Hello July!

It's finally July - this is your month baby P!  July has always been a special month for us, with our wedding anniversary and the day we closed on our first home anniversary, so I wouldn't expect you to be born any other month.  And after my last check-up where the doctor told me she doesn't think I'll go past my due date, I've got an even better feeling that you won't hold off til August.

So I've been feeling pretty pregnant lately.  Every bend and reach is accompanied by an unintentional/unnecessary moan or groan.  My carpal tunnel is driving me crazy.  My right hand feels like the hand of an 80 year old woman with arthritis that has problems opening the whole way and doing simple things like opening previously opened jars or tying my shoes.  Sleeping is ugh.  My feet are swollen and even my old navy flip flops are too tight.  I look back and the selfie pics I took at 16-20 weeks and think what the hell was I taking a picture of?  But other than that things have been pretty good, so really don't have much to complain about.  I'm still going on walks with Roxanne in the morning before it gets too hot, bp and weight gain are normal, and overall we feel ready for our new addition.

Rob has been an amazing supportive partner throughout this whole pregnancy, and for that I am very thankful.  I knew he would be, but he often goes above and beyond which I appreciate.  From painting the nursery not once but twice- and picking out the second wall color all on his own, to painting the large dresser/changer, to hanging the ceiling fan/shelves/pictures, putting together every baby item we've received without being asked to, continuously asking if I need anything, telling me to wake him up in the middle of the night if he can do anything for me, cleaning the house (including floor washing!), and much more.  Baby and I are lucky to have him.

Eddy's in ATL, Surprise shower & Father's Day weekend

Last weekend the whole Eddy family was back together again!  It was a fun, activity filled couple of days here in Atlanta.  My parents came on Thursday, and we went out to the usual Thai place for dinner that we like to go to when they are in town.  Last time I ate there was back in December with them, a day or so after I told them I was pregnant.  I will say my meal tasted much better now than it did back in the midst of my battle with morning sickness.

Friday Lisa and Michelle arrived, and we went to Stone Mountain that evening for the nightly free-with-parking laser show.  It was my first time to the laser show and their first time to Stone Mountain (Atlanta attraction/park with camping, hiking, events, and the main attraction being a carving of 3 confederate soldiers/generals in the side of the stone mountain).  Considering it was basically free and we had a nice picnic dinner to enjoy on the lawn pre-show, all in all we had a good time.

On Saturday my mom and sisters surprised me with a baby shower luncheon.  Pretty table, cute decorations, delicious food and so much love for me+baby P- it was such a thoughtful, nice surprise.  Mom even got me a new dress to wear so I wouldn't have to worry about that!  Just a day or two before that I received a big babies-r-us delivery from none other than my wonderful Deltas :)   They surprised me with the pack and play we had been wanting/needing and a big box of fun bath time supplies, toys, towels and the cutest baby bathrobe.  Thank you to everyone who has shown us so much love last weekend- and throughout this whole 8+ month journey!

Some of the baby gifts made Rob pretty excited...

The baby already has signed Red Wings gear- thank you aunt Maureen!  Baby also got some U of Michigan onesies, which I'm sure Rob will dress him/her in whenever he gets the chance, but come football season I will be getting baby some PSU gear as well to balance things out!

Saturday evening we went to the Braves game vs the Angels.  Great seats, nice evening game so it wasn't too hot.  It was a really exciting game when the Braves tied it up in the 9th inning, but unfortunately the game went past midnight into the 13th inning and the Braves ended up losing.  

Sunday we celebrated Father's Day with a trip to the Sweetwater Brewing Co. for a tasting and tour.  Dads got a free souvenir pint glass, they gave you plenty of free beer, and everyone had a fun time.  Looking forward to going back once I can sample the beer as well!  We followed up our Sweetwater visit with a delicious early dinner at Murphy's in Virginia Highlands and Dairy Queen for dessert- Dad's favorite!  It was a great weekend having everyone together.  Next time this happens there will be a little one joining us :)

Lots of baby action

This Saturday I'll be 34 weeks along.   I've said it before but I'll say it again, this pregnancy is flying by it seems!  The past few weeks have been filled with a lot of baby.

