29W6D

How Far Along: 29 Weeks 6 Days
Size of the Baby: About 15.5 inches long, and 3lbs, the size of a small cabbage.
Total Weight Gain/Loss:13 pounds gained total, but I feel like a whale
Maternity Clothes: Yes. On occasion I can wear a non-maternity top if it's a less fitted style, but pants are limited to either maternity or loose like lounge/pajama pants.
Gender:GIRL~ Julia Renee. Excited to have a baby girl coming.
Movement: All the time. She is quite a mover and shaker. It's hard to compare to Seth because he was so low and at the time I had nothing to compare his movement to. BJ and Daniel have both seen or felt her move. Dr. W says she is already head down, feet on my left side and bottom on the right. This would explain why when I feel her move on the right it is more like shifting than kicking.
What I Miss Most: My clothes and not feeling so full all the time Also, I miss being able to go without getting short winded or using more effort. I am usually in pretty good shape, but right now I am so easily worn out. It is definitely worse than with Seth, but I'm older, and I'm chasing a toddler. To me it is a huge difference.
Cravings:Salty more than sweet. Wish I could eat without feeling so full.
Symptoms: Feeling like a whale, like there is no possible way she can stay in there another 10 weeks.
Best Moment of the week: Just the movement. Even though it hurts some, it reminds me that there is a purpose for all the discomfort. Oh, yeah! And getting compliments about pregnancy looking good on me. Ya'll better look while you can, cause this ain't happening again.

I will be traveling via plane to Kansas City MO for a funeral this weekend by myself. I'm a little nervous about traveling at this point in my pregnancy, but Dr. W said the risks are pretty low of anything happening at this point. The real risk is complications while I'm away from my doctor, but I just trust God to take care of Julia and me.

Looks like I'll be leading worship on Sunday since my parents are driving back from Missouri that day. It'll be good. We'll survive. God will bless. He is faithful like that.

Life

It's been a while since I've blogged. This last month has just been crazy including end of school awards, a business trip to San Antonio and now the Big Kids are at camp.  I thought I'd get time to blog last week while I was out of town, but that was obviously not the case.

Let's start with baby news. Yesterday I had my third (and hopefully final) sonogram for Julia. There will only be another sonogram if there is a reason to have one.

The first two (to the left) are Julia at 29 weeks and the last two are Seth at 38 weeks.I think the faces look kinda similar, but it's hard to tell since they are 9 weeks apart. Julia has a little bit of hair/fuzz where as Seth had a little dark hair when he was born that has since been replaced with blonde. As far as size goes, the technician said she was measuring a week bigger than expected, but suspected a recent growth spurt. She estimated Julia is already 3.5 pounds or so and noted her long legs. I expect we will have a normal size baby (as opposed to Seth who was so small. He still can wear 18 month pants if they are long enough and he is 2.5). Of course, all of that is a guess and we really won't know until she gets here. I have bought 2 outfits (both 0-3 months) and don't plan on buying any newborn or premie clothes unless the doctors starts seeing her lag behind in size and turn into a small baby like Seth. My sister gave me a bunch of little girl clothes, which include probably enough newborn to get by if needed.

Each pregnancy is so different. I feel like my skin is so tight around my belly and there is no room for her to grow, but I know she still has 11 weeks and will get bigger. Just not sure how she will fit. :) Tuesday I have a doctor's appointment where Dr. W will talk about the sonogram and do the normal measuring, listen to the heartbeat stuff before we go to appointments every 2 weeks after that. I feel like the end of August will be here before we know it. And I am so not ready. She would be fine, I just feel like I have a lot of planning to do at work to get things to a good place before I can be off for maternity leave. And then I remember I do still have probably at least 10 weeks which is 2 whole months. I just wish I didn't have so many projects on hold. One day at a time, cleaning out my office and email inbox so I can be gone and getting things done before then.

It'll all work out. It always does.

Regarding just general baby preparation, I got down Seth's carseat, cleaned it up and put the new girlie cover on it, so we are ready to go with that.

I plan to buy her diaper bag today. I have registered for some things at Babies R Us (just online) but need to get that finished up. A lot of big things I already have from Seth.

The big kids are at church camp for the first time. Daniel acted like he didn't want to go, which is normal for him, but I was told that he was really excited once he got there. This morning I got a text message from Katelynn that said "I love you, mommy." Such a sweet girl! They'll be home tomorrow and I'm excited to hear about their time at camp. My kids are just made for camp. They are so social and in general not scared to do anything new, so I'm sure they'll really enjoy it. I'm praying for God to do something special in each of them during this time.

Seth has been an only child since Wednesday afternoon. The kids were worried he would be a handful by himself since they play with him so much and wouldn't be here. I told them he's only wild when they are here and it'd be fine. He slept 12 hours last night and I got to sleep in until 8. It was so nice.

Today we are off to do some shopping and then just hang out mostly. Should be a nice relaxing day.

