30 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 30 Weeks

Size of baby: Jack is the size of a head of cabbage and weighs approximately 3 pounds!

Total Weight Gain: Gained 14 lbs total

Maternity Clothes: Wearing lots of dresses and long tops with leggings. I'm trying to make regular clothes work in a size bigger than my normal.

Gender: It's a boy!!! Jack Porter Harrison
Movement: Able to see/feel big movements like rolls and flips!
Sleep: Amazing. I look forward to bedtime!

Cravings: Rice krispie treats, fruit, milk, salty foods, meat
Symptoms: Feeling great! No symptoms big enough to complain about.

Best Moment this week: No big, special moment this week, just savoring our little family of three

I went to the doctor on Thursday and I had gained six pounds in two weeks and two days! My doctor said I would gain it all at the end and boy was he right. Everything looked good (my BP 90/63, his HR 150), only ten more weeks of baking!

Georgiaisms

I do believe we may have the funniest child alive. Everyday she says or does something that is soooo funny. I know I will forget these sweet quotes someday so I want to be sure to "write them down" for memories sake.

 

Georgiaisms- 2 1/4 years old

• When someone "breaks wind" she calls it "passing gases".
• When Granddad was sick back around Christmas we talked to her about why she couldn't go see him and her reply was, "Granddad needs a shot from Dr. Lee (her pediatrician)"
• We watched a Frozen parade on TV over Christmas and when Anna and Elsa waved at the camera she said, "They're waving at Georgia" :)
• When we put shoes or socks on: "Take it on"
• Shortly after Christmas I was making biscuits (I must add they were homemade biscuits! I just learned how.) and she said, "Are those for Santa?"
• Georgia: "Is there Frozen in this TV? Is there Elf in this TV?", Daddy: "Nope, just a ballgame" :)
• "Tinkle tinkle little star"
• One day she was rocking and singing her babies to sleep and she created her own nursery rhyme that went like this: "Go to sleep sweetest baby in town on the tree top Daddy's ready to go hunting" LOL!
• This is maybe my favorite one right now- shampoo is "shamy-poo"
• At preschool last week my mother-in-law told Georgia "You ate everything but your pretzels, eat them and you can get a clean plate stamp". She said, "No chips are nasty Mommy said". Shannon said, "Well they are pretzels, not chips". She said ok and ate them ha! I don't remember the quote that I supposedly said but sounds good to me :)
• Her favorite word right now is nasty. If we're eating something she doesn't want, it's nasty ("carrots are nasty"). If we're doing something she doesn't want to do, it's nasty ("bedtime is nasty"). If we're going somewhere she doesn't want to go, it's nasty ("Georgia's house is nasty"). It's hilarious and we try not to let her catch us laughing.
• Monday before she went to sleep for naptime she told my mother-in-law, "Good nap, then orange pop pop with Grandmomma. Tonight Ma, when friends leave Morgan and Paige coming over to cook and play babies and open presents then eat supper. Then go home, see Owen and take bath, wash up, get out, get wrapped in towel, get clothes on, read story, say prayers and go night night". This was her exact day, nothing was out of order! She loves routine so much, she's a girl after my own heart :)

Ten weeks of just us and Georgia Grace before we become a family of three. I don't want to miss one bedtime, play "supper" or prayer while I'm still a mommy of one. I'm so thankful for this sweet, perfect child.

Week & Weekend Wrapup

Tuesday night we went to Rupp for the Kentucky/Vandy game. This was part of our Christmas present from my Dad. It was a fun and late night, we didn't get home until 12:30! It was a tight game but we won which made us 18-0. Go Big Blue!

Since we were going to be out so late GGH stayed the night at Grandmomma's house. She was super pumped about packing a suitcase! She packed her pj's, panties, toothbrush, hairbrush, Little Mommy book (we have to read it at least once every night) and that's all she needed (Mommy packed her an outfit). She doesn't stay away from us overnight often so it's a treat when she does!

 

We did lots of playing in the playroom this week. This is definitely her favorite room in the house. We are finished with this room except one more storage piece we need from Ikea, hopefully we will make a trip to get it in a week or two. I'm anxious to have some rooms completely finished!

