Baby M – 23 weeks + 1 day

Bump Analysis? No bump picture this week – Paul is currently in San Diego, and I just got back. So we will skip this week, but I assure you my bump is still there and growing…

Month/Trimester? 6 months [22 weeks – 27 weeks] / 2nd Trimester!

Fruit of the week? Our baby is the size of a grapefruit! 10.5 -11.8 inches long and 12.7 – 20.8 ounces!

Development? She’s forming little nipples, and her face is fully formed.  She can listen to my voice and heartbeat, along with other loud noises like dogs barking… I’m sure she’s already been woken up a few times by ours… Poor thing.

Movement? Her kicks are getting so much stronger!  A few nights ago, it felt like she was literally having a dance party in my stomach.  I had Paul put his hand on my stomach, and he felt her moving more than just the once now! I’m sure if I would have lifted my shirt we would have seen my belly moving…

Name? Aubrey Joy 🙂

Testing? Nothing new at this point!

Weight Gain? Holding steady at 1 lb a week for a grand total of 11 lbs.

Symptoms? 

• Back pain
• Acne
• My belly button is losing the battle, and halfway to an outie.
• Excessive pee breaks
• Faint line (Linea Nigra) forming below my belly button – not cute.
• Losing hair at my hair line, which is super cute and makes my hair look AWESOME…. not.
• The newest pregnancy ailment – tailbone pain.  I want to sit on a donut like an old lady.

Cravings? Food as people mention it.  This week someone said Milkshake, and I HAD to have one… or two.

Aversions? Buffalo Chicken Dip

Sleep? I busted out my sister’s SNOOGLE pillow this week… big giant pregnancy pillow that is long and skinny, and curves at both ends like a snake.  The first night I thought it was useless… now I love it.  It typically holds me in one position at night on my side, and I can actually fall asleep on my side with it.  The downfall is it creates a wall along the side of the bed that locks me in, and when I have to climb out of bed to pee or wake up in the morning it’s a struggle to get over the dang pillow.

Maternity Clothes? Some shirts…I’ll definitely be busting out maternity pants soon.  My jeans are so uncomfortable now, I’ve been wearing outfits that go with leggings for comfort.

Exercise? I made it to the gym 2 times last week, but with traveling and having people in town it just got pushed to the side.  This week Paul will be gone again, which will leave me unmotivated, but I’m gonna go!

Wedding Rings? ON!

Stretch Marks? Don’t say that word around here!  After my shower I use Burt’s Bees Mama Baby Belly Butter, and before I go to bed at night I use BioOil.

Labor Signs? Praying not to have these anytime soon!

What I miss? Every time I make a trip to Tallahassee I come back seriously missing my nieces.  I’ve been going back once a month, but they change SO much in that month!  Kennedy amazes me each time I see her with her memory, vocabulary, and personality.  Reese just melted my heart the whole time I was there.  She is just the sweetest thing, and she’s starting to talk, but my absolute favorite is when she runs up and clings to my legs to tell me “UP”.  Then I pick her up and she just cuddles… cue melting heart, and then the urge to cry because I CAN NOT WAIT to cuddle with Aubrey! I miss seeing those crazy girls all the time!    This post may or may not be a hint to tell my sister she needs to get home more frequently, especially since my trips will be much less frequent in 4 months! 🙂

Looking forward to? Spending the weekend with my handsome husband before he leaves me for the arctic tundra that is Milwaukee.  I’m also seriously looking forward to the mail coming in a few days… I may or may not have ordered the cutest little baby TOMS for Aubrey for when she starts walking.  I may have jumped the gun on these, because she won’t wear them for quite some time, but they were on sale and I’m obsessed.  So it’s justified.

Bittersweet #4

Holy smokes ya’ll… Moving is no joke.  The last 2-3 weeks have been a whirlwind!  I am currently taking a packing break to watch Teen Mom 2 (guilty pleasure – no judging!).  I cannot believe that Paul and I are moving TOMORROW!  That just seems crazy!  The last 5 years in Tallahassee have flown by, but these years would not have been the same without my favorite people.  Which leads me to the final bittersweet post.

