sooo we're having a baby next month...

i can't believe september is here! i've been saying for awhile how crazy it will be when we can say "we're having a baby next month" and now we can. mind blown.

i've been a terrible, irregular blogger lately because there is literally nothing for me to blog about other than baby stuff. even i get bored of talking about baby stuff all the time, so i assume everyone else does too. i've spared you for a few weeks, so here's what's going on with ellie baby!

we got SO much done this weekend and are ready for her to show up whenever she decides! i've had 2 showers in the past couple of weeks and got so much awesome stuff, including some very useful and much appreciated gift cards. we put those to use this weekend by hitting up babies r us one last time, getting some major deals at target.com, and, most importantly, exchanging some things at belk to then buy ellie's halloween costume. she's going to be a goldfish. :)

in other news, i reached major beach ball status this week. here's the proof:

isn't that shirt the most perfect beach ball shirt ever? i figured i should wear it on labor day weekend since it's really not so apropos from here on out. although, considering we're still having 95 degree days, i guess i can wear whatever the heck i want!

overall, i'm still feeling really good, trying to eat well, and exercising 4-5 days a week. hoping i can keep that up for a few more weeks! i am definitely more uncomfortable than i've been...well, ever... but it's motivating to be in the home stretch! it's pretty difficult to get comfortable when i'm sitting on the couch watching tv or wearing anything other than yoga pants, but working out and stretching is still helping so much!

i think i'm craving things more now than i have for the past several months combined. i could drink sweet tea and eat crushed ice all day long every day, but my new rule is to limit the drive-thru teas to a once-a-week treat only. we'll see how that goes... i've also been eating oreos with michael, which i just don't ever normally do. i think i want the oreos so badly because we always have them with a big glass of cold milk, which i've been drinking like a champ. maybe dairy is just where it's at for me these days, because ice cream is also a constant craving!

in the "normal" food department, we've really just been rotating lots of our favorite recipes lately to keep things simple. michael is busy with school, i'm busy with work, and we're both busy with the dogs, the house, the yard, and the baby preparations, so nothing shockingly new has made its way into the dinner rotation recently. i am trying to make one freezer meal each week to stock our freezer with food for when ellie is here and neither one of us feels like cooking. i've got 2 in the bank so far: black bean taco soup and chicken parmesan meatloaf. check those sites out if you want to try freezer meals-they've got some great recipes!

don't expect much more out of me in the next month or 2, as i'm expecting things to stay about the same around the segura household. we're not traveling any more and we're trying to enjoy the last of our time as a family of 4, so there won't be much news to tell! of course we will let the world know when miss ellie arrives, and if i happen to come across any ground-breaking recipes or online shopping deals in the meantime i'll share the goods. :)

whirlwind of a week

happy friday everyone!

this week has been a total whirlwind, and i can't believe it's already over! (although i'm very, very happy it's the weekend!) tomorrow will mark 31 weeks of pregnancy-crazy to think we'll have a baby with us in 9 short weeks!

some highlights of the week:

• monday we dropped our pups off at their new doggie daycare/boarding kennel for a trial run, and they passed with flying colors! we're going to my parents' house next weekend for my baby shower, and we really didn't want to drag the dogs along this time, so we found them a fun new place to stay while we're gone. they'll sleep and eat together, but they each have their own play group twice a day with their own size dogs.
  
  the kennel (meadows bed & biscuit in huntersville) has webcams where you can watch your dogs during play groups. i watched loki and kona on monday, and it was so funny! loki is a mini socialite and just follows the humans around waiting for some attention. kona was a big floppy ball of happiness and ran circles all day long. he also went swimming in the doggie pool, which is a big deal for him! he's been swimming a couple of times, but he's pretty reluctant, so we think the "peer pressure" of the other dogs swimming got him in there.
  
  anyway, i'm so happy they had a good time and we have a safe and fun place to leave them when we need a weekend away!
  
  [our sweet neighbors mike and tami also had their baby girl on monday. welcome to the world sophia, can't wait to meet you!]
  
  
• wednesday i worked from home, which was a nice change of pace since i'm pretty much at my desk all day every day right now. we had a couple of appointments to go to, and that night we met our photographer at latta plantation park for our maternity photos! here's the link to the sneak peek: http://chelseahomesley.com/?p=14475
  
  
  i highly recommend chelsea for anyone looking for a family photographer in the lake norman area! i hadn't met her until wednesday, just emailed, but she is so sweet, creative, accomodating, and fast! we took the pictures on wednesday and we got our sneak peek link a day later! we should get all of the shots on a cd in the mail in a week or 2. i can't wait to see what chelsea does with ellie's newborn, 6 month, and 1 year pictures (which yes, we already booked, and i'm thrilled about. planner at heart!)

