Well, Ryan's birthday went perfectly! :) I'm terrible with surprises, and had been dying to tell him what I got him for his birthday since... well... since I bought it!
At Ryan's request, we had a steak dinner to celebrate. While he grilled the steaks, I made garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus with olive oil and basil. Turned out GREAT!
After dinner, Ryan blew out the candles on his cake (Coldstone Creamery, "Cookie Dough Delirium") and then opened his gift. :) The look on his face was PRICELESS! I don't have pictures of that because I was using our camcorder, but it was hilarious. Apparently, he had had a nightmare the night before that I got him a picture for his birthday. All along I've been telling him how he'll be surprised, and how I know he will love what I got him, but what did he see when he opened his gift? A picture frame.
See, I bought him tickets for his birthday. 2 tickets for 5 Penn State football home games, to be exact. :) Ryan went to Penn State, and loves them even more than the Eagles. He hasn't been to one of their games in a LONG time, either. Of course, I wanted him to be able to open SOMETHING, and the tickets won't get here till late July, so I did up a little thing telling him exactly what I got him, and framed it. The look on his face when he picked up the frame out of the enormous gift bag was hilarious, like, "oh... great." As soon as he read it over, though, the look on his face could best be described as SHOCK! He couldn't believe I got them for him. :)
Here are some pictures:
All set up :)
Coldstone Creamery "Cookie Dough Delirium" cake :) VERY good!
Ryan's gift :) It had a message up at the top, the game schedule, and a picture of the view from our seats.
I also turned 29 weeks yesterday, so Ryan also took some belly pictures. The lighting isn't that great, but here ya go:
Basketball smuggler
Uncovered--very round!
I also met with my boss yesterday to discuss my plans for after the baby is born. I let her know that I will not be coming back after she is born. Honestly, I was really nervous about telling her, but the meeting went even better than I could've imagined! She was really, really happy for me that I'll be able to stay home with my daughter... but really, really sad for the company to be losing me. She is going to place an ad immediately to fill my position, and she would like me to be involved in the interviewing process as well as in the training.
As much as I LOVE that I will be able to stay home with my baby girl, this has been the best job I've ever had with hands-down the best company I've ever worked for, so it'll be sad to say goodbye. I let her know, though, that motherhood is the most important thing I will ever do in my life, and she whole-heartedly agreed. My last day will be July 27th.
Well, I think that's all of my news for now! :) Hope you all are having a great week, and I hope it's flying by as quickly for you all as it is for me! It's THURSDAY already! Do you think we could just have short weeks from here on out? That'd be lovely. Hope you all have a great day! :)
On the 30th of May in the year 1977, my amazing hubby was born. Yes, that would make him 30 years old today. :) We were trying to figure out this morning how many birthdays we've celebrated with each other, and we figured out that he was 26 when he met me. "Oh, what I'd give to be 26 again," he said. But you know what? 30 is going to be a GREAT year, for many reasons. Among them? This is the year that he becomes a daddy. :)
So, I'd just like to say Happy Birthday to my amazing husband. My best friend, the one I laugh with, love with, share life with--the one who knows me better than anyone. I'm blessed to know him, amazed that I'm married to him. He's always the best part of my day. Happy Birthday, Ryan!
Well, I hope everyone had an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend! :) Our long weekend was very nice, but I'm honestly happy to be back at work today, because I get to sit down. Yeah, we were that busy. :)
We were up bright and early Saturday morning to get to our Baby Care class at the hospital, which was from 9-12. It was a VERY good class! Our instructor was fantastic, and we definitely learned a thing or two. After it was over, Ryan's hernia was causing him some pain, so we decided to scratch our plans to go over to the apartment and clean that day. Instead, we went ahead and purchased our paint for the nursery! :)
We were able to get one coat of paint on two of the walls before we ran out of daylight. We then got up bright and early (notice a pattern?) on Sunday morning, and began painting some more. We finished around 4 or so, which made for a pretty long day! But it was awesome to have it DONE!
