And Then There Were Three

We have some news! 

We didn't plan on doing any sort of announcement but being that we can't share all our news and updates in person we decided to include some on our blog for those that want to follow.  I also want to document some of the details. So here it goes: 

How Far Along: 20 weeks and 3 days (but I think this is a little late and we were measuring a few days ahead on the last ultrasound so hoping that this means we don't go too late!)  Our due date is March 12th.  I realized after the fact that on the pictures I put March '15 but from far away it probably looks like March 15th and not March 2015. Oh well!

Gender: GIRL! We would have been happy with either and actually thought boy the last few weeks but I think we both secretly wanted a girl ;)

Size of Baby: Baby is as long as a banana.

Size of Bump: My bump comes and goes.  Tyler calls it the "beer belly" phase.  Some days towards the end of the day it actually looks like a baby bump but most days there is just a little bulge sticking out of my shirt.  I definitely am at the point where I can no longer hide it.  We took these pictures this afternoon after I binge ate at our friends' house while watching the Vikings game.  Not joking, my belly was half this size this morning.

Fun Fact: At our 20 week ultrasound baby consistently measured around 20 weeks and a few days except her arms!  The tech mentioned that the arms were measuring a few weeks farther along which we thought was funny since my arms are abnormally long.

Movement: I haven't felt too much movement yet.  I have an anterior placenta so it should take longer to feel kicks.  I first felt the baby - mostly just feels like pressure - around week 17 but it is not very often.  Tyler started putting his hand on my stomach and saying he feels something but clearly he is not since I was not ;) Today was the first time I felt a lot of pressure and had Tyler feel and he thinks he may have felt some movement.

Symptoms: I am feeling pretty great right now actually.  During the first trimester I felt hungover every day - nausea (never actually vomited thankfully) and headaches, stomach pains, the lovely skin of a teenager, etc.

Weight Gain: Right now I am fluctuating between 4 and 6 pounds or so.  I lost a few pounds right away and then gained most of my weight in two days so I expect to gain similar to this throughout the rest of my pregnancy.

Sleep: First trimester I had more trouble sleeping.  Second trimester I have been sleeping better but have been having crazy dreams.  I usually get up once a night, sometimes twice to go to the bathroom.  I haven't had to take naps but am pretty worn out by the end of the day and have trouble getting out of bed most mornings.

Workouts: I was in pretty good shape prior to finding out I was pregnant but didn't do much during the first trimester because of a combination of being nervous about it and not feeling the best.  Since then, I have been trying to run 30 minutes, 3 times a week, going on walks, lifting 1-2 days a week, and stretching.  I want to start doing some yoga but there isn't any place close to me and I honestly get a little bored trying to do online yoga at home.

Maternity Clothes: Still in my normal clothes.  I think I am going to break out the belly band for work this week because my dress pants are getting pretty tight.

Cravings/Aversions: Oh boy is my sweet tooth going crazy.  But really, I always have a crazy sweet tooth....I'm just using pregnancy as an excuse to give into it.  I told myself at the end of last week (after desserts 2x a day) that I am going to get better!  I also developed aversions to sweet potato fries and eggs.

Missing Most: I am starting to miss red wine and I really miss sushi!  I know they say you can eat cooked sushi but Tyler is worried about cross contamination so we are going to try to make it at home one of these nights.

Nursery: We can finally think about the nursery now that we know the sex! Yay! I want white furniture and plan to take advantage of the black Friday sales.  I want a clean and simple look... nothing over the top.

Most Excited For: The baby actually being here! We cannot wait to be parents.  Also, I am really starting to get excited to go home at Christmas so I can see all my family and friends and they can see the growing baby bump!  Speaking of bump, I'm excited to be at the point where I have an obvious bump so people know that I am pregnant and not just putting on weight around my midsection ;)

Favorite Part So Far: Definitely our 20 week ultrasound!  We had a health scare (some of my levels were elevated) so we had a long 3 days of waiting before getting in to see the specialist.  Everything looks great and we got to watch our baby on the screen for over an hour! She is quite the mover, which shouldn't surprise anyone that knows us.  Also we celebrated with dinner and dessert and then my sweet coworker surprised me with an ice cream cake the next morning and Tyler's dental assistant sent a gift home for me.  It is wonderful to have so much support around us even though we are away from all our family and friends.