 

Several people have asked me if Georgia Grace is excited about getting a baby brother and up until a month ago my answer would have been not so much. However, her attitude towards another baby in our house has changed and she is all about Jack now! She wants to "pet" my belly all the time and she loves to sing "Rock-a-bye Baby" and add Jack's name. They sent me this picture last week from preschool with the caption:

The sweetest thing ever!!!!

GGH said, "Ma, ma! Want to go to the hospital with me to get baby Jack? I said, "Sure"! She said, "Here he is Ma, my baby Jack!"

My heart could have exploded after receiving that. She's going to be the best big sister!

 

Friday they were calling for a "slight chance" of a "light dusting" of snow so we dressed for the weather prediction. Little did we know that the light dusting would result in this...

 

By Saturday morning we had 4 inches of snow! And it was such a beautiful snow, it coated all the trees and everything looked like a winter wonderland. It was our first real snow in our new house so I had to document it.

I have the waterlogue app that can turn pictures into watercolors and it was perfect for our wintry scene. Maybe I will use it on stationery or have it framed.

 

Views from our front porch
 

We didn't just take pictures of the snow but we played in it too. I appreciate the ones of you who cautioned me on social media about being careful in the snow :) I was extra careful, wore my Bean boots and did not venture from the yard so it was fun for all!

 

This one cracks me up with both of them in it. I tried to get one of them hugged up together but neither had time for that.
 

Georgia Grace had fun but this guy stole the show. A blanket of fresh snow is his favorite kind of weather!

Does it get any cuter people?!?

 

And this one is my absolute favorite. I used my Canon 40D and my Eyefi app so it was easier to capture fun action shots. This defines how he feels about snow. His veterinarian reposted it on Facebook and many suggested I submit it to a magazine. Our O dog is loved by so many :)

 

The snow was almost all melted by Saturday night so I'm glad we enjoyed it while it lasted. Besides church and our cousin Brennan's birthday party we just hung out at home and enjoyed our winter wonderland. Hope you had a great weekend too!

29 Weeks

Pregnancy Update:

How Far Along: 29 Weeks 

Size of baby: Jack is the size of a butternut squash

 Total Weight Gain: Gained 8 lbs 

Maternity Clothes: Wearing lots of dresses and long tops with leggings. I'm trying to make regular clothes work in a size bigger than my normal.

Gender: It's a boy! Jack Porter Harrison

Movement: Lots and lots! He may very well come out kicking and screaming

Sleep: Sleep has been better this week and I've noticed I am getting tired easier

Cravings: Rice Krispie treats, meat, fruit

Symptoms/Sickness: Feeling great! No symptoms big enough to complain about.

Best Moment this week: Extra unplanned time at home to work on our big girl and Jack's new nurseries

I'm feeling very large and in charge this week. Bending over is an obstacle and I may have started to waddle a bit. But I feel good and I'm growing a healthy baby so no complaints here. Eleven weeks until we meet our sweet boy!

Time For Home

We had a good end of the week and weekend with four out of five days at home. We have a snow day and MLK to thank for that! It was a wonderful mini break.

 

I have become kind of a slacker on taking pictures these days but I did happen to snap a few over the past few days.

 

Georgia Grace loves nothing more than for her to serve us "supper" in her playroom. She has a domestic turn no doubt. She loves playing in her kitchen, playing with babies and pretending to clean (mainly vacuuming). I use to sit at the little kitchen table with her but I have graduated to the loveseat we have in the playroom ha! I'm too big for that table right now.

 

Saturday GGH and I went shopping with my mom and mamaw. I took some of Marcus's clothes to a consignment store and then we did some consignment shopping for the kids. One of my favorite shops, Little Lulu's, had their winter clothes marked down 50%. Baby boy racked up!

 

It ended up being anything long sleeve was 50% off. I bought this spring/Easter gown for $1.50! He may or may not be here for Easter but we can still wear it through the spring.

She crashed on our way home and I moved her to the couch where she slept another hour.
 

Saturday night I had my first craving that required dropping everything and going to the store to get it. That never happened when I was pregnant with Georgia. Marcus went and bought the ingredients and my sister Paige who was over visiting made me rice krispie treats. They were perfect! I ate half the pan.
 

Monday my free insurance-covered breast pump arrived! I still have mine from Georgia but I used it so much I'm sure it's on its last leg. I'm glad insurance companies have come on board with encouraging moms to breastfeed.
 

