24 weeks

How far along:  24 weeks
How big is baby:  Cantaloupe...she feels like she is getting long!
Maternity clothes:  Yes..mixed in with some of my normal clothes
Sleep:  The reality of being back at school hit me this week.  I need to be able to sleep in later...
Food cravings:  salty or chocolate foods
Food aversions:  none this week
Symptoms:  Heart burn, maybe some slight swelling (but I've upped my water intake)
Movement: Anytime I am sitting and relaxed I can feel her moving.  She is starting to wake up later in the mornings though (lucky!)
Gender:  Girl
What I’m looking forward to:  Getting ready for her!  We've started working on things for her room and reading up to be as prepared as we can be.  The reality of grad school and work and pregnancy is starting to hit me again..and this time its a bit more stressful with the deadline of graduation and Baby Girl's birth hitting at about the same time.  Lots to do before then!
What I miss:  Cereal for breakfast (mainly because that's what I want to eat right now..)
Best part of the week: Messing with her until I got her to kick : ) 

Favorite Recent Purchases

I have been wanting a new way to clean the floors/pick up Ellie hair for quite a while as the broom and dust pan just aren't cutting it anymore.  My in-laws had this wonderful machine, so I decided to invest.

 

It is the Dyson digital slim.  It is super light weight, runs off of battery power and does an amazing job cleaning everything off of my floors! Love it!

I also ran across this on Saturday as we were leaving Hubbell and Hudson.  I mean I had to have it, right? : )

We've also started purchasing things for Baby's room, but I'll wait to show you until we start putting it all together : )

23 weeks

Sometimes I feel like we are flying through these weeks and then sometimes my thoughts fall more along the lines of "we are only at 23 weeks?"  I am enjoying being pregnant and experiencing everything for the very first time.  I am so excited about each kick (or hit/roll..not sure what she's doing) and it makes me smile to feel Baby Girl move.  I cannot wait until each ultra sound, so I can see her sweet little face again. I have had the first I'm sure of  my freak out "I don't have everything ready for her yet" moments.  I ordered 7, yes count them 7, books on babies that I am currently reading through (along with my grad school reading..) so that I will be a little more clued-in.  : ) I am working on a nursery scheme, how I want to paint and the exact colors I want her nursery to be.

How far along:  23 weeks
How big is baby:  Grapefruit
Maternity clothes:  Yes. Love them
Sleep:  Still loving that new bed
Food cravings:  Cheese its and chocolate (so good!)  and Caffeine-free Diet coke
Food aversions:  none this week
Symptoms:  Heart burn.  Loss of brain cells?   Indecisiveness?  Maybe I am just looking for something to blame the last two on : )
Movement: Dance party in my stomach.  She moves whenever I get still.  LOVE the feeling!
Gender:  Girl
What I’m looking forward to:  Working on getting her room ready and reading to get us actually ready!  We won't get to hear her heartbeat/see her little face again until February.
What I miss:  Running clothes that fit...my jacket is barely zipping, Not being able to squeeze through tight spaces (I subconsciously am still trying to suck in..doesn't work)
Best part of the week: hearing her heartbeat and Cody getting to feel her move some more

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

At some point last weekend, I got the idea in my head that I needed to make homemade bread.  We do not have a bread maker, so I decided to search for bread recipes.  I came across this gem on Allrecipes.com.  My only note to you is that it makes 3 loaves of bread (oh my!).  Now I am all about making food ahead, but with bread you kind of need to think through as it will go bad quickly if unused.  I ended up leaving two loaves out (we've finished one and are working on two) and freezing the last.  Next time however, I will follow the directions for the bread up until the rising/baking point and freeze two of the balls of dough wrapped in wax paper and placed inside a gallon size ziploc.  I figured out with pizza dough that if you just give them time to warm up and rise before baking, it makes for a quick way to have homemade bread on hand. 

