Moving In

35 Week Update from BabyCenter.com:

"Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight."

We are finally moved in to our house!! Yes, there are still a ton of boxes everywhere. Yes, we still have a lot of unpacking to do. Yes, we have so many things to buy and are continuously making trips to Wal-Mart and Home Depot. But who cares....we're finally home.

We moved in last Saturday and were very fortunate to have so many friends here to help us (thanks to all of you!). The boys did the heavy lifting/moving and the girls helped me unpack boxes, set up the kitchen, master bedroom and bathroom. We actually haven't touched a single box since then until today! When Sunday morning rolled around, it took all we had just to get out of bed!!! My body hurt, Justin's body hurt and we were just so exhausted. After about 30 minutes in Home Depot Sunday morning, I was begging Justin to go home so I could get off my feet because they had already started hurting. We haven't had much motivation this week to get things done....we really just wanted to enjoy the first few days of being in our house and getting acquainted with it.

We had a great Thanksgiving and ate so much good food! We went to be with my family for lunch and left around 4:00 to get back to Birmingham for dinner with Justin's family. Normally we go straight to Hattiesburg after lunch to spend the weekend at Justin's grandparents, but since I had to work on Friday, we had dinner with his parents, aunt and uncle, then came straight home. I love the holiday's...I love seeing my family and spending time with them. The Vest family (my mom's side) is pretty big, as my mom has three sisters and one brother who all give kids and grandkids of their own. We always have a packed house but it makes it so special to me that we all still get together and enjoy being with each other. Not to mention the food is always amazing!

I did not enjoy having to go to work on Friday. I mean, who wants to work during the freakin' Iron Bowl?!?! Luckily some people had some up a projector screen and were able to broadcast the game in the enormous file room on our floor, so I did get to see the entire first quarter and bits and pieces after that. There were radios and laptops set up all over the floor that were also broadcasting the game, so even when I had to sit at my desk, I was still able to keep up with the game. I'm so happy that Alabama won and we have gone 12-0 two years in a row now! The game was intense and very nerve-racking, but usually that's the way the Iron Bowl goes. We pulled it out and that's all that matters. Now, time to focus on Florida and winning the SEC Championship. I can't imagine how nervous I will feel this time next week!!!

Well, as much as I love updating the blog (which I have to add I'm doing from my awesome sunroom off of our master bedroom, which looks out over our 1+ acre backyard full of trees, squirrels and blue skies), there is so much I need to get done today so it's back to unpacking for me. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and stuffed yourselves as much as I did!

34 Weeks

34 Week Update from BabyCenter.com:

"Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies."

One Week From Today!!

33 Week Update from BabyCenter.com:

"This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood."

Sooo, one week from today we will be settling into our new house! I can't wait to get there and get things unpacked and ready to go. We are doing the final walk-through on Wednesday night, then Justin will start taking small items and boxes over there on Thursday and Friday. All of the utilities are set to be hooked up on Friday, with the exception of cable which is on Saturday morning. We're hoping that Friday night will be our first night in the house! Saturday is the big moving day and we'll have lots of friends coming to help us!

I am finally getting around to posting some pictures from the Vinson Family Celebration we had back in October with about ten of our friends. Sorry it took so long but there have been waaaaaay too many things going on right now!


The delicious and super cute cake from Edgars!

Beth Ann, who did a great job on the event!

Aunt Beth Ann and Uncle Scottie



Excited about the "Boudreaux's Butt Paste"!

Gifts from Jody and Jennifer

Gifts from Scott and Laura

Gifts from Scottie and Beth Ann

Today was my baby shower in Birmingham! It was lots of fun and we had a great turnout. Thanks a million to Jennifer N, Lindsay, Meagan, Jennifer B and Brooke. Ya'll did an amazing job and everything was perfect! Unfortunately, I only got a few pictures with my camera so I'm only able to post the ones that I have until I get the pics from other people that were there!

Hostesses (minus Brooke)

Phi Mu girls

And finally, the latest belly pics - one from last week at 32 weeks and one from today at 33 weeks. I really have no pregnancy complaints but I have been growing significantly in the belly area the last few weeks! There are days when I can feel my stomach stretching and it's very uncomfortable. It's harder to get up off the couch and to get out of bed (which is really annoying during the eight trips I have to take to the bathroom in the middle of the night and I don't have Justin's assistance to help me up!). I get tired quicker than I did a few months ago, but I'm listening to my body when it tells me it needs a break. Oh yes, and the heartburn/indigestion. It would probably be easier on me if I had these problems before, but they are very new for me and I do not enjoy it at all.


32 Weeks

33 Weeks

I will close with some amazing news - Nikki's tumors are shrinking and her numbers are down!!! How amazing is that?! The tumor in her stomach and the tumor on her liver have both shrunk, and the hole in her stomach has closed up! She is feeling better and will continue with the oral chemo for now. I was soooo happy and excited when I read this news!! It's now been two years since her first operation and I can't imagine what this journey has been like. It is clear that the power of prayer is real, so please keep praying for her!!!

House? Check. Baby? Getting Closer...

32 Week Update from BabyCenter.com:

"By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth."

I’m so behind on updating the blog!! We’ve just had so much going on lately and unfortunately it’s been put on the back-burner. I guess I need to back up to the last week of October and give a full update on everything house related!

Justin and I went to my 31 week checkup on Tuesday, October 27 and got to meet another doctor in the practice, whom I really liked. So far I have seen 3 of the 5 doctors there and I'm hoping that one of those is not on-call when I go into labor. I really, really did not like him and would hate to have him deliver my son. After the checkup, we had breakfast and then went to the attorney’s office for closing. It honestly could not have gone better! We had heard so many horror stories and I was really worried that something was going to go wrong. Yes, we signed a lot of documents, but that was expected – we actually left going, "Is that it?! That wasn’t that bad!! Are we seriously homeowners after just an hour of signing a thousand documents?!" It was a great feeling and we’re thrilled at this exciting new time in our lives!!

I don’t think we did much that weekend except for pack. I spent almost all day Saturday and Sunday packing up everything I possibly could. I thought I would go insane at all the boxes everywhere! We’ve finally gotten the bed in the guest bedroom taken apart and now that we have the mattress/box springs standing up against the wall, we have a ton of floor space that is now home to all of the boxes that have been packed. I will be glad to not live among boxes anymore.

This past Friday we had our 4-D ultrasound which was so awesome! I was a little nervous because we waited until the last possible week to have it done. If Austin had chosen not to cooperate, we were pretty much out $125 AND another chance to see him again in 4-D. So, I’m really thankful that it turned out well. He is weighing in at four pounds and four ounces. He kept his left hand up at his face almost the entire time though, so he made it difficult to get some good pictures. There were a few minutes where he had his foot up there too and it looked like his toes were up his nose! He played with his foot a lot and reminded me of a little monkey in there! He looks just like his daddy…he’s got Justin’s lips and nose, and we could see that he’s already got some hair!! I would guess that the old wives tale about the heartburn meaning the baby will be born with a lot of hair is true in my case…the heartburn has gotten worse and I am not enjoying it! He also has these great big fat, chubby cheeks that are just so cute and made me laugh the whole time!! I can’t wait to see him in person! We’re working on getting the pictures scanned in so I’ll post them as soon as we do!

And I just have to add.....ROLL TIDE!!! We are headed to Atlanta for the SEC Championship in December, as we clinched the West against LSU Saturday night!!!

31 Weeks

31 Week Update from BabyCenter.com:

"This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy."