Family Friday: Second Trimester

Hi Friends!

It is technically still Thursday, but since tomorrow marks the beginning of my third trimester I wanted to go ahead and write my "Family Friday" post. I hope you don't mind! :)

Tomorrow I will be 28 weeks pregnant! I'm officially in the third trimester and can't wait for Jack to get here. During the second trimester I felt tons better (no more nausea and not as tired). I will say that I felt slightly disappointed with my energy levels as I had heard how wonderful the second trimester is supposed to be. Yes, I no longer felt sick 24/7 and didn't need to go to bed by 8:30pm, but I wasn't exactly ready to go run a marathon either. I guess that was just an unrealistic expectation that I had, but once I kind of figured things out I felt much better. There are still some random aches and pains in the second trimester, but overall it was really wonderful!

As I've gotten closer to the third trimester I've started having a little bit of trouble sleeping at night and heartburn has made an appearance :) I had a little bit of heartburn in the first trimester, but it pretty much went away. It isn't pleasant, but I'd prefer that to morning sickness!!

The second trimester has also brought the start of our childbirth preparation classes which has been so fun! We've had a breastfeeding class and infant/child CPR class. I think both were helpful in making us feel a little bit more confident as we get closer to Jack's arrival. Coming up next we will have prepared childbirth classes, an unmedicated childbirth class, and a hospital tour in the next month(s). We have also been so blessed to have sweet friends and family who have offered to throw us a baby shower! So I'm really looking forward to those. I'm anxious to start getting everything ready, but I'm holding off on buying too much since I know we have baby showers coming up. I gotta keep that "nesting" instinct in check!

Here are some pics from the second trimester:

16 weeks

18 weeks

25 weeks

Here's my updated questionnaire for the 2nd trimester:

How far along? 28 weeks
Total weight gain/measurements: I think I've gained about 20 lbs (I've been trying not to obsess over this, but still be conscious of the amount I'm gaining to make sure it is enough/not too much)
Maternity clothes: Yes!! One of my cousins was so kind to share her maternity clothes with me and they have been a huge help. I was not looking forward to buying a lot of clothes, so having some nice pants and tops was really helpful. I've supplemented with other items that I've bought, but it was so helpful to have those clothes. 
Stretch marks: Not yet
Sleep: Good! I have slept pretty well this semester (up until very recently). Daniel bought me a boppy body pillow and that has been really helpful for sleep. It took a few nights to get used to it, but now I can't sleep without it!
Best moment this trimester: Finding out the gender!
Miss anything? Being able to do more for myself. I am still able to do pretty much anything that I want, but it is a little bit hard to let other people do things for me. I know it is not safe to lift/move heavy objects, etc., and it has been hard for me to remember that my body is not just my own right now.
Movement: Lots & lots! I've loved it. He kicks hard enough for Daniel to feel, too.
Food cravings: I've really been into sweets :/ I am usually not a huge sweets person, but during this pregnancy I can't say no to a donut.
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope
Gender: Boy! 
Labor signs: I've had braxton hicks twice, but no actual labor signs (thankfully).
Symptoms: I can't think of any symptoms right now.. 3rd trimester is bringing heartburn with it, but the 2nd was pretty easy. I will say that (TMI) digestive issues have remained throughout the 2nd trimester, but using some recommended over-the-counter products have helped tremendously.
Belly button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? Off. I can still wear my rings, but I've found that by the end of the day my hands are slightly swollen and I'm scared that my rings will get stuck. I've opted to wear a fake ring the past few weeks.
Happy or moody most of the time: I think mostly happy!
Looking forward to: Jack getting here!

Family Friday: First Trimester

Hi Family & Friends!

So, as most of you probably know by now, Daniel and I are expecting our first baby in June 2015!

We are so excited and incredibly grateful for this gift. We have wanted to have kids ever since we got married in 2010, but the timing has not been right. Then when we did feel like we were ready to start our family it didn't happen quite as quickly as we thought it would. Needless to say, we were overjoyed when we finally found out we were going to have a baby.