On Monday morning, I decided to go clean the apartment myself while Ryan kept himself busy at home with lots of little projects. Our lease on the apartment is officially up on Thursday, but I needed to clean everything and paint the window seat which Ryan had repaired after Kylie had chewed on it. All in all, I was there for a total of 4 hours.... not exactly how I envisioned spending my last day off, but it felt good to have it done nonetheless. :)
I took PICTURES of our house as soon as I got back. I've been dying to take them for a while now, but I had been waiting until Ryan was able to put up curtains, and such. So! Here we go. :)
Dining room--here's the new table, too; the table top is cherry, with black legs
Master bedroom--still looking for something to go over the bed
Other side of the bedroom
Master bathroom
Guest bath (baby girl's bathroom)
Other side--it's my calla lily bathroom
And Finally... the Nursery :)
BEFORE!
Dark tan/brown accent wall with surrounding gray walls
AFTER:
Newly painted nursery! Glidden brand, "Cozy Light" Along with the new crib :) Isn't it beautiful?
Sheer draperies and "girly" curtain rod
We don't have a mattress yet, but I wanted to see what the bedding would look like all set up. :) The quilt is embroidered with her name, but I edited that out.
So, as you can see, it's a bit bare right now, but we have plans for how we want it to be done. :)
Finally, here's the back of the townhouse. Ryan just hung up our flag on Saturday afternoon. :)
Well, hope you all enjoyed the pictures of our new home, and I hope you all had a great weekend! :)
Shortly after moving in and getting settled at the townhouse, I noticed a great deal of bird chirping, which sounded very, very close by. In fact, they were loud, little chirps, which more specifically sounded like baby birds. "I wonder if there's a nest somewhere on the house?" I asked Ryan one morning. Sure, we're surrounded by trees, but the chirping sounded a lot closer than that. Later that night, Ryan took the screen off of one of our bedroom windows, to get a better look at the front of the house.
He didn't have to look far. There, right in front of his face, was a bird's nest, safely nestled between the window shutter and the stonework of the house. It's a very narrow area, as you can imagine, but sure enough there were little, baby bird heads with their big, baby bird beaks. Awwww. I love birds... especially baby birds!
Yeah. The cuteness factor has since worn off. Let me tell you, mommy birds work VERY hard! If it's after 6 AM, that bird is flying in food for her babies at least every 5 minutes. The babies happily announce her arrival each and every time with their loud, persistent squawking. This isn't so bad on a week day, but on a weekend? Lets just say, we'll be happy when the babies can fly, fly away.
Then, Ryan will somehow tape up the area to prevent further nesting. Sorry, there are plenty of other places to nest!
I had my 28 week doctor's appointment yesterday, which went wonderfully. :) I had the glucose test, which honestly wasn't that bad. The drink tasted a lot like that orange soda you had as a kid, but with an extra kick. Per the nurse's instruction, I chilled it for 15 minutes prior to drinking it, and it wasn't too bad. Now, hopefully the results come back normal so I don't have to experience the 3 hour test! That one, which requires fasting for 12 hours and 3 hours of waiting after drinking the stuff all over again, doesn't sound so pleasant.
I also received my slip to make my next ultrasound appointment, which I then scheduled for June 6th at 2:30. :) I will be exactly 30 weeks that day, so that was the soonest I could schedule it for. I can't wait to see how big she has gotten in the last 12 weeks!
Okay, GUESS WHAT. You probably won't guess, just as we hadn't, but....
WE HAVE OUR CRIB!!!!!!!
My amazing parents surprised us with it on Wednesday night! :) My Mom had invited us over last minute for dinner, (BBQ chicken.. yummm) and then, lo and behold, it was waiting for us in the garage. :) We were so excited about it that we went ahead and put it together that night!!! Okay, well, I sorta helped, while Ryan put it together. :) But anyway, an hour and a half later, (with very, very vague instructions) it's all set, and looks fantastic! It really makes it hit home that she'll BE HERE very, very soon! :)
I will definitely take pictures of what it looks like in the room, but! We will be painting her room over the weekend, so I wanted to wait until that was done first. :) It's going to look fantastic!
We also have our baby care class tomorrow, from 9 AM till noon. I'm very much looking forward to it!
Aside from that, we also have to go clean our old apartment from top to bottom, since the lease is up on the 31st. Hopefully that's it as far as plans are concerned, because I'm hoping that Monday can be our resting day, and it'd really be nice to slip over to the new pool. :) As I get bigger, the thought of cool water, and weightlessness sounds really appealing to me!
