Week 25 and Week 26

I know I know...  I have been terrible at posting. I am not going to set any more expectations of the whole "once a week" post because time keeps slipping away from me and the next thing I know two weeks have passed. We will be 27 weeks on Tuesday so I am uber-late with this post. Sorry!  Here is a picture taken yesterday morning :)

I am still feeling really good which is awesome. Our baby is weighing in at two pounds now and over a foot long! So crazy. We feel him (or her) moving a LOT. Especially when I lie down and after I eat. This baby is bound to have some long limbs considering I'm about 5'6" and Lenny is 6'4". He or she is probably needs some room for those legs and arms! 

We have had a busy couple of weeks. The biggest thing we did was tour a few daycares. They were all good and I found pro's and con's at each of them which I did expect. I didn't have that "THIS IS IT!" moment.  This was really disappointing for me because I thought I would have that feeling by now. We are on a few waiting lists but are continuing to look around. I know that "no one is going to take care of your baby like you can", but I really want to feel comfortable. It's important to me. The places that we toured were all very capable and I think our baby would be fine at any one of them, I just didn't have a feeling about any one of them being "the one".  I keep praying for clarity on the situation. Lenny tells me not to worry and that every thing will fall in to place as it is supposed to. He's so much more calm than I am. I trust that it will fall in to place, I just wish I had a hunch on just HOW and WHEN it will fall in to place :)

We had a great weekend together. Friday night we got to go out to dinner with some friends of ours, Lance and Danielle. We went to Harpers restaurant and I had a REALLY yummy veggie burger. Saturday morning we went to the annual "Wade Family Christmas Breakfast". I brought a dish that I found the recipe for on Pinterest and not a single drop was left of it. It was very yummy! Yesterday afternoon we pulled out all of our Christmas presents and wrapped them for the family. I didn't realize how exhausting that could be - We fell asleep on the couch together afterwards (Lenny told me I had a steady snore going on... but I don't believe him.) Last night we did an annual Christmas dinner with Brady and Niki, our really good friends who also happen to be our neighbors :) Instead of doing gifts for each other, we pick a night and go out to a nice restaurant and spend time together. We went to Barringtons (YUM!!) and it was so so so so good. We didn't get home till 11 o'clock last night which, for this girl, is late! It really was a great night. 

Today Lenny and I got up and we went to 10:30 church. It was great being able to go since we have been traveling in and out of town so much recently. I did end up getting really hot though and had to step out for a little bit to get my water out of the car and cool off. We went out for Mexican for lunch and came back and got to work. I had purchased a new filing cabinet recently to "get organized" and we pulled out every bill and paper we had and organized all our files. It went MUCH more quickly than I had imagined and I feel so good now. Every thing is in its appropriate place and in alphabetical order. After that I had about 4 loads of laundry to do. 

This week is going to be crazy. I have meetings scheduled at work every day and a doctors appointment Tuesday morning (where they test me for gestational diabetes). I am having dinner with my girlfriend Jill Tuesday night and then we leave Thursday for our trip to Memphis! It's going to be an amazing trip and I have been looking forward to it for weeks. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post them. 

With as much as I have been thinking about this daycare situation and as busy as things have been. I really have been trying to take a deep breath and enjoy this moment. We have 13 more weeks of this pregnancy and this is really the last time it will be just "us" for well... at least the next 18 years :) 

I came home Tuesday night (the night after looking at daycares) and I had been at an event for ISES and when I got home, Lenny had made me some dinner to eat (he's amazing). I went upstairs to take a shower and get ready for bed and I noticed that our iPod dock was up at the top of the steps and the nursery door was closed. I opened up the door and all of the furniture was in the middle of the room. Lenny had painted the nursery without me knowing. I could have cried right then and there. I don't even know if he understands how much I appreciate him doing that. He knows how much I worry about stuff. I worry about the whole parenting thing and just how to do it. Are we going to be good parents like we hope? Are we going to do and stick to the things we say we are going to? How is this going to change our dynamic with each other? And then I have a moment like this where I walk in to the nursery, totally unexpectedly see that my husband has taken care of this task and I realize that we are going to be fine. We will be okay because we love each other and we take care of each other. We always have each others backs. This baby is going to be welcomed in to the world with an extraordinary amount of love. And that is comforting. 

