LOVE is a four letter word...

This might be hormone induced or could be a result of my daily bread reading last week but I find myself feeling more loved and being very thankful for those God has put in my life.

I decided to blog about it because I want them to ALWAYS know that I am THANKFUL for them each day.

I'll blog about 3 of them each week just because writing about all of them at once will be too emotional for me :-).

My Husband J - I remember when I was in my 20s, I always wondered who I would one day marry. I wasn't interested in getting married until I was in my late 20s and all my friends were married. I was also set in my ways and always said "whomever I marry HAS to fit into my life cause I am NOT interested in changing who I am." Can I just say love changes everything! I haven't had to change who I am but neither has J. He found our "perfect pieces". I met hubby when I was 29. God's timing is ALWAYS the best and his coming into my life has truly been a gift. I know it sounds cliche` but he is the ying to my yang! We are perrrrfect together! This week, I was just so tired beyond belief. My feet were swollen and they hurt just to walk on them. J did the dishes, filled up the humidifier, cleared up the kitchen and instead of playing his video game like he normally does to decompress, he came in the room to rub my feet! I knew he was tired also because he's been working a lot this week but he put that aside and instead focused on making me more comfortable. When people ask me how I know I married "the right one", I tell them, "I know because we fit into each other's lives PERFECTLY!" Kinda like a jigsaw puzzle piece. With individual parts, it doesn't make sense but when you put us together, we make a beautiful picture.
Ironically, this picture was taken in 2009. After we got engaged :-).

My Dad - One of my favorite Nigerian dish is moin-moin. Its a a bean cake that's spiced up and is very very yummy! Last week, in preparation for my mom coming to town, my dad and mom decided to wash the beans so that they could grind it using their food processor and freeze it. My mom would then bring it with her and cook it while here.
They started washing it around 10:30pm after their work day. My mom told me that my dad stayed up until 4am the next morning washing the beans and removing every single "black eye" from the beans because he knows I don't like it. My mom asked him why he was doing that and he said "because my baby girl is having a baby." Brings tears to my eyes just thinking of it because THAT is my dad! He will walk the hottest dessert for his kids! Gosh...I love him so so much!!!

My Mom - She has called me just about everyday since I entered my 3rd trimester. My mom isn't an overly emotional person but these last few weeks, I have seen a side of her that I've never seen. She calls to check on me. She encourages me (she does this already). She tells me how much she loves me (she's always done that too). On Friday morning last week, she called me to see how I was doing. Then she said she was recalling the day I was born. Apparently, she started having frequent contractions on a Sunday while at Church. So my dad dropped her off at the hospital and went home to get her hospital bag. Figuring it'll be a while before I arrived. However, she said the labor went by rather quickly and before he got back, I was born. She prayed that my labor and delivery would be as smooth and quick as hers was with me. I love that she ALWAYS prays for me like that. She truly is a mom like no other! Love her loads!!!

Thoughts/Random Questions:
Who are the folks in your life that make you feel loved each day? How do you show them you love them back?

Progress pics & pregnancy updates...@ 38+ weeks!

How Far Along? 38+ weeks. I am now less than 2-weeks to "full 40-week pregnancy".

Size of Baby? She has reached her full birth length (19 - 21 inches). Now all she is doing is packing on the pounds!

Maternity Clothes? I am still able to alternate maternity clothes and pre-pregnancy clothes. Not sure if the pre-pregnancy clothes will still fit after though since they are sometimes being stretched. But we'll see.

Stretch Marks? No new stretch marks. BUT I did get some bio-oil on advise from my sister in law to use after just incase. 

Sleep? I wake up MULTIPLE times each night to use the bathroom! 2 nights ago, I got up SIX times!!! And then was up for 2-hours cause I couldn't get back to sleep. Not fun at all.

Food Cravings? Still nothing. Appetite hasn't changed. As of my appointment on Monday, my total pregnancy weight gain is +18. I didn't lose any weight from last week's appointment but I didn't gain anymore either so my OB thinks I have maxed out as far as weight gain goes. 

What I'm Looking Forward To:  We are now more prepared for our little one's arrival so J & I are looking forward to welcoming her into our family and just basking in the glow of being new parents. Notice I skipped the birthing process??? :-).

Symptoms/Movements? She is definitely lower. I used to feel her close to my ribs. Now, I feel her closer to my belly button. I think she's slowly but surely, making her way down the birth canal.

Belly Button In or Out? Still in. YAY!!!. 

Labor Signs? I had a couple last Saturday but they were 12-hours apart so it doesn't really count. It wasn't painful per se. More like very uncomfortable. My cervix will be checked again at my next appointment and I have a feeling the OB will definitely see more progress as far as things go. Plus I now have LOTS of Braxton Hicks!!!

Best Moment of the Week? Having my mom tell me about her birthing experience with me and praying for a similar one for me. It made me teary eyed.

Weekly Wisdom: No one knows everything. Not even you. Take time to listen and learn from others and your surroundings.

Pictures? Yup. Here's one from 37-weeks (taken last week) and 38-weeks (taken yesterday) for progress comparison. Yup...the week to week comparison makes me realize how much she really is growing!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone.

TGIF!!! So ready for the weekend!

It has been such a long week. So much so that I am READY for the weekend!

Work was a little stressful this week. Either that or I am just more tired and less patient due to being in the last stages of pregnancy.

On Monday, the baby's dresser FINALLY arrived. We ordered it from Amazon 2 weeks ago so it was good that it arrived this week cause we were starting to get a little anxious about timing and putting it together before her arrival.
This is the dresser we got. We wanted something she could grow into.

