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Stepping out Saturday and BUMP

Saturday morning two friends and I went out for lunch and manis. It was incredibly relaxing to have a little ME time with friends. Plus getting a nice hand massage and pretty nails doesn't hurt either. 

I only see these two friends every couple of weeks since they work full time and don't have kids- and I obviously stay home and have a 4 year old and a baby on the way. Which leads to opposite schedules!! Since we don't see each other that often, every time we do get together they are always surprised about how HUGE my belly is getting! One friend I didn't know last time I was pregnant so she's never seen me like this- plus she doesn't have any friends with kids so my belly continues to shock her! 

If I would have checked these pictures before changing Sat. night I would have demanded a redo! Husband needs some photography lessons (we both do!) 

Gah I don't realize how paled and washed out I am until I see pictures!! Mamma needs some vitamin D! And I need to not be standing in the sun when I have pictures taken since I can't keep my eyes open! 

Outfit details

Leggings: H&M maternity, most comfortable pants Ever.

Shirt/Dress: Forever 21 ( non maternity but think it's the last time wearing while preggo!)

Boots: Nordstroms

Scarf: Bought at the cutest little store in Stockholm, Sweden in 2009

I can't really do an outfit post without posting what I'm wearing underneath...

THE BLANQI

This thing is life changing. Seriously. Not even exaggerating. Remember all that low pressure/pain I was having? Basically non existent when I'm wearing this! 

*I'm not being paid for saying any of this but if they would like to send me the black or white blanqi I wouldnt mind :)  I stumbled upon the blanqi before christmas in pea and the pod and drew bought it for me and I've been in love ever since. I've turned preggo friends on to this and everyone LOVES it!!

Now for some stats

How far along: 27 weeks 1 day!! 12 weeks from TODAY I will have my daughter in my arms 

Size of Baby: Head of cauliflower 16 in. and 2.5 lbs! I had a friend who had twins less than 2 lbs last summer so it's crazy that my baby is already quite a big bigger than they were when they were born! 

Total Weight Gain: My scale is iffy- I need a digital one- but I think between 18-19 lbs total. Ouch.  

Maternity Clothes: Nothing new to report here- all maternity jeans, can still wear regular leggings but my maternity ones are more comfortable. Shirts/dresses it's a mixture depending on the cut/style of the shirt. Did have to go bra shopping this weekend and go up TWO sizes, I was excited about that at first but now I def. don't want them to get any bigger! Pretty sure that's inevitable though.

Gender: Girl! 

Movement:All. THe.Time. Especially at night- she's a little night owl! 

Sleep: Decent- have to wake up often to switch sides because my hips are killing me but other than that I sleep fine 

What I miss: Being comfortable

Cravings: Loving salads. And lays potato chips. And ice cream.

Symptoms:Out of breath easily, pressure, hips and back ache 

What I’m looking forward to: Getting the glucous testing done and out of the way next week.

Stuff my Kid Says

**So yesterday I went bra shopping because the boob situation is getting slightly ridiculous. I've gone up TWO full cup sizes in the last few months. And even this new cup size is borderline to small but victoria's secret doesn't HAVE anything bigger.  Guess where we know where half of this pregnancy weight is going!! Anyway, this morning Jasper walked into my bedroom right after I had put on my new bra. His reaction**

Jasper "Moooom take those boobs off. They are Way to big. No way they will let you in to the movies with those boobs on. Take them offffff!"

Me: Speechless.

Drew: Laughing hysterically.

My pregnancy Must haves

27 weeks in anyway.

Ice Water

I wouldn't have survived weeks 6-15 without my ice water. It's the only thing that ever sounded good. And it HAD to have ice, I most definitely cried once when I realized we were out of ice and Drew wouldn't be home with any for hours.

Either a pregnancy pillow or a bunch of regular ones. I opted for the boppy body pillow because last pregnancy I just used regular ones that always fell out of the bed halfway through the night.

This thing and I have been BFF's since about week 12. 

Maternity belt for long walks. Looks suuuper lame- but has helped a lot of with the low pressure and back pain I have. 

I promise you I am not stoned in the above picture.

