32 Weeks

I am 32 weeks as of yesterday.  I can't believe how fast the time has gone.  Neither can Henry. :)



Here is an update on what's going on with me and baby now.

Mom:
- I've gained 19 lbs. so far (as of my appointment last week)
- the only shoes that I can wear are tennis shoes or flip flops. By the end of the day my feet look like a latex glove that has been blown up like a balloon.
- My hands are swollen too.  I have not been able to wear my wedding ring for several weeks now.
- I started experiencing low back pain at the beginning of my 3rd trimester.  Although I have other friends that have experienced this a lot worse than I have, a few weeks ago I decided to do something about it and started seeing a chiropractor.  She has helped me so much.  I love Dr. Batterton!
- Cravings: in the last few weeks I started craving carbonated drinks and sweet drinks, especially fruit juice.
 - Overall I feel really good and love being pregnant.  Bing pregnant over the holidays is especially fun, because it is a great excuse to eat whatever I want. 

Dear Baby Barrios,
Even though I am not ready for you to come (I still have so much to do), I cannot wait to meet you.  Your daddy and I were talking the other day about how we are going to react when you finally make your entrance into the world.  We agreed that we will both be emotional messes, but in the best way possible. We already have a name picked out for you if you are a boy (we're not sharing this with anyone) but are having a hard time deciding on a girl name.  You love to move a lot early in the morning (that is often how I wake up) and in the evening after dinner.  You move at other times during the day too and I love it (except for when you use my bladder as a punching bag). You had a strong heartbeat (in the 140s) at our doctor's appointment last week. There are times when you like to stretch out and I can feel your head (or maybe your booty) with my hand pushing out towards my belly button. It is a very odd feeling, but I like it. Keep on growing!  You are doing great!
Love,
Mommy

Christmas in Pictures

Here are a few pictures from our Christmas weekend.

The whole family: Conrads, Dunavants and Barrioses

This is Hope, my youngest cousin, and her brother Spencer in the background.  This girl doesn't just walk across the room, she either rolls, cartwheels or flips across the room.  She is definitly a gymnast. 

Opening Gifts

Lucas, Me & Henry

The Guys: Lucas, Dad, & Henry

The Girls: Me, Grandma & Mom

A Merry Christmas recap

Henry and I spent Christmas at my parents house in San Antonio this year.  Things were a little different this year for a couple reasons. For one, my parents moved this year into their new house.  It was weird not celebrating Christmas in the house I grew up in, but not as weird as I thought it would be.  Home really is where the heart is.  Secondly, we are expecting our first child.  In many ways it has made this Christmas more special and meaningful than the past 3 that we've celebrated together as a married couple.  As I have been reading through the Christmas story this month, being pregnant has given me a new perspective through which to see Christ's coming to earth. 

So that I'll remember what we did, here is a breakdown of our Christmas weekend.
Thursday (12/23) we arrived in San Antonio around 5:00.  My feet were so swollen by the time we got there I guess from having been on my feet all morning getting ready to leave and then sitting for 3 straight hours in the car.  That evening my dad realized he did not plan for thawing time for the 22 lb. turkey he was planning to cook, so Henry and I and my cousins went to HEB and bought a precooked turkey and other necessary items like ice cream and ingredients for queso dip. :)

Friday (12/24) I woke up at 4:00 AM and couldn't fall back asleep, so I decided to get up.  Read for a while and had some sweet time with the Lord.  It was the best way to kick off the day.  Henry woke up around 6:00 and we wrote Christmas notes to our family together.  Let me just say here that my husband is so good at writing sincere notes.  It was such a blessing to me for us to do that together.  We spent the day with my mom's side of the family eating good food, playing games, opening gifts and having an overall great time together.  I think dad was pretty disappointed about not getting to cook and eat his big bird that he had bought and prepared, but the precooked HEB turkey tasted great.  Lex & Christy and the kids left around 4:30 and the rest of us napped until it was time to go to church.  This was the first year that Grandma spent Christmas Eve with us.  I sat next to her during the Christmas Eve service and she quietly cried through most of the service.  This is the first Christmas since Paw Paw passed away (in March) and I can only imagine how difficult it was for her.  After the service we went home and opened gifts just the six of us and I am really glad Grandma got to be there with us. I think it was special for her too.

Saturday (12/25), Christmas Day, we slept in, hung out in our pajamas until about noon and watched It's a Wonderful Life, which up until this year was never really one of my favorite Christmas movies, but has now moved up on my list.  Saturday afternoon our dear friends, the Stringers, came over.  We played 4 rowdy rounds of Empire, ate leftovers and chatted. It was a perfect way to spend Christmas day. 

Sunday we drove home.  I always get a little sad when we leave my parents house.  I just love spending time with my family.  It was weird to think that this weekend will most likely be the last time I am "home" before the baby comes.  Life happens so fast.  Henry and I will have our Christmas together tonight.  We decided yesterday that we are just going to continue to celebrate Christmas all week.  Christmas only comes but once a year so why not milk it for all it's worth. 

Will post pictures soon. I promise not all my posts will be this long. :)

Hello Blog World!

Well I finally did it.  After stalking blogs for quite a while and after some strong urging & help from my friend and co-worker Jessica, I have finally created my own blog.  It is still a work in progress, but I am excited to have a place where I can post my thoughts, happenings, photos, etc. Especially since we are expecting a little one in February, I figured there is no better time than the present to get started. Thanks Jess for setting me up!