38 Weeks & Celebrations a Plenty

I am: 38 weeks pregnant
Size of Baby: A leek ~ about 6.8 pounds and about 19.5" long. I read this morning that babies at this stage can weigh anywhere from 6-8 pounds. Parker is probably closer to 7 pounds right now.
Total Weight Gained: 22 pounds (I think Parker had a mini-growth spurt this week and I did a little more eating too!)
Maternity Clothes: I am wearing maternity jeans and a maternity shirt in this picture. Side note: This picture was taken before our date night on Saturday night. We had a really fun date night. We went and ate at Macaroni Grill ~ yum. The food was delicious and we had a really good talk. After that, we went to Lifeway Christian store and each got a CD that we have been wanting. We ended the night by going to a new cupcake place for dessert. All they sell is cupcakes so there were many to chose from. I got cookies and cream and John got peanut butter cup. Oh my...they were heavenly. Actually, the store is called "Bliss Cupcakes" and they were bliss. We will definitely be going back!
Gender: It's a BOY!
Name: Parker Holt
Movement: I feel lots of movement. I don't feel him moving all around but more like punching, kicking and stretching. His room is more limited so there's not as much movement as early on, but whatever position he's in, he's definitely moving his limbs around.
Sleep: Overall, I am sleeping okay...getting a tad worse as time goes on, but I'll be good and prepared for motherhood! It's just hard to get completely comfortable and turn over from side to side. I get up several times in the night to go to the bathroom so once I get back in bed I have to get readjusted. Luckily, John's a heavy sleeper. But I do get a few hours of sleep so I'm thankful for that.
What I Miss: I miss the same things that I have all along. Some things I am looking forward to eating ~ a caesar salad, raw cookie dough samples, feta cheese, lunch meat, caffeine, fried eggs, hot dogs, soft-serve ice cream, more seafood...among other things! Of course not all at the same time and all in moderation. These are all things that I either haven't been able to have or chose not to because of certain reasons. I also miss being able to sleep on my back. I also look forward to being more comfortable and able to bend over...oh the little things. I know I will really miss being pregnant for several reasons too so, like I have all along, I'm trying to focus on the positives and really enjoy this.
Cravings: No cravings ... just craving what I can't have and what I miss.
How I'm Feeling: Except for feeling big and uncomfortable and being more tired, I'm feeling really good. I have been very blessed with a wonderful pregnancy!
Best Moment last Week: Getting A LOT done on "THE LIST" and celebrating our birthdays and anniversary. Over the course of 3-4 days, we accomplished a ton. We deep cleaned the entire house. Every room has been cleaned from top to bottom...inside and out. It feels so good to have that done. Now we can just pick up and maintain it until Parker comes. John also did a little clean up outside in the front and back yards. We have our pile started and organized for the hospital and a list of what to pack and gather last minute. We are making good progress on our thank you notes. We got a lot of paperwork and office tasks taken care of. The car seat and bases are ready in both of our vehicles. We did a ton of laundry. I made a few things to freeze. There are many more things, but I won't bore you with it all. We feel like all of the major/most needed "to dos" are done so now we can just go about our daily business and do some stuff we wanted to do if we had time all the while waiting for Mr. Parker.

Here are my 18 Weeks and 28 Weeks pictures...

Onto our birthday and anniversary celebrations!

My 33rd birthday was last Sunday, on Super Bowl Sunday. Unfortunately, I was pretty sick with a bad cold so it could have been better, but despite that we had a really good day. John made sure it was extra special. He bought me a birthday balloon and had ordered me a birthday cake. It was a surprise as to what kind of cake it was - so sweet. He also bought plates, napkins and a plastic cup to match. The cake was chocolate with whipped cream cheese frosting. Let the drooling begin - it was delicious! I love all of the Disney Princess movies so that was the inspiration behind the cake John ordered. Oh, I just love that boy.

I received a few cards and gifts in the mail that I opened Sunday afternoon. "Daisy Bear" is one of the many pet names John has for me. He's called me that for years. Cheesy and corny to you perhaps, but wonderful to me. One of our many "inside things" for lack of a better term.

John gave me a beautiful card and an "I AM SECOND" t-shirt. I have been wanting one for a while and while I will have to get a bit of weight off post-Parker, I can't wait to wear it. If you aren't familar with "I AM SECOND", you can click here to visit the website. There are lots of videos you can watch from actors, directors, coaches, athletes, musicians, businessmen and everyday people as to why God is first in their life and they are second. John wrapped my shirt in a empty saltines box. You'll see a silly picture below. For my birthday meal, we had snacks since the Super Bowl was on. Good grub indeed! Last Wednesday was our 9th wedding anniversary ~ hooray! Even though I still wasn't 100%, luckily I was starting to feel a little better by Wednesday. We went to dinner and came home for our anniversary festivities. We opened our cards and gifts from each other and others. We then watched our wedding video and looked through our wedding pictures and scrapbook. It was the perfect way to celebrate the day. John got me an awesome canvas that is now hanging in our living room. I got John a matted picture of us that we are going to fill up with writing "love notes" to each other around and then frame and I made him some love lottery tickets (good for various things like a dessert of his choice, dinner out and a couple of activities). I also got him a ceramic Vacation Fund jar. Ceramic is the 9th anniversary gift and we plan to take a trip sometime next year to celebrate our big 10th anniversary. We have already started saving for it and now we have a fun place to keep the money for the next year or so. We aren't sure exactly when we are going or where (we have a few ideas), but we have a long time to save and plan because it'll be sometime next spring or summer (2013) more than likely. Plus Parker will be over a year old by then. Can't wait!! Oh and Calvin was along for it all...hanging out and observing.

John's 35th birthday was Thursday. He requested a homemade pizza for dinner and a peanut butter chocolate pie for dessert. I also made him homemade banana nut muffins for breakfast. He got to blow out candles and listen to me sing twice - haha. I had a birthday banner greet him when he woke up Thursday morning. I got him a card (maybe my favorite card I've ever gotten for him), a David Crowder band CD and a couple more love lottery tickets to scratch.

We have a Dr. appointment tomorrow for a check-up so I look forward to that. A few other things on the calendar and list this week, but should be a lot more low key than last week. Have a great one.

We are about 10 days from our due date so stay tuned!

Until we meet again...