Some sort of stretch mark cream or oil. Yes for stretch marks prevention, but also for itchy, dry skin that covers my body during pregnancy. I've tried many, Palmers, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, coconut oil, basq and mama mio. So far mama mio is by FAR my favorite (more on that tomorrow) but regardless of what kind you get- they are a MUST

H&M Maternity leggings
These are seriously the most comfortable pants I've Ever worn, pregnant or not. Is it bad that I have no plans on giving them up after giving birth?

A bigger bra! No joke I grew almost 2 cup sizes before 5 months preggo. Luckily I had some larger ones left over from after nursing (I never went back go my tiny pre preggo bra size) but if you don't have any bigger ones on hand- make sure you get at least one!!

A pair or 2 of cute maternity jeans. I got mine at Gap and love them! I'm not sure they will fit in the last month or so, depends on how big I get-but for now they still fit great!


That's all I've got for now- anyone else have any pregnancy must haves to add to the list? 

Two things.

1. The weather here has been ridiculously nice. Like 64 and sunny. In January! And we live in Colorado, not the south. Makes me super anxious for spring!! So I've been some afternoons laying on our porch basking in the son. This belly and face need some vitamin D! I might even have gotten a little nap outside on Saturday. It was heavenly. 

2. My new favorite snack in the world. Greek yogurt with granola and dried blueberries. Try it. Your welcome. 

MAMMA Time

I need to get better at taking me time. Whenever I do, I feel guilty. And this guilt has to STOP. I'm a mom 24/7, and me taking an hour to myself once in a while doesn't make me less of a mom. Rationally I know all of this, but that rational side always seems to disappear as soon as I walk out the door. 

But lets face it, my me time is pretty damn slim now, so as soon as baby number 2 arrives in April that me time is going to be pretty much non existent for a while so my goal for the next 13 weeks is to try to get a little more me time in. 

I took my first dose of 'pre baby (number 2) me time this weekend by grabbing some starbucks and going to a movie. BY.MY.SELF.

Yep, I said it. ALONE. I am almost ashamed to admit I had never been to a movie by myself and it was Quite freeing. I felt like such a grown up!! Took me 25.5 years, but I did it!! And ya know what? I Highly recommend it.

Next up on my 'me time list' a facial and prenatal massage!! Any other ideas for some me time activities? 

Missing Sweden

For those that don't know (most probably know since I'm slightly obsessed with Sweden and can't stop talking about it) I lived there for the first 11 years of my life- and then studied abroad for 7 months in 2009 with Drew and Jasper. Seriously the best 7 months of my life. Never been happier. At times I miss it so much it hurts- crazy huh? To physically miss a place like that?

I had a little family blog while we were there- but I didn't really post pictures, just the random update for family, and I so wish I had that to look back on! But I do have pictures, and memories, so when the mood strikes I will post some memories here.

 Getting all bundled to go out for Drew's 22nd birthday, just a couple of days after we arrived in snowy Karlstad, Sweden.

 Jasper's first Swedish meatballs- he literally oooooed when he saw them

 Me and my little man

 This was our first time on the bus- on our way to Ikea. Still had the little American stroller at this point- didn't last long on cobblestone roads and public transportation

 The view from our balcony

 So handsome

 Baby wearing in Sweden

 Playing in the snow at the park in the dark- since in the winter it got dark at 3 PM

So the time has come to start thinking about nursery ideas and what to do. We live in a pretty small house- square footage wise it's plenty big for us, 1300-1400 square feet. Not big by any means, but after spending 7 months living in a 500 square foot apartment in Karlstad (Sweden) I've realized we definitely don't need a lot of space! 

Anyway so square footage wise this house is more than big enough, it has square footage where we would rather have it- spacious living room and large eat in kitchen. That said, we only have two 'real' bedrooms. Perfectly fine for now, one for us, one for Jasper, but, pretty soon we will have a new little addition that needs a place to sleep. 

For now the plan is to create a joint space for the two of them- this hopefully won't be a big issue because Jasper really only sleep in his room. And reads. Otherwise he has a spacious playroom where 90% of his toys are and that's where he plays if not in the living room, so fingers crossed this will work out! Also Jasper slept in our bedroom with us in a bassinet for the first 5-6 months, and the plan is for baby girl to sleep in with us for the first few months as well, so it will be a while before they share their sleeping space.