We actually found out on Daniel's birthday which was a really fun surprise! I had a home pregnancy test leftover and knew that it was about the time when I could take it, but I really didn't think that I was pregnant. I just thought I'd take it for the heck of it and then would surprise Daniel if it was positive. Well, I took the test and at first everything looked like it was just another negative. I left the test and went into the kitchen to make cinnamon rolls for Daniel. Well, a few minutes later I went back into the bathroom to throw the test away and my stomach jumped when I saw a faint second pink line! I was totally shocked and walked up to Daniel with the test and said, "Well, Happy Birthday!" For a split second I my stomach dropped and I thought, "No turning back now" haha! But pretty much immediately Daniel and I both felt a lot of peace about it and were both so overjoyed at this wonderful news.

Since then we've gotten to tell our parents, siblings, and friends and have enjoyed sharing that news with our loved ones. We've had 2 doctors appointments and were able to see the baby both times. We saw the heartbeat flicker on the first ultrasound and at the second one we had a sonogram first (to hear the heartbeat) and then had an ultrasound to see the baby. It was fun to see him/her the second time because he/she looks much more baby-like now.

Our Social Media announcement

The first trimester has been good - just the typical symptoms (nausea, fatigue, etc). I saw on a few blogs this fun questionnaire they answer each week during their pregnancy and I thought that would be fun to answer! I'm just going to answer it for the whole first trimester since I'm at 12 weeks.

How far along? 12 weeks
Total weight gain/measurements: 3-5 lbs
Maternity clothes: I've bought a couple of tops because I feel like my stomach looks bloated; I can still wear my regular pants.
Stretch marks: Not yet
Sleep: Good! I have slept a LOT this trimester
Best moment this trimester: When Daniel and I got to see the baby and his/her heartbeat on the ultrasound monitor.
Miss anything? Hmm.. cheese dip! I'm not sure if I have to avoid it, but since I only eat it when we're at restaurants I'm not sure what they put in it so I avoid it just in case any of the cheese used isn't pasteurized.. I'm sure I sound like a first time mom!
Movement: Nope
Food cravings: The first week we knew I was pregnant I really wanted Fruit by the Foot. Since then I've mostly just wanted carbs and protein (aka: sausage biscuits..)
Anything making you queasy or sick? Coffee! And broccoli.
Gender: We don't know yet
Labor signs: No, thankfully!
Symptoms: Nausea (most often at night), extreme fatigue, general digestive discomfort at times, some unusual (for me) moodiness, acne.
Belly button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or moody most of the time: I think mostly happy!
Looking forward to: Finding out the gender!!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this update! I'll try to be better about posting pregnancy updates and pictures (especially on "Family Friday").

Love,
The Logans

Weekend with Sarah

A few weekends ago my middle sister, Sarah, came for a visit! Her husband was out of town for the week so she decided to come see us for the weekend.. and we're glad she did!

On Friday night we ate some supper (turkey burgers, sweet potato fries, & veggies), visited, then Sarah and I watched Father of the Bride and ate some ice cream - yum!

On Saturday we got up and enjoyed donuts (courtesy of sweet Daniel's trip to Publix), got ready, and headed out to do some bham exploring. We ate lunch at The Boot Pub in the Preserve and it was delicious. Here are some pictures from lunch:

Sarah & I outside of The Boot

After lunch we headed over to Kohls to look at baby stuff!! So fun! At this point Sarah didn't know for sure if they were having a boy or girl so we didn't buy any gender specific clothing, but we had lots of fun looking around. Everything is just SO cute! I bought a white fuzzy sleep sack for the baby (gender neutral) so I was glad to finally get to buy something for my wittle nephew! Once we had thoroughly explored all of the baby section we checked out the jewelry and Sarah was able to find a Christmas gift for *someone* on her list. 

