16 weeks

Moving right along!

Pregnancy Highlights:

• How far along--16 weeks 4 days
• Size of baby--4 1/2 inches long and about the size of an avocado
• Total weight gain--up 2 pounds total
• Maternity clothes--yes to most pants now! I've got 2 more pairs of jeans that fit, but have been wearing a pair of maternity jeans that are a whole lot more comfortable! Still in regular shirts for a few more months. 
• Gender--We *could* have found out at my Dr. appt. yesterday, but we're waiting until delivery. It was so strange to not find out!
• Movement--just a few tiny kicks here and there for now.
• Sleep--I've been sleeping like a rock lately and having to drag myself out of bed each morning. 8 hours never feels like enough!
• What I miss--not being nauseated and running
• Cravings--Still mostly food aversions. I have been enjoying macaroni and cheese this week! Not really liking chocolate milk anymore, which is surprising since I LOVED it 2 weeks ago. 
• Symptoms--I can definitely tell my belly is growing, especially when I bend over to pick something up! Still nauseated most of the time, but not getting sick very often.
• Best moment of the week--Hearing the baby's heartbeat yesterday

16 week belly....it's a growin'!

Getting "the" Tree!

We were so excited to go get our Christmas tree yesterday! Mamaw and Papaw had their tree up when we went Friday, so that really got Arabelle and Bo pumped about our tree.

When Jared got home from work yesterday, both kids went running and yelling about going to the tree farm.

They immediately went to the trees that were just a bit taller than them.

Bo said they feel "tickly".

Then Arabelle found this VERY tall tree. I asked her if we should get it, but she thought it was too tall.

See??

Bo was dying to hold the saw. Typical!

Bonus candy canes after cutting down the tree!

We ended up with an 8 ft. beauty that we've spent the day decorating. Still not quite finished. ;)

Here's our visit to the tree farm last year. 

Thanksgiving 2012

We had a fun Thanksgiving week! Wednesday, we enjoyed supper with the Roberts family, Thursday we hosted lunch at our house with a friend and her nephew, and Friday we spent time with the Bloodworth family. We had SO much delicious food and were reminded of how much we have to be thankful for!

Wednesday night, we tried to get a picture of all 5 grandchildren and it turned out really good!

Bo started with a fever and cold symptoms on Thursday, so he was pretty pitiful. He stayed home on Friday with Jared and Arabelle and I went to Pineview. Of course, Lindsey has Jacob on Friday, so Mamaw and Papaw were in Lawrenceville for his delivery. Fortunately, she had prepped all the food, so we just had to cook it and enjoy! We sure did miss Mamaw & Papaw and the Fincher family!

I was looking back to last year's Thanksgiving post and wow, have the kids grown! And who would have thought that there'd be 2 new additions and 1 on the way to the Bloodworth side by this year's Thanksgiving!? Not me! ;)

New Nephews!

We've added 2 new nephews to the family recently!

Steven and Jill added Lowndes Pierce to their crew 8 weeks ago:

Lindsey and Brian welcomed Jacob Henry on Friday:

Yes, Arabelle is the only girl out of 7 grandchildren on the Bloodworth side! We'll have to find out what #8 is in May. ;)

Arabelle's First UGA Football Game!

Jared took Arabelle to the UGA Football game Saturday against Georgia Southern. She was SO excited!! She woke up early and thought it was still the middle of the night, I guess (still dark out). I told her that Jared was already getting dressed for the game and she hopped out of bed and said "Get me dressed too!". 

She had a lot of fun and was worn out when she got home! The next day, she said her favorite things were the 'rainbow ice cream' and cheering with the pom  poms. :)

Buddies

Sometimes Arabelle and Bo are the best of buddies. Sometimes they are just annoying brother and sister. :)

This moment, they were best buddies with their undie heads and capes:

This is the *first* picture I've gotten of the kids posing together and smiling in a long while. Wonder if I can re-create it for a Christmas card picture (minus the underwear and capes)?

We've all been coughing, congested, snotty, and cranky this week, but hopefully we're on the mend!

14 Weeks

Hello 2nd Trimester! I have been looking forward to saying that for WEEKS! The 2nd trimester usually holds improved nausea and more energy for me, so I've been counting down the weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

• How far along--14 weeks 1 day
• Size of baby-- about the size of a lemon or 3.5 inches long
• Total weight gain/loss-- just 1/2 a pound until I get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, then it's all up from there. :)
• Maternity clothes--not yet, but very soon! I've stopped wearing some of my jeans because I don't want to stretch out the waist (hoping to get back in them again next year!). Hopefully Lindsey will have her baby boy soon so I can get my maternity clothes back!
• Gender--Finding out on his or her birthday! I'm starting to think GIRL though (maybe Arabelle is convincing me?).
• Movement--Every now and then I'll feel a tiny flutter. Definitely not everyday. Looking forward to those big kicks!
• Sleep--Sleeping good now and not feeling as exhausted. I still prefer to go to bed early!
• What I miss--running, enjoying water (it still tastes yucky to me!), not being nauseated all the time
• Cravings--Last weekend, I was really wanting dressing, so I made that enjoyed the whole pan. I also really like chocolate milk now....baby must need the calcium!
• Symptoms--Still nauseated nearly all the time, but not getting sick much at all. It's still the worst in the evenings. 
• Best moment of the week--Arabelle has really been talking about the baby more and Bo will now say there's a baby in there instead of a puppy. :)

