Sweet

Murray entered me in a NRL betting league at work, and as of this week (week 3) I am in FIRST place (out of 108 players!!!)
All the draws are random - but fun to see the results each week - go Bulldogs!! (they whooped the Roosters 60-14 pushing me into first place with 84 points!!)
Now, I admit I haven't actually ever WATCHED an NRL game (national rugby league).... but I do like winning so YAY! Granted, there are 20+ weeks to go..... so I need to keep winning every week to stay on top.
This week I have the Broncos - so GO BRONCOS!!!

Lovely Manly

Just a few pics Murray took from our balcony the other evening :)

Week 26

*How far along?: 26 Weeks



*Total weight gain: 7.5 kilos - which is about 16.5 pounds



*How big is baby?: Sparky is the (still) the size of an Eggplant

Your baby has put on quite a bit of weight by week 26 and is now a whopping 1.7 pounds. Your baby's total length is about 14 inches. Your baby is now starting to add a little fat to her bones, though she won't start accumulating too much fat until the last few weeks of pregnancy.


*Maternity clothes?: My original maternity clothes are getting more snug as the belly pops out further & further! I'm thinking I may put all my work dress shirts into our spare room for awhile as they won't fit/be needed for awhile now!


*Sleep?: Well it's time for me to finally say it - sleep is not longer working out well for me. I wake up at least a few times a night, usually because I have rolled onto my back and my body wakes me up so I will roll back onto my side. It's funny because I have always been a side sleeper, but I think it's because I can't angle my legs up as much as I used to to get comfortable because the bump is in the way. I did finally go to Target this weekend and got a maternity pillow that fits between my knees and gives the bump a bit of support and that seems to be helping. I'm still waking up - but only once or twice, rather that 4-5 times. I need to sort out my pillow fort so that I stop waking up - I'd like to enjoy my sleep for a few more months please!!!!



*Best moment this week? Having my maternity leave approved - last day 18 June!!



*Movement?: Lots of movement this week. It really is starting to feel like Sparky is running out of space. Rather than a kick or a poke here & there it's now more like 'kick, poke, roll' all within a few seconds - bizzare - but a lovely feeling:) We spent some time yesterday afternoon watching my belly, the pokes are getting SO strong now. Today in my morning meeting I saw my badge (that I wear around my neck on a lanyard) move when Sparky kicked it! ha ha. Somtimes his movement now feels like a giant rumble in my stomach - I'm imaging he is doing flips in there!

Saturday morning I had my glucose test (to test for gestational diabetes). They gave me a sugary drink that I had to down in 5 minutes (it really just tasted like Sprite to me, but granted I don't drink much soda - so sweet stuff is always too sweet for me). A minute or two after drinking it Sparky went CRAZY!!! WHOA sugar high - kicking, rolling, going nuts! He actually kicked me so hard I said 'ouch' out loud! Wow! An hour later they drew my blood to see if my body processed the sugar correctly, I'll find out the results at my ob appointment on Wednesday.


*Food cravings?: I was badly craving a burrito last week, so treated myself to a healthy one for lunch one day and ohhhhh was it lovely. I'm just loving eating in general - it's so nice not to have to worry about how many carbs I'm eating, I just try to order meals with tons of veggies in them and enjoy every bite!



*Labor signs?: too soon for that!



*Belly button in or out?: still flat! Murray says now he can now tell why it's called a belly Button - we can see 4 little spots now that it has popped out so flat - it really does look like a button!!



*What I miss: Sleeping through the night!



*What I'm looking forward to: I am looking forward to moving into my third trimester next week!! Also looking forward to hearing Sparky's heartbeat on Wednesday at my appointment!!



*Milestone: We reached the double digits this week until Sparky is due!!



*Feelings this week:

*On Friday I found out about my work bonus for the year (yay!), so I went a little crazy and bought the diaper (nappy) bag I had been looking at on an online sale. It was HUGELY on sale, and it's pretty, but it didn't tick ALL of my boxes.... so I had been 'just thinking' about it all week... On Friday I just decided to go for it. I can always get a wipeable bag later, this one is pretty - can be worn like a over the shoulder bag with it's long straps, or you can wear it like a handbag by shortening the straps, or you can clip it to your stoller with the 'stroller clips' (which I also ordered). It had a ton of internal pockets and a matching change pad that is tucked into the back of the bag. It's OH SO LOVELY and I'm so pleased I got it in an online outlet sale - YAY! Petunia Pickle Bottom makes SUCH lovely bags!!

