One year ago.

On December 31, 2011 I stood in my bathroom indescribably starting at 2 lines.

Today I stare at my lovely son, still indescribable, but so grateful. 

 

Celebrating Kai

Meet Kai Evans.

He gave me the great privilege of becoming a mom on August 23. Just one hour after arriving at the birthing center, out he came into the arms of his dad. Jonathan placed Kai on my chest so we could meet and then I fell in love.

I hope to have my birth story complete very soon. I will be sharing it with more pictures and hopefully a slideshow!

Week 35 and 36

Hello - yes, this is 2 weeks behind, that's all - Enjoy!


How far along?  35/36 Weeks

Feeling: Resting more during the day, but not so much at night.

I am noticing that I am having a hard time: bending down to pick things up, getting out of bed quickly (I have to roll off sideways), getting into small cars, doing the dishes with my big tummy in the way (unless my arms are stretched out), putting lotion on my legs and feet (unless sitting and doing it one leg at a time), playing with Kona (too tired), or even showering and drying off (might start using the bigger guest bathroom).

Best moment these last few weeks: Having my good friends host a shower for me. They had yummy brunch foods, great punch, fun games and prizes, and also a card for people to fill out that had wishes for baby (pictures to come soon).
Also, my sister had her baby on Wednesday, August 1st. She was a week early and had a baby boy. A few hours later on the same day, my good friend Katie delivered her son! These two boys are actually cousins too! So exciting!

Miss Anything? Let me rephrase the question - What I won't miss: HEARTBURN or acid reflux after eating different foods. 

Movement: His shoulder or something is always jabbing out on my right side. I gently pat/push it back in and he nicely moves it. 

Food cravings: Lots of them. Since my blood pressure has been higher, I have been trying to stay away from foods high in salt. Sodium is in almost everything.

Looking forward to: Fixing the nursery, buying things for delivery day and packing my birthing bag. We also will be installing our new car seat this week! That will look different in our car.

Firsts: Started the "24" TV series. Started half days at work. Having to do some days of bed rest. Made a long long list of "To Do's"before baby comes.

Other: Part of a Facebook forum where people post questions, advise, free stuff and things to do with baby in Denton. I have gotten some free newborn diapers, a diaper genie and discounted breast friend pillow from it!

Birthing class: Is over, but we have started meeting with our Doula Heidi. She is going to be my birthing "maid of honor" on baby's birthday! 

Baby room: We finally have a paint color! Brown- calm down, not the whole room, just an accent wall. We started to build our crib (well opened the box) but found a gash in it from shipping. Be careful FedEx. So instead of building the crib, we put together the pack'n'play for our room. 

Our other child- Kona Baby: She loves going in the baby room and exploring. Haven't gotten a baby doll for her yet to practice being around, but very soon.

Where you find me and what I usually am doing. 

Resting more.

Sweet Weston Dean Hembree - Born on Aug. 1

Shower game time! Love games! 

Game for me to play: I had to guess what each gift was and what to do with it. 

"Awe, I love this, thanks Kathryn!"

My beautiful, lovely friends who gave me this wonderful shower. So thankful for each of these ladies who are part of my life. Look forward to them having babies someday too. 

Week 33 and 34

My boss Laurea and I at my work shower

How far along?  33/34 Weeks

Feeling: Pretty Good! My pelvis is starting to be sore because of more pressure. Baby is in good position with head down.

I am noticing: that I am resting my hands, plates and cups more on my tummy when I am sitting. I wondered if I would ever use the baby for placement.

Stretch marks? Same. But I did get some belly cream from a shower!

Best moment this week: Having a wonderful Wednesday date night with Jonathan. We went to a great restaurant in Dallas, had good food and then to the Dallas Arboretum for the Chihuly Glass Exhibit. (pictures below) I also had 2 showers this week.

Miss Anything? Cooler mornings. I rush to get inside my office building at 8am because of the heat.

Movement: Oh so much movement, now on my left side. The doctor told me his feet are on my left now. Sure enough, lots of tiny toes and kicks on that side.   

Food cravings: The $1 ice cream that is in the university union (2 min walk). They have a lemon chill and cookies n' cream flavor that I love. The new Chick Fil A cookies are really good too. I am so glad Jonathan and I got our own the other day because it would have been hard to split.

Looking forward to:  My Birthday. I am taking Monday off to hang with Jonathan and just enjoy the day off. 

Firsts: Had my first baby shower last Saturday. Got so much encouragement from the women and great gifts. The 4 hostess gave us a chair glider for our baby room.

Other: I started swimming and walking after work. It feels great to get in the pool and swim laps. I feel lighter.

Birthing class: Only one week left. This last week the men and women split up and we had time to talk more openly on things that some might not feel comfortable if men were around. We have a pot luck and pool party this Tuesday night. That will be fun - someone is bringing Brisket.

Baby room: It's getting full of baby gifts! Also our new glider is there!

Our other child- Kona Baby: She is just  hanging in there with this hot weather. Not getting to play or walk as much outside. She is sniffing all my new gifts and thinks all the stuffed animals are for her. Not these kind. We will be getting a small fake baby soon and put a diaper on it to get her used to the smells and a little baby around. We will see how this goes.

Getting a pedicure from a cutie

Indoor track I have been walking on.

One side of the lap pool. I am usually in another area.

