28 weeks!

7 months pregnant... holy moly!  Where has the time gone?  I feel like I am just getting bigger and bigger, but thinking that I am 7 months helps me to realize that it's inevitable and I'm supposed to get bigger.  I am loving every minute of being pregnant.  I think, BY FAR, my favorite thing is being able to feel Grace move, kick, punch, roll over, etc.  She certainly is making a presence in my belly.  Saturday I had to go for my glucose test.  Luckily it was only an hour or so long, but only time will tell if I need to go back or not for the longer test.  I really do hope I passed, but have heard from many that it is not uncommon to fail the first time around.  It wasn't nearly as bad as I had heard it'd be.  The drink wasn't wonderful, but not horrible by any means.  The only thing not so great about the experience was that my arm is still black and blue from where the lady pricked me.  At least it is no longer swollen.  It swelled up pretty bad that first day and I couldn't even fully straighten my arm, but now it's just many shades of wonderful colors.  Here are some pictures of the belly from today... sorry they aren't of great quality... I took them because Garrett and my dad are working on the nursery and building around the water heater... there's a picture of that too, if you're interested :)

Going to have a door on the front
Otherwise, will be all built in
This is the start of the nursery...

This week Garrett and I decided to start a "thing" for the homeless.  Every day on our hour long ride home, we pass at least one homeless man with his very cute and devoted dog.  Occasionally we will pass others, but without fail we see this same man.  We have given him food on a few occasions and he is always so grateful.  One thing that I've noticed he says without fail is "God Bless You".  My heart just goes out for him.  In the last few weeks that we have been seeing him, Garrett and I have both noticed that he's been losing weight.  So, to help him and to help any other homeless person that we may stop by, Garrett and I went shopping for some travel size items, along with some snacks and water.  We actually received this idea from a friend that knew of somebody who used to do this.  We put together several "goodie" bags with travel toothbrushes (no water or paste necessary), deodorant, hand sanitizer, sunscreen, three nutri-grain bars, and two bottles of water.  We also included a good verse (one of Garrett's favorites) 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 as a little piece of encouragement.  We have already given the homeless gentleman that we frequently pass one of these bags and he was very grateful, especially for the water.  He was excited to be able to have it for his dog and himself.  I cannot wait to continue doing this for others, so long as Garrett and I are financially able.  We've been blessed beyond what we deserve and see it only fit that we give back to others less fortunate than us.

Also this week Garrett and I did a double date with my Grandma and Papa.  My Uncle Donnie also joined us.  We went out to a quaint homestyle restaurant and had the most wonderful time.  Thursday evening another couple from our community group announced that they were expecting!  We are so excited to have another young couple at our church, let alone in our small group, to raise our children together with and to just provide support for one another.  Congratulations Ashley and Zack!!  It was also a great week in that Ashley decided to get baptized in Christ and we (our community group) all got to be there to witness the wonderful occasion.  Then yesterday, Garrett and I got to make a trip to visit a couple that we used to square dance with, Jeff and Daryl.  They were kind enough to give us a stand-up freezer.  Thank you both!  Garrett says it's now time to go buy a cow, lol.  I'd be okay with that.  I would love to raise our own cow and now we have freezer room for all the meat.  We also, just got Foghorn Leghorn Jr., many thanks to one of Garrett's co-workers, Chuck.  Foghorn Jr. is a handsome little man.  Unfortunately not quite as handsome as the senior, but not too shabby and it is so nice to have another rooster for our ladies.  The ladies are laying eggs now too!  No more buying eggs for Garrett and I, we have at least two dozen right now.  There is nothing better for breakfast than some fresh eggs!

Foghorn Leghorn Jr.

All in all, it has been one whirlwind of a wonderful week.  I hope that you all had a blessed week!  Oh and almost forgot, but congratulations to a long-time friend who is currently at the hospital, on the very soon-to-be birth of her son.  I am praying for you and wishing you well, Torie.  I cannot wait to meet your little man very soon!  I know Rylie is going to be one heck of a big sister and he is one blessed boy to be born into such a wonderful family!

TheBump.com says:

Your baby's the size of a rutabaga!

