Baby 3.0: 31 Weeks

{L to R} 31 weeks along with Presley, 31 weeks with Molly, and 31 weeks with Crosby

I am feeling: Everything. I've been pretty sore lately but I do remember feeling like this during my second pregnancy. I've been feeling pretty darn tired lately, too. But both of those things are pretty easy to deal with and I'm overall still feeling really great. More than anything I'm very ready to meet our first little man and see what on earth a little Duggan boy looks like!!!

Movement: This little guy is crazy, especially in the evening. I love when he kicks behind my bellybutton... my skin feels so thin there that it's the closest thing to direct contact with Crosby. I think I will miss that neat sensation a bit. Otherwise his kicks can go on and on some nights and he takes up so much space these days that he will kick on all sides of my tummy at the same time!

Baby's size: He's about the size of a head of romaine lettuce or to be more exact around 17.5 inches tall and 3.5 lbs!

Best moment of the week: I'd have to say bowling was a highlight and so was going out and shopping with my mother-in-law today! It's so nice to have some uninterrupted adult time. I also had a really fun time with Tony & the girls at the Memphis Zoo members night this weekend!

Current Craving: Tacos with verde salsa (mmmm...) and gyros! Our favorite place to get gyros has been Kabob International since we moved back to Memphis but they were (very sadly) closed this afternoon when my mother-in-law and I were out and about and hungry. I'd heard nothing but good things about the brand new place just down the street - Cedars Restaurant - so we decided to give it a shot. Super glad we did because the food was absolutely delicious. I can't wait to go back again!

What I'm excited about: Going to the doctor this week! It'll just be my second appointment with Dr. Podraza after switching back to his practice so it'll be nice to get some of my questions answered. I'm also really excited to tour two hospitals this week to see which seems to be the better fit for us. There's also a baby expo at one of the other birthing hospitals in town this upcoming weekend that I hope to go to!

As much as I'm looking forward to Crosby getting here - and there is no slowing this moving train down! - I still am dealing with the occasion irrational feelings of fear... mostly of the unknown. What are we getting ready to step into? What will life look for us with two kids and a newborn? How will the decisions Tony and I have made affect Molly and Presley? I worried about this a great deal during my last pregnancy and it was totally all for nothing. Seeing the love Presley had right off the bat for Molly made every struggle big or small completely worth it. Their love still reassures me every day! Even still, the doubt and fear and worry occasionally lingers.

I also happened upon a book of 50 scriptures and prayers for our baby boy that was gifted to us a few weeks ago and one of the first readings was from Isaiah 41:10 - "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you." And that was comforting to read and to feel. I know in my heart there is no reason to be anything but happy - and I hope it doesn't ever come across that we aren't excited for Crosby because he is very much wanted. But just like any major life change that comes along there is always a bit of trepidation as well.

We've got nine weeks (or less!) to go and I am ready to keep moving forward... I'm ready for this particular waiting period to speed on by but I am trying to enjoy it as much as possible while we're here.

Baby 3.0: 30 weeks

29 weeks pregnant with Presley, 30 weeks pregnant with Molly, and 30 weeks pregnant with Crosby

Things on the pregnancy front have still been great lately. Though I'm a few weeks into my third trimester I haven't hit the disparity point yet where you're just ready to be done! I feel pretty huge but honestly not horribly so yet. Sleep is weird lately but I'm still able to get a decent amount. (For example, I've been sleeping upright a lot as well as sleeping with my lamp on... both very weird for me.) My energy is still hanging in there. It's super hot outside but thankfully that hasn't been awful... we just haven't spent a whole lot of time outside this summer. I'm dreading the tail end of a pregnancy where you feel like you lack the ability to move comfortably because this time around I've got two little ones to chase around as well.

This is how I REALLY feel when taking these pictures, sometimes.

All that considered, I do feel like I've been pregnant forever this time around. I suppose that goes with the territory of finding out you're pregnant before you miss your period. I'm also very ready to meet Crosby!!!! I know the girls' excitement is especially influencing me to feel this way. The thing I can't wait for is for the girls to come visit us in the hospital and to see them meet Crosby for the first time. My heart is bursting just thinking about it!!!! And maybe even more than that I can't wait to see Tony be one of the first people to ever hold Crosby and to have that special small amount of time where it's just Tony, Crosby, and me. I've already decided that once I hit the 37 week mark I am going to start making eggplant parmesan at least once a week in hopes that the tall tale that it'll help induce labor is rooted in truth.

