39 Weeks

How far along? 39 weeks.  Baby apparently is the size of a watermelon!  Yep, that sounds about right.
Maternity clothes? Do I need to be wearing maternity clothes?  Obviously, yes.  However, if I'm going somewhere that requires wearing actual clothes instead of Jacob's big t-shirts and sweatpants, there's only a 50/50 chance I'll show up.
Sleep:  Good!  I've been conking out so hard this week.
Best moment this week:  Can I just say all of Tuesday??  We went to the zoo in the morning with some friends, and then in the evening our neighborhood had a little parade for National Night Out.  They had a fire truck and the kids dressed up in their Halloween costumes and we just marched around a few blocks while the Civic Club threw candy.  It was so cute!!  They also had a costume contest and Jenna won!  Not that my costume making skills are so superior...there just weren't that many kids there dressed up and Jenna was laying on the charm pretty thick with the judges.  Those little old ladies were powerless against her meows and sparkly shoes.

This was the moment she realized she was dressed as a cat.  She loved her little tail!

We also did our first pumpkin patch of the year, complete with petting zoo, mini-pumpkin decorating, and pony/cart ride through a Frozen-themed forest.  Basically everything Jenna is obsessed with and it was really really fun.  If I haven't mentioned, I flipping love everything about October through December.
Miss Anything? Sitting on the couch! It just hurts my back too much right now.  I've been sitting on the tile whenever we watch TV, and let me tell you...sitting on tile = cold cold buns
Movement: So much!  I honestly don't remember Jenna being this active when I was this far along with her.  Juliette definitely loves to stretch out and shift around to find just the perfect snuggle spot!
Food cravings: Sweets, burgers, and fries.  Basically my favorite things in general anyways, but now I want them 100x more!
Anything making you queasy or sick: No, and I feel like I've been STARVING this week!  Seriously, I'm a bottomless pit right now.
Have you started to show yet: Ooohh yeah. I go out in public like... 

(Not really, that looks exhausting.)

Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: Yes, almost all of the gross ones!  I won't list them here because if you don't know, you really don't need to.  I will say this though...I feel like if you're at the point in your life when you're having babies and you don't have anyone to text about your pre-labor diarrhea, you're doing life wrong.  Whoops, I guess I just said one of the gross things.  Well anyway, I'm not even sure if that one was due to impending labor or because of all of the weirdo organic pregnancy tea I've been guzzling to "ready my womb for labor," as it says on the box.  Aaand since I haven't ACTUALLY gone into labor yet, I'm going to go ahead and guess the latter.  Rats.
Belly Button in or out? Out
Wedding rings on or off? Still off!  I miss my ring! 
Happy or Moody most of the time:  In the interest of being totally honest, I actually had a lot of really blue moments this week!  I think it was a combination of hormones and anxiousness over birthing logistics and very little sleep and feeling listless because all of my to-do's have been to-done and because I really really really really thought Thursday was going to be the day and then it wasn't....this weekend really rejuvenated me, but up until that point I was struggling with just feeling really sad!  It made me nervous too because I had ZERO postpartum depression with Jenna and I was (and still am a little) afraid that my moodiness this week meant I might be hit with the baby blues pretty hard this time around.  And who knows, I might.  The good news is this past week gave me and Jacob a chance to talk about potentially having postpartum depression, since I don't think it crossed either of our minds up until this point.  At least we'll be prepared if it happens!
Looking forward to: Meeting my sweet little girl, and having all of the grandparents come down to visit/help!!  (Not all at once, naturally.  That would be insane.)  My mom is flying down as soon as I go into labor and I'm SO excited to see her!!!!!  Not to mention, having her visit be shortly followed up by my dad's (staggered to maximize help and to make sure someone is around the Chicago area for the birth of my niece Sofia!!) and then Jacob's parents in early November.  I'm just so psyched to see all of our folks!! <3 <3 <3

