26 weeks, 4 days!!

This pic was taken in the school library because Chris is gone all week.

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 26 weeks, 4 days 

Size of baby:  Pearce is 14 inches long from head to heels, he weighs about a pound and a half, about the size of an English hothouse cucumber.  What is that?

Weight gain:  I went to the doctor on Monday and my nurse said my weight gain is right on target.  I weighed in at 127 pounds...whoa!

Maternity Clothes: LOVING them.  I've started wearing my Fall tops and I love that because that means it's getting closer to winter time which also means closer to baby! 
Gender: BOY!  Pearce Matthew

Movement: YES!  I just love getting into bed and feeling him roll around.  I love watching my belly move all over the place.  There are times when a kick or movement is so strong that it sort of takes my breath away.  It's just amazing!  I read that he can recognize his parents' voices and react to them.  I totally believe that.  When I talk to him I can feel him move.  I really think he can also sense my touch.  When I put my hand on my belly, he moves where my hand is.  I think he knows it's mommy's hand, too.  It never fails when someone else touches my belly he won't move, but when I touch it, he does :)

Sleep: I have to get up several times to go to the bathroom, but I can always go back to sleep.

Symptoms: Reflux....YUCK!  No heartburn yet.  I also have a spot in my upper back that gets sore as the day goes on.  It doesn't hurt too bad, just annoying.  BUT I DON'T CARE!  

Cravings:  Lately it has been sweets.  Which is not good since I have to do my glucose screening in the next week!  

What I miss:  Ummm...nothing! 

Best moment this week:  Had a doctor's appointment on Monday and everything was great!  I just can't help but have the biggest smile on my face when I hear his heart beating away.  !!!

What I am looking forward to:  The nursery furniture is coming next Tuesday!

How's that scar looking? It's kind of reddish now.  I can't wait to see what it looks like in 3 more months.  My stomach is going to be one heck of a road map! 

Belly Button: Very shallow and fun to play with!

I enter the 3rd trimester at 28 weeks.  I can't believe I'm almost there.  At times it seems like the days and weeks are crawling and at other times I think WOW....time is flying by!  The other day someone asked me when we'll try for a second baby.  That question totally caught me off guard.  A second baby?  How in the world can I think about a second baby when the first one isn't even here yet????  I just told her I had no idea.  But I've been thinking about that and I've come to the conclusion that if God just lets me have Pearce, that's all I need.  During this whole journey I always told God that if He just lets me have one healthy baby, that would be fine with me.  I think deep down I would like for Pearce to have a sibling, but I've already decided that I will not do any fertility treatments.  I am done with that!  In the end, we didn't need them for Pearce, so if it's God's plan for us to have another baby after Pearce, then great.  If not, that is o.k. too.  I am just so INCREDIBLY thankful for the sweet baby boy that is growing inside of me.  I do not want to be greedy and try for another baby.  If it happens, it happens.  Afterall that is how we got Pearce...we weren't even "trying" at the time.  Anyway, that's just how I feel right now. 

Happy 1st Birthday, Daisy!!!

We celebrated Daisy's 1st birthday tonight......but today wasn't actually her birthday.  It was 3 days ago on the 20th.  Chris and I felt TERRIBLE that we had missed her birthday.  We tried to make ourselves feel better and justify it by saying Otis had his little medical crisis on Thursday and that's why we forgot.  Plus, we wouldn't have felt like celebrating anyway because we were so worried about Otis.....but honestly, there really is no excuse.  We should have at least acknowledged it that day even if we decided to celebrate it later.  All she ever wanted was a family to love her and accept her and make her part of the family.  We let her down :(

 I've mentioned before how we adopted her from a family in May.  The family she was with before did NOTHING with her.  She pretty much stayed in her crate most of the day.  They were nice people, but they just didn't make time for her.  When she came to live with us, she had no training AT ALL.  They said she was potty trained, but she wasn't.  We worked so hard with her and although she has made a ton of progress with her training and doggy manners, we still have work to do :)  But, here's the thing.  She tries soooo hard to do the right thing.  She just sometimes forgets.  She pretty much follows us from room to room.  Sometimes it's annoying when you almost trip over her because she's right at your feet, but can you blame her for just wanting to be close to us?  She knows we love her and she loves us and she just wants to be by us.  Sometimes it's annoying when we're trying to relax and she'll bark at us letting us know she wants to play or wants some type of attention.  But, can you blame her for this?  She spent the first part of her life in a crate watching 3 kids, mom, and dad going about their business and ignoring her.  Can you blame her for wanting to play or just wanting to be loved on?   She may be naughty, she may not be as easy to train as Otis was, she may not catch on as quickly, but she loves us and we love her and that's all that matters!  Happy Birthday, Daisy!  We hope there are many more with you!!!

