13 weeks

Baby & Mommy @ 13 weeks

Size of Baby: Plum (3 in) 

Total Weight Gain: Hovering right around 2+ lbs still

Maternity Clothes? My mom got me a few new cardigans so I guess I should go pick up a few more spaghetti strap shirts and skirts... I have a feeling I will be living in them soon.

Gender: Hurry up May 16th!

Movement: Felt a funny, soft, almost "vibrating" feeling where the doctor had placed the doppler to hear the baby's heartbeat last time. I have felt it for several days in a row now...I know it is technically way to early to feel anything yet but this is kind of a unique feeling and I will be interested to see how long it lasts.

Sleep: I got off of my sleep schedule toward the end of this week when my mom was in town, so hopefully in Week 14 I will be back to my log sleeping self.

What I Miss: Being able to somewhat meal plan...I hated it and had anxiety over it before...so its just that much worse now. Boo.

Cravings:I don't know that I would consider them cravings but I want food that has a punch of flavor like something salty, pickles, or banana peppers or something. Bland food is kind of a turn off. I did get my first Sno-Cone of the season this past weekend. The first of many I am sure.

Anything making you quesy or sick: Mainly just when I become too hungry

Symptoms: Pregnancy Brain, Acne (what am I 17 again?)

Belly Button in or out? I would say its in the neutral zone...neither in or out

Best moment: Toward the end of the month it was nice to have my mom in town to shop a bit and hang out with my nephews.

Song of the Week: If You Want Me To- Ginny Owens

 

12 Weeks

Baby & Mommy @ 12 weeks

Size of Baby: Apricot (2.5 in) I personally have never eaten an apricot...do they taste as much as they look like peaches? If so I might have to give them a whirl.

Total Weight Gain: 2lbs- according to the doctors scale last week...at home scale fluctuates a bit below/above that.

Maternity Clothes? Just a few tanks, I have been wearing my stretchy fold over skirts a bunch, they are very forgiving. I have to admit (and I might bite my tongue later)

Gender: I made an appt to find out at 15 weeks...now the "cheap" side of me is coming out $75 to find out 5 weeks earlier... I think its worth it...I think.

Movement: Haven't felt a whole lot this week.

Sleep: Back to sleeping just fine this week. And I feel like I sleep all day on the weekends...I just can't get enough. Oh how I love my pillow, and my bed, or the couch...I don't discriminate! BRING ON THE NAPS!

What I Miss: Actually, right now I am feeling pretty good about just about everything. Except...I still am having a really hard time meal planning unless Ben will be ok in eating just what I have written below under "cravings". Going to the grocery store has become a huge chore because I just don't know what to feed him. Haha

Cravings: Lets Re-title this "Things that Sound Good" And I am excited to say I have a few!! Bagel Bites, Subway Turkey Sandwich with LOTS of banana peppers (with Cheetos), one of my coworkers gave me some oreos today...yum!! AND I cannot wait for the Sno Cone place down the street to open up...that just sounds wonderful!

Anything making you quesy or sick: I have a weak moment every now and then but I am I am really feeling much better

Symptoms: Pregnancy Brain has started this week BIG time. Ben is having a blast making fun of me with the things I can't remember.

Belly Button in or out? still hanging "in" there

Best moment: Wanting Food! Even if it is just Subway...oooo and Turkey Hotdogs with Mustard sound good :)

Song of the Week: Under the Bridge- Red Hot Chili Peppers came on the other day when I was...of course...at subway and everyone in line and working started bobbing their heads up and down to the beat and mouthing the words. We all looked around and just started laughing because EVERYONE was enjoying the song. I hadn't heard it in forever! Love those moments

 

Prophecy?

Psalm 128: 1-4

Blessed are those who fear the Lord,

who walk in obedience with Him.

You will eat the fruit of your labor;

blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

within your house

Your children will be like olive shoots

around your table

Yes, this will be the blessing

for the man who fears the Lord

Ben had really started working on the dining room table, that he is building for our family, so I thought I would do some research to possibly find some good verses about "tables". For instance "the table of the Lord" or something about the Last Supper or some sort of verse about family. I wanted to find one, not only to encourage him as he was working, but also to hang or put somewhere in our currently un-decorated space.

