Month one: Bodie

2 weeks

3 weeks

4 weeks

39 weeks

How far along? 39 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Up 28 pounds as of this morning, and definitely feeling every single pound...ughhh. I actually lost 6 lbs a few weeks ago when I was sick and haven't gained any weight since.

Maternity clothes? Yes and no. My normal jeans still fit below my belly and I don't wear maternity shirts - but I love my maternity dresses!

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep: I feel like I have figured out the "pillow" situation  and how to prop myself up enough to sleep decently. 

Best moment this week: Scheduling an induction date - Thursday morning, April 9th. :) I will be 39 weeks 1 day.

Have you told family and friends: Everyone

Movement: TONS, all the time.
Heartburn? Yes, horrible! I'm popping Zantac like it's candy. :)

Food cravings: Coconut Chobani Yogurt Flips - loove them!

Anything making you queasy or sick: I have actually felt better the last few weeks! I was FOR REAL sick a few weeks ago and since then haven't thrown up hardly at all (maybe just a few times here or there). I still feel very nauseous if I drink a lot of water after I eat or if I eat too early in the morning. 

Have you started to show yet: No need to answer this question haha.

Gender prediction: It's a BOY!! :)

Labor Signs:  Doctor says I am at a 3, lots of contractions on Saturday, tons and tons of Braxton Hicks that are more painful than before, and some other signs that I feel aren't necessary to write on my blog haha. 

Belly Button in or out? In, but completely flat. ALMOST out.
Baby Name Ideas:  We have two names, and will decide when we meet him. We are keeping it a surprise though. :) I think it's more fun that way. 

Wedding rings on or off? On, no swelling at all

Happy or Moody most of the time: Depends on the time of day (nothing abnormal haha)

36 weeks

How far along? 36 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Up 25 pounds, and definitely feeling every single pound...ughhh

Maternity clothes? I am loving leggings and stretchy jeans these days - I do have one pair of black maternity jeans that I've had since I was pregnant with Ava and I live in those. 

Stretch marks? No....I've been lucky so far to not get them with my other two, and not yet with this one...4 more weeks, I hope I don't get them at the last minute!

Sleep: Ugh. My back hurts if I sleep on one side, I can't breathe if I sleep on my back of course...so I sleep on my side with one pillow wedged behind my back, one propping up my massive belly and one between my legs. hahaha. Once I get comfortable, I do NOT move. 

Best moment this week: Ava kisses my belly all the time and talks to her little brother. She says, "I love you little brother!" And she loves to ask questions about him and just about babies in general. One funny one was, "Mom, what color does baby's poop?" I explained that usually little babies poop is yellow and now every time I change Gavin's diaper, she reminds me of her fun new fact about babies - not in a silly, gross way...just very matter-of-fact. I am so excited to see her with the baby, she will be my big helper girl. 

Have you told family and friends: Everyone

Movement: TONS, all the time. Bryson saw my belly moving like crazy from across the room the other day and was freaking out.
Heartburn? Yes, horrible! I'm popping Zantac like it's candy. :)

Food cravings: Tacos? Girl Scout cookies? IDK, nothing in particular, but everything at the same time. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: I still feel very nauseous in the mornings, but don't throw up every day anymore! Just every few days instead. 

Have you started to show yet: Um, yes. I am a whale haha. 

Gender prediction: It's a BOY!! :)

Labor Signs:  No, but I have braxton hicks contractions ALL the time. Sometimes painful, which I never experienced with either of my kids before. 

Belly Button in or out? In, but completely flat. 
Baby Name Ideas:  We have two names, and will decide when we meet him. We are keeping it a surprise though. :) I think it's more fun that way. 

Wedding rings on or off? On, no swelling at all

Happy or Moody most of the time: Depends on the time of day (nothing abnormal haha)

Weekly Wisdom: We are ready for you baby! I can't wait to squeeze those little buns!!

30 weeks

10 weeks until we meet this new little man. I can't wait to see what he looks like and see what my kids think of their new little brother.

How far along? 30 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Up 15-17 pounds, depending on the time of day haha

Maternity clothes? Still wearing all my normal jeans...I have a maternity dress and I'm wearing bigger shirts. 

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: Fine, I really don't have trouble sleeping at all. 

Best moment this week: He is constantly moving, and being able to feel him kick from the outside is always fun. My belly moves so much.

Have you told family and friends: Everyone

Movement: TONS, all the time.
Heartburn? Yes, horrible!! Zantac is my very best friend! Makes a world of difference. 

