Little update!

Ok so it's been a little while since I have posted. I have been kind of busy planning two birthday parties for a very special little boy who is turning six next Monday! Also I just haven't really felt up to it. I promise I will try to continue the weekly updates(at least for my own sake) I am doing pretty well right now. Feeling much better than I have. Still very tired and not much motivation but I am hoping sometime soon the nesting will kick in. Baby boy is moving like crazy! He is of course very active at night when I want to go to sleep but I love to lay in bed and just feel him! He is head up for the most part and I can definitely feel his feet down low for the most part. The bigger this little guy gets the more presure there is on my bladder. I pee constantly. I have had quite a few contractions already, at least a couple everyday for about the last two weeks. It seems that if I do much walking at all they start up, but nothing regular yet. I told Jared when it is time for him to come out I am just going to walk him right out. I haven't had a migraine for about 2 weeks now! YAY! I feel so blessed with this pregnancy! I just can't wait to have my new little boy in my arms!

Randomness

One night we were watching Sara and Jon's kids for them. I thought this was so cute, I had to share!

Grant fell asleep on the couch, sitting up, with flashlight in hand! Silly boy!

I was horrible this year about getting pictures on mothers day. But I thought this was pretty funny. When we go to my mom and dad's Grant is very spoiled and gets just about anything he wants, within reason. We hadnt even started making dinner and Grant was whining about being hungry, so my awesome mom got up and cut him a cucumber. One of his favorite snacks! He lounged on the couch like this and ate his cucumber the whole time we were making dinner!

Grant playing football with his second cousin Landon. The older kids wouldnt let these two play with them so they just had a blast by themselves!

On Monday the weather was really nice and Grant was out of school, so I took the boys (BJ, Grant, and Bentley) to the Tracey Aviary. We had a lot of fun!

This big fat bird ate right out of Brock's hand.

Grant and Bentley! Grant had so much fun with Bentley. He wanted to do it all, he fed him and pushed him around in the stroller, everytime Bentley would even fuss a little Grant was right by his side!

The sign said, "DO NOT FEED" and what are they doing? Feeding the birds! I just love these boys so so so much!

A couple weeks ago we went to the races out at RMR with Monica, Ian, Talon, and Kyrie. We had a lot of fun and boy does my little Grant love Kyrie! They could just play together for hours and hours!

The kids got to ride in the pace car and they thought that was so cool!

Here they are in the pace car . /\  And here they are when they got out! \/ Grant thought it was so cool, he couldnt wait to get out of the car and tell me all about it!

Halfway there!! 20 weeks

Twenty weeks is the halfway point to holding your baby in your arms. Are you ready yet? Your baby is working on getting ready. While his rapid growth stage is almost over, the next stage is imperative for his survival outside of the womb.
Your baby is now about 6 ½ inches long from crown to rump and weighs 10 ½ ounces, almost a pound! She is about 10 inches long from head to toe. This week, your baby’s heart grows stronger. If you lie down flat on your back, locate your pulse, and put your hand over your belly, you may be able to hear her pulse as well.
His body becomes well covered in vernix (the white cheese-like coating which protects her skin from the amniotic fluid), giving him skin that baby-soft feel after she’s born and bathed.
He is practicing swallowing every day, and has a good amount of meconium stored up in his bowels. Meconium is a black gooey substance that will make up your baby’s first bowel movement when he’s born.
His immunities are beginning to develop, as your body transfers antibodies to his. These antibodies will also be transferred to your baby with breastfeeding, keeping him out of harm’s way from viruses and infections.
Your baby’s senses are developing, and he can begin to taste, smell, hear, see, and touch. Nerve cells are continuing to make new connections every day in preparation for his big day. He already knows your voice, familiar music and other familiar voices, like Dad or Grandma, or big brother!

I am tired and for the most part emotionless the past couple days. This too shall pass.

Baby senses

I thought this was kind of interesting and thought I would share it with any of you who may be interested as well!