We thought we might hit up a few different stores, but after exploring Kohls we were pretty wiped out. We stopped by the library (my favorite place! haha!) and got a Modern Family DVD to watch that night, then we headed home. The weather that weekend had finally started to cool off and the crisp fall air was delicious! When we got home we left the front door open so that we could enjoy the cooler temperature and the feel of that fall air. That worked out well because we also decided to paint our nails... :) 

Rimmel London Mintilicious

Since Daniel and I moved we opted not to get cable. This really hasn't been an issue because we don't watch a lot of network TV (we just use Netflix or DVD's from the library). The only show I miss seeing live is 19 Kids & Counting! So my sweet parents have been recording the episodes for me and mailing them to me- how thoughtful is that? I had a couple of episodes that I hadn't watched yet (and Sarah is a fan of the show, too) so we watched that while we painted our nails (in the color shown above). It's funny how the simplest moments can mean so much, because I have to say that sitting on the living room floor, watching TV, and painting my nails with Sarah was one of my favorite parts of the whole weekend!

On Sunday we went to church, stayed for fellowship for awhile afterwards, then headed to Zaxby's! :) That is one of Sarah's favorite places to eat (and hey, I don't hate it either!) and she picked that as where she'd like to go while she was in town since she doesn't get to eat there very often! After lunch we headed home to pack up and Sarah had to hit the road.

We had such a fun time with you, Sarah! Come visit again soon!

Now, who wants to visit next?

Roopville Homecoming Festival

Last weekend Daniel and I had the fun opportunity to visit the Logan side of the family and attend the Roopville Homecoming Festival. This is a yearly event and is always so much fun! The first time I ever visited Daniel's family (when we first started dating) was the weekend of the festival so it holds a special place in my heart. Roopville is a small, friendly town and this yearly event is always tons of fun. 

The town itself is just the epitome of Americana - it feels like you're going back in time or visiting a fictional location (like Mitford or Stars Hollow). Speaking of Stars Hollow, are there any other Gilmore Girls fans out there? Whenever we're in Roopville I always feel like I might bump into Taylor or Babette. I especially felt this way this year when I saw this car parked in front of Aunt Cathy's house:

Lorelai? Did you come for a visit?

The festival begins with a parade (which I'm afraid we usually miss because we get there too late! haha!) and then after that you can explore booths that line the street, visit the petting zoo/pony rides, or get some yummy food. This year Daniel got a cool wooden bowl and I bought a homemade candle. It is called "Autumn Leaves" and it kind of reminds me of the way Christmas trees smell. So, needless to say I love it! :) 

We made sure to stop by my favorite vendor - the one that sells kettle korn popcorn and fried Oreos! The kettle korn is seriously the best I've ever tasted (much better than the kind you find in grocery stores) and the fried Oreos are hard to describe.. they are unbelievable! The vendor sells the Oreos in a little dish of 4 so we only buy one and share them with anyone who wants one (you really can't eat more than one!). Here is mine mid-bite:

We also bought BBQ from another vendor and had some cream soda for lunch. Can you say, "sugar rush"? :) After we ate we did some more walking around and visiting with family and some of the family friends who live in town. Then later in the afternoon this goodness happened:

Dad Logan and Aunt Cathy made some homemade peach ice cream - yum! Even Diogi had a bowl and she l o v e d it! :) After eating so much goodness all day, we enjoyed an afternoon/evening of talking and laughter with the family on the front porch.

Family pictures in front of Aunt Cathy's house :)

The magical town of Roopville even has a mini "library" where you can take a book & leave a book.

Me & Daniel enjoying the day :)

The Petting Zoo which included a kangaroo, tortoise, and a piglet!

Well, I hope you enjoyed following along on our day in Roopville! We had a great time and can't wait to go back next year! 

Happy Friday!

We're back!

Hi Friends!

Well, it has been quite some time since I last blogged, but I hope to do better about that in the coming months. We've had quite a lot of excitement since I last posted, including a trip to England and a move. If I get inspired I may do another post about our trip overseas, but for now you can read some great posts written by Daniel here.