Food cravings: Nothing really in particular. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: I still throw up usually once a day, in the morning. 

Have you started to show yet: Yes, definitely. I feel huuuggge this time.

Gender prediction: It's a BOY!! :)

Labor Signs:  No, but I have been feeling Braxton Hicks since about 17 weeks. TONS of Braxton Hicks.

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Depends on the time of day (nothing abnormal haha)

Weekly Wisdom: ?

Random: I am LOVING my Lush Body Bar - I want to shout from the rooftops how great I think it is! haha. Really though, everyone who is pregnant should get one and slather your belly in it every time you shower. I also love Burts Bees Mama Bee lotion.

I have pretty much everything ready for the baby to come - we got a new car seat since our old one was expired. I have bought a few new blankets and some new little clothes, because I am a believer that every baby needs and few new things for themselves - it can't ALL be hand-me-downs when you're a younger sibling.

Baby Name Ideas:  We think we have a name...but now I am totally second guessing that name. I am back to googling "baby boy name ideas." HA! Help!

26 weeks

How far along? 26 weeks and a few days

Total weight gain/loss: Up 13-15 pounds, depending on the time of day haha

Maternity clothes? Still wearing all my normal jeans and shirts...I have one maternity dress. 

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: Fine - my back hurts though. And the acid reflux makes it hard to fall asleep sometimes.

Best moment this week: He is constantly moving, and being able to feel him kick from the outside is always fun. My belly moves so much.

Have you told family and friends: Everyone

Movement: TONS, all the time.
Heartburn? Yes, horrible!!

Food cravings: Eh, unhealthy food. Fries, chips, milkshakes...everything I shouldn't eat. Oops.

Anything making you queasy or sick: I still throw up usually once a day, in the morning. 

Have you started to show yet: Yes, definitely. I feel huuuggge this time.

Gender prediction: It's a BOY!! :)

Labor Signs:  No, but I have been feeling Braxton Hicks since about 17 weeks. TONS of Braxton Hicks.

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Depends on the time of day (nothing abnormal haha)

Weekly Wisdom: ?

Milestones:  Our baby's the size of a head of lettuce! He's still growing in the 13.6- to 14.8-inch and 1.5- to 2.5-pound range, and developing his senses, features and talents!

• His eyes are forming, and they will soon start to open.
• And his eyelashes are now grown, too.
• He's getting his immune system ready for life on the outside by soaking up your antibodies.
• He's taking breaths, too. They're of amniotic fluid, not air, but it's still good practice.

Baby Name Ideas:  We think we have a name...but now I am totally second guessing that name. I am back to googling "baby boy name ideas." HA! Help!

Some Comparisons

I love looking at old pictures and seeing how things have changed. So here are some comparison pictures:


This is 3 years worth of Christmas card pictures: 2012, 2013, 2014. I was 20 weeks pregnant with Gavin in the first one and 20 weeks pregnant with #3 in the 3rd one. It's fun to see our family growing (so quickly!).

Here are the kids sitting on Santa's lap this year....

And last year. Sigh, they are grown so much.

 And here is my 22-ish week pregnant belly with Ava, Gavin and now #3. I think I was the biggest with Ava, smallest with Gavin and this time I am somewhere in between. Just interesting to see the difference. 

And that's all I've got for now. :)

21 weeks

I feel like I was so good at documenting my pregnancies with ava and gavin, but this time I have been horrible. Probably because I'm chasing around those two all day. But I just wanted to take a minute to document for the sake of remembering this pregnancy. 

This pregnancy has been pretty different than the last two (especially with gavin - his was suuuuuper easy, I would have forgotten I was pregnant with him almost the entire time, I felt so great). This time it has really taken a toll on me - I am always so exhausted and still throwing up daily and healthy food still is so unapplealing. I have gained about 9 lbs already, whereas last time by 20 weeks I had gained 0 lbs. Interestingly I weighed 10 lbs less when I got pregnant this time than last time, so I weigh almost the exact same numbers-wise at 20 weeks this time as last time (just a random fact to help me remember). I remember feeling small with Gavin, just a cute little belly. This time I feel huuuuge haha. BUT on the GREAT side, I feel this little boy moving all the time. ALL the time. He kicks and wiggles all day long and it's nice to have those little reassuring kicks. Even Ava has felt him kick from the outside. We have a name we are pretty sure of, but not set in stone. I've even ordered a couple personalized things (oops) so it's pretty certain, but you never know haha. 

