Mon Petit Bébé,
I am 19 weeks and 4 days pregnant today. I have to resist the urge to round up my weekly progress all the time. Like right now, I want to say I'm 20 weeks pregnant and half way to seeing your sweet little face, but we still have 3 more days till we hit that milestone together.
G-ma (daddy's mom) calls you Jubilix (a combination of Jubilee and Felix) since we are waiting to find out if you are a boy or a girl. I think it's sweet, but I'm happy to just call you mon petit bébé.
It's been strange getting to know who you are in there. I don't really feel all that pregnant, which makes me feel guilty sometimes. I never really dealt with morning sickness or much nausea, I sleep well (thanks to the snoogle) and my baby bump is all but non existant. Most of the time I just feel hungry, emotional, and chubby. Unable to suck in enough to wear my regular skinny jeans so I've been sporting some great new maternity jeans and a few new maternity tops thanks to friends and family who have passed things along.
However, this past week I have started to feel you move! I may have felt a few flutters earlier on, but they were non-descript I couldn't be sure. Now i'm feeling you flip and jab and roll and bump all over the place. It is so fun! I love feeling your little arms and legs flail about. I would be lying if I said I didn't worry that you are going to get tangled up in your umbilical cord.
The summer heat has made my cravings interesting. I can't get enough of sour lemon or citrus flavored things. Sending me straight to the fruit asile every time I'm in the grocery store. So far the best craving satisfying thing that I've had was a lemon italian ice from Rita's in Columbus, OH. Daddy didn't like it, but you better believe we will be headed back there when we go to Ohio for the baby shower in October! I'm counting down the days!
I love you bébé. Grow strong. We are close to the half way point!
Mom
8.22.2012
8.21.2012
Around the World in a Weekend
Last weekend I traveled around the world with friends. Friday night I went to China with my dear high school friend Stephanie and her precious eight and a half (not nine!) month old Rose Marie. We had grandiose plans of eating out after her 6 turned 8 hour drive in from Columbus, but realized little ones are better served with space for leg stretching outside of car seats - so take out from China Gourmet it was. While the food was much less than gourmet, the company was sweet and I was so happy to catch up with an old friend and snuggle her new red headed darling.
Saturday morning I brunched on french quiche with the franklin vineyard worship leaders and soaked in the sweet harmonies of "God Your Beautiful" while feeling the weighty presence of the Lord resting on and encouraging my heart.
Saturday night we gathered 10 of my all time favorite people into one place...at one time...with no constraints on schedules and we feasted italian style with fresh mozzarella, chorizo, prosciutto, spinach and tomatos on top of crispy flat bread pizzas at Brixx. Don't forget the amazing on tap collection of brews and brownies with a side of late night Catch Phrase for dessert at our place and it can be counted as one of the loudest and funniest nights with friends ever.
.JPG)
Sunday afternoon we tasted a bit of mexico with good friends and their kiddos galore on the patio at Blue Coast Burrito. Steak quesadillas, fruit tea and sunshine - I couldn't ask for more.
Sunday night we had a fancy Indian food double date with Josh's brother Nathan and his wife Joanna who are back from Africa on a year furlough! Back when this bitty blog started in 2008 Nate and Jo were our first housemates! They lived with us for about a year and a half. Brought their first baby home to our condo and we grew to be so close to one another. Then we visited them when they lived in France (days 1 & 2, days 3 & 4, days 5 & 6, days 7 & 8) right before their big - more permanent move to Cameroon Africa. Since then they have had another baby (my nephew Josiah) and now Jo is pregnant with baby number three due the week before me! We spent some time with them a couple weeks ago in Bloomington, IL when they first got back, but it was so nice to have dinner just the 4 of us eat delicious cuisine at Bombay Bistro followed by some yogurt from Sweet CeCes. yum!
It wasn't the healthiest of weekends, BUT it was a full weekend (pun intended) feeling rich in friendships, community, and the closeness of the Lord.
Saturday morning I brunched on french quiche with the franklin vineyard worship leaders and soaked in the sweet harmonies of "God Your Beautiful" while feeling the weighty presence of the Lord resting on and encouraging my heart.
Saturday night we gathered 10 of my all time favorite people into one place...at one time...with no constraints on schedules and we feasted italian style with fresh mozzarella, chorizo, prosciutto, spinach and tomatos on top of crispy flat bread pizzas at Brixx. Don't forget the amazing on tap collection of brews and brownies with a side of late night Catch Phrase for dessert at our place and it can be counted as one of the loudest and funniest nights with friends ever.
.JPG)
The guys all squeezed on to our couch.
Sunday afternoon we tasted a bit of mexico with good friends and their kiddos galore on the patio at Blue Coast Burrito. Steak quesadillas, fruit tea and sunshine - I couldn't ask for more.