Baby is moving a lot- and while it is an amazing thing and reassurance that baby is doing ok in there- it is also a very strange feeling.  I actually rubbed my belly the other day where baby was kicking and asked him/her to please just chill out for a few minutes while I quickly finished grocery shopping.  I don't know why I literally said this out loud to baby when I know that grocery shopping will never be as easy for me as it is right now again.

Every week there seems to be a new symptom/side effect of pregnancy.  This past week it has been carpal tunnel like syndrome in my fingers/hand- some during the day, but mostly all night/morning.  This is from swelling (hence why I can't wear my rings anymore) that is pushing on nerves- especially when I lay down and fluids are redistributed to my hand/wrist area.  I'm going to try using a brace and see how that goes.

Rob and I completed our baby CPR/first aid class, Labor and Birth class, took a tour of the hospital and I completed a breast feeding class (did Rob a favor and signed up for the moms only class, instead of the couples class- which would have been entertaining but kind of unnecessary).  It was a lot of classes and info packed into a couple of weeks, but I do feel more prepared and mentally ready for what is ahead.  Even though most people will tell you that when it comes down to it your labor will be nothing like the videos and the breathing techniques you learned in class will go out the window, I still think the class was helpful overall for both of us and I feel better having taken it.

More and more super cute baby things are filling the house and the nursery is much closer to being done than it was 3 weeks ago.  We are more in the hanging things on the wall and installing a ceiling fan stage, than buying essentials stage, which is a good feeling.  Roxanne is getting a little more anxious and catching on that something is up the more we do to the nursery I think.  The other day, after taking a decorative sign up to the nursery, Roxanne followed me and would not leave my side.  She sat staring at me trying to get attention, putting her nose under my arm, circling me and getting me to pet her, trying to sit in my lap after I got down on the floor sitting indian style- but there was no room because my belly was in the way and she is too big to sit in my lap now as it is, and she actually pawed my belly and then wrapped her paw/leg around my arm and held it there like she didn't want to let go.  It was the weirdest thing.  So after that I definitely think she is having some jealousy issues/being overly protective.  Poor girl thinks all of the baby toys are for her and tries to get them.  So much of me just wants to give them to her too!

This weekend my whole family is coming to visit - yay!  By whole family I mean mom, dad, Lisa and Michelle.  Only one missing will be Rob because he will be out of town.  But it will be great to have everyone together again for the first time since Christmas.

Mother's Day 2014

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there!  Feeling very excited that I will be joining the mom group in just a couple of months.  Baby P is doing a whole lot of kicking today- even soon to be grandma Ann got to feel the baby move.  As you can see my baby bump is definitely growing now at 29 weeks.

Even though I'm not quite a real mom yet, I got many sweet cards and texts remembering me this Mother's Day which was very nice.  Rob surprised me with an adorable mother's day gift and card, and the candy was a nice touch I really appreciated :)

And Ann gave me a sweet gift as well...

We had a nice brunch for Ann this morning at our house, shared some gifts, chatted and took some pictures. Then I took my fur baby to the dog park, came home and relaxed, and Rob finished painting the dresser for the baby's room.  Still lots to do to get the nursery ready- but it's coming along.

Last but certainly not least, I want to wish my wonderful mom a very happy Mother's Day!  She is and has always been the best mom I could ask for, giving so much of herself to our family.  She is a great role model and example for me as I start the journey of motherhood.  And I know she will be a wonderful grandma too- though it's hard to believe she is old enough to be a grandma already!  Below is one of my favorite older pictures of the Eddy family on the Cape.

My Pregnancy So Far

My pregnancy is flying by and I can't believe my due date is quickly approaching.  It used to feel like I had all the time in the world to prepare for baby P's arrival aka this life changing event, but not so much any more.  Being pregnant now for 28 weeks (starting my 3rd trimester) I can say that it isn't really what I expected, or rather I guess the truth is I had no idea what I should expect.  I mean I had heard some random things from friends who have had babies- crackers were their best friend (true), tums were the only thing that worked for their heart burn (luckily only had heart burn 1 time), etc. but hearing those things can't really prepare you for the experience you are going to have while pregnant.  Partly because every pregnancy is different, and partly because there are frankly too many pregnancy side effects to share each one of them with someone.

