2016 goals...

It's a new year! I always love the "clean slate" feeling of starting a new year. I'm usually one of those people that if I try setting goals, it has to be on the 1st of any month. Since having Morgan, things have changed a little (a lot) and all my goals for this year haven't even been implemented yet and it's already over a week into the year. I'm not deterred yet though ;) I'm learning patience and trying to mold my partially type A personality into a more laid back approach. Totally necessary. So, here are my goals for the year, in no particular order...

- Be the best mom I can be. I realize that I'll never be a perfect parent or know all the answers. I know that once Matt and I figure out one thing about Morgan (i.e. her sleep habits) she will inevitably change the next night. Or hour. We love being her parents and I'm learning an incredibly a lot about patience. And more patience. And learning that my daily to-do lists, or even making the bed, aren't going to be accomplished every day. Also learning to give myself a break and not feel guilty for not making the bed, or washing my hair, or bathing at all for that matter. Yikes.

- Trying to make breast feeding work. It is HARD work feeding a tiny human. I almost quit before 3 weeks, but really would like to make to work for a year <-- that's my A goal. My B goal is 6 months, my C goal is 3 months, and my D goal was 4 weeks, which we surpassed yesterday. It's definitely gotten easier, especially with Morgan sleeping 4-5 hours at nighttime and having Matt feed her a bottle of pumped milk once in the evenings. I'm also trying to pump at least twice a day- once in the morning to freeze to try and create a stash for when I go back to work and she goes to daycare; the second at night to provide the bottle that Matt feeds her in the evenings. 

- Get back in the habit of reading God's word daily and having quiet time with Him. Obviously since having the babe we haven't been to church and I haven't been reading my bible at all. I can blame sleep deprived nights all day long, but I have plenty of time to play around on my phone and do other pointless activities, so I can make the time to read what's really important. 

- Start eating balanced meals again. Cut out the sweets. Cut out the fast food. Drink more water. It's been 9+ months of eating whatever I want whenever I want without really worrying about it. Besides wanting to drop the 20 lbs I still have to lose, I really want to feel better. I blame the food choices I've been making as of late. Plus I have to eat well to keep making good milk ;)

- Ease back into running and working out. I stopped running at 36 weeks and stopped bootcamp at 34 weeks of pregnancy, so I've just been walking for quite a few weeks. I haven't been cleared by my OB yet, but when I do I'm not going to lace up and attempt even a 3 mile run the next day. I've lost a ton of muscle and I always worry about my knees flaring up again, so it's important for me to build a decent base after being MIA from the game for so long. I do have two races in mind for March- a 10k and a 10 miler (or can drop down to an 8k or 5k), and a half marathon in April. I won't sign up for any of these until it gets closer and I feel like I'm ready. Also thinking about starting bootcamp again at the end of next month, but want to have a decent core built up again before I go back and she kicks my butt!

- Start blogging more often. I crapped out after August of last year because my phone broke and it took me about 6 weeks to get another one and could upload the pictures to the site. I just lost momentum after not doing it for so long. I wasn't sure I wanted to continue, but I read over old posts and realized how much I enjoyed writing them and re-reading them months later. I feel like it will help me document a lot of what's going on Morgan, for my benefit. Plus my mom reads it :)

- Put.my.phone.away. I am AWFUL with my phone and I need to put it down way more often.

- Work on our budget again. We've been slack for far too long! Plus, I don't go back to work until March and am without pay until then, so a budget is a must!

That's it for now!

(She's already changed SO much!!)

Quickie update

I'm in the middle of doing some cleaning around the house since I've been gone the past few days, but taking a break because I'm slowly sweating to death. Our AC has been on the fritz for the past month or so, and it finally died last week which means it's hot in the Thomas house! We're hopefully getting it fixed this week...

Baby girl is moving around a tonnnnnn today, and I think it's because I've been walking non-stop for the past 4 days! I had my 24-week appointment this past Wednesday and all looks good :) I go back in 3 weeks for my next visit + glucose test, eeks. From then on I'll be going every 2 weeks until whenever it switches to once a week.

