Practice, practice, practice

Our good friends Matt and Ashley Brandt are enjoying the new addition to their family, Kuyper, who is 2 weeks old now. We recently had waffles for breakfast at their place and Damein got some great baby holding practice in! I think he is quite addicted to holding little Kuyper!

He looks really good holding a baby! :)

Fun Times

Damein and I are obviously so excited about meeting our little one, but during our pre-labor months, we are taking full advantage of spontaneous outings and sleeping in when we can:) Our most recent outing was watching Beauty and the Beast at the Muny here in STL. The Muny is a 92 year old outdoor amphitheater that hosts many theatrical performances every summer. All of the costumes, sets, etc...are developed in the area specifically for Muny performances. It was a hot but a ton of fun!

Ahhh, naps:)

So, yes, it is true that I have an impressive amount of energy on most days, but sometimes, this happens...yes, that is me conked out on our living room floor. Not sure what is going on with my arm, odd positions can be comfy when pregnant!
I simply had a day of exhaustion...this was either my 2nd or 3rd nap of the day! I guess that is what Saturday is for...to rest and rejuvenate from an intense week!

Working on the Baby Room!

Since we already have our baby furniture, we evacuated the 'guest' bedroom and this weekend put together our furniture and moved it into the room, making things a bit more 'official':) Seriously, after getting that furniture set up in the room, I took a deep breath of reality that we are really having a baby! I didn't expect furniture to make things any more real than carrying the baby! BUT...that will probably feel much more real when this little one makes its movements known to mommy!

Mmmm....Cravings

I thought I would give a sample of some of my cravings. Some....not all:) Eating was my worst enemy in the first trimester but my best friend now! Damein has really had the opportunity to explore his inner chef, since I couldn't darken the door of the kitchen for so long. He has become quite good...a few disasters (but there's always plan B), and his intention is always sweet:) Here's to you babe!
Deviled eggs were a fav for a couple weeks, Chipotle mexican, watermelon, pizza, etc...and my latest is tart flavored sorbets. Yum. I think I'll go eat some asian now!

What's It Gonna Be?!

I just scheduled our ultrasound to find out if we have a little lady or a gent:) We can't wait!!!

Week 17 Pics

Per my week 16 post, we are attempting to do the weekly picture...but don't get your expectations too high:)
Obviously still growing here, however, I have eaten realllyyy well today, and I tend to fill out more when I have a full stomach! But I don't think black is a thinning color in this case:)

Week 16

Okay, so after posting this picture, I told Damein we need to start taking pics every week because things are growing so fast! Well, primarily my belly:) Anyway, this is my good friend Ashley Brandt and I, literally almost 24 hours before she had her first little one, Kuyper Jonathan...so there are several weeks difference in us! We barely squeezed this picture in!

Week 14

Yeah, yeah, I realize it's quite a jump from a 10-1/2 week pic and a 14 week but trust me, until this week, nothing had changed. Everything just popped out this week! Damein was very pumped...in his words, "I told you there was something in there!"

10-1/2 Weeks

Growing a little at a time! :)

9-1/2 Weeks

Actually well enough to smile a little for the camera these days! :)

Still in Week 17:)

Well, I was eager to get our baby furniture put together and set up in the baby room, so this weekend, I got ambitious and assembled the baby bed. We got things set up for the time being, but still need to select bedding, paint, and a few other fun things. Our hope is that as God continues to provide me with lots of energy and ‘feel well’ this summer, we can get most of our preparation completed, so as to decrease the amount of additional things on our plate when our fall semester starts!

I am also working ahead on an online class I am taking in the fall, hoping that will lighten my school load too! ☺ Especially since the baby is due Nov. 30th, a couple of weeks before finals are completed! So, I’m trusting that God will help us complete as much as possible (if not all) that we need to before the birth! However, I want to have a content heart either way and know he will provide. It is just so tempting for me to want to have all my ducks in a row for the sake of what I think is best, and sometimes (well, actually often) it seems that God has a different plan. So, I want to have a heart that is willing to grow and know His love and grace more through the journey rather than worrying about the end goal all the time.

"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
Matt. 6:30-34

Week 17

Just completed week 16 and last week we heard the heartbeat for the first time! Absolutely amazing! Damein was so excited that he still likes to reinact it for me and made it clear he would never forget that moment☺ It was humbling to have a sense of this little being inside me in a more concrete way because other than my growing tummy (and a sickly 1st trimester) everything is so abstract! But in roughly 3 weeks we will get to ‘meet’ our little one on the ultrasound and hopefully unveil who wins the gender bet☺

Week 15

Well, I’ve just finished my 15^th week and I still get confused when people ask me how far along I am. Should I tell them how many weeks I have completed or which week I am currently in? This shouldn’t be a big deal but I have found that the answer to that question never flows out quite right! :)