So, tonight we had a proper birthday party for our girl.  I went to the store and got her a birthday ribbon....a Princess birthday ribbon :)  I also got her a pink tutu to wear.  I was very annoyed with WalMart because they had all kinds of party supplies but no party hats!  Then I got a box of Frosty Paws and a new bone for her.  BUT....I felt bad just getting her a bone, so I got two....one for Daisy and one for Otis :) 

Excited about her Frosty Paws (doggy ice cream)!

Otis is excited too! 

Isn't her tutu cute?! 

Doggy Heaven :) 

Daisy ate hers in about two bites....she tried to get some of Otis'. 

Otis didn't feel like sharing :) 

Then Daisy got her bone.  She LOVED her bone because it was filled with some sort of "peanut butter" mixture :) 

See her Birthday Princess ribbon? 

Otis LOVES his bone, too! 

I think Daisy had a fun birthday celebration.  We will not forget next year little girl!  We love you even if you are naughty!!!

 

Poor Otis :(

On Thursday morning, Chris called me at work to tell me that Otis' eye was swollen and that he has scratched his wrinkle fold and made it really irritated and for me to check on it when I got home.  Sometimes Otis' tears kind of drip down and can irritate his skin, that's why we always clean out his wrinkles.  He'll sometimes scratch the folds and cause it to get worse.  That's what I thought the problem was.  When I got home, I found him in the bathroom lying on the tile.  He didn't get up or acknowledge me at all.  Usually he comes up to me and is excited to see me.  I looked at his face and could not believe what I saw.  The whole right side of his face was swollen.  His right eye was almost swollen shut.  I looked at his wrinkle fold and he had scratched it, but then I looked closer at his face and noticed a red rash and sores all over his face.  My immediate thought was that he had an allergic reaction to something or was stung or bitten by something.  I called Chris to tell him he looked a lot worse than he had and he told me to take him to the vet.  I called the vet and they told me to bring him right in.  When we got there they took him back and started examining him.  A little bit later, Dr. Faught came out to tell me Otis had a 104 degree fever and that he did have an allergic reaction to something....either a substance or a bite or sting....there was no way to know.  He got a steroid shot, antibiotics, and an ointment for the area he had scratched so much.  Otis was so pitiful that night.  All he wanted to do was lay around, but you could tell he was so uncomfortable.  Dr. Faught did say that the steroids could cause him to have a seizure because it sometimes interferes with seizure medication.  Sure enough, on Friday morning we woke up to Otis having a seizure....he had 3 total :(  Chris dropped him off at the vet for the day so that they could watch him.  He ended up being totally fine and got some rest that day.  His face looked even worse that day, though, but the vet told us to give him another day for the meds to take effect.  Thank goodness, he did look a lot better on Saturday and today he looks TONS better.  Poor little fella.  He's had a hard time.  

He looks bad in these pictures right?  Well, he looked a LOT worse the next day.  Thank goodness he is on the mend now!

25 weeks pregnant and Pearce's bedding!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 25 weeks, 5 days 

Size of baby:  Pearce is 13 1/2 inches long from head to heels, he weighs about a pound and a half, about the size of a rutabaga.

Weight gain:  I think I've gained about 20 pounds so far...yikes, that seems like a lot!  I just have no idea what weight I started at.  Oh well! 

Maternity Clothes: LOVING them.  Also, I love putting on my stretchy yoga pants when I get home from school.   

Gender: BOY!  Pearce Matthew

Movement: YES!  His movements are definitely more controlled now.  I always feel him when I get in bed for the night.  This morning, he woke me up practicing his acrobatics.  He can wake me up anytime and I won't care at all :)  I love the constant, daily reminder that he's with me.

Sleep: I have to get up several times to go to the bathroom, but I can always go back to sleep.

Symptoms: Reflux....YUCK!  No heartburn yet.  I also have a spot in my upper back that gets sore as the day goes on.  It doesn't hurt too bad, just annoying.  BUT I DON'T CARE!  

Cravings: I was at the store a couple days ago and decided to go by the bakery.  This giant pan of cinnamon rolls caught my eye.  They looked soooo yummy, so I got them.  But, as I was on my way to check out, I spotted another stand of them and saw a pan that had way more icing....I got that one :)

What I miss:  Ummm...nothing! 

Best moment this week:  Got the bedding in!!!

What I am looking forward to:  The nursery furniture is getting delivered in a few weeks.  I can't wait to see how it looks in the nursery!  I am just so anxious to see it all put together.

How's that scar looking? It's kind of reddish now.  I can't wait to see what it looks like in 3 more months.  My stomach is going to be one heck of a road map! 

Belly Button: Very shallow and fun to play with!

