32 Week Update

I am now 32 weeks now! That just seems crazy! From week 20-28 the weeks seemed to crawl by, but since then it has seemed to fly by! I had my most recent midwife appt yesterday, it worked out well because Mike had the day off of work so he was able to join me for it. He has been at our first and second appt, our 20 week (ultrasound) appt, and now this appt. All the others in between, though they are important too, they have been quite uneventful and so I just told him to save his time off from work for when our little guy is here. At my appt they said that everything looks good, we got to hear his heart beat, which is always so neat to hear, and it was at 134, which they said is good. She said that he is head down, which I kind of thought because I swear I could feel his head and shoulders pushing down by my hips. So that's good that he is already getting into position! That's about it from my appt, like I said the last few have been quite uneventful as I go in they I do my urine sample, they check my weight (which they said is moving along perfect), check my blood pressure (which was perfect), ask how everything is, I say really good, ask if I have any questions, then listen to the heart beat, I get measured, and I am done!

The last month or so I have really started to feel huge! LOL and I know I still have a ways to go! I am starting to get asked every once in a while if I am sick of being pregnant yet and then they proceed to tell me that by week "X" they were so ready to be done. I do my best not to think about it too much and just be thankful for a healthy baby and take each day as it comes! I figure if I am already wishing for it to be over, what am I going to be like in another month when I am ginormous rather than just being huge like I am now! :-P

Over the past few weeks our little guy has been quite active, but thankfully it hasn't been when I am trying to sleep, so he isn't keeping me up at night, yet! :-) I have also been getting kicked in the ribs quite a bit lately! That's quite fun! Never thought my first bruised rib would be from the inside! LOL, just kidding, its not that bad! A lot of the movements are starting to feel like he is stretching more than kicking these days, so that is neat to feel and push back on him a little and actually feel his foot. It makes it even more real than it all is already!

As for names we are pretty much still at a loss, other than Ducky, Mac & Cheese, Yo Buddy Bemis, and Rae Rae! The only names on our list as of right now are Macklin (Mack for short) & Ezekiel (Zeke for short) (spellings are subject to change). So I guess its good that the list is getting smaller, but it is subject to change all together as it has many many times up to this point! The fact that we can actually agree on 2 names is quite the miracle! We went through a very frustrating time when every time names were brought up we both got a little defensive and stubborn. Then I got some really good advice where they suggested that any name that is brought up that the other person says "no way" to then that name is dropped and will not bring it up again. Because that's where I know we were both getting frustrated with each other is because we were trying to convince the other to like the names that the other liked! So when we agreed to this it was an amazing breakthrough! We started to focus in on the names that we both liked rather than the ones that we didn't like!

I think that's all for this post as I am getting quite sleepy! Happy Easter everyone!
Oh I will leave you with an updated belly pic, since I haven't had one in a while! You will be impressed, it's not a self-portrait, its not from my phone, and I am wearing something totally different! Yay, go team Bemis for finally getting our act together! It has only taken us 32 weeks!

32 Weeks!

We love surprises!

And we got a wonderful one last night!

But before I get to that I have to give out big HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout out to my lil buddy Jaxon Bear! He turns 3 today! I can't believe he is 3 already, time sure does fly!

Back to the story. A little bit of background here first:
Mike's brother (Joe) is in the Air Force (we are so proud of him and his service to our country! we really do not take that lightly and we see the sacrifices that they all have to make!) and he along with his wife (Carrie) and daughter (Carlie) are currently in transition from Italy to Korea. As they were planning this next phase in their lives they realized that they unfortunately would not be able to bring their dog, Brodie (a springer spaniel) with them. So we offered to take him for the year that they are in Korea.

So this part isn't a surprise to us, we knew he was coming, we actually originally thought he was coming almost a month ago but then their time in Italy got extended at the last minute because the military can do that :-P. So about a week ago we found out that they were finally able to wrap up their time there and head back to the states. So they told us that Brodie would be flying in on Tuesday around 9 and let us know everything that we would need to have with to pick him up. Then we found out just a couple of days ago that they all would be flying through MN, but only had a 50 min layover, so there would a small chance that we could see them for a few minutes and it might just be Joe. We were really excited and praying that it would work out because if it didn't it probably wouldn't be until they come back from Korea in a year until we would see them again.

We had everything set to go to pick Brodie up from the airport and we had our plan of attack to make his transition to our place as easy as possible for him. Then Mike calls me at 5 pm and says something to the effect of "We will definitely get to see them all...because they are staying the night at our place!" HOW WONDERFUL! We were SO excited! (The airline all of a sudden decided when they were leaving Venice that they couldn't just "drop" Brodie off in Mpls, because he is considered their luggage, and apparently they don't allow that, they think someone may pack a bomb and then drop it off and blow up an airport, details!) So they ended up getting in shortly after 10 and had to fly out this morning at 9. So it wasn't very much time, but it was just so great to see them! We were expecting only a few minutes if that and were blessed with hours (though most of them were spent sleeping)! It was kind of a whirlwind, but we will always take every precious moment that we get with them because they usually are short and few and far between. And Carlie grows too fast in those in between times!

