24 Week Belly Pic

Here is a latest belly pic:

24 week, 4 days pregnant

Baby is definitely growing and moves all the time, but the morning sickness has returned.
Well, thats all for now!

What do you think Baby Struckman #2 is?

Just want to draw your attention to the poll I put on the right side of my blog. Vote for what you think we are having!

Doo-rags and a Blue Tongue...

Just a quick post to update you on what has been going on with us and to post a few pictures.

Emma and I haven't gone out much due to the extreme heat. The heat index here has been in the 100's and I just do not do well in the heat with this pregnancy. So Emma stays entertained doing puzzles, drawing, playing with her toys and wanting to 'help' mommy with whatever I am doing. She is so much fun, talks all the time and is all girl! I think she for sure knows there is a baby in my tummy and has felt him/her kick. The other night she wanted to kiss my tummy, it was pretty cute cuz I have never said anything to her about kissing my tummy. Since then she likes to pat and kiss my tummy and talk about the baby. She tells me its a girl/sister.

Shane is busy at work...I realize I say that every time I blog, but its the truth! This weekend he sanded our clothesline poles because they were getting pretty rusty, then repainted them white. He also bought new cording for the lines and just has that left to put up. It looks great! Honestly, we don't really use our clothesline (like twice since we lived here), but our neighbors do.

I have been sewing. I always seem to have orders to work on. Am hoping to eventually get to some sewing that I have been wanting to do...dolls for Emma, a skirt for Emma and of course, 2 diaper bags for me! I still need to go thru our pictures from our family photo shoot and select what I want to print off and get them on the wall!

Still no minivan, and after doing further research, turns out what I really want (Nimbus Gray exterior w/ Gray interior) doesn't exist! Honda just did the Olive interior in the Nimbus Gray. We went and looked at one last week, but they wanted too much and I know we can get a better deal...so the hunt continues! We are not in a hurry to buy and don't plan to make any trips after the baby comes until March, so wouldn't have to have one til then. Actually, we really don't 'have' to have one at all, space would be tight with 2 carseats in the Camry, but I feel very blessed to have 2 great, paid for cars. The minivan is more of a want and a convenience.

Well moving on to pictures. I haven't take a whole lot these past few weeks, but here are some cute shots of Emma in some doo-rags...she found my stash of them in the hall closet and likes to wear them.

Emma showing off her blue tongue from eating a blueberry sucker, she thought it was pretty cool!

Gosh, this kid is just beautiful...I can't get over what a joy and blessing she is to our lives!

Pregnancy update: I am 24 weeks today, but forgot to get a picture. I will try and remember to take one this week. I am feeling ok, still tired most of the time. I have had really bad back pain and pelvic pressure, and I am now getting an appetite...I am hungry all the time! The baby must of really grown in the last week cuz Shane even commented on how much bigger I look!

Well, thats all! Until next time, God Bless!

22+ Week OB Check-up

We had our monthly OB appointment today. We met with the nurse mid-wife at my doctor's practice, because my doctor is on vacation and we have yet to meet the mid-wife. They like you to meet everyone in the practice, since there is a chance they could do the delivery. She was nice and answered all our questions. Emma came with us, and had to give her just about everything out of the diaper bag!
I am 22 weeks 3 days along, and when she measured me, I am measuring right on!.
Weight: 120 (up 1 pound!)
Baby's Heartbeat: 150's
She said I was perfect and baby sounded great. She said the low weight gain is nothing to be concerned about, but that I should eat more (easier said than done, when I am just not that hungry).
She also pulled up our ultrasound report and said everything looked great with the baby and placement of the placenta...Praise God!
I have been having a lot of braxton hicks contractions and severe low back pain. I spent all day Monday on the couch drinking water with contractions, which I am certain were brought on by the weekend...I was in the heat too much and didn't drink enough water! Fatigue, dehydration and heat are the main cause of braxton hicks.
Well, thats all the baby related news for now!

