12 Weeks

How Far Along: 12 Weeks

Size of Baby: Baby #3 is just over 2 inches and the size of a lime! Big Week this week in development...Baby #3's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder. Nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. Thank you Baby Center....NO wonder I am tired!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I am staying strong at 2 lbs...we will see how long this lasts.

Maternity Clothes: None yet.

Gender: The Big Day can't get here soon enough to find out who our Baby #3 is!

Movement: None as of now...but boy did this baby move during our ultrasound. It won't be too long before I am getting kicked by two little ones :)

Sleep: Great this week! I am loving my naps! And I can feel my energy coming back!

What I Miss: Nothing really this week.

Cravings: Mexcan just keeps getting better and better....Chipotle is my favorite! Their salad is to die for and I could eat it for every meal....and maybe a snack or two in between. Although I love my sweets, it is definitely not what I am craving.

Symptoms: I caught the BUG this week....the stomach bug that is. Blah! I was pretty sick Friday night and Saturday...but couldn't blame it on the Baby that is for sure. I feel like this bug is just traveling all around town! I have had to start sleeping with a pillow every night between my legs; otherwise it is impossible for me to sleep on my side....being a back sleeper really stinks during pregnancy.

Best Moments this Week: EASY! Seeing this beautful little one was just amazing. I just keep staring at the ultrasounds....it never gets old. Getting the reassurance this week from our midwife too that everything was progressing nicely was just wonderful. God is so good to us!

Oooppss....Can I Blame it on Mommy Brain?

I can't believe I forgot to post pictures of our big January snow storm....shame on me! Here they are now.


We spent the night at The Fisher's because my hubby was a little bit nervous about missing the big National Championship game (since we turned off our satelite). We had such a blast watching the snow come down and playing scrabble....of course...Mr. Competitive, Nick, won...but only because he got an extra turn of letters.

The next morning, we had a Winter Wonderland. It was beautiful!

And someone was ready to go out and see what it was all about!

Mommy's Little Snow Angel!

Peanut....

Peanut Butter and Jelly!

Just keep Movin....

This past weekend, we had a jam packed Saturday....it was wonderful!

We started the morning at Maria's Baptism! Our beautiful Catholic Family just keeps growing and growing. Maria did great....didn't even make a peep. Congratulations to The Koerner's! She is such a beauty!

Thank you for inviting us to celebrate this beautiful day with you! Such an exciting day!

Next, we had our best friend's, Katie and Nick's, wedding convalidation. It brought tears to my eyes seeing these two renew their vows for each other and before God. I love going to weddings because hearing the vows....reminds me time and time again of the promise I made to Zach. One that is eternal and no man or woman could ever break....til death do us part.

And then it was BIRTHDAY TIME! My Goddaughter, Ella Kate, celebrated her 1st Birthday on the 22nd! She is so beautiful and Zach and I are so blessed to get to help Katie and Nick lead Ella in her faith throughout her life. I just love this little munchkin so much!

And Zoe started saying "Ella"....so I am pretty sure she loves her a lot too!

And after the Birthday, we headed to The Koerner's for a little get together to celebrate Maria. Needless to say....we all slept pretty great that night!

A Great Check Up!

What a wonderful Check Up we had today....Praise the Lord! I was so full of emotions going into the appointment that the minute we saw the baby, I started to cry. Tears of Joy...the best kind!

And Kelly, the midwife I saw this week, was AMAZING! I love her! There is something very different about seeing a woman who has children of her own, birthed them, raised them, and now has the desire to help other woman do the same. She was so full of positive energy and had the most beautiful smile....she took a million pictures because every time she got a good angle, she said couldn't help herself. She sat down with us for a while and wanted to know all about Oliver, with a kind and loving heart. And just kept saying how beautiful and perfect our Baby #3 looked!

POSITIVITY IS KEY!

Here is our little one in all its perfection! You can see the profile really well here and its little right arm. To the left, you can faintly see it leg. And then the big blob by its hand is the umbilical cord. We know this because it was pulsing :) Hearing the heart beat was just music to my ears....tears just rolled. It was a strong 185!

Towards the end of the scan, Baby #3 just started movin and groovin....AMAZNG doesn't even accurately describe....Perfection! You could see every limb move and all the fingers and toes. The baby's profile was so strong at some points, you could see its little eyes closed and lips....you know it is going to have some lips!

I am in awe and madly in love!

11 Weeks

How Far Along: 11 Weeks

Size of Baby: Baby #3 is the size of a Fig....luckily this week I know what a fig is :) Our baby measures just over 1 1/2 inches long and is almost fully formed!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Didn't weigh myself at all this week, but everything seems about the same. +2

Maternity Clothes: Not wearing any maternity clothes yet, but I am starting to prepare. I get very overwhelmed thinking about being 8 months pregnant in the month of July!!!! Can we say HOT and HUGE! I was shopping at Target this week and I picked up some long and lean tank tops. Even though the words I would use to describe myself this summer will not be long and lean, I thought these tanks would be comfy for the summer time.