We got the bedding in today.  I am totally in love with it.  It's even more beautiful than I imagined.  I picked this bedding out from Polka Tot Designs and my wonderful mother-in-law purchased it for us.  Several of the blogs I read have gotten their bedding from here and I just think they have the cutest things!  As soon as I saw this bedding, I knew it was IT.  What's really funny is that the name of it is "Pearce."  See, it was fate :)  I got the bumpers, crib sheet, blanket, bed skirt, and a Roman shade.  You can see the wall color a little bit in the pics.  The wall color looks absolutely perfect!  It's from Sherwin Williams and is called Tradewind.

Here's his monogram.  I love the little scrolls on either side. 

This is a close-up of the fabric.  I love the soft colors.  I also love that it is very "baby" but still "boyish" if that makes sense. 

This is the bedskirt.  The tan fabric on top is actually a pinstripe with the paisley along the bottom border. 

This is the blanket.  It's paisley on one side with ivory minky dot fabric on the other side.  It is sooooo soft! 

This is one of the side bumpers, but you can see the wall color.  It is a perfect match with the blues in the fabric! 

Now, hurry up and get here furniture so I can put all of this together and get my baby boy's room ready!!



 

Painting the Nursery!

This weekend, Ashley and Wayne came to paint the nursery.  Well, actually, it was just Ashley and Charlotte on Friday and then Wayne and Nathan came on Saturday because Nathan had a soccer game.  Chris had been working on getting his office cleared out all week.  He did so much but on Thursday night, the office furniture was still in the room.  He said he would move it out on Friday or have Ashley help him.  I got home from school on Friday and wanted to straighten up a bit before Ashley got here.  I was on the phone with Ashley when she asked me what all we needed to do before she and Chris could start painting.  I told her just clear out the furniture that's left....but as I told her that I walked into the office and saw that everything had already been cleared out, the tarp was layed out on the floor and all of the paint and supplies were in there ready to go!  I had no idea Chris had already done it all that morning!!!  He took the day off and cleared moved the furniture out of the room AND listed most of it on Craigslist and had it taken away.  I couldn't believe he did all of this that morning!  Chris also totally organized our garage.  He got shelving to organize all of our things in the garage and gave away other old furniture.  Our garage looks awesome!!!!  So, when Ashley and Charlotte got here, I took over Charlotte and Chris and Ashley got to work painting!

The nursery looks beautiful!!  It's a light blue color.  You'll have to wait to see pics of the nursery when the furniture comes in!  Chris and Ashley stayed up until midnight painting.  They decided they wanted to get the two coats painted that night so that we could all just relax and have fun on Saturday!  So, on Saturday, me, Ashley, and Charlotte went to lunch at Cheesecake Factory and did some other shopping before Wayne and Nathan came.

While we were getting ready to go out to lunch, Charlotte decided she need to put makeup on just like Mommy.  She thinks she's in trouble :)

I said in a very serious voice, "Oh, Charlotte, did you get in mommy's makeup?" 

Then I told her she is a pretty baby and she liked hearing that :) 

After I got the makeup off of her, I got her dressed and we went outside for a little photo shoot.  She is the sweetest thing because she will do exactly what you ask her to do. 

Then I took her picture in the grass.  Isn't she so pretty??? 

Then mommy joined us.  Pretty mommy and pretty baby! 

Ok, no more pictures :) 

After we got back from lunch and running a few errands, this little guy was waiting for us!  He and Otis are buddies.  Nathan is always so sweet to Otis and Otis loves Nathan.  Nathan played and played with Daisy, too! 

For dinner, we had barbecue and Uncle Chris got Nathan dessert.  He loved his ice cream cone!  By the time Nathan finished this, he was a mess!   

We had fun watching the Rangers play and by the end of the night, this little guy was all tuckered out!   



24 weeks and...Baby's got a name!



Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 24 weeks, 6 days in pics 

Size of baby: Almost a foot long, about the size of an ear of corn, and a little over 1 pound.  I was surprised to learn that my uterus is about the size of a soccer ball!  Yep, that feels about right!

Weight gain:  I still weigh around 124 

Maternity Clothes: Ashley gave me all of her cute maternity clothes.  I remember when she first gave them to me, I thought there is no way I will actually fit into these clothes....well, I have been proven wrong.  One of her cute shirts was way too big at the beginning of pregnancy.  I put it on yesterday....and it barely buttoned!  EVERYTHING has grown....and I love it! 

Gender: BOY!

Movement: YES!  I don't know what part of him it is, but if I push on either side of my belly button, he always moves.  I remember wondering not too long ago when I would feel him at the top part of my stomach....now that's pretty much the only place I feel him!  Sometimes it does feel like he's tip-toeing on my bladder :)  The other night he was having a party in my belly!  It felt like a pinball game was going on in there.  I was in bed, then I turned on the light to see what my belly was doing, and it was crazy to see him moving and going crazy!  I was so tired when I got in bed, but I loved spending the next 20 minutes just watching him...and my belly move every which way!

