My Belly {30 weeks}

THIRTY WEEKS! 

As in...this baby has been growing inside of me for THIRTY WEEKS. 

Like....the baby is due in TEN WEEKS! 

What. The. Heck?

totally dropped the ball on the chalkboard pic and was forced to take this last minute bathroom selfie after 5 hours of sleep....please don't judge me. 

Nugget this week...

*her skin is getting smoother

*her brain is getting wrinklier--to make room for brain tissue

*she is strong enough to grasp a finger! 

via thebump & baby center

Size of the baby?  
Right around 15.5 inches long and almost 3 pounds!

Total Weight Gain/Loss?  
23 whole pounds.

Maternity Clothes?  
I bought a couple of maternity tank tops and a maternity maxi dress from Old Navy this week....but I'm still trying to stay away, even with the belly maternity stuff is not fitting me right.

Stretch marks?  
Still nothing!

Best Moments?  
Finally settling on a nursery game plan! I have been between a ton of different ideas and my mind is finally made up! Now, I just need all of the decor and bedding to arrive so that I can get to work!

Movement? 
Still dominating her "Kick Counts" averaging about ____ minutes to feel 10 kicks/punches/head butts/etc.
I can also now feel her hiccups...which might be my favorite thing of all time. The first time I felt it Jason goes "There's a person in there, and she has the hiccups." Totally surreal, but totally incredible.

Food Cravings?  
CANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anything making you queasy or sick? 
Nope!

What I miss?  
I miss my smaller chest and smaller tummy...this extra weight is just crushing my back...and I'm over the pain.

Nausea/Vomiting?  
Nope, none of that nonsense.

Symptoms? 
This week my allergies have been BRUTAL but a lot of people are complaining about it, so I don't think Nugget can take the blame for this one. She will be taking full credit for the insane back pain, the lack of energy and the fact that I get winded going up a flight of stairs.

Labor signs?  
Nope! But, in the words of my doctor last week "Is it just me, or has this baby dropped?" Homegirl is definitely riding low these days.

Gender? 
BABY GIRL. 

Belly Button In or Out?
Super wide and shallow innie.

Wedding rings On or Off?  
Still wearing all the rings all the time! 10 weeks to go!

Sleep?
Still taking me a while to get comfy, and still getting up once or twice to use the bathroom, but according to Jason...once I'm asleep, there's no waking me.

What I'm looking forward to? 
Leaving for Arkansas TOMORROW to see my cousin (who I haven't seen in SIX years) get married! I wish Jason could be with me, but I am so excited to spend some time with my family who I don't get to see nearly enough!

Cheers to a happy (and safe!) Labor Day weekend!

Merry Christmas!

OK, so it's not Christmas...but it might as well be!

IT'S MY FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR!!! 

College Football Opener, baby!!!!!!!!

My Golden Gophers are kicking off their season in Las Vegas tonight against UNLV, and a certain Husby of mine may or may not be on a plane there RIGHT NOW! (jerk)

In honor of my beloved Gophers and my family's 10th (yes, TENTH) season with season tickets, here is a countdown of my favorite Gopher memories from the last 10 years!

#10. Our Wedding Day 

November 5, 2011

OK, don't judge, the ONLY reason this isn't #1 is because it wasn't technically a Gopher game...you all know there was no way I was getting married during a home game. The Gophers did play that day, and sadly lost at Michigan State, but going to the stadium was my favorite part of our wedding day and is DEFINITELY a favorite Gopher memory. 

#9. Gophers vs Penn State, 2006
This particular game was nothing special, in fact we lost in overtime but this was one of my favorite memories because my cousin Ben who lives in Colorado was in town. Ben came to visit and stayed with me for the weekend. I took him out on campus and converted him to a Gopher fan by bringing him tailgating and to the game! It was such a fun weekend!

#8. Big Ten Opener, 2007
I love any excuse to throw a party, and when I lived in a house on campus with a GIANT deck, the Big Ten Opener was as good an excuse as any. I had a bunch of friends (and my brother) over for a pre-tailgating party, which got out of hand in a hurry.
It was such a fun group of people and we had a BLAST!

#7. Halloween, 2009
There was nothing special about this game except for the fact that it was Halloween and it was CRAZY! I can't even tell you who we played that night, but I can tell you that this night was a BLAST!
Check out those GI Joe costumes!

#6. Inaugural Game at TCF Bank Stadium, 2009

To say I was excited to get a brand new stadium ON campus is a major understatement. There was SO much anticipation leading up to the game and it was such a fun day! I still get goosebumps every time I walk in to that stadium. 

#5. Music City Bowl in Nashville, TN 

December 29-31, 2005

This was a trip of a lifetime...after a very unfortunate series of events that left me and my friends without a bus to Nashville (long story) we were on the road and driving through the night to make sure we didn't miss the bowl game. We met up with my Dad and Denise and had an incredible weekend, despite losing to Virginia. Apparently I had a little too much fun because I took close to no pictures.

#4. Gophers at Northwestern, 2009

Me, Jason, my brother Nate and his now fiance Tate traveled to Chicago to cheer on the Goph's to a 35-24 victory over Northwestern. We had a BLAST, but the best part of the trip is when my dad surprised us by FLYING to Chi-town that morning and showing up at our tailgate! 

#3. Beating Iowa, 2011

It was exactly one week before our wedding day and the Gophers were playing our rivals, the Iowa Hawkeyes. Because you never really can trust the Gophers, it's always an emotional ride when we play a team that we want to beat SO badly. BUT, for the second year in a row the Gophers beat the Hawkeyes! The fans were SO pumped they rushed the field! Then after the game is when I met our starting QB MarQueis Gray! 

#2. Gophers at Michigan, 2005

It was a Thursday night and my dad called, "What are you doing on Saturday?" I had plans to go to a Hawaiian themed party at Delta Chi but other than that I was free. Good thing too, because my dad surprised me and my brother with tickets to the Gopher game against Michigan....IN MICHIGAN!
We were on a plane at 6am on Saturday morning and in Ann Arbor tailgating later that morning. We traveled with a group of Gopher fans who had set up a delicious tailgating breakfast for us. After we ate, we wandered around the campus and finally walked in to The Big House to cheer on our Gophers. The games was NUTS the Gophers WON on a last second field goal kicked by our VERY unreliable kicker. My dad couldn't even watch the field goal and when he heard everyone going nuts he figured out we had lost...when opened his eyes and saw all the Gopher fans and his two kids FREAKING-THE-F-OUT and he finally realized what had actually happened!

I will never forget that moment for as long as I'll live.
After the game we hit up a little bar downtown Ann Arbor that was packed with Gopher fans! We celebrated, sang the rouser and even made friends with some hilarious Michigan students. Then, we boarded another plane and I was home by 11pm on Saturday night, just in time for the party at Delta Chi.
That day is not only a top 10 Gopher memory but one of the top 10 best days of my life. 

#1. Thursday, September 2nd 2010...

Season Opener/Surprise Engagement
I couldn't think of a better way to kick off the 2010 season than by going to TCF Bank Stadium and watching the game against Middle Tennessee State on the jumbotron, from the field, with my boyfriend.
 Never in a million years would I have thought that it was the day that would change my life forever.

It was the absolute PERFECT proposal and is without a doubt my favorite Gopher memory!

Oh, and the Gophers won that game! 

{Full proposal story HERE, if you haven't heard it}

RAH, RAH, RAH for SKI U MAH!
Here's to another season of amazing memories...and hopefully a few more wins than last year.