BITTER

This is by far the worst part of moving out of Tallahassee.  So awful, that I’ve been pretending it isn’t happening for the last 2 months, because when I think about it I cry.  My sister is my best friend.  I have never looked up to someone more in my entire life.  Her faith is so strong, she is so incredibly smart, she always knows what to say to make me feel better, and we ALWAYS have fun together.  We bake things we shouldn’t be eating, we laugh and shop and do sister things.  As we’ve grown up and moved to Tallahassee, we have always talked about how awesome it would be to live close to each other and our kids can be BFFs and we will live these happy little lives near each other.  Up until a couple months ago, I still saw this little plan working perfectly.

Not only is my sister one of my favorite people, but her husband is my other brother.  He has come to my rescue on more than 1 (or 5) occasions.  His sense of humor never fails.  There is never a night where we aren’t laughing with him… or at him.  Some of my favorite nights consist of my sister, David, Paul and I sitting around the table talking for hours.

As if Melissa and David weren’t enough for me to move away from, they have the 2 most perfect little girls… my nieces.  I am obsessed with them.  I talk about them like they are my children.  I whip out pictures and everyone knows I am such a proud auntie!  The thought of not being able to stop by and see Reese slouched in her high chair like a “G” and Kennedy running around listing off her trains from Thomas and friends makes me so sad… and now I’m crying while I type.  Kennedy is at the cutest age and she LOVES me and I LOVE that!  When I hear her call me “auntie’ it makes my heart happy… I don’t want to leave that!  They are so tiny and I don’t want them to forget me!  I realize that is completely irrational.  We will only be 4 hours apart, we will FaceTime, and I know Melissa and David will talk to them about us, but that’s just how I feel.   So anyway now you guys can tell me you’re moving home to Orlando too, and everything will be right in the world… Wishful thinking?

SWEET

That being said,  I am super excited to be moving home and living 10 minutes from my parents!  I’ve officially reached the age where my parents are my friends, not just my parents.  Well truth be told, I reached that stage a few years ago, but now that I’m married I see it even more.  I am excited to be around my mom’s cooking more! Maybe now I will actually take her up on spending time with her in the kitchen.  Paul already requests a few of her recipes, and I’ve learned them but my mom’s cooking is top notch.

I may be getting ahead of myself, but eventually Paul and I will be having a baby (or 2 or 3…), and I have seen my parents with my nieces and I cannot wait for them to be those amazing grandparents to our kids.

Then there is always my baby brother.  I love him, but I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that he is a grown up!  He’s smart and witty and I still find him taking me by surprise.  The downfall now of living so far from my brother is that we both suck at talking on the phone.  I don’t call.  He doesn’t call.  We text here and there, but unless you’re Victoria (his girlfriend) you can pretty much expect a very concise answer and very little effort to carry on the conversation.  SUCH. A. BOY. Now that we are living closer, I am super excited we will actually get to talk and hang out!  I am also really glad that he and Paul will get a chance to know each other better.  Paul has fit right in with my sister and David especially since we see each other so often, and I’m glad he gets that chance now with Travis.

I’m a bundle of emotions, and they are all over the place.  From happy and excited to sad and dreading leaving.  I leave my sister’s perfect little family, but I get to be closer to the rest of my family.  Can’t be too upset about the way this has worked out!

Bittersweet #3

Two weeks from today, Paul and I will be heading down to Orlando for our official move.  The thing we’ve been discussing for weeks now is getting closer, and it’s finally starting to feel real.  We’ve gradually started packing, and our living room is slowly being overtaken with boxes.  In case you didn’t know, packing sucks.

