Happy Birthday Baxter!!!

Today our sweet puppy boy is 2 years old!! Or 14 years in dog years.... 

Call me crazy, but he is just the cutest puppy I have ever seen! 

Always soooo snuggly! 

Here he is chillin' in the window in Christian's room...just waiting for him to get here!

You'll never believe this, but before hubby and I got married, I actually wanted to get rid of this little guy!!! He was so annoying and messy! 

But now I'm home with him all day every day and he is potty trained and the sweetest little puppy! 

I know it's weird, but he has been my little puppy baby for the last 2 years and now, thinking about having to share my time between snuggling him and Christian makes me kinda sad! I think I will have to snuggle them both at the same time :) 

I don't think Baxter will mind...he loves to snuggle his brother already! 

Such a cutie! 

Monday Madness

{Weekend Recap}::: Friday night we went to Good Friday service at Hosanna! before heading to my hometown, Cornell, WI to spend the Easter weekend with my family. We didn't get there until late Friday night and then stayed up catching up with my family until nearly midnight! Saturday we had Easter dinner with my mom's boyfriend's side of the family and then hubby and I headed to my dad's to have Easter dinner with him and my brother and brother's girlfriend. It was a full day with a lot of eating! Then Sunday it was church and off to Fanny Hill for Easter brunch with my mom, her boyfriend, my grandma, my brother and his girlfriend, and hubby too of course! Then we headed back to Minnesota! Here are a few pictures to sum up the weekend...mostly of our little guy, Baxter! Love him!

Baxter drove us to Cornell :)

But after all that driving he got really sleepy and took a nap on Daddy's lap. 

Cuddling up with Daddy at Easter dinner on Saturday. Rock a bye Baxter.

Me and Baby Christian got our picture taken with the Easter Bunny at Fanny Hill too! Our niece Sarah saw another pregnant lady do this and asked me to do it too! Almost didn't think I was going to have a chance, but luckily the bunny was at Fanny Hill on Easter!

Here he is sleeping on my lap on our way home yesterday. He has been sleeping ever since we left Cornell!! My grandma really wears him out! 

{The Weather}::: After several days in the 40s, Saturday brought rain and cooler temps and Sunday actually brought a few snow showers and a dreary morning...followed by blue skies and sunshine! But still chilly! I woke up this morning to a windchill of only 5 degrees :( Might not be getting out for a walk today, but by tomorrow its supposed to be in the high 30s and even in the upper 40s-low 50s by Wednesday and the rest of the week! Hoping the snow is gone by next week!!

{The Menu}::: We actually ate all the meals I planned for last week! This week we have a lot of eating out planned, so less cooking for me :) Here is what we will probably be eating when I do cook this week:

• Poop on a Snowbank (AKA Shit on a Shingle but served on mashed potatoes instead of toast)
• Vegetable Soup (before soup season is over!)
• Chicken Enchiladas

{My To-Do List}::: I had already accomplished a lot when I posted last week on Tuesday. As for the rest of the week, all I got done was Baby Shower Thank Yous...but those were important! Here is what I'm hoping for this week:

• Finish Before You Were Here Book which I had hoped to finish last week

Other things going on this week: 

• Follow up ultrasound in 3D on Friday at 2:15pm
• Birthplace Tour of the hospital where I will be delivering at on Saturday at 10am

My complete list of things I would like to finish before baby gets here: 

1. Paint the wooden legs of his hamper black to match his room
2. Make a photo book of our honeymoon
3. Make a photo book of our wedding
4. Make a photo book of our first year of marriage...or get it started and up to date
5. Continue working on Christian's Baby Book 
6. Make clothing dividers for Christian's closet
7. Maybe make cushion covers for our rocker glider that is upstairs
8. Clean the carpets...planning to do this May 11th (our next free weekend!!) so hopefully baby doesn't come too early! ha ha 

Hoping to accomplish #1 and #2 next week. I think it should all be done (minus the carpets) by the end of April! :) 

{Weekly Goals}::: I actually blew this goal out of the water and walked FIVE days last week instead of only 3-4! Based on the weather...here is my goal for this week plus another goal:

• Walk at least 4 days
• Read the Bible at least 3 days

{Words of Wisdom}::: I still haven't memorized last week's verse, so we are sticking with that for this week :)
"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." ~Matthew 6:33

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Please remember to vote! :) 

 

Thankful Thursday: Puppy Love!

