hello third trimester!

Yep, that is right. 28 weeks down and only 12 more to go!

Look how big little Bebo is now!

Bebo is equal in weight to a Chinese cabbage -- about 2 1/4 pounds. (Length: almost 15 inches, from head to heel.)

Going to the doctor tomorrow to get tested for gestational diabeties, which basically consists of drinking a sugary drink and sitting there for an hour before they will check my blood.

From now on, we will be going to the doctor every 2 weeks until week 36 and then every week until he comes!

It truly has flown by!

ahoy matey!

Captain Cooper has a first mate! All the way from England! I cannot wait to have a photo shoot with the both of them!

Meet Legs, the 8-legged soctopus!

He was custom made just for Cooper's nursery. He even has a tattoo that says "mom." I know I have too much time on my hands, but being that we still can't start painting and decorating this is the closest I can get to decorating! Maybe by the time we actually move, I will have everything to go in the nursery so it will just be assembly left!

To get your own soctopus, go to Stacy's esty shop. All her soctopus have 6 legs though, so if you are anal like me, you will have to custom order an 8-legged one!

mark my words...

As soon as I get a crafting space and can set up my sewing machine, I will sew a baby blanket for Cooper. I am telling you, so you can hold me to it!

I'd like to start with something small and maybe make him a few different ones.

Like one with some groovin' fabrics like this...

Or some very construction zone like this...

And maybe something a little more baby boyish...

So mark my words and hold me to it! And maybe one day, I will be experienced enough to open my own etsy.com store!

a nursery in the making?

So we really haven't done anything for Cooper's nursery while we wait our fate from the mortgage advisor (he will tell us if we got that loan we applied for OR if we will be renting AGAIN!). So buying a crib, dresser, glider, etc. seems silly since we aren't going to be able to set any of it up and really don't have the room or the man power to have to move it. We are moving no matter what the mortgage guy says so its better just to wait.

But I have started collecting items here and there for Coop's nursery. For example my mom bought a very nice glass fish night light that was made by the same lady who made all the glass fish in their house.

And I had a sock monkey custom made for Coop!

Captain Cooper was made by the same lady who made Delaney's sock monkey as her flower girl gift for being in our wedding and all the bags that I had made for my bridesmaids.

Captain Cooper seems to be pretty popular on my facebook page so if you are interested I strongly encourage you to check out Adrian's etsy shop. She is sooo easy to work with and has given me as much control on all the projects she has made for me as I wanted. But mostly, I have just trusted her artistic eye and that has proven to be the best! She doesn't have any sock monkeys for purchase in her shop at the moment, but if you look at her sales you can see all the ones she has already sold. They are uber cute! Honestly, since I got Delaney's, I have been waiting for a reason to purchase another one!

100 days left!

Tomorrow begins the double digit countdown!

Here is where little Bebo is measuring... (14 inches and 1 2/3 lbs.)

a preggo's dream!

I have always enjoyed food. I would consider myself to be very open-minded when it comes to food and especially appreciative of well prepared meals. With my current situation (that giant belly growing) I have come to realize how much more I enjoy food. Partly due to the fact that food tastes sooo much better when pregnant, especially being that I cannot partake in any of my other vices such as searching for the best IPA and white wine.

So with that being said, my weekend was truly a pregnant girl's dream!

Friday night, Rick's mom, my folks and I went to Mezzaine in Carytown for a delicious (and belated) birthday dinner. I had the scallops and shrimp cerviche followed by the scallops and lobster gnocchi. Absolutely delicious and highly recommended!

Saturday, we had family come down from MD and NoVa for the LSU Alumnae Crawfish Boil for lunch and we all went to the Lebanese Food Festival for dinner.

Today, I went strawberry picking at the Chesterfield Berry Farm with 2 of my best girls. And we even went to their Farmer's Market to get some fresh veggies for the week. I got some zucchini, squash AND corn on the cob.

Slowly but surely, I am becoming more and more domesticated! I think I might make Tom Leonard's part of my weekly grocery shopping!

Overall, a truly food-filled weekend!

who knew i could keep a secret?!

For the last 4+ months I have been planning Rick's surprise 30th birthday party. In fact, because I started planning sooo long ago, I was able to get Nate to fly in from Texas! :)

I told Rick we had reservations for his birthday at the Hardshell, our FAVORITE restaurant but that we needed to stop by Mulligan's to see our friend and bartender, Erin, at Mulligan's for a minute. He bought it and when we walked upstairs on the deck about 30 of our friends and family yelled SURPRISE!

