Thankful-33 Weeks

I am now 33 weeks. Where has the time gone? I only have 7 weeks left (that's assuming I'm not late or early) to prepare for this babe to become a part of our family. I cannot wait but I'm terrified at the same time.  Baby is now as big as a pineapple. I feel her all day long now. Instead of little flutters, now there are full on kicks and elbows. I love it though. No matter how hard the punch or kick to the rib, I love feeling Ivy in there, knowing she's growing, feeling like she is healthy and happy.

How far along? 33 weeks and 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: Do people really answer this? Last time I went to the Dr, it was 20 pounds. Stepping on the scale every Dr. appt is still the worst. thing. ever. 

Maternity clothes? I have 2 pairs of maternity pants, but I don't feel like they are very flattering. I need to invest in a really nice pair. I find myself reaching for my maternity leggings and a sweater almost every day.

Stretch marks? None that I can see so far. But maybe it's because it's hard to see any part of my body now with my big belly blocking my view.

Sleep: It's getting a little bit harder to sleep. I get up to go to the bathroom probably 2-3 times. Sometimes, after I go to the bathroom the first time (usually around 2:30am), I feel totally awake and get lost in my thoughts. Most of the time, it is easy to go back to sleep.

Best moment this week: When Jason and I watched Ivy dance around in my stomach. We actually saw an elbow. Also, it snowed like 4 inches today. Even though the drive was horrible (took me an hour to get home), I loved the snow. It makes me want to get in my comfies, make hot cocoa and sit by our tree. Oh, another thing that was great about this week. We put up our Christmas decorations.

Miss Anything? Feeling cute when you dress up to go to work. Being able to put on my shoes and socks without grunting and holding my breath while bending over. Running (too much pain when I try). Sushi. 

Movement: Ivy moves constantly. She has started moving during the day now, instead of just at night. What is crazy now is that I can feel her in one side of my stomach and at the same time, at the total opposite side of my stomach. I think she's going to be tall.

Food cravings:  Mandarin Chinese Food (Imperial Chow Mein, Ham Fried Rice, Five Taste Shrimp). Sandwiches with everything on them. Tomato soup with noodles. Hot chocolate almost every morning or night.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Eating certain foods. Right when I wake up in the morning, I usually feel sick because I start to get hungry. 

Have you started to show yet: My belly has SERIOUSLY popped. I feel huge now. People still say I'm small because of my height, but I feel ginormous. Below is a picture a few days ago.

Gender: Girl

Development: Baby is as big as a pineapple, 19-22 inches and about 5 pounds.
Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy (Husband may say something else when I get really tired, hungry or stressed). He always says "Uh Oh......moody Mommmmyyyyyyy is here." 
Looking forward to: My Dr. appt. tomorrow and working on the nursery.

IN OTHER NEWS...

This week was Thanksgiving. If I were to write down all of the things that I'm blessed with, I think I could write 100 pages. I am so grateful for these 6 things:

1. The gospel in my life and a loving Heavenly Father & Jesus who know me personally, love me and watch out for me.

2. A loving husband who makes me laugh all the time and makes me feel beautiful even at 33 weeks prego.

3. Baby Ivy Grace Davies who we love so much already and is going to be here soon.

4. An amazing family who are my best friends. So blessed to have such close relationships with them.

5. Amazing parents who give and give until they can't anymore.

6. Amazing in-laws who I have so much fun with and love dearly.

This Thanksgiving, we went to Little American with the Davies family. It was fun to go out for a change. We ate our delicious dinner, watched only a little football (I'm definitely thankful for that), and played games. By the time Jason and I got home (around 10), we were EXHAUSTED. We went straight to bed (no Black Friday shopping for us).

On Sunday, we put up all our Christmas decorations and watched The Grinch. There is seriously something so comforting about sitting on your couch, sipping hot cocoa with all the lights off except your tree lights. I love it so much. Happy start of the Holidays!

31 Weeks-Refinishing the Dresser

Jason and I had been in the hunt for a dresser/changing table for months now. We were hoping we would get lucky on ksl.com and find the perfect one we could work with. We were looking daily, but you know that first of all, all the good stuff on KSL goes really fast, and secondly, we didn't want to pay too much for an old dresser that we were going to re-finish anyway.  We looked and looked. We also would frequent the Centerville DI almost every weekend, hoping we would get lucky. Well, a couple Saturday's ago, we woke up and said "we are going to go to as many DI's as it takes to find our dresser." We went to Centerville, Salt Lake, Sugarhouse, and last but not least, Layton.  We walked into the Layton DI and there wasn't just a perfect dresser for the baby room, but an amazing vintage-looking dresser that would go perfectly in our hallway. You'll laugh when you see the picture of the nursery dresser (it was painted red, white and blue) and was super ugly. Nothing a little paint can't fix.

