Happy Friday!

1. So, our church had a visiting pastoral couple in from Nairobi, Kenya this week. Since my husband and I have such a huge heart and a huge love for Kenya, our church asked us to take the couple out one evening. It was Pastor Joshua’s first time out of Kenya and Pastor Gloria’s second. We took them to dinner, then took them to KRISPY KREME and had them taste a warm doughnut (they LOVED it), we gave them a tour of the UNC campus and then we even got to catch the end of a baseball game at UNC complete with post-game fireworks. Truly an American evening. 🙂 But in all seriousness, it was such a blessing to be able to hang out with them for an evening! Loved them and their hearts!

2. I have been to the gym EVERY day this week (more on this below). I know it’s only a week, but I am REALLY trying. I want to stay as active as I possibly can throughout the rest of this pregnancy – I don’t care what it takes – I can do it! I know gym instagrams can be boring, but it honestly helps me hold myself accountable to do “check-ins” and whatnot (when I remember).

3. Since I went to the gym every day, I thought that warranted an ice dream cup from Chick-fil-a… no?

4. I am a HUGE Dan Brown fan and I finally picked up a copy of his new book. I’ve been so busy with work that I’ve really only had time to read it at the gym this week, but it’s definitely suspenseful so far.

5. Uhhh, in a nutshell, the people at TOMS are awesome. They sent me a note on their Facebook page thanking me for incorporating my TOMS into my maternity style (y’all know how much I love my TOMS) – and well, so they asked for my address and I had no idea why. Well, they sent me a BRAND NEW pair of super nice TOMS sunglasses with a handwritten thank you note. I mean, for real? I am just one person and the fact that they took the time to do that reminded me of why I love them so much!

What are you celebrating this week?

How far along: 29 weeks

How big is baby: About 2.75 pounds and about 17 inches long. My baby app says “acorn squash” but honestly, I have no idea how big an acorn squash is… so tougher for me to picture.

Weight gain: Okay. In the interest of being transparent and real, I’m putting this out there. I’ve gained 35 pounds. I’m not happy about this at all. My goal was to gain 35-40 pounds max. for the whole pregnancy and I’ve basically reached that and I have two months to go. While my midwife isn’t SO overly concerned about it, I don’t like it. At all. I am working on cutting back (heavily) on my carb intake (which is so hard, but I really am trying) and I have been the gym 5 out of the last 7 days (I went EVERY day during the week this week!) I am really staying motivated and staying active and cutting out things I can cut out.

The thing that frustrates me is while I’ve certainly given in to some of my cravings, overall I have been really proud of how well I’ve been eating. I’ve been eating what I think is healthy (whole grains, cereal, LOTS of fruits, veggies, and so much skim milk) – but the thing is apparently a lot of what I’m eating, while filled with a ton of nutrients, are also filled with carbs. So, I’ve gotta not CUT them, but watch them. I didn’t gain ANY weight from last week to this week which is, in fact, a start. But I would actually, ironically, like to see the scale go down a little bit (my midwife says that would be okay – I am not doing ANYTHING my midwife says is not okay).

Sleeping: Still not great, but honestly better this week. I think forcing myself to go to the bathroom like 20 times before I get in bed coupled with going to the gym more is helping me sleep a little better.

Food cravings: Cheerios and mandarin oranges. I love those little things!

Food aversions: Nothing out of the ordinary.

Symptoms: Restless leg syndrome (so annoying, but exercise is helping to curb it), back pain, and now I have like pelvic bone pain (TMI?) – no but for real, it hurts!

Miss Anything?: Sleep!

Doctor’s appointment: I have one next Friday – I am really hoping I can keep my weight under control between now and then!

Wedding Rings: Still on!

Clothes: Even some of the maternity clothes that fit me early on are starting to get snug, but I’m making it work!

Movement: As soon as I sit down or lay down this kid is all over the place. I love sitting at my desk, looking down and just watching the baby move in my stomach. While it is totally weird, it is also totally awesome.

Best moment of the week: My amazing husband and my father-in-law spent all last Saturday putting the flooring in the nursery. It is really coming along and looking amazing. I can’t wait to share pictures with you!

What I’m looking forward to: Memorial Day Weekend – huzzah!

What I did / Got for baby: My AMAZING sister took us to Babies R Us on Sunday and really helped us break down the store and show us what EXACTLY we need to be registering for. I still have to go back and edit our different registries and figure out what we need / don’t need, etc., but it felt so good to check that off the to-do list.

What I learned this week: It’s more than likely that the baby is moving into “head down” position – which is crazy. We’re still 10-11 weeks away from delivering this thing and yet baby is already getting into place. AHHH.

Prayer requests: Just continuing to pray for the health and growth of the baby. Also, I’m starting to personally, feel the weight and stress of life and pregnancy. I have done a good job dealing with it and staying active in prayer, but it couldn’t hurt to get a little extra prayer in there. 🙂

Linked up with Lauren and Jeannett today