I Came in Like a Bowling Ball.

So, at 29 weeks, I think I finally look pregnant now.

People have gone from asking, "Umm... So are there any changes in your family?"
 or "Anything new with you guys?"

...To saying, "Oh wow, look at you and that little bump! When are you due?!"

Yeah... 

I'm pretty sure someone put a 8 lb. bowling ball in my shirt when I wasn't looking. 

That bowling ball is starting to kick less, and does more of some kind of tumble/roll-overs/somersault thing now. 

I think.

 I have no clue what she's doing half the time, but she moves 23 hours I day! 

I feel like I'm on a constant rocking boat. 

 I love watching her wave across my stomach, as weird as it feels. Unless I'm at work... That's not cool kid, mommy needs to focus! 

I keep telling her to save the gymnastics for home, but she doesn't listen. 

Hmm, stubborn little thing, reminds me of someone else I know.

She also kicks the hardest when Brandon is taking a nap and the dishes are done, the toys are picked up and I finally have a second to sit down and relax...
This means she has my mean sense of humor. 

I'm pretty sure I hear her in there, laughing at me, "Mwaahaha, you wanna relax lady?!" 

Yeah... I'm in trouble. 

 

According to the internet, my baby is now about the size of a butternut squash, and weighs around 2.5 lbs.

 I think the internet is a liar. 

I'm pretty sure there's an elephant rolling around inside this massive orb. 

 

I've been asked if I'm reading any pregnancy books... Well... Here's my list:

Haa.

 I'm reading Ina May's birthing book for education, but I'm seriously, thoroughly enjoying Jenny McCarthy's book. So much brutal truth, I laugh so hard.

(Um yeah, and the big brother book is for Brandon, of course.) 

I also try to keep myself (uh, I mean the baby) happy by giving (us) things we need. Like chocolate ice cream and sweets. 

No, not the fatty, yucky, sugary stuff...

 I haven't caved yet!

 I'm determined to stay healthy through this whole pregnancy thing!
 

Especially after going through that disgusting Glucose test, where they make sure you haven't gotten 2nd trimester diabetes. I'm pretty sure that syrup they made me drink actually gave my baby diabetes though. SO. Freaking. Gross.

 

As the nurse took my blood sample, she asked me how I liked the drink. I told her, "it tastes like Orange soda, with no water in it. And I don't even drink soda, it's too sweet".

 She looked at me like I was nuts! 

So I told her, "I don't see ANY point in putting that nasty corn syrup, sugary liquid, with no health benefit into my body... unless I really need to burp".

Again, she just started at me.

well, you're the one that brought it up nursey-nurse!

 I'd hope you would know the disgusting nature of all forms of soda, being an RN and all that. 

(She probably had a diet coke hiding in the back... and I bet I offended her. Good!!)

 

 

Need sweet stuff?! 

I've discovered if you add Pomegranate seeds to anything, it instantly becomes sweet! 

(those are Overnight Oats, with flaxseed, chia seeds and Greek yogurt, yum!)
 

Pomegranates all day, everyday! 

Salads, yogurt, smoothies, whole wheat waffles, you name it, they'll go great on it!

 And icecream? Sure! 

It's made from coconut milk though.
 

Whatever keeps me away from the huge frozen cookie dough container Matt is hiding in the freezer. 

So that's about it for the preggo updates.
 

....

In other news, our completely adorable 22 month old son is officially up for adoption! 

His birth parents "parental rights" were officialy terminated in court last week! Now his social workers are waiting for the final paper work in the mail to start the adoption court process! Wooo!

Brandon is growing by the second. He's trying to copy every word I say. His favorite words are:
 food, "Fooo!" And bath, "bubble!!!" And snack, "Shnaaa!"

He also sings his ABCs, "AaaB-eeeB! Aaab...EeeeeeBee" 

...and he loves to share his toys and snacks with our pets. 

What a kid!

He's our entertainment 24/7. Even the way he sleeps is hilarious.
Poor guy, all we do is laugh at him. ALL the time! But at least he has a good personality and laughs right back...even if he has no clue what it's all about.

I'm thinking now that his adoption process is coming along, we might be able to post some REAL pics soon... we'll see!

Stay tuned ;)
 

Pumpkins, Muffins and Munchkins

Well, it's Nov. 1st.

We now have:

1 week until Matt's 29th birthday,

4 weeks until Thanksgiving, 

8 weeks until Christmas, 

10 weeks until Brandon's 2nd Birthday,
...And 13 weeks until this baby girl is due! 

Yikes! 

Something tells me the next three months are going to fly by at warp speed. 

Brandon has been with us for 3 months now! 

It seems like forever! It feels like he's always been here, and hard to remember what life was like before Cheerios, diapers and nap time. 

But we sure love every minute!

We've been to Disneyland a lot lately and Brandon is completely enjoying every trip!

 

In honor of Fall, we visited the Irvine Park Pumpkin Patch last month with our close friends and their 3 kids... Too much fun! 

The hay maze was a hit, (and it was free, which is always a huge help).

 

Brandon and I have also spent a lot of time making healthy gluten free pumpkin muffins and cookies.

He's responding very well to gluten free food and less cheese. He never gets sugary foods, and that's always a healthy help. 

He does love natural sugary foods like apples and bananas though, so those are always a fun treat.
 

I'm almost 28 weeks pregnant now, and still attempting to stay active and eat healthy. 

It's a little hard being back at work part time since my job involves so much physical work... I just want to be lazy the next day and keep my feet up. Which is completely impossible with a toddler. So good thing I have him, or I'd be a major couch potato! 

 I definitely feel so much better when I'm on my Paleo diet, but I know this baby-girl needs the whole grains so I'll throw those in occasionally too. Then of course somehow  there's always weekend pizza... That's just a baaaad idea! 

In the battle between crappy fast food and heart burn, my heart burn wins big, every time. That's enough to keep healthier food for me in our fridge for sure! 

Plus Paleo cooking is so much fun when you have to get creative since you can't use regular flour, butter or sugar!

Delicious!! 

(Healthy, delicious, fun food!)

 

 We had a fun night taking Brandon trick-or-treating to 3 houses last night. 

He started out in a hilarious monkey outfit, but couldn't walk in it, so we changed to "Cowboy" last minute. He was too cute since he matched Daddy... And I barely squeezed into my Minion shirt that I bought 3 weeks ago... Dang! that bump is gettin' big! 

All in all, it's been a great start to Fall!

 

Oh! And Brandon's adoption social worker came by the other day for his monthly visit... 

She told me that she is going to attempt to push our adoption papers forward beginning now! This means we don't have to wait until the end of his 6 month probation with us to start papers!

 By starting the process now, hopefully we will be heading to our final Adoption court dates in mid Feb to March instead of during next summer! 

God's got a plan, we're just here for the ride!