This is what our dresser/changing table looked like before:

Ugly right? Who would paint a dresser these colors? Someone very patriotic would be my guess. 

We wanted to paint the dresser  pink with a gold dipped affect, but we decided white would be a better neutral.  

Here was our inspiration:

This is us in our painting get-up. Jason did all the work.

Jason sanded, painted and worked his magic and I'm in love with our dresser for our nursery. 

I'm lucky to have this guy to help me with all our of baby needs. He makes me laugh all the time. This is the only cup he will use in the wintertime to drink hot chocolate. Can't wait to see him as a Dad. I know he's going to be great at it.

P.s. I'm two days away from being 32 weeks and my stomach keeps getting BIGGER. Here's my latest attempt at capturing my ever-growing baby-bump.

We also had a huge wind storm two days ago. I loved it. It was blowing so hard that we had to bring all of our outside furniture inside. The trees were bent over, the wind was shaking the house. There were gusts of up to 75 mph winds. Jason hates wind, but I love it! I love hunkering down indoors and sipping hot chocolate with my comfies and slippers on.  

Today, we were on our way to the grocery store at 10:30am, but somehow we ended up at The Hunger Games, Catching Fire movie instead. It was so good. If you haven't seen it, first read the book, then go see it. Jason said he thinks I look like Jennifer Lawrence.  I think he is totally off base (seriously, looks at her,) but I'll take it. I have a major girl crush on her.

Anyway, enough of my all over-the-place rambling.  Last but not least, this week's pregnancy news:

1. My belly is getting bigger and bigger. It is now hard to put on my shoes and socks. 

2. I finally have a FAINT line under my belly button, you know, the linea nigra. Jason says he doesn't really see it, but I do.

3. My back hurts at the end of each day. I need to start sitting and standing up straighter (I know slouching doesn't help).

4. Ivy Grace kicks....a lot! Especially at night. I will be laying in bed, ready for sleep and she thinks it is time to party. I then wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and she still is moving around, thinking it is still a party.

5. Exercising is becoming pretty hard. I tried to go to my kickboxing class last week with Jenny and Kels and MAN..it kicked my butt. Don't worry, I do most of the modifications she provides. I've been going for a long time, so the teacher knows to tell me what modifications I can do. She also yelled last class "Don't let the pregnant girl beat you!"

6. Ivy Grace has the hiccups for the first time last night. 

7. The time is getting closer and closer for us to meet our little one and I'm so excited.

Davies Family Shower

This week was so fun and went by so fast. My sister in law Jenn and mother-in-law Myra threw me the best family shower! We had yummy Olive Garden soup, salad and breadsticks, played games, laughed and had so much fun. AND....of course, baby Davies and I were really spoiled with all the amazing gifts we received. Here are some pictures of the cute shower. OH...and we have officially decided on a name. Ready for it...Ivy Grace Davies. Jas and I are in love with it and cannot wait to meet our little Ivy.

Wednesday's Wishlist

I haven't really shopped for clothes for 6 months (because of the expanding belly), BUT that doesn't mean I can't ooohh and ahhh at the adorable fall & winter clothing.

Pardon Moi Sweater-Asos | Plaid Jacket-Piperlime |  MAMA Maternity Jeans-H&M | Steve Madden Cinch Bootie-Nordstrom

P.s. I had the Dr. appointment today where they did my glucose screening test. You know, the one where you choke down a bottle of disgusting sugary stuff? I didn't have a hard time drinking it, but it made me feel super weird afterwards. I don't know if it was the straight sugar to my body, or the fact that you can't eat or drink anything 8 hours before, but I felt WEIRD! Right after my appt, while I was driving to work, I was stuffing my face with bread, to suck that sugar drink out of my system. The Glucose results came back normal, which was a relief. I also got to see baby Davies on the mini ultrasound. She looked as cute as ever, was facing head down (thank heavens), and her heartbeat was strong. Love that little babe.

