T-minus 2 weeks & Cora's nursery

38 weeks :D
I seriously cannot believe we are in the home stretch!! A lot has been going on recently..Work has been busy and my last day is this Saturday so I have been getting my clients in before I leave for a few weeks. We have been getting our house in order and that has been going well. Mikey has been killin it around here! He keeps this place clean and decorated so perfectly..I am glad one of us does :) He also has been finishing up with Cora's nursery and I must say it turned out darn near perfect!!! I am so in love with it. We will just go sit in there some nights and look for stuff to do. We finished all of our painting (YAYYYY) and then laid hardwood in her room and ours. I am SO glad that is over and it turned out great. My wonderful brother in law did them and we are seriously so thankful for that!!

Other than home projects and the usual work stuff we have been checking things off our baby do list. Pediatrician picked, hospital bags packed, birth announcement picked, all of her clothes are washed and hung (thanks to Mikey), etc etc etc. I really can't believe we finally accomplished it all, it seemed never ending. We had our maternity pics taken as well and can I just say they are AMAZING!! Hillary did an awesome job and they turned out just like I imagined! I will share those in my next blog post :)

I have been feeling surprisingly well, of course sometimes I feel like poop but overall I have had a great pregnancy and really cannot complain. The first trimester still outweighs the third in the suckage department for me. I have been sleeping through the night and not even getting up to go to the bathroom, which I hear is seriously unusual. I may toss and turn a little each night but nothing terrible. Since I stand a lot at work people always ask me about swelling..I haven't had any at all and my blood pressure has been perfect every week.. Although I am feeling good and all is well health wise, don't think that I am not so so SO ready to meet her! I told Mikey the hardest part about these last few weeks isn't the comfortableness or lack their of.. but I am just getting so darn impatient. It's hard waiting for something so amazing that you can feel everyday, moving constantly with a cute little face that is half you! I mean, I get seriously giddy just thinking about her! :):)

I had 2 AMAZING baby showers and we seriously got so many great gifts. I'm thankful for family and friends that are like family..Makes my heart smile knowing that so many care about Cora and I :) I will leave you guys now before I get all pregnant girl mushy on you :P


How far along? 38 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 25ish. We will see on Monday what the latest damage is. All third trimester consists of is eating, eating and more eating. I just finished 2 pieces of toast and a glass of chocolate milk and it is 1am. Oops.
Maternity clothes? I have been wearing some Target maternity black pants and some American Eagle size 10 skinny jeans. They almost button :)
Stretch marks? No and crossing my fingers that it stays this way for 2ish more weeks!
Sleep: Getting comfortable is challenging but once I am I sleep well
Best moment this week: TGIS (Saturday) the work week is over and my feet can relax
Miss Anything? Ehh, I am ready for skinn(ier) jeans and spring outfits without a pregnant belly :)
Movement: Yes tons, toes in ribs and all
Food cravings: Jelly & butter toast. Like, a lot.
Anything making you queasy or sick: No
Have you started to show yet: Oh yes
Labor Signs: None, no dilation yet either
Belly Button in or out? It's as out as it can get, but still not what I would consider an outie
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Her ARRIVAL!!! :)

Cora's nursery all finished :)

 

30 weeks

Sunday marked 30 weeks for myself and little miss. I am feeling very pregnant these days and although I may not look it, I feel huge. Funny how something so small can make you feel so big. We had a doctors appointment today and everything is great. She is moving like a crazy person all the time and keeping my round ligaments in check. I love feeling her little kicks and rolls! I really have had an easy pregnancy post 17 weeks(after the puking subsided) and can't complain too much.

In case you missed the Facebook memo, we are naming her Cora Brooks. We really struggled finding a name that we both loved..We had plenty that we liked, we just couldn't picture our child with a few of them. We kept searching and searching and finally decided on December 9 what her name would be. We saw Cora on a list of names from the 1800's and immediately both liked it. We thought about it for a few days and finally decided when we were at our doctors appointment. We knew he was going to ask us if she had a name yet and we just decided in the room that her name was Cora. It really took a lot for us to commit so when we both did we knew it was right. Brooks is my middle name and so it just worked.

A lot has been going on since I was here last. Our to do list was/is a mile long. I'll share some projects we wanted to complete before she arrives...
-paint her room, closet and bathroom
-paint our bedroom, closet and bathroom
-paint dresser we are using as the changing table
-go to Ikea to get a chair for her room and decorations for both rooms
-new floors in both rooms
I know there's more but I'm pregnant and can't remember ANYTHING! Did I mention paint her room, twice? Poor, poor Mikey. His pregnant wife forced him to repaint her room after he had completed it the first go around. Neither of us were feeling the color after we stepped back and looked at it. He loves me too much :) The list is slowly diminishing. We have all the walls painted that need paint and he is currently painting her dresser. We were waiting on all of this to do the floors so that's next on the list and then a trip to Ikea. Btw, if you've never been I highly suggest you go. It is a m a z i n g, seriously. I will share some pics of nursery inspirations and what it will look like when we do reach the end of our to do list. I also had/have a few small things that I need to do like wash all of her clothes, pre-register at the hospital, pack our hospital bags, pick a pediatrician, etc etc. They aren't as time consuming as painting so I'm looking forward to doing them.

