Thursday, February 28, 2013

Blank Canvas

Today marks the 2 week countdown until we're in our house! We can hardly wait... and have been trying to be patient... but friends, it's super tough. Every time we head back to the apartment after spending time in the house, we get super crabby... but we're down to the last 2 weeks, and that's something to celebrate, right? We've seen some MAJOR movements in the house this week... they put down our wood floors, and some carpet (only going in 3 of the 4 bedrooms), graded our driveway (that actually happened last week, but with the snow/rain, they had to put the concrete pouring on hold), poured the concrete for our driveway/front/back porch/walkway today, finished up electrical fixtures, put on door knobs, etc... by the end of tomorrow, the granite countertops should be in, and after that... there's not a whole lot left that needs to happen, before we move in.

We had... or maybe I should say, I... had high hopes of putting our handprints in the concrete driveway, before the cement hardened... but we got to the house too late, and weren't able to. Kind of bummed about that, but Charlotte still had a fun time seeing how the cement was being laid and cured... and had the hugest smile on her face, when I told her that she could use her sidewalk chalk ALL over the driveway... it's a HUGE driveway... which means a HUGE blank canvas for the little one. There will be lots of artwork going on as soon as the chalk is unpacked.







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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

What happened to week 19? { bump }

From the start of this pregnancy (at my first ultrasound), I was measuring ahead of schedule... and it seems as though the trend stuck enough, for my due date to move up a bit.. yikes! So, I'm no longer "due" on the 24th of July... but rather the 16th... thank you miss midwife for that little tidbit of information that I received at our meet and greet yesterday. So... no week 19 bump update for you, but rather lets just straight to 20... shall we?

So, it feels like just yesterday I was posting about turning 18 weeks... the time certainly is passing by quickly... and to zoom by week 19, is an unexpected surprise... so it's safe to say I made it midway through this pregnancy! I finally have most of my energy back, although it comes in waves... it sticks around for longer than 2 minutes... and I am so grateful for that. I still have occasional morning sickness moments... Almost anytime I wake up before this little bug wants me to get up, I start dry heaving... and the dry heaving turns into vomiting. So, usually every morning, I'm up early, but I wait patiently in bed for a little "kick kick" before getting up, just to make sure the little one is  up and ready to go (and won't be angry with me)... I know, I'm already giving in to "he/she's" demands... but there's nothing worse than vomiting up bile... or whatever I had breakfast.





















Cravings: fruit... fruit... and more fruit. I cannot get enough fruit. All day long, I want nectarines, strawberries or blueberries. I usually start my morning off with a piece... eat some as a snack throughout the day, and have a piece right before bed.

Turn Offs: hmm, I don't really have much new on this front, just the same- no Indian, and no coconut milk.













We had our first appointment yesterday with our midwife, and I adore her. There's a team of them... but she promised she will do EVERYTHING in her might, to be with me through my labor/delivery. I will be delivering at OU (Oklahoma University) Children's Hospital... my midwife will be my advocate, and as of right now, I'm determined to do this as "natural" as can be. I'm not even thinking about an epidural, because I want to try and give it my all... and she said she'd help me through the entire process... lots of preparation, but Lord willing, I'll have the strength. Go big or go home, right? The midwife really wanted to see our little one, as did we, so she pulled in her little ultrasound, and showed us little Sapling's parts... all of them, including "ahem" the gender specific ones. She said she's no pro at ultrasounds, but that she was pretty sure of the gender. When the hubby asked if it was a 60/40 or 80/20... she said, "NO, 90/10"..... So, we know what this little one is!!! But, we're still processing the news (at least I am, the rest of the family is completely elated)... and want to celebrate this time for a little bit before sharing with everyone. Promise you, we'll share soon enough. We actually go for our "official" anatomy ultrasound next Friday, March 8th, where we'll get some detailed pictures of the little one, and a confirmation on the gender. We're super excited, hate to keep this secret from y'all, but we really wanted to enjoy the news a little bit before we share. What I can tell you, is that I do not have twins in this belly... and that I've gained 8 lbs since the very beginning of the pregnancy... and it's ALL in my belly!

Daddy's thoughts on pregnancy so far: Daddy is silent this week... all he's been doing, has been grinning a HUGE smile since he found out the gender...

