21 weeks

 

 

 

 

So since the last tri-weekly update, we have found out that we are expecting a baby girl!!  The anatomy scan went so smoothly! Everything is in perfect working order, and I cannot believe how incredibly blessed I am.  I thank God everyday for this gift. 

 

Husband is finally getting to feel a few of Parker's kicks and punches.  They feel so strong to me (on the inside), so when I say "feel that one?" and he says "no" I'm shocked! How can you not feel it?? She's trying to kick her way out! He feels them more if I'm laying flat or turned on my side. He's thrilled to finally get to be a part of that.

 

We have been working up a storm on the nursery.  I joke with Andrew that the best-looking room in the house isn't even being used yet! We'll get started on the other rooms soon.

 

The next update will be the week before Thanksgiving.  We have a lot to be thankful for!

How far along?   Today, I am 21 weeks 5 days
Size of baby: About the length of a banana. She weighs around a pound (maybe even more!)
Total weight gain/loss:.10 pounds
Stretch marks?  None so far =)
Sleep: Last night was terrible! I have a cold and woke up at 3:30 sneezing and unable to breathe.  I had the HARDEST time falling back asleep. What I would give for a day off!
Best moment this week: Parker moved all day long yesterday.  It almost made me sea sick, but I love every feeling. It's very reassuring.
Worst moment this week: Stupid pregnancy brain! I made a huge pot of broccoli and cheese soup and left it out on the counter all night long =(
Movement: very consistant.  It's the single most amazing and strange feeling there is, but I wouldn't trade it for the world, and I know I'll miss it.
Food cravings: None really lately.  Other than the fact that I cannot get enough hot soup.  But that's probably because fall is upon us!
What I miss: Starbucks... I know they can make it caffeine free, but it's not the same.
What I am looking forward to: Monthly check up next week! But not the glucose test =( 
Weekly Wisdom: Don't be embarrassed to ask your husband to help you take off your boots! haha 

And the bump grows on....

 

Creamy Broccoli and Cheese Soup

There is nothing I like more on a cold night than a warm bowl of soup.  Last night I helped a friend work a pumpkin patch, selling pumpkins as a fundraiser for her church.  It got pretty windy and chilly, so when we were finished, she came back to our house and I made some Creamy Broccoli and Cheese Soup.  It was a simple, filling dinner, and it took very little time to make. 

Ingredients
3 cups frozen broccoli florets, thawed
4 cups chicken broth
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup shredded cheese
1 tbs cornstarch (to thicken)

Directions
Simmer the broccoli in the chicken broth until soft (but not too mushy). While the broth is still simmering, stir in two cans of cream of chicken soup.  Combine 1 tbs cornstarch with about an ounce of water (add water until you can stir it easily and it looks like the consistancy of milk).  Bring the soup to a rolling boil, and (while whisking) add the cornstarch/water mixture. Reduce heat.  Stir in 1 cup shredded cheese until melted. I did not have to add any extra seasonings to the soup because the broth was so flavorful and the cream of chicken soup already has salt.

Unfortunately, pregnancy brain go the best of me,and I left the rest of the pot of soup out all night :(  This soup is so quick and easy to make, though, I'm sure I'll whip up another batch soon!

Pink Balloons

After completing a gorgeous newborn photo shoot with Image 1:27 Photography , my husband and I got our pictures made as well.  We walked down an overgrown path to an abandoned railroad trestle in Lawley, Alabama.  The scenery was breathtaking! We took some photos to use for gender announcements for Parker Elizabeth using a bouquet of pink balloons. 

 

My husband's new favorite

I made this meal for dinner last night using a recipe I found on Pinterest as my starting point.  The original recipe only called for sour cream, parmesan, and chicken, and it sounded really good, but I can't leave well-enough alone!

Ingredients:
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
cooked, crumbled bacon
onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper
chicken breasts
Italian bread crumbs

Directions
Set the oven to 350. Combine first four rows of ingredients in a bowl, kind of tasting as you go to get the seasonings right. Salt and pepper the chicken.  Spoon the sour cream mixture over the chicken breasts and top with a sprinkling of bread crumbs.  To bake, I lined a glass baking dish with aluminum foil and set a cooling rack on top of that. That way the heat goes evenly around the chicken, and it doesn't have to sit in all the liquids.  Bake for 40 minutes.

