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!!! 



23 weeks, 4 days!

Yesterday I was 23 weeks, 4 days pregnant with my baby boy.  These pics were taken when we got back from eating at Chili's, so my belly is full of good food and baby!  I've been feeling really good, still.  My feet have been pretty swollen lately.  It worried me a little, so I went to the doctor just to have him check me out.  Everything was totally fine.  He said some women just retain more water than others.  Now that I think about it, they got really swollen after my weekend in Dallas....when I ate a foot long hot dog and a huge thing of nachos, plus a coke oh yeah, and a funnel cake.  Hmmm....maybe that had something to do with it :)  Anyway, I am really watching my sodium intake and propping my feet up whenever I can at school and at home.  Today, I got some new shoes to fit my fat feet...one pair is a size 6 and the other is a 6 1/2!  I used to wear a size 2 in kids and 41/2- 5 in adults!!!!  After I have the baby, I think I'll just give these shoes to Ashley....hopefully my feet will go back to their normal size because I have so many cute/little shoes!  But if they don't, do you really think I care?  Nope!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 23 weeks, 4 days in the pic

Size of baby: More than 11 inches long, a little over 1 pound, about the size of a large mango.

Weight gain:  I weigh 124 pounds.

Maternity Clothes: Yes! I definitely have to wear maternity pants and I have been wearing maternity shirts, but I can also wear some non-maternity shirts, too.

Gender: BOY!

Movement: YES! I love feeling HIM move all the time now! In just the past couple of days, I've felt him more by my belly button and up by my ribs. I can tell he's getting bigger and stronger!  He is most active at night when I get in bed.  I don't mind one bit that I can't go to sleep right at that moment because he's moving around so much.  I love falling asleep with my hand on my belly.  I usually have to get up around 2:00 to go to the bathroom.  This must wake him up because I can usually count on him moving around and kicking for a while when I get back in bed.  LOVE IT!

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

Symptoms: Still snoring...sorry Chris! Also, my legs have been a little achy lately and so have my knees. I guess it's the weight gain. Swollen feet and calves. 

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

What I miss: I was kind of craving sushi the other day. That is one dinner date I will look forward to after he is born!

Best moment this week: Going to the doctor again to check on my swelling.  While I was there I heard his sweet heart beating.

What I am looking forward to: Working on his nursery!
How's that scar looking? Still stretched out and laying flat.

Belly Button: A lot more shallow.



Arkansas vs. Texas A&M weekend

We had the BEST weekend in Dallas!  We went for the Arkansas/ A&M game.  It was definitely the most nerve-racking game I have ever been to.  We played terrible the first half of the game, but by some miracle, we did great the second half and barely won!

Jennifer and Ashley.  On our way to the game. 

Me and Chris :) 

Chris and his dad 

We had a huge group for the weekend.  Cliff and Edie and Carl and Betty came from Little Rock.  Darien, Jennifer, Nancy and Nancy's friend Joyce, came from Mississippi.  Me, Chris, Darien, and Jennifer (and our two dogs) stayed at Ashley and Wayne's house.  We had so much fun!!

Here are the guys:  Wayne, Cliff, Darien, Chris, and Carl  

Gettin' their drink on ready for the big game!! 

Me and my sissy :) 

I had so much fun with Ashley.  She and I loved getting all kinds of junk food.  We started off with a funnel cake, then she got chicken strips with fries and I got a foot long hot dog.  Then we shared a HUGE order of nachos.  YUM! 

Ash, Me, and Edie 

Ash, you are so cute!!

We won!!! 

Chris and Jennifer.  I was so relieved we would be riding back with happy guys :) 

When we got back to Ashley's house, the guys were worn out.  They took naps and Ashley and I got everything ready for dinner.  Mom and dad kept the kids during the game.  They came over around 6:00 and we all just had the best time visiting, laughing, playing, and eating!!! 

Here's my favorite little guy.  Nathan is such a little character.  I just love playing with him!! 

Here he is with Nancy.  He loved having everyone over and was such a good boy, as always! 

My sweet baby Charlotte.  She has got such a personality now!  I love being with her because she is out of the stage where she has to be with Ashley all of the time.  She loves to play and comes to me a lot now.  It's fun chasing her....she just runs and laughs.  She is the sweetest little thing!! 

While we were at the game, Nathan and Mama went to see Dolphin Tail.  He loved the movie, and so did mom!  He has a huge collection of animals and wanted to get his dolphin and play with it with a bowl of water.  He said the dolphin's name in the movie was Winter and the little boy's name was Sawyer...see Sawyer on his towel?  So cute! 

Nathan being silly! 

Nathan and Auntie Carrie being silly! 

We had such a fun weekend!!!  Thank you Ashley and Wayne for hosting!