This weekend we are heading up to LaGrange, GA to visit Daniel's family and will spend Saturday in Roopville for the yearly festival. You may remember seeing some pictures from Roopville back in the Christmas post, but it is the Logan Family homeplace. It is a very small, friendly town and we love getting to visit each year. The festival starts with a parade and the rest of the day is spent visiting with family on Aunt Cathy's front porch, exploring different booths, and eating lots of yummy treats (homemade kettle corn popcorn and fried oreos.. oh my!).

Aunt Cathy's Front Porch

I'll be back next week to post about our trip to Roopville and will try to be better about posting updates!

Thanks for reading & have a lovely weekend!

The Logans xoxo

President's Day weekend with Dad & Mom!

Good morning! I hope you are all having a good Wednesday so far! Halfway through the work week- yay!

As promised, here some of the highlights from our recent visit with Mom & Dad Butler that I wanted to share. We had such a wonderful time together and wish we could see each other more often.

Dad, Mom, and Buddy arrived on Saturday afternoon and we had a fun time catching up. After a bit we decided to venture out and show them some of our favorite places in Birmingham. As you might guess, the first stop was the library! I love that place. Yes, I'm a dork I guess. It is such an awesome library with tons of great resources. We had fun showing them around and ended up checking out some DVD's that we could watch in the evening.

Next, we drove over to 2nd and Charles, a large used bookstore. Daniel had some books to sell and we all had fun looking through the many, many various books they have. Mom & I wanted to walk around JoAnn's so we left the guys at the bookstore and headed a few doors down to JoAnn's.

Outside of 2nd & Charles

Inside of 2nd & Charles (how cool is that book display??)

Mom & I had a blast looking through the material and all of the other sewing supplies. Mom is a veteran seamstress and is amazing at sewing (among other things!). I have a little bit of experience with sewing, but I am still learning. Mom gave me a sewing lesson while she was visiting and I learned how to thread the machine, thread and install a bobbin, and change out the needle. Up until now I could use the machine, but if the thread or bobbin came undone it was all over- I had no idea how to fix it! Recently I was working on sewing a table cloth when the bobbin came undone.. I ended up finishing the tablecloth by hand (not ideal). So this was a fun learning experience for me! I loved walking around JoAnn's with Mom & learning more about something she is so good at. Mom bought some material to make a new skirt for her skirt purse and I bought some material to try to make a small banner for our front door. I also bought some scrap booking paper to make a banner which I'll show in a later post.

After satisfying our JoAnn's sweet tooth, we headed to Jim'n'Nicks for some good old bbq! Jim'n'Nicks really does have some amazing food and we all ate well that night.

Dad & Mom in our booth at Jim'n'Nicks

Daniel & I in our booth at Jim'n'Nicks

On Sunday we got up and went to church and enjoyed a lovely service. It was the first Sunday of Lent and the church service was a beautiful reflection and challenge as we enter this season. After church we stayed for fellowship and had fun introducing Mom & Dad to some of our church family.
After church we went home and had some Skinnytaste Chicken Parmesan. I am a big fan of Gina's Skinnytaste recipes. All of the ones I've tried have turned out to be delicious and fairly simple to create. I paired the chicken parmesan with roasted broccoli, cheesy garlic bread, and pears and we were all set! After much needed naps we headed back over to the library to take a walk on their nature trail. I think little Buddy enjoyed it the most, but he was pretty tired out afterwards!

Sweet Buddy

On Sunday night we had Community Group (our small group from church) and were excited for Dad & Mom to get to join us. It was a sweet time of fellowship and was special to share that with my parents. After Community Group we came home to watch Downton Abbey.. I had heard what was going to happen, but I was still so sad. I won't say anymore in case someone reading this has not yet watched it. Let's just say we had to watch something a little happier afterwards because we were so bummed! I hope next season will be a little happier. I thought the picture below was hilarious! That is kind of how I felt when PBS put the donation phone number at the bottom of the screen before the episode was even over.

