Christmas in New York + 19 Week Bumpdate!

19 Weeks, 2 days 

Sorry, no belly picture this week. But I have something better! :) 

Size of Baby: Heirloom Tomato. About 6 inches long and 8.5oz. I REALLY don't understand these size pictures....doesn't a tomato seem smaller than a sweet potato?? Hmm. 

Symptoms: STILL nauseous.... Jeesh. Feeling little flutters and kicks lots today! :) So exciting! SUPER tired...but I'm sure our babymoon/Trip to NY has something to do with that too. Having some more round ligament pain lately too. With all of the walking in New York City over the weekend, my hips got pretty sore and my knee. I can't imagine how sore I will get once I'm actually huge :/ 

Cravings: Potato Salad and Jelly Beans! I have been wanting jelly beans for awhile now but just kept telling myself I would have to wait until Easter. AND THEN! Jim and I were walking through a store in New York and BAM! There were jelly beans :) Best day ever!! I was also really craving potato salad on Thursday night (right before leaving for NY and didn't want to have it go to waste in the fridge). But my wonderful hubby brought me home a single serving from the deli at Cub Foods :) Best Christmas present ever! Or so I thought at the time :) 

Something I miss: Have I said I miss clear skin? And feeling good? And having control of my body? ha ha 

Milestones: Getting to see our little BOY for the first time!!!!!!!!! :) Jim and I went to New York City for a little "Baby Moon" before going to spend Christmas with Jim's family in Upstate NY. Since we got engaged in NYC just over a year ago, Jim decided to surprise me with an ultrasound for finding out our baby's gender. We had really been hoping to do this with our Doctor before Christmas but couldn't get in until January 2nd. Jim gave me a card with clues in it on the air plane Friday morning. I didn't take me TOO long to guess that we were going to have an Ultrasound THAT NIGHT!!! We went to the ultrasound and got to watch our little man stretch and suck his thumb. This mama is in love :) We both left the scan pretty sure that it was a boy, but we asked the technician to not tell us. Instead, we had her write "It's a ______" on a postcard of the tree at Rockefeller Center. We then took the postcard and all the ultrasound pictures and looked at them under the tree at Rockefeller Center by the ice rink...where we got engaged. Sooo amazing! Christian James will be here before we know it! Can't wait to see his little face and count all his fingers and toes! BEST. CHRISTMAS. EVER. :) 

Christian sucking his thumb :) 

The big reveal at Rockefeller Center!! 

Looking Forward to: Seeing Christian again at our ultrasound on January 2nd!!! :) Starting our baby registry and getting the nursery set up! So many fun things to come! 

Pictures and post about our baby moon coming soon! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

18 Week Bumpdate!

18 Weeks, 1 Day

Not sure if its just the shirt, but I think I doubled in size over the past week! 

Size of Baby:  A sweet potato! Baby is about 5.6inches long and weighs about 6.7oz.

Symptoms: Nausea is STILL here. Comes and goes and is much more manageable. Can't even remember the last time I threw up, so that is good! Also still feeling pretty tired all of the time. Last week I took a nap for an hour or 2, on accident, at 9am! Still having a little bit of round ligament pain, too. My skin also still is doing terrible. Where is my glow!??! 

Cravings: No real cravings really...I have been REALLY wanting jelly beans, but maybe I'm just looking forward to Easter?? ha ha 

Something I Miss: Clear skin and being able to use benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, etc. on my skin. Can NOT wait for the day I can use it all again! 

Milestones: Baby's bones continue to harden. Baby might also be starting to hear mommy's heartbeat and her tummy growling...which is happening more often these days! If it's a boy, his genitals are visible now! So hopefully he/she cooperates at our ultrasound on January 2nd! :) Mommy and Daddy also hosted their first Christmas at our house over the weekend! I made my first turkey! Here is daddy carving it. It was actually really yummy! 

