Bumpdate :: 15 Weeks

This is quickly becoming a "Bump Only" zone and for that I apologize. I'll get back to blogging about other pointless happenings sometime soon. Or not. Who knows.

We took pictures tonight at 6:30 pm, after I had thrown my hair up in a pony tail but before I changed into my pajamas for the evening, which consist of any t-shirt that still fits me and baggy sweatpants (you're welcome). Gracyn, though, is def sporting pjs. She got extra dirty during dinner and went straight to the tub to hose off.

15 weeks has come and is almost gone. This is flying by to say the least...

Bumpdate :: 14 Weeks

Week 14 has been good to me. My parents were here babysitting Gracyn for a few days, we had quality family time this past weekend, and I've decided wearing black - and only black - makes me look feel not-so-large. You can find me wearing black from now until Week 40.

And happy 17 MONTHS to this little love. She celebrated by protesting bedtime. Bedtime has been a breeze these last few months. We would read a story and then she'd be ready to lay in her crib and fall asleep on her own. Tonight? Not so much. She might be teething but she was too pissed at me for trying to put her to bed that I didn't dare stick my finger in her mouth to check. It seems early to be getting her second molars but I think that might be the norm for her. She had her first molars before her 1st birthday so maybe she's just ahead of the game when it comes to sprouting chompers. We'll see.

Teething or not, she is the best little girl. We love her. And I cannot believe she's 17 months old...

Five on Friday

It's Friday. Amen.

{ONE :: Baby Numero Dos}

I'm so glad to have the baby news out in the open! It's already a different pregnancy the second time around. The main thing being that I am ginormous. Like, so big. I'll have to have a chitchat with my doctor next week about the large fetus growing inside me. I'm sure it's normal - everyone says you get/feel bigger faster the 2nd time around. It's just taken me by surprise, I guess.

Of course I'm already planning and thinking about everything we need to do before baby arrives. Most of it centers around Gracyn and getting her ready to share the spotlight. We are moving her into a different bedroom complete with a big girl bed and everything. I can't decide if we should do this before or after the baby gets here? I don't want to rush her out of the crib - she is still my baby after all - but she'll be almost two by then so we'll see. Daycare thinks she'll be ready to start potty training around that same time but I'm thinking we'll wait on that one. Making sure she goes potty every 20 minutes and/or cleaning up accidents while trying to care for a newborn doesn't seem all that exciting.

One thing's for sure though - she will be the best big sis.

{TWO :: Grandma and Papa are here!}

My parents are down this week babysitting Gracyn while daycare is closed for a few days. It's always fun to watch her with them. She's a lucky gal.

{THREE :: C'mon Baby Girl!}

My bestie Kelsi is patiently awaiting the birth of her little girl. Looks like the little miss is taking her sweet time and will come when she's good and ready! I can't wait for her to arrive. Kels will be the best mama and Gracyn can't wait to meet her new best friend.

{FOUR :: 10 Years}

My 10 year high school reunion is in Sioux Falls this weekend. Ten. Years. It seems like yesterday and yet I hardly remember high school - if that makes sense.

I was lucky to have a core group of girlfriends and the 6 of us still keep in touch as much as we can. We're all married or getting married or having babies or raising toddlers and it's crazy to think we've been friends for 15-ish years! We will be reunited in August for Meghan's wedding bash and I cannot wait. It is good for my soul when we all get back together.

{FIVE :: Family Time}

My older brother and his family are moving to Lincoln, NE for his new job in a few weeks. We are having a little family get together this weekend and I'm excited to spend some time with them and the kiddos. We are bummed they're moving away but so excited for them as they start this new adventure. Plus, they're moving to my old college stomping grounds so I'll be excited to go visit sooner rather than later. Go Big Red!

You know the drill - linking up with the best!

Bumpdate :: 13 Weeks

Life's a peach…

…a very, very large peach.

First off, the size of my belly is just not right. I mean, huge. I'm pretty sure I didn't look this pregnant at 20 weeks with Gracyn so I am mentally prepared to give birth to a 29 pound child come December.

Yay!

Bumpdate :: 5 - 12 Weeks

Ah, yes. What's a Mommy Blog without pictures of a baby bump?!?

I don't think you can technically call yourself a mommy blogger until you chronicle the miracle that is growing a tiny human inside your person. Not that I call myself a "mommy blogger" or anything like that because I'm pretty sure you have to blog more often than once every 17 days and have an actual following. But, you get the idea.

