It's a Girl!

In case you missed the big announcement via facebook, twitter and instagram...
Jason and I are SO excited to finally go public with the news that our Nugget is a sweet little baby
GIRL!

On Saturday, nearly 40 of our closest family and friends gathered to
share in our excitement and celebrate the big news!

My adorable bottle balloon weights, I don't think anyone cared or noticed...but I was pretty pumped about them.

Miss Bailey Mae.

John & Sara in their amazing homemade shirts!

 There was a lot of belly rubbing going on (I don't even notice it anymore).

Happy Puggle. 

Giant grill. 

Mama loves her baby.

My Beeb! <3

 Beeb is the professor of selfies.

daddy-to-be. (what a stud)

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, everyone had arrived and eaten and it was time to
reveal the gender of our little one!

TEAM BOY:

TEAM GIRL:

BOY or GIRL?!?!?!?

 I don't know why I started jumping...I was just SO excited.

It was such an incredible day, one that I will never forget. I am so overwhelmed by how much this little girl is loved, and she's not even born yet. I get teary eyed looking at these photos, and trust me, I've already looked at them

A LOT.

I also need to thank my buddy Sara Jayne for grabbing my camera and doing what she does best.
These photos are priceless and I am so grateful to have them.

What's Your Guess?

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!

I am absolutely busting at the seems with excitement! TOMORROW is our Gender Reveal party! This secret has been absolutely KILLING me! 

(I am very proud to announce that I didn't tell a single soul.) 

And, FINALLY, we get to share with our friends and family the gender of our baby! 

Of course, on Monday, you all get to find out too! 

So, what do you think that darling little bundle of joy is???
GIRL or BOY

To help you make a (somewhat) educated guess, I went ahead and tried all those silly wives tales to see what the old biddies were saying. Here's what I came up with:

(ps. All these were found on parenting.com)

Chinese Gender Chart

This ancient method uses your age at conception and the month you did the deed to determine gender. Try it here!

Results: GIRL!

Heartbeat

Next time your OB pulls out the Doppler to listen to the baby's heartbeat, ask her to tell you what the heart rate is. According to legend, 140+ beats per minute indicates a girl, and below 140 a boy.

Results: GIRL!

Drano

This one's a little out there. Pee in a cup, mix a tablespoon of Drano in, and watch and see if it changes color. 

Green= girl, and blue=boy.

Results: GIRL!

Skin

If you're breaking out like crazy, blame it on your girl babe. The belief goes that girls steal their mother's beauty, hence, those annoying zits. 

Results: BOY!

Cravings

Craving ice cream every single day? Some people believe this means it's a girl. If you have to have salty or sour stuff, then it's a boy. 

Results: GIRL!

Ring on a string

Pop off your wedding ring -- if you still can! -- and tie it to a string. Hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle, a little guy's in your future. If it goes back and forth, you've got a girl. 

Results: GIRL!

Morning Sickness

Sick as a dog during the first trimester -- or still? Signs indicate you're having a girl. Little or no morning sickness points to a boy.

Results: BOY!

The Mayans

Legend has it that the Mayans determined a baby's sex by looking at the mother's age at conception and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one's even and one's odd, it's a boy.

Results: BOY!

The wives say it's a GIRL.
Going in to our appointment I was sure it was a BOY and Jason was sure it was a GIRL.

Now, you're up....

is Baby F a little BOY or a little GIRL?!?!?!

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

Time for Another Checklist.

IT’S JULY! Can you even believe it?!

I swear my life is flashing before my eyes!

It’s time to look back at June’s goals and see how I did:

-Walk at least 45 miles.
I knew this was a lofty goal, but I am so proud of myself for accomplishing it! I set a goal for myself to walk 250 miles during my pregnancy and knocking off 47.22 miles this month definitely got me closer!
I'm just under halfway there!

-Swim/Workout in the pool 5 times.
You all know I love the pool, so this one was not hard to accomplish. Every time I was at the pool I made sure to swim some laps and do my own little pool aerobics routine. If felt great AND I was even sore a few times.

-Go to the gym for toning 8 times.
I'm giving myself a half completed for this one. Not going to lie, I only went to the gym twice this month BUT I have been doing my weight routine at home. Not sure if I did it 8 times, but I did make an effort. AND, I went to yoga twice this month. So I didn't quite accomplish what I wanted, but I tried.

-Meal Plan.
I shared my psycho preggo meal plan HERE and as crazy as it is, it has been a huge help! I've been doing great at sticking to the plan. I haven't been the best at putting everything into MFP these past couple weeks, but I have been sticking to my planned meals.

-Put together yearbooks.
Didn't spend one minute of this month doing this. I really need to get on it though so I'm not suddenly five years behind.

-Budget, Budget, Budget.
I wish I could say we dominated this goal this month, but unfortunately we did not. It wasn't as bad as last month but we still have some reeling in to do! 

