To be completely honest, these past few weeks have been some of the hardest in recent memory. My Great Aunt Millie (who I have been talking about my last few posts) passed away last Wednesday and we have her funeral this morning. I know that it was her time to go, but it's just hard... on top of that, I have never been around somebody on a nearly daily basis who is sick, so it was extremely difficult to watch her go from the feisty, independent, wine drinking, poker playing, red sports car driving 96-year-old to how she was during her last days. If you knew my Aunt Millie, you know that there were little-to-no stops for her in terms of getting into heaven... she was an amazing woman who loved her faith, family, and friends and we are going to miss her dearly. It's still hard imagining a world without Aunt Millie in it, but I am blessed to have so many amazing memories to look back on (like the time she took my brother and I skiing for our first time... when she was 80). I am hoping to get some sort of a memorial written on here over the next few weeks, so stand by!
In other news, I have a secret... I have been thinking about starting a new Catholic faith-based lifestyle blog for the last year, finally started working on it back in February, and completely shoved it to the side after getting busy with life and pregnancy fatigue... but after much prayer and thought, I am getting fired up about it again and hope to launch by the end of this summer! That being said, the formatting around here may be changing some... Annie One Can Cook will probably become strictly what it has been for the last year -- a place to share stories and updates about our family -- while this new one will be a place to write about faith, encouragement, home decor, simple recipes, entertaining tips, and so on. I thank you all for your patience as I make this transition -- I hope that you will stick around.
Okay, and now the reason you're here: my 23, 24, & 25 week bumpdate!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: I was up 15 lbs. yesterday at my doctor's appointment.
Maternity clothes: YES and I am kicking myself for not buying them sooner! I finally bought a belly band for my jeans, two tops during The Loft's big 4th of July 50% sale, and some other large shirts that are a joy to wear. (The pictured dress is actually a junior's large from Walmart, but it is about the most comfortable thing ever!)
Stretch marks: Notta one. Thank you, genetics!
Sleep: These last few weeks have been rough... I wake 3-4 times a night to use the restroom and usually can't go back to sleep after my 3:30 trip. Oh well.. it gives me time to research my articles and buy crap on Amazon!
Best moment last week: We didn't tell many people about it (because we didn't want to worry everyone), but during our 20-week anatomy scan, our doctor found a small cyst on Little Brother's brain. We were assured that it was probably just part of the growing process and that it should go away on it's own (since I'm not considered to be high risk and our genetics testing all came back normal), but there was a chance it could mean there were chromosomal abnormalities. Brandon and I both kind of decided from the get-go to not worry about it (growing up, my dad always assured me time and again that God would never give you anything He didn't think you could handle, so I knew that if our baby was born with special needs, it was meant to be and we would love him unconditionally), but it was confirmed yesterday that the cyst has disappeared and that baby looks healthy all around!
Movement: He's still a mover (and still does it the most whenever Jax and I lay down to read or Jax jabbers for a long period of time)!
Food cravings/aversions: On the cravings front, mostly just fruit and fruit flavored candy.
Food cravings/aversions: On the cravings front, mostly just fruit and fruit flavored candy.
Gender: Little Brother!
Labor signs: No and it can stay that was for another 15 weeks.
Belly button - in or out? When I wake up after nap, it looks like it may pop, but so far it's stayed in.
What I miss: Aunt Millie :(
What I am looking forward to: Having the buying/selling/moving process completed at the beginning of next month!