Although, he was a little disappointed not to get his Blue Point oysters for dinner, he was VERY happy after it settled in that all these people were here for him. He kept saying (You thought of EVERYONE!) Even the people that weren't able to make it had really good excuses! :)

And we all had a great time! We got to catch up with friends and family, a lot of whom we haven't seen in a while nor get to see very often considering our lifestyle changes in preparation for a baby.

And I must admit, I am impressed I actually pulled it off! :)

whoa check out that belly.

So my belly has more than grown. Goodness is it getting in the way! All the things I knew were coming have come... like how it is hard to tie my shoes (the ones that fit comfortably still since my feet have already begun their swelling!) And getting off the floor when building in wooden blocks with my class. Even walking Fletch has become increasingly difficult because I honestly cannot walk that fast without getting out of breath.

But, I keep reminding myself how it is all for a good reason. The BEST reason. And there go my hormones again... making me all teary eyed!

I realized something really ironic this week. Do you remember when your mom would cry for what seemed like no reason? You know, when you did something really cool, or independent, or mature. I remember my mom getting teary and thinking she was soooo silly. I mean I always understood she was proud but why did tears have to accompany that pride?

Now I get it and Cooper isn't even here yet. I can already see myself crying when he smiles at me for the first time, says his first word, goes pee-pee in the potty and that isn't even the really BIG stuff. Poor Rick! He has always hated how much I cry and I think he has started to realize it is only going to get worse!

So I had my week 24 appointment today. They are very pleased with how nicely this pregnancy is going. I have gained 11lbs total (remember I lost a bunch of weight in the first trimester) but I am right on track, almost to the book! I am measuring 25 centimeters which is also right on track. I luckily don't have all the uncomfortable pregnancy symptoms (or ugly ones- like stretch marks) so far so I am counting my blessings in case some do show up.

We are getting more and more excited spending most of our conversations about what Cooper is going to be like. Rick is really embracing the relationship he is going to have with a son. He is already talking about wanting to be a Boy Scout leader! It is also pretty amazing the changes that are happening in our relationship with each other but in the most beautiful way.. uhoh here come the waterworks...

Here are some belly shots for those out there that don't get to see me very often. Check out the dramatic difference!

Week 8

Week 16

Week 20

Week 24

happy birthday camping!

Last year for my birthday, my parents got me a 2-night gift certificate to stay downtown at the Berkley Hotel. It was such a lovely weekend and extremely hard to top this year.

We made a pretty good stab at it with a completely different kind of vacation.

With Kiptopeake still closed from major repairs the entire off season, we had to find an alternative and fast! We didn't realize til last week they were still closed (originally they were supposed to reopen for the season April 1st).

So after lots of posts on facebook and many, many suggestions... we picked Sherando Lake just South of Waynesboro in the George Washington National Forest (thanks Ashby!). The bad news being they don't take reservations this early in the season. So we packed up the car, with directions to a couple of back-ups just in case and hoped we would find a place to have our 4-day camping excursion.

We had success! Arriving on Thursday turned out to be a blessing because by Saturday afternoon, every single spot was filled. Although it turned out to be a busy weekend at Sherando Lake, the way the campground is set up, it sure didn't feel that way!

Everyone told me I was crazy to go camping pregnant, but it turned out to not be such a disadvantage. My wonderful husband picked a tent site right across from the outhouse (shorter distance to pee) and didn't make me keep his pace when hiking up massive hills and long paths.

We had perfect weather, warm in the day and cool in the evening. I even got some serious sun-basking time on the lower lake beach while Rick fished. Lucky for me, we weren't relying on his fishing skills (or the fish's biting skills) to feed us... and had hamburgers, hot dogs, and the most delicious caribbean jerk chicken I have ever tasted!

We even ventured out into civilization Friday afternoon to have me a birthday sundae! I topped my birthday off with a few games of rummy (our camping tradition that I always seem to dominate) and even perfecting my marshmallow roasting skills on Rick's perfectly built campfire!

Last night, Cooper decided to cooperate and let his daddy feel his little baby feet kick for the first time. The only thing that could've made this weekend better is if we had brought Fletch. Next time, he will definitely not be left at home, although now that my 2nd trimester is coming to a close, I believe tent camping might have to wait until post-pregnancy (ie. it was VERY difficult getting my big behind out of the tent!)

Overall an amazing weekend! I got to put my toes in the sand, get some sunshine on my pasty skin AND eat ice cream & marshmallows all in the same day! I LOVE my life!

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...