Life Lately and 38 Weeks!

Hello and blessed first week of Advent! I wanted to share a few (a lot) of photos of what life has looked like lately before it gets too late. At this point I have about a week and half (!!) until my due date for baby number 2. So far the pregnancy has continued to go smoothly and at my birth center appointment yesterday, the midwife said the baby has settled into a good position for birth, so it could be sooner than later. I still pretty much attribute the ease of everything due to regular chiropractic care, as I have gone weekly since I hit 30 weeks. We had a great Thanksgiving break and spent a bit of time putting up a few holiday decorations. I anticipate the Advent and Christmas seasons flying by so our plan for Advent is to prepare by just enjoying and resting as much as possible!

A couple weekends ago we went on a “babymoon staycation” to downtown Houston. We stayed at the Whitehall hotel which was a lot of fun. We had a relaxing evening and morning in downtown Houston, complete with happy hour, dinner and Mass at Holy Rosary and Brunch at Downhouse (pictured below…best chicken and waffles I’ve ever had!).

 

A little field trip with the little one to the mall, complete with a stop at the Lego store!

Packing for Nativiti! Can’t wait to meet baby number 2! I remember bringing so much stuff the first time around. I’m trying to simplify life this time around and bring only the bare essentials–we only stayed about 5 hours after baby was born the first time around.

A fun Thanksgiving table at my in-laws’ house! We had such a fun Thanksgiving this year. It was a little busy, but I didn’t mind it. We did lunch around 1 with my in-laws and relaxed until it was time to head to my uncle’s house for dinner at 6. Two big meals, but I’m not complaining! I also didn’t even have to cook a thing…just brought a cheese plate.

Visiting the naughty chickens (or ducks as Jimp refers them). They didn’t seem to like visitors that day.

Almost 38 week belly on Thanksgiving day!

Non related–but we got our master shower tiled! I don’t think it’ll be complete before the baby comes, but progress is still progress! Patrick is currently working on drywall for the walls and I think we will start tiling the floors soon too. It’s so fun to finally see it come together. I shared inspiration for the redesign here.

This past weekend my sister threw a last-minute baby “sprinkle” for me at our neighborhood park gazebo. I didn’t want a huge party or anything, but just an excuse to get together with friends before the crazy happens! It was so fun and the weather was great. 🙂

We normally don’t decorate early, but we wanted to get a big head start this year since we knew not much would be going up once we had a newborn in the house. I already anticipate having our tree up until mid February (joking, but not really). While we picked a small-ish one, shopping early had its perks with the great selection! It’s so fun having a two and half year old at this time of year. I don’t think Jimpy really understood what was going on the last two years, but he loves holiday decorations and music and is totally getting into the spirit for the first time.

I normally buy gifts and toys for our church gift drives, but wanted to do something new this year. We are definitely simplifying gift giving and our celebrations this year in general due to the circumstances, but still wanted to give back in some way. So here is the start to a Reverse Advent Calendar! The idea is each day you give a gift (either a household item, food, or something fun) and give the box away during the Christmas season. I’m not sure where we’ll donate it yet, but I’m looking forward filling it up and teaching James about giving and sharing during Christmas.

Blessed First week of Advent! I am so thankful for my family and friends and am feeling blessed to expecting a new little one during the Advent season. May the Lord bless you and your families as we prepare our hearts for the coming of our Savior! Linking up super late with SQT!