Second Trimester Review

Now that I have officially entered my third and last trimester of this pregnancy, I thought it was time for another pregnancy review and stat session. I went to the doc again today and everything is still looking great for both me and our little babe.

I had to do the dreaded glucose test which was a blast, let me tell you. I don't know why they make everyone take that darn stuff, I don't have a single symptom of gestational diabetes, I have no family history of diabetes, and I take impeccable care of myself and my baby. I rarely have a treat (like maybe once a month and it will only be a bite. I was blessed to not have a sweet tooth.), I eat very few simple carbs and I get plenty of fruits, veggies, whole grains and protein every day. Sorry about the ranting I for some reason really didn't want to have to do the test. I know it has its place and prevents a lot of problems, I am just being a cry baby. Unless something changes from here on out and the baby or I am not healthy, I think I am going to protest with my next pregnancy.

Anyway, it's hard to believe my second tri is already over and that I only have one to go. I will be considered full term in only 10 weeks which is insane! I know I probably won't deliver then but it's just bizarre that I'm already getting to that point. I get more and more anxious every day- I want to meet my baby and have her here in my arms. I want to see her with Josh and enjoy being a family of three. We are all signed up for our birthing and breast feeding classes. I wonder if I'll learn something new or if it will be the same info in the books and websites I've read. For now I feel really comfortable with the idea of giving birth. I feel mentally prepared and have very little anxiety about it. I'm sure that will change as the day approaches, but for now I am feeling really calm about the whole thing.

Ok, here are some facts about my second trimester and the beginning of my third:

• The baby moves like crazy, really really crazy. We can see her individual body parts and can feel feet and elbows all the time. She is most active at night but I feel her all throughout the day.
• Josh was first able to feel her around 20 weeks, not too long after I started to feel her often, which was really exciting.
  
• She loves to try to escape through my sides and enjoys planting her foot on the inside of my right ribcage which feels quite lovely...not!
• Baby also loves to stomp on my bladder without any warning, making it near impossible for me to not pee my pants.
• I look quite a bit like Gus Gus, the mouse from Cinderella. My shirts are always creeping up over my belly and my gut is pretty much always hanging out.
  
• I officially have the pigmentation line up my entire belly. I'm hoping it stays this color, it's quite faint, but it will most likely darken.
• Still no stretch marks, keep your fingers crossed for me- I still have a lot of growing to do which is hard to believe.
• I am still working at the salon part time and by the end of the day my back and feet are killing me.
• No swelling yet! I hope this lasts throughout the summer.
  
• My energy level has been so much higher these past few months than they were in the first trimester. It's like a night and day difference and I am grateful for it.
• I only wake up once a night to pee which was also a welcomed change from the first tri. We'll see if this continues on through this trimester, I'm not very hopeful.
  
• I have gained 12.5 lbs total
• My belly button is a half innie half outie. It's an odd smiley face shape with a piece of skin on top that looks like it needs to be snipped off. I wonder if it will go back to its original shape.
• We are still trying to officially decide on what we are going to call this kid. For now we only have one name that we both like and I'm thinking that will probably end up being her name, I'm just not 100% sold yet. So, if you have suggestions we'd love to hear them. I don't like anything too trendy or made up.

All in all this pregnancy has still been pretty breezy! Some days I feel very pregnant, others I don't feel it at all (other than those kicks to the bladder or ribs). I feel so lucky and very blessed to have had it this easy. I am excited to finish her nursery, get maternity pictures taken, and to enjoy the rest of this pregnancy. I hope she continues to grow healthily and strong. I can't wait to meet the little firecracker. She is already my favorite person, besides Josh of course. I think about her all day long and wonder what she'll be like. I have an image of a feisty but girly little one in my head. We'll see how accurate that is in almost no time at all.

Belly shots at 26 weeks:

Before and After

So, once upon a time, we remodeled our kitchen. We finished it about a year ago, I just haven't posted pictures of the project yet. When we bought our house the kitchen was the first project I wanted to get started on. It was monochomatic and not in a good way. The previous owners had sort of done a remodel but it was just ugly and weird. They mixed styles that did not work well together. The natural light in the kitchen is gorgeous and nothing they did to the room showed that off. I wanted something bright and cheery to get me through the long winter months we have in Utah. I am so pleased with the end result. We did all of the work ourselves. My mom came out before we started any of the projects to help pick a pallet and get things moving. Josh's sister and mom also helped us paint our cupboards. We were grateful for the hours they put in. We didn't realize what a project this was going to be until we were deep in it, which was probably a good thing. It really was a lot of work, but was so so worth it.