Another favorite was telling our family and close friends.  We were able to tell lots of them in person!  I shared the news with my immediate family and a few friends when I was home in July (just 7 weeks at the time) and then Tyler went home for a wedding in September (around 15 weeks) and told his family and a lot of our friends he saw at the wedding.  I shared the news with my grandmas and Solheid aunts and uncles via facetime and then we told the rest over phone or text.  My family sure did a good job at keeping quiet for almost two months!

Grandmas Take on NC

A couple weekends ago, parents and grandmas arrived in North Carolina for a visit.  As soon as we knew we were moving here my mom started talking about making a trip to visit us with the grandmas and this fall was the perfect time.  We had the most beautiful weather.  Every day except one was sunny and in the 80s!  I am loving North Carolina's extended summer.  Their flight arrived Thursday afternoon.  My parents decided to rent a vehicle that could hold all of us so we wouldn't have to drive multiple cars everywhere.  They met me at a restaurant by the back gate for some drinks and food before we went and met Tyler for a base tour.  I think my grandmas both really enjoyed seeing a military base.  Fun fact: The town we live in used to have an army base during the war and my grandma thinks that my grandpa was stationed here - she needs to double check but we thought that was pretty cool.

After the tour, we drove down the island so my grandmas could see all the beach houses and then went back to our house so everyone could get settled in.  We wanted to stay closer for dinner the first night since Tyler had to work in the morning so we went to the Beach Shop Grill on Topsail Island for dinner.  Tyler and I had been there for lunch a few months ago and loved the place.  Everyone ordered seafood (which pretty much happened the entire trip) and enjoyed their meals.

Friday morning I went on a walk with my parents to show them the loop I normally run around the neighborhoods around our house.  We also introduced my grandmas to green smoothies in the morning.  I think they were hooked.  We went to lunch at Daddy Macs so we could enjoy the day and ocean view.

Love my grandmas <3

We left my grandmas on the restaurant patio and went on a little beach walk.

34 years and going strong! 

Afterwards we stopped by some shops, stopped by my work and ran to the grocery store to stock up on way too many snacks and sweets!  We met Tyler back at our house, had some drinks and freshened up before going out to dinner by the marina.  We decided to dress up a little for dinner this night to celebrate my parents' 34th wedding anniversary.  I have been wanting to try Bridge Tender and it definitely did not disappoint.  The food was SO amazing.  We all passed our food back and forth so we could try each others and the boys finished everyone else's plates (except mine of course, I finished that on my own :) 

Dadio

When we got back to the house we started the nightly tradition of playing cards - 3-13 - our family favorite.  

My grandma bought pumpkin pretzels for her card group the following week but she had to go back and buy some more because we ate them all! 

Saturday was a full day in Wilmington. We had lunch at the Copper Penny, checked out the old cotton exchange shops and walked the riverfront. 

We took a boat tour with Wilmington Water Ways of the Cape Fear River. 

Good views (and info) of the battleship 

86 degrees and sunny October weather calls for ice cream breaks

Next we went on a horse drawn carriage tour around the old neighborhoods of Wilmington.  It was very cool to see all the old houses.  We weren't quite hungry for dinner yet so we made a stop at Greenfield Lake to show my grandmas the cypress trees.

Watching the hundreds of turtles below

We didn't see any alligators but joked that we just needed to out run one of the grandmas if we did ;)

Another meal on the water

We went to dinner at Oceanic on Wrightsville beach.  I had amazing crab cakes and my grandma had the best fried shrimp I think I have ever tasted.

Sunday morning my parents and I went on a beach run/walk, we all went to church, made brunch, and then went back to the beach. Sunday was the only day that was a little cooler (70s) and after our busy Sat. in the heat, I think it was welcomed by all.  Everyone enjoyed watching Tyler stand up paddle board and surf the waves.  He must have being trying to impress his audience because he caught more waves than he usually does when its only me watching!

After we made our way back to Wilmington to tour the Bellamy mansion.

