weekly bean update

happy new years friends! we are officially on baby watch 2012 over here. my blood pressure has been a bit high as of late, so i've been put on modified bed rest until penny arrives. so that means lots of reading, naps, and episodes of lost. really not all that bad when you think about it. i'm hoping she comes all on her own some time in the next couple days, otherwise they're talking about inducing... which i really don't want! penny will be here soon though one way or another, and i can't wait to meet her!

i hope everyone had a fabulous new years eve and that your 2012 is off to a great start. now back to kicking up these feet for me. hopefully i'll have a baby update for y'all soon!!!

weekly bean update

ok little lady... you can officially come any time now :)

boy oh boy has this week got me exhausted! with all the christmas activities, evan's family all being in town, and trying to prepare for penny's arrival, i am absolutely wiped out! i'm taking today to lounge around, drink lots of water (gotta get these swollen feet in check), and nap whenever i see fit. i'm enjoying these last days of "somewhat tired", before the days of "oh my god, we have a newborn, i'm so tired i can't think straight" set in. and now that i think about it, i do believe a little nap is calling my name right now!

weekly bean update

it's a two for the price of one kinda week!

we've got ourselves a full term baby over here. little miss penelope june, you can come anytime you'd like now :)

weekly bean update

check that belly... booya!

and because i found it impossible to find a 5lb honeydew melon in the midst of winter for my current fruit baby, this is what you get...

and for weeks 33-36 according to the bump...

THE STATS...

HOW FAR ALONG- 35 weeks 6 days. 9th month, i've got you in my sights!

SIZE OF BABY- 18in and 5.25lb                                

MATERNITY CLOTHES?- yup, in these photos both the shirt and pants are for preggos!

STRETCH MARKS?- not yet!

SLEEP?- i now wake up about every hour to pee... so that's fun. i'm just thinking of it as practice for when i'm getting no sleep at all very soon.

FEELING ANY MOVEMENTS?- yes, penny still enjoys doing her karate in my uterus. 

ANY CRAVINGS?- french dressing. weird, i know. i've been choosing my lunches based around the fact that i would love to put french dressing on it. 

ANY FOOD AVERSIONS?- not a one!

VISIBLE BUMP?- ha!

BELLY BUTTON. IN OR OUT?- still holding on and staying in!

STILL WEARING RINGS?- nope. looks like swollen fingers are here to stay.

BEST MOMENT OF THE WEEK-  getting through the last big event that i wanted to still have energy for, the big crafty last weekend. from here on out i can do as much as i'd like, but also take it easy when i need to.

WORST MOMENT OF THE WEEK- braxton hicks have started, and they seem to only come at night. yet another thing to keep me from getting a good nights rest. sometimes i actually have to get out of bed and move around until they pass. just a little reminder that we really are so very close to meeting our little lady. they're really not that bad over all though, and i'm sure they are NOTHING compared to the joy of real contractions. i'll take these while i can!

the big crafty holiday edition

this past sunday evan and i toted all of my handmade goodies over to asheville, nc for the big crafty holiday show. i was so super stoked to be a part of it this year. i've done the summer one a few times, but this was the first year i was accepted to the holiday one, and let me tell you, it was worth the wait!

at 35 weeks pregnant i was a bit apprehensive as to how i would hold up at such a busy craft show, but penny cooperated perfectly and the day went smooth as can be. i took all of your basic preggo precautions, drink lots of water, sit and relax at any down points, and be sure to snack on all the vegan nibbles that were being offered up there. no joke on that last one. we started by having breakfast at the green sage cafe which has my most favorite breakfast burrito on the planet. with a green monster smoothie on the side, it was quite a way to start the day! we then moved on to snacking on goodies from the firestorm cafe. they were actually at the show and were walking around to each vendor with trays of snacks to choose from. so smart... and certainly appreciated guys! we got a brownie and a blueberry muffin and each made for a happy baby belly! as if that wasn't enough, we then celebrated a successful day with some chocolate shakes from the hop. we were happy campers...

the only bummer on the day for me was that i didn't get to walk around the entire venue to see all the vendors. what i did get to see was amazing, and it's probably best that i didn't get to browse. it would have been so very easy to spend all of the days profits in no time. aside from that though, it was a perfect day full of crafty goodness, great nibbles, and fabulous people. i've said it before, and i'll say it again, i love you big crafty!