Trying to Catch Up!

I am going to try and catch up from the last 2 weeks, hopefully I can remember that far back!
I have been busy knocking out orders...and it seems that as soon as I ship one out, I get another order the next day! I am trusting that God will not give me more than I can handle!
Its been really hot here, but we have been trying to enjoy the summer outdoors when we can. Here are a few pictures of us sitting outside:

Even though it is in the 80's, Emma still has to wear her hat!

Emma was trying to 'scare' her daddy!

So Shane turned around and scared her back!

She just loves it!

Lots of hugs afterwords!

Last Saturday we had our annual picnic with our Bible study group that meets once a month throughout the year. We met at Shady Creek and enjoyed grilled hot dogs, hamburgers and other yummy food. Games included bean bag toss, and a game of frisbee volleyball in which Shane and I were victorious!

Emma enjoyed getting dirty in the muddy sand!

Her little butt was covered...needless to say she rode home in just her diaper!

Just part of the Bible study group

Before we went to the picnic, I went down to a local sewing shop to 'test sew' a used sewing machine I had seen earlier in the week. I went prepared with cash in hand and Shane's blessing to buy if I thought it was what I wanted. I am looking for something that does embroidery and can still perform at the level of sewing that my machine does. Well, the sewing machine I tried out wasn't even close to what I have (even though its worth twice as much). So they had just got a different trade in, and it was a step up in machine, and even that couldn't perform what I need it to in terms of having enough needle power to sew around the top of my diaper bags. And both machines did not do a good job at feeding minky fabric. I am sure these machines are great at embroidery, but lack the ability to meet my sewing needs. I am not sure how far 'up' in model and price I will have to go to find what I need. By switching brands from what I have (a Pfaff), I am losing the IDT dual feed technology and the needle power that Pfaff has to offer. The reason why I am looking into a different brand, is because no one sells Pfaff around here and I would like a local dealer to take my sewing machine to, plus I need to be able to take classes to learn how to use my machine, etc. I am beginning to feel like I am in 'consumer research overload' between trying to find a minivan, sewing machine and am now needing a new laptop!
Moving on, after we arrived home from our picnic, Emma had a package waiting for her in the mail from her cousin Zoe. It was just some fun little stuff that Zoe had that she wanted to send Emma. Emma really enjoyed opening it.

Emma got new necklaces and crayons!

She spent the rest of the day filling the box up with her new stuff, carrying it around and dumping everything out again!
Last Sunday, we enjoyed the day by attending church and small group, and then took Emma to the aquatic center (aka, the pool) in the afternoon. We had fun, Emma loves the water!

This past week, we all came down with summer colds! Emma got it first, then me and Shane. We felt pretty crummy the first part of the week, Shane even stayed home from work for 2 days...which says alot in how terrible he felt!. We had kinda strange symptoms...I had a horrible runny nose and went thru several boxes of kleenexes, where Shane's nose wasn't so runny, but he was stuffed up. He was always tired and really dizzy all the time. I had like insomnia...I was exhausted, but found it very hard to sleep. We both had bad sore throats. I was hot all the time, while Shane had the chills the entire time (talk about role reversal!) Even though we were sick, I did enjoy having my husband home with me.

So this weekend we headed to Humboldt to welcome my brother-in-law, Tanner to Iowa. He got a job there at the radio station and moved in this weekend. Shane's parents, sister, Lindsey and her husband, Jared all came to help, as well as, Tanner's fiance, Krista. (I don't know if I have officially congratulated Tanner and Krista on their engagement, if not, here it is...Congratulations Tanner and Krista...we look forward to welcoming you to our family, Krista).
Anyway, on our way to Humboldt we stopped and looked at a few minivans. They all were Honda Odysseys in the Nimbus Gray color (which I haven't been able to look at in person), with a tan interior color. We didn't buy one, but did make some major headway in narrowing down what exactly I want...I LOVE the Nimbus Gray! I don't like the tan interior color though and would much prefer a gray interior. So the hunt continues, unfortunately most of the Nimbus Gray vans have the tan interior, but I continue to trust God with all of it! I definitely came away from this weekend feeling renewed and re-energized, and I thank God for that!
After we made it to Humboldt, we checked out Tanner's new place and enjoyed dinner with everyone. We then went to our hotel and went swimming. This morning, everyone else needed to get on the road, so after saying good bye to everyone, we stayed awhile to hang out with Tanner. We all took Emma to a park (a pretty cool one at that!) and then ate lunch at pizza hut. We finally headed for home at 1:45pm. We made it home without stopping and Emma and I napped most of the way! It took us 3 1/2 hours.