Until next time!

Xoxo,

Sara

Week 23 and Week 24

I promise I am not trying to skip weekly posts and go to biweekly posts! It's just been a crazy month I guess.  Let me start out with a picture from week 23/24 :)

The baby bump is in full bump form! It's strange to have a belly like this - I went shopping for Christmas presents this weekend and was walking through J. Crew and picked up a skirt I thought was really cute. Then realized that 1) don't buy anything for yourself. and 2) this is not going to fit you right now. I guess being pregnant is at least saving me money on clothes? 

Lenny and I had our two year anniversary on the 21st. He has been in and out of town for the last month working on a huge project with work. He had to be out of town on our actual anniversary but got to come home the weekend before and he planned a night out for us. We went to the Melting Pot for dinner and it was oh oh so good. Here are a couple of pictures from our night. 

 

It is amazing how quickly two years have gone by. I can truly say that I married an incredible man. He is my best friend in the whole world. We have fun together, we are silly and make each other laugh but respect and love each other equally as well.  Our "partnership"  is strong and we always have each others backs. I can't wait to start our family together. Lenny is going to be the best dad. I know I've said this before, but I mean it with all my heart. He is a grown up little boy and I see how he his with children that are not his own - I just know our child is going to look up to him think he's the best in the world. I need to stop writing about this because I feel tears in my eyes. I'm quite emotional these days!

Another fun thing we finalized this week is... the NURSERY! woo!!! Below are a couple of pictures I took with my phone of the fabric we will be using. The pictures are kind of dark - sorry!

 

I am so so excited with how this has turned out. All the fabric was purchased and shipped and arrived late this week to everywhere it needed to go. Lenny's mom, Mimi, is going to make the curtains and a pillow for the rocker. Marmi is having one of her best friends make all of the bedding. It's going to be gorgeous. Hopefully everything will be completed by mid-January. I will be sure to post pictures once we are finished. 

I had my 6 month check up this past week with my OB. Everything was right on track! I got weighed again and I believe I have gained a total of 15 pounds! (I was told this was normal btw)  My doctor was telling me that when his wife was pregnant he bought her some "carb free" ice cream and he said that she really liked it and it helped her sweet tooth.  I told him that it only sounded good if I could put some reese's cups on it. Anyways - the baby's heart beat was 152! Best sound ever. In the journal book it says that the baby weighs about a pound and a half now and measures over a foot long. So crazy! I can't believe how fast this time has gone.  And I know with Christmas coming up, it's only going to go by more quickly.

My next appointment is on the 20th of this month where I get to do the "sugar test" and they find out of you have gestational diabetes.  On the 13th, Lenny and I have appointments at a few day cares. Hopefully we will have a better understanding of that process and a decision on what we would like to do. It surely is overwhelming. Lenny tells me I put too much pressure on myself which is probably true.

I will leave you with a picture of our little family on Thanksgiving. I love my husband and our baby!

Until next time!

xoxo,

Sara

Week 21 and Week 22

As you can tell - It's been a WILD two weeks. So wild I did not even get to post last week. So much has been going on and I've been extremely busy! I will first share a picture from this past week.

I had an incredible trip to Memphis to visit the family this past week. I flew in on Thursday and Poppy (my dad) picked me up from the airport. We went to a restaurant called Jim's Place where we met my sister for a "daddy - daughter" dinner. We RARELY get to do this - just the three of us. So it was a really nice evening. We stayed at the restaurant for about three hours just talking.  Poppy - who I truly believe was a writer in a past life, wrote Amanda and I an email the day after our dinner together. I won't copy and paste the entire note in this blog because when I go back and re-read it I cry (EVERY. TIME). But here was one paragraph from the note...

