31 Weeks

Apparently I alternate between weeks of a lot of pictures and weeks of practically no pictures.  Maybe one of these days I'll get my act together.

How far along? 31 Weeks! Baby is as big as a pineapple!

Total weight gain/loss: 21 pounds. Lost two pounds this week. Wah! I haven't been craving as much this week and actually had a little stomach flu for a few days so that is what probably led to the weight loss.  It's not that drastic of a loss but I'm determined to eat my way to gaining poundage for next week.

Maternity clothes? I sent my maternity dresses back because they came too late and didn't look like I thought they would on me.  I really hate shopping for clothes.  I would much rather shop for food or kitchen products than for clothes for me.  Women are either lying or freaks of nature if they say they love clothes shopping.  It takes so much time that I could be spending cooking delicious food and 95% of the time I can't find anything that actually fits my awkward body.  It sucks.  I have a lot more to say on how much I despise clothes shopping but I'll keep my rant to just a few sentences.

I wore my "maternity" capris a couple times this week and the other days I wore leggings or left my pants unbuttoned and wore my bella band.  My belly is continuing to round out and get bigger but it's not quite to the "adorable pregnant belly" yet so I'm trying my best to wear clothes that show that I have a pregnant belly and it's not because I just put on a few pounds.

Stretch marks? No.  But gosh I'm so pale.  I need a tan.  The spray tan is really starting to look like a real idea for me.  Too bad they don't last that long.  

Sleep: I didn't sleep very well when I had the stomach flu.  Sorry Dan. But I'm glad that didn't take over my entire week.  I did have a weird weird dream that I gave birth to a 7 pound cow.  It was perfectly normal in my dream that I gave birth to a cow...everyone did it.  Dan was just happy that the cow was healthy.  The cow was perfect and he was our perfect cow.  So weird!  My prenatal vitamins must be laced with something that makes me dream weird things.  Dan got a good kick out of my cow dream.

Best moment this week: Spending time with my Dad.  He came down for an Unofficial Daddy's Weekend and we went to the Illini football game and tailgated before and after the game.  It was so much fun to get to see him and spend time with him.  I'm so blessed to have him as my Dad.  He really set the bar high for any guy in my life and it makes me so happy to see him and my husband get along so well.  Sometimes too well.  Sometimes I think my Dad only calls me or comes down to see me just to visit with Daniel.  But when I can wiggle time away from their budding bromance, there's nothing that makes me more happy than to spend time with my Dad.  He's the hardest working man I know and he's also the most laid back person I know.  I can talk to him about anything and he always makes me laugh.  People who know my dad will tell you that there is no doubt that I am my father's daughter.  I love our weekends together and our lunch dates we occasionally get when he swings through town.  How did I get so lucky to have such awesome parents?

In short, my best moment of this week was my weekend with my dad.  The Illini won (yeah!) 44-0 but it really wasn't much of a game.  I cheered a lot but I didn't get to heckle as much as I wanted to.  I'll save my heckling spirit for Illini hockey games.  This game did mark Baby Koch's first Illini football game! (well first football game in my womb)  He's going to be an Illini fan for sure! In true Illini fashion, we made sure to tailgate before the game (momma Jackie didn't get to full-on tailgate due to baby...next year), test out the new bag boards Dan made me, and eat cheese brats for breakfast!  mmmm!  cheddar brats!  After the game we continued to tailgate.  (I felt like I was back in my undergrad)  Then before we took our ceremonial post-game naps, we stopped at Curtis Apple Orchard to grab some apple doughnuts to compare them to famed Edward's Apple Orchard doughnuts.  (verdict, the doughnuts were okay...but could not compare to Edward's.  Edward's are on another level of amazing so there really was no contest.  I still enjoyed my apple doughnuts though.  It's really hard not to enjoy an apple doughnut).  So after a day of being out in the sun (yes my albino skin got fried), we took naps then watched more football, ate pizza, and called it a night.  I'm really boring now that I've gotten pregnant but I'm okay with that. Just chowing down on food and hanging out with great people makes me happy.

Sadly, here's the only picture I took that day and it resulted in being scowled at.  Why do these men hate pictures?