Sleep: I have to get up several times to go to the bathroom, but I can always go back to sleep.

Symptoms: Reflux....YUCK!  No heartburn yet.   

Cravings: FOOD period! I am loving food these days!

What I miss:  Ummm...nothing! 

Best moment this week:  Ashley and Chris painting the nursery.  AND having my glider delivered early!!
What I am looking forward to:  The nursery furniture is getting delivered in a few weeks.  I can't wait to see how it looks in the nursery!  Also, bedding is supposed to come in at the end of October.

How's that scar looking? I noticed today that it has actually gotten darker.  It was stretched out flat, but this week, I've noticed that it's raised up a little more like it used to be....kind of puffy.  It's a keloid scar, but it is more "puffy."  One of my kids was rubbing my stomach and I could tell she felt my scar, but didn't quite know what it was.  Then she said, "Oh,  I can feel his little foot!"  Ha! 

Belly Button: Getting more and more shallow!


Chris and I have talked baby names for the past 3 years.  We picked our boy name pretty easily.  We always wanted to incorporate family into the name.  We decided our name we picked out long ago still fit and it is so special to us.  Our baby boy's name will be...

Pearce Matthew Parnell

"Pearce" is my maiden name.  I love that it is different but not "weird" different.  I doubt there will ever be very many Pearce's in his class.  I love that we can continue the Pearce name!  Matthew was Chris' brother's name who passed away.  We always knew we would use Matthew for a middle name.  This baby is so special to us and needed a special name. We wanted his name to mean something.  I am so excited to hold Pearce in my arms in January!!!!  

 

Hello Dolly!

On Friday, me, Christie, and Lindsay went to the Dolly Parton concert!!!  We were all so excited.  These two girls really dressed for Dolly!  Christie got us all pink boas and Lindsay got us cowboy hats.  They were all dolled up!  I wish I looked a little more dolled up, but the boas and cowboy hats added a lot to our outfits!  We met at Buffalo Wild Wings for a quick dinner.

Christie, Lindsay, me, and Meredith.  Meredith is our cafeteria monitor at school.  We found out she is a DIE HARD Dolly fan!  She went the night before to see her tour bus and maybe get to meet her.  She had front row seats, too!  She even made a sign for Dolly hoping Dolly would see her or give her a shout out! 

Here's a shot of their ta-ta's.  I couldn't help myself.  Dolly would be proud :) 

Ready to see her!!!  Lindsay and Christie got an ice cold beer for the concert....I got an ice cold Dr. Pepper :) 

See the lady in the pink shirt and pink cowboy hat?  That's Meredith on the front row! 

We weren't on the front row, but our seats were still awesome....thanks Chris!!!  The Cedar Park Convention Center is small, so there really were no bad seats. 

Here she comes!!!!!   

She looked beautiful!  She is so tiny....on the bottom!   

Dolly is such a great entertainer because she not only has an awesome voice, but she is an awesome story teller.  Every song had a story behind it.  It was so interesting to hear the stories.  For instance....she's been married almost 46 years.  The song "Jolene" is about a bank teller and her husband.  It seems he was spending a little too much time at the bank :) The song "Coat of Many Colors" is about her mom making her a coat out of old scraps of fabric. Dolly though it was beautiful and was so proud to wear it....but kids at school teased her about it and were so mean to her.   She loves her family and I love that!  She sang a lot of new songs, but also lots of oldies. 

After intermission, she came out in this outfit.  It was so cute because of course it was sparkly all over, but I loved the cropped pants.  She is so cute! 

This is where she sang "Islands in the Stream." 

And of course "9 to 5!" 

Can you believe she is almost 65 years old???

She ended the concert with "I Will Always Love You."  I haven't been to many concerts, so I don't have a lot to compare this one to, but I just LOVED this concert!  I mentioned how she is a wonderful story teller.  She's also very funny and witty!  She was talking about all of the things people ask her about....here are a few that she said:

"People often ask me if they're real.  I tell them no, they're acrylic....there's no way I could grow my nails this long!  Oh you mean "these"...they're real alright.....real expensive!"

"People want to know what size dress I wear.  I buy my dresses two sizes too small and then have them taken in a bit."

"Do I mind dumb blond jokes?  No because I know I'm not dumb and I know I'm not blond!"

"It takes a lot of money to look this cheap!" 

She also said that people wonder how she got her "look."  She said when she was a little girl, there was a woman who lived in her town that was a bit of a tramp.  She had her hair piled high, makeup caked on, nails painted, clothes skin tight.  Dolly saw her one day when she was out with her mom and told her mom how pretty that lady was.  Her mom said that lady is just trash.  Dolly said she knew right then that's what she wanted to be when she grew up!  

                      Christie and Lindsay, I had the best time with you two!!!  Dolly, you ROCK!!!