24 Week Baby Bump

Happy 6 Months sweet Aubrey
Number of weeks: 24 weeks
Measurement: right on track
Baby Size: According to the Bump, our baby is the size of a cantaloupe. At about 10.5 to 11.8 inches and about 12.7 to 20.8 ounces, baby's not just getting bigger, she's getting even cuter.
Interesting Fact: Her see through skin is becoming more opaque and pink.
Total Weight Gain: +10.8
Pregnancy Clothes: Oh how I love long, cotton maxi dresses. I'm really enjoying going strapless and just putting on a dress. It's nice not having anything too tight along my belly. Poor girl continues to hang out by my bladder, so I enjoy not having things real tight.
Tiger Stripes: Not too sure. I am using coco butter and haven't seemed to gain any extra little tiger stripes.
Symptoms: beautiful baby kicks and rolls, long nails, back pain, feet feeling swollen, leg cramps, and my belly button feels really stretched these days. I can't wait for it to pop.
Sleep: I have had some good days and some uncomfortable. I am fully side and back sleeping. No tummy sleeping for me. Baby girl will let me know she's not a fan of me collapsing her room. I still get up about 2-3 times per night.
Movement: I love feeling Miss Aubrey move. This weekend we actually were able to see my belly move on its own. I will say that she has to be in the mood to kick. Her hours are for sure at 10:00-11:00 and 1-3AM. Yep. She's already confused her days and nights. We try to give her little talks saying that mama needs some sleep, but she sure likes to party!
Most Memorable Moment: We enjoyed going home to see our families this weekend for Father's Day and my FIL's 70th birthday. It was sure special to show off Miss Aubrey as the last time I went I was 9 weeks along and I am now sporting a 24 week bump.
Cravings: watermelon, pineapple, queso, and sweets... not always in that order:)
Gender Predictions: We are welcoming our sweet daughter, Aubrey Rose Zellner in early October. I just love her name as it is a perfect combination of family history. Aubrey is Raymond's grandfather's name while Rose is my middle name and my Oma's (grandmother's) middle name. It truly is perfect! Her nickname will be Aubie (which does happen to be Auburn Tiger's name) or Aubaby when she's little.
What I Miss: sweet tea, margaritas, and bikinis.
What I look forward to: This weekend we are beginning the painting process. I can't wait to see her beautiful room come together:)

First Grade ROCKS and feeling Preggers!

The past few days have been a sure whirlwind and the crazy thing is that these two days have been the first days of summer! On Monday, I spent 7 hours back at my homeschool switching rooms to another first grade room. While I have loved my room with a door, it will be much nicer, to be closer to my team plus the air is a good 3 degrees cooler. This makes this preggo mama much happier. I will honestly say, I do love my new room and set up. Our theme this year is School Rocks! I love the cute little record and guitar additions I included with a good polka dot neutral room. I'm keeping my fingers crossed to keep the room which will just allow me to make minor changes as the theme changes. The plan and reason I spent my time in the school Monday was because I couldn't imagine an 8-9 month pregnant lady standing on top of a desk. I still have a few more changes to make as well as include all of my summer school material I had to take with me. Speaking of summer school, I really do enjoy working over the summer. I enjoy teaching and half days. The one day that typically is the hardest is the full day preparing, training, meet the teacher, and room set up... all within a short time period. The past two  years, my room has been a bit empty which has forced me to bring quite a few materials from school. This is absolutely fine. It is just difficult this year as I will be 6 months pregnant this week and am really starting to feel all of this up, down, lifting, moving, etc. Long story short, I am feeling pregnant. I know it's super early to be saying this and I am sure I'll regret it, but my body has just been really sore lately with all the moving and lifting. I definitely look forward to the days when Miss Aubrey and I can relax a bit... and by relax when summer school is over I just mean do all things baby:) From my rolly chair not rolling, to dropping my plastic buckets of materials, to setting up a second room within two days, to late lunches and lots of heat, I've definitely had a few melt downs the past few days. I am so thankful for this summer school opportunity and my opportunity to stay in first grade. I have loved my schools and am thankful for those I work with. I am just so excited for things to slow down a bit and to really be able to enjoy some lazy summer days at home:)