For old times sake, here's a flashback to Dad and my first Official Dad's Weekend my Freshman year of college (thank God my hair grew back!)

Miss Anything? Obviously I missed being able to drink beer at the tailgate.  As much fun as tailgating is, it's not the same without my woodchucks and beer. So yes, I miss alcohol. 

Movement: Oh my gosh!  Little Baby Koch took kicking to an entirely new level this week.  There was one time (Tuesday evening to be exact) I honestly thought that he was determined to kick his way out of my belly.  I have never seen his kicks on the outside of my stomach to that magnitude before.  It was completely insane!  I literally saw either his elbows or feet protrude from my abdomen a good inch and a half.  I was amazed and terrified at the same time.  How could one little nugget have such force behind his movements?   He also hiccuped practically every day.  It usually came right after breakfast when I would be putting my face on for the day.  Crazy!

Food cravings: To be honest, I didn't crave much this week.  Food just wasn't as appealing as it normally is.  A good throw-up will do that to a girl though.  I did enjoy my cheddar brats tailgating (I was insistent on them being at the tailgate) and my apple doughnuts but that was already noted.  I still chugged my milk like a champ.  Nothing new on the craving front though.  I also think it has to do with my expanding uterus which causes there to be less room for my stomach and my bladder, causing me to pee all the time and not be able to eat full meals.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  I'm going to blame my stomach flu on the fact that I got a flu shot at our last baby appt (Friday afternoon).  I'm not one to advocate flu shots normally but I figured that since I have a nugget inside of me who is not quite able to fight his own battles at this moment, I thought that maybe I should get one.  My doctor recommended one to me and said it was safe for baby so I reluctantly said, "Fine....give me the dumb shot." (literally, I think I said it just like that)  Well besides from having a sore arm from the shot (after I winced and cried like a child), I didn't have any other symptoms from the shot.  Then a few days later (after the shot juices set in), my stomach hurt, I had a blaring headache that lasted for days, my body ached, and then began the other un-fun symptoms of nausea and other things that brought me back to my Morning Sickness phase.  UGH!  I spent the next few days recovering.

Have you started to show yet:  There's a baby in there! And he likes to move!

Gender: Boy! (he's not a cow)

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: I burp....all the time!  I don't even know I'm doing it.  I'm just so gassy (in the burp way...not the other way...well maybe sometimes in the other way too.  sorry for the tmi).  I'll be laying down in bed and gasses will come up from my belly and out of my mouth and before you know it, I'm a burping machine!  I've always prided myself on my amazing ability to burp well, but this takes my burping abilities to an entirely new level.  Burp, Burp, Burp!  

As I mentioned earlier, I had the stomach flu this past week.  But besides the stomach flu, I also got to enjoy heartburn yet again.  I'm really not enjoying this thing called heartburn.  I started my first prenatal yoga class this past week and during the middle of class with all the stretching and such, I just got a chest full of acid and gross'ness.  Ugh!  Teacher said it was normal and just to take it easy.  Well after class, this pregnant lady stopped by the grocery store to pick up some Tums finally.  Now I won't have an excuse to complain about my heartburn.  Also, I mentioned about the intensity of the kicks/jabs little man was doing to my stomach.  He's a strong bugger.  Still have the side and lower back pain but I'm told those aren't going away anytime soon.  Good grief!

Belly Button in or out? I finally saw the bottom of my belly button (or at least what I think is the end of it) but it still has a long way to go before it pops out...which I don't think it will ever do.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time:  I wasn't as happy this week mainly because of the stomach flu.  When a girl is crying because of the intensity of her upchuck, that usually means she's not happy.  Gosh I hate throwing up....so much. So it took me a few days to be able to recover from that.  I was extremely happy when my daddy was here and was also happy that Dan and I started our next set of baby classes.  I loved going to class and feeling more prepared for our little man.  These classes were more about birthing and labor and preparing for that so they definitely helped this expectant mom feel better about that impending adventure.  Baby Koch continues to get hooked up with amazing swag so his little room is coming together which makes me so happy!  Pretty soon all we're going to need is our little man!  So my stress level is down (at the current moment) and I feel more prepared and I'm no longer sick. All this makes me happy!

