Baby Bump - Month 8

How far along?  35 weeks - It's crazy to think that we are in the home stretch!  We are so close (my c-section is scheduled for exactly 4 weeks from today!), yet so far away.  This is the part of pregnancy that seems to creep along... sleepless nights, hot and humid days, and a growing belly and discomfort plays a huge part in that!  My to-do lists are crazy long, but I am trying to make sure I squeeze in some fun activities with Addie as well as some "me" time in these last few weeks as well.  Eric has been really good about reminding me to do some things for myself, I even went with a friend to get a pedicure last week and it was heavenly!  I caught up with my teacher friends last night at dinner too, which was a lot of fun!  As far as getting through all of my to-do lists -  sometimes I'm the energizer bunny when Addie is napping and sometimes I curl up on the couch and get caught up on Orange is the New Black on Netflix.

Gender:  It's a girl - Bella Sherry Harvell!

Feeling:   I have to admit I am kinda over this summer pregnancy thing.  I'm extremely uncomfortable and tired these days.  It's been very hot and very humid here and I am not a fan.  It's manageable when I can be at the beach with a breeze or in the pool, but other than that we stay indoors - especially when the heat index is over 100 degrees!

Maternity Clothes: Yes, I live in my maternity clothes and I have even hijacked quite a few of Eric's t-shirts too.  It's so nice not to have to get dressed for work every day, so I am usually all about comfort.

Sleep: Unfortunately, this has been the biggest change.  In the couple of weeks, sleeping has become much more difficult.  My carpel tunnel and heartburn is in full force and between that and just tossing and turning to get comfortable, plus the frequent peeing, sleeping is pretty much nonexistent.  If my sleep patterns keep this up for the next month - I'll be trained and ready for little miss Bella's arrival in August.

Favorite Moments:

-Being at home with Addie - I love that we are getting all of this one on one time before miss Bella arrives.  She's at such a fun age right now and we've been able to go out and do a lot of fun things together.

-Vacations - We have been to the Outer Banks twice!  We went for a long weekend over the 4th, just the 3 of us, and then we had our annual week long stay with my family days later.  Both were amazing!

-I've been nesting like crazy.  Almost every room and every closet and cabinet in our house is cleaned and organized.  I love getting ready for Bella because that means she will be here really soon!

The guest room - BEFORE

The guest room - AFTER

Missing anything?  Sleep, being able to walk on the beach or get around in general without being out of breath and swollen, being able to eat whatever I want - anything spicy is out of the question these days due to heartburn and I have to watch my sodium especially at night because of swelling.

Movement:  Constantly!  Now that she is bigger, my whole stomach moves.  It's pretty crazy and probably my favorite thing about being pregnant.

Cravings:  This past month I've had some really random (and delicious) cravings - crab legs, Rita's italian ice, and anything sweet.  Iced coffee is still my guilty pleasure!  I've started making my cup of coffee at night and then putting in the refrigerator to chill over night...it's amazing by the time I drink it in the morning.

Looking forward to:

-Meeting our sweet baby girl - only 4 more weeks - and seeing how Addie handles being a big sister!

Red, White, and Beach

Nothing says 4th of July better than some red, white, and beach and that's exactly what we did this year!  We packed up the car and headed to the Outer Banks with our little firecracker for some family fun.  It's crazy to think that it's our last vacation as a family of 3.  By the time we take another vacation, Bella will be here to join us :)

Here is a glimpse of our vacation in pictures:

How cute are Addie's red and blue toes?

Our annual OBX beach photo

Addie is a busy little girl at the beach.  She loves to dig in the sand, cover Eric and I with sand, and jump in the waves.  She seriously never stops, but it's so much fun!

How cute is Addie in her new swimsuit?  

Addie had quite the set-up thanks to Daddy!

She also loves to drink water... pool water, ocean water, mommy's water...you name it, Addie's taste tested it!

Taking a stroll on the beach looking for the perfect sand to dig in.

Enjoying some time by the pool while Addie naps.  

Addie looking adorable in her red, white, and blue from Aunt Leah!  She's too cute, I can't even handle it!

Family selfie before we head out to dinner.

Daddy's girl

Our silly girl is too busy to pose for pictures.

Enjoying some ice cream on our last night on vacation.

We were sad to go, but excited that we will be back in only a few short days with Grandma, Pap, Uncle Brian, Carla, Aunt Krissy, and cousin Bryan for our annual family vacation.  So we didn't say goodbye, it was see you soon instead!  

Father's Day

We had such a fun time celebrating our favorite guy.  Eric is so good with Addie and she really has become such a little daddy's girl.  She gets upset when he leaves for the day and her face lights up the second he walk through the door.  He makes her laugh on a daily basis and he is her favorite cuddle buddy on the couch.  I absolutely love to watch the 2 of them together and I can't wait to see how Bella and Eric interact very soon.

