28 Weeks

How far along?  28 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 17 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yup

Stretch marks? a few

Best moment this week: Spending time with our friend from Illinois!

Miss Anything? The ability to sleep through the night.

Movement: All of the time!

Food cravings: I am craving ice constantly. My Dr says it's because my iron levels are low so she recommended I add an iron supplement to my prenatal vitamins.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not queasy or sick necessarily, but I have developed MAJOR heart burn...which thoroughly sucks because I am a self-proclaimed spicy food connoisseur!

Have you started to show yet: It looks like someone shoved a dodge-ball under my skin so I think it's safe to say yes. lol

Gender: BOY

Labor Signs: Nope!

Belly Button in or out? Half/half. The top part is starting to stick out. lol 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! ...but occasionally moody. I tend to cry really easily. lol

Looking forward to: Painting baby Ater's room!

This week our friends Tyler and Amanda Rector came in to visit from Illinois so I took the week off work to stay at Josh's dad's farm with them! While Josh and Tyler were off turkey hunting every morning, Amanda and I were able to enjoy the country and the beautiful weather while we spent some quality time together! She is absolutely the sweetest person I think I have ever met and I was so glad they were able to come down!

Amand and Tyler

  While they were in, we took them to Keeneland in Lexington where they got to experience horse races for the first time! It was so much fun! My lovely best friend, Ashley, and her boyfriend, Adam, joined us for the festivities and we just had a great time watching the horses and spending time together! I miss them so much!

Tyler was utilizing his multi-tasking skills!

I think Joshua and I cleaned up pretty nicely after our hike through the woods!

Josh wanted me to walk around the woods with him at the farm, but I had to wear camo because we might have seen a turkey! lol It was 80 degrees so I wore shorts but I had to wear boots as well. Needless to say, my outfit was pretty amazing. :-)

27 Weeks

HAPPY EASTER!

 
How far along?  27 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 15 lbs!

Maternity clothes? Yup

Stretch marks? a few

Best moment this week: Getting to spend time with Josh's family and seeing some of mine as well!

Miss Anything? Sushi and queso

Movement: Definitely...I've decided our child is part Hercules, part David Beckham. He's strong and kicks A LOT.

Food cravings:Fruit and yogurt mostly...but all food is fair game.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope! Feeling great!

Have you started to show yet: Definitely.

Gender: BOY

Labor Signs: Nope...I did have a Braxton Hicks contracting the other day though. It freaked me out a little.

Belly Button in or out? It's flat right now and working it's way out!

Happy or Moody most of the time: Ecstatic!

Looking forward to: I am so ready to finish the baby's room...and pick out a name for Pete's sake!

Joshua and I had a wonderful Easter with friends and family! We went to our favorite church ever, Louisville First Church of the Nazarene, where we saw some wonderful, beautiful people and heard an amazing message from Pastor Harry Curry! My Mom came with us as well as my beautiful best friend, Janna, and her boyfriend Luis! I loved being surrounded by so many people I knew and loved on such a special day. After church, Mom came with us to Josh's aunt Jill's house where we ate dinner and all hung out. It was great! I love spending time with Josh's family and it was great to have my Mom there too! 

The baby was going crazy the whole time we were there and he just would not let me get comfortable. That is actually when I had the braxton hicks and I was really worried. It was only one contraction and I was fine, but it didn't keep from scaring me a little. After the day was over I told Joshua I had felt especially pregnant all day. I think it was a mixture of baby Ater's constant movement and all of the comments about how cute I was with my baby belly. lol

We had my Momma take some pictures of us in our Sunday best while she was there... It takes a bit for Joshua to get serious. lol

But, despite his incredible goofiness...I love him more than anyone in all the land.

Josh's cousin Lauren is so freaking beautiful and I love her to pieces!

Jill's dog, Shadow, was a little freaked out by everyone there, but he looks like he managed to get pretty comfortable.

Josh's brother, Timmy, wouldn't get in the picture with us...so we made him.

26 Weeks

How far along?  26 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 15 lbs!

Maternity clothes? Yup

Stretch marks? a few

Best moment this week: Sitting and watching my belly move like a roller coaster!

