26 Weeks

How Far Along:  26 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: 12 pounds (down 2 from last week)

Maternity Clothes:  YES! Thanks to a sweet friend I was blessed with clothes that I can fit into!!!

Stretch Marks:  Just the few, keeping it to a minimum!

Sleep:  So much better now since the chiropractor!

Best Moment This Week: Brians Birthday!!!!

Miss Anything: Being able to clean without hurting!

Movement: He is a mover! I love feeling him, so glad Brian can feel him now! Now I just need to get my mom to feel him :)

Food Cravings:  Hmmm..Mexican and Chocolate- just like before pregnancy ha!

Anything make you quesy or sick: ALL healthy food :) please dont put a salad, fruit, or veggies in front of me! yuck!

Gender Predicition- ITS A BOY!

Labor Signs: None!!

Symptoms:  Tired, emotional, organizing everything!, back pain

Belly Button in or out: In!

Wedding ring on or off:  On- however with the super hot weather, my fingers are starting to swell and its getting tighter!

Happy or Moody:  Happy with some emotional spurts :)

Looking Forward to: Taking our baby classes- so super excited

Nursery Progress:  Ordered the Crib and dresser- once they get here all the big furniture will be in the nursery!!


Braxton is now the size of a head of lettuce!  He weighs in at 1.5- 2.5 pounds and is 13.5-14.8 inches long. His immune system is getting ready by soaking up my antibodies and he is breathing!  His eyelids have finally opened and his eyelashes have all formed.  He can move his head all around, so cool to think about all this!

My lower back pain on my right side was getting to be so horrible- to the point that walking was impossible, I couldnt put weight on my right leg.  I couldnt lay down, the pain was unbearable.  The only thing I could do to relive a tiny bit of the pain was to lay on the opposite side of the pain and put ice on my lower back.  It didnt make it better, but just a little less worse!  So I finally gave in a decided it was time to pay up and go to the chiropractor.   I called my friend who has her own business and made an appointment to come in that week - I did check with my doctor first, and she was completly on board with this! Thank goodness!

Well that had to be one of the best decisions I have made in this pregancy- I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner!!! She checked me all out and did some adjustments- and boy oh boy did it ever help.  We got my pelvis back in alignment and ALL my absolutly horrible pelvic pain was gone, along wtih all my hip pain! It was like a miracle!!!!  My back pain is hurting partly because my back muscles arent strong enough to support me and the baby- thats what I get for not staying in shape- but we are working on it!  She told me to think positive thoughts, stop stressing, drink tons of water, and start walking and doing pre natal yoga!

It is amazing how much better my days and nights are now! Sleeping is back to normal, I dont have to cry myself to sleep anymore or wake up in the middle of the night with intense pains!  I cant say it enough, if you are pregnant go to the chiropractor!!!!

I was also blessed this week by a friend at work- she actually lives in Colorado but we work for the same company-  she just had a baby boy and she mailed me her maternity clothes to have!  It couldnt have come at a better time, I was starting to outgrow all my clothes and we just didnt have the money for me to buy anything else- maternity clothes arent cheap!  When I got her boxes full of clothes I just wanted to cry- thank you thank you thank you Heather for your generosity!  You have blessed us more than you will know!

This was a tough week on Brian-  he had two guys who hit the back of his truck and then road raged him coming home from church Wednesday night-  they chased him down and blocked him in and threatened him- so scary.  I was so thankful he made it home safe and sound without being beat or even worse.  We called the cops and had to turn in a report-  made us think about so much- getting in shape, taking self defense classes, being prepared if this happens again.   My parents were so worried about him, that just messes with your head when you are threatened and harassed like that.  I think my dad called/texted every hour just to check on him (okay maybe a slight exaggeration, but not much).  He sat down and talked to us about how brian felt in the moment and afterwards and how to handle the situation in the future and what we need to do to protect ourselves. My mom was worried sick about him too- but we were all so thankful nothing worse happened!  On top of that, he ended up breaking his toe this week too! So painful and absolutely nothing you can do for it! It was pretty bad- completely black, blue, and purple :(