BITTER

Over my last 5 years in Tallahassee,  I have met some amazing friends.  Many of them I’ve met through my jobs, but they have made me love living here even more.  Many of us are in the same spot in life, or somewhere close: young, married, no kids.  It’s so nice having friends in the same place in life.  We don’t all have to hang out everyday, but when we get together it is an amazing time.  I have truly been blessed by some amazing people.  People who give me advice, who care about me, who support me, who share my beliefs, who respect and encourage me.  Leaving these people will not be easy.  Thankfully for me, I will be back in Tallahassee often, and they all know our home is open to them anytime they are in Orlando!

SWEET

One of the more exciting parts of moving is that Paul and I will be able to meet people together.  My hope is that we will get plugged in to a church, and we will meet people that way.  The hard part about this is that we will both be working from home.  Not being in an office will make it a little more challenging for us to me people.  I am thankful that Paul and I do have some friends in the area already, and we are looking forward to being able to spend time with them.

Moving to a new city is an adventure.  It’s scary and exciting all at the same time, and it’s only 13 days away…

Bittersweet #2

This past weekend was great!  Paul and I were productive, but we still made time to root for FSU at our first home game of the season!  This morning Paul left dark and early to head to Wisconsin for training.  By the time he gets back, I’ll be in Arizona for work.   Once I get back, Paul will be headed to Orlando for the week.  Basically 90% of the next 17 days will be spent apart, and when we are together it will consist of FSU vs Clemson next Saturday, and packing/cleaning/house projects.  There is a lot to do, and as much as I’m ready for this to be over… I want it to slow down at the same time!  Which makes perfect sense somehow, and brings me right to my next bittersweet parts of moving.

BITTER

Tallahassee is pretty well known for it’s amazing parks, and there are so many of them!  I started going to Tom Brown when I moved to Tallahassee.  I used to go with my roommates and friends, and we would bring all of our pups to the dog park.  Now Paul and I like to go to the dog park, and to take walks around the trails.  There is so much more to do at that park, I just don’t happen to have a need for the playground, dirt bike jumps, sports areas, and anything else athletically inclined.  The next park I love is Cascade Park, it’s new and beautiful!  Earlier this year Tallahassee unveiled this new park that includes a kids park, a splash park, different walking trails, an amphitheater, etc.  This has become my favorite spot for running – it is exactly 1 mile around, and it’s a really nice run.  If I’m not running in the morning, Paul and I like to go after dinner and walk the dogs.  My other favorite park is Lake Ella.  Lake Ella is a cute little area where you can feed ducks, visit little shops around, and of course… take our dogs.  This also happens to be the spot that Paul proposed.  How can it not be my favorite when it holds a memory like that!

SWEET

TARGET!  Yes, Target gets it’s own “Sweet” bullet.  For the last 5 years, Target has been approximately 25 minutes away.  Which means, it involves planning for me to make it to that side of town, and it doesn’t happen very often.  This means, I’ve been venturing into WalMart on a regular basis… WalMart in Tallahassee… on a REGULAR basis.  I understand WalMart is great for some bargains, and I’m always down for a deal, but I can’t stand this place.  WalMart is terrible.  My trip may only take 3 minutes for me to run in and grab what I need, but I’ll wait 30 minutes for the 1 cashier to check me out so I can leave.  Or I’ll ask someone for help finding it, and they don’t know what I’m looking for, nor do they care to find out.  Now Target is glorious in comparison.  Target makes me happy.  This may not be beneficial to my bank account, because I always leave Target with more than I planned… like clothes, or shoes, or makeup, or food, or that lamp that would look really cute in our living room…   I LOVE TARGET!  Once we move, we will live approximately 5 minutes from Target… I. Can’t. Wait!!!

There are always bright sides to moving 🙂

Bittersweet #1

We have officially entered moving month.  In 21 days I will no longer be the Tallahassee resident I never knew I would be.  I always assumed I would move back home after college, but life happened.  I got a job, I met THE boy.  We got married and settled in.  Tallahassee has worked out pretty well, and we saw our future here.  Well life threw another unexpected curve ball, and we are about to start a new adventure. There are times when I get really excited, and then times I get sad to leave.  So here’s my new mini series of posts of our bittersweet move.

