BUMPDATE (40 Weeks!)

Today is my official due date! Brooks and I found out I was pregnant on February 20, so we have been looking forward to this date for a long time. That's 8 months and 8 days if you're counting :)

Because there was no sign that Connor would actually make his appearance today, and because we had been looking forward to today for so long, we decided that we would do something to make this day special. This morning we got up and went for a late breakfast at DeLuca's (a popular Pittsburgh diner) and then we went to the National Aviary. I have wanted to go to the Aviary for so long and it was just as neat as I thought it would be. It was really a fun day! 

Below are some pictures from our due date adventure.

These penguins were as fascinated with Brooks as he was with them! They kept following him around!

Now for your feature presentation...the regular blog questions!

Baby's Growth: This week Connor is the size of of a Jackfruit! He's plumping up even more and his hair and nails continue to grow. Can't wait to meet this little boy!

How I'm feeling: Large and uncomfortable. Overall though, I feel really happy. I'm so excited to meet this baby.

Cravings: I have been guzzling lime Perrier this week. I like it over ice with a fresh lime slice. Delicious!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not this week :)

Sleep: What is sleep? 

Miss anything? I miss wearing my rings and my watch and regular shoes (right now I stick to flip flops). I'm just too swollen to wear anything anymore. Oh and wine...can't forget that! :)

Clothes: All maternity. 

Movement: He's still busy rolling around in there!

Gender: BOY! 

Belly button in or out: Still in! 

Wedding rings on or off? Off. 

Favorite moment this week: Today's trip to the National Aviary. Since we had looked forward to today for so long it was really nice to go out and do something special. I will always remember it and all the fun we had.

Most looking forward to: My mom comes on Thursday! And then...having this baby!

In honor of my due date, I thought it would be fun to put together a little video of how my bump has changed over the past 9 months. Enjoy!

BUMPDATE (39 Weeks!)

Baby's Growth: This week Connor is the size of of a Watermelon!

How I'm feeling: Large. There is no more room at the inn. I'm at capacity. 

Cravings: No new cravings! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not this week :)

Sleep: I feel pretty lucky that I slept so well for most of my pregnancy. However, those days are gone. My nights of sleep are now filled with multiple trips to the restroom and endless amounts of weird dreams. Apparently I've been told I'll sleep again in about 25 years. I'll miss you sleep, but we had a good run.

Miss anything? Being able to put on shoes without it feeling like I just completed an intense workout.

Clothes: All maternity. 

Movement: He's a busy little bee in there! Little guy loves to roll around :)

Gender: BOY! 

Belly button in or out: Still in! I think it just might make it to the end!

Wedding rings on or off? Off. I'm ready to start wearing my ring again! 

Favorite moment this week: Finishing the nursery. It was so nice to stand back and look at my son's room completely finished. I had a vision from the beginning for how I wanted it to look and I really think Brooks and I achieved it. It's my favorite room in our house.

Most looking forward to: Getting some much needed cleaning done around here. Does this mean I'm officially nesting? I'm ready to have my house nice and tidy so when Connor decides to make his appearance we will come home to a picked up house.

Unless Connor decides to make his appearance this week, I'll see you all in 7 days! Due date here I come!

Connor's Peter Rabbit Nursery

The nursery is finally finished! All the clothes are washed and put away and all that's missing is a sweet little boy who can call this room his own. 

This is the view from the door. The room itself is fairly small so I had to be really creative with how we situated the furniture and organized everything. I really wanted to create a comfortable and relaxed space. Soon after finding out I was pregnant I was looking at bedding from Pottery Barn and fell in love with their Peter Rabbit set. I knew instantly that is what I wanted to use in the nursery whether we had a boy or a girl. While planning the nursery, I tried to pick pieces that we could still use as Connor grows. I know one day he will want me to pack away the Peter Rabbit pieces but the bookshelves and the furniture will all be able to grow with him.

Below is another view from the doorway.

We opted not to get a traditional changing table because I felt it would make the room too crowded. Instead, we are using his dresser as a combined dresser/changing table. 

I'm in love with the Peter Rabbit prints above the table. Thank goodness for etsy! These little prints came all the way from London!

This little nook is my favorite part of the room. I wanted a space where I could relax and feel comfortable when I'm up at all hours of the night with Connor. I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out. 

Right now his little crib is filled with his lovies.

I can't wait to put these little clothes to use!

These are some of my favorite pieces from the nursery. I found all of these on etsy. 

The framed Peter Rabbit prints are from JPEGgeneration

The bookshelves are from del hutson designs just outside Dallas, TX, which I thought was extremely fitting since that is where Brooks was born and raised. They are made from reclaimed barnwood and I love how they turned out!

