We've Been BOO'd!

Happy Halloween at Layton Lakes!  

One of the many, many reasons I LOVE living here.  I came home from work to find this little treat on my door step.  It says, You've Been BOO'd!  A cute little poem attached tells you what to do and how to spread the Halloween spirit to another neighbor.  Once you've been BOO'd you place a little note, also attached, that says, We've already been BOO'd.  That way more and more people can have the same joy.  

 Inside were some super yummy brownies with little pumpkins on top.  I took out the goodies and added some Halloween cookies.  The poem says to spread the cheer and drop off at least 2 other homes.  The theory is that by Halloween a bunch of neighbors will be able to partake in the joy.  So I made 4 others, not as cute as the one dropped off on my house.  But, it's the thought that counts right?   

How much fun is this!  I saved the poem so LMNO and I can continue the tradition.  Such a great idea!  I still don't know who BOO'd us but I'm glad the did.  Totally made my Halloween! 

My First Baby Shower

What a treat!  Mom to be & LMNO's first Baby Shower!  Hosted by Mom & McKenna.  I can't even believe what a great job they both did.  The house, the decorations, the food, and every last detail was absolutely perfect!  Thank you both for making my day so very special! 

 I had no idea Mom knew what Pinterest was but look what she found for inspiration and then made a buggy out of baby diapers!  So cute!  LMNO's first diapers are ready for her. 

 These cute little baby shoes are filled with little candies.  Whomever has the most pink baby candy in their little baby shoe wins a prize! 

 Mom had a breakfast brunch to die for.  Complete with two egg dishes that were excellent, the best potatoes I've ever had, salsa, salad, fruit cups and miniature desserts.  I think everyone went back for seconds.  YUM-O! 

 My favorite!  LMNO spelled out on new born onesies hung up on a close line.  So creative and extra adorable! 

My family.  Soon to be a Mother, an Aunt and a Nana. 

 Grandma came for the festivities to celebrate.  

 Kristin and Carter.  This little guy had no problem with the amount of estrogen at the shower.  He held his own just fine.  

 Grandma and Lolly.

 Lindsey & Mary.

 My Sister, McKenna and I.

 Pam flew in from San Francisco to be a part of such a great day.  I was so excited she came out.  She and Mom came over so she could see the nursery, still a work in progress.  My very first baby sitter, Pat Davis.  I couldn't believe she came!  It was so good to see her.  She still tells stories of me up through the age of 5 and all the funny things we did.  I can't wait for them both to meet LMNO. 

 Sarah & Jaci (aka Mamaw).

 Show Stoppers!  Miss Sedona & Miss Ashlyn. 

 My Aunt Julie.

 My 3 little helpers.  I've never seen such enthusiasm for taking tissue paper to the garbage.  These 3 rocked it like champs.  I'd like to think we'd still be sitting there without all their help.  They were little rockstars! 

 Miss Layne DeGraff.  She's already volunteered to babysit.  Layne, darling, be careful what you wish for.  I will take you up on this! :)

 Miss Heidi Ann. 

 Greatest Gift EVER!  The gift that keeps on giving to Mom's all over the world.  I'd never heard of this before but apparently they make little tester strips for your breast milk.  The testers tell you how much alcohol is in your milk, that way you know whether or not to pump and dump or feed normally.  Yes, it's slightly disturbing how incredibly fabulous I think this is but better be safe in the long run.  Based on what everyone's telling me, I'll be too tired to drink anyway, but something tells me I'll have a use for these strips.  Maybe not right away but definitely in the future.  Thank you Layne and Heidi for knowing way more about babies and breast milk then me!  You're a life savor! 

 Priceless reaction!  Miss Ashlyn is so charismatic I'm glad we got this on film.  You'd have thought I'd opened a million dollars in diamonds the way she reacted to this hat.  Yes, Ashlyn it is a pretty fabulous hat.  I do agree! 

 So many stylish outfits and goodies!