Then and now

Do you ever catch yourself looking at pictures on facebook of yourself years and years ago? I caught myself doing that the other day. I looked at myself in high school in Mexico City, Jamie's wedding, Matt's wedding, college at BYU, the Holidays, when I met Jason in Lake Powell, and when we first started dating. I look so young and innocent (probably because I was). It's funny how at that time you think you have everything figured out. Now looking back, I had no idea where my life would be. I had no idea that I'd be married to such an amazing guy who makes me laugh until I cry and makes me feel beautiful even when I am almost 30 weeks pregnant. I never knew I'd be so happy at a job I love with a baby girl coming in a few months. I'm very blessed.  Just wanted to reminisce a little.

THEN:

This was when Jason and I met. I walked into the houseboat, saw him and thought, "oh man, I'm in trouble." Major crush at first sight. He was actually semi-dating the blonde girl to my left at the time. Even though he wore bandana's, kicked me in the head off the back of the tube, and tried to be a gangsta, he had me at "What up?"

This picture is just to prove that Jason was once a BYU fan. Pshhh..yeah right, he lost a bet. But I still like bringing up this picture every now and again.

I hid this bandana from him after we started dating. This was probably our 3rd or 4th date. We look so young.

Graduating from BYU, 2 months before we were about to be married. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.

NOW:

It's amazing how much we didn't know then that we know now. I bet that you realize that every few years. You look back and think..."wow, we have learned so much."

Here are a couple things I have learned:
1. Every day may be work, school, eat and bed, but finding someone who makes the every day fun and exciting is essential.
2. Choose to be happy through the hardships.
3. Laugh through it all.
4. Marry your best friend...and if you don't do that....find a best friend in the person you marry.

Love this boy, love my life and can't wait to meet baby Davies in 3 months.

3rd Trimester-11 Weeks to Go!

Today I am 29 weeks. I cannot believe that I only have 11 weeks to go. When I say that out loud, I get a little bit scared...actually, a lot bit scared. It is really exciting, but terrifying. Only 11 more Saturday's to go!  How am I supposed to get everything done that I need to? It stresses me out a little bit, but I'm still really excited to meet our little babe.

She moves around a lot now a days, especially at night. Sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night to her doing a little dance in my belly. I love when she moves. It reminds me that she's active and growing like she's supposed to. Love this little girl so much already.

A lot of fun things happened these past few weeks.

1. My friend Annie threw me a really fun shower with lots of my friends. It was so fun to see my friends I haven't seen in so long and to get more excited about the baby.

2.  I got some new glasses. Is anyone else obsessed with Zoey Deschannel? I think she is so adorable, quirky and beautiful. I wanted glasses exactly like hers! I don't think I came very close, but I still love them.

3. It was my little niece Lucy's b-day. Love this girl so much. She is the funniest, cutest and smartest 6 year old I know.

4. We went to the National Parks Concert with Jenny in Provo (and ate some delish pita pit). If you haven't heard The National Parks, check them out on Spotify and iTunes. They are a band from Provo and they are SO GOOD. Jas and I are kind of obsessed. Anyway, we felt really old being around all those college kids and getting home at 1:00am. We thought we were going to die! 

PREGO NEWS: 

Now that I'm in my 3rd trimester, my belly seriously popped. I feel so huge now! I know, I know, just wait a couple more months and I will REALLY be huge. It is just so crazy to be experiencing this. I've got some lower back pain and baby Davies sometimes sits on my sciatic nerve, but I feel lucky so far. I've had a really good pregnancy. Here are some mirror prego selfies (I wanted to capture my belly as it is growing). Whenever I think about it, Jason is at work, so I have to use the mirror.

28 WEEKS

28 WEEKS

This picture was of some graffiti we saw downtown. Since everyone thinks my celeb lookalike is the Cheshire Cat from Alice and Wonderland, I had to snap a pic.

Baby is the size of an eggplant?

Apparently, baby is now the size of an eggplant. An eggplant, really? I don't even know what those look like or how big they are. I literally googled eggplant just so I could find a pic. 

So there you go, a beautiful eggplant. Baby Davies weighs around 2 pounds and is an active little one (most of the time). She likes to kick at the funniest times, usually when I'm in meetings for work or at night. In fact, she just kicked me right now. She also likes to kick my bladder...over and over again, causing me to ALWAYS have to use the ladies room. Today I was a bit worried because I hadn't felt her for about 5 hours. I usually feel little kicks here and there. So when Jas and I got home, we were feeling around my belly to make sure she was okay. After 5 minutes, she gave a huge kick, basically saying "leave me alone, I'm sleeping in here" and that was it. I know we don't really know, but baby already seems like she has a spunky personality.