  
  

  a couple of favorites:
  
  

  

  love that man!

  
  
  
  
  
• last night we went to the onerepublic and the script concert with our friends brad & stacy. while i know a lot of the songs those bands sing, it's not my typical kind of concert to go to, but i really enjoyed it! of course i'm a bit of a party pooper right now and had to make an exit around 10:30, but i had so much fun! thanks again yall for the invite :)
  
  
  
  
  we have a fun and relaxing weekend planned, and i'm excited to spend more alone time with my man before ellie arrives! the weekends are getting more and more precious as time goes on, so i'm trying to savor them as much as i can.  hope yall have a great one!

busy weekend = sleepy monday

happy monday everyone!

we had an extremely eventful weekend, so we are equal parts tired and happy we got so much done.

saturday was my company's annual boat party. every year in july, we rent out a double-decker boat and have a day-long party on lake norman. needless to say, this year was a little different than usual given that my 3rd trimester actually started on saturday, but it was still really fun! it rained off and on, and was sort of chilly, so i didn't even have to break out the maternity bathing suit. it was a really relaxing and fun day. it's funny how sitting around and talking for 8 hours can wear you out though...michael and i left the boat at 5:00, got food on the way home, and were passed out on the couch at 7:30.

yesterday we went to church, went grocery shopping, and ate lunch out before we started some major work around the house. i cleaned, did laundry, and got stuff together for goodwill while michael mowed, pressure washed the house and fence, and put down new mulch around the house. then we pruned bushes, made a trip to lowe's and the auto parts store, and finally sat down to relax for dinner. i don't know where our huge burst of energy came from, but it was awesome! it wasn't the day of rest that we should have on a sunday, but it was a great day nonetheless.

[side note: i also discovered my new favorite outfit yesterday. i ordered some maternity leggings from old navy and just got them in the mail this weekend. those, plus a tshirt of michael's (since my lounging around shirts are officially too small) will be my standard outfit at home from now until october.]

now that the boat party is over, we have a lot of fun events coming up to look forward to! this weekend is our first baby shower, which will be at our house, and we're so excited to have our friends come over to celebrate ellie! courtney and harris are even coming in from norfolk for the weekend, which will be so much fun, especially given their recent baby news! i have a feeling there will be some serious dad-to-be conversations between our 2 dudes.

michael is wrapping up summer school and only has a couple of weeks left, so he will be getting a week off soon to relax and get ready for another full year! i'm so proud of him and how great of a student he is-hopefully ellie inherits his work ethic and math brain!

august is going to be really busy for us, in fun ways of course! we're taking maternity pictures in about 3 weeks, and we have several classes scheduled next month at the hospital where i'll deliver. we also have a baby shower at home and at work in august. we feel very blessed to be showered with so much love!

to wrap up this little life update, here's a picture of our youngest but biggest dog kona, who smiles all day long. this is a snapchat that michael sent last week. i think kona is going to make the best pony for ellie! anyone know where i can get a dog saddle?

the seguras are happy it's may!

it's MAY!

we've been looking forward to this month for a long time!

here's why...

• michael is officially done with his first semester at uncc this wednesday. so proud of him and his awesome grades so far! (he is seriously making me feel bad about my first semester college grades)
  
  
• i have my next doctor's appointment this week (also on wednesday), where i'll get my usual check-up and schedule our anatomy scan ultrasound! can't wait to find out if our little peanut is a boy or girl! i'll also hit the halfway point of my pregnancy in may-it's going by so fast already!
  
  
• i am heading to the isle of palms on thursday to celebrate my frand's dirty 30! it's not going to be too dirty since 1) i'm pregnant and 2) we're going with her mom, but it's going to be awesome! can't wait for a couple of days of relaxing in the sun.
  
  
• after the mini-beach trip, i'm heading home to spend mother's day with my mom. it's a special year and i'm glad i can spend mother's day with her!
  
  
• i'll celebrate 2 years of being married to my best friend on the 19th!
  
  
• loki turns the big 3 on may 27th (judge away)
  
  
• on may 30th, our euro trip will finally begin! we've been planning it for awhile, and i still can't really believe it's happening later this month. so ready to spend some quality time with michael in some fun new places!

thanks for showing up, may! we're happy you're here :)

just because

taking a break from the usual today. here's a picture of my typical view in the bathroom while i'm getting ready...just because they're cute. :)

happy this-is-a-slow-week wednesday!