33 weeks!

Tomorrow is my mother's birthday. She would have been 59, and she would have loved sharing my pregnancy with me. I often wish I could ask her about her two pregnancies, I wonder how similar they were to mine. I asked my Aunties and GMA if they remembered if my mom had an easy delivery- The answer wasn't quite what I wanted to hear. All three of them said in unison- "noooo no no no no!" I didn't ask for them to expand- I will just be praying my delivery is opposite! 

But there is a lot about my mom that I hope is the SAME: 

 - She was creativity as a mom. She always had fun projects for my brother and I to enjoy. 

 - She could cook, clean, garden, sew, knit, all while watching over two crazy children. Did I mention she worked at night? She worked nights at the hospital after my dad got home.

 - She was loving and lovable. Everyone at her work loved Kimi. And she was good at what she did.

 - She took pride in keeping her home clean and welcoming. And her garden was always fully of sweet-peas, roses, bachelor buttons, and forget-me-nots.

Kimi and Me

Me and Jack 33 weeks

Baby Size- Honeydew melon- 19 inches.. 4.5 pounds.
Working out- Walking, Walking and talking at the same time, Pilates.
Cravings- Tuna, Soup- probably because it's cold, Christmas Cookies!
Aches and Pains- My ribs still hurt. I have an inch thick band right under my boobs that is numbs- really bizarre feeling. Last week I had some sharp shooting pain in my back/sides- I went and had it checked and I have developed what they call hydronephrosis which means my kidneys are swollen and they aren't moving fluid through at the normal speed, which can be painful. BUT- it is super common to develop this during pregnancy and I don't have ANY kidney stones praise the Lord.
Movement- So much! I love feeling Jack rolling around in my tummy- I feel like I know when he is going to move right before he moves. When he is really active I close my eyes and just hold him and thank the Lord for this sweet blessing! :)
Wedding rings- Off! I am totally retaining water so my fingers are a little swollen. I could still get the ring on, but I'd rather not wear it just in case it gets stuck!
Sleeping- Other then the occasional sharp pain- which I swear is my kidneys- I'm fine! I sleep like a baby and go to the bathroom like 3 times a night. :) 

31 weeks

Baby Size- Head of lettuce, 19 inches 4 pounds.
Working out- STILL Not really happening. We tried swimming and it was going great for about ten minutes, then legs went numb, started throwing up in my mouth... It's strange because my heart rate isn't getting too high. :( I might be done working out for a while. And I would like to note that I said "we worked out" Caleb is the best husband! He is by my side all the time, and wanted to go swimming with me to check on Jack and I! :) So in love with that man!
Cravings- Mac and cheese, Turkey and cranberry sandwich, Chamomile tea, Grapes, oranges.
Nursery- Need's my full attention, but it's Christmas season so lets be honest, it's probably not happening for a while! :)
Aches and Pains- My ribs still hurt. they are expanding and it hurts. My back is starting to bug me a little bit- nothing my sweet hubby can't fix! :) I would like to note this bizarre "ache" I have a buzzing numbness under my left boob. I googled it, other women have it too- I have yet to find out the source of this buzzing, but it has been there for months.
Maternity Photos- We had so much fun getting our pictures taken by fellow pastors wife- Whitney Schey! We loved how the pictures came out, she did amazing. I think I was almost 28 weeks at time of photos-

California Shower

 I remember the exact moment that Rhea told me she wanted to throw me a baby shower- I had just told her I was pregnant- and that was the first thing out of her mouth! I was still trying to wrap my mind heart around the fact that I was going to have a BABY shower... Then try and wrap my heart around a friend wanting to throw me a shower. My heart was overwhelmed then and still is.

Me and Rhea

Rhea and I met on my wedding day- Her husband Ty a groomsman in our wedding. While we didn't really get a chance to know each other that day, we became fast friends when Caleb and I moved to California. Rhea is originally from Washington--just like me--so naturally we are both sweet northwestern girls. But it's more then that. Rhea feels like home to me. Although I have only been close to Rhea for a year, it feels like I have known her forever. Both Caleb and I are so grateful that I found such a sweet friend in Rhea. It has made my move to California that much better! 

Um, also, did I mention that she was 8 1/2 months pregnant throwing me an incredible shower? She has the most stunning home...Situated atop a canyon in San Juan Capistrano. Here are some pics of the place...

Formal Living room

Yummy foods!

Treats

Jack Thomas

AMAZING Sandwiches

Perfect cupcakes

Treats and drinks

SO thoughtful!

AMAZING

SO thoughtful!

I was so honored to have so many wonderful friends come to my shower. I can't believe I have only lived here for a year and had so many fabulous friends join me in celebrating this miracle!

Some of my vball girlies

I see you T-fly

Gifts.

Adorable Whale blanket!

Even sweeter that a Bruin got me a USC onsie!

First pair of Nike's!