I won't bore you with the details of how much weight I've gained (I've already stopped caring…) or what I'm craving on a weekly basis (ice cream, ice cream and more ice cream…) but I do plan on taking a picture every week. I took a picture every 5 weeks with Gracyn and it was so fun to go back afterwards and see the transformation and how much she was growing.

This time, I thought it'd be a hoot to include Gracyn in on the madness. You know, prepare her for being a big sister. Make her feel included and important. Yada, yada, yada. Justin is our profesh photographer and the minutes we spend taking these precious pictures has become his favorite time of the week. Not really. Cuz I'm a crazy person and Gracyn is always running around the room like a mad-woman trying to eat whatever food item is in her hand. But he's a good sport.

There are several pregnancy calendars out there that compare the size of your fetus to random fruits and/or vegetables from week to week. It starts out as a teeny, tiny appleseed and by week 40, you are carrying around something the size of a jackfruit. WTF is a jackfruit, anyway?

I'm using The Bump's week-by-week calendar as a point of reference since it seems like we have most of the items in the house on any given day, minus the jackfruit, obviously. But I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

I truly love the calendar put out by Pregnant Chicken. Amy is a genius and she's hilarious and I look forward to my weekly emails because I literally LOL every time. I wanted to use her calendar but she compares your fetus to things like a miniature ewok attacking a squirrel and footlong submarine sandwiches and I just don't have these things laying around the house, ya know what I mean? Check out her site even if you're not pregnant. She's great.

Anyway, back to my fetus. Without further adieu, weeks 5-12 for your baby bump enjoyment…you know you love it.

By 6 weeks, I wanted to trade in my regular pants for stretchy maternity leggings on a full-time basis which is completely normal, right? By week 8, Gracyn grasped the concept of a baby in my tum tum and now likes to randomly point to everyone's belly button and say "baby." By 12 weeks, I was bumpin' like whoa...

Second trimester, here we come.

…and baby makes four!

…or five? If you count Rufus, that is...

We are so excited to announce that Baby Oakley #2 will be joining our family in December! Gracyn will be the best big sister, we just know it. She learned to say "baby" and is already loving on this sweet babe in my tummy. I can't wait to see these two grow up together and become best friends (after one or a hundred sibling squabbles, of course…).

Sweet baby, we love you so much already. We can't wait to meet you in December!

 

*After I showed my mom these pictures, she questioned whether or not it was a picture of TWO separate babies or two pictures of the SAME baby. While I was convinced - as in, I would have bet a substantial amount of money - that we were having twins the doc confirmed there is just ONE bun in the oven. I'm just about to start my 2nd trimester and I already look feel massive and verrrry pregnant, which is terrifying since we have a long ways to go still. As long as babe is healthy, that's all that matters, right? Right. I'll just be rockin' my waddle and maternity leggings from now until December.

DIY :: Spray Painting a Rocking Chair

Or in my case….

Prime. Spray paint. Paint with a brush. Spray paint again. Give up.

I've decided I'm no good with spray paint.

I was bored during Saturday's nap time and was meandering around the house looking for a project. I ventured into our dingy basement and found this rocking chair. It belonged to Justin's dad and after we moved him into assisted living, the chair came to live with us. In the hole. Where we never go. Our basement is in serious need of a little TLC but that's another day and another blog post.

I wiped the dirt and grime off the chair and decided to paint it. I knew I had a few cans of white spray paint out in the garage. And bonus! While I was digging through my "old paint" collection, I found a can of primer and went to town. Except it wasn't going so well.

I ran out of primer in approximately 3 minutes and only primed half the chair. Instead of going to the store to buy more primer, I just decided to "wing it" and move forward with layers of white paint instead.

Cue Pretty Woman reference. Big Mistake. Big. Huge. After going through 2 cans of spray paint, my chair looked like this:

Not cute. I had one can of spray paint left (...and don't ask me why I had so many cans of spray paint. I have no idea where they came from or why I was hoarding them in my garage) but I didn't want to waste it. So, I went back and found some old trim paint that we had used for our dining room makeover and decided to use it to paint the rest of the chair/fill in the spots where my spray painting abilities failed me.

I should mention that the old trim paint was a little dried out (or something?) and was thicker than it should have been. It was almost sticky. Yeah, I'm not quite sure what I was thinking. But I was already committed to the project and figured it couldn't hurt so I used it…

Ahhh.. not too shabby if I don't say so myself! It actually wasn't looking half bad after I coated it with the sticky paint. I went ahead and gave the chair a final coat with my remaining spray paint. You know, to even it out…. or something.

By this time, I was over it and the little lady was waking up from her siesta so I decided to call it a day. It was painted and it looked better than it did before I decided to half-ass this project and I call that a win!