This year for Father's Day we started out with a yummy homemade breakfast followed by a few hours at the bay.  Anyone who knows Eric knows that the beach is his favorite place in the world so it  was the perfect place to spend our day. 

The theme of Eric's gift this year was tickets.  He got a new coffee mug full of Reese's pieces from Addie that was his TICKET to starting the day off right.  He got a new luggage tag with the cutest beach picture of Addie on it that was his TICKET to safe travels.  Finally, he got some Florida Georgia Line TICKETS to have a date night before Bella's arrival.  He was thrilled about each and every one of them!

We love you Daddy!  Happy Father's Day!

All About Addie

I figured it was about time to dedicate a post to our sweet Addie girl.  I miss doing my monthly posts and sharing every last detail about how you are growing and changing so much.  You are at such a fun age right now, a little over 16 months, and we are loving every minute of watching your personality shine through!  You are always full of expression, we know when your happy and you make sure we know when you are upset.  You keep us on our toes and always keep things interesting.  You are going to be the best big sister to Bella, but for now it's All About Addie in our house.

Here are a few of my favorite things:

• You are a dancing machine!  You absolutely love music and the second you hear it you start to move.  Your favorite dance moves are the shoulder shrug, shaking your butt (thanks to Aunt Kristen), and spinning in circles.  It is so adorable!

• One of your favorite things to do is feed Cooper treats!  You know exactly where they are and surprisingly you don't even try to eat them yourself.  Cooper usually enjoys 3-4 treats per day and is really appreciating having you around these days!
• Everything is uh-oh, oh no, and oh my these days.  Sometimes you throw things to the floor on purpose just to say uh-oh and we've been trying to explain to you that when you do it on purpose it's not an uh-oh.  You put your hands up by your face though when you say it and even though you probably say it 100 times a day, it's still so cute!
• You have become quite the beach bum.  We go a couple times a week and you love to play in the sand and in the water, which makes your daddy and I very happy!

• Making animal noises is your thing - the favorites are roar, meow, and woof woof.
• You have become a pretty picky eater, you know what you like and that's what you want.   When it is time to eat and you see what we have for you, you give us a quick "oh wow" or shake your head "no" to let us know your thoughts on our selections.  You always have an opinion that's for sure!
• You are such a sweet and friendly little girl.  Everywhere we go, you greet everyone with waves and smiles.  You love to be around people, especially other kids.  We've been practicing being gentle and nice with your baby doll and you give the doll the best hugs and kisses.  I know you are going to absolutely adore your little sister and give her lots of lovin'.

• It is so much fun to go out and do things with you lately.  We have been to the zoo, playground, swimming pool, beach, strawberry picking, out to eat, etc. - and every single field trip is an adventure and full of fun family memories.

• When I am cleaning or cooking - you turn into my little mini-me and love to run your vacuum cleaner with me or help me cook.  I love that you're becoming mommy's little helper!
  
• Your cute little toes - especially when Aunt Krissy gives you a pedicure!
  
• I love how you stick your tongue out when your are concentrating really hard on something, it's adorable!
  

Addie's favorites at 16 months:

• Toys
• Any type of ball - you even get excited when you see the large red balls outside of Target
• Your baby doll - you give her hugs and kisses and love to feed her the bottle
• Blocks and oversized legos
• Bubbles
• Sand and water toys - especially your bucket and shovel
• Your picnic basket, even though you continue to try to eat the play food in it
• Your "Addie" chair or pretty much anything else you can climb on
  
  
  
  
• Alphabet train
• Books - your favorite is your Peek-a-Boo book because you like to open the flaps 
  
• Your vacuum cleaner
• The Disney princess ride on toy

• Activities
• Singing and dancing
• Chasing Cooper and feeding him treats
• Family walks
  
• Going to the beach or to the pool
• Pretending to talk on the phone
• The playground
  
  
  
  
• Our classes at the Little Gym - I'm pretty sure you smile from the second we get there until the second we leave, you absolutely love it!
• Watching Mickey Mouse or Doc McStuffins
  

• Foods
• Goldfish
• graham crackers
• bananas
• mandarine oranges
• fruit and veggie pouches
• applesauce
• yogurt
• PB&J
• anything with cheese - grilled cheese, string cheese, mac & cheese
  
  
  
  We love you so much Addie girl!

Summer Bucket List

We are finally enjoying our first week of summer in the Harvell household.  With that being said, I have created a summer bucket list of things I would like to do.  We have 8 weeks (hopefully) before Bella's arrival and I want to plan some fun things for Addie before she gets here.  With that being said, here it goes...