Miss Anything? Sushi and queso

Movement: All of the time!

Food cravings:Fruit, yogurt, steak (which is totally weird for me), and cereal.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope! Feeling great!

Have you started to show yet: Definitely.

Gender: BOY

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? Well, it has officially "went flat" but it hasn't popped out yet!

Happy or Moody most of the time: Ecstatic!

Looking forward to: Starting on the baby's room!

So...this post is WAAAAY late, but everything has been incredibly hectic over the past few weeks! I had my birthday (as well as everyone else's birthdays in my family) and I have also been working overtime at the hospital. I figured I should probably work as much as possible right now...before waddling becomes my primary mode of movement. But things here in the Blanton-Ater household have been great! Hectic, but great! 

After the move we had some issues with Fender reverting back to the days when she wasn't potty trained and thought we were going to have to let her live with my mom in Berea, which would have been absolutely heart-breaking for me. We just knew there would be no way we could keep her here with a baby if she continued to use the house as her own personal toilet. But, after about a week of living here, she finally just stopped and has been great ever since! I think she just had some anxiety issues with all of the stress of moving and really, who could blame her, I had anxiety issues with it too. lol

We've been living happily ever after here since then and, although we are still getting everything settled, I'm happy we have our own place. I just can't wait to get started on the baby's room! I was hanging up all of his little clothes in the closet the other day and I realized I was smiling from ear to ear. They are just so precious and I can't wait to see this little munchkin in them all!

25 Weeks

How far along?  25 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 15 lbs!

Maternity clothes? Yup

Stretch marks? a few

Best moment this week: Seeing all of my family and friends

Miss Anything? Sushi and queso

Movement: All of the time!

Food cravings:Fruit, yogurt, fried food, everything basically.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope! Feeling great!

Have you started to show yet: Definitely.

Gender: BOY

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? I'm surprised it has made it this far, but it's still in there! lol

Happy or Moody most of the time: Ecstatic!

Looking forward to: Painting the baby's room!

This week has been INSANE! My Mom and Dad's 26th wedding anniversary was this week as well as my grandmother's and my Mom's birthdays and my friend Mary and my birthdays are this coming week! It's just been crazy. Not only that, we moved into our new apartment which I absolutely LOVE! The moving process sucks, but we have been so blessed to have friends like James and Harry Curry, Trevor Ford, and Brad Williams who were willing to take a whole day to help us move stuff from Berea to Louisville. They are just amazing!

Josh and I have spent every bit of extra time we've had organizing the apartment and, although it is still not completely in order, we're getting there. Slowly but surely! I'm just glad we're finally in a place where we can begin our lives as a family. Not to say we don't appreciate all of the help we have received from our families these past few months! Especially my parents and Josh's aunt Jill who let us stay with them for months while we moved and looked for a new place!

Janna and Ashley are two of the most special people in my life and I don't know what I would do without them, or their men. lol [Adam, Ashley, Janna, Luis]

March birthdays really are the best. :-) Mary and I...the birthday girls.

Mary, Janna and Ashley were all able to feel baby Ater move and kick!

24 Weeks

How far along?  24 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 15 lbs!

Maternity clothes? Yup

Stretch marks? a few

Best moment this week: The best moment this week and every week is feeling this little guy move around. It really is magical.

Miss Anything? Sushi... I did get to eat some fully-cooked sushi yesterday that was AMAZING. It definitely helped satisfy my yearning. lol

Movement: All of the time!

Food cravings: Fruit and yogurt

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope! Feeling great!

Have you started to show yet: Definitely. People actually aren't afraid to ask me if I'm pregnant now. lol

Gender: BOY

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? I'm surprised it has made it this far, but it's still in there! lol

Happy or Moody most of the time: Ecstatic!

Looking forward to: Moving into our apartment on Tuesday!!!


Ok so... if you couldn't already tell, I am LOVING this camera Josh got me for my birthday!! The pictures are so much clearer and I just want to document everything now so...prepare for photo overload. lol 

This week we have just been crazy busy trying to prepare for our move on Tuesday. I'm going back to my hometown tonight to pack up the rest of my stuff at my parent's and spend some time with friends and family. Then I'll be back tomorrow night and Tuesday morning we move in! I can't wait! 