This isn't my stroller (go mountain buggy!) but you get the idea.... I love the idea of hanging the bag from clips rather than hanging a long strap over the stroller handles!

Me at 26 weeks - saying goodbye to the second trimester! Wow time has really flown!!

Pics Just for Fun

Nicole posted these pics from her birthday dinner -
and I thought they were just too nice not to share :)

Time flies when you're having fun!

Today Sparky officially enters the double digits - 99 days until his/her due date - how exciting!!

Also as of today I have been at this job one full year - wow - time flies!

It was such a beautiful weekend,

so Saturday late afternoon we popped down to North Steyne beach for a swim.

The bump!

I like to think Sparky loves the beach already:) Although the water was a bit chilly, so we just waded while Murray swam (I know you quickly get used to the water temp & then it becomes refreshing, but with all this extra 'stretched' skin I just wasn't open for the initial cold shock!)

Sunday I briefly caught up with Murray & his friend Chris for a zip around the Manly area in Chris's boat. It could NOT have been a nicer weekend - sunny & hot! Gotta love autumn in Sydney:)

Week 25

*How far along?: 25 Weeks

*Total weight gain: 7 kilos - which is about 15 1/2 pounds

*How big is baby?: Sparky is the size of an eggplant!

Your spouse might be able to pick up baby's heartbeat (no stethoscope required)by just putting his ear to your belly from this week! Inside the womb, the formation of tiny capillaries is giving baby a healthy pink glow. Baby's also soaking up your antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink -- perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.

*Maternity clothes?: Yes very little of my non maternity clothing fits me now, although I did squeeze into a bikini this weekend! And no, I will not be posting those photos on the blog! I was quite surprised though to see the photos, it just looks different to see the bump from a distance - really does look stuck on my front! I also got a cute maternity top from Cameron & Nicole which I LOVE (wearing it today)!

*Sleep?: I have always slept on my side, but now can't really bend my legs up much as it's uncomfortable with the bump, but really I'm still sleeping pretty well. Well, other than the nights when I have awful dreams & wake up (that only happened once this week) and the fact that I can't seem to sleep in at all anymore (my body preparing me for having a baby in the house perhaps?)

*Best moment this week? Knowing that as every week goes by Sparky has more & more chance of surviving outside of the womb. I believe his chances are up to 70% this week. I do hope he stays nice & comfy in there until around at least 38 weeks though:)

*Movement?: Lots every day - lately I have been woken up a few times by movement, and I feel it quite often at night when I lay down to go to bed. Although I think Sparky is starting to run out of space in there because this week there is a lot more feelings of him just rolling around rather than so many pronounced kicks.

*Food cravings?: I like carbs - bought myself a bagel on Friday as a treat and today I really had to hold myself back from eating the hot cross bun Helen brought over last night until after I ate lunch today -(yummmm they are so nice - rolls that are slightly sweet with raisons in it - so so nice). Also Murray has introduced me to paddle pops - I love them (caramel & chocolate - both are lovely)!

*Labor signs?: nope - too soon for that!

*Belly button in or out?: still mid outtie! It does feel weird to run my hand across my belly and not feel any sort of a hole! But it isn't fully popped out yet:)

*What I miss: nothing really

*What I'm looking forward to: On Wednesday Sparky will reach the double digits (99 days) til he is due to arrive!!!

*Milestone: Moving into my 6th month of pregnancy!!

*Feelings this week:

*I simply cannot help myself when I go to the mall - I ALWAYS pop into the nice baby store they have there. I haven't bought much, but I look & I make lists:) Yesterday I checked out a few nappy (diaper) bags. Eh - I'm not crazy about their selection. I have been trouble finding a bag with the things that I want..... basically I want something that is wipeable to clean, has a big zip across the top so stuff doesn't fall out, and has a nice pattern with a bit of red in it (to match the stroller). You'd think these minimal requirements would make the search easy - well they don't. For some reason the people who make nappy bags have completely left out red as a popular color choice. I have found a few bags that I kind of like that have just the UGLIEST patterns & colors!! I found an ok one at a maternity shop - only thing is it isn't super spacious & doesn't have that zip across the top (I just know me - I need a zip or I will lose stuff!!) Oh well, I'm sure I'll find something I like eventually.