BITTER

I am pretty sure there aren’t too many things I love more than game day in Tallahassee.  The atmosphere in this small town is just amazing.  EVERYWHERE you look you see Garnet and Gold, FSU flags, FSU car stickers, FSU signs at businesses, and weekly “tailgates” downtown Friday nights during football season.  The entire community goes all out, and I didn’t realize I would miss it, until I realized we won’t have it anymore. I’m sure it is like this is most big college towns, but this is MY college town.  I’ll miss being able to go to the mall and find stores full of FSU things or hearing our Pastor talk about the Seminoles at church and cracks little gator jokes. I can’t get that in Orlando!!! Luckily, we will be back for home games, but during those away games when the atmosphere is still amazing and every sports bar is packed, there are house parties, little get togethers and everyone is rooting for the same team.  It just won’t be the same.  Don’t even try to argue that UCF is the same. It’s not.

SWEET

I have some great friends back home that I’ve stayed in touch with, two of them were my bridesmaids.  I am super excited to be able to see them on a regular basis!!  Leaving them was one of the hard parts of moving away to go to school, and now they get to be a reason that I’m excited to move back home.  When the new T. Swift CD comes out next month, I know I can call Megan and we will go to Target at 8am to buy the DELUXE version and then we will stop at Starbucks or Chik-Fil-A and drive around screaming her album at the top of our lungs like we are still 16.  Only to go back to our houses to decode her lyrics to figure out who the song is about, because that’s our tradition.  I will also have my personal stylist, Anna, back! Which is just happy, because we all know shopping and fashion are not my strong points.  That’s why I shop online and win the award for worst girl ever.  I have a lot of other amazing people I’m excited to move back and see, and I know that will help me with the transition.

There you have it.  The first bittersweet of our move.

We’re Moving!

Now that this information has been given to our bosses and co-workers, Paul and I can officially publicize that we will be moving next month!

Paul was recently approached by one of his manufactuers for an internal sales position with them.  This was a long 2 month process, and if you know me it was a TORTUROUS secret to keep.  From the very beginning, we thought he had a great chance of getting the job.  He was told he was the “top candidate for the position”  (yes, that’s my husband that was APPROACHED as the TOP candidate for a position – super proud wife moment so I have to brag!)  Originially we were under the impression he could stay in Tallahassee and work.  As the weeks progressed, he learned that was no longer the case.  Due to his new territory, and the amount of business in Orlando, we decided the best place for us to relocate to within his territory will be Orlando!   This new job is a huge blessing, and with Paul covering less territory and the majority of it in Orlando, it means a lot less traveling for him!  Which makes us both happy!

This past weekend in Orlando, we started looking for places to live.  Our next hope will be to find a house to rent that allows 3 dogs… call that landlord crazy but I will love them forever if it means we get to take our 3 babies with us!  Luckily for us, my parents are in Lake Mary, and so we have a place to stay if it takes a while to find a place (thanks mom and dad!).

We are extremely excited about this opportunity for Paul, but it is definitely bittersweet.  Tallahassee was home to each of us before we met, and now it holds all of the memories we have created together.  Paul and I both really love our jobs, and not just our jobs but the people we work for!  Which only makes the decision that much harder, but we know it is the right one for us.

God has really outdone himself on this one.  It just goes to show that God’s plan will prevail. Without the job opportunity Paul was given two years ago, he wouldn’t have the opportunity he has now.  He has gone above and beyond when answering our prayers! We even already have someone to rent out our house when we move at the end of September!  Whew!

Paul starts his new job on September 1st in Orlando.  We will basically have a long distance marriage for a month, and we will move at the end of September.  September will be busy… and stressful!

We are sad to leave Tallahassee, but since it is the Home of the Florida State Seminoles and football season is approaching… so there is no doubt that we will be back regularly! Well back for football… and our adorable nieces and their parents 🙂