24 Weeks- V-Day Edition

How far along & size of the baby: 24 weeks and baby boy is the size of a cantaloupe

Cravings: Can I just say nothing healthy? I have to force myself to eat a well balanced diet.

On my mind: So, today is V-Day! I'm all about milestones and this is a big one because Viability occurs at 24 weeks and it basically means if someone was to go into labor at this point the medical team would take every action to save the baby...up until 24 weeks there would be no efforts made.

This baby has been kicking up a storm and last week Jake finally felt some of his jabs. The movement is probably my favorite part of pregnancy so far, even when he directly kicks my bladder....

We haven't bought much at all but my favorite purchase so far is Socks the Fox:)

House #2- Grandview House

We rented a little yellow bungalow that was by far the best location; blocks from the water, restaurants, shopping and parks. Another thing that drew me to this house was the character. I believe it was built in the 30s-40's, had arched doorways, original hardwood floors and interesting nooks and crannies. This was the first house I lived in where I really got into decorating and home projects.

(In our new little rental and I believe this was Jake's 28th birthday)

(The TART trail was right down the road from us and the perfect spot for dog walks and bike rides)

(Old claw foot tub in the upstairs bath)

(Our first Christmas tree as a married couple)

(See how I turned the guestroom walk-in closet into my little office HERE)

(Dining room in the Spring)

(Our fun gallery wall)

(Little sitting room)

(Kitchen)

(Upstairs family room)

(See how turned our 3rd small bedroom into a shared walk-in closet HERE)

(I still miss these views...sigh. Here's a post about our neighboring beach)

The house certainly had its downfalls. There was hardly any insulation, meaning it was always cold and our heat bills were insane for living in such a small house. The falling ice chunks could seriously have killed someone (Read that post HERE). And our landlord was caarazy. But we won't get into that. We were in that house for about 9 months and Jake got a promotion that required us to move between both of our jobs...On the road again.

23 Weeks

How far along and size of the baby: 23 weeks and the baby is the size of a grapefruit.

Cravings: Cookies and my trusty cereal

On my mind: A lot apparently, because I haven't really slept in two nights. Maybe 6 hours since Saturday:(

I feel like I really popped in the last week and I still have 17 weeks to go!

House #1- The Palace

Before I start posting photos of the new house and her progress I thought it would be fun to take a little walk down memory lane. We are currently in our fifth house together in three years. The other 4 were rentals but played a part in where we are today so let's have a look.

Our first house we lovingly refer to as The Palace. It was anything BUT.

(Layla and the little girl I used to nanny for having a stare-down)

As much as I hated that house I'm bummed I don't have better photos of it. You can see in the picture above that the kitchen was painted green and orange. For some reason I thought that was a great idea and I'll never forget my mom and Jake staying up till 2 am painting it while I slept. We soon found out that no color looks good with orange laminate trim.

That house sure holds some memories. Like the night we had just moved all our stuff in and the fuel oil furnace exploded in our landlord's face. I thought he would go blind. Didn't know fuel oil was still used to heat homes in 2009? Well, it was. There was oil EVERYWHERE and the house reeked  so we spent that first night back at Jake's townhouse asleep on the floor. Then proceeded to spent the night week at an extended stay motel while propane was being installed. Fun, fun.

(The kids taking Layla for a walk around our big backyard.)

I should also mention that the house was damp all.the.time. It was close to swamp land and I swear the foundation was sinking. We used our dehumidifier constantly and would have to take turns coming home at lunch to empty the water. It was that bad. One time I even found mold growing in one of my favorite pairs of shoes.

The house did have its perks though. The location was good, out of town but not too far, it had a nice big deck on the back, a huge yard with the perfect spot for bonfires-which we enjoyed. The yard really was ideal for Layla and was definitely our favorite thing about the house.

(My favorite flowers on our first diningroom table)

We lived there for a total of four months.I found a new place and had a our stuff moved out before Jake even realized what was happening. We said goodbye to The Palace and moved on...

22 Weeks

How far along & size of the baby: 22 weeks along and baby is the size of a papaya

Cravings: Ice cream has been sounding really good lately. And the last couple of days I've been craving coffee even though I couldn't look at coffee the first 4 months. Well yesterday, I stopped at McD's for a small latte and felt terrible the rest of the day. So, I guess I'll be retiring coffee for a while.

On my mind: How much I have yet to get done from now until May. Jake and I were going over our schedules the other night for the next couple of months. There are not even a handful of available weekends from now until D-Day. One of my unofficial resolutions was to work on a home/nursery project every available weekend until the baby comes. Yikes.

21 Weeks

I'm thankful to be halfway through this pregnancy already.

How far along & size of the baby: 21 weeks, baby is the size of a pomegranate and the length of a carrot!

Cravings: Special K fruit and yogurt cereal, frozen Capri Suns

On my mind: Breast pumps are overwhelming. You not only have the pump (electric? Manual? Double? Single? Brand?), but you also have the tubes, other attachments, bottles, gel pads, soothies, breast pads, nursing bras, storage bags, ointments, etc. Oh my gosh. My head might explode.

For comparison's sake:

15 weeks

21 weeks

End of 2012 and Some News

Last year was full of ups and downs. Here are some of the highlights:

I went to Florida in February for a jewelry show with my employers.

Jake and I went to Florida together in May, where he was a groomsman in his friend's wedding.

Jake accepted a job transfer to Petoskey, so we packed up and left Houghton Lake after 1 year there.

My parents bought a new boat and we enjoyed several sunny days over the summer.

In October we closed on our NEW house (after a grueling search and being outbid on the first house).

Perhaps the biggest announcement of 2012 is that we're having a baby! 

Here's baby BOY and I half baked! 

Due in May.

See my 2011 Recap HERE