Putting on layers of fat, your baby now weighs in around 1.5 to 2.5 pounds and measures about 13.6 to 14.8 inches.

your baby at 28 weeks

• She's starting to develop more fat, so her wrinkly skin will start to get smoother.
• Her lungs are mature enough that she'd probably survive if she was born now. Wow!

27 weeks!

This has been a wonderful week simply for the fact that we got to see Grace on Monday!  This past Monday, Garrett and I, along with mama, daddy, Amanda, Chuck, Sandy, and Colton got to observe the 3D/4D ultrasound of Grace.  It was INCREDIBLE!  It was also great being able to share that moment with our families.  So, does she look like Garrett or I??  hehe

Hand in the Mouth 

Love her fingers

Smiling

Love our little Grace

Legs crossed and look at that cute foot

It's really quite hard to tell yet; not to mention, Garrett and I look quite a bit alike, even as babies.  So it may be more difficult to distinguish each others characteristics in her just yet.  However, (forgive me if I'm a little biased too, lol) she definitely has a cute little smile, button nose, long fingers, and can you believe it, 2" long feet already!  Maybe she'll get some height from my daddy's side of the family.  We'd be okay with that!

Also, earlier on Monday I had my normal OB visit and got to hear her little heartbeat and see my weight gain, which I'm not too happy to say was much more than I would've liked.  Let's just say, here's to trying to eat healthier and quit drinking my favorite drink, sweet tea.  I'm hoping to get back on track and not gain too too much weight.  It's tough, but I'm trying to hang in there.

Sunday, Garrett and I got to celebrate my cousin's little boy, Logan's, first birthday.  It was a lot of fun and so great to see all my cousins, aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa, and other family friends that day.  I cannot believe how many children there were there from infants to toddler age, there had to be at least 20.  There were even an adorable set of triplet girls there, only 6 months old.  I cannot wait to have future birthday parties for our little girl at our home.  I also can't believe how fast this pregnancy is flying and so I'm told, it'll only continue to fly by.

Other things this week, Garrett and I enjoyed a wonderful bonfire with some friends at the house on Friday evening.  It was a wonderful evening for a nice warm fire and was great to see some friends we hadn't seen in a little while.  Garrett and I also got the chance to catch up with a fellow football player from UCF of his, Cory, and Cory's girlfriend, Nikki, a friend of mine that I hadn't got to see in quite a while.  We went out to eat with them and just took the time to catch up and enjoy each other's company.  I really hope we get the chance to do that more often.  It was a wonderful time!  Also this week, Garrett and I attended community group at John and Courtney's home.  This weeks food theme was cheese!  What is better than good cheesy food, great people, and fellowship time together?!  I also started with the girls DNA (Discipleship N' Accountability) group.  They are a wonderful group of ladies and I'm hoping to be able to grow even stronger friendships through this group, as well as experience personal spiritual growth.  I really believe it will be good for myself and all of us together.  The book that we are studying is "A Wife After God's Own Heart".  I am anxious to get even further into it, after just diving into chapter 1 together this week.

I hope that you all had a wonderful and blessed week.

TheBump.com says:

Your baby's the size of an eggplant!

At 13.6 to 14.8 inches and 1.5 to 2.5 pounds, she's not just getting bigger, she's getting smarter.

your baby at 27 weeks

• She's practicing inhaling and exhaling with her rapidly developing lungs.
• It's official: Baby's showing brain activity! And her brain will keep on getting more complex.

26 weeks!

26 weeks down and only 94 days left!  This last week we've done quite a bit of work on the nursery.  We've got two of the main walls painted and the ceiling painted.  Tonight we are going to begin painting the remaining two smaller walls.  If you've been to our house, you know the room we're talking about and know about our walls, lol.  I'm so happy to have those high ceilings and A-framed walls done (thanks to my wonderful Garrett!).  Unfortunately while painting, Garrett managed to break his little toe.  So, he has been in quite a bit of pain this last week and still manages to work around the house and keep up his daily doings.  He's a trooper and I am so thankful to have him in my life.  I just hope that little toe gets better sooner than later... knowing him though, it may take a while because he is stubborn and will not let a toe slow him down, lol.

