25 Weeks: 99 Days Until Liam Arrives!

Over the weekend, Isaiah and I went to Atlanta to celebrate my birthday and also go to IKEA. I had never been to IKEA before and I am addicted! (Good thing it's in Atlanta!) We got up at a decent time on Saturday morning and drove straight there. We had lunch and then got our shop on. It took us about 3 hours to make our way through the store. We ended up with a dresser and expedit for Liam's room, along with various other must have items. We went with the intention of only buying the expedit (which is a cube storage system if you didn't know). This alone would have been a struggle to get into our two door car. Dun-ta-da-da.....Mom to the rescue! My mom had been keeping my nephews at her house for the week. On Saturday, she and my step-dad took them back to Augusta. We had been planning on having lunch together in Atlanta on Sunday on their way back home. We called and asked if our new furniture could hitch a ride home to their house for a few weeks until mom comes back to Birmingham for my baby shower. Worked out perfectly! Even though IKEA furniture comes in a box in about 7,000 pieces, it still would have never fit on our car. We can't wait until we get the furniture back and can complete Liam's new room. This gives us good incentive to get it painted before August 7. A-n-y-w-a-y, I LOVE IKEA!

From there we just went over to Atlantic Station and did a little shopping at H&M. That didn't last too long because we were exhausted!

Liam's new shirt. He is going to be one British influenced baby! 

Sunday we met Mom and Bill for lunch, picked up the furniture from IKEA and then Isaiah and I headed to the World of Coca-Cola! Judge me if you will, but I drink one Coke a day and I love it! The tour was interesting but the tasting room was my favorite! So many flavors to try! But, so many terrible flavors! I think I'll just stick to good ole Coca-Cola (maybe with some cherry sometimes). I was sad that our weekend had to come to an end.

Liam continues to give Isaiah and I so much joy already by just existing inside of my womb. I can't imagine the  joy we will have once we meet our son in just 14 weeks or so!  

24 Weeks

As 24 weeks is coming to a close I can't help but look back on our week and think of how blessed we are. We are blessed to be having a healthy pregnancy, we are blessed to have amazing friends, we are blessed to have amazing family and we are blessed to be able to pay our bills. Although life seems so hard sometimes, there's no denying how much God has blessed our family. I think I need to remind myself of this every day. 

Isaiah's birthday was yesterday and we got to make a weekend out of it! He shares a birthday with my room mate from college, Jemmie who lives in Birmingham now with her husband. It was a great weekend of relaxing and spending time with friends new and old. Last night we had friends over and I made English fish and chips for my English-raised husband. It was delicious but tedious work. Good thing we got invited over to dinner at a friends house tonight because we would have been having cereal otherwise! 

Bib that Jemmie and Jeff got Isaiah! Love it!

As far as the pregnancy goes....I have come to accept that being comfortable is a thing of the past. It's just really hard to be 100% comfortable when there's a soccer ball protruding from your mid-section. It's either my back (well it usually is my back) or recently heartburn is starting to take center stage on the uncomfortableness (I made up a word, just go with it) factor. Other than being uncomfortable (thanks Eve!) Baby Liam and I are doing very well. As I am typing this, he is kicking me which is making my computer jump b/c it is partially resting on my belly. I think I will miss those kicks once he is on the outside. Growing a child is such an amazing experience. My day is filled with silent conversations between my son and I, as well as an overwhelming sense of pride and protection over this little one inside of me. He will be here before we know it! 

 **What Liam's Been Up To This Week**

1. He’s gained about 5 ounces since last week!
2. 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.
3. His unique hand- and footprints are forming.
4. He might kick in response to sounds and touch from outside the womb.
5.  You probably feel jumps as he has bouts of hiccups. (I don't think I've felt this yet)

Cookie cakes are AMAZING!!!! "Liam" loves them! 

Week 22 & 23 (oops)

Ok shoot me, I missed a week. Honestly, I didn't really have anything to say (again). Isaiah and I had a wonderful 4th of July weekend at my mom's house this year. Pretty much every July 4th of my entire life I have gone to the family lake house. This year, mom had to work Saturday morning (or she did when we made these plans) and there was a wedding in Columbia that I wanted to go to....so we packed up and headed to Middle TN. We spent the weekend relaxing by the pool and celebrating my mom's birthday.

Liam and I catching some rays

Mom and Bill competing in raft races

As you can see, I'm getting HUGE! As of Tuesday morning, Liam is a healthy 1.4 pounds. I had my monthly appointment on Tuesday where you pee in a cup, get your blood pressure taken, listen to the baby's heart on dopler, ask any questions and then go home. Usually very quick and very uneventful. I was just making small talk with the Dr. and mentioned that he was having a lazy weekend, not kicking me as much as usual. I really didn't think anything of it; maybe just a growth spurt. Apparently comments like that make your Dr. concerned. I was worked in on the ultrasound schedule under "decreased fetal movement."  (which by the way you get to go in MUCH faster this way. I usually have to wait forever for U/S.) I wasn't concerned until given that title. I laid back on table and the tech starts prodding my belly and looking at Liam with all sorts of different angles. He was sleeping the entire time, with his mouth open...I hope he doesn't snore. I can't handle that. Anyway, everything was perfect! Praise God! He was just having a lazy holiday weekend like the rest of us! 