Trying to find bedding I like for the baby's room is turning out to be much more difficult than I thought. I think it's because Joshua and I are both so picky. Neither of us want the forest animal characters in his room to be cutesie or cartoon-ish, but trying to find baby stuff that ISN'T cutesie or cartoonish is impossible. So... I have enlisted my mother to help me make it myself! It will be really fun to spend some time with her and to learn how to sew because that is one skill I have yet to master.

A friend of mine from high school, Jessica Holly, is an artist and I asked her to sketch me some pictures for the baby's room. She did an absolutely AMAZING job!!! I love them SO much! I am so blessed to have such talented friends. :-)

Joshua took Lakota to the farm last weekend and got some really great shots of him with the new camera. This one is my favorite. He looks like a wolf!

Fender and I tried to do a photo-shoot for the blog to get some good baby-belly pictures, but most of them just entailed a lot of puppy kisses.

23 Weeks

How far along?  23 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 10 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yup

Stretch marks? a few

Best moment this week: Watching little Ater squirm around with my long-lost friends.

Miss Anything? Sushi

Movement: I think he's exercising in there...constantly.

Food cravings: Mexican food.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope! Feeling great!

Have you started to show yet: Oh yeah!

Gender: BOY

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? It's struggling to stay in, but it's still in! lol

Happy or Moody most of the time: Ecstatic!

Looking forward to: Moving into our apartment on Tuesday!!!

I had an absolutely amazing weekend with my best friend from high school, Cory, and his new wife, Kayla!! I was able to spend time with people I haven't seen in ages and all in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Kayla was the perfect bride and I have honestly never been to a more beautiful wedding...and I've been to A LOT of weddings. Texas was amazing!! While we were there, baby Ater was going crazy so I sat on the couch while my friends watched him move around and got to feel him kicking. It was crazy and awesome and I loved it!! He has been moving so much lately so I'm glad everyone got to experience that with me! I also had the opportunity to meet some amazing Texans whom I absolutely fell in love with. Kayla has a wonderful family and I was so glad to spend time with them! After we left Texas, Josh and I decided to head to Louisiana and try some good old Cajun cuisine in New Orleans. We walked around the French Quarter and ate some amazing food! It was a really fun break from our 16 hour drive!

 
We are moving into our new apartment next Tuesday and I am SO EXCITED! I can't wait to start on the baby's room! Josh is pretty stoked about it too. He has been amazing through all of this. I know he will be an absolutely wonderful daddy and I love every time the baby moves and Josh gets to feel it. 

As far as the name situation is concerned...it's between Elijah and Leland. We're still trying to decide. lol

22 Weeks

How far along?  22 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 10 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yup

Stretch marks? a few

Best moment this week: Laying on my back and watching my belly move on its own...weird.

Miss Anything? Sushi and queso still...and being able to bend over comfortably. lol

Movement: Tons!

Food cravings: Food...period. I'm always hungry. lol

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope! Feeling great!

Have you started to show yet: Yup!

Gender: BOY

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? It's struggling to stay in, but it's still in! lol

Happy or Moody most of the time: Ecstatic!

Looking forward to: Deciding on a name for little Mr. Ater!

This weekend Joshua and I will be making the 16 hour drive from Kentucky to Texas to see one of my best friends, Cory Boston, and his fiance, Kayla Guajardo, get married! I'm actually in the wedding and I am so honored! Cory was my rock throughout high school and I don't know what I would have done without him! Kayla is just the sweetest, most adorable thing ever and I could not be happier for the both of them! 

After that, it is go-time in the BlantonAter household because we will start packing everything up and moving into our apartment! So many crazy, awesome, happy, stressful, wonderful things are happening in our lives right now, but it will be so worth it once we finally get settled. I can't wait to start on the baby's room and to finally decide on a name for the little guy! We've tossed around a few. Here are our favorites so far:

• Liam
• Josiah
• Elijah
• Leland

The biggest problem has been finding a middle name that sounds good with Ater. Of course Josh's last name would be the problem. lol