33 weeks

How far along? 33 Weeks
Total weight gain: + 22 lbs (144 lbs) - I blame the Christmas goodies....
Maternity clothes? YES. Starting to feel absolutely huge. Thank goodness I got some cute new PJs for Christmas! =)
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Sleep is hit or miss these days. Mostly miss... I've started to sleep with about 4 million pillows surrounding me!
Best moment this week: Christmas! It was so nice to spend time with family! Chad and I kept talking about how awesome next Christmas is going to be! =)
Miss Anything? Being able to get comfortable. That is really my biggest complaint, I'm uncomfortable 90% of the time now.
Movement: We can all sit and just watch my belly shift around! She is definately running out of room in there!
Food cravings: Oranges
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.
Have you started to show yet? See photo....
Gender: Girl!
Labor Signs: None
Symptoms: Heartburn... I legit had to look up how many Tums one can take in one day without overdosing!
Belly Button in or out? more out than in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: HAPPY!
Looking forward to: Ringing in 2014, the year the baby will be born!!

Photo Dump: Maternity Pictures

We got out maternity photos taken in the middle of November. I knew I wanted them to be outside. So, I battled with waiting long enough so that I had a nice, big belly and waiting too long and it being too cold outside! It worked out perfectly and I really love all the photos Ashley at Ashley Rose Photography took! It's impossible to pick a favorite! (sorry for the photo overload)

  

 

 

 

 

 

32 Weeks!

How far along? 32 Weeks 

Total weight gain: + 18.5 lbs (140.5 lbs)

Maternity clothes? YES. Starting to feel absolutely huge. 

Stretch marks? Nope 

Sleep: Sleep is hit or miss these days. 

Best moment this week: Getting my maternity massage! I could have laid there forever! 

Miss Anything? breathing normally and being able to curl up in a ball on the couch. 

Movement: More shifting positions than actual kicks & baby hiccups sometimes 2-3 times a day! We can officially play "guess the body part protruding from my belly!" Yay!

Food cravings: Oranges (so glad cuties are back in season!) and salads and Christmas candy/cookies/ect 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope. 

Have you started to show yet? See photo....

Gender: Girl!

Labor Signs: None

Symptoms: Heartburn, back pain, restless leg... oh my! 

Belly Button in or out? more out than in 

Wedding rings on or off? on 

Happy or Moody most of the time: HAPPY! 

Looking forward to: Christmas!!

Merry Christmas! Love, the Blackburns =)

Being Thankful for Great Friends

One of Chad and I's favorite holiday traditions is having all our close friends over for Thanksgiving dinner (Friendsgiving, as we call it)! We are so thankful for ALL our friends and look forward to many more years of Friendsgiving dinners with each of you. It will be so much fun to watch as the dinner changes over the years to accommodate our growing families! =)

We love you guys!

31 Weeks!

I totally missed 30 weeks. We have been so busy with basketball and childbirth classes and Christmas I just didn't get time to do the chalkboard. Sorry =) but I'm getting a head start this week and here's the 31 week update!

How far along? 31 Weeks 

Total weight gain/loss: +15lbs (137 lbs) 

Maternity clothes? Majority maternity with a few pre-prego shirts that still fit! 

Stretch marks? None, but feeling very STRETCHED! 

Sleep: Some nights are good, others not so much. She has started to wake me up a couple times a night. 

Best moment this week: Thanksgiving with my family! 

Miss Anything? Sitting comfortably! 

Movement: She is constantly moving and I love it! =) Big rib kicks, sometimes I think she's trying to kill me! 

Symptoms: Back pain and really bad restless leg syndrome.

Cravings: Salad, finally a decent healthy craving! haha 

Anything making you queasy or sick: I tried to eat a chicken wing and I couldn't do it. Something about the texture. 

Have you started to show yet: Definitely 

Gender: Girl! 

