24 weeks

Here I am at 6 months and I finally look pregnant!!! And look, my butt even sticks out like a pregnant woman's! I can finally no longer zipper up my non-maternity pants and I have out grown my normal tops. Brent still says there's not much there, and he's right, but I can tell a big difference. Why just the other day I walked past our full length mirror and had to go back and check out my rump. I'm not sure why that part of your anatomy gets bigger but when I took a second look 'Baby Got Back' started playing in my head! :) I still feel great and am doing well. I'm starting to get the hang of sleeping on my sides but a new phenomenon has entered my life. It's called a Charlie Horse. Friday night I got three of them, 2 right in a row on opposite legs. It is not a fun way to wake up in the middle of the night nor is it a good time to find out that your arm is completely asleep. Trying to rub it out becomes twice as painful. On the third Charlie Horse, rubbing it wasn't working so I tried to walk it off. Bad idea. My foot decided that it would curl up so it made it impossible to walk on it. After many attempts at trying to stand on it, I bit the bullet, let a few whimpers and just put all my weight on it. Thank goodness that did the trick because I couldn't stand the pain any longer. Through it all, my husband never broke his stride in snoring! The kid can sleep through anything! Baby monitor is definitely going on his side turned all the way up!

We spent our weekend with Brent's good friend from college, Matt, his wife, and their unbelievably precious 4 month old daughter. Since her birth, we have yet to lay eyes on Maci so this was our first meeting and she was sooo adorable. She came in grinning and didn't stop! She was the best baby and it was so fun having a baby in the house. It definitely made us both anxious to have own here.

Our weekend was very relaxing as it usually is when we get together. We did a little shopping on Saturday then came home to watch some football and just hang out. We had a wonderful weekend and our only wish is that we lived closer to each other. Hopefully we will be able to get together one more time before Belle comes. After that it could get interesting having 2 babies around!

Belle Has A BFF!!!

How is that Belle has a best friend forever and she isn't even born yet? Well, today Jaclyn went to the doctor to find out what she will be having and she found out that she is having a GIRL!!! I'm sure she was shocked to find out that her bundle of joy was a girl because all a long she was convinced it was a boy. She wasn't sure why she thought that; just assumed she would have a boy first. Her husband, Corey, was convinced up until a couple of weeks ago then decided that he thought it would be a girl. Looks like he was right!

Jac, I am so happy for you two! It is so exciting finally knowing what you are having and makes shopping 100 times better! You are going to be a wonderful mother and Baby Konow will be extremely blessed having you and Corey has parents! I love y'all!

A Week Full of Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving celebration started last weekend when we went to Muncie to visit Brent's family. His mom cooked a wonderful meal and we were able to relax and hang out with the family all weekend long. We were also able to spend some quality time with our niece, which we LOVE! She is at the age where she is fun to be around and you never know what she will do or say next.

On Thanksgiving Day, we did things a little different than we normally do. Normally we go to my Granny's house (dad's mom) and spend the day hanging out with that side of the family. Then on the Saturday after, my mom cooks for her side of the family. This year my mom decided to cook on Thanksgiving day so we had lunch with my parents, brother and my Nanny. After lunch, my mom had a family open house for everyone in the family that wanted to come over for dessert and to hang out. This worked out wonderfully! We didn't have to run around here, there, and yonder all day and we were able to actually enjoy each other's company. Since Brent has to work really early the day after all the holidays, our holidays sometimes pass in a blurr with the running and we don't get to sit back and relax. That was not the case this year and I hope we have started a new tradition!

On Friday, I had to work the first half of the day but that afternoon I met up with my mom and Nanny to do a little shopping. I usually avoid big holiday shopping days because I HATE crowds and people breathing down my neck while I'm trying to look but thanks to my Nanny she kept me entertained enough that I didn't worry with the crowds. It has been awhile since we have done a shopping trip together and I forgot how much fun she is to shop with. She is an unusual shopper because if it ain't on sale enough or if she doesn't have a coupon, she ain't buyin'. And if something is marked wronged or the price doesn't suit her, she just walks off leaving the clerk and item in the dust. These things used to embarrass me when I was little but now I think it is funny and I do the same things! I'm not as extreme as her; I might buy the item then return it later, but I don't pay full price for much. She called me a tight wad at one point and I asked her just who she thought I got that from! It truly is an adventure shopping with her and I can't wait for our Christmas shopping date I have planned!

I also finally got all my Christmas decorations up; after 3 days! I usually do it in one day, but I kept getting tired so I had to stretch it out this year. Thanks to my in laws, we got a new tree this year. Well new to us. The tree didn't suit their needs so last weekend they gave it to us. We were so excited A. because it was pre-lit and bigger than our old one and B. because it was FREE!!!! (Something else I got from my Nanny, we LOVE free stuff!) Our tree no longer looks like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree! Ha! It wasn't that bad but it was still pretty pitiful! Now everything looks great and I am officially in the Christmas spirit!

Belle is on the MOVE!!!

