30 weeks + 3 days

Check out the bowling ball this week! 30 weeks and 3 days today--

She gets bigger everyday it seems! Baby "G" had her Grammy, Grampa and Auntie S (R's family) in for Christmas and even they couldn't believe how much the belly grew while visiting!!

Speaking of Christmas, Baby and doting visiting family, you were MAJORLY spoiled this holiday baby "G." Take a look at all your goodies!

I'm in LOVE with this very cushy Chicco car seat. It shows red here but it's really a deep awesome orange. Best part--it's good for either a boy or girl! Look at me, we haven't even welcomed you home baby girl and mommy's already thinking ahead to a bother or sister for you! :)

Okay, this super light compact stroller, a chicco keyfit caddy, was not part of the plan. Our plan was a running stroller but thanks to Josh, a Babies' R ' Us employee, we were convinced otherwise and was given a new plan! For six months anyway-- I love it!

So here's the whole thing put together! It's the cutest, smallest most maneuverable travel system I've ever seen! This new mom had some anxiety about hauling a HUGE stroller and car seat around, through public markets. But no more! I feel like I'm six again; pushing my little baby doll carriage around. LOL.

Baby "G" will be sleeping in mommy and daddy's room until we get a bigger house. Sometime in late April or early May. I just love how this Greco pack'n'play fits PERFECTLY in the corner of our room with all its warm colors and attachments. The cozy sleeper is my favorite piece because it can be removed and used as a traveling bassinet. SCORE!

And this is Baby Patagonia! Thanks to your Auntie S you'll be rocking these gorgeous colors come summer! I love how cheery this outfit is ♥

SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS GEM!!! I am now a proud owner of Photoshop Elements and Photoshop Premiere!!! Grammy and Grampa made no bones that this was a full on bribe. The return will be loads of baby pictures and videos. Umm, no problem!!! :)

Here I saved the two best things for last...These are handmade baby rattles Sugar Cube! Your Grampa "G" made them and they are just so beautiful. I know you are going to love them and cherish them just like I do!!

And this is a super cuddly handmade blanket done by Grammy "G!" This will definitely be your tummy time blanket Baby girl:)

You got SO MANY more things but these are some of my favorites. See, you're already so spoiled/loved!

Just a few more hours before the new year so I'm going to close and enjoy the rest of 2011 with the hubby. HAPPY NEW YEAR bloggy buddies, Facebook friends and anyone else reading this ol'blog. I wish us all a fabulous 2012! I promise a better baby update at 31 weeks:)

Incase You Didn't Know!

Today R and I celebrate 3 years of awesome marriage!! I'm seriously having the best time of my life with this man and cannot wait to share many more years with him ♥ Take a look as I share the most wonderful 1096 days of my life, so far!


On December 27, 2008, in a little southern town, we said our vows in front of a small group of family and friends. ( I don't recommend getting married that close to Christmas. It was insane that we even pulled it off!) But what a magical day! One I'll never forget--

I was so happy that day but sad too-- Leaving family proved to be really hard!

However, that didn't stop the smiling. I was too excited! I couldn't wait for my new life as Mrs. G to start!




Two days later I packed all my belongings and followed my husband to our new home in Georgia! This picture is not from that day:)




As a newly married couple, we loved on each other A LOT! It took us 5 years but R and I were finally together; no longer living several miles apart and we loved it!


However, this is where it gets long, 1.5 months after our wedding, I sat in our living room trying really hard not to cry. R had been given orders to play big bad Drill Sgt. for 2 years. But first, he had to go to school for 2 months a few states over. We made it through those 2 months like champs (of course!) and sailed through those long, lonely 2 years as well. FYI: Drill Sergeants are bad ass ya'll. They work 16-18 hours days, 6 days a week for no less then 2 years. They are exhausted and abused and paid very little for the time they put in. Even through all the stress and 2 years of being sleep deprived, my husband ROCKED that hat!! Period--- I am so proud of him and the "stick with it" attitude he gave each and every day out there. R cared a great deal about those young soldiers he was training and wanted to give them the best opportunity he could, knowing they would deploy shortly after leaving his care. He hung his hat on June 24, 2011 where we now live a normal married/military life♥♥♥


After a short time we (I) decided that we needed more chaos in our lives and adopted 3 beautiful fur babies! Not all at once though; the cat came first;)



After a while longer, R decided he had more love in his heart and wanted to share it! A childhood dream come true on April 27, 2009. I was "allowed" to work on it:)


There was definite silliness y'all, which has never been on short supply. I wouldn't have it any other way! Fish Flop, haha! (inside joke)


In 3 years, we've gotten to try on 3 different homes! This family does not keep up with the "Jones" but we do keep up with the military standard;) Good times!



