Pregnancy Update- 33 Weeks

How far along: 32 weeks 6 days.  

Countdown: 7 weeks, 1 day

We had a great doctors visit today.  The due date is still December 19th and the ultrasound estimates that Emmy weighs about 4lbs, which puts her in the 55th percentile.  So-- that means she's a healthy growing baby... not tiny and not huge.  We got to see all four chambers of her heart, her arms, legs, fingers, toes, and sweet face.  She has moved into the head down position and is peacefully awaiting her big day.  The ultrasound technician told us she could see a little bit of hair on Emmy's head.  During the ultrasound we watched her sleep,  then yawn, rub her face with her hand and make some funny faces.  It's so crazy to me that they do the same things on the inside (like yawn, make faces, and move) that they'll just continue to do when they come out.  

Toes

Profile

Snoozin

Making Faces

More faces

Gender: girl

Total weight gain: 22 lbs (yeah that's right- I've gained about 6 pounds in the last 4 weeks)

Maternity Clothes:  It's hard to feel cute these days. My bump is getting pretty big and I am beginning to outgrow some of my early maternity wear.  

Stretch marks: None- still very thankful!

Sleep: Not too bad these days.  I just sandwich myself between two pillows, one on each side of me.  So long as a I have a pillow to hug and one behind my back I'm not too uncomfortable.

Miss Anything: I miss being able to lay flat on my back .  And sushi- it doesn't look appetizing to me right now, but I would love some fresh Tuna and wasabi.

Movement:  I suspected that Emmy had moved into the head down position- I felt a BIG movement from her a week or so ago and it felt like she was moving down. Now that we know for sure, I can better identify the source of her pokes and jabs.

Cravings:  I just want a sandwich all the time.  What do I want for lunch? A sandwich. What do I want for dinner?  A Sandwich.  For breakfast?  Breakfast sandwich (or burrito) :)

Symptoms:  Pregnant waddle and lots of nesting

Belly button in or out:   Officially out. :(  

Exercise:  Puh-lease....  Does walking around Target count?  I do that at least once or twice a week.

Mood:  Excited!!  I only have 12 days left at work before I am able to stay home full-time!  More about that here.

Looking forward to: Planning Aubrey's birthday party, finishing up Christmas shopping (I'm 80% done!), and staying at home full time.

Picture Update

Here's a brief photo update of the past few weeks....

Crazy hair in the bath

Testing out the new slide from Gran and Grandad

Coloring with Crayons

Christmas Onesie for Baby Emmy

New favorite toy-- stuffed Halloween snake

Picking out pumpkins at the pumpkin patch

I love it-- can I have it?

Heading to the Pumpkin Shine with Jordan, Britney and Levi

Looking cool

Big Changes Ahead

There will be some big changes for the Brown Family in the coming weeks.

In approximately 8 weeks, baby Emmy will join our family.  

In about 4 weeks Aubrey will turn 2 years old. 

And in 3 weeks I will leave my job to become a full-time stay at home mom!

I'm excited about all of these changes, but I'm most nervous AND excited about the last one.  Staying at home full-time was never something I had the desire to do when I was pregnant with Aubrey, but God planted the desire in my heart when we found out we were pregnant this time around.  The moment I found out we were having another baby I began thinking what life would be like with two children if I was working full-time.  I saw images of shuffling kids to the babysitter or daycare, having to ask for time off to care for one sick kid just to turn around and need to care for the other one a few days later, and finally-- coming home at the end of the day with nothing left to give to my husband and sweet babies.

I shared my desire to be a stay at home mom with Weston and we began to pray about it.  We really needed confirmation that this was the right decision for our family and that God would provide a way for us to make it happen if it was his plan.  We needed confirmation in our finances, our work situations, healthcare benefits, and in peace of mind that I truly was up for the task at hand. 

We prayed and talked about it for about 4-5 months and ultimately felt that God was making the way for this to work for us.  He was giving us the confirmations that we specifically prayed for.

So- I'm super excited and a little bit nervous.