If the room sharing doesn't work out (like if they are constantly waking each other up) than we have some other options. The playroom downstairs could technically become a large bedroom- but for right now we don't want anyone on a different floor than us- but Jasper will be 5 in August- maybe I'll be more comfortable with it then.

Another option is in between the kitchen and living room there is an office area- but right now it doesn't have a door. If a door/wall could be put in that could be made into a super small bedroom.

I've been searching for some joint nursery ideas and also tiny bedrooms, here are some I'm LOVING.

This is a super tiny room but I love it! So simple. If the office was made into a nursery it would just be a bit wider than this room I think. 

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Love how simple the above one is!

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The walls on this one are dream- the colors all work so well together

I've been looking for some fun sheets but so far haven't found any I love. Just the plain pink or blue or white. Booring! Anyone know of a fun place to get crib sheets? Not the whole set as I won't be having a bumper. 

Our week in..

Iphone pictures. It's a shame I haven't touched my amazing $600 camera in weeks- just my iphone camera. Sad sad. I need to work on that! But for now, here are some randoms for the week

 Jasper working on floating at his swim lessons. This kid has NO fear- not sure if thats good or bad

 I'd kill for his eye lashes. Seriously. 

 Oh just sitting on the floor during Jasper's swim lesson- NOT fun and majorly hurt my back and vajajay- two diff. moms had all their crap draped across the two remaining chairs so me and a 65 yr old grandma were sitting on the floor. NOT cool people. I was so tempted to go over and throw this womans purse in pool and give the chair to the grandma

 stretch mark cream from mama mio that I'm ridiculously excited to try out

 25. 5 week belly bump! And dirty mirror. 

 Same but with shirt on!

 A little project I'm working on- and prettty excited about :) If it turns out as planned.

And lastly- the only way I ever drink milk- with Swedish Oboy powder. Best chocolate milk Ever. I seriously hate milk- but with this I can drink a glass a couple of times a week. Good for a growing baby!! 

Tip Top Toes!

I think most women I know have a 'thing' they usually choose to spend their (or their husbands) hard earned money on. Some would say expensive make up, others would say purses, some might say fancy lotions- and while I love all those, except for maybe the make up part, I would say my 'thing' is shoes. A quick peek into my closet and that's probably what you would guess as well. 

Even before Jasper was born he had a pretty extensive shoe collection as well. But let's face it, shopping for boy shoes isn't nearly as much fun. Or so I thought anyway until I stumbled across TipTopToes

I was of course looking for baby girl shoes, but what I found were super unique boy AND girl shoes. I was in shoe heaven!! They have all the things I was looking for in a baby shoe. Adorable? CHECK. Good quality? Check. Comfortable and affordable? Check, check! 

I emailed Vineta (creator of TipTopToes) and asked if she wanted to be apart of a feature I'm beginning- featuring unique, hand made baby items, and from the very start she showed such great communication. We emailed back and forth many times and she was so great about answering any questions I had.

When I received my package in the mail and opened up the box with shoes I Might have squealed a little bit. And by might, I mean I totally did. They are just so soft! Even Drew, who doesn't get too excited about baby clothes/gear in general was excited about them.

I asked Vineta to share a little about herself to give us a better idea about her and her shop.

 Who/what inspired you to begin creating your products? 

I often see ( probably the same way as you ) so many beautiful fabric designs and I always dreamed to make girl's clothes. I think childrens' clothes very often are not colorful enough and children are so alive and happy that they should wear bright and beautiful things. Over period of 10 years and collected SO many beautiful fabrics that it's not even funny. I plan to add girl's clothes to match my slippers. I have few , but it is not enough to put them for sale, besides sewing is VERY time consuming process, especially dresses. Even slippers. It takes about 3 hours to make pair of slippers. When I saw Alexander's Henry Bear fabric I thought - that's it - those bears look SOOOO cute and funny, they NEED to be used. Yes, yes, I try to be be as green as possible, I am 80% organic, I use lots of vintage fabrics, but I must say - I can't resist those fabric designers. Beautiful fabrics DO inspire and leather works well together.
8 years ago my friend gave me slippers very similar what I am making now and I have to admit - those were THE Best BaBy slippers. Well.. I knew I can make something similar and here they are - my favorite baby slippers with my favorite designs on them.
 How long have you been creating?