SO MUCH SPOILING!




AND AWESOME VACATIONS! Vegas, Disney World, Gatlinburg---




We've ran "Race for a Cure" in Phoenix, AZ and had a wonderful time!




We've celebrated Thanksgivings.




And had merry Christmases!



We upgraded our vehicles! Bella loves dad's new ride and I loved that I finally got a stick shift!




And like any couple, we dreamed about winning the lottery, traveling the world, buying our first house and starting a family...


While we're still working on winning the lottery, and most everything else---We have started a family! If you're following this blog you knew that already;) Baby Alyssa is due March 7, 2012 and we couldn't be more excited!




That brings us to the present and this is where it gets random! I won't bring out the rainbows and big puffy hearts. I promise. All I'll say is "thank God for unanswered prayers; ultimately bringing us here." We certainly don't have the white picket fence; I was never a fan anyway. After 3 years, we're definitely older and I'm chunkier, haha! Also, our dogs poop way too much. Sorry. It's been on my mind. Oh, and apparently I smack my food; the better it is, the louder I get. R has already informed me I need to "lock that down" when Baby arrives;) In 3 years, I haven't found much that annoys me about him...Puke. I know...Well okay, he DOES sleep with his hands behind his head and when I roll over at night, I t-bone my forehead...It's the little things:) But you know what, I love it! I love that I'm the one who gets to see him snore at night, and laugh so hard where he turns blue. I also know he secretly loves that I steal all his night pants and that I forget to turn stove burners and ovens off. I mean, who wouldn't love that!! So here it is babe...

LOVE ♥ LOVE ♥ LOVE ♥ you hubby my hubby. Here's to us, another year and the CRAZINESS that parenthood will undoubtedly bring!!! Now come kiss me:)

The Disappearing Act

Baby "G" and I are 29 weeks today and I'm not sure at what point your feet disappear, but once it starts, it happens so fast! Probably a good thing because, these days, they're just puffy and fat and I can no longer see any bone structure in them, ha!

Yesterday was my glucose and rhogam shot, along with my midwife appointment. I passed the one hour sugar test, which means no gestational diabetes for this momma! However, I was pretty bummed to see that my blood pressure has spiked again. I've had such a hard time keeping it under the advised 140/90 going on 2 months now...My midwife ordered more blood work. She's concerned there might be something more serious going on like preeclampsia. For anyone who doesn't know what that is, you can click this link or just know it's some pretty scary stuff.

They called me last night and said I needed to come back in today. Apparently the vile of blood they took yesterday wasn't "good" for testing. I wasn't too worried about it being preeclampsia until I Googled it. Darn you Google--Now, the only thing keeping me calm is the fact that, when I went in for more blood draws today, I also had them take my blood pressure and it was MUCH lower;113/80. HUGE DIFFERENCE! I haven't been able to get it that low since September. The difference being?? I was given permission to take Melatonin by my midwife which helps you sleep. It's no secret that I haven't been sleeping for months now. I think the lack of shut eye is having a major effect on my bp so just pray that I'm right!

Baby "G" is the size of a squash; getting so big!

It's no wonder I've felt uber pregnant this week. Sugar cube is piling on the fat, filling my stomach out really fast! Something new I've felt this week is her hiccups. So cute! Thebump.com suggests I finish stocking her nursery and pack a hospital bag; we're definitely in the big leagues now ya'll! Only 8 more weeks before we're full-term and could have this baby!!

It's funny. I look back at earlier belly pictures, where I thought I looked so huge and obviously pregnant, and realize I didn't. LOL. Well, no mistaking it now;)

I'll be starting weekly belly updates next week #1. because I think you'll see the difference in the photos and #2. because it's getting down to the wire!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas spent with loved ones!! I'll be back after Christmas with my 30 week update and also an anniversary post that I've been working on for a week!