Charlotte's thoughts on the pregnancy so far: "Um... I have light brown hair... and mommy you have dark brown hair... daddy has... (looking at daddy and trying to figure out what color he has-grey or dark brown)... dark brown hair... so I think baby is going to have hair, just like mommy..."  "Mommy, you need to say 'excuse me' " (in regards to every time I burp.... which is often, apparently)
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Monday, February 25, 2013

Finding Serenity

We don't have a large family... compared to many others out there... We'll be a family of 4, God willing, this summer...plus a cat... but sometimes we each need a little "time out" in our own way. Not for nothing, but Charlotte has the energy of 5 kids... and the volume of 10.... so it's not a surprise to find Runyan in the cutest little hiding places, trying to find serenity.



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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Out Back...

The weatherman is predicting snow this Monday and Tuesday, here in Oklahoma... which means, of COURSE we had a beautiful warm and sun filled weekend. It meant that we needed to get as much fresh air as possible, before we "hole" up in the house.... so we made our way out of the apartment, and over to the house... and tried to tackle some of our backyard. Our lot that our house sits on, is extremely wooded... there are some gorgeous trees (like the oak tree that I take my bump photos in front of), and then there are tons of scraggly/dead looking trees... that need to be removed. There is so much debris out back from years of seasons... that we have to try and clean out, before we can even come up with a "concept" for how we want our yard to look. One thing is for sure, we're going to try our hand at gardening...






I think we have MANY days of work ahead of us... I won't lie... it's some good exercise for the belly...  but it's a lot of work. 
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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

17 going on 18 week { bump }

I can't believe that nearly 4 weeks have passed since my last official bump update. It's official, I'm a good 2 weeks (almost 3 weeks) into my 2nd trimester, and things have started to look up for me. Almost at the very start of this new trimester, I started to feel flutters... which is unreal. If I lay on my back, they're SUPER easy to feel, as my belly is stretched out thin... but starting this past week, I've been able to feel this little one, ALL day long. It pokes me every which way, and especially goes crazy after I eat a piece of fruit. I've also POPPED and it's really apparent that I'm pregnant now. It doesn't just look like I have a food baby (in my opinion of course), but that I actually have a little life growing inside of me. With that growth, has come lower back pain... oh how my lower back could be massaged every day, every hour, every minute. I'm trying to stretch as much as possible, but I think these aches are inevitable.



Cravings: hotdogs... still... but this time leave off the sauerkraut and onions... add some ketchup and mustard, fruit (especially berries, grapes and nectarines) followed by something salty (like a pickle or some sweet potato chips), and sour jelly beans. Everything bagels with cream cheese have been super tasty, and I'm FINALLY able to drink 1 cup of coffee. 

Turn Offs:  Anything with coconut milk or Indian food.













I haven't purchased too many "maternity" items... there's something about shirred shirts, that just look hideous to me... they rub me the complete wrong way. So, I've stuck to the basics... maternity jeans (a pair of Gap's 1969's) and Liz Lange's basic maternity tops, in neutrals- grey and white... so that I can pair with cardigans... especially since layers are my BEST friends these days. I never know if I'm hot or cold, and the OK weather doesn't help at all (one day it's 70, the next it's snowing, and the following it's in the 50's!) I'm going to try my hardest to get through this pregnancy with limited purchases... after all, it's going to be crazy hot in the summer when I'm huge... I shall be in my swimsuit, in the water, the last 2 months! I have my first meet and greet with my midwife next week (more on that after it happens)... and hopefully she'll schedule me for an ultrasound soon, to find out if baby is a "he" or a "she". Any guesses?

Daddy's thoughts on pregnancy thus far: "Every morning I have to make sure that I wake up quietly, so I don't wake up the monster 'with-in'... because there's nothing quite like waking up to the sound of dry heaves."... "I'm saddened I don't get my own version of the pregnancy trump card."...

Charlotte's thoughts on pregnancy thus far: "Um... I think I goin' to have da brudder and da sister..."- yeah, twins in her opinion... I think not... I hope not. ha.
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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

SOOOO close...