This week was Brians 29th Birthday!!! I absolutely love planning his birthdays- i love going all out and making the day about nothing but him!  This year was a little harder on me being pregnant-I just didn't have the same energy to do all the planning I normally do, so it was low key, but still had so much thought and love poured into it :)

Early Saturday morning- Brians actual birthday- we got up and headed over to dads- he had asked Brian to come over and help him put something on his truck.  Thankfully, Brian agreed- bc there was actually a big surprise waiting for him!  We got there and my dad told him to pull the big box from the backyard to the front and go ahead and open it-  when he did, he found the side steps to his truck!!!! What an awesome and thoughtful birthday present.  My dad knew how much Brian wanted this and decided to get them and then help him put them on as well.  We are so blessed!  Brian was like a little kid he was so excited- and then the hard work began...in the over 100 degree heat.  But Brian did all of it!  Dad coached him and supervised and checked it all over, but Brian did the hard work and installed his own sidesteps! They also doctored up his broken toe- wrapped it really good for him- poor guy, he did all that work on the broken toe! I was so proud of him accomplishing that and watching him work hard with my dad.  He could not wait to show them off to all the family and friends! 

For lunch we went to a local pizza restaurant with my mom and some of our friends to celebrate.  The night before me and brian had stayed up until 11pm making his Batman Birthday cake-  it didn't turn out too good, but it was alot of fun baking together :)  The pizza was delicious and the company was wonderful- great conversations and smiles from everyone.  I actually had to end the lunch bc we were going to be late to our next birthday stop!  Big thank you to those who came out to celebrate with us!!!!  My mom gave Brian part of his bed liner he wanted for the truck!  Both my mom and dad did their research this year and found out what Brian really wanted and did their best to help him get it! Thank you to both of you- means alot to me as his wife that you care about him and love him like a son!

After that it was all about me and Brian-  we went to see Batman (yes I was terrified to go to a movie theater, but I did it for him!)  It was one long movie, I was ready for nap-  but all that mattered was that Brian loved it!  We decided to grab some food after the dinner and went over to moms and ate with her and relaxed for the night.  I ended up giving Brian 3 gifts:  1 from Baby Girl, 1 from Braxton, and 1 from Me.  Baby Girl got him a new DVD player (we needed one so badly), Braxton got him a private gun lesson, and I got him some new jeans, shoes, and glasses! I'd say Brian had a pretty good birthday :)

Sunday we had his family come down and had lunch with them and my dad and Mikki.  I got Brian a pickup truck cookie cake for this day, and it turned out soooo cute!!!! We had some BBQ for lunch and then had the afternoon free-  Brians family ended up going back home so we decided to go over to dads and hang out and do a little more truck work.

It was a tough and hard week emotionally and physically, but hopefully I was able to brighten up Brians week with his birthday celebrations :)  Next birthday we will be celebrating is BRAXTONS!!!!! Cannot wait!!!

25 Weeks

How Far Along:  25 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: 14 pounds

Maternity Clothes:  Love them!

Stretch Marks:  Just a little bit- hoping to keep it at a minimum!

Sleep:  Not so good- hard to get comfortable and lots of body aches

Best Moment This Week: Brian feeling the baby move!!!!

Miss Anything: Again....cuddling with my husband!

Movement: ALL the time!! I love feeling it!

Food Cravings:  Chocolate

Anything make you quesy or sick: The smell of smoke and stopping and going fast in a car

Gender Predicition- ITS A BOY!

Labor Signs:  None thank goodness!

Symptoms:  Horrible Siatic Nerve pain, tiredness

Belly Button in or out: In- but its getting closer and closer to being flat with my tummy!

Wedding ring on or off:  On

Happy or Moody:  Happy and majorly organized!

Looking Forward to: Going to the chiropractor!!!

Nursery Progress:  Its coming along! Working with Taylor to design the room- hopefully it will be painted soon!


Braxton is now the size of a cauliflower- measures about 13.5-14.5 inches long and weighs 1.5-2.5 pounds.