Once people know you are pregnant by far the most frequently asked question you get is, "How are you feeling?"  Pretty much every conversation will start with this.  Which is a very nice, considerate and valid question.  But when you respond "I'm feeling good!  Things are good!" know that in the back of your head you might be thinking... except for the leg cramps, itchy belly, the 20+ trips to the bathroom per day not to mention those during the middle of the night, aches and general uncomfortable feeling, difficulties sleeping, feeling tired and shortness of breath for no reason, feeling so full you might explode after each meal, and some other things that are probably not blog appropriate.  And these are just the things I've experienced, not mentioning what went down (or came up) the first couple of months, because that was just brutal.  Though I will say 'morning sickness' was worse than I had anticipated as well.

I don't want to sound like I'm complaining- the truth is from what I can tell I've had a very easy (knock on wood) pregnancy so far and know how lucky I am to be able to say that.  These 'side-effects' of pregnancy are minor and completely worth it, but if anyone asked me what being pregnant is like these are the things I would tell them about.  Basically any type of symptom you experience during pregnancy can most likely be directly linked to being pregnant.  For example, at one point I googled 'heart skipping a beat feeling during pregnancy,' and 'blood in tissue when blowing nose while pregnant,' and sure enough lots of pregnant women were experiencing those things as well.  On the one hand- weird, on the other- good thing it's not just me!

There are some perks to being noticeably pregnant.  In general people tend to be a little more considerate towards you, especially at grocery stores.  I've had cashiers take my grocery basket from me and open a new check out lane for me, despite the many other people clearly ahead of me waiting in line.  And I've had the baggers at Publix, who are required as part of their job to offer to help take your cart to your car for you, ignore my "no it's really ok, I can do it" response and just push my cart out for me anyway, one lady saying, "We don't want you doing that."  One cashier wanted to help me take a thing of paper towels out from under my cart, which was totally unnecessary.  At some points you want to say, "Really, I can do it, I'm not disabled, just large.  I'm sure the lady a few lanes down with 3 screaming kids in her cart could use more help than me."

Many years ago I was at a concert, waiting in a very long line for the bathroom, when one lady in line made it her goal to get everyone to let a random pregnant lady move to the front of the line.  I remember thinking ok fine, but is that really necessary?  Now speaking from experience I can tell you yes, completely necessary and nice thing to do if you are waiting in line in front of a pregnant woman.  I will be your best friend if you let me cut ahead of you in the bathroom line.

One plus I wasn't expecting was the maternity clothing selection.  Once you get over the fact that you need to shop in the maternity section the clothes really aren't bad.  Most everything I have bought so far are things I could see myself wearing even if I wasn't pregnant.  And the sooner you allow yourself to wear maternity pants the better- they are the most comfortable pants you will ever wear and they don't even look like maternity pants.  I spent over an hour in a maternity store yesterday, can't tell you how many things I tried on and they just weren't the right fit or style.  Finally I found the right sized items I liked and at the check-out the lady asked my due date to put into their system and when I told her July 26th she gave me an "Oh girl you look good!  That's soon."  Since she didn't have to say anything I decided her comment wasn't just to be polite/complimentary, and the fact that she sees more pregnant women than most each day made me appreciate her comment that much more.  So thank you check-out lady at Motherhood Maternity for making me feel a little better about myself, despite how large I feel :)

Bees, Bats, Birds...

Being a homeowner is pretty great for the most part, but sometimes you are reminded just how fun it can be. Within the past week I discovered that we were sharing our home with more creatures than we knew (fun right?).  While walking Roxanne around the yard I noticed a bee going into the wood board overhang right below the gutter on the side of the garage.  Then I saw another one go in.  And then I realized there were about 6 other bee holes along that board.  I walked around the rest of the house and spotted another bee going into another hole way up above the second floor.  Turns out we have carpenter bees, and while I was convinced our house was going to fall apart the exterminator assured me they are common and the damage we have is not really that much compared to what it could be.  

While the exterminator was  inspecting the attic making sure the bees hadn't made their way inside, he discovered something else.  He came down from the attic and said, "Well, the good news is you don't have bees up there, and I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you do have bats up there."  The look on my face must have been priceless and full of disgust.  Basically we need a screen to cover the vent that leads from our attic out the back of the house.  So within the next week or two we will have the exterminator get the bats out and put up a screen, and spray inside the bee holes and patch them up.  