 Mom had the biggest gift of all.  The travel system!  Whoohoo!  Can't wait to break in the new stroller and car seat.  

 Lolly in deep thought about what to put on her bingo card.  Great game!  Guests fill in their own bingo card as to what they think you'll open and as gifts are opened you get to mark off a square.  The first one to bingo wins!  

 Mamaw got LMNO's first golf set!  Justin just cracked up when I showed him.  Like Daddy like daughter she's all set for her first time on the green.  

Such a nice day with great friends and family.  I'm so grateful for each and everyone of you who've been a part of my life.  LMNO's already coming into the world the luckiest girl ever.  She has no idea the amount of love she's about to experience.  Thank you again for such an amazing day! 

Baby Shower

Wow!  What an amazing day!  Mom and McKenna did such a great job putting on the best baby shower a daughter/sister could as for.  The food was amazing and the decor was so cute.  Baby LMNO is the luckiest baby in the world to be born into such a loving family. 

Look how spoiled LMNO already is!  We couldn't be more grateful!  The creativity of the gifts and level of cuteness is to die for!  From little head bands, to womb bears (that don't turn off - haha), to diapers and strollers along with everything in between!  I can't wait to organize on my days off this week.  I'll update with more pictures soon. 

Baby's first golf set!  Justin loved this! 

While our home is busy getting ready for our newest addition to the family, Justin brought home his own new addition.  A mountain bike.  Not just any mountain bike, I might add... Oh no, this bike is so special it has to stay inside the house when it's not being taken through the mountains.  ...Oh Joy....  Being that this is an argument I'm apparently not going to win, it's new permanent home will be in the closet under the stairs next to the vacuum.  That's the best I can do. 

Since beginning Justin's fallen into a cactus, has countless bruises, and this morning, scraped up his shin pretty good.  No pain no gain right?  He apparently loves his new hobby and as long as he keeps coming home unbroken I'm good with it.  At least it's not a motorcycle or a corvette right?

    Here I am at 33 weeks.  That's 49 days to go!  EEEeeek!!

Carbs and Diabetes

What a fun post name!  Carbs and Diabetes.  This has Debbie Downer written all over it right?  Nah, it's not that bad.  I wouldn't do that to my favorite readers.  All two of you deserve better than that.

At 28ish weeks the Dr. has you drink this sugar drink that tastes exactly like Hawaiian Punch and then an hour later they draw blood.  What they're attempting to do is see how your body reacts to sugar and whether or not it processes it well.  They make you wait a week to find out the results so it's not like a cupcake or 7 will really make a difference while you wait to hear back right? 

Well lucky me I left my meeting Wednesday morning with the dreaded voicemail from Dr. B's office.  Keep in mind that when they leave a voicemail it's never bright, shiny and happy.  It's "this is such and such from Dr. B's office and we have a few things we need to go over with you."  They NEVER tell you on the voicemail what they want to talk about either, they make you wait and sweat it out.  I swear they do this on purpose.  So after having two amazingly wonderful vanilla cupcakes at my office meeting, yes, I had two.   I make the call. 

The news is much better than expected as it turns out I'm anemic and need more Iron in my diet.  Here I'm thinking SWEET!  I'm just anemic!  Rock on!  Apparently that's not a good thing and it's kind of a big deal if left un treated.  So now I get to take supplements in addition to my prenatal vitamins. 

Me:  That's it?  So I'm not diabetic?  I passed my glucose test!?! 
Nurse:  Well, that's what we wanted to talk to you about. 
Me:  Oh Shit. 

As it turns out I passed my test by ONE point!  Apparently anything over a 129 is bad, but lucky me I got a whopping score of 128!!  Whooohooo!  The Nurse wasn't as amused especially when I told her how happy I was and that I just scarfed down two cupcakes.  I got a nice lecture about how carbs are bad and that I need to be eating a more nutritious diet such as leafy greens, lean protein, fruits and vegetables.  That night I had a salad for dinner.