Christmas came and sadly went, it's my favorite holiday. I just love the family time and how magical the entire month is. We had a great day and seeing my nieces and nephew open gifts really makes me excited for next year. Cora got plenty of presents already and she isn't even here yet..Fine by me :)

I'm trying to think of anything else exciting that's happening but mainly right now all we are doing is preparing her room and getting our house in order. I took my glucose test and passed it so that's a plus. Work has been busy and volleyball scheduling is commencing. I have 2 baby showers coming up this next month so I am looking forward to those and putting all the baby belongings in place for her arrival. Less than 10 weeks and she will be here! AHHH!

How far along? 30 weeks, 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: 16 pounds as of today
Maternity clothes? Finally bought some maternity leggings, pants, tanks and shirts. Target maternity is AMAZING!
Stretch marks? Nope, so far so good
Sleep: I have trouble getting comfortable so that makes it challenging to fall asleep but once I'm there I usually sleep through the night. Not even waking up for bathroom breaks which shocks me
Best moment this week: Finally getting all the painting done!
Miss Anything? Not that I can think of
Movement: Yes! She is a wild woman in there
Food cravings: I finally had my first craving..Mikey pointed out how much cereal I have been eating. I mean, 2 bowls a day! Pre pregnancy the last time I ate cereal regularly was probably middle school. Frosted Flakes are my thing these days.
Anything making you queasy or sick: No
Have you started to show yet: Definitely sporting a bump these days
Gender prediction: She's still a girl :)
Labor Signs: No and nervous to have to say yes eventually. I'm still holding firm on my no induction thing
Belly Button in or out? In for now. I'm pretty sure it's on its way out
Wedding rings on or off? On and no swelling anywhere, yay
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Her room and ours being complete

23 weeks

25 weeks

Merry Christmas!

30 weeks!

Lazy dogs :)

Josie entertaining me while Mikey paints

Showering Hailey and baby Olivia

And finally, some nursery inspiration pictures. Let's hope Cora's looks this good :)

22 and counting..

Well I haven't been here in a while..I knew that would likely happen. I have been busy with life in general and am flat out lazy. Time is seriously flying by!! I can't believe I am already 22 weeks! We have been busy with painting her room and buying plenty of baby stuff :) She already has a ton of clothes. We went ahead and bought the stroller & car seat along with her crib. I am in love! I can't wait to put her in them all :) She has been quite the jumping bean here recently. I felt her move for the first time on November 13 and about 2 weeks later Mikey felt her. It is the wildest feeling and I love it! She is still nameless. I have about a million people on me for this too. I don't know how people pick a name. It has been the hardest part of it all.

Thanksgiving came and went, sadly, it is one of my favorites. It just doesn't get any better than family & food. Christmas will be here soon and it is definitely my favorite holiday. I have always liked this time of year but in recent years I have been absolutely loving it. It really is just magical :) and let's not forget Black Friday. I did plenty of shopping and got lots of goodies.

I will share some pictures of what has been going on..

Fall at the Powell residence

Birmingham hairshow, they had a pirate themed dance party

 Gender reveal party decor

It's a GIRL!! :)

  

20 weeks

Jenny Lind crib :)

 Britax stroller & car seat

A baby fur vest, YES PLEASE! :D

My favorite tree yet I've done

Wall color

Florida Aqua by Benjamin Moore

Mikey working while I supervise :)

 I think Ted approves of the crib

 Watching daddy paint

Charlie :)

Jo needs a haircut!

Thanksgiving

Meg's baby sprinkle for Reece :)

 I took mom to see Vince Gill (she LOVES him) We had a blast!

I had so much fun tonight at ArtsyU with my work girls! I can't wait to go back

How far along? 22 weeks, 2 days
Total weight gain/loss: At my last appointment I had finally gained some..3 pounds!
Maternity clothes? No just living in leggings like every winter
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Sleeping well actually. I may wake up a time or two but nothing bad
Best moment this week: So much going on these days! Thanksgiving and feeling my girl move like crazy!
Miss Anything? A caramel coffee loaded with sugar and caffeine :)
Movement: Yes! She is a wild woman in there
Food cravings: Still nothing. I wish I had some chocolate right now, but that's the pre-pregnancy usual :)
Anything making you queasy or sick: I still sometimes get car sick but not often, I am FINALLY over the nausea!! 
Have you started to show yet: Nothing crazy but I am definitely sticking out there now
Gender prediction: GIRL 
Labor Signs: No, and I dread the day I have to say yes to this
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Finally naming this minion