"I can say without a doubt that you both have a great sense of who you are, what you want and how
important your families are in your lives. I am so pleased with you. I would like to take all the credit but
your mother had as much or more to do with your great qualities and wonderful personalities. I would
like to believe that I added to your strong perseverance and drives for success."

Really - He's always written the best letters and notes. We had a wonderful time together. It was one of those nights I will cherish for forever.

Friday it was a "Marmi-Daughter" day. We started out the day by getting manicures and pedicures. Marmi and Amanda both took off work on Friday to hang out with yours truly.  People were still trying to make them work! Look at these women on their phones!

From our mani/pedi's we went to lunch, then to look at fabric for baby Shelor's room. We picked out some more great samples! This coming up Saturday I will be going with Mimi (Lenny's mom) to look at more fabric so hopefully by Sunday we should have ALL fabric picked out and ready to go!!

After fabric the girls went to Dillards where we had to buy me some new undergarments. Fact of life - new bra's are necessary when you are pregnant! If anyone wants my recommendation -- the Spanx bra is AMAZING. Pregnant or not -- seriously. It's truly the best bra I've ever owned. Just FYI :)

After our trip to the mall, we went grocery shopping at Kroger and Costco for Graham's birthday party that was taking place Saturday. We had the best day together. Just us girls. If I lived in Memphis - I think I would see my mom and sister every day. Is that weird? I just love them so much! And they are very.. very funny!

Friday night I got to go see my best girlfriends from home. We met at one of my favorite restaurants, Houston's, for dinner.  It was so wonderful seeing and catching up with them. And apparently, Houston's was quite the hotspot, because we saw a few other people we knew as well! I miss all of these girls terribly. They are pretty amazing - and it's crazy how all of us have changed and grown up over the years. I have known all of them since we were 14 years old. Let's just say... we have come a LONG way!!

Marmi had scheduled a massage for me Saturday morning. It was WONDERFUL. Oh my goodness. The girl who did it (Marmi goes to her regularly) explained to me I was holding a lot of tension in my neck and back. I knew this but did not know how MUCH. She rubbed out so many knots and kinks. I tried my hardest not to fall asleep while I was getting the massage - I wanted to enjoy every minute of it!

We had the best time at Graham's 2nd birthday party. Wow - what a party!! Here are some pictures.





The night of Graham's birthday party - I stayed at Marmi's house and had a slumber party with my other niece and nephew, Virginia and George.  We had the most fun! We built a big comfy pallet with pillows and blankets. We put on a movie and this little momma passed out! Virginia was so cute - she did not want to go to sleep! You could tell she wanted to hold on to the day because she had so much fun.

After a good night's sleep we got up and got ready for brunch with Poppy, Booboo and Grandaddy, Amanda, Don, Graham, Richard, Jean, Virginia and George. We went to Spring Creek where Poppy is a member and he treated us to such a yummy Sunday brunch. Here is a picture of Virginia and I before the brunch. Love this little girl so much!

And one of us walking to our car after brunch. I swear, look how cute she is. I swear this child has more J.Crew in her closet then I do. (This is unbelievable, I know).

Let's just say - when I had to say bye to everyone to come back to Charlotte - I don't know if I had cried that hard in awhile. It was so hard leaving. We will be back at Christmas which I am so thankful for. This is such an emotional time in my life and I miss my family so much. I am extremely (extremely!) lucky to live in such a wonderful city with a fantastic husband, but there are so many days where I wish I could just zip on down the road to my sister's house to sit and talk, run by Marmi's house to eat dinner, meet Poppy at his house to see his latest gadget. On the other hand  - When I do get to go to Memphis, the trips are so very special. They are PACKED with activities and events and the schedule rarely leaves any time to relax. I guess that's one of the lovely things about it. I do get the best of both worlds. I love Charlotte and my life here, and I love going to Memphis and visiting and how happy I feel when I am there and then I get to come back here. And I am so very lucky to have Lenny's family just an hour away from us. We get to spend a lot of time with them and it helps fill that need in me for family. Having two wonderful parents and three great siblings, a sister and brother in law, two nephews and a niece in Memphis - You can imagine how desperate I am to be surrounded by people and love here. And I am so blessed with the incredible in-laws I have, the wonderful sister in law, brother in law and nephew I have in Lenny's family. They are great people that I adore. Baby Shelor is going to be welcomed in to this world with SO much love. He/She has been moving a LOT lately. So I KNOW he/she can already feel all that love! (Or maybe it's just all the yummy food I'm eating! :) 

