Stroller Options

Last night we had a very romantic date night that consisted of stroller shopping and then dinner at in-n-out. Things are starting to get a little baby crazy around here... we just may be a little bit obsessed with this little man of ours.

Right now I think we've got our stroller decision narrowed down to 3 options. They all vary in price & features, we're just trying to decide what fits us best right now. Clearly I have already selected the color that I want, it's black and grey no matter which one we pick...

1. Chicco Cortina Keyfit Travel System
2. The BOB, it has an attachment for a carseat.
3. The Baby Trend Expedition Travel System

Why do there have to be so many choices?!

99

Today we are officially into the double digits in our countdown to the little man's arrival! 99 days from today and he'll be here (hopefully he decides to come early and it's even sooner than that!)

Here's a glimpse of the 26-week belly. It's getting huge! Today I wore my new pair of maternity jeans for the first time and I'm officially in love. Turns out there's a reason pregnant women like to wear them... plus these are actually really cute! P.S. who knew how hard it was to take a picture of your full body side profile...

While Chad was in Tennessee for his interview, I had a little extra time on my hands and made up a pair of flannel baby blankets out of these cute prints I found at JoAnn's. I love easy projects, especially knowing that we'll be using them to wrap up this baby boy of ours.

99 days to go...

A November Wedding

Last Saturday our very good friends Joel Simmons and Angie Clark got married in the Salt Lake City temple! We could not be more happy for this adorable couple!
The night before the wedding, the Clarks threw a party at their house for all of the family & friends who came from out of town. I loved hanging out with these lovely ladies!

...this is Barbara proving that she can make her belly look just as pregnant as mine.

Saturday started out cold and snowy and ended just cold. There was snow everywhere! Even though it was freezing, when you have family and good friends to keep you company, it doesn't matter too much.

...and finally the new Simmons family joined us!

On Sunday morning, we drove up to Salt Lake and met my parents to see Music and the Spoken Word in the tabernacle.

I loved spending the weekend with all of my favorite people and wish Angie & Joel every happiness in this adventure called marriage!

25 weeks

25 week update:

• 25 weeks into this pregnancy and I officially feel like an elephant. I know I'm not that big yet, but it's been hard to get used to this whole 'gaining weight for a purpose' thing. From here on out, I'm only going to get bigger!
• My hands and feet are starting to get that lovely pregnancy swell sometimes- mostly my feet while I'm working and on my feet for 12 hours. My hands just at random times, but I've been taking a break from my wedding ring because sometimes I'll look down and its so tight on my finger I can't get it off.
  
• I switch back and forth between periods of extreme happiness & excitement and then episodes of inexplicable crying. Apparently hormones are a little out of control.
  
• We've got about 5 names that we like, but haven't really officially decided on one quite yet. I think we need to actually meet him before we actually settle on this little man's name.
• My only real complaints have been pelvic muscle soreness, to the point that sometimes getting off the couch can seem like climbing Mt. Everest. Good thing I've got Chad around who's always willing to pull me up when I can't get up.
• This little boy is quite active and I can usually feel him moving around a couple of times during the day. He loves to move around at night, I don't know if the 'working at night' thing has an effect on that, but he keeps me company when I'm working. It gives me so much peace of mind when I can feel a little kick here or there to know that he's active and still a reality. There have been a couple of times when he's particularly active that Chad has been able to feel him moving from the outside. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks, those times will become a lot more commonplace.
• Nesting is in full force- I've got so many ideas for a variety of baby items including blankets, quilts, car seat covers, and little boy clothes. Updates on projects later.
  
• I'm in the research phase of stroller & car seat shopping and it can be a bit overwhelming. There are so many choices and variations! If anyone has any recommendations from their own experience, let me know! I'm up for suggestions.
• Only 15 more weeks to go!

Halloween

So this year's Halloween was a little on the boring side in the Bennett household. Both Chad and I had to be adults and work Halloween night, so no real point in making/compiling costumes. My floor at the hospital had a dress up theme for Halloween of 'cartoons' so I decided to throw together a last minute costume to get in the Halloween spirit. I'm the Great Pumpkin! Baby boy's first Halloween costume and he was the main attraction, of course...
It's crazy to think that next Halloween we will no longer be just the two of us, but a family of 3! Plus, I strongly believe that Halloween is only fun with kids. It's so much fun to see how much fun they have and how much they enjoy the holiday. I'm already thinking through all of the fun Halloween costumes for a 6 month old. I don't know what it is, but everything is cuter when it is baby-sized. Here are a couple of costumes I have in mind for next year thanks to pinterest...
So many possibilities! Can't wait til Halloween next year...

So throughout this pregnancy, I've tried really hard to maintain a regular schedule of physical activity. Okay, so it's nowhere near what I was used to before in terms of the types of activity or the duration, but it's helped me kind of maintain a sense of "normal". Even if it's just 30-45 minutes on the elliptical or walking for an hour, I make the time to go and do it! I thought I was doing this mostly for me and my well-being, but this past week I was reading through my daily "What to Expect When You're Expecting" email update [they're fantastic... highly recommended], and look what I stumbled upon:

Exercise Scores Points

You're not the only one who benefits from pregnancy exercise — your baby does, too!

Don't just take it from me — scientific research shows that you're not the only one who benefits from pregnancy exercise. Apparently, babies of moms who exercise throughout pregnancy score higher, on average, on general intelligence tests by age five. So, at 23 weeks pregnant, not only will your workout boost your muscle power but baby's brain power too!

Woo hoo! Hopefully this means our kid is going to be all sorts of smart!

A quick bragging moment about my man...

I'm just going to take a second a brag a little bit about my man. Chad is currently in the process of applying to PA schools, quite the process for anyone who's done applications for grad programs. Who knew how time consuming/expensive it could be? It is seriously been practically a part-time job between all of the essay-writing and forms to be filled out. He's finally to the point that he has sent out almost all of the applications and now it's the waiting game. Last week Chad got his first interview! He's officially interviewing at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN on November 10th. I could not be more proud.

We're still waiting to hear back from a couple more schools, but for the time being, Chad has an interview in Tennessee in just a couple of weeks! Congratulations Chad!