Baby Shower

My sweet friend, Katie Marie, threw us a shower for Baby Boy Gray (or "baby brother" or "the beach ball" as we like to call him around here) a few weekends ago. It was so much fun catching up with friends and eating all the baby themed goodies. Blue punch and petite fours were a hit with the crowd...especially Madison! We got some wonderful goodies and are so grateful for the generosity of our friends and family. Madison made her baby brother a Build-A-Bear that she gave me at the shower. We were so excited about the bedding (thanks Mom, Dad, and Annie) that we set it up in the crib as soon as we got home! I promise a post soon with some pictures of the nursery progress.

32 weeks...big, big, big

Boy oh boy, this baby boy is getting big! Madison can't even fit her arms around me anymore!

How far along: 32 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +22 pounds
Maternity clothes: Yes!
Sleep: Pretty good most nights. Changing positions has gotten a little bit tricky, but once I find a comfy position I can sleep like a baby!
Best moment this week: Relaxing at the beach with some great girl friends!
Movement: Baby boy is very busy and now we can actually identify the body parts.
Cravings: Popsicles and hummus, but obviously not at the same time.
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: Lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions, but none of the real thing.
Belly Button in our out? Sadly...out and there is no hiding it. You can see it through my shirts :(
What I miss: Not much, maybe just laying flat on my back
What am I looking forward to? Snuggling my sweet little buddy.
Weekley Wisdom: Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate...keeps the braxton-hicks contractions at bay.
Milestones: For some reason, rounding the 30 week corner seemed like a big milestone to me.

28 weeks!

According to my weekly emails, baby is approximately 2.5 pounds or the size of an eggplant. That seems so big!

How far along: 28 weeks, hello third trimester!
Total weight gain/loss: +17 pounds
Maternity clothes: All the time
Sleep: Wonderful...in between all the bathroom breaks!
Best moment this week: Madison got to feel some good strong kicks and she was thrilled!
Movement: Lots and lots. Still a busy little guy in there.
Cravings: Salad with my homemade salad dressing and of course ice cream to balance it out! It has just been too hot to cook, so we have been eating a lot of salads around here. Luckily, I have a wonderful husband who also loves salad.
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: Not really, just some braxton hicks contractions here and there.
Belly Button in our out? Out. Sometimes I have to cover it with a bandaid so you can't see it through my shirt :)
What I miss: Nothing major except for maybe not always having to ask restaurants if their feta cheese is pasteurized and skipping out on foods at parties because I am not sure what kind of cheese is in it.
What am I looking forward to? Snuggling and cuddling this wiggle worm. I am going to have to compete with Madison and Harrison for cuddle time.
Weekley Wisdom: Keep some cold water in the car at all times. It is just too darn hot right now!
Milestones: Reaching the third trimester...we are getting closer to October :)

Make room for baby

This Sunday after we got back from church, Harrison and I spent all day working on cleaning out the office. We decluttered (not sure if that's a word) the closet and made a huge pile of stuff for Goodwill. We also disassembled all of the workout gear that was in the room and put it in the attic for storage. I have slowly been purchasing things here and there for the baby and it is exciting having them in their own place now! The baby's closet is now officially cleared of everyone else's stuff. Harrison also set up the crib this week and it took him a total of about 5 minutes...without directions! I really wish my brain worked like his sometimes. Here are some pictures of the progress. I will post more pictures as we paint and begin to decorate. Our next project will be to pack up all the stuff from my desk and find a place to store the desk.

Harrison working on the crib while Roxy comes to investigate.

Baby's closet full of diapers, new clothes, books, and a few non-pink hand-me-downs from his big sis.

Madison "helping out" with the crib...in her ballet costume.

And lastly...this is what we found last night when we went in to check on Madison before we went to bed. She made her own headband with ribbons all over it and was sleeping soundly in it. We just about died laughing! I guess she wanted to look cute in her dreams. :)

A few (overdue) updates at 27 weeks!