Jenna 1.9

Our little doodlebug before her gymnastics class

Age: One year and nine months.  I've just started telling people that she's "almost 2"  when they ask, which I can't believe is true!!
Milestones:  Potty training!!  We're not QUITE there yet, but she's getting really good at telling us when she needs to go.  We just need to work on sitting patiently on the potty for #2 to come out.  AND not stripping naked in her crib whenever she has a wet diaper overnight....yeah, that's been happening.
My Favorites: Potty training!!  Don't get me wrong...the whole process has definitely had its ups and downs, but all in all I LOVE not having to change her diaper all the time.  I'd so much rather just pop her on the potty when we're running errands than cross my fingers that her poopy diaper doesn't leak before finding a changing station somewhere.  PLUS, because we always celebrate when she goes in the potty, she has started celebrating when WE go too.  She comes flying around the corner, wildly applauding and saying, "YAAAAYYYY MOMMMYYYYYY!!!!  POTTTYYYYY YAAAYYYYYY!!!!" every time she hears the toilet flush.  I don't know the last time anyone applauded you for anything, but let me tell you...it's an ego booster.
Her Favorites: Gymnastics!  I wasn't sure how long it would take her to warm up to it, but it was instantly a hit.  The second I let her hang from the uneven bars, I peeked around to see her face and I'm telling you...the Easter Bunny could've been standing there singing Frozen and holding 10 kittens and giant vat of cottage cheese and she wouldn't have looked more excited.  We're also getting really into Winnie the Pooh and Sophia the First since Mommy is getting huge and sometimes needs a mid-morning nap.  Can I just say too, that I love how she love frogs, trucks, and dinosaurs just as much as she loves kitties, tutus, and tea parties?  Still not a huge fan of bugs though.
Surprises: How well she knows songs!!  I love hearing her sing along with whatever we're listening to...she chimes in with the words that she knows and does all the hand motions like a pro.  We also have Disney Pandora on a lot...just in the past week she's been asking to look at the album covers whenever a new song comes on, and now can identify which song is from "Mermaid!" or "Lion!" when she hears them, even though she's never seen the movie.  What a pro!
Other Notable Moments: She started putting two words together!  Her first phrases were "bye bye tape" when Jacob threw away a tape dispenser and "dog bath" when we were at Petsmart.  Profound stuff, really.  Other than that, potty training and prepping for Juliette's arrival have sort of dominated this month.  Other than little outings to the library, some friends' houses, and Mother's Day Out, we haven't been up to much.
 Looking Forward To... Seeing her with Juliette!  She's been having so much fun pretending to feed, change, and put her stuffed animals and baby down for naps.  I can't wait to see how loving she is with her new little sister!!

Trying to get a good mother/daughter headband photo for Christina...sorry we're the worst brand reps ever!

Classic toddler uniform

And a pumpkin lover is born.

This is the hand of a dad of girls.

Putting the baby to sleep

There's a baby in there somewhere....

"MOM!  No pictures right now, we needed to get these figures out like...yesterday!"

38 Weeks

How far along? 38 weeks
Maternity clothes? Yes, and I've officially graduated from my medium yoga pants to my large ones. #movingonup
Sleep:  Really good for the first part of the week, and then towards the end of the week my back just started killing me and sleep got reeeeally tricky!  I think because she's so low, it's rolling out my hips and pinching some nerves near my tailbone.  Yowza.  Either that or it's back contractions....fingers crossed for that one, (even though it's not any less uncomfortable!)  On the cute side, Jenna has started rubbing my back and moving Jacob's hands onto my back to help fix Mommy's "owies" haha
Best moment this week:  October's arrival!!!!  I LOVE this month, and I'm so glad that Juliette is officially going to be born in it!!
Miss Anything? Sleeping on my stomach.  Although I can pretend like I'm sleeping on my stomach if I lean towards my front and sprawl my legs out so I take up almost the whole bed...poor Jacob
Movement: Lots from her, she's gotten very active!  She loves pushing her feet against the side of my stomach, and I think I felt her toes from the outside last night!!  And as for my movement...I never really understood why pregnant ladies walked with their backs arched and hips pushed out until this week.  I'm definitely getting my waddle on (or "pregnancy swagger," if you'd like to make me sound a little cooler.  Please and thank you.)
Food cravings: Eh...not really.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still plenty hungry and am definitely eating for two....or three...I'm just not wanting anything in particular
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nada
Have you started to show yet: Yes, and she's lowwww
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: A few more irregular contractions, and the OB said I'm almost 3 cm!!!  She asked if I wanted her to sweep my membranes to move the labor process along...and I totally panicked! All of a sudden I felt like...whoa whoa whoa, AM I ready to have a baby?!  I felt a lot better after talking to my friend Kathleen though...she just had a baby a few months ago and it was so good to be reminded that the newborn phase of feedings every two hours and very little sleep, etc. only lasts for a month or two!  That's what I was feeling the most nervous about, but it's a phase and it'll pass and every day of having a baby just gets better and better (except when they go through growth spurts, but let's not talk about that)
Belly Button in or out? Out
Wedding rings on or off? OFF!!!!!   Ahhhh I didn't take my ring off before bed on Wednesday night and woke up the next morning with it TOTALLY stuck on my finger!  It woke the claustrophobic up in me pretty quick, I'll tell ya that.  I've been wearing a fake ring ever since (that's about two sizes too big) because I do NOT want to go through that again!
Happy or Moody most of the time:  I want to say happy, because honestly that's how I feel most of the time, but I have definitely had some super crabby mood swings.  It's either hormones or lack of a good night's sleep, but I've found myself having to apologize to Jacob more often than not these days...womp womp, sorry family...
Looking forward to: Enjoying more of this amazing weather!