Pinterest Challenge!

So I finally broke down... I am joining Pinterest. I have been extremely hesitant to join Pinterst and not due to a belief that it is stupid or a waste of time... it is in fact the opposite! I knew that I would be hooked! I knew that within a matter of minutes I would be a crazy person with 100 things pinned and that I would never be able to pull myself away! I also had the fear that I would pin so many items that I would feel overwhelmed and never actually do something with them.

WELLLLLLL... I have a solution. I will keep my boards limited to the following categories:

• Home
• Baby
• Emma
• Yummy Food!
• Parties

Also, to stay motivated to actually DO and not just pin... I am imposing a Pinterest Challenge that I will do with my co-worker Christina. Every Friday we are going to have to show that we have accomplished one thing due to inspiration from an item that we have pinned. This could be as simple as cooking a recipe or even a craft project that takes weeks...

Another goal is to actually blog about my weekly item. We will see how successful that is... as you all know I'm not that great when it comes to posting regularly on here.

For my first week I will be working on a few items for Emma's 8th birthday party. Here is a sneak peak at an image that I will be getting inspiration from!

Hostess with the Mostess

To Do List Before Baby Park

So... as the weeks count down and my belly grows my to-do list that is also rapidly growing!

I know that I should take a step back and prioritize.. but for now I'm just lumping everything in on this one post.

1. Paint interior doors (Matt replaced our upper level doors months ago but they are still not pretty and white to match our trim)

2. Furnish lower level living/play room... currently a huge open space. Matt thinks that this is a completely unnecessary project to tackle before baby but I'm keeping it on here.

3. BABY PARK'S room! Cannot do much with this until after April 27th!

4. Complete Emma's Loft bed. We promised Emma a loft bed when we moved houses OVER a year ago. This is something that Matt will be working on BEFORE we do the baby room... Looks like we have a trip to Home Depot in the near future!

5. Remodel our main bathroom. Close to a year ago we purchased a new vanity and I have all of the finishes picked out... just need to execute!

6. Get architectural drawings and consult a landscape architect for our entry way/ front yard project... More to come on the plans that we have for the front of our house. We will not start this project before baby but I would at least like to get the ball rolling!

7. Get a new washer and dryer. Time to get with the program and get some front loaders! I would also like to have one with a special sanitation cycle which will be helpful when we try out cloth diapering (more on this later).

8. Learn to sew! I got an amazing over the top sewing machine for Christmas and am sad to say that it is still in the box. There are no many projects that I would like to get started once we deterime the gender of Baby Park... but I should probably go ahead and learn how to use the thing... and take it out of the box.  

Again the above are in no specific order... just things that pop into my mind as I sit here typing.

16 Weeks!!!

Shirt: Gap

So I'm changing up my format on here to make my weekly posts a bit more uniform. So here is the first one!

Is it just me or does 16 weeks sounds really pregnant? That's like "OMG, in 4 weeks I'll be halfway through this pregnancy!" It feels like just yesterday I was jumping up and down telling Matt that we were pregnant.

So let's talk about something really exciting!!! On Sunday night we had another couple and my parents over for dinner. When everyone left around 10 I was sleepy and laid over Matt on our sofa to watch a little TV before bed and... Matt felt the baby from the outside!! AHHHHH! I've been feeling little flicks and bumps since about 13 weeks, but I've been waiting to feel him/her from the outside for a few weeks now. I'm so happy that Matt was able to experience the little ripples of movement!

So here is the new format...

Pregnancy: 17 weeks

Weight Gain:  I cannot believe that I am going to post this... 6 Pounds

Sleep: Sleep is horrible! I am still not use to only sleeping on my left side so every time I have the urge to turn over I completely wake up and my mind starts running. It seems to take me 30 minutes to fall back asleep and when you have to wake up at 5 a.m. any way it is NO FUN!

Gender: TBD

Names: TBD... funny name of the week is Timothy Rex Park... nickname T-Rex Park

Feeling: Feeling great!

Health: Seems to be okay. I don't have any swelling or any other indications that my iron is low so it looks like things are moving right along... I ended up being high risk with Emma due to my iron count and some cysts that developed on her brain.

Movement: Matt felt the baby from the outside!!! =)

Belly: The belly seems to be growing again. It slowed down there for a bit, but it seems to have picked back up. At least my belly button is still in and looks like it will stay that way for at least another month.

Non Baby Highlight of the Week: There are SOOO many of them it is hard to choose! Here are my three highlights:

• Emma turned eight this week!!! It is so amazing because it feels like just yesterday I was down in Statesboro, GA feeling her kick inside of me for the first time!
• Emma FINALLY let Matt remove her training wheels on her bike and in 10 minutes learned to ride on only two wheels! This has been a long time coming and I was beginning to think that she would just never learn... but am so proud that she faced her fears and now it is all she wants to do! So cute!
• And one non child related... Spending time with my best friend Holly and trying on dresses to wear for her wedding! Nothing like getting to make fun of yourself in a bridesmaid dress with a big old belly trying to gage what you will look like after baby! So much fun and I love that I get to see her almost every week with all of our planning for her wedding... AND this week we even managed to hang out without me rear ending her car! Success all around!

