question for the mommas.

One of the items on my seemingly never-ending to-do list is creating our baby registry. I have been researching strollers and carseats since the second we found out about baby. I have read lots of online reviews and if you have written a blog post that has anything to do with 'baby must-haves,' I have likely read that as well. 

Even with all of that knowledge I have a few questions for all of you mommas. I want to be sure we register for the right things at the right places. 

I think we have come to a decision regarding our big items (stroller, carseat) but it's all those other little things (and oh my word there are lots!) that I could use a little guidance on. 

So here are my questions. I would love to hear your feedback and opinions in the comments section. 

• What item did you register for that you absolutely did not need and wish you would have left off?
• Similarly, what did you not register for that you ran out to buy as soon as baby came or you wish you would have registered for?
• Was there something you wish you would have registered for more of? (bottles, pacifiers and the like)
• Do any of you have experience with registering at Baby's 1st (in Houston) or Amazon? We will likely register at Babies 'R Us and I am trying to decide about one more place (sadly, Buy Buy Baby is off the list since there is no location in Houston)
• And lastly, what was your number 1 favorite thing you received or purchased for your little one...something that you just don't think you could have lived without?

I really appreciate any and all opinions you have to offer! I quickly go from feeling like a very educated pregnant gal to totally clueless over knowing how many bottles I need for my little lady. 

I'm not sure if Kyle knows it yet or not but we will be starting this registry soon and I want to be as educated as possible. Thanks for the information, friends!

week 18 (and 3 days).

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 18 weeks (Thursday)

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a bell pepper or sweet potato and is FIVE AND A HALF inches long. The baby websites all say that the baby should be about 6-7 ounces but they estimated a weight of closer to 9 at our last ultrasound. I guess we are growing well!

Maternity Clothes: Still just my jeans. I picked up a few maternity dresses this weekend that will be great for the summer months. Other than that I still have a lot of clothes that have turned into very cute maternity-wear. 

Gender: It's a girl! Annabelle Rae Krueger

Movement: I don't think so. I have felt little things in my tummy but I'm pretty sure it isn't her. Hopefully she'll give me a good, solid kick soon. I can't wait to feel her!

Sleep: I've been sleeping great all week! The only exception would be the night where we lost power from 7 pm until 4 am. Our bedroom felt like an inferno and I can never sleep when it is hot. It was a rough night for all of us!

What I miss: Time for a materialistic moment: I miss shopping for normal clothes. I went to the mall over the weekend and wanted to scoop up every cute top and sundress. I found a few that will work great as maternity dresses but resisted the rest. On the flip side, I got very excited for future shopping trips with my baby girl! I can't say that Kyle is as excited about those!

Cravings: Sushi and cookie cake. We are getting me some (cooked) sushi later this week and I cannot wait! As for the cookie cake... I cannot remember the last time I had one but I need one big time. (Mom, we may have to stop by the mall in a few weeks and grab one). 

Symptoms: I am still feeling great! I am thankful every single day for what an easy pregnancy this has been! I've started to feel some 'growing pains' which my doctor said is perfectly normal from her on out. Nothing too terrible, just some pulling or stretching of my stomach muscles. I told Kyle the other night that it felt like I had been doing crunches. We both had to try not to laugh at that one because the crunches stopped about 18 weeks ago!

Best Moment this week: Getting a wonderful, glowing report about this baby and finding out that it is a girl! We have had nothing but good reports so far and I thank God for that every single day. We are trying very hard not to take that for granted! We are also getting very excited about another little lady in the family.

Ready for another awkward bump picture?! I was in Anthropologie the other day and realized that I hadn't taken one. I knew I had to do it there or it wasn't going to happen... our apartment is wall-to-wall boxes right now and none of you need to see that. 

So here we are, myself and Miss Annabelle at 18 weeks and 3 days.

(yes, I am well aware that my dress, skin tone and the fitting room wall are all essentially the same color.)

The pictures should start getting better after this. We will be moving into our new, beautiful home in just over a week. Hopefully there will only be one more bad photo before I can start taking them in Annabelle's nursery!

the big reveal.