I also was able to spend some time with a long-time friend Torie this weekend.  My mom and I attended her baby shower on Saturday and then Torie accompanied me with adding some things to our baby registry on Sunday.  It definitely makes things go so much smoother to have someone there with you that has a child and is currently pregnant with #2 to help with any questions that us new moms are bound to have.  Thank you again so much Torie for all the help.  It was wonderful spending time together with her and catching up.  It was also pretty priceless when Garrett said to Torie and I, "I just have one request of you two... can you hug?  It feels funny hugging a pregnant lady and I can only imagine what it might feel like for two pregnant ladies to hug with those bellies" LOL... only Garrett.  He's right though... It's definitely a little different when hugging; I still love my hugs though!

This week Grace has definitely been moving much more than in the past.  I feel her constantly throughout the day while at work and especially at night.  My favorite comment of Garrett's this week while feeling and watching my tummy is "Wow!  Is she jump roping with the umbilical cord in there?" lol.  I said "I hope not, but it sure feels like it" haha.  Another major milestone of recently is that I can hardly see my toes anymore!  I have to lean forward a little to be able to see any part of my feet while standing.  This belly is certainly growing and my belly button continues to tease us... not sure if it's going to become an outie, but it seems like it certainly wants to.

TheBump.com says:

Your baby's the size of an eggplant!

She's still growing in the 13.6- to 14.8-inch and 1.5- to 2.5-pound range, and developing her senses, features and talents!

your baby at 26 weeks

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

25 weeks!

Yet another busy great week for Garrett and I.  January 1st was our one year anniversary and we celebrated by taking a mini-vacation to St. Augustine for a few days (thank you Amanda for watching our girls while we were away).  We stayed at a beautiful resort and enjoyed the city.  Our anniversary night consisted of a romantic dinner together downtown and we also got to enjoy some of our wedding cake... yep, still good after a year!  Thank you Favorite for saving it for us and packing it so great.  While there, we were also able to catch up with my Great Aunt Cookie.  We had a wonderful dinner with her one evening and she even surprised us with a little gift for Grace.

Inside the Fort, Castillo de San Marcos

Top Tier of Wedding Cake, Still Good a Year Later

Prior to a surgery of his, my wonderful Uncle Glen (Aunt Cookie's husband) that passed away in 2007 was given a pink pig stuffed animal from my Great Aunt Jeanie (whom passed away in 1996).  With both of them no longer with us, it means so much to have this sentimental gift of his from her.  Aunt Cookie said it could be a gift for little Grace.  I cannot wait to share stories of my Uncle Glen and Aunt Jeanie with her when she is older and to explain the significance of the gift.  I was very happy for it!  Also this week we received a knitted stuffed pig from Grandma Gardner for Grace.  She knitted it herself as a Christmas gift for her.  Grace sure is getting spoiled and she hasn't even made her presence yet, but I'm sure she'll appreciate all the love when she is here!

The Columbia with Aunt Cookie

All in all, it's been a great week, but it was also nice to make it home to our girls and boys.  Cambrie, Maggie, and OJ especially were ready for us to be home I think.  They have such personalities and were so loving as soon as we got here.  OJ is becoming more and more friendly.  He now comes right on up to us, plays more, and will follow us around.  Cambrie just wanted to cuddle the whole time we've been home.  And Maggie of course just wanted her loving.  She was by our side every second she could be.

Maggie curling up by our side

Cambrie was cold and tired

Grace is definitely moving and growing.  I feel her quite a bit especially at night.  I still have no cravings and am feeling 100%.  I think Grace does enjoy just about everything I eat... after every meal, she is bouncing around in there and it is such a neat feeling.  Garrett still gets a kick out of my belly button; yep, he cannot wait for it to pop out and I think it's getting close to that point.  He also loves feeling our little girl move like I do and we both enjoy watching her move too, as my belly will jump on occasion and randomly.

TheBump.com says:

Your baby's the size of an eggplant!

During month six, the average fetus measures about 13.6 inches to 14.8 inches and weighs about 1.5 to 2.5 pounds.

your baby at 25 weeks

• She's enjoying her new sense of equilibrium -- she now knows which way is up and which is down.
• She's growing more fat and more hair too!