weekly bean update

this is a slightly under the weather bean update for ya as i'm not quite at 100% today...

last night i had a terrible nights sleep, and it left me feeling, well, pregnant today. tired, a little cranky, and just not quite as fabulous as i've been feeling up until now. i'm hoping it's just this one day and that tomorrow i'll be back to my normal self. we shall see...

i'm keeping this short and sweet because i still have tons to do in preparation for the big crafty this weekend, but can i just add in here how much it looks like i'm smuggling someones forgotten thanksgiving turkey under my sweater. i know i'll probably be saying this every week, but really, how can this belly still have a month of growing left?!?! i'm quite short (just shy of 5'2") so i know she doesn't  really have anywhere to go except out, but this thing is getting pretty darn impressive if you ask me. i surprise myself every time i walk past a mirror.

another side note... i've had this sweater since before i was pregnant and i only just found out the other day that you could button up the sides and make it into a little wrap. i think it looks like a funny little belly holder, and i like it!

here's to growing a healthy little baby in there!

weekly bean update

33 weeks... yeehaw!

tomorrow morning evan and i, along with my parents, are taking the long 11 hour drive up to NY to be with my sister and brother for thanksgiving. i can't even tell you how excited i am to be with my fam. my little lady is due just after christmas, so that means i won't be seeing any of them then. my first christmas away from my family... i will be a sad preggo that day! but enough about that, for now i'm dreaming of tofurkey, mashed potatoes, blueberry pie, and quality family time. thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and just the sight of cranberry sauce gets me giddy! so i'll be gone for a few days, but i wish everyone a very happy, ideally turkey friendly, thanksgiving holiday. time to fill this baby belly with delicious treats!

see you guys soon!

weekly bean update

we've got ourselves a squash baby!

and for weeks 29-32 according to the bump...

THE STATS...

HOW FAR ALONG- 32 weeks 6 days. man i'm getting these posts in just under the wire!

  SIZE OF BABY- 16.7in and 3.75lb                                

MATERNITY CLOTHES?- well non of the above outfit is maternity, but i go back and forth. this shirt used to be quite large in the midsection on me, and i actually thought it would last through my whole pregnancy. however, it now seems to be darn near stretched to capacity, so i'm thinking only another week or two for this bad boy :(

STRETCH MARKS?- none as of yet!

SLEEP?- it's amazing how little sleep one really does need to get by. i wake up to pee every hour or two, and i have a stretch between 4am and 5:30am where i just can't sleep at all. i'm surprisingly not tired during the day though. i'm constantly surprised by it!

FEELING ANY MOVEMENTS?- penny has found herself a cozy spot just under one of my left ribs that she finds especially fun to kick. i love ya to death little lady, but you're bruising my insides!

ANY CRAVINGS?- nothing really new, just still loving me some cookies!

ANY FOOD AVERSIONS?- nope

VISIBLE BUMP?- really? do you see the above pictures?!?!

BELLY BUTTON. IN OR OUT?- it's in... but barely!

STILL WEARING RINGS?- sadly no. they've moved on to a necklace. my fingers are like little sausages these days.

BEST MOMENT OF THE WEEK-  it has absolutely nothing to do with pregnancy, but learning to crochet has got me pleased as punch!

WORST MOMENT OF THE WEEK- feeling like somewhat of a pregnant leper at times. i think every first time preggo goes through a period where you realize that the life you had before is now over, and you feel kinda lonely and left out. priorities shift, and though i absolutely welcome this, it's not easy to have your whole life change in a matter of a few months. being extremely weepy and hormonal on top of this is a bad bad mixture to boot! luckily evan will just let me cry to him when i'm feeling sad, old, and large, until the moment passes.

another week down... just a few more to go!

weekly bean update

holy belly batman! 

this baby is growing daily and i can definitely tell! i had my first experience with braxton hicks contractions the other day. it was exciting, and weird, and nerve wracking... but it all means that miss penny will be here soon, so bring it on! these next two months are going to fly by i'm sure. we've got thanksgiving, then i'm doing the big crafty which takes a lot of prep, then it's christmas... and then BAM... she's here! 

and now, as though she knows i'm talking about her, she's kicking me in the ribs and requesting a snack. i hear ya girlfriend... and i'm on it!

weekly bean update

it's currently 1:30am, so i'll keep this post short and sweet!