Labor Signs: Nope, just some Braxton-Hicks here and there. (practice, practice, practice) 

Belly Button in or out? Outtie =( 

Wedding rings on or off? On 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to this week: Relaxing! Also, another doctors appt Monday =) I'm going every 2 weeks now, it's getting close! eek!

Chicago 2013

We got to spend a weekend in Chicago with our dear friends Blake and Lauren a couple weekends ago. We love going on these mini getaways with them and hopefully we can continue to do them regularly! This was our second trip to the windy city with them and this was a little Baby-moon for Chad and I. This will be our last real getaway before baby girls' arrival in February. 

It was COLD! But we weathered the....weather... and ventured out into the big city. We were a little more adventurous than last time we went (see Chicago 2011 post) and actually took the train this time! We were all super apprehensive at first but it was so easy and totally felt accomplished after successfully getting to and from our destination! 

We checked out the Field Museum, which Chicago is known for. It was HUGE and impossible to do in one day, which we tried. We got really tired and probably only saw 3/4 of it but it was really interesting! I loved the animals and the dino bones! 

Mostly though, we ate a lot of food! Weber Grill is our favorite place from last time we went and we were super excited to eat there again. I'm pretty sure the boys picked our hotel based on proximity to the Weber Grill. ;) We also ate at RPM Italian (Guilliana and Bill Rancic's restuarant) and Yolk (an awesome breakfast place) and White Palace Grill (which was on Diner's Drive-in's and Dives). Everything we ate was awesome!

We walked the Magnificent Mile several times of course and stopped for hot cocca at Ghirardelli! It was Delicious!! I want some now! We did a little bit of shopping, of course we had to stop in the HUGE Nike store and see all the crazy things they have in there! 

It was an awesome trip and a much needed mini-vacation! We are thankful to have great friends like Blake and Lauren to go with us on trips like this and look forward to many more!

29 Weeks!

How far along? 29 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +10.5lbs (133 lbs)! Holy Turkey, I apparently ate way too much on Thanksgiving! 
Maternity clothes? Majority maternity with a few pre-prego shirts that still fit!
Stretch marks? None, but feeling very STRETCHED!
Sleep: Sleeping well for the most part! But starting to feel tired a lot again... oh no!
Best moment this week: Thanksgiving with the in-laws and our 7th annual Friends-giving! So much fun getting together with all our friends, we don't see each other enough! 
Miss Anything? Sitting comfortably!
Movement: She is constantly moving and I love it! =) HUGE rolls and nudges! She's getting strong!
Symptoms: Restless Leg Syndrome has gotten much worse than my pre-prego RLS =( hopefully it settles down and doesn't get even worse, Sinus Headaches along with ear stuffiness almost daily now. Itchy belly from being so stretched, lots of lotion needed, Shortness of breath when walking, talking, sitting, laying, eating... etc I think baby girl is pressing right on my lungs at this point. Regardless of these symptoms, I really am having a great pregnancy and cannot complain, as it could be much worse, and I know I'm not done yet and have to get A LOT bigger! 
Cravings: Apparently (as evidence by my 3 lb weight gain this week) Thanksgiving food! We had two thanksgivings this week and still have 1 more this weekend! So much good food (and desserts) I need to watch it!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet: I officially have strangers asking me when I'm due and people asking if I'm pregnant on a regular basis. It totally doesn't bother me at all, because they are usually sweet old ladies who are super nice!
Gender: Girl!
Labor Signs: Nope, just some Braxton-Hicks here and there. (practice, practice, practice)
Belly Button in or out? Flat at the beginning of the day, outtie by night. 
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! I will note that I have had, on occasion, an emotional episode, like crying over trying to decide what to get for dinner in Chicago and spending 10 minutes in the bathroom but for the most part, happy-happy-happy
Looking forward to this week: Thanksgiving round three with my family. Love them, miss them, can't wait to see their faces =) (I will not gain 3 lbs, I will not gain 3 lbs, I will not gain 3lbs......)