We had our diagnostic ultrasound at 19 weeks and it was such a fun ultrasound. The lady spent about an hour and half explaining every tiny inch of his little body to us - it was very informative and amazing. We saw him opening and closing his mouth and swallowing and wiggling constantly, of course. Once again it was instantly clear that he is in fact a HE. I'm so glad my kids have never been "shy" in that regard - it has always been very easy to determine their genders. At the end, she printed out literally 25 pictures for us to take home. It was fun to go show Ava and Gavin the pictures of their little brother. :) 

Here are some pictures of the ever-growing belly: 

15 weeks:

17 weeks: 

After the 20 week ultrasound: 

21 weeks: (trying to get a good shot of how big I feel haha) 

21 weeks with Gavin vs this time:

21 weeks again: (haha I feel like it's hard to get a good shot - especially because these are all self-timer shots haha Bryson hates taking my pictures) :) 

And here's the survey I used last time with Gavin: 

How far along? 21 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Up 8-10 pounds, depending on the time of day haha

Maternity clothes? Still a bit too big for me, but my pants are getting a bit tight when I sit down. I ordered some new maternity jeans and a dress from ASOS. :) Should arrive today, so excited! 

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: Fine - my back hurts though. 

Best moment this week: He is constantly moving, and being able to feel him kick from the outside is always fun.

Have you told family and friends: Everyone

Movement: TONS, all the time.
Heartburn? Yes, horrible!!

Food cravings: Eh, nothing really...random things throughout the day. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: I still throw up usually once a day, in the morning. 

Have you started to show yet: Yes, definitely. I feel huuuggge this time.

Gender prediction: It's a BOY!! :)

Labor Signs:  No, but I have been feeling Braxton Hicks since about 17 weeks. 

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Depends on the time of day (nothing abnormal haha)

Weekly Wisdom: ?

Milestones: Our baby is as long as a carrot, and his skin now responds to touch. If you put pressure on your belly, he'll move away or push back.

Baby's Length: 10.51 in.

Baby's Weight: 12.70 oz.

Baby Name Ideas:  That's a secret :) 

It's a BOY!

We had our early determination ultrasound yesterday and we found out our little one is a BOY!!! How exciting to have two little guys in our family - two little brothers. I swear Ava was destined to have little brothers because she has always been so high-energy and she loves to play rough and tumble and just can totally keep up with two little brothers. As soon as the girl put the ultrasound wand on my belly I saw "it" right away - like immediately. She wasn't even looking at her screen and hadn't freezed the image and I blurted out, "It's a boy." haha It was very obvious, which is always good to have a clear shot - my kids have always been very cooperative in this area and not modest or shy at all. :) So now to decide on a name. It's nice that I have pretty much everything we need for him because I swear it feels like Gavin just barely outgrew all the newborn clothes. 

Pregnant!

I wrote this in a draft, never intending to post it...but I'm afraid of losing it, so I figure why not chronicle my journey to baby #3.

So far, this pregnancy has been similar in some ways, but different in some ways than my others. I am "showing" WAAAAY sooner - I'm serious, my belly is definitely not what it was 3 months ago. I am also "sick" all. day. long. I am on the verge of throwing up constantly, but if I sit calmly, chew some gum and just breathe deeply, I can usually keep it from actually happening. There have been a few throwing up in the car incidents because the car makes me feel sick if I am driving in the morning. Nothing ever sounds good to eat...ever. And I constantly have a bad taste in my mouth...like something bitter on the back of my tongue. I have also been soooooooo irritable this time around - like everything bugs me waaaay more than normal. I can feel this starting to go away, but man it was bad.

So here are the previous things I wrote about this pregnancy:

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Well, I guess baby number three is on the way! I have really enjoyed re-reading my blog entries from when I was pregnant with Gavin, so I decided to write down my feelings this time around as well. I am 5 weeks along...still very early, so early that I really can't talk about it yet. So this private blog is a perfect journal of sorts for me.

How far along? 5 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: None so far

Maternity clothes? No

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: Fine

Best moment this week: No

Have you told family and friends: My dad, Kaitlyn, Nam, Jordan and Monica

Movement: No

Food cravings:  No

Anything making you queasy or sick:  No

Have you started to show yet:  No

Gender prediction:  ?

