Waiting for Baby V: Thirty Thankful Weeks!

Hello friends! So proud of myself...Finishing the blog "on time" this week! Well, this week we mostly caught up from our full weekend, and finished up several parts of the room. Ashley came over and helped us finish the FOURTH coat of teal on the walls, we touched up the edges, and then between last night and today, we finished those touch ups, painting the trim, painting the windows, and (thanks to Francesca AGAIN) began painting the ceiling! Tonight we also ordered a comfy chair, and rumor has it that Grandma Cash is rounding the bend on finishing Eloise's quilt, ALREADY! Exciting things!

The biggest change/addition this week was the trees in Ellie's room, which I asked my lovely artist sister, Jennie, to do! They turned out better than I expected, and I think they are beautiful! Our high school trio was reunited when Joellen came over for lunch, and we just got to hang out for a little while. These sweet gals have two kiddos of their own and are both stay-at-home mommas, so I am really looking forward to spending more time with them, and having our kids play together. They are also planning a shower for me too, and I appreciate it so much! For Ellie's trees, I am also going to add some scrapbook paper leaves to them, with some of them falling from the tree. I really love her room, and though it's taking longer than I thought, I know it will be worth it! Like I said last week, each step represents a day closer to meeting Ellie and also how much love from so many people are going it to it. Can't wait to get more done and post more about it. 

Pregnant Things!
1. Total weight gain: +31 lbs. (+2 lb. this week...oops! On a positive note, I am just now the same weight I was at my heaviest and not pregnant! So that's good!)

2. Maternity clothes?: Yep! Exchanged some items for some new pants this week too. YAY!
3. Stretch marks?: Not yet! 

4. Sleep?: Had a pretty rough week sleep wise, so that made for a grumpy lady, but trying some new things. Stretching before going to sleep, taking my allergy pill earlier, taking a nap when I get home, and no chocolate after 9:00. It has helped somewhat these past couple of nights.

5. Best moment this week?: Getting the trees painted in Ellie's room! I've been thinking about this for quite some time, so to see them done is so fun! I think they are beautiful!
6. Miss anything?: This week I am thinking there will be things I miss about being pregnant whenever Ellie's is finally here... Like the wiggling she does each day and guilt-free (almost) eating! I eat what sounds good to me, but I try to eat with moderation still. So no chocolate shakes every night or anything, just once every other week or so. :)

7. Movement?: Probably one of the best parts of being pregnant! Feeling and seeing her MOVE! Chris said it felt like she was having a dance party in my tummy the other night after I had already fallen asleep. And it's true! That is what it feels like!

8. Food cravings?: I'd say anything chocolate this week, as well as pretty much anything that is easy to make.  

9. Anything make you queasy or sick?: No way Jose!

10. Gender?: GIRL! Updated our registry with SO MANY more cute things! 

11. Labor signs?: No!

12. Symptoms?: Tired easily, kicking little girl in my tummy, and hungry often!

13. Belly button in or out?: In, and I am not thinking it will pop out either. It's just getting really flat. Weird. Pregnant bodies do weird things.  

14. Wedding rings on or off?: On

15. Happy or moody most of the time?: Feeling pretty happy, though I did warn Chris that there would probably be a melt down sometime this week. Good for him that it happened at school, and I was much better by the time I got home. It happened mid-week so by the time the week was over, everything was a-okay!

16. Looking forward to most?: Making more progress on Ellie's room, as well as maternity pictures next weekend with our dear friend Loan! Each week brings me closer to our baby showers, and most of all, closer to seeing our little girl's face!

Hope each of you have a wonderful week! Much love from the Valentas family!

Waiting for Baby V: Twenty-Nine Nifty Weeks!

Hello late blog! This weekend was busy busy busy working on Ellie's room, and this week has been pretty tiring so far. So this is a late blog, but oh well! 

We had so much help this weekend with prepping and painting, and we are so grateful. Francesca brought us dinner Thursday night, came over (and stayed late) to prep the room, and painted both Sunday and Monday! Goodness! What would we do if we didn't have her? We had some other helpers too on Sunday: my Mom, Ashley, Lindsey, and Andy. They made painting (all four coats of it) fun and not stressful. There were many steps in there too that I couldn't too, so they were such a big help. 