So Jaxon was a happy pup this morning because he got special Birthday hugs and kisses from his cousin Carlie! Jaxon was so happy to see her and Uncle Joe and Aunt Carrie again and also to finally get to meet his cousin and new roommate, Brodie!

Special birthday hugs for Jaxon from Carlie!

Brodie, the newest addition to our family!

We are excited for Brodie to join our family for the next year and we are SO ready to love on him like crazy! I can't imagine what it is like for Joe, Carrie, and Carlie to have to leave Brodie behind as he has been apart of their family for a long time! I had a hard time holding back the tears this morning (and again now as I write this) as they were saying good-bye to him. We know how important these four legged furry guys are and I just can't imagine not having Jaxon there everyday! Ok, I need to stop now before I turn into a blubbering mess (pregnancy hormones, right?)! 

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY BRODIE!

All squeaky clean!

I had my first baby shower on Sunday and it was SO wonderful! My wonderful sister in law, Steph, and one of my best friends, Katie, were SO kind to throw this wonderful shower for me! They did such a great job and I felt SO blessed to be showered with love from them and all of the guests that were able to make it! I apologize as I did not take a single picture during the shower, but I do hope to steal some from Steph (as she was Ms. Photographer) to share with you all. I do have one fun picture to post at the end from after the shower :-)

Like I said the shower was SO wonderful, I had such a wonderful time celebrating our little one with everyone! The guests were some of Mike's family and then a bunch of my friends from all over the board (from high school, Jaxon's friends' mommies, ect). We played a cute game of Baby Bingo, ate some super yummy food, including these cute and yummy cupcakes, had a wonderful time socializing and catching up, and then opening all of the wonderful gifts that everyone blessed us with! We did this really neat thing that Steph planned, where when I opened each person's gift they came and sat by me and read a piece of advice or special note for me and our family and then Steph took a picture of us and then we will put the advice next to the picture in a photo album! What a neat and special idea! It will be fun to come back to that photo album and show it to our little guy!

I feel like I can't find the right words to explain how special this shower was to me and the time spent with everyone there, so it is making me feel the need to just keep saying over and over again how wonderful it was! So I will spare you of my "skipping record syndrome" (it's Mike's favorite!) and I will leave you with this:

Mike getting some practice in!

We got a Baby Bjorn baby carrier from some of the wonderful ladies that I used to work with at Target (they were unable to make it, so Darek got to be the special delivery man)! This was like one of 2 things that Mike put on our registry, so he was SOOOOOOOOO excited to see that we got it and he had to try it out right away (putting Jaxon in it may of been my idea)! So a special thank you to Robyn, Reddie, Trenella, and Janice! You have made my hubby one happy guy! :-)

My baby's daddy!

AKA Mike, my wonderful husband, Michael, my best friend, babe, my puggle's daddy, my completer!

Today's post is dedicated to my one and only! What's the occasion you ask (not that I should need one), well it is his 29th birthday! So Happy Birthday Babe! I love you so much!

For those of you that don't know my amazing husband very well (and a reminder for those that do) he is a beyond amazing man of God! He mission in life is be the man that God called him to be and do the things that God called him to do. He is so driven to provide a great, not just a good, life for our family and that is something that I am so thankful for! He works so hard both in his day time job and our business to accomplish that for us. He is such a good dad to our little Jaxon Bear and so I know he will be such a great dad to our little guy on the way too! I can't wait for him to hold our little guy, play football with him, teach him how to hunt, take him 4 wheeling, and everything else!

I am thankful everyday to be where we are in our lives, not that we don't have bumps in the road. But we have come so far in our marriage and I am thankful to have such an awesome man by my side who will "talk" things out with me (sometimes thats at a high volume or involves him doing a lot of listening :-p). He is so patient with me, will go to Pei Wei every Friday night with me when alls he wants is to go somewhere different, and def balances me out! He is the best thing to ever happen to me and can't wait for all the exciting things this year will bring along with the years ahead!

Happy birthday Michael! I love you!

Feelin' the burn baby...

...or I should say mama!

Today's post is dedicated to exercise! I know for some this is a fun topic and for others not so much. Right now it is a love/hate topic for me! I have always been an active person and through this pregnancy that hasn't changed (except in my first couple of months when alls I could do was get up, go to work, and sleep because I had so much "morning" sickness). Growing up I was a dancer from the age of 4 through college and also enjoyed going for bike rides with my family and going for walks with my mom, into college I started lifting weights, and then since meeting Mike and dating and getting married we have always tried to stay active. We enjoy going to the gym together (its usually our Friday night date night), going for walks as a family, or taking day trips to parks to do some hiking.