Looking Forward To: Have I said I'm excited for our gender scan and ultrasound on January 2nd!?!? Can't wait to finally get to see our little bug! And hopefully find out if it's a boy or girl so we can start calling him/her by name :) Also looking forward to our Baby Moon this week! Heading to New York City on Friday!!! Then to upstate New York to spend Christmas with hubby's family. Can't wait to see them all again too! Last but not least, looking forward to using all of the new baby stuff we got from the Dorgan's! Thank you Steve, Krista, Zoe, and Jaden! How fun to use some of the stuff I used for Jaden when I was his nanny! :) Check out our stuff! 

There are swaddling blankets, burp blankets, crib blankets, baby toys, baby monitor, baby bibs, diaper changing pad, water proof pad we will use in the crib, a high chair attachment to use at the table, beautiful wooden puzzles, baby silverware, a soft game of "Monster Bowling" and blankie animals (aka "fake nanas" for Jaden, ha ha) 

SOOOOO THANKFUL! 

Almost halfway there! Can't wait to meet out little bug!

17 Week Bumpdate!

17 weeks 1 day

                            

Maybe starting to get a little bump! 

Size of Baby: An onion! Baby weighs about 5.9oz and is about 5.1 inches. Growing, growing! 

Symptoms: STILL feeling nauseous. Not as bad as before, but its still there :( Maybe I've just gotten used to it. Ugh. Round ligament pain is also here. Coughing or adjusting positions in bed or walking too much and I can feel the stretching in my belly. Kind of exciting though :) Still sleepy too. Not much of a change in the past week. 

Cravings: Last night we went to Pizza Ranch for dinner (Jim's favorite restaurant!). I saw some potato salad on the salad bar and all of a sudden, that was ALL I wanted for dinner. Not the healthiest option, but boy was it good. I would say this was a short lived, craving, if one at all. Still sounds good today but not like last night! 

Something I miss: Still missing feeling 100% normal and like myself. Hormones, I tell ya! The littlest things can put me in tears. Just ask Jim. Last night I cried when he was trying to have us relive our honeymoon. Very sweet of him, though :) I also miss Crystal Light. Who knew aspartame can make water taste so good! I've tried several other drinks/water flavorings, and they just aren't nearly as good. I don't get it. 

Milestones: Baby has mastered simple reflexes now, such as swallowing, sucking and blinking. He or she is probably curled up sucking his/her thumb right now! :) So sweet! Baby may also be getting the hiccups now. Baby's skeleton is also changing from cartilage to bone and can move his/her joints. Kicks will be coming soon in full force! On a personal note, we received our FIRST baby gift! A diaper genie from the Bradley's! Sooo excited about this and sooo thankful! Can't wait to use it for baby!!! :) We also survived our first snow storm of pregnancy ha ha We got almost a foot of snow in one dump! 

Looking Forward to: Gender Scan on January 2nd! :) My family coming to celebrate Christmas with me and hubby this coming weekend. I'm making dinner! Also, can't wait to get a real baby bump, feel real kicks, and have a baby to play in the snow with! Okay, maybe a toddler someday :) Almost halfway there! 23 weeks to go...if baby decides to be on time :) 

16 week bumpdate!

16 weeks 3 days!

A friend's sister did weekly "Bumpdates" on her blog while she was pregnant and it was fun to follow and will make for fun memories, so I thought I would do the same! I was going to post belly pictures too...but I have decided that right now, I don't look pregnant...I just look plump. So once the baby belly really pops, then I'll post the belly pictures too :)

Size of baby: An avocado! Baby weighs about 3.5oz and is about 4.6in

Symptoms: Still feeling nauseous. It comes and goes a lot more now, so it isn't always 24/7. Threw up once last week, but that has really calmed down now too. Hopefully it continues :) Still pretty tired. When the nausea is mild, I can really get a lot done but then at the end of the day, I just want to crawl into bed. Daddy keeps me up with him at night, though, so that means I sleep later in the morning. Also having some round ligament pain. Its mainly when doing ab stuff at the gym or when I cough or move a certain way. The doctor said its normal. Just stretching to make room for baby :) 

Cravings: Pears?? I don't know that I have had any real cravings yet, but I have been really enjoying pears lately and have at least 1 or 2 a day! 

