as active as I can in these next 8 weeks or so.

TACP for TATAS!

Saturday morning all the TACP's woke up, doned their pink shirts and ranger panties and headed out for the Making Strides Breast Cancer Awareness walk to honor not only each of our own friends and family members that have been affected by breast cancer, but also a special TACP support lady, Heidi, who just this   year had been diagnosed.  She's pretty much a rockstar who has had the most vivacious personality and spunk throughout all of her treatments and she looks absolutely amazing.  It was so awesome to witness close to a hundred TACP's out there on that walk wearing pink and supporting an incredible cause and an amazing lady!

~Team AbFab!  Notice the awesome shirt that Lauren and Chris got for me at For Two Fitness, I have been eyeing the shirt forever!  Thanks guys!~

And a couple of pics from Beerfest last weekend at Baytowne Wharf!  I surprised Chris with tickets and even though we were both sick, we managed to get out and get some fresh air.  Even though I couldn't drink the fabulous brews, I still enjoyed just being out and about with Chris!  Afterall, over 5 years ago we were standing on the same boardwalk for our 'honeymoon' and we hadn't had the opportunity to come back since then.  So no matter how you looked at it, it was very special and brought back so many amazing memories for the two of us.  One year we're taking pictures on the boardwalk just the two of us as newlyweds ready to embark on a new adventure as a couple.  Years later, we're taking pictures with 2.5 of us, happily married and about to embark on another new adventure, with what will eventually be the three of us.  We truly couldn't be happier.

This and That:

• Upcoming appointments: 1 on November 7th, hopefully our next ultrasound will be soon as well!
• New sweet treat discovery: chocolate peanut-butter covered caramels...they are almost TOO sweet but a few in one sitting is a perfect combination of peanut buttery chocolaty goodness.
• kicks felt in a day: infinite!  She is a moving machine in there....
• hiccups in a day: 4-5 sessions that last anywhere from a couple minutes to 10 minutes..and it is still a feeling that is as bizarre as ever...

A Week of Amazingness-Part II

Week 30-

I can honestly say until this past weekend, I have never felt so much love from so many people in our roof.  Seriously.  The Welcome Autumn Party was Saturday and it was honestly more than Chris and I had ever hoped for!  We knew from the beginning we wanted to do something fun, something co-ed, something that was more a celebration than a ‘shower’, and I thanks to Lauren with assistance from my mama, the party was absolutely SPECTACULAR!

Meg arrived in town on Wednesday and Jenna and James arrived in town on Thursday!   I was over-the-moon thrilled that they were able to make it up from Sarasota and down from North Carolina! I was even more thrilled that James could accompany Jenna so Chris would be able to have his ‘male bonding’ time as well.  They were an INCREDIBLE help that weekend and Chris and I couldn’t be more thankful.  Let’s put it this way, thanks to James assisting Chris, we now have a ~500lb stump sitting in our living room as our coffee table! (we only had it in the garage for 3 months before getting it to it’s home. :-) From helping clean, to running errands, to setting up the day of, they were constantly on the move when we were on the move and for that I am forever grateful.  Why is it that it’s so easy to underestimate the work that goes into having parties?  They’re completely fun when they’re happening but seriously, up until then it’s WORK!

 Chris and I worked tirelessly to get the last coat of pain on Autumn’s walls and Thursday night before Jenna and James arrived we began assembling the decal on the wall.  Can I just say-wow, I completely felt like an artist! We both did!  It went up in a snap and we worked up until Jenna and James arrived! Here’s the progress we made!

While we were all exhausted from either working or driving the entire day, Thursday nights’ chatter was kept to a minimum (not to mention Chris had to be up at 3am for a ruck the next morning-arg) and we all retired to bed fairly early eager for the next day.

We woke up on Thursday ready to hit the ground running though and Jenna generously agreed to assist me in completing the decal in little Autumn’s room!  Finishing the flowers was actually the hardest part but it looks oh-so-pretty!! (also in daylight, you can see the true color of her nursery-in-progress!)

~Autumn Breezes~

After our hard work we were finally ready for the beach and to meet up with Meg and her sweet friend Michelle who came in from North Carolina!!  We were all ecstatic to finally be together again and have a day of relaxing on our ‘home turf’.  Navarre’s beaches truly are a sight for sore eyes….

