Powerful: Derek + Laura

So I am little behind on this but I wanted to get this up before I hit 35 weeks on Thursday. On Thanksgiving I hit 34 weeks. So weird. I think Derek and I are starting to realize this is coming faster than we anticipated. The holidays always make things go faster. Soon Christmas will be here and then BAM...our baby will be here.  How Far Along: Today I am 34 weeks 5 days Size of the Baby: Over 4 pounds and about 18 inches long Weight gain/loss: I knew I had gained a lot the past couple of weeks. She is just getting so big and there isn't really anything I can do that. Total weight gain: 17 pounds Sleep:  I think it's funny they ask this as part of the questionnaire  The people who wrote this obviously know that sleep is bad during pregnancy. Last night was the worst I think all pregnancy. I guess that's how it has to be so that you actually want the baby out. ha Best Moment of the Week: Delicious food on Thanksgiving. Spending lots of time with

So I mentioned last week that I was really looking forward to this weekend. I knew it was going to be relaxing and exactly what I needed. Friday afternoon started with a prenatal massage and a pedicure. Everything was perfect. My parents and siblings set me up with this for my birthday. I have never felt so awesome during pregnancy. I wish that massage could've lasted like 4 hours. I felt relaxed for the first time in a long time. I need to get massages more often. I also loved that I got to have my feet taken care of. They even gave me a paraffin wax treatment. Loved every minute of this. Later that night Derek and I headed to Park City for a weekend getaway. For my birthday I told him that I needed a nice weekend away from work, cold weather, stresses of being pregnant, etc. We found a Groupon deal for a condo. So glad we did it. We got a great price on the place and it had everything I needed: fireplace, huge jacuzzi bathtub, cable TV, a nice kitchen. Mostly I just needed th

That's right...I got a birthday weekend. That's what happens when you have a birthday on Friday and also so close to your mom's. My mom's birthday is the day before mine which always makes celebrating so much better since we can celebrate together. I was truly blessed to have such a great weekend. Friday it snowed like crazy. No joke. I hate the snow. I knew the snow just couldn't hold off another weekend. Since I have swollen feet I had to wear flip flops outside all day and my feet were freezing. It was nice to finally get home after work and not have to go outside for a while. Anyways during this awesome snow storm I was able to go out to lunch with Emily and Elizabeth. Emily's birthday was earlier in November so we had fun celebrating. Later that night Derek took me out to the Olive Garden so I could enjoy their salad and breadsticks. Always hits the spot. Love their breadsticks. He was so wonderful and got me some really thoughtful gifts. He bought me tum

32 weeks, 2 days here How Far Along: 32 weeks, 4 days Size of the Baby:  Almost 4 pounds and about 17 inches long Weight gain/loss: 3.6 pounds in the last month bringing me to 12.6 pounds total Sleep:  It's gotten worse. Oh well. At least the trains are the least of my worries now. Any sleep advice for the 3rd trimester? I'll take any I can get. I wake up with the worst back and abdomen pain and I have to rotate multiple times throughout the night since my hips, legs, arms, and hands all start going numb. ha I am ready to buy a recliner and sleep sitting up. It might work out better. Best Moment of the Week: My birthday and my baby shower. (More to come on these later) How could you not have an awesome week with those two things in the mix? Movement: Lots of rolling and jabbing. I feel like the past couple days she has been moving more constantly. I am loving it. Only two other people have felt her move besides her parents - Samantha and Jamie

New York was both fun and exhausting. I am glad it was my last trip for the year. Ended this year of travels in a great place. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I am just grateful I got out before they didn't let anyone out anymore.  The city was just beautiful. Central park was the best. Honestly. I couldn't get enough of it. Sad to know that with the damage of Sandy a lot of the parks don't look the same anymore - so I had to share the beauty of NYC as I was able to enjoy it.  View from the reservoir in Central Park These girls are the best and totally made my trip awesome. Thanks Alina and Kate for being the best! One night we made reservations at Max Brenner. Best choice. They are famous for their chocolate everything.  This was my chocolate peanut butter ice cream sundae. So good. Honestly. I loved it. So Kate and I were exploring the city one afternoon and she introduced me to Juniors Cheesecake. Fantastic. We stopped here: The

So I have every intention of watching the election results tonight but I just can't do hours of the talking about it. I like to tune in when things get closer. I don't do well with all that will they, won't they . Too stressful. All I know is that I was excited to vote today. Once I got to the right building I was able to walk in and out. No lines for me. From talking to others I seem to be more of an exception. It's always fun to get involved with something so American if that makes any sense. Even though we all differ in opinions I still feel united with other Americans in our right to vote and be a part of this process. Ok enough of that. I wanted to blog about our trip to California and my first baby shower. What a fun weekend. It all went by too fast. Our only plans were to spend time with family. It was so nice to catch up. It had been over a year since the entire Power family had been together. Since we won't be traveling during Christmas we wanted to fi