Adventures in La La Land

It's that time of year again! I started this tradition of doing a daily activity leading up to Christmas when Lucy was 2 years old, and we love it so much that I've kept it up. Of course, I always wait until the last day of November to get everything together. This year is no exception. Haha. On top of the Advent Activities, I'm trying something new this year and making my own little devotional. I bought the Little People Nativity set last year on super-clearance and decided that we're going to get it out one piece at a time this year. On day one, we'll set out the stable and talk about why Jesus was born in a stable. On day two, we'll add all the animals and talk about what it must have been like for a little baby to be born among the animals. On day three, we'll add Mary and talk about how the angel came to her, etc. I'm still working on writing up the detailed devotional, but stay tuned. I'll share it when it's done. So here are the activi...

With my little Vanna . . . I'm starting to feel big, but looking pretty comparable to my pregnancy with Lena . . . or maybe a little smaller? Definitely whiter! Haha. Baby is the size of a cauliflower this week! How Far Along?  25 weeks Total Weight Gain : Well I gained 2 this week. Officially up 10 pounds. I told you I'd start packing it on toward the end . . . Maternity Clothes?  Almost everything. Sleep : It's starting to get harder. Lying on my side is getting uncomfortable because my belly pulls forward so much - even with pillows wedged every which way. I'm worrying a little bit about the next 15 weeks . . . Best Moment This Week : Seeing him on the ultrasound Tuesday. Movement : Sometimes I wonder what on earth he's doing in there. Jumping jacks? Break dancing? Still feeling it pretty low unless I'm lying on my back.  Food Cravings : Cheese, pop, milk, savory foods Food Aversions : Nothing.  Gender : It's a boy!!!!   Name : Still ...

It is Saturday, right? This week has me so confused . . . 1. Lucy had her first class party at school on Monday. They had Thanksgiving dinner before the party and Lucy informed me that she only ate Jell-o and a roll. Typical. Lena and I arrived after lunch for the party. They had 5 tables set up with different crafts/activities for the kids to do. Lena loved it as much as - or more than - Lucy. Gobble gobble! This was Lena's favorite station. She refused to move. I definitely bought her some of those foam stickers for Christmas when we were out shopping yesterday. 2. We did Thanksgiving with the VanderKoddes this year. I was assigned a vegetable dish of my choosing. At first, I was going to make this: Source It's nothing I would ever eat, but I figured the health nut VanderKoddes would appreciate it. So I went off to Meijer to buy tomatoes and zucchini. Did you know that zucchini is $1.99 a piece during the off season? I couldn't bring myself to pay that muc...

Baby is the size of a cantaloupe this week! How Far Along?  24 weeks Total Weight Gain : Still steadily gaining a pound a week. Up 8 total. Which is right about where I was at this point with Lena, and I gained 40 lbs with her, so it's still coming for me. ;-) Maternity Clothes? Yep. My regular shirts are working hard to get over my belly these days. Sleep : Night sweats are still out of control. Most of the night I'm freezing cold, but drenched in sweat.  Best Moment This Week : The movement - it's not painful or constant yet. Just fun.  Movement : He's really getting strong and moving all over the place. I'm pretty sure he's going to be an acrobat for all the flipping and somersaulting he does. Food Cravings : Pop, sour candy, chocolate, milk Food Aversions : Nothing.  Gender : It's a boy!!!!   Name : Still waffling between those same two and waiting for something better to fall into my lap. Labor Signs : Bra x ton Hicks. I noticed them whil...

1. I don't remember much about this week. You can't wait to read on now, can you? ;-) I do remember that on Tuesday, Justin and I went out to eat with some friends for my birthday. Haha. Only a month late. We all have too many kids and responsibilities these days. It's hard to find a time that works for everyone. But I'm so glad we did. It was so great to sit and catch up and talk about everything under the sun. I love you, friends. 2. We did horribly with eating at home this week. I went grocery shopping, I made a meal plan. I don't know what happened. (I do know what happened. We love restaurant food. I'm a terrible cook. A+B=C.) Anyway, I did get around to making one new meal from Pinterest. It was actually very good! And easy! My fave. Melt in Your Mouth Chicken 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 c. mayonnaise or Greek yogurt 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese 1.5 tsp seasoning salt 1/2 tsp ground pepper 1 tsp garlic powder Mix mayo, cheese, and s...

