32 weeks with Griffin

*How far along?: 32 weeks -- 8 months!
*How big is your baby?: head of lettuce...about 4 pounds now!

*Total weight gain?: 17 pounds as of my last visit...I go back on Friday & will revisit the dreaded scale!
*Sex: boy!

*Maternity clothes: I have turned into the mom that wears my running shorts (ha! I've never been running!) & either tank tops or Ben's t-shirts every single day. It's almost too hot for clothes, but I think I would offend people if I adopted that motto.

*Stretch marks: not yet & crossing my fingers it stays that way!

 *Movement: Griffin is getting SO strong! I've been able to see the movements for a long time, but now the movement is slowing down and you can see his little body parts moving around. He is still moving the most at night. According to my phone, he has already kind of figured out his sleeping schedule...soooo, that should be fun.

*Sleep: Benadryl helps a little but I am just so uncomfortable that I wake up all night long.  

*Symptoms: y'all, I really can't breathe. I was just telling Ben how terrible it is to feel like I can never fully catch my breath...even when I am just sitting down! It feels like I have a cinder block laying on my lungs 24/7. I'll be happy when that goes away!

*Best moment this week: Grayson's room is COMPLETE! We found an awesome bookshelf yesterday & now everything is in there. I love it!

*Food cravings: water, water, water. I swear the more I drink, the more I want. That's a good thing!
*Labor signs: just some BH contractions
*Belly button in or out: it's out and proud.

*What I miss: on these really hot nights? a Blue Moon. 

*What I'm looking forward to: putting away the baby clothes that are currently being washed. I found ALL of G's precious newborn outfits that he never got to wear. I'm kind of hoping that Griffin will be a teensy bit smaller so that these cute clothes can at least be worn once!

Touch-a-Truck

It is no secret that Grayson loves trucks. He talks about trucks all day long & it will be a sad day in our house when the construction on our street ends.  I was so excited when I found out a few weeks ago that one of our local parks was doing a free Touch-a-Truck event. They were going to have 25 trucks for kids to look at & explore...heaven for G!

Here's the happy boy all ready to go! He had to wear his bulldozer outfit. He kept pointing it out to everyone & telling them about his "truck."

The ladder fire truck? Obsessed. G saw it immediately when we started walking in to the park and said, "whoa! whoa!" He was SO excited! 

I'm glad this was the first truck we saw because it was 91 degrees & this pregnant girl was HOT. I looked pretty rough by the time we left. Grayson was so happy to be able to sit inside of the ladder truck! 

My proud little boy:)

This was the biggest mower I have ever seen. Grayson is also obsessed with lawnmowers and weed eaters right now...this kid pushes his mower all day! We hear the words "mowa" & "eater" on a regular basis. G's eyes got so big when he saw this gigantic mower...it cracked me up! He hopped right on up & didn't want to leave. He loved sitting on the "mowa!"

He hung out in the shovel of a bulldozer. 

"Mama! Truck!"

Grayson started doing his little siren sound as soon as we saw the ambulance. This was our last truck to look at & G made the most of it. He climbed right up onto the stretcher! Don't worry, I made sure to tell him that I hope he never really has to ride in one of those. He thought it was pretty cool, though. 

G had such a great time and I am already excited to do this again! What do you think we did when we got home? You got it...sat in the backyard at his "construction site" and played with trucks. Such a boy!

He is enough.

Everyone has those days. You know, those days where nothing seems to be happening the way you want it to & you just kind of feel like a let down.  That was my day yesterday & I can still feel it lingering on this morning. 

{I could also feel off to a bad start because the power went out, turned off G's music & sound machine, & startled him awake at 4:45am...but, that's another story.}

Nothing extreme happened yesterday, it just wasn't the best day ever. My car was being worked on ALL day, G only napped for 40 minutes, I felt sick off & on, and I just had negative thoughts.  Those annoying thoughts that you start to over-think & they just totally consume your brain. Yeah, those. Am I being the best mom I can be? Am I being the best wife I can be? Do I need to contribute more to our little family? Am I ready to have a new baby again? Will I be able to handle 2 kids at once? One little thought spirals out of control.

It's amazing to me that in those moments, when I don't feel like I am enough, the Lord just speaks to me. He is enough. That is what replayed over & over in my head last night as I was falling asleep. A reassuring way to end a not-so-great day. 

He is enough. I do the best that I can & am a work in progress, but HE is enough.  And goodness, I need to write that all over my mirror so I can remember that I will never be perfect. No matter how hard I try. And I'm not supposed to be. 

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." - 2 Corinthians 12:9

 

a random hodgepodge of stuff

I know I'm probably the last to hop on this bandwagon, but I finally bought a Scentsy warmer a couple of months ago and am obsessed. Amber Road is what is currently in the warmer and it smells so good.  For a while I was only buying the Tyler candles but now I think I'll stick to Scentsy. My favorite part? It can't burn my overly adventurous toddler. Win, win! 

Source: etsy.com via Laura on Pinterest

I bought these monthly stickers for Griffin this week. I got them on Etsy and she does the colors seasonally based on when your baby is born. I love that! They turned out SO cute & I can't wait to see them on Griffin!

