24 Weeks

TERRIBLE picture of me, but with Macey feeling under the weather and Greg trying to run out of the house to meet a friend for dinner, I didn't have time for many options. Yuck.

How Far Along: Today, I'm 24 weeks exactly.

Baby is the size of: An ear of corn (About 12 inches long and a little more than a pound)

Sleep: Over the nice, long Labor Day weekend, I got lots of great rest! So this week, I've felt very good. It still can take some time to find a comfortable position to fall asleep, but all in all--not bad.

Total Weight Gain: I've been avoiding getting on the scale this week, but I'll have to break down and do it tomorrow morning before my check-up. I like to be prepared before I hop on the scale in front of others at the doctor's office!

Symptoms: Nothing major...but a rapidly expanding mid-section. However, in the past week I did start experiencing good ol' Braxton Hicks contractions. Some have been worse than others.

Movement: Lots of movement! He/she is a busy little thing.

Maternity Clothes: Mostly maternity clothes, but my favorite clothes are my comfy lounging and/or work out clothes. None of those are maternity, they're just stretching out with me. :-)

Go-to eats: Pizza still always sounds delicious, which was true when I was pregnant with Easton, too. Sweets have been a big weakness, which has been disappointing because they weren't very tempting before week 20!

Best moment of the week: Greg feeling the baby move for the first time, and officially starting September! I feel like we're really getting close now; 15 weeks or less, and we'll be meeting our precious new baby.

Gender: No idea. I used to feel pretty confident that it was a boy, now I don't really have a strong feeling either way.

What I’m looking forward to: Hmmm...let's see. October because of my birthday, but I guess that's a selfish thing to look forward to and not exactly baby-related. Because of my weekend of Braxton Hicks, I'm slightly more anxious to get farther along to a point where the baby would be OK if I went into labor. With my first two, they were perfectly snug in my belly for the long haul, and I'm hopeful this one is, too! However, the logical part of me knows that the more frequent Braxton Hicks contractions are probably just a result of being busy and not taking enough time to rest. AND they still haven't even been that frequent compared to what I'm sure other people experience, just different for me. Thankfully, I have a check-up tomorrow, so I can chat about it with my doctor. 

Baseball Stud

Lately, most afternoons when we get home, Easton wants to go outside and play baseball. He's graduated from the tee and won't even use that anymore, and he's particular about which bat he'll use. He apparently feels that he's moved on from the plastic bats and will only use this MLB bat. It's definitely not a real baseball bat, but it's pretty heavy for a 2 year old his size! Here are a couple videos showing off his skills!

Car Wash...

This weekend, we all went out side to wash the cars. This is how Easton "helped."

22 Weeks

How Far Along: 22 weeks & 5 days

Baby is the size of a: Spaghetti squash...11 inches and about a pound

Sleep: I've actually slept much better the past week! I've been getting out and walking more, which really helps. Plus, because we got rid of our cable service, I don't lay in the bed watching TV forever before finally winding down. Now, if I could just make myself stop watching Gossip Girl episodes on Netflix and get in the bed earlier...

Total Weight Gain: I haven't weighed this week, so we'll stick with around 10 pounds! Although I'm sure I've gained from last week. Stupid sweet tooth!

Symptoms: Nothing...boring, I know. Although, this morning I was overwhelmed with the smell of smoke when I stopped at a red light. I look to my left, and the person in the car next to me had his windows down and was smoking. Even though my windows were rolled up, I smelled his disgusting cigarette as if I were in the car with him. I don't know if the smell was that strong or if it was related to my pregnancy hormones. Yuck!

Movement: Very, very often. I'm willing to bet that he/she is still in the same breech position as at our 20-week check-up because all the kicks are hard and down low.

Maternity Clothes: I'm in mostly maternity clothes, but I have one pair of regular jeans (they're a little stretchy) that still fit, quite a few regular tops still fit and all of my comfy workout/laying around the house clothes still fit fine. I'll boldly wear those comfies allllll 40 weeks. :-)

Go-to eats: Pizza, cheeseburgers...thankfully, my willpower won't let me eat those things too often, but even willpower can't stop my mind from dreaming about them. Yummmm...one of the reasons I think this is a boy is because I just want a bunch of "boy/man" food--pizza, burgers, sandwiches, etc.

