Holiday Spirit

The count down to Christmas is on! We've already watched a few of our favorite holiday movies and made a few of our favorite holiday treats, but what we're really excited for this year is Samson! Last year we were anxiously awaiting his arrival and couldn't even imagine what having a little boy crawling around the Christmas tree this year would look like. Samson decided to up the ante a bit for us by reaching a few exciting milestones during this very special season. 

Last Friday, after sustaining an accidental boo-boo courtesy of his furry brother Cash, Samson decided to turn everyone's frown upside down by taking his first steps! I was on the phone with my mom when I set him down, he stood right up and walked straight to me, arms up and ready for a hug!  I'm pretty sure I melted in to a big, proud, emotional momma puddle. 

Walking solo wasn't the only exciting thing Samson had in mind though. This morning, I went to pick him up from his crib after his nap when I noticed his big gummy smile had a little something extra to it... his first tooth! 

We had a few fun props that were left over from a Christmas party we had for the student workers in Aaron's office last week. I thought they would be perfect for our little elf and his trusty side kick. Taking pictures of Samson and Cash is hard enough... add  sparkly hat (or antlers) and it's a whole new struggle. However, the out takes themselves are funny enough, hope you get a kick out of them :)

                                                   

A baby in a bow tie

Becoming a six month old is a big deal. Samson can check off all the boxes on the long list of accomplishments the pediatrician will tell you to watch for. We are so proud of every milestone he reaches & we gladly cheer him on & coax him to the next one. However, I'm still in total disbelief that we are halfway to having a one year old! It feels as if Samson has been a part of our lives forever, but it also just feels like he just got here! Time just blurs together, managing to both crawl & speed by in the blink of an eye. But, I wanted to pause it for just a moment & capture some of the sweetness to hold on to. In honor of his half birthday I snapped some pictures of Samson, aka Sam, aka SamBam, aka SammerJammer, aka Baby Bear, aka Squirrel (he has daddy to thank for thank one), aka Cash's brother, aka he cutest baby who ever lived. Without further adieu...

Sweet little birthmark on his back & his fluffy cloth diaper bum.

And just in case you think you can turn your back on your baby for even a second...

Reality: can't even put him down without Cash being right next to him.

Weekdays with Samson

Last week was my first full week at home with Samson since Aaron went back to work. I'm on maternity leave for the next couple of months, but once I return to work my weekdays with Samson will remain the same. It is something I have been planning for before we even got pregnant, but once Samson was actually here I wondered what it was really going to be like to be a stay home momma.

When it came to becoming a momma, I had no idea what to expect. Aaron & I didn't take any classes & I have yet to open any kind of pregnancy or parenting book. It wasn't that we didn't talk about or dream about what becoming a family would mean, but the truth is there is nothing anyone can tell you to prepare you for parenthood. There have been several times I have been heard saying "I wish someone would have told me..." in the last two (almost three) weeks and I'm fairly certain we are running Google to max capacity with all the questions we've had.

All of sleeplessness aside, I love all the time I get to spend getting to know our son. I love watching his expressions while he naps and I love watching him observe the world around him while he is awake. I've affectionately given him the nickname Little Bear and I think he is one of the cutest babies ever. I mean seriously, look at him.

Favorite milestone of week 2 : We have a belly button folks! I woke up in the wee hours of the morning last week to change Samson's diaper & feed him. To my surprise when I opened the diaper I saw a belly button where his umbilical stump had been a few hours prior. I tell you what, it's the cutest little belly button I have ever seen.

Parenting fail : Last week I experienced the first peeing while "air drying" incident (not to be confused with first time he peed/pooped without a diaper on, because that has happened, a lot). Samson was laying on a blanket on the living room floor so his skin breathe a little bit. Cash was laying next to him when the water works started and was directly in the line of fire. I worked as fast as I could to cover Samson with a diaper, but I wasn't fast enough to wipe the pee off of Cash before he licked it off of himself. Oops.

Parenting high-five : Friday I was able to simultaneously bottle-feed Samson, pump & play fetch with Cash. I was so proud. 

Momma's lifesaver : Coffee. And a combination of the mamaRoo, the bouncer & the boppy. Samson sleeps so well, but between getting stuff done around the house, hanging out with Aaron & participating in my new favorite hobby pumping *sarcasm* I rarely get enough sleep.

Adventures together : Last week we visited daddy at work, went to my dermatologist appointment, and took Cash to the vet for his annual wellness visit. The later two we were accompanied by my mom, because holy smokes, can you imagine toting around a car seat and a huge black lab 2 weeks post-partum? No way.

