6 Months + A Little

I can tell I've changed a lot, not only in terms of physically due to Hugo, but also in general. How, you ask? Because Handsome Hubsandwich and I went on a mini beach vacation last weekend and I only took a handful of pictures. I remember the days where I'd have taken 100+ pictures over the course of two days. I'm sure that part of me will come back after Hugo is around (on the outside of my womb, that is).

At 6 months pregnant, Hubs and I decided to take a last minute non-baby-moon mini-vacation to Pensacola, because we realized it was the last weekend that I had off until the end of May. (To clarify, I do have several other weekends off between now and the end of May, but they are filled with holidays, friends' baby showers, our baby showers and a trip to Chicago.) (So they don't really count as being "off".)

Anyways. The first night (of two) Hubs and I decided to try our luck at getting into McGuire's Irish Pub for dinner. Surprisingly enough, we were successful and we got to enjoy some yummy drinks and dinner. Well, I enjoyed some good, old fashioned water, and Hubs got their signature drink- the Irish Wake.

The following day, we took our time waking up and getting dressed in the morning, stopped by Wal-Mart for a few necessities, then made our way to the beach. Side note: Many thanks to the Wellmans and the Harveys for lending us their beach umbrella and a cooler, respectively. 

Hubs carries most of the stuff in one go, because

he would rather suffer once, than have to walk

back and forth in the sand repeatedly. 

I dug a hole for my belly, so I could lay on my stomach and read.

Hello, Hugo!

Hubs *tries* not to get a sunburn.

The last of my pictures, as we're preparing to head in for the night.

Poor Hubs burnt, and burnt badly. Below, a picture of his peeling neck.

Pretty gross, no?

And some physical updates:

"Hello, feet. I'll miss you."

Six whole months of baking time for Brownie.

Three to go.

When we got back from the beach, it was miraculously already Week 25, and Hubs took me out for a delightful dinner at Pan E Vino in downtown, and gave me a "You're already a great mom, and thank you for carrying our little boy" present, in the form of an engraved Tiffany & Co ring! "HTP" is engraved on the inside for Hugo's initials. The last time he gave me a Tiffany & Co ring, I said to an important question ("Will you marry me?)

In other news, Puppy got a "dogbun" which I would like to equate to a "manbun." Here is the "Who Wore It Better?" between her and Leonardo DiCaprio.

She won, hands down.

Week 25 picture:

Holy smokes, kid! Slow down already!

Aaaaand our updates:

Total weight gain: 16 pounds. Whoa. But as you can see, it's all in one place (the Baby Belly).
Maternity clothes?: All day, err day.
Sleep?: Pretty well, though I hurt my hip a while back, and that makes rolling over pretty painful sometimes. I've also gotten a bit better at waking up in the mornings.
Peak of the week?: Hubs getting to see Hugo kick!!
Pit of the week?: Having to go all weekend without my nausea medicine because Target was slacking... again.
Missing anything?: I've sort of been wishing I could have a glass of wine. Why, at six months, I'm finally missing wine/beer, I couldn't tell you, but here we are.
Food cravings: Nothing in particular. 
Anything that makes you feel sick or queasy?: Still any pre-made pizza. Even the thought of it makes me feel sick.
Happy or moody?: Happy. But there was that one night that I was in a seriously bad mood because I was hungry and Hubs was chatting with a neighbor for over an hour. There is a clear trend with my bad moods: don't get in between me and my food!

Looking forward to: Starting our prepared childbirth classes next week, the great forecasted weather next week, and grilling with good friends!

All The [Small] Things.

I know that it's hard to believe after the my last four posts, but things other than Hugo have been happening in our lives. Of course, he's front and center currently, which is why I haven't spent much time on other things.

I promise that even though there will be many pictures, the post won't be ridiculously long.

OK nevermind, I take that back. But I'm going to try, for sure.

++

A quick round-up, starting in October 2014.

I'm a little ashamed that the better part of half a year has escaped me before writing about my big sister's wedding!