 

For the side dish, I used some boil-in-the-bag rice, boiled in 4 cups of chicken broth rather than water.  It adds SO MUCH flavor to the rice. I could eat it plain. I put it in the bottom of a casserole dish. Then, because I'm a cheater, I microwaved two individual servings of broccoli with cheese sauce and dumped them on top of the rice. I topped everything with a mixture of shredded cheese, grated parmesan, and Italian bread crumbs.  I baked it during the chicken's last ten minutes just to get all the cheese to melt.

My husband said this is his new favorite dish!

...And ribbons for hairbows

Sugar and spice
and everything nice
that's what little girls are made of

Sunshine and rainbows
and ribbons for hair bows
that's what little girls are made of

Tea parties, laces
and baby doll faces
that's what little girls are made of

I have always thought this was a sweet poem, nevermoreso now that I am going to have my own sweet little girl.  And every little girl needs hairbows... and a place to store them!

I found this really fun oblong octagonal picture frame at the Prattville Pickers Flea Market.  I spray painted it turquoise and distressed the edges. I got some pink polkadot ribbon from a craft store and brought out my trusty staple gun!

 

 

 I stretched out pieces of ribbon along the back of the frame and stapled them down.

 

 I used three ribbons.

 

 To hang the frame up on the wall, I used a soda can tab.  These things are amazing for holding up lightweight items on the wall! I just stapled it into the frame.

 

 I hung the frame up in Parker's room and attatched her hairbows. 

 

The bows are made with such great ribbon! This is a great way to show them off!

 

 

Click here to see where I link up!

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

At the Pratville Pickers Flea Market, I stumbled across this super-fancy mirror.  I knew it would be perfect and feminine for Miss Parker's room... with a little touch-up.

 

 

I was somehow lucky enough to find yellow spray paint in EXACTLY the same shade as the yellow chevron stripe on the accent wall of the nursery!  I unscrewed the back of the frame and took the mirror out and cleaned it.  Then I sprayed multiple coats of my yellow spray paint.

 

 

 I really like how it turned out. It's girly and fun, and that's exactly what I want Parker's room to be!

Project Nursery Part 3

Parker's nursery is really starting to come along!  I hung her wreath on her door with some of the balloons from the gender reveal.  Husband put her crib together, and I draped the baby blanket that my sister-in-law Jessica made over the front of it.  I am still working on the gallery wall for over the changing table.  The cross I bought at a church craft sale/fundraiser.



I still can't get over the fact that in 20 weeks, she will be here! I'm amazed everytime I feel her move.  Yesterday, my husband and I were lying on the couch and he was talking to her.  Everytime he paused, she started squirming, but when he'd talk again, she'd calm down.  He's going to be an amazing dad! And she's already becoming a "daddy's girl!"

DIY Framed Bulletin Board

 

This last Sunday, Husband and I travelled with a friend to a very small town in Alabama to take some pictures to send out as gender announcements.  While we were there, we stopped at a local flea market to do some digging.  I have the idea to make a gallery wall over Parker's changing table, so I wanted to look for some frames.  I found a set of two of these distressed turqouise frames for $6, so I snatched them up!

 



 

 

 I loved the color of the frames, but definitely not the picture or the crushed velvet matte going around it.  I turned it over, ripped off the paper backing, and discovered that the picture would come out, but the velvet was here to stay.

 

 

 The only thing I could do was cover it up.  I bought a sheet of thin cork to make them into bulletine boards.  I measured the inside of the frame and cut out a rectangle of cork to fit it.

 

 

 I used hot glue on the velvet to hold the cork in place.  Then all that was left was to hang them.  I found this giant distressed white frame at the flea market as well ($4), and the small frames fit perfectly inside it.

 

 

 On the frames, I hung a picture from our gender reveal and one of the balloons that came out of the box.  I am still looking for two more small things to go inside the big frame to fill it and finish it out, but I love how it's looking so far.  Decorating for a baby girl is too much fun!

Scrappy Happy Wreath

I just got finished making this scrappy wreath for our baby girl Parker's door.  Even though she won't get to enjoy it for 21 more weeks, I want to go ahead and get her nursery as ready as I can while I have the energy.  Have I mentioned that the second trimester is SO much better than the first??