Right?

On Monday morning we got up and had some cinnamon rolls and got ready to go visit the Lakeshore Foundation facilities. I had never visited and my parents were interested in taking a tour since it is an Olympic and Paralympic training facility. We really enjoyed taking a tour and seeing all of the wonderful resources they provide. After our tour we ate lunch at Panera Bread, headed home for Mom & Dad to pack, and said our goodbyes. We were so sad to see them leave, but were thankful for the wonderful weekend we had together! Thanks for making the trip and sleeping on an air mattress, Dad & Mom! Love you guys!

So, that about covers the highlights of our weekend. Did you do anything special this President's Day weekend?

Love,
Laura

February Challenge (2/7)

Well, since I have a bit of time I thought I'd continue with the February Challenge. Today's challenge is family and how this relates to honoring why you are dedicated to your health.

I'd say family (past, present, and future) is a primary motivator for me. In my past my parents taught me the importance of eating healthy, well-balanced meals. With our lunches my mom always made sure we had a fruit/veggie of some sort and most of our meals always represented a balanced diet. We grew up eating whole grain bread and drinking skim milk- these were just what we were raised on so I've always liked the taste of whole grain foods.

In the present I've found that my family is a motivation for me to be healthy. I want to be able to live a healthy life on this earth and be here for my husband and all of our family. Because I care about my loved ones I feel the importance of caring for my own health as well since this will directly affect them.

As this relates to the future I'd like to be in good health for my future children! I want to stay healthy during any pregnancies and want to be healthy and active enough to be there to care for and play with my future kids. I want to be sure that the things I teach our children about food are good things. I don't want to teach them bad habits (such as emotional eating) and I want them to learn how to eat healthy, well-balanced meals. My parents gave me a great gift by teaching me those things and I want to be sure to pass that along to my future kids.

What about you? How does your family inspire you to take care of your health?

Love,
Laura

Recently

Just wanted to share some pictures of a few things we've been up to recently. :)

A few weeks ago we headed to LaGrange for a visit since Andrew was able to come home. We really missed getting to see him at Christmas so this was a special weekend getting to all be together. We got up on Saturday and drove to the Fox Theater in Atlanta to go watch the Blue Men Group perform. It was so much fun! I (jokingly) said that we needed to dress up as the Bluth family to attend the event (anyone? anyone?). The Blue Man Group did a great job and were fantastic entertainers. It was just a nice show to go to with the whole family.

Super blurry picture of the inside of the Fox Theater.. you're not supposed to take pictures so I didn't want to use a flash..

I missed the memo..

Getting ready to leave ATL

After the show we headed back to LaGrange. Jacob and Taylor made Paula Dean's Gorilla Bread and it was ah-maz-ing. I think between the whole group we ate it all in one evening. It was that good.

Taylor & Jacob assembling the Gorilla Bread (those cuties)

Some of the Gorilla Bread ingredients

Daniel serenading us during the baking :)

Back in Birmingham a few weeks later we were invited to attend a house show for the band Carolina Story. They were fantastic! They were both super sweet and spent the whole evening interacting with all those in attendance. Their performance was excellent - I was so impressed at how good they were live (an excellent indicator of how good a performer really is!) and their kindness and openness was so lovely. We felt right at home around them!

The Logans with Carolina Story

These were super blurry because I didn't want to be rude and use a flash since we were sitting so close! haha!

Bottle labels with their lyrics on them

The host of the show is a graphic designer and made this awesome poster and personalized bottle labels (see above)

And most recently we had a fun get together with our friends, May & Fan. They are so much fun to be around. We went to the Olive Garden and they were very open to trying the new cuisine. They liked it! Added proof that the Olive Garden is awesome. :)

Daniel, Laura, May, & Fan

We've had a great 2013 so far! Can't wait for more fun memories to come!