Tonight BJ and I are watching American Sniper via Redbox. My sister and her family are coming in town tomorrow for my mom's birthday, so we'll be having dinner with them after the kids get back from camp. Then we have one week of "normal" and we are off toward Houston for vacation.

I plan to blog again next week after my doctor's appointment and then maybe some while on vacation.

The fall is setting up to be pretty busy for our family of 7. Daniel will be playing football for the first time. Haley will be learning to play the clarinet in the school band. Katelynn will be the only Fowler in the elementary school and learning to find her place without being "Haley's sister" or "Daniel's sister."  There will definitely be some growing up going on with the big kids (who Seth calls "the kids") I will be at home with the Littles after Julia is born for a while. I'm actually excited to see how everything pans out and how the Bigs adapt and mature! It will be a fun time at our house!

He Knows

We are in the car on the way to my sister's house for Lilly's first birthday party. We had sick kids yesterday and really thought we were going to be splitting parental duties and healthy and sick kids, but by the time I got home last night every one was on the mend. They all slept through the night and have not have fevers since yesterday. Praise God for healthy kids because sick kids are no fun!

In the car I have addressed all of the Christmas cards that need to be mailed and worked on my Sunday School lesson.

And in the middle of just doing things that need to get done, the Jeremy Camp song He Knows came on the radio. I don't listen to the radio often, so I am not sure I've heard it before.

He knows. He knows.
Every hurt and every sting.
He has walked the suffering.
He knows. He knows.
Let your burdens come undone.
Life your eyes up to the one who knows.
He knows. He knows.

If you've been around me any amount of time, you know that I have found comfort in the fact that no matter what I am going through and what I cannot seem to grasp or understand about my circumstances, God knows. And understands. I have learned that God knowing (and in his power taking care of me and my needs) is enough for me to be able to bring my burdens to the Lord and leave them there. In his capable hands.

God is sovereign. That means he knows and fully understands every aspect of what I am going through and how it makes me feel and how I respond to it. And he is able to make all grace abound to me. I think I am comforted in an all knowing God because I am an intellectual and like to know as much as possible about whatever is going on so that I can make the best decision and move forward. So when I am weak and cannot know it all (which is often) I can rest in a God who does know all there is to be known.

So I really appreciated that song today. What a great reminder that I am never overlooked or ignored, but I am known, my circumstances are known and God is taking care of me.

No kids!

B.J. and I were able to take a trip to celebrate our 10th anniversary with no kids the weekend of May 22nd.  Did I mention there were no kids?  This hasn't happened since before we had the kids the summer of 2011. We have been on date nights on occasion but we haven't been totally childless in a long time.

We were able to go down to Port Aransas for a few nights and really had a great time. On the way down, we went zip lining around Lake Travis which was awesome!  We have been before, but I would say this was the best course I've been on. The longest cable was 2800 feet. It was a ton of fun! I am always trying to figure out the best way to go the fastest on these things, but BJ always seems to beat me. I say its because he weighs more than me so he has more momentum. He says he's just better at it. I am right and he is wrong. (Ha!) This is one of the things we really enjoy. You get to be outside, usually hiking between lines and then just enjoying nature.

 The condo we stayed at was awesome! One of BJ's friends let us use it and we will definitely be back. Maybe next time with kids. It is 306 Mayan Princess if anyone is interested in going down that way. I would highly recommend it.

This picture is taken from the ocean looking at the condo, with our little beach setup in between. BJ is reading a book in the shade.

It was very relaxing and really a good time of reconnecting with my love. We had great conversation and got to play some games and read some and just do whatever we wanted with no kid interruption or input required. Its a great thing I tell you.

BJ is not the same person I married 10 years ago and I'm sure I'm not the same either. We are better. God is changing us, growing us, and making us into the people he has called us to be. I love spending time with the man God has blessed me with.

Here's a little throw back picture to our 5 year anniversary. I don't think we've changed much, besides my ever increasing grey hair.

Mid Summer Catch Up

Summer is almost half way done. Already.

This week the kids started at daycare for 4 weeks.  I like to put them in some organized childcare for 4 weeks during the summer to give them some structure and time to socialize. They get to go and do cool things and overall love it. And the grandparents get a break.  Well, at least from the older kids. Seth is still with them, but it is much easier to have one than four.

This week is also unusual because BJ is working nights. He is setting the Back to School module at Walmart and the easiest time of day to do that is the middle of the night. So, he has been taking a nap for a few hours in the evenings before he goes to work and then trying to sleep during the day while we are all gone.  He also picks the kids up from daycare and takes Haley to Mathnasium for an hour. I pick her up on the way home and we have dinner (which he has been handling before he goes to try and nap a few hours.) This week has definitely been different for us.

