28 Weeks - Hello Third Trimester!

I will say it yet, again...time is flying! I can't believe 28 weeks is already here. I am definitely hitting the nesting stage, but I can't do a whole lot until our house is finished! Everything just takes longer than anticipated when I can only do so much and Chase is at school and we are trying to save money. But it will all work out. We finally got our front door installed yesterday and we started caulking and painting the trim. We need to pull the trigger on carpet and get it scheduled for the second week in March. We have our first baby shower on Saturday at my mom's with her ward and my family and I am so excited! I am sad I won't get to put all of my stuff away until after the nursery is ready, but it will be so fun to see people and get things ready for Kate.

I am feeling really big in the last several days. I have gained nearly 25 pounds. I am really hoping to stay under 35, but it is crazy how fast it is coming on! I need to eat a little better, and exercise more, but I am not too worried about weight. I just don't want it out of control. I am going to run the Huntsville half marathon in September and I am really looking forward to training for that some time in June! In other news, my adductors are really sore, especially after I have been sitting for a while. My feet have been a tiny bit more swollen at the end of the day. And that's about it. Heart burn has all but stopped. I do get uncomfortable at the end of the day when my belly feels really tight and big, so I like how I feel more in the mornings.

Kate is either a sleep allllll day, or she is a gymnast. The last two days she has been moving non stop! A few days before that she was pretty inactive. I love feeling her move though. I try to guess what she would look like and what body part I am feeling. I think she will start to move less in the next few weeks as she runs out of room, and that will make me kind of sad! I am looking forward to this Friday when I get to see her again at my appointment. But I also have to do the glucose test, which I am not looking forward to.

Look at that cheek!!! This is from my 28 week and 3 day appointment. The glucose test wasn't bad. And Megan went with me so that was fun!

I recently made a list of things I want to do while I am on maternity leave to make the most of the time and it is going to be so fun! Of course, my biggest priority is to bond with and get to know Kate, and spend extra time with Chase. But in addition to training for a half marathon, I want o do lots of hiking, get back to my pre baby weight of 145 by the half marathon, spend time at the pool, and really enjoy summer. I am also reading much more now and I want to keep that up. Right now I am reading The Dog Whisperer to help me understand and train Alfie better. It's interesting enough. I am going to read another birth book after that.

Life is so good! This weekend was Valentine's day and Chase got me a card and chapstick, and I made him a card. We are taking our new budget for the year pretty seriously (and I love it) so we are doing small gifts. Anyway, we drove home and talked the whole time about kids and how we want to raise Kate. And it was so fun! Chase stopped in the middle of a sentence, put his hand on my leg adn said, "This is so fun, I love talking about this." I really think we will make a great team. It was fun to relax in St. George for a couple of days with the Fowler's but time I get alone with Chase is so precious. I find myself mourning the loss of our pre-kid marriage. But we have talked about how we can make sure parenting makes our marriage stronger, and does not take away from it. Chase will be such a good dad, and I think I will be a pretty good mom, and I think together we will have so much fun raising kids. Just like we have had fun for the last five years. He is definitely my favorite person, and my most precious relationship, and always will be.

27 Weeks!

I cannot believe how fast time is going by. I am showing enough now that a few strangers have asked how far along I am. I haven't had a stranger rub my belly yet though (and hopefully I won't!). I have gained about 20 pounds but I still feel like it is all in my belly and boobs. I still feel great. I have a little heartburn, but nothing terrible. I sleep with a pillow between my knees to help my back that is sore sometimes. I do feel like my stomach muscles and pelvic floor muscles are stretching a lot. When I stand up at work to walk to the bathroom, my who-ha feels like it is gaping wide open! And my abs are really tight. I think I have braxton hicks contractions most days. The bottom half of my belly will get really tight and feels like a lot of pressure, but nothing painful. I haven't been really good about exercising, but I walk Alfie about a mile around Tolman Elementary every day and do a set of body weight squats most days. But I really cannot complain. I have had such an easy pregnancy so far and I am really enjoying the miracle part of it. The slight discomforts are definitely worth it. I love laying in bed in the morning and feeling Kate move. I love when Chase gets to feel her move. I love when I think about having her hear with us.

In the last few weeks, Chase and I took some formal maternity pictures with Lauren and I loooooove them. Here are my favorite ones. My mom got me the dress as a surprise, and the winter wonderland in the yard was perfect. We also got our big baby purchase last week; our stroller! I got the City Select and I am so excited to take walks with Kate in it! Most everything else we are getting borrowed, or really cheap. In about a month, we will have carpet in the house and we can put the nursery together!

Tonight is Chase and I are celebrating Valentine's Day early (we will be in St.George this weekend and the 14th is a Sunday). I am so excited. I love holidays that are about Chase and I. My favorite is our anniversary, followed by Valentines. We don't really do gifts and stuff. If we do, we just go shopping together and pick something we want or need. I just adore spending one on one time with him. In fact, I have been mourning the loss of our pre-kid marriage for a few months now. We just have a lot of fun and I want so badly to keep this going. I do think we are both prepared to make having a baby improve our marriage, rather than detract from it. I just find myself counting down the days until I get to meet my baby, see Chase meet his baby, and also see our relationship change for the better. I will always look back on our nearly five years of marriage before kids with such fondness. I have said this before, but I don't know if I know very many couples that are as happy as we are. In fact, I can't think of one. Of course, I hope everyone is as happy as we are, but it's hard to imagine. I am so glad that I get to have Chase as my children's father. He will be so amazing, I know it. There is definitely no one I love more, want to spend more time with, adore and need than Chase. He is perfect for me. And I am so glad he is my Valentine.