That's right folks, Belle is moving around in my stomach!

Last week I started feeling little bubble like movements. Thinking it probably wasn't gas since nothing was coming out (thank goodness!), I just knew it was Belle moving. She didn't move around a lot at first, but as the week went on she really started moving more. On Sunday night I was laying in bed feeling her movements stronger than before. I put my hand on my stomach just to see if I would be able to feel her on the outside. Well I did! I got so excited and yelled for Brent to come back there so he could feel. I put his hand where she had been kicking and every time I felt her I would say 'did ya feel that?' 'How 'bout that one?' 'There she goes.' Finally he told me to stop talking because apparently he needed full concentration when trying to feel her. He is almost positive he felt her, but also said it could have been me moving.

The next night she really had a fit and was kicking and moving around like crazy. Once again I yelled for Brent and told him how to lay his hand. As soon as he laid it on my belly she kicked him one good time! His eyes got big a saucers! He laid there for awhile and every time she kicked he would say 'did ya feel that?' 'There's one.' I said 'hello who do you think she is kicking!' It is by far the coolest thing so far in the pregnancy!

They say you can tell what her sleeping patterns will be when she is moving around and if that's true then I am extremely happy! I usually feel her right when I wake up at about 5:25. I set my alarm about 15 minutes earlier than I need to get up so while I am laying there those few extra minutes she usually starts moving around. Then I can typically feel her again several hours later and then she is on the move right before I go to bed. Tonight, however, she has been moving most of the night. I have a feeling she is trying to make some room in there after the HUGE lunch I had at work. We had our Thanksgiving lunch today and I stuffed myself to the brim! I'm pretty sure when I go to the doctor next week, I will have gained about 6 pounds from this week! Oh well! It will be well worth it!

HIS Daughter

Brent called me yesterday at work saying he wanted to go shopping for some "outfits." Knowing my husband I knew when he said outfits he could only be referring to baby clothes. I said, "are you wanting to get clothes for Belle?" (That's what we call her since I'm scared Brent will accidentally say her real name in public. Ha! and yes we have a name!!!!! And wouldn't you like to know what it is :)!!!) He said he felt bad because we haven't bought anything for HIS daughter yet. Since I love to shop, especially now, I was totally game!

So after work we headed to the mall and hit the department store first. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to find anything in there, but to my surprise we hit the jackpot! They were running a super sale and we found the cutest outfits! I even found a really cute Christmas outfit for next year that says Baby's 1st Christmas! Not only did the great sale surprise but Brent surprised me when he informed me that money was not an issue when spending it on HIS daughter. Ok, I'll play that game too! So I started grabbing more oneies. I'm only wondering how long those two things will last. I'm thinking sometime early April at 2:30 in the morning, she will become MY daughter and when she figures out the difference between designer and knock off money will be an issue. I was my daddy's girl but everything had a price tag! But hey I will ride this train for as long as it keeps chuggin'!

Let the Emotional Roller Coaster Begin!

I had my first breakdown today. Brent and I are in search of a daycare and we had a walk thru today at one of our top choices. Everything about the facility was wonderful! They take very good care of all the children and have plenty of staff for their growing numbers. But as soon as I walked in the room where newborns stayed, I had to fight back the tears. Actually I had to fight them back the whole time! It had nothing to do with the staff (very friendly!), or the babies (very content and happy!) but everything to do with the realization that I'm going to have to turn over my child to these people everyday and they are going to be just as important in her life as I am. I didn't see one bad thing about the place but that didn't stop the flood gates from opening as soon as I hit the car. I have no idea what came over me and at some point Brent looked over at me and said (in his oh my gosh my wife is crying again and I have no idea why voice) 'honey are you seriously getting this upset?' YES! He told me I could quit my job (not an option) but I know that there is nothing wrong with daycare. I was a daycare baby. I think kids need to be around other kids to develop social skills and have other kids to play with. I still can't for the life of me figure out why I got so upset and for that matter, still getting upset thinking about it. I'm praying that it is just the hormones and that I won't have to have a police escort the day I drop her off for the first time. The only thing that is helping me get through it is knowing that Brent is off one day during the week and one day he goes in at lunch. So technically she will only be there 3 and a half days a week. I feel so silly for already getting this upset over, of all things, daycare! I hope this isn't the beginning of a very emotional 4 months!

Too Stinkin' Cute!

We all know I love surprises! No matter how big or how little...I love them! Whether it is coming home to find the laundry done thanks to Brent or a new shiny piece of jewelry, I light up! Today I had the cutest surprise sitting on my desk.

My good friend that works across from me had left this little package on my desk. First, light up in my face. Then I open the package...

Then comes the second light up plus an 'oh my gosh! These are the cutest things ever!' They are little pink baby shoes with big pink and white ribbons! She got them from the children's store that I was just in this weekend. She saw them and couldn't resist getting them for us. She made sure they were the last pair so I wouldn't come in the next day and buy the same pair. Man, this girl is going to be decked out! Thanks Jennifer! You're the best!