To continue the story from last week.....Thankfully, by the time I woke up the rash had gone away about 90%- it seemed like it went away as fast as it came on. I called my doctor and let her know the entire story- my nurse was so nice and apologized over and over for how the on call doctor spoke to me.  They wanted me to come in so they could check everything out.  Even my doctor ended up being stumped! She said she had never in all the years of practicing had she ever seen anything like that.  She did a bunch of tests on the baby to make sure it wasn't affecting him and everything was okay- and thankfully Braxton was perfectly fine!  She wanted to go ahead and run a full blood panel just to be thorough and make sure we checked out everything- 6 viles of blood later and I was good to go!

The next morning I had my glucose diabetes testing- I had been dreading this for awhile and when I was doing lab work the day before I watched as a pregnant woman threw up for  a lllooonnngggg time because of this test-  but thankfully I had my husband right beside me just in case!  The drink wasnt bad at all- just tasted like orange soda!  My stomach didnt feel great for the hour, not sure if it was the drink or if I was just so nervous I was going to throw up like that other lady- but I made it through!  The blood draw hurt soooo bad this time- they had to do the other arm since I had just had blood drawn the day before.  It took everything in me to not cry- and even 4 days later my arm is still bruised :(

Later that day I got my lab results back from mondays 6 viles of blood- everything was normal which was great to know that Braxton wasnt affected by the rash- but they did find out that I'm  now anemic... if thats the worst news I got, I can handle that! However, even after all this testing, they still have no idea what the rash was or what caused it :(  I just hope it doesnt come back!

Wednesday was my moms actual birthday! We brought her a cake to work and then that night we all went to eat at Chilis and celebrated together!  I cant wait until next year when Braxton will be here to celebrate all the special events with us :)

This was the first week Brian was finally able to feel Braxton moving- I was laying down resting and he was moving and kicking so hard that it was actually moving my hand so I told Brian to put his hand where the baby was, and sure enough he was able to feel our little guy!  It was really cool. I'm so glad we can both feel him now and I can share that special feeling with Brian.

By Friday I still hadnt heard back from my diabetes testing and I didnt want to have to wait over the weekend, so I went ahead and called in to see if I could get the results-  I talked to my nurse and she said I scored a 109 which was perfect and that I didnt have to do the 3 hour test!!!! Hallelujah!!! I cannot tell you how relieved and excited I was!  Best news ever!!! :)

Saturday, the two girls who are putting on the baby shower asked if they could come over and have a little planning meeting with me- I am so thankful to them- they are putting in so much thought and effort and time into this and it just blows me away how lucky I am to have them. And they are including me in all the decisions- which I appreciate more than they know.  I get to help decide the theme and colors and everything going into the party so that it feels like "me" still.  Huge Huge thank you to Taylor and Penny- there is no way I could thank you enough for what you guys are doing for me!  And by the way...it is going to be so adorable! I cannnot wait!!!

Sunday I went on an orginazational tirade! I cleaned the house top to bottom and started moving stuff and organizing- I thought I was doing okay... until about 5 hours later when my back was killing me and it was difficult to walk.  So at that point I decided it might be smart to rest awhile- well the pain just kept intensifying- I had waited too long to rest.  My siatic nerve was shot.  It hurt soooo bad.  I couldnt lay, sit, stand, walk, nothing- no weight could be put on my right leg at all.  The pain was shooting and non stop.  I figured it would go away after a little bit, but I was wrong.  At 11pm at night I was still in agonizing pain- enough pain that I just broke down and could do nothing but cry.  Somehow I finally fell asleep- and in the morning even though it wasnt completly gone, at least it was down to a dull pain. Lesson Learned:  I cannot do the things I used to be able to do.  Rest is a must!

Baby Girl has always been attached to me, but lately she is waaayy attached- its so sweet.  She makes sure she is always right by  my side and even more protective of me than usual.  Usually when I am getting ready in the morning she would lay right outside the bathroom door the entire time, now when I'm taking a shower she lays right on the other side of the tub and when I am getting ready in the morning, she lays on the bathroom floor at my feet.  When I am eating at the table, she is either right next to my chair or under the table laying at my feet.  Don't get me wrong, she is still a daddy's girl and loves to cuddle up with Brian too- but its like she knows I'm pregnant and is glued to my side. I love it!

