32 Weeks

This week...

Baby Bell is the size of a... squash! Miss Adalee is weighing in at four pounds, and measures around 16 inches long. She will continue to add around a half a pound per week until she is born. We found out at our appointment last week that she is in the head-down position (at least for now) - which means she is already getting ready for her big trip down the birth canal!

My bump is... a little annoying - if I am being truly honest! I am at the point where everything I try to do has become more challenging - putting on my shoes, getting out of bed, bending over to wash my face, getting into the car, getting off of the couch...the list doesn't end! I am extremely lucky to have such a patient and generous husband who puts up with my complaints and tries to make things in my life a little easier! I will say though, every time I feel Adalee roll over or change position, I can't help but smile and all of the little annoyances quickly fade from memory. 

I have been feeling... like a pregnant lady, with all of the typical 32-week pregnancy symptoms. My heartburn has intensified, but sleeping with my head elevated and taking a few tums each morning with breakfast and each night before bed has started to help. I have also started getting some Braxton Hicks contractions. Basically I just feel a tightening/cramping sensation, usually on the sides of my stomach. Nothing too painful yet and it usually goes away when I move around and drink some water. Knowing that I am not super pain tolerant is making me a little nervous for this whole "giving birth" thing...

I have been craving... ice cream, ice cream, and more ice cream. I am still all about the chocolate chip cookie dough - can't seem to get enough! And I have been using heartburn as an excuse to eat even more ice cream, because it "cools" things down!

Our favorite thing has been... so many things! It has been a busy two weeks, with a baby shower, taking maternity photos, starting our birth class - oh my!

Two weekends ago, we had our first baby shower! It was a beautiful couples shower hosted by my sister Jessica, with help from my mom and Michael's mom! It was great to have our families come together to celebrate Miss Adalee! There was lots of food, drink, dancing, and laughter - I basically couldn't have asked for anything more! During the shower, we also had the chance to catch up with a lot of family members that we do not see frequently - which was really nice! Here are a few photos from the shower...

Jess definitely captured my love of elephants through the shower decor!

The cradle that my Great-Grandfather handmade!

A beautiful baby blanket made by my Grandmother!

Some "Wall Art" from our nephews, James and John! 

Our niece Miriam is even letting Adalee borrow her baby blanket!

Lots of KC Royals outfits! Even one that Michael wore himself
after they won the World Series in 1985!

A big thanks to my wonderful sister for all of her hard work!

Last weekend we set aside some time to take maternity photos with Erica from Anecdotally Yours. We met Erica and her husband Jeff when they handled the videography for our wedding a few summers ago! Erica is a wonderful photographer and we had a great evening walking around Loose Park, taking photos as the sun was setting! Even though Michael was a little on edge about missing the last half of the Chiefs football game, the results are well worth it! Here is a quick preview...more photos to come!

Finally, we had our first of five birth classes last Tuesday. It was actually very informative and helpful, although our instructor is a bit of an "over-sharer". We went through a lot of the changes that my body has experienced, with emphasis on the anatomy side of it. As a former biology major, I admit that I was "nerding out" a little bit! We also covered the first stages of labor, and other important things - like knowing when it is time to go to the hospital! I was so impressed by Michael during the class. He knew a lot of the answers to the instructors questions - which means that he has actually been reading all of his pregnancy books! That is more than I can say for myself! Our homework for this week (yes, we have homework!) is to figure out how we want to communicate during the actual labor - including what phrases will be helpful or not helpful.

We are looking forward to... we have another set of sonograms coming up! One will be for fun - the 3D Ultrasound, where we actually get a 3D image of Miss Adalee! The other is to check on the position of the placenta. We are hoping for some movement - at least 1 centimeter between my cervix and placenta - but we shall see!

30 Weeks

Michael and I are excited to officially share the name of our daughter - Adalee Rose Bell. And let's be honest...we didn't do a great job of keeping it a secret in the first place! We decided pretty early on that her name would be Adalee, and have been calling her by her name ever since. Adalee was a name I had heard in passing many years ago, and for some reason it stuck with me. Luckily, Michael loves the name as much as I do - otherwise a battle may have ensued! Rose is a family name on my mother's side. My great grandmother's name was Rosa and my mom's middle name is Rose after her. We only hope that Miss Adalee will love her name as much as we do!

Now, on to our 30 Week update... This week...