Just a few updates:

We are now 27 weeks and officially in the third trimester…where has the time gone? I guess being busy has helped make the time zip along. We are leaning towards the name “Bragan” for Baby boy Gray, but are not 100% sure. We are fairly certain he is going to be “Harrison Bragan Gray, junior”, we just aren’t sure if he is going to be a Harrison or a Bragan. We think we will wait to meet him to decide.

I am officially a fourth year medical student and have been busy preparing for the boards. We traveled to Atlanta last week so I could take Step 2 Clinical Skills. We stayed in one of the recommended hotels from the website, and let’s just say it was not the nicest hotel. Thankfully we brought our own pillows and blankets. After taking microbiology, I will NEVER use hotel blankets again! For those of you not familiar with this test, it is an all day (7-8 hours) test where you interview, examine, and write up 12 patients. All medical students applying for residency in the US have to take it and pass to match. I am so glad to have this over with. It was a test of endurance, particularly for someone who is 26 weeks pregnant! Let’s just say they could have been a little more generous with the bathroom breaks. Boy, was my back killing me by the end of it!

We also got to visit with “Gigi”, Harrison’s grandmother and Madison’s great grandmother while we were in Atlanta. It was so wonderful to see her. Madison really enjoyed swimming in Gigi’s pool and playing in her apartment. We are so blessed to have a “Gigi”!

I went with my mom and registered last weekend at Target. This being the second time around, I got a kick out of all the things they put on the list of “must haves” for new babies. I remember being so overwhelmed by all of it the first time around. You learn very quickly which things are actually necessary and which items are another money making scheme. Registering was much more relaxing and enjoyable this time. Mom and I were dying over the precious little boy things!

We worked all day yesterday cleaning out the office. This will become the nursery, so we had to remove all of the workout gear since I don’t think it will be much use to the baby. We did not get around to my desk quite yet as this will be a much bigger task removing 3 years worth of medical school papers and books!

...and now for some comic relief! Here are some pics of the "beach ball" as we affectionately call it.

Beach Week 2010

For the past several years we have been fortunate enough to be able to spend an entire week at the beach. Typically we go to Edisto, but we changed it up a little this year and went to North Myrtle Beach. We all had a blast!! Harrison and I found a lot of shark's teeth...with a lot of help from Ellie! That girl is a professional shark's tooth finder. Maddie and Ellie swam their little hearts out, played in the sand, and made new friends on the beach. Alex and Harrison got in a good bit of golf time. I was amazed they were able to endure the heat!


























We made it to a minor league baseball game one night and enjoyed some post game fireworks. We tailgated prior to the game and got some funny looks from people. We needed to show these folks what tailgating is all about!


















Of course, the week would not have been complete without some shopping. We hit up the outlets and boy did I find a lot of cute cute cute baby stuff. Baby Boy Gray's closet is starting to fill up with all these clothes I keep buying. I just can't help myself...

The typical nightly routine at the beach after the girls go to bed is a rousing game of cards. This year we were on a Nertz kick. Of course Harrison won every night, but I got pretty close to beating him a few times :)
All in all, it was a great week and we were so glad for the time we got to spend together as a family of 3 before the new addition arrives.

24 weeks!!

Can't believe we are over halfway! Here goes...

How far along: 24 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +13 pounds
Maternity clothes: Mostly, but I have some dresses and stretchy shirts I wear that are not maternity. All my pants are maternity now...love the elastic waist band.
Sleep: Mostly great. Did get woken up this morning at 5am by what felt like water polo practice in my belly :)
Best moment this week: Harrison and Maddie feeling some really strong kicks.
Movement: Lots and lots and lots. Still feels like baby is breach and a lot of the movement is coming from his fists.
Cravings: Blueberries, s'mores, and ice.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: None. Possibly a few braxton hicks contractions here and there.
Belly Button in our out? In but the middle is starting to head outwards.
What I miss: Not much...except maybe being able to bend over easily.
What am I looking forward to? Meeting this little buddy!
Weekley Wisdom: Later dinner makes for late night up with heartburn.

Milestones: Cleaned out the closet in the office, which will be baby's room.

**Will add a picture when I get a chance to get Harrison to take one. The only recent ones I have of the belly are in a bikini...and well, frankly I will spare you all from having to see that!