weeks 24, 25, & 26

- For Easter Lee and I drove to see Sarah in Nashville. The trip took around 6.5 hours each way. I was a bit nervous about riding in a car for that long mostly because of the whole frequent urination thing. We stopped three times each way, which I was pretty proud of. I know it's a lot more than most people, but considering how often I go- I was proud. We had so much fun in Nashville. Baby G loved being able to visit his Auntie Sarah. In fact, he loved it so much that he decided to put on quite a show for us. While laying in Sarah's bed late one night, all of a sudden I felt a lot of pressure in my belly, so I lifted my shirt and looked down and my stomach was legitimately slanted. He had clearly moved to the right side of my stomach. Then, all of a sudden I SAW him kick. I told Sarah to look and we watched him kick for quite some time. It is the most incredible thing to see. His kicks are getting stronger and stronger, so it's now a daily occurrence to see but it never gets old. Every time I feel him, I whip my shirt up and watch (not in public of course). I love it. It is by far my favorite pastime. I just stare and can feel the silly smile I am wearing while I watch. I ran to show Lee in Nashville, but once I got up baby G stopped. Of course. But Lee has been able to see and feel him kick a lot more since being home. (While typing this, he kicked some huge kicks that jarred my arms as they typed. He must know I am talking about him and wanted to tell y'all hi!)

- One thing that has changed in these weeks, along with how much stronger he is getting, is the insane indigestion/heartburn I experience daily. Week 26 was the worst. I am not sure what happened, but I had heartburn for like 4 days straight. All day and all night. No matter what I ate, if I didn't eat, if I did eat, it was SO bad and incredibly uncomfortable. Luckily, it hasn't been as bad after those four days, but I still have it at least twice a day.

- I have noticed that it is getting increasingly harder to get up from a soft surface (the couch, our bed, etc). I mean, it's not bad or awkward yet, but I have noticed I have to exert more energy in order to get up gracefully.

- Now that it is getting warmer in Charlotte, I am noticing just how hot I feel during the day. I took Jack to music class last Monday and I seriously thought the heat was on. I couldn't for the life of me understand why they didn't have the A/C on since it was very warm out that day. I don't think everyone  else in the class was as warm as I was. I mean, I was wiping my brow. Since then, the weather has stayed very warm here and I am also always warm, no matter what. So that's fun.

- That reminds me of a random comment I got while in Target that I will probably want documented. About a month ago I was walking in Target and a woman walked by me and made a comment that took me off guard. It was the first time that someone in public mentioned my pregnancy, but what was odd was that the lady didn't stop to talk to me. She literally walked past me and made the comment, to a complete pregnant stranger, without stopping and barely making polite eye contact. Anyway, she walks by me and goes, "good luck in the summer heat." I just laughed because what else do you do in that scenario? But when Lee asked me to repeat what she said we were both baffled (him more than I) about what had just happened. But now I know, all she could think of when she saw my little growing belly was how hot I was going to feel before our baby makes his debut mid-July. And while her comment/the situation was a bit odd, boy was she right. And it's only April. Awesome.

- My red, dry, blotchy skin is improving. Thanks to a tip from a blog reader, I tried this lotion that has truly worked wonders. While it isn't completely gone, it's barely noticeable and I am so grateful for that! So thanks Laura! :)

- I had a weird fever/stomach bug during week 25. It wasn't fun at all and lasted from Thursday-Sunday. I am glad that is behind me- that's for sure!

- Sarah came to visit last weekend (week 26), which was such a nice treat considering we had seen her two weeks prior and seeing family that close together is a rarity nowadays. She came to go to a concert with me and Lee. We had a fun weekend hanging out, laughing, watching/feeling for baby G, eating pancakes for dinner, and so on.  On Saturday night we went to an amazing concert. We saw Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors and Needtobreathe. Both of which are such great bands- and put on a great show. It was so much fun, and we are so thankful Sarah took us with her. She is already introducing baby G to such good music. I did my best to be a fun concert goer with Sarah- but I will be honest it was hard to stand and be out past my normal bedtime. Lee and I both felt so young (sometimes I wonder if we are really 50) and hip. On Sunday we were so exhausted- but it was all worth it.

- Sarah went on tour a few weeks ago with Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors as Drew and Ellie's (Drew's wife and singer in the band) tour nanny. The management company that Sarah works for in Nashville manages them. Sarah was eager to see them, so we went to the concert early so that we could meet them/talk with them for a bit before they had sound check. (We had VIP all access passes, but if we went backstage to meet them with those passes, and possibly even NTB, we wouldn't have been able to see EL (Drew and Ellie's daughter) and we all wanted to meet/see her.) They were both SO nice! Ellie (who just had EL a few months ago) gave me lots of tips and thoughts that no one shares about having a baby, and it was actually really helpful. Baby G is already super cool because he went to a concert AND met the band. It took me 27 years to do that. He sure is lucky that he has a super cool aunt with connections.



Here are some photos from the past few weeks (photo overload FYI):

Nashville (week 24):

Week 25:  (don't judge me for having a messy room- I had been sick all weekend and didn't have energy to clean)

Sarah's visit/the concert (week 26):

(baby G and his VIP all access pass. coolest baby ever.)

(this is the story of my life.)

(us with EL and Ellie, pre-show )

(us with Drew, post-show)