Utah, Christmas and 30 weeks!

 We got to spend Christmas in Utah with my family! It was amazing, and so needed.

Cooper was obsessed with the shower, not sure why haha but every time someone was in the bathroom, the shower door had to be open and he would just go in and lay down or lick up any water left in there. hes a freak.

Braden has a ridiculous beard that he wears, and I couldn't resist, I had to put it on Coop haha, it was pretty hilarious. 

We had planned my baby shower around our trip and had it on Dec. 19th and the church.  It was a lot of fun, but kinda crazy because mom and I did everything, luckily we had aunt Lonnie and grandma Debbie to help us out!

We played baby jeopardy, whats in your purse, and did wishes for baby Declan.

 Since we did it at 6, we decided we better feed everyone, so we had a crepe bar with hashbrowns and sausage, and then did a hot chocolate and apple cider bar for drinks! 

Jake even came and hung out the whole time! I think he was more excited than I was for the shower :)

The next night, mom, dad, Jake and I went up to Salt Lake.  We stayed at the Grand America, so we could feel like rich people ;) Had dinner at the Little America Steak House, and man was it yummy!  After dinner we went and saw the temple lights at the Salt Lake Temple.  When we were checking in to our room, we saw Aaron Eckhart!  We didn't have the guts to go talk to him, so we just stood in the corner and had a major fan girl moment. Not one ounce or shame at all!  After freezing to death we headed back to the hotel to warm up in the most amazing bath tub ever!! We then slept on a big cloud of softness and comfy! 

The next morning we got up and got ready, headed to Le Bon Vi, the bakery at the Grand America and got some delicious Macarons for the ride.  We went and had lunch at the Brick Oven and then went to the mall to kill some time.  Big mistake! there were sooo many people there, and it was pretty lame.  

After that we went to Fetal Fotos and got to see Declan!  And I may be a little biased, but I have one cute baby growing!  He has a head full of hair and big chubby cheeks!  but he was being a little butt and kept his face right up against the wall of my uterus so his face was hard to see sometimes and his little nose was all squished, but still adorable as ever! 

This is all edible!

The rest of the week, we just hung out at the house with the family.  Jake and mom made cookies and chex mix, and Jake tried to burn the house down. luckily mom was there to keep him in line haha. 

Cooper was crazy as ever, wasn't quite sure about the snow, and his poor little paws got raw and blistered from the cold, but he did have his sweet moments, helping mama do kick counts, and the little monster sure missed grandpa and snuggled up with him when ever he could!  And when he wasn't tormenting Jaxson and Sophee, he was a snuggle bug, or attacking every toy in the house!

Jake decided that he needed to up my mom and get a 100 oz mug from maverick, because a regular sized cup is obviously WAY to small haha.

I also am officially part of the Stipe/McCann family, I got my very own nutcracker from grammy and papa!

We also reached 30 weeks in our pregnancy!!! I can't believe that I am already 3/4 done being pregnant.  It has went by sooo fast I can't believe it.  I feel great, but also feel pretty huge.  Its harder to get comfortable, and breathing is extremely difficult.  Declan gets really active and likes to kick right into my ribs making it even harder to breath.  But I love being pregnant, it's such a crazy feeling, and still really surreal.  I can't wait to meet my baby boy, and get to know him and not just his movements.

On Christmas, mom and dad spoiled us, they got me a brand new sewing machine, and got Jake some house slippers, a huge memory card for his phone, and a diaper changing kit.  It was pretty hilarious, but hey, he's going to need all the help he can get! After opening presents, we went up to grandma Debbie and Grandpa Monte's to visit with them for a little bit,  luckily for us, the whole family showed up so we didn't to make a million stops!  After that, we hit gradma LuDean and grandpa Don for a minute, went home and ate a small lunch before heading back over to grandma and grandpa's to have Prime Rib with the Parish family for Christmas dinner.

Soph could hardly contain her excitement :)

Unfortunately we had to head home the next morning, because Jake had to check back in for work.

I wish we could have stayed longer, and neither of us can wait until Jake's contract is up and we can move back to Utah and be close to our family again.  Its even crazier to think that the next time we see my family, we will be parents!  We can't wait for this new chapter, and I'm even more excited that I get to go on this crazy journey with my best friend!

