35 weeks

I'm going to forego the long typed post this time since I just did one last weekend, but here are some pictures!

35 weeks with Jack

35 weeks with Elise

First trip to the beach

We took Elise to the beach for the first time yesterday and had a great time. She definitely is not a fan of walking in the sand (even with her shoes) and didn't want to touch the ocean water, but we still had fun. It was very easy to keep her contained because she didn't want to leave the "safety" of our beach towels! You can see her new Keen shoes in this picture. We decided to go with turquoise since she LOVES blue and both of her bathing suits have blue in them. Maybe Jack will be able to wear them in a few years! She'll be wearing these all summer to the park and the pool. I ordered a size 9 and they fit just right with enough room in case her feet grow this summer.

Reunion with the Majors

On Tuesday, Brian, Laura, and Braden stopped by on their way from Tennessee to Florida. We had a great time eating lunch and watching the kids play. Elise and Braden were much more interactive with each other than they were during their last reunion in December.

Cheesy pose with Jack

Laura's birthday was on Wednesday, so we had to celebrate with some chocolate cake! Braden and Elise were so busy playing that they didn't even notice that we were eating it.

For my Chi Omega friends...

You will be happy to know that I still own and wear several Chi O t-shirts (especially the long-sleeved ones!) and Elise noticed that in this video. Baby Hootie in 2027??

Elise spelling in Jack's crib from Stephanie Powell on Vimeo.

"Nursery" pics

Well, we have turned our guest room into half queen bed/half crib and dresser and it is as done as it is going to get before we move, minus a few pictures. Mike designed the letters and we painted them. I will probably order one more patterned sheet since we decided to forego the crib bedding set. Elise loves to play in "Baby Gak's room" and always spells his name for us when she goes in there.

Family Pictures

We had a mini-session done by Erin Johnson Photography (Enterprise, AL) last weekend and here are the pictures! I'm 34 weeks here and not a fan of the "cheesy" maternity pictures (like the ones where you look down and smile at the belly), though we did take one just to document the size. Yes, Mom, I have the digital files if you want to print some :)

34 weeks/flower girl pics

The last two weeks have been pretty rough in terms of the lightheaded/shaky/low blood pressure thing, but yesterday and today were significantly better so I am hoping that the trend will continue. I do remember it getting a lot better during my last month of pregnancy with Elise. I've also had a lot more cramping and heartburn in the last few weeks (oh, the joys of the third trimester). I was having a hard time sleeping, but I've been experimenting with extra pillows and it has helped immensely over the past few days. I can tell that Jack is definitely still head down. I'm still taking the opportunity to walk outside or go to the gym when I feel good. Our double stroller is fabulous and Elise and I use it almost every day.

I had an appointment on Friday and my fundal height still measures about 3 weeks small (31 cm for 34 weeks) but everything else looks great. One perk is that since I am carrying so much lower this time, I have had zero issues with Jack pushing into my rib cage, even in the car. I have a hard time believing that I am carrying differently because of the gender of the baby... I think it is more due to the muscles and ligaments being stretched for the second time. I am now up to +12 in the weight department (but +20 from my lowest point at 16 weeks) and I weigh exactly the same as I did with Elise at this point. It is still so strange to me how the weight is distributed differently. After my appointment on the 14th, I start going every week.

Sorry, no belly pic this week. I will take one this weekend to compare my 35 week picture in both pregnancies. We did a mini-session with a local photographer this weekend, so I'll post some of those pictures when I get them. I will leave you with some pictures of Elise from Bryan and Michelle's wedding (right before she turned 2). These were taken by Shauna Maness Photography in College Station. I may be biased, but I think she was an adorable flower girl! I love the yellow dress that Michelle picked out and will use it again for Elise's Easter dress in a few weeks.