FALL bucket list

Ok, so I really want to start to blog more. Even if it's not life-changing, thought-provoking, super important stuff. All the little things that make up our days - the trips to the park, the first "crawl" (I use this term lightly), little ideas mused upon....it's these little things that are what makes a big life, no? 

So bear with me....some posts may be a bit mundane or silly to you but I can't worry about that (no offense).  

Back to the topic at hand: FALL!!!! oh, welcome you cozy little season you! This Saturday (Sept. 22) marked the official first day of fall. It may still be in the 90's here but there are pumpkins and halloween candy (even Christmas decorations for goodness sake!) out at the stores so I'm callin' it:

FALL IS HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!!! 

I've seen these bucket lists floating around pinterest & thought what a cute idea! 

so here is my Fall Bucket List! (minus the cute colors and fonts....)

Visit the Farmers Market often

Try 5 new Fall recipes

Enjoy favorite old Fall recipes (cranberries, pumpkin bread, peppermint mochas)

Visit a Pumpkin Patch

Go to the Wineries 

Celebrate Oktoberfest (in the form of beer and German food)

Carve a pumpkin

Watch "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" & "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" with H

Hike with Cody & H

Donate to the Food Bank

Take cute Holiday pictures with H

Watch as much TEXAS football as possible

I may add more as the season gets underway but that's a great start :) So here's to ALL things FALL - sweaters, football, pumpkin, boots, holidays, cranberries, scarves, family, burnt orange & cinnamon :)

34 weeks: goodbye 2011 hello 2012!

Our world according to Alpha Mom:
Your Baby:

• Weighs as much as your average cantaloupe (4.75 pounds-ish) and is almost 18 inches long.
• Reaching the 34-week mark is a big milestone for anyone concerned about pre-term labor, as babies born at this stage usually do just fine (provided they’re otherwise healthy). Other than a slightly longer stay at the hospital, they generally don’t experience any of the long-term health problems that prematurity can cause.
• That said, don’t let your baby go and get any big ideas about escaping just yet. More baby fat and a few more weeks of lung maturity will still make everybody’s lives easier.

You:

• Fatigue, heartburn, nausea, frequent trips to the bathroom. It’s like the Return of the First Trimester, only much bigger and rounder and gruntier.

so not too much new to report on the pregnancy front this week...things are pretty status quo. like alpha mom describes, 1st trimester fun has reared it's ugly head but what can ya do? at least now there's a finish line in sight so i'm focusing on that.

in honor of this week's holiday (new years), i'm reflecting on the past year and looking to the year ahead. big changes to say the least! but change is good. i know that our lives are playing out according to God's plan and boy does that feel good. we're just along for the ride, really :) 2011 was a great year...we experienced a lot and had a ton of fun....travelling, celebrations, baby news, baby excitement, baby fears and finally settling in to preparing for miss harper to join our family. for your viewing pleasure, i've gathered some of my favorite pictures from the year to recap:

{JANUARY}

Happy New Year!

{FEBRUARY}

Livestrong Marathon w/ Christina

San Fran for my 30th!

Sonoma wine tour w/ Jess & Eddie



Bday celebration @ Boardwalk on Bulverde



{MARCH}

NOLA

Jazz Fest!

{APRIL}

Ranger Creek Brewery open house

{MAY}

Sara & Joe's wedding

Hill Country winery tour w/ Steph & Eric (Harper's first winery tour...oops!)

{JUNE}

annual lake trip with the stantons

{JULY}

corpus trip to celebrate sean & leighton's birthdays

abby's lake bday

{AUGUST}

eric's 30th

girls weekend in chicago!

{SEPTEMBER}

i was so proud of my "huge" bump! HA!

jack & harper's first 5K

{OCTOBER} 

it's a GIRL!!!

Christina's shower/bachelorette

{NOVEMBER}

Christina + Matt's wedding

{DECEMBER}

Maternity Shoot

Harper & all her buddies

annual Christmas party

Phew! what a great year! no wonder I'm tired.... :)

xoxo,
K & Harper

33 Weeks: Christmas and "the week of nesting"

This week according to Alpha Mom: 

Your Baby:

• Weighs over four pounds and is 17 inches long.
• The skeleton is hardening, except for the skull, which will remain soft and flexible to allow it to fit through the birth canal, and also to grow and allow adequate space for your baby’s enormously brilliant brain.
• Kicks and movements are practically visible from space now, and you may look down and realize that your belly is no longer round, but pointed, as a knee or elbow stretches out for a few seconds before disappearing beneath the surface again.