Isaiah and I had a little freak out moment a couple nights ago. Do you remember what you were doing the last week of March? I don't exactly, but I do remember that the week before I was in Las Vegas. That really does not seem like that long ago. All of that said, we will be having a baby in the same amount of time! FREAK OUT MOMENT!!! There's so much to do! I just have to think about those poor souls on the show "I Didn't Know I was Pregnant" (Bless their hearts). They only get about10 minutes notice that they're having a baby. That has to be much worse. Now I'm just rambling. Have a good day!!!!

21 Weeks

Every night, Isaiah and I lay in bed and talk with his hand is resting on my belly to try and feel Liam kicking around...without any luck.  Well last night started out the same as the rest. We got ready for bed. I built myself my fort of pillows with a back support, belly support and then somehow Isaiah managed to fit into bed too. We were just talking when Isaiah's eyes went wide and he shot up excitedly and said, "Was that him?!!! Was that Liam kicking?"  I wish I could re-do that special moment. The look on Isaiah's face after feeling his son move for the first time was a look that I hope never to forget. It was magical.

1. He’s practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges.
2. You may also discover that there is a pattern to his activity as you get to know him better. He might be more active during the day or at night.
3. His eyebrows and lids are present now.
4. He gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work!

20 Weeks

Uncle Isaiah, Elliot, and Mike heading to the beach. 

My sister's cute little family. 

Liam at 20 weeks

My nephews: Elliot and Oliver

Steph, Dad, and I

Dad didn't have any luggage until Thursday of the trip. Luckily he was able to buy this shirt in town. We had to explain to him what his shirt was referring to. 

We had a wonderful week at the beach. I really did not want to come home. Spending time with my family and relaxing with Isaiah was just what the doctor ordered. Liam is still growing like a weed and making me feel rather large at times. 

I think I nailed down the theme for Liam's nursery today. You'll have to wait and see what I decided on. I hope it turns out as cool as I am picturing it in my head! 

19 Weeks: Pregnant with a Prince

We're having a boy!!!! Liam Donovan Same looks perfect and healthy in every way. Isaiah and I were a little nervous going into this appointment. Last time we had seen our baby was when he was only 8 weeks and still looked like a gummy bear. We were very excited to find out the sex of our child but we were also nervous about finding out how he was growing. God answered our prayers and so far, we have a healthy baby boy. 

Meet Liam

A friend of our made us the cutest cake for our gender party! It was so cute and it tasted awesome! 

My favorite picture! His little legs are crossed at the ankle! 

**Facts About Baby This Week**

1. Baby’s sensory development is exploding! His brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch.
2. Some research suggests that he may be able to hear your voice now, so don’t be shy about reading aloud, talking to him, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.
3. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now.
4. His kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting.
5. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on his skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

18 Weeks

I'm done with school (Til January when I'll do my internship) and thought life would slow down. Wrong! Isaiah and I are just as busy as before. For the past several months Isaiah has been working with a new local brewery called Avondale Brewing Company.  This weekend was Brewfest and Avondale was making their debut into the Birmingham beer market. Isaiah was there helping them sell t-shirts and giving out free stuff to help promote the new brewery. I was there Saturday and from what I could see, the beer was a huge success! I was very proud of Isaiah and all the hard work that he has put into this company.

This will be my last post....before we find out the sex of the baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited that I can hardly contain myself! Tomorrow we will find out what our little bundle of joy is. As I've mentioned in previous posts, we will have a gender party on Thursday to share what the sex is with our friends. We will tell family in the mean time but don't expect any posts on Facebook until Thursday or Friday.

18 Week. After dinner so I look really big!

So far, most people think that Baby Same is a girl. There have been a few rebels that say boy but girl has been the majority vote for some time now. What do you think? Some things you might need to know before casting your vote: 

• I like sweet not sour
• No weird cravings
• Baby's heart beat was in the low 150's
• I lost 10 pounds at the beginning due to nausea and have not gained back all the weight. 
• Minimal mood swings, just the  typical irrationality that I suffered from pre-pregnancy.  
• No weird cravings. 

I have no clue what Baby Same is. I did have a dream that he/she was a girl this week though. However, if all my dreams as of lately came true, I'd be a vampire that lived in the shower and Isaiah would be a serial killer. So, my dreams are pretty unreliable. 

I made some killer homemade cinnamon rolls Saturday morning. Don't they look yummy?!