Lauren drove from Atlanta Saturday morning and we picked up Marlys from the airport about 1pm. We were go-go-go from then on. Charleston was so fun, albeit so hot and humid. And the weather was definitely NOT as bad as it could've been! Saturday afternoon we explored, had cheese and wine at the hotel, then had the best dinner ever (seriously) at Poogan's Porch. I had their fried chicken and it was the winner for the evening! 

Sunday we got up, had breakfast at the hotel, explored, did a tour of the Calhoun house, explored more, then had dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Greek place. I had the Greek salad and it was amazing! We stopped for gelato on the way back and they sucked me into watching Bachelor in Paradise, which I was quickly hooked to!

Yesterday morning we all had a little breakfast at the hotel, got ready, then walked 4 million miles to a biscuit joint that Marlys was dead set on going to. Thankfully it was so good! We shopped a little, dropped stuff back at the room, grabbed a salad for a late lunch, then did a tour of the slavery museum. We shopped on Market Street for awhile then headed back to the hotel to freshen up for our last dinner at Magnolia's, which did not disappoint in the deliciousness department! We just ordered a ton of appetizers for dinner, which was the perfect amount of food. I didn't even get dessert! Marlys's flight was at 5:50 this morning so we headed back to the hotel for an early night last night. 

I already miss them! We're planning our next trip for May and probably to Rhode Island where Lauren is and visit Boston while we're there. Hopefully baby girl will be a good traveler!

More photo dumping

Here's some more random pictures from the past few weeks!

Bought this sweet bathing suit this weekend- for only $11!! She's probably going to be huge and will never get to wear it!

Speaking of huge...apparently my belly gets bigger and firmer during and after I run.

Trying to get ahead of the game and stock up! I found this list on Pinterest and think it's genius! Anything to help since I won't be getting paid for 3 months :/

A few other sweet bubbles I ordered like a month ago.

Sunset at home.

We threw Daniel and Cassady a little sprinkle shower for baby girl #2 last night at the Pink House in Savannah. We had a greattttt time and didn't make it home until after midnight! 

Fun time at our house :) It's a disaster over here right now, but Matt is working hard at getting things fixed and good as new! ;)

We had Taylor and Gracie Bea's church dedication this morning and had fun with the family at lunch afterwards. This coming weekend is a girls weekend in Charleston with Lauren and Marlys and I couldn't be more excited! Bring on the week!! 

Randoms

Just some random pictures from the past couple of weeks.

Painted my moms high chair from when she was a baby. Took me forever and I'm still not done! I really love the way it looks.

We had Cooper from Thursday-Sunday and he fit right in with our clan. I call this pic "Matt's fan club"- all the dogs love him!

I hit the halfway mark last Tuesday! 20 more weeks to go; yikes! Matt felt her kick for the first time this week and just now was watching her punch/kick around. Love it!

Matt's house made TV! It's nowhere near done, but still exciting!

New shoes = really good 3- mile run Saturday. Then a crappy one to follow Monday, oh well! I started bootcamp again today and it wasn't my favorite. I'm hoping it gets a little easier, otherwise I might not sign up again after 6 weeks and will start back once the baby gets here. Time will tell!

Talk about a productive Tuesday- Matt mowed the grass, I vacuumed, emptied the dishwasher, cooked dinner, and did two loads of laundry- none of the above usually happens during the workweek! Here's to a quick rest of the week!!

Lake house week

Just got back from a week long trip at lake Oconee!

Matt and I left last Friday to join up with the rest of the Thomas clan for a week of relaxing at the lake! I didn't take too many pictures since I only had my phone and had to keep it put up most of the time. Between all the kids, splashing, and heat I forgot to pull it out as much as I would've liked. We pretty much were outside most of the week, except the first few mornings it was a little cloudy and chilly. It was always perfect in the afternoons though! Except rather hot and steamy these past few days. Margaret and I did well with exercising the first few days of the trip- we did two 3-mile (hilly!) runs, then a long walk Tuesday evening. After that we fell apart since it was the end of the week and exhaustion was creeping in!