My grandma had mentioned wanting to see if we could get in one of the old churches so Tyler took us all to the Basilica Shrine of St. Mary.  We had gone to church here before and knew my family would love the inside.  We happened to luck out because the bishop from Raleigh was in town.  He and the priest informed us of the history of the church and then the bishop gave my parents a blessing for their wedding anniversary.

Our last night dinner was spent at Elijah's on the riverfront - the first restaurant I went to in Wilmington and still one of my favorites.

We made the most of our last night staying up extra late to play some extra games of cards. Tyler still says "I wish your parents and grandmas were still here so we could play another game of cards." 

Monday morning was spent on our back patio.

My parents and I went on a final beach walk.

Then back to the beach for everyone.  It was HOT again on Monday but my grandmas were comfortable in the shade. 

Since my grandma thinks this is probably her last trip to an ocean, she made sure to dip her feet in the water before we left!

Then it was back to our house for packing, more cards, grilling out, and sad goodbyes :(  We still miss them.  I don't think we could ever get sick of spending time with my family.  We always have such a great time. 

Another Recap

I was HORRIBLE at taking pictures the last few months.  I also barely noticed it was fall because the weather is still in the 80's here (yay!).  I want my fall weather to come in late October/November please.  Here is a quick recap of the end of Aug./Sept.:

In August, we made our way back to Atlanta to spend another weekend with Sara and Jasper.  We had planned to meet in Savannah but had to change last minute when Jasper was a little under the weather.  We had a great time. We met up with some of Sara's coworkers for drinks, toured the CNN building, walked around some of the parks, and had some great dinners.  The weekend went way too quickly.  

We spent a lot more time at the beach.

We are loving our Evie pictures Stacy sends us and the start of football season!

Tyler's first overnight duty - and yes, he has to carry a gun.  Hopefully he won't get too many of these since he is only trained in teeth!

My birthday date

We celebrated my 28th birthday!  While I was sad to be away from all my friends and family, Tyler and my co-workers really made my day.  I arrived at work with presents waiting and a birthday lunch.  Tyler MAJORLY spoiled me.  He took me to dinner at the marina, bought me gorgeous flowers, booked a massage for me and gifted me golf gear.  We followed it up with a golf date at one of the courses near us and it was so much fun.  We are hoping to get out more this fall when it cools down a little.

Tyler made a trip back to Minnesota for his good high school friend's wedding.  I asked Tyler to take a bunch of pictures...fail... but luckily our friend, Kim, sent me texts and snap chats all night so I almost felt like I was there!

The wedding party (groom, Dustin, on the right of Tyler)

Tyler was also able to spent time with his family while in MN

 Love the sunsets on the beach

 I drag this guy out for a walk on the beach as often as I can

Dentist in action 

I went to the dentist last week and of course Dr. Yahnke had to bring his supplies home to double check the treatment plan they gave me.  We have been very busy with more house projects because we wanted to finish them before our fall visitors! Updates will be on the next post.

July in Minnesota

After Alicia's wedding, I spent the rest of the week in New Prague with my family.  I was able to meet up with some of my best friends one night for dinner but the rest of the time was packed with family.  We celebrated more birthdays, spent lots of baby time and shopped for wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses for my little sister's wedding next summer.  I love that I can still be a part of some of the planning even though I am living far away.

Captured that adorable smile

Not so sure what to think about Grandpa 

Since I can't share the pictures of Danielle's dress or bridesmaid dresses, I will share the puzzle she gave me.  I can't wait!  I already had half of my speech written so good thing she wants me to give one ;)  Also, I love the dresses and color scheme.  This wedding is going to be amazing.

Evie did so good getting dragged all over to wedding shops and restaurants.

Sisters at the Shetka memorial golf tournie

The second weekend I was in MN, my entire Solheid family camped out for the weekend to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday.  It was so much fun and we had great weather.  Everyone made it except Tyler and one of my cousin's girlfriends.  That is a good turn out when there are so many of us (19 first cousins on this side + 12ish significant others + 4 little ones).

Lots of food, yard games, alcohol, bonfires, and laughs.  I love my family.

The birthday girl 

Four generations

Grandma and her 19 grandchild 

My family minus Tyler. We missed him!

So hard to say goodbye to this face.  She is going to be so big when I see her next!