I *feel* like my belly is sticking out farther than it looks in the picture. I actually have always LOVED the 2nd half of pregnancy and having a big ol' baby belly (maybe because the 1st half is always so tough on me). :)

Soccer Practice

Arabelle has been taking soccer lessons the last 9 weeks (next week is the 10th and final class). She has really enjoyed it! Her cousins Rhianna and Gigi play too. :)

They usually play some soccer games to practice their skills, then have a 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 game at the end.

Arabelle was SO excited 2 weeks ago when Sambo came to watch and this last week when Mamaw and Papaw came. She made sure they watched her the entire time. Each time after she scored, she'd turn and say "I did it again!".

Think Arabelle was happy??

Let's play!

 Bo and Tripp have a lot of fun playing together too (and sharing snacks!)

Compassion International: Meet "our" girls!

I wanted to take a break from the pictures and stories of our day to day life and tell you about an organization that is very dear to me!

Have you heard of Compassion International? I had not until last year, when another blog I read shared information about the group and the children that she sponsors. 

Compassion is "a Christian child development organization dedicated to releasing children from poverty. Our ministry is twofold: We work through local churches to provide child development programs to deliver children from economic, physical, social and spiritual poverty, enabling them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults. And we speak out for children in poverty – informing, motivating and equipping others to become advocates for children".

Did you know you can sponsor a child through Compassion and change their life for just $38/month? Think about how you spend your money each month. To many of us, $38 is a family meal out while to a child in an underdeveloped country, it means education, food (if needed), health care, hygiene training, and most importantly, access to information about Jesus Christ in a safe, Christian environment. 

Last December, we didn't give each other Christmas presents, instead, we chose to sponsor this little girl, living in Haiti.

Kimberlie turned 6 this week, is in 1st grade, lives in Port au Prince with her parents, and she enjoys listening to music, singing, playing games, and dolls. 

*When we began sponsoring Kimberlie, they sent us a different picture and I just saw this updated one today....she has grown so much! 

After our week long mission trip to Haiti, I really felt led to sponsor another child. I came across Rose's picture and information while browsing through the *many* children waiting to be sponsored. She is 17 and lives in Gonaives, in northern Haiti and had been waiting over 6 mo. for a sponsor. I met so many girls just like Rose on the mission trip....enjoys jumping rope and listening to music, lives with her parents, and is in the 11th grade, performing above average in school. 

We keep Kimberlie and Rose's photos on the fridge and pray for them often. Arabelle and Bo know their names. Arabelle isn't quite sure about them living so far away and sometimes ask when they are going to come to our church. :) She also asks me why they aren't smiling. I tried to explain that they rarely have their picture made and probably don't know to smile. 

I would encourage you to pray about the possibility of sponsoring a child through Compassion International or shop from the Compassion Christmas Gift Catalog this year. You can provide clean water, health care, livestock, education, and much more this year!

Mischievous Kids

Last week, I found a bargain on our toilet paper on Amazon (nearly 50% off what I usually pay!!), so I ordered a big box that had 48 rolls of TP.

I had put the sealed box on the back porch and didn't really think about it again. The kids like to play on the back porch sometimes. They were out there the other day and in less than 5 minutes, this is what I found:

*No, I do not approve of them playing with screwdrivers. Arabelle reported that "Bo got them out!!!". 

It will take us forever to use all this toilet paper, but each time I get a roll with a screwdriver stab hole in it, I'll  smile thinking of these sweet little mischievous kids! 

Fall Fun, 2012

We had a lot of Fall festivities this October! We enjoyed the Pumpkin Patch and the Georgia National Fair earlier in the month and the church Fall Festival, School Party, and Trick or Treating this last week!

Church Fall Festival: Arabelle dressed in her UGA cheerleading outfit

They loved all the games, slides, candy, and food!

The school party was on Monday. Bo didn't want to wear his Superman costume, but I remembered I had gotten a Fireman rain coat at the consignment sale, so he went as a fireman. I had borrowed a fireman hat from the church. Monday morning, I gave him his hat and he said "This not my hat!" and ran to get the Braves cap. He put it on and said "THIS is my hat!". So, he went as a baseball playing fireman. :)

Arabelle wore the Rapunzel costume, but she couldn't sit for her snack in the dress. :)

Arabelle was SO excited to Trick or Treating on Wednesday! We had church Wednesday evening, so we walked to Connie's and our neighbor, Ms. Sue's in the afternoon.

Princess Arabelle

It was sunny and bright, so they put their candy buckets on their heads for the ride.

Trick or Treat!

They ate a bunch of candy at Connie's! I think the Starburst and Skittles were their favorite candy.

We got home and had to check it all out!

Think Bo was excited??

If was a fun week, but the candy has been stashed away for special treats. Now if the kids would stop asking for candy all the time! :)