It was seriously the first time in months it felt like that I was able to sit, relax and just enjoy good friends, good conversation and the gorgeous surroundings of the ocean.  I was reminded how integral those visits are for Jenna, Meg and I especially~ it’s our bonding time!  While we have all vowed to get better at more consistent communication ( and have been doing pretty well at it in fact!) it’s the face-to-face interaction and just being together that truly brings us back to our ‘centers’ I believe.  I feel ‘home’ when I am with them and it doesn’t matter the location.  We’ve rendezvoused all over the country and when we all get in the same place together there is a sense of comfort we all give each other and a reminder of where we came from and who we truly are.  (I credit Jenna for especially reminding me of this in one of her blog posts :-)  It is something that even when I am 70 I want to be reminded of ~ where I came from and who I am.

Onto the other festivities of Thursday though!  After we had all had our fill of catching up, reminiscing and taking in the sunshine, we packed up our coolers and headed home to get ready dinner out on the town!  A fave of ours is The Fishhouse in Pensacola and especially since James and Michelle had never been there and everyone else adores it, it was a no brainer where we would end up.   So we all rendezvoused back at our place after we were finished getting ready and snapped a few group pics before we headed out!  It was too funny we all thought how Jenna, Lauren and I (the Florida girls jonsing for fall) all dressed like it was 50 out even though it was probably mid 60s and Meg and Michelle (northern girls already tired of the cold weather that was only getting colder up in Charlotte) donned their adorable, flowy, and very Florida spring outfits!  The grass is always greener right girls?

We all had a wonderful time yet again taking in the local fair. We shared the famous grits-a-ya-ya and I think 3 of us at least got the surf-and-turf special complete with giant prawn and a goat cheese stuffed filet mignon!  It was delicious even if it was a little different on the flavorings.  I sipped happily on my soda water and muddled fruit while the girls sipped their martinis and wine and we chatted for what was probably another 2 hours while the boys had their ‘male bonding’ time at the bar.   

We knew tomorrow was going to be a long day so we decided that pj’s and sitting on the couch at home to finish our catching up was best.  This pregnant girl wasn’t going to disagree with that consensus.

The next morning I felt like I hit the ground running and couldn’t believe the things still on the ‘to-do’ list before 5pm when the party was to begin.  Jenna and I started the morning off in the kitchen her with a cup of coffee, I with a cup of tea,  baking some delicious spiced oatmeal chocolate chip cookies ( a recipe that has become a new seasonal fave thanks to a FABULOUS blogger I follow, who happens to be preggo too~ Daily Garnish !  I replaced the raisens with chocolate chips and add walnuts for more of the choclately nutty flavor that I LOVE in a cookie!)  The cookies weren’t actually for the party though, Chris’s squadron was raising money for Making Strides with Breast Cancer and needed some goodies to sell that day for the bake sale.  First think to check of the list and thankfully with a bit of teamwork, Jenna and I had them baked in no time! 
 

After that, the afternoon seemed to blend together.  Jenna and I worked on getting things set up and finalized at the house before Lauren and Mom arrived with the food at about 2pm to finish making and creating!   

Let me just say that I have THE BEST sister in the world.  The menu she put together for the event was just amazing and included things like a spicy mac and cheese, baked brie with pear preserves, apple pie, frosted pumpkin cookies, spiked cider, mulled wine, a beautiful veggie tray spread and the list goes on.  All the details that she crafted made me smile.  From having guests sign a frame to put in Autumn’s room, to the onesies that each guest would decorate for each of the first 12 months,  to the ‘Welcome Autumn’ sign she hung from the front door, she poured her heart into it and it was truly felt by all I feel, especially Chris and I. 

Mama’s cooking was absolutely delicious and the décor that she brought to the house reminded me so much of my childhood and the wonderful memories that decorating for fall brings to mind.  Her talent never seizes to amaze me.

