AC is out

In 6 months of pregnancy, this is the second time going through  at least 24 hours without AC. On our corpus trip and at home. I pulled the pregnant card and got us a free hotel room last night!! Now I am killing time across the street with a liter of smart water and a magazine while they fix the air. How do pregnant women do it with no AC?!?!

26

Click Here to see my belly grow!

Staying active

If you try working out regularly, you may realize that some days are just harder than others...in fact some weeks/months are harder than others...it is the same when you're pregnant. Some days are just harder than others. Lately I've been going through a slump, but this morning Sean got up early with me and we went for a run. I was anticipating it would be more of a walk, but I was able to run more than I have in months without stopping and felt great! yay! Also, we saw 7 Bambis and a ton of big deer. 

Sean has been working on conducting the Messiah at Southwestern University in Georgetown and I am singing in the choir- so fun! Here is a picture of him conducting for one of the baritone solos "The Trumpet Shall Sound" (a piece he has sung many times). Lily has been kicking up a storm during the rehearsals- she seems to like the extreme low and extreme high sounds :)

Bambi morning kicks

There have been at least 3 mornings where Lily was kicking so hard I thought she  was saying "GET UP AND SEE THE BAMBIS"...each time I had this feeling and felt her kicks there have been some sweet little Bambis outside. Here is a picture of some that I saw a little while ago- this is our backyard in Salado. This morning I have seen two so far and am sitting in front of the sliding glass door waiting so see if there are more :) 

Other quick Lily updates:

She responds to live music- especially piano and guitar

she responds to sounds such as the vacuum and daddy's voice

she knows when Sean's hand is on her because she will kick just at the spot where his hand is as soon as it is there! 

at 25 weeks along, she is the size of an eggplant, 2 pounds, can open her eyes, and can survive outside of the womb according to our OB (with assistance)...good thing is we dog-sit for a NICU doctor and Scott and White Temple has one of the best NICUs in TX! Hopefully we don't need it, but good to know!

Mommy updates:

energy level has been great- I am exhausted this week, but am teaching 36 students and singing Messiah rehearsals in the evenings at Southwestern University until 10pm...so feeling tired is normal.

Heartburn has been present, but not horrible. I can take tums and have also discovered papaya enzymes...or our OB said just eat papaya. Find papaya enzymes in the vitamin section at an HEB or vitamin store or amazon.com. They taste like smarties (Sean agrees!), help the heartburn, and are all natural!

Fore more tips on pregnancy stuff go here. I will continue to update as time goes on.It will also help me out the next time around. 

Dancing

Yesterday, Lily was dancing so much during the offertory at church that my tummy was moving and shaking! I think she is a little ballet dancer already! 

First look...

We have some cute furniture, thanks to the Hales! Now to decorate fill it all up!!

UPDATE

LEARNING

In my most recent post, I posted a pic of Sean blowing on a baby mannequin's head. We went to an infant CPR/safety/baby proofing your house/car-seat-safety class at Baby Earth in Round Rock, TX. It was SUCH a valuable class! Baby Earth is awesome! Look it up in your area for more classes and shopping :) 

DOCTOR

Yesterday we had an appointment with our OB. Everything is happy and healthy. The CRAZIEST thing was that she told me Lily's head was facing down (which is right where it should be for delivery). I was like-WHAT? so she had me push on my lower abdomen with two hands and feel it! AHHH! I have an alien inside me! She is moving a LOT which is good news :)

We've scheduled all the rest of our appointments until the birth- the time is flying by!

NURSERY SHOPPING

Today we head down to Ikea in Round Rock for some nursery shopping with Sean's parents! I will post pictures later this week probably :) Super excited!! 

CPR

Super Dad at the infant CPR class:

Father's Day 2013

Sean is so wonderful so I wanted to let him be super special for his first Father's day! This may seem really debbie-downer, but we have lost too many young friends in our lives, so we try to live every day to the fullest and celebrate BIG whenever possible! 

The morning started out with special coffee, a card, and some more decorations around the house :)

After a long day at church we decided to do one of Sean's favorites- GRILL! 

We enjoyed salmon and veggies:

one of his favorite fruits- pineapple!

and his favorite dessert: Cottage Pudding! This was a go-to dessert for family birthdays growing up. He didn't get it for his bday this year, so I planned WAY ahead to do it for his first Father's day!

Oh- cottage pudding is a boxed yellow cake (unless you have time and energy to do a scratch...will do next time!) and a chocolate sauce made on the stove that you pour over the cake in a bowl. mmmmmmmm. 

YAY for Sean! He is so excited to be a daddy. I have to brag on him- since we're both working full time this Summer, there is NO time for chores, so we just take the afternoons and split it up...yesterday after work he chopped down a little tree thing, brought in the trash, vacuumed, put away laundry, mopped, washed the dishes after din din, AND still had energy to do his weight training and run a few miles! 

WHEW! SUPER DAD INDEED! 

24 weeks (6 months!!)

Click here to see my belly grow!

Piggies

I've made the decision. No more painting my own nails until post baby!! Here are the results in the beautiful Salado salon:)

Fears

It seems the more I read about baby things, the more I realize I don't know.