Something you miss: Feeling 100% normal every day. Being able to eat as much seafood as I want, anytime I want it. Wine. Sometimes it would be nice to just have a glass, but then I realize how much I enjoy the non-alcoholic drinks too. I also miss sleeping through the night. I wake up constantly all night long, usually. I just can't get comfortable sometimes because I'm not feeling good, am hungry, or just really have to go potty! Midnight bathroom trips have become a regular thing. But I guess sleeping through the night won't be happening for a LONG time yet :) Unless we have a good sleeper like their daddy! ha ha 

Milestones: We got our stroller and car seat this week! Daddy put it together and we love it! It pushes so smoothly and the car seat is top rated for safety. Should be a good color for a boy or a girl, too :) Can't wait to push a baby in this this spring!! :)

I'm not sure, but I may also have been feeling some tiny baby kicks/movements this week! I felt the strangest bubble popping sensation in my tummy the other night. They say that can be felt by as early ast 16 weeks in first time moms or second time moms can usually feel it as early as 12 weeks! So it could have been baby :) When I pushed around on my tummy more popping happened. I haven't felt it much since then, though. So not sure. Still have a healthy, strong heartbeat though! 

Looking Forward to: Our 20 week ultrasound and being able to find out if we are having a boy or girl! Hopefully Baby Foote cooperates! Also looking forward to nausea being 100% gone, my family coming for the Christmas Concert at church next weekend, and going to New York City with my hubby for a "Baby Moon" and spending Christmas with Hubby's fam in New York! So much happening with Christmas around the corner! And so fun that baby gets to do it all with us :) 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Exactly 20 days until Christmas! I can't believe its even December let alone getting so close to Christmas! I just finally finished decorating yesterday, but I started before Thanksgiving! I guess I'm moving a little slower these days.

While Jim and I were home for Thanksgiving, my mom was so nice as to help me make a tree skirt for our Christmas tree! I may have bought the material and planned to make the tree skirt LAST year...but lets just say I never got to it...must have been the wedding planning! :) ha ha

How do you make a tree skirt you ask? Well, I asked the same thing! Luckily, my mom has made a few in her days and she was a pro!

Step 1: With your fabric folded in half, cut out the shape for your skirt...tracing a previous tree skirt really helps here :) I added a ruffle on the bottom (later) so you can trace right to the edge of the old skirt there, but at the top, you will want to measure a little out so you have extra to make a hem.

Step 2: Let your mom hem the top of the skirt...this is kinda tricky so she is less likely to mess it up :) And of course, pin it first before you start sewing :) 

Step 3: Measure the circumference of your skirt and multiple it by 3. Cut strips (as wide as you would like your ruffle to be) to total 3 times the circumference. 

Step 4: Sew all of your ruffle pieces together. 

Step 5: Pin the hem on one side of the ruffle pieces and sew it. 

Step 6: Sew a basting (not sure if that's how you spell it...) stitch on the other side of the ruffle strip.

Step 7: "Ruffle" the ruffle by pulling the basting stitch to tighten it and cause the ripple effect. 

Step 8: Pin the ruffle to the edge of the main skirt piece and sew it on. 

Step 9: Find a good Christmas tree to fit your tree skirt! And make your husband cut it down :) 

and put it on your car to haul it home...

But first make him pose for a fun picture together! 

Once you get home, pretend that you are cutting it off and taking it off the car :) 

But then let your husband do it for real... 

And bribe him to carry it inside the house too...

And then you have a beautiful tree, all ready to decorate and add your tree skirt! 

Perfect! :) 

To add the finishing touches on Christmas decorating, we even hung our stockings...

Set out a cute little snowman candle thing...

Added garland to the stairs...

And set out our Advent Candle on the table. All ready to burn each night until Christmas is here! 

You may even want to let your cute puppy help you :) How can you not love that face!?!? 

And when you are all done, take a nap on the couch! 

What are you doing to get ready/decorate for Christmas?