Until next week -

xoxo,

Sara



Week 20

We are HALF WAY there folks!! I can't even believe it. It feels like it's going by so fast. Here is the week 20 picture which I am taking VERY late (because tomorrow I am 21 weeks).

Can I just say that I really have been enjoying maternity clothes? They are really super comfortable.











I went to the Dr. this week for my 20 week check up and it was a great appointment! They weighed me right off the bat - 131 pounds! Total weight gain for the first 20 weeks - 9 pounds. My Dr. said that was perfect and right on track! I also got to hear baby Shelor's heart beat -- Again, the BEST sound ever. The heart beat was 155 and adorable as always. The nurse (whom I had never met before) said she guessed we were having a girl. I told her she had a 50/50 shot at being right but that she was one of the very few people who has guessed girl :)  We shall see! I am going to try to get people's guesses on video prior to baby S being born. It could make for a very special video if we can edit it right.

The Dr. finally came in and I of course immediately shouted "DON'T TELL ME IF YOU KNOW, DON'T TELL ME IF YOU KNOW!" ... I had absolutely thought that the ultra sound tech would either give him a note or write it in my chart what we were having - which he would obviously see and some how slip up in the next 5 months. He assured me that he does not know! Phew (insert sigh of relief!). He said that he has a hard time keeping a straight face and would absolutely slip up if he knew. Way to go, doc! He said "I will find out what you are having when you do!" So fun :)

We chatted a little bit about the next few months. I go back at the end of November for my 24 week check up and then back in December for my 28 week/gestational diabetes test. He broke out the measuring tape and measured my belly (they measure from the top of your uterus down to your pelvic bone - very interesting!) which he said was measuring at 19.5 weeks and looked right on schedule.

I then got a flew shot (the safe one for pregnant people of course!) and was sent on my way.
Followed by a very relaxing weekend -- thank you week 20 for being awesome!

I am so happy it is Monday - because THURSDAY I will be flying to Memphis!! I can't tell you how excited I am. Thursday I am going out to dinner with Dad (Poppy) and Amanda, Friday it's a girls day with Mom (Marmi) and Amanda, Thursday afternoon I get to see my best friend Alayne and then get to go out with all my best girlfriends from home to my most favorite restaurant in Memphis.  Must take pictures!! Saturday is Grahams birthday party and Sunday we are having a big family brunch followed by... dum dum dum... BABY REGISTERING! I fly back Monday around 2:30 and I'm sure I will cry the whole way. It's hard to leave Memphis after such fun weekends. But I do love the anticipation leading up to it. I will have a full report next week!

In case you are curious about Baby Shelor this week, here is what the updates say.. "Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (The way your baby is measured changes now.) He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system."
He or She has been moving a lot lately! It's so cute. Especially after I eat - You can actually see my stomach "pump" or "move" out a little bit where the baby kicks. It's so funny. I know it will get even crazier as time goes on. But I love feeling him/her in there. What an incredible connection...

I must go now, sorry this has been so short and sweet. After a full week of fun, I'm sure I will have lots to talk about after week 21...

Until then!
xoxo,

Sara

Week 19

Here is our picture from Week 19!

Thank you to my awesome sister for the pile of maternity clothes she gave me. This dress was one she had when she was pregnant and it is super comfortable.

Week 19 was pretty low key. We didn't have any after work activities scheduled this week which was nice because I got to go for walks every day. It was beautiful here so walking was great.

