22 Weeks and Catching Up as Usual

Ok, here is my 22 Week picture. I didn't realize I looked this big honestly and I'm not sure when it happened!

This past weekend was Olivia's birthday party (my "niece" technically cousin but she calls me aunt amanda) She got lots of cute girly things and really enjoyed herself.

Here she is with her mom and Grace (another cousin of ours)

Cool candles!


Making her wish

That night Brian, Ashley and I went to dinner with Lindsey, her hubby Josh and Tia. I am glad we are getting to see them more. Back before I went to Hawaii we were together most weekends. Anyway, dinner was awesome. We went to Bone Fish Grill. I can't wait to take Jeremy there sometime. They fly their fish in daily so it is really fresh, just like you were on the coast.

Lindsey and Josh

The other night I was at grandma's house and I took this picture of her Christmas Cactus. It belonged to my Great Grandma and is really blooming so pretty this year.

Sorry, I know I'm skipping around a lot! Yesterday I went to Little Rock with Brian. We were at Silks a Bloom and were inspired by so many of the Christmas trees. We came across one theme that looked like Who-ville, from the movie The Grinch. It was our favorite.

Brian being goofy with an ornament we want.

We also had some family over for a little while on Monday, Lindsey brought them by. It was funny having 4 kids running around. Graham pointed out that I didn't have anything to play with in the living room. Apparently photo albums and candles aren't entertaining like I thought ha! How things are about to change around here.

Pictured here are all of my cousins

Graham, Grace, Olivia, and Emma. So cute!

If you are wondering how Chloe and Barney are doing, they are up to the same old thing. Lately, Chloe has been playing dentist.

But she thinks Barney's breath is a lethal weapon so he uses it against her.

I think I have said on here before that I love the sky. I could watch clouds, stars, airplanes, rain, etc. forever I think. So, I am always taking pictures and it was so pretty the other night I just couldn't resist.

My 22 Week Update...I know I skipped a couple.

Fetal development in pregnancy week 22:fetus in fifth month The grow must go on! No wonder you’re getting so big, you’re now housing a wonder-baby who weighs nearly a pound and measures nearly a foot in length. Their perfect little pancreas is now further developed and they’ve also started producing their own hormones! Your baby's future in the circus as a world-famous tight-rope-walker is secure: their inner ear is now developed to the point that they have their own sense of balance. Lucky for your little explorer, balance also promotes physical dexterity, which has them actively feeling out their surroundings where skin, body parts, and the resident umbilical cord are the big sensory experiences. Your foot-long baby, is looking a bit like an oversized raisin right now as more and more wrinkles are showing up each week. Not to worry, all that excessive wrinkling is just their skin’s way of planning ahead for the time when they’ll start piling on that irresistible baby chub.

And how's mom doing? Take a moment to think about this: your uterus has now stretched to such unholy proportions that it extends beyond your navel! The not-so-exciting part of this remarkable fact is that growth like this tends to leave stretch marks and can itch like nobody’s business. If it makes you feel any better, Don’t get suckered into buying really expensive creams that supposedly make stretch marks ‘magically disappear.'Stretch marks are scars on your skin and won’t disappear with a topical cream stretch marks on the belly are extremely common. Don’t get suckered into buying really expensive creams that supposedly make stretch marks ‘magically disappear.'Stretch marks are scars on your skin and won’t disappear with a topical cream . But feel free to apply all the aloe-vera (and other anti-itch lotions) to alleviate the itching. In terms of preventing their appearance, cocoa butter-based creams and creams full of Vitamin E have a reputation for helping-- but there's still no guarantee that those pesky stretch marks won't show up despite your best creaming-up efforts.
Also, your doctor may offer you a glucose screening test sometime in the upcoming weeks. The test checks for a high blood sugar condition that some women are susceptible to during pregnancy. At most, 5 percent of women actually test positive for this problem, but if you do, you will probably have a few more follow up tests to be sure. If you end up with a positive test, make a plan with your physician or nutritionist for treatment. Untreated, the high sugar content in your blood enables the overproduction of baby fat for your little one, and often results in overly high birth weight which can induce premature birth and/or the necessity to deliver via cesarean.