Saturday, July 30, 2011

30 Weeks and a Pregnancy Survey!

Today I am 30 Weeks pregnant. I don't know why but it is just really exciting to say that! I know we are still about 2 1/2 months away from seeing our little girl, but 30 weeks just sounds so much closer than 29 weeks did!

I had an ultrasound this week and despite the fact that I was measuring a little farther along at my last appointment, all of Everly's growth measurements are right along track with 30 weeks. I also found out that I passed my glucose test and do not have gestational diabetes...yay! Everly has been moving around a lot lately and sometimes I just sit at my desk at work and start giggling because sometimes it feels really weird. It is sometimes less like punches and kicks and more like rolling around. Justin has been able to feel her move more too, which is nice, because the last few weeks every time he would feel my stomach she would stop moving! Already being stubborn I guess? She was a bit stubborn during the ultrasound, too. We have no photos to share because she was not cooperating and was only showing us the back of her head! Here is a little survey I filled out about my pregnancy so far...


How far along?  30 weeks

What was the first thing you bought for your baby? Oh...that is going to be hard to remember with my pregnancy brain! My mom bought a little bib for her when I was like 5 weeks pregnant so that will have to count!

How are the maternity clothes? I am in love with my forever 21 maternity tanks. I have 3 different colors, and I love them. I also have a pair of maternity leggings from H&M that I love. Other than that it is mostly skirts and dresses for me!

Stretch marks? Yea, got one, but I also had some before I was even pregnant so not surprised.

How’s the sleep? Definitely not like it used to be. I mean I still fall asleep pretty good, and often when I am on the couch downstairs, however, I toss and turn a few times a night and that is not getting any easier the bigger I get. I also used to be able to sleep through the night without having to go to the bathroom. Those days are over!

Best moment this week? Getting my "Everly" necklace!

Movement? A lot more movements in the past week. They make me laugh and are feeling more like rolls then just punches or kicks.

Have you taken a birthing class? Not yet. We did a tour of the hospital, and Justin attended a Daddy Bootcamp, but we are planning on taking birthing basics next weekend. We also plan on taking infant CPR and I would like to take a breastfeeding class in September as well.

Type of delivery you’re planning on? No planned C-Section or anything, but I will be getting an epidural. I just hope it is safe and we have a healthy baby!

Biggest change in your body besides belly? My feet have been swelling a lot and my hands. I think I won't be wearing my wedding rings much anymore. My skin has not been so pretty either. I have read it is common when having a girl though, because of the estrogen. I also definitely have pregnancy brain...not so good when you are an accountant.

Food cravings? Nothing too weird. I like ice cream, and bagels, although, not together! Sometimes all I want for dinner is macaroni and cheese and Pillsbury crescent rolls. I guess that's a little weird. I crave beer, does that count?

Gender? Female

Labor Signs? None, thankfully!

Belly Button in or out? In.

What are you missing? Beer and clothes fitting comfortably. Even my big comfy shirts are tight and I don't like that!

What are you looking forward to? Maternity Leave! I am really looking forward to just holding her and staring at her and seeing my husband with her.

Other Updates? My baby shower is 3 weeks from today and I am super excited! Also, end of August I go to NY for my cousin's wedding and I can't wait.

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Friday, July 29, 2011

Making Grandpa Larkins Proud!

Yesterday we stopped at Target after my ultrasound and came across something we just could not resist...


My father-in-law was a huge ASU fan and I know he would have loved to see our little girl in these adorable onesies. Plus, I am an alumni of ASU so she kind of has to have them! Can't wait for her to be here!



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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

A late birthday present...sort of

So Justin actually got me this present early but we had to take it back and get it fixed because it was too small and on the wrong color chain. I am so glad it is finally ready! I love it. It is a necklace from this adorable vintage store in central Phoenix called Frances. If you have never been there, check it out!


Her name looks so pretty in cursive! I love it and will probably be wearing it very often. Some people may think it is weird that I have a necklace with my daughter's name on it, but I like it, so who cares! 

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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

We Won!



Thank you so much to everyone who voted for us on facebook for the use of our decals from Designed Designer. We got more votes than any other photo during this contest and now we won back the cost of the decals, which was over $100 so we are excited to use that money towards other baby items for little Everly! We have the most awesome friends and family for putting up with all of my nagging to vote for us. Thanks!

