32 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: 32 weeks and 1 day.

Size of Baby: According to BabyCenter, the baby is the size of a squash, is 16.7 inches long, and weighs about 3.75 pounds.

Total Weight Gain: Still not talking about it...

Gender: It's a girl!!

Maternity Clothes: Yes and yes.

Wedding Rings On/Off: On

Stretch Marks: A few, but I haven't found any new ones {yet}. Still crossing my fingers that they will eventually go away.

Sleep: Sleep is just okay. I'm waking up a couple of times a night, pretty much whenever I move. I'm also waking up an hour or two before my alarm goes off and I usually can't go back to sleep.

Cravings/Aversions: I had a craving for warm brownies with vanilla ice cream this weekend and have been eating it every day since. So good.

Symptoms: Back pain has been a killer this week!! It started late last week and has gotten a little worse every day. It's not really achy or sore, it almost feels like I have a pinched nerve or something. Heartburn is happening almost every day, and I'm still super short of breath. The Braxton Hicks are back, but not nearly like before. I probably have a few every day, pretty much only while I'm at work. Oh, and I'm crazy tired.

Movement: Lots! I'm even starting to see big twitches on my belly from the outside, too. I'll be watching TV and feel her move, and out of the corner of my eye I can see my blanket practically jump. I'm excited to be able to see little elbows and knees rolling around.

Mood: Very happy most of the time!!

What I Miss: Just the silly stuff that doesn't really matter. I'm sure I'll miss being pregnant after she's born, so I'm trying to soak it all in and not wish the weeks away. It will be over before I know it.

Looking Forward To: We're going to our 32 week doctor's appointment tomorrow! I just love going to these appointments! Also, my mom and I are going to do some shopping this weekend for the nursery. She's going to help me decide on some frames for the nursery from the *several* I've saved to my favorites on Etsy!

Best Moment This Week: I was gone all weekend at a church women's retreat, which was so much fun, but seeing my husband on Sunday night after being gone for two days was so wonderful! I missed him like crazy. Having Monday off was pretty wonderful, too!

  

#richlyblesseddaily2014 {Week 2}

Week 2 of #richlyblesseddaily2014! You can follow along every day on Instagram @richlyblessedblog. :)

Click here to see previous weeks.

Day 11: I ordered a cross for our baby girl's bedroom, tried a new recipe {FAIL, in my opinion, Daniel liked it}, and ended up eating cake for dinner. Cleaning out the freezer before baby comes is how I'm rationalizing that one! 

Day 12: Stopped for a frosty after we finished our maternity pictures! 

Day 13: We started packing our hospital bag. Well...we got the bag out. That counts, right?

Day 14: A recipe win (Annie's Eats chicken ranch pizza) and practice at church for the music at the women's retreat this weekend.

Day 15: Impromptu ice cream date! (And it wasn't even my idea!)

 Day 16: I had every intention of cooking. It didn't happen. Jim & Nick's cheese biscuits won!

Day 17: First night of the women's retreat!

  

Five on Friday {January 17, 2014}

Happy Friday! Oh my goodness, I am so happy that Friday is finally here!! Fridays before three-day weekends are always the absolute best!! :) Whatever you end up doing this weekend, I hope it's wonderful! :)

I'm linking up with Darci today for Five on Friday! You can definitely tell by my list today that I have a serious case of baby brain. That's pretty much all we're thinking about these days. Only a little over 8 weeks to go!

One.
This is what my a small part of my Etsy favorites list looks like right now. I'm really wishing I wasn't *so* indecisive! Obviously, I'm struggling with picking out some frames. ;) We have all of the big things for the nursery, but we really haven't put much on the walls yet. I know it doesn't have to be completely done when she gets here, but the planner in me would really like it to be. My mom is going to help me pick out some things next weekend, so I know that will help! She helped me *so much* with our office renovation, and I'm much more likely to pick something out if she's with me! She has a way of helping me picture how things would look in a room! :)

Two.
I mentioned in my weekly pregnancy update this week that we had our maternity pictures taken this past weekend. We *loved* our photographer! I was a little nervous because I was hoping she wouldn't be one of those who just tells you to walk around and pretend she wasn't there, and she definitely wasn't. I mean, that is so awkward! There's something about *trying* to act natural that is so unnatural! Anyway, she already gave us a sneak peek! I'll share more when we get the rest of them back. :)

Three.
We booked our babymoon a couple of months ago and now we only have two more weeks to wait until we head to the Opryland Hotel in Nashville! We went for the first time last April and absolutely loved it! It's such a beautiful place and you really don't ever have to leave the hotel. Also, here's a tip for my fellow teacher friends in the area. Opryland has a teacher's appreciation rate of $99 per night for certain nights! They fill up fast, so if you're planning to go, you'll want to make your reservation a couple of months in advance.