~The butternut squash happens to be how BIG Autumn was this week and the bear is from Andy who's still overseas... Chris decided the bear needed to be in a special place to symbolize that he was actually there..aww..:-)~

Before we knew it, 5pm rolled around and the guests began arriving.  Chris had the guys, with beer in hand, watching one of the many football games while the girls all mingled, got to know one another and tasted he delicious drinks that Lauren concocted.   I can honestly say I enjoyed every minute of the party and was overwhelmed but those that came.  It was fantastic to feel like everyone was truly enjoying themselves as I become such a people-pleaser at gatherings making sure everyone is having a good time!

As Lauren put it so well, we had to at least have ONE game at the ‘baby party’ so she chose to play ‘who can diaper the balloon the fastest’ and let me just say, judging by the photos captured, I think it went over well even with the boys!  (note the beer and the football in the background, BUT, they are still diapering away!) Oh and a certain someone (aka, the future father) was the first one to pop his balloon...hmmm....maybe we need to spend some nights practicing perhaps?? ;-)

 ~James hard at work!~

~Lisa was so meticulous and through, she's definitely diapered before!~

The night continued on with a gift opening session that brought tears to my eyes and an ear to ear grin that was permanently affixed to my face the entire time.  We felt SO much love in that room for our little unborn Autumn it was unexplainable.  And not only from those that were able to be there, but from those from far away as well~no gesture went unnoticed.  She is so loved by so many already.  I’ll let the photos do the talking, but we are SPEECHLESS when it comes to all that we have to begin to Autumns’ life here on earth with! (Pictures to come!~)

The night continued on and on as everyone ate, drank, played a little beer pong and worked diligently on their onesies for Autumn!  Chris and I can’t wait to debut her onesie each month, we had some serious artists at work at the party!

As the night winded down, we decided we had to capture one group shot before anyone left the party.  Little did we know this one group shot would take us at least 30 minutes to get ‘perfect’.  Here’s a few of the outtakes as well as the final shot we all ok’ed! (and to think, it was all adults, no children!  Although I think the children might have behaved better! Ha!) (Picture to come!~~)

After most of the guests departed and the last few games of beer pong were winding down in the garage, we ended the night by the fireplace recapping the evening and just being so grateful for all those that put so much into making it an incredible memory for us.  The love we felt wasn’t necessarily shown by the things that we received, but instead by the gestures of those that are closest to us coming together to help as a team give little Autumn the best ushering into the world possible.  The kind words written and spoken are things that Chris and I will never forget and that we will surely share with Autumn upon her arrival into this world.

We stayed up reflecting on the amazingness of the evening, reminising about old times and watched the last flicker of the fire disappear into the night before we said our goodnights and headed for a wonderful nights rest after a very, very successful Welcome Autumn party.

Chris and I's promise is that Autumn will be reminded everyday that she was so loved by so many before she was even born and that, in and of itself, no money can buy.  To feel love and to be loved is the greatest gift to her of all.

A Week of Amazingness: Part 1

Week 30-Part 1 

The thirties have officially arrived and it is another milestone that I have been looking forward to for some time!  Not only the 30 week mark but also the week of our ‘Welcome Autumn’ Celebration and some much needed time with close friends and family.  While Lauren was our AMAZING host of the event, we decided to have it at our house which meant that the ever growing ‘to-do’ list of household chores absolutely needed to be done this week,  no questions asked.  Chris and I were busy beavers for 4 nights straight practically getting everything as perfect as we could to include shampooing carpets (which should be done almost monthly with 3 pups!), painting and putting finishing touches on the nursery, cleaning the garage, prepping the guest room and then of course all the weekly house chores that need to be done like the day before guests arrive so that the dogs don’t wreck havoc on what we already completed. 

How big Is Autumn?

How appropriate is it that she is about the size of a butternut squash this week?  I couldn’t resist the urge to go out and get a squash not only to demonstrate her size but also to make a yummy butternut squash/pear soup that I’ve been dying to make this fall.  She’s reaching close to her birth height by a couple of inches this week and has definitely breached 3 pounds by now!  Amazing how there has been 24 pounds of weight gain and only a 3 lb baby but I’m pretty close to being on track for 35-40 lbs of weight gain which is right where I should be at full term.
 

