thoughts on pregnancy {pt. 8}

{a little peek..hopefully more complete pictures later this week!}

i've been thinking a lot lately.

i have a friend that is also expecting (due in December) and we chat all the time about pregnancy and our babies and just life as we know it right now. she says a lot how she feels like she's been pregnant for forever already and is already ready to be done and that she's jealous that technically our baby could come any time now.

when i hear her say these things, i do understand where she's coming from obviously, but i can't help but feel sad that she feels that way.

aside from the last couple weeks or so (come on, let's be realistic when talking about this last month), i don't really remember a time during my pregnancy that i felt like it was taking forever or that i just wanted to be done. there are definitely moments that move slower than others, but in general, i feel like the last 9 months have gone by fairly quickly and i haven't felt 'over being pregnant' during that time.

the last week or so, especially, i have found myself stopping to pause and take in the moments. like first thing on a Saturday morning when jae, pup, and i are just hanging out in bed, trying to wake up and just enjoying the quiet time. or on a sunday afternoon when i find jae and pup snuggling and taking a snooze together. i've known it all along, but it's like it has really hit home recently....

everything is about to change.

don't get me wrong, i wanted this. i wanted to be pregnant and i chose to have a baby and become a mother. now that we're so close to this big change, i am feeling a bit bittersweet about it all. it will never be like this again. this time in our lives right now will never happen again just like it is now. good or bad, nothing will be the same ever again, and that is quite the realization when it actually hits home. it's like i knew it already. but i've finally started realizing it.

the last few months, we have made a huge effort to make sure we go out (not just take out, not just fast food. like actual sit-down, order from a menu restaurant) at least once every weekend, just jae and i, and to just appreciate the time we have left (could be days, could be weeks) just us. i am so glad we've done this.

all this being said, i am hugely ridiculously super de duper excited for this little girl to join our family. and i am immensely happy that i have jae right by my side for life.

a recap & taking stock.

pup taking advantage of nap time over the weekend

date night at our favorite...

texas roadhouse. salad, steak, taters, rolls.

baby girl's halloween costume came :)

i know, i know. i'm out of control.

this little gem has been floating around blogland lately, and i wanted to join in the fun.

Making: at least bi-weekly runs to target for anything & everything
Cooking: white chicken chili soup (at least, i will be this weekend, hopefully. sooo good.)
Drinking: water. 24/7. (and sometimes wishing it was DP)
Reading: Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
Wanting: to get a few good hours of solid sleep (but not planning on it)
Looking: ideas for wall decor for baby's room
Playing: with Zo and her top 3 favs - rope, kong, & squeaker
Wasting: food that sounds good one minute and not good the next
Sewing: the hem on baby's curtains (or at least i need to be doing that..)
Wishing: i knew when baby girl is going to show her face
Enjoying: the few days left with just jae & i
Waiting: for the day i can pick from the other 3/4's of my closet again
Liking: turkey sandwiches, pb&j's, and chocolate ice cream
Wondering: how much i'm actually going to get done on my to-do list this weekend
Loving: this cool fall weather
Hoping: for a healthy baby girl
Marveling: at the peace i feel about this upcoming huge change
Needing: help. a lot. for everything.
Smelling: rain
Wearing: flip flops. STILL. but wishing i was wearing my boots or flats or anything else.
Following: a bunch of smart momma's that are teaching me all sorts of good stuff
Noticing: how anxious/excited jae is getting to meet baby girl. makes me even happier & more excited :)
Thinking: about getting the nursery all organized THIS weekend....
Knowing: my life is about to completely change
Focusing: on all things baby. can you tell?
Bookmarking: anything baby and/or fall
Opening: a million baby presents. holy cow, people are generous & awesome
Giggling: at myself and how completely ridiculous it is to do anything physical these days
Feeling: super grateful for jae's new job and that he's loving it so much already (i'll have to blog about that later..). and really - just super grateful for my life right now. things are changing and hard decisions are having to be made but it's all just part of this sweet life and i'm trying to remember to enjoy the ride.

baby shower ~ work.

i have a pretty awesome group of people i work with.
they're so fun and are always up for any reason to throw a party ;)
they threw me a surprise baby shower "staff meeting".
fresh fruit, no-bake cookies, cake from Granite bakery (my boss is kind of a cake snob - fine by me!).
best staff meeting ever!

baby shower ~ friends.

my lovely bff mary hosted a baby shower for me for all my friends to come and spoil baby girl and myself. and spoil, they did :)

we got everything from clothes (of course!) to binkies to diapers to burp cloths to sheets to baby spoons to bottles to baby shampoo to itty bitty teeny tiny baby girl bracelets! i have awesome friends. it's for sure.

{a little peek at the two names we can't decide between..}

i probably should've gotten more pictures with more people (or just of the rest of the people there), not to mention with the host herself, but i didn't (mary - you have one of us right??). it was lots of fun seeing everyone and getting caught up with people i hardly ever see. this little girl has got so much love already, it's amazing.

thanks again to mary and everyone that came :) loved it.

just a few more.

i told you we took a LOT of pictures in the past few weeks.
just wanted to post the last few that i just got. (thanks again, audree!)
ps: that Jae...he's a handsome one, no?