One of my recent cravings is the Reese's blizzard from Dairy Queen. I can't even tell you the last time we've been to DQ or even the last time I wanted to go there before now! I had a mini Reese's blizzard this weekend and it was exactly everything I dreamed it would be!! It's also pretty awesome to feel just a tiny bit closer to my dad through this somewhat bizarre craving, seeing as he worked for the DQ company for something like 20 years.

In other news... Tony and I went bowling (I'm pretty sure for the first time SINCE BECOMING PARENTS) with some friends last week and had a blast. I forgot how much of a challenge bowling is! I bowled a 100 so I felt pretty accomplished there and I also got to know two of Tony's coworkers' significant others which was so nice! He always seems to work with some of the best people. And I'm absolutely looking forward to going again. We went to the same bowling alley we used to go to just about every weekend when we were younger.

...and no. I don't think I'll ever be able to stop the reminiscing!

And before that we got to meet sweet baby Carter! Our cousins Shelby & Cory brought him into the world just a few weeks ago. Crosby & Carter will both share the same middle name (which makes sense as it's a family middle name) and they'll be about 2.5 months apart in age! It'll be really awesome to see how both boys are as they grow.

Over the weekend we made a short trip to Nashville to celebrate Anne Marie's 4th birthday. We celebrated at McAlister's and the Discovery Center but I think the kids had the most fun just hanging out at the Carrico house.

The two smallest girls

It is surprisingly difficult to orchestrate a photo like this considering they're all on different schedules (eating, sleeping, potty breaks, etc.) and not to mention they're busy bodies going in all directions!

The two biggest girls 

So incredibly sweet seeing this

Goodbye hugging turned to wrestling

It was a lot of fun but it was all jam-packed into a day and a half. It's great to live close enough to be able to do this one a semi-regular basis and I know no one enjoys it as much as the kids do. As hectic as I always think it'll be to get together with so many little kids, it went really smoothly and we all really did have a great time. Not to mention, every time we visit the Carrico's we get some super yummy meals!!!

It also seems like the only time we'll successfully get a family photo anymore these days is when we're all four in the van.

Um, have I mentioned lately how much we love and appreciate this van?!

And I couldn't finish this blog without including a picture from Molly's most recent mess - which was her getting into my mascara and putting it on her face!

That is a face I can't be mad at right there! Hope everybody has a happy week!!!

Baby 3.0: 20 Weeks + WE HAVE A NAME!

Pregnancy in the second trimester can be so dreamy when compared to the first and third trimester experiences. Typically for me, the first trimester is full of morning sickness and nausea while the third trimester is full of aches and a hard time sleeping at night. So I really don't have a whole lot to report at the moment as there isn't too much action here lately. I'm feeling good. I'm sleeping good.

I was walking around Aldi last night with a big jar of pickles on my hip and realized how much of a stereotypical pregnant lady I must've looked. The same thing happened to me when I was pregnant with Presley and ran into my friend Jaime while shopping. She was like, "Oh lord could you be more pregnant?" because I was headed to the checkout lane with a huge jar of pickles in one hand and a tub of ice cream in the other!

And yes.. I just bought this yesterday and it's mostly gone.

It still feels surreal we're having a boy and a little crazy we'll have to wait 4 months before we get to meet him. I have a whole long list of boy names I like but my top four favorites at this point are Luke (mosty because of Luke Skywalker!), Walter (for the one and only Walter Elias Disney), Crosby, and Jude. I like the names Andrew, James, and Charlie but my husband has vetoed those. (I love Charlie, James & Andy even as girl names, too!)

Presley was not a fan of a single name we were suggesting. When we originally told her our frontrunner name, she told me absolutely not. After a minute or two of thinking it over she said, "Okay mom. If you want to name him that, you can." I asked her what changed her mind and she said, "I don't know any other boy names." So cute and a little bit sad, too, for some reason. I told her I'd help tell her some more names so she could find one she liked... but she told me we already knew his name...

Crosby Thomas

And once Presley accepted the name she would hear NO other suggestions - that is his name! "His name is Crosby Thomas and just Crosby!" So we definitely have a name and we are absolutely excited about it. We thought about keeping his name to ourselves until we announced his birth, but our Presley girl is SO excited she can't help but tell people. Thomas is my husband's middle name and I absolutely LOVE it. It was also his grandfather's middle name. If you were as obsessed with the show Parenthood then you might recognize the name Crosby from the show (played by Dax Shepherd). All of our names end in the "y" sound - Tony, Ali, Presley, and Molly - so we definitely wanted to keep that going. (Yes, we've thought it through. No, we won't be changing our minds.)