Looking forward to: Seeing my mommy this next weekend and the Champaign baby shower that my good friend is throwing for Baby Koch!  Dan and my son just keeps getting more and more love from our friends and family and we couldn't be more grateful for all of this outpouring of love.  Just wow!  I'm also 99% sure that my mom will be making ham balls for the shower and I've been wanting those for months now!  I really hope there's going to be leftovers so I can chow down on them for the week after.   I'm also excited for Stef's mom's turtles that she is making for the shower.  I might just shove about 15 in my mouth at once.   Also, my favorite newlywed couple is coming to visit Dan and me this weekend (David and Meggie) and that makes me so happy!  I haven't seen these two cats since their big day!  I love being able to have another sister and David isn't too bad as a brother.  Dan's other brother is coming too so we're going to have a full house!  We will also probably tailgate before the Illini game...let's hope they win!  So basically I'm pretty excited for some amazing food, friends, and family this next weekend!  

Anything Else: 4 newbies just got added to my prenatal aqua aerobics class and I'm no longer the smallest girl in there!  One of the newbies is due in March so she's not showing at all.  The other 3 newbies are due after me and they all have adorable bellies.  Grrrr!  I'm also about a foot taller than them so that might have something to do with it.  I'm just glad I'm showing more and more each day.  I want that cute belly so bad!  I'm trying hard to make lots of room for little man.  He doesn't like how cramped it is in my belly; he makes this known to me all the time.  Overall I'm absolutely loving my aqua aerobic class.  The feeling of the warm water against my body while moving in it is amazing!  The water is extra warm to work out in because the class before us is the Persistent Pain class so they always keep it warm for them which means it stays nice and warm for the prego class!  It feels like a warm bath and I love warm baths!

30 Weeks

How far along? 30 Weeks!  Oh my goodness!  If things weren't starting to feel real, they definitely are now. 

Total weight gain/loss: 23 pounds. Gained 1 pound! Not too much gain'age from last week but I'm definitely popping out more!  Yeah for a belly!

Maternity clothes? I ordered a few maternity dresses to wear to my showers a long time ago and they just finally arrived which makes them kind of pointless since I already had 2 showers.  I figured I'd keep one or two in case I need them.  Other than that, still rocking my normal clothes (they're getting a lot tighter than I thought) with a few maternity items mixed in.  It does help that the weather is nice out and I can just wear flow'y dresses and shirts without much fuss.   

Stretch marks? No.  But things are starting to get bigger now so if they do come (please God no!) they'll probably show up within the next few weeks I'm told.

Sleep: I knocked over yet another water glass this past week.  Gosh I'm getting clumsier by the second.  But other than that, I'm sleeping fantastically.  I had more dreams of what Baby Koch is going to look like.  This time he was a red haired, blue eyed boy!  Dan said that can't be true. 

Best moment this week: Baby Koch and I felt so loved at his Roscoe baby shower this past weekend.  I just can't get over how generous and loving people are towards Dan and my son...and he's not even here yet!  Baby Koch is definitely going to be one spoiled little boy.  Everything is helping his room come together and helping us get ready for his arrival.  Baby Koch got two dressers for massive amount of clothes he received this weekend!  He even got his first crib and his stroller and car seat!  Pretty much all that is left is for our little man to get here.  (We're in no hurry though son.  Stay inside and keep growing big and strong until you're absolutely positive that you're ready to come out)  I absolutely loved seeing so many friends and family come out and celebrate Dan and my little man.  It meant so much to both of us to have everyone there.  We are so touched by all of your love and we appreciate all of what you guys do for us.  Your presence and generosity spoke love to us on so many levels.  Baby Koch is so lucky to have such an extensive loving community in his life.  Thank you all for loving us so much.  Every little present he received made me even more excited for his arrival.  I cannot wait to put him in every outfit, read him every story, sing him every song, play with him, bathe him, travel with him, put him to bed, and just love on him.  You guys made me one excited mommy-to-be!

Here's all the wonderful ladies that came out to celebrate Baby Koch.  Our wonderful family friend Renee hosted the beautiful shower. (Thank you again!) I'm so grateful for everyone there and Baby Koch and I felt so loved!  Thank you ladies for being such blessings to us!

