26.5 Weeks

So, I missed my usual Sunday post. Time seems to be getting away from me. On Sunday, my girlfriend Sarah and I went to a dogs and storks class. It was very interesting, and made me think of the 50 things we need to do between now and when the baby to get our two stubborn dogs in shape. Surprisingly, we have started to work on a few of them and I think they are responding. We have spoiled our dogs for many years and they have gotten away with the world. Now they are starting to get a real dose of reality. It's so cute to see them try.

This week we also had a mural artist come out and paint a mural in the nursery. Can I say better than life. Ben and I couldn't have asked for anything better. I feel like she was in my mind and did exactly what we were looking for. The nursery looks so cute and the monkeys are just perfect. I will send out pictures soon as we get more done. If you want to do something different she is amazing and I would recommend her to EVERYONE!!

Last I want to apologize in advance to all of my friends for my frequent panic attacks. I feel like any time I read the paper, or look on TV there is another story of a freak accident with a pregnant woman or newborn child. I am starting to worry about the silliest of things but I can't seem to help myself. So thank you to each of you that has listened to my crazy stories and supported me through my alternate personality.

Yellow it is...

The nursery has been painted! Ben's parents came down this weekend and turned our plain bedroom into the beginnings of a wonderful baby nursery. It was so nice of them to do this and help us transform the room. This paired with the furniture we got this week makes things feel like they are really coming together. The one piece of nursery furniture we still need is a glider for me to spend my future endless nights in. These companies are making a fortune on this item alone, I can't believe the price it costs to make these chairs are anywhere near the price they charge all of us. If they are they better come with a guarantee that Little Levy will fall asleep in 10 minutes or less or I am going to want my money back. I keep looking for sales but even then my mouth drops to the ground. Who know if things continue this way maybe I will just stand the entire time.

Everyone knows that major changes occur during your pregnancy, but some of them no one talks about. Over the past few weeks I have begun getting charlie horses in the middle of the night, and feels like someone has twisted my leg so tight it may break off. Nothing seems to work until I get out of bed and walk around for a few minutes. By that point, I have to go to the bathrooom and then I realize I am thirsty. By the end of all of this I am wide awake and try to go back to sleep. I think this is Little Levy's way of preparing me for our sleepless nights to come. My friend, Lauren told me that club soda can help so I am going to try that and hope to get a full nights rest tonight. So friends that have had children please help and let me know what other "wonderful" changes I can anticipate over the next few months so I don't wake up screaming thinking I have lost a leg!!

24 Weeks

We had another check up this week. Baby Levy is right on track according to our doctor, my bump is measuring 23 inches and he has a heart rate of 145. I also asked if Little Levy's constant activities were something to worry about, but my doctor assured me the more activity the better. Knowing little Levy is healthy and growing makes me breath just a little easier each day.
Then this weekend I was able to go to Minneapolis to help throw an engagement party for some great friends. We are so excited for Christy and Wade, they are such a great couple. It was great to catch up with friends and get their input on the many decisions I can't seem to answer and I think they even helped me finalize little Levy's name. Ben and I were down to 2 names and I couldn't pull the triger but they helped me weigh the pro's and con's of each one. Just remember ladies if Little Levy grows up and doesn't like his name its on you too (JK!!)
Finally, yesterday we went to Lowes and USA Baby. We selected a paint color for the nursery and then were able to select Little Levy's 1st baby bedding. USA Baby had a fun sale that if you told them you were going into labor (because of the Labor Day Holiday) you received an additional 10% off of your purchase. Thanks Sarah for the tip. We ended up picking out bedding that we hadn't seen before that we love, and will be fun for little Levy. We decided on a jungle theme, and should have pictures to share soon.
Feels good to have some big decisions out of the way!! Stay tuned for more.

Little Levy takes on France

Baby Levy went to France. This is a picture of some of my family in France at my aunt's house. I love these pictures because I look taller than anyone which is so rare for me. I had an amazing time with my family in France, getting to catch up with everyone and being able to eat Pain au Chocolat every day and having it not taste like a kit kat in a pastry. The next picture is my grandma and I she is such a sweet woman but understands zero english, or our country she even asked if we had mountains in the US (one of only the many things she thought we lived without.) The great thing is that Little Levy did a lot of kicking for grandma which made her smile from ear to ear. Her and everyone else is trying to recruit him to play French Football!! This is my adorable cousin's daughter Sidonnie. She is always happy, laughs at everything and is the most outgoing little girl ever. I hope little Levy takes after his cousin. She and I watched Finding Nemo in French atleast 4 times this week, she just can't get enough of Nemo. The other picture is of my cousins Pierre and Benoit at "Central Park" in Lyon. It was a perfect day riding bikes, visiting the zoo and having ice cream at the park. They tried to compare it to Central Park of New York and there is definitely no question NYC for sure!!

It was wonderful to see family, but I spent A LOT of time on this trip shopping and not for me. I was able to get little Levy some awesome outfits. It is true, there really is no better place for fashion than France. This little guy is going to be styling to say the least. His grandmother even had an outfit knit for him that I think little Levy will be wearing home from the hospital. I am glad I didn't know the exchange rate because I couldn't help myself with all of their great clothes. We got some great gifts from the family as well. Thank you to the family for helping us get ready for little Levy, and hope they will be able to come to the states to see him wearing and using all of the things they got. We also can't wait to take him to France with us when he gets a little older to see all of his family.

This week we have our next big check up and I am really excited to see the doctor to talk about how active Little Levy is being and try to find out how big he is. Our baby furniture is also coming this week and can't wait to see it in the room. Last but not least, here is my updated bump, it is getting bigger each day.