Mexican themed shower - My guests were waiting patiently

A mamasita waiting

Cute baby fruit carriage made by Sharon Dumas

Me and Katie

People and decorations

Some of the Chihuly Exhibit

Another glass sculpture

Work shower that Laurea threw

Sharon and I

Presidents wife made me a nice baby quilt

32 weeks down, 8 weeks to go

32 Weeks

Hi! I am going to try and document my pregnancy now that I am in my third trimester. Ha. We will see how I do. I just took a few questions from someones blog and filled them in and added some of my own. I also dumped a few pictures to show my life this week. Enjoy!

How far along?  32 weeks

Feeling: I am feeling heavier and bigger tummy wise, maybe because he is having a growth spurt and I have eaten a lot this week. It has been a little uncomfortable at night, but I am still getting enough sleep. It has been harder to get up and get ready, so I haven't been showering some mornings and just pulling my hair back so I can get an extra 30 min of sleep. 

I am noticing: that when I am talking to a large group of people or on the phone for a while, I get hot flashes and just start sweating. So I put a fan at my desk and keep it on all day. So weird. Blame it on my hormones.

Stretch marks? Yes, some tiny ones on my hips, near others I got in middle school. Nothing new, I have known my body is prone. I still will wear a swimsuit and not worry!

Best moment this week: Meeting up with other Filipinos and having so much Filipino food to eat for our 4^th of July Filipino Feast.

Miss Anything? Wearing some of my cute summer dresses. They just fit awkwardly right now. And maybe a cold margarita.

Movement: Oh so much movement, especially on my right side… where my stretch marks are.. any parallels?

Food cravings: Not craving, but I am enjoying so much watermelon right now. The perfect bites are those that have been sitting in the refrigerator for a few hours!

Looking forward to:  My gym membership at UNT at the Rec. Center. I got the membership to swim laps and walk the indoor track since it is too hot to do this outside.

Firsts: Washed a load of baby clothes with my clothes to get some laundry done. I  was telling Jonathan it is so weird to have little clothes in there with ours. Also, we only do laundry once every 2 weeks now and I think that is going to change after the baby comes.

Other: I bought a medicine ball to sit on because it helps the baby “stay down” and gives my butt/tailbone a rest. I am tempted to bring it to work. 

Birthing class: This was our 3rd week and it was great. I am already getting sad we only have 3 more weeks left. I love getting to know people in there, hearing their questions and asking lots of questions that I come up with during the week. We worked on more pain coping techniques with music. I am getting my play list together this week and looking forward to having good music playing during labor. 

Baby room: I have finally cleaned it out (almost) and taped the  room up for painting. No paint color chosen yet. Jonathan will be taking care of that once he takes his test on July 21. So we should have colors picked out them. I am letting him take the lead on this.

Baby name: Nada. We did have a 2 hour discussion on it, but nothing new yet.

Our other child- Kona Baby: For the 4th of July, me and some friends took our dogs to the lake and swam with them. The water felt great and the dogs got some good exercise. She was sleeping on the way home. We tried out a new dog park on Thursday in Lewisville and met up with my friend Courtney to meet her new dog. Lately, she has become bored at home since the she can't be out in the heat to much. We try to get a walk in the evenings, but only after 9pm.

I don’t know if I will keep this format, I am just tying it out. It does help me answer questions so I don’t just ramble everything on my mind. Here are some pictures from my iphone that I took to document this week. 

Brownie cake I made of a Filipino flag

Filipino food

I have been eating an entire watermelon this weekend.. Jonathan picked the sweetest one!

Trying to drink 4 water bottles a day. This is how I keep track at work. 

Birthing Center where Baby will be born and where I have appointments.  Had a good 2 week check up. Baby is doing great and in a good place.

First load of baby laundry.

My new comfort and chair. This is where I sit and get on the computer.

Dre, Tristan, Nelson and Kona

Almost clear baby room

See you next week! 

We're Here!

I know, it's been over 3 months since my last post - but for a good reason....I'll give you a hint:

-Not because I have been on vacation
-Not because I haven't had internet
-Not because I didn't have anything to post about
 But
-Because I have other things on my mind and didn't blog about it
-Because I was distracted with other things
-Because I didn't know how to start blogging about this:

With more to come. I might just start off this blog acting and talking like I have been blogging this whole time... Beginning with 32 weeks!

Crafty

 (I will explain the picture in the post)

 I don't consider myself a crafty person, but I like to make things from time to time. I don't own a embroidery machine or die cut, but I do have a craft table. That's a start.


A few months ago, I saw this picture on Pinterest and was inspired to make a craft room.

 
My husband asked me why I needed a craft room and all I could think of at the time was one small project: To put together our wedding album from 2007. (lame reason)


After that conversation I had a garage sale and sold a queen size bed that was crowding my future craft room. My next mission was to find a cheap, sturdy craft table. A few days later I found a cheap $10, sturdy table at the re-sale shop that my University has on campus.  When I arrived home, I immediately put it together and realized that this is what impulse buying gets you:

 

To answer your question, "Yes, the table only came with one side of legs." This is how I improvised.

*P.S.- I wrote this post back in January and lots has changed since then. I got a a new table and chair! This time for FREE! My good friend Devon had put her table and chair out on the edge of the street for people to take and I just so happen to be in the area with my SUV. Thanks Devon for making my craft room look much better. 

*P.S.S. - This craft room will now be used for something else... ;-)