Yesterday, I took Samson to Target (where else?). While I was pushing him around with Starbucks in hand, I realized how amazing it felt. I'm so proud of my beautiful son and I am so amazed with who I have become. I've finally made it to motherhood: perfect baby, yoga pants, fancy diaper bag & all.

40 weeks

I didn't get this up fast enough, so it's taken a while to get it online since we've brought Samson home. Aaron snapped this picture of me right before we left for the hospital, it's blurry because we were so excited I just didn't care. I wrote a few quick notes to keep up with my weekly updates while I was being induced but, didn't get around to posting them until today. One of the last ever pictures of me & my lovely bump. 

Today : 40 weeks + 1 day

Weight Gain :  30 pounds

Maternity Clothes : My end of pregnancy wardrobe includes non-maternity yoga pants or leggings and my maternity shirts with a nice long tank top. My last day of work before maternity leave I was wearing medium scrub bottoms and a medium scrub top. My clothes can’t stretch much further!

Stretch marks : None that I can see yet!

Sleep : Still fairly difficult to get and stay comfortable with this big belly. I am beyond exhausted though!

Sickness : None!

Movement :  Little man is still moving around like crazy in here! Soon he’ll stop using his energy to kick my ribs and instead have to start focusing on making his way out of here, so I’m pretty excited about that.

Cravings : Still loving Dr. Pepper… had Aaron pick me up one last one on his way home from work this afternoon before we went to our doctor’s appointment.

Exciting happenings : Full term baby! Getting induced TONIGHT!

39 weeks

Today : 39 weeks + 5 days

Weight Gain :  29-30 pounds ... at the point, this is a total guess. I had lost weight at my doctor's appointment last week, but I think I have gained a few since. At this point, I don't care one bit what the scale says, I have a fully formed, full sized infant in my belly. Pretty impressive if you ask me!

Maternity Clothes : I have worn (non-maternity) yoga pants for the past several weeks. Jeans are 100% overrated, even with an elastic waist. However, I'm stretching my maternity tops to new lengths. Literally, they are hardly long enough anymore. 

Stretch marks : Pretty sure the answer is still no. According to Aaron there aren't any. However, the southern hemisphere of my belly has long been out of sight, so I might be surprised with a few once I can see below my belly-button again.

Sleep : Between frequent bathroom breaks and needing a fork lift to roll from my right to left side and vice versa when my hips/knees get sore, I spend a lot of my sleeping hours awake. I've always been a fan of naps, so I've managed okay ;)

Sickness : A little more heartburn than usual, but otherwise feeling really good.

Movement : Samson has been moving a little less this week, which gives me hope that maybe he is starting to conserve some energy for d-day. I can't wait until we see him and I can match the knees and feet that have been poking through my belly for the past 9 months. 

Cravings : No food/drink cravings. More than anything I'm ready to meet this little guy!

Exciting happenings : We are TWO days away from our due date. Keep in mind I was born via c-section 12 days after my due date and Aaron was born via c-section 10 days after his due date. I'm trying to keep an open mind as to when and how he comes. Honestly, as long as we get to bring home our healthy little boy I don't care how he gets here. 

Aaron and I tried to take advantage of the past several days together since he was off work for the holidays. We've watched movies, shopped, worked on house projects and spent a lot of time spoiling Cash. I had to snap a picture of my guys on one of our last family walks before Samson makes us a party of four!

38 weeks

Today : Today is 39 weeks! This picture is from Friday, when I was 38 weeks + 5 days

Weight Gain : 27 lbs ... thankfully I seem to have leveled out for now.

Maternity Clothes : Yes... starting to get pretty excited about what will happen when I get my normal wardrobe back! I'm going to have so many more outfit options... who knows how long it will actually take me to be able to fit back into them though.

Stretch marks : Still nothing to talk about. My belly button is pretty solidly poking through all my shirts though.

Sleep : Would be much better if I wasn't getting up a million times a night to go to the bathroom... also what is happening to my hips? I am so sore. Holy guacamole!

Sickness : My 12 hour work days finally caught up with me last weekend. It was the first time I noticed swelling in my feet. My back was so painful and sore I was literally sick and throwing up all night on Sunday/Monday. Needless to say, I cut back to 8 hour shifts this weekend and my boss is letting me pick my hours next weekend (yes I plan on working until this child is born.. what can I say, I love my job!)