All in all I know we will be fine- but I have some fears for sure...like:

• What is the right car seat
• I feel kind of alone all the way out in Salado without family close by...we have friends and church people, but it just isn't the same. 
• We don't have anything for Lily yet besides a few little fun-things- We're doing furniture shopping next weekend with Sean's parents and I am sure Sean and I will take a big shopping trip/amazon.com trip soon to stock up on what we think are essentials. I am almost in my 3rd trimester! CRAZY! No baby showers on the schedule yet- I know they are coming, but I am getting antsy and ready to start nesting :) 
• I am trying to really enjoy my freedom right now. As an only child I have always felt pretty spoiled to have a lot of "me-time" and privacy. Not sure I am ready to let that go.

I just have to keep reminding myself- the baby doesn't need things, it needs our love. Sean told me last night when we were feeling Lily kick he is just so ready to see her face and hold her. This Sunday is Father's Day. Sunday is a big day at our church because it is our pastor's last Sunday, then I have a skype date with my 3 BFF's living all over the world, but after that I need to spoil my Daddy-to-be because he is truly amazing. 

looking pregnant...

Today was the first time EVER that a total stranger asked me about my pregnancy. I guess I DO look pregnant for sure and not just like I have a little beer-belly!

It is pretty funny how when I am greeted by almost anyone they can't look me in the eye 100% of the time- just staring at the belly! HEY! I am here too!!! hahaha! 

Questions, Comments, Concerns...

I wanted to share with you questions, comments, and concerns I have been receiving from others (just because it is funny!):

• (from a 7yr old girl) "Mrs. Mary- you still look really in shape"
• (from a 70 year old woman) "Hey, Chubby!"
• (from an 8 yr old boy) "You still don't look pregnant"
• (from a 65yr old man) "You're getting fatter."
• (from a 9 yr old boy) "You're starting to get puffy. I don't want to hug you because I am afraid I'll squeeze the baby out...how do they know if it is a boy or a girl- is it the hair?"

The question I get multiple times per day every day (especially on church days) goes like this:

*Adult puts hand on my shoulder, looks at me with the most serious, sad face and ask  in a concerned whisper "Are you doing ok?"

I appreciate the concern and the variety of comments, but I am doing very well- just very lucky to have an easy pregnancy so far! In other news, my belly button will soon become an outie I'm pretty sure! haha!!!

23

At 23 weeks "What to Expect" says Lily is the size of an ear of corn. haha! She went from a Papaya to Corn...hmm...she is growing for sure!

I started my new summer schedule yesterday- taught for 6 hours, got a gym membership and worked out a little, did some chores, then made healthy Alfredo pasta from scratch! I was a little ambitious and slept like a rock last night! This is good since the night before I couldn't sleep- heartburn and hungry! Sean and I both got up at 2am to eat cereal. haha! 

We are excited to get started on the nursery soon!!! 

Click here to see my belly grow! 

Quick Post

We went to see Hangover III today. Funny! I realized 2 things:

1) It is fun to get out and do something spontaneous while we can!

2) Pretty sure Lily can hear because she was really responding to the loud sounds with some big kicks!

Papaya... I think not...

 (What to Expect says baby Lily is THIS big!)

BAMBI

About 17 weeks until we get to meet baby Lily!

This is my last week to work out of the house. It is bittersweet. I love the comfort of it, but it will be nice that it is no longer a place of work and we can start on the nursery!! We will be cleaning out Lily's room this weekend and also having the carpets cleaned! Time to start getting ready!!

Monday I will start teaching up at the church with about 36 students! I also have a waiting list of about 4-5 families for Summer lessons! I will also be commuting one day a week to a few music therapy clients. This is more work than I've had in a long time, so hopefully it won't totally exhaust me- since it is Summer, however, people will cancel often (giving me a break!) This is great, but I am not sure what to do about a Fall schedule...we'll see. At least I have plenty of work!

It is Bambi season in Salado, so Sean and I go on Bambi walks/drives several times a week. If you come to visit us this Summer, count on doing this! It is so much fun and makes me even more excited about our little one :)

Baby Lily is now the size of a Papaya...although I don't believe that. She IS growing, though :) 

Love my bump :)

Feeling better

Last week I posted a blog update about having growing pains, contractions, not being able to run as much, etc...

Today I feel much better! I started off the day with what I thought was probably going to be another walk, but ended up running an entire mile without stopping (which is more than I've done in a few weeks!). That is pretty good for a preggo in her 6th month of pregnancy in JUNE! Next week I'll get the gym membership since I'll have a new summer schedule for teaching and can't run in the mornings, but I will really miss being outside and seeing sights like this:

I am still having contractions and cramps a little here-and-there, but not as often as last week so far :) 

I read if you shine a flashlight over your belly that baby will react and move around...hasn't worked so far, but maybe soon! 

Girly clothes!!

We have gotten a few girly things recently as little gifts :) Here they are! Lily is going to LOVE them! I wonder if they make infant high heels to go with these outfits... :)

Lily sure is a little acrobat- lots of BIG movement! My belly is getting so big I am knocking things around with it!!

22

22 weeks! Approximately 18 weeks until we get to meet Lily! 

Click on the belly link at the top of your screen to see my belly grow!