ANTMM

I was going to save this for my Thursday post but I just couldn't wait until then.

Over the weekend Jon and I went to Charlottesville to visit our friends Wendy and Travis and their adorable son Bryant.  Wendy was one of our roommates when we lived in our old house on 4th St S (where all the magic began) and Travis was there often enough that he was pretty much an honorary roommate.  We hadn't seen them in quite a while so it was really nice to catch up and reminisce about the good ole' days.  We had a good time pretending we were 23 again sitting around the fire pit in their backyard late into the night drinking bourbon (Jon and Travis) and stuffing our faces with s'mores (me).  I am pretty proud of myself for managing to stay up until midnight which is definitely the latest I've made it in a very long time.

In addition to being a super smarty pants (currently getting her PhD at UVA), Wendy also happens to be an amazing photographer so we had a little fun playing America's Next Top Maternity Model (ANTMM) around the UVA campus.  Even as a proud JMU alumni, I have no problem saying that UVA has such a beautiful campus (am I supposed to call it grounds or some other sort of fancy word?) and with the leaves changing colors it really was the perfect setting for our photo shoot.  Here is a little sneak peak for everyone.

In true ANTMM style we did a few outfit (which Jon was thrilled about) and scenery changes so there will be many more pictures to come. I haven't seen the rest but judging by these I just know they are all going to be awesome and I can't thank Wendy enough for capturing this special time for us.

29 Weeks

29w and sweaty

As promised, here is my 29w picture. It's not one of my better ones as I was off today (recuperating from the conference - slept for 12 hours last night!) and spent most of the day running errands and even though it's November 1st it was like 500 degrees and I am now hot all the time so I was sweating a lot. That was a really long sentence.

Happy Birthday Bizzy Bone!

Bizzy on the day we brought him home and Bizzy today

Today is Bizzy Bone's 6th birthday. I can't believe he's 6, it seems like just yesterday we were bringing home a tiny, little 8-week old, 3 pound puppy from the breeder. I can still remember the day so clearly. We drove several hours to Frostburg, MD and when we arrived at the breeder's house she let us in and Bizzy and his brother were chasing each other around the living room. She picked him (after somehow managing to catch him), handed him to me and I instantly fell in love.

On the drive home, Bizzy laid on my lap, on a fleece Nationals blanket (which is still in

Newborn baby Bizzy Bone

his crate today) and slept pretty much the whole way. At one point we stopped to get food (at Chick Fil A of course) and when Jon went inside I took Bizzy over to a little grassy area to try and get him to go to the bathroom. When I put him down on the ground he immediately started crying and climbed onto my shoe so I picked him back up and we got back into the car. He managed to make it the whole way home until we got to the light right before you turned into our apartment complex and then he peed on my lap.

Nap Time

Those first few nights were rough. We tried to crate train him but every night when we would put him in his crate for bed he would start crying and it broke my heart to hear. He ended up sleeping in bed with us for the first week or so which meant I got absolutely no sleep because I was so afraid I'd roll over on him in the middle of the night. Even as a puppy he had me in the palm of his hand (paw?).

I really don't know what I would have done without Bizzy these past few years. Whenever I'm sad he comes and sits with me or lays in bed with me and there's something about feeling that little warm, furry body next to me that's just so comforting. But I also feel like after everything we've been through I've become so incredibly paranoid about something happening to Bizzy. We've already lost so much, I don't think I could handle losing him.

Having gotten used to being the center of attention for the past 6 years, I'm sure the baby's arrival is going to be quite an adjustment for Bizzy. I worry  about him feeling left out or thinking we don't love him anymore and it makes me sad to think about him feeling that way. I hope he knows he will always be our furry firstborn and that just because we have a new baby it doesn't mean we love him any less.

Enjoying a birthday pumpkin cookie

29 week picture to come tomorrow. I just got in from San Francisco and after 5 hours on a plane I'm really not in any shape to get in front of a camera right now.

Third Trimester

28w - Looking a little rough after a long, stressful day at work

It's been a busy week at work tying up lots of loose ends for a conference that I fly to San Francisco for tomorrow. This will be my last work trip for a while and my last conference for the year. After this things will slow down at work significantly which means I will have a lot more time to focus on crossing items off my Baby To Do list and I won't have the added stress of planning a conference on top of the stress of planning for the baby.

I've been dealing with pretty bad back pain (which should make this five hour flight to San Fran a ton of fun) for the last two weeks or so. Acuouncture seems to help a little bit and I had a half-hour massage after my acupuncture treatment yesterday that also helped provide some relief. After my trip I will probably make a visit to my chiropractor or try physical therapy and see if either of those help. It's incredibly uncomfortable, but I really hate to complain because I know back pain is a small price to pay for a healthy baby.  

I can't believe I am now in my third trimester. After everything we've been through, I still have a hard time believing sometimes that I've actually made it this far and that in another 12 weeks (or possibly less), Baby Liles will be here. At the beginning of this pregnancy twelve weeks seemed like an eternity but now it feels like no time at all. 

Our Newest Addition

I am pleased to introduce the newest member of our family - Terrance (the Terrain)!

I'm In Love...

27w

...With the nursery paint (and with Handyman Juan)! Today while we were at work, Juan was here

painting the nursery and I couldn't wait for the work day to be over so I could get home and check it out. It came out SO awesome!! I was going to attempt to do the stripes myself this weekend, but then Juan offered to do them so I decided to take him up on his offer so that I could free myself up for one of the other million things I need to get done.

I love the paint colors. I was a little worried the blue would be too dark but I think it looks so good with the white crown molding, baseboards and trim. Also the room gets a lot of light from the bay window so that brightens it up a bit. The blue is Dockside blue and the navy is Naval, both from Sherwin Williams Pottery Barn collection. The white used for the stripes is Cool Gray by Valspar. It looks white, but has a slight gray tone to it.

We still have a ways to go until the room is done but the paint is

definitely a huge step in the right direction. I ordered a rug which will hopefully get here within the next week and I've also been ordering some prints from Etsy so I can start getting stuff up on the walls. I have a fun little DIY project planned for something to hang on the accent wall, above the crib. I think the curtains and crib are supposed to be coming at the end of this month and the glider should be here at the beginning of December. So we're slowly making progress.

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day

Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. Please light a candle tonight at 7pm for our angels.

An interesting article about this special day from the NY Times. And another one that seems very relevant today.