the latest and greatest....

"greatest," meaning me. noooo, i'm not having an ego trip. i mean "great" as in LARGE. well, apparently i gained a bit too much last month. at my last appointment, my doctor took one look at my weight and said, "looks like you enjoyed the holidays." i DID enjoy them - thank you very much!! i admit, i am not being very careful with my calorie-intake. this may be my last pregnancy so i am just going to enjoy it. let's face it - this is the only time i can eat a big meal and don't have to suck it in! i don't enjoy seeing the weight gain (especially around my face), but it helps knowing i always bounce back and end up wearing my "skinny jeans" again. just a few more months!

it's pretty crazy, now that i am in my 31st week. i think my nesting phase is finally dying down. i've been cleaning and organizing, taking things the DI (goodwill)....and PAINTING!! yep, this past weekend i took advantage of the kiddos being gone and jim being away at drill. i woke up early and got started. it took most of the day, but that's because i took a lot of breaks. by the time jim arrived home, i was done painting but in tons of pain. my back was KILLING me. he, of course (being the great husband he is), had me lay down and rest while he cleaned up and put all the furniture back. he also put the crib up - yay!! i love you, baby!!

here are a few pics of the room. i still need to make curtains and find something to go on the walls to tie it all together. i am going to hang dark red curtains in the window and also in front of the treadmill (don't want to see that eyesore)! i'm sure i'll post more pics when it's complete.

the next thing to accomplish is jackson's baby quilt. the quilt you see hanging on the crib is actually james' baby quilt, made by my sister, trisha. it goes really well with the room! but, of course, jackson will have his own quilt. this is the fabric i am using:

i just washed the fabric today and will probably iron it tonight. tomorrow....it's cutting time!!

jackson's first snowball

the bod

i was just looking at my first belly shot and can't wait to have my body back! it's 3:30am and i am wide awake. i have insomnia, but that's just part of it - jackson is squirming around too much for me to catch any Z's anyway...

i am quite sure i'm done having children, although i have said that with every single one. still, i don't want my thirties to be filled with diaper-changes and all that. i love my children and also love having some freedom. i look forward to nursing again, because of the closeness...but i also kinda dread being "hooked up" every couple hours.

i want my bod back, not just so i can fit back into my skinny jeans (VERY excited about that), but also because i am already getting tired of the aches and pains and awkwardness. but even as i type this, i am telling myself to stop venting and just enjoy it...because i only have a few months left - and i may never go this way again. hmm. i may never go this way again...

so i am going to go back to bed, and enjoy jackson's kicks and wriggles 'til i eventually drift back to sleep.

concerns

so....i just realized that james' blotchy, bright red cheeks may very well be fifth disease. he came home last night, from his father's place, with bright red cheeks. he's naturally rosy-cheeked and it was cold outside, so i didn't think anything of it. this morning, the redness appears to be more of a rash with raised bumps. there was a scare about this a while back, when i heard of a friend's son having it (and we'd been hanging out). i didn't know anything about it until another friend explained how it can be harmful to the baby, during pregnancy. i have no idea if i am immune or not. luckily i have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow, so i can discuss it with my doctor. i'll probably get a blood test to make sure. i know the risk is low, but i still worry...

lately

i'm past the halfway point and starting to feel quite large! i'm surprised to already be feeling achey and sore, mainly when i walk around. the round ligament pains aren't as bad as they were, thank goodness....but now i'm having other issues - like feeling like i'm going to split in two. yikes!

here are a few recent shots...

the results are in...

everyone, say hello to jackson alma conner!

while james was at joy school, shallyn stayed home with jenna so jim and i could go to the ultrasound appointment. they were running behind schedule, but we had fun talking and joking around while we waited. everything looks great and we got some great pictures - including a clear shot of his gender (even though the tech isn't allowed to print those out, she did anyway).

i'd been wanting another "J" name, for the children. they'll have different last names, so at least they'll have that first initial in common. it's funny, because those "J" names were never planned - it just turned out that way - and now we are doing it on purpose.

the first name i wanted (jude, or judah) was recently taken by a family member, so i tried to brainstorm other ideas. lately, i've been leaning towards the name "jacob." i thought "jake" would make a cute nickname. however, this morning as i got ready for the ultrasound appointment, "jacob" just didn't sound right. i'd been thinking this would be a girl, and really liked the name "josslyn" - but suddenly the name "jackson" popped into my thoughts and somehow i knew it would be a boy. turns out i (and according to my poll, 71% of you) was correct - a boy!

we are excited and knowing the sex helps make this more real for us. now we can bond and plan better. yay!

update update!!

it's been a while since i've blogged! i blame it all on stacy, who introduced me to facebook. she is my social network dealer and i am officially addicted. i need to get my daily fix or i get the shakes.

i am 18.5 weeks along and can feel the baby wiggle around every once in a while. i first felt something on sunday, october 5th, when we we leaving to have dinner at the chubbs' home. usually, i feel movement when i am still or laying down. anyway, it's not that often. i look forward to when i can feel more action going on in there.

i made the ultrasound appointment! 1,1k20j,cvdfcgf <~~~ (jenna says hello) so, hopefully we will find out the sex of this baby on november 4th. we are excited! jim isn't sure he wants to know, but i do. and if i know the gender, how could he possibly not find out as i decorate and shop for pink or blue things?? i figure if i know, he'll know. i thought it might be fun to do it the "old-fashioned" way and not find out until the baby actually arrives, but that thought didn't last very long. i like knowing! i like picking out the name, shopping for a specific gender and i feel the bonding is better. besides, i am way too curious for it to be a mystery.

unfortunately, i am still feeling nauseous throughout the day. luckily, it's not bad enough to keep me from enjoying myself. i've become accustomed to the icky feeling. it will be so nice when i feel totally normal again! i get extremely tired in the afternoon, especially when reading stories to james and jenna right before their naps. i think it gets me sleepier than it does them! i usually end up taking a nap as well....that is, if i am not on facebook. haha...