20 weeks

Halfway there! Today marks 20 weeks and Monday marks the first day of October, so I'd say things are about to fly by, rill fast. I ordered my Halloween costume (shirt) and I can't wait for it to come in! I've had my eye on one from cafepress.com for awhile, and when they had a 30% off sale on everything a couple days ago, I couldn't resist.

I.can't.wait.to.wear.this.every.day.

In other news, candy corn pumpkin candy is the tastiest Halloween delicacy on the market. My taste buds have definitely moved on from Reese's and Butterfingers to this sweet honey sugar in shape of a perfectly crafted punkin. Matt and I tried the Pumpkin Pie Pizza at Stevie B's last night (I swear I ate some salad, too) and it was surprisingly satisfactory to our recent pumpkin kick! This morning we made Archer Farms Pumpkin Pancakes and it was the perfect start to a fall morning. We live about a mile away from the Silver Comet Trail, so after a meal, we will venture to the beautiful trail with fastly-changing leaves that crunch when we briskly walk by with our (psycho) dog who doesn't understand bicyclists. Before the season is over I HAVE to go to Washington Farms in Watkinsville. Hayrides, corn mazes, pig races, zoo animals, pumpkin slingshots, corn cannons; I've never been to anything like this so I'm determined to start this year! To pick out your own pumpkin in a real pumpkin patch is so foreign to me, quite a change after all those years in good ole church parking lots.

Matt started painting the nursery! I'm in love with the color. I tried my hardest to help him every way I could, but the smell got to me and I had to sit it out. I am so excited to see it completed. Oh, and with a crib! Unbelievable. October, be good to us. 20 weeks to go!

19 weeks

FALL IS HERE!!! It's been absolutely gorgeous outside; I am in love with the cooler mornings and evenings. Football season is in full swing, and UGA has won every game! Even though we're playing teams that my high school football team could beat, I suppose some recognition is in order (can you tell I'm a married-in UGA fan?). This week I didn't cook a thing, and the nursery wasn't touched. Matt hasn't been feeling up to par since the weather change, and I well, don't have a good excuse for the frozen dinners. It has definitely been a recuperation week!

Speaking of recouping, Matt and I will be able to go on a Babymoon this fall! We are ecstatic since this is our 1st vacation since our Honeymoon! We'll be staying at a beach townhouse right outside Seaside, and we promised each other NO cooking ;) It'll be the perfect long weekend before the holidays and hardcore baby preparations.

I also cannot wait to look at this view all day:

Thursday was our 18 week appointment and we got to see how much our man has grown. It was amazing! We actually got to see him drink some of the amniotic fluid! Kind of freaked me out, but equally just as fascinating. I can't wait to hold this little guy in 5 short months.

18 weeks

Happy one week 'til Fall everyone! I couldn't wait, I had my first Pumpkin Spice Latte and it was everything I hoped it would be. Next on the list is finding Halloween costumes and decorating! I understand we're only in the middle of September, but I'm a sucker for advertisements and Target already has their Halloween display out so I'm hooked. I'm a little upset because pregnancy has put a major damper on my love for sweets, so now the only thing I crave is Kit Kat bars. Those don't even have caramel in them, let alone peanuts. What is happening to me...

A couple nights ago, Matt felt Grayson kick for the first time! It was so awesome feeling his little kick and then looking at Matt and Matt looking at me for confirmation. I'm so happy he finally got to experience his son for the first time (besides holding my hair while I throw up and running errands for foods neither one of us knew I liked). I can't believe how active this little guy has been! This was the first week I felt him out in public and not at home sitting a certain way at a certain time trying to decipher if it was really him or my stomach rumbling for more food.

Ah, food. The dish I made this week puts my mom's Stouffer's version to shame ;) First I made a homestyle meat sauce and had it with spaghetti. The next night, I took the leftover sauce and made a good ole Traditional Lasagna. Now the meat sauce recipe link isn't working, but the lasagna has its own recipe; it just hasn't been tried and true by a pregnant woman yet. I do change all the meat to turkey meat, Grayson can knock me off being a vegetarian but not that far off ;) 

My 18 week ultrasound is on Thursday! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. This pregnancy really has flown by since the 2nd trimester started. Grayson already has enough newborn clothes to last him a lifetime, AND thanks to his Gigi? Nana? Gram? (ya'll gotta help Matt's mom pick a name!) he has all the children's books a kid could ever want. It's the same books Matt had when he was little, so that already makes me tear up, I can only imagine what I'll feel when Matt is reading his books TO Grayson. Ah, I can't handle it.

Hopefully this week will consist of a lot of painting and bringing our nursery plans to reality. I can't believe how much this kid already has and it's only September. It's going to be a fun 5 months!

17 weeks

17 weeks today! The feel goods of the second trimester are finally settling in! I have been trying to get back into taking the prenatal pills, and I'd say I've been taking them every other day (and gummies on days I don't feel well).