Best moment of the week: Feeling the baby's movement with my hand on my belly for the first time. So fun!

Gender: Still don't know, and we've got about...oh...16 weeks until we find out. I can't wait until the doctor announces what we have in the operating room!

What I’m looking forward to: Still looking forward to hitting the 24-week mark. I'm ready for fall (including boots and fall clothes) because then I'll really really feel like this baby will be here before we know it!

21 Weeks Along

This pregnancy, I've been terrible about regular updates, so from this point forward I will attempt to update this little questionnaire each week!

How Far Along: 21 weeks (and 5 days)--due date Christmas Day. Although, I still firmly believe I'm a week farther along than the doctor will say, which would make my due date December 18. 

Baby is the size of a: Carrot...almost a pound and about 10.5 inches long.

Sleep: As per usual, I have a lot of hip pain when I lay down. But the good thing is that it's not waking me up once I finally fall asleep. However, I am already to the point where I pretty much wake up any time I need to turn over. Counting down the days until I can sleep on my stomach again!

Total Weight Gain: 10 pounds. (Don't be surprised if there comes a time when this question miraculously disappears...)

Symptoms: Nothing really. As I've said many times, my pregnancies have always been pretty boring, and I'm hoping this one stays that way. Currently my only pregnancy "symptom" is a growing belly.

Movement: Often! I started feeling little twitches here and there pretty early on this time around, and now I feel lots of movement all throughout the day.

Maternity Clothes: I'm in mostly maternity clothes, but I have one pair of regular jeans (they're a little stretchy) that still fit, quite a few regular tops still fit and all of my comfy workout/laying around the house clothes still fit fine. I'll boldly wear those comfies allllll 40 weeks. :-)

Go-to eats: Pizza always sounds amazingly delicious, and I've been making a little turkey (heated)/cheese wrap for lunch that's delicious. It's not special at all, it just tastes really, really good to me!

Best moment of the week: Not exactly directly baby-related, but the best moment this week was cleaning out Macey's room. It's been driving me crazy that her room was a madhouse, so yesterday we cleaned out the closet, drawers and the toy box (which included setting aside baby-friendly toys to bring back out in December). If this baby is a girl, she'll eventually share a room with Macey, so for my own sanity, I needed her room to be in better order.

Gender: Your guess is as good as mine (my guess is a boy, by the way). To my own surprise, not finding out the gender really hasn't been difficult. Even though we decided not to find out even before we were pregnant, a big part of me always thought one of us would cave. When that 20-week ultrasound happened, we were both still totally fine with keeping it a surprise. Then, the baby cooperated by being in a breech position, so the ultrasound technician couldn't even see, which means there's not even a gender listed in our chart anywhere. We couldn't change our minds at this point if we wanted to!

What I’m looking forward to: Right now, the next big milestone for me will be 24 weeks. With each new month, I feel so much closer to his/her arrival, and I'll hit 24 weeks at the beginning of September. Plus, we have a lot of fall birthdays in my family, so September-December always flies by...it'll probably feel like we're getting into the homestretch!

Interview with Macey, Age 4

Favorite color: Blue (This surprised me...usually it's pink or purple.)

Favorite animal: Chicken (What in the world?) and horsies

Favorite food: Chicken nugget (Ah, the irony.)

Favorite movie: Dragon Hiccup (A.K.A. How to Train Your Dragon)

Favorite song: Jesus Loves Me

Favorite TV show: Sofia the First

Favorite place: The park

Best friend: Mattie

Favorite princess: Rapunzel

Favorite restaurant: McDonald's (This cracks me up...I can think of a handful of times she's been there, but hey...momma loves some McD's fries, too.)

Favorite drink: Lemonade 

Favorite toy: Ariel Barbie doll

Favorite game: Unicorn (No idea.)

Was that a kick?

I'm only 13 weeks and two days along in this pregnancy, so I know that's really probably a little too early to feel any movement, BUT this morning when I was laying completely still in bed, I really think I felt something.