Gender: Not finding out until Birthday!....but we are totally feeling (and wanting) GIRL!

Movement: None yet

Sleep: Horrible week of sleep. Pulled out an extra pillow to see if it would help position me comfortably...didn't work! And I feel like our bed is getting smaller and smaller! Luckily, I only had to get up once the entire week to use the bathroom and Zoe has been sleeping in until almost 8!

What I miss: Well, I was missing caffeine last week...so I gave in this week. I had to work late one night (3am late!) and I got a Chai Tea Latte. Let's just say, I no longer miss caffeine...it hurt my stomach so bad I thought I was going to puke the whole night. I miss my energy...in general. One more week!

Cravings: It is not necessarily that I am craving anything, but when something sounds good to me....I have to have it! Example....Pancakes this morning! Japanese on Friday! Why can't I crave things I have at home!

Symptoms: I got my first real waves of nausea this week. Nothing I ate seemed to settle. I am definitely starting to feel the weight of my tummy. At work, I am on my feet the whole time and I can feel my stomach weighing me down the longer I stand.

Best Moments this Week: Realizing I am almost to 12 weeks...I am almost to increased energy and almost to a "safe zone" in the pregnancy! I scheduled my next appointment for Wednesday!

I'll Never Forget...

Today, January 23rd, is my Oliver's due date. My heart just melts thinking about the possibilities of what could have been. But, I will never forget what was for 20 beautiful weeks and what will remain in my heart for the rest of my life!

A LIFE!

My son was life. My son's days were numbered and few...but he lived. He had a strong heart beat, he had 10 fingers and 10 little toes that he wiggled, he had eyes that he opened and ears, he kicked....I felt him!

And to think that some people don't believe that this is life. That the beautiful life within so many women is actually living.

38 years ago yesterday, a Court decided it was okay to take life....

IT'S LIFE!

God gives us life....as a gift....God gave me Oliver....as a gift. God gives each and every parent children....as gifts! Gifts to us to show us His AMAZING love....his beautiful, unfailing love! To think of it any other way...you are just lying to yourself.

CHOOSE LIFE!

Oliver from rebecca phillips on Vimeo.

A Weekend Away

My sister, Chrysti, had her big 30th birthday this month and to celebrate, my mom treated us to a trip to Charleston....no complaints here! Charleston is one of my favorite cities! I love it! I have been to the ocean side of Charleston many times....and we would go into the city for dinner, but I had never stayed in the city and toured it.

I fell even more in love with it on this trip. The history is so rich. The homes are to die for and have so much character! I could walk around forever....and we did! I have not walked that much in a LONG time! Needless to say...I was EXHAUSTED!

First stop of the trip was to celebrate...of course....at an adorable cupcake shop!

Both of the Birthday girls and their cupcakes. Chrysti and Kaitlin's birthdays are 2 days apart.
So happy!

Let the walking begin. This is a shot of King Street, a huge shopping street. It had every store imaginable and some great restaurants. All the store fronts though were these historic buildings which were just beautiful. One of my favorite places that we visited was the open air market. Half of the market is being remodeled but it was still huge.
My mom had read about this restaurant in Southern Living so this was our pick for dinner the first night. YUMMY! Southern cuisine at its finest. Fried Green Tomatoes, Mac n' Cheese, Fried Okra, Fried Chicken.....oh so good!

We got going on Sunday and decided to go to the southern tip of Charleston. We started with a trolley ride.

First stop was Mass. This is the Cathedral.

The stained glass windows were just beautiful! The Mass was way more traditional than any Mass I can ever remember going to. Most of the responses were in Latin, as it was many years ago, and the choir that sung was unbelievable! Gave me chills! And the Homily was amazing with the theme of "Behold The Lamb of God".

After Mass we started to walk around to find lunch. We had planned to go to a little place called Brent's on Broad, but it was closed for the holiday. So we walked around for a little while. Charleston has beautiful walkways all along the water so we had a great view while finding lunch.

We chose this restaurant for lunch. Sadly, there were not too many places that were kid friendly. But Southend Brewery ended up being great. Kaitlin and I split a Margarita Pizza and Mom and Chrysti split a huge sandwich.....it was all really good!

Here is the Famous Rainbow Row!

After lunch we headed to Battery Park and then took the trolley back to the hotel. We settled for a restaurant down the street for dinner Sunday night because we were all exhausted.

It is so nice to be able to get away sometimes and spend quality time with family. But, I was ready to get home. I missed my babies so much! I am so grateful for my Hubby. He is so wonderful for making it possible for me t go on this trip. He is just the best Daddy!