Movement : I think I'm going to have a very active little boy. He has been nothing but wild my entire pregnancy. Yesterday we had a full house and Samson was moving around like crazy letting us know he was part of the party already. 

Cravings : Obviously Christmas cookies. That's the only explanation for the amount of sugar that I consumed this week...

Exciting happenings : Cash's last Christmas as an only child! I love this time of year and while it would have been fun to celebrate with Samson, it was nice to have one last year just us and the dog. We didn't do much to celebrate Christmas in the "traditional" sense, we actually didn't buy a single present for each other. This year Christmas meant a whole lot more than presents as we reflected on God's presence in our lives. The magnitude of God's gift to us seems even more monumental when we consider our own son and the tremendous sacrifice of God sending his Son to Earth to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Joy to the world, indeed!

After being so sick on Monday at my 38 week appointment, my doctor is thankfully extremely sympathetic to the "Get this baby out of my womb," cause. I'm so thankful for this entire pregnancy and this entire process, but I am more than ready to meet our son and see his beautiful face. We can't wait to count his ten fingers and his ten toes and whisper how much we love him before kissing his sweet cheeks. 

Merry Christmas from The West's!

35 weeks

Today : 35 weeks + 5 days

Weight Gain : 25 lbs, same as last week

Maternity Clothes : Yep

Stretch marks : Nope. Belly button is approximately 1/2 in and 1/2 out and I guess I'd forgotten to mention I got that weird dark line down my belly a couple months ago, it's hard to miss now that my belly is out-to-here. 

Sleep : Elusive. I try to sleep as much as possible, but I'm still waking up at the crack of dawn! Thankfully, my weekday no-work schedule allows Cash & I to take a nice long nap in the morning after Aaron leaves for work. 

This is Cash letting me know we have slept long enough.

Sickness : Nothing this week except for one night of crazy acid reflux and my usual carpal tunnel fun & games.

Movement :  Yes! Sunday and Monday Samson was moving around like CRAZY. I'm a little nervous that he was working on switching positions, but it feels like he is still in the same head down position. We'll have to see what the doctor says at my 36 week appointment on Monday.

Cravings : I have been feeling some serious urges for chocolate lately. Not sure if that can be tied to pregnancy, but I've only got one more month to play that card so we'll just pretend, okay?

Exciting happenings : We started decorating for Christmas this week. I'm really feeling pregnant in the way that prevents me from bending over to pick things off the floor, so watching me arrange the tree skirt had to have been hilarious. Also there is a loose bulb somewhere in the top 12" of the tree but there is no way I see it ending well if I climb up on a chair to try and fix it, so we'll just let it stay dark. We'll call it "ombre lighting." Also there is no tree topper yet for the same reason. Eventually I think Aaron will start to feel festive and help a preggo out. 

Bah humbug.

We are making some strides in the nursery and I have done three loads of baby laundry, which is probably one of the cutest things ever. I took the time to fold his clothes, but I'm fully aware that there will come a day that I will literally throw them in the drawers unfolded (or leave them in the basket?) and that's totally okay... I will look back at pictures of the stacks of tiny folded laundry and laugh (or cry) at how much free time I once had.

This was at the beginning when I started pulling out the tiny little moose clothes. SO CUTE!

I have been working on a cloth diaper post, or two, and I expect to have it up sometime next week. I'm not expecting to have a full nursery post up until after there is a baby to show off the space MTV Cribs style (literally) but I'll make sure to include a few early sneak peeks before D-Day, which as of yesterday is less than a month away!

34 weeks

Today : 34 weeks + 6 days

Weight gain : 25 lbs ... If I'm being honest, it's not been easy to see the scale climb higher & higher. When I first started noticing the "fullness" of pregnancy in my face, I might have cried.. but I try to remind myself that there will be days that I will miss this and I am so blessed to be able to experience this little miracle growing inside me.

Maternity clothes : Yep, regular shirts just don't cut it anymore. I am definitely wearing more leggings and yoga pants that maternity jeans though.. Pants are overrated.

Stretch marks : Nada. I might have high-fived my doctor this week when she said my belly looked really good & she didn't think I'd end up with any stretch marks. No pregnant woman will ever hear that enough. Ever. Also, my belly button is strangely cute and weird poking through my shirts, but thankfully still not a full blown outtie.

Sleep : I feel like I could go into hibernation into Samson gets here. There are not enough hours in the day for sleep. Also, I've been waking up no later than 6 am everyday, apparently Samson thinks that's an awesome time to wake up. We are in for it.