Oh, and if you're wondering, here's the maternity swimsuit I found a while back:
It's a two-piece tankini, and it ties in the back, so no matter how big my belly gets, it'll cover me up. :) Best part, though, was that I got it on sale. :)
The week is half over... how did that happen?! I've been busy... very busy. My company was sold recently, (deja vue, much?) and 5 of their people came out for a visit yesterday. They seemed very nice.
Speaking of work, they are throwing a joint baby shower for me and my coworker Krissy, who is due 2 weeks before me! :) June 15th. Should be a lot of fun!! My coworkers are so sweet. I'm 28 weeks today, and haven't heard a peep about any other showers. Makes me nervous, just a bit. I'm pregnant and hormonal--I'm good at being nervous. I know showers aren't a given, but it'd be nice, especially considering just how much stuff we need for our very first baby.
My newsletter for 28 weeks says that baby girl should be measuring at around 15.5 inches, and 2 1/2 pounds! That may not sound very big, but that's half of what I weighed when I was born (I was 6 weeks premature) and only 5 inches shorter. She's a very, very active little girl, and she even woke me up last night because of her kicking. :) I was wondering when that would start!
Over the past few days, I've begun to feel like I really am in the third trimester. I feel heavy... I feel pressure, like my insides are getting squished, (which they are) and I've started with some minor aches and pains, including a new thing which I just found out the name for: sciatica pain. Sleeping well at night has become more challenging, too. Ah well, I had an awesome second trimester! I guess it all tells me that the end really is in sight. :)
At long last, here are the pictures from our Baltimore trip. :) Enjoy!
Ashlee, me, & Becky in the aquarium. :)
A view of the shark and sting ray tank from above
Puffins!! My favorite~
Turtles~
Lurking caiman, and turtle
Pretty bird
Think I liked the birds?
....
Our guys~
Much fun was had by all! ;-) It's crazy to think that the next time we all see each other, Ashlee will be married, and I'll have my daughter here. :) Hope you all have a great day! :)
Good morning! I hope everyone had a great weekend... we certainly did. :) It was... an adventure, but the weather was gorgeous, and we had a lot of fun!
On Saturday, we met up with Becky, her hubby Casey, Ashlee, and her very soon-to-be hubby Joel, in Baltimore! (let me tell you, Becky and Ashlee are even sweeter and more gorgeous in person!) We lunched at the ESPN Zone, (during which Becky actually saw baby girl kicking!) then headed to the aquarium. :) Lots of pictures, (none of which I had time to upload. sorry!) and lots of fun. Hours later, we eventually said our goodbyes, and parted ways.. which is when things got a little interesting.
First off, we couldn't find our vehicle in the parking garage. We finally figured out we were on the wrong level, but even after getting to the right level and finding our Explorer, we realized.... we didn't have our keys. Great! Our only hope was that Ryan had left them at the ESPN Zone, so while Ryan went to pay our parking fee, I got on the phone to see if they were indeed left there during lunch. Thankfully, they were. Ryan's hernia was really bothering him from all of the walking around, so I set off to retrieve our keys.
It was around this time that it began to sprinkle, and then pour the rain. Just lovely! Once inside the restaurant, I was re-directed 3 different times to pick up my keys before finally getting them about 20 minutes later. The good thing about waiting so long was that the rain had passed by then. :)
Sunday was a lot less exciting, but productive nonetheless. Ryan had to drive down in the morning to have his brother sign some paperwork in order to do a job this week, so I was left to my own devices for most of the day. I set out to clean the entire townhouse, which I quickly discovered is a slightly larger endeavor than I imagined. It's, uh, a lot bigger than our apartment was. :) I vacuumed all 3 floors, scrubbed the tile on the main floor, cleaned the kitchen and the hardwood floors, did 4 loads of laundry, cleaned both bathrooms, unpacked our FINAL box in our bedroom, and scrubbed two spots out of the carpeting on the first flight of stairs. (thankfully they came right out) I think that's it.
My only break was to go have Sunday lunch over at my parents' house. I had been craving banana pudding earlier that morning, and what was waiting on the counter when I came in? Banana pudding! I kid you not, only my Mom is THAT good. ;-)
By the time Ryan got home, I was thoroughly and utterly exhausted. Totally wiped out. But the whole house is clean!! :)
I just looked at a few of Ashlee's pictures from the weekend, and I must say... I'm a little depressed. Okay, a lot. I'm the whale amongst the two thin ones!! I have to remind myself that this is only temporary... only temporary... that helps. :) I've never missed the gym and my normal workouts more in my life!! Motivation, much?