A few times over a 2 week span while outside on our deck I could have sworn I saw a bird flying out of the side of our house.  At one point I realized maybe it had come out of the dryer vent, but when I looked at the vent and the flap that hung down covering the opening I convinced myself no, it couldn't have come from inside there.  Well then last week when I saw the bird again I sat and watched for about 10 minutes, and sure enough I saw it go in and out of the vent.  I love baby birds in a nest as much as the next person (not named Rob), but for safety reasons and my piece of mind, we couldn't just leave them in there.  Luckily the birds were still in the nest building phase, so no eggs had been laid yet.  Using some kitchen tools we got most of the nest building materials out of the vent- and boy was there a lot.  Now we need a mesh screen cover for that to prevent them from going back in.  

To Roxanne's delight that wasn't the end of the birds.  While out on the deck yesterday morning she discovered that another bird is building a nest in the rose bush right outside our kitchen window.  She was very interested in watching the bird come and go and would wait for it to come back.  

We have the perfect view of the nest looking out the window.  It's hard to see in this picture but if you look closely you can see a little bird head in the middle of the bush.

So the bees and bats weren't fun, but not all of the creatures around the house are bad.  I also took this picture at breakfast the other morning when about 6 deer strolled through our yard.

And our azaleas are in full bloom right now- which adds a nice blast of color to our back yard for about 3 weeks.  Bees, bats, birds, and a baby bump :)

Mom comes to visit, bump pics and a shower

Mom came to visit last week, and what a fun, productive visit it was!  We went out to some delicious dinners, got a relaxing foot massage, and did some baby/maternity shopping.  My wardrobe was lacking as I started to grow out of/not feel comfortable in a lot of my things, but mom saved the day on that front and got me some cute dresses, tops and maternity black/grey dress pants.  Mom brought her power washer for us (Rob) to use, and now we have a much cleaner driveway/front stoop. And mom also took on a project I refused to touch since we bought the house- cleaning all of the screens, windows and window sills!  So the front of our house looks much better than before she arrived.  I am very lucky to have such a helpful, loving, generous mom- soon to be grandma!

When you are pregnant everyone asks how you are feeling- and so far so good!  My biggest complaints at the moment are an itchy belly and some trouble sleeping.  I have rarely been one to sleep through the night, so add in some trips to the bathroom and not being able to sleep in my preferred (stomach) position and it's a real good time.  I don't want to know what it's going to be like in 2 months when I'm a lot bigger.  I've also had minor lower back pain, but lucky for me I also have an awesome chiropractor (who knows all about maternity issues/pains) who fixes me.  Below are some of my 23 week pics, which Roxanne decided she should be in as well.

Today I went to a beautiful baby shower for my next-door neighbor friend Abbey.  They bought their house shortly before we bought ours, and now we are both pregnant expecting baby #1.  It will be very exciting adding two new little ones to our cul-de-sac within months of each other!  Today I am 24 weeks and Abbey is 32.

20 weeks already!

Hard to believe it, but I'm halfway there!  This past weekend I hit the 20 week mark, which means this pregnancy is half way to the due date.  I had Rob take a few pictures of the baby bump at 20 weeks to share with you all.

I am realizing now that baby bump pictures are not as fun when you are in them.  I use to always love looking at other mama's baby bump pics on facebook, and would think why don't they post more pics so we can see how much they have grown?  Now I know.  I know my bump doesn't even look like much yet, but I feel huge already!  Getting comfortable with the whole body changing and growing has been more difficult than I expected for some reason.  I guess I just assumed I wouldn't mind gaining weight and growing out of my pants when I was pregnant, because that's what happens when a baby is growing inside of you and it's normal.  But honestly it was tough when those jeans didn't fit right anymore and I needed a belly band to keep wearing my dress pants comfortably!

A couple weekends ago my mother-in-law, Ann, and I went baby shopping.  We went to Target, Babies R Us, Buy Buy Baby (that store is crazy!  think Bed, Bath & Beyond but ALL baby stuff) and Carter's.  We had a really great time trying out strollers, finding what gender neutral clothing we could, and looking at all of the genius baby products on the market that I never knew I needed until now.  Luckily, Ann suggested I try on some maternity clothes.  I had convinced myself they weren't needed yet, but after trying on those maternity jeans- wow- so needed!  She will tell you my face coming out of the dressing room said it all - comfort & relief!  So yes I got some clothes too.