Emma came in wearing a new 'shoe' she called it! She has such an imagination!

And last, but certainly not least, my 22 week belly picture:

22 weeks and growing!
I have been feeling ok. Not horrible, and haven't really been throwing up. I am tired all the time though and wonder if that feeling will ever go away! ha! We have our monthly OB appointment on Wednesday, so I will update you then on my current stats!

We have a busy week ahead. Shane is super busy at work, so I pray his week won't feel too long. I need to meal plan and grocery shop. I have diaper bag orders to work on, but first have one to make for my sister-in-law, Janice! She is due at the end of the month! Emma and I also hope to get in some pool and play time, of course!

Until next time, love and prayers!

20 weeks today!

We have had a busy week and weekend. Shane made an overnight trip to Michigan for work on Wednesday. I spent the week sewing, trying to finish up an order. Emma and I made a trip to the QC to run errands. We also got the oil changed in the car and grocery shopped this week, and those are just the things that I can remember!

This weekend went by super fast. Saturday, we went to Iowa City to hit Stuff Etc. 1/2 off sale so I could pick up some cheap jeans for diaper bags, I was able to find 6 name brand jeans that will work great! On our way home, we swung by some friends and picked up sweetcorn that they generously picked for us from a neighbor of theirs. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and going thru our family photo shoot pictures (you can check them out in the post below), and shucking corn of course!

Today, we went to church and small group. Afterwords, we made a trip to Menards for Emma a swimming pool, they were even half off! We then picked up lunch on our way home. After lunch we put Emma down for her nap and started the process of freezing the sweetcorn. After we were done, we also pickled a batch of cucumbers. We got 3 jars today (last weekend we did 7). I then woke Emma up from her nap and we took her outside to swim in her pool (that we filled up several hours earlier so the water would get warm). She loved it! By this time it was already 6:30pm, so we came inside and I started supper.

On this week's agenda are dentist appointments tomorrow. I have one diaper bag order I need to finish up and mail out, and then move on to the next order. I also need to make a list of supplies that I am low on and place a wholesale order. I am hoping that the weather is nice enough to take Emma to the toddler swim time at the pool on Tuesday (its suppose to rain). We have our annual picnic with our bible study group coming up Saturday, so I will need to grocery shop for that and make food.
Here are some pictures from the week:

Emma playing...she still has to wear her winter hat around!

New socks from Target...aren't they adorable!

Walking around in Daddy's shoes

Below are just some cute shots of Emma from today:

I told her to give me a big cheesy smile...

This girl sure has personality!

Pool time!

Emma only got a small pool, well because thats the only one we could fit in our car!

Playing in water wouldn't be complete without Ariel!

'Burr thats cold water!'

The last of the pictures are of Miss Emma eating sweetcorn like a champ!

I told her to take a big bite like daddy!

Making the 'mmmmm' this is good sound!

I am 20 weeks today!!! 20 down, 20 more to go! It is so hard to believe that I am at the halfway mark in this pregnancy...it is just flying by! I am feeling so-so. Not throwing up as much, but am really tired. I think the heat is getting to me. I am already experiencing braxton hicks contractions...I thought that it was strange and too early, so I googled it, and sure enough its possible.

20 weeks!

Have a great week and God bless!