... and yet it feels soooo far away... even though we're nearly 3 weeks out from moving into our house. We dream each time we're in it... where we will put furniture, what color we'll end up painting something, what kind of rugs we'll need for the wood floors, where we'll build our garden containers, etc. It's exciting, but we can't do anything... until it's done... The inside was painted one natural shade (if we wanted other colors, we would have had to have paid an obscene amount of money per color)... the trim and doors throughout (as well as kitchen cabinets) are stark white... it's a nice enough contrast. I'm still debating something, and trying to get the hubby on board about something... maybe you all can either "help" me change his mind, or my mind... who knows! I'd really like to open up/remove the cabinet doors in the kitchen, that I have open in that one picture below. Those cabinets will hold our funky mugs and bright colored dish ware, and will be above our "coffee" area, right next to the fridge. Let me know your thoughts. I like the idea of color "popping" out, since it is so WHITE and bright in there.




And have I mentioned how EXCITED I am for that front door to be painted a lovely shade of.... well, you'll just have to wait and see for yourself!
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Monday, February 18, 2013

"Silly" Little Eyes...

We're settling into Oklahoma nicely... we still have TONS of friends to catch up with, and move into our home... but we're checking things off the list. One of those things, has been medical appointments. We needed to get myself hooked up with a midwife (yup, I'm going to try and go that route for labor/delivery... first appointment with her on 26 February), and we needed to get an eye appointment for Charlotte, with an ophthalmologist... Last Friday Charlotte was seen by an ophthalmologist who specializes with strabismus (crossed eyed), and we have answers for our little one and her "silly" eyes. A year ago, we were in Hawaii, and Charlotte was having eye surgery on those "silly" little eyes...one surgery of what we knew would be many in her future. A year later, she's scheduled for surgery on them once again... this time to help loosen some of the muscles that were tightened a little too tightly. Until surgery, we're back to "patching"... and the little one isn't quite happy about this. But, she knows it's necessary in order to fix her eyes. She's sort of in denial about it all, and tells everyone that her eyes are "just fine"... but she's a trooper, and this will help her focus both eyes a lot better. It's a 3 week countdown until surgery... and I'm going to soak up her "silly" little eyes each and everyday... after all, these are the eyes that I fell in love with in Ukraine nearly 2 years ago.








And my growing bump... for those that have asked... and poor TOMS that I've had for years... they're nearly done (right toe is going to peek through any day). 


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Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Love Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone... make it a sweet one...





" But I hear you say, 'My love is over, it's underneath, it's inside, it's in between, these times you doubt me, when you can't feel, the times that you question is this for real, the times you're broken, the times that you mend, the times that you hate me, the times that you bend... Well, my love is over, it's underneath, it's inside, it's in between.. the times you're hurting, the times that you heal, the times you grow hungry and attempted to steal, the times you're healing and when your heart breaks, the times that you feel like you've fallen from grace, in times of confusion, chaos and pain, I'm there in your sorrow through the weight of your shame, I'm there through your heartache, I'm there in the storm, My love I will keep you by my power alone, I don't care where you've fallen, where you've been, I will never forsake you, my love never ends...no it never ends... " - Times, Tenth Avenue North
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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Hearts All Around

We're all prepped for Valentine's Day tomorrow... valentines created and mailed off... I can't wait until we have our kitchen back so we can bake away for the next holiday and have our crafts back to create fun things to hang up. Looks like this year we'll have to make a trip to Dunkin' Donuts for some Valentine's treats... which really isn't a terrible thing (wink wink)... I can't believe that last year on Valentine's Day, we were in Hawaii being told Charlotte needed operation on her eyes. Where does the time go?







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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Zoo Day

With the beautiful Oklahoma winter weather... we HAD to head out for an adventure on Monday... not to mention, that Charlotte loves surprise outings. Our temporary 2 bedroom apartment gets cramped... so any outing, even if it's the grocery store... is welcomed. Every Monday, for the month of January and February, admission is free... and this Monday, was the last free weekend (since next Monday is a holiday). As soon as we pulled in... Charlotte had a huge smile on her face. She spelled out the letters, "Z-O-O" and then we sounded it out... and her smile was even bigger, "We get to see animals!". "Mommy, I'd like to ride on the elephants..." Oh, she was clueless... Thailand and our amazing all day adventure with the elephants ruined her... completely spoiled her. But she ran around the entire zoo, and had such a great afternoon... 4.5 hours really passes when you're out and about and not confined to a tight living space... we need more of these days.














We picked up a key at the gift shop on our way out, so the next time we come... Charlotte can wear the key around her neck, and then when we get to each station, she can plug the key in to hear all the interesting facts. Thought it could be fun, especially when we bring visitors along with us each time we go. 

And then today we looked out the window, at this... man the weather here is SUPER strange.

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