My pictures are on hiatus.  Jessica my esteemed photographer was out sick last weekend and this weekend I'm selling in a different community.  I can assure you my stomach is only getting bigger.  The good news is, is that everything else appears to be getting smaller.  Its the same thing that happens when you're in an airplane.  The higher you get the smaller everything else appears to be.  You know, same concept applies here.  I'm still waiting for my boobs to grow.  Everyone says they will.  I have high hopes, but so far I'm not impressed.   

Home Construction is Done!

The last few weeks at the McConkey home have been a real cluster but I'm happy to report we are finished!  The painters, electrician, drywaller and security door installer man all did such a great job! I'm so excited to show you all the final product.  I'm hoping with these items off my list my "nesting" phase will be over. 



Our New Front Door and new Light

The electrician moved the chandelier so it would be centered over the table.  Lowe's sent me a new Chandelier to hang as well.  Well....after I paid for it they sent it to me.  The drywaller did a great job patching the hole.  You can't even tell anything happened to the ceiling.   



Our living room has a new ceiling fan and freshly painted walls. 

  I still have yet to take a picture of LMNO's room and the guest bathroom.  Something to keep you all on the edge of your seats.  I know you can hardley contain yourselves.  :)

Tuesday we had the pleasure of seeing our growing little one for the last time via ultra sound.  This had to be the most stressful and wonderful of them all.  I say stressful because the last time we went in for an ultra sound Dr. B let me know there was a cyst inside my little baby's brain.  She then proceeded to tell me that this happens often and by week 24 the cyst usually goes away on its own, however it was her duty as a Dr. to let me know.  Me:  Um....okay?     So basically for the last 10 weeks I've been nervously wondering what we'd see in this ultra sound.  Low and behold the brain was the first thing the tech looked at and No cyst!  Hallelujah! 

LMNO was quite active for us, she was blinking (totally weird btw), yawning, and playing with her feet.  It was the cutest thing ever.  In this pic below you can see her eye's open.  I know kinda freaky but totally cool at the same time.

 This picture is one of many 3D pictures we received.  As Justin said, "She looks like you!"  I'm like, why because she's alll distorted?  Uh, thanks Babe.  This is probably the best one of the many we got to take home with us but it's still hard to see.  It looks like she's posing with her hand on her cheek.  I'm sure she'll be a natural in front of the camera.  Yep taking after her Mom already ;-). 

LMNO's weighing in at 3lbs, 3oz (60th percentile) and Mama's weighing in at, well, that's a secret but I'm happy to report that I've only gained 1lb in 5 weeks.  Whooohoo!  18lbs total.  With any luck I may stay right around the recommended 25lb - 35lb weight gain mark.  The first set of #'s is preferred. 

Lindsey, Sheri and Sarah sent out baby shower invites on Monday.  They're so cute!  I'm so lucky to have such great friends and family to literally shower us with love.  I now know why they call it a Baby "Shower."  I'm counting down the days till October 13th and October 27th arrive, can't wait!

Oh Crockett....

 With all the attention LMNO's been getting lately I believe Crockett's beginning to feel neglected.  He's started to be rebellious in recent weeks and has a bit of an attitude growing.  It could be his version of the terrible 2's, but that would mean he's a teenager in dog years.  So I guess I get it, I mean who doesn't know a teenager with a little tude?  I know part of this is my fault as his Frisbee throwing sessions are somewhat limited with the heat and my inability to bend over as easy.  Not to mention trying to play tug of war with a 100lb German Shepherd isn't exactly a good idea given my current state.

So here are a few pictures of my favorite puppy being himself.  I know he doesn't check my blog on a regular basis but I hope he knows how much I love him.  





Greatest silhouette ever! 

 Here he is watching Glee's Britney 2.0.  He's "Not That Innocent..."

Caught in the act!



