32 Weeks {A Pregnancy Update}

8 weeks until due date! WHAT?!?!

**Right at 30 weeks, Matt started reading books to the baby in the evenings. The first night he read, the baby had been pretty still all day and he read a joke book. After that, the baby moved for at least 45 minutes. We figure there was some laughing going on! :)

**On Friday, September 6th, Matt and I were at the bank standing in line and I touched my stomach and to the left side of my stomach near my belly button and I could feel one of little one's feet. I had Matt feel and right after that I was pushing against the foot a little bit and Peach kicked me! It was so cute!

**We have been working on several things these past few weeks:
-washing baby clothes
-finishing painting all letters for the alphabet wall and hanging all of the letters (excuse the crooked picture. Will try to take more and post details.)

-gathering Christmas ornament ideas to make for our family (a few I like)

-starting to pack hospital bags

**Two of my closest friends were both planning (separately) something in lieu of a shower since I cannot get to Louisiana for a shower before baby comes. Well, one was keeping it a secret and the other was unaware and offered to host a Sip and See for us once baby comes. Now, they are co-planning a sweet gathering for us in January so we can show off Baby Morgan to all of our friends and family in Louisiana. :)  My friends ROCK.

** This past week, I was working on a wreath for my mom and the wreath was leaning on my belly. Peach kept kicking it. So funny!

**My Dad and step-mom purchased the carseat and stroller we wanted! Well, they sent us money and we purchased. When we purchased, we got two free video monitors for free which we didn't want to so sold both of them on Amazon and made $100 which we are putting in an envelope for baby clothes! :)

**We heard a good strong heartbeat  (143 BPM) at 31 weeks, 2 days at my appointment. Next appointment is in 2 weeks. Getting so close!

**We attended an Infant Care Class at our hospital and we learned how to swaddle the baby and got some good information from the pediatrician. It was a nice class.

**Our shipment of SunBaby cloth diapers came in this past week too! Kinda looked like drugs arrived on our doorstep. :)

**As of Friday, September 13th, I am no longer wearing my rings. They still fit in the morning but I am getting a little bit of swelling in my fingers as the day progresses so I'm not going to wear them anymore. My doctor said "Don't worry everyone knows you have a significant other"! ;-)

**On Saturday, September 14th/ Sunday, September 15th, I started to get reflux and it woke me up in the night. IT WAS AWFUL! I'm sure for many people it's just like normal reflux but I NEVER have it so it caught me off guard. Hoping to find some remedies for it ASAP! :)

Picture is 30 weeks, 6 days

31 weeks, 2 days 

**On Sunday while in church, the baby moved the whole time. Peach already loves church! 

Christmas Came Early to Mr. Morgan

A couple of months back, Matt mentioned that he would like a grill. Mom was either there for the conversation or I mentioned it to her and she said that would be a great Christmas gift from she and my step-dad. Well, being the fun and awesome person that she is, she couldn't wait until Christmas. So this week, I took Matt on a surprise trip to The Home Depot to pick out his grill! He was one excited guy! 

He was on my scent about the treat so I had to throw him off with ice cream! :)

 

Matt picked out a basic charcoal grill and we both agree that it's just right for us. He even got a few accessories to go with it. 

Getting it all put together...

Ta-da! 

For dinner, we had grilled veggies in foil packets and New York Strip steaks. It was delicious. It was one of the only time that we've had steak since I've been pregnant because I prefer medium well not well done. Matt, however, cooked my steak well done and it was DELICIOUS!!! 

A man and his grill! 

The finished product. YUM!

Reading to Baby!

About a week ago, Matt decided that he wanted to start reading to our baby. It was such a sweet thought and of course, I was all for it. Since then, we have read every night. So far, Matt has read the following books:

But No Elephants by Jerry Smath

Cinderella

Nuts to Nightingale by Jacquelyn Reinach

Stork Spills the Beans by Richard Hefter

Xerus Won't Allow it by Richard Hefter

The Giggle Book by Stephanie Calmenson

Stork Spills the Beans by Richard Hefter

Zip Goes Zebra by Richard Hefter

Who can Trust You, Kangaroo by Richard Hefter

Moody Moose Buttons by Richard Hefter

Lion is Down in the Dumps by Richard Hefter

Pig Thinks Pink by Richard Hefter

Kiss Me, I'm Vulture by Richard Hefter

Turtle Throws a Tantrum by Richard Hefter

No Kicks for Dog by Richard Hefter

Yakety Yak Yak Yak by Richard Hefter

Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty

Hippo Jogs for Health by Richard Hefter

Rest Rabbit Rest by Jacquelyn Reinach

What's so Great about Nice? by Jacquelyn Reinach

Wait! Wait! Wait! by Jacquelyn Reinach

Fish and Flips by Jacquelyn Reinach

Goose Goofs Off by Jacquelyn Reinach

Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble by Cynthia Rylant

Pete Seeger's Storysong Abiyoyo

Dogs Don't Wear Sneakers by Laura Numeroff

Come Out and Play, Little Mouse by Robert Kraus

Pershey the Rabbit by Brenda Eldrid

Dr Seuss's ABC

I hope to keep up with what we read and update this list as I am able. Those written by Richard Hefter or Jacquelyn Reinach are part of the Sweet Pickles series which was one of my favorites growing up.

Apple Picking {Year 2}

This past Sunday, Matt and I went apple picking at Sky Top Orchard in Flat Rock, NC. We went last year for the first time and enjoyed it so much that we wanted it to be a tradition. Last year, we went a little later in the year but since Baby is on the way, we figured we should go early while it was still easy for me to move up and down hills etc.