Looking back...I believe this verse was a gift to prepare us for the week to come. (He had been working on the table the weekend before we found out our big news)

 

Here are a few pictures of the table and a few pieces that will go on the table when complete :)

 





 

a. Pottery Barn Benchwright Table we found plans for
b. Same Table as (a.) but with the extensions in place
c. The Platter from the "Ever Grateful" Collection I received for Christmas
d. The Place Settings from the "Ever Grateful" Collection Ben got me this year to go with our future table :)

Side Note: I love the Ever Grateful Collection. There are bible verses written on the platter and dessert plates that I think are good reminders as we sit down with family and get to enjoy good food and company. I am so excited to put them out on display and use them this year!

11 Weeks

Baby & Mommy @ 11 weeks

Size of Baby: Lime (2 in) 

Total Weight Gain: 2lbs

Maternity Clothes? bought my first round of clothes at Target yesterday. Just new tanks and camis so I don't start stretching out the ones that i currently have. Still too small for "maternity clothes" but definitely need the next size up or so in regular clothes

Gender: Maybe at our next appt we will know??? We have the option of doing an extra sonogram around 15wks to find out the gender, but if we decide not to do it then we will definitely find out at 20 weeks, but that seems like a LONG time from now

Movement: Haven't felt a whole lot this week.

Sleep: I haven't been sleeping as well because my stomach and my head have different ideas as to how it should digest my food...i'll leave it at that. ;-)

What I Miss: Feeling like myself.

Cravings: still nothing...although a sno cone sounds really good right now :)

Anything making you quesy or sick: Just random moments throughout the day, but its becoming less and less

Symptoms: belly getting bigger?

Belly Button in or out? In...barely

Best moment: Going to my second doctor's appt. Getting to hear the heartbeat a second time and getting the thumbs up from my doc :)

Song of the Week: Taylor Swift (ANY AND ALL SONGS) I just love her. Haters gonna hate.

10 weeks

Baby & Mommy @ 10 weeks

Size of Baby: Cashew nut (1.5 in)

Total Weight Gain: 2lbs

Maternity Clothes? I purchased my much needed belly bandit, and I can continue wearing some of my normal dress clothes for awhile. I am going to need some longer tanks and camis here pretty soon.

Gender: I don't know, for awhile I was thinking boy just because I figured that is what Ben would want but my thoughts have been drifting to girl lately. Who knows???

Movement: Not a whole lot going on

Sleep: Sleep is my best friend. I could sleep all day everyday and anyone who knows me knows that is just fine with me. Bedtime has always been my favorite time of day, so bring on the naps and early to beds because this girl is loving it!

What I Miss: Wanting food, having an idea of what I want to eat, being happy with what I purchase at the grocery store the next day.

Cravings: Sno Cones sound wonderful...hurry up summer!!!

Anything making you quesy or sick: Fish is really the only smell that grosses me out any more. 

Symptoms: So Sleepy.

Belly Button in or out? Still an inny

Best moment: Sharing Ben's First Communion/Confirmation with Family & Friends. Kinda cool thinking Smalls was able to attend too! (read more about Ben's big day here)

Song(s) of the Week: Hold Me Near- Karla Adolphe (Enter the Worship Circle)
                                    Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies)- Chris Tomlin

9 Weeks

Baby & Mommy @ 9 weeks

Size of Baby: Cherry (1 in)

Total Weight Gain: 2lbs

Maternity Clothes? I need to go get a Belly Bandit or something because my dress pants won't button anymore! Can't wait for summery dress weather :)

Gender: not sure what Smalls is yet, everyone we have told so far seems to think Boy but the Chinese Gender Calendar says Girl so who know ;-)

Movement: I have this stretching sensation sometimes but no baby movements.

Sleep: I have been sleeping so hard lately. I wake up a few times a night due to the crazy dreams I am having but I can tell I had been in a deep sleep, and I don't have any issues falling back to sleep.

What I Miss: Garlic, oh garlic how I will miss you over the next 7 months. My beloved Garlic is giving me indigestion. Boo. Oh and being able to enjoy a car ride, they are especially nauseating right now.

Cravings: nothing really sounds especially good. It's more of a "what doesn't sound bad" thing.
But Ben sure has been craving a lot of ice cream for me lately.

