23 Weeks

This belly is getting large. And I still have so much growing left to do!

I didn't realize how uncomfortable bending over would get. I guess if you think about it, if I bend over too far, I'm squishing her - she can't like that too much! But while cleaning over the weekend, I had to do a little more squatting and less bending. The sad thing is, it has only just begun. 17 weeks to go!

You Might Be a Redneck If ...

You might be a redneck if ...

Yup.

Don't worry. It gets even worse the more details I give you.

You might be a redneck if ...

• You buy an inflatable pool.
• From Walmart.
• For $24.99.
• For your backyard.

• That you fill with your garden hose.

You might be a redneck if ...

• You inflate it with a leaf blower
• Attached to a car oil funnel

• With duct tape.

You might be a redneck if ...

• You spend the day in it
• Pregnant
• And barefoot
• In a bikini

• While your husband wears camo sunglasses
• Duck Dynasty brand
• That he bought at Walmart
• On a previous trip.

And it was the best $24.99 spent! I have been complaining that we don't have a pool to go to.   I spent the summers at the pool as a kid, lifeguarded for four summers, and then lived in apartment complexes with a pool. This starts our third summer in the house, and I was tired of not having much pool time. Or lake .. or beach .. but pools are much more accessible. It is the best way to lay out in this southern heat!

When we realized how inexpensive they were, we went out that day to get one. We only blew up 2 of the 3 side pieces - so the pool can be even taller if need be. 

For those wondering where we put it: our house backs up to a greenway (one major selling point of the house), so there is nothing but protected land behind us. To keep some of the critters away, Dan mows part of that area (just over the back of our fence). The city cleared the trees to put in the power lines - which makes for a very sunny spot. Here's a better view of the area (the brown thing in the middle is a tree Dan was saving for firewood):

And, for perspective, this is looking toward the back of our house.

It only took us about thirty minutes to get the tarp and the pool out there, panic because we don't own a pump, rig the blower, get it blown up and filled with water. I highly recommend the blower - it took less than one minute to inflate. Afterward, we dumped it, pulled the plugs, rolled it up, and it's ready to go this weekend. 

We also received a battery operated Margaritaville blender for our wedding (thanks Sam and Jason!) which will be perfect out here. Especially post pregnancy :). 

Also, Sam and Jason, we need your Northern influences back. You've only left us for about 8 months now, and look what we are turning into. 

Looking back 10 weeks

Have we only done this for 10 weeks? I'm already tired of so many pictures of myself here. 

Anyway, to compare ... 12 weeks on the left, 22 on the right. 

22 Weeks

Someone at work (who did not know that I was pregnant) patted their belly and said "look at you!" I just couldn't help myself, he set himself up for it. Giving him a serious look, I said "are you calling me fat?!" 

The look of absolute horror and embarrassment on his face was priceless. Plus, we were in a large group of people - all who burst out laughing. He jokes around with me a lot, so it was my turn to get him back.

This is going to be fun.

21 Weeks

I swear I have doubled in size since this picture was taken four days ago. My mom is sitting next to me: "Yup. Well .. maybe not double." Baby girl must be growing. Although, if you saw my Facebook status yesterday, you know I can't blame it all on the baby .. it could also be my lunch. 

Facebook status: "When your lunch is so heavy, it sets off the seat belt light in the passenger seat of your car."

Probably shouldn't have put that on Facebook - now the secret is out, and I can't just blame her. :)

Had two people at work stop me this week that didn't know I was pregnant, but noticed the bump. I have never been brave enough to say something like that - haha - brave people! It's reassuring that they don't just think I stopped working out. 

Bye Bye Bradford Pear

The night before our gender ultrasound was interesting to say the least.

A pretty big storm had hit our area that afternoon. I work a good hour away, and since it was sunny at work, I didn't think the storm was that bad.

When I pulled into our street I found all the neighbors huddling in the cul-de-sac. I knew for sure that our power was out - because it goes out constantly. This made the fourth time in four days.

I was a little surprised to try to pull into my driveway and find this:

One third of our Bradford Pear tree laying across the driveway. This angle does not do it justice. The pile of branches on the ground was taller than me!

The neighbors were all stopping to say how they were so sorry, and just how awful it was that our tree had fallen down, we couldn't get into our garage, and didn't have power.

This was the day after the horrible tornados in Oklahoma. Our little issue was so minor compared to everything those families were going through - and still had yet to go through. I was so thankful that the tree didn't hit our house or our neighbors house. The room top right is our guest room, where Koda lays all day. She could have been hit, guests could have been hit, or what if we turned that room into the nursery. I was so thankful it happened the way it did. Sure, it was an inconvenience. An expensive inconvenience. But someone was looking out for us when that tree fell.

Here are a few pictures I took when the Bradford Pear bloomed this Spring:

And after we had the tree taken down:

We are currently looking into a few bushes to hide the view of the neighbor's house. And my mom and I bought some new plants for the front bed. Eventually it won't look so bare.

It was hard to entertain ourselves the night before the gender ultrasound. We didn't want to open the fridge at the risk of spoiling our food, so we grabbed pizza for dinner. We could have read books by candlelight - but instead just sat around staring at each other: 'you think it'll be a girl?' 'you think it'll be a boy?' 'it's hot as crap in here!'

I barely slept. Partly because it was like Christmas morning. Partly because it was 86 degrees in our bedroom. 

Baby Girls = More Shopping

I sent this picture to my parents this weekend with the caption "Dan has a problem:"

My mom immediately replied, "Is the problem YOU?"

Okay, you caught me.

But Dan started it. Really.

I needed to get one thing. Belk was having 50% all Polo baby items. We had a 15% off our purchase coupon. One thing led to another. 

But just how precious are these teeny clothes? Some have baby bears. Some have ruffled butts. Almost all have mini polo horses. 

We are now cutting ourselves off. ... Sort of. 

20 Weeks

Halfway through this journey already, and I swear baby girl is growing hourly.

How far along: 20 weeks
How big is baby: 10 inches (apparently this is the week that they start including legs in the measurement .. who comes up with these things?)
Weight Gain: 6 pounds
Symptoms: Still having some nausea, but it goes away within an hour, so I'll take it. Otherwise, I completely have my energy back (which really took up until this point). Definitely eating a lot more, so I can see this weight gain going up really quickly. Nothing to complain about!
Cravings: Nothing that I can blame on the baby girl. Pinterest has me craving more odd recipes than pregnancy does. Mix the two together, and its a bad combo! Eating ice cream almost every night. Loving dessert and loving eating more. So normally I would want ice cream, but maybe not have it - now I am making sure we are keeping it in the house :).
Aversions:  When the nausea sets in, nothing sounds good. Otherwise, still can't eat those pickles, but everything else is fine.
What I miss: Nothing really right now. Maybe a fun beer or nice glass of wine now that the weather is much nicer. 
Looking Forward to: Picking a name! Dan likes trying things out. "What color are you going to paint Peyton's room?" "When you are dropping Ellie off at daycare ..." "Amelia is going to love Koda." He likes to see how they sound in normal sentences. I just can't wait until we finally figure out a name!
Best moment this month: Finding out that we are having a daughter!
Worst moment this month: Having to quit my beloved P90X ab ripper. My doctor said I should stop at 20 weeks. That seemed so far away at the time. I am going to ask her the reasoning in my appointment on Thursday. But if we aren't allowed to work out for 6 weeks post baby, that's an entire 26 weeks (or half a year for you English majors) without ab ripper.