23 Week Baby Bump

Number of weeks: 23 weeks
Measurement: right on track
Baby Size: According to the Bump, our baby is the size of a grapefruit. At about 10.5 to 11.8 inches and about 12.7 to 20.8 ounces, baby's not just getting bigger, she's getting even cuter.
Interesting Fact: She's listening to your voice and heartbeat.
Total Weight Gain: +10
Pregnancy Clothes: Still loving them. I bought a few extra long maxi dresses that are super comfortable and feel so good around the ever growing belly.
Tiger Stripes: I'm sure I've gained a few... if I could see them. Ha!
Symptoms: beautiful baby kicks, long nails, ligament pain, back pain, feet feel swollen but no actual swelling as of yet. This can be attributed to the end of school and being on my feet, changing rooms, and all the standing.
Sleep: This week I've gotten really uncomfortable while trying to sleep. I can still absolutely lay on my back but my sides are starting to hurt and I change positions often. I also get up several times in the middle of the night and am usually awake at this point. God is just preparing my body for baby girl.
Movement: I love feeling Miss Aubrey and love that Ray is able to feel her more and more each day. This morning she was really kicking mommy pretty hard. It makes me giggle each time.
Most Memorable Moment: My first graders have loved talking about Aubrey. They ask questions if she can hear them or what she's doing? Who does she look like? What does she like to do all day in my tummy? They have melted my heart with the sweetest questions. This was also my final week in first grade.
Cravings: watermelon, pineapple, queso, and sweets... not always in that order:)
Gender Predictions: We are welcoming our sweet daughter, Aubrey Rose Zellner in early October. I just love her name as it is a perfect combination of family history. Aubrey is Raymond's grandfather's name while Rose is my middle name and my Oma's (grandmother's) middle name. It truly is perfect! Her nickname will be Aubie (which does happen to be Auburn Tiger's name) or Aubaby when she's little.
What I Miss: sweet tea, margaritas, and bikinis.
What I look forward to: I look forward to productive days this summer and preparing our house for Aubrey. I also look forward to some relaxing days. Days where I can sit and do absolutely nothing but grow our little Miss.

List of Lately

1. We have gone shopping for all things baby. I just love this cute little onesie from Target.
2. I enjoy early Friday movie dates with the husband. (This allows me to still go to bed early, but spend a little quality date night with my man)
3. We began our registries.
4. I said good-bye to my first year in first grade.
5. I will begin teaching summer school to kinders on Tuesday and will finish before the July 4th holiday.
6. I began to search for a daycare for Miss Aubrey.
7. Ray and I went on a walk this week with the dogs. Sadly I have been so out of breath lately because the little lady is pushing on my diaphragm. On our way back a car of kids threw a filled McDonald's drink cup at us. Thank goodness for his poor aim. I was a bit devastated at his stupidity and thought hopefully this would never happen when our baby girl is here. Who would throw a filled drink cup at a pregnant woman?
8. I'm so excited to be traveling home to see the family next weekend. The last time they saw this belly I was 9 weeks pregnant. This next week I'll be turning 6 months or 24 weeks:) What a change! Hopefully they'll be able to feel baby girl and her sweet kicks.
9. I've sent a lot of prayers for my brother the past few weeks. Last Sunday while he was supposed to visit and had a break down with the car and was unable, he ended up getting shot at a gas station. He was standing and pumping gas while neighboring people got into a fight. The guy pulled a gun and my brother was in the cross fire. He is ok and shot in the back of the leg. Just a crazy and scary thought to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I do think that it opened up a lot of great conversation that God was surely watching over him and has a great plan. I'm truly thankful for his safety.
10. We've stocked up on a lot of diapers and wipes. That's currently all that is in Miss Aubrey's room right now.
11. We have picked paint colors including mint green, light charcoal gray, and white with random yellow accents. It's gender neutral for sure. I just love those sweet colors together.
12. I gained two pounds this week. oops:)

Here are just a few lists of lately. I'll be trying to keep up this summer as I'll have more time to blog about all of our fun to do's:) Wishing you a great summer and many lists of lately!

