Dear Sawyer...

I am writing this post while I am flying to Dallas for my first baby shower!  I am really excited for the shower, but also to see all my Dallas friends.  I haven’t been up there since March - its been waaaaay too long!  I decided to write this now because I HATE flying so this is a great distraction...this and Sawyer nailing me in the ribs.  

When I got on the plane and the anxiety set in, the first thing I thought was - I hope Sawyer doesn’t inherit this fear from me...because it stinks!  So I started thinking about all the things I hope for her.  I hope she gets my brains and sense of humor...obviously!  But, in all seriousness...

I hope she gets her dad’s extreme attention to detail...something I seriously lack most of the time, that and patience - which I also hope she gets from Barry.  I think she would be better off without my stubborn need to always be right no matter what.

I hope she likes to sleep like I do - quite unlike her daddy!  And, I hope she is a good eater - open-minded as my mom always used to tell me to be, because I usually wasn’t.  I hope she loves to learn new things like I do, and knows how to do everything like her dad does.  He has more hobbies and random knowledge of how things work...I’m still finding out about some things!  I hope she plays an instrument like him.

I hope she is creative like her Aunt Becky, passionate about her beliefs like her Aunt Brie, a book worm like her Aunt Tammy and cares for others like her Aunt Cara.  I pray every day that she has amazing relationships with her grandmothers well into her adult life, one of the things in my life I am most thankful for.  I’ve always wanted so badly for my kids to have their grandfathers in their lives - Barry and I both lost both of our grandfathers too soon - so I am excited she will be have them both.  And four great-grandmothers - I hope they spoil her rotten (I only say that because I know they will!) =)

I hope she loves to go hunting and fishing with her dad and go shopping do girly things with me.  I hope she has enough self control to walk in and out of Target without buying something every time - unlike her mother!  I hope she is strong in her faith and confident in herself.

I hope she is best friends with her cousins and loves her siblings, no matter how crazy they might make her!  I hope she has lots of girlfriends to have slumber parties with and stay up all night giggling.  And some day, far far away, I hope she meets a boy that is a gentleman just like her daddy.

Most of all, I hope she is happy that God chose us to be her parents.  We feel so blessed that He chose her for us.

Doctor's Appointments #8 & #9

Yup, we went to the doctor twice today.  We had our regular appointment this morning, and things went fairly well.  I gained 2 pounds, up 14 now, blood pressure was good and Sawyer's heart beat was really strong - 146.  Then our doctor went to measure my stomach...I only measured 27 weeks.  So he ordered an ultrasound so we could just double check that baby girl is growing properly and everything looks ok.  But, they couldn't see us until 4:45 this afternoon so we had to wait alllllllllll day at work...it went by so slow!

When we went back this afternoon for the ultrasound everything looked great!  Apparently the way she was positioned this morning when he measured just made me seem smaller...no big deal.  And, we got to see our little girl one extra time.  She was curled up in a ball yawning at us =)  She weights 3 pounds 2 ounces and is measuring right on track.  We have yet to get a really good ultrasound pic, but better than nothing I guess!  Back in two weeks...

29 Weeks

Another week done!  This week flew by especially fast because Barry was out of town all week so I was working late and finding other things to do to pass the time.

He was down in Argentina practicing his scare tactics for Sawyer's future boyfriends!

Or dove hunting.  But, needless to say, I am happy to have him home!

We didn't take my pictures until Saturday morning when he got home.  This is my "it's Saturday morning and I don't feel like putting make-up on or doing my hair" look.

Not too much to update on Sawyer this week.  She has grown to the size of a butternut squash now; sometimes I feel like she is bigger than I have room for!

We spent Saturday watching football and doing some things around the house.  And, I finally bought some maternity jeans that aren't too long on me so I don't have to cuff my jeans every time I want to wear them!

After church this morning, we went over to the hospital where Sawyer will be born and took a tour of the maternity floor and pre-registered.  We are getting closer to being ready for her to be here!  If only I could say the same about her nursery...maybe this week I will get back to that...

We are going to spend the rest of the night cleaning off the DVR.  Barry missed an entire week of TV so we have a lot to catch up on!

Our next doctor's appointment is Thursday so I will update again then, if not before.