Touch

Touch is the first sense she’ll develop - studies have shown embryos respond to a gentle touch on the cheek as early as eight weeks. By 11 weeks, she can feel touch on her palms, by 12 weeks on her soles and by 17 weeks, most parts of her abdomen and buttocks are sensitive to touch.
By 32 weeks nearly every part of her body can feel pain and temperature, and your baby is exploring the world around her by using touch. She may also explore her own hands and face, and suck her thumb to see what it feels like.
Smell
The first of her smell receptors appear between five and 11 weeks after conception. Her nose, which develops between 11 and 15 weeks, is continually filled with amniotic fluid, which can carry the smells of your food.
Research has shown premature babies born as early as 26 weeks respond to different smells. It is her sense of smell that helps guide your baby to your breast for her first feed after birth.
Taste
Your baby’s taste buds begin to develop in weeks 12 and 13. By 30 weeks the surface of her tongue is full of hills and clefts containing taste buds. Scans have shown unborn babies can stick their tongue out to taste the amniotic fluid that surrounds them.
It carries the flavour of strong foods that you’ve eaten and will give her an early taste for dietary preferences later in life. Just like smell, her sense of taste will encourage her to take her first sips of breast milk once she’s born.
Sound
Your baby’s ears will be structurally complete by 24 weeks and the first sounds she’ll hear will be the gurgles made by your body. She’ll also be able to hear sounds from outside the womb, such as conversations, and loud music, but they will be distorted and muffled.
She’ll learn to recognise your voice as this will travel through your body directly to her and research shows that she is calmed by hearing you speaking.
Sight
Your baby’s eyes are fully formed halfway through your pregnancy (20 weeks), but sight is the last sense to develop. Her eyes will remain closed until 26 weeks, and after this she starts opening and closing them to develop her blinking reflex.
By 28 weeks her eyes are sensitive to light and she may be able to detect a slight glow from very bright sunlight shining on your bump, but her ability to focus and perception of colours won’t develop completely until after she has entered her new world.
At birth she can focus from eight to 12 inches, which is about the distance to your face when you’re breastfeeding her.

Reading is fun!!

My little Grant is becoming such an amazing reader. From the first time he brought a reading book home at the beginning of the school year it seems that he just "got it" Of course he started just the same as any of us with short simple words and sentences, but he immediately picked up on sounding the words out and making a bunch of letters into a word. He understands the concepts of the english language, like the blending sounds (sh,th,ch, etc..) he also understands things like long vowel sounds and short vowel sounds. It is just awe inspiring to see how his little mind has grown and retained all this important information. The other thing that comes along with reading is spelling. You have to be a good speller in order to be a good reader, right? Well Grant blows me away with his spelling. They started doing spelling tests a little while back and Grant has scored 100% on every test he has had! He is an awesome speller! He gets so excited when he brings his perfect spelling tests home, because he knows daddy will take him to see Grandpa Craig and he gives him $3.00 every week for his perfect spelling tests! Jared and I used to spell certain words when we didnt want Grant to know what we were talking about but we can no longer pull that off. Grant always knows right away what we have spelled, no matter how fast we spell it! Grant is a smarty pants at all things he does and tries, but he has really excelled in reading and spelling and I am so proud of my little man!!!

19 weeks (a day early)

So I will be 19 weeks tomorrow but I went in for an ultrasound today. Instead of using generic pictures I find on the internet here are the ultrasound pictures of OUR sweet baby boy!

Your baby's crown-to-rump length is 5.2 to 6 inches this week. Your baby weighs approximately 7 ounces and will increase its weight more than 15 times between now and birth!

Most women can feel their uterus about a half of an inch below their bellybutton at this point of pregnancy. If you turn to the side, you can really tell that your body is changing! Most women have gained up to 14 pounds now and only 7 ounces of that is your baby! The placenta weighs about 6 ounces and the amniotic fluid that surrounds your baby weighs 11 ounces. Your breasts have increased in weight by 6 ounces each and the uterus has grown to 11 ounces! You may be gaining weight in places other than your abdomen and this may be affecting your posture and sleeping habits.
One of the most amazing aspects of your baby's growth and development is that of the fetal brain. Your baby's brain is one of the first organs to appear. Your baby's oversized head shows the brain's importance in his development. Because the nerves that connect the muscles to the brain have grown into place, your baby's movements are consciously directed. Your baby's ears stand out from the sides of the head and the buds for your baby's permanent teeth appear. Your baby's arms and legs have reached their relative proportions and his feet are approximately one inch long.

I am doing pretty good this week. Still have migraines about twice a week, at least it is not everyday like it used to be. I have some long ligament pain and some major stretching pain but nothing I cant handle. I have been a little bit moody and snapping at my boys a little. I really hate it when I get like that, and the thing that sucks is I dont even know why. Hopefully it will pass soon. I have been thinking and pondering a lot lately. Life, love, God, babies, miracles... All I know is I am one very lucky woman, daughter, wife, and mother!!! I love my life!