That Slippery Slope

I've had some pretty awesome cravings this entire pregnancy.

Take a look!

But then----these cravings showed up the past few weeks.

However, this is something I actually DID eat today for lunch.

I cringe. Now

I've done so good this past 7 months and now I feel like I'm loosing it. Sliding down a very slippery slope! Come on baby girl, this is not the time to be making momma crave bad foods!! Not when we're so close to the finish line.... I NEVER eat MacDonald's ya'll. And when I say "never" I mean, the last time I drove up to those golden arches on my own was 7 years ago. BUT. WOW. That burger was epic and so yummy! Pray for me ya'll. I might be headed to trans fat purgatory...

A girl can indulge in a few bad choices while pregnant. Right?

The big 3

28 weeks today and LOVING month seven!


This picture is too hilarious not to share. Baby girl kicked me pretty hard and it showed, haha!


We sailed into our 3rd trimester (the big 3) on week 26 and, so far, it rocks! I love it! I'm back to feeling emotionally normal which is a HUGE improvement in my world. That's pretty much why it rocks! I still have energy to get things done, which mega rocks, and I've gotten major ego boosts about the size of my belly TWICE this week. Even my husband is contributing by saying sweet things like,

"baby, I'm really impressed at how well you're carrying her. I've seen women as far along as you and they're twice as big." Love that man:)

Other then the few weird weeks 18-22, I still don't have any back pain and I couldn't really tell you what a Braxton Hicks feels like. Still no stretch marks (PLEASE STAY THAT WAY) and only minor swelling. Even I'm surprised at how lucky I've been with these things. Maybe I paid my dues in emotional instability? LOL.

Things I HAVE noticed: I'm moving much slower these days and I tire out quicker. I still have energy but after a day of cleaning and being on my feet mostly, I'm down for the count the next day. My hips are really tender by nightfall, I'm sleeping a lot less and breathing is getting harder. The past few days I've been dealing with dizziness and feeling faint but I drink over a gallon of water a day. However, my doctor will probably just tell me "drink more water" when I ask him about it...

Sugar cube is doing well, from what I can tell. I've been looking forward to week 28 for sometime because that means Baby "G" has a 90% chance of survival if we had her early. That knowledge did wonders for my peace of mind--- once we made it!

She did give me a scare yesterday after noticing I hadn't felt her move within a 24 hour period. She didn't wake me up yesterday morning like normal either. I immediately started to worry about my dinner choice the night before--- feta and spinach stuffed chicken. I know you're not supposed to eat feta while pregnant but I also hear as long as it's pasteurized, it's fine. I ran out to the trash can in the garage and started tearing at the bag like a mad women, trying to locate the empty cheese package. I could have SWORN it said "pasteurized" but wanted to be sure. Yup, it said pasteurized. I started eating fruit, drinking juice, shaking my belly. Nothing. I started to really worry then. Finally I ate something that I know she loves---A lemon. That did the trick! She's been kicking and punching me ever since:)

We finally got our house decorated for Christmas this weekend so I leave you with these!
My mother in-law gave R and I those moose our first Christmas and I just love them!

Stockings hung by the fire with care!

The cutest little bird you've ever seen-- This is my favorite:)


A picture of our tree will have to wait. It's currently leaning very heavily and looking very pathetic. But the hubby promises to fix it after he comes in from the woods today:)

I hope everyone is enjoying their own little slice of Christmas cheer!

Future Christmas Present

Guess what I did tonight---

That's right!! I bagged up all my pre-pregnancy clothes to include jeans, t-shirts, swimsuits, under garments, socks and *tear* my running/workout clothes!! I'm actually pretty excited about this bag of inspiration...It's going to be like Christmas when I'm 126 lbs again and can open it!!! Plus that means I look like this again but only with (hopefully) some of the boob-age I've been "racking" up;) And maybe a few more adjustments, ha!

This will be me on that blessed day taking a victory bite outta a cherry Popsicle because I'm just that darn animated and excited:) Heck, I might even have most of my long hair back too!


Double score!!! In packing up my clothes, I managed to clear out 3 of my dresser drawers. Baby "G" will have some space for her clothes now, until we move into a bigger house and have room for her nursery. GO MOMMA!


Happy Christmas carols, lighted trees and sugar cookie month y'all!!!