Wednesday morning I made the 3-hour drive to Savannah for our 18 week anatomy scan and echo- all looks good for baby girl! 

We got home today a little after 1 and I've already unpacked and washed two loads of clothes. I'm hoping to dust and vacuum before the end of the day too, but we'll see! I think we'll have a pretty relaxing weekend over here ;)

Just in case you missed it...

We're having a baby!

We found out on April fools day, so naturally I thought I had fooled myself! I went to the doctor that Friday (still unsure why they made me come in so incredibly early) and my urine was so diluted that the pregnancy test came back negative, so I was incredibly disappointed. The nurse drew an HCG blood level and we got the call Monday that I was indeed pregnant! We're due December 8th.

We kept it quiet until our first ultrasound at the 8 week appointment. Matt thinks I'm crazy, but I thought somehow there wouldn't be a baby in there, so I realllllly needed to see him/her before I could believe it. We told Daniel and Cassady at dinner that evening since we were going to Hawaii with them! I'm sure they would've noticed if I wasn't drinking- Cassady was pretty pumped about having a sober buddy since she's pregnant too!

I haven't really gotten sick at all, which is soooo nice and I feel thankful for it. I'd only get a little nauseous in the 1st trimester if I didn't eat something every 2-3 hours, and threw up once in Hawaii after being super carsick, so I can't even blame the baby! I've still been running, but cut the miles back while we were in Hawaii. It's been pretty hot, even at 6am, so I'll keep it like it is for now and increase once it starts cooling down...I'm still signed up for the RnR Savannah in November, but my sis-in-law said she will do the relay with me, so I have to be back up to 6 miles by then (run/walk). I'm also still doing bootcamp twice a week- my instructor has known from the beginning since she likes to push me! I got the okay at our 8 week appointment from my doctor, so no worries :)

We told our families right around 10 weeks, then found out the gender at 13 weeks. We found out super early, so Brandi scanned us again at 15 weeks to confirm- so we are definitely having a baby girl! It'll be the 4th girl out of five on my side and the 7th out of 10 on Matt's side! 

So.many.girls!!

The belly is growing, though I still just look chunky in clothes. I'm ready for a legit belly and to start feeling her kick! I'm sure I'll be regretting the belly wish when it's been there for months ;)

That's 10 weeks vs 17 weeks

Time to pack and organize! We're leaving this afternoon for a week at lake Oconee with Matt's family! 

Updating backwards...

...because I'm so far behind and almost don't want to try catching up!

Friday night my sis, Adam, McKenzie, and their dog Kuhn got here about 8:30ish. They went to bed pretty quickly, thankfully, because I was exhausted too! Steven and Caylee didn't get to the house with Harper until a little after midnight, so I tore myself from bed to help them in and get a few snuggles before going back to sleep.

Saturday morning no one decided to sleep in. 4 of 6 were up at 6:45, which means I was too. Matt left for a golf tournament in Savannah and I did a quick run before the day really got started. My sis really wanted another beach day, so we left the house at 10:30. Of course we had to get lunch, do a target run, and get ice...so we didn't get to the beach until right at 1. Harper was such a trooper! She slept or entertained herself pretty much the entire day. She only got a little fussy on the way home, but it can't blame her- we were all a little cranky! We got home, all showered, then grilled out hamburgers and hotdogs before calling it an early night.

Sunday morning I slept in until 8, despite everyone else (almost) being up around 7am. Matt and I had nursery at church, then met up with everyone for lunch on the island. After lunch Matt and I came home and the rest outlet shopped for a bit. We had the house back to ourselves around 6, then Matt ran a few errands around town while I tackled the laundry and vacuuming. I'm looking forward to a relaxing upcoming weekend with few plans!