Saying Good-bye & New Adventures

This year has been fast and furious and a lot of fun. I am having bittersweet feelings about my final days of first grade. Thinking about the year I've spent, I left my homeschool and transferred to another. I said good-bye to my teacher friends and family as well as my kiddos and was given a new one. I loved the opportunity I was given over the past years, the relationships that I've made and kept, as well as the new ones I've gained. It was a challenge for me to leave but I think I knew in my heart that was what what I was supposed to do. I sure do miss my kids and have loved getting to see them, their families, and my teacher friends throughout this year. I love teaching first grade. I have a classroom full of personalities and just beautiful hearts. At the end of this year, I was a bit overwhelmed thinking of baby girl, of summer school, and all the exciting but overwhelming to dos. I definitely felt pregnant at the end of the year... the moving, the bending, the changing of rooms. I didn't think I had a lot of materials, but after a few days of moving rooms and feeling pretty exhausted, I'm guessing I have more than I thought. I will be done Monday so I'm not too worried. I am just feeling the growing pains, the sadness of many good-byes, but am excited about all that will be accomplished this summer. It is crazy yet amazing to me to think of my return as a 8-9 month pregnant teacher, but all will be great. My principal set up a wonderful long term substitute for me. My school loves her as she used to teach there and I hear she's fabulous. So I leave this post with a sense of accomplishment, a sense of just trying to relax and know that as they say... I'm growing a life and to take my time one day at a time. So here's to all of my teacher friends... May you have a wonderful summer and enjoy a time a relaxation and of new adventures.

8 Baby Question Marks

Now that we are more than halfway along, we are realizing that our little lady will be joining us a lot sooner than later. I know that we have plenty of time to get all of our necessary to dos completed, I simply have a stronger sense of urgency. This weekend, while we were supposed to have a family visitor, our plans had to sadly change. To make up for it... we did all things baby. We looked into starting our registries, looked at baby furniture, figured out official nursery colors and design, as well as discussed hospitals and so forth. I feel so good about our baby productivity level for sure;)

But then, while we were at the stores I came a bit overwhelmed trying to decide between which stroller, carrier, bottles, pumps, pacis... you name it, I thought about it. I am so thankful for the advice I have received from friends and family. But I did think of a few questions that I thought I might ask as well. I'm in search of some advice. Feel free to leave any, small or large. I would love your thoughts.

Q&A
1. After a great deal of research and some personal testing, I have my eyes on a few stroller/travel systems. What has worked best for you? Do you get a gender neutral? If you get a male or female gendered stroller, does it really matter since you will be purchasing a double stroller or new piece to accommodate both when the next kiddo comes along?
2. We are about to do our hospital tours within the  next few weeks as our doctor's office wants us registered by 28 weeks. (as summer is approaching we may be out for a few weeks so I want to move forward) What hospitals did you tour? What baby classes did you sign up for and think were beneficial?
3. What stores did you register at? Target, Babys R Us, and Buy Buy Baby. Which store did you prefer and why?
4. What were your must haves on your registry?
5. After Aubrey is born, my plan is to take the full 12 weeks for maternity leave. What maternity period did you take? Did you feel it was a good amount of time? (as I know we always want more:)
6. I have also visited one daycare a few weeks ago and have a plan to visit more soon. How early did you register for daycare? Did you look at in-home daycares? What were your thoughts on both? What were some of your reasons for selecting your daycare?
7. During our hospital stay, we will have family come to visit us from out of town. When you had family stay, did they stay at your house? How long? Did both families come and stay at the same time?
8. If you have pets, what did you  do with them? If they stayed away from the home, how long did they stay away? How did you integrate them back and introduce to the baby?

That is enough for now. I have plenty of questions that will be discussed here. Thank you again for your thoughts and advice:)

22 Week Baby Bump

Number of weeks: 22 weeks
Measurement: right on track
Baby Size: According to the Bump, our baby is the size of a papaya. In month five, the average fetus measures about 10.5 to 11.8 inches and weighs about 12.7 to 20.8 ounces.
Interesting Fact: She now has more developed eyes and eye lids. She also is sleeping in cycles of 12-14 hours.
Total Weight Gain: +8.5
Pregnancy Clothes: Still loving them! I just received another sweet package of summer maternity tops from a dear friend.
Tiger Stripes: It's just a matter of time as I know that I may definitely gain some this pregnancy.
Symptoms: a growing baby bump, beautiful baby kicks, hip and back pain, and restless sleep.
Sleep: Sleep is something that is a struggle for me. I get up several times throughout the night. When I do this, I am then awake whether that is 1AM or 4AM. God is for sure preparing my body for our sweet baby.
Movement: I love feeling my sweet girl. I do tend to feel her when I'm laying down and early morning. It is a great way to start my morning. Ray had another opportunity to feel small little kicks from our lady. It was sure an amazing moment for him as well)
Most Memorable Moment: This past weekend, Ray and I dabbled in setting up a few of our registries. I love choosing things for Aubrey... but I will say it does get a bit overwhelming when you are unsure of the exact item that would best fit us.
Cravings: Sweets!!!!
Gender Predictions: We will be having a daughter named Aubrey.
What I Miss: a strawberry margarita
What I look forward to: This is our final week of school. I will be looking forward to getting things ready for baby!