We happened to pick a really hot day to go and we literally only lasted about 45 minutes picking because it was so hot! The nice thing was that there were not a ton of people there so the lines were not unbearable. We picked the apples we wanted and then we bought the rest. We ended up with Gala, Golden Delicious and lots of Honey Crisp. We had a good time despite the heat. There is another local farm by us so we may venture there before the end of the month to get a few more apples.


First things first. We had to have apple cider doughnuts!

Ready to pick! W

Official Apple Picker since I couldn't reach up very far!

Forever Friday, A Novel {A Book Review}

I received this book from Free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. 

Book Trailer: Here

When I read the quick synopsis of this book on the Blogging for Books website, I knew I would love it and I was right! This book written by Timothy Lewis (releases 9/17/13) is amazing. The book's main character is Adam Colby who runs estate sales. The book is also written partially in first person for his character. While running sale, he discovers this large collection of postcards that were written over a period of 60 years by a man to his wife. Adam follows the story via the postcards and also finds a person near and dear to the couple who helps him to fill in the gaps of the story. 

I thought this book was written excellently. The author gives you insight into both Adam's life as well as the couple who wrote the postcards. The back and forth writing and interjection of both stories was really neat. This book was extremely easy to read and once I got into it, I didn't want to put it down. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a sweet love story and a story of redemption because in my opinion, there's a little bit of both in this book. 

Well done, Timothy Lewis! 

As always, If anyone is interested in reading this book, be the first to comment or e-mail me and I'll send it your way! 

My Golden Birthday {29 on the 29th}

Last week, I celebrated my Golden Birthday. I turned 29 on August 29th. Growing up, Mom (and the rest of my family) always made birthdays super fun. Mom has always said "That's the only day that is JUST for you" and that's how I have always looked at it. Two years ago, we celebrated Matt's Golden Birthday, so it was fun to celebrate both of ours together.

 We started the celebration on Friday the 23rd. Matt and I invited Grandmom and Granddad over for dinner and dessert. Matt made Chicken Pie and Cookies and Cream Cake. the food was delicious! After we ate, we pulled out the dominoes and played several rounds of Chicken Foot. It was a lot of fun! 

Matt had to work all day on my birthday. Since we knew that ahead of time, we went to lunch a few days early. We ate at Wade's which is a yummy southern cooking restaurant here in town. I had Hamburger Steak and Mac & Cheese. It was soooo good. 

On the morning of my birthday, Matt woke up and gave me some presents. He gave me some birthday Oreos and a Reese pumpkin. YUM! He also gave me a really nice dark green scarf and I cannot wait to wear it. Lastly, he gave me a baby book for the baby. It is a Beatrix Potter/Peter Rabbit book and it is precious. It's fun but simple which is nice so it's not overwhelming to complete. 

After presents and before work, we had a Golden Birthday Breakfast at the Golden Arches. So sophisticated, I know! 

After that I headed to work where I was given a Carrot Cake from The Fresh Market. I LOVE that store and the cake was soooo good! The girls at work also gave me a gift card to the Fresh Market. What a treat! 

My best friend, Jill, sent me a gift card for Wendy's and I got lunch from there. A Baconator combo. I was stuffed! It was so good. 

The rest of the day was very low key and relaxed and just right. 

30 Weeks {A Pregnancy Update}

Only 10 weeks until due date. Now, that's just CRAZY!!

**August 21st, I finally saw Peach move for the first time. Been feeling it for a long time but just saw it for the first time and it is kinda funny! We even got it on video. See below! 

**August 21st, Peach jumped on my bladder for the 1st time too! I was SHOCKED. Thankfully, I didn't have an accident, just a sudden urge to go. It was quite comical!

**August 22nd, 28 week check-up. Heart-rate was 145. The nurse practitioner said that the baby was growing on target. Blood pressure was good as well.  I am at 15 pound weight gain which is right on target as well. Now, to just avoid those Doritos! 

**I have begun attending a small group at our church and one of the ladies in the group is the wife of one of the delivering OBs at the practice I go to. Kinda fun! I haven't met him yet but I will meet him next 

**At our appoint, we got a kick count sheet. We should now be looking for 10 kicks/movements in a 2 hour period every 24 hours. Baby is a mover so that has been a relief! 

**On August 22nd, I attended my first consignment sale. Switch-a-roos comes to Spartanburg every 6 months and Grandmom and I attended together. It was so great! I spent $37 and I got 8 outfits including a coming home outfit for both genders. I got a changing pad, cover and sheet saver. I also got 2 more letters for our alphabet wall. We only need 8 more! 

**I have had a little bit of sweet this week too. It's just past my birthday so I had birthday cake of course! Matt made homemade cookies and cream cake! 

**Might be because of the above mentioned sweets, but I had a horrible stomach ache on August 23rd. I ended up having to sleep sitting up. NO FUN!

**More and more people are starting to notice that I'm pregnant now. :)

**One night last week, I was laying down for a while and had not felt baby move, I told Matt and we kinda rubbed my stomach a little bit before bed. Baby started moving and did not stop for 45 minutes!! It was so funny!

**On August 30th, Matt was rubbing my stomach and talking to the baby and the baby was moving A LOT. All of a sudden, Matt got a punch to the cheek! It was so FUNNY!

29 weeks and 2 days

** Can't believe there is just 10 weeks until DUE DATE!