My cousin Kelsey came wearing one of Mother's skirts. I just loved having her in the room with a little piece of my kimi there.

Cousin Kelsey

One of my very best friends Tera Anderson came in from Las vegas... I love my friend Tera- She fit right in with all my California friends... And they all thought she was as fabulous!

Tera

The other two out of staters were my Mother in Law and my Grandmother in Law, who is about to be 90! They both flew out for the weekend to be at the shower and even had time to stay and hear Caleb preach on Sunday morning. It was so sweet to have both of them there!

Gma Geedee and Gina

Hey there is a boy!

My sweet friend Amber managed to take pictures and take care of her baby boy the whole day! I'm grateful she took pictures to capture the day!

Amber

Nancy and Gina

Carrie

Torry

Heather

Kailyn

Some of my Mariner's girls

 I was so bummed I forgot to get a huge group picture of everyone there!  It was so fun to have so many fun friends together celebrating this sweet babe!

After the shower, the Mattson clan, Caleb and I all hung out and watched as Shepard Mattson delighted in all of the trash. Yep I said Trash. This sweet almost 3 year old is absolutely obsessed with Sanitation. Dump trucks/ trash piles/ trash...  Lucky for him there was a huge bag full of tissue and ribbons to move around and lay on. :) It made me so excited to have a baby boy!

Shepard's bag 'o' trash

Along with the trash, Shepard got to let all the balloon's go. It was the perfect end to the perfect shower. Thank you Ty and Rhea for throwing me such a sweet shower!

28 weeks

Third trimester, I can't believe it. 27 weeks marked the first time a stranger asked me when I was due- I'm pregnant and people are noticing! Up until then I would tell people and they would say- Oh you are? Which is fine and dandy for some girls... But, I've been so excited about being pregnant that I wanted people to notice at week 6. I think I "popped" during week 27.

As you see I wrote about my beautiful showers in Washington and I am so excited to write and share about my California shower. I delighted in opening gifts, but more importantly for me... I loved celebrating this little miracle in my tummy with friends and family. One of the good things that infertility gave me is perspective. People are WAY more important then gifts! Which is partly why I still LOVE to write thank you notes. It's fun for me to thank people for celebrating with me and lavishing our baby with gifts! My mother taught me from such a young age to write thank you notes. As soon as I could write my name... I was writing it on a thank you note. As soon as I could write a sentence... My mom saw it fit for me to write the thank you note. As soon as my teacher's taught me how to write an address, My mom had me writing and addressing my thank you notes. NOW, I didn't always love writing thank you notes. As a young girl I thought it was boring and really time consuming. So one year for Christmas circa 7 years old, I concocted a plan to expedite my thank you notes... I figured if I had my thank you notes done that night I wouldn't have to write the addresses on my thank you notes the next day- my least favorite part. So Unbeknownst to my parents, I came to Christmas with my thank you notes in hand. I even took the time to pre-write everything in the note except the gift I recieved. You can imagine everyone's surprise as we began opening gifts... I open a gift, pull out my thank you note, write down what I received, put said note in envelope and write the name of the gift giver on the note, Lick and seal the envelope and promptly walk over to the gift giver and hand them their thank you note. It was adorable. Times have changed, I now delight in writing thank you notes. It is no longer a pain- it's a joy. The simple act of being thankful shifts our focuses off of ourselves and onto others. It also reminds me of how blessed I am and loved I am. There is much to be thankful for in our lives.

You might be thinking, it's easy to be thankful when everything is going great for you. My husband always challenges me when I'm down to list the things I am grateful for and it shifts my attitude. I am in a season of abundant blessings- my prayer is to remain as thankful as I am right now with much as when I am down and have little.

28 weeks

Baby Size- Small cabbage, 17 inches, 2.9 pounds
Working out- Not really happening. I'm not sure if I'm not getting enough blood circulating to my legs or perhaps too much relaxant in my body but it has made working out down-right impossible. It's the strangest feeling... like my legs are going to fall off, my pelvis is going to explode, I get a cold sweat and feel like I'm going to throw up. Part of the problem could be blood sugar.
Blood sugar?- I passed my glucose test! :) thank god, that was disgusting.
Weight gain- 22 pounds. AND I want to note that I am so grateful for this baby that I don't even care about you back fat- I see you.
Cravings- Spiced apple cider, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, golden beets, Greenleaf, bananas, soup.
Nursery- Coming together. Grateful for my sweet friends Monica and Danielle for organizing all the baby clothes in the dresser- pictures to come! :) Side note: Miss Emma cat thinks this is her new bedroom. She literally comes out only to eat and go to the bathroom- and sprints back in to lay down in the room. She is just breaking in the room for Jack! :)
Aches and Pains- My ribs hurt. they are expanding and it hurts. I have terrible heartburn- baby must be growing a full head of hair.

baby growth.