And a spring like day in January is meant for playing outside in the new playhouse and crossing house projects off the list. We're almost finished with our big girl's nursery, playroom and kitchen! Grandmomma made her curtains (they are actually this duvet cover from Ikea) and is currently making a piece in the middle between the two drapes. I love them! More pictures of the rooms to come.

We're headed to Lexington tonight for the UK game and baby girl is staying overnight with Grandmomma. She was so excited to pack a suitcase last night. She doesn't stay overnight away from us very much at all so it's a big deal when she does. I hope we both have fun nights and that I can wake up in the morning after getting in at 1 am!

28 Weeks

Pregnancy Update:

How Far Along: 28 Weeks (third trimester-woohoo!)

Size of baby: Jack is the size of a melon

 Total Weight Gain: Gained 8 lbs, I'm happy for the weight gain at my last appointment after a slow start

Maternity Clothes: Wearing lots of dresses and long tops with leggings

Gender: It's a boy! Jack Porter Harrison

Movement: We have a very fiesty boy. I thought he seemed extra active and the radiology tech confirmed my suspicions!

Sleep: I have been sleeping great until this week, I'm having a hard time getting comfortable

Cravings: Milk, beef jerky, any type of meat

Symptoms/Sickness: Feeling great! No symptoms big enough to complain about.

Best Moment this week: 4D ultrasound that revealed a handsome, healthy baby boy!

Tuesday was a big day. I had my 4D ultrasound, glucose test and prenatal checkup. I was a tired momma by the end!

Baby Jack at 28 weeks<3 Everything looked perfect. Measurements were great, his heart beat was strong and he seems like a very limber little guy. His lips look extra pouty and his head and feet are big. I'm measuring about a week early but my doctor (or myself) isn't concerned so the DD remains at 4/12/15.

The money shot! :) My old colleague/friend Miranda did our ultrasound and left some clever notes on our pictures.

We also have a stubborn boy as it took about an hour and me laying in multiple positions to get a profile and face image! He is head down face down and wasn't budging. Is this a sign for the future?!?

After that it was off to the lab for the one hour glucose test. This stuff gets a bad rap but I really don't think it's that bad. I just sucked it up and chugged it (well, chugging for me!). And I passed! Big relief.

Finally, it was on to the doctor's office for my checkup (all three events were in three different areas but all under one roof so that was nice). BP 100/62 (my normal), gained 3 more pounds, requested a prescription for my free insurance-covered Medela breast pump and scheduled my next appointment at the end of the month meaning I will be going every two weeks now. I left feeling very excited and all those end of the pregnancy thoughts came back. Somedays I just have to pinch myself that we are already this far!

So thankful for our healthy, perfect son. God is good! 

Homebodies

With the new year upon us, we are busy bees getting things ready for our spring baby. He is due exactly three months from today and we were so much farther on the nursery, wardrobe, etc. with Georgia Grace. The good news is with your second child, even though it's different genders and seasons for us, you still have a head start on some baby gear and accessories so our list of things we need isn't quite as long (it's still plenty long though!).

 

This weekend we made Jack's need list, assembled some pieces for our playroom and designed the layout for the nursery. Still no final decision on wall treatment and some pieces of furniture but we're getting there. 

 

Friday night Georgia Grace went to the high school basketball game with my cousin Payton while we stayed home and worked on these. It was nice to cross some things off the to-do list. I can' t wait to get the other piece to go with these and finish our playroom storage!

 

This week we also celebrated my Dad's birthday by having dinner and cake for him at our house and watching the UK game. Sadly the next two days our friend Sophie, myself, my Dad and my brother-in-law all came down with the stomach virus (round two for me). It was only 24 hours this time so I wasn't down long but yuck it was miserable. I want to live in a bubble until April!!

In more baby news, Jacks' bedding came in this week! We wanted soft, muted colors (baby blue, whites, neutrals) with texture and when I saw this I knew it was the one. We bought it from Restoration Hardware when they ran their big baby sale last week. No crib to put it in yet but it sure looks pretty laying in the box in his nursery :) 

This weekend we did very little but we did manage to leave the house Saturday to go to my Mom's to watch the Kentucky game. Sister girl decided Daddy needed his hair dried too so the roles reversed. And I love how Jack snuck into this picture :)
 

The rest of the weekend we spent a lot of time in the playroom with these two. Wherever we are in the house Owen is with us and in the middle of the action! We did manage to get out and go to church and lunch on Sunday but the rest of the time we were just happy homebodies.