• Spend as much time as possible with our toes in the sand
• Check out the splash pads and kid's area at Norfolk Botanical Gardens
• Eat as much ice cream as possible
• Go for family walks at Mt. Trashmore and Oak Grove Lake
• Explore the local farmer's market
• Take Addie to the Children's Museum on a rainy day
• Lots of laughs, singing, and fun at our weekly classes at the Little Gym
• Check out the playscape area in the Slover Library
• Have a picnic dinner and watch the sunset on the beach
• Make edible finger paint and let Addie get crafty
• Watch Addie run through a sprinkler
• Go on a few date nights with Eric before Bella's arrival
• Enjoy a country concert - Florida Georgia Line here we come!
• Take a trip to the zoo

I can't wait to spend my summer days with this cutie, let the fun begin!

Baby Bump - Month 7

How far along?  30 weeks

Gender:  It's a girl - Bella Sherry Harvell!

Feeling:   I've started feeling much more pregnant lately.  Between my week of SOL testing at school and temps in the upper 90s, life has become a little more difficult and my poor feet a little more swollen.  My heartburn is in full force - maybe Bella will be born with a full head of hair just like her big sis!

Maternity Clothes: Since we have been living at the beach and the pool on the weekends, I've quickly gotten over my fear of wearing my maternity bathing suit in public.  I have 2 and they are both actually fairly comfortable.  There's nothing better than the pool and the beach on a hot summer day!

Sleep: I'm still sleeping pretty well, although every once in a while I will wake up pretty uncomfortable.  At this point the good nights still out number the bad so I can't really complain...yet!

Favorite Moments:

-Scheduling Bella's birthday - Apparently Bella already wants to be like her big sis because she is also breech.  Since I am a repeat c-section even if she decides to turn (which I doubt she will!) I already have it scheduled.  Bella's tentative birthday is Tuesday, August 18th :)

-Addie has been around a few newborns/babies recently and I love watching her interact with them.  She points, blows kisses, and may or may not try to steal their pacifiers, but it makes me very excited for her to meet her baby sister.

Missing anything?  As the weather gets nicer, I kinda miss being able to have a Blue Moon..especially since one of our favorite local spots that we like to go to and sit outside has it on draft.

Movement:  All the time.  Bella is much more of a kicker than Addie was.  I felt Addie move all of the time but it was almost like she was spinning around or dancing, Bella all out kicks me constantly...it takes my breath away sometimes!

Cravings:  This past month I've had some really random (and delicious) cravings - crab legs, Rita's italian ice, and anything sweet.  Iced coffee is still my guilty pleasure!  I've started making my cup of coffee at night and then putting in the refrigerator to chill over night...it's amazing by the time I drink it in the morning.

Looking forward to:

-Summer time!  It's my last week of school and I cannot wait to be done!

-Spending some time preparing for Bella's arrival once I'm done with school.  I have several to-do lists and I'm ready to start checking some things off of them.

-Our OBX trips that we have planned in July.  We are taking a mini-vaca just the 3 of us for the 4th of July and then will be back there the next week with the whole family.

Memorial Day Weekend

We took one last hoorah to Pittsburgh before Bella's arrival for Memorial Day weekend.  Now that I am officially in my 3rd trimester we are trying to limit our traveling between now and August.  We will go to the Outer Banks and probably make one more trip to Raleigh, but other than that they Harvell's are home bound for the summer and to be honest I'm kind of excited about it. 

We drove up on Friday and missed the traffic by leaving around 1, which was really nice.  Addie was an angel on the trip (so was Coop!) and we made it to Pittsburgh just in time for bed time.  We woke up Saturday morning and took a trip to the zoo with the family.  It was a beautiful day and Addie had a blast, especially once she got out of the stroller and got to walk around with Grandma, Pap, and Aunt Kristen.  Towards the end when she started to get fussy, she had her cousin Bryan there to cheer her up.  He always knows how to make her laugh!  Saturday night, my Grandma and Grandpa came into town and my mom made a huge Italian dinner for everyone at my request.  I seriously can't get enough Italian food these days, Bella is going to come out asking for spaghetti and meatballs!  On Sunday, Addie and I met up with Julie and Max at the park for some fun.  It's always good to catch up with old friends when we visit.  Who would have known years ago when we were sitting in Mr. Kallet's homeroom class that we would still be friends years later and not only that, but our little ones would be friends too.  It's pretty cool if you ask me!  After our trip to the park, we came back for a quick nap and then it was time for the neighborhood picnic.  Soon after that, we were on our way home, exhausted as usual.  Our trip to the Burgh was short and sweet, but it really was great to catch up with everyone....and it's crazy to think that next time we return we will be a family of 4!