And while I am on the subject of nagging...please vote for us on Top Baby Blogs. You can vote once a day!

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Sunday, July 24, 2011

Nursery Update!

Justin and I have been working on adding some art and decorations in Everly's nursery for a while now. Thanks to some awesome birthday gifts and finding some frames, we finally have enough to post about. One of my favorite items is this print from Sycamore Street Press.


Justin got it for me for my birthday and it is hand-printed on a vintage letterpress. This company is on Etsy but you can also get to their shop from the link above. They have some really cute prints, it was hard to decide on this one. Eventually, this will be the corner with the rocking chair so we thought that this print would be appropriate here. A few weeks ago we also found this picture at Kohl's...

It is hanging above the closet and we like it because it continues with our owl them and it kind of has a Beatles lyric in it...plus we bought it with a coupon! Continuing on with the owl theme are a couple of owls we purchased. The one on the left below is from Urban Outfitters and is actually a little bank and the one on the right is from West Elm. We love both of them.


These next two items are some pottery that Justin and I painted on a date night a few weeks ago. He painted the little puppy and I painted the owl. We had a lot of fun painting these for Everly. 


This last area is a work in progress. We wanted to have a little collage of prints and pictures above the changing table area and are not quite done yet. 



The one on the right is something I just typed up on the computer after finding it on Etsy at a price I didn't want to pay. We like it because it is actually in a Dave Matthews Band song (So Much to Say). The picture of the birds on the wire is something my sister got me on clearance at Target and I love it because it fits with the decals and it reminds me of
a Regina Spektor song (Two Birds). Last, the owl on the right is something we have wanted since we began the nursery. It is a print by artist Matte Stephens. You can check out his Etsy shop here. He makes some really cool art! Justin's sister's family actually got it for me for my birthday and I love it and am so glad it is finally up!

Also, our beautiful Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag arrived in the mail this weekend. I never thought I could love a diaper bag so much, but hey, I am going to be carrying this thing around a lot! 


Hope you all had a great weekend and if you don't mind clicking on the link below to vote for us on Top Baby Blogs we would really appreciate it!

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Saturday, July 23, 2011

Dining with Dad v.01

Justin and I wanted to start a new series on the blog where he contributes and so this post will hopefully be the first of many. Since my husband pretty much does all of the cooking in the house we decided to call it Dining with Dad. We hope this series is a way for Justin to share things he has cooked or new restaurants he has tried and eventually will include making food for our little girl! Hope you enjoy!

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I have always had a big interest in food. I love trying new things and seeing how different things pair together. I was lucky enough to have parents that let me experiment with things on my own. There were many times that I made a lunch large enough for 5 people, just for myself, and discarded the rest. 

One of the first things I learned to make was doughnuts. Its a super simple recipe, basically taking the canned biscuits and poking a hole in them, frying them up, and covering them in a cinnamon/sugar mixture. I've told Kayleigh a bunch of times how I used to make the best doughnuts when I was a kid, and her only response was "why haven't you made them for me yet?".  This past weekend we finally had all of the ingredients to put it together and I was able to get up a little bit before her and surprise her with some fresh made doughnuts!  It had been years since I had made them so I was pretty much going off of memory so they weren't perfect, but in the end, we didn't have any leftovers. Here are some pics of the process of making them, they are really easy but just be careful around the hot oil.




YUM!! Try them, you wont be disappointed!











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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

28 Week Appointment and Updates

Yesterday I had my 28 week OB appointment. This was the one where I had to have my glucose test. For those of you not aware of what that is (because I had no idea what it meant before I got pregnant) this test measures how well your body can handle sugar because it is possible to get gestational diabetes while you are pregnant. First, you have to drink this nasty sugary fruity drink. This was really hard for me because I don't even like gatorade or any juices like that. I prepared myself for the worst though, and I think that helped. I also plugged my nose while I drank it and I think that helped too. Here is a pic of the drink. I poured it into a cup and drank it in the car as I left work and headed to the doctor's office.



