19 Weeks!

How far along? 19 weeks and 2 days!
 Total weight gain/loss: Up 10pounds so farMaternity clothes? Full on maternity pants and leggings.  Having a tough time finding shirts that are long enough - even in the maternity section
Stretch marks? Bio Oil and I are good friends
 Symptoms:  Not quite as much energy as last week.  A little bit of acid reflux.  Overall I feel really really good, thankful for how easy this pregnancy has been.
   Sleep: I'm sleeping really hard at night.  Not getting up so often to use the bathroom.  I've been falling asleep every night on the couch during the news and Joey has to pretty much drag me to bed.

Best moment this week: Still waiting for Joey to feel baby kick.  I love having him talk to my tummy and kiss it before bed.  Beginning to plan babies room.
Miss Anything? Nothing!  I'm so thankful for how easy this has been so far.
  Movement: Starting to feel some kicks!
Food cravings: My sweet tooth has returned in full force!  I love the generic oreo cookies that are vanilla on one side - yum!  Otherwise, oatmeal, anything pumpkin and milk.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Still nothing
Have you started to show yet: Yes! At real estate school yesterday I heard a girl asking about me to one of my coworkers.  She was wondering if I was pregnant but didn't want to ask just in case :)

Belly Button in or out? Its getting shallower.
 Wedding rings on or off? On.  And hopefully they will stay that way for quite a while.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! 
Looking forward to: Our ultrasound in just 4 short days!  Joey is off all weekend long so I'm looking forward to some much needed time with him.

Happy 18 Weeks Baby Crouse!

How far along? 18 weeks and one day!
 Total weight gain/loss: Up 8 pounds so far
Maternity clothes? Half and half.  I love my maternity leggings, and I found the cutest pair of maternity skinny jeans from Old Navy.  They only have the elastic waist band - not the full 'kangaroo pouch' so this should help get me by for the next few months hopefully.  So far I haven't needed any maternity shirts, but I'm noticing that quite a few of my favorites are starting to look pretty short on my growing belly.  At my Target run over the weekend I did score some maternity tanks on clearance so hopefully these will get me by and still let me wear my normal cardigans and sweaters for most of the winter.
Stretch marks? So far so good!  I need to get better at rubbing on all of my lotions and potions though.
 Symptoms: I feel good!  I have a ton of energy.  I'm sleeping pretty good at night.  Nothing makes me feel sick to my stomach food wise anymore.  My only small complaint would be that my tummy feels so tight and somewhat crampy at times.  Apparently this is just round ligament pain which I can totally deal with.
   Sleep: Just getting up to go potty a few times during the night.  Sometimes around 2am I have an hour or so of insomnia but overall sleep is very good.

Best moment this week: Feeling baby kick!  I felt some 'bubbles' last week but this week I feel definite kicks which is exciting!  Joey keeps rubbing my tummy at night in hopes that he'll feel baby soon too :-)
Miss Anything? Pants that fit!  Maternity are still a little loose and my regular ones too tight!  I'm not in love with the bella band like some people are.  I have a couple pairs of pants that it works great with and a few other ones that tend to slide down more during the day.  Trial and error at this point I guess.  Over the weekend I thought a nice cold glass of white wine sounded amazing.  Grape juice just didn't quite satisfy that craving.  Oh well, I will gladly give that up for the next 5 months.
  Movement: Starting to feel some kicks!
Food cravings: Milk, potatoes, meat, pasta, soup (poor Joey is so tired of soup.  I've been trying all sorts of new recipes and we end up having soup 3x or more a week)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Thankfully nothing!  I had enough of that the first three months.  My sweet tooth isn't as strong as it normally is.  I'd much rather have a bowl of soup than a bowl of ice cream which is so odd for me.Have you started to show yet: Yes! The lady at downtown floral was the first 'stranger' to notice!

Belly Button in or out? Belly button is in!  it is starting to get a little bit sore however.  I wonder at what point they normally pop out?
 Wedding rings on or off? On.  And hopefully they will stay that way for quite a while.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!  I've been having some crazy dreams that make me anxious in the middle of the night but otherwise very happy.
Looking forward to: Our ultrasound in two weeks!  Getting to find out if its a he or she :)

Mayday! Mayday!

Well the month of May went absolutely flying by in the Crouse Household...between working on the house, graduation, spending time with friends, Mother's Day...every weekend was jam packed.

Here's just a little peek-a-boo at what we were up to:

 

This side of our house still looked like winter

 

Whereas this side was starting to look like Spring!

 

 

 

Evie Lou supervised our outdoor work

 

And napped

 

And watched Thomas the chipmunk

 

Our family volunteered at Brady's pancake benefit

 

And the lake was still frozen...

 

And the flowers continued to grow....

 

We enjoyed happy hour outside for a change!

 

It was so much fun to see what all of the 'mystery plants' sprouting up all over our garden turned out to be!

 

The ice finally came off the lake!  And Joey got to fish :)

 

Warm nights meant bonfires

 

Tried a new furniture arrangement

 

Celebrated Mother's Day with my Mama

 

Set up our guest room

 

Had Joey's mom over for a Mother's Day cook out

 

Garage sale season officially got under way

 

Evie Lou napped

 

Began stripping wallpaper in our spare bedroom

 

A mystery plant grew in the garden

 

Grilled out as many nights as we could

 

Volunteered for team Brady's benefit at the local bowling alley

 

The mystery plant grew some more

 

Joey spent a busy afternoon hanging new light fixtures

 

Out to or favorite happy hour spot

 

Enjoyed beautiful sunsets from our deck

 

Jill made wind chimes

 

Evie Lou wasn't so sure about the added noise

 

We headed to Bethel to celebrate Jon's graduation from college

 

Spent a night out with some fantastic friends

 

More garage sale finds

 

Hosted my first open house in this beauty!

 

Joey put the dock in and fished some more!

 

Evie Lou napped

 

 

It was a whirlwind of a month!  We are so absolutely blessed to be surrounded by such fantastic friends and family.