Before:
The walls and the cupboards were the same color, it was just so dang boring to look at. The room made me cringe. The peek-a-boo cupboards had plastic windows instead of glass, ew.

We had to fix some of the lighting and get rid of the dome light in the center. The fridge didn't fit the space it was given and was way too tiny for our needs. The window coverings did nothing to prevent people from looking in from the outside. It was like living in a fish bowl, you could see right in.

The combo of the backsplashes was just odd. They did a tumbled travertine right next to a modern subway tile, with a marble counter top. It was horrible. There was no range hood.

The work:

These pictures are all out of order but oh well.
These are just some, yes some, of the nails we had to pull out of the floor the house came with when we tore it out.

We had to tear through 4 layers of floor in the kitchen (yep, they just kept putting new floor on top of the old ones), re-secure beams and replace the sub-floor, do a layer of underlayment and then lay our floors (which are gorgeous), and put up baseboards.

We had to use many things to get those pre-existing layers of floor up.

My job for most of the floor work was to pull all the nails out. There were thousands and I spent days doing it. I thought for sure I was just going to want to burn the house down by the time we finished this project. It was tedious but again, worth it.

To get one of the layers of linoleum up we had to burn it off to melt the tar that held it down. It was an adventure.

We painted cupboards and scraped old wallpaper off.

Josh tore out the old backsplash.

He built this contraption in the stairwell that leads to our basement so he could vent our new range hood outside. I was freaking out the whole time, thinking surely the thing was going to collapse and he would end up paralyzed.

Installing our new backsplash.

This is a rare moment so I had to document it. Josh doesn't take a break to eat, drink, or use the bathroom until his project is finished. I must have made him sit.

Along with all of that we replaced the blinds, replaced the plastic in our cupboards with glass, painted the walls, fixed and added lighting, installed new appliances including a fridge and a range hood, raised cupboards, added molding to the top of the cupboards that didn't reach the ceiling, and I'm sure more that I can't think of at the moment.

After:

Check out the floors, we love them.

We went with a glass tile backsplash that makes me smile every time I see it.

The only projects left are getting the painting I did for this room framed and hung, and figuring out what to do with the inside of the glass cupboard. Who knows if those 2 things will ever happen.

As of late

I am such a slacker. We have been so busy lately I have completely neglected my blog. For the past few weeks we have been doing yard work- and a lot of it. Pictures to come of its transformation. We have also been going away for weekends, preparing for baby, working and doing all the usual stuff.

This is way old news but we went to a Jazz game. I don't remember who they were playing but it was the last game of the series before they played the Lakers. I remember that because all the boys were sad to find out the Lakers had also won and they knew their fate right then and there. We stayed in Brett's dad's luxury box with a good view and lots to eat. The men were in Heaven.

Neil and Josh

Tori and Katie

Joe, Katie, Neil

Two weekends ago we were up at the cabin. It was as fun and relaxing as ever. We went in the spa, played games, did puzzles, hiked, and watched movies.

While the girls made breakfast,

the boys were outside perfecting their hunting skills. You should have seen them when they came back in, they looked so proud of themselves. It was pretty funny.

Memorial Day weekend was spent in Las Vegas with Brett and Heather. It was soooo much fun! We did only what we wanted to do, when we wanted to do it. We spent two days at the pool, ate way too much food and enjoyed each others company. My feet were so disgusting after walking The Strip the first day. My dress was dragging on the floor and my feet fell victim to the nasty stains that were brought along with it.

We of course had to stop by Grimaldi's, my favorite pizza place in all the world.

And what happened to be right next door? Yep, Nielson's frozen custard.

We spent some time sight seeing. I always love the Belagio's conservatory.

Serendipity opened at Cesar's Palace. We of course had to stop there for a little frozen hot chocolate and 'you can't say no' sundae. Look at the size of that thing! All 4 of us were sharing and we still couldn't finish it.

Josh couldn't resist trying though. It was so funny to watch because with every bite he felt grosser and grosser but he couldn't get himself to stop.

The shame is setting in.

Here I am in all my 24-week pregnant round glory.

If you want my new favorite breakfast recipe, head on over to Be Healthy, Be Happy. You will be so happy you did!

That's all for now folks!