 I have been creating since I was 8 . I knit , crochet and sew.

Besides creating, what are your other passions?I looove good food and I like to cook. Every year for Christmas I have 12 different kinds of THE BEST cookies - Madeleine, chocolate and hazelnut , home made marshmallows . Mmmmm, you name it. ( secret ingredient ? As Julia Child say - butter). I like to make jewelry , sew ( of course), travel, read , work in my organic garden, hike , work out . 
How much time a week would you say you spend on your shop?I try to sew when I can , about 4 hours a day.
Anything else about your shop you would like to share with us?

 I think I can say - I am proud what I am making and how I am making. I just wish I had more time in day.

I'm so excited about these shoes and can't wait to put them on baby girl when she gets here! I am trying support hand made, small business and from now on will be buying baby gifts only these kinds of shops. The first time around I didn't realize all that was out there, and after doing a little bit of research I'm finding there are SO many great, unique shops!! Why have I been buying baby gifts at GAP for the past 5 years?? I can't wait to find out what my sister is having, because I know she will appreciate these unique shoes just as much as I do!

Breckenridge weekend

Friday night after Drew got off work we headed up to Breckenridge for the weekend. A good friend of mine's boyfriend's family (got all that) has a condo up there and invited us to come up for the weekend. Since it was Drews birthday on Wednesday and he's been wanting to get up to ski we figured it was the perfect time to go. 

We also decided it was the perfect time for Jasper to get on skis for the first time! As soon as I booked the lesson I started having major anxiety about letting my BABY go on skis down a mountain. But Drew reminded me over and over he would just be on a bunny hill, and with trained professionals who know exactly what they are doing. 

So 8:15 we left the condo (and when I say condo, I think of a tiny studio or 1 bedroom apt, but not this one! This is a 3 story, 3 bedroom 4 bath HOUSE pretty much- bigger than our house for sure!!) and walked across the street to the ski school. We had to leave him pretty much right away- they like to take the kids themselves to get fitted for their ski equipment and no were allowed in. Apparently it's easier for kids than having their parents hang around. 

There he is 3rd from the back in the green vest and red gloves

He was So excited to stay but it was still hard to leave him. I've never left him with strangers. Preschool doesn't count because I met every single teacher 3-4 times BEFORE leaving him, plus had gotten a full bio on everyone who would be working with him. Here is was just sign some papers and leave. 

After I left him at ski school we grabbed a quick coffee and bagel with our friends than the 3 of them headed off to ski and I headed back to the condo to figure out what I would be doing doing for the next 7 hrs (yes this was an ALL DAY LESSON!!!) 

After I got ready I headed out to walk around Breck. It's seriously the cutest town- looks like something out of a movie! I walked around, stopping in shops for the next couple of hrs. before finding a book store and decided I wanted to get a good book and spend the next few hrs being lazy with my book. So that's what I did! Sat in a coffee shop with my book. It was seriously bliss.

I also went back to the ski school twice to check in on Jasper- I happened to get their the first time right after they had gotten outside so I saw his first ride up the 'magic carpet' and down the hill! I made sure to stay hidden so he wouldn't see him- we spent a LOT of money on this lesson and I didn't want him getting upset seeing me and deciding he was done!

 Taking a little break ( on the right)

After 7 hrs on the slope he's still smiling

Drew checked on him 2-3 times when he skiied all the way down to where the ski school was also and between the two of us we got a bunch of videos of him.

When we picked him up at 3:30 I knew he was going to be exhausted. That's 2.5 hrs past his nap time- plus he woke up at 6 AM because he was so excited to be going skiing. As we were walking in to sign him out- one of the ski instructors yelled across the room 'this kid has a LOT of energy! I teach 30-40 kids a day and don't say that often!' this of course made us laugh. Everyone is always commenting on how much energy he has- but when someone that sees hundreds of different kids a week makes a point to say how much energy he has? Just really confirms it for us. 

