11 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights...

How Far Along: I'm 11 weeks!

Size Of Baby: Baby Hornaday is the size of a fig.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 5 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I am still wearing all of my normal clothes, but my pants are getting tighter and tighter. This week I had to do the hairband trick a few days and I also bought a belly band! I've not used the belly band yet, but I'm excited to try it out!

Gender: We are SO excited to find out!

Movement: No movement yet, but I CANNOT wait to feel this sweet baby move!

Sleep: I have continued to sleep great. I've had a good amount of energy during the day and evening, but by 10:00 I just can't stay awake. I am so thankful to be sleeping so well!

What I Miss: Pop!! I would do about anything for a large McDonald's coke :) The Quiznos in our town just reopened, so I'm also missing being able to go there for lunch!

Cravings: This week I've been craving pizza, bbq chicken wings, and McDonald's.

Symptoms: This week I felt pretty good. I've had a few really bad headaches, but luckily they happened at night and I could just relax. I've also forgotten to mention how stuffy I have been this whole pregnancy! At first, I thought it was just allergies, but it's not going away. This only really bothers me at night and it's nothing big, but I want to document it!

Best Moment This Week: The best thing this week has just been watching my belly grow. I texted James one morning this week saying how I almost could not button a pair of my capris. He wrote back saying "That just means the baby is growing!" He's so right, and it's exactly what we want... a growing, healthy, baby :) Feeling so blessed to have this miracle inside of me!

10 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights...

How Far Along: I'm 10 weeks!

Size Of Baby: Baby Hornaday is the size of a prune.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 4 lbs (I was using different scales, so this could be a little off!)

Maternity Clothes: I am still wearing all of my normal clothes, but my pants are feeling pretty snug!

Gender: We are SO excited to find out!

Movement: No movement yet, but I CANNOT wait to feel this sweet baby move!

Sleep: I have been sleeping great! I'm still falling asleep on the couch most nights before 10:00, but this week I've had a more energy than I've had in a while.

What I Miss: Pop!! I had the craziest dream last night about wanting a coke from McDonald's :)

Cravings: This week I've been craving cottage cheese, pizza, cinnamon toast, and apples! James has been so good about going to eat where I want and cutting up apples whenever I want one!

Symptoms: This week I felt great. The feeling of complete exhaustion has seemed to pass and I really have not felt sick at all. Such a blessing!

Best Moment This Week: Last night James and I went on a date to Ft. Wayne. After dinner and shopping at Target and the mall, we made our first trip to Babies-R-Us! It was so fun to look at all the baby things, and to start talking about what we like and what we will need. James looked over at me while we were looking at all the baby stuff and said, "You have the biggest smile on your face right now!"

9 Weeks!

I was 9 weeks on Sunday! A couple of the blogs I read have done this "pregnancy highlights" post each week of their pregnancy. I love the idea and absolutely want to do my best to record and remember every moment of this pregnancy!

Pregnancy Highlights...

How Far Along: I'm 9 weeks!

Size Of Baby: Baby Hornaday is the size of an olive.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 4 lbs (I was using different scales, so this could be a little off!)

Maternity Clothes: I am currently wearing all of my normal clothes, but my skinny jeans are definitely tighter than they have ever been!

Gender: We are SO excited to find out!

Movement: No movement yet, but I CANNOT wait to feel this sweet baby move!

Sleep: I have been absolutely exhausted! I fall asleep on the couch almost every night by 10:00! I have been sleeping very well during the night, which I have been so thankful for. I have been getting up 1-2 times a night to use the restroom, which I would rarely do before being pregnant.
What I Miss: Pop!! Oh goodness do I miss it!

Cravings: At first I was craving Mexican. Lately I've been craving fruit, especially apples.

Symptoms: I have really been so blessed with a great pregnancy so far. I've hardly felt sick. Weeks 6 and 7 I felt nauseous some throughout the day, but that is mostly gone! I have been really tired, especially after teaching 2nd grade all day!

Best Moment This Week: We had our first Doctor appointment last Thursday, and it was so exciting just to be there and talk with our Doctor and Nurse. We did not get to hear the heartbeat, but can't wait for that at our next appointment!

Blessed!