My wonderful sisters!  They are so excited to be aunts and I couldn't be more excited to have them as aunts!

With our momma!  We are the luckiest girls in the entire world to have this woman as our mom!  I really can't get over why God chose to bless us with the most amazing woman in the world as our mom.  I've learned and am still learning so much from this woman.  She's the most giving, loving, hard-working, (hilarious), strong, and beautiful mom and best friend a girl could have.  She is going to be the perfect grandma to little Baby Koch. 

And I can't forget my other favorite picture of the day.  Here is my amazing Mother-in-Law and me celebrating her first grandson as well!  Mary is the sweetest and most loving woman I've ever met.  (She should also be sainted for raising her 4 boys)  Dan and I are so lucky to have parents like ours.  Baby Koch is going to have the most amazing grandparents ever!  

(Now here is a montage of pictures I took of my stuffed dog [yes I'm 24 and still have a stuffed animal that I might or might not still sleep with] testing out some of Baby Koch's new stuff...just to make sure they were safe and all)

 Fluffy (my dog) trying out Baby Koch's car seat.  He approved.  Now we can take our nugget home with us...whenever he gets here.

 Here's Fluffy demonstrating how safe Baby Koch will be in his new stroller.

And here's Fluffy demonstrating how relaxed Baby Koch is going to be in his swing.

And for kicks and giggles, I had to show you Baby Koch's awesome cow nightie he received this past weekend. He received a lot of amazing and adorable clothes but this cow nightie rang especially close to my heart.  Baby Koch will definitely be wearing this when we go home to Dan's family's dairy farm.  Way to cute!

Miss Anything? Not being such a klutz.  I realize I was never "graceful" but I wasn't this bad.  I think. Or maybe I'm just noticing it more.  Who knows.  I'm also missing margaritas...for no particular reason other than I want one.  I miss sleeping on my stomach and back just because I could. I also miss being able to stay up late.  I met up with some friends for drinks (lemonade and water for me of course)  this past week and it was getting late and I had to call it a night.  Gosh I get tired so easily.  How did I do this whole late night thing in college?

Movement: The hiccups have come in full force!  It's crazy!  He also flips, kicks, stretches, rotates, etc.  I still can't get over how crazy it is to see my stomach move when he moves.  It's kinda the coolest thing ever.

Food cravings: Well since I passed my Week 28 glucose test with flying colors, I've been craving sugary snacks. bahha!  Also, ice cream and milk.  My handsome hubby took me out to celebrate our anniversary and I got to indulge in lots of yummies!  We even shared a bowl of gruyere cheese and caramelized onion fondue as an appetizer and practically licked that bowl clean.  After a yummy dinner, he took me to a delicious ice cream place here in town so I could get my chocolate fix.  I ate a fantastic bowl of swiss chocolate ice cream with cookie dough and pecans (my favorite mix-ins).  I told Dan I'd share with him and he reminded me later that he didn't get a bite.  Whoops!  Guess that means we'll have to get some more so I can share this time.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Eating too quickly triggered an unusual nausea reflex the other day.  I guess that was God's way of saying, "Maybe you should slow down dear.  Just because you have that plate of food in front of you, doesn't mean you should inhale it."  Fine.  Have it your way. 

Have you started to show yet:  My belly is starting to look more rounded.  I still think it looks like a B instead of a D but there's definitely no way to hide it anymore.  It's only taken 7 months. Ugh!  Yeah for a belly though!

Gender: Boy!

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: Heartburn again!  Stop that please!  I just want to eat food and not feel acid in my throat.  What a cruel joke you are playing on me, body. Ugh!  Side pain, blah blah blah.  I could really do without the side pain. Baby Koch did take a few shots on my ribs this week.  Not cool kid!  The worst pain this week was my lower back pain. I've had just about enough of that.  I also mentioned that I'm becoming more and more of a klutz.  I can't tell you how many times I yelled at items in my kitchen to stop falling!  It's the worst when I'm emptying the dish washer.  Everything is escaping from my hands...on purpose I swear!  "You stupid fork!  Stop falling!  Now I have to wash you again!"  I'm about to the anger stage of throwing things (like a child...) because I get so frustrated with the routine dropping of items and having to bend over and pick them up again and again. Stupid gravity.  Another symptom is realizing how pale I am because as I'm getting bigger, I can start to see more veins on my body (not bad veins...just veins because you can literally see through my pastey white skin).  Gosh I needed to get more color this past summer.  Am I crazy for wanting to get a spray tan?  Probably.

