Moving Right Along

It's November!  I'm not quite sure how that happened.  It has been almost 7 months since we sold our first house and each day that passes gets us closer to our new home.  The back and left elevation is completely finished with siding.  All of the windows are in (except one transom in the Jack & Jill bath) and our front porch was poured last Friday.  The roof to the porch should also go up sometime this week or next.  The electrician is coming in this week and plumbing is wrapping up.  Our builder told us yesterday that we are on track for the 120 days from start to finish; so if everything goes smoothly we should be closing early to mid January.  It has been a lot of fun picking out everything for the house.  We finalized our cabinets and we should be picking out floors soon.

I am in love with the bay window!  I think it is going to let in a lot of natural light, which was definitely lacking in our last house.  Maybe I can do a little newborn photo shoot once we're all settled in and the new baby comes!

Speaking of the new baby...in one week we will have our 20 week ultrasound.  This is normally the big ultrasound that every pregnant woman waits for because they get to find out what sex they are having.  However, Danny and I are still holding to our guns that we want this one to be a surprise on D(elivery)-Day!  It's fun telling people that we're team green because we usually get one of two reactions.  1) Good for you, there are very few surprises in life! or 2) Are you crazy?  

I really want that special moment in the delivery room where Danny tells me "It's a ...!"  I feel like it will make the whole birthing experience that much more exciting and really give me that extra incentive to meet our baby and get through labor.  This will be a moment that only Danny and I will get to share together and in the past we've bonded during labor and delivery in such intimate ways that he's the only person I want to share this with (well, except for the doctor and nurses, of course). Plus, it will be exciting for Danny to come out and tell our families that we've been blessed with another boy or another girl.  They say patience is a virtue, so I suggest every one puts on their waiting hats for the next 20 weeks!

Not much else is going on with the baby front.  So far I've gained about 3 pounds.  Not craving much at all; though I have almost gone through an entire bag of deer jerky since Sunday!  My sciatic nerve pain is mostly under control as long as I avoid sitting or lying down in certain positions and I am not on my feet or sitting for too long at one time.  My head aches have subsided and overall I am feeling really good.  A little more tired than normal but I can't complain too much.

Marissa and Dylan both know that there's a baby in my belly and it's pretty cute to ask Dylan where the baby is.  He is talking so much more now and his little personality is really showing.  It is hard to believe next month he will be 2!

Slowly Getting There

We are almost completely under roof!  Things should be getting exciting soon.  We were told siding goes on next week!  Eek!

We Have a Roof!

The roof was put on the house this past week and they plan to have all interior framing done this week. There are two gables on the roof that need to be done and the bathroom needs to be framed in over the garage.  They might have to order the tub first, though.  It's really coming along and it is really exciting to see the progress.  We haven't been given a firm date on when we will be closing, which is kind of disappointing.  I want to have a date already!  I guess as long as we get in the house in enough time for me to nest, I will be happy.  Hopefully no later than January.

 

17 Week Update

I haven't been the best at tracking this pregnancy.  I had my 16 week appointment last Tuesday and everything is looking great.  The baby's heartbeat was in the 140's.  I had a period of about two weeks where I was getting really bad headaches but things seem to be settling down again.  My midwife confirmed that I likely have sciatic nerve pain on my left side.  She gave me some tips to help relieve the pain and if all else fails she suggested a chiropractor who specializes in pregnancy and sciatic nerve relief.  I swear I think sciatic nerve pain is more painful than labor!

So far I have gained 2 pounds.  I am hoping to keep my weight gain to a minimum this time, we'll see how that goes.  No real cravings.  Sometimes I crave chocolate, sometimes I crave salty foods and sometimes I crave cheeseburgers or air heads or milk.  I'm all over the place.  I am still thinking this one is a boy, though a few people have guessed girl.  My next appointment is November 19th and that is when we could find out the sex of the baby.  If we can both keep strong, we will keep that surprise for delivery day, though. :)

I've had a few Braxton hicks contractions.  I seem to have about one a day.  Nothing serious; but I guess my body remembers what to do.

Marissa has changed from "We're having a baby girl and her name will be Gracie" to "we're having another DD (Dylan)" to "we're having a boy AND a girl."  Silly girl!

I want to keep track of a few old wives tales; just so I can look back and see if any are accurate.

-Chinese Gender Chart says - boy

-Cravings - I've craved sweet, salty and meat so it could go boy or girl

-Morning sickness with Dylan, morning sickness this time - boy

-Face breaking out - girl

-Carrying high - girl

-Heartbeat in the 150's at the 12 week appointment - boy (Dylan's was also in the 150's)

-Moody - girl

It will be so exciting to hear Danny announce "it's a..." 

I can't believe I am almost half way through.  Pure craziness!

16w3d 

First Deck

Just a quick update on the house progress.  You'll hear me say this a hundred times before we move in, but this is some exciting stuff!

I will let the pictures do the talking.

The first floor deck is on.  You are standing in our kitchen looking into the family room. :)

Marissa and Dylan exploring the back yard.  One day we will have a nice stamped patio out back.  

The grid-like boards you see on the deck are walls.  So hopefully they will start going up this week.  

We have lots of decisions to make in the next few weeks.  How do you pick colors for 4 bathrooms!?  I hope Pinterest doesn't fail me on the idea front.  

Hello, 2nd Trimester & Fall

Sunday I was 14 weeks and I've entered the second trimester.  This pregnancy seems to be flying by.  My morning sickness has subsided and I am mostly feeling normal again.  I've been getting headaches in the evenings and I've been having some sciatic nerve pain when I sit for too long, but otherwise I'm feeling pretty good.  My appetite is back and I have more energy!

I have felt a few tiny flutters here and there.  While some may argue that it's too early for that, this is my third ride on this merry-go-round and I think I know what a flutter feels like. I officially cannot button my pants so I've borrowed a belly band from a friend.  I thought I had packed all of my maternity clothes together in storage but apparently I separated them from casual and dress clothes.  Unfortunately, I was only able to find my dress clothes for work, so hopefully I can hold out until the house is finished for my maternity jeans.

My first bump picture: 13w3d

We went to the pumpkin patch with the kids this weekend.  We went for a tractor/hay ride and we each got a pumpkin.  Hopefully we will have time to carve them in a few weeks!  It was way too hot for picking pumpkins (hello, 90 degrees in October!) but a storm came through yesterday and really cooled things off.  So it is starting to feel like fall!

Our little pumpkin family.  One of the small ones came from PupPup's garden.  It's hard to believe we will soon be a family of 5.

Rolling Along

This whole building a house thing is really starting to come together.  It is so exciting seeing it built.  We obsessively drive by the house several times a week in hopes of something new going on.  We were a little bummed on Friday to see that our basement floor was not poured; but come Monday afternoon we had concrete floors in the basement and garage!  We were also told that our building package, i.e. lumber would be arriving today! Yipp-ee!

The basement view from the walk out.

The door on the left will be my wine cellar (woot!) and the door on the right will be a bathroom.

The double bay side-loading garage.

I have a feeling the next stage is going to be so exciting to see!