Sooo much to be thankful for, today and every day. 

A hubby who STILL works for Best Buy Corporate in a job he loves. Feeling blessed that he wasn't part of the lay offs this time around. 

A church that pushes me to grow in ways I would never be able to on my own. 

The Small Group that comes along side me as we grow. Love these friends! 

The ability to decorate a cute nursery for our baby boy...final touches were added yesterday! 

A cuddly cute puppy that I get to be just a puppy mama to until Baby Christian comes. Love this little guy! Never thought I would be a small dog person, but can't imagine not having him!

Such a character! 

What are you thankful for this week? 

Stay tuned for a surprise reveal coming soon, a giveaway, and a 'guest post' tomorrow!

Thankful Thursday

Finding joy. How do you do it? Sometimes, in the hustle bustle of life, it is easy to forget to really slow down and really count our blessings and be happy for all that we do have going for us. Yes, we usually remember to do this one day a year on Thanksgiving, but shouldn't we be doing it so much more often? And what would be the results if we did?

Today at Mommy In the Making, it is Thankful Thursday! A reminder for me to count my blessings. Here are just some of the things I am thankful for this week:

 

Our cute little puppy who is running around the house 

shaking his toy like he is goingto destroy it...and probably will eventually. Toys don't last long at our house.

(Hubby dying Easter eggs last year...he was having so much fun 

and so excited! He is going to be an AWESOME daddy!) 

My cute hubby who is a goofball and makes me laugh and sometimes annoys me so luckily he doesn't work from home ALL day every day :) But so blessed that he works so hard for us and that I can stay home as we wait for our baby boy to arrive! 3 months to go!

This pretty mama - my cousin Danielle! We were born only a month apart 25 years ago. And now here we both are...pregnant ourselves! She is due next week, I believe and I am due in May and we are both having boys! So while we won't be living in the same state and our boys won't be able to go to school together, they hopefully will be close and become good friends like their mamas did! 

Profile view of Baby Christian sucking his thumb. So cute! 

His face! With arms up next to his head. 

And I can't forget how thankful I am for the little boy growing in my belly! As unfun as this pregnancy has been, I can't wait to meet our little man. Love him so much already! 

Well, time to tackle the housework...cleaning and laundry day here. 

What are you thankful for this week?

Monday Madness

Source: Google

Even as a housewife, I have come to not quite look forward to Mondays. While I don't dread them in the same way as I did when I was working, I do know that Monday means its back to work and getting stuff done around the house...AKA "Getting Ready For Baby" which honestly is a little fun too! 

{The Weather} Much less snowy. Traffic seems to be moving along pretty good again. About 23 degrees right now but feels like 8 degrees. Not sure that its going to be warm enough to walk Baxter today. Poor puppy. Still need to shovel off the patio today too. 

{Funny Story} My husband is on staff at our church and works in children's ministry part time. Every other weekend he teaches the preschool class during church. Now that my morning sickness has subsided nearly completely and I am feeling much better, I have started to help him out on his weekends. This weekend was my first time helping. As we were playing a game at the end of the time together, one of the little girls looks up at me and says point blank "Why is your belly so big??" Oh from the mouths of babes :) While I could have told her I swallowed a watermelon seed, I explained in all honesty that there is a baby growing inside. She seemed satisfied with that. Definitely kept me laughing for awhile! 

