26 Weeks!

It seems like the weeks are flying by! We finally have the nursury looking like a baby room and I could not be more excited about it! It is turning out exactly as planned! :) My sister's bff, Kelley, offered to make me the big thing with her name on it, and since Pete and I have decided (as of yesterday) to wait until she is born to choose a name, that will not be here before she is born. Owell, I just need to decide what I want to do on the other walls and focus on that! The room is pretty small, so I do not want it to be too crowded, but I have a few ideas :) I will do a whole post on a nusury update soon!

This was at 25 weeks and 5 days! :)

How far along? 26 weeks!!

Size of the baby?

Food Cravings? Anything and everything! Ha, I honestly have been trying to eat better the past few weeks so everything "bad" that I don't want to eat sounds delcious. Go figure.

What I miss: I am honestly not missing too much these days. I am really enjoying being pregnant and all that goes with it! I have felt so blessed lately that God gave me the opportunity to have children. It is such an amazing thing and I don't want to complain or miss too much, because some people never get this feeling and that makes me really, really sad.

 Stretch marks? I have a few on my boobs (TMI) but nothing major, yet.

Maternity Clothes? My sister gave me a bunch more dresses (shirts for me ;)) that I have been wearing with the 3 pairs of shorts that I have. I have also been wearing the same 3 maxi dresses like crazy (SO unlike me). Old Navy was also running a sale and I got those red jeans in the picture above, which I love! I love that they are coming out with stylish maternity clothes, it honestly is a great confidence booster. I also bought a pair of maternity leggings (in order to get free shipping) and I am sure I will get plenty of use out of those in the coming months.

Gender? GIRL! Like I mentioned above, Pete and I were talking about different things yesterday and I made him have the name conversation. He finally expressed that he wants to wait until she is born to pick between Eleanor or Zetta. He said either one will be perfect, so why rush it. ;) Such a man, but I do not mind to wait either, it is such a hard decision for me and honestly probably won't even know when she comes out. Even though everyone says we will just know when we see her. That comment is so weird to me and I guess it's one of those things you can't picture saying/doing until you are actually experiencing it. Reguardless, it's still weird.

Weight Gain? Yikes. We are gonna leave this one blank until I go to the doctor Friday. :)

Sleep? I have been sleeping great!! I am becoming pretty tired throughout the day again though, so that is not too much fun. I have been going to bed pretty early, but I have also been waking up around 7:30-8 every morning without an alarm. Well, a noise alarm, I do have a different kind of alarm in my belly, that's for sure!!! :)

Best moment of the week? I didn't post last week, so my best moment's of the past few weeks would be that my mom and MIL got to feel her kick and Pete and pretty much feel it anytime he puts his hand on my belly! When we were at our check up, she was listening to the heartbeat and baby girl was moving so much she could barely get a read on the heartrate! She is very active! I also love that my MIL brought over the dresser she finished and it looks SO AMAZING and my parents brought over the crib so the room is no longer empty. Also, Pete and I were at Lowe's walking through all the lights and I pointed to the chandilier that I wanted and he said that he wants something that sits closer to the ceiling and didn't think we needed a chandalier. I said whatever and dropped it. Well, I came home the other night and there was a big box is the room...it was the chandalier :) I was super excited! He is going to have no shot when she is born. She is going to get anything she wants because she will figure out real quick that daddy cannot say no to his sweet girl! :) At least he admits it. hehe.

Symptoms? Not too much. Tired and hungry, but I feel like that is normal when I am not pregnant. haha.

Movement? I think I already answered this in all my super wordy responses above!

xoxo,

Erin



Ashley's Wedding!!