Next Appointment: OB: Thursday, April 26th at 18w5d & Ultrasound: Friday, April 27th at 18w5d

14 Weeks

Sorry for the delay in my weekly post. I've been a slacker about taking the belly photo this week.... But alas here it is...

Not the best photo of Mommy Park but I was exhausted yesterday and as I finished cooking dinner finished I had a "let's get this picture over with" moment.

We had our 4 month appointment on Monday and Matt was able to hear the heartbeat for the very first time! Exciting moment! Our doctor also said that all looks well... I have perfect weight gain and my iron counts are where they should be!

I have scheduled our 2nd Trimester Ultrasound for April 27th... that means that we will be finding out if Baby Park is a boy or girl in UNDER A MONTH! We will host a gender reveal party with family and friends... any excuse for me to throw a party. This means that Matt and I will find out the sex of the baby right along with our other guests! So excited and I cannot wait to share all of the fun photos! I am already busy planning!

Week 13 Update

Happy Monday all! Mondays mean that I get to cross off another week in the baby countdown! This week is especially important because it marks the start of my second trimester!!!

Here is the 13 week belly photo... I skipped on week 12 because Matt was in Colorado on vacation skiing with my family.

I feel like my belly has stayed the same size though in the last two weeks so no big changes.

On Thursday I went for my 1st Trimester Genetics Screening which included a blood test and an ultrasound. Matt was unable to go with me so he missed out on hearing the heartbeat for the first time! Such a bummer that he was unable to come with me but it was such a joy to hear the wonderful sound!

The 1st Trimester Genetics Screening is to look for indicators of Down syndrome and Trisomy 18 or Trisomy 13. I am happy to report that there were NO indications of Baby Park having any type of genetic disorders. In fact we had the best possible results (1 in 10,000) YAY... we never had any real concerns that there was a problem except of my crazy pregnancy brain which makes me focus on the oddest things and obsess over them... Like being convinced that Emma would be a "little person" after watching an episode of Oprah... true story!

I was going to have a regular check up on 22 March with my OB but just rescheduled for the following Monday so that Matt can join me.. It makes me so happy that he wants to be so involved in this process! I know that he just wants the opportunity to hear that wonderful heartbeat so I was happy to reschedule.

Baby Park Coming September 2012!!!

YES! Matt and I are expecting a tiny Baby Park in September! Due date is September 24th!
I am currently at 11 weeks! Here is the current home for Baby Park...

I plan to post weekly photos on here and updates so that family can stay up-to-date!

The ultrasound photo that I shared yesterday... is from last week so Baby Park is only 10 weeks old.

During our visit with the doctor it was so exciting to see a healthy heartbeat and a little active baby!

Thirty Before Thirty Update

Thirty by Thirty UPDATE

I am sad to say that I have not managed to cross off as many items as I had anticipated from this little nifty list. but I am happy to report that I have a huge item currently in progress... one which will still take a few months to complete... 

Here is my Thirty by Thirty

1. Get Married Married the most wonderful man January 29, 2011

2. Become a Home Owner - Matt and I bought a home in Alexandria last September 17, 2010

3. Take Emma to Disney World -  We took Emma to Disney last November and had a BLAST!
4. Go Scuba Diving
5. Become a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP)
6. Go on a Winery Tour - Traverse City Old Mission Wine Tour

7. Get a Dog - Currently looking at breeders! I see a Weimaraner puppy in our future.

8. Take a Cooking Class
9. Run a 5K

10. Plant a Vegetable Garden - Currently looking to start this in the spring!

11. Take a Photography Class
12. Spend a Minimum of 4 days Hiking and Camping with Matt
13. Take Emma Camping

14. Cook a Full Thanksgiving Dinner
15. Do a Family Photo Session and use the Picture for a Photo Holiday Card

16. Go to Europe with Matt
17. Take Dance Lessons - Taking lessons currently. There is even a performance at the end of the sessions
18. Give up Fruit Snacks… this will be a HARD one for me
19. Take a Family Vacation with another Family
20. Enlarge a Photograph that I’ve Taken and display as artwork in my home
21. Become a Government Employee
22. Find a cheap and hideous piece of furniture to refinish/reupholster and make it BEAUTIFUL
23. Create a Fitness Goal and stick to it- worked out with a trainer before my wedding
24. Redesign and decorate an entire home… on a budget - work in progress
25. Get my Event Planning Business up and running
26. Become active in the PTA
27. Give Emma a brother or sister - Baby Park will be arriving in  September!

28. Become organized enough to scrapbook
29. Cook at home for a full Month... another SUPER Hard one
30. Go two months without buying clothes

ehhh I still have a lot to cross off!