22 Weeks

Update;How Far Along: 22 weeks!
Size of baby: Baby Vander Velde is the length of a Spaghetti Squash!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 14lbs!
Maternity Clothes: I’ve been wearing more and more maternity clothes! The outfit today is not maternity though!
Gender: It’s a BOY!
Movement: He doesn’t STOP moving! I’m not complaining though, I love every minute of it!
Sleep: Very Good!
What I miss: Nothing, at the moment :)
Cravings: No specific cravings, but I have been eating more and more junk food lately! Here come the pounds!
Symptoms: I am a little congested right now but other than that, nothing!
Best Moment of the Week: Hearing the heartbeat yesterday at our appointment and having everything be healthy!!

Our Thanksgiving Weekend

We headed to my parents house for Thanksgiving this year and had a wonderful time! Thursday was filled with baking, cooking, shopping, football, Black Friday ad browsing, and FAMILY! It was a wonderful Thanksgiving.
We even took a few Family Pictures;Friday Morning my sister and I went out shopping bright and early! Although I don't know if it was entirely worth getting up at 2am for, it was a lot of fun and we got some good deals!

This weekend was very low key, we finished getting all of our Christmas stuff up outside and we relaxed a lot! I also got our Christmas cards ordered, so that is a definite check off the to-do list!

We have a doctors appointment tomorrow and we are looking forward to hearing the heartbeat once again!

Happy Thanksgiving!

These are a few things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving;
Family – I am so thankful for my wonderful husband. He works so hard and does so much for this family. I love him. I don’t know what I would do without him. He is truly my everything and makes me the happiest woman ever! I am soooo thankful for Gavin. He is the best thing that ever happened to Dave and me. I am thankful for his great personality and sweet soul. We really have the best families, too. They would do anything for us at the drop of a hat! Love them.

Friends – I am very thankful for the friendships we have. I am thankful for the friends that I have who have been there for us through everything in our life. Very thankful for the great neighbors who have become wonderful friends, also!

This Pregnancy – Having a wonderful pregnancy is something to be very thankful for. I know numerous women who have been miserable through their pregnancies. I am very thankful that I can enjoy this experience and cherish every moment. I am thankful we are having another BOY. It truly is a godsend because we already have so much!

Heartland – Our Church – Words can’t describe how thankful I am for our church and church family. Dave and I have made some of the best friendships since going to Heartland. More importantly our relationship with God has grown tremendously.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

21 Weeks

Update;How Far Along: 21 weeks!
Size of baby: Baby Vander Velde is the length of a Carrot!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 10lbs or so!
Maternity Clothes: I’ve worn a few maternity tops lately, just for the length! Other than that, Belly Band.
Gender: It’s a BOY! We are very excited to be able to have two boys & I just know Gavin is going to be the best big brother ever! He was so thrilled that it is a boy! I'm not going to lie though, I was a little sad that I'm not able to buy super cute girl clothes, but we'll just have to try again! And, we already have so much for boys. We kept everything of Gavin's so we are really thankful that we will not have to buy much! The name is in the process of being picked!

Movement: Yes! We are starting to see patterns of active movement!
Sleep: I’ve been sleeping a lot better. I got this Amy Coe Preggle Pillow for my birthday and it’s amazing. So many different things you can do with it too!
What I miss: I really can’t/shouldn’t complain. There really isn’t anything that I desperately miss. This pregnancy has been amazing and I have enjoyed it so much!
Cravings: No specific cravings lately!
Symptoms: Nothing really! Every so often I will feel a pain in my stomach from how he is positioned but we can get him to move around pretty easily!
Best Moment of the Week: Finding out it’s a boy! We even picked up the dresser & hutch on Saturday! We got it off of craigslist and we are sanding it and refinishing it to match the room! It goes great with the crib we picked out too!

The weekend.