First, some pre-wedding activities, including getting our nails done.

The following day, we had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Melissa's fiance's family was about an hour late, so our family filled in their spots.

Top right, my grandma pretends to be the flower girl; bottom

right, Hubs and the Wedding Coordinator pretend to be Lu's parents.

The morning of the wedding, we did what we always do in Weston the morning before a big event. We ate at Bagelmania. As some of you may know, I ate at Bagelmania the morning I moved to Huntsville. It's sort of a rite of passage.

Then we got to the venue- a gorgeous yacht club-

and started to get dressed. Mimosas in hand, of course.

I took Melissa out for a stroll.

I told her that we should go scout out some great areas

for photos, but really, I was trying to calm her down because

she was starting to get a little tense. As an aside, we did get

lots of photos on this dock.

The photographer told me not to smile, but I'm not sure why it

is so hard to stop yourself once someone tells you not to. 

It's starting to creep in.

The ceremony. The weather was nice, sunny, and slightly breezy thanks to the water.

Here's a couple comparison photos from my wedding to Melissa's. Just because I love my wedding photos so much and I don't show them off enough. It's amazing how the colors and flowers in the photos (of the clothes and the backgrounds) really say a lot about how different my sister and I are.

9/10/11 and 10/17/14. Three years, one month, and seven days apart.

We were both so glad so much family could come. Left to right in

Melissa's: Mommal, Amanda, Mom, me, Melissa, Lu, Timmy, Kim, Jeff, Rocky.

Mine: Kim, Mommal, Aunt Elaine, Hubs, me, Timmy, Mom, Danielle, Melissa, Amanda

I begged Melissa to do that picture, and I'm so happy everyone played along!

Sadly, I don't have any really good pictures of Melissa and Lu at their reception on hand. Maybe one day I'll put some in! No promises.

Halloween:

My Dora the Explorer costume worked out so well, that a close friend didn't recognize me, and introduced herself. Win!

November 2014:

We started out the month enjoying a housewarming party for Nate and Rachel Brown! They have a beautiful home, and I look forward to lots of future fun there.

Fun fact: this is the last known picture of us before we knew about Hugo.

A week or so later, Hubs and I traveled to Nashville with the Harvey's for an Interpol concert! I don't think four people have ever planned so well for a one night trip and concert. Hubs and I had prepared by buying Home Depot "Let's Do This" orange buckets for us to sit on while we waited outside (the tickets were general admission- no assigned seats, so we had to get there early, naturally), we also brought umbrellas. The Harvey's, however, supplied road snacks (in the form of a GIANT bag of Sour Patch Kids!) and games to play while we waited. 

The top row is before the rain started. We're using Micah's jacket and

legs as a playing surface for some serious Spicy Farkle. I don't always

use my friends' husband's legs as a table, but when it's cold and rainy and

I'm waiting outside a concert venue sitting on buckets, I do.

Yea, we were in the front row. 

One thing to note: this is the same concert venue that a few years prior caught on fire and ended the show about 10 minutes in to the main event. It did not catch on fire this time around.

The next morning we played around imitating the paintings at our hotel, and ate some seriously amazing pancakes at the Pancake Pantry.

December:

Christmas 2014 was really fun. Hubs and I went to cut down a Christmas tree, and we got it home, and stood it up. But then I had to go to work. So Hubs was chilling with it at home, not decorating it per my request. Then he texts me and says it's infested with spider webs and spiders. Naturally, it had to go.

So sad, but so necessary.

Then, thankfully Hubs' parents lent (gave?) us their upstairs fake tree, which is incredibly huge, so I had an excuse to buy more ornaments. I bought a ton of ornaments. All on sale because Christmas was only a few days away! Thanks, WalMart!

Puppy skeptically sits in the way of the photo.

We spent a few days enjoying time at Hubs' parents' house, baking, decorating, and eating cookies, and taking family selfies, of course.