Valentine's Weekend

Rob and I had a pretty low-key Valentine's evening at home, but it was nice because Rob treated me to a delicious meal that he cooked.  On the menu: steak, bacon wrapped scallops, sauteed mushrooms and roasted asparagus.  And for dessert: german chocolate cake gelato.  I was pretty excited to give Rob his Valentine's gift.  Not only was did it go along with the Valentine's theme being red, white and black, but it was officially the first thing I bought for baby...

The weekend got a lot more exciting on Saturday when Rob's best friend Hayes, Caroline and their pup Oliver came down from Michigan for a visit.  We've spent Valentine's days/weekends with them before, and it was great to be able to do it again.  We had some good meals out, cooked some good meals in, watched a lot of the Olympics and House of Cards, some video games were played, did some shopping, they went on the CNN tour downtown, to the Varsity and Piedmont Park one day while I was at work, and we made multiple trips to the dog park so the dogs could get some energy out.  Oliver dominated the obstacles at the dog park, and surprisingly Roxanne even did one of them too after barking at him the first few times he did it.  She did take a tumble right off the edge one time, but she was fine and got up and did it again.

                                       

Girls weekend in PA

Last weekend I had a really great visit with one of my best girl friends Linds (we met in 2nd grade).  I last saw Linds a little over a year ago, but it had been 2 1/2 years since I was back in PA and since I'd seen Savannah (Lindsey's adorable 3yr old daughter). She was just a babe back then, only 8 months old.  Now she is an actual mini person with her own hilarious personality.  I loved spending time with her and getting to see Linds in her element as a mom.  It also made me realize that in a few short years I too will have my hands full with a little one of my own!  I will need to work on watching every word I say and not letting the little one see me crack up when they do something bad.

Sav really wanted to take our pic with the snowman

It was so nice to just talk and catch up with Linds, and with all of the life changes going on with both of us it's important to be able to spend that time together now.  I know things will be a little different once the baby comes and definitely not as easy to pick up and go away for a long weekend.  One afternoon we went shopping and stopped at Babies R Us where I had Linds point out any must haves that I will need.  It was fun, really helpful and eye opening.  So.much.(expensive).stuff.  Babies need so much stuff- and big stuff- that really is going to take up all free space left in this house.  I knew this to be true, but going through all of the aisles and seeing everything you will one day own right in front of you makes it even more real.

Saturday night we had a fun dinner with Kelly (high school friend, who is also due in July with baby #2!).  I don't know how it's possible, but I don't think I have seen Kel since my wedding.  We clearly had a lot to catch up on because we were at the restaurant for over 3 hours!

Baby P got some of his/her first gifts already from Linds, her parents Mary Jo and Tom, and and Kelly.  So sweet of them and such adorable, tiny, gender neutral things :)

My only regret of the whole weekend is that we didn't take nearly enough pictures!  We didn't even get one of just Linds and me, but here is a selfie gem with two of my favorite girls...

I saved the best news for last...

Now that you are caught up on the highlights of last 4 months at the Porter household, we have one more important update...we're having a baby!  It still doesn't feel real as I write this, but I'm now into my second trimester and baby Porter is due at the end of July!

We are feeling all of the things you would expect first time parents to feel - mostly excited, happy, anxious, a little in disbelief, but also nervous and scared for all that it to come that we have no idea about until we experience it. We've decided not to find out the gender until he or she is born.  We think it will make the birth day that much more exciting, and it is one of the only true surprises you can experience, so we are OK waiting for it.

Strange to think I'm a third of the way there and I haven't bought a single thing related to baby, and haven't even started thinking about names.  I know it's only been 15 weeks, but it is starting to feel like my pregnancy is flying by.  I think I can say that now because the worst of the 'morning' sickness is over.  But for 6 or so weeks there it was bad, worse than I expected it to be.  All I can say is it really shouldn't be called morning sickness when you feel sick all day, every day.  There are still a few mornings here and there where I get sick, but luckily they are few and far between.  I'm not showing yet, but I'm sure the bump is not too far away now.