28 and 29 weeks

Week 28 was great!! Ended it with hearing our sweet babies heart beat! Looking forward to this saturday, doing a 3d ultrasound amd get to see our baby boys face!!! Also get to experience it with my parents! Yay for the holidays!!

27 Weeks

 

How far along: 27 weeks, officially in my 3rd trimester!
Gender: all boy
Wait gain: about 12ish pounds
Maternity clothes: nothing but!
Stretch marks: not yet, still hoping ill get away with none!
Belly button in or out: still in, but very shallow, starting to think its going to stay in
Sleep: eh, some nights are better than others
Best moment this week: lots of movement
Worst moment this week: horrible back, hip and leg pain
Miss anything: being able to bend over!
Movement: quite a bit!
Cravings: soda. a lot of soda haha
Queasy or sick: nope!
Looking forward to: dr's appointment in a week and a half, and going home for Christmas!

 

Loving being pregnant, and cant believe how fast its going! Im seriously having a hard time grasping that I am almost done, and ill get to meet my little man in the next 13 weeks! I love him so much already and cant wait to meet our sweet baby boy.

 

also, I love our little tree! its little, and it leans a little bit, but its our first tree together and we love it!



Attitude of Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

 

This year it was just Jake, Cooper and I celebrating, but it was perfect!

This is the sweet face that couldn't wait to get the festivities started and wouldn't leave us alone until we got out of bed.. he's lucky he's cute!

 

We spent the day just hanging out, nothing to crazy but enjoyed each others company and cooked some yummy food!

This years menu included

Turkey Roast

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Green Bean Casserole

Rolls

Deviled Eggs

Apple & Pecan Pie

 

It was all delicious and the only thing to make It better would have been to have our families here with us.

 

Little man even got his own tasting, and he LOVED it!

 

Then we busted out the Christmas music and put up our tree and other decorations!  Even though we won't be here for Christmas this year, we decided that we still needed to have some decorations to help get in the Christmas spirit since we don't get snow here in SoCal, it doesn't feel like winter, and definitely doesn't feel like Christmas without the décor!

 

This year we have so much to be thankful for

 

Jake

I seriously don't know how I got so lucky, but I have the best husband in the world! He works so hard for our little family, and he loves and supports me no matter what.  No one has ever made me feel as loved or as special and this guy does, and he has made me feel more beautiful in the last couple of years than I ever have before!  I love you baby!

 

Cooper

This little dude has brought a lot of grief into our lives, but has brought us even more joy and laughter.  He is such a character and so funny to just watch.  We love him and glad we decided to go into the pet store that day!

 

Baby Declan

Even though we haven't got to meet our little man yet, we are so thankful for him!  He is a blessing and has made our relationship so much better and stronger!  I am also so thankful that I have had such an amazing pregnancy so far with no complications. We cant wait to meet him and be his mama and daddy!

 

Our Families

We would be living on the street without them!  They have helped us in so many ways in the last year and 3 months.  We both got lucky to have amazing families and that we married into amazing families!  We wish we could all be in the same state instead of 4 different ones, but we still feel their love no matter how many states are between us!

 

The Military

Thank You! Without the military Jake and I never would have met, and we wouldn't be here today.  Also so very thankful for the selfless sacrifice our men and women make each and everyday to fight for our country no matter how corrupt the people running it are.  Im so proud to know so many of these brave men and women.

 

Our home, our cars, my job, the stability of Jakes job, that I can have children, laughter and love! There is so many more things that I cant even list, but I am so very thankful for the beautiful life that I was giving, the choices that I have made that have gotten me to where I am today, and for the love and support that I have always received from all of my loved ones my whole life!

 

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!



26 Weeks

 

Little man is growing like a weed!