i wanted to get this 30 week belly shot up before 31 weeks arrived. the weeks are flying by so fast now and i can hardly believe that we've only got 10 weeks (technically 9.5 now) until my due date. this week has been a crazy one. as i've said in previous posts, i decided that a shop overhaul was in order and i've been working my buns off repainting, reshooting, and designing lots of new goodies. this has made me one busy busy preggo. luckily i've still got boat loads of nesting energy, so this makeover is the perfect thing for me to focus it on. i think evan's probably pretty darn happy too that i'm giving him a break from home renovation projects for a bit... i love ya hubby, and don't you worry, we'll be back to home projects soon enough :)

ok now really, i've got to get me some sleep, but i'll be back tomorrow with some more reveals at all the work i've been up to. nighty night friends!

pregsomnia...

it has begun... the pregnancy insomnia that i've heard oh so much about. for the past two nights i toss and turn, waking every hour on the nose, and then eventually have to give up and turn to netflix. i'm currently obsessed with the tudors and it's making those sleepless nights much more manageable...

the scenery, the clothing, the history, and not to mention jonathan rhys meyers... yeah it could be worse. so until my sleep returns to a more regular pattern, you can find me and the pups snuggled up on the couch at 4am, gettin' our henry the 8th on!

weekly bean update

hello 3rd trimester!

and for weeks 25-28 according to The Bump...

THE STATS...

HOW FAR ALONG- 28 weeks 7 days. i'm catching this update right at the tail end of 28 weeks :)

SIZE OF BABY- 14.8" and 2.25 lb

MATERNITY CLOTHES?- indeed! i can still sport non-maternity tops, but the maternity ones are quite comfy now too. the shirt in the photo is a maternity one from target and it's just the softest material ever. super cozy on this rainy day!

STRETCH MARKS?- no sir, but my belly is starting to get a bit itchy and from what i hear this is the time when they would start to appear. bring on the lotion and oil!

SLEEP?- i seem to have a few good nights of sleep, followed by a night of the pregsomnia where i'll be up for about 3 hours in the middle of the night. keep in mind though that even "good sleep" still involves waking up every few hours to pee, or get comfy again... it's all in preparation for zero sleep i guess.  

FEELING ANY MOVEMENTS?- good lord, this little lady is an active one. sometimes i'll get a punch in the side that makes my whole body jerk. it also looks like an alien is in there sometimes when my whole belly jumps to one side. so crazy!

ANY CRAVINGS?- me and cookies are best buds these days. i actually won't let myself buy any to have in the house anymore... it was getting ugly! guess penny's got herself a sweet tooth. that's my girl!

ANY FOOD AVERSIONS?- not a single one!

VISIBLE BUMP?- heck yeah! i'm not even sure if it's still fair to call it a "bump" at this point. more like a mound!

BELLY BUTTON. IN OR OUT?- it's in for now... but we shall see for how much longer that lasts.

STILL WEARING RINGS?- surprisingly yes. the cooler weather is definitely helping with that.

BEST MOMENT OF THE WEEK-  just hitting this 3rd trimester mark has been so satisfying. knowing that i'm able to keep her safe in my belly, and let her grow healthy and strong is a great feeling!

WORST MOMENT OF THE WEEK- i'm been kinda weepy these past few days. i can cry at anything... and nothing at all. i'm mostly set off by songs (like THIS), or movies (like THIS, which destroyed me!). it feels good though to get a cry out. cleansing i suppose.

so here's to another week of pregnancy! it's going so fast now i just want time to slow down!

heart melting all over the floor...

these days one of my favorite things to do is go peek inside Penelope's closet at all of her sweet cuddly clothes just waiting for her to fill them up. it's still so surreal that one day... very soon... we'll have a baby here to share our days with.

little miss penny, your dad and i CAN NOT WAIT to meet you!!!

weekly bean update

oh me, oh my... these weeks are just flying by now!

this past weekend we had our baby shower and on top of getting loads of lovely baby goodies, we've now got leftovers for days... i might be a bit excited about that! i spent the other day washing baby clothes and organizing them into sizes. it's all so surreal still and i can't believe just how soon our little penelope will be here. i absolutely can not wait!

my belly is growing daily, which means so is my little lady, so i say bring it on! i'm also kinda stoked that the weather and my growth seem to be directly related to each other. the larger i grow, the chillier it gets. that means lots of big cozy sweaters (like the one pictured), along with tea, hot chocolate, and soup... hello favorite things! 

