Bumpdate 23 Weeks

Sorry for the off-center picture & view of our comforter.  I took this using my camera timer last week because Michael had already left for work.  I've been meaning to crop this picture or have Michael take a new one but finally decided to just post it rather than delay this update even longer...

How Far Along:  23 weeks

Gender:  It's a boy!  The doctor got another look at my 20 week appointment.  Then I had my high tech ultrasound at the imaging center a few days later - it's definitely a boy!  He was not shy at my ultrasound appointment & had his legs open - the tech even was laughing about it.

Movement:  I've been feeling him all the time for the last month or so.  He's very active - just like his older brother was.  Lots of kicks & pushes.  Michael got to feel him about a week ago.  We were watching a movie at home & the baby was having a dance party or something.  Michael used to call Alex "Pele" after the soccer player because he kicked so much.  I think this one might be "Pele Jr".

Sleep:  It's ok.  I get up at least once a night to use the bathroom & sometimes I have a hard time going back to sleep.  Very annoying.

Maternity Clothes:  As you can see, I definitely look pregnant.  I haven't broken out my maternity clothes yet.  I've been wearing a lot of skirts & dresses & using the BeBand with pants.  I need to get my maternity clothes out, but I've been putting it off because I need to wash them & I can't find our extra hangers.  I'm sure they're in some random box somewhere in our house!

Symptoms:  Been feeling good.  Moving to the new house wore me out, but we're getting settled.  My allergies have been really bothering me (and my asthma) but that's about it.  It's manageable & I'll take it over feeling like I did in the first trimester!

Aversions:  Nothing noticeable.  Certain foods don't sound good to me depending on the day but I haven't been disgusted by anything.

Cravings:  Oddly enough, lattes.  I don't even like coffee very much.  I'll occasionally drink frou frou coffee drinks like flavored lattes but they have to have a lot of sugar.  I've been a little more of a latte drinker since going to Italy in 2010, but I'd only drink them every once in awhile.  But for the last few months, I have CRAVED lattes & here's the kicker - I want just a plain latte with no sugar.  I've never liked coffee drinks without sugar!  Now lattes pop into my head all day long.  What sounds good in the morning?  A creamy latte.  What about at 1 pm?  Oh yeah, a nice latte.  10 pm?  I'd kill for a latte.  It didn't help that for over a month, I had to drive by a drive through Starbucks location every morning taking Alex from the apartment to daycare.  I allow myself a little caffeine here & there (I go off the March of Dimes recommendation that you not consume more than 200 mg of caffeine a day).  Most days I don't have any caffeine but I don't worry about the occasional glass of tea or Coke.  I've been letting myself have one latte a week but lately it isn't cutting it.  Two lattes a week isn't that bad, right??  I mean, I get the small size.  Has anyone read any articles lately saying a latte a day while pregnant is not only healthy but recommended?  Please pass it my way.  I'm begging you!

Best Moment This Week:  Now that we're in the new house & have unpacked a little, I finally allowed myself to think about the baby's room.  I don't think I'll go all out with the bedding & decorations, but I plan on getting a new crib & doing some kind of color theme.  I'm thinking about a white crib, which should go with the natural wood changing table we used for Alex.  I found a few on Amazon I liked that were reasonably priced.  I also found a color scheme I like.  I ordered a blanket today, so I can see if I like it in person.  I'll post more once I get further along in the planning process.  I feel like I've neglected this baby a little since I haven't bought anything for him yet but we've been busy.  Plus, we already have a lot of baby stuff from Alex that we'll use.  But it was exciting to start thinking about getting the room together for this little guy.  J

Finishing Touches

Michael & I have been thinking about how we want to decorate the new house for months now.  Our first impulse is to go buy all new furniture & decor but that doesn't really fit in the budget.  We've been making a list of all the things we'd like to buy/do, so we can prioritize what we really need & what can wait.

