15 Week Bumpdate and a Visit from my Parents

Hello! 15 weeks down and still chugging along! The past week has been a pretty busy week in the Fox household. We had a surprise baby shower at our house for one of our church friends on Saturday, which I will be dedicating an entire blog post on later this week, Brendan left for a little over a month, and my parents stopped by yesterday on their way to Florida.

Last week was crazy for Brendan at work and he ended up going in Tuesday and not coming home until Thursday night, and then he had to pack and leave to go down to Ft. Benning, GA for the next 5 weeks for a course, so our last week together we didn't actually see each other too much. Fortunately I plan on making two weekend trips down to see him to help break up the time we are actually apart. It's funny, I was talking to my friend Hunter last week, whose husband is also at Benning for a different school and we discussed how even when our husbands aren't deployed they still end up spending a ton of time away from home. Between IBOLC, Ranger School, time in the field training here at Ft. Bragg and this other school, out of our two years of living together he has probably spent 10 months if not more of them gone. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, but it's just funny how different our normal is than some of our other married friends.

The night before Brendan left we were able to have a nice dinner together and watch a movie (Brendan fell asleep during that part)

My friends down here are so nice and thoughtful. Sunday, which was the first day that Brendan was gone and usually my hardest day while I start to get into my routine of being alone, I was definitely not alone. After church, I went to lunch with friends, then went for a walk with a different friend, then went over to friends for dinner. I was so busy all day I didn't really have a ton of time to be sad that Brendan left. During the week it's pretty easy because I work during the day and go for walks with friends or have church activities in the evenings, then obsess over baby stuff at night, plus I really like reading books and usually do that for a few hours.

Last night, my parents stopped over in Fayetteville on their way down to Florida. They just retired this year and recently sold their house up in Connecticut and are on their way to starting a new life in retirement in the Sunshine State. I know it's a really tough move for them because our neighbors in Cheshire are amazing and like family, plus my mom's two brothers live close by in Connecticut, but they'll adjust... and probably have visitors at least once a month. Personally I'm excited especially about two things: 1) They will be really close to Disney and I love Epcot. 2) They have a lot of pools for me to float my pregnant-self in when I come to visit!

Here are a few photos from their visit:

My mom and I at their hotel

My dad more excited about the baby bump

Us in Downtown Fayetteville after eating some dinner

Of course they had to come to our house and spend some time with the granddogs, this is Abigail

and Carrie sits like a human.

And now for the moment you are actually interested in!

Thankfully my parents were here to help me take my photo this week (my Mom won the contest and it only took her two photos)... notice the bigger chalkboard?

How far along? 15 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: gained 3ish lbs
Maternity clothes? still 2 pair of maternity jeans and a top
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Sleeping A LOT
Best moment this week: tie between seeing my parents and seeing Kelly's face at her surprise party
Have you told family and friends: Yes!
Miss Anything? I really really miss sushi, and pepperoni, and soft cheeses, oh.. and wine still. I've started putting my cranberry spritzers in wine glasses
Movement: No
Food cravings: Everything I'm not supposed to eat plus fruit, pasta, and mozzeralla cheese
Anything making you queasy or sick: the smell of trash cans and for some reason after missing out on morning sickness the entire first trimester it's been showing up randomly this trimester
Have you started to show yet: A little bump so far.. which is growing into a medium size bump
Gender prediction: Girl
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In, although it's getting shallower.
Wedding rings on or off? On, although out of the two of them, I have a feeling that the engagement ring will come off first, its a little snug!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy except little things can make me cry
Looking forward to: Finding out the gender (TWO WEEKS FROM FRIDAY!) & feeling the baby move!

So that's really it! I still feel pretty good although my back tends to get sore by the end of the work day, I think I need to remember to get up and move away from my desk more. I'm excited to spend this weekend in Columbus, GA with Brendan and my friends down there!