28 Weeks...and ANOTHER wedding

My doctor confirmed last week that 28 weeks is actually the official start of the third trimester...so my app was wrong.  But, it did tell me this week that Sawyer is as long as a 17 inch head of cabbage, weighs around 3 pounds, is starting to develop some more body fat now and is moving like crazy...which is no lie!  She is constantly moving, kicking and punching and who knows what else, but its always reassuring to feel her...even if that means feeling her pushed up against my ribs so I can't get comfortable...I'll take it!

Speaking of uncomfortable...its has begun.  Sleeping is not quite as easy, nor is sitting for too long, but if that's my only complaint, I consider myself pretty lucky.  I have started having a few contractions, they don't really hurt, but its a strange feeling!

Here I am at 28 weeks...we were in Tomball for the weekend and the hotel parking lot was as scenic as we could get!

We went to Tomball for our friends Matt & Hollie's wedding.  Matt (far left) was one of Barry's groomsmen in our wedding...

They worked together for a couple years when Barry used to work down on the ranch and have been great friends ever since.  Matt ended up moving to Houston about the same time we did so now we see him a little more often.  Matt and Hollie were married on Saturday at a super cute venue in Magnolia, we had a great time being able to celebrate with them!

Barry and me at the reception 

Matt & Barry

Hollie & I

Yup...same dress, different wedding.  My wardrobe is slim pickings these days!

Have a good Sunday evening!

Doctor's Appointment #7

I'm starting to lose count now that we are going so often!  We had a REALLY long appointment today...2 1/2 hours to be exact...not because we were doing anything, but because we were sitting in the waiting room.  The doctor had a delivery this morning so he was running pretty far behind.  But, our time will come, at some point we will me making someone else wait so I guess it's only fair!

Everything went well today though.  Sawyer's heart beat was 148, and we heard her hiccuping through the doppler so that was pretty funny!  And cute =)  My belly measured right on target for 28 weeks.  I gained 1 more pound and my blood pressure was good.

The only thing different that we did today was a shot.  I had to get a Rhogam shot because I have a negative blood type.  Mostly it's to protect my next baby, I haven't even had the first and we are already preparing for the second!  But it was no big deal.  If Sawyer has a positive blood type, which is a possibility if Barry is positive, but we don't know that, then I will have to get another one after she is born.

We go back again in 2 weeks, for hopefully a much shorter appointment.  28 week update coming soon!  Have a good weekend.

Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Casserole...for Becky

Becky found this recipe online and asked if I would make it healthier because it was one of her favorites.  I have been looking for some new recipes to try, so I was up for the challenge!

The original recipe called for 8 oz of Velveeta cheese, which I just can't do, white rice, margarine
and regular cream soups.  It also called for 2 cups of chicken broth (sodium city!); I bought low sodium/fat free broth, but accidentally forgot to add it - and I think it turned out well.  I'll try it next time, but this time I saved some sodium...which is good for someone who is trying not to have swollen hands and feet!

So here is what you need:

1 pound cooked shredded chicken
1 3/4 cups uncooked brown rice (I used Minute rice)
2 10 oz packages of frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 medium sized green bell pepper, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups low fat cheddar cheese (instead of Velveeta)
1 can Healthy Request cream of chicken soup
1 can Healthy Request cream of mushroom soup


It also called for 1 cup of chopped celery and a 3 oz can of mushrooms, but I don't like celery and Barry doesn't like fungus in his food, so I left those two things out.


Boil & shred chicken.  Cook rice and broccoli according to package directions.  Saute onion and bell pepper in olive oil until tender, about 8-10 minutes or so.

Add soups to sauteed vegetables.

Add cheese to pot.

Stir in cooked, shredded chicken.

Drain and add broccoli.

And finally, stir in rice.

This recipe was intended to be a make and freeze casserole, but we ate it right then.  If you do want to make ahead and freeze it, just bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Off to watch the new season of Survivor, does anyone else still watch that???  My mom thinks Barry and I are the only ones in the world that watch it!

ENJOY!

27 Weeks

I am officially in my 3rd trimester.  And, Sawyer is officially the size of a head of cauliflower.  All according to my app, so I don't know how official any of that really is!  The last two weeks have not been the easiest part of my pregnancy.  My back started bothering me a lot a, so I got one of those pregnancy body pillows and started doing some prenatal yoga...seems to be doing the trick.  The this past week I have not been feeling well at all and had to go to the doctor, but silver lining - I got to hear Sawyer's heart beat an extra time and she is doing good!