As for this month's goals, 

there is so much to be done in these last 4 months before the nugget arrives in November, so I’ve decided to use my monthly checklist as a way to keep track of all I want to accomplish before baby’s grand entrance. It’ll be an ongoing list over these next few months but my hope is to get as much done now while I’m feeling awesome, so that when I’m huge and uncomfortable I can just lie around, eat ice cream and get massaged {that’s what automatically happens in the third trimester, right?}.

NON-BABY:

-Plan Christina's Bridal Shower & Bachelorette Party

-Print & Frame stadium pics for our bedroom

-Get new lamps for bedroom

-Go to yoga 4 times this month

-Figure out gallery wall for above the fireplace
-Put together family yearbooks

BABY:
-Reveal the gender of the baby to friends and family!
-Finish registering
-Decide on a name
-Register for Prenatal Classes
-Register for tour of the Birthing Center at the hospital
-Take prenatal classes
-Tour the Birthing Center at the hospital
-Find a pediatrician
-Buy a mom car
-Figure out maternity leave
-Figure out childcare
-Figure out baptism
-Enjoy a babymoon with my man
-Find baby shower outfits
-Get hostess gifts for my baby shower hosts
-Get maternity pictures taken
-Get pregnancy massage {this IS happening at some point}
-Get some nursing bras
-Baby proof!
-Pick out birth announcement
-Develop a birth plan
-Study up on newborn vaccines to determine what’s right for baby F
-Purchase any important items remaining on registry
-Baby laundry
-Figure out baby’s “Coming Home” outfit
-Figure out baby's newborn photo shoot outfit(s)
-Get all hospital paperwork in order
-Prepare “phone tree” for news of baby’s arrival
-Pack for the hospital
-Create labor playlist (yes, I need music and yes, there will be a playlist)
-Reach goal of walking 250 miles during pregnancy
-Finish the nursery!!!

∙Find mobile

∙Get bedding

∙Get art for the walls

∙Buy & hang window valance

∙Convert dresser to changing table

∙Get throw pillows for bed

∙Organize drawers and closet

*A lot of this was stolen from a great checklist I found HERE!

Now that I see everything I need to do listed out, I have decided to quit my job and quit blogging and dedicate 100% of my time to preparing for the baby.

Yeah, just kidding. 

I hope you all have a wonderful and SAFE holiday!

God bless you and America!

This Past Weekend...

...I did absolutely nothing.

And it was exactly what I needed.

If I'm being honest the past few days have been tough for me. It's been a brutal combination of exhaustion (I definitely over did  the past week and a half), anxiety and hormones.

It all started late Thursday when I couldn't sleep. I was up most of the night with terrible anxiety. I've had trouble with anxiety attacks in the past but I've learned to deal with them and even prevent them, but sometimes there's nothing I can do. I'm assuming my fear and anxiety is relatively normal...terrified of childbirth, scared of the changes my life and relationship will soon go through, worried about my health and the health of my baby, concerned about finances...the list goes on and on.

Friday my lack of sleep and emotions came together sending me to cry in my office bathroom for twenty minutes, basically, for no reason. Feeling like I was truly losing my mind I knew I needed a weekend of nothingness. I cancelled my plans with Carolyn & Kelly which killed me. I HATE when people go back on their plans and I felt awful. But, I knew that this time I had to be selfish and take care of myself. Plus, who wants to spend their Friday night with a crazy person?

I'd love to say that a night of rest was all I needed to feel like myself again, but it turns out I needed the whole weekend.

Friday night I got home from work, laid on the couch and didn't get up until I was ready for bed. Jason and I watched New Years Eve, which was just OK. But it was a perfect, relaxing Friday night.

Saturday, I got to sleep in, which was luxurious. Jason was so sweet and brought me breakfast in bed (I know, I'm spoiled). Then, while Jason was golfing I spent a couple of hours reading at the pool. I got myself out of the house for a few hours to run errands and then kicked my evening off with an incredible bubble bath. Pretty sure bubble baths are going to need to become a regular occurrence. I lit some candles, put on Sade and used my "Sleep" bath, which was created for relaxation. After my bath I resumed my position on the couch with my book and once again that's where I stayed.

Yesterday I spent the day at the Country Club with my mom and sister. We had lunch and laid by the pool all day.

Having some girl time with my mom turns out to be EXACTLY what I needed. She knows me so well and always knows exactly what to say to make me feel better. It doesn't hurt that she's had babies and can relate to what I'm going through. I left the pool feeling so much better and not to mention rested.

Bailey, however, wasn't doing so hot yesterday. The poor thing was throwing up all over the place.
But, daddy took good care of her.

The weekend ended exactly how all weekends should end....watching gymnastics and eating Flag Cookies.

Hope you all had relaxing weekends as well. And WHOOP for a short work week!