I had been craving mexican food all week so Friday night Lenny and I went out to dinner and I got my fill of chips, salsa, cheese dip and guacamole. I surprisingly didn't have heart burn afterwards. Not that I get heartburn often - I just know how much I ate that night which is why I'm surprised :)  It surely was delicious though!

Saturday night we had a neighborhood potluck which our neighbors, the Koesels, and we organized. It turned out to be really really fun and a ton of people came. We had so much food and Lenny got to grill burgers on his big green egg so he was a happy camper. We had a fire pit where we all got to make s'mores for dessert. The kids in the neighborhood wore their Halloween costumes. And it was COLD. Unexpectedly cold. I stayed seated by the fire pit most of the night.

Lenny's sister, Lisa Marie, came down and stayed with us as well. It was great being able to spend some time together. She is so excited about baby Shelor and is going to be an awesome aunt. She's an incredible mom and someone I look up to - especially for her parenting skills. I'm very blessed to have her. I wish she could have stayed a couple of more days actually -- but I think she might miss her boys at home :)

I had a really nice Sunday - A relaxing morning, followed by a two hour prenatal yoga class. A dietitian - who also is a friend of mine - came to the first part of the class and answered questions about pretty much anything to do with food, drinking, vitamins, breastfeeding, etc. It was really interesting.  When I got home I ate lunch and then got to take a two hour nap (woohoo!). It does stink waking up and realizing I still need to go to the grocery store. But I did a quick trip there and came back to house. All in all - a great Sunday.

I have our 20 week checkup on Wednesday. I have been feeling more and more little movements that baby Shelor keeps making. It's almost like little bubbles in the belly. It makes me laugh a little each time I feel it because it's such a miracle. It makes me so happy.

I hate to cut this short but it's late for this momma. I'm ready to get in my pj's and lie down.
Until next week!
xoxo,
Sara

Week 18

Week 18 has been wonderful!! Here's our picture from this week...

This was first thing in the morning. Let me be the first to tell you, as the day goes on, and you eat breakfast and lunch and a mid afternoon snack, I swear the belly expands and I look a LOT more pregnant by 5pm then I do at 9am. Just saying :)

Like I mentioned above, week 18 was great. We had our 18 week ultra sound on Wednesday. They did the "anatomy scan" where the tech measures EVERYTHING. The ultra sound lasted about 45 minutes. It was amazing. She talked us through everything she measured which was very interesting. It's crazy what they are trained to see. She explained to us that everything looked perfect. I cried... of course!

She got to the part where she needed to determine the sex of the baby and she knew we did not want to know so she told us to look away.  She took out the pictures at the end so we would not have any clue. The general consensus right now amongst our friends is that everyone seems to be convinced we are having a boy. I will be happy either way :)  We will find out in about 5 months! Here is one of the ultra sound videos from Wednesday. You can see those arms and legs kicking around. It's absolutely crazy. I've started to feel the "flutters" as everyone calls them. It's like you had a little twitch in your stomach. It's wild. I'm not sure how long it will take till Lenny will be able to feel the baby. Enjoy the video!

Baby Shelor at 18 Weeks

Pretty crazy, huh? It's amazing all the things we got to see - Arms, legs, fingers, toes, the brain, the heart. It's incredible. Every day it feels more "real". 

Another VERY fun thing Lenny and I got to do this week was go to CLEMSON on Saturday and watch the Tigers play UNC! They are doing great this season and the games have been very exciting to watch on tv so were really pumped to have the opportunity to go down and get tickets to the game and tailgate with friends.  Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Tailgate time! Sara Bryant (who is very newly a  Blondie by the way!) and I at her parents tailgate. It was so good to be able to see and catch up with her.

Shelly and I at the tailgate! I love me some "shelbell" as I call her. She had me laughing so hard I was crying yesterday. Literally. Crying.