The handpainted wood signs hanging above the crib are from Simple Pleasures, a shop in Lancaster, PA.

And there you have it! The nursery is complete...except for a little boy that I hope to add very, very soon!

BUMPDATE (38 Weeks!)

Baby's Growth: This week Connor is the size of of a Pumpkin! Pretty fitting for October I think! 

The picture below is taken from thebump

How I'm feeling: For being this far along, I'm feeling pretty good. I do feel large and I move really slowly but I'm feeling ok. Each day that passes though I'm more and more ready to just meet my son! 

Cravings: No new cravings! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not this week :)

Sleep: I'm still waking up a lot and it's not easy to get comfortable. I do get tired earlier in the day but I think that's pretty normal for being 38 weeks pregnant.

Miss anything? I'm definitely ready to have my pre-pregnant body back. I honestly think I will really miss feeling my son move around but I won't miss feeling so large and slow. It would also be nice to not waddle when I walk :)

Clothes: All maternity. 

Movement: He's still rolling around in there but he is definitely running out of room! 

Gender: BOY! 

Belly button in or out: Still in! 

Wedding rings on or off? Off. I'm ready to start wearing my ring again! 

Favorite moment this week: Hearing Connor's heartbeat at my appointment yesterday. That never gets old!

Most looking forward to: Finishing up the nursery! It's really close to being finished, I just have to organize everything and finish washing all of his clothes. I'm hoping to have it completely finished by this time next week.

BUMPDATE (37 Weeks!)

Baby's Growth: This week Connor is the size of of a Winter Melon. According to thebump.com he measures around 18.9 to 20.9 inches and weighs between 6.2 and 9.2 pounds! He's also officially full term! 

How I'm feeling: Extremely pregnant. Large. Slow. You get the point :)

Cravings: The only real craving I've had in the past week has been for brownie batter (not actual brownies, just the batter). Because I can't have raw eggs while pregnant, I made the batter without eggs and had some one evening. It was amazing! Not healthy in any way shape or form, but amazing! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: I truly thought the food aversions were over...sadly, no. Brooks boiled lobster tails last night and just the smell of the lobster water grossed me out. Yuck

Sleep: I wake up a lot now. Getting comfortable is also an interesting challenge. I'm grateful I slept so well throughout the majority of this pregnancy, but I think those days may be done. 

Miss anything? My body? My non-swollen face? I've avoided saying "I'm ready to have my body back" throughout this pregnancy but I'm to the point where I'm ready to have it back.

Clothes: All maternity. 

Movement: He is rolling around a lot. Brooks actually laid his head on my stomach earlier and Connor promptly kicked him in the face! That made my whole day! I haven't laughed that hard in a while.

Gender: BOY! 

Belly button in or out: Still in! I'm starting to think it may hang on and never pop.

Wedding rings on or off? Off. My nana's ring fits in the mornings but by the end of the day I'm usually too swollen to wear a ring, so I'm going without.

Favorite moment this week: My two showers that I had this weekend! They were absolutely amazing. I blogged about them on Sunday, if you are interested in hearing more about them you can read that here.

Most looking forward to: Finishing up the nursery! We are picking up the curtains for his nursery this week and after that and a bit of organizing the nursery will be finished. I still have a few other things I need to get ready before he arrives but I will feel so much better once his nursery is finished.

Pittsburgh Showers - Spoiled to Pieces!

This weekend I had not one, but TWO baby showers in Pittsburgh. Can I say spoiled? On Saturday, two of my girlfriends hosted a gorgeous Peter Rabbit shower for me and on Sunday, one of the teachers where I work hosted a baby brunch for me. They were both absolutely beautiful and the ladies truly outdid themselves! 

Sometimes it's really hard living so far away from home - especially with a new baby on the way. When Brooks got the opportunity to move to Pittsburgh, we prayed about it and truly felt that moving to Pittsburgh was what God wanted for us at this point in our marriage. I am constantly reassured that we made the right decision by the people that have come into our lives since we moved here. As much as I do miss Oklahoma, we have made some incredible friends in Pittsburgh. I am so grateful for these women - thank you for making me feel at home here, I am so lucky to have you ladies in my life!

Megan (top photo) and Laura hosted my shower on Saturday. 

They created an absolutely gorgeous Peter Rabbit shower. These are the type of girls that find things on Pinterest and their creations come out even cuter than the Pinterest ideas - they should be party planners! 

Thank you ladies for giving me an absolutely wonderful shower. I am a lucky lady to have you both as my friend, you really outdid yourself!