I only have a few photos (and they're all basically the same) from New Year's Eve since I had to leave super early to get to work at 6:30 the next morning.

Looks at Hubs' sexy wooden bow tie. Wait, wooden? Yes, wooden.

2015

January:

Nothing to note happened in January except Sarah's birthday, but I don't have any pictures she would be OK with me sharing.

February:

I finally got to visit sweet Gus Pettus outside of the hospital! My first visit was lack-luster because in addition to hardly being able to hold myself up, I could only look at this sweet child of God.

Don't mind our less-than-dapper appearances. I'm hooked up

to an IV and recently had been given large doses of Benadryl and

nausea medicine, and poor Hubs lovingly slept in the what had 

to be the most uncomfortable looking "pull out" chair/bed thing.

BUT! I got to meet him for real in February.

Both Gus and I have plumped up nicely. Twinsies?

Also in February, Hubs and I hosted an Oscar's Party that I did not attend. Below are photos from Meg.

Clockwise from top left: Ryan, holding Gus, will soon be holding his own sweet baby.

Meg, Joe, Sarah and Jonathan enjoy posing for a picture. Zach, Daniel and Hubs.

The Palmers looking fabulous as usual. The Big Winners of the night: Sarah, Meg and Joe.

The Big Not-Winners of the night: Wade (holding Emmett), and Stephanie.

I missed the Oscar's Party because I was on a last-minute trip to Houston for work. I have about 100 more pictures I wanted to include. I will not. Here are some of the funnest.

I rehydrated Space Lemonade, drank it, and

couldn't finish it. It was horribly sweet.

While I was in Houston, this was happening at home:

Truth be told: I'm glad I missed it.

And so far, nothing big has happened in March that isn't baby-related.

Now, the Puppy roundup.

Top row: October 2014 through December 2014.

Bottom row: January 2015 through March 2015.

Clockwise: Wanting attention; wanting attention while I sort

laundry; enjoying her fourth birthday; enjoying piggy back rides

from Daddy; not only wanting attention, but then demanding it as

she invited herself into Hubs' lap; proud after de-fluffing a toy.

Now the Astronaut roundup.

First Hispanic female astronaut, Ellen Ochoa; NASA astronaut Steve

Swanson's autograph on my poster; NASA astronaut Steve Swanson;

European astronaut Alexander Gerst; Russian Cosmonaut Oleg Artemiev; 

Russian Cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov; and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman.

Ok. Fine. But only because you asked politely.

24 weeks. 6 months. When did that happen?!

22 Weeks, a Sort of Short Rant, and Five Astronauts.

At 22 weeks pregnant and growing every day, I have a few things to complain about. ..As any pregnant woman would. Please don't judge me for the rant below.

First

The weather. This is the winter that Will. Not. End. Please, all I want is warmth for a few months or possibly forever. Is that too much to ask? In the last three weeks- since my last post- I've slept at work 3 times. Once on the floor in our simulation room, on top of sleeping bags and with a tiny pillow. Once on top of sleeping bags with a tiny pillow, but promised an air mattress. And once in a storm shelter women's restroom on a cot.

The cot was surprisingly comfortable.

All because of weather. And quite frankly, I'm sick of it! I even traveled to "warm, sunny" Houston for a week of training, and ended up with a week of cold and rain. All I can say is WTF. Seriously. I'm over it. None of my previous super warm jackets zip anymore, and my loving mother-in-law bought me a new jacket. It fits- for now- but it's not particularly warm. But if I load up on sweaters and layers, I can't get it on! The struggle is real.

Second

The weather. Wait, did I do this already? I'm still upset at the weather. I'm currently on hour #28 at work. Yes. TWENTY-EIGHT straight hours at work. 28. More than one entire full day. And I still have 5 hours left on this midnight shift. It's March. I'm done with winter.