*By the way - there are two Australian baby terms I don't like - nappy (diaper) & dummy (nook, pacifier). I'm just not crazy about the terms - but of course that's not a huge deal.

*We went to visit a day care on their open day this weekend which was interesting. I have been to see a LOT of places with Helen, but Murray hadn't been to any yet. So it was good for both of us to have a poke around the place, and I really liked it! Nice staff, lovely place, great food for the kids & a nice big play area - ticked all the boxes!

*And really, I'm enjoying being pregnant:) Although I can't wait until Sparky arrives, I'm just trying to enjoy every moment of every day. However, it's such a bizarre feeling to have such a personal thing be so 'public.' Strangers with babies smile at me, the guys at work open doors for me more often, people offer to carry my bags, etc. It's nice - but just so strange! Nice to have a proper bump now though - I do love it:)

*I am a bit uncomfortable though. My ribs are sore most of the time (just on the right side - which I think is the side where I broke some ribs back in college while working as waitress) - epescially when Sparky kicks me there, and it's getting uncomfortable to eat a big meal as everything is tight!! I still do - I just have to rest afterwards:) Also walking up stairs I huff & puff like I just ran a marathoon - Sparky is really pushing up on my lungs - everything is just getting squished up in there!

*Also - this is SO funny:) Pregnant Women are Smug Song

It's FRIDAY!

It has been a long week, but it's ending on a positive note. The weather has been gorgeous (the little bit I have seen at lunch times) in the 80s and sunny every day (although today is meant to be 90!!). I'm wearing my new rocket dogs today and I LOOOOOOOOOOVE them - so comfy and so so so cute! I got up early to try & miss the horrific traffic and made it in record time - fantastic! We also finished watching Entourage Season 6 & it was AWESOME - I love that show. It's just a shame that it is only 12 episodes long - much too short! Looking forward to a busy but sunny weekend. And best of all - I'm enjoying a lovely bagel right now - ahhhhh it's the little things:)

Weekend Review

Friday night we left work a little early to drive up to Ken Duncan's gallery in Gosford to attend a presentation by Frans Lanting.

That's Frans in the grey shirt signing our books (we bought all 3 of his books)!
The presentation he did was good (although a bit political), but really the photos spoke for themselves - he has some AMAZING wildlife photos!

We also got to meet Ken Duncan! He was dressed like he was going to a luau, but such a nice guy. He is the country's top photographer of Australian landscapes - it was fantastic to meet him & have a little chat!

My favorite Frans photo 'Emperor Penguin Family'- these penguin parents are having a 'welcome' ceremony for their new chick - cute:)

Murray's favorite 'Cougar Face'

Sunday we went on a walk out to North Head - this was the view looking back at Manly from the hill

Murray, Me, Steph & Matt with Sydney in the background

Me, Sparky & Sydney

Notice the Manly Ferry coming in!

It was a long but lovely walk, we really took our time and spent time enjoying the views & chatting, followed by a LOVELY crepe breakfast. Beautiful weather as well - quite hot actually!

Sunday we enjoyed a BBQ at our friends Laura & Mike's place. Megan & Jon brought along sparklers to go with the lovely cake she made for dessert & they wished me a happy b-day which was nice:)

Laura, Megan, Me, Jon & Mike

A lovely weekend catching up with friends & enjoying the weather - I hope this weather holds on for awhile longer. You can't beat these 80 degree 'autumn' days!

Week 24

*How far along?: 24 weeks

*Total weight gain: 6.5 kilos - which is about 14 pounds

*How big is baby?: Sparky is (still) the size of a papaya

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long, he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

*Maternity clothes?: Yup - I tried on a bunch of my t-shirts this weekend & nothing will fit over the bump now (without a lot of skin showing at least!)!

*Sleep?: Not too bad lately, although Sparky has started kicking later in the evening, as well as throughout the day (not a good habit Sparky - night time is sleep time! And yea I know I'm kidding myself in that respect). Lately I can even feel Sparky kicking when laying on my side which is new (before it was only when I was laying on my back). I guess he's getting nice & strong!