I got maternity clothes! And they are magical. I don't feel like the Hulk after a bad day anymore. It took an entire day, but Matt was a trooper and stuck it out. I reeeally wanted a certain pair of boots, but my calves measured an inch bigger than the whole circumference of the boot...story of my life. Thank you 13 years of ballet for ruining my chances of ever purchasing a boot worthwhile.

Now that all family and close friends know, I can finally announce that we are having a BOY! We found out at 13 weeks, 5 days and right when the doctor put the camera on my stomach I shouted, "It's a boy!" We are so excited to have pee everywhere to experience the joys of having a son. We have settled on Grayson Jon Moskal, although I do still have freak out moments wondering if Poindexter or Aloysius (yes that's a family name) would be a better fit. We are so excited to watch this fella grow, even now! I feel a kick every couple of days which sends me to the moon but I REALLY can't wait to feel him all the time. 

I have had the weirdest dreams every night. One night I dreamt that I was taking shots 7 months pregnant and then decided to take a break and eat Kit Kat bars with my dad. Another night, I had to choose between Joseph Gordon-Levitt and my husband. And of course I chose my Luvahub ;) They get weirder and weirder, between all my years at dance and Catholic middle school, my brain comes up with some interesting stories. Only if back then life was actually that cool...

Well tonight UGA plays Missouri and we're having the Moskals over for some delicious food on the grill. I made this trail mix that beckons Fall with every handful eaten. I could not find a better way to post this (the picture on Pinterest doesn't go to the right blog post) so hopefully everyone has good eyes, because this is so worth it.

Nursery Plans

Now that the crib is ordered and a new month has arrived, I'm getting super excited about planning the nursery. Right now the second bedroom is a storage unit for everything we didn't feel like dealing with after the big move in July, BUT rest assured, this baby is going to have an awesome set up. Mom bought a changing table from a garage sale in her neighborhood a couple months ago, so I'm thinking after a little sanding and a fresh coat of paint, it will be good as new! I decided that I definitely want to go with a tall chest of drawers as opposed to a long dresser, and I want it to be a fixer-upper. After seeing a pine chest with 5 drawers at Ikea for $99, it looked like the perfect choice! But that project is probably weeks away with everything else we need to get done first. I can't wait :)

As for the set up of the nursery, I made a layout to give an idea of what's ahead:

Now there is NOT that much extra space in the middle of the room, and the extra long wall next to the closet is miniscule in comparison, but I did the best I could with the Pages software on my Mac. I'm still crossing my fingers that everything will fit this way!

Matt and I went to Home Depot this morning to look for the "perfect shade of gray" and found our match! It is called Silver Sateen by Behr:

This shows a bit darker than the sample we got today, but it gives you at least an idea of what it will be like! I can't imagine the day I will be putting up photos of the nursery completed, it feels like an eternity away. This weekend we (hopefully) have big plans for the nursery, and getting this mama some fat jeans (outlet shopping, anyone?). 

Bargain Buys

Last night I went on Target.com to look for a dress I could no longer find in the store. Once I got on the site, I noticed that Target was having a major baby sale this week. To my surprise, the major sales were all things I had on my "list" to buy in the future. I gathered up my Target REDcard and Team Member Discount Card (benefits of being married to a Target manager!) and decided to go ahead and take the plunge. I cannot believe how much we saved between the sales, free shipping, promotional gift cards and my discount; we ended up saving over $500 and have $125 of gift cards on the way! Now almost all the major purchases are taken care of and we did it for under $1,000. I'm feeling pretty awesome.

Here is a list of the goods:

1. Babyletto Modo 3 in 1 Crib with Toddler Rail

2. Chicco Cortina SE Travel System- Perseo

3. Medula Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump with Backpack

4. Chicco Polly SE High Chair- Perseo

5. Chicco Lullaby SE Playard- Perseo

16 Weeks

This week has been filled with a lot more cooking, eating, and avoiding nausea. I stopped taking my prenatals about a week and a half ago after eating mom's "sea shells" and "seeing it again" in the upstairs bathroom. As a replacement, I throw back two prenatal gummies a day that taste like sour patch kids. I'm not complaining but I am a bit skeptical on whether they're beneficial at all. Nonetheless, I've been feeling a lot better!

Yesterday, I made a boatload of pasta salad (I highly recommend this recipe if you're not a fan of mayonnaise), and capped off the night with Stuffed Pepper Enchiladas. I absolutely love the mixture that I stuffed into the peppers, but one thing I can't stand about green bell peppers is that they do not absorb any flavor whatsoever! I would much rather have the deliciousness wrapped up in a tortilla. Lesson learned.

21 days until Fall! I can hardly wait. Football, candy corn, hot chocolate, fires, s'mores with those fires, leggings, pumpkin spice everything...I'm ready. Zane already has his Halloween collar on. No shame.

Matt and I bought a 750 piece puzzle this week that glows in the dark. I was really into it the first night and then I woke up with killer neck and back pain the next morning (which still hasn't gone away), so now there's hundreds of pieces all over the coffee table as decoration. I can only imagine what else pregnancy has up its sleeve for me. 24 weeks to go!