Labor Signs:  No

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Depends on the time of day (nothing abnormal haha)

Weekly Wisdom: 

Milestones: 
Baby Name Ideas:  
  Boys - Crew, Rowan, Owen
  Girls - Olivia, Everlee, Harper

Pregnancy goals this time:

1. Gain no more than 25 lbs
2. Exercise daily
3. Eat very little sugar and flour
4. Get adequate sleep (ba haha)

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6 weeks - feeling queasy, nothing sounds good to eat except bland food (rice, chicken noodle soup, etc)
6 weeks, 4 days - threw up first time

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8 weeks:
(Sunday) threw up 5 times, nothing sounded good to eat. Hoping this isn't the new "normal"

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How far along? 9 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: plus 2 pounds (depending on the time of day) yikes!

Maternity clothes? No

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: Fine

Best moment this week: Telling more family members

Have you told family and friends: My dad, Kaitlyn, Nam, Lisa and Jeff, Maddie, Kelsey and Brad, Granny & Papa

Movement: No

Food cravings: Peaches...honestly nothing else. I eat a lot of saltine crackers and other bland foods like tortillas with cheese
Food aversions: Meat - any and ALL meat, sugary things (leaves a horrible taste in my mouth)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Everything - really I feel nauseous all day, but I have to keep eating because if I get hungry, I feel super sick. If I get hot, I honestly feel like I'm about to have a panic attack haha. These hot summer days have been stressful. 

Have you started to show yet: I honestly feel like I have. What the heck? My belly is definitely poking out more than it did before at this point! Oh dear. I don't look "pregnant" though - just in that awkward fat stage. 

Gender prediction: ?

Labor Signs:  No

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Definitely moody - I am so, so, so tired and feeling so queasy all day...yes I am moody - and you would be too! haha. 

Weekly Wisdom: I had a dream I was having twins and it freaked me out so bad. SO, when I feel overwhelmed I can say at least I'm not having twins. :/

Milestones: 
Baby Name Ideas:  
  Boys - Crew, Rowan, Owen, Milo
  Girls - Olivia, Everlee, Harper, Reagan, Mila

10 week ultrasound. Bryson and Gavin came with me and we got a little peek of our little gummy bear. Ava was at preschool. The NP said the baby is measuring at 9 weeks 1 day, but she kept my due date at April 15th. 180 bpm heartbeat. Everything looks great. :)

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10 weeks, 3 days - I heard the baby's heartbeat on our at home fetal doppler! What a beautiful sound!

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11 weeks:

And now I am 13 weeks tomorrow. I have a dr appointment next Monday, just a routine checkup. We will find out the gender in about 2 weeks. I am still feeling sick and exhausted...one activity for the day and I am wiped out haha. I am hoping I am on the upswing and I start feeling back to my normal self again. 

And that's the update so far. :) So excited. :)

Ava Sophia {t-h-r-e-e}

Here's three years in 47 seconds...

Three. 

Three?

I have loved these three years with this sweet, spunky, inquisitive, curious, active, social, emotional, deep, loving, lovely, beautiful little girl.
I am amazed by her constantly - the things she picks up on, her imagination, her compassion, her wit.

Here are some things I want to remember about Ava at this age:

• Ava is in the inevitable "dress up" phase of life. Princesses and dolls and plastic high heels rule her little sparkly life.
• Ava loves to sing and dance. Whenever she hears a new song, she listens very intently the first time and then somehow knows all the words the second time (okay maybe not by the 2nd time haha, but she picks up on songs very quickly). Ava loves to dance like a ballerina.
• Ava knows all her letter sounds and is starting to write her letters. She can spell her name (pretty challenging, ya know A-V-A haha) and is learning how to write her name as well. She can write the letter A and it working on V. 
• Ava loves to color, paint, play with play dough, and do any kind of art project she can. She loves cutting with scissors and using glue and overall, just making huge messes but having so much fun. She also loves to help me bake.
• Ava knows the first Article of Faith and parts of the other ones.
• Ava can count to 20.
• Ava goes to preschool 2 times a week and loves it. She also started swim lessons and has loved learning how to put her face in the water and kick and swim to her teacher.
• Ava s just so smart and sweet and happy and very insightful for her age. She comforts people when they are sad and loves to give hugs and kisses. She says the funniest things and shocks me daily by saying the funniest, smartest, most clever things. 

I could go on and on and on and on. I ADORE this little girl. I treasure these moments when she is little and just love watching her grow up. She is definitely in the "3's" phase of her life - always wanting to do things herself and be independent and sometimes overly emotional, but overall she is just an absolute joy in my life. She is my sweet, snuggly, helper girl - I know she will be a wonderful big sister to her little siblings. 

I love you my sweet Ava girl. Forever and ever, and ever. 

Love, 

Momma

I'll put up more pictures of her party later.