26 Weeks

Click here to see my other weekly pregnancy update posts.

Click here to see my step-by-step chalk art tutorial.

How Far Along: 26 weeks and 1 day

Size of Baby: According to The Bump, the baby is the size of a head of lettuce, is between 13.6-14.8 inches long, and weighs anywhere between 1.5-2.2 pounds.

Total Weight Gain: Definitely not weighing myself. Definitely not.

Gender: It's a girl!!

Maternity Clothes: Yes! I finally bought a pair of maternity leggings and they are oh so comfy. I don't know why I waited so long. Now I just need to find some more long shirts to wear with them. You know, because...

Not that I needed a reminder... I've always been of the "leggings aren't pants" opinion.

Wedding Rings On/Off: On

Stretch Marks: None yet. I'm still using cocoa butter lotion almost every day.

Sleep: Still sleeping pretty well...just feeling like I need more of it!

Cravings/Aversions: Just sweets, although I'm not sure I can really officially call that a pregnancy craving. I always want {more} sweets during the holidays.

Symptoms: Lots of Braxton Hicks contractions. We actually ended up going to the hospital last Wednesday night because I was having them about three minutes apart and I hadn't felt the baby move as much that day. They monitored her for a couple of hours and praise the Lord, she was fine. Her heartbeat stayed steady every time I had a contraction. They told me they were probably related to stress and that I need to take it as easy as possible. That's kind of difficult to do...especially around Christmas time! Anyway, I've been drinking tons of water and trying to remain as stress-free as possible. They have lessened, but I still have them almost every day...well, make that every week day. I don't really get them on the weekends. Imagine that! ;)

Movement: She has started moving so much more in the past few days! Daniel has been able to feel her several more times, too. We love it!!

Mood: Happy!!! {And a little bit stressed...}

What I Miss: My daily naps during the summer time when I first found out I was pregnant. I would also *love* a steak and a 44 oz. cherry Coke.

Looking Forward To: My doctor's appointment tomorrow {fingers crossed that I pass my glucose test} and we're going to a childbirth class on Saturday. A little nervous for that one, but still excited. We're also planning to test out some gliders for the nursery this weekend.

Best Moment This Week: Even though we were at the hospital, I loved being hooked up to the fetal monitor and getting to hear our baby's heartbeat and kicks for a couple of hours. We also heard hiccups!! So sweet.

  

Christmas Mantle Decor + Free Printables {Noel, Peace, Joy Burlap Banners}

Christmas was in full swing around here this weekend...and I loved every second of it! On Friday night, we did some Christmas shopping, checked out Santa's Wonderland at Bass Pro Shops {can't wait to take our baby there next year!} while Daniel added to his Christmas list ;), and had peppermint chocolate chip milkshakes at Chick-fil-A. That milkshake will definitely not be the only one I have before Christmas. Wow. SO good.

On Saturday, we wrapped some presents, I worked on addressing our Christmas cards {I finally decided on Snowy Window from Shutterfly, by the way}, and we did a little more Christmas decorating. I've never decorated our mantle before and I really wanted to this year. I kept it simple, but I think it turned out pretty cute.

I printed this cute Christmas subway art on eighteen25. They have several other colors to choose from, too.

I've seen a lot of Christmas burlap banners used on mantles on Pinterest and I really liked the look, but I didn't want to buy any more decorations or supplies this year, so I just made one on the computer and hung it up with some red tulle. It doesn't have the exact same look, but I'm happy with it for now.

I also made banners with the words "Peace" and "Joy" on them. I think I'm going to put one of those in our kitchen and display Christmas cards around it. Click the links below to download printables of your own! :)

"Noel", "Peace", and "Joy" in black

"Noel", "Peace", and "Joy" in green

"Noel", "Peace", and "Joy" in red

Also, if you don't have a Christmas to do list yet, check out my Christmas bucket list post! Have a wonderful week!! :)

  

Christmas Bucket List {Free Printable!}

It's the most wonderful time of the year!! Really, it is my absolute *favorite* time of year. The hope and joy of the Christmas story, music, lights, glitter, candles, peppermint, cozy socks, hot chocolate, movies, treats...this season is so full of joy and I just love, love, love it!