This was the view from our room the last time we went.

Four.
My mom and sister have started planning my baby shower {cannot believe it's time for that already!} and I just love the invitation they decided on! It goes along perfectly with my weekly chalkboard updates. :)

{via}

Five.
So...I need some help. We're in the process of packing our bag for the hospital, and I'm finding it to be a little overwhelming. I'm pretty sure that I make every task more overwhelming than it should be. I've searched Pinterest and have come up with a pretty long list {right down to the command hook for our door hanger}, but I'm still scared of forgetting something or wishing I would have packed something. So, any advice? What is something that you packed that you were so glad you had, or maybe something you didn't pack but wish you did? Any help for this first timer is appreciated! :)

Have a great weekend!! :)

  

31 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: 31 weeks and 1 day. We're down to single digits in the weeks that are left! *Cannot* believe it!

Size of Baby: According to BabyCenter, the baby is the size of a pineapple, is over 16 inches long, and weighs about 3.3 pounds.

Total Weight Gain: I don't want to talk about it. :-\

Gender: It's a girl!!

Maternity Clothes: Oh yeah.

Wedding Rings On/Off: On

Stretch Marks: Still just the few I found last week. I've been using the Palmer's Tummy Butter faithfully and maybe {probably} it's just wishful thinking, but I feel like maybe they're a *tiny* bit better.

Sleep: It's still taking me a long time to go to sleep which is so frustrating since I have to get up early. Once I get to sleep, though, I sleep pretty well most of the time. You know, I thought I was supposed to be the one having the crazy dreams {I've only had a few}, but Daniel has been having really funny dreams lately. One of my favorites of his is when he had a dream that we were home with the baby, I gave her a Sharpie, and she drew all over our pillowcases!

Cravings/Aversions: Still nothing super specific lately. I'm just hungry most of the time.

Symptoms: More of the same, although the heartburn and labored breathing are the worst right now. I've never had heartburn in my life before being pregnant, and the labored breathing...well, let's just say it's a challenge when my job is to talk nearly all day long. My students are getting used to me stopping to catch my breath!

Movement: She must be getting used to the routine of being up and around more during the day because she's moved more while I'm at work this week. I'm so glad...I start to get worried when I haven't felt her for a while. She moves a *ton* at night, though. We could both feel her rolling around the other night.

Mood: Very happy most of the time!! Still pretty emotional, too. :)

What I Miss: Just little silly things like certain foods {sushi!}, sleeping on my stomach, and being able to breathe easier. I'm definitely not complaining, though.

Looking Forward To: I'm going on a women's retreat with my church this weekend, so I'm excited for some girl time! I will miss Daniel so much, though. I'm pretty sure completely sure that I'm going to cry when I say goodbye to him. {See "Mood" above... ;)}I'm also excited to add some more things to the nursery. The rug we ordered came in, and I also ordered this cross in pink and gray for our hospital room door and then for the nursery.

Best Moment This Week: We had our maternity pictures taken this past weekend. The weather was absolutely perfect and we *loved* our photographer! It's hard to believe we'll be doing newborn photos in just a couple of months! :)

  

#richlyblesseddaily2014 {Week 1}

A couple of my favorite bloggers that I follow took one picture every day last year and shared it on Instagram. I thought it was so fun to follow along, and I decided that one of the ways I would document our life this year was to do the same thing.

What a perfect year to start! After all, this year is going to be such an exciting one full of some of the biggest {and wonderful} changes we've ever experienced. I know we'll love looking back at all the big and small moments from every day of the year when December rolls around again.

So...here's the first week of 2014 {plus a few days}. :) You can follow along every day on Instagram @richlyblessedblog.

Day 1: We made it to midnight! This may be the last time we purposely stay up until midnight!  

Day 2: Watching Alabama play in the Sugar Bowl. 

Day 3: Back at work! I started the morning right with my traditional Friday breakfast and I bought our baby book when I was running errands at lunch. 

Day 4: We finally finished our registries! 

Day 5: Cozy comfort food for one of the coldest nights of the year in Alabama. Is it possible to have too many carbs? I don't think so... 

Day 6: Pizza and the national championship game!

Day 7: I started working on the baby book and smeared the very first word I wrote {along with others}. If you know me, you know this will drive me nuts! I'll have to stop myself from buying a new baby book. 

Day 8: 30 weeks pregnant! 

Day 9: 30 week check up at the doctor, random craving for Olive Garden for dinner, shopping for maternity pictures, and of course, no trip to the mall is complete without Auntie Anne's.