This week I began doing kick counts, once in the morning when I wake up and at least once in the evening.  The magic number is 10 kicks/movements in an hour and it usually only takes me max. 3 minutes to feel that-she’s busy inside of there!  I attribute it to the fact that a.) it is getting to be cramped quarters and b.) her brain is now developing more than ever and her movements are becoming more coordinated and predictable.  So crazy, cool!

How am I feeling?

I have definitely been a little bit more tired and in need of longer nights of sleep, the energy levels seem to drop more quickly in the middle of the day and I have found that eating is now more of a priority because I feel my stomach has little room left in there and while I may not feel super hungry, I still try to eat something every couple of hours. I feel like my whole day revolves around food sometimes, it's crazy.

I’m being told by one of my weekly pregnancy resources

No new cravings this week, still eating my eggs and organic milk with Omega-3 for brain building foo. Lots of Greek yogurt, which always gets her kicking like crazy, and of course my exaggerated sweet tooth.  Just perfect as the holidays near!  ;-)

Nursery Progress

Having the party this weekend definitely had us prioritizing to make some much needed progress in the nursery.  After all, the only thing completed in there was the crib!  We both agreed that we wanted the walls to be a shade of a ‘celery-like’ green-not too soft, not too loud.  Chris took it in his hands to go to Lowes and collect every shade of green sample that they had.  I was so proud and thankful that I didn’t need to go there and sift through the hundreds of colors!

We decided on our pick.  It was called celery green and in my opinion, I thought it would be perfect.  Example number one. 

I was so wrong and the picture definitely doesn't do it justice.  And here is Chris's reaction to our first color 'oops'.  This picture however does reflect how we were both feeling! :-)  Notice Lola happily sleeping through the debacle of cleaning the paint wand.  Oh, to be a dog!

The reference I use is that it looked like Big Bird ate some limes for lunch and then threw up on our walls.  It was a wretched yellowy, limey color that was neither inviting nor pleasing to the eye so it was back to the drawing board after a rough night of wasting a gallon of paint and cleaning the paint wand ( which took almost as long as the painting itself!).

Back to the drawing board.  I took my sister with me to Home Depot next after Chris and I got online and decided on what was called ‘Pea in a Pod’.  It was a ‘bluer-green’ but not too blue and was bright, but more muted than our last obnoxious choice.  I thought it was perfect, but Chris thought differently and so we found ourselves in a ‘paint battle’ that I found to be tremendously humorous-we just couldn’t agree together. We painted a wall and then decided to stop just to be on the safe side.  We both wanted to agree on the color and if Chris wasn’t pleased then I wanted to find a compromise.  So lighter, and softer we went down to a ‘Grassy Mist’ I believe it was called and Chris picked it up after work on Tuesday.

 I went to teach my last yoga class that evening until Autumn’s arrival ( which had a rockin’ 10 students) and came home to this.

 

I was SO PLEASED! Instantly when I walked into the room it felt cozy.  I liked the brighter green for that pop of color but the soft green walls balanced it perfectly and I couldn’t have been more happy with their decision.   It was ironic because as I was describing the dilemma to one of my students (which by the way, handmade these ADORABLE booties)

She suggested ‘Paint the walls different colors!’  And that’s exactly what I came home too. Quite ironic but in a good way!  Lauren is an expert trimmer and did all the trimming on the walls for us while Chris finished off the main painting.  Our goal was for us to get it finished by Wednesday night so that Thursday we would be able to put on the decal that I had ordered from Etsy that I was dying to see up on the wall.  We ran out of paint Tuesday night, so one more trip to Home Depot and then Wednesday evening we completed the last of walls and reflected on our ability to compromise (or rather Lauren and Chris’s ability to think on their feet and make the decision to just go for it!)

We were pleased with the colors and against the dark bamboo floors and white baseboards the green really popped.  I can’t wait to see how the decal, curtains and a rug accent her room and make it look complete!

Feeling Prepared.

Week 29-

While the big 3-0 is next week, I am finding myself feeling more and more prepared with each passing week.  I think back to the beginning of the first trimester and all of my doubts and over-analyzing on when and if I would truly be ready to bear responsibility for a child.  And thinking back now, they were all completely normal thoughts at the time, the unknown was a bit scary and after all, I have very quickly learned there is never quite a ‘right time’. 

