woohoo Delivery

I've had the best weekend. Can anyone guess what this is?????

Yes sir! It's our baby crib! I was so excited to get it delivered Friday because we weren't expecting it until next week. Levi put it together Saturday afternoon. I supervised :) It looks wonderful! I couldn't have asked for anything more perfect! Baby must have been excited about it too because he/she started kicking when Levi was putting it together.

Now we have to buy the mattress and wait to find out if little gummy bear is a boy or a girl so we can buy the bedding...16 days :) The baby's room is next to the restroom so every time I go potty I have to peek my head in and look at it again.

Other than the crib being delivered, my hair products that I ordered also came in. I just love it when things get delivered a week before you expect them to. If you haven't tried Bumble and Bumble hair products, you are missing out people!

And the surprises just kept on coming. Levi came home from running some errands with a bouquet of flowers :D He also went and bought some things for my classroom that I had mentioned I needed to buy before school started back.

THEN, he cooked dinner for mommie and baby. Grilled steaks, portabella mushrooms, and baked potatoes. It was wonderful!

A+ Weekend for the Ponders!

Love,
mommie and baby

Week 18~ Let the Soccer Games Begin!

18 weeks down...22 to go! Our baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (crown to rump) and is now covered in a waxy substance. Skill of the week: (drum roll please) the art of the yawn has been mastered! How cute is that?!?!

My lovely baby bump
Don't hate on the multi-colored pajamas k!

Update:

How Far Along: 18 Weeks

Gender: We will find out in 18 days... I have a feeling it's a girl, but Olivia and the rest of the world think it's a boy...

My Total Weight Gain: I'm not weighing myself each week because the scales I have at home are psychotic. The stupid thing works fine for Levi, but as soon as I step on, it just turns off or flashes all different numbers. (Maybe it's trying to tell me something....) I'll just keep putting 5 pounds until I find out at my next doctor's appointment :) They said from now on I should gain an average of 4 pounds each month..

Maternity Clothes: I'm going to have to go shopping pretty soon....I have plenty of shirts to get me through the rest of the summer, but I'm having a lot of trouble wearing my pre-preggo bottoms with the belly band.... Ain't workin' anymore.

Movement: Big Week! Big, Big Week! I felt the first kick on Tuesday! I am 100% positive this time it wasn't gas, or digestion, or a muscle spasm, or whatever! I was sitting on the couch surfing the Internet and the baby kicked me three good times and then again about a minute later! Then, I felt a BIG kick that night when I was almost asleep. Of course, I didn't go to sleep til almost an hour after that because I was hoping to feel another one! My little wannabe soccer player has been scoring a bunch of goals ever since then. I put Levi's hand on my belly the night before last to see if he could feel the kicks and the baby went crazy! He/she kicked at least 6 or 7 good times in the 5 minutes his hand was on my belly. He said he couldn't feel any of them though. The baby may just have to get a little bigger before he can feel them?

Sleep: Well, since Tuesday I've been trying to stay awake to feel the baby kick. Other than that, I've slept pretty good this week. Can't complain too much about the leg numbness or the back aches. Maybe I'm just getting used to them though.

Cravings: Twix and candy.... About 8:30 every night I want something sweet. I usually don't like chocolate and I'd usually prefer salty foods over sweet foods, but this week it's all about Twix and candy. I try to grab a piece of fruit most of the time to satisfy the cravings. And yesterday for lunch I had a rather interesting meal... Nachos and turnip greens. Oh yes people...And it was good.
My appetite has increased majorly the past few days! I'm STARVING every 2-3 hours! I might have a 10 pound weight gain this month instead of a 4 pound gain ha

Aversions: I'm doing much better! I think I may be over the aversions. (Hopefully) Stay turned though....this may change.

Symptoms: I've noticed I have been easily getting out of breath. No cramping this week (Hallelujah). No nose bleeds. More energy- I actually made a trip to Wal-Mart, cooked two real dinners and redecorated the living room this week..Watch out!

Best Mommy Moment of the Week: FEELING THE BABY KICK! YAAAY!!!!! I've been waiting for that since I found out I was a mommy!

We also started registering this week :) Couldn't wait any longer...just couldn't do it. I know you are supposed to wait until you know the sex of the baby, BUT here's what we did... We registered at 3 places for all the "big" stuff that we will re-use for baby number 2 (and maybe 3??) in neutral colors. We also registered for bottles and other things that the sex doesn't matter. Now, all we have left to register for are the things that we would definitely like to get in either pink or blue and the baby's clothes! We also have to go buy the rest of the nursery furniture, bedding, and decor.

I'm having so much fun getting ready for this baby! It's like every single day I'm a kid that's about to go to Disney World the next day haha Sorry there's only one picture on this post. I know how some people just look at blogs for the pictures. I'm guilty of that sometimes ;)

Love,
twix lovin' mommie and future soccer player

Shopping for Baby

Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe July 4th weekend! Hubs and I went to Dallas this weekend. We first (of course) had to stop and eat at Freebirds when we got there. I guess everyone knew we were coming, because that place was packed!

Then we ventured off and found a Burlington Coat Factory Baby Depot. Levi said he felt like he needed to keep one hand on me and one hand on his wallet the whole time we were there. They didn't have anything that 'blew our skirts up' so we continued on to Babies 'R' Us. That place was overwhelming! I'm used to places like Target with a few isles of baby stuff and that place was two stories. As soon as we walked through the door, I got my checklist out and we went to work on Isle 1. Let me just say that I am so thankful to have such a wonderful husband that helps me make decisions on these kinds of things. Some hubbies would have been down the road at the sports bar while the wife did this kind of shopping by herself.
By the time we got finished looking at cribs on the second floor, I was brain dead. Good news though! We finally decided on a crib and ordered it last night! YAAAYY! A sweet family member of mine offered to buy it for us and we can't thank her enough. What do y'all think??