{Weekly Menu} Since staying home, I have come to realize that "menu planning" in a structured, detailed way is not for me. I enjoy planning our meals, but don't want to be locked in to having a specific meal on a specific day. So instead, I now may weekly menu lists instead. Each day I decide what I feel like cooking and what sounds good. No pressure to make anything. And when hubby cooks instead, he can look at the list and see what he is up for. So here is what we will be having this week, in no particular order: 

• Broccoli Soup
• Ravioli
• Turkey Burgers
• Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
• Steak Stir Fry 
• Fajitas 
• Steak and Sweet Potatoes for Valentine's Day! 

{My To-Do List} My list of things that need to get done before baby gets here is getting shorter by the week, but I still have a lot I would like to accomplish. Here is what I am hoping to get done this week: 

1. Sew our bedroom comforter where it has gotten a few rips 
2. Make a template for our baby shower invites for my dear friend Amy to use 
3. Organize our giant stack of pictures from the past year and a half 
4. Print pictures from the past year and a half to add to our collection of memories
5. Work on our "Before You Were Here" book that we are making for baby Christian 

Of course there will be the weekly things that just always need to get done as well: 

• Grocery shopping 
• Couponing 
• Clean the house 
• Laundry 

{Weekly Words of Wisdom} 

"Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed." ~ Proverbs 16:3 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK! 

25 Week Bumpdate!

24 Weeks, 1 Day 

I really need to start doing my hair and make up before taking my photos ;) Oh well. 

View from the top! I think my toes are gone! 

Well, actually, if I lean forward just enough I can find the tips! 

Size of Baby: About 13.5 inches long and 1.5 pounds. He is starting to do some real growing. Approximately 1 inch and a quarter of a pound bigger than last week. 

These pictures really aren't making much sense to me...but maybe this one is more geared towards his weight this week?? 

Symptoms: 

• It's official. Hip and back pain are here :( And I have a ways to go yet and a much bigger belly to grow. More on that to come...
• I was actually pretty hungry a few days this week!
• Pregnancy brain was in full swing this week....I really got on my husband a month or so ago when he left our gallon of milk in the cart at Target when loading the car....well...I may have left an entire pack of paper towel in the cart. And didn't even realize it until several days later when seeing a Target ad...
• 
  

Cravings: I don't think that I have real "cravings" but instead just foods that I'm into at the time...still really enjoying grapefruit and watermelon. But that's about it for now. 

Something I Miss: CRYSTAL LIGHT!!!!! I don't know what it is, but sugar free drink mixes (with aspartame) are sooooo much better than drink mixes made with truvia or even propel drink mixes. 

Milestones:

• Nails are starting to form on his fingers and toes
• His wrinkled skin is starting to smooth out as he starts to gain some baby fat
• Baby is growing more hair! If you could see it, you could now tell its color and texture. Wondering if he will be a bleach blonde like daddy or dark haired like mommy at birth. Stay tuned for the "Baby Picture Reveal" and see what mommy and daddy looked like as babies! 
• Mommy was officially "noticed" for her baby bump. A lady at church on Wednesday called me out and said "Boy, you have popped!" and I'm pretty sure I never told her that I was pregnant... 
• Went on my first "mommy" outing with 2 other mamas and did some baby shopping! Stocked up on some good sales for clothes, etc for Christian as he grows and grows! 

If you see it on the left, there is a little tie (the one Baxter is modeling below) which we are going to have Christian wear in his newborn pics. Just a tie and his nude little self :) Should be cute! 

Looks pretty good on Mr. Baxter after a long day at the office, as well. 

Baxter can also now sit on top of my baby bump. Its kind of hard to see but he is resting his bum on the top of my bump. Silly puppy. 

Looking Forward To: 

• Our Baby Shower!!! Planning is in full swing! Invites will be going out soon...7 weeks until its here! 
• More baby shopping! Daddy has decided that mommy is more of a spender than a saver like he thought! ha ha However, I am getting some GREAT deals by buying ahead, so my saving/spending can be debated :) 

102 days to go until our due date!!!