My Beautiful Momma :)

Here's a big Happy Birthday to my wonderful Momma. She's my best friend and SUCH a big influence on my life. I look to her for guidance, advice and great conversation. She's an amazing role model and exactly what I want to be when I grow up.

{Happy Birthday Mom!}

Here's to you Baby Dewey

My letter to you, Baby Dewey - 

Sitting here having peanut butter & crackers at 2:30am I can't help but rub my belly and think of you. Do you know how much you are loved? I tell you this all the time, and I'm sure you know it and hear it by now, but I just wanted to remind you. You are loved so much by so many people. 

First off, I'm mommy talking. I've referred to myself as mommy this whole time and I'm getting used to calling myself that but I know the minute I see you it will be more real and have a different feel to it. From the first time I found out I was going to be a mommy I've been excited to feel you grow inside my belly and it has been such an amazing journey so far. Hiccups and whole body shifts and movements have definitely been the strangest but most interesting to feel and watch! I can tell you do not like to scrunch up, you are stretched out most of the time.


I must admit, while exciting this whole parenthood thing is a bit scary to think about. I'm sure you're scared to come out into the real world and experience all of this. We will learn together and I promise to teach you amazing things and be right there for you to lean on when you've had a crappy day. That's what mom's do. I've had some pretty good role models. My mom, your grandma or should we call her "Me-ma" for now, is such an amazing woman. I can't wait for you to meet her. She is also very excited to meet you. She's been the single most best influential person in my life and has taught me way more than I ever thought possible. You will be spoiled, there is no doubt in my mind.

As for daddy, he is pretty excited to meet you too. Him and I talked long ago about having kids and we've been excited to meet you for longer than you've been in my belly. He has all of these ideas of where to take you, what to do for fun. You will love him. He's such a great guy and best friend and husband to me, he will be so amazing with you.

I can't wait to see how much your personality is like mine and daddy's. How much you look like us. 

So many other people are excited to meet you too. You have a whole other set of grandparents, some great grandparents, an uncle who is pretty excited to be an uncle, an aunt and many cousins to list a few. 

I'll continue to dance with you, share stories with you, try new foods and read you stories baby until I meet you, then we'll do it all over again. We've got less than 10 weeks until your appearance. If I had to guess when you'll show up, I'd say later rather than earlier. After all, you are a Dewey :)

With lots of love & belly rubbing,
Mommy

23 weeks

CountDOWN in single digit WEEKS!

What a milestone today is...30 weeks. Now begins the countdown, literally count DOWN, in weeks as we approach single digits of weeks left. I think just saying that out loud gets me more excited than anything. While this entire pregnancy I've been thinking about my body and how it has changed and how it will change, and preparing for this new person that will be with us soon enough, I may have forgotten to really sit back and think how exciting it all will be to be a MOTHER. Don't get me wrong, I have known this all along, I have just taken it for granted and it has been in the back of my mind. 

While parts of labor and raising a child is scary to think about; being responsible for another person - yikes! It is also exciting. I'm excited to have someone that is a PART of ME and Josh. We created this person through the love we have for one another. WOW! 

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 30 Weeks Today (10 weeks to go to due date!)
Size of baby: size of a head of Cabbage (and weighs 3 lbs  and is 15.8 inches long)
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Since last Dr. appt: 16 lbs.
Maternity Clothes: Wearing maternity pants and shirts. Regular T-shirts are starting to fit weird are just about too tight to wear!
Gender: Baby Dewey is either a Girl or a Boy :)
Movement: I've been kicked and can feel hiccups! Now I can start feeling when Baby is changing positions. And the kicking downward is uncomfortable!! Noticing movements up high but can't tell what body parts are what yet.

Sleep: Starting to wake up throughout the night
What I miss: Nothing really...my regular clothes?!
Cravings: Food?!
Symptoms: None, have some heartburn/indigestion, hiccups for both baby and me. Can now tolerate dairy?!
Labor Symptoms: Nothing yet really.
Milestone: Doctor appointment on June 15th marked my last "every-two-week-appts".
Best Moment this week: Baby woke me up in the middle of the night (2am) to move around and kick and hiccup. Practice for later?!

What I'm looking forward to: My belly growing (more) and feeling MORE and constant movement AND the short time until I can meet Baby!


My goals for the next couple weeks:

• reduce stress BIGTIME!
• relax & light exercise
• wash clothes, blankets & get Baby's room in order
• install carseat in the car
• take birthing classes
• take a tour of the hospital, scheduled right now for this Tuesday!
• go on more dates & evenings out with the Hubs
• narrow down a name for our Baby!?!?

Sorry no picture for today's post. I was lazy. That's it, just lazy. I'll post some more this week :)

Mothers & Women

Happy Mother's Day. Whether you are, were, will be or want to be a Mother, we should all be fortunate for all the wonderful women in our lives, as my Mom put it so nicely :) We should be thankful every day for all the women in our lives. I am so lucky to have so many great women in my life. So many of my good friends have become mothers in the last few years and I couldn't be more proud. To watch them become a mother has been such a life changing event, even more so to them I'm sure, but it has also been very beautiful. Women are so strong, beautiful, amazing people. To be able to grow something inside of you for almost a year and be able to push it out of your body is just such a beautiful thing. I'd like to thank all the women in my life for just being them and being so wonderful to me. I hope that one day I will be half as good a mother as mine has been to me. Happy Mother's Day, and more importantly Happy Women's Day :)

My Mom & I on my wedding day

Josh & His Mom

Josh with both of his grandmothers

Josh and I with my Grandma & Grandpa (closest to me) and his Grandpa & Grandmas

Josh's sister Steph with her son Kayden (she's next to be married this summer!)

Stephanie who just had her first baby boy March 22

Leota who is due with her first baby boy August 28

My cousin D'anne with her daughter Tea

My cousin Alexa with one of her twin daughters Ava & May

Me and My Brother with our Grams

And this is my "baby" Lucy. She sure has gotten big :)

Tribute to Mother's Day

I love celebrating Mother's day simply because I love my Mother and my Grandma. The last few years have become more meaningful with so many of my good friends becoming mother's. I hope that one day I can be as good of a mother as my mother and grandmother have been to me.

My mom is and always has been my best friend. I'd say I am pretty lucky because during my pre-teen and teenage years I didn't fight or rebel against my mom like some teenage girls do. Maybe I was the odd one? Who knows. I've always respected her, whether I understood her logic or not, and I knew she knew best. It wasn't so much that I feared my mom but that she meant business and I respect that. Like I said, she is my best friend. My grandma, or Grams as I call her, is also one pretty amazing lady! She's always been full of great advice, fun sayings and she will tell you the truth! She is pretty honest when it comes to what she likes, dislikes or what is bothering her. I would say when I was younger that I may have feared her and was afraid to get in trouble. It is one thing to get in trouble by your parents but Grams will punish you harder! Lucky for me, I didn't get in trouble all that often!

My Mom & I Sept 2006

As for my friends that have become mother's, I must say I respect them even more. As great of a friend as they have been to me, to watch them become mother's is just amazing. It is really great to watch people become parents and how they can care and love one another so much. Like I said, I can only hope to one day be such a great mom.

So here's to all the Mother's out there, Mother's to be and Grandmother's. Thank you for being such a wonderful Mom.

My sister Steph & Kayden May 12, 2007

I don't have pictures of all my favorite mom's out there, sorry!