To start I used a vine wreath form that looked very similar to this, but it was from Dollar Tree.

I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up a roll of fabric strips.

I love the colors in these swatches!!  And I have plenty left over to use for something else!

I cut 9" pieces from the strips and tied them around my wreath form.  At the bottom, I hot glued some felt flowers that I had made earlier this year for something else.  The colors really go well with this!

Finished product.  It didn't take as long as I thought it would.

Close up of the flowers.

 

 

Here it is hanging on Parker's door.  I put up some of the balloons from the when we found out she was a SHE :)

We've got a lot left to do to get ready for Parker, but I can't wait to meet her!

It's a... Wait for it....

GIRL!!!!!!

 

Pictures by Image 1:27 Photography

We are so beyond excited to meet our sweet baby, little miss Parker Elizabeth, come March!

 

We had the ultrasound yesterday, and miss thing was being so stubborn!  Husband said she must take after me.  This was before we knew she was a SHE.  She wouldn't sit still to get pictures of her heart taken, then she wouldn't move when it came time to find out the gender.  We had told the ultrasound tech that we wanted to have the gender written down so we could have a gender reveal later.  She was so sweet in accommodating us!  When it was time to look "down there," she told us to avert our eyes and she wrote the name of our baby on the picture that showed the gender. She put the picture in an envelope and we got to take it home.

 

We gave the envelope to a friend who went and filled a box with balloons for us to open. It was wonderful to see a bunch of pink balloons come flying out of the box! My grandfather was hoping for a little girl, and since I'm due on his birthday, he said he got to pick :)

 

My friend also made this beautiful piece of art to hang in Parker's room.

 

It was such an emotional day! Now I really can't wait for March so I can meet my sweet daughter!

 

 

Project Nursery Part 2

Two Saturdays ago, my mom came down to help me paint the nursery!  We painted the three gray walls and started on the chevron-striped wall.  I will put up a post on how we did the chevron stripe later.  Those pictures are all on my husband's phone.  We got the white part of the stripe done first, then it needed to dry so we could do the yellow.  (Click here to see the colors used)

This last Sunday, my friend and Image 1:27 Photography partner  Macey Ryan came over so we could work on the yellow stripe.  I really wanted it finished before our doctor's appointment (today!).  We worked on it while our husbands were at church, and when they got back we were very proud to show off our work!

Before and After!

 

 

Another step completed for project nursery was spray painting the door knob, outlet covers, light switch plate, and air vent.  I used Rust-Oleum Bronze Spray Paint  to cover everything.  The outlet covers and light switch were cream-colored plastic; the air vent was supposed to look like wood; the door know was a "golden oldie."

 

I still have to touch up a little around the knob, but I love how much better it looks now!



Still to come...

Painting the ceiling fan



Refinishing the dresser/changing table

Art for the walls

And a whole lot more!

 



Week 18 (and a half)

Maybe one week I'll remember to take the picture on the right day instead of 3 days later :)

 

 

I am officially in maternity clothes!  I may never go back to regular pants again.  It's like wearing sweats everyday.  I recently discovered that Ross sells maternity clothes... It's not a huge selection, but the prices are fantastic.  I got the jeans in the picture for $9!  The sweater I got at a thrift store for $2, and it's GAP!!

 

I am finally really feeling movement in there, too.  It makes it seem so much more real. My husband still can't feel it from the outside, but he should be able to over the next few weeks.

 

We go back to the doctor on Wednesday for the Anatomy Scan, and we'll get to find out if little one is a boy or girl: William Grayson or Parker Elizabeth.

 

How far along? 18 weeks, 4 days
Size of baby: About 6 inches, 7 ounces
Total weight gain/loss: 4 or 5 pounds, my scale is not very reliable... I'll find out for sure Wednesday
Stretch marks? Nope =)
Sleep: It's getting more difficult to get comfortable, but sleeping on my side with a body pillow helps a lot!
Best moment this week: Feeling steady movements

Worst moment this week: I can't get rid of this cough!!
Movement: Pretty frequent
Food cravings: Anything. I'm hungry all the time.
What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach
What I am looking forward to: Finding out if we are having a boy or girl on Wednesday!