Here I am at 27 Weeks...

We had a pretty uneventful weekend, spent Friday night at home doing some work in the nursery, I'll post more pics soon...still have a few more things to do.  Saturday I spent most of the day on the couch, Barry went to New Braunfels to celebrate our friends Aaron, who was Barry's best man, & Kristi getting engaged!  They caught the bouquet & garter at our wedding...it may or may not have been planned that way...but we are so excited for them!

Today we went to church, lunch with some friends and then I got a new computer!  I feel like my blogging will happen more often now that I have my own computer to use, maybe...

Off to enjoy a spaghetti dinner and a Cowboys win!

26 Weeks...football & spicy pretzels!

I'm sure I have said this before, but football season is by far my favorite time of year! I love the game, I love the tailgating, I love how often I get to see my family, and I love the food! It also doesn't hurt that my birthday, Barry's birthday and now Sawyer's birthday are during football season too =)

Speaking of Sawyer, I am now past 26 weeks and she is now the length of a cucumber. I don't know about you, but I have never seen a 15 inch cucumber, but thats what my app says! She is moving ALL the time, especially early in the morning and in the evenings. Barry wakes up at 5 every morning for some reason, which is also when Sawyer has been waking up, so he gets to feel her moving around every morning...doesn't wake me up though! So much for her sleeping in...that was too good to be true!

Here I am at 26 weeks...Lori wanted to sit by me, but was not interested in looking at the camera at all!

Quite a brat.  Huge difference from when I was wearing this same shirt, different color, in my 6 week pictures!

After some shopping on Friday and a night at home we kicked off our football filled weekend on Saturday. We headed downtown, went to lunch and walked around some stores before heading to the UH vs UCLA game. This was the first non-Aggie game Barry and I had ever been too, but we had a good time and the game was great...we won!! It was too windy to take any pics (lame excuse) and Barry said his clothes were too wrinkled (lamer excuse), so this was all I got...

After that game, we came home, showered, packed and headed to College Station. We tailgated in the CRAZY wind all day Sunday (no pics again) and ate WAAAAAY too much. Barry ended up going to the game with my Dad, Michael and Brie, I hung out with my mom and a few other family members at the tailgate during the game. Sitting in a comfy chair with my feet up...yes please! They texted me quite a few pictures of the Barry & Brie photo shoot that went on during the game, but will spare Brie the embarrassment this week!

I think they had a good time...at least my Dad said he did because no one bothered him the whole game since the boys were busy driving Brie crazy!

One last thing...here is the recipe for the snack I took to the tailgate this week. I made it when we went to the beach over the summer and it was a hit then, and again this weekend. I got this recipe from Barry's mom so I can take no credit for the spicy pretzels!

1 large bag of pretzels
3/4 cup oil (I use canola...healthier than vegetable)
1 package dry Ranch dressing mix
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp garlic powder

Whisk oil and seasonings together, pour over pretzels and coat well. (I dump the pretzels into a large tupperware, pour the oil mixture on top, cover the container and tumble until all the pretzels are coated.)

Spread the pretzels onto a baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees for 2 hours stirring every 30 minutes or so.
ENJOY!

Doctor's Appointment #6

Look who is excited to meet their new cousin!

And equally as excited about the new addition...

Ok, so maybe it was the popcorn Barry was eating that she was wanting??  I don't know.

We had another pretty uneventful (the way I like it!) appointment today.  I had to do my gestational diabetes test, which definitely wasn't the highlight of my day, but it wasn't so bad...I guess.  I'm glad its over!  But other than that nothing new.  I have gained 11 pounds, blood pressure was good and Sawyer's heart beat was 149.  Now we have to start going to the doctor every two weeks...it's getting close!!

We received Sawyer's bedding in the mail last week and wanted to get her bed ready so went ahead and started her laundry so we could wash the bedding too.  Barry couldn't get over how tiny everything is...especially her little socks that barely fit over his thumb! 

So, now her bed is ready and she has tons of clothes waiting on her! 

I did get a new recipe together this week, but haven't had a chance to post yet...maybe tomorrow.  So glad it's Friday!  We are looking forward to a football filled weekend!  27 week update to come soon...