Rob has been the great, supportive husband I knew he would be.  Always asking if he can get me anything, helping out more around the house and always appreciating whatever 'meals' I did cook/buy/warm up during the first trimester when there were only a handful of things I could stomach.  I always thought it would be fun to find a creative way to surprise him with the good news I was pregnant...until I actually got pregnant, and then I couldn't imagine keeping it quiet long enough to surprise him.  I took a test very early one morning (without him knowing) and I was shocked to see the + sign.  I found him downstairs making breakfast and said, "OK, don't freak out, but I might be pregnant....I took a test and it's positive," and then I showed him the stick.  He was caught off guard because I am never up that early, and said something like, "Wow really? And I thought you just wanted a breakfast sandwich or something."

And here is our fur baby helping to announce the coming of our human baby :)  We really do treat her as if she is our real child sometimes (all the time), and I know I'm not alone and there are lots of other proud puppy parents out there reading this!  But I honestly am a little nervous for what bringing a new baby into the home will mean for Roxanne.  Both because for once in her life all of the attention will not be directed at her, and because she does not like kids.  She isn't mean to kids, I've never seen her be mean period, but she is just very nervous and unsure of kids and their loud squeals, quick sudden movements and how they act in general.  I'm hopeful it will be different when it's a baby that is part of her family, who she will have to interact with to some degree every day, who she will see slowly get bigger and grow up into the crazy 5 year old she currently dreads.  For now we tell her to enjoy these next few months where she is still treated like the only child and every toy in the house is most definitely hers.

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014!

So much has happened since my last post!  I am going to try to be a more committed blog writer this year, so hopefully this will be one of the last 2, 3, 4 month updates you see for a while  Where to begin...

September wrapped up with Tom and Linnea's beautiful Atlanta wedding.  It was a wonderfully fun day celebrating one of our favorite couples, and we now officially have a sister-in-law!

Football season has come and gone, but we did get to go to a couple of Clemson games with Michelle and my parents - always a fun time!  Sadly and unbelievably, Michelle is a senior this year so Clemson weekends might not be the same next Fall.

Roxanne dressed up as a witch for Halloween...I was pretty excited that she got to wear a tutu, and Rob really didn't have much say in it.

I took a wheel pottery class for beginners at the art center that's in the same complex as my work.  It is much harder than it looks when you watch others do it, but I enjoyed it and would consider taking another class.  I haven't taken a class of any kind really for a long time, so it was nice to try something new.

Me, Rob, Tom, Linnea and Roxanne took a road trip in a minivan up to Michigan for Thanksgiving.  For Thanksgiving it was the 4 of us, Ron, Kimberly, Nate, Aunt Sue, Uncle Bob and Grandma Porter.  Ron did all of the Thanksgiving dinner cooking in their newly remodeled kitchen and it was delicious.  We also got to hang out with Hayes and Caroline, go to a Michigan hockey game, and the Michigan vs Ohio State football game which was a lot of fun despite the loss.

Early December my parents and Grandma Doris came for a visit.  It was nice being able to show grandma our house and she even helped out with some yard work while she was here (she insisted).  Roxanne was really good with her and they became friends, despite Roxanne not usually liking old people.

Mid-December Rob graduated from business school woo hoo!!  Really, I am so proud of him and relieved for him that it's done.  It was a lot of hard work getting his degree while also working a full time job, and sometimes I didn't know how he managed it all.  Congrats babe!

Christmas was spent with my family in Summerville, SC.  The last Christmas we spent with them was 2010, so it was nice to be back at their house along with my sisters and dog niece Millie.

January has really flown by.  I had a fun and much needed visit with one of my best friends Katie over MLK weekend.  I am so grateful that she flew down to visit, as we hadn't seen each other since Megan and Robbie's wedding in August 2011!  We took her to our favorite tapas place, did the World of Coca Cola tourist attraction, had an unforgettable time on the new ferris wheel in ATL, had Mexican and margaritas and watched football, and did a lot of catching up.

As I write this Rob is busy painting.  He really has done A LOT of painting since he graduated and has a little more time on his hands.  I am grateful for all he has done around the house and he's actually really good at it, but I do feel bad because I know it has taken a lot of hard work and time.  First he did the master bedroom after we got new bedding for Christmas, then he did one of the guest rooms just in time for Katie's arrival, and now he is doing the front entryway.  Next on his list will probably be the dining room, as we have already decided we are hiring painters to do the upstairs hallway along with the high unreachable area above the stairs.