And I already feel like Braxton is a little cuddle bug- I don't know how to describe it, my heart just feels like sometimes he kicks me just so I'll hold (him) aka my stomach- I can just feel him calm down every time I do it.  He is going to be the sweetest little boy ever, I just know it!  And if he is anything like his daddy- well then I will be the proudest momma in the world! I can't wait for him to get here! We broke the 100 day mark this week- only 14 more weekends left and our son will be here!!!!!

24 Weeks

How Far Along:  24 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: 12 pounds!!!

Maternity Clothes:  Definitely in need of more tops now- I seriously grew overnight and they are all tight now!

Stretch Marks:  They are beginning :(

Sleep:  I sleep pretty good in my little maternity pillow cocoon :)

Best Moment This Week: Just being with my husband- i love him so much!

Miss Anything: Being able to lay in whatever position I want and being able to get up and bend over without difficulty!

Movement: He is crazy active!!

Food Cravings:  Just hungry all the time!

Anything make you quesy or sick: The smell of smoke!!! Seriously, smoking is the most disgusting thing in the world.

Gender Predicition- ITS A BOY!

Labor Signs:  Nope!

Symptoms:  Hip and pelvic pain, emotional

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding ring on or off:  On but its starting to get tighter...

Happy or Moody:  Happy!

Looking Forward to: Painting the nursery

Nursery Progress:  Got half of the furniture and a plan for decoration!!



Braxton is now the size of a cantelope!!! That just seems so big to me!!!  He is kicking and moving non stop and they are getting stronger and stronger.  His kicks will actually move my hand now and I can feel them on all sides- front, back, and my sides.  He is most active in the afternoon and right before I go to bed.  Luckily, he sleeps when I sleep at night!  He should be about 10.5-11.8 inches long now and weigh about 1.3 pounds!  His ears and fingernails are developed and his lungs are secreting Surfactant- surface activated fat that helps his lungs inflate. His brain is growing quickly and taste buds are continuing to develop!  My uterus has now grown to the size of a soccer ball (lovely!) and my belly is just growing away!! I really think I grew a ton over night.  All my maternity clothes fit perfectly one day and the next morning when I woke up they were now snug on me? crazy! Looks like I need to save up for another round of clothes now!

I am so confused by pregnancy math- it does not make any sense to me.  They say you are pregnant for 9 months and they say you are pregnant for 40 weeks.  Is it just me or does that not equal each other???  40 weeks would be 10 months.  So every time I try to take my weeks and say how many months I am, it never works out!  So for 24 weeks, my math would say that is the last week of month 6 and the last week of then 2nd trimester (1st trimester was 12 weeks, so wouldn't the 2nd be 12 weeks too?), but you don't enter the 3rd trimester until 28 weeks and I have no clue what month I'm "technically" in.....

The bargains continued this week!!!  Because my mom will be having Braxton so much we are setting up a mini nursery in her home, so its kind of like we are having twins because we are having to get 2 of everything! Thankfully, Craigslist has pulled through for us!  We found a couple selling a pack and play with all the parts and bassinet and changing table included in EXCELLENT condition for only $40! Score!!!!  So we got that for my mom and then Brians sister gave us a pack and play along with some other baby stuff we needed.

I also found another amazing clothes deal that was just too good to be true!  There was a family with 4 boys-all who had been born in december that was moving and she was selling all their clothes.   There was a HUGE tub and I could have picked out $1 per outfit or taken the whole thing for $50- of course I took Brian and my mom with me to help- and as Brian saw me falling in love with each outfit and saw how great of condition they were in, he ended up getting the whole tub for me :)  When we got home and looked through it there were over 80 outfits ranging from 0-3 months up to 12 months, blankets, shoes, hats- and there were even 2 OSU outfits in there!!!!  We got a steal on this! and some of them still had tags on them!!!!

We stopped by 1 more place to look at some clothes- little did we know the lady smoked (a question I have now learned to ask)- The smell of the smoke on her made me so sick, I threw up the second I got home.  Smoking has to be the most disgusting habit in the world, and I dont understand how people cant stand it, let alone think it is okay to do around pregnant women, babies, or kids! UGH!!!