Day 10: Date night at Firebird's and then shopping for the baby's going home outfit.

  

30 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: 30 weeks and 1 day

Size of Baby: According to BabyCenter, the baby is the size of a cabbage, is about 15.7 inches long, and weighs almost 3 pounds.

Total Weight Gain: Last time I went to the doctor, I was up about 20 pounds. I'm quite sure that it's quite a bit more than that now. I *might* sneak a peek at the scale tomorrow when I get weighed at the doctor...depending on how emotionally stable I'm feeling. ;)

Gender: It's a girl!!

Maternity Clothes: Definitely! There are just a couple pairs of pants that I can still wear with the belly band, but they're definitely not as comfy as maternity pants. I'm going to be sad to see maternity pants go...

Wedding Rings On/Off: On

Stretch Marks: I was really hoping I would never have to change this answer from "none yet", but I've found a few stretch marks. The night I spotted them, I decided my relationship with Publix cocoa butter lotion was over and I ordered an upgrade. This Palmer's Tummy Butter has great reviews on Amazon and I'll be using it until *hopefully* these stretch marks go away. It does feel a little greasy for a while which I hate, but I just tell myself that it means it's doing its job!

{via}

Sleep: Sleep has not been so great this week. :( It's taking me a long time to go to sleep even though I'm so tired. My brain just races at night with everything we still need to do to get ready for the baby along with everything I need to do to be ready for work every day. I've said it many times, but I really wish my brain had an off switch.

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing really specific, just food in general.

Symptoms: Oh my goodness, this has been *the* week where I have started having tons of symptoms. I felt fantastic during my entire Christmas break, and this week the bottom fell out. I'm talking exhaustion, back pain, headaches, Braxton Hicks, heartburn, labored breathing, you name it...

Movement: I haven't felt her move as much this week and I think it's because I'm up and around a lot more with being back at work. I hardly feel her at all during the day. Once I get home and get still for a little while, she starts to move more. The movements are changing, too. Instead of little thumps and kicks all the time, the movements are slower and more drawn out...almost like she's stretching or rolling.

Mood: I still feel happy most of the time, but I've started getting *very* emotional. I've always cried easily at touching things, but it's just gotten ridiculous lately. Daniel and I were out to dinner the other night and I just looked at him and started crying out of nowhere. He had no idea why and I couldn't keep it together enough to tell him. Finally, in the car on the way home I told him I just got "overwhelmed with love" and, of course, barely got that out because I was tearing up again. It's comical, really.

What I Miss: Christmas break and sleeping on my stomach. And Christmas break.

Looking Forward To: We have our 30 week doctor's appointment tomorrow and then we're getting our maternity pictures taken on Sunday.

Best Moment This Week: We finished our registries! What an overwhelming task! We were so glad to cross that off the list. Also, we had THREE, yes three, two-hour school delays this week for extremely cold temperatures. It was bliss. So nice to kind of ease our way in to the second semester.

  

29 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: 29 weeks and 1 day

Size of Baby: According to BabyCenter, the baby is the size of a butternut squash, is a little over 15 inches long, and weighs about 2.5 pounds.

Total Weight Gain: Last time I went to the doctor, I had gained about 20 pounds and I did not look when I was at the doctor last week!

Gender: It's a girl!!

Maternity Clothes: Definitely!

Wedding Rings On/Off: On

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

Sleep: Sleep is still good. I'm so thankful for this! I'm definitely feeling a little more tired as the weeks go on, though.

Cravings/Aversions: I have been thinking a lot about carbs again. I bought a baguette at Publix to go with potato soup one night for dinner, and I have pretty much been thinking about it ever since.

Symptoms: Nothing really...hardly any contractions, no ligament pain. I'm really hoping this continues when I go back to work on Friday!

Movement: Oh yes! She is moving so much and I love every little kick and thump. I feel like she's saying "hi" and I'm pretty sure I smile every time she moves.

Mood: Happy!!!

What I Miss: Other than a few silly things like sushi and unlimited caffeine, I'm not missing anything.

Looking Forward To: We're getting maternity pictures taken next weekend! I can't wait!

Best Moment This Week: There were so many fun moments this past week! Daniel and I registered at BuyBuy Baby. Although...that was more overwhelming than fun. I'm sure it will be much easier {and faster!} when we register at Babies-R-Us since we've done it once. My parents came over one day and helped us in the nursery. The room looks completely different and we can't help but just stand in the doorway and stare at it almost every time we walk by. Our favorite moment last week, though, had to be when we got see our little baby's face on our 4D ultrasound. It was so amazing and we've looked at the pictures and watched the videos over and over. We are overwhelmed and so grateful at this beautiful little miracle the Lord has blessed us with.