Baby Bell is the size of a... cucumber? Where do they get this stuff?!? A cucumber to me seems small, but maybe they are talking about a species of giant cucumber only found in New Zealand. Anyways...Adalee is weighing in right around three pounds, and measures between 15 and 17 inches. Her skin is smoothing out, while her brain and lungs are continuing to develop. And goodness gracious, can she pack a punch (and a kick!) when she wants to... :)

My bump is... big. There is really no other word to describe it. And we are still 10 weeks out. Which means my bump has the capacity to stretch even bigger. Joy. Pure Joy. She still has some room to move in there, which she takes advantage of all day, every day. It is awesome to not only feel her moving all the time, but we actually get to see a lot of the movements as well - especially at night before going to bed, which is when Miss Adalee is her most active self! I am still waiting to see her hand print or foot print through my stomach - but I feel like it will be coming in the next month or so!

I have been feeling... like I need to get back to being busy. I have taken some time off from preparing for her arrival over the last few weeks. Mostly because we have been out of town so much, but also because I just needed a break! But now a little bit of stress is starting to come back and I feel like it is time to start checking things off the to-do list again. Ten weeks feels like nothing at this point - and there is still a lot to buy, a lot to organized, and a lot to get done! I guess we should get to it...

I have been craving... Mug Root Beer. And lots of it. Throughout the pregnancy, I had been doing a fairly good job not drinking soda - mostly to avoid the large amounts of caffeine. But now that I have discovered caffeine-free Mug Root Beer, I am in big trouble! The stuff is just so good! I still need to control my intake a little bit, because it has a lot of sugar...but one mini-can a day seems okay to me! One craving that I have not given into is having Caramel White Mochas from Starbucks. With the weather turning colder, this is what I want most mornings as a pick-me-up, but thus far I have had the willpower to not stop on my way to work. Let's hope this continues... :)

Our favorite thing has been... simply talking about our daughter and picking out items for her and the nursery. With the main furniture delivered and a rocker on the way (finally pulled the trigger on that one!), it has been fun to start buying some of the little decor items that will make her room special and uniquely hers. We have still been reading books most evenings, and just spending time talking about all the things we want to teach her, and things we can't wait to do as a family of three!

We are looking forward to... so many things! Our first baby shower is this weekend in Manhattan! It will be great to catch up and celebrate with our families! Then, the following weekend we are taking our maternity photos with Erica from Anecdotally Yours, who handled the videography for our wedding celebration! Also, we are starting our childbirth classes the week after that! I feel like we are a little late to the game on this one, but I didn't want to take the classes so early that I would forget the information! My memory seems to be fading a little more everyday as it is...Here's hoping that we learn a lot of helpful information, and that some of the anxiety associated with labor is mitigated!

September Weekends

September was a busy month for us! Between our various trips out of town and attending two weddings, we barely had any time to spend at home. On the positive side, we have gotten to spend a lot of time with family and friends this month, which has been great!

Visit to Colorado

In the first weekend of September, Michael and I made our first trip back to Colorado since the move. We had previously bought tickets to a PGA golf event - the BMW championship - and thought it would be the perfect excuse to go out of town for the weekend! We got to spend two days at the tournament, watching some of the best golfers in the world! We also got to spend time with Michael's brother Mark and his family, as well as my sister Jessica! All around, it was a fantastic (but too short) weekend!

Selfie with Sergio and Adam Scott!

All of the players were given BMW's to drive to the tournament.
This was Rory's car - not too shabby!

Ryan and Allison's Wedding
During the second weekend of September, we spent time with my side of the family celebrating the marriage of my cousin Ryan Kuhn to Alison Hover. It was such a wonderful weekend - filled with love and laughter! Ryan and Alison make such a great couple! Unfortunately, I hardly took any photos from the weekend, so I stole these photos from my cousin Caitlin - all credit goes to her awesome photography skills! :)

Rehearsal Dinner at Boulevard Brewery!

Three pregnant ladies - all due within two weeks of each other!

It is going to be a fun winter with three new babies joining the family!

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Amanda and Travis's Wedding

During the last weekend of September, my good friend Amanda married her college sweetheart Travis. They had a beautiful country chic wedding outside of Topeka, Kansas. All of the wedding details came together perfectly and it was a lot of fun getting to spend the weekend catching up with our friends from college! Most of the pictures I took were from the Rehearsal Dinner and leading up to the wedding, but I was able to steal a few pictures from my friend Alyssa - who is much better about remembering to take pictures! Everyone was beautiful that night! :)

Sorority Sisters!

Michael touching my belly...

...me touching Michael's belly!

Bridesmaids at the Rehearsal Dinner 

Pretty friend! Happy wedding day!

All ready for the ceremony! And my last picture of the day...