early nesting...

welp apparently the nesting phase of this pregnancy has kicked in. i've been cleaning and rearranging our home like it's my job... and getting evan on board for this obsession as well! just in the past week, evan built us a bookcase, we painted it, i scored us a new kitchen table, painted our kitchen window trim as well as our bathroom cabinets, and we hung up some new curtains. somewhere in between all of that i managed to find time to also rearrange our living room, magic eraser all the walls in our home, clean the baseboards, and bleach our back door. it was kinda crazy around here! i'm loving this energy though, and i'm hoping it sticks around through most of the 3rd trimester as well. we've still got lots to do in preparation for the babe... as if we could ever be fully ready!

weekly bean update

no change in the fruit baby this week, but here's a belly shot for ya!

this little gal has hit her stride this week! there is a noticeable difference in the width of my midsection if i'm not mistaken, and my lower back is starting to notice it too! the past two days i've woken up feeling a bit like an old lady, but i think that just means i really need to step up my prenatal yoga game. more stretching and strengthening exercises are just what the doctor ordered!

let me also just take a minute to tell you about the jeans i'm wearing in this here photo. you can't really see them, but they deserve mentioning none the less. did you know that on forever 21's website there is a maternity section?!?! i have refused to spend any serious amount of money on maternity clothes, but i was missing jeans like crazy, and no way could i survive the fall/winter season without them. so i was giddy when i saw these bad boys for just 14 bucks on their site. they seem to be sold out of them right now, but if they come back in i highly recommend them! they're a super stretchy skinny jean, and they're uber comfy to boot!

hope you all have a great weekend friends. the mr and i are off to dinner tonight with some of our newly parenting friends, and it was pregnant ladies choice on where to eat, so vietnamese is what's on the menu! i might be a bit excited about it :)

weekly bean update

24 weeks and moving right along! let me just preface this post by saying technically this weeks fruit baby should have been a papaya, but i was having a heck of a time finding a large papaya this time of year for some reason. so i saw on another fruit baby chart that little miss penny is also the size of a spaghetti squash... that i could easily find! 

in addition, the updates will now be in 3 week increments from here on out. so this here squash is for weeks 21-24. i just can't believe how fast it's going now!

THE STATS...

HOW FAR ALONG- 24 weeks today! that's 6 months folks... WOOHOO!

SIZE OF BABY- 1.25lb and 12.5in (my squash is a little on the short side)

MATERNITY CLOTHES?- pants, for sure! i'm still lucky enough though to be able to wear a lot of my pre-preggo dresses thankfully, and now that it's getting on to cardigan weather i'm becoming much more of a happier camper too!

STRETCH MARKS?- nope! it's getting to the point though where i now knock on wood whenever i have to answer this question. 

SLEEP?- sleep has been a bit of a bastard to me lately. i'm tossing and turning a whole lot more then i used to, but i always fall back to sleep rather quickly. it's definitely getting harder to stay comfortable though. 

FEELING ANY MOVEMENTS?- oh yes indeed! penny has figured out the joys of kicking my bladder recently. so that's fun. all of a sudden i'll have the extreme urge to pee, and then just like that it passes. this little lady probably thinks she's quite funny in there!

ANY CRAVINGS?- nothing too strong... though the thought of an ice cream sundae is never far from my mind!

ANY FOOD AVERSIONS?- nope... and i even got over my broccoli aversion finally! i actually had some in a stir fry for lunch today. so glad that didn't stick around!

VISIBLE BUMP?- yup yup! now other people can tell that i'm actually pregnant too... not just fat :) that's certainly a good thing!

BELLY BUTTON. IN OR OUT?- still in, but it's getting quite stretched out as of lately

STILL WEARING RINGS?- still on!

BEST MOMENT OF THE WEEK- being able to now watch penny move from the outside. i'll just lay down and stare at my belly and watch her poke around in there. it's probably my favorite thing to do now. she's such an active little gal!

