27 Weeks

Today I am 27 weeks and officially into my third trimester!  I am so excited that we have come this far already!  In just 3 short months we'll get to meet Grayson and finally start the family we have always wanted!

My doctor's appointment yesterday went really well.  I have only gained 7 pounds but my doctor is not too concerned.  He said it will just help me lose the weight quicker after Grayson gets here.  I go back in 2 weeks to do my glucose test and then continue two week appointment rotations until he gets here.  They plan to do another sonogram at 31 weeks so hopefully I can give you more updated photos in a month.  :)

Other than being tired at the end of the day, I feel great!  I thought the heat would really affect me but it hasn't been too bad.  We have been battling 100+ degree temperatures for about a week and they are predicting another week without any relief.  I am managing to stay indoors as much as I can and enjoying the new A/C we had installed at the pool this spring.

We made alot of progress on the nursery this weekend.  Shane and I went to Ikea on Thursday night to get Gray's dresser and a bookshelf.  We also bought some shelves at Aaron Brothers for one of the walls.  We put together all of the furniture, hung the curtain rod, ironed and hemmed the curtains and then hung the shelves.  It is all turning out just as I imagined!  It is very plain as of now, but I plan on getting some accent colors and more decorative items over the next couple of months.  Hopefully the alphabet set will come in soon for the wall over the crib and we hope to get the chair and ottoman in next weekend.  Here is a picture so far.

I also managed to knock out a few sewing projects last week/weekend.  I made about a dozen burp cloths out of some fabric I already had from other baby gifts.  I made 2 of each of the burp cloths below.

I also made a taggy blanket for Grayson.  I have been trying to find Texas Tech ribbon, but have not had much luck.  My aunt had a great idea to do A&M fleece on one side and Tech fleece on the other!  Genius! Here is the final result.

My next project will be making him a few pairs of shoes and finding all of the finishing touches for his nursery!

26 Weeks

Today is 26 weeks and baby Gray is just about 1.5 pounds right now.  I have noticed him moving alot more over the last few days.  Shane read to him last night and he was very active listening to his daddy's voice!

We had a pretty productive weekend.  I finally got registered!  Court and baby Maggie met me at Buy Buy Baby to help walk me through the madness.  I had already started a list so we just needed to find the items and add additional things that my experienced mom friend recommended.  After that, I picked up Shane and we headed over to Babies R Us to complete our registry.  We also made a stop at Haverty's to buy an oversized upholstered chair and ottoman for the nursery.  It doesn't rock or swivel, but we found a way to convert it.  That is a project for Shane to tackle when it gets delivered in a couple of weeks.  This was the one item I told Shane we would splurge on since I wanted a comfy place to sit in Gray's nursery.  Shane sat in the chair and I could already see him thinking about all of the times he will read to him at night before putting him to bed.  :)  On Sunday I went up to Ikea to purchase the dresser but it was sold out.  They said more should come in later this week so we'll try again this weekend.

We did make one other spontaneous trip on Saturday.  There was a furniture store going out of business next to Babies R Us so we stopped in there to see if they had a dresser and bookshelf for the nursery.  Shane and I ended up walking out with a new sofa and love seat for the upstairs living area.  We got a great deal so we could not pass it up.  I did not exactly plan on purchasing them since we already had a sofa up there that was given to me during my parent's relocation to the lake.  We figure they may want it back later this fall since they are working on getting an apartment up here as a second home.  It will help when my dad has business in town or they just want to come up for a few days and have a place of their own to stay.

Surprise Shower
Sunday morning I had an in-service training with my lifeguards.  I know I talk about work alot, but rarely do I actually talk about the "kids" I get to work with.  I call them kids but they range in age from 16-24 years old.

I showed up at the pool alittle early to go over the schedule for the morning with my pool managers.  As the guards started to show up, I was told to stay in the manager's office and not come out until instructed.  When I was finally given the thumbs up, I walked out to the upper deck of our pool and saw all of my guards sitting together holding presents.  They were throwing me a surprise baby shower!  It was the sweetest thing!  I found myself tearing up at the thought of these kids spending their hard earned paychecks on me and Grayson.  It was completely unexpected.  These kids mean alot to me and I really do enjoy working with them every summer.  Naturally I found it hard to reprimand them for anything wrong they had been doing so I had to adjust my speech and focus on the technicalities of their job.

