Happy Halloween & Week 16

Yesterday was officially week 16 but I was too busy to get to my post. And I know all my fabulous fans wanted an update last week, but I was too busy spending time with my sister in California. 

 We went geocaching in Bidwell Park. We found several but there was one that we just couldn't find!! Lindsay quit early, but I kept searching! Still empty handed. The picture above is the cache we (I) found that looked like a rock.

We love games so we played several rounds of Guess Who.

We love to try on hats so here is one of three hat sessions!

 The last night I was in CA we went to one of Lindsay's friends' house and played more games and then did some karaoke. When we weren't singing "I'm Too Sexy" or "I Like Big Butts" we were the back-up dancers. It was so much fun!

More hats...this time at Target (our fave store).

Overall California was a great time with lots of resting up!

On to more baby updates!

I am currently at 16 weeks. I have gained 3 pounds that are finally sticking for the most part. But luckily I don't have any bad 'side effects' (not sure what to call the symptoms that come with pregnancy). My sciatic nerve pain only shows up when I am being a slug and slouching, which happened on Fall Break a few times :) Now that I'm back to being a productive member of society, I don't lay around as much!

Our next doctor appointment is November 14th! We should be able to determine the gender but don't hold your breath on seeing that news here! We still think that we are going to keep that our own secret but if we change our minds, I'll share here! I'm a little bummed that my gender poll got messed up :( Before it restarted the tally was 9 voting girl and 4 voting boy. Feel free to vote again!

We also got our family pictures from a few weeks ago and I will post them here when I have the actual CD. Can't wait to see and share them!

Another side note - if you are viewing this on your phone, scroll to the very bottom and click on view web version to vote in the poll and see my actual blog design :)

Week 14

Zoe just couldn't resist making an appearance!

Today I am in week 14...26 more weeks to go :) I am on Fall Break this week and next, which is fabulous!! I leave tomorrow for California. I am going to see my sister. I was hoping to see  my mother too, but guess where she'll be? At my house with Clint! She has to come to IN to do her defense for her PhD and this was the week they scheduled :( Oh well, Christmas time isn't too far off!

At my doctor appointment yesterday, I officially have gained one whole pound! I have no idea how my belly sticks out so far sometimes and how I can eat so much more and not gain any weight yet. However, I won't complain. As long as the dr. says I'm healthy and the baby is healthy, I'm happy. We also got to hear the heartbeat again...160 bpm. We also could hear the baby moving when she had the monitor on my belly. It was really cool. So many cool things!! The only uncool thing so far is that I have started having a little pain in my butt! I don't mean Clint either :) The dr. says that it's my sciatic nerve. Hopefully it starts to feel better soon because I don't really care to see a chiropractor or a physical therapist. She told me to lay down on the floor and prop my legs up on a chair. My mom said that when she had that pain, laying down like that helped.

In other news...I made me a new dress!! Isn't it fabulous!? I'm assuming you agree :) I made one dress Sunday but it came out way too big (the bottom skirt portion) but on the bright side, I will probably be able to wear it in March or April, so look for it then! So today I took my new fabric (that I was saving after my trial run) and took extra care with, including double stitching everything so it doesn't fall apart. I sewed it all together except the hem and tried it on. And ooops. I didn't make it wide enough for my hips/butt. NO butt jokes here people! Technically I could get it on, but I felt like I was in the movie Memoirs of a Geisha. So after a quick Skype session with my mom, I added a triangle-ish panel in the back, and woo hoo! It fits wonderfully! I'm so excited I got it done in time to bring with me to California! The second dress took me about an hour and a half (not counting the time I had Clint tear out a seam and remove the thread :) I found the tutorial through Pinterest but here are the websites I used as reference:
Elle Apparel - Shirt Dress
Elle Apparel: Questions (for the ties)
Imperfectly Polished

Side note: my computer is temporarily sick so I'm stuck using Clint's lame-o laptop, which does not have Photoshop!!! That is why my picture editing stinks a big fat one! Hopefully I'll fix it soon, so my pictures look better!
Well, I need to pack and rest my sciatica! Toodles!

Spoiled!

I have not felt this spoiled in quite a while! I got home today to find another package at the front door! My mom whipped up another three things for me! Well, actually for our family. She sewed two baby bags:

This one is definitely my style! Corduroy and funky patterns!

This one is more meant for Clint.

Both have lots of pockets and room. I'm not sure if Clint will carry the one she made for him but I know it will definitely be used. I think Clint is more into the backpack-as-a-diaper-bag-thing. 

Then she also made this cute blanket:

The puppies are meant to look like Zoe if you didn't catch that. It is nice and thick so it can definitely be used as a floor-type blanket. 

Isn't my mom just faboo!?! Here's her blog again if you want to peruse her craftiness (house things, sewing, and more).

Now I'm off to get my sewing skills sharpened...I am going to make a dress! Updates will follow later (as long as it works out!).

Week 13

I am officially in the second trimester today!

I had parent conferences all night so I couldn't take my picture til this evening. Hence, the bigger belly! By evening, it really starts to stick out! Somedays the scale says I haven't gained any weight but other days it says I've gained 2 pounds. I go for my second appointment on Monday!

Now that everyone knows the news, I am not so concerned with trying to hide my gut! With that gut growing, I have decided to do a little shopping. Not that I need bigger clothes yet, I just want things that fit better or fit a different style. The tunic sweater I wore today is new from Target! I also got it in another color (creme with thin blue stripes).

  I decided that anything long that goes with leggings is a plus! I also got this new blue sweater from Target that I wore for our pictures Sunday. Here is a picture without me in it:

I bought a few other things, but I'll save those for later!

My Mom is Awesome

My mom is pretty awesome. She sent me a package the other day and the items were all handmade gifts! Double bonus!! I love getting packages in the mail and anything my mom makes is cool. If you didn't see my owl purse in person or even just the post (below) then let me tell you that I really like cute owl things.

hat and rattle

baby blanket

close-up of the owl on the blanket

 We don't have a theme or anything decided for the baby's room yet but these things are just too cute! Be sure to check out my mom's blog Tough Kittie Puffs!

First Baby Things

I love shopping. Most people already know that about me. So naturally I want to go and do some crazy shopping right now! Not knowing whether or not you are having a boy or a girl makes that pretty hard though! So I have refrained from buying too much. Here are a few things we I have purchased or received as a gift:

 Mom sent the Long Beach onesie and beach hat, Lindsay sent the Chico State onesie and socks, and Gail bought the cute fuzzy sleeper!

 

 When we told my dad, stepmom and sister the big news, we gave them each a present! I bought the cute dinosaur shoes from Target because they are so stinkin cute!

 

My favorite purchase so far! We are most likely going to end up painting this, but I love it already! 

As you can tell, nothing too crazy yet! But just wait!

My birthday and 12 weeks!

Today is my birthday! I am celebrating 28 fabulous years and this birthday is different than all the others because of our growing baby! Today I am also 12 weeks along. The baby is now the size of a lime at about 2 and a half inches long. So far I have had a pretty easy pregnancy. Early on I was tired all the time and felt queasy for a lot of the day. I've never thrown up (woot woot!) or actually felt sick enough to not do anything. I hope this is a sign of good things. So far I haven't gained any weight even though it sometimes looks like it. By the end of the day it sure feels like it! I go for my next appointment on October 15th and then the one after that is hopefully the gender reveal! We think that for now we aren't going to share the gender but who knows. Sometimes I can't keep a secret! Especially something so exciting!