Crib

Toddler Bed

Day Bed

Full Size Bed

We also decided on all the other major things like the rest of the baby's furniture, pack 'n play, nursery theme, crib bedding, car seats, stroller, etc. I'm so glad we have all that decided on so I don't have to worry about it anymore. I'm a major worry wart people.... Plus, I wanted to get all this taken care of before school starts back next month. Now, all I have to do is sit back, relax, and watch my belly grow for the rest of the summer haha Oh, and count down the days til my next appointment (21 by the way). After we finished looking at everything for Gummy Bear, we went and did a little shopping for us at the Galleria and of course we HAD to buy SOMETHING for baby...

This child doesn't have one stitch of clothing, but by goodness he/she has some Dallas Cowboys slipppers! Aren't they adorable!?!?!

We then ventured to Forth Worth and went to a Ranger's Game. It was so hot for the first 30 minutes we were there, but when the sun went down it wasn't too bad. Don't worry, I drank two $4.75 bottles of water while there and a lemon slushie thing.

I was so tired by the time we got back to the car. I slept most of the way home and then when we got home (at 2 a.m.) I almost got attacked by a psycho locust (I HATE locusts).

We were pretty lazy the rest of the weekend. I downloaded some music for baby on my IPod on my IPhone and we listen to it every now and then. I put one earplug in my ear and the other in my belly button hahaha (speaking of my belly button...that thing is starting to make it's way out already! I didn't think that happened til WAY later)

Update on the dogs: I have discovered that Toby likes piano and classical music. If I hold the earplug out he puts his ear up to it or he will lay his head on my belly close to the ear plug when two certain songs come on. It's so cute! Poor Millie is about to have a heart attack from all the afternoon thunderstorms and firecrackers lately. And Minka, well, she's just been "rockin out with her tooth out." Love my babies :) TTFN!

Love,

maxin and relaxin momma and music baby

Week 17

Dear Baby,

You have been with me for 17 weeks now! It's gone by fast and I can't wait to hold you in my arms. It's amazing how much your Daddy and I love you already!!!! Here's how you are developing this week...

You are about 5 inches long and 5 ounces! The size of my open hand. Loud noises like a dog barking or a door bell will actually startle you, but it will just prepare you for the real world. Your fingerprints are starting to develop and your little limbs have almost reached their proper proportions. You are also starting to form body fat that will continue to accumulate until you are born.

Daddy and I listened to Mozart last night while eating dinner. I can already tell you are so much smarter!!!!  :)

Update:

How Far Along: 17 Weeks

Gender: I will know in 25 days...yes, people...I'm counting down the days. I should have done what my mother-in-law said to do and ask to come back when the sonogram lady was back from vacation hehe. I think she's just as much ready to find out as I am!
:::read blog about doctor's appointment:::

My Total Weight Gain: 5 pounds

Maternity Clothes: This may change in a few months, but as of right now I love maternity clothes and I actually think I look cute with a belly!

However, I'm going to have to stop buying a size bigger in regular clothes because that just doesn't work anymore...I bought some cotton shorts two weeks ago just to lounge around in and they are already too small. They got so tight around my belly! I guess the baby IS growing!

Movement: No big kicks yet, but definitely some movement! Front rolls, back rolls, flips, cart wheels, break dancing.....you name it and the baby's doing it.

Sleep: Some nights I sleep great and some nights I hardly sleep at all. Either my lower back hurts or my right thigh goes numb.

Cravings: I haven't really had any cravings or aversions this week for some reason. I got a BAD craving for a Twix yesterday, but that's about it. Of course my sweet husband went to the store and got me one on his way home :) My fruit and veggie madness has kind of come to an end too!

Aversions: Still not a big fan of chicken, but I was able to eat beef, sloppy joes made with turkey meat, and a pork chop this week! Big improvement considering I had been turning up my nose to almost all meat.

Symptoms: Cramps! Ugh... I was starting to worry about the pain I was having in my tummy, but my doctor assured me it was completely normal and I also found this on BabyGaga.com:

"You will experience round ligament pain (aka "it feels likes someone stomped on my crotch and uterus in steel toed construction boots"). Round ligament pain is experienced as aching and/or stabbing pains in the lower stomach and pelvic region and is most often reported at the end of the day. This is totally normal and caused by the stretching of ligaments and muscles that support your ever growing uterus."

They are not lieing about the boot thing. Wow, it hurts. Oh well, it just means the baby is growing and doing what he/she is supossed to be doing. Other than cramps, I've had a few nose bleeds from the increased blood flow and that's about it. So far, I'm loving my 2nd trimester!

Best Mommy Moment of the Wek: Hearing my sweet pea's heartbeat at our appointment yesterday!

I know I write about this a lot, but there seriously is no better sound in the whole wide world!!! I just can't explain it. I don't understand how some mothers can abandon their children or just not have anything to do with them. But don't get me on that soapbox....


We are going furniture shopping for you tomorrow! Feel free to kick me if you see something you really like :D

Annnnnddd I'll leave y'all with some lovely pics of me, baby, and Daddy at the beach last week.......

Love,
cramping queen and dancing queen (or king)

~New Gadget~

I discovered this new little gadget today and thought it was pretty neat! Type in your e-mail address, activate, and my blog will send you e-mails each time I post something new. Pretty neat, huh? Little things amaze me, y'all.

Just go to the very bottom of my page (right before all my preggo pics) and you will find it!

I'm not going to post my new blogs on Facebook anymore unless I think they are REALLY worth reading.