I'm Excited:

• I will have an opportunity to really invest in the girls in a way I have never been able to before
• On a normal work day, I typically get 4-5 hours of time with Aubrey.  An hour or two in the morning (where I'm usually more concerned with getting myself dressed and out the door) and then a couple of hours in the evenings.  I am excited for the chance to personally mold  Aubrey and Emmy's characters beyond just those 4-5 hours.
• We can do things like take walks and talk about the sun, grass and trees. We can play outside.  We can visit the library for story time and have play dates with our friends. Big sister can learn to color, finger paint and use scissors.
• I can breast feed Emmy without the pressure of having to build up a milk supply so I can go back to work.
• I can visit Walmart or Target at 9am when it's dead as a door nail instead of after 5pm when the rest of civilization decides to do their shopping.
• I am going to venture into the world of cloth diapering.

I'm Nervous:

• I've never spent all day with a 2 year old and a newborn before.  This is uncharted territory.
• When someone has a doctor's appointment, I'm assuming we all have to load up an go?  That doesn't sound very appealing.
• Going to Target at 9am sounds great, but again... with two babies in tow?  It may be more trouble that it's worth.
• Will I have enough energy at the end of the day to give as much of myself to my husband as I've given to the girls all day?  It is such a priority to nurture our relationship and marriage and I don't want to ever neglect that.
• I think I'll miss talking to adults.  I fear becoming someone who can only talk about their kids and kid things... but I can understand that when that is all you do all day, it is your world.  I pray that God will show me how I can continue to be relational with adults without my children becoming the center of my universe.
• Moving from dual income to a single income will require some sacrifice.
• When God opens the door for you and gives you the desires of your heart.... be ready.  Yes, I believe God desires to bless us... but he desires more for us to worship and serve him.  When I experience his blessings, I'm always buckling down and getting ready for what he's about to move me to do.  He's always working out his plan and will call me to participate- in a big or little way.  I've got to be ready and open to the call.  It makes me a little nervous when God moves... he's so much bigger and more powerful than I could ever imagine.

So all in all-- I hope to spend my days like this:

Source

But I'm a realist, so I'm expecting something a little more like this:

Source

Either way, I feel so very blessed!

What's So Special About a Hobby?

I've recently discovered that when you spend more time focusing and investing in something you love-something that brings you pleasure-- You spend less time worrying about everyone else.  Less time to worry what they think about you.  Less interest in wondering how you stack up against the crowd.  Less time is spent judging and criticizing their faults- just so you can avoid you own.  You get the idea.

Let me describe how I arrived at this very eye-opening conjecture.  I found a hobby.

hob·by/ˈhäbē/

Noun:

An activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure.

My husband is extremely talented and has like a million hobbies and interests.  He plays the guitar, he plays the piano, he sings and writes, he loves to read, he's a talented cook, and he's handy and likes to fix things around the house.

And then there's me-- I'm good at stuff too, but until about 9 months ago there really wasn't anything that I was very passionate about. Until then I was mostly interested in watching tv, spending time with others and following Weston around.  I was waiting to be entertained.  I'm going to blame my lack of interest in being alone on my birth order.  I'm the baby of 6 and never really had to entertain myself.  There were always other people around to keep me entertained.  I was used to having others tell me what to do and how to do it, and I got really good at taking direction. 

So- in my adulthood I am paired with this super talented man with a zillion hobbies up his sleeve.  I realized early in our marriage that I needed to find my own thing.  That relying totally on my husband, children, or the media for my entertainment and satisfaction wasn't going to work in the long term.  I wanted to give my husband time and space to nurture his interests and I needed to do the same for myself.  So-- I had to find something to be interested in.

I tried photography.  I'm terrible with the camera.

I tried to be a gardener. I don't know the first thing about plants, and couldn't motivate myself to learn.  

I tried my hand at homemaking.  You know- cooking and cleaning.  I'm not super good at either.

