Blogging while doing a fantasy football draft…this is an exercise in multi-tasking. It’s preparing me for when the baby gets here I suppose! I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend… we did, it just wasn’t long enough, as usual! Since I’m still running behind on my weekly updates, I’m going to turn this post into a Labor Day weekend recap/23 week update.

Last week was pretty busy at work, so I don’t have a whole lot to update! Our glider came in, and when Jon went to pick it up, only the glider had shipped, not the ottoman. We Jon got the glider put together, but is going to go by and pick up the ottoman sometime this week…can’t wait to get it so I can test out the whole thing! So, so far, in the nursery, we have: the glider, the crib mattress, and a super cute butterfly mobile that Jon picked out from Pottery Barn Kids. I just cannot wait for our furniture to come in so we can start to see it all come together!

This past Friday night, I got off work early (woo hoo!) and headed to the grocery store to get our tailgating food/supplies. I have recently started clipping coupons (I’m just doing it to save a few bucks, I am not going to be one of those people on “Extreme Couponing” on TLC) and ended up saving over $30 on everything, so I call that a success! I spent Friday afternoon and evening prepping food and making sure I had all my ducks in a row. We went to bed semi-early to rest up for the first day of football season 2011! :)

We both got up early (8 a.m) on Saturday; Jon had to mow, and I had to finish getting all the food together. We met up with our tailgating crew around noon (ok, ok, 12:30…but I tried to be on time) and headed out to Carter Finley! It was a beautiful day, sunny, but HOT, so I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. The food was delish (if I do say so myself), but I feel like I just ate, and drank water/gatorade all day! I literally drank 10 bottles of water during the tailgate…so as a result, I feel like I should have my own personal port-a-potty this season! ;) The boys (that is what I refer to our friends as—there were two other girls there on Saturday and about 20 boys) were all so sweet about the baby; they all asked me questions and told us how happy they were for us. Aaaaand of course they gave Jon and me both a hard time—several of them calculated how old they would be by the time Hadley is 18 (RUDE!)—since they will probably STILL be single then, hahahaha! We had a blast tailgating, hanging out and catching up with everyone…and I didn’t get annoyed with not being able to have a beer, not even once! I’ll post some pictures from the tailgate later this week once I get them uploaded. For now, here’s one that I took with my phone during the game…we were excited for football!

The first half of the game was rough for NC State—we were all just thinking, “grrrreaaat, here we go again.” Such is the life of a NC State fan, though, I suppose! Mike Glennon looked decent, but our offensive line left a LOT to be desired. Luckily we pulled it together somewhat in the 2nd half and we beat Liberty 43-21. I think that Hadley enjoyed her first (of many!) NC State game, as she pretty much kicked from the time I sat down in the stadium until the game was over! Jon also gave her a high five every time we scored, which was cute. :)

As much fun as we had all day Saturday, my feet unfortunately did NOT! That’s right, I guess I experienced my first “real” pregnancy symptom other than barfing every day for 3 months on Saturday evening. When we were walking back to the truck after the game was over, I told Jon that I was getting terrible blisters on my feet, which was so odd because I was wearing shoes that I wear all the time and they had NEVER given me blisters! When I got home, I realized why. My feet were sooo swollen! Proof:

Ouch. I thought it was WAY too early for that, at only 5 months! But, my googling told me otherwise, I read that a lot of women start noticing it around 5 months, especially in the hot summer months and when they are on their feet for a long time (check, and check!). I WAS on my feet most of the evening Friday night and pretty much ALL day on Saturday, in the heat, so I’m sure that is what did it. Next time I will have to remember to sit down every once in a while to keep that from happening.

Sunday morning, we got up, packed a bag, and headed to the lake to spend the rest of our Labor Day weekend with my family. Zack and his family and Miki and hers were all there, so we had a full house! We played on the lake Sunday afternoon, then had a yummy dinner on the grill with everyone plus my sweet Granny and Paw Paw. Sunday night, while I was laying on the couch and Hadley started doing her nightly routine of kicks/flips, Bekah got to feel her kick! It was cute, she squealed when she felt it. Miki had hoped to feel it, too, but unfortunately the baby did not want to cooperate before she went to bed.

Unfortunately, Monday was cloudy/rainy, but the boys finally got some brush burned that my Dad had been trying to do all summer but couldn’t because the water was too high—and the girls stayed inside and relaxed (Bekah, Miki and Kelley worked on a puzzle…and even I got sucked in toward the end even though puzzles are NOT my idea of fun). It was a very low-key day and I got some much-needed lounge time as well as time with my precious nephews and nieces (who are so excited about Miss Hadley, it is so cute!).

I think that catches up on the weekend’s events. Here are the more interesting? 23 week stats:

Size of Baby A: A large mango. She is almost a foot long and weighs in at a little over a pound!

Developments this week: She is becoming more and more active (no kidding, I feel her all the time), and my pregnancy apps all say that I should be able to see the movements on the surface of my skin soon…but I have been seeing that for a couple of weeks now! Also, blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and her hearing is becoming moore keen. She can hear what I hear, but not at the same level (sounds and voices are muffled by the muscles and tissues around my belly, the placenta, and the amniotic fluid). That means she can hear me singing and talking to her! :)

Weight Gain So Far: Per my scale at home, 7 lbs. Not sure I trust it, though, because the whole time it has read less than the doctor’s office scale. We’ll see the official count at our appointment next Monday! I have a feeling it may be more than that, but we’ll see.

Cravings: Right now, Utz cheese balls. I could seriously eat a whole bag of these things at a time, but I try to limit myself.

Aversions: None.

Symptoms: Frequent bathroom trips. Face breakouts, teenager style. And feet swelling this week! So glamorous.

Movement: So much movement, and I love it. I am feeling like I have someone else with me all the time now, and it’s the coolest thing. I am so glad Bekah got to feel an actual kick, you could see her hand pop up when Hadley kicked!

What I Miss: My normal bras. I have officially gone up a size so far, and I hate spending money on them because they are so expensive! Jon is not complaining, though, haha. (Sorry Dad).

Things I am Thankful For: Our tailgating crew, some of the best friends we could ask for! Jon and I were the first (and really only!) of the group to get married, and are the first (and probably also the only for a long while…we hope, lol) to get pregnant, but they are all so excited for us and were so sweet to me, telling me that I looked cute even though I felt big, hot and uncomfortable. I really love those boys!

What I’m looking forward to: (Added this one this week because we have so much to look forward to!) Our doctor appointment on Monday. Also our 3D/4D ultrasound on September 24 and our first shower, thrown by the fabulous Kirby women, on September 25!

Bump Progress: My sister, Miki, told me thanks for wearing my 2-piece bathing suit to the lake on Sunday because it made her feel a lot better about herself. Rude. And last night, while I was lying in the couch, I heard my mom say to Bekah while giggling, “Look at Steph’s belly”. When I asked her what that was supposed to mean, she said “Well, you said you wanted to LOOK pregnant, and you officially do!” I would say this means I have officially “popped”. ;) I hope this means the maternity clothes I bought a couple of weeks ago will be fitting soon!

Next Doctor Appointment: September 12, a week from yesterday!

Hope everyone has a great short week. Just finished my fantasy draft, and Team Victorious Secret (the defending champs, I might add) is ready to dominate, even though Jon just reminded me that the playoffs will likely be right around the time that I’ll be giving birth. Hope WakeMed Cary has good wireless internet! ;)

-S