 

 

pregnancy thoughts {pt.7}

How far along? 36 weeks (eek!)
Maternity Clothes? yes. or just low-ride my regular leggings. a lot. or just try not to wear clothes as much as possible. that's the best option i've found. whatevs.
Sleep: not so much. i usually fall asleep fairly easily, but i wake up around 2am almost every night and just lay awake for a good hour or more. just can't get back to sleep. and baby girl is usually kickin' around at that time too. i get up to pee. zoey gets up because i do. sometimes we even go outside for a minute or two.
Best moment this week: i had a baby shower this past weekend. super fun time with super fun ladies that were all super sweet to me and baby girl :) oh and the WEATHER! finally some lower temperatures and rainy days. hallelujah.
Miss Anything? all of my shoes that my feet don't fit into :(
Movement: still around the same regular times - between 9-10pm and 2-3 am. and then just all day long really. she is a serious mover.
Food cravings: not so much. i could eat a turkey sandwich every day. i could also eat chocolate ice cream every day. i drink a TON of water these days too. feel sort of like a camel.
Anything making you queasy or sick? happy to report no on this one.
Have you started to show yet? hard to miss at this point!
Gender: GIRL!
Labor Signs: a few Braxton hicks here and there (i think) but nothing other than that really. she is sitting pretty low, although i'm sure she'll drop even lower sometime in the near future.
Belly Button in or out? still kind of in-between. it's mostly in, but sometimes the inner skin sticks out a bit. but it goes back in, too. so what do you call that?
Weddings rings on or off? off. i miss them.
Happy or Moody most of the time: i'd say happy, but it's getting harder and harder to keep it that way. i'm just really generally uncomfortable most the time and the lack of sleep doesn't help my mood much. but i am getting more and more excited every day for the birth of this baby girl so that makes me really happy!
Looking forward to: getting the nursery finally put all together in the next couple of weeks and all her cute things situated.


PS: these adorable little things came in the mail this week! love them. imaging her tiny little head fitting in them makes me giddy. (they're all headbands, the elastics are just hiding under the black paper)

a sign.

i saw this license plate the other day:

it must be a sign i've worked in healthcare for a long time, 

but the first thing that came to mind was "oh, they put their blood type on their license plate"...

B positive.

i thought that was kind of funny to put it on their license plate, but maybe that's the only way

they could remember what their blood type is?

then it hit me - duh.

it's not their blood type.

it's just saying "be positive".

i laughed a bit at myself (i was alone in my car at the time) and thought how silly it was that

their blood type is the first thing i thought of.

but now, thinking more about it, it's a good reminder for me, especially for the next few weeks ahead.

we've got this baby girl coming soon, and i'm starting to understand what people are saying when they tell me the last month is the hardest and longest time of the whole pregnancy.

but despite my lack of sleep and my hip pain and my back pain and my swelling feet and ankles and my general hugeness.....i want to stay positive and happy and i think, for the most part, i am.

i am super excited and anxious for baby girl to get here and i get more excited everyday.

people say this is the hardest time, but they also say it's all totally worth it.

i'm hanging on to that instead :)

rounding out the week with a few pictures.

the last few weeks have been full of family time, and since we have two photographers in the Horrocks clan, it's also been full of picture taking!

thought i should share a few on the blog.

(in no particular order)

miss mary also did some fun baby belly shots for me a couple of weeks ago, so here are just a few from that adventure. we rushed to get some sunset lighting, and just about missed it, but i think they worked out pretty good!

 

it's been a week (yes, a shorter work week, but still...).

i'm tired and ready for a loong nap.

it should be a fun, but busy weekend.

on the agenda thus far:

baby shower 

birthing class

cancer fundraiser for sweet little Cami (you should come too!!)

haircut for jae

church & extra church meetings

date night (not sure where we'll squeeze this in yet..)

nap??

work on the house/nursery more (never comes off the list)

one week of september down,

three more to go!

happy weekend :)

labor day weekend 2013.

here's a bit of how our weekend went:
(yes - all iphone photos, so not the greatest. also, a lot more work was done by jae and other family members, which was AWESOME...i just didn't get pictures of it all. i'll have to show you later exactly what they did.)

date night! we're really good at good pictures.

 

jae's favorite: mo bettah's (ekolu special)

 

my favorite: coldstone (cake batter ice cream, brownies, fudge)

 

you can't really tell, but it was an awesome stormy sky sunset with sun rays shining down through

we actually went to see a movie! first time in months.

{ps - since when did movies cost $9.25?? good grief.}

 

somehow convinced my family to come spend their labor day at our house - laboring on our behalf.

 

pup was super helpful with putting together a bookshelf.

the big pregnant lady & the dog working together - you can imagine how quickly that work got done.

 

the finished product! bookshelf for baby girls room :)

i absolutely love it.

 

finished off labor day with this absolutely delectable brownie.

it was soooo good.

so long, sweet summer!