I know it's already December 6th, and I'm a little late to the Christmas party, but I had to do another seasonal bucket list. I'm always into seasonal activities...especially Christmas ones! So, I put together this list of things for Daniel and me to do over the next couple of weeks. I love a good tradition, and this list is full of them. I can't wait to do these Christmas traditions with our daughter next year!!

Here's what our list looks like for this year.

You may have already made a list of your own, but just in case you're a little behind like me, here's a cute free printable for you! Download and print the PDF version if you want to write your list by hand. If you want to type your list, download the JPEG version, insert it as a picture into Word or Publisher, and type away! If you're wondering where I got the cute Christmas doodles that I used on my list, you can click here to download the font.

Click the links below to download:

PDF | JPEG

So put on some Christmas music, light some candles, make some hot chocolate, get some cozy socks, munch on some Christmas treats, and enjoy every minute of this wonderful season! :)

  

25 Weeks

Click here to see my other weekly pregnancy update posts.

Click here to see my step-by-step chalk art tutorial.

How Far Along: 25 weeks and 1 day

Size of Baby: According to The Bump, the baby is the size of a cauliflower, is between 13.6-14.8 inches long, and weighs anywhere between 1.5-2.5 pounds.

Total Weight Gain: As of last week, I've gained 18 pounds. I did. not. weigh myself this week, thankyouverymuch. Ummm, did you see how much I ate over Thanksgiving break?!?

Gender: It's a girl!!

Maternity Clothes: Definitely. Maternity pants + Thanksgiving = Amazing!

Wedding Rings On/Off: On

Stretch Marks: None yet. I'm still using cocoa butter lotion almost every day.

Sleep: Still sleeping great! :) I wake up about an hour before my alarm goes off, but I haven't been waking up in the middle of the night.

Cravings/Aversions: Mexican food and sweets. I'm loving being pregnant during the holidays, but I may *really* eat my words after this baby is born!

Symptoms: A few contractions here and there, ligament pains, and wanting to eat all. the. time.

Movement: Daniel finally felt her move on Sunday night!!!!! I was feeling some pretty strong kicks and I told him that I thought he'd be able to feel it. Sure enough, he did. It was so fun to see the look on his face! She's moving off and on throughout the day, but I still haven't figured out a pattern. I'm just hoping she doesn't have her days and nights confused when she's born! :)

Mood: Happy!!!

What I Miss: Nothing really except silly things like being able to wear anything out of my closet.

Looking Forward To: Lots of things! I can't wait to keep working on the nursery {we've started testing paint colors and we hung a chandelier!}. I'm also looking forward to Christmas shopping and baking {and eating}!!

Best Moment This Week: The best moment this week was definitely when Daniel finally felt the baby kick! It's neat for him to have that connection now, too! :)

And, just for fun, here's a side-by-side comparison. It's crazy how much can change in just 8 weeks!!

  

{Snapshots} Thanksgiving Break

Making a new chalkboard and eating so much pineapple that my mouth hurt. :-\

Taco Bell. 11:15 p.m. I'm pregnant. No shame.

Staying up late watching a movie with my love.

Introducing Daniel to my favorite breakfast ever on a Wednesday.

Pizza for dinner and catching up on DVRed shows.

PJs and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Thanksgiving Day!

Precious family.

Disney Hedbandz and Monopoly!

Thanksgiving Day 2013

Black Friday shopping!

Got our free griddle! In and out in 15 minutes!

Breaking in our griddle with pancakes for breakfast!

Hunger Games! 

Dinner at The Boot at Preserve Village.

Our Christmas tree finally has a topper, thanks to my mom! :)

We have a chandelier for the baby's room!

Trying it out to see how it looks.

Testing out paint colors in the baby's room.

We were thankful for this happy delivery after Alabama lost the Iron Bowl. :(

The baby's room has a chandelier completely installed!

Now to just get the walls painted...

We ended our break with a big splurge...Outback cheese fries.

Lots of time with family, lots {and lots} of food, and lots of fun. So thankful for these past five days! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! :)