We could not be more excited about this precious gift from God. I have wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember, and I'm so thankful I have been given the opportunity! James and I are feeling so happy and blessed.

Looking for a good book?

Reading has always been one of my favorite hobbies. I just love getting lost in a good book! I find that during the school year I have a hard time getting through novels. (I'm going to work on changing that this year!) However, during the summer I'm able to get caught up on all the good books I've been wanting to read. I read some wonderful books this summer! I enjoy all genres of stories. Mystery and romance novels are at the top of my list, but this summer I read a good variety of books! Here is a list of the books I have read recently in no particular order!

The Last Song
Written By Nicholas Sparks

Same Kind of Different As Me
Written By Ron Hall and Denver Moore

First Family
Written By David Baldacci

The 8th Confession
Written By James Patterson

The Pact (A Love Story)
Written By Jodi Picoult

True Blue
Written By David Baldacci

And the Shofar Blew
Written By Francine Rivers

Her Mother's Hope
Written By Francine Rivers

I would highly recommend all of these books to anyone. Well, all except one, but I'll get to that in a minute! It's hard for me to pick a favorite because I really loved all of them and Francine Rivers, David Baldacci, and Nicholas Sparks are my favorite authors. BUT, if I had to pick JUST ONE I'd choose "The Same Kind of Different as Me." This story is a true account of the lives of Ron Hall and Denver Moore and how their journey's through life intersect. I laughed, I cried, and I could not put the book down! The one book I did not enjoy was "The Pact (A Love Story)." I know people rave about Jodi Picoult as an author, but this story was just depressing. It had bad language and I did not enjoy the whole premise of the story.
I'm excited to start "The Shack" as my next book to read. What are some good books you've read lately?

Mexican Pizza

I love to cook and I'm always looking for new recipes. I came across this recipe for Mexican Pizza and thought I should share it! It's quick, easy, and so delicious!

I found these Tostada Shells at Aldi's!

Here's what you will need:

-tostada shells

-refried beans

-1/2 pound ground beef cooked and seasoned with taco seasoning

-shredded cheddar cheese

-taco sauce

-chopped tomatoes and black olives (I don't add these, because I'm not a vegetable fan, but I do add the olives for James)

Preheat your oven to 400*F

Place tostada shells on cookie sheet

Layer heated refried beans, ground beef, and cheese on tostada shells

Place another tostada shell on top

Spread taco sauce on top of shell and top with cheese, tomatoes, and black olives if desired

Cook at 400*F for 8 minutes

Enjoy :)

4th of July

I love all holidays. The 4th of July is always fun around the lakes. This past weekend was full of fun 4th of July activities and I loved every minute of it!

On Friday Lisa, Mandy, and I met for lunch at Spikes. I don't go to Spikes often, but it has such a fun atmosphere. It's all outdoor eating with sand volleyball courts and a stage for bands and singers. It's quieter at lunch than dinner, and we had a great time talking, eating, and being outside!




After lunch we headed to Mandy's mom's house to spend the afternoon on the lake. The house is gorgeous, with a wonderful back deck and a huge yard right on the water. I would love to have a house like them one day!! The weather was perfect and we got to enjoy the wave runners, the water, and the sun.




Friday night James and I went golfing and watched the movie Up!


Saturday James and I drove to Indy for Loretta and Caleb's wedding. Loretta and I met in college. Her cousin Anna and I were roommates our Freshmen year at Indiana Wesleyan. It was so good to see all my best friends from college. Meagan and Loretta live in Oregon and Liz lives in Colorado, so we don't see each other often. The wedding was beautiful and I am so happy for Loretta and Caleb!












We drove back to Warsaw Saturday night after the wedding and Erika and Alex stayed the night at our house. We got up Sunday morning and James, Alex, Erika, and I all went to lunch. It was great to see the two of them! Sunday afternoon James and I were able to relax and get things done around the house. I also made these cupcakes!


I made the cupcakes for a little 4th of July get together we had with our friends Sunday night. The Harstine family and James and I went over to the Duncan's house for fun, food, and fireworks! We had a great time. We had another beautiful evening and really enjoyed the time with friends!

I am so thankful for all of the men and women that are fighting or have fought to give us the freedom that we have. I feel very blessed to live in a country that gives us the freedom to make our own choices. I hope you all had a wonderful 4th!