 

And I wanted to share two videos of our singing star doing her thing! She LOVES loves to sing. My favorite part of the ABC's is the "Q" and she knows Hush Little Baby better than me! Be still my heart.

 

25-27 Weeks

Three weeks in one post, that's how we're rolling these days :) I blame it on the holidays.

 

25 weeks pregnant on December 25th<3

 

 

26 weeks

 27 weeks (hello morning face!)
 

Pregnancy Update:

How Far Along: 27 Weeks

Size of baby: Jack is the size of an eggplant (that seems big to me!)

Total Weight Gain: Gained 5 pounds total, at this point with Georgia I had gained 11 pounds. My doctor is confident I'm a marathon runner this time and will kick in at the end lol!

Maternity Clothes: Fleece-lined leggings and rubberbanded pants if I'm not wearing a dress. I got some super cheap maternity Gap blouses and a dress this past weekend that will help get me through the rest of the pregnancy

Gender: It's a boy!!! Jack Porter Harrison.

Movement: Very big movements that earns my full attention, he's already a show dog :) Already seeing my belly roll and can see simultaneous movements so kicking and punching going on in there. 

Sleep: Sleeping great!

Cravings: Milk, beef jerky, any type of meat

Symptoms/Sickness: I feel great! No symptoms big enough to complain about.

Best Moment this week: Finding furniture and ordering bedding for his nursery. I can't wait to have it all put together!

Next Tuesday is the BIG appointment-final anatomy scan, glucose test and regular ob-gyn checkup. It will be a full day of Jack and I'm so excited. The reality of how quickly his due date is approaching hit me this week as we entered the new calendar year. It still felt distant when we were in 2014.

And because comparisons are fun here I am at 26 weeks with both babies. Definitely bigger this time as far as belly goes. I feel bigger this time too.

 

Hopefully I will be back next week with week 28 :)

   

Ikea

Furnishing our home has been one of the most fun things and one of the most time consuming things I've ever done. I get cold feet sometimes when we are making big purchases so I usually have to "sleep on it" before I can make a decision. Also, we went from 900 square feet to over 3,000 so there is not one room that didn't need some type of new furnishings to make it functional.

 

So far we have just gradually filled it as we find things. That's the way I wanted to do it rather than just going out and buying items just because we needed it. We are still using sconce light boxes as night stands! We tend to have a more traditional, classic style as opposed to modern so it's harder to find those coveted pieces (within our budget).

 

When I first heard about Ikea years ago I had in my head an european, modern, dinky apartment furniture selling store that did not fit my style. And maybe it did start out more in that market but perusing Pinterest over the past several months I learned that Ikea was way more than high gloss apartment furniture.

 

So we decided to take a trip after Christmas to find some furniture and home goods for the house. Our closest Ikea is in Cincinnati (actually West Chester)!  I had searched the website and Pinterest and had a list of things I wanted to look for, and we got tips from a few people who had been before so we were ready for the journey. 

Since we were in the area we stopped at the Gap Clearance store in Hebron, Ky. I went to this store for the first time in 2011 pre-babies and bought about 50 wooden child-size hangers for 10 cents each! I kick myself now for not buying everyone they had because they no longer carry them  :( I found some great maternity deals and a few things for the babes, Marcus found a few things too so it was a good stop for us.

 

And then it was on to Ikea!

 

We just so happened to be there for "Ikea Family Week" and if you spent $100 your food in their restaurant was free (you gave the associate your restaurant receipt and they deducted it from your store receipt). Granted this was pretty much warm cafeteria food but it was free so no complaints here! We actually ate twice :)

 

Five hours later we had our loot and were ready to head back to Kentucky. Marcus took this picture and I didn't realize you couldn't see the pallet, it's full as well hidden behind the cart. And we couldn't get everything in this trip because some items were out of stock so I get to go back! :)

Here's a better view of the haul. Still shocked it all fit in our RX300 and neither of us had to ride on the luggage rack home :)

So what all did we get? Here is a little preview. 