I will upload the pictures I have, though.. I'll have them tomorrow! Hopefully Becky can post the ones she has soon, too, because they looked pretty good. :)
I must say, I really love short weeks. It's THURSDAY already! Which means we're only one day away from Friday, and one day closer to the weekend! We've got some great plans this weekend, too. :) Mmmhmm.
Ryan took my belly picture last night--the FIRST one to be taken in our new home. :) So, here you go, 27 weeks:
Two thirds down, one third to go!
I think I'm finally coming to terms with my ever-changing shape. In fact, most days now, I actually think it's pretty beautiful. :) So! While I'm feeling this way, I decided to look into getting maternity pictures taken. Thankfully for us, (and our budget) a friend of ours is going to take them.. for free. :) She wants to get some experience, because she'd like to do photography professionally. I've seen the pictures she takes of her little girl, Mackenzie, and she really has a great eye. She even told me I could bring along any particular shots that I like, and she will try to recreate them. I'll be having them done most likely the first weekend in June. Exciting! :)
I am 27 weeks today! That's an exciting marker, because it means... I am officially in the THIRD trimester! We're now in the final stretch! How did that happen?
According to my newsletter, baby girl is topping the scales at just over 2 pounds, and is approximately 15 inches long from head to toe. I look down at my belly, and, though obviously getting larger, it's hard to imagine that she's so big in there!
Of course I'm happy she's staying put for now, since she obviously still has more developing to do, and lots of weight to gain, but just recently I've been dealing with some overwhelming curiousity. What will she look like? What will her little personality be like? I'm getting very anxious to meet her!
As far as physical traits go, she has an extremely great chance of having both brunette hair and green eyes. (both Ryan and I have the green eyes, and most everyone in our family has brunette hair) But then I wonder... what if she gets the blonde hair and blue eyes like my Mom and her side of the family? Then I, of course, wonder what she'll be like... will she be more creative, artsy, and willing to please like I was as a child, or will she be more interested in sports and be a little on the mischievous side like Ryan was? :) Will she be an animal lover like I've always been? Will she be athletic like Ryan is? Will she really be a combination of the both of us?
I already want so much for her, and I already deeply love her--much more than I thought I would before getting pregnant.
Well, on another note, I used my Sephora gift card yesterday! :) In case you're interested, here's what I decided on:
Bourjois - Pastel Teint Essentiel Pressed Powder
(it's a highlighting powder)
DuWop - Duet Eyeshadow
(NOT in those colors!)
Here are the colors - called Sonnet
Stila - Cheek Color Duo in Bronze/ Rose
Laura Mercier - Lip Plumper Gloss in Pink Grapefruit (shown)
I had SO MUCH FUN picking things out... now I can't wait for them to get here! That will be a very happy day for me! ;-) I also went ahead and registered with the Sephora Insider thing, which is free and brand new, and they added a free gift (Bliss body butter) into my cart because of my birthday. :)
Well, I'm back. :) My extended weekend was... absolutely exhausting, in every sense of the word. (but very, very productive!) We are now all settled in, and practically everything is in it's place.
We're still getting used to having all of the extra space, and figuring out where things are now. :) Some things are smaller at the new place... like the pantry, and the cabinet in our master bathroom, so I've had to do some strategic arranging. :)
Sleeping there the very first night was.... odd. It was almost like sleeping in a hotel, because it wasn't familiar territory yet. I can honestly say, though, that this morning, finally, it felt like I was "at home." :)
Although the move went very well, it wasn't without it's slight bumps and funny stories along the way. :) Like... how our sofa was too big to fit through the stairway, so they had to hoist it up on top of the UHaul, up over our deck, and in through the sliding doors in the kitchen. (which I have pictures of!) Or how the UHaul decided to die when Ryan was ready to take it back, and roadside assistance had to come get it. Or how no one knew what mailbox number was ours, and after finally finding out from the post office, we found out that our mailbox keys don't work. (still haven't resolved that issue!)