Third

Air mattresses and their air pumps. Remember in Point One where I mentioned the air mattress? Yea. Well. One of the nights a few weeks ago that I slept at work, I was promised an air mattress. Now, I'm not upset at the person who promised the air mattress- he was being kind. He had no idea how badly the idea would fail. I arrived to work around 8pm on a Monday night, in preparation to sleep through the night - on this air mattress- until my shift started at 7am, because ice and snow was forecasted to accumulate and cause shotty road conditions and traffic issues (I had already slept there the night before in an attempt to avoid the ice). Well, after sitting in the console room for a short while (perhaps an hour or two) before heading to bed, I went across the hall to inflate this wonderful invention of an air mattress that had been promised to me. This air mattress- specifically purchased for weather emergencies in case people got stuck at work- was brand new! I would the FIRST EVER user of this glorious item. Except that... not so much. The air pump, also brand-spanking-new worked only on rechargeable batteries. Meaning, one could not plug in the air pump to inflate the air mattress. Reading the instructions, I learned that this particular battery must be charged for TEN HOURS before it would even have enough juice to start up the pump. Uh.. I don't have 10 hours. In 10 hours, my shift will have started, and I'll be on console..not sleeping. So I "slept" on the floor, atop my sleeping bags

Another air mattress woe: at the end of January/first few weeks of February, poor Hubs was so super congested that his snoring got infinitely worse than it had ever been. So bad, in fact, that it was keeping his over-heated, uncomfortable, pregnant wife awake. All night. Until finally I would give up and move to our guest room, which, as it turns out, is not particularly comfortable. Husband was understanding of my plea one night upon his arrival home. I had been working a swing shift (from 3pm-11pm) and when I returned home after work, he was still out watching a movie with friends. I wrote him a desperate note and taped it to our bathroom mirror- where I knew he'd see it, since he would have to take out his contact lenses. I asked him- no, begged him- to sleep in the guest room. Or on the couch. Or anywhere but in the bed with me, because I so very desperately needed sleep, after having not gotten a good night's rest in about 3 weeks (he even managed to snore horribly through Extra-Strength Breathe-Right Strips!). I even added in the note, that if he didn't want to sleep elsewhere, I was sure I'd wake up, and that I would move- and that he shouldn't worry about it. He loves me, and could surely feel the desperation in my note, and my handsome Hubbin slept on the couch. The next night he blew up our air mattress (with a working air pump!) where he slept for the next week or so. (Yes, he could have slept in our guest room, where there was a bed already made, and pillows, and such, but he preferred to be rocked to sleep by SportsCenter on ESPN. I don't judge or ask questions.. if he's willing to sleep somewhere less comfortable than our bed, I'll let him do it where he pleases). But during his stay in the living room, we discovered that the air mattress has some funny quirks. For example, like basically every air mattress over a year old anywhere, it has a small leak somewhere. But another oddity, one that's possibly much more annoying, it that somehow the whole dang thing is.. lopsided? You know when you lay on an air mattress with someone who weighs more than you, and you end up spending the whole time trying not to roll into their lower area? Well it seems that this air mattress always thinks it has a large person laying on one side. Always. Even if no one is on the mattress, the obvious slant is visible. It was only annoying because of the weekend that Hub and I spent laying on the air mattress watching James Bond films.

Fourth

Company trips where a rental car is not provided. Don't get me wrong, I love the company I work for. They're great. But three weeks ago (when the first of the weird winter weather hit, and I wasn't sleeping due to Hubs' snoring) when I found out that I would be going to Houston for a week for work, my company decided that they would not afford me the luxury of a rental car. There was lots of contractor and subcontractor hoopla surrounding the decision that I won't get in to. The problem with this is that I was instructed to basically invite myself into someone else's car. But I didn't know anyone else going on the trip with me. So, I literally called up a person and said (something like this), "Hi, my name is ____ ____. We haven't met, but I'm a certified DMC and I'll be traveling to Houston the same time as you. I have the same flight itinerary and hotel booked as you, and I was wondering if you'd be willing to let me into your car for the week." Awkward.