So the funniest thing about Crockett is he LOVES tomato's.  No seriously, you don't understand.  The other night we had a plate full of steaks sitting on the counter and next to it a plate of diced tomato's.  What did he steal of the counter?  The Tomato's of course!  He's so funny!  You can't even say the word tomato without his ears perking up, he gets so excited.  So instead of bones and treats in his stalking this year, Crockett will be getting, you guessed it, tomato's! 





29 Weeks

77 days to go!  LMNO's now the size of a small cabbage or an acorn squash.  I think I need to start eating my vegetables because I don't know what half these things look like?  She's now 17 inches long which is crazy  because she'll probably be a similar height when she's born.  At only 2.5lbs she's got a lot of chub to gain before she makes her debut.  Can't wait to see those numbers on the scale increase even more.....Oh Goody!! 

 McKenna and Mom sent out the invites for my baby shower this week.  I couldn't believe how adorably cute they are!  They did such a good job!  And how cute is this....

"My sister is almost due and I can't wait for the baby to laugh and coo,  Her little girl will be loved by our family a whole bunch, So please come and join me for a Saturday Brunch"

I just love, love, love it!  And how cute is this!  It's in a little diaper!  I can't wait for October to get here!  First Mom and McKenna's shower at the beginning of the month and then Lindsey, Sheri and Sarah's shower at the end of the month.  With so much love from family and friends October will definitely be one to remember. 

Let the 3rd Trimester Begin!

28 Weeks today.  That means 84 more days to go or 12 weeks and counting.  I feel like it took forever for the first 28 weeks to get through but now that I'm only 12 weeks away,  I'm freaking out!  So instead of stressing I'm going to think of it in a different perspective.  With only 12 more weeks that means in 12 weeks I'll be able to eat a turkey sandwich from Port o' Subs.  Start fitting into my regular clothes.  I can drink a coke and not stress over the amount of caffeine I've had in a day.  Better yet, I'll be able to NOT pee every 4 minutes.  And the absolute #1  thing to look forward to in 12 more weeks is WINE! 

Oh wait, I mean the best part will be meeting my little mini me...She says anticlimactically.  This is probably strike one against Mom of the Year award.  Choosing wine over baby is generally not perceived as positive.  Well, on the bright side I have 12 more weeks to work on my priorities.  :)

My to do list is getting shorter by the week.  The electrician will be here on Monday to install ceiling fans, light dimmers, an outside light and move my chandelier.  The drywall/painter will be in the following week.  The carpet and tile will be cleaned in 2 weeks and my security doors I ordered are ready and will be installed next week.  For the sake of my check book I need this nesting phase to be over with pronto. 

In the meantime my bump continues to grow and look ridiculous.  Remind me to take a picture of my actual belly so I can show my daughter, Reason #1 of why NOT to get a belly button ring when you're 18.  The holes now just look weird.  The belly button's a separate issue.  We're still an inny for now but with 12 more weeks to go I don't think the inny stands a chance.  Outtie here we come!

The baby now has a nickname thanks to Roxanne Link.  Her new name other than "Baby" is L-M-N-O-Pee  (as in the alphabet with No Pee at the end).  Get it?  Since I'm always peeing?  Okay I know, enough is enough already regarding my blatter!  But LMNO is moving like no other.  I had no idea babies moved this much.  It makes me laugh because I think back to all the conversations I've ever had with pregnant women in the past, and I now know they were never listening to a word I said.  You can't help but only think of the movement in your tummy when it's happening.  It's the weirdest feeling, a welcome distraction and hard to describe. 

Jessica asked me today what she feels like and I immediately said I can tell you what it doesn't feel like, butterfly kisses.  This is what all the websites and books tell you.  They say to look and feel for Butterfly kisses.  What the heck is a butterfly kiss?  Do butterflies make out?  And who even knows what that feels like?  And ewe!  

