23 Weeks

So last week was pretty much awful, but it lasted a week. From Sunday to Saturday, crazy pain, and then I woke up Sunday morning with no sciatic pain at all, and it is still gone. I did go on a walk yesterday, and I can't walk very fast and my legs get tired and sore very fast, but I went for a walk and enjoyed being able to get out with Julie. I even raked all of our leaves in the front yard, which was a TON. I have already wrote about my pain last week so I will not go into it anymore, just that I am so grateful to be feeling normal again and being able to get around with out the pain. I just pray that it will last.
The pictures definitely don't show it, but I feel like my normal clothes are just getting to the point of not wearing anymore, getting quite snug. Still not in maternity pants yet, but it won't be too far away because these ones are getting quite snug all around. Right now the baby is most active in the evenings and I think Julie is getting it a little more that there is a baby inside my tummy. But still don't know if she understands it. From now until the baby comes there is something every month to look forward to. First, Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then Julie's birthday, and then the baby will be here. So, we shall see how fast the next 4 months go.

Talker

This girl talks non stop, she is too funny, and she is such a little busy kid! She is also just so happy.

She has been starting to imitate everything we do - she will pretend to make a smoothie with one of her toys she has and then lick the end of the stirring wand just like I do after finishing the smoothie. I saw her with three of her little baby dolls on the floor and she was carefully wiping her hand over the top of there bodies like she was washing them.
Gives hugs around our necks, and after hugging me she will play with my hair and call it "string", don't know where she got that from. She also is finally giving kisses, instead of just leaning her head in for a kiss, she will purse her lips, and then we kiss them.

Sciatic Nerve PAIN!

Okay, so this week has definitely been the hardest of this pregnancy so far. Monday night into Tuesday morning was the worst where I couldn't even hardly walk without being in SUPER pain, and it was after doing stretches that were supposed to help. And then the rest of the week has been off and on pain, I never know when it will hit, I can be fine one minute and then the next it will just be killing me. And I can't make any sudden quick moves. Going out to the store by myself with Julie doesn't really work anymore either, for one thing it just scares me, wondering if I will make it or not. When that pain hits, I don't even want to think of moving my legs. And even if I am feeling okay, Julie has started to run into the roads and thinks it is so funny, and I can't run after her, I tried the other day when she ran after Rob leaving on his little motorcycle, I started running and then my leg buckled underneath me almost making me fall, and then just walked/limped as fast as I could after her. She made it in front of our neighbors house before I got to her. 

I did attempt to go to Old Navy the other day and when we were getting back into the car, if I wasn't holding onto her the entire time, she would laugh and try to run. She just has no fear, and even getting after her and explaining that it is dangerous and being (mean) doesn't phase her right now. So outings without Rob are kind of out of the question at the moment, I even tried going to Sams today since I was feeling so good this morning, but the second I put her into the car and strapped her up, bam, pain radiating down my leg. So, out she came and she played in the backyard for a while instead. I tell Rob, you can tell how much pain I was in during the day, if you can see my mascara under my eye from squinting my eyes from the pain. Man, sorry for complaining, but I just want to tell it how it is.

The other night I was feeling good so when Rob got home from work, we headed out because we really needed groceries and a few other things, and so we went to Hobby Lobby, because Rob needed to find some zippers, and then while we were there I found a bunch of cute fabric.

I guess Julie will get some more dresses. And then since we are procrastinators, we went to the DI to see if we could find a costume for Julie, and no such luck. So, then we got gas and ate dinner at Wendy's, and then went to Lees to pick up some groceries quick since it was getting late. It was a fun night, and I felt wonderful, although it ALWAYS feels like I just worked out, and it is that feeling of working out after not working out in forever so my thighs and bum always feel super sore. My doctor says the pain should go away when the uterus lifts up higher, and then probably will return when the baby drops and the head is down lower. My uterus is tilted, which is one of the reasons I have this pain. But, I sure hope I can get rid of it so that I can continue to exercise. I just need to focus on doing stretches and maybe using my pregnancy yoga DVD. 