Shane and I opened all of the gifts when I got home later that afternoon.  We got 8 packages of diapers, 6 containers of wipes, clothes, bibs and plenty of toys.  We were truly overwhelmed by their generosity!

Gifts from my "kids"

My "kids"

25 Weeks

It's hard to believe I am up to 25 weeks.  In fact, this whole week I was thinking I would just now hit 24 weeks today since I missed a post last week.  Sorry about the missed post.  I had a huge regional track meet this past weekend that takes just about everything I have to get it up and running.  Last week was very chaotic but one I am glad to have put behind me since it was the last time I have to run that meet!!

Grayson seems to be doing well.  He moves around alot more and you can now see my stomach move each time he kicks.  He is just over a pound now and the size of an eggplant.  My belly still seems small but the doctor has not expressed any concerns about my lack in weight gain.  Our phone app says my uterus is the size of a soccer ball...I am assuming it means a size 3!  I go back on July 30 for another check-up and then I start the 2 week check-up rotation.  I think my first August check-up will consist of the lovely glucose test. 

We did not opt to take any birth or breastfeeding classes.  After talking with my doctor and many of my friends, we felt they would not be that informative.  My doctor said everything I need to know to either get Grayson into the world or feed him once he arrives, will be taught at the hospital.  We are scheduled for a one hour hospital tour in August to get familiarized with the facility.  I have had many friends deliver at Plano Presby but things look alot different when you are just there to visit.

Not much has happened around the Bybee house.  The nursery still sits as we left it on the 4th of July but we hope to start purchasing more furniture items in the coming weeks.  My friend, Courtney, is going to help me register this Saturday.  It will be nice to have some help from an experienced mom!  :)  My other friend, Erin, let me borrow her book that outlines items to buy and what the experts recommend as far as safety ratings, etc.  It allowed me to already do some research on my own so I sort of have an idea going into the store what I want to get.  The list has started and it is quite overwhelming. 

I did pull out some fabric this weekend so I can begin sewing some things for baby Grayson.  I have made so many things for others in the past that I can't neglect my own son.  I plan on making some burp cloths and a taggy blanket plus a few pairs of shoes.  My mom makes the best baby blankets so I am headed to JoAnn's this week to get a few flannel fabrics for her to whip up a couple for me.  Luckily I have both Texas A&M and Texas Tech fabric for a few of these items.  I have to be fair and let Grayson choose but I know he will make the right choice in the end (Gig'em)! 

23 Weeks

I am a few days late getting this post up but the picture was taken on Tuesday at 23 weeks.  On Monday I went to the doctor for another check up and had only gained 5 pounds.  I feel like it's alot more and last week we really noticed my belly pop out.  His heartbeat sounded good and the doctor had no concerns.  Grayson weighs about 1 pound now.  He is really starting to move and you can finally feel him kick on the outside of my stomach.  Shane felt him move last week while we were gone and my mom felt him yesterday.

On Tuesday my parents came up and helped Shane paint the nursery.  My dad then helped him install a new fan and put the crib together.  We washed all of his bedding and got his crib all set up!

I absolutely love how it has turned out so far!  The picture is sort of dark but the walls are a light gray. It brightens up the room alittle.  As of now this is the only item in the nursery until we can purchase a dresser, bookshelf and chair with ottoman as well as some wall decor that I have in mind.  We know it is all going to quickly come together over the next month or two!

As for our vacation...I have no photos to post!  It is so unlike me but I did not take one single photo while we were gone.  We stayed at Lakeway Resort off Lake Travis.  It was a really nice place to get away for a few days if you don't want to go too far from home.  We spent our days hanging out by the pool reading and partaking in a few beverages (mine of the virgin variety of course).  At night we ventured out to some different restaurants that Austin is famous for (Oasis and Salt Lick).  On our way down we hit up some outlet malls but didn't get too much.  Just a couple of outfits for Grayson and his first pair of Adidas Sambas!  They are so cute and small!!  The trip was quick but it was nice to get some sun, relax and have some time to finally read!