I also had my OB appointment and everything looks good. Doc said baby is right on track and is measuring fine. So far, no additional weight gain and doc thinks I'll max out at +18 lbs. Which is fine by me. I was not skinny to begin with and didn't want to have to worry about losing the weight after.
I know a lot of people say "it'll come off with breastfeeding" but I have also read that some people just don't lose weight while breastfeeding. So for me, I figured better safe than sorry :-).

On Monday night, I decided to try my hands at making Chinese fried rice. I have never made it before. I looked up some recipes online. I also made some baked stewed chicken to go with it.
This is the end product. J had 2 helpings of it that night and another helping for dinner the day after so I know he liked it very much.

Monday night and Tuesday night were spent trying to build the dresser. Unfortunately, we discovered that 2 of the parts arrived broken. So we spent the time building as many of the other parts as we could and now we're waiting AGAIN for the other 2 parts to arrive.
Hoping it arrives before she gets here because our living room needs to be cleared up a bit before my mom arrives next week.

Tonight, we're going to our friend's Halloween event. We don't celebrate Halloween so we don't get dressed up but we do enjoy the company of our friends so we'll be making an appearance for a little bit.
J & I plan on taking it easy this weekend. Even though we know baby can arrive any day now, we are both hoping she stays in until next weekend at the earliest.


Thoughts/random questions:
How was your week? Did you do anything interesting? Are you glad its Friday? Got any fun weekend plans?

Getting ready for baby...the car seat is in, the stroller is done and the bed is made...

It was a pretty busy weekend and I am already looking forward to a little bit of R & R next weekend. That's if baby J doesn't arrive before then.

On Saturday, I met another woman in the kickboxing class I take who is also due the same day as me. We actually have quite a bit in common. Starting with the fact that we are both having girls, due the same day and also are from the New England area originally. She lives in the area so I am hoping to stay in touch with her.

After the gym (yes, I am still kickboxing in my 38th week), I walked to the nearby grocery store to pick up some household groceries and then walked back to my car and headed home.

I typically get my hair texlaxed every 20-weeks. I decided to get it done on Saturday which was a little over 20-weeks since my last texlax. I wanted to make sure my hair is more manageable before baby's arrival. Thanks Pegster for the advise. I like the way it turned out. If only I knew how to maintain my hair like this. I am the worse when it comes to getting my hair to look semi-decent :-(.

Saturday afternoon was spent running errands after. Then J & I attended the Newlywed ministry event organized by our church. Its for couples who have been married 2-years or less. We always feel so blessed after the event.

On Sunday morning, we were up bright and early to attend the 8am service. Because we typically work in the Children's ministry the last 2 Sunday of the month, we go to the earlier service and then do the Children's ministry afterwards.
Sunday afternoon was spent at Babies R Us getting the last few items for baby. Then J & I set up her stroller.
I am loving the Britax B-Agile stroller. I wasn't sure about it at first but it is light weight and can be folded with one hand.

While J put in her car seat, I made her bed. Its kinda plain right now but we're trying not to go too crazy since her nursery won't be ready until we move next year.

J got us dinner and we ate while watching Once Upon A Time. After that, we spent the rest of the evening packing our hospital bag. We're trying to savor each and every moment that we have as just a family of 2 because we know that'll change soon.
The days are FLYING by so quickly! I can't believe in a mere matter of days, I'll be a mommy! Gosh...exciting and scary at the same time!

Thoughts/Random Questions:
How did you spend your weekend?

For the moms, did you feel you were completely ready as far as having all you need for baby before your little one arrived?

Tag. I'm it!

I've been tagged by my dear friend Keya. Here's some info about me, and I tagged some of my readers down below.

1. Do you plan, or are you flying by the seat of your pants?
I am a planner. It is the virgo in me :-).

2. Today was amusing because_____
My fear of needles had me panicking at the doctor's office. So much so that my blood pressure went up and my OB had to have me wait for another reading. Its amusing now but wasn't at the time.


3. How hungry are you right now?
Not hungry. I am almost always full! My appetite has been quite low and I force myself to eat sometimes cause I know baby needs the nutrients.


4. Bad news: sugarcoated or straight-up?
Straight-up. Kinda like taking off a band-aid. Just rip it off and then treat the wound after.


5. How do you get out of a rut?
I exercise, pray, avoid other people (because oftentimes they don't help) and remind myself of all the blessings I have each day.


6. What are you a geek about?
Work. I am a bit of a perfectionist so I want to make sure everything is done right and I am a stickler for the rules. Can be a tad bit annoying but since I am conscious of it, I try to keep that in mind when dealing with folks at work.


7. What do you crave?
Right now, lemonade from Burger King. That is the one thing I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy throughout this pregnancy.


8. What was the last bad movie you watched?
Wrath of the TItans! Just saw it on Friday evening on DVD. Thankfully, I got it from the library so I can't be too too mad since it was FREE!


9. Do you have any new friends?
Yes. I made a new friend on Saturday after taking the kickboxing class! A girl who was also in the same class is due the same day as I am. She's also having a girl and is originally from New England! Such a small world!!!


10. You want a new____
Vacation! Does that qualify? I feel like I need a vacay ASAP. I'd also like a personal assistant. I don't have one but if I could afford one and hubby would let me, I'd get one.


11. What makes you feel wonderful?
Knowing that God is always in control no matter what I am going through. I feel wonderful when I am being productive and accomplish the tasks I have on my to-do list.