I know that I already posted on facebook, but so I can find and track it, Seth has been going to sleep when the kids do without really a fight at all. Babies thrive on a schedule, or at least he seems to.  He also got his first tooth breaking through his gums yesterday. He's been druling and teething for what seems like forever, so I'm glad he finally got some relief when his tooth broke through. He is eating so well and I really feel like he has a routine going. I will probably recap some of this when I do his 8 month post in a few days. He will be 8 months old on Sunday. It is just so hard to believe my little guy is not a tiny baby any more.

Jill, my sister, and her family got moved down to San Antonio the weekend of Father's Day, so they are only 4.5 hours away now. She was able to come up for her birthday and the 4th of July and we really enjoyed seeing her.

On July 4th, I was able to scrapbook a couple of pages from her wedding scrapbook. My goal is to get it finished by her 5 year anniversary in November. That is all fine and good, except I haven't even touched it since February. But I was able to get most of it finished on Saturday the 6th. I think I only have 2-3 pages left. The kids really enjoyed watching me work on it, so I think we are going to try and get some of my past scrapbooking caught up and let them help, or at least play with some of the paper and stickers I have. I have so much stuff I will never get rid of it all. I have a tendency to buy big paper packs, so there is always some paper I don't prefer. I think I have 1 or 2 vacations from before we got the kids (almost 2 years ago) and the first months with the kids to scrapbook and then I'll be caught up. I think I am going to make digital photobooks for each year for Seth and then just keep a family scrapbook going of vacations and special events as we go.

It feels so good to get some scrapbooking done.  It makes me remember why I fell in love with it to begin with. It's fun to relive the memories, which I guess is the whole point anyways.

I am liking our new schedule as far as work and kids at daycare is concerned. Too bad it only lasts for 4 weeks before it changes again. The older kids are going on a small vacation with my inlaws the first full week of August and they are really excited.  I am not ready to send Seth with them, but next year he'll really enjoy going, if they want to take him. I'm not sure I would want to take a 21 month old on vacation with 3 older kids. They get along well, but he will definitely not be self sufficient at that point and may just be an extra burden. We'll let them decide when the time comes. 

Time is flying, busy as usual, and life is good. I am so blessed with the family God has given me. It's a little crazy at times, but that's what memories are made of.

The end of Vacation

We left on Wednesday June 20th to head home. Our destination for the night was Amarillo where we stayed in another KOA Kabin. We went on Thursday morning to see the Cadillac Ranch. Our trip on the way back took a while, since we got stuck in DFW traffic on the way home. What a bummer!!

We were all very glad to be home, but really miss our family and look forward to seeing them again soon!

Daddy and Seth on the porch

Cadillac Ranch

Leaving their mark. Don't worry, it's legal.

Vacation Part 3

The last couple of days before we headed home, we stayed at Grandma and Grandpa Daggetts and it was a great time. We went up to Trailridge with Grandpa, played some ladder ball, celebrated Daniel's birthday early with cupcakes, and visited Swetsville Zoo (which is a bunk of things made out of scrap metal. It is really pretty cool and a must see when you visit Fort Collins.

On the way to the top

Look at that expression!

Mommy and Seth

The family minus our great photographer, Daddy

In the snow

At the top

The Family

Great Grandpa Daggett, Haley and Seth

Blue Eyes

Great Grandpa Daggett, Daniel and Seth

Great Grandpa Daggett and Katelynn

I think they are cold...

Snoopy and Katelynn

Wanna join the band? They did.

"Look mom! It's a baby dinosaur!"

VW Beetle

The python

Barbershop Duet

Ladder Ball

Daniel won!

Daniel's 8th Birthday! 2+1+5=8

Great Grandma Daggett and Katelynn

Great Grandma Daggett and Daniel

Great Grandma Daggett and Haley

Great Grandma Daggett and Seth

So big!!

Vacation Part 2

Day 2 we headed to Fort Collins, but not without a stop at the Raton Pass first.

We also stopped for lunch in south Denver and met with a friend who I've known for a while, but never met in person. It was so nice to get to meet Adele, but I forgot to get a picture with her. She is such a sweet spirit and has become an adopted grandmother of sorts to me. She faithfully prays for me and encouraged me on my struggle to get the family God promised me. I am so glad we did that and will have to make a point to get together with her each time we go see my grandparents.

We stayed at the KOA in Fort Collins for Thursday through Saturday nights and it was really nice. Our cabin had a queen bed in a separate room, a bunk bed and couch that the three older kids rotated between.  It also had a shower, a full refrigerator, and central air conditioning.  The KOA had a great playground, swimming pool, gocarts and other things for rent as well as activities throughout. I would definitely stay there again when we head that way in the summer.

We had the annual Daggett family Christmas/Bingo on Friday night June 14th.  On Saturday we stayed at the KOA all day and relaxed including some fishing by BJ and the kids. Sunday morning, we packed up, went to church with my grandparents and then moved our stuff over to their house for a few nights.

Looking out

Sweet Face

Raton Pass

On the top bunk in the cabin

K's funny face

D's funny face

H's funny face

The Playground

Monkey bars

Fishing with Dad