This is probably my favorite piece. We will use it as an armoire wardrobe in Jack's nursery. We decided to go with white furniture for him and I love it!


We bought three pieces of the Kallax series for a playroom storage unit we are building. These pieces are great because you can mix and match them to meet the needs of your room. They have four options for bins-baskets, cloth bins, doors or drawers. We went with baskets but since we are going back we will see if we like them first and may change our minds.


We bought this dresser for Jack's nursery that we will use as a changing table. His room is a big size for a nursery so we opted for a longer piece that will give us extra storage and changing space.

That's about half of the furniture plus we bought textiles for the house. We thought after we went through the showroom we were finished shopping and all we had left was to pick up our items in the warehouse. Wrong! Half of the bottom floor of Ikea was more sections to shop in. It's the store that never ends.

Finally, we checked out and loaded up (everything fit to our delight). We stopped for some Mellow Mushroom and headed home. My Mom and Gran Stan kept Georgia Grace for us so we didn't have to put her through the shopathon.

The next day I immediately started working on the $1.99 white 8 1/2 x 11 frames I bought. I put some of Georgia's artwork in them and a letter and colored picture from Fitsum, our Compassion child, and will hang them on the walls in the playroom. They're really easy to disassemble so I can change the artwork out as she brings more things home.

We haven't tackled the furniture yet. I have a sweet, awesome husband that is willing to put all of it together! He will earn a jewel in his crown after he gets it all finished. As I mentioned in my last post, we have made a schedule of the rooms we hope to complete each month. First up is the kid's spaces so lots of furniture assembling evenings are in our future. As labor intensive as that sounds, there's no other stage of life I would rather be in (coming from the pregnant wife, not the laboring husband HA!)

So there's our first Ikea trip in a nutshell. We both enjoyed it more than we imagined we would and even though it's a long drive I'm already eager to go back. Fingers crossed that Nashville or Louisville will get an Ikea someday!

The Start Of A New Year

Happy 2015!

 

I'm resolving to do a better job of blogging like I did in 2012 and 2013. Since we are settled in our new house and I'm semi-adjusted to my new job I should have more time to devote to it. However, the best possible distraction is due to enter this world in the spring so this resolution could very well go out the window. And that would be just fine too :)

 

I haven't made any true resolutions but I've set deadlines so to speak. I would like to concentrate on one room of our new house and get it completely finished each month (obviously taking a break once Jack arrives). I would like to get Jack's nursery completely ready by March so we aren't rushing at the end.

 

This girl is just resolving to get sweeter and sweeter each day :) So far so true! We have had the best Christmas break sleeping in, staying in our jammies, cooking and baking, and really just doing whatever we feel like.

 

She has been my #1 shopping buddy. Instead of staying up late on New Years Eve and sleeping all New Years Day we got up early and went shopping instead! We found some odds and ends for the house and some things for Jack. "Chick-a-flay" was her lunch of choice.

 

My relaxing, therapeutic bathtime is rarely spent alone. As you can see both my babies are within arms length.

 

We spent a lot of quality time with Daddy too. She loves to cook for us and serve us "supper". She has the early signs of being very domestic with her love for the kitchen and babies.

 

We went out to eat a few times. This girl's appetite has increased so much here recently. She has gained 1 1/2 pounds in 2 months! That's big for her and I'm a happy mommy especially when we have to order her two portions of steamed broccoli!

 

In other exciting news we went to visit our newest friend, Landry Faith! She wasn't due until January but decided she wanted to be a December baby instead (I called it!). She is just perfect! We were anxious to see GGH around a newborn and she was so good with her.
 

I know I'm biased but it doesn't get any more precious than these three kiddos.
 

GGH had to split her time between the brother and sister (actually Ace got more time ha!). She learned how to do a pushup and use nunchucks, two things I'm sure she had never heard of before. But her girl world is all getting ready to change so this is good for her :)

Saturday we took a trip to Ikea but that probably deserves a post all in itself. Let's just say it was a long trip but it was a lot of fun and we both said it was a great day!
 

I'll end with this snapshot of my sweet sugarpie. Santa brought her bath crayons because he knows what a little blooming artist she is. She was a prune by the time her masterpiece was finished :)

Here's to a new year full of lots of things to be excited about. Bring it 2015!