Sunday night we had a fancy Indian food double date with Josh's brother Nathan and his wife Joanna who are back from Africa on a year furlough! Back when this bitty blog started in 2008 Nate and Jo were our first housemates! They lived with us for about a year and a half. Brought their first baby home to our condo and we grew to be so close to one another. Then we visited them when they lived in France (days 1 & 2, days 3 & 4, days 5 & 6, days 7 & 8) right before their big - more permanent move to Cameroon Africa. Since then they have had another baby (my nephew Josiah) and now Jo is pregnant with baby number three due the week before me! We spent some time with them a couple weeks ago in Bloomington, IL when they first got back, but it was so nice to have dinner just the 4 of us eat delicious cuisine at Bombay Bistro followed by some yogurt from Sweet CeCes. yum!
The Papas.
The Mamas.
It wasn't the healthiest of weekends, BUT it was a full weekend (pun intended) feeling rich in friendships, community, and the closeness of the Lord.
8.03.2012
Well, Hello August
This is a strange post following my last one, but I'm a ball of pregnancy emotions and thoughts lately. Forgive my mood swings, please.
July was a whirlwind. I found myself traveling less, doing less, and sort of feeling like I wasted an entire wild and sweet month of pregnancy and alone time prior to baby accomplishing menial tasks. I'm still thankful for a lot but this feeling of a thrown away month makes me a bit sad. I've always have an urgency in my spirit to not waste the time that I am given here. The time of much needed self-reflection/relaxing prior to bring another soul into the wide world, but also, just my time on planet earth.
In fact, I have an entire pinterest board dedicated to inspiring words that will give me hope and push me towards a life lived to the full. A well balanced and beautiful Carpe Diem life...if you will. Apparently these beautifully designed words were a momentary muse (at best) and forgotten for the most part in the month of July.
See my problem is not inspiration, for thousands of people are inspired millions of times a day and I'm one of them. Blogging, pinterest, stumble upon, and other creative sites across the internet have made sure there is no lack of the lovely, delicious, clutter-free, skinny, or cute to gaze upon. We browse and feel our spirits lift in a moment of - I could do that, have that, be that, wear that, make that. *Repin*
My problem is action. God gave me a desire to create. He even built in me a higher than average goal oriented personality that is driven and confident and strong enough to be creative (for it isn't a journey for the faint of heart.) Yet, somehow, I let entire months slip by as a blip on the screen of my one precious life.
I'm determined for August to be more. Here are a few goals of mine to try and uphold through out the coming month.
July was a whirlwind. I found myself traveling less, doing less, and sort of feeling like I wasted an entire wild and sweet month of pregnancy and alone time prior to baby accomplishing menial tasks. I'm still thankful for a lot but this feeling of a thrown away month makes me a bit sad. I've always have an urgency in my spirit to not waste the time that I am given here. The time of much needed self-reflection/relaxing prior to bring another soul into the wide world, but also, just my time on planet earth.
In fact, I have an entire pinterest board dedicated to inspiring words that will give me hope and push me towards a life lived to the full. A well balanced and beautiful Carpe Diem life...if you will. Apparently these beautifully designed words were a momentary muse (at best) and forgotten for the most part in the month of July.
See my problem is not inspiration, for thousands of people are inspired millions of times a day and I'm one of them. Blogging, pinterest, stumble upon, and other creative sites across the internet have made sure there is no lack of the lovely, delicious, clutter-free, skinny, or cute to gaze upon. We browse and feel our spirits lift in a moment of - I could do that, have that, be that, wear that, make that. *Repin*
My problem is action. God gave me a desire to create. He even built in me a higher than average goal oriented personality that is driven and confident and strong enough to be creative (for it isn't a journey for the faint of heart.) Yet, somehow, I let entire months slip by as a blip on the screen of my one precious life.
I'm determined for August to be more. Here are a few goals of mine to try and uphold through out the coming month.
- Spend time with God and get my nose in the scriptures
- Cook at least 3 dinners at home a week
- Take time to bond with bébé every day
- Move for 30 mins every day (pool, walk, elliptical, Yoga, bike)
- Soak in one-on-one friend time at least 2 times a week
- Create something every day. (paint, worship, write, take photos)
- Figure out what it means to be joyful. Be it.
- Put the iPhone away. Turn off the TV. Power down the computer. Be present.
Do you have high aspirations for August? I'd love to hear them.
7.26.2012
Good and Perfect.
I'm finding it particularly easy to be thankful nowadays. I feel like the Lord is handing me my dreams, desires and even my self-indulgent wants on a silver platter and His goodness and promised blessing for life is undeniable. I have time galore to pursue music, creativity, reading, songwriting, even organizing and tidying up is a joy! Josh and I have been able to take elaborate vacations for a fraction of the typical cost through special circumstances. And in my pregnant state - unable to savor my beloved wine - food is taking on a whole new level of awesomeness.