Today's picture turned out terrible, so here's one from yesterday. Baby is the size of a grapefruit this week. How Far Along?  23 weeks Total Weight Gain : +1 again. +7 total. Maternity Clothes?  More and more. Sleep : Pretty good these days. Can't get enough. Best Moment This Week : Getting a whole bunch of awesome hand me down clothes. Movement : I felt like he slowed down for a couple days this week and made me nervous. But yesterday and today he's been turbo. Loving it. Food Cravings : Pop, sour candy, warm hearty meals Food Aversions : Nothing.  Gender : It's a boy!!!!   Name : I'm not totally in love with either of my top two. But I'm so over searching. Just waiting for something to fall into my lap. Haha. Labor Signs : Bra x ton Hicks. Still not as many as with Lena.  What I Miss : Being able to bend over and breathe at the same time. What I'm Looking Forward To : Meeting him. I've been dreaming about him and getting excited about havin...

1. I had a rough week depression-wise. Ladies' retreat was great, and I came home feeling inspired to be a better mom, to show God's grace to my kids, to dive into His Word. I think Satan decided to make it difficult for me from the get-go. Monday morning, Lucy was being belligerent. I snapped at her before we even left the house. I had to physically drag her to the car. I had to carry her into her classroom, the teacher had to peel her off of me, etc. On the way to school, while she was wailing in the car, I had the foresight to pray and ask God to show me how to respond with grace. I immediately had the thought that I should apologize for snapping at her, then pray that she'd have a good day. So when we got to school, that's exactly what I did. When I finished praying, she screamed "Never pray for me again!" and I left feeling so defeated. I got home, sat down to do my devotions and saw the headline was, "Letting Go of Harshness and Anger - Walking in ...

This weekend was Ladies' Retreat with my church, and I wasn't on the ball enough to have this post written before I left. Alas, it is late, and I apologize. 1. Quick Halloween recap: the weather was horrendous. It was 45* and pouring rain. We all bundled up, stopped at each of my sisters' houses (my brother brought candy to us at our house - thanks, Luke!), then met some friends at a local church's Trunk or Treat. We did their 10 or so cars in the pouring rain - with coats, boots and umbrellas and still ended up drenched. I had originally planned on trick or treating in the neighborhood, but the weather was ridiculous. So we stopped at our friends' mom's house for more handfuls of candy, hit up Justin's parents' on our way home, and called it good. The girls' buckets were full and we didn't have to freeze all night. Win! 2. Justin and I attended our first ever "parent-teacher conferences" on Wednesday. I keep having these mome...

Blurry bathroom selfie from Ladies' Retreat. I'll try to remember and get a picture with the girls tomorrow. Baby is the size of a papaya this week. How Far Along?  22 weeks Total Weight Gain : +1 again. +6 total. Maternity Clothes? I actually broke out some maternity shirts this week. I decided to try them on again and found a few that fit, so I've been wearing more and more maternity. Sleep : Terrible night sweats. Some trouble falling asleep. Mostly, though, it's glorious and I love it. Best Moment This Week : Really popping out. I have a love/hate relationship with my bump. I do think it's fun. I like people to notice it. Right now, even as I start to get bigger, I like that I look obviously pregnant. I'll start to get uncomfortably huge soon. But I'm enjoying it now. Movement : Rolling, twisting, punching, kicking. Still so low. I was trying to get Lucy to feel him this week, and I kept moving her hands way down. She finally said, "Why...

Putting my hand there is deceivingly slimming. Must remember that . . . Baby is the size of a pomegranate this week. How Far Along?  21 weeks Total Weight Gain : Well according to my doctor's scale last Monday, I was up 4 more pounds (+7 total), but I was fully dressed and wearing my tall, clunky boots. According to my scale, I'm only up 2 pounds (+5 total). I'm going with the latter. Maternity Clothes?  Jeans, yes. I was looking back at pictures of my pregnancy with Lena, and I was definitely wearing maternity shirts by this point. But when I try to wear them now, they're just baggy and saggy looking. Not sure if that means I'm smaller this time or my maternity shirts are just stretched out from wearing them to 40 weeks with Lena. Sleep : Terrible night sweats. Some trouble falling asleep. Mostly, though, it's glorious and I love it. Best Moment This Week : Finding out gender! Being reassured he's perfectly healthy! Movement : Getting stronger and...