He was nice enough, and he did allow me into the car for the week. But it was obvious that we didn't know each other, and that he hadn't had someone rely on him for transportation in a pretty long time (as his youngest child is 24 years old), when the first full day in Houston, he unilaterally decided that we were not going to eat. I texted him around 7pm, and asked what his plans for dinner are. He said, "Oh, I'm not very hungry so I wasn't planning to go anywhere or eat dinner." Hah. Hah. Well, I texted him back and said, "Oh. Well.. I'm pregnant and I sort of need to eat something. Can you take me somewhere?" He looked up the closest fast food place and said he'd only take me to McDonald's because it was close and he "had stuff to do." So I met him downstairs and he drove me to McD's. I saw a Walgreen's across the street and asked him to take me there too, so get a few things. I figured that if on Day One he'd already left me out of the food decision completely I probably shouldn't depend on him too strongly for the food the rest of the week, so at Walgreen's I picked up some breakfasty items, as well as snacks that could substitute a complete dinner. I also picked up cough medicine and decongestant (after much research about what I could take while pregnant), because after three weeks of being congested, Hubs had finally given me his cold. Got back to the hotel and I made sure to ask him only for minimal rides for the rest of the week, and did not depend on him for rides to and from food places, and instead met a woman who was in our same training class, and was also in our hotel, who was much more thoughtful of me.

++

It hasn't all been bad, lately, and for me to make it seems like it has isn't fair. So many good and cool things have happened.

For Valentine's Day, Husband made me THREE WHOLE fridge shelves of hand-dipped chocolate covered strawberries. Three whole shelves. Three.

Such beauty, such deliciousness. 

While in Houston, I met not one, not two, but FIVE astronauts (2 Russian Cosmonauts, 1 European astronaut, and 2 NASA astronauts)

Alexander Skvortsov

Oleg Artemiev

Alexander Gerst

Steve Swanson

Reid Wiseman

And lastly, and definitely most importantly, on the evening of March 4th, I finally *definitely* felt Hugo kick for the first time. And in the early evening of March 5, Husband felt Hugo kick!!

Here's our 22 Week picture:

Look at that bump! He sure is growing!

Also, I bought a curling wand and I love it.

The updates:

Total weight gain: 9 pounds!
Maternity clothes?: All day, err day. I still wear a few of my non-maternity work tops- the kinds that have stretch. But I feel most comfortable wearing maternity tops and showing off my sweet baby belly!
Sleep?: Better, now thanks to my Snoogle, the fact that I got over my week-and-a-half-long fight with a cold/congestion/cough, and realizing that sleeping in shorts and a light-weight shirt is best since I've been getting really hot at night.
Peak of the week?: No doubt- both Hubs and I feeling Hugo kick!
Pit of the week?: Spending a total of 31+ hours straight at work, definitely.
Missing anything?: Warmth. I want nothing more than to not need sweaters and layers and jackets and scarves. I want warmth. I don't even require sun!! Just warmth!
Food cravings: We actually made a list a few weekends ago, and we're slowing working our way through it. Top of the list was waffles. And the waffles we got were amazing.
Anything that makes you feel sick or queasy?: Thankfully, nothing in particular. The medicine has been working wonders.
Happy or moody?: Still mostly happy. Not so much "moody" as "hormonal." Earlier this week, Hubs had to work late, and I was planning to make dinner for us before I had to go to sleep for my midnight shift. Then he said he wasn't going to be eating dinner with me because he was going to hang with friends. That made me cry. But I got over it, and then I was excited just to hang out with him before I had to go to sleep, and he went off with friends for the evening. But around the time he should have gotten home, he texted and said he was stuck in traffic and that "it's not worth it to come home" because he would just have to leave again to meet up with people on time. Yea.. I cried for like two hours because in my mind, I read that it wasn't worth it to come see me and Hugo. Bawled like a baby. So, I'm hormonal.

Looking forward to: Going home sometime tomorrow morning when the nice layer of ice covering my car has melted and I can get in!!

Aaaand I made a time lapse of Bump pictures.