It's times like these when normally my ridiculous human nature starts to kick in and I'm sitting around waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for some sneaky enemy to slink into the picture and rob me of my blessing. While I know this is entirely possible and there is in fact an enemy out there, i've decided this time I'm choosing a different path. I'm relishing in the blessing.
I'm treasuring the sweet moments that God is dropping into my lap prior to the craziness I know that a newborn will bring. I find myself more and more often sighing my prayers to God asking Him to stretch my heart and mind to be able to hold onto these moments so I can not only remember them for years and years to come but be able to truly appreciate, comprehend and soak in His infinite goodness in the moment of blessing
I know God is good apart from the circumstantial things of this life and I know a lot of people will think this mind frame is selfish, shallow, or needlessly extravagant, but right now, I'm choosing to praise instead of negativity. I'm choosing thanksgiving instead of grumbling. I'm choosing to celebrate the good life! Thanks God for good circumstances. Favor. Finances. Family. and above all - your abundant everlasting love. Shaba.
Giving thanks for:
My Hubby
Little Bébé
Willow
Good changing table/dresser finds for our nursery
Pretty hotels
Delicious food
Arrington Vineyards
Whole days spent at the pool
Painting with Water color
Songwriting inspiration
Musical ability
fairly cheap car repair
Sisters I'm friends with
Parents I cherish
In-laws I adore
Nieces and nephews galore
Plans for baby showers and trips with family in the fall
Long dinners catching up with friends
Time
Cute vintage clothes
Chick-fil-a special promotions
Mock-tails
My Etsy Store/a creative business outlet
DSLR cameras
Air conditioning
Learning French and dreams of a life
Elaborate displays of God's creation in sunrises and sunsets.
It's times like these when normally my ridiculous human nature starts to kick in and I'm sitting around waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for some sneaky enemy to slink into the picture and rob me of my blessing. While I know this is entirely possible and there is in fact an enemy out there, i've decided this time I'm choosing a different path. I'm relishing in the blessing.
I'm treasuring the sweet moments that God is dropping into my lap prior to the craziness I know that a newborn will bring. I find myself more and more often sighing my prayers to God asking Him to stretch my heart and mind to be able to hold onto these moments so I can not only remember them for years and years to come but be able to truly appreciate, comprehend and soak in His infinite goodness in the moment of blessing
I know God is good apart from the circumstantial things of this life and I know a lot of people will think this mind frame is selfish, shallow, or needlessly extravagant, but right now, I'm choosing to praise instead of negativity. I'm choosing thanksgiving instead of grumbling. I'm choosing to celebrate the good life! Thanks God for good circumstances. Favor. Finances. Family. and above all - your abundant everlasting love. Shaba.
Giving thanks for:
My Hubby
Little Bébé
Willow
Good changing table/dresser finds for our nursery
Pretty hotels
Delicious food
Arrington Vineyards
Whole days spent at the pool
Painting with Water color
Songwriting inspiration
Musical ability
fairly cheap car repair
Sisters I'm friends with
Parents I cherish
In-laws I adore
Nieces and nephews galore
Plans for baby showers and trips with family in the fall
Long dinners catching up with friends
Time
Cute vintage clothes
Chick-fil-a special promotions
Mock-tails
My Etsy Store/a creative business outlet
DSLR cameras
Air conditioning
Learning French and dreams of a life
Elaborate displays of God's creation in sunrises and sunsets.
James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
7.13.2012
Nursery
Hopefully not all of my posts will be baby related. In fact I'm kind of getting sick of them myself, but yesterday I spent way too much time playing on polyvore and exploring laybabylay.com for nursery inspiration. (If you haven't been there - GO! It's amazing)
Since we will be doing a gender neutral room we thought a Narnia theme would be perfect. Not just The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - cold winter Narnia, but all 7 books Narnia. I need to reread them for a bit more inspiration, but here is where I've landed to start.
Kind of woodsy and natural but bright with brown and white as the base colors and green, yellow, and robins egg/turquoise as the accents.
The Narnia map was the main inspiration for the room. It was a special garage sale find that Josh and I came across over a year ago. Bought it for $3 and found out later it's worth hundreds - Pretty exciting! It's much brighter in real life. The lake nearly matches the blue in the rug I chose.
I have a question for other mamas though...
What do you recommend when it comes to a chair in the nursery? Did you find your glider/rocker super important or is it OK to have a normal non-rocking/gliding chair? I really like the green accent chair and think it would be practical for repurposing post-baby, but I don't want to regret it at 3 am 6 months from now when I have to stand and sway to get baby back to sleep. Advice?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)