I am loving watch it all come together, and it reminds me of how many people love us and love this little girl. Her room represents all this love, with her crib from Tess and Tom, the dresser and paint from my parents, the rocking chair from my Dad to my Mom when she was pregnant with me, the prints from sweet art teacher friends, a quilt made by my Grandma Cash, the bits and pieces of things from both mine and Chris's childhood, the beautiful blankets knitted and crocheted, the tiny outfits that will fill her dresser drawers and closet from so many, the little toys from friends and family, the Mike and Sully stuffed animals Chris and I bought at Disney World when we were just barely pregnant (and still not sure if we were), the trees that will be painted by my sweet sister, and all the memories with loved ones made in this room preparing for her arrival. And this is not even all that has been given to us so far! We are so lucky, so blessed, and we are so grateful for all those who have shown their love for us and Eloise during this very exciting time in our lives. I will continue to say thank you everyday, but that will not be enough to show you all how much we appreciate and love each one of you. You have made this time so beautiful and special, and I hope that we can return it to you someday! And with the amazing news of baby showers, we feel even more overwhelmed with love! My goodness!

Here is her room's progress so far...

BEFORE:

PREPPING:

DRESSER & CRIB:

AFTER 2nd COAT:

3rd COAT:

AFTER 4th COAT...GOODNESS!!!:

Now we ONLY have to touch up the edges, paint the trim, paint the ceiling, put a third coat on the dresser, paint the crib, and put it all together! HAHAHA! I am a little crazy, but you have to be for the first one, right?

Oh preggo me again...

1. Total weight gain: +29 lbs. (+1 lb. this week)

2. Maternity clothes?: For sure!
3. Stretch marks?: Not yet! 

4. Sleep?: Always ready for a nap, but didn't sleep as well at night this week. Love sleeping in on the weekend though. YAY!

5. Best moment this week?: There was many, and most were this past weekend. We prepped and finally painted, like I said, and we had the help of so many! It made a "job" into fun, because we were with our friends and family, getting ready for Ellie!
6. Miss anything?: Solid sleep at night. With sleeping only a few hours at a time, I am pooped before I wake up! So maybe I get back into sleeping soon? Or not... 

7. Movement?: Man oh man, is she moving! This week we actually SAW her move in my tummy! SO amazing! It is pretty incredible.

8. Food cravings?: Anything dairy, and sometimes fruit this week! That's a miracle! 

9. Anything make you queasy or sick?: Nope!

10. Gender?: This tiny girl is getting so many cute things that yell "girl"! 

11. Labor signs?: Nope!

12. Symptoms?: Now that I am officially in my 3rd trimester, I am feeling more and more tired. Just from regular day stuff! Good grief!

13. Belly button in or out?: In

14. Wedding rings on or off?: On

15. Happy or moody most of the time?: Happy the majority of the time, especially when we are doing fun baby stuff like registering, looking at her clothes, and planning the rest of the nursery. And when I am eating whatever sounds good at the moment too. That's pretty awesome, and I wish that everyone had the chance to be pregnant, even if it's just for that reason.  

16. Looking forward to most?: Getting Ellie's room finished sometime in the next couple weeks! We are also so ecstatic about upcoming showers by all our family and friends. The next weeks are going to fly by with so many celebrations, and we are definitely looking forward to each of them!

Waiting for Baby V: Twenty Eight-Exciting Weeks!

You know, usually, I start each year with a journal entry (or a blog more recently) about goals and resolutions for the coming year, like many others. This year I hadn't thought too much about it, except for the fact that I haven't done it when I usually do. So I've been thinking about why this year hasn't gotten me to write an entry as lengthy and detailed plan as in the past, and I think there are a few reasons.