WORST MOMENT OF THE WEEK- being so very hungry last night, but too damn tired to do anything about it. i could hardly peel myself off the couch to make something to eat. evan kept offering to make something for me, but i couldn't think of a single thing i wanted. note to self... don't let yourself get to that extreme hunger point again. it does not make for a happy you! 

weekly bean update... x2

last week i was a fruit baby slacker... there, i said it! i took the pictures and then for some reason just never got around to posting them. so lucky you, you get 2 fruit babies for the price of one this week!

first here are last weeks 20 week photos... that's right, i'm now half way there!!!

and here's this weeks 21 week photos!

this bump is getting legit i tell ya!

and this week according to the bump...

HOW FAR ALONG- 21 weeks 5 days

SIZE OF BABY- 10.5 inches and 12.7 oz

MATERNITY CLOTHES?- i've been doing a lot of non-maternity leggings this week. i found a few uber comfy pairs and i now don't want to wear anything else. and don't tell anyone... but i've even fallen victim to the jegging! luckily i have the pregnancy excuse.

STRETCH MARKS?- none yet, and i will keep lathering up with lotion to help keep it that way!

SLEEP?- i've been doing a lot of tossing and turning this past week, but i always fall right back to sleep, so i'm not complaining just yet.

FEELING ANY MOVEMENTS?- penny is really hitting her stride this past week. she gives some really good jabs and upper cuts to my inners. i love it! it feels like popcorn popping in my belly. evan finally got to feel her kick last week too. i'm so excited to be able to share that with him now because for weeks only i could feel it and it's so amazing that it must be shared!

ANY CRAVINGS?- oh boy, yesterday i do believe i had my first really preggo craving. i convinced evan (let me just say that it didn't take much work) that it would be a great idea for us to have chocolate milkshakes for dinner. he obviously agreed, so we got ourselves some soy delicious chocolate ice cream, and topped them off with some soy whip whipped cream. it was vegan heaven!

ANY FOOD AVERSIONS?- still can't eat brocolli

VISIBLE BUMP?- oh yes yes! finally it's a real baby belly. i've even started to experience people reaching out and rubbing it without warning. we'll see how quickly that loses it's charm :)

BELLY BUTTON. IN OR OUT?- still in

STILL WEARING RINGS?- yup, so far so good!

BEST MOMENT OF THE WEEK- that milkshake is right up there, but another favorite moment was taking a nap a few days ago while playing some music to my belly for penny. she kicked a bit at first and then fell right asleep with me. heart... melt!

WORST MOMENT OF THE WEEK- it was totally not pregnancy related, but our shed was broken into friday night! 5 or so other houses on our block were hit as well. it was a real bummer, but luckily they didn't really get anything from us. just having people creeping around our backyard while we slept totally freaked me out a bit. bastards!

weekly bean update

i'm a little bit late with this post... but we've now got ourselves a mango baby!

and this week according to the bump...

i decided to switch things up a bit and add this fun little weekly questionnaire that i found online to each weekly bean update. so here goes...

HOW FAR ALONG- 19 weeks 6 days. i told ya i was late with this one.

SIZE OF BABY- well the website says 8.5oz, but at my last dr appt penelope was already 9oz. so who knows :)

MATERNITY CLOTHES?- maternity pants are heaven sent. not sure why i waited so long to scoop up a pair!

STRETCH MARKS?- none

SLEEP?- sleeping MUCH better at night thanks to my pregnancy pillow, and a mini-afternoon nap is now a requirement.

FEELING ANY MOVEMENTS?- penny is kicking like a pro! she gets very excited after i eat a good meal. perhaps that's why she's already 9oz!

ANY CRAVINGS?- nothing so strong that i feel like it's a true pregnancy craving. certainly not sending evan out in the middle of the night for anything.

ANY FOOD AVERSIONS?- still broccoli. i haven't touched it since getting knocked up.

VISIBLE BUMP?- nothing huge, but definitely looking round!

BELLY BUTTON. IN OR OUT?- still in

STILL WEARING RINGS?- as of now, yes. there are definitely times during the day though when i wonder if i'll be able to get them off. summer heat doesn't help that at all!

BEST MOMENT OF THE WEEK- eating lots of cake at our friends slip-n-slide baby shower. check out the smilebooth fun that was had... HERE!

WORST MOMENT OF THE WEEK- having a minor meltdown when i couldn't find something to wear that i liked... or fit anymore. it happens every so often and i just have to get passed it and move on. these clothing freak outs are getting old!

meet our little lady!

we can't wait to meet you little penny!

and please note the one hand on her forehead and the other on her heart... it's a rough job being oh so cute for a photo!