Kaiya's Three Year Photos and Everly's Maternity Photos!

It's no secret that I value the talents of professional photographers to chronical the big moments in our family. Photos, literal snapshots, of our family during these fleeting stages in time, are investments that I have never regretted making. This shoot is definitely one of my favorites to date. Kaiya is just STUNNING in them! Jenny Cruger is simply magical behind the lens, and I find her "organic" style especially fitting to the natural beauty of babes :)

31 Weeks with Baby #2

*BOOM! Look at that belly!! By contrast, take a look at the belly at 32 weeks with Kaiya here.*

How big is baby? 18 inches, about 4lbs
Maternity clothes? Oh yes. All the big maternity clothes. 
Sleep? I'm sleeping fairly well for being so big. I wake up once a night to pee, and sometimes I wake up absurdly early and can't get back to sleep, but overall I'm sleeping well.
Movement? Oh yes. This girl knows how to make herself known.
Food cravings? Still with the sugar. Often, it's chocolate.

Food Aversions? Nope. Though I do avoid spicy foods because of the horrible heartburn.
Gender? ALL girl:)
Pregnancy Symptoms? Heartburn. Ugh.
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Big, frosty, salty margaritas :)

What I am looking forward to: Right now I'm looking forward to closing on our new house so that we can get moved in and set up the girls' room!
Upcoming appointments/events: Our family/maternity photos this Sunday!
Weekly Wisdom: If you're like me and eating vegetables are a challenge, cut up raw veggies to snack on throughout the day.

15 Weeks with Baby #2!

How big is baby? 4 inches, 2.5 oz
Maternity clothes? Nope. Not yet.
Sleep? Like a rock, and as often as I can. I generally fall asleep shortly after Kaiya goes down.
Movement? A couple potential flutters...
Food cravings? Sugar. being the holiday season, there are plenty of cookies and sweet goodies around. This baby is loving it. Mommy is about over sugar though :/

Food Aversions? Meat. Not as bad as with Kaiya, but I still can't stomach meat most of the time.
Gender? Don't know yet!
Pregnancy Symptoms? I'm still plagued with nausea, I get fatigued/out of breath easily, I've been experiencing morning headaches, and I'm tired by 8pm.
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Having energy to do anything other than go to work, come home and crash. Also, tequila.

What I am looking forward to: Finding out if it's a girl or a boy! Everyone thinks it'll be a boy. Honestly, I think it'll be a boy too, but the one dream I've had of the baby, it was a girl. We're really hoping for another girl:)
Upcoming appointments/events: We're having our gender scan on January 15th!
Weekly Wisdom: Sometimes morning sickness doesn't abate at 12 weeks like everyone promises.

The Murphy Family Has a Holiday Announcement!!

41 Weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: I leveled off at 30 lbs. Thank goodness.

Maternity clothes? At this point, I'm lucky if I fit into fabric draped around me.

Stretch marks? Nope, not a one.

Best moment this week: When my whole family was here for Easter. Liana and Siana, Mom, Karl and Nathan were all down over the weekend. There's nothing better than being surrounded by the people you love most in the world <3

Food cravings: At this point, I crave anything that'll put me in labor.

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope.

Gender: Girl!

Labor Signs: I've had a steady stream of braxton hicks and cramping, but none of it fruitfull.

Belly Button in or out? In! At this point, I don't think it's coming out.
Wedding rings on or off? On, but mostly because I no longer have a choice. I'm too swollen to get them off.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! I know the end is coming and I'm surrounded by family. Being uncomfortable and anxious can't outweigh that blessing.

Looking forward to: Same as last time, Labor! I am SO ready to have that little bundle in my arms. I can't wait!!

Note: This was the day that I went into labor with Kaiya! We went in for our scheduled induction only to find out I was already in labor. Labor story to go up soon:)

38 Weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: I'm up to about 30 lbs. With two more weeks to go, I might hit 35.

Maternity clothes? Indeed.

Stretch marks? Still none :)

Best moment this week: Attending a breastfeeding class at our hospital. It was super educational and I feel a lot more prepared for what's to come. 

Food cravings: I crave anything that won't give me heartburn. I still haven't found what that is yet :(

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope.

Gender: Girl!

Labor Signs: None. Still NONE! As of today we have 12 days until her due date, so I still have time, but come ON! Shouldn't my body be practicing a little??

Belly Button in or out? In! At this point, I don't think it's coming out.
Wedding rings on or off? On, but the swelling has definitely intesified a bit.

Happy or Moody most of the time: I'm still happy, but I do get random urges to cry. It's not because I'm moody or sad, but because in those moments, it just feels like the only thing to do.

Looking forward to: Labor!! Is that wrong? I'm so ready to meet Kaiya and see her little face. Come on baby!

36 Weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: I think I'm up to 25 lbs! I'd love to say this is about where I'll level off, but I know better ;)

Maternity clothes? Indeed.

Stretch marks? Praise the Lord, no. I did scratch myself to the point of leaving a mark this week though. The stretching itches!

Best moment this week: Our maternity photos! It was FREEZING and crazy windy so my hair is probably in my face for every single one, but it was a beautiful day and I think they're going to come out amazing. I'm so glad John is such a good sport about these things:)

Food cravings: Pretty much the same. I still crave carby sweets.

Anything making you queasy or sick: I've had a few bouts of nausea this week, though I can't peg it down to any one thing.

Gender: Girl!