My goals are usually surrounding: money, health/weight loss, and organizing. Whereas the past couple years have been about paying down debt (which is still part of my life), this year is going to be about how to cut back when we become a one-income household in August. I know things will be different for us then, but right now, I am really at peace about how we're going to do it. It will take some sacrifices and priority changes, but once Eloise gets here, I am pretty sure that will happen anyways. As for weight loss and health, I always have room to grow (or slim down) here, but that can't really happen, at least not until April. I am trying to be a bit more healthy and do some exercising, because I know it will make everything easier in the future, but I have no big weight loss goals right now, simply because I can't. Finally, organizing has been an ongoing feat these past fews months and I think will continue, as we try to purge our house of the unnecessary to make room for our little girl. We're doing pretty good too!

Pretty much I am feeling calm right now about all of these usual goals, so what is my goal/s really this year? I hope to get to a place in my life, maybe not in the next year, where I can have a to do list, make it realistic, accomplish what I can on it each day, and when I don't, accept that I am still good enough and just relax. I want to enjoy my down time more, and not make myself feel guilty about being lazy. Basically, I want to be happier. I am really the happiest I probably ever have been in my life, but I want to continue to let those small things go and remember to take time to enjoy all of it. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am finally going to get to do what I've always wanted to do...be a MOM! And a stay-at-home mom. This next year is going to be wonderful, and I hope I can remember this feeling when I have spit up on my clothes and it's 2:00 am. :)

1. Total weight gain: +28 lbs. (+1 lb. this week...Doing better!)

2. Maternity clothes?: Yep! And used some bucks back I got at Motherhood Maternity this weekend. Chris is a trooper to wait for a preggo to try on clothes!
3. Stretch marks?: Not yet! 

4. Sleep?: This full week of school and finals for the kids kicked my bum! I took several naps this week, and slept in both today and yesterday. Goodness!

5. Best moment this week?: Probably this weekend, just relaxing and do bits of baby stuff here in there, like talking about Ellie's quilt with Grandma Cash, finding a dress for my maternity pics, painting another color on the wall to try to decide which shade of teal to paint it, and getting all of her clothes out to look at and organize. A fun weekend!

6. Miss anything?: My old clothes. I keep thinking that I'll go try this or that on, and discover that they really don't fit right anymore. I do have a pretty good selection of maternity clothes now though! I shouldn't complain. 

7. Movement?: She wiggles and kicks most mornings and nights, and I know one of my favorite things about being pregnant will be how much she moves when Chris puts his hand on my tummy each night. 

8. Food cravings?: Dessert, chocolate, and milk, again. 

9. Anything make you queasy or sick?: Nope!

10. Gender?: Little girl! Love all the little things we've gotten for her already!

11. Labor signs?: Nope!

12. Symptoms?: Legs and feet getting tired more quickly, and her moving around. Not anything too bad though.

13. Belly button in or out?: In

14. Wedding rings on or off?: On

15. Happy or moody most of the time?: Happy happy happy right now! But you might ask Chris and he will tell you I was pretty grumpy, especially towards the end of the week. This coming week is short for me because I am gone tomorrow to training, and then gone Friday morning to our doctor's appointment for glucose testing. 

16. Looking forward to most?: Painting little Ellie's room next weekend! We ordered her bed this week, so that should come in too, as well as we will be getting a dresser from my parents' house for her changing table, and Chris will be trying to refinish it in yellow. Hope we don't kill ourselves with the projects! ANNNNDDD we got a message from our close friends that a baby shower is in the works for us! I am sooooo excited about it even though I know it probably won't be until weeks away! YAYAYAY!!!

Thanks for reading and hope you guys have a wonderful week!

Waiting for Baby V: Twenty-Seven Splendid Weeks!

Happy first work week of 2013! This past week was a pretty good week! We got back from Nebraska and celebrated New Year's, but we still needed a few more days together. I had to go back to work Wednesday, while Chris stayed home to extend his vacation just a little longer. He was mister project man this week though! We also had another doctor's appointment, which I was pretty nervous about, due to my high blood pressure last time. Before the appointment though, we ate lunch together and bought Ellie's baby bag! Here it is...

We've put it in her room, and all of her things go with already. Or it belongs in her room. Either way, I love it! We also got some sample colors on Wednesday night to test and try to decide which one we want to paint her room with...

I love these hues of teal, and hope we can choose one soon. Then we can get the nursery together and this will again feel all the more real! Hooray! 