The second weekend in July one of my best friends, Ashley, got married! She currently lives in New York and her husband is located on a military base about 6 hours north of her. They planned the wedding in Ocean City, Maryland, about 4 hours away from the city. I met one of my other best friends, Emily (who lives in Columbia) in St.Louis Wednesday night and we stayed with my sister and flew out Thursday morning. We landed and just went to Ashley and Lauren (another one of our best friends) apartment and hung out until they got off work. Ashley had a few last minute errands to run before we got on the road early Friday morning.Because Ashley and I have are bad influences for each other, we decided to get eyelash extensions on Thursday night when we were running errands. I have been wanting to try them out, but didn't want to spend the money. Plus, not to brag, but I have pretty thick and long eyelashes to begin with, so I am not sure what look I was expecting. Let me tell you, I hated them!!! I think the mistake was that I didn't really want them for the extension part. I was more interested in the thickness, not length and the lady misunderstood. Therefore, they were super long, and when I looked in the mirror I just wanted to rip them all out! Besides that, they were heavy, itchy, and you could see them all the time! Here is a few pictures of what they looked like. To give you an idea how long they were, when I got home, my brother asked if they hit the windshield when I was driving! Seriously, if my brother noticed, they had to have been bad! Needless to say, I went and got them removed the next day and 10 more dollars later.

Seriously, terrible picture, but I wanted to show my sister how long they really were!

We spent the rest of the time in Ocean City, enjoying the beach and catching up!!

Dinner on Friday night!

Bachelorette Party-with our non-alcoholic beer ;)

The best friends a girl could ask for! xoxo

One of Ashley's friends had this drive by the beach Saturday afternoon, it was so fun!!!!

          The flowers, before I wrapped them :)                                  The "cake" 

                            The wedding spot, so beautiful!!!!

                                                    

                                                           The Bride and I before the wedding!!!

The boys

The girls, in our unplanned, matching attire :)

The ceremony

 A few pictures after the wedding! One of Ashley's friends had an awesome camera and she was our personal photographer the whole weekend! She took over 800 pictures and uploaded them all on shutterfly for us to share, so sweet! I couldn't narrow it down anymore than these! Everything was SO beautiful!!

I was going to try to do all 3 weddings in one post, but I think that will be the world's longest blog post! Therefore, I will post Lindsey's wedding festivities tomorrow!

xoxo,

Erin

Sunday Social: Fall Favorite's

1. What is your favorite fall activity?
Gosh, there are so many good ones! Decorating my house, drinking pumpkin spice lattes, bonfires, s'mores, football games, and so much more!

2. Do you follow a football team? If so, which one and why?
 MIZZOU! My husband went to Mizzou and his group of friends are obsessed! It is going to be fun dressing baby girl up in all Mizzou this season!! :)

                                                

3. What is something fun about fall in your area?

The Pioneer Market in our little town always has fun mazes, hayrides, pumpkin picking, petting zoo, etc. Also, the town shuts down on Friday nights to go watch the high school football team. Even though I don't have anyone close to me playing anymore (I'm too old!) it is still fun to see the team have the whole town's support!

4. Fav Fall outfit staples?

Fall is my favorite season to dress for! Seriously-scarves, boots, leggings, cardigans are my everyday attire!
                              
                                 

Can you tell that I like stripes? Ha!  I think my attire will be a little different this fall though! Being due November 13 is going to throw a wrench in my cute fall outfits!

5. Thing you are looking forward to the most about this coming Fall season?
Besides having our precious little girl, my mom's side of the family takes a trip to Sam A. Baker State Park every year. They have been doing this since my mom and her siblings were kids and they have carried on the tradition with my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. We rent out the cabins and just spend the weekend sitting by the fire, taking a hike, and eating as much puppy chow that we possibly can.
I can easily say, this is the weekend I look forward to the most the entire year. It is so nice to just know we are going to go there and hang out with family and relax with no interruptions! I will be 36 weeks pregnant this year, and I am praying all will still be going good so that I do not have to skip!

                               


                               


                               


6. Favorite Fall Holiday? Traditions?
Thanksgiving, obviously! I love all the food :) I know Sam A. Baker weekend isn't a holiday, but it is my favorite tradition. I also love carving pumpkins with my siblings and having my mom cook all of the seeds!! There are so many things I love about Fall. I am sure my sister could come up with a lot more traditions than me! :)

xoxo,
Erin

Today's Thoughts(aka rambling)