Crosby has his Great Great Aunt Brenda to thank for his first name, too! A couple weeks before finding out the gender of our baby I posted on Facebook how I had no great ideas for boy names and felt like I had a million ideas for a girl and my friends really came through with some awesome boy name ideas and Aunt Brenda's was one of them. So thank you for suggesting it, Brenda!!! You helped name our baby!

Don't ask me why, but it just dawned on me today that I won't get to put this kid in any cute dresses. Actually, I think I was looking at one of the girls' dresses on the floor in the laundry room and it hit me all of a sudden. Holy moly... I'm not having another girl. It's these little tiny things that creep up on me every day and has taken a little while to really sink in.

Also, if you aren't a member of the Disney Movie Club yet, I suggest you give it a second look. I love it and everyone else we know in the club loves it too. Right now you can get 5 Disney movies for only $1 plus FREE shipping when you join! You get the choice from over 1,000+ titles and there are some really great ones out of the vault right now. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I'll try my best to answer them. If you sign up through our referral link, our kids will get to pick out two free movies! (And each time you refer someone to the club after joining you will get to do the same.)

These movies make for great gifts for grandkids, friends, family, adults, ANYBODY! I have a hard time thinking of someone who doesn't love Disney.

If you'd like to sign up through our referral or learn more - check it out here.

Praising abundance...

Today's point of praise:  "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;  I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."  (John 10:10)  Day #2

When I read this I really had to think hard about what that verse meant to me and for me.  I know I've felt so abundantly blessed recently - but I am especially feeling that so much today.  As most of you already know, I work with kids everyday in a daycare-type setting.  I work at the YMCA in the Kids Gym, so I get to hang out with kiddos while their parents work out... pretty much a fabulous opportunity to get to know some amazing kids and their fabulous parents.  I have been abundantly blessed by these people;  my life very much enriched by knowing them.  Today was just another great day because a family that I feel particularly close to came in after not seeing them for a while and it put me in the best mood.  On top of it, their mom brought me the winter jacket she wore when she was pregnant in the winter time.  It's beautiful and warm and big enough and is in such good condition.  That means one less thing for me to worry about purchasing before the weather starts changing.  And it means a lot to me that she thought of me for something so wonderful! 

In addition to that, a friend of a friend contacted me a little while ago and asked if I could use a pack & play as well as a high chair - both in great condition and practically brand new!  I was over the moon that she was so thoughtful and even thought of me and of course I said I'd love them!  It just so happens that I picked those items up today in addition to some other baby items.  I'm always worried about having enough money, enough room, enough support, etc. to bring a baby into this world and it seems that God and the kindness of others are slowly putting my worries up on a shelf!  I've also been learning that it's no accident that a baby has come into our lives at this time;  time and time again God's totally causing me to step back and realize that it's all gonna work out even if it's not perfect and that it's OKAY if things aren't perfect!  I just stopped today mid-afternoon and thought, "Dang... I am so blessed."  So to be asked to praise God for his abundance seems like it's no coincidence.  (I'll post pictures of my new stuff soon!)

In other news, I went to Target to look at their maternity clothes the other night (um... expensive!) and after I decided that I was not getting anything, I wandered over to the food department to get some late snacks.  I'd been hearing from a friend who's been trying to watch what she eats that pickles were a good snack to have and as a result I've really been wanting some pickles!  So I picked up a jar of those and walked past the ice cream section.  Without immediately realizing the "pickles and ice cream" pregnancy cliche, I picked out some cookie dough ice cream and headed to check out.  On the way up front I thought how funny it must look for me to be carrying these two things together.  I ended up bumping into a friend in the check out lane and she was like, "Really? Pickles and ice cream?!"  :)  Hilarious!  I love having an excuse to eat ridiculous things!  I promise, I did not eat them in the same bowl... but I did eat them right after the other and it was delicious.

Other than those few things, it's been business as usual in the Duggan household.  Everybody keeps telling me my belly is getting bigger and that is for sure!  It seems like overnight my stomach has really started popping out.  I took a picture at twenty weeks but I can't find the camera cord... so here is a picture from the other night before we headed out to dinner ...

20 weeks & 3 days!

Hopefully I'll get a better picture Friday and potentially have more interesting things to write about!  Until then, have a great week, bloggies! :)