But then I found it! On a whim I decided to sew some Christmas stockings for our family. I bought a sewing machine on Amazon, watched some Youtube videos and got to work. I was hooked!  I seriously can't get enough of it.  I read everything I can about sewing and sewing techniques. I'm 100% self taught.  Even my mom is impressed at my new found hobby.  She has said that never in a million years would she predict I would get into sewing.  I'm just not that kind of girl.  

So that's why I write about sewing all the time.  I just love it.

More than that-- I am convinced that through finding a hobby I have also found a little piece of myself.  I am able to be content being alone.  I am able to sit quietly in the living room with my husband while he reads or plays guitar and work on a project of my own.  I no longer care so much about what everyone else is doing because I'm immersed in my own thing.  I've got my own interests to nurture.  I'm suddenly thankful for some of the quiet moments in the day or evenings when I get a few hours alone--it gives me time to work on my projects.

I honestly think that if every girl/woman had a hobby that they truly LOVED-- they would spend WAY less time worrying about others and really learn to enjoy themselves and enjoy their talents. I wish that was something I had learned in my adolescence.

I want so badly for my girls to be passionate about something. I know they will eventually struggle with the things every young girl struggles with- wondering if they're good enough, having fun at someone else's expense, experiencing the feeling when someone has fun at their expense, and so on.  But I truly desire for them to not only find their fulfillment completely from the God who created them and loves them- but I also want them to experience the feeling of being passionate about something.

I want to do everything I can to foster their imagination and creativity and allow them opportunities to find something they love.  Obviously, I want them to be passionate about something productive and not passionate about doing nothing or doing something that is harmful to them or their family. Maybe they'll get into sports, dance, music, art, technology, school, photography.... who knows.  Whatever it is- I pray now for their creativity and their desire to do good.  I pray that they will discover this little bit of peace much, much earlier than I did.

And I hope you will discover it too-- if you haven't already.

Fall Projects

I posted last time about all of my fall sewing projects.  I've finally wrapped several of them up and wanted to show a few pics.

Remember this sweet chevron dress I found on Etsy?  I just LOVE it.

Source: Etsy

I made two different versions of this dress- might do one for every holiday!

Pumpkin Dress

Turkey Dress

She hates picture-time, not the dress.

I also completed the Lucy tunic.

My inspiration:

 The finished product.

I love that the tunic is reversible!  I can't wait for it to get a little cooler, so we can layer it over long sleeves and pair with some leggings and boots.  She'll be so stylish!

And here are a few more pics of sweet Aubrey.

Aubrey and her cousin Caroline.  Cousin Molly and Cookie in the background :)

Looking cool with her shades

Winding down with a book before bed

Busy Sewing

I haven't had much to post about lately-- I've been too busy sewing!  I swear that I'll start sewing for little sister soon- but I'm having so much fun making things for Aubrey.

Here are a few projects I'm working on:

How awesome is this Chevron Pumpkin Dress I found on Etsy?

Photo Source- Wrententen

I saw this dress and was inspired!!  I love a peasant dress- they're super easy to sew. Throw in some Riley Blake chevron fabric and a polka dot pumpkin-- I'm in!  I just completed my version of this dress and will post pics as soon as I can get it on my model.  If you don't sew-- they have a ton of similar dresses on Etsy you can purchase. Just be prepared to spend around $40. The outfits from Wrententen are the cutest I've seen!

Last night I started work on this sweet tunic for Aubrey.

Photo Source- Shwin Designs

It's called the Lucy Tunic and I purchased the pattern from Shwin Designs.  It's fully reversible, so she'll get two outfits out of it!  I hope it will work through the winter, layered on top of a long sleeve shirt.  Can't wait to finish it and post pics!  You can follow the Shwin's blog here-- a ton of great tutorials and ideas.  Visit their shop for super cute patterns for boys and girls.

By the way-- I had a remedial sewing question for them as I began work on cutting my fabric for this pattern.  No worries, I just emailed the Shwins and they responded within minutes with a super helpful answer to my silly question.  I can't wait to buy more patterns from them!

That's all for now.

Pregnancy Update- 29 weeks

How far along: 29 weeks 1 day (countdown-- 10 weeks and 6 days to go!)