**Waring, this post is a lot of rambling, and doesn't really have a point to anyone besides myself. :)

So the past few weeks my mind has been consumed with questions of what I am going to do with my life. I feel like most people that are 6 months pregnant are looking for ways to quit their jobs and be able to raise their kids. For me, it is the opposite (and please hear me out before you judge. Or judge, it doesn't matter because it won't change my feelings). I am young. My husband in turning 29 in a week and a half and I just turned 23. I flew through college (3 1/2 years) and was in my last semester when we got married. He had a terrific job which allowed me to stay part-time at Healthpoint and then I quit there about 6 months ago to work with my mom at Cape Starter (our family business). Recently, which most of you know if you have read my blog at all, that Pete quit his job at AT&T and is doing his dream job of full-time house flipping and running our rental property. I love that we are in a place in our lives that he can do that. I probably say at least 3 times a week how grateful I am that he doesn't work at AT&T anymore. It was fine for a few years, but our life is so much easier and enjoyable without that job (new budget or not, ha!). But because he quit, I am looking for some type of work with benefits. At first I thought it would be no big deal, I would find something part-time where I can still work with my mom and pick up a few weddings each year. That would be the perfect dream for me-I still get to work with family and pursue my passion of wedding coordinating. But, the more and more that I have looked for part-time jobs around this area it just stresses me out. I want to like what I do and like the people I work with. I want it to be a positive environment that I look forward to going to everyday( or every other). Let me tell you, there just isn't much out there. Which has made me think a lot if I want to go find a full time job in event planning or something along those lines, that way I know that I will enjoy what I do. I am not saying it will not be stressful at times, and hard to leave my baby girl, the flexibility and personal enjoyment of working with my mom everyday, but I would like what I do. I have said since the beginning that I do not want to be a full-time SAHM, but I never thought I would work full-time either. I guess all that to say that parts of me wish I had a little more time to work in a busy, full-time environment before we had kids. Or, that I would have done it while Pete was working at AT&T and I was fresh out of college. But as I type it I know parts of me don't mean it. Kids are my passion, and I have longed for a child and a large family for as long as I can remember. I just want to raise and love on as many kids as I possibly can. I want that. Pete wants that. So, I know I would be discouraged working full-time.
Do you think I am crazy yet?!
I am sure some of this rambling is my prego brain, but most of it is real, but tomorrow I could read this and think that I am a moron for ever thinking about giving up the opportunities I have now. I just want to do something I enjoy and love, and I am nervous that I am going to let myself just take whatever job I get offered first because it has benefits. Is it bad to say one of my part-time "dream jobs" is a barista at Starbucks? I just hate how people judge your lifestyle by where you work. I am not usually one to care about what others think of me as long as I am happy. I don't know why I let this one affect me so much? I need to let it go because, if I could work part-time at Starbucks, work with my mom, and pick up a few weddings a year, I would seriously be over the moon happy. I guess I just rambled my way into making a decision. I knew I just needed to write it out, and know that this is what makes me happy and is what is best for my family, so other peoples opinions do not matter. Whew.

If you made it to the end of this, congrats! I promise I will get around to posting about NYC and the wedding I was in this past weekend. I just haven't had the energy.

xoxo,
Erin

It's OK Thursday

Hello! I am linking up with Neely for "It's OK Thursday!!"

  It's OK..... -That I am wishing away summer because I love fall so much! -That I wanted to write my post about NYC today, but I am too lazy -That I ate pizza rolls for lunch and they were delicious -That I am over the moon excited that we are having a little girl in November. I can barely contain myself sometimes!! -That I could listen to country music from the second I wake up until I go to bed and it will never get old to me. -That I really am starting to miss diet coke, like bad y'all. -That I just started getting the motivation to workout, mainly because I am starting to really freak about giving birth and know it will be easier on me if I am in shape.   That is all I can think of now!! I have a full weekend again this weekend!! One of my very best childhood friends is getting married!!! It all starts this afternoon with a pre-wedding workout and the lingerie shower/party tonight!  

xoxo,

Erin

23 Weeks 1 Day

*For some reason Blogger jumbles up all my sentance's after I post them and I do not know how to fix it!! They all look normal in my draft, but when I preview it or post it, it is all messed up, so I am sorry about it!*

How far along? 23 Weeks 1 Day

Size of the baby? 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound! Her sense of movement is well developed by now, and she can feel me move and dance.

Food Cravings? I still am really enjoying soup, but i have found myself wanting sweet things this week also! I have resisted the temptation more than I have given in, just an FYI! :)


What I miss: a good margarita, I was at a friends wedding this weekend and that was the first
time I have missed alcohol. Terrible to say, but it is the truth!

