The Merfett

NewMerfbaby is a Banana

March 11, 2015 The Merfett

NewMerfbaby is 20 weeks today! Half-way…eeek!

He’s the length of a banana, head to toe! My other pregnancy tracker said the baby is the size of a boob, but to keep it PG here I decided to stick with banana ;)

How I’m Feeling: Pretty good! The time change sent Riley for a loop so we’ve been working through that, which can be draining. He’s sleeping well and still napping, but he’s been so cranky and emotional this week. We had a pretty epic meltdown today that took a while to work through. How am I going to deal with tantrums when I have a newborn too? Aye. I’m thankful he’s not a regular tantrum-thrower, but when he does they are memorable.

Belly/Weight: Not sure on the weight, but the belly is for sure here! I need to take more belly pics in the morning when I get dressed. Depending on the day and what we’re up to I don’t always get dressed up if we’re just working in the yard. But, I’ll try to be better about pics. I love looking back at the ones I did with Riley.

Life Changes: I’d say I’ve converted to maternity clothing now. I got another pair of jeans that are ok, and a few tops and dresses. I’m fully embracing the “lose and flowy” maternity look. We’ll call it hippie-chic, ok? It pairs well with my Birkenstock vibes! The dresses I got are non-maternity, but I know I’ll wear them a lot in the months after I have the baby. I wore some of my jean shorts with a belly-band this week, but I need to get some bigger or maternity shorts since it’s going to be hot this summer.

Movement: I think I can almost feel the kicks from the outside – a few times a day I’ll feel a several kicks and jabs in a row. It’s always a fun reminder that he’s in there :)

Sleep: Had to use my ear plugs a few nights this week. Kelly’s been especially tired (snoring) and I’ll just pop in my ear plugs so I can fall asleep faster. With the time change Riley is sleeping in later, so that’s nice. A few weeks ago he made the wake up stretch from 6:00am/6:30am to 7:00am, so with the time change that’s now 8:00am. I can’t complain about that. But our whole day shifts a few hours and he’s going to bed around 7:45/8:00pm now.

Cravings: I was just thinking tonight that one of my major cravings is cheeseburgers. Not just In N Out, but plain (meat and cheese only) cheeseburgers!! Silly. I’ve also been wanting ice cream, so I got some when we were at the store today. It hit the spot! Oh, and I fulfilled my donut craving from this weekend. Yum. Super healthy huh? To be fair I did have sweet potatoes and a giant head of steamed broccoli with my dinner tonight.

Exercise: With the time change and everything I missed a few workouts. Planning to work out tomorrow. Riley and I did some gardening and got my garden beds planted and ready for Spring this week. And we’ve been playing in the backyard every afternoon and going on walks around the neighborhood. I’ve been active, just not doing a traditional worked so much.

Favorite Pregnancy Moment this week: I think we have some solid names on our list! We came up with one over the weekend I really, really like. It may be hard to top.

On My Mind: We’re almost finished with Riley’s big brother room. The last thing we really need is a new baby monitor. I wish someone had told me to get one with Riley that would grow with our family. Now we’re looking at ones that will take 2 cameras. I also need to get another laundry hamper and diaper pail for his room, but he’s just about set! We have the bed all ready with the guard rail, and his new blackout curtains were hung this weekend. We’re planning to do a few projects around the house this weekend and get the backyard Spring ready – since we’ll be spending a lot of time out there.

Family

Bloggers who Author

March 6, 2015March 4, 2015 The Merfett

I’m a pretty consistent blog reader – my Feedly app is full!

I get really excited when Bloggers that I love write books. It’s like getting one big post/chat with someone who’s voice and story you’ve come to love. Yea, #fangirl

Wanna know a secret? Someday I dream about writing a book. Crazy, huh? No idea what it would be about, but it would be so cool. And probably scary. And hard. I’m no writer, but I kinda like writing so that counts for something?

Anyway here are a few books I love from my favorite bloggers.

Notes from a Blue Bike – I buy this as a gift for friends and family all the time. I love it. I even got to meet Tsh, the author, when she was on her book tour and she’s lovely. The book is about living life simply, and loving the life you have.

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess – I’m not the first Jen Hatmaker #fangirl, but come on – she’s awesome. I totally want to be her BFF. This book will mess you up in the best ways. Bonus, Jen and her Husband are HGTV stars :)

Bread and Wine – Another go-to gift book. I love feeding people as a way of showing that I care about them. Hospitality and opening up your home can be such a fun and cool way to serve others. This book is as much about people as it is food. Bonus, there’s some awesome recipes included! Several of which I’ve made to reave reviews :)

The Nesting Place: It Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect to Be Beautiful – This pairs well with Bread and Wine since it’s about home and hospitality. It sort of blew my mind when I learned that you can (and should) invite people into your “mess.” We all live life, and we know what a home that’s lived in looks like – so toss the laundry off the couch and invite a friend over for coffee. They’ll probably feel more at home seeing your yet-to-be-folded laundry anyway ;)

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels–a Love Story – It’s no secret I’m a giant fan of Ree and everything she does. This book is cute and sweet and funny. It’s about how she and her husband met, and her early life as a wife and mother on the ranch.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl – While I’m girl crushing on Ree, I’ll include this one. It’s my go-to bridal shower gift. Her recipes are simple, and easy to follow. All the photos help calm me down when I think I’ve ruined the gravy. <– True Story.

Happy reading!

Family

Our little Merfketeer is a….

March 4, 2015 The Merfett

I had an OB appointment on Monday afternoon. My Doctor walked into the room and before she even closed the door, asked if I knew the gender. I said no – that we’d probably be finding out in 2 weeks at our Anatomy Scan Ultrasound. She shook her head, and motioned for me to follow her into another room.

I told her she’s have to write it down and seal it in an envelope since Kelly wasn’t here.

She showed me the baby, and we listened to the heartbeat and then told me to look the other way. I said I didn’t know what I’d be looking at anyway but, sure. She said she wanted it to be dramatic :)

So she sealed it up and I sent this pic to Kelly at work. Pleading with him to hurry home from work that night!

When he got home I told him I wanted him to open it and tell me what it was. I was feeling pretty sure it was a boy, and said I would be very surprised if it were a girl. Sure – I’d love to have a little girl, but I’ve been imagining us as a family with 2 boys. He didn’t really have a guess – mostly since we didn’t think we’d be finding out for another 2 weeks.

Well….

A BOY!!!

We’re thrilled!! We called and shared the news with our families and they were so excited.

The Murphy Brothers – how cute is that?!

Also – since this little guy and Riley are only going to be days apart in birthdays I can recycle all the baby clothes!!!

I looked at a few name lists and we’ve got one that stuck, so that’s a start :)