You:

• Are big. Yes. And the whole world may suddenly seem like it’s got an opinion about when you’ll go into labor, and it TOTALLY DOESN’T CARE that you aren’t even full-term yet, it thinks you’ve dropped and popped and are going to give birth in like, two weeks. Tell it to shut the hell up with my blessings.
• May be waddling more than walking, and misjudging your circumference as you bump into counters and knock things over on tables.
• A lot of pregnant women start having strange dreams about those pronounced movements — legs and arms stretching out from under your clothes, or the perfect imprint of your baby’s face suddenly appearing next to your belly button. If these dreams creep you out, just remember that it’s your mind starting to wrap itself around the concept that there is, in fact, a actual baby in there rather than some hypothetical concept of a baby.

This week was busy and flew by as we celebrated our last PH (Pre-Harper) Christmas. For me, nesting has also meant crafty so I went to town with some cute Christmas gifts this year:

christmas cookies in a jar

"rein-beers"...these were my favorite

homemade wassail (non alcoholic for me obvi) & candied cranberries...
our house smelled AWESOME

We got some good visits in with family & friends this week which was really great. After Christmas, I had the week off from work, so I decided this would be my week to (FINALLY!) get some much-needed nesting in :) I also wanted to get some rest and self-pampering done as well since this will be my only time to do so until Harper makes her big arrival!

It was a good week...a balance of relaxing and taking care of some of those "to do" lists that have been haunting me in the back of my mind for weeks. Here's what we got done:
-picked out a rocker/glider for the nursery....i love it! it's comfy and even reclines...better price and better quality than the ones we checked out at Babies R Us! now to finagle it through the doorway....hmmmmm.....
-speaking of Babies R Us...made my one millionth trip to exchange a few things and purchase the last few "must have" items
-mama got a hair cut AND a pre-natal massage. total pregnant chick heaven.
-Cody & I went to a baby care class at the hospital where we covered the basics: swaddling, bathing, diaper changing, feeding, health & safety issues, etc. these classes are great, I just hope I can remember all of the tips in my sleep-deprived fog once H is here!
-Jack decided we should get the floors redone a few months ago (and by "decided" i mean he got sick all.over. them and left us no choice...) so there was still a lot of touch up work to do once we had the concrete stained and sealed. Poor Cody worked for hours on end to repaint the baseboards, paint over imperfections in the concrete, and then wax the finished product. it's been months of hassle but FINALLY our floors are done!!! yipee!
-Cody also put up the curtains and wall hangings in the nursery. it's really starting to come together!
-washed about 90% of Harper's clothes and put them all away, according to size. This was one of my favorite things to do as i washed and sorted tons of sweet smelling baby clothes that will soon be worn by our little girl

I'm a happy camper because we have very little to do before Harper is here, which is a HUGE weight off my shoulders....get a few more things for the nursery, pack our hospital bag & get the car seat installed & we are good to go folks! 

xoxo, K & Harper

32 weeks: Christmas Shenanigans

32 weeks: with Thys, Gus & Baby H

Whatcha got for us this week, Alpha Mom?
Your Baby:

• Is about three pounds, 11 ounces and 16 inches long.
• Is starting to get pretty crowded in there, so you may feel more subtle, rolling-type movements instead of sharp pointy kicks.

You:

• May notice a slight change in your belly shape over the next few weeks — kind of…downward sloping. Not so much of a nice shelf for your bowl of ice cream as you’ve had in the past.
• This change also might signal the retirement of some of your maternity clothes and you’ll need longer shirts instead of just roomy shirts. I can pretty much guarantee that the shirts that no longer fit will be the cutest ones, dammit.
• STAY HYDRATED. KEEP YOUR FEET ELEVATED WHENEVER POSSIBLE. DON’T MAKE ME STOP THIS BLOG AND COME BACK THERE.

oh no the sharp pointy kicks are still hanging around. for the most part they are fun but i'll admit, they are starting to get uncomfortable. i may have gone to one too many weights classes b/c little one is STRONG! and it's so funny to be able to feel body parts sticking out of my side (by funny i also mean weird), i haven't noticed a change in my belly shape as much as belly size. holy moly, have we started to grow!

i think now would be a good time for another installment of "awkward and awesomes":

AWKWARD!

-those sharp little kicks stop me right in my tracks...mid-sentence sometimes
-shaving my legs....totally awkward and damn near impossible
-getting out of bed or off the couch is quite the production (& yes i know for all you vetran mama's...you're thinking, "just wait!")
-putting my shoes on. also damn near impossible. i just plan on walking around for the rest of the time with hairy legs and no shoes...cool?
-the comments...good lord the comments! i KNOW i'm getting bigger people. it's called pregnancy and usually that happens. it's none of your business how much weight i have or haven't gained. i KNOW that girls don't tend to "carry" as cute as boys. i'm sorry i don't have the cute little basketball belly you were hoping for, really i am (no...not really). i don't know why on earth it's okay to comment on a pregnant woman's size/shape/weight/belly....but i am at the end of my rope. opinions are no longer welcome and i'm about ready to start sharing MY opinion about YOUR size/shape/weight/belly...how's that sound?! grrrrrrrrrrr.
-opening gifts in front of people at our shower (#3 was this weekend). i'm so grateful and overwhelmed by all the "stuff" people are giving to us and i feel like i should be more "gushy" with gratitude. i'm not good at "gushy" so it makes it all the more uncomfortable.

