17 Weeks

How far along? 17 weeks :)

Total weight gain: I have a doctors appointment on Thursday so I'll let ya know then! I'm guessing between 5-8 pounds.

Maternity clothes? Not yet.

Sleep: I sleep pretty good most nights- my back usually hurts first thing in the morning but nothing unbearable :)

Best moment this week: Exactly a week ago we went to our 3D/4D ultrasound and were able to see our sweet little boy!

Movement: I feel him moving in the mornings and evenings. I think the reason I don't really feel him move during the day is because I'm just not paying as much attention throughout the day. At nights I will sit really still and wait for him to move- and he does :) He likes to be on my lower right side and if I poke around over there it aggravates him and he squirms around. Hehe!

Gender: Boy

Labor Signs: no

Belly Button in or out? haha- in!

What I miss: not going to the bathroom every 2 hours :)

Weekly Wisdom:3D/4D ultrasounds are totally worth it! Most places have great packages and offer discounts on future visits. If you are in the Bowling Green are I highly recommend Precious Views!

Baby's Size:

The size of a sweet potato. Measuring 5.5 inches from head to rump and weighing 5-7 ounces.

Milestones:

His heart now pumps 25 quarts of blood through his body each day.

He can now yawn (what a necessary skill in the womb- haha).

His skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone.

Momma and baby at the gym at 17 weeks :)

Cloth Diapering

So, today my friend Lauren invited me to tag along with her and her sister to a cloth diapering seminar. The seminar was very informational but also overwhelming at the same time! There were sooooo many different types and brands of cloth diapers! One size diapers, fitted diapers, diapers with snaps, diapers with velcro, diaper covers to be used with cloth inserts....the list goes on and on!

I did at least learn that the best type of detergent to wash the diapers in (regardless of the brand you decided to go with) is Rockin Green detergent. Even though I didn't feel as though I was very well educated on the difference between the types of diapers there were, I could not resist buying at least one diaper while I was there.........

So I picked out this extra plush super cute green grow with me diaper by Thirsties!

Yay for Baby Cowan's first cloth diaper!

Decisions, Decisions!

We have settled on a theme for baby boy's nursery!

We have decided to have a jungle themed nursery.

Now we just need to decide on which style of theme to go with!

Here are the options:

1)2)

3)
4)
5)

6)

Please feel free to share your opinion :)

Sweet Miracle

A little bit of heaven

Drifted down from above -

A handful of happiness,

A heartful of love.

The mystery of life,

So sacred and sweet

The giver of joy

So deep and complete.

Precious and priceless,

So lovable, too

The world's sweetest miracle,

Baby Boy, is you.

Just to brighten my day....

Yet another reason why I love my husband :)

I have been saying recently how bad I missed being back home where the fields were FULL of Easter Lillies free for the picking. Today on his way home from work, my handy husband stopped and picked some Lillies, just for me. I love them! And him too of course :)

Love/Hate

Oh how I love........

to hate the treadmill :)

Although my workout on the treadmill has changed a little as of late, I do still enjoy a good workout on this lovely machine.

Recently, my treadmill workout is as follows:

5-Minute Warm-Up Pace: 3.0 mph; incline level: .5 percent

5-Minute Speed Interval Pace: 3.5; incline: 1.5

2-Minute Recovery Pace: 3.0; incline: 1.0

5-Minute Speed/Hill Interval Pace: 3.5; incline: 3.0

2-Minute Recovery Pace: 3.0; incline: 3.0

5-Minute Speed/Hill Interval Pace: 3.5; incline: 4.0

2-Minute Recovery pace 3.0 for the first minute, then 2.5 for the second minute; lower the incline by 1 percent every 30 seconds.

Its not the same as training for a 5K- but it gets the heart rate up and the sweat rollin' :)

New Addiction :)

I do have to admit that at first I could not understand why exactly it was that we needed Netflix. And, when Mahlon would watch endless episodes of Spartacus and Dexter I was still a little hesitant to accept this Netflix as a necessity. However, my opinion has been swayed!

I am totally in love with the FOX T.V. series Bones! I am very aware that this is not a new series to the network, however I had never taken the time to watch any of the episodes or even seasons for that matter. Now thanks to Netflix I have all the episodes from seasons 1-5 right at my fingertips! We probably watch at least 2 episodes a night :) Watching this series makes me wish I was a scientist!

I sure hope Bones and Booth start dating soon!

It's so obvious they love each other! Haha!

Friday's Top 5

I did steal this blog topic from my friend Lauren ( of danielsdugout.blogspot.com) just for honesty's sake :)

The Top 5 Things I can't get enough of for the past 14 weeks:

5)Dr. Pepper

odd- I have never before liked Dr. Pepper, I've always been a Mt. Dew drinker at heart ( even though I know how terrible they are for you). Not a healthy choice, I know. I try to limit it to only one a week.

4) Grilled Cheese:

Yummo. A childhood favorite of mine is making a comeback! Semi healthy :)

3)Chips:

I use to hate chips because of the way they seem to ALWAYS get stuck in my teeth. However, for the past few weeks I can not put the bag of Salt and Vinegar chips down :) Unhealthy yet again!

2) Fruit:

Fresh fruit, fruit cups, fruit salad. Any way you slice it I'm lovin' it! One point for the healthy side of the cravings :)

1) Orange Juice:

I have always liked orange juice so this is not as strange to me as some of the previous 4, and it's a good source of calcium as well as vitamin C - another point for the healthy column. :)

Breaking the News Part II

After breaking the news to Mahlon,

our parents were next on the list of folks to tell.

We wanted it to be a fun and surprising way so I once again tried my hand at being creative and made these:

They were actually rather simple to make.

All it took were a few plain white frames and scrap booking stickers :)

After we had our 8 week ultrasound I placed a copy of baby's first picture in the frame, wrapped the frames and gave them to our parents at dinner.

They were very surprised and excited. And of course they loved them :)

Ashley, Mahlon and Baby make 3!

8 week ultrasound.

Baby Cowan's due date is September 6, 2011 :)

Breaking the News Part 1

So, I wanted to find a unique and fun way to tell handy husband that he was soon to be a handy daddy however creativity is just not my strong suite :). So after after all of 20 minutes of trying to be creative, baby and I decided to get him a gift.and a card....

If you were wondering what was in the bag it was nothing more than the obvious :) Positive tests, rubber duck, and pacifiers

I think he got the hint :).

Whats for Dinner?

In an attempt to not eat out every other day of the week :)- Mahlon and I have resorted to the menu system that we once had in place and have somehow strayed far from! Sunday we sat down and made a list of meals that we would like to have for throughout the week. We then went to the grocery and got everything that we would need for 7, yes 7, dinners at home this week! Here is what we will be having this week ( in case you would like to stop by for dinner ;) )

Monday- Quesadillas and Mexican Rice

Tuesday- Cheddar Chicken and Rice Skillet

Wednesday- Pork roast, potatoes and carrots

Thursday-Breakfast; bacon, eggs and blueberry waffles

Friday- Home made pizza

Saturday-Chicken fried rice(of course with the oh so yummy white sauce)

Sunday- Pasta and garlic bread

If all goes well, tonights dinner should look like this:)