 

 

How far along: 26 weeks
Gender: boy!
Wait gain: eh 15ish pounds?
Maternity clothes: most definitely!
Stretch marks: nope! keeping my fingers crossed
Belly button in or out: still in..kinda! its pretty shallow
Sleep: not the greatest but still getting some sleep
Best moment this week: so much movement! and I could see where he was chillin
Worst moment this week: heartburn and leg cramps like none other
Miss anything: not having heartburn all the time!
Movement: so much! he loves when I eat and goes crazy
Cravings: just want a lot of food all the time
Queasy or sick: nope :)
Looking forward to: feeling him getting stronger and stronger

25 weeks

How far along: 25 weeks!
Gender: all boy:)
Wait gain: 12 lbs!
Maternity clothes: oh yes! Just got new shirts for work, yay for cute maternity clothes!
Stretch marks: so far so good, keeping fingers crossed
Belly button in or out: still in, but pretty shallow
Sleep: great! Unless I have heartburn, which is more often then not. And also til the first time I have to pee then I have a hard time getting comfortable and falling asleep
Best moment this week: Jake finally got to come to a doctor's appointment! And they let him find the heart beat!
Worst moment this week: heartburn from hell!
Miss anything: being able to do anything without getting winded
Movement: so much! Moves a lot after meals and right before bed
Cravings: chips, peppermint anything!
Queasy or sick: just heartburn
Looking forward too: Friday! Work wares me out! Other than that thanksgiving next week!

24 Weeks

 

How far along 24 weeks
Gender Male
Wait gain 10ish pounds
Maternity clothes Most definitely! Can still fit in some shirts, and one pair of pants if I don't sit down!
Stretch marks nope! hopefully it stays that way
Belly button in or out In, but slowly getting more shallow
Sleep Pretty good this week, a lot of back and leg pain though
Best moment this week Feeling little man moving more and more
Worst moment this week Really bad leg cramps and hips hurt
Miss anything Being able to walk without getting winded
Movement So much! can see him moving a lot more
Cravings I just want food, but I get full really fast
Queasy or sick Nope! thank the heavens
Looking forward to Doctors appointment next week! get to hear our little guys heart beat again :)

23 Weeks



 

How far along: 23 weeks!
Gender: baby boy
Wait gain: 8ish lbs
Maternity clothes: full on pants, can wear regular jeans still but have to unbutton them when sitting
Stretch marks: not yet! but really itchy belly
Belly button in or out: in still, but probably popping out soon
Sleep: really good, until I have to pee then cant get comfortable
Best moment this week: feeling little Declan moving more and me
Worst moment this week: sciatic nerve issues, cant walk or get off the couch
Miss anything: sleeping through the night only having to get up to pee once!
Movement: so much! movement periodically through the day and very active right before I go to bed
Cravings: just give me food!
Queasy or sick: feel great! have random heart burn/acid reflux occasionally
Looking forward to: stronger movements, Jake being able to feel him kicking more

My 22 Birthday

Yesterday was my 22 birthday!

 

Jake made sure to spoil me and had the best day ever!

 

we started out with a Starbucks run and then I came home and made French toast for breakfast.

After breakfast we just hung out at home for a little bit and then went to the mall to get me some new boots and look at dresses for the Marine Corps Ball in November. They were having a big event for the ball at Macys and I got to get all dolled up and got my makeup done to take pictures in my new dress, that both Declan and I fit in! Im so excited to wear it and cant wait for the ball and to get all dressed up and see my handsome husband all decked out in his dress blues!



 

Jakes family sent me these pretty flowers!!

And my super cute new boots!  We then went to Outback and had a way yummy dinner!

Some jerkwad decided it would be funny to unscrew the pepper shaker, and I noticed it when I was eating my salad, and thought Jake had screwed the top back on.. but when I went to put salt and pepper on my potato, the lid fell off, and I dumped a good inch of pepper on my prime rib! luckily it was pepper and not salt, and luckily it scrapped off almost al the way, and luckily I like to put a little salt and pepper on my prime rib!  Our waitress was genuinely concerned that I dumped pepper all over the place and offered to get me a new one, but it was all good so instead we got a fresh birthday dessert!

So to you, person that unscrewed the pepper. Well played my friend. Well played. But you didn't ruin my food, and karma is a B!

 

So happy birthday to me, and so happy that I was able to have an amazing birthday and that I got to spend it with Jake!

 

Oh and Jake is officially not deploying!