Belly Button in or out? This sucker is never popping out.  Ever

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time:  When I'm not yelling at items for falling, I'm a very happy girl.  It was hard to not be happy this past week.  Baby Koch got hooked up at this past shower which is making putting his nursery together so much easier which makes me one happy mom-to-be.  I freaked out a bit a few weeks ago about not being prepared and his room not coming together quick enough but now those fears have temporarily subsided.  I'll probably have another freak out soon just because I'm weird like that. Our friends and family have been so generous and loving and I can't thank them enough for everything they've done for us.  Baby Koch is one lucky boy...and he's not even here yet!

Here's just part of Baby Koch's nursery.  We have a lot of organizing to do.  It's coming together though!  Seriously our kid is so blessed.  

Plus I'm happy to have celebrated my anniversary with my husband.  He even surprised me with flowers as I came back from Northern Illinois this past weekend (I might have made a pit stop to Edward's Apple Orchard to get this pregnant lady some amazeball apple doughnuts and apple cider.  I'm rather picky about my apple doughnuts and these are the best in the land.  You will not find any better....ever!).  For full anniversary gush'age you can read my previous post.  In short, I'm one blessed lady to have married this guy and he's one better off man to have captured this domestic goddess. We make a pretty good couple.

Looking forward to: Our next baby appointment (we have to start going once every two weeks now), our next baby class, but mostly I'm looking forward to my daddy coming down this weekend for an Unofficial Daddy's Weekend!  He's not only the most amazing dad in the entire world but he's by far the most fun.  Since Baby Koch is scheduled to make his appearance close to the actual Dad's Weekend, we thought tailgating and a football game would be out of the picture for then so we created an Unofficial Daddy's Weekend.  I can't wait to tailgate, eat brats, and cheer on the Illini!  (They'd better do better than they did last weekend against Arizona St.  Ugh!  That was horrible!)  I'm very excited for a fun-filled weekend of daddy/daughter/dan fun!  The only downside will be not being able to properly tailgate - adult style.  Next year Jackie.  It'll be okay.

I'm also looking forward to Fall which means my husband will be working on perfecting his Chili recipe yet again and I will have to serve as chief taste tester.  Yes!  Our home will start smelling like pumpkin and apples all the time!  And soon I'll be able to bring out my Fall boots, clothes, jackets, and all those other wonderful Fall things.  Plus the brown colors and emerald green hues look good on me.  A girl's gotta know her colors.  (Spring, btw, is not my time. ugh!)

Anything Else: Looking forward to the Fall TV schedule!  Bring on my Fall lineup!  DWTS (I'm rooting for Shawn Johnson and Gilles...for obvious reasons), Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family, The League, It's Always Sunny, The Big Bang Theory, Community, Duck Dynasty (if you haven't seen it...watch it!  One of the BEST shows on tv), Law and Order SVU, and How I Met Your Mother (I honestly thought last season was it's last...but I guess not!).  In the words of old ladies, "I like my stories!"  

Our Second Anniversary

Today is Daniel and my second anniversary!

Yepp, that's right.  We got married on September 11, 2010.

It was a beautiful (perfect) fall day in September in Illinois. (Illinois had a home game against SIU and won 35-3!)

We loved Champaign so much that we decided to stay for a few years.  Lucky for us it has been about the halfway point between our two families so we've been able to spend lots (but never enough) time with our wonderful families.  Dan has a job as an agricultural engineer here in town and I'm working on my Master's in Secondary Education Social Studies (currently on a year hiatus while we have our little nugget).

Many of you don't know that Daniel was my first and only boyfriend I had.  I had been waiting for that one amazing guy that God made for me (don't get me wrong, I loved going on dates and getting my awkward first date conversation on and enjoying free food).  It was easy to see that when God introduced Daniel to me that he was special.  God made it so obvious that this guy was going to be the guy I was going to marry.  After a year and a half of dating, Daniel asked my dad for permission to marry me and Dad's words were jokingly, "Are you sure?"  Dan laughed and said he was absolutely sure.  Dad then gave him his permission.  Next thing I know, Dan and I are planning our wedding and then in no time we were exchanging vows and celebrating with our family and friends.  We (I) tore it up on the dance floor, lost our voices, ate delicious food, and exchanged countless hugs and kisses with our friends and family.  