I'd say the first few times you think you feel something it feels similar to rubbing your tongue against the side of your mouth.  It's a smooth feeling back and forth.  Then as she grows the movements get more distinct, kinda like a muscle spasm in your leg or twitch in your arm.  LMNO's now at the point where when she kicks or fist pumps I can actually see my shirt move.  Now that's gotta be the weirdest yet coolest thing in the world. 

In regards to the "fist pump" analogy, no I do not think LMNO's going to be a future Guidette or a mini Snookie.  (Shutter)  I just can't figure out where her feet and hands are.  She's still laying on her back, kinda like in a hammock at this point.  So one minute it feels like she's kicking on the left then I immediately feel her kicking on the right.  Knowing that's not really possible I figure she's raising the roof and having an all out dance party in my uterus.

After telling my Mom this story she decided I'll be having a C-section.  I'm like Mom, calm down, we've got 12 weeks for her to get into position.  Of course now that I've said this I'm sure I jinxed it and I'll be stuck in major surgery.  Eek!  Fingers crossed she's wrong.   
   

Weekend at Desert Ridge

Mom had a condo at Desert Ridge for the week so McKenna and I met her up there for some fun in the sun on Wednesday afternoon.   Beautiful area, huge resort with 4 different pools.  We sat near the lazy river and had lunch while catching some rays.

 Pregnant people and inner tubes do not belong in the same sentence.  First of all getting in an out of a tube used to be a cake walk, no questions asked, you slip in and slip out.  Simple as that right?  Nope.  I had to get in my tube by literally walking to an area that had steps high enough for me to sit my booty into the tube and fall into the water.  Then once you sit back, gravity yanks your butt down squishing your stomach and makes your feet and legs go straight up to the sky.  Can we say awkward?  Then once you get settled you realize you have no control as to which way you're going and how fast.  So I was always 10 feet in front of McKenna.  Luckily, the good thing about the lazy river is half way around there's a bathroom, which I used every 20 minutes. 

I took a picture of the silver exit "help you get out of the water" poles because the image that comes to mind when thinking of me and my big belly attempting to pull myself out of the water  is similar to that of a Manatee trying to exit a lazy river at Desert Ridge.  Graphic yes I know, but true.     

After being by the pool Mom and I headed to Kierland to walk around the shops.  I had a craving for coconut shrimp so we made our way to Tommy Bahama's for appetizers and dessert.  Sangria and a virgin strawberry daiquiri for me to get us started.  Then Coconut shrimp & scallop sliders YUM-O!  And for dessert, this amazing concoction below.   Seriously the greatest thing I've ever tasted.  Oreo crust with a chocolate mouse filling, To Die For! 

27 Weeks and Counting...

 The crib is built and all put together!  Yeah!  Nicole and I got out the allen wrenches the other night and adjusted the bed to the correct height.  We should probably put Roxi in it to make sure it holds but I feel confident in our abilities that the bed won't break.  Fingers crossed. 

Sherwin Williams has the perfect paint for her room too!  It's called Awesome Violet.  How cute is that?  Her ceiling fan will be installed next week and then the painters will be in sometime after.  Lots happening this month!  The goal is for it all to be finished by the end of September. 

27 weeks marks the end of my 2nd trimester and the start of the 3rd.  I have a few things to look forward to in the next couple of weeks, such as, my final ultrasound, find out if I have gestational diabetes, and gain more weight.  Yipee!

At 27 weeks my baby is now the size of a Rutabaga.  What the heck is that?  I've also read that she's comparable to a cauliflower head as well as a 2.2lb - 15 inch cucumber.  That's one hell of a cucumber!  The things these websites come up with, I tell ya!  

Jess told me to come up with a nickname for the baby as she's tired of calling it baby.  So I text Justin to ask him his input.  He said "Bladder Puncher."  I'm like, well, I guess that's accurate but is there a way to make that sound cuter?  His reply, "Cute Bladder Puncher."  So basically I'm open to suggestions for nicknames at this point.