Pregnancy Journal: Weeks 25-28

How Far Along: 28 weeks! Hello third trimester!!

Size of Baby: an eggplant

Gender: Still a baby boy.

Weight Gain: 14 pounds total and I am measuring right on track.

Symptoms:  Yesterday I had my 28 week appointment with the midwife. I also did my glucose tolerance test, got my DTaP vaccine and a shot of rhogam so it was a big day. She said she'd call if I had to come back for the 3 hour glucose test or if I showed signs of being anemic but so far no call. And honestly I'd be surprised because I feel really great! Yes I have a hard time bending over and I am easily out of breath, but if it weren't for the growing belly I could probably convince myself I wasn't pregnant. Second trimester rocked, but I have a feeling that, even though I might get more uncomfortable in the third trimester, these last few months are going to be the most exciting!

Belly Button: Nope.

Best Moment this Month: The crib and dresser came! The nursery is basically, almost, done. I love to go in there and just sit in the glider and rest and try to imagine how it will feel to sit in there with my baby boy in my arms. I picture myself laying him down in his crib and pulling the curtains closed so he can nap. I picture T.J. sitting on the floor with him and the two of the playing together. I can't wait. Every time I walk past the door I peak my head in and smile. It's such a sweet and restful space, my favorite room of the house now.

Looking Forward to Next Month: Just getting closer and closer to meeting our baby.

Tulips and Time

A couple weeks back my mom and sister came out to visit me for my sister's spring break from school. Of course it didn't really feel much like spring in the Pacific Northwest, still doesn't, but we didn't let that stop us from getting out and getting stuff done.

One of the things I really wanted to do while they were in town was go to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. This has been on my PNW bucket list since before we moved out here. Skagit Valley is a couple hours north of where I live and I knew my mom and sister would probably appreciate a long drive just to look at some flowers more than T.J. would. So we checked the weather and picked the only day with a sun icon on it, and after a quick stop for donuts that morning, we headed up to see a bit of Holland in Washington.

There are two main growers/farms that participate in the tulip festival and they're just down the road from each other. After doing some instagram research to see which place had the most blooming we decided to go to Tulip Town. We parked in the muddy lot, paid our absolutely-worth-it $7 entry fee and were greeted by rows and rows of colorful blooms.

We wandered up and down the paths and tried to pick our our favorite tulip which pretty much changed every time we saw a new color or variety. Once our eyes had taken in as much as we could we hopped back in the car, hoping to beat the rush hour traffic through Seattle, and then stopped for a late lunch by the water in Tacoma. It was the perfect PNW springtime afternoon.

Part of the reason for their visit was to help me check off some items from my "to-do before baby list." We hit up Ikea for nursery closet organization, got the last office bookshelf moved from the nursery to the garage, waited around together while a tech guy got our tv mounted on the wall in the living room, ordered the crib and dresser, set up the new baby swing, and of course it was essential that we picked up some adorable baby clothes to add to his little wardrobe.

But in between running errands with me and reminding me that everything doesn't have to be done by August 1st, or whenever baby boy makes his debut, we just enjoyed this rare week of time together, just us girls (with the occasional appearance of T.J.) for the first time in a long time and probably the last time for a while. It's so wild that the next time they're out here will be to meet the newest and littlest member of our family.