Two years later, Dan continues to make me laugh and light up my life everyday.  He tells me that I continue to surprise him everyday.  He lets me get away with keeping candy stashes in weird places, singing loudly with my "perfectly pitched" voice in the car and making up my own song lyrics, lets me pick the movies we watch, and kills all my spiders for me.  He amuses me when I insist on taking pictures of us, holds my hand in the car, lets me start my Christmas obsession ridiculously early, knows how I like my hot chocolate, and lets me watch my trashy reality shows.  I put up with him being a Cardinals fan and let him watch his hunting shows.  He's my master griller, craftsman extraordinaire, personal comedian, everything that is man, and he's not half bad to look at (okay, so he's kinda strikingly handsome).  We are so excited to become parents in just a few short weeks.  We hope to be as great of parents as the ones we had growing up.  Thank you God for blessing Daniel and me with the past two years of marriage.  I still can't believe how incredibly blessed I am for all that you've given me.

Happy Two Years! (with many, many more to come...kids too!)

Now time for chocolate...and ice cream.

29 Weeks

How far along? 29 Weeks...Baby is as big as an Acorn Squash!  

(Sorry no picture this week.  We totally forgot to take pictures at the baby shower.  Whoops!)

Total weight gain/loss: 22 pounds. Wohoo!  I attribute the weight gain to the weekend of gorging on yummy party food.

Maternity clothes? Just a few pieces mixed in with my normal clothes.  Still digging the wrap that allows me to unbutton my normal pants and just wear the wrap over it.  I will be keeping this wrap and use it for next year's Thanksgiving.  

Stretch marks? No.  Had to make a lotion run this week though.

Sleep: So I knocked over a water glass during one of my bathroom breaks this week.  It literally woke my husband up from a solid slumber and scared him half to death.  Sorry!  I guess I'm not as graceful as I was before (but that doesn't say much).  I had my first dream about what my son will actually look like when he gets here!  In this dream he and I were playing pee-a-boo on the ugly blue couch we have and I was video taping it.  Well if I get my hands on that video tapes (from my dream) I'll be sure to share it with you.  He was a cutie!  He looked a lot like Daniel did as a child.  Adorable!  Other than the million pee breaks I take, I'm sleeping pretty well.  I feel old because once it turns past 8pm, I get really tired and want to go to bed.  How did I stay up so late in college?  

Best moment this week: Seeing my extended Smith family and being blessed with our first baby shower!  We felt so loved to see everyone so excited about our little man.  He's going to be one spoiled and loved little boy.  At the shower, Baby Koch even got his first tractor!  It was a mini of my grandpa's old tractor, an Oliver.  I'm positive he'll love it!  The Smith clan graciously helped us begin to outfit our little nugget's room.  Everything is coming together nicely.  I even got to demonstrate my swaddling skills on my cousin's son...he's 4.  He thought it was funny at first but then realized he couldn't move.  So basically that means I'm a great swaddler if I can swaddle a 4 year old.  But overall, we had a wonderful time visiting my Iowa family.  We even celebrated my uncle's 60th birthday at his tractor party (Allis Chalmers tractors to be specific for you tractor nuts out there).  We got to visit my grandparents in their nursing home and hear the latest crazy stories.  Grandpa's first words to me were, "Are you fat yet?".  He always knows how to make me chuckle.  I feel that I could start a whole other blog and fill it up just with the crazy stories my grandpa tells me.

Miss Anything? Beer and wine.  At the parties, I wanted so bad to indulge in some celebratory beverages but I did not.  Gah!  The temptations are getting harder and harder.  I think it's because my stomach is getting stronger so I actually want to eat and drink the "bad" things now.  Soon Jackie, Soon!  I also miss taking scalding baths.  I enjoy a good bubble bath every now and then but I like my water to be so hot that it almost scalds your skin.  What's the point of taking a luke warm bath?  For some reason, I'm not allowed to take my hot baths anymore.  There's some rule about "you'll cook your baby...or something like that" if you take a hot bath.  Whatever.  I'll follow the dumb rule even though I don't like it.  I also miss sleeping on my stomach and back. I normally don't sleep on my stomach or back that much but when you are forced not to, it's gets to be such a pain to HAVE to sleep on your side.  More rules...