He got a report card from his instructor (who was working with just him and 3 others, so nice small setting) saying he excelled at 5 out of the 6 things they worked on and just needed to work on one area then he would be ready for some greens! Craziness! We might have to get him up again this season :)

The rest of the day we spent hanging out at the condo, going on a night walk to pick up some amazing pizza, and then watching our  dear Bronco's get killed. Not a fun game- but still an amazing night! While I was reading my book while J took a late nap Drew headed out for a quick walk and surprised me with the fleece I had seen in one of the shops and liked! He's a keeper :) 

We headed home Sunday, taking it slow and stopping for breakfast and then to see the Buffalo on the side of the mountain. 

It was such a perfect little weekend getaway. It's rare that I have that much time to myself- and if I would have spent it here at home I would have been doing laundry or cleaning or something- but being up there I had nothing to do but enjoy the fresh mountain air and some time to myself. So refreshing!

Anyone else have an amazing weekend??

*If I figure out how to get a video from my iphone to here I will be uploading the cutest video of Jasper skiing for the first time :) 

Face CRACKING.

My face has never been this dry in my entire life. And Jasper's is super dry too! To the point where it's painful to smile because it feels like my face is cracking whenever I do. ANY advice?? I've been putting coconut oil on both of our  faces several times a day but so far it's not doing ANYTHING!!! 

Passed the 24 week mark!

That's a big deal people!! Or at least to me it is :) We are getting close to the third tri! In some ways this pregnancy feels like it is FLYING by. When I think that as of yesterday I only have 15 weeks left- I start to panic a little bit. 15 weeks? That's like NOTHING! And I'm counting on the last few weeks being pretty useless so I've given myself TEN WEEKS to get everything baby related done, that way we can enjoy our last few weeks as a family of three before our lives are forever changed. In a good way of course.

How far along: 24 weeks 2 days 

Size of Baby: egg plant, 9 inches long and 1.7 lbs!! 

Total Weight Gain:  Oh boy. Just got back from my appointment and I'm slightly in shock. I've gained 17-18 LBS!!! Yep. I'm slightly depressed about this- which is kind of ironic because it's the first time my doctor was pleased with my weight. She wants me to gain at least 35 because of my smaller frame but psshhh what do doctors know? Operation- stop eating 4 hot pockets a day and ice cream every night needs to start NOW. Today I was told (again) that I'm measuring a week ahead...but pretty sure that's not an excuse for almost a 10 lb weigh increase in a month

Maternity Clothes: Maternity pants and long shirts- a few maternity shirts as well. I have a VS gift card from Christmas that I need to use to go buy new underwear in a medium because this bootay isn't fitting in my xs and s anymore. shhh don't tell anyone but there are days I just got underwear free instead of squeezing into too small underwear! 

Gender: Girl! 

Movement:All. THe.Time. Especially at night- she's a little night owl! 

Sleep:The last few nights have been HORRIBLE. I'm slightly stuffed up, so I'm sure thats causing some of the problems, but I have to switch from side to side every 30 min or so because whichever side I lay on KILLS my hips so I have to keep giving my hips a break. And I have to wake up every time I switch hips so that causes a LOT of wake ups. Still not having to get up and pee though which is nice since I remember that being SUPER annoying last time around. I'm sure it's coming soon. 

What I miss: Sleep, all of my clothes fitting. Not having my skin feel like a teenage boy. PLUS so dry it's painful. Maybe I should try my fancy stretch mark creams on my face... 

Cravings:I just want to eat. All the time. Sweet things. Salty things. Chocolate. Cheese. Bread. I want it ALL. And all the time. Hmm should I REALLY be surprised about the weight gain.

Symptoms:Out of breath easily, pressure, hips and back ache, nasty skin

What I’m looking forward to: Possibly buying the bugaboo this weekend! 

Some recent BUMP pictures

**Yes, I've resorted to wearing leggings as pants. So sue me. It's comfortable and shirts that used to be long on me no longer are.


***The yellow sweater in the first pictures was my farmor's (father's mother) and I brought it back from Sweden in June. I love love it.