22 Weeks

We finally picked a name!  We have actually had this name in mind since we found out I was pregnant.  Shortly thereafter, I had a dream that we had a girl named Grayson Ann.  I told Shane my name idea but he said it would be better for a boy.  After doing some research, we discovered that Grayson means "son of a gray haired man".  With Shane being so old (hee hee) we figured it was perfect!  Plus he did not have any former students and I did not have any staff that have worked for me with that name.  We went back and forth on the middle name between Neal and James.  We finally settled on Neal which is my dad, brother and first nephew's middle name.  Since he will be carrying on the Bybee name, we wanted to find a way to honor my family and Neal is a tradition for the male side.  It has been so fun calling him by his name the last few weeks!

Shane and I are looking forward to some R & R this week at a resort off Lake Travis.  Once we get back, the nursery will start coming together!  My parents are coming up before the 4th of July to help Shane paint the room and put the crib together.  Then we can start focusing on buying other furniture and finally getting registered.  I have a book to help me pick some things out that I plan to read this week along with a book on what to do once he finally arrives!  Shane and I realized we might need to read up on that!  :)

We hope you love his name as much as we do!  I am just glad I can start referring to him as Grayson instead of Baby Boy Bybee!!

21 Weeks

Today I am 21 weeks along.  It seems to be going by alot faster and I find myself sort of panicking when I realize how close we are to having a baby boy in the house.  It's a good panic though!  :)

Baby Boy Bybee is the length of a carrot this week.  I am baffled how big he seems to be getting when my belly still seems so small.  I have only gained 4lbs since we originally found out we were pregnant back in March.  In order to stay in shape, I started to swim for 30 minutes at the pool Monday - Thursday with the girl that runs my swim lesson program.  We can usually knock out about 550-600 meters in that short amount of time.  It's not alot, but it keeps us active.

I can feel baby boy moving all the time now.  He is quite the active one.  Shane has yet to really feel him but I know it will happen soon enough.  We went to Barnes & Noble the other day to buy a few books so he can start reading to him.  He wants his boy to enjoy reading as much as he does!  We decided to pass on the literary classics for now and go with your typical Dr. Seuss!

Saturday night Shane took me out for a nice dinner at Kenny's Italian Restaurant in Addison.  (Sidenote: If you have not tried any of the Kenny's Restaurants (Woodfire Grill or Burger Joint) you need to do so.  All 3 restaurants have really great food).  Shane had flowers waiting for me at the restaurant from the florist that did our wedding. We kept the evening pretty low key and opted for some couch time in front of the tv when we got home.  Naturally I snagged a quick photo of us before we left for the night.

As I mentioned last week, we already purchased a few things for the nursery so I thought I would share what I bought.  Some have asked about a color scheme so I thought I would post a picture of the bedding.

The crib was ordered site unseen, aside from seeing it on the web.  No stores seemed to carry it but it had really great reviews, and I know a girl that has it, so I felt comfortable buying it.

I found the bedding at Land of Nod.  I saw it about 2 months ago and absolutely loved it.  Last week I realized they were not selling the quilt online so I had to call some stores in Illinois to track it down.  I think they are about to discontinue it so I am glad I ordered it when I did.  The circles are a combination of blues, greens and some gray so it should match the gray walls pretty well.

I found an alphabet set on Etsy that was really cute and wanted to buy it to hang on the wall over the crib.  It takes about 2-3 months for them to make it so I ordered this last week.  If you know me, you know how much I love letters!

As you can see, we don't necessarily have a theme to the nursery.  I just wanted to create a clean, simple space for Baby Boy Bybee to spend his first year.  Next month we plan to start buying more of the furniture and hopefully get registered for things that we need.  Only 19 weeks to go!

6 Year Anniversary

Today is our 6 Year Anniversary!  I am so lucky that I get to spend the rest of my life with one of the greatest men on earth.  He is going to be an amazing father and I can't wait to see how much he grows as a person once his son is born in just 4 months!

We're going out to dinner tonight to celebrate and spending some time at home relaxing over the weekend.  In a couple of weeks we are headed down to Austin to spend a few days at a resort on Lake Travis.  We decided to cut back this year and not take an adventurous anniversary trip since I am 5 months pregnant.  We'll spend some time by the pool reading and relaxing, drive around alittle and try some different restaurants.  It may be our last vacation for quite awhile so we thought we should make the best of it!

Happy Anniversary, Shane!  I love you!!