Still haven't gotten my hamballs yet, mom!  Just saying.   ("MOM! MEATLOAF!!")

Movement: He's getting so much stronger!  My Mom, sister Jill, and Dad all got to feel the nugget move when he was being particularly active in Iowa.  It was pretty cool!  I also felt my first case of Baby Koch's hiccups this past week.  It was kind of like an involuntary muscle twitch in my stomach...that lasted for 7 minutes.  It was kind of annoying (because it lasted so long) but it was still endearing because I got to feel him hiccup.  Awwww!

Food cravings: Scotcharoos!  They're a hybrid rice krispie treats and peanut butter and chocolate mix.  I think I ingested approximately 18 at the baby shower.  People are just lucky that I didn't know they were in the house the night before or there wouldn't have been any left for the shower.  And as usual, I'm craving and indulging in my 2% Prairie Farms milk.  I think Dan and I go through practically a gallon per day....mostly from me guzzling it.  I also made a batch of turtle chocolate cookies this week that I've been making a huge dent in.  My sweet tooth definitely took a front seat this week and I craved sugary goods like no other.  Yum Yum Yum!

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Just cigarette smoke.  I can smell that stuff from miles away and it smells so disgusting.  Pregnant or not, it's always made me queasy and overall it's just plain dumb.  But I don't need to tell you that. 

Have you started to show yet:  There's a baby in there! My cousin's kids asked me if there was really a baby in my belly because it didn't look like it.  Bless their hearts.  I had them feel my belly but Baby Koch wasn't moving.  I told them that Baby Koch is over a foot long and weighs over 2 1/2 pounds!  They couldn't believe it.  Their eyes grew so big.  Too cute!  But yes, I am showing and there IS a baby in there.  Dan and I had our latest baby appointment last week and got to hear Baby Koch's heart beat.  He had a strong one at 154 bpm.  My doctor also told me that I'm growing just fine and that it's very common for tall people like me to not look like they're showing very much at all.  Grrrrr!  I just want the big bellly!

Gender: Strong Koch Boy!  The Smith family is a little lopsided on the girl side so it's a good thing we're having a boy.  It'll help even things out a little more.

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: Heartburn!  Gah! I think I'll take a pass on that one.  I also had another 2-day long episode of side/rib pain.  Ugh it hurt so bad.  I tried to stretch it out and it still wouldn't subside.  Anyone know of cures for horrible side pain?  Lower back pain is still there.  Also, I can tell Baby Koch is crowding my ribs which causes me to have trouble catching my breath sometimes.  Ugh!  I'll be sitting on the couch and breathing loud and deeply and it'll scare Dan and he'll ask me if I'm okay.  I'm just fine, I would just like more space for my lungs thank you.

Belly Button in or out? Innie!

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy, Happy, Happy!  It's hard not to be this happy when my handsome husband is as supportive and wonderful as he is and we got to spend time with my family, the most amazing people in the world.  I could only think of 2 things that would make me even more happy....our little man getting here happy and healthy....and if I had a dog (a big, fluffy, and fat one!).  Dan told me I'm not allowed to have a dog (wah!) because our landlord won't allow it and plus we're going to have a baby soon.  UGH!  details....  But he did say that whenever we move, that we'll be allowed to have that discussion again. 

Looking forward to: Our second baby shower!  I'm headed back home (Northern Illinois/Wisconsin) this coming weekend to see my friends and family and I'm beyond excited for our second baby shower!  Baby Koch is so spoiled and so loved! 

Anything Else: The Illini totally won their first game!  Yeah for football season starting!  Let's bring on the tailgating, chili, brats, (beer...wah!), and pumpkin spiced everything!  Dan just finished making me a new set of Illini bags boards so we can bring them to our tailgates.  Yeah!  Handiest husband ever!  Thanks dear!