Once I got to the doctor's office they drew my blood. I don't have good veins and they had to draw it out of my hand....hate that! I should get the results before my next appointment. After they drew my blood I had my regular checkup. Everly's heart rate is good but my weight is not. Honestly, I haven't changed anything since last month when I was weighed, but my feet and hands have been swelling up a lot. My doctor said I am retaining a lot of water which causes the swelling and can make my weight gain look pretty high. Seriously my fingers and toes are like sausages and it is becoming more and more difficult to get my wedding rings on and off. All of the shoes I wear now leave imprints on my feet and you can barely see my ankle bones. It is not sexy :(. When my doctor measured me she also said I am measuring at 31 weeks. This could be because of the water retention as well, but just to be sure, next week I have to go in to get an ultrasound to check on Everly's size. I was excited because that means we get another chance to see our little girl! Yesterday I also had to get a shot of RhoGAM in my butt. I am not afraid of needles (I do have a tattoo) however, this shot burns when it goes in. Not fun, but I'm guessing an epidural will be worse! I needed this shot because my blood type is Rh Negative and when exposed to Rh Positive blood (potentially my babies) I can produce antibodies that will fight against it. I will also have to get this shot again after I deliver. Other than that, everything has been going well and I have been feeling fine. Really excited for my ultrasound next week!

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Tuesday, July 19, 2011

A little splurge!

Honestly, I think both Justin and I have been pretty good about not overspending in preparation for Everly. Considering all of the things that we want, and how much some baby stuff out there costs, we have done pretty good. The most money we have probably spent so far was on our crib and it is from Wal-Mart. We have even been pretty good about not overbuying clothes and shoes even though little girl stuff is sooooo adorable! However, today Petunia Pickle Bottom was having an outlet sale and I couldn't resist. If you don't know what Petunia Pickle Bottom is, check them out here. Seriously, their Cake by Petunia Collection is some of the cutest diaper bags I have ever seen! I had originally registered for a Timi and Leslie diaper bag, which I still love, but it is $140 and I know that it is just not realistic to ask for that...especially when there are other much more important things that we really need. When I saw that Petunia Pickle Bottom was having an outlet sale, I figured it would still be too expensive but I looked anyways. That is when I saw this guy...





It's beautiful, and was on sale for only $55 instead of the original $170 it cost before it became a discontinued style. I was honestly shocked that it was still available. I know that I would probably never find a deal this good again so I just couldn't pass it up. I am so excited to receive this bag in the mail!!!

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Monday, July 18, 2011

Puppysitting!

This past weekend we were watching a cute little puppy named Dexter. Dexter belongs to my niece Hailey, but he really is the Dinslage Family Dog. They were in Nebraska visiting family so we got to steal little Dex. Dexter is a miniature dachsund. He is so cute and such a little cuddler, and since he is part of the hound group he fits in perfectly at our house. We loved having him around.
Just as much as Justin and I loved having Dexter around, our pups Roi and Minnie loved Dexter even more. At first, Dexter was a little shy but not long after he was following their every move. If one of them got off the couch, he followed. If one of them went outside, he followed. When they were play fighting, he just had to get in on the action too...



It wasn't all fighting, though. They got a lot of lounging around and napping in too!


They even enjoyed a little puppy concert...haha!


Dexter left last night and we sure will miss that little guy!

p.s.
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Saturday, July 16, 2011

27 Weeks and My 25th Birthday

Last Sunday I turned 25! Sorry it took me so long to update. I also entered the third-trimester of my pregnancy. Yay! Two-thirds of the way there! Here is me at 27 weeks...




My birthday was great. We hung out by the pool for a couple of hours and then came home to have burgers with my family and Justin's family. My sister-in-law Carly makes the best turkey burgers ever. They have garlic, spinach, and feta in them and they are so juicy and yummy! It was exactly what I wanted on my birthday...and ice cream cake of course! Here are a few pics from the night!



Even my brother Kory made an appearance!

My sister Kim and little Cam

The Larkins family....thanks to Jared for grilling also!

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Friday, July 15, 2011

Top Baby Blogs!

Justin and I have submitted our blog to be on the top baby blogs website and we just got approved. We are really excited because we found a lot of great blogs through this website. Now we need people to vote for us. You can vote once a day every day and all you have to do is click on any one of the little banners or widgets like these...

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Once you click on the link it will take you to the Top Baby Blogs website and you just click the owl on the left where it says click to vote! Thanks! 


Weekend in Review

Summer is basically here and we are already in full on pool season. On Friday I had the day off so I spent some time with Aspen and took he...