It is safe to say now that Autumn a little person that I connect with on a daily basis.  Her punches and kicks are a reminder of how much she is growing every week, her little hiccups have to be one of the funniest/craziest feelings ever (it’s like having a muscle spasm in your abdomen)  and I find myself almost daily staring at her latest ultrasound picture on the fridge imagining what that little face will look like in real life!

How Big is Autumn?

Autumn is reaching between 15-17 inches in length and can be compared to the length of a bunch of celery!  She is weighing in close to 3 lbs these days and while she still has quite a few more pounds to pack on, she is getting close to her birth height which is pretty amazing!  This month is all about the brain!  Her little noggin’ is really starting to form those ripples and those neurons are generating like crazy.  Chris has been really good about making sure I get my Omega-3’s and DHA (aka brain food), hopefully I won’t be sick of eggs by the end of this month, which I don’t believe I will since they always have been a staple in my diet!  Unfortunately now though I order them from the ‘chef’ aka Chris J ‘over hard’ rather than ‘over easy’.  *sigh*…eventually I can get them the way I like them once Autumn makes her appearance.

We had a 29 week  appointment this week and everything is measuring good.  Her little heartbeat is still around 150 and I am hoping because I am feeling more jabs and kicks in the front of my tummy that she is making her way into the 'head down' position in preparation for birth.  Amazing how even though she could have over 10 weeks left she's already preparing herself to make her entrance into this world.  Some days I am still mind boggled by the things I ready in all of the baby books I've acquired.  Several that are on my nightsstand right now:

Running for Two:

Perhaps at this point in time it should be more like ‘Jogging/trekking for two?’  I have really considered it to be a true test of the changes that my body is going through when I am out on a run.  It’s quite a phenomenon when no matter how consistent you are or how good you are feeling as a pregnant runner you will decline each and every week.  Period. Dot. End of sentence.  As I knew from the beginning there is no improving, no increasing your mileage, no bettering your heartrate or picking up the pace mile for mile.   

I am looking forward to pushing myself once again, heading out on long runs without having to sneak into the woods to go to the bathroom every mile and just enjoying getting my endurance back with my newest running partner!  I plan on starting her young! 

Proud to be a Wildcat.

Not only have we been undefeated thus far but K-State took on Missouri and WON!!  So many talk about how this is about the time of the year where we will be doing really good, then we get ranked and begin to falter.  I am seeing a light at the end of tunnel and really believe this team has some amazing potential to make an impression this season!  We watched the game at Buffalo Wild Wings again  and busted out in a K-S-U chant at the end of our win.  We got a few looks from the Florida fans sitting around us probably wondering where Manhattan, KS is even is in the states.  We rocked our purple and our cheers though and walked away incredibly proud to be Wildcats that gameday!  I can’t wait for Autumn to sport her little Wildcat onesie.  Call me crazy but I also want to get her the Willie the Wildcat kids book, my guess is she’ll totally dig it! 

 Wedding Weekend.

 The AbFab team took to Rosemary Beach this weekend to design the ceremony site for Mesa and Matthew's Big Day.  It was nothing short of absolutely GORGEOUS, her desire to have a natural, organic yet elegant wedding left us with more creative license than we could have ever dreamed of and the driftwood arch we created from wood gathered on the beach took our design to an entirely new level.  Needless to say it was an exhausting day, traveling up 3 flights of stairs and trekking across the sand to get to the ceremony site.  We were definitely beat by the end of the day and ready for a day of rest and relaxation.  We're anxious to see the professional photos of the wedding and wish these extremely down-to-earth, beautiful couple all the best in their future adventures together!

Here's a peek at a few of our designs...

This and That:

• Events this week: 1 very big one! 
• Weight gained so far: 21 lbs...
• Upcoming tasks for the nursery: Painting and putting up the decal!
• Servings of 'Fage' Greek yogurt consumed this week: at least 4! I've been addicted lately....
• Flights of stairs traveled on Sunday for the wedding: INFINITE!  Hello calf muscles, I didn't realize I'd been neglecting you!

P.S. How a week slipped by without a pic of the bump I am not sure but I will be sure to post extra as this week is the 'Welcome Autumn' party!!