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

From Allrecipes.com

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Ready In: 3 Hours

Servings: 36

Ingredients:

3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast 1/3 cup honey 5 cups bread flour

3 tablespoons butter, melted 1/3 cup honey 1 tablespoon salt 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

1.	In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.
2.	Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
3.	Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.
4.	Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely

22 Weeks

How far along:  22 weeks
How big is baby:  Papaya
Maternity clothes:  Yes. Love them
Sleep:  Having to readjust to school schedule....morning just comes so early.
Food cravings:  Cheese its and chocolate
Food aversions:  none this week
Symptoms:  Heart burn.  I am also more tired than normal.  Could it also be possible that my ability to park a car well has demised due to pregnancy?
Movement: Feels like she's dancing...especially on my bladder..when it is full : )  LOVE feeling her move though! 
Gender:  Girl
What I’m looking forward to:  Hearing her heartbeat at the next dr's appointment, feeling her move more often and starting work on her nursery!
What I miss:  Putting my blood sugar sensor in with ease.  I guess stretched out skin makes it harder now. 
Best part of the week:  Questions from 7 and 8 year olds : ) 1 - "Do you feel funny now that your belly is getting bigger?"  Yes
2- "Does it hurt when she kicks you?" No 
3- "Does it hurt how much your tummy has grown?" It feels stretched already, but no it doesn't hurt : )

20 and 21 weeks

How far along:  21 weeks (oops, I missed 20!)
How big is baby:  Pomegranate
Maternity clothes:  Mainly maternity clothes (especially the pants).   A lot of my longer or looser shirts still fit
Sleep:  New bed + Christmas break from both school and grad school = amazing sleep and even some naps..
Food cravings:  Posado's hot sauce..luckily my parents obliged this one bringing chips and salsa with them to Garrett's wedding last week (Posado's is in Longview..not Houston) and minty things still.  Oh and chocolate (hello healthy), but I think chocolate may be giving me heartburn (thank goodness for tums!)
Food aversions:  Well during week 20, I got a stomach bug, so for a few days I had a food aversion to basically everything...
Symptoms:  Heart burn.  I am also more tired than normal.
Movement: I've been feeling her move since week 18, but Cody finally felt her first kick this week!  Every time that I am still, she starts playing and the kicks have slowly been getting harder : )
Gender:  Girl
What I’m looking forward to:  Hearing her heartbeat at the next dr's appointment, feeling her move when I am still and starting work on her nursery! (I have been cleaning out everything that we don't need in this house and organizing everything that's left to start this process).
What I miss:  Nothing right now
Best part of the week:  Cody finally feeling her move! 

A wedding!

Cody's younger brother, Garrett, got married this weekend in Austin to the oh-so-sweet, Lauren. 
The guys spent Saturday getting a shave and I'm sure partaking in other manly activities, while the ladies had a lovely brunch in a home with an absolutely amazing view of Lake Travis (didn't get any pictures though...).
That night we have the rehearsal followed by dinner at Z'Tejas

The next morning, the guys headed into town to a restaurant called Banger's, which boasts the largest sausage selection in Austin.  I grabbed some donuts from Round Rock Donuts which I've seen before on either Food Network or Travel Channel.  There was a big line which made me think the donuts had to be good and it moved quickly.  Even though I was slightly concerned by their orange color to begin with, the donuts were warm and delicious.

That afternoon and into the night, we celebrated Lauren and Garrett with a beautiful ceremony followed by a fun reception that involved visiting, food, smores and lots of dancing (Baby Sage had fun!)

We had a little too much fun with the Mr. and Mrs. Sage sign...

Congratulations to the Newest Mr. and Mrs. Sage!!

5 years!

Saturday Cody and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary! 5 years!  I feel so blessed to have met my perfect match when we were so young, to have started dating at 18 to marry at 23 (barely) and to have grown to love each other more and more over these past 5 years.  I cannot wait to begin this next leg of the journey when we welcome our Baby Girl into our lives this Spring!
Here's a quick glimpse at our past five:

Wedding Day!

1st Anniversary - We celebrated @ Perry's Steakhouse

 2nd Anniversary - We celebrated @ Carrabba's

 

3rd Anniversary - We celebrated @ Fleming's Steakhouse

 4th Anniversary - We celebrated in Napa

5th anniversary - We celebrated @ Garrett and Lauren's rehearsal dinner : )