Gender: girl

Total weight gain: 16 lbs

Maternity Clothes:  Nothing special, just whatever fits.  Happy to be able to wear long sleeves and sweaters finally!

Stretch marks: None- still very thankful!

Sleep: Sleep is becoming less and less comfortable. It's getting to where I need to sleep on my side 100% of the time, which means I toss and turn from one side to the other all night long.  By morning time my hips just hurt.  Luckily I still only have to get up once in the night, so I'm able to get plenty of sleep.

Miss Anything:  I miss seeing my toes- they have officially disappeared .

Movement:  Emmy is moving all around.  Her favorite time to move is right after dinner and when I lay down to sleep.  She's exploring the space and is starting to migrate into my rib cage every now and then (or at least that's what it feels like!).

Cravings:  Frozen yogurt. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Symptoms:  Thanks to my pal Nexium, I have heartburn relief!!  No new symptoms, other than my hip pain after sleeping on my side all night.

Belly button in or out:   Still an "innie", but just barely.

Exercise:  None in the last couple of weeks.  No excuse, just laziness.

Mood:  Overwhelmed.  I've piled a million projects on my plate-- Halloween costume for Aubrey, Halloween and Thanksgiving dress for Aubrey, finish up the nursery, embellish some onesies for Emmy, the list goes on and on....

Looking forward to: Getting everything finished up in the girls room. I don't have much left at all- so I"m on the home stretch!

Aubrey Update- 23 months

Aubrey has been so funny lately. I was typing up a list of some of her latest and greatest tricks today and couldn't resist posting.

Here's what she's up to:

·   She can say- Where is he?  and Where is it?

·   She can say- “I see you!!”

·   She knows when we’re in the parking lot of a restaurant- she immediately starts asking for a bite.

·   She can identify the color purple (and all other colors are ‘yellow’ to her)

·   She loves stickers- she likes to stick them on her forehead and on the dog.

·   She can dance-- and she's got moves.

·   She asks for help when she needs something—she says “Help! Help! Help!”

·   Her song of choice recently has been “Wheels on the Bus.”  Her favorite part is when the mama’s on the bus go “shhh, shhh, shhh.”

·  She can ask for Cheerios, and yogurt- a couple of her favorite things.  She says, “yerrio, yoyi”

·  She can tell the difference in taste between milk and water—even if they’re cleverly concealed in her sippie cup.  No foolin’ her.

·  She likes to slide around on her bottom in the bath when she’s done bathing and the water has drained.  This is something her dad taught her to do- she thinks it’s a blast.

·  When she gets impatient and whiney or even a little frustrated, we have started asking her to just fold her hands together and relax for a moment.  She folds her hands politely together—for like 2 seconds.  But it does help her calm down.  We are trying to teach her a little patience.  She winds up folding her hands quite a bit when she’s waiting on us to get her drink ready or to get her cheerio snack ready.

·  She has been playing with her baby doll lately—she can put it down for a nap, kiss her boo-boos, give her a hug, feed her a snack, make the baby sign “more” with her hands, and put the baby in the bath.

It is hard to believe her 2nd birthday is next month!  Here's a sweet picture from her 1st birthday photo shoot.

Photo by Carrie Linn Photography

Brunch and a Playdate

We visited some friends last Saturday for an early brunch and play date.  Saturday mornings are seriously the best time to get together with friends who also have kids.  Everyone is usually awake, except for the wee little ones who may be taking their first nap of the day already, and the kids can play while the adults visit.  No babysitter needed!

My friend Suzanne snapped a few photos when we joined them at their house for Saturday brunch.  I stole a few pics to post here :)

Aubrey had a blast playing with all of Perry's toys and climbing on the slide outside.  She looked so grown-up playing with her little friend and wandering around outside with him by herself.  She's growing up....

Serious conversation

Hiding under the umbrella

Who gets the best kisses?

I thought this was a very insightful post from Joanna at "A Cup of Jo."

Motherhood Mondays: Who gets the best kisses?

Enjoy!