I have been keeping a spreadsheet of all our bargains and how much we are spending and saving and its just been amazing at how God has blesssed us and blessed our budget stretching our little bit of money we have to make sure we get things for Braxton. There is no other way to describe it besides a miracle from God.  He has taken care of little Braxton in every single way! God is good!

I had my monthly doctors appointment this week- it went great! Braxton was super active during the whole appt and had a heart beat of 149 with some spikes into the 150's!  I have finally reached the milestone where he could survive outside the womb now!  I almost cried when Dr. Hall told me that- we went from a 10% chance of survival to having a healthy baby that would survive in the world- just amazing to me.  I asked her about my immense pelvic pain- I described the pain as my bone just shattering- as sure enough my feeling was right on the money.  My pelvic bone is actually breaking! Yikes!  So I have to get a harness to wear to get that weight off my bones and she said to start praying he moves up and out, he is just so low.  Ive started moving him myself and that has helped- he doesnt like it at all, but he stays where I put him which is a good thing!  I asked her about the shots the pediatrician said I needed- when I first posted on Facebook about having to get the flu shot I got a lot of responses from women saying they didnt do it and it was optional- however Dr. Hall did not agree.  She is on the same page with the pediatrician saying that everyone that will around Braxton MUST have the flu shot and the whooping cough at least 2 weeks before he gets here and that if they dont, they dont need to be around our baby.  Well that settles it for me- I have full trust in my doctor so we put all our family on notice and me and Brian have talked and are on the same page about enforcing this completely. 

Saturday was a very fun day for us! Brian had his company picnic at the zoo so we went out there and walked around for little bit (it was super hot so we didnt do much) and we went to the picnic and then decided to go run some errands.  He had seen a shirt at TJ Max for like $3 he really wanted, so we went to go get it-  and while we were there we stumbed across one of the best bargains yet!!! There was a recliner that was originally $600 and they had marked down to $199- it was perfect, it is smaller than the huge recliners but still comfortable to sit in and SO much better than a glider! Neither one of us wanted a glider, but a recliner just wasnt in our budget- but this was perfect! And it was only $20 more dollars than the glider we were going to have to get!  Brian found the perfect deal! So we snatched it up and brought it home!  We love love love it!!! I cannot wait for us to be rocking Braxton in it :)

We had my mom come over that night and cooked her dinner so she could just relax and spend some time with us and I ended up finding (on craigslist of course!) the EXACT changing table we were going to buy- only it was cheaper and we wouldnt have to put it together! So after dinner we loaded the family up and went and got it!  It was in excellent condition! So glad I held off on buying it from the store- I was hoping to find something cheaper and we did!

I had been looking for maternity harnesses since I knew I needed one- and I was so lost-  they were so many ranging from like $40-100 and I just didnt want to pay that much for something that I didnt even know if it would work.  So right before we headed out for the changing table, I checked online one more time and they had just posted one in the original box for only $10 and it was close to where we were already headed! Whooo hoooo!!

Sunday was our day to celebrate my moms birthday!!! We wanted to do something fun and active so we planned a lunch at Dave & Busters with 2 of her close friends.  We had so much fun- we were laughing and smiling and talking the entire time- it truly was so fun and I loved seeing my mom so happy and relaxed and carefree.   We ended up spending our tickets we earned to get Braxton a soccer ball and football and then gave our extra tickets to a kid- he got the biggest smile ever when we did that, such a cool moment.

We were sooo excited to give my mom her birthday present- we couldn't wait for her actual birthday.  It wasn't much, but we put so much thought into all of it- and she loved it!! We went with the grandma theme and gave her a baby bag that had a diaper mat, diaper hanger, grandma bib, book of grandparent traditions to do with your grandkids, a water bottle sprayer, and a garage door opener (so it was easier on her to hold Braxton and get in and out of our house)- I think she loved it :)

That night we had my grandparents over to do a dinner at our house for her birthday- but...it was cut short when Brian noticed a rash on my back. It wasn't a typical rash- it was black and blue with distinct circles going from shoulder to shoulder- it looked like bruising from internal bleeding.  We didn't really know to do or think at first- we tried to see if something had just rubbed off on me, but it wasn't coming off or fading with water and a washcloth.  After talking to a few of our mom friends we decided it would be best to get it checked out- better safe than sorry.