Ryan gave me a beautiful new plant for our front entryway in honor of my very first Mother's Day. :) She may not be here yet, but I'm already her mother, and I already mother her! It meant a lot to me that he celebrated it this year.
Well, I don't have pictures to share, for 2 reasons. First, my computer isn't set up. I probably would have, since it doesn't take long to do, if it were for reason #2, which is... I only have pictures from the move. I'm holding off from taking pictures inside until our last few things are put away and the last two sets of curtains are hung up!
I know I did too much on Friday, and was paying for it Friday evening. My ankles were so swollen, sore, and tired, it would've been laughable if I hadn't been so exhausted! Saturday was great, though, because of all of the help we got! A little bit of Sunday and all of Monday were spent getting things in order, stocking up on groceries, and trying to get back to normal before heading back to work today. I am SO glad we had both Friday and Monday off. It would've been a lot more stressful if we hadn't.
What a wonderful birthday! I seriously don't think it could have been any better. I felt loved and appreciated--isn't that the best part about birthdays?
The fun part was that I hadn't asked Ryan for anything specific, so it was all up to him. :) My hubby surprised me by taking me out to eat at Sweetwater! I absolutely love that place. We were seated at a table on the back terrace overlooking the water, which was perfect considering it was warm and sunny! The food was amazing... we started out with spinach and artichoke dip, and I got the crabcakes. And, well, special occasions call for dessert as well! The waitress knew it was my birthday, so they prettied up my plate for it. :)
Of course I took pictures!
Gorgeous husband... such a nice view :)
Birthday girl...
Festive (and delicious!) cheesecake
Ryan had me open my presents once we got home... and he did an excellent job. :) He got me the Carrie Underwood CD I mentioned a while ago that I really wanted, as well as a..... SEPHORA gift card!!! If you're not familiar with Sephora, it's basically the happiest place on earth. I could literally spend an entire day in there. Maybe more. My husband knows me well! Definitely a happy birthday!
Thank you all for your sweet, wonderful birthday wishes! :) They really made my day.
Well, today is basically my Friday. :) Thank goodness, because I am exhausted! I have tomorrow off to finish up packing and start moving little things over to the new place. I'm very excited about that, because some things will already be set up before our BIG moving day on Saturday! We're thankfully going to have a lot of help moving things in, so that's a real blessing considering both Ryan and I can't really move anything of significance right now. If you would, please pray that it all goes smoothly! :)
I also have Monday off, but I may update before Tuesday.. we shall see. I will definitely return with pictures! :)
I knew my day was bound to be a good day when, upon telling the lady at Starbucks this morning that it's my birthday, I got my mocha frappuccino on the house. :)
Well, I am 24 years old today... which sounds like a good age, don't you think?
My day has already been special. :) My hubby was the first to wish me a happy birthday this morning, then my Mom called as I was on my way to work, then I was bombarded by birthday wishes in my e-mail inbox and phone, mainly from Em, :) and other sweet, wonderful friends once I got to work. :) THEN I was given gifts by two of my coworkers. (which was surprising to me, because I've never been given gifts from anyone I've ever worked with) One gave me a fancy Savon de Marseille soap cube, (which I'd never heard of, but it sounds really awesome. See?) and the other gave me a 4-pack of receiving blankets, the CUTEST burp cloths (one has two dolphins on it and says "I love mommy," the other has two tropical fish and says "I love daddy") and a little package of Dove chocolate. :) Yum!
I feel blessed today, and very, very loved.
I am also 26 weeks today! Baby girl is getting bigger, stronger, and more developed. Ryan started reading to her last night (Dr. Seuss' "Oh Baby, the Places You'll Go!") and she squirmed around the entire time. :) How amazing is it that she'll know his voice, too, when she's born?
So far, I'm feeling pretty good! I haven't had any back pain, or general aches or pains anywhere, which is nice. Still stretchmark-free for the time being. I'm sleeping like a rock, and enjoying sleeping on my left side finally, which is considered the ideal sleeping position. I'm noticing that my fatigue seems to be creeping back in--not as bad as it was in the first trimester, but it's still not fun, especially at work. I thought I just wasn't getting enough sleep, but even with enough sleep it's still present. Hmmm.
