Reality

So I had a blast of reality yesterday when I put on my new maternity workout top that I just got from Motherhood Maternity. Seeing it come in the package, I thought for sure it was going to be too big... well, uh, not so much. It fits really well, and is actually a really cute top. But WOW I can't believe how much I've popped already at 15.5 weeks. I look about where I did with Bella at 22 weeks, no lie. I know my body will do what it needs to do... I just hope I don't end up gaining 60 pounds! Although, even if I did, I know I would be pretty determined to lose it all afterward.



In other reality news....the moving situation. We have done nothing but work our jobs and talk about moving lately. It looks like we won't have a problem being approved for our loan, but we will need to find renters for our condo before being official. So we're starting the "operation clean out" this week. This means putting most of Bella's toys, and other clutter we have acquired over the past 6 years in boxes and taking it to storage. We bought our place brand builder new in 2005, so it really is nice and in good shape. Just needs some cleaning up and organizing, carpets cleaned and some paint touch ups. So we are on it now!

We also have started looking at houses. We looked at a really old home on my parents neighborhood. My parents live in a great neighborhood---lots of value, lots of yard space, great neighbors and good school system. However, the home was built in 1960 and needs A LOT of updates...not just some, A LOT. We talked about it after, and the cons definitely outweighed the pros for us. We really don't want to spend the next 20 years putting every last cent we make back into our home. So we decided that home was not for us.

Then we went and looked at a few houses in Fishers. One was way too small for our growing family...one was definitely not for us... one was really cute with an unfinished basement and then one was really cute WITH a finished basement...a definite plus! It's good to get a good idea of what we are looking for and what is in our price range etc.

Bella really likes going to look at houses too. She is so cute with us when we go to look! She opens doors and says "thats' a closet, that's a bedroom..." haha!


In BABY news.... we decided to go ahead and get an early gender peek ultrasound!! YAY! I am soooo excited and cannot wait to finally name this kiddo and start planning a bit more :) Happy early Birthday present to me :) They run a special on Tuesdays for gender scans, but since they are closed next Tuesday, they are letting me come on Monday afternoon but offering me the Tuesday discount. We are so excited!!

Bella's first haircut

Bella is almost 3 and we hadn't gotten her haircut... until yesterday. I finally couldn't take it anymore. Her hair had become unruly, unable to manage and no matter what I did, it looked messy. It's a bittersweet moment to take your child for their first trim... it's like you are cutting away something that you have both worked so hard to grow haha! Either way, her hair looks so much better. She has wavy hair--which she does NOT get from me.. and I think one of my biggest fears of cutting it was that all of her curls would go away. THANKFULLY, giving it the much needed cut just made those curls tighter and bouncier :) We also cut it all one length in the back so now it should grow healthy and strong instead of the flyaway mess she was dealing with.

I was worried on how she would do. My uncle does hair, and I'd love for him to have his chance wit Bella, but she doesn't even like ME doing her hair, so I didn't want to subject him to it. So I took her to Cookie Cutters. It worked out great. They have little cars for them to sit in, they get a sucker and they get to watch a movie of their choice. She was in Heaven. She only cried when the lady tried to put the cape on her (see photo below) so we quickly took it off and she was happy again. They gave her a balloon when she was finished and a little baggie with some of her hair in it for me to put in her baby book. All in all, a good experience and Bella looks adorable :)







Isn't it adorable?? :)



Also, this weekend I marked 15 weeks in this pregnancy! Yahoo! We had a wedding of course on Saturday and for some reason I had a harder time. I was fine--and then suddenly I got REALLY crampy and light headed and was feeling a lot of tightening. I'm guessing it was a mixture of both Braxton Hicks and needing more water. Jerry made me sit down for a bit and I drank a bottle of water and had a granola bar. It seemed to help but came back a bit later in the day. I think I just have to make sure I am taking better care of myself when I'm working right now. It's easy to get busy and forget to do things like eat and drink. I can't forget that right now...it's not all about me.



We are still deciding if we should get the early gender scan next week. I REALLY want to..I just think it would be fun to know now :) We'll still have the 20 week one on August 12 no matter what obviously. My birthday is in August, so Jerry said I could do it for my birthday present if I really want to. I need to decide like today haha!

We are still looking at housing and financing etc. It's so complicated these days when you want to rent out your current place and all that. We are making progress though and still praying it will be possible. We saw an older home in my parents neighborhood last night. It was a really big house, but needed a TON of updates. Not just some--a TON. We talked about it for a long time last night, and I think we've decided that house is not for us. While we don't mind some home improvement projects, we just don't see ourselves wanting to spend the next 10 years putting every last cent we make back into our home.

We are also going to look at an newer home this evening...so if you are one that prays, we'd appreciate some prayers for us when it comes to finding and financing a perfect home for our family :)

Long Weekend

It was a long weekend this weekend... Jerry had 4 days off from his day job, which for most people would equal fun times with friends and family, maybe time by a pool, eating a cookouts and fireworks for the fourth of July. Well, not for this family ;) Mandy Leonards Photography had 2 weddings to shoot this weekend. I don't do many double wedding weekends--they are tough, I won't lie. 2 13 hour days in a row, especially in the 100 degree heat of July is hard on anyone and I definitely won't recommend it to a pregnant woman haha. But-- we got through it, and we got through it well. I am very, very pleased with how the photos turned out and both of our couples are adorable and happy and married :) The days actually flew by and we enjoyed getting to know everyone!

While we were working, Bella spent the weekend at Jerry's parents house. She got to visit the zoo, which she loves and play outside. She had a nice time but she was really happy to see us when we picked her Sunday morning :)

Other news from the weekend--my oldest friend Megan (Russ) Noel gave birth to her first child, a boy, Matthew Edward. I had just seen Megan on Friday and I just knew that she going to have that baby before the end of the weekend :) I am so so happy for her and her husband... and Matthew is adorable! Jerry, Bella and I went by the hospital yesterday to visit. It is super special to me that Megan and I have been friends since we were 6 years old, and here we are both mommies. What a really cool thing!

I also chimed in 14 weeks for Baby 2.0 on Sunday--officially marking the 2nd trimester no matter what book you read now (since every book you read will tell you something different from 12-14 weeks). Yay! I am feeling large and in charge already--which slightly scares me for what is to come this fall/winter. With Bella, I really still felt pretty attractive at this point, but not so much right now. Just trying to focus on the outcome.... here is my latest belly!





Jerry and I talked about names again this week and have a few more on our plate to consider. The housing/moving talk continues as well. We are still unsure of what will happen there-- we are waiting to hear back on the rules these days on renting your current house since we've gotten 3 different stories from 3 different people. We were pre-approved for the loan, so that part makes us feel better...we just have to figure out what to do with our current home.

Either way....Bella will get a big girl room when Baby 2.0 comes...and she has requested a "Tiana room" (from Princess in the Frog). And it's totally ok if she still wants that in a few months or changes her mind. I think it will be fun to let her pick out her big girl room....whether its here in our current home or in a new one. :)