We went to the urgent care- the doctor and nurses were stumped- said they had never seen anything like this at all.  All they could really tell us is that we needed to see our OB right away.  While we had been at the urgent care the rash type thing started to spread down both arms- now I was really getting worried.  It looked awful.  So we ended up calling the on call doctor at Lakeside- I have had nothing but positive things to say about everything with Lakeside- but this doctor was not nice at all.  She told me it was just a rash and no different than if my husband had one.  I tried to explain to her it wasn't your typical rash- it looked like bruising and that the doctor told us we needed to see an OB right away and that it was spreading- her response: well, rashes do spread.  Ugh.  That doctor will not be touching me or my baby.  So we ended up going to bed and decided we would call my doctor first thing in the morning... To Be Continued.....

23 Weeks!

How Far Along:  23 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: 12 pounds!!!

Maternity Clothes:  Love them!

Stretch Marks:  OMG yes, got my first ones and I'm not happy about it!

Sleep:  Interuppted by crazy dreams and horrible hip/pelvic pain

Best Moment This Week: Meeting our pediatrician and bargain shopping!

Miss Anything: Being able to cuddle wtih my husband without a maternity pillow in between us!

Movement: All the time!! Still waiting for Brian to be able to feel him though

Food Cravings:  Chocolate

Anything make you quesy or sick: Meat and BBQ- although I am getting better at this!

Gender Predicition- ITS A BOY!

Labor Signs:  Nope!

Symptoms:  Hip pain, pelvic bone pain, itchy skin, stretch marks, emotional

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding ring on or off:  On but its starting to get tighter...

Happy or Moody:  Happy! ...emotional

Looking Forward to: Brian feeling the baby move

Nursery Progress:  Planning it all  out with Taylor...so excited to see her ideas come to life in there!



I finally finished the book The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy this week- I didn't agree with everything in the book or all the opinions shared, but overall I liked it!  The day I finished that book I read the entire book Belly Laughs- again some of the wording, not my cup of tea, but both books had me laughing as I related to all the experiences you go through in this pregnancy journey!

Everyone talks about how awful maternity clothes are- but I think they are soooo comfortable and I actually think there are a lot of cute ones out there!  My selection of maternity clothes are growing and I'm so thankful for that!

I've been dealing with the agonizing hip pain for weeks now, but this week brought the pain to another level.  Not only was the hip pain still there, but on top of that now my pelvic bone feels like its being shattered.  i double over in pain and just cry, its like I can feel my bone breaking over and over- I don't know how else to explain the feeling- its the most painful thing I have experienced.

I was still getting sick constantly at work.  Sitting straight up in a chair for 8-9 hours a day is killing me-  I try to push back on the chair so that I am kind of leaned back, it helps a little bit but not much. About every 30 minutes my stomach will cramp so bad and I'll get sick to my stomach.  Being at home I don't get near as sick because I am able to sit comfortably on a couch or lay in bed.  Every day is a challenge!  Thankfully, we got new chairs at work towards the end of the week, they are so much easier to recline and stay reclined while you sit- I've had the chair for a day and a half and so far havent gotten sick once! Hoping and praying it gets easier from here on out now thanks to being able to sit more comfortably!

In good news, I think I am starting to get a little bit of my energy back! Lately my husband has been getting tired before I am! ....probably because he is having to take care of me constantly :), but I'm just glad I'm getting some back, even though its not a lot, some energy is better than none!  And it seems like food smells are starting to bother me less!

And we got to meet our pediatrician this week! She is AMAZING!!! We went to her because every time we would ask for recommendations or talk about pediatricans, her name was constantly brought up-  I would say 80-90% of the answers were her, and we could see why!  We got to meet with her in her office, she was so friendly and talkative-  from our conversation with her we have complete trust in her taking care of our babys health and we are definitely NOT doing bumpers!  So far between our PCP, our OBGYN, and our Pediatrician- we believe we have the absolute BEST doctors out there!