And Julie was really testing me today, and broke a few things in the process. She knows she did something she wasn't supposed to because she will say, "Uh, Oh" over and over. And with the pain, I didn't really handle things very well, I was very short with her. Sorry, babe! Ahhh, she was driving me nuts today! And Rob went riding for probably the last time this year, and so he got back late and we ended up not making it to our Saturday evening session of Stake Conference. So, it has been a long day! 

Tomorrow is a new day! :)

Pumpkin Walk

Yeah, we made it to the Pumpkin Walk, I have to thank Heidi(my sister in law) for calling and talking to me. I had to go out into the garage for my phone to get service so I could hear her, and so while I was out there I stretched my leg on the stairs going into the garage for the whole time we were talking. And I believe that is what made it possible for me to make it to the Pumpkin Walk with relatively no pain for the rest of the night. So thanks! Because the night before and that morning I could barely move without being in excruciating pain going down my leg. And then in the morning, any movement at all was awful, I couldn't even crawl to get to the bathroom for a while.
We made it to the Pumpkin Walk just as all the After School Clubs got there. Julie had fun just walking along for the first little bit and then started paying attention to the scenes about halfway through.

She also loved stopping and looking at the pumpkins that were lining the walkway. She had a piece of a graham cracker that lasted about the whole way around, we had to keep reminding her to eat her graham cracker. It got a little chilly near the end, but the sun was out and it was a beautiful day.

We went about 4:00, got a good parking spot and didn't wait in any lines, so yeah for that!

 This scene is from the book "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree", which is one of the books Julie has been loving right now. It was very well done and Julie loved it.

 And then we had to get Julie as Pooh Bear at the end!

Looking at the carvings at the end of the Pumpkin Walk.

 And you always have to get a picture in front of the Pumpkin.

We had a great time and I am so glad I was able to make it!

Fun in a Box

Rob got a package in the mail yesterday and after emptying the contents out, Julie thought it was great fun to play in the box.

 Then Rob took the box outside and cut the top and bottom of the box, leaving just the sides. He came back in a drew wheels and lights and everything on the box and made Julie a little car with handles.

 Thanks Dad for so much fun!

Julie is 21 Months!

-She is definitely getting more and more independent, but not too much yet. 
-While changing her diaper she always holds one of my lotion sticks and rubs it all over her face. And then while I am reading to her before bedtime, if she has lotion on her cheeks she will take her two pointer fingers and rub them on her cheeks.

-She loves to plug her ears, she will do this while I am reading to her, so I will read louder, and she gets a kick out of this.

-Still as busy as ever, the only time she is sitting is if she is reading her books.

-Is loving all her stuffed animals right now, her favorites are Pooh Bear, Dolly, and Blankie(of course), and then she also loves her Minnie Mouse, Bear, her little baby doll, another baby doll, and some of her little stuffed animals. She will set them on the couch while she watches her Signing Time DVD's.

-Has started watching more of her Signing Time DVD's again, she will ask for them everyday saying "Baby Signing Time" while doing the baby sign. She has really started to use more signs lately from it as well. She will sign "no" while she is saying "no". Some of the signs that she uses quite frequently are "more", "no". It is so funny when she started signing "no", she will start saying no, no, no, and then she will use the sign while saying "no". 

She knows the colors by me signing them to her, but doesn't always get them right when I ask her what color something is, she will get one wrong and just start naming all the colors one after another. She can sign red, green, orange, and knows how to do yellow, just can't get her thumb and pinky finger out. She can also do some of her letters, but not very many. 

She has learned some of her opposites from signing time, like "Hot/Cold", "Dirty/Clean", "Yes/No", "You/Me".

There is a part in one of the videos that goes through signs like jump, walk, run, dance, swing, sit, swim, and sing. And while the song is playing going through all these signs, she will walk around the room, and then she will run, while saying run. It is fun to watch.
Here she is with her lovies while watching her DVD, all cozy with her favorite toys.