On other people's blogs, when they are pregnant, I see that they answer the below questions every week. I don't think I'll do it every week, just maybe every couple months so I can remember what each stage was like.

How far along? 26 (25 and 5 days, but I'm rounding up)

Total weight gain/loss: Do people really answer this? Last time I went to the Dr, it was 10 pounds. That was 3 weeks ago, so prob 12+ (who knows?). Let's be honest. Stepping on the scale every month is the worst part of the Dr.'s visit. Does anyone else to make sure to take off their shoes in order to weigh less? Or I think, "come on, my fall layers must weigh at least 5 pounds!" 

Maternity clothes? Maternity leggings are the best things ever. I have a pair of maternity pants, but sometimes I still wear my stretchy jeggings and they are really comfortable.

Stretch marks? None that I can see so far. I'm sure that won't last though.

Sleep: I fall asleep really quickly, but wake up a bunch during the night to make sure that I'm not laying on my back. I sleep kinda on my side, a little on my stomach (but that's getting uncomfortable).

Best moment this week: When Jason was laying his head on my stomach trying to listen to her and she kicked him right in the head. 

Miss Anything? Being able to go for a run without stomach pain, sushi (YUM), and stomach sleeping.

Movement: Baby moves around a lot. Love when she is moving and kicking. It makes me feel like she is healthy and happy.

Food cravings:  Mandarin Chinese Food (Imperial Chow Mein, Ham Fried Rice, Five Taste Shrimp). This all sounds amazing. I also crave sandwiches all the time. Like delicious sandwiches, with everything on it. Spanky's usually does the trick for me.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Sometimes I will be sick in the mornings, just a bit of nausea. I think it's my body telling my I am hungry. Also, if a food smell is REALLY STRONG, that makes me feel sick as well.

Have you started to show yet: Oh yeah. People say I just have a little belly. I feel huge. Can't imagine how huge I will feel at Christmas.

Gender: Girl

Development: Baby is 9.2 inches and weighs about 2 pounds.This week, baby's eyes start to open.
Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy (Husband may say something else when I get really tired, hungry or stressed). He always says "Uh Oh......grumpy Mommmmyyyyyyy is here."
Looking forward to: Starting to work on baby's nursery.

In other news, I dyed my hair. Some days I love it, some days I don't love it. I think my pregnant self said "I want a change, can't change my clothes, can't change anything else, let's change the hair." I think it's growing on me, but it is quite a change. 

We went to see Gravity with the Meek fam last night.  We saw it in IMAX 3D. It was crazy.  It was the coolest 3D movie I have ever seen. It really looked like they were floating out of the screen in front of you in space and let's be honest, open outer space is terrifying. Anyway, I really liked it. Super intense. Go see it in IMAX 3D.  I tried to capture everyone in the pic, but Dad and Jenny wouldn't look!

24 Weeks-Hot Cocoa & Dresser Obsession

Time seems to have slowed down since our last ultrasound. I don't know why! It is probably because I'm getting more and more excited to see our baby girl.  The other day, Jason and I were just going to sleep and baby seriously jumped from one side of my stomach to the other. I gasped out loud and scared Jason half to death.  It was the most I have ever felt her move. Since then, I love feeling little daily kicks from her.

As far as cravings go, I haven't had many. I love love hot chocolate and have been drinking that every night. When it wasn't cold enough yet, it was chocolate milk. I also had been craving spaghetti from time to time, so a trip to the Spaghetti Factory for the amazing Mizithra Cheese Spaghetti was a necessity.

I also have finally been getting a belly. It feels HUGE to me, but everyone kept saying "you hardly can tell!" This is what I see what I look down now.

In other news, I've been looking for Nursery Inspiration and fell in love with this collage. I'm not crazy about the green and yellow, but HELLO, look at that amazing hot pink & gold dresser. I'm seriously in love. I'm thinking we could do white, black, gold with that pink accent, assuming I can find a cute dresser on KSL and try to paint it those colors. 

Come on, how can you not be obsessed with it?

Next Dr. appointment is this coming up in a couple days, hope everything is fine with baby. Love her so much already.