Labor Signs: None. The OB even noted that she's still "Sky High!" Don't I know it. I'm praying hard this girl will drop soon :/

Belly Button in or out? Still in, if you can believe it!
Wedding rings on or off? On. Though sometimes they're more stuck on.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy mostly, but getting to the point where I'm ready to be done. 

Looking forward to: At this point, the only thing left to look forward to is meeting this little one!

34 Weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: My scale says still says 21 lbs. I may not have gained much weight this week, but I haven't been feeling great and now that my stomach has been replaced with Kaiya's foot, there isn't much room to put food :/

Maternity clothes? Yes, but I'm still squeezing myself into pre-maternity tank tops:)

Stretch marks? Still none! I've had legit nightmares that I find some though.

Best moment this week: Starting her nursery! It is starting to look so so cute. I can't wait to get the baskets and such that we need to start putting away her clothes and finishing the crafts I have in mind. Such a fulfilling process:)

Food cravings: Pancakes. It's awful. Why can't I crave kale or something GOOD for baby?

Anything making you queasy or sick: The intro to Bones this week made me gag, but that's the closest thing to making me sick this week.

Gender: Girl!

Labor Signs: None. Does that mean she's staying in for the long haul?

Belly Button in or out? Still in!
Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! 

Looking forward to: I'm still pumped about our baby showers! NY this weekend and DC next weekend. Seeing so many of our family and loved ones is going to be great!

32 Weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: My scale says 21 lbs. That's right ladies and gentleman, this lady has broken the 170lb marker.
Maternity clothes? Oh yea. I actually purchased a couple new items for the upcoming maternity shoot!
Stretch marks? Still no!
Best moment this week: This one is easy! I was making some gluten free muffins and using a metal mixing bowl. When I tapped the metal fork against the edge of the bowl to knock off the batter I felt Kaiya jump! I had never felt her jump from a loud noise before and it was so cute!
Miss anything: Margaritas, and the ability to put shoes and socks on without getting out of breath.
Movement: All the time. She gets hiccups a couple times a day and my ribs are sore from her constant dance moves:)
Food cravings: fruit!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not this week:)
Gender: Girl!
Labor Signs: Not really.
Belly Button in or out? Still in!
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy most of the time, but I definitely had my moments this week.
Looking forward to: Our upcoming baby showers!!

30 Weeks!

That's right ladies and gentlemen, we're officially 3/4ths of the way there! This photo here is of me in a maternity dress my mom got me for my birthday(though I always wear leggings with "dresses" nowadays so it's actually more a tunic).

 I saw this cute idea on a baby blog (which suprisingly, I don't frequent many of) and thought it was cute. Sure, I missed most of the pregnancy, but since most of the time I was miserable, it's probably for the best. Who wants to hear about that kind of stuff? ;)

Total weight gain/loss: According to my morning weight using my home scale, 16 lbs. According to the Dr's records (where I'm fully clothed and in shoes) 19lbs.
Maternity clothes? This one is a bit obvious. There is no way I'm getting this butt into a normal pair of jeans.
Stretch marks? No! I'm so grateful for this. Fingers crossed it stays this way.
Best moment this week: This was kinda a rough week with work but the best moments are always when I have time in the evening to slow down and just watch and feel Kaiya move.
Miss anything: Where should I start? I miss good beer, a nice cocktail now and again, being able to walk a mile on the treadmill without feeling like I've run a marathon, tummy sleeping... I could go on, but I know soon I'll miss being pregnant, so I can deal for another 10 weeks:)
Movement: Oooh yea! I'm pretty sure she's currently head down because I can feel her head down low when she gets the hiccups, and she passes the time by practicing her penalty kicks against my ribs.
Food cravings: does sugar count? For someone who could take or leave dessert before pregnancy, I have a pretty ridiculous relationship with it now...
Anything making you queasy or sick: NO! Thank you sweet Jesus. I had enough queasiness in the first 5 months of this adventure to last me a lifetime.
Gender: Girl!
Labor Signs: Not really. I get the occational contraction, especially when working out, but that's it.
Belly Button in or out? In. It's on it's way out though, which weirdly I'm kinda excited about because I've never seen the inside of my belly button:)
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Well, I'm happy most of the time, but I definitely have had a fairly moody week comparitively.
Looking forward to: Starting to assemble her nursery in February!!

27 Weeks!

A number of weeks have passed since the posting of my last belly shot, so I figured it was time. Note that I'm in the guest bathroom this time (the light is out in our bathroom) but the dress is the same as the last photo. I thought it might be a bit more interesting to see the change in belly size in the same dress:) In case you're curious, I am finally feeling 90% human. I had almost forgotten what it was like to not be sick all the time, but it's been a couple weeks now since I've had any real morning sickness. My only remaining symptom is heartburn, which thankfully seems fully controllable through Tums (the smoothie type are the best!) This Tuesday we'll officially be in the third trimester, then it's just three more months!!

23 Weeks!

Love to my Momma who has sent me the most stylish collection of maternity clothes for my birthday! This pretty pink tunic was one of my favorite pieces, but everything is so cute and comfy. I can't tell you how exciting it is to have clothing that FITS! In honor of my excitement and gratitude, here's another belly shot:)

20 Weeks!

The thin belt and turtleneck really accentuate my tiny bump:) Still not much weight gain, but I'm sure that's not far behind. I'm feeling a bit more human, though I'm still regularly suffering from nausea and I lose my breakfast a few times a week :/ All the same, any improvement is welcome improvement!

17 Weeks!

17 Weeks! There isn't much to see, but my "fat" jeans are getting a bit tight, so I definitely feel like a bump is growing:)