Though I was nervous about our doctor's appointment, I was also very excited because we were going to see our baby as our little girl finally. Last time, we had no idea what Baby V was and what it's name was, so this time was special. And the good news is, she's still a GIRL! She wiggled around for us, we saw her little foot, and we saw her covering her face with both arms! We are so in love with her already, and we can't wait to see her. It's incredible that the next thing to look forward to is her now, not fall or Christmas, but seeing our tiny girl! Goodness! Besides seeing that she was doing great, we got more good news...Better blood pressure! I am still taking the lowest dose once a day, but it is much better. We did learn that I am on the low end of the normal range for fluids when they measured, so that means more fluids and protein. And today Chris and I started exercising again today after a few month hiatus. 

Pregnant Moi:

1. Total weight gain: Scale is working again...Boo... +5 lbs over these two holiday weeks, which brings my grand total to +27 lbs. I exercised tonight in response to that! :)

2. Maternity clothes?: Yes. They are my friends!

3. Stretch marks?: Not yet still! Keep on slathering on that Bio Oil and praying!

4. Sleep?: Man all that sleep over the break was amazing! Going to bed earlier and waking up earlier is no fun...

Her tiny foot!

5. Best moment this week?: Seeing our healthy growing girl Ellie. Loved seeing her little foot and sweet profile! It was a relief to know that she is doing good, even despite my blood pressure issues.

6. Miss anything?: Can I say feeling thin again? Even though I know it's baby there, I still feel like a chubby bunny. Sigh.  

7. Movement?: She wiggles and squirms mostly in the morning and at night still, and I am in love with it! I even felt her move when I put my hand on my belly last night! 

8. Food cravings?: Dessert, chocolate, and milk. 

9. Anything make you queasy or sick?: Nope!

10. Gender?: GIRL! Love choosing things for her room, and seeing all the girly things come together. There's not too much pink yet either, but there are so many cute other things that she already has! 

11. Labor signs?: Nope!

12. Symptoms?: Once again, a wiggly girl in my tummy and heartburn in the night.

13. Belly button in or out?: In

14. Wedding rings on or off?: On

Ellie's profile with a bit of her arm in the way...Silly girl!

15. Happy or moody most of the time?: Happy this week! Chris and I got to spend time together relaxing, organizing our house, and getting stuff ready for Ellie. That always puts me in a good mood!

16. Looking forward to most?: Hmmm...Let's see...This weekend? With more down time with Chris and probably working on stuff around the house. Hopefully, we'll get to go talk with my Grandma about Eloise's quilt and bedding too!

Thank you for reading, even when I am a little belated! 

Waiting for Baby V: Twenty-Six Snowy Weeks!

Our tummies from the first 26 weeks of pregnancy and the holidays!  

Happy New Year everyone! It's hard to believe 2013 is here, but I am so excited because that means we are one step closer to meeting Eloise! This is definitely going to be a good year!

So much has happened this week, and since my Christmas Eve blog, so it's hard to know where to begin. Most of all I want to say how much I have really enjoyed and loved Christmas this year. It was the least stressful and therefore the most enjoyable. We started shopping early, were more creative and homemade with many gifts, and tried to do a little each day. We wrapped gifts while watching Christmas movies, and didn't stay up too late making goodies. There were a few stressful days in the middle, but once we got through with that it was much better.

This year, we started our celebrations with a Christmas Eve Eve service, which allowed us on Christmas Eve to have an earlier start time for the babies (and all the adults too) at my Grandma's house. We exchanged many gifts, but still, the whole evening felt more simple and calm. I was able to write the last blog because we got home so early! Crazy, huh?

On Christmas Day, we woke up to some sleet which soon turned in to big beautiful flakes of snow! I loved it! We cooked and ate breakfast, opened our stockings, got ready leisurely, and then opened our gifts to one another. I can see our own family "down-time" and traditions fitting into this relaxed version of Christmas too.

We then headed over to Chris's parents for an afternoon meal, where we also opened a few gifts. It was just the five of us, due to the weather, but the calmness was so nice too! Tess cooked a delicious meal and we just enjoyed each other's company!