*Best moment this week? Celebrating my 31st b-day with Sparky:) I think he enjoyed the cake & cupcakes!

*Movement?: SO much movement this week - I really felt like I could feel some somersaults.

*Food cravings?: Nothing specific - although I did buy a MASSIVE jar of pickles - Murray said it was the size you could keep a head in - ha ha. It's not really that big, but I figure we'll eat them before long anyhow (on toast with peanut butter is heaven - and no this isn't a pregnancy thing, I have always liked that - ask Grandma Sis - she used to ask me when I was a teen why I was eating such a weird combo, but it's GOOD!! Even my husband agrees!)

*Labor signs?: too soon for that!

*Belly button in or out?: Eeeeek on it's way to becoming and outtie now! Still quite flat - but starting to slightly poke out!!

*What I miss: I miss being able to stretch out my legs & feet in the morning to stretch when I wake up. I have to remember not to do that now as it makes my calves cramp up which really hurts!!

*What I'm looking forward to: moving into my sixth month of pregnancy next week!

*Milestone: Well I don't know if it's a milestone, but my linea nigra has really shown up this week (the line down the middle of your belly). Old wives tales say that if it goes from your ribs down it's a boy, and if it just goes from belly button down it's a girl - so according to that story - Sparky is a boy.

*Feelings this week: (I am adding this section this week after the suggestion from my Mom)

Well I am super curious about Sparky's sex of course, but lately I have been thinking mostly about hair color. Murray was born with very blonde hair and I had very dark hair, so I wonder what hair color our baby will have - if he/she has any hair at all when born!

Although we both decided we'd like the surprise of finding out the sex when Sparky is born we are both still SUPER curious!! I don't believe in old wives tales, as some tell us boy and some say girl, but I do wonder pretty much all the time - it's going to be such an amazing surprise! And I must say that keeping the names we have chosen secret is pretty much the longest I have EVER kept a secret in my life! Again, it'll be a great surprise though when we say 'It's a ..... called......' Can't wait:)

We both feel a bit like it's unreal that there's a baby in there when we see Sparky moving around. It's just so bizarre! I don't think it will 100% sink in until Sparky is sleeping in the next room!! It's amazing though to see our little baby moving around & feeling his kicks during meetings!

Otherwise, I am feeling really good. I had a relaxing facial this week (which also reminded me that I will no longer be able to lay for an hour on my back til baby arrives - I could barely get up afterwards cause I was so stiff, but it was lovely & relaxing anyhow). Also I found some crib (cot) sheets I LOVE but of course they are pink/blue, also they don't have enough in stock. So I may just note down the name of the brand for later.... Exciting to find something I like though, I'm not crazy about the gender neutral sheets here, I'd rather go cute & boy/girl specific:)

I feel so spoiled!

I am going to write about it on here, because frankly the guys at work just don't want to hear me go on & on about cute clothing & shoes:)

My parents sent me a GORGEOUS maternity dress for my b-day, I tried it on last night & really want to think of a good excuse to wear it this weekend! It is dressy, but perhaps I can dress it down with some flat shoes..... :) It will be PERFECT for the wedding we are attending early next month - flattering & classy!

I also have 2 other cute new maternity shirts - one from Grandma Sis & one from my auntie Joni - thanks guys:)

Murray's gift to me was cash to shop with because he tried & tried to find me the one thing I wanted - a pair of rocket dog shoes - and it turned out they just aren't sold at all anymore in Australia:( The US sites didn't have the styles I liked, so I ended up ordering them from the UK. They are like slip on sneakers - comfy with good support but SUPER cute!! I ordered 2 pairs, and the shipping cost wasn't actually too bad. I saw on ups.com today that they arrived in the country yesterday (not bad considering I ordered on Tuesday!!) and were cleared by customs & sent out for delivery - YAYYYYY! I can't WAIT to see/wear them! I also spent the rest of my b-day shopping cash on 2 pairs of completely impractical but GORGEOUS heels. I know they won't do me much good once my feet start to swell, but I do hope that doesn't happen til AFTER our friends get married at the beginning of April - cause I already have a pair picked our for the Hens night & the wedding!!

