week 20. (baby #3)

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5 Months! I cannot believe that I am half way through this pregnancy! I really wish time would slow down for a while…I'm trying to savor every moment of my last baby bump! I've been feeling great! I've and a lot more energy lately, and am actually getting excited for the holidays! We had another appointment with Dr. Shanbour about a week ago and we did our 20 week ultrasound. The baby is growing normally and looks healthy as can be! The ultrasound measured me about one week farther along than my due date, but Dr. Shanbour measured me right at 20 weeks. My placenta is anterior this time, meaning that the placenta is on the front of my uterus instead of the back. Usually the embryo implants at the posterior part of the uterus (or the back), but occasionally it implants in the front and the placenta is anterior. This shouldn't cause any problems, because it usually moves up as the pregnancy progresses. This could mean that you feel fetal movement less often and less intense than normal because the placenta acts as a cushion between the baby and your tummy. I haven't seemed to notice this because I felt the baby first move at 14 weeks and the current movement is very frequent and intense! Tonight, I feel like it's doing flips in my belly! Occasionally the placenta stays low and anterior, which can make c-sections a little tricky if this placenta is located where they have to make the incision. Dr. Shanbour said that everything looked great on my ultrasound, so I'm thinking that my placenta isn't too low. 't have a picture of the baby's gender, but we want it to be a surprise so we still haven't looked! I have a really strong feeling that it's a boy (maybe because I kind of want a boy), but we'll see! I'm just excited to have a new little bundle of joy in my arms! We already have a boy named picked out (hint: the initials are RJR - just like Reid's), but I'm still not loving any girl names so far. 

I've been walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes every other day, and I'm going to try and start eating less junk/carbs and more healthy foods for the remainder of the pregnancy. We're doing cord blood banking again with this baby through Cord Blood Registry. This time we're also adding tissue banking, where part of the umbilical cord is collected and banked as well. The paper work is finished and my kit is in the mail! It will cost about $400 a year to store all three of our kids' cord blood, but if we ever need it, this will be priceless! 

Here are the stats on my 20 week appointment.

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November 5, 2013

-20 weeks 

-Baby is the size of a banana and weighs about 3/4 of a pound

-Total Weight gained: 16 pounds

-Blood Pressure: 108/68

-Fetal Heart Rate: 166 on ultrasound, 154 on fetal doppler

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The baby was head down and facing backward, so this is the best profile picture we could get! 

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In case you didn't know...

1. I don't like salad (or most green vegetables). Terrible, I know.

2. I vacuum my house almost every day, and straighten my couch cushions every time I walk by.

3. One of my favorite things is eating Popsicles in a hot bath.

4. I wouldn't spend the night with anyone until I was well into my teenage years. 

5. I made straight A's all through nursing and nurse practitioner school.

6. I always dreamed of having two boys and one girl. When I would play the game Life as a child, I would always put two blue pegs and one pink peg in the back of my car for my children.

7. I had a lemon addiction in college. I would slice 3-4 lemons a night, salt them, and eat them while studying and watching Dawson's Creek DVDs. 

7. Jeb asked me to be his girlfriend (for the second time...the first time was in 7th grade) while slow dancing at our junior prom. We've been together ever since. 

8. I can't stand broken crayons, Bengay (or any cooling/menthol gel), or a dirty refrigerator.

9. I pee my pants when someone tickles me or tries to hold me down. 

10. I hate elevators and will not ride in one alone. 

11. As a child, I had a pet raccoon named Hakuna Matata.

12. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, and I love having the peace in my heart that I am loved unconditionally, forgiven, and will have a home in heaven one day. I wish I could be more like my brother and have the gift of easily sharing the Gospel. I pray daily to be bolder in my faith. 

week 19. (baby #3)

spooky. {halloween 2013}

This was the first Halloween that we didn't dress up in our family costumes on actual Halloween night. We dressed up in our family "Cat in the Hat" costumes for pictures to announce the new baby, but the kids wanted to only wear their "chosen" costumes on Halloween so we decided to opt out of the family one this year.  Both of the kids picked out their costumes this year and they REALLY liked them! We did a little photo session at my parents' house and the pictures turned out great! 

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We made witch hats out of Hershey kisses and witch brooms out of Reese's and pretzels for LilliAnn's dance class and Mother's Day Out class. This picture was tied on to the treats and said, "Hocus Pocus Sassy & Sweet, Hope you enjoy this Witch's treat!"

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For Reid's class we did "Goblin Bait," which was vanilla almond bark, candy corn, and pretzels. It was delicious! The tag said, "Hope your Halloween is Great! Please enjoy this Goblin Bait!"

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Reid the red ninja turtle, Raphael! 

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He was SO into showing me all different kinds of "ninja turtle" moves! He kept saying, "Mom, I've got a really good one! Watch this!"

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LilliAnn, the "princess witch." As you can see, she too was really getting into character! 

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I just adore these pictures! 

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This is one of my very favorites! I LOVE these two little goblins! 

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The week before Halloween, Reid's Pre-K class went on a field trip to a mini "pumpkin patch" in Shawnee. They read a book about the "Lady who wasn't afraid of anything," and then were served some yummy snacks.

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Reid loved the bounce house the most! 

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Such a handsome boy! 

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It's so crazy seeing him in line and in a school setting. I feel like he should still be my little baby boy! 

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After the pumpkin patch, we went to Kids Space Park for a pizza and cupcake party! The kids had a blast!

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On Halloween day, Reid had his very first school party! The entire school dressed up in their costumes and did a costume parade around the halls. This is Reid with his best "girlfriend" Aspyn! Her mom, Taryn, is one of my very best friends! 

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 I'm so thankful that Reid has made so many good buddies in his class! 

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 Mrs. Schooler's 2013-2014 Pre-K Class

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 Funny faces! 

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The class performed a few "spooky" songs and dances for us! Reid wasn't much into performing :) 

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Almost party time! They were ready for some candy! 

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 Costume parade!

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 Grayson was Phil from Duck Dynasty

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 On Halloween night, my mom, dad, Aunt Johnna, and Uncle Mike came over and we cooked chili and chicken and dumplings. The kids wanted to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood, but they enjoyed handing out candy at our door the most!

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 Mom and Aunt Johnna took over candy duty while we went out trick-or-treating! 

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I happened to take a few snapshots of our yard.

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 Reid's classmate, Will, lives down the street from us, so he was excited to see Will while trick-or-treating! He loved Will's costume! He told me for a month, "Do you know that Tristan is going to be Mario and Will is going to be aweegi (Luigi)?"

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 Reid's teacher, Mrs. Schooler, lives just around the corner from us so he was excited to trick-or-treat at her house! 

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 We have such a great neighborhood during the fall! We always have a neighborhood fall festival with face painting and a bonfire, and on Halloween everyone goes all out with house decorations and haunted houses! 

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 One of our neighbors who is a fireman was really scary this year! But Reid thought he looked so cool! 

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 And look who surprised us! Uncle Kass! And he even dressed up as a Ninja Turtle too!!!

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It was another fun-filled Rollins Halloween! Although we did Halloween a little more low-key this year, we still had a blast together. Hopefully, I'll have family costume pictures soon! I can't wait to share them!