A delayed update... 35 weeks and 3 days plus life!

Chalkboard photo missing! :) 35 weeks and 3 days 

How Far Along:   35 weeks and 3 days

Size of Baby:  5 1/2 lbs and 20 inches

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  Up a total of 19 lbs, 3 of which were in the last week and a half! I guess that's OK considering the babe is packing on the pounds now (1lb in the last week).

Maternity Clothes: Maternity clothes.  Starting to get a little tired of the options...even some of the maternity shirts don't fit anymore.

Movement: Lots of movement.  One of my favorite moments was sitting at the airport in Philadelphia for a connection and a door alarm went of that was super loud - and made the baby jump and start squirming! So I guess we can say that he/she has hearing right now (hopefully still has hearing after that alarm!)

Sleep:  I sleep really well when I get to sleep, but the last few weeks have been non-stop so getting to bed at a decent time has been a challenge.

What I miss:  Sushi.  Lucas keeps asking me when we can go to sushi which is killing me! There are tons of sushi places around our new house.

Cravings:  I think I am still onto lemonade and potatoes.

Symptoms:  Starting to get back aches but this may be due to all the unpacking we've been doing.  I move a little slower (maybe with a slight waddle, Lucas says), but am still getting out most days for a long walk with Bentley.  Feeling pretty good still.

Best Moment this week:  This week has had some good moments and bad moments...mostly due to the stress of moving across the country at 35 weeks pregnant.  

The good:  

-We arrived in NY safely! 

-The moving truck arrived the same day that we arrived which meant we actually had beds to sleep on the first night! 

-I really like my new doctor's office - I met with one doc yesterday who was really great (I loved his style - dress pants, dress shirt, bow tie, but sleeves were rolled up and he was wearing sneakers!).  Next week I have an ultrasound to determine the baby's weight, Strep B test and pre-register for the hospital so I skip that step when I come in.  -Our crib arrived (but needs to be assembled!)

-Our new neighborhood is really really pretty and we are about a 10 minute walk to the beach/harbor which is gorgeous.

The bad:

-Unpacking

-Not having any storage devices to unpack the hundreds of books we have (although we did buy some yesterday at IKEA, but have to now asememble).

-No blinds in the master bedroom which is also the front of the house - and going to Lowes to find out their blind cutter is broken, so we have to wait!

-Lucas starting orientation and only have one more day "off" before he starts residency! :(

Random Updates: See above!

Picture for the week...

And just some random ones from the week...

The moving truck. We actually would recommend going this route again, although if we weren't having to do this on a budget, I would definitely go full-service moving company.

We had Peg and Cliff out for the past few days (they helped L drive across the country).  In between their help unpacking everything, we headed to the Mets vs Angels game on Father's Day.

Citi Field was a pretty cool stadium...a lot like Coors Field.

L and Cliff's handiwork- a fence for Bentley! 

Morning walk - Bentley loves the beach and "hunting" the ducks

Not sure if dogs are allowed off-leash, but it's so quiet in the morning, I figure no one cares

Just staring at the ducks..but would never get close to the water.

Will update more when we get the house in order! 

We have a place to live!

As of June 15, we will have a place to call home in NY (signed lease is in the mail)!  As crazy as it seems to sign a year lease on a house that we've never actually seen, both Lucas and I are surprisingly relaxed about it.  Perhaps it is just the alternative that stresses us out more (not going out to look for housing until the end of May, just a few weeks shy of our move date).  Either way, we are happy and think that, even though it is another "older" home, it's 40 years newer than our current home and has many more upgrades.

Living room and my office

Baby's nursery/guest room (we'll see how everything fits!)

An updated kitchen with...a DISHWASHER! Thank God!

The best part of the house is that it is only a mile from the hospital that Lucas will be at most of the time and one mile to the beach (right next to a huge reserve with lots of trails...I'm already dreaming of my running routes with a jogging stroller in tow).

24 Weeks 2 Days

How Far Along:  24 weeks and 2 days 

Size of Baby:  All these fruit descriptions sound the same... so we'll leave that out this week! Baby King should weigh in at about 1lb 4-8oz.  

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I don't think I've gained any since last week.  Up for a total of probably about 7lbs (sure doesn't look like it though).

Maternity Clothes: Maternity pants and a mix of maternity/non-maternity shirts.  

Movement:  Yes - Baby King likes to hang out right below my right rib these days.  Lucas has felt the babe going wild in there a couple of times.

Sleep:  Loving my sleep right now

What I miss:  A cold wheat beer - I will definitely be excited to enjoy one with Lucas once the babe arrives.  

Cravings: French fries? Haven't given in to this temptation yet, but watch out this week.  

Symptoms:  Itchy patches - ewww. I don't know if this is pregnancy related or what.  Also, we hit 90 degrees last week and my feet were definitely doubling in size.

Best Moment this week:  24 weeks is considered "viability" - ie. if the babe were to come, there is a good chance he/she could survive (of course after a long NICU stay).  Obviously we would like the babe to stay put in there and cook for at least 13 more weeks (this mama's gotta move, mmkay?), but it's great to know that he/she would be given a chance even with an early arrival.  

Random Updates: PLANNING PLANNING PLANNING. We are finalizing a moving company, thinking about logistics of actually getting everyone across the country, and starting to inventory our house for craigslist/garage sale/goodwill.  And lastly, we likely found the house in Stony Brook that we will be in for at least the next year.  More to come once we sign the lease (from afar...are we crazy? possibly). 

24 weeks 2 days

A self take - Lucas needed to be included! 

Baptism

On March 21, Lucas was baptized at our church here in Redlands, The River CRC.  It was such a cool service - not only did they welcome new members and do profession of faith, but also had several baptisms....AND A WEDDING.  Yes, a wedding! A couple at our church were struggling financially and the River offered to pay for a wedding and have it done at the end of the service.  It was a huge testimony to God's redeeming love as this is a couple that had struggled for years with drugs, alcohol, prison etc.  If you're interested, you can watch the service online by clicking here (March 20th morning service).  

After church we had lunch with lots of friends at Olive Ave Market (my favorite here in Redlands).  It was such an encouragement to know that God has blessed us with great friends in Redlands even in such a short period of time.  I cling to that and His faithfulness that He will provide all that we need as we make the transition to New York life.

New York New York

I should have seen it coming.  There were "signs" everywhere:


-My mom made us a fleece car seat cover and brought it out a couple weeks.  Sorry mom, but at first I didn't think it would get much use (fleece in Loma Linda? in Texas? no way!).  I retract my initial opinion!


-Elisa was cleaning out her garage and came across some stroller "mitts" (built in gloves for me to push the stroller with) which I thought may be a good idea for when I travel back to Colorado.  But now I think I will be using them quite often between the months of Nov and April.


-Sarah sent me a cute 3mo fuzzy onesie.  Enough said - that will be used for sure! 


-And last but not least, on our way to the match ceremony (where we received our envelope), JayZ's "New York" was on the radio.  Ironic? I think no.


So the night before the match celebration, I had a revelation of where I thought we would be going:

But here's what happened in reality....

So we're off... to STONY BROOK, NEW YORK (LONG ISLAND)