Work Baby Shower 02/28/2014

I have the privilege to work with nice, generous people who threw me a baby shower at work.  There was tons of food including homemade tortilla chips, homemade chicken salad, and ice cream cake.  I had a special chair with balloons tied to it, aka the baby throne.  There were so many nice gifts. A homemade quilt with David's name one it, baby Gator hat, lots of clothes, gift cards, and the car seat!  Although now I have to come up with a new excuse when people ask me if I'm ready, I used to say "No, we don't have a car seat yet."  It was a great shower and I feel lucky to work with these people.    

Feet

When we got the ultrasound pics on Monday, I realized we had also gotten a foot picture at 12 weeks.  So I did a comparison to see how much he has grown.  Answer is quite a bit!  Funny that you can see the gap, or toe stretch, back at 12 weeks as well.  Lucas has a gap between his toes so I'm thinking he's going to have Lucas's feet.  

33 Weeks

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (about the size of a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

from babycenter

Ultrasound

Had an ultrasound today.  David weighs 4 1/2 lbs and is on track to be 7 1/2 lbs at birth.  Doctor said everything is looking great!

Baby Shower Quick Post

Let me just say that I have awesome, talented, super sweet friends to do all that they did for me today.  My baby shower was absolutely amazing and I couldn't have asked for anything better and wouldn't have changed anything.  The details and planning were fantastic.  It means so much to me to have these girls in my life and in David's.

Photo Challenge Week 8

1. Feb 16: Hanging photos on the wall
2. Feb 20: Cow onesie
3. Feb 21: Dinner at the original Ninfa's
4. Feb 22: Peanut's outfit for the shower

32 Weeks

By now, your baby weighs 3 3/4 pounds (about the size of a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. 

He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

from babycenter

Photo Challenge Week 7

1. Feb 10: Great box at Michaels
2. Feb 11: Trying on dresses for the baby shower
3. Feb 12: Sunset
4. Feb 14: Beautiful flowers from Lucas
5. Feb 15: Peanut on the way to the dogpark

Valentines Day

Valentines day was nice and relaxing this year.  We got to sleep in due to a contractor that was supposed to meet us at the house but never showed.  When I got to work, I had beautiful flowers on my desk from Lucas and chocolate from my boss.  After work we went to Chinatown where there were crazy amounts of birds on the phone lines and flying around.  We always wonder around a supermarket and buy some candy and cheap produce then go get dumplings and bobba tea.  It was all delicious.  

31 Weeks

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3 1/3 pounds (about the size of a coconut) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

from babycenter

When I Found You

Book 6 of 2014 is "When I Found You" by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

I picked this one because Amazon had it on their bestsellers emails for awhile plus it was free on the Prime Kindle library.

It starts with Nathan and his dog finding a few day old baby boy in the woods while hunting in October.  The baby survives and he wants to adopt him but can't because the boy's grandmother wants him.  He grows up to become a troubled teenager and the grandmother gives him back to Nathan.  The rest is their story.

I enjoyed the book but I didn't love it.  I kept waiting for this particular moment to happen but it never did.  I did like the overall theme about how important it is to never give up on some one important to you.

Photo Challenge Week 6

1. Feb 2: Nothing
2. Feb 3: Peanut waiting for my car to be inspected
3. Feb 4: Flat tire = major annoyance
4. Feb 5: Great quote
5. Feb 6: Another Houston snow day
6. Feb 7: Finished The Fault in Our Stars
7. Feb 8: Peanut does not like to be awake 

The Fault in Our Stars

Let me start by saying, I'm not a crier so don't find me insensitive by saying that I didn't cry when reading this book.  Book 5 of 2014 is "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green.  I picked this one because it was on a list of books to read before they become movies.  Yes it's young adult and a quick read but it was good!

It's a book about Hazel who has terminal cancer and is pretty much an antisocial loner until she meets Augustus one night at cancer support group.  The story follows their relationship and struggles with their forms of cancer.

Yes it is sad and most people cry when reading it but it's good.  Green writes with a sense of frankness about it.  He doesn't hide the bad parts of having cancer, they are out their in the open.  I liked how he betrays the rawness of their emotions/fears/triumphs.  

Quotes:

• That's the thing about pain...It demands to be felt.
• You are so busy being you that you have no idea how utterly unprecedented you are.
• As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.
• The weird thing about houses is that they almost always look like nothing is happening inside of them, even though they contain most of our lives.  
• And in freedom, most people find sin.
• Sometimes it seems the universe wants to be noticed.
• My thoughts are stars I can't fathom into constellations.

30 Weeks

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now and weighs almost 3 pounds (about the size of a large cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will shrink as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means he can only make out objects a few inches from his face.

from babycenter

Photo Challenge Week 5

1. Jan 27: Peanut blends into the couch
2. Jan 28: Snow day
3. Jan 29: Peanut cuddles while working from home.
4. Jan 30: "Whatcha doing Dad?"
5. Jan 31: Pug socks at Target
6. Feb 1: Finished the book We Will Survive

We Will Survive

The song "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor is much more than a catchy disco hit. Growing up Gaynor was sexual abused multiple times by people she trusted.  When she got married, it was to her manager who emotional abused her.  After one of her shows, there was an accident and she woke up paralyzed from the waist down.  Thankful she recovered.  During her recovery she became a christian and realized that she didn't need to be in an abusive marriage.  The original lyrics to the song included the line "Only the Lord could give me strength not to fall apart."  This was changed to "It took all the strength I had not to fall apart."  Gaynor sings the original lyrics on stage.  By the way, this was all in the introduction and prologue.

The book is formed from stories Gaynor received from fans, telling her how the song had bought them through difficult times.  The stories range from cancer survivors to an Auschwitz survivor, from 9/11 to the Oklahoma bombing.  They are powerful, true, and raw.  It's amazing to read the stories and feel the strength that people have to survive.  

You can view the book on Amazon HERE.