When I was starting to feel better it was important to me to make sure that I made the time to get a workout in a few times a week. They say that there are so many perks to working out while you are prego. Some of them being:
Your child may have a healthier heart - which is wonderful
Your children may grow up to be smarter - we know he will have the looks so gotta make sure he gets the brains too!
You might sleep better - I know most moms to be need all the help that they can get at this point in the game
You keep your immune system humming -  which means no need for a flu shot, like I'd get one anyways!
You lower your gestational diabetes risk by as much as 27 percent - which is huge!

And probably the 2 most important reasons to us:
Labor and delivery may be easier and shorter - I am all for doing whatever I can to make the whole process shorter and easier!
You may boost your child’s athletic potential - because that's what really matters in life! :-P Like I said in a previous post we have a lil NFL bound quarterback coming! So I gotta do all that I can to help him out! lol!

(And I know there are many many ladies out there that can't or don't exercise while pregnant and their babies are perfectly healthy, happy, and even athletic too!)

At this point in the game it's getting harder and harder to find the motivation to head to the gym after work because I am just so exhausted and alls I want to do is go home and take a nap or just go to bed! I try to force myself to go by putting it in my calendar and packing my gym bag and putting it in my truck so I can head straight there after work. So then I have no excuse! And I always feel  better though once I get there and get it in, but its just the process of getting there!

With the weather looking more and more like spring its hard not to get out for a walk, especially when Jaxon gives me the sad puppy dog eyes! I can't say no to that! So that is good motivation to make sure I get in some exercise a few times a week!

My view the other day!

A few people have asked what I do when I go to the gym, so I figured I would include that info here. As I was working out before I was pregnant I continued with my normal lifting routine in the beginning. I cut out abs after about week 20 and added more time on the treadmill. Then I started to include some exercises that I found on fitpregnancy.com. So now when I do make it into the gym my workout consists of:
* 10 minute warm up on the treadmill
* Squat/relevé - Stand with your legs straight, feet slightly more than hip-width apart and turned slightly out. Hold a 5- to 10-pound dumbbell in each hand (if you can) and rest the weights on your shoulders. Keep your weight on your heels and your chest lifted as you bend both knees and lower your body into a squat [A]. Then straighten your legs and rise up onto the balls of your feet [B]. Lower your heels and repeat for 10–15 reps. Strengthens quadriceps, hamstrings, buttocks and calves.
* Plié/alternating heel raises - Stand with your feet slightly farther than hip-width apart, toes and knees turned out to a 45-degree angle. Pull in your belly and drop your tailbone down toward the floor. Keeping your back straight and toes turned out, bend both knees, lowering only as far as you can without changing your pelvis position [A]. In this position, lift your right heel until you’re on the ball of your right foot [B]; then lower it. Repeat with your left foot. Straighten both legs and repeat the entire combination. Complete 10–15 reps. Strengthens quadriceps, hamstrings, buttocks and calves.
* Regular squats - Just regular squats but I hold 10 pound weights in each hand and raise my arms straight out in front of me. Also I have a bench underneath me just in case I lose my balance I don't fall to the ground.
* Abductors - I just use the machine
* Adductors - I just use the machine
* Low Rows - To help with my posture, and again I just use the machine
* Reverse flys - To help with my posture as well, and I just use the machine
* Bicep curls - So my arms can with stand holding our little guy for hours and hours! I just use dumbells.
* 20-30 minute walk on the treadmill
* And lastly a 10 minute cool down, including some Yoga stretches and foam rolling

When I am at the gym on back to back days I will lift legs one day and arms the next, but if I have breaks in between then I will do the whole regimen. I also make sure to drink lots and lots of water and listen to my body too and take breaks or cut a workout short when needed.

After all of that I go home and eat some Mac & Cheese! :-)

We are so blessed!

In the last week we have been given a 'pluthra' of stuff!

See!



All of that stuff, other than the treadmill and eliptical of course!

Mike's cousin, Helene, invited us over to clean out their storage areas! They have 3 kiddos, 2 boys and a girl, since the boys are older now she had a lot of toys and books to pass on to us for when our guy is a little older. Which is so great to have stuff for him to 'grow' into! I think she sent us home with like 20 paper bags full of stuff! We are so thankful!

Then our friends Mat & Jes gave us all of the little boy clothes that his sister had given to them (as they are also expecting, but just going out that they are having a girl!) from her little boy. So I think they passed on like 8 boxes of stuff! I am itching to go through it all but haven't had a chance yet, hopefully this weekend!

What a blessing to have been given all this great stuff! I think it's so neat how mom's are so willing to pass on or borrow out their baby stuff. And also pass on great advice too! The more the better for this lil clueless mama-to-be!

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