27 Weeks & Thanksgiving Snapshots

I am: 27 weeks pregnant ~ last week in my second trimester
Size of Baby: Head of cauliflower ~ 2 pounds and 14.5" long. He's now taking his first breaths in utero.
Total Weight Gained: 8 pounds (thank you Thanksgiving!)
Maternity Clothes: I am wearing maternity jeans, but a non-maternity sweater in this picture
Gender: It's a BOY!
Name: Parker Holt
Movement: I feel lots of movement ~ such a special feeling! Parker must have really been excited about Thanksgiving Day because he decided to do a gymnastics routine about 6am Thanksgiving morning. I was laying there laughing - it was awesome. A little early, but wonderful nonetheless.
Sleep: I am sleeping good with my body pillow. I still have a few struggles occasionally, but it's improved so much. I have my good nights and bad, but overall, not too much to complain about. I took my body pillow to Arkansas and slept really good. I guess taking a break from all of my "to dos" at home helped me get some good rest.
What I Miss: I still miss the same things that I have all along. I'm keeping a mental list of all of the things I will indulge in after Parker arrives - not all at the same time though!
Cravings: No cravings ... Still just craving what I can't have. I guess I won't have any "pregnancy craving" stories or any "smell aversions" stories either. I'm not complaining at all.
How I'm Feeling: I'm feeling really good overall. I've been very blessed these past 27 weeks! I am starting to feel bigger though. I'm having a bit more difficulty bending over, turning over in bed, squating down and getting back up...things like that.
Best Moment last Week: Enjoying a nice trip to Arkansas and getting to talk more about Parker and his approaching arrival. We hadn't been there since mid-August so I've grown bigger and we've done a lot since then so it was nice to have Parker as the topic of several conversations. We also got a cute outfit and some socks from John's parent's pastor and his wife (Jake and Amanda). They themselves just had a little girl in May ~ Andrea.

Fingers crossed - the furniture is in so we will be picking that up in the next few days. We've had several issues with it so I hope that it's in and they are the color and design we chose. I'm VERY anxious to get the crib and changing table put together and in place. After that I can go to town on several more projects in there - believe me, the list is long! We have an appointment on Monday (December 5th) so we are looking forward to that to see how things are progressing. We have our childbirth class all day on Saturday and then we get to tour the maternity wing of the hospital.

As I mentioned above, we had a great trip to Arkansas to celebrate Thanksgiving with John's family. It was very relaxing and lots of fun. Except for lunch and a grocery run on Sunday after church, we stayed at John's Mom and Dad's the whole time. We arrived about lunch time on Wednesday and came back home on Monday morning.

We did lots of visiting, looking at old pictures, board game playing, football and basketball playing outside, football game watching, cooking, baking and of course EATING! Wow, we did not starve while we were there. It was all delicious! While we were there we also put up and decorated their Christmas tree. John LOVES to decorate for Christmas so I was glad he got to help with that while we were there. I did some decoration repair with the good ol' hot glue gun. John and his Mom also had their annual tradition of making Bon Bons. They are made every year at Christmas and have been for years. They actually ended up making a second batch because the first went so fast.

You'll notice a couple of pictures of John and I on Thanksgiving Day sporting our Cowboys wear on the front porch. Next year, this picture will have a certain little boy with us in his Cowboys duds - can't wait! As of right now, we plan on having Parker's first Thanksgiving here at home with just the three of us and Calvin of course. I already have visions of cooking while the Macy's Parade is on and Parker and John are playing waiting for lunch...then naps and the Cowboys' game. Let the memories begin!

While we were looking through old family pictures, I found the most adorable one of John when he was a little boy. It melted my heart. Karen graciously let me bring it home so I could get a copy made of it. I actually did that at Target yesterday so now I have it in a frame on my desk. I'll have to take a picture of it to share with you. It is beyond precious, in my unbiased opinion. If Parker is half as cute as this, he'll be the sweetest thing!

These are not all of them, but enjoy a few snapshots from Thanksgiving 2011.I still have plans to post all of our Christmas decoration as well. I know you are on pins and needles waiting to see those - haha! It feels so festive in our home - I just love it!

Until we meet again...
Riley