Ben & I have started watching Hatfields & McCoys. See? I really have traded in my trashy reality for this stuff. I've lost my mind. This show is addicting but all these people are absolutely insane.  Have you watched this??

The shock collars came in on Tuesday and were worth every single penny. (trust me, they cost a lot of pennies) My house is quiet. Well, except for the screeching child. The furry children though? They are QUIET. 

So I am pretty sure, based on stalking other people's birth/hospital pictures, that I am the only mama that was not allowed to wear my own pajamas after G was born. I had to wear that annoying sheet that they call a robe for 3 days. This time? I am rebelling. I will wear my own things that actually stay on. I need some nursing tanks. I read reviews on the Old Navy ones & were not too wonderful. Any suggestions?

I mentioned yesterday that it is my birthday month. Birthdays are not nearly as fun after your 21st. There is one thing I am looking forward to though:

a double doozie. Not just a regular double doozie, but a double doozie cake! Yep. That's what I'm REALLY excited for. How many more days until June 23rd??

So What! Wednesday

This week I am saying SO WHAT if...

• it totally stresses me out and overwhelms me that there are THREE different Real Housewives seasons on at the same time? That's a little too much female drama at once for me. 
• I think I am getting old based solely on the fact that I record all these trashy shows but then once I start watching them I just turn them off instead? I'm losing interest. These days I am more concerned with Duck Dynasty, Amish: Out of Order (I am obsessed with all things amish), & Game of Thrones. Okay, and Don't Be Tardy For The Wedding. I must have one trashy Bravo show thrown in there.
• I took a shower after I got home from Goodwill on Monday? I always feel like I have lice or fleas when I leave that place. 
• I told the mail man yesterday he was my new best friend when he delivered our dog's shock collars? I really wanted to hug his neck! {sidenote: dogs were going NUTS inside while all this was happening. ironic?}
• it has been really hard for me to remember if I am turning 27 or 28 this month? I mean, who can't remember how old they are?! I blame toddler mama brain combined with pregnancy brain. {I'm turning 27, btw. I think.} 
• I cleaned out several drawers today and made a huge Goodwill pile BUT kept one really cute bikini? I mean, just in case I turn into a MILF after Griffin is born, right?

Go link up with Shannon! 

happenings

• I believe that "nesting" has officially kicked in. Last time I was about 8 months pregnant, I decided it would be a great time to paint & redecorate our guest bedroom. Well, this past weekend I decided that we would finally hang things that have been leaning against walls for, well, a really long time. Our computer room finally has a CUTE Ballard mirror and painting..you know, over 3 years after we moved in. The computer room is this pregnancy's guest room. I am ready for it to be complete & actually look like a real room. 

I have been scouring Craigslist daily for a table/chairs set like this to put in the computer room. I mean, G needs a place to make his masterpieces "pieces" & play with his gazillions of stickers.

• I went to Goodwill yesterday in search of a table & chairs set and found this beauty instead! ....for $19.99! I mean, really, that's the best deal ever. We've been wanting a kitchen for Grayson and were originally thinking about getting one right before Griffin got here. BUT, I couldn't pass this up! 
• I am pretty sure we may have the greatest neighbors ever. Seriously. We got so lucky! Leslianna & Andy threw us a little diaper/prayer party for Griffin on Sunday with lots of our sweet friends from church. It was so fun! We were spoiled rotten with tons of diapers & it was so special having people we love pray for our baby boy. 

I think we are set for a long time!

• Grayson is still obsessed with the new stroller. At any given moment, if it's very quiet, this is what he will be doing:

• I ordered Griffin's monthly stickers this week. Now that I'm buying things just for Griffin, it suddenly seems real. I can't believe we will have a new baby in this house at the end of next month. I can't wait to see this sweet boy!
• I can't get over all of the new words that Grayson is saying. He is such a little parrot! We are watching my friend's little dog Millie right now and he can't stop talking about "Milla." I heard him on the monitor this morning shouting, "Milla! Milla! Milla! Jack! Milla!" ha!

31 weeks with Griffin

*How far along?: 31 weeks...all morning I thought I was 32 weeks. Sorry, 2nd baby. You are harder to keep track of!
*How big is your baby?: head of lettuce...over 3 pounds!

*Total weight gain?: 17ish pounds
*Sex: boy!

*Maternity clothes: sooo...here's my rant: the spandex panel is like wearing a sauna suit; my shirts are getting too short or show too much boobage; my bras are uncomfortable; I pretty much only like to wear dresses.

*Stretch marks: not yet & crossing my fingers it stays that way!

 *Movement: Griffin moves a lot (still at night...hmph) and his movements are getting really strong.

*Sleep: awful, horrible, no good. HOWEVER, I took a benadryl last night and slept for the first time in 3 night...amazing. 

*Symptoms: Is walking up the stairs and being out of breath a symptom?

*Best moment this week: Grayson's room is ALL DONE...other than the fact that we can't find a bookshelf we like. We hung a bunch of other things in the house, too. Hello, nesting.

*Food cravings: fruit & anything cold!
*Labor signs: just some BH contractions
*Belly button in or out: out. I don't want to talk about it.

*What I miss: a normal belly button.

*What I'm looking forward to: hanging Griffin's name in his room!