I miss these girls so much. We don't get to see each other as much as we'd like and yesterday was so fun but I was also left with a sense of sadness because we pick up right where we left off each time and it makes me miss them that much more. I need to be better about planning get togethers - even if it's meeting halfway for dinner. It's a small thing to do when people bring you so much joy.

I also got to see one of my best friends Caroline at half time (WAY TOO SHORT OF A TIME!) and sadly don't have a picture to show for it :(  It was so good seeing her too. She just passed her boards and is going to be the best nurse in Greenville, SC. Again, another friend I need to make more time to see. Especially before the little bean gets here. 

I am off now to eat dinner with our neighbors. We do "Soup Sundays" when the weather starts getting a little colder and we switch off each week. It's their turn and we are having chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches! We are even going to get yogurt afterwards. YUM!

Until next week!

xoxo,

Sara

Week 17

Here is the week 17 picture... I spy a baby bump! I'm officially wearing maternity jeans in this picture by the way! And they are oh' so comfortable! 

October is one of the busiest months in the event industry and we are on full blast at work.  Lenny spent a few days out of town this week working on the setup for a wedding this weekend. Between his quick trip and the days being filled with phone calls, emails and appointments - the week (like I feel like I keep saying) truly does fly by.

Earlier this week a package arrived to the house. I wasn't expecting anything and was surprised to see some special presents for baby Shelor!  Marmi went out of town to Dallas and Atlanta this month and during one of her trips, couldn't help herself - she saw some adorable items at Pottery Barn Kids and shipped them straight to us. How adorable are these?? 

We have a sheep washcloth/mitt and a sheep towel wrap. Sophie the giraffe is a great play toy and two organic swaddling blankets! 

Thank you Marmi!! Baby S loves you so much already!! We've been feeling so blessed and loved during this whole process. 

I bought a flight back home to Memphis for a long weekend in November this week as well. I can't wait to give my family and friends big hugs! Marmi already has a plan for my sister and I and my niece and her to go do baby registry. I have so much to learn but I know I will be in good hands with this crew. 

This weekend was filled with fun activities! On Friday evening we got to meet our good friends Aundrea, Michael and their son Samuel out at a restaurant called the Waldhorn for their annual Oktoberfest. I do all of the event equipment for their month long festival so we like to go each year. We had bratwurst and pretzels and turkey legs (the biggest turkey leg you've ever seen!) We had German beer (I drank non-alcoholic beer of course!) and we listened to German music but the most fun of all -- People watching! It was a great time for us.

I worked on Saturday for a little while and came home afterwards to eat lunch and went for an hour walk outside. It's been so beautiful - the walk was fantastic. Lenny's parents came to Charlotte yesterday - their friend was having a birthday party here so they came over afterward and spent the night with us. We always have so much fun together! Lenny's mom, Mimi, is the queen of scrap-booking. Our nephew, Austin, has some of the most beautiful scrapbooks I have ever put my eyes on. Mimi is extremely talented and she could make some big bucks doing scrapbooking professionally but I know it takes a LOT of time! :)   She has been so excited to start our little bean's scrapbook. She brought it down with her and showed us the first page which she completed this week. See below. 

Can you believe this?? It's already so so sweet! We found out in July that we were pregnant so this is the first page - The calendar for July, a picture of Lenny and I -- and yes... THE pregnancy test (some people find this a little weird - I think it's totally normal to save your pregnancy test!) And on the right hand side - it says "How I told your Daddy" - so it's my perspective, telling our little one, how I told Lenny I was pregnant. And, look at the three hearts on the left by our picture. Now there's three hearts in our little family unit. It really does make me tear up! I'm emotional over one page in this scrapbook! It's only going to get better! 

Thank you Mimi for doing this for us. It will keep this incredible time in our lives fresh for years to come. Baby Shelor is so lucky to have you as a grandmother!!

We have our 18 week ultra sound on Wednesday. Pictures and videos to follow, of course! And next weekend Lenny and I are heading down to Clemson, SC to watch the Tigers play!! I am so excited to see some of my best girlfriends. It's been way too long!

Until next time!

xoxo,

Sara