Supposedly, with subsequent pregnancies, you almost always feel the movement earlier than in your first because you know what to expect. With this being my third, I think it stands to reason that I could just be that cued into what to feel.

PLUS...I'm really 14 weeks and 2 days, I just don't have the pesky medical degree to technically be considered correct. See, before my first prenatal appointment, my due date was Dec. 18 based on dates (ladies will know what this means, guys just don't even try to wrap your head around it). Then at the first ultrasound, I was measuring about a week earlier, so they made my due date Dec. 25.

I was OK with that, until the ultrasound at my second appointment showed I was measuring perfectly along with the original due date. Well, my doctor said she was still sticking with the due date from the first appointment. Rude.

My organized, date-focused self really hates that she took my week away. Whenever someone asks how far along I am, I tell them, but in my head I'm saying, "But really 14 weeks..." or whatever.

Anyway, back to the kicks...I really, really think I felt the little peache's first movement this morning at 13 weeks (a.k.a. 14 weeks) along!

First Dance Recital

This year was Macey's first year of dance, and today was her very first recital! She has loved dance, so she was pretty pumped up about the big stage, costume and (most of all) make-up!

Once we got backstage for her first dance (ballet), she started to seem a little unsure about the whole thing. She was crying when they took her back to line up for her turn on stage, but once she was out there, she was happy as a lark. After the first dance, she was excited and ready for round two!

As I'm sure it is with all dance recitals, there was a lot of waiting between her routines, but she was a trooper and loved watching the other kids dance--especially the big girls.

Here are links to her dances:

Ballet (Now I See the Light from Tangled)--back row on the end
Tap (Take a Bow)--front row on the end

See what I mean? Not happy at first.

Snacks with a buddy between dances!

SILLY girls!

Proud daddy!

Macey and Grandma

Dear Pixar...

Idea from a mom. (A brilliant idea, I might add.)

You should make a Toy Story prequel about when Woody was originally made. We know he's been in Andy's family a long time, but who had him first? And was he a diva toy TV star back when Woody's Round-Up was originally on air? 

Yeah, go ahead and start working on that and just send me some royalties later. Oh, and invite me to the premiere. That'd really be the polite thing to do.

Some Potential FAQ About Baby Number Three

What?! Yep, I said it. Baby number three. This is happening.

But Emily, your kids are so young. Are you crazy?
Quite possibly. Right now, Macey is 3 and Easton is 2. Sounds slightly terrifying to add a newborn to the mix. BUT by the time this bun gets done cooking, Macey will be 4 AND A HALF, and Easton will be almost 3. Sounds totally different now, huh? Yeah, I know...but we're pumped!


How on Earth did you keep this a secret from your adoring public for almost two months?
Truly an act of God.

Refresh my memory, when is this one due?
Christmas Day! But he or she will arrive via scheduled c-section because I've already had two c-sections--most likely the week before that due date.


He or she, pink or blue? When will you find out the gender?
See the previous question. The week before Christmas. YEP, THAT'S RIGHT, we're holding out and not finding out the gender. Crazy, right? I agree! But because we've already been blessed with one of each, Greg and I both think it'll be an amazing, special moment to find out in the delivery room. It's like we're living in the Stone Age.

Was this baby planned?
Geez Louise. Rude.

Haha, just kidding. I'm super nosey/curious, so it's totally something I would wonder. Baby Joyner #3 was planned, prayed for, thought about, dreamed about--all of the above! 

Obvious question. Names? 
We have some serious contenders that are pretty much set in stone, but because we have...oh, six months or so to change our minds, we won't announce that just yet. But the middle name will either be Gregory or Marie (after my precious Nana, Margaret Marie. But if you ask my Aunt Lee, Marie is TOTALLY after her middle name.). 

P.S. So, I hate minivans, but if we can't make three carseats work in my SUV, I might be stuck with one of those monstrosities. It's for the kids, so you MUST promise not to make fun of me. I will ride in style and still bump non-kiddie music like a boss. Haters gonna hate.

P.P.S Approximately one month before giving birth, I will be jamming out in all my glory at the Justin Timberlake concert, and it will be amazing.