27 weeks down, 13 to go!

Pregnancy has been treating me very well; honestly, I cannot complain about much. However, the one complaint I have is that I am unable to do certain "nesting" projects because of health hazards for the baby. Baby's health comes first, so of course I won't do any, but I really wanted to help strip and refinish the crib, and I wanted to have our bathroom painted before baby arrived. So what to do? Find a new SAFE project! I was inspired by Kristin's baby announcements for Evan to make my own! Armed with a Hobby Lobby giftcard (thanks Mom Riezebos) and my good friend Kelsey's artistic advice, I managed to find a great ensemble for being creative. Kelsey helped me with the layout, and I can get pretty much everything finished except for baby's picture and information, which won't take too long to attach later. Here are some preview pictures of the announcements!



I couldn't resist the little feet. I think they are absolutely adorable!

And here are some updated side shots so that you can see how big baby is getting! I am feeling tons of movement and it feels stronger every day. My stomach will sometimes look like it is bubbling under the skin, which is super weird, but amazing. The midwife said that I need to make sure I can feel baby every day, multiple times. It's a little early for a kick count, but now I will go in every week for a urine sample and to hear the heartbeat. Next week is third trimester! Only a few short months until we get to meet the active little one. You get a candid shot and a posed shot this time!

Saling with some success...

I attempted some garage saling (not a real verb, I know) to find some things for baby. I was particularly on the lookout for items like a high chair, bouncy seat, or a swing or something. However, there was not much in the way of furniture in the sales I saw, so I did not find any big items. The first garage sale I went to had some great stuffed animals for sale, and they were in awesome condition. So I grabbed some because it is my hope to decorate baby's room with animals like these!

Here is a closeup of one of the baby blankets. I thought it was cute. there are little duckies all over the other side of the blanket too!

Finishing May, Starting June

Now that I am officially done teaching, summer has officially begun. I have slowly been attacking our house, trying to get it back in order, and put the things that were never in order, in order. I am making progress! However, it is hard to be motivated when I have the freedom now in my schedule to say, "I'll do it tomorrow..." Hopefully I don't use it too often.
We were able to get away for Memorial Day to visit Amy and Marcus, which was fun. We had a good time playing games and eating brats. Can't get much better than that.
I feel like I'm getting bigger every day, which I guess is good because we want baby to keep developing and growing strong. 24 weeks is an amazing time. Even though we are praying that baby stays put for another 16 weeks, it is somewhat comforting to know that baby has developed enough that there is a chance of survival if born in the near future.
I am enjoying 2nd trimester much more now because I have a TON more energy. I am busy doing household chores and running errands all day, but am not nearly as exhausted as I used to be. I am enjoying this feeling of energy while I can, since in a few more weeks I will be a lot more uncomfortable at night to get a good night's sleep, and I know that when baby comes, sleep will be a distant memory. I will enjoy it while I can!