We had another very nice weekend! Friday evening we had Pace's 1st Birthday Party! It was owl themed, hence night time bday party :)
The hostess with the mostess, Nicole, made owl costumes for all of the kids to wear! They were so cute. Here are some pictures of the birthday party;
Gavin in his costume!
Candy time!Some of the little owls together!The super cute owl cake!The Birthday Boy!Saturday we ran errands, and put up all of our Christmas decorations. We are so busy this week and this coming weekend that we would have had no time to get any of it up, so we decided to just get it up this weekend and be done with it! I'm glad we got it up too, it has been so nice to enjoy it. & yes, I know I need to look for a new tree skirt but I'm hoping once we get some presents under the tree you won't be able to see the tree skirt that much!!

This week is very busy for us. Today I had a hair appointment (Thank you Kristin for watching Gavin!) and then tonight we have dinner at our neighbors! Tomorrow we are getting everything packed up and ready to leave for Wednesday and I have Bible Study tomorrow night. Once Wednesday rolls around it's all history! I love the hustle and bustle of the holiday season!

"Turdy Point Buck"

Gun hunting season starts bright and early tomorrow morning and I have two boys in this house who wish they were going! Mainly Gavin, he is a hunter at heart. Dave would love to get in to hunting too and I have a feeling he will be getting ready to go hunting this time next year! It is a very expensive hobby to get in to and I am not looking forward to that, but I do love me some venison!!
Anyways...This morning the song 'Thirty Point Buck' came on and Gavin went nuts! Bobbing his little body up and down singing "turdy point buck, turdy point buck" The song is pretty funny;

Good luck to all the hunters this weekend! Stay Safe and get a 'turdy point buck'!

It's a....

We had an amazing day yesterday! It was my birthday and we also had our 20 week ultrasound! Baby V is a.....BOY!

We are so delighted to be having another boy & Gavin is more than thrilled to be having a baby broder :)

My mom and sister came down for the day for my birthday and they also came to the ultrasound with us. Dave's sister came too :) It was a full room but we wouldn't have wanted it any other way! It was nice to share our news with them right away! Baby V was healthy and everything looked PERFECT!

After the ultrasound we went to lunch and then did some shopping at babies r us!

It was a GREAT day!
Now the planning begins!

*Happy Birthday to my Sister-In-Law, Kristin! We hope you enjoy your day!

Christmas Cards through Shutterfly!

Christmas is right around the corner and if you send out Holiday Cards you have probably already thought about what you are going to do this year!
I just love what Shutterfly is doing for Bloggers this year; you can get 50 free Holiday Card! I love sending out Christmas cards! I plan to use this great deal for our Christmas Cards this year. I also love how Shutterfly has something for EVERYONE! They have great designs to pick from to match your personality! They also have great gift ideas for anyone in your family! I have never done our Christmas Cards through Shutterfly before and I can't wait to pick ours out! Here are some super cute Holiday/Christmas Cards from Shutterfly;
So if you have not already decided what you are doing for your Christmas Cards click here and let Shutterfly help you!

20 Weeks!

Update;
How Far Along: 20 weeks!
Size of baby: Baby Vander Velde is the size/length of a banana!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 10lbs!
Maternity Clothes: Yes. I am wearing my first ‘maternity’ top in this weeks picture. It’s an oversized sweater that I had when I was pregnant with Gavin! I really need to go shopping for some maternity clothes though. I have NONE (that I like) and I know I can’t keep wearing what I have been wearing, it just wouldn’t be pretty!
Gender: TOMORROW, TOMORROW, I can’t wait for TOMORROW! And to top it off it's my Birthday tomorrow, It's going to be a great day!
Movement: A ton of movement! On Sunday evening Dave and I were laying in bed watching Sunday Night Football and he got to feel a good 10+ kicks, this baby is VERY active! I hope the baby cooperates tomorrow during the ultrasound!
Sleep: Better and I actually feel more rested. But I am ready for bed at 7pm. I’m not sure if it’s because it gets so dark so early or what!
What I miss: My body before, even though I love being pregnant, I am not liking that I have to get all new bras and underwear because my breasts and butt feel like they are exploding! Other than that not too much. I have been getting used to laying on my back and side and it’s getting better! A good Body pillow would do the trick instead of me sleeping with 5 pillows!
Cravings: No specific cravings lately!
Symptoms: I still have lower back pain every so often, but it’s not as bad as last week! Other than that, I FEEL GREAT!
Best Moment of the Week: Movement and the anticipation of gender!