Sickness/symptoms : I accidentally gagged myself while brushing my teeth last night. I've never thrown up like that before.. It was so bizarre! I am still having carpal tunnel issues due to the swelling in my hands, but I've learned to cope with it. I'm having Braxton Hicks everyday & poor Aaron has to deal with me asking for a back rub everyday, but Husband of the Year is doing a great job :)

Movement : Yes! We had pizza & ice cream for Aaron's birthday this week and Samson went bananas! Apparently he knew it was daddy's birthday and was ready to party!

Cravings : My love of Dr. Pepper is stronger than ever before.

Exciting Happenings : After an eventful week of work, I was a total zombie on Monday, but at my 34 week appointment, everything looked to be right on track. Samson's still head down & heartbeat is about 135 bpm.

We had a change of heart and decided to get a Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 30/30 carseat instead of the Chicco Keyfit 30 we initially had planned upon. I felt really strongly about buying our car seat sooner than later, because I was starting to have some anxiety about going into labor without having one. We also got a stroller it could click into (Peg Perego Vela Easy Drive) and although its not the all black Baby Jogger City Mini I had my heart set on, it is definitely growing on me! 

Cash is not quite sure about this contraption that will be accompanying him on his walks this spring.

This week Aaron turned 25, and since he accidentally took my keys to work with him I wasn't able to get to the grocery in order to make him a birthday meal or cake (which is why we had pizza & ice cream). My pregnant lady emotions got the best of me & I definitely cried about how I was "the worst wife ever" when he got home. Thankfully, the ice cream made me feel less sad about that. ;)

Aaron & I have been able to spend the past 4 days together, which is completely unheard of due to our opposite schedules, but has been so awesome. Spending quality time with people you love is something you should never take for granted.

Today is both my mom & dad's birthday and we were blessed to be able to spend the day with them, two of my three brothers and their wives, and our extended family in Ohio. My cousin's wife Kate & I shared an amazing baby shower thrown by people we love most. Week 34 has sure been good to us, I can't wait to see what's in store for us next week :)

My sister-in-law Ashley and her beautiful baby girls!

For the record: Just one baby for me and one baby for Kate, no twins here!

33 weeks

Today : 33 weeks + 6 days (this picture is from 2 days ago!)

Weight gain : 22-23 lbs ... I may or may not have accidently bought the biggest Dr Pepper available yesterday at the movie theater when I went to see Mockingjay. So after that, I'll be honest, I don't really want to know what the scale says.

Maternity Clothes : Yes! I just bought this blue dress from Old Navy in a size medium, non-maternity. It's so cute & comfortable!

Stretch marks : Still a no! Belly button is not officially an outtie, but it's visible through my t-shirts now. So weird!

Sleep : Getting more and more necessary and more and more elusive. Biology's weird trick of training you to be wide awake in the middle of the night in preparation for feeding a newborn is definitely not conducive to my 12 hour work days. 

Sickness : Acid reflux. Insomnia. Carpal tunnel. Braxton Hicks. Might not count as "sickness," but I definitely count it as terrible. Boo!

Movement : Yep. Just like when I saw Gone Girl, Samson went crazy for the surround sound at the movie theater. He's getting big enough to cause some trouble though, like making it hard to breathe when he pushes too hard against my ribs. Hopefully, he'll be nice to momma for the next couple weeks.

Cravings : FINALLY, after almost two weeks of anticipation, got my hands on a spicy Korean BBQ sandwich from Bahn Mi Barista (if you haven't been there, please go as soon you possibly can!) It's a little Vietnamese sandwich shop that my friend Holli got me hooked on last year.

Exciting happenings : Aaron's mom and one of my best friend's, Rachel, had baby showers for me last weekend. Both parties were so sweet and so special. Just as expected, Samson got a few pairs of those cute baby socks I talked about last week (one pair came with Batman capes attached) and some much needed baby essentials. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures from either shower. I was too busy opening gifts and I imagine everyone else was busy rangling their own babies. I can tell you that Aaron & I felt so loved and blessed by our friends and family. We are so thankful to be bringing Samson into such a great community.

In other cute news, Cash has been spending more and more time Samson's room with Aaron & I, as well as by himself. I think it's really pretty sweet that Cash has been taking his toys into Samson's room and he'll even curl up by his crib on occasion. I can't wait to see how he reacts when we bring his little brother home!

Cash's new favorite moose, Murphy. We bought him a toy to make up for the influx of baby gear...