AWESOME!
-going into the room that used to be our "guest room" as it now transforms into "harper's room"...we still have a lot to do but when i walk by and glance in to see a crib in there, it makes me smile
-singing christmas carols in the car with her (to her). i can see her now as a little girl riding and singing along with me :) it's been so fun picturing a little baby enjoying all the christmas music as much as her mama is. have you ever sang "i want a hippopotamus for christmas" to your belly before? it's hilarious.
-like i mentioned earlier, i love having a little "partner in crime" in all that i do. all of my experiences right now are hers too & it's awesome

-not counting calories during the holidays (insert evil laugh here...)
-having 90% of my holiday shopping done so i won't be running around like a mad woman last minute on christmas eve
-our annual christmas party with friends...we had a blast celebrating the end of another great year with everyone :)

xoxo,
K & Harper

26 weeks: making memories



26 weeks @ Christina & Matt's Rehearsal Dinner

 What up, Alpha Mom?

Your Baby:

• Is almost two pounds. Celebrate this milestone with a two-pound box of chocolates. You know, in order to really get a good VISUAL.
• Remember those early bubbly butterfly kicks? Yeah. Those have been replaced by something akin to a rabid mongoose flippin’ out inside a burlap sack.
• If you DO occasionally feel smaller, rhythmic movements in your belly, it’s probably your baby hiccuping. Babies actually get hiccups from late in the first trimester on, but most women don’t pick on them the second trimester or later.
• All five senses are fully developed. Whoa.

You:

• Are in the last and final week of the second trimester! (At least according to the books I’ve chosen to listen to — some mark the beginning of the third trimester as week 27, while some make you wait until week 28. Look, we’re all big and lumpy and ridiculously cranky, let’s get this final trimester STARTED.)
• Of course, the end of the second trimester also marks the end of the so-called “honeymoon” phase of pregnancy, as the final three months can get awfully uncomfortable. Back and joint pain, swollen ankles, restless nights and Braxton-Hicks contractions, ahoy!
• You’ll gain about 1/2 inch in belly/fundal size EVERY WEEK from this point on, oh mah gah. I guess I should stop being so smug about those pre-pregnancy lowrise jeans I’ve been wearing (with just a little help from my trusty rubber band).
• The books say we’ve gained about 16-22 pounds, so long as we’ve been following a “nutritious and sensible diet plan.” Bite me, books.

am i uncomfortable? sure. but i swear it's really not THAT bad. i can't wait to have my old hip joints back again. and the big belly sure does make painting my toenails interesting...but i can certainly do this for 3 more months. i know it's going to get "worse" towards the end but really, i didn't expect pregnancy to be a cake walk so i'm happy overall. i'll take it.

so instead of talking about aches and pains or silly stuff like that, i want to talk about something that makes me ridiculously, smile-to-yourself-in-public-like-a-crazy-person happy...and that is the thought of making traditions and memories with our little girl. with the start of the holiday season, this has been on my mind a lot lately. i notice things differently now.

we just celebrated our last pre-Harper Halloween. Sure the dressing up in crazy costumes and drinking and parties have been fun, but from here on out it will be about her. and that's just fine with me! what will she want to be for halloween each year as she grows up? i can't wait to watch "it's the great pumpkin, charlie brown" with her as we carve pumpkins and dump candy into bowls.

then there's thanksgiving....baking pumpkin bread, spending time with family as the weather cools, teaching Harper what it means to be THANKFUL and live a life of gratitude...

and christmas...oh christmas! where do i even START?!

i was driving to work this week and an ad for the Nutcracker came on the radio. within a few seconds, i found myself tearing up at the thought of taking my little girl to the Nutcracker every year.

(http://www.kellehampton.com/2011/06/first-position.html.)

...baking cookies for santa, celebrating advent and teaching her the Christmas story, church candlelight service with Harper in a fancy new dress, christmas morning complete with bed head and big ol' mugs of coffee for cody & i as we watch our girl's eyes light up with excitement.....oh yes. i can see it now :)

my girl, Kelle (yeah, we're on a first name basis....) was talking about this just the other day. in her post (you can read the whole thing here) she says, "The story my kids will tell someday depends on me. I am writing their book, and I want their childhood chapters full of traditions and stories and memories of the comforts of home." yep, i can't wait for THAT.

so, here's to our last pre-Harper Holidays....all the cheesy holiday-related things cody has gotten out of over the years by using his adult reasoning are about to be overruled - sorry babe, but get ready for all the peanuts holiday specials, cookie baking extravaganzas & treks out for real christmas trees you can handle!

xoxo,
K & Harper