Stretch Marks? Still only 3! I am putting lotion on like its my job!


Maternity Clothes? I have gotten a few more things from different friends, they are so sweet to let me borrow so I do not have to buy anymore! Although, I did get new undies and bras this week and that made me feel like a new woman! ha, so comfortable not being so tight everywhere!!

Gender? It's a GIRL!!

Weight Gain:  Still up 20 I am assuming, I go to the doctor next Thursday.

Sleep? I am getting more tired during the day than I have in the past month or so, but nothing too exhausting. I have been getting terrible legs cramps, so that's no fun.

Best Moment of the Week: I would have to say the kicks again! They are so strong! I was in NYC with some of my best friends over the weekend. They all got the chance to feel her kick, it was fun to share with them!

Symptoms: Leg cramps and I have been so thirsty. I can't get enough water!!

Movement? We have a very active little girl on our hands! She kicks up a storm, espically at night! I can lay on the couch and feel her kicking for 30 minutes straight! In the past week I has gotten so much stronger that you can see it from the outside. I am ready for her to kick during the day though, my mother is dying to feel it! :)

Names and Nurserys

I have always thought that when I have a little girl, her nursery is going to be super girly and pink all over the place. So when I first got pregnant and naturally started thinking about the room, I just had two totally different plans depending on the sex. I thought I had it all figured out. But, then I found the rocker that I knew I wanted, no matter boy or girl, and that changed everything.

Once we got that, I still thought that I would make it super girly with tulle and ruffles everywhere. Now that I know it's a girl, I pulled everything back up for the girls room and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. That's just not me. I am not a super girly person, never have been never will be. Let's be honest, I have my hair up every single day of my life and am mad when I can't wear a sports bra. Therefore, I thought I can't make a nursery for my baby girl like looks like she is raised by a girly diva, Bc we are far from that. And her room will be just as far, but I could not be more excited about the plan!!!! I am currently looking for old barn wood to make with her (undecided) name on it. It will look similar to this, only with her monogram painted in pink(see, it's not all tom boy) and without that decorative vine.

Then we are using the crib me and my siblings used when we were kids. (side note: I understand some people are going to freak about this. My dad is bolting it up to where it will be up to standards. I looked into it).

I couldn't find a better picture, but this is the exact crib...

Then the dresser is Pete's step dads first dresser that he ever had as a kid and they aren't using it and I fell in love with it! I am so thankful that he is willing to let baby girl have that. :) My MIL is painting the base ivory, but leaving the drawers the original wood just re staining them so they look fresh.

The dresser looks similar to this, but has more detail on the drawers

I am a little worried though, Bc all the furniture is pretty large and the room is defiantly on the smaller side. It is going to be cramped, but i think once we get it all in there and play around with it, we will find a way that works. That is as far as we have gotten right now, but I am excited to start getting it all set up!

Now for the name. We just can't decide. We had a boys name nailed down, but not a girls. We narrowed it down to 2 girl choices before we found out the sex, and haven't really discussed it since then. I think we are both just thinking about it for a while and getting other peoples opinions (I know, horrible idea ;)) The decision is between Eleanor(Nora) Mae Ressler or Zetta Mae Ressler. Zetta Mae is my great grandmothers name. I originally said I wanted my daughters name to be Eleanor and Pete and I both loved it. But, there are so many little girls right now with names that begin with El and that stresses me out. One of my best friends is named Erin and I just don't want that confusion for my child and the people she will hangout with. Plus, I loveee Eleanor, but hate the thought that people are going to try to call her Ellie. (I know that is dumb, but you have to think about these things!!) So IF people try to shorten it, which they will, I want her to be called Nora. I love that also but don't like that her name is Eleanor yet she goes by Nora. Grr, I don't know why I let it bother me so much, but I do. That is the total reason we have not made a decision yet. I just don't want her to have to correct people her whole life. Which Pete doesn't feel this way, and he thinks it is no big deal. I guess I should just trust him on that because he has done it his whole life, so he would know more than me. (Charles Peter Ressler) :) soooooo that is where we are at on those two subjects. Sorry for the long post, I typed it while I was on the plane to New York, so I really let my feelings out. Haha!

Now let's get this party started! I will be back on Monday unless I get super bored while I am here, then I might post a few times. ;)

xoxo,

Erin