Tomorrow morning I'm off to enjoy my b-day gift from my in-laws - a relaxing facial - I can NOT wait!!! I haven't had a facial since I got pregnant, as I tried to avoid anything like that til after the first trimester, and now that I'm well beyond that I am THRILLED to be going - whooo hoooo!

ZOO DAY BDAY

Sydney Wildlife World

"Another bloody tourist....."

"What?? Something in my teeth..?"

Cry me a river.

No Swimming

Skippy Stunt double.

Check out my tongue.....oh yeah and eye balls!

The old yawn and stretch make out move - croc style. He looks pleased with himself!

KB Feet....sniff sniff?

Trying....to...stay....awake...

Running.....Running......

Give me FIVE Skip.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...................

Ducks with Flames? Flaming Duck (Said with Alf Stewart voice)

Awwwwww......

Thanks to Murray for the great comments:) It was a really fun day!

Happy B-day to Me

Saturday night my b-day pressie from Helen was a trip to Darling Harbour for a lovely dinner and..............

The Backstreet Boys!!!!!!

Kind of silly, but they each made a video clip based on I'm assuming their favorite movie's - one did the Matrix, one did Fight Club, etc. Weird, but interesting to watch while they changed outfits:)

I think AJ is looking quite old with his shaved head - he sounded good though

But Nik was the STAR!!! He was fantastic - his voice was spot on! Brian unfortunately was not, I think maybe he was sick? But he did not sound good when he had solo bits.

Overall - it was SO fun!!!!! I feel like such a teenager saying it - but I do still love the Backstreet Boys:) I sang along to every song I knew (which was everything but the new album) and it was FUN! Love the old classics (can you believe they have been together for 17 years??? wow)! I had trouble getting to sleep that night because Incompleeeeeeeeete kept going over & over in my head!


Alllllllllllllllllright!
(I'm going to post a bunch of videos just for you Jolie:)

Dance, dance dance!






On Sunday (the day I officially entered the low 30's..... 31 to be precise) Murray took me to Darling Harbour.

We went to lunch at Chinta Ria as I have always wanted to try eating there (and to get a picture with the buddah!).

This is the dress Murray got me for M&M day - it makes me feel like the bump is massive, but it sure is cute & comfy:) The meal was not so great, I wish we had just gone to Wagamamas instead - but oh well, next time! At least the starters were nice:)

I will post pictures of our excursion later that day to Wildlife World soon :)

Week 23

*How far along?: 23 weeks

*Total weight gain: 5.5 kilos - which is about 12 pounds

*How big is baby?: Sparky is (still) the size of a papaya
Baby's little face is fully formed...minus the baby fat, of course. The next task at hand for baby: sprouting two teeny-tiny nipples! He has also started blinking his eyelids!

*Maternity clothes?: I found maternity jeans this week YAY!!! It's certainly not cold yet, but I know I'll need them on the weekends as autumn progresses.

*Sleep?: Uncomfortable

*Best moment this week?: Hearing Sparky's heartbeat at my ob appointment.

*Movement?: Lots!

*Food cravings?: Just food in general - I have been SO hungry - eating like crazy! Although I did buy a little bag of mini Reece's peanut butter cups for my b-day and OMG they are good.

*Labor signs?: too soon for that!

*Belly button in or out?: Innie - but getting flatter by the day - eeeeek!

*What I miss: nothing

*What I'm looking forward to: I'm looking forward to dressing up for Cameron & Nicole's wedding next month! That'll be fun:)

*Milestone:
1. Well this was really last week - but thanks to Helen's help Sparky is now down on waiting lists for a couple of the best day cares in the area where we live. We don't need day care until July 2011, but some of the places already have 3 year waiting lists!!!! So we went and visited a bunch of places & now I know which ones to definitely strike off the list and which ones to harass periodically about making sure Sparky stays on the list because they are SO fantastic!

2. Also this was the first week I got sick. Let's just call it the popcorn hot dog incident. We went to the movies, I ate a lot of popcorn, I had 1 bite of hotdog and this all equaled a night of being very sick - not nice. Lesson learnt - I am now off both popcorn & of course hotdogs (ewww I don't eat those anyway - I was just hungry and it smelled nice, I claim temporary insanity) for the rest of this pregnancy. I eat really healthy - but I think it was just a reminder that I need to not slack even once & awhile!

Some WILD shots

Just looking over some pics by Murray and thought I would post a few I like.