We knew a dining room table would be high on the list.  We didn't have a big dining room at our last house & have been using a small table with four chairs.  Our new house has a huge dining room, which will be used for every day eating since we don't have a kitchen nook.  Our current table would look ridiculous in the big room.  Plus, we've been wanting more seating for awhile now.  We went back & forth on what we wanted.  Luckily, we agree mainly on style but we weren't sure if we wanted to buy a really nice table that would last a long time or something less expensive that we'd probably need to replace in 5-10 years.  There were pros & cons for each side but in the end, we fell in love with a table & everything else felt like we were settling.  It wasn't cheap but compromised by not buying the chairs we liked yet.  We're going to use the chairs we have for a little while or buy some less expensive chairs that match closely enough.  That way we won't spend our whole furniture budget on one room.  We went with a Thomasville table & I love it.  Well, we picked it out online & won't have it for a couple months, but I love the pictures & think I'll love it in person, too.

Our next purchase was new bar stools.  We love our bar stools from the old house, but the new house has a counter level island instead of bar height.  The tall stools just won't work.  We found these on Amazon & ordered them on Saturday.  Can't wait to get them in the mail!

Next on the list is paint.  The house comes with one color on all the walls & one color on the trim.  We know we want to paint a few rooms a different color, but we decided to do it ourselves rather than have the builder do it.  I think as of now, we're leaning toward the study, the master bedroom & the guest bathroom.  We're going to keep the entry, kitchen, dining room & great room the color the builder painted since those rooms are all connected.  We're not sure how we're going to decorate the kids' rooms or the guest bedroom yet, so we're holding off on those.

Here are our current thoughts on the three rooms we want to paint.

STUDY
We're thinking about a bluish gray color & are leaning toward Software (Sherwin Williams).  The room has vaulted ceilings & a big window, so I think we can get away with a darker color.

MASTER BEDROOM
I originally was thinking a light gray color but am now leaning toward a grayish green color.  My current fave is Svelte Sage (Sherwin Williams).

I've found some pictures online of people who used this color on their walls & I really like it.

GUEST/KIDS BATHROOM
We were drawing a blank until Michael suggested a light yellow (actually he said a grayish yellow, which we aren't sure exists, but I knew he was meaning he didn't want anything too bright).  I found one called Lucent Yellow (Sherwin Williams) & it's currently in the lead.

I would like to do turquoisey blue accents with this - bath rug, towels, etc, but Michael's not sold on that idea yet.  I think the blue would make the bathroom kid friendly but also tasteful for guests.

(By the way, it feels totally weird to refer to our "kids".  I'm a visual person & I don't think it will feel normal pluralizing the word until the baby is born & I can see for myself that I indeed have two - ha).

Can you tell we like gray?  I just realized that I referenced gray in all three of my picks.  Hey, at least we're consistent!  Hopefully we'll knock out painting the weekend of the 21st.  An employee at Sherwin Williams told us they're having a 40% off sale that starts that day.  Score!

I know it will take time to get the house how we want it, but I love checking stuff off my list!

Go!

I started this post on Saturday on my phone, but couldn't figure out how to attach pictures.  I'm usually pretty computer savvy but oh well...

Alex is always on the go.  One example?  Lately he has been very vocal in the car.  Any time I slow to a stop, he yells - Go!  He just started doing it on his own - I don't think we've ever said Go while in the car.  It's pretty funny.  He doesn't quite understand why I don't follow his command.  We've been trying to teach him red means stop & green means go.  He'll say stop sometimes but he loves go.  He says it with such urgency, too.  He'll laugh & say it over & over again until the light turns green.  He gets really excited when we finally go.  Today he started saying - Go, Mama, go!  Such a bossy boy!  It makes us laugh, though.

I stopped to get gas last week & asked if he wanted to go.  I took pictures while he laughed & said - Go!  Silly monkey.

In other news, we closed on our new house!  I'll plan on posting pictures in about three years, which is how long I feel like it's going to take to unpack & get the house in decent condition.  I'm so glad to be in the house but I'm overwhelmed.  Work is crazy, we still aren't completely out of the apartment, I'm tired & pregnant & I have an energetic toddler.  What was I thinking??  I wish I could spend two weeks unpacking & organizing with no distractions.  Oh well, at least I can send Alex outside to his new, big yard to keep him out of the boxes!