Anything making you quesy or sick: strong smells


Symptoms: Queasy, sour stomach, Very strong sense of smell, growing belly.

Belly Button in or out? I had an inny but is very quickly becoming more shallow

Best moment: My birthday was this week and my belly is starting to noticably stick out which is fun. I enjoyed sharing my big 2-5 with Smalls

Song of the Week: Ho Hey- The Lumineers, and the cover by Lennon & Maisy Stella

 

8 weeks

Baby & Mommy @ 8 weeks

Size of Baby: Macaroni (.75 in) 

Total Weight Gain:1lb? hard to tell

Maternity Clothes? my pants are getting a little tight around the buttoning area

Gender: still some questions marks...

Movement: not a whole lot

Sleep: Sleep is good.

What I Miss: Fitting into my clothes

Cravings: I really wanted an orange slush from sonic this week.

Anything making you quesy or sick: Eating too much too quickly

Symptoms:bloated, UTI (antibiotics for a week, no big deal)

Belly Button in or out? in still...I kind of forgot that it eventually won't be

Best moment: Telling some of our close friends about Smalls now that we have a sonogram picture...PROOF :)

Song of the Week: White Blank Page- Mumford & Sons

7 weeks

Baby & Mommy @ 7 weeks

Size of Baby: Blueberry (.50 in) 

Total Weight Gain: none

Maternity Clothes? nope

Gender: My first thoughts are boy but it might be because Ben is referring to Smalls as "he"

Movement: Stretching/Tugging Sensation

Sleep: Sleeping much better and not waking up for my 3:00am "snack" since starting anti-nausea meds

What I Miss: This week I feel so much better then last week that I don't have too much to complain about :)

Cravings: food? gross!

Anything making you quesy or sick: food, not eating, food, not eating...its a vicious cycle

Symptoms: Nauseous if my meds aren't taken every 12 hours...so I am taking them like clockwork!

Belly Button in or out? Inny

Best moment: Telling our Family!!! It was so much fun to see everyone's reactions. Everyone seemed to be very surprised but very happy at the same time :)
AND
Meeting Smalls for the 1st time :) Getting to hear the heartbeat (see "Meeting Smalls" post for more details)

Song of the Week: The A Team- Ed Sheeran, also the cover by Alex G

6 weeks

Baby & Mommy @ 6 weeks

Size of Baby: Grain of Rice (.25 in) 

Total Weight Gain: none

Maternity Clothes? no need yet

Gender: not sure, we still have quite awhile until we figure that one out

Movement: Stretching/Tugging Sensation especially at night

Sleep: Waking up once a night to make a bathroom trip and eat a snack. I am famished at about 3:00am every night

What I Miss:I feel pretty terrible in the morning, regardless of what I do, the last few days the ick has lasted throughout the day.

Cravings: NOTHING, nothing sounds good at all!!! If it weren't for the severe hunger pangs I would avoid food at all costs

Anything making you quesy or sick: The thought of food, the smell of food, but not eating makes the queasy worse.

Symptoms: Feeling pretty miserable...

Belly Button in or out? Normal, still an inny

Best moment: Dancing with Ben around the house, just a really happy evening celebrating our new addition

Song of the Week: Wagon Wheel- Darius Rucker

Ben's Confirmation Day

 Today was such a great day.

After Mass, Devine Mercy Sunday

The cumulation of eight months of study and discernment led Ben to today. He was confirmed into the Catholic Church and received his First Holy Communion. To say that I am proud of him would be an incredible understatement, I feel completely blessed to call this man my husband. Watching Ben grow in his faith and love for the church has been a complete inspiration to me, and he has truly helped me fall back in love with all the traditions and history of it. 

I cannot wait to see where God leads our family in the future, and I pray that He continues to cultivate and grow our love for each other, for himself, and for His church, in us.

First Communion (iphone photo courtesy of my Dad)

A little Catholic humor for his cookie cake

A big thank you, to our friends who came out to support Ben, it really made the day special to have you there!

Ben, Jenn, Ashley, Kyle

Taryn, Kenneth, Felicity, Ben, Jenn, Mia Beth, Christopher, Jessica, James, Jessica, Hollis, Jackson