Weeks 19-24

......1 month and 13 days later, I am back!! I wish I could say that we had a name picked out & everything was ready for our little angel to arrive.... but as the story goes.... we could not be any LESS prepared!!! I am probably freaking out bc it is getting closer & now I realize just how fast time really does fly (like I didn't know that before?!?) & not to mention the holidays coming up... our schedule always fills up around the end of October & we don't have much free time until the first of January... Not stressing about it though... just going to continue to ENJOY every single moment of my pregnancy!!! :)

We went to Houston Columbus Day weekend to visit Collin, Lauren & Alex-had a BLAST!! I was so happy to see them!! Their house is so cute & cozy! After a LONG trip there (traffic-In Dallas & Houston) we ate lunch at Goode Co Barbeque...MMmmmmm!!

Being Clowns...

After lunch, we went to this hopping little part of Houston that had several cute shops. We went to the cutest baby boutique! Collin wanted to "look" in the candy store, but it was closed so we walked a few doors down to the chocolate bar...another candy store! We managed to make it out of there empty handed! Alex got a bag of gummy cherries that were amazing... Next stop, a few doors down...frozen yogurt... MMmmmm!! After that we were all pretty worn out, so we went back home. Saturday night Lauren made us an incredible dinner! Pepperanata, Pork chops, & potatoes & peppers. We had homemade apple pie for dessert that was just as amazing! After church on Sunday, Lauren made another awesome meal-carbonara! We went to dinner that night at a place called Laurenzo's-it was good. When we got home, we just hung out with Collin. We left Monday. Collin had been telling me about Buc-ee's, a HUGE convenience store, since he moved to Houston. Our plan was to stop on the way to Houston, but we missed all 576 thousand signs...so we had to stop on the way home. It was pretty incredible!! They had just about everything!! This is a side view of the store... It is only about 1/4 of the store...

We loved our short little trip to Houston! We really enjoyed it! Deke is the kind of traveler that cannot wait to get home, I am the kind that dreads leaving but it was good to get home to see Pete! His voice was gone from howling all weekend at Dr. Dennis' office...

OK--NOW FOR THE PREGNANCY UPDATE.....

Baby Girl Alexander is about the size of a papaya. She is about 10.5-11.8 inches long and weighs approximately 12.7-20.8 ounces. She sleeps about 12-14 hours a day! She can hear outside of the womb, her face is fully formed, & her tiny body is beginning to accumulate fat.

Pregnancy Highlights:
How far along: 24 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: ?? I'd say about 15 lbs
Maternity Clothes: Yes & I love them! I can't even wear my old pants with a bella band...
Best moment this week: I'm sure will be the Dr. appt tomorrow! :)
Gender: GIRL
Movement: She moves a lot! Melissa told me that means she is healthy!
Food Cravings: Anything with sugar
What I miss: Sleeping on my back, Coffee & Diet Coke...but it is totally worth it
Sleep: I've been sleeping better. I am finally getting used to sleeping on my side. I have been having the most unusual dreams...
What I am looking forward to: Seeing Dr. Wilson tomorrow :) Hopefully we will get another sono
Symptoms: Mild Heartburn-sometimes, minor back aches, swollen feet & ankles
Stretch Marks: Ugh... I thought I beat em, but I didn't... I have a few
Belly Button: It's flat & looks like it's going to POP out any day