 I didn't catch a good picture here, but she was just laying on Robert, enjoying some time together.

Julie watching me make sugar cookies!

 Made a new dress for Julie, got the pattern online and it is super easy. I have since added a sash that goes all around and ties in the back. It was just a little too baggy looking. It turned out way cute. I have some cute brown fabric with light pink colored roses on it that I will be making her another dress out of next.

 -Since she has all her letters down, she is now making the sounds that go with them. Like she will say "M", and then really pronounced say "Mmmmmm". I love it when we pull up to a store and she will start saying letters, from the signs on the building. 

-She will now eat bananas again, I think putting a banana in her smoothie everyday has helped. It is so nice! And she also LOVES her raisins, some other things she likes are almonds, apples, string cheese, or any type of cheese, broccoli, green beans, noodles, fishy crackers, graham crackers, and smoothies.

-We replaced our gate in the kitchen with one that has a door that unlatches. This has been so nice, I hated stepping over the other one constantly every day. And this way, we can keep it open during dinner and if Julie is asleep. I also didn't want to block Julie out all the time, so this way she can have some free reign in the kitchen. And now with my sciatic nerve pinching me every time I move, it is nice to not have to get myself over the gate. Thanks honey!

-She seriously loves her books. I have a book with a collection of children's stories in it. She found it the other day and wanted me to read it to her. I have read it to her before and she would get bored after a while, so I thought that would be the same this time. Well, she just sat next to me all snuggled up while I read nearly half the book of stories to her. And we still sit and read them! She also found a Winnie the Pooh book that she likes me to read to her.
Came home from mutual tonight and Rob had gave Julie a bath and had her all ready for bed, and they were reading from this book. She loves to just snuggle right next to you. It was just so cute to see. I love to just wrap my arm around her and snuggle while we read stories together. The best thing!

22 Weeks!

 Well, on Sunday my Sciatica Pain lasted pretty much ALL DAY long, which meant a lot of walking really slow, and pain with each step I took. Oh man, and then continued today, I have been doing some Pelvic Tilts and Squats today to help alleviate the pain. And it does help for a while, I just need to keep doing it to build up my muscles. But, oh my, sciatica pain is so AWFUL, I have a doctors appointment this week so hopefully I can get some pain relief. If ANYONE has any suggestions to help me out, PLEASE leave a comment. 

Went to the Park today, but didn't actually make it to the park. Got Julie out of the car, and realized that was as far as I was going to get. Walked around to the other side and sat in the door of the car while Julie sat on the curb eating some graham crackers. Finally was able to get her in the car and strapped up and we headed home. Whoa, so painful! I was meeting someone from my ward there and just had to leave. I came home and just cried for a second, I wanted to take Julie to the park and I just couldn't, I did not like that at all. Once home, I called the doctor! The nurse called me back after work hours and gave me some stretching exercises to do, and I will say after stretching it does feel a lot better. If that doesn't help by Wednesday, I will go see a chiropractor or a physical therapist. Got to stretch that muscle! I sure hope it helps! 

We were going to go to the Pumpkin Walk tonight as well, and so I did some stretching and then we were going to head out, but realized I wasn't going to be able to do it. Walking just wasn't going to work tonight, poo, and it is supposed to rain tonight. Tomorrow is the last day, and I will be so bummed if I miss going, it will be my first year of not going. I so hope that I feel good enough to walk tomorrow.

So, other than that, the baby is moving around a lot and appears to be doing well!

21 Weeks

21 Weeks

Rob being funny, he took the picture, and was like, "Wait, where is Christin, she is not in the picture" Haha, very funny!

Julie wanted in on the picture taking, so we took one of her as well before she went to bed.