This week was also what we call our BARGAIN WEEK! WOW!!!  It all started on Friday me and my mom met up with Brian for lunch- we got done early so we decided to stop by TJ Maxx and we found the cutest socks- they look like little hightop shoes- and at a bargain price!

 Then me and my mom went to Babies R Us to look around and bought a few pieces of clothes that were on a half off sale, they are just too cute!

When I got home I decided I would try out Craigslist to see if I could find any good garage sales for the weekend- I found one close by that was selling a bouncer seat that would be perfect for my mom.  So Brian emailed her and she said we could come over that night and look before she had the garage sale the next morning- well little did we know we hit the jackpot!! She had everything! And it was all in perfect condition!!!  We ended up getting the bouncer, bath tub, boppy, extra boppy cover, crib mobile, 3 toys, linkadoos, 3 rattles, 3 hooded towels, 6 burp clothes, 6 blankets and TONS of clothes ranging from 3months to 12 months.  As soon as I got home I googled all the items to see how much money we saved- would have cost us $725 to buy in the stores and we spent under $90!

I was on a roll now! So I kept checking Craigslist to see if I could find anymore amazing deals- and I did! I found a lady selling an entire lot of newborn clothes-  there was about 30 onsies/outfits, some blankets, hats, mittens, and booties- all in excellent condition, and she was only selling them for $20!! Now I wasnt going to buy many newborn clothes because I'm expecting Braxton to come out weighing over 8 pounds, but at 20 bucks this was the perfect buy!

I know it looks like we have an overload of clothes, but trust me we dont!  All the clothes we got range over a year time span so we are still on the lookout for great deals and still trying to get more :)

Yes, I am a super planner/organizer so I already have them all sorted out by month and a spreadsheet that shows how many we have and by type, so like sleep and plays, onsies, long sleeve winter items- and once I did that, it didnt look like we had near as much as I thought.  But I LOVE what we found and feel like we got some amazing deals!!!!

We went to church with my dad on Sunday- pregnancy hormones seem to intensify any emotion you have- and as I was sitting there between my husband and my father, I was overcome with emotion at how blessed I am to have 2 men who love the Lord to mentor and guide Braxton.  I know not everyone has that and not every child is lucky enough to have a dad and grandpa who are God fearing men and will teach him all the ways of the Lord!  Thank you thank you thank you Lord!!!

22 Weeks

How Far Along:  22 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: Still up 9 pounds

Maternity Clothes:  Yep, Im getting bigger and bigger these days :)

Stretch Marks:  Not yet

Sleep:  Always tired, but difficult to get comfortable

Best Moment This Week: 4th of July!!!

Miss Anything: Having energy

Movement: .Yep, he's even got hiccups!

Food Cravings:  Really just mexican and hot dogs....

Anything make you quesy or sick: Meat and BBQ

Gender Predicition- ITS A BOY!

Labor Signs:  Nope!

Symptoms:  Horrible hip pain, tiredness, itchy skin

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding ring on or off:  On

Happy or Moody:  Happy!

Looking Forward to: Meeting our pediatrician

Nursery Progress: Cleaned out and ready to move in some furniture

 Baby is now the size of a PAPAYA!!!!  Baby should be about 10-12 inches long and weigh between 12-21 oz- Im guessing Braxton is on the big side of both those :)  He should be sleeping in cycles by now- about 12-14 hours per day.  The pancreas is now making its own hormones for his body and brain.  His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and hes developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums.  His eyes have formed, but they still don't have a color yet.

Braxton is sitting so low in my belly I feel like he is just shoving my hip bones apart.  It hurts so incredibly bad- I will just sit and moan and cry in pain, I have never felt anything like it.  I literally feel like I'm on a torture machine that is pulling my body apart by the hip bones.  I also have to be reclined at all times.  If I sit up straight or lean forward to eat (like on a table) I get sick immediately.  The doctors ran some tests to make sure that I wasn't getting sick from something else, but turns out he is just so low that if I'm not constantly reclined, it puts pressure on him, which puts pressure on me, and by the way he is positioned, voila- I'm sick.