Our final stop was to my parents where we had dessert and exchanged gifts with them and my brothers. We hung out for a little while, and had some dessert and cider. It was all so relaxing! We then headed home with plenty of time and energy to still enjoy some of Christmas Day, watch a Christmas movie, and look through all our new gifts.

We then started packing for our trip to Nebraska on the 26th! It is my Dad's birthday, and we always have to make sure to get there on that day so that we can celebrate with him. On our way, we stopped at Aunt Jayne and Uncle John's in Wellington for a little break and to see them. It is always so nice to have a place to stretch our legs (and they even often feed us too!) on our way to Nebraska. So thankful for them!

Snow met us on the way to Kearney too, and much more than here at home! It snowed two of the three days we were there: a constant soft and beautiful snow. It was really amazing! Lucy loved it too, especially running around in it! It was a wonderfully relaxing break from our own busy lives at home. We slept in, visited with the Hunts and Grandma Ginnie, and ate lots of good food. Our Christmas celebrations left me feeling more and more thankful for all that we have, rather than what we don't. We are so lucky, and I couldn't ask for a happier life!

We headed home on the 30th, stopping again in Wellington, and headed straight to my parents when we got into town because there were 3 sweet little Hawaiians there that we had to see! Though two of them had the stomach bug, we wanted to spend time with them on their two days they were here! We ate an early dinner with them yesterday, on New Year's Eve, and then they came over for a little cookie cake for Sophie's 6th birthday. It was so good to get all the cousins together too. 

The last stop of our fun-filled and whirl-wind break was with our friends for a little party to ring in the New Year. We played games, toasted at midnight, and watched some silly YouTube clips, all in our pajamas. 

Pregnant Kiley!

1. Total weight gain: Not really sure this week because my scale stopped working the day after Christmas...Haha! How convenient!

2. Maternity clothes?: Yeppers! I love my maternity pants the most! 

3. Stretch marks?: Not yet still!

4. Sleep?: Heartburn and leg cramps have been quite a bit better, so I have gotten some awesome rest. I have gotten to sleep in almost everyday, which has allowed me to sleep 10 hours or more. I am going to be sad when I don't get that many hours when I return to school tomorrow. :(
5. Best moment this week?: Once again, there are too many to count! I'd have to start with having my most favorite Christmastime this far, including lots of snow. And my best moments everyday are at night, just before we go to sleep, when Chris touches my Ellie belly and talks to her. Even if she's not moving, she will start kicking and wiggling in response to her Daddy. I love it!

6. Miss anything?: Wine! Oh how I want a glass of wine! I will savor it more when I get to have it again... 

7. Movement?: She wiggles and squirms mostly in the morning and at night, but I love it! It is so neat to know that a tiny little baby is wiggling in my tummy, reminding me that she's there.
8. Food cravings?: I pretty much got to eat all my favorite things this week...Seafood, breakfast food, warm comfort foods, desserts, hot chocolate, Amigos, and Dairy Queen. I can't complain!

9. Anything make you queasy or sick?: Nope!

10. Gender?: GIRL! And she got so many sweet little outfits for Christmas from Chris and myself, as well as many other family members and friends.
11. Labor signs?: No, though I did have some weird pains earlier this week. Just remembering to take it easy and drink more water!

12. Symptoms?: Mostly a wiggly one in my tummy and heartburn in the night.

13. Belly button in or out?: In

14. Wedding rings on or off?: On

15. Happy or moody most of the time?: Happy still this week! We have had quite an incredible (but too short) break, and I am so thankful. Hopefully, it will give me the energy to finish these last 9 weeks (give or take a few) before Ellie arrives!

16. Looking forward to most?: This week, it's me thinking about how exciting next year will be. Little Ellie will be here for her first Christmas! Now that it's over for this year, I do have something to look forward to now...Getting her room ready! So that's what I am trying to focus on as we return to our regular lives and jobs, put away our beautiful Christmas decorations, and pray for more snow. And like I said before, the next break is Spring Break, and our little girl will be here shortly after that.

2012 has been so good to us...I can't wait to see what's in store for 2013!