I know I keep mentioning this, but I want to remember how I felt during this pregnancy. My sciatic nerve pain in my buttocks has gotten worse this week. Like crazy sharp pains worse, I have to walk really slow and sometimes it just pinches me like no other. More often than not, the pain is there! So not fun! They say it doesn't usually start until your third trimester, so I hope it doesn't get any worse. We went to visit some family last night for my Grandpas birthday and when we got back home, I could hardly walk straight or stand from the pinching nerve. I got online and found some exercises I can do, so I am going to have to give those a try. 

This whole week the baby has been pretty mellow, and then for the last two days had been moving quite a lot. She has her active days and quiet days, that is for sure. I have started eating almonds this week, they are so good to munch on through out the day. This pregnancy is definitely harder on me this time around!

Climbing

Julie has learned how to get onto the counter in our kitchen. 

 She loves to get into my purse and play with my lotion sticks, and whatever else she can grab before I get her down. She will push a stool up to the counter and then use her smaller chair also. Although, she doesn't need her smaller chair to get up onto the stool anymore. She will also stand on the stool to reach the higher cupboards, which I do not like, I am so afraid she will fall. We have moved our stools and now use our chairs from our table since they are more sturdy, and have backs on them. I am more comfortable having her sit on those than the little stools.

And apparently she likes to read to her stuffed animals as well, I just love this picture of her!

There is always something new with this little girl and we could just eat her up. She sure is loving her books right now!

A New Tooth!

Julie is getting a new tooth coming in, it is the one in between her front teeth and her molar on her left side. Again, no complaining at all, she actually has been VERY happy lately, so while brushing her teeth last night we were peeking in to check and found this new one.

Lost Sleep

This last week the baby has not been moving quite as much! Last night she kept me up for about an hour, not from moving, but from me worrying that she wasn't moving. This morning she has been moving quite a bit. It is so nice to feel her move around and keeps me from worrying, since I already worry to much. So grateful for little baby movements!

Biting Fingernails!

Julie has been biting her fingernails or just sucking on the tips of her fingers. Is this weird? It is kind of crazy to me. I notice it a lot while we are reading books.

20 Weeks, Halfway!

Halfway, baby!

 The baby is moving a lot more now a days, usually pretty active during the middle part of the day. So fun to feel her move around! Still got the bum pains on my right side, went shopping the other day and I would have thought from all the walking that it would help it a little, nope, not the case. In fact, it probably got worse, I feel like an old lady. I have got to make sure I stand straight on both legs, like not leaning my weight on one leg, because when I go to walk or straighten up, that is when I really feel it. It is not awful but definitely not comfortable. 

On other news, I love it when I catch Julie just loving reading her books, I had to snatch this picture while she wasn't paying attention. I was cleaning dishes and heard Julie jabbering away in the front room, so I peeked in and saw her sitting there in a pile of books talking away to herself, flipping the pages to one of her books. She just looked so cute sitting there. If she would have heard me turn my camera on, I would not have been able to capture her reading there, it is not a very good picture, but I love it. I really love it that she likes to read and look at the pages by herself as well as have us read her books.

 Julie having fun in her bath tonight, her favorite toy is a plastic cup that she uses to catch water in from the faucet. We keep the water running just a little so that she can do this. Rob has been having fun after shampooing her hair. Her hair is getting so long.

 It has been a good week, other than the storm that came in and brought with it some cold weather. Definitely feeling like Fall now.

Window watching!

Julie loves to look out he window, or I will open the door and let her stand in the doorway and look outside. She will watch the bus that goes by around lunchtime, watch our neighbors leave, she just loves to look out the window.

I love her little curly que that her hair does in the back.

Got her to give me some cute smiles as well.

Love her cheeser face!

And her smoocher, kissy face, only if she would actually give kisses:(

She also loves her playdoh, not the actual playdoh, but the containers to the playdoh, she always wants the lid off. She won't touch the playdoh inside, so I took it out so that it would not dry out and stuck it in a plastic bag. She loves the container though!

She is one crazy little girl!