This week was a fun week with all sides of our family!  We started the week off having a double birthday party (for our brother Chris and nephew Tyler) and 4th of July cookout at our brother and sister in laws house.  My whole dads side of the family was there- It was so fun- there were a ton of people there and the food was amazing.  Of course Brian ended up playing in the yard with the kids most of the time- cutest thing ever to watch :)  once the sun went down, it was time for fireworks!!!! Those boys had a TON of them!  We ended up leaving around ten, I couldn't make it any longer- and they were still going strong! 

The next day, on the actual 4th of July we drove up to Cushing for the first half of the day to see Brians family. We ate and then Brian and Austin played on the slip and slide together. I tried to warn Brian....everytime he does something like this he ends up hurt (aka sliding on the bases with the twins, tumbling down the slide at the party..) but he reassured me he would be okay........ and for the next week.... he was hurt.  But hey, at least Austin had some one to play with him and they were both happy.

After Cushing, we headed back home and spent the evening with my mom and grandparents.  We got KFC for dinner and then we all played UNO- it was soooo fun!!! We all won at least one round...well almost all...haha! :)   It was finally firework time!!! We loaded up the truck with a matress, the dog, and me Brian and Millie and headed out to UCO to watch!  Thats the best way to ever watch fireworks- we got to lean back or laydown and just enjoy the night being with family.  I absolutely loved it!

Yes, we have 3 sides of family to visit for every holiday-  makes it rushed and busy for us, especially being pregnant!- but we love seeing everyone!  This will definitely change once the baby comes though- holidays will be spent at home creating memories instead of rushing around, but then again, I'm sure a lot of things will change when lil Braxton comes into our lives :) CANT WAIT!

We decided to go garage sale-ing this weekend, it would be the first time we were able to go knowing we are having a boy, so we met up with grandma millie, had the dog and all of us in the truck and made a morning out of it- there have been massive neighborhood sales and great deals the past few weeks- but of course, the weekend we were ready to buy, there weren't many to go too- but we still found some super cute baby clothes, books, maternity clothes, and some work clothes for Brian.   I'd say it was still a success :)

Sunday was my grandparents 62 year wedding anniversary!  Thats just amazing to me, and even more amazing they are still so in love.  They always sit by each other, they hold hands, they flirt, and they still give each other kisses all the time.  Its such a blessing to see a marriage last and not only last, but true love last.

I love you so much Brian and I can't wait for this next chapter in our lives :) xoxoxo!!!

21 Weeks!

How Far Along:  21 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: Still up 9 pounds

Maternity Clothes:  Oh yes!  Thanks to my mom  I got some summer clothes!

Stretch Marks:  Not yet

Sleep:  Always tired, but difficult to get comfortable

Best Moment This Week: Gender Reveal  Party and registering

Miss Anything: having energy

Movement: .He's starting to move more and more! I feel him all the time now!

Food Cravings:  Nothing lately

Anything make you quesy or sick:Meat and BBQ

Gender Predicition- ITS A BOY!

Labor Signs:  Nope!

Symptoms:  Just the usual!

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding ring on or off:  On

Happy or Moody:  Happy!

Looking Forward to: Getting the nursery set up!

Nursery Progress: Cleaned out and ready to move in some furniture


Braxton is now the size of a Pomegranate!  He is kicking more and more- Brian still cant feel it from the outside, but I'm feeling him constantly!

After our gender reveal party and finding out we're having  a baby boy, I could not wait to go start our registry!!!  So me, Brian, and my mom made a whole day date out of it!  It was sooooo much fun for all of us.  We registered at 2 different places- Brian was in charge of the gun, so Ill have to make sure I go look at any "surprise" items he put on there :)

Brian and my mom even snuck in a little surprise on me- in between places my mom said she needed to stop by the mall- and they surprised me with a pedicure!!! I was so shocked and so happy- those two are so sneaky!   My mom even bought me some much needed summer maternity clothes so that I could be comfortable in this hot hot weather!  I gotta say, I am the luckiest pregnant woman ever to have those two!