Below are some pictures from the shower! Enjoy :)

How cute are those napkin holders? They look just like carrots from Mr. McGregor's garden!

The food was so yummy...I won't lie I'm a bit jealous that I couldn't have a mimosa though! :)

Megan and Laura had the letters of Connor's first and middle names on tables for the ladies to paint so that we can hang them up in his nursery. This was one of my favorite parts of the shower! I loved this! 

Unfortunately, I didn't get a group photo of everyone that came. I wanted to include this picture though because my friend Megan Meyer came all the way in from Williamsport for the shower. Thank you for coming Megan!!

Baby Brunch...

Oh my goodness the food was so yummy. In case the scale goes up at my doctor's appointment tomorrow, I know who to blame! :)

This is the lovely Kellie Stock. She hosted my Baby Brunch. She is truly one of the sweetest ladies you'll ever meet. She and the other teachers at Zion really outdid themselves with this brunch. They decided that instead of doing traditional baby gifts they would instead focus on...ME! These women spoiled me. They gave me new super soft pajamas, a spa gift certificate, all sorts of bath goodies and some things for Connor on top of it all. I was blown away! I can't wait to slip on those comfy pajamas and make my spa appointment. How lucky am I?!

I truly had an absolutely wonderful weekend. I feel spoiled and very loved. Thank you to everyone who came and pampered me and baby Connor this weekend. I am lucky to have so many wonderful friends!

BUMPDATE (36 Weeks!)

A little different view for this week's photo. This picture was taken yesterday on our way home from vacation. Connor's first trip to the White House!

Baby's Growth: This week Connor is the size of of a Honeydew Melon! I went to the doctor this afternoon and she said he is measuring right on track. She also guessed that he won't be a "big" baby. I weighed 9 pounds 3 oz when I was born (I know, I was big!) so hopefully she is right and he won't be a nine pounder like his mama.

How I'm feeling: Large, really swollen, and unfotrunately sick. I've had a cold for going on 3 weeks now. God Bless my doctor, today she actually wrote me a prescription. Hopefully, relief is on it's way.

Cravings: I haven't had any specific cravings lately, which might be because I'm battling this cold. All that sounds good right now is a bowl of cereal. 

Speaking of cravings though, I had mentioned in my blog that I had been craving cinnamon rolls. Last week one of the sweet teachers at the school where I work brought me cinnamon rolls! They were delicious! Thank you Kara!! AND one of the parents at school (who just happens to own a bakery) brought me chocolate chip cookies. She said all pregnant women need chocolate chip cookies. I agree wholeheartedly!

Anything making you queasy or sick: I think the food aversions are a thing of the past! I haven't had any for quite a while now!

Sleep: I haven't been sleeping that well lately but I think that is more to do with my cold rather than the pregnancy. 

Miss anything? Fitting into my shoes! My feet are SO swollen. My doctor said as long as my blood pressure stays normal it isn't a concern but I am retaining some serious water. I miss my normal feet!

Clothes: All maternity. 

Movement: He's been jabbing me a lot lately! He loves to bounce up and down on my bladder (thanks son!) and to roll around in stomach. I still love watching my stomach move when he rolls around!

Gender: BOY! 

Belly button in or out: Still in, but barely! 

Wedding rings on or off? I'm retaining so much water that today I actually went without a ring. We'll see if I can wear my nana's ring again this pregnancy, but for right now it just feels better not to wear anything.

Favorite moment this week: This past weekend we went on a babymoon to Williamsburg, Virginia and even though I was battling a cold we had an absolutely wonderful time. If you are ever in the area I highly recommend Kingsmill Resort, it's a beautiful place to relax. We spent some time in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, and we stopped by DC on the way home yesterday. We crammed a lot into a short amount of time but we had a blast! Below are some pictures from our trip.

This is the James Landing Grill at Kingsmill Resort. The restaurant overlooks the James River. We ate here for dinner on Saturday and oh my word it was so good to have some amazing southern food. I had shrimp and grits and they were absolutely fabulous! 

This is Brooks outside the Governor's House in Colonial Williamsburg. We spent a majority of the day on Saturday exploring Colonial Williamsburg, if  you are ever in the area I highly suggest visiting! 

Brooks and I drove down to Virginia Beach on Sunday. Let me tell you, there is nothing better than putting big, fat, swollen feet in the ocean. 

We decided to end our vacation with a short stop in DC. We live less than four hours away and it's really a shame we haven't spent more time there. We only had a couple hours but we made the most of it! We are hoping to take a trip back there with Connor in the spring.

Most looking forward to: I have a lot to look forward to this weekend! I have a baby shower on Saturday and a baby brunch on Sunday! I'll post pictures of those next week!