No idea what's in store for tonight--it's all up to Ryan! I haven't made gift-buying very easy for him this year, because I really couldn't think of many suggestions. Honestly, though, I trust him, and I know he knows the kinds of things I'd like! I don't really want for much anymore, so whatever he gives me I'll be very, very happy with. :) I'm especially happy that I'll be able to spend a nice evening with him!
I was standing in line, about to pay for our groceries, when I looked into my wallet and noticed something missing: my bank card. I didn't panic at first, thinking maybe it had just fallen into my purse, but a quick search didn't bring about the missing card. I thankfully had my checkbook, (my other two credit cards are strictly dire emergency-only) so I paid by check.
Once I got out to the car and loaded in my groceries, I sat down and did a thorough search of my purse. Nothing. I retraced my steps, and figured that the last time I had used the card was that morning at my grocery store's Starbucks. Before calling my bank, I decided to check with the people at Starbucks to see if any cards had been turned in. Nope.
Thankfully, when I called the bank to have my card cancelled, and a new one re-issued, we found out that no unusual activity had occurred. Big relief! By now I'm figuring my card is floating around somewhere, so I was happy to hear it hadn't been used. Everything is set, and I'll have a new card in about 5 days.
As we were lounging around after dinner, I started thinking about what could have possibly happened to my card! I actually looked at the receipt from Starbucks from that morning, and realized I didn't use my bank card. I used another credit card that LOOKS like my bank card! So I then had to retrace my steps and try to figure out the very last time I had used it. Didn't use it over the weekend.... but then I remembered I used it to get gas on Friday evening. Then it hit me!
My card was in the back pocket of my jeans.
Embarrassing? Yes-- a lot. Like I don't feel scatterbrained enough already! But at least I have the peace of mind knowing where it was!
I had two wonderful birthday cards and gifts waiting in the mail when I got home last night. :) It's always a real treat to get REAL mail. (rather than the usual bills or junk) One came from Ryan's parents, and the other from his Aunt Denise. :) Then I received two "gifts" when I got into work this morning: a bag of grapes and a cookie from my coworker, who knew I'd enjoy them, (I bring whole bags of grapes into work and polish them off in 2-3 days!) and SIX grocery-sized bags of baby girl clothing from another coworker!! She's pregnant with their 3rd child, a boy, so she decided she didn't need to keep her daughter's baby clothes any longer. It's a HUGE help, especially because they range in sizes from 6 months through (I think) 24 months. :)
Ryan and I will both be busy tonight--he has a work-related thing to attend right after work, then he's off to shop for my birthday. :) Meanwhile, I'll be finishing up with packing the remainder of our stuff tonight, so it's all set to go. Aside from tomorrow, my actual birthday, I don't think we'll have a single "relaxing" evening this week!
But did I mention I am SO EXCITED about moving??? :)
Thought for today: If baby girl comes on her exact due date, (August 15th) she will be here in a mere 100 days!
Tomorrow we'll be in the double digits. That's really, really, really soon. :)
On Saturday, I spent 5 hours packing. Ryan had a lot of errands to run, so I got started and got into a routine. Pretty much all of the kitchen and pantry are packed, and everything is off the walls. All that's really left are our clothes, a few towels, and files. I can now rest easier knowing that most everything is packed up. :)
Waking up early on Sunday to get ready for Sunday school/church was rough. My entire body felt exhausted. I don't think I've really worked as hard as I did on Saturday during this entire pregnancy!
My parents celebrated my birthday on Sunday afternoon, 3 days early. :) My Mom made one of my favorites for lunch: BBQ chicken over rice, along with corn on the cob, biscuits, and green beans. Yum! Presents soon followed, and the whole thing was topped off with cake. :) A birthday, of course, could never be complete without her chocolate cake with angel icing!
My Dad took a few pictures while I blew out the candles and opened presents, so I have those to share:
Celebrating 24 years..
Olive Garden gift card from my brother :)
A whole lot of diapers! :)
Present digging...
Two containers of wipes and a BEAUTIFUL new outfit for baby girl!
Us :)
My parents had already given me a pair of maternity jeans for my birthday, but my Mom wanted to make sure I still had something to open. :) My brother also thought of a really great gift, (the gift card to Olive Garden) because we're not able to eat out all that often. Lots of fun!
Bourjois - Pastel Teint Essentiel Pressed Powder
DuWop - Duet Eyeshadow
