6 and a half months!

Here is the bump at week 26:

And, here's one with Stella. She kept trying to get in the picture.

This week baby has been fattening up and is now over 14 inches- the size of an "English Hothouse Cucumber." What the heck is that?! I've noticed her moving pretty consistently now which is a lot of fun.

Baby will be taking her second plane trip (her first was to Puerto Rico at 5 weeks) to Ft. Lauderdale next week as I'm going on a work trip for a few days. I tried to get my manager to put me on the Humana corporate jet but I guess my potential premature labor didn't scare anyone enough to grant approval. Alas, I'll be on Delta.

Next week before my trip, I've got my glucose screening and my Rhogam shot...not looking forward to it!

Baby's Room- all painted!

As promised, here are some pics of the baby's room; empty now, but ready & waiting to be filled!

Chris has worked extra hard lately- he put in all of the shelving in the closet himself and he & his dad painted all Saturday morning. Thanks Phil for the help! I am really pleased with how the paint color turned out. Its not actually what we thought we'd originally go with, but after 5 attempts at a brighter green, we decided that maybe we simply weren't that loud or crazy!

It's hard to tell, but my sister's room is a light light green, called "Spearmint." Right now, I just run sprints around the room b/c I'm so excited- I really want to meet this baby! I already know she has a fabulous taste in toys!

Lots of closet space for our little fashionista!

We had a great weekend with friends (watching the CATS lose- not so great) and celebrating my mom's birthday. My mom is truly incredible! I am so fortunate to have such a close relationship with her. She has taught me so much and I cannot wait to share the same wisdom and knowledge with Baby Hughes!

Happy Monday, readers! I'll post a belly pic later this week!

Fun Fact for week 25

As I enter week 26, I thought I would share with you the "fun fact" I got in my e-mail this week.

My uterus is now the size of a soccer ball. THAT IS ENORMOUS.

It's also pretty impressive for something that was smaller than a pear 26 weeks ago! Pregnancy is a wonderful miracle!

Today is going to be busy baby day for Chris and I. He is painting Baby's room while I finish our registry. The paint has been an ordeal. So far, the wall has had 5 different greens on it. The people at Lowe's officially think we're nuts. We've picked one (we think) and Chris is starting to paint. I'll post pics later!!

Baby furniture ordered!

This morning, Chris and I got up and went to USA Baby's big sale. We ordered our crib, dresser and glider. Here are some stock photos of what we ordered.

We got the crib and the long dresser.

We got this chair but in "oatmeal"- a tan color.

We also got our bedding from PB Kids- its really cute. The bumper is white with pink, green, blue and yellow polka dots. The bedskirt has stripes with the same colors. We are really excited- now to pick out a paint color!

24 weeks

Hello!

Its been a busy week- I cannot believe tomorrow is Thursday. Chris and I have been swamped at work and are getting up early every day. Then we come home, eat, play with Stella and its already time for bed. It makes me a little nervous for life with Baby! I'm sure we'll learn how to keep it all together- all parents do!

This week baby is working hard to breathe on her own outside the womb. Her lungs are developing branches of the respiratory tree as well as other cells that will help her air sacs inflate once in the outside world.

We had a great weekend that I would be remiss to not talk about it! Friday night we had dinner with Kyle and Danielle and The Melting Pot. YUMMY fondue and good conversation with our best friends. On Saturday we went to USA Baby and Nursery Time (along with swim day which I already talked about on the blog) to look at baby furniture. We've now been everywhere and are going back to USA Baby on Saturday to order everything. I can't wait- it will be a huge sense of relief to know the furniture is on its way!

That night we went to Lexington to celebrate Cory and Robin's birthdays. Cory and I have become good friends and bond over our comment interests- mainly sports and politics. And, of course, Robin and I have a fantastic relationship- she's a wonderful mom to Chris and friend to me. Saturday night, Chris and I stayed with Laura and Cory and hung out. Every time we see Laura she gives us more and more baby stuff- on this trip we left with a swing, a vibrating seat and a car seat. Thanks Aunt Laura!!

This has turned into a long post so I'll end here. Happy hump day!

Stella's Swim Day

This weekend we took Stella swimming at Tom Sawyer park- she had a blast!!

Chris and I spent the rest of the weekend with our non-canine friends and family- that will come in a later post. For now, I'm going to take an afternoon nap!

Closing out on month 5!

I'm wrapping up the 23rd week and will be heading into month 6 on Saturday- WOW!

This week baby is working hard on learning to breathe on her own- her blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for life outside the womb. Her ears are beginning to hear "familiar" noises- for baby Hughes, this is most likely the barking and noise of her crazy dog, Stella.

"So far, I'm excited to get a little sister. She already has a lot of cool toys that I carry in my mouth until I get in trouble."

Baby is weighing in at just over a pound and will continue to grow at quick rates.

Here's the bump at week 23:

As you can see, baby girl is starting to make her presence known. I get no fewer than 2-3 comments a day on my belly. They range from "Oh, I love your sweet belly." to "You don't really LOOK pregnant. You kind of just look like you've been eating at a lot of buffets." That came from a boy so I didn't take it personal. But, actually, I think I would rather look pregnant then like I'd been frequenting Golden Corral. Ha.

Cheers to short work weeks! Looking forward to spending time with family in Lexington!

Baby furniture & registering: so many choices!!

Happy Labor Day! Oh, how I love long weekends. Chris and I got a lot done around the house and enjoyed spending time with family and friends.

On Saturday, it was the BIG football game. We hung out with some buddies at Kyle and Danielle's house and cheered our Wildcats on to their 4th straight victory.

Sunday, we had a cookout at my aunt's house as a send-off to my grandparents. They're heading out at the end of the month to Florida for the winter.

Today, we decided to devote to all things baby. We went to Target, Kiddie Kastle, Pottery Barn Kids and Babies R Us. We looked at cribs and picked out a few that we like. We've got 2 more stores we want to go to before we make our decision.

We registered at Babies R Us and only were able to get through half the store. There were not really any "easy" items to add- there were so many choices of everything. I'm not kidding- I think there were over 100 pacifier options. I told Chris to pick one and ten minutes later he was still staring at all of the different brands/kinds. Then we had to sort through all of the pack and plays, high chairs, strollers, etc, etc! We didn't even make it to the other side of the store so we'll definitely be going back to modify. Chris wanted to scan everything that said "Daddy" ("Daddy's little angel," "I love my Daddy", "Daddy's little girl"....and so on.) He also would find random pink blankets or pink clothing and would scan saying, "She definitely needs this." I'm not sure which of us is craziest about this sweet baby!

I also went to see my cousin's newborn baby. Keaton was born on Monday and is so cute- I cannot believe how tiny he is! Its hard to believe our family will have 5 babies under the age of 1 come January--- its all happened so fast!

Enjoy the last of the your long weekend!