19 Weeks & Ladies Night

Update;
How Far Along: 19 weeks!
Size of baby: Baby Vander Velde is the size of a Large Heirloom Tomatoe!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 10lbs!
Maternity Clothes: Maternity Jeans and belly bands. I have not had to wear any maternity tops yet! This past week I did go through all of my maternity clothes that I wore with Gavin. It is crazy how styles change, some of the clothes were hideous looking! I don’t know what I was thinking.
Gender: We can’t wait to find out! Next Wednesday, November 17th!
Movement: Lots and Lots! I have been able to feel little flutters for about two weeks now but just in the last week we have been able to feel a lot of movement! When we go to bed at night Dave and I will lay there with our hands on my stomach and every night the baby goes crazy! I’m so glad Dave has been able to feel it already! Seems a lot earlier than I remember with Gavin but they say that is normal with a second child!
Sleep: A little better than usual. I’ve been having lower back aches this past week and it keeps me up at night sometimes.
What I miss: Lying on my stomach.
Cravings: No specific cravings lately, but certain food really hit the spot! I did go to the grocery store for one thing last week and came home with a 4 bags full of stuff including bologna & cheese for bologna & cheese sandwich, which I normally would NOT like! I CAN NOT go grocery shopping by myself!
Symptoms: lower back pain
Best Moment of the Week: Having Dave be able to feel the baby kick!
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Last night we had Ladies Night/Birthday Celebrations! We went to the Melting Pot for Ladies Night. This was my first time to the Melting Pot. We have never gone before because it is so expensive! BUT...If you go on Ladies Night it is only $16, or $25 if you do meat. It was really good and totally worth it! We had a lot of fun! Great conversations, with a lot of laughter! I have some great friends!

A great week leads to a great weekend!

It' s been a great couple of days! Wednesday we painted & baked! Well...I baked, and the best painter I know, my husband, painted! I made 6 dozen Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins & Dave painted our downstairs bathroom! When I went down to see how it was coming along I saw this;He's the sweetest ever!

Okay on to the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins - I can't get enough of these things lately! Last weekend my sister made them and I made her give me the recipe! They are so good! I thought I would share the recipe;

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

1-16oz can of Pumpkin

4 eggs

2 cups of Sugar

1 1/2 cups of Veg. Oil

3 cups of Flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

12 oz bag of Chocolate Chips

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin & oil until smooth. In a seperate bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon & salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet & mix well! Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 16-20 minutes (I did 16) or until muffins test done! I doubled this batch and got 6 dozen muffins!!

Last night I had at Thirty One Gifts party! Have you ever heard of it? I've never heard of it until recently when a friend started selling it! They sell some pretty neat things! It was a good excuse to have the girls over for a night too :) I gave all of the girls who came a little bag of...you guessed it - Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins!Today Gavin and I went to Open Gym in Deforest! It was HUGE. I've never seen so many toys, trikes, bikes, kids, & moms all in one place. It was a lot of fun and a great thing to do on this cold day! Tonight we are going over to Mom and Dad VV's to celebrate their 30th Wedding Anniversary! Their Anniversary is not for a couple of weeks yet but they are going away on vacation for two weeks for their Anniversary so we thought we would celebrate it before they left! I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have both sets of our parents still together! They are definate roll models!

18 Weeks

Update;

I know my belly looks smaller in this weeks picture compared to previous, it's the clothing! I am measuring exactly at 18 weeks!

How Far Along: 18 weeks!
Size of baby: Baby Vander Velde is the size of a Sweet Potato!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 10lbs! We had a 17+ week appointment yesterday and I've gained 5lbs in 4 weeks, not bad!
Maternity Clothes: Maternity Jeans and belly bands. I have not had to wear any maternity tops yet!
Gender: We can’t wait to find out! 2 weeks.
Movement: Lots of fluttering!
Sleep: Eh…not so good.
What I miss: Lying on my stomach at night!
Cravings: No specific cravings lately, but certain food really hit the spot!
Symptoms: tired!
Best Moment of the Week: Hearing the heartbeat at our appointment!