As many of you know, today was a very big day for our little family. We had our anatomy ultrasound this morning as well as my 18 week checkup with my doctor. 

We are thrilled to report that baby is perfectly healthy and growing nice and strong. We could see all four  chambers of the heart, sweet little fingers and the most precious little nose I have ever seen. 

And of course, we also found out what this precious little baby is. That's right friends, baby nugget now has a gender...and a name. 

Introducing the newest member of the Krueger family, 

little miss Annabelle Rae

Annabelle is just a beautiful name that I fell in love with. Ray is my dad's middle name (which he goes by) and Kyle's dad's middle name is Raymond. Kyle's grandma's middle name is Rae as and it is also the name of one of Kyle's great uncles and his great grandfather. So Rae is a very special name and we love that she will cary a piece of such wonderful people with her. 

We are over the moon about our sweet baby girl and cannot wait to meet her. More than anything, we are beyond thankful that she is healthy and seems to be doing wonderfully. 

And because she is her mother's daughter, I thought it was important that we bought a special outfit on the day we found out that she is a she. This sweet, soft, perfectly pale pink Kissy Kissy onesie was our selection of the day.

 

Thank you all so, so much for the thoughts, prayers and well wishes today. We very much appreciate all of the love that is already being shown to this little one. 

So there you have it, friends. Annabelle Rae Krueger will be making her appearance later this fall and we are on pins and needles waiting to see her cute face! 

week 17.

Fact: I am horrible about doing these updates. Honestly, it is mostly because I hate having Kyle try to take a 'bump' pic of me. The lighting in our apartment is bad, turns out I'm not a fan of my profile and right now, our apartment is practically overflowing with boxes. 

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 17 weeks today

Size of baby: Baby is the size of an onion and is FIVE inches long. That blows my mind!

Maternity Clothes: Mostly just my maternity jeans. I have worn a few Old Navy Maternity pieces around the house because they are so comfy. Other than that, I can still wear most of my normal shirts and some dresses. 

Gender: Still unknown but we find out on Tuesday! We cannot wait to share the news!

Movement: Still none but hopefully in the next few weeks. Most people say that first time moms start to feel the baby around 20 weeks so we aren't too far off!

Sleep: So much better! I attribute this 100% to this little gem that was delivered to my apartment on Tuesday: The Snoogle. My cousin recommended it to me and Kyle surprised me by ordering one. I wake up feeling so much more well rested and am in love with my pillow. Gold star to the daddy-to-be!

What I miss: Not much lately. I had been missing lunchmeat but I have actually let myself have it the last few days. I will eat it for the first two or so days after I bring it home from the deli and so far haven't had any problems. 

Cravings: Sushi, Chick-fil-A, fajitas, Chili's and Whataburger are the big ones (all very healthy, I know). In other words, I crave eating out. I also saw a picture of a cookie cake recently and am considering making a stop by the mall food court just to pick one up. 

Symptoms: I am feeling really great lately! My energy is much better and the stomach aches are few and far between. I would say my biggest symptom right now is my ability to cry at the drop of a hat. I have always been a pretty emotional gal but these hormones are kicking that into high gear. This week I have sobbed while watching Oprah, Modern Family and Glee, just to name a few moments. 

Best Moment this week: I've made good progress with packing up the apartment which makes me feel great! We've also scheduled the movers and picked out a few paint samples for the house. I love checking things off our list as we get closer to the big move. Also, the arrival of my Snoogle pillow was a pretty big highlight!

And here is a (not so good) picture of the bump. Please excuse the mess of robes on the door behind me. Also, the shirt I was wearing made it hard to get an accurate picture. I'll try to do better next Thursday. 

momma.

Happy Mother's Day to the very best mom that two girls could ever ask for. 

Sending lots of love and hugs to Texas for my momma. 

Love you more!

bark in the park.

I realize that I am completely behind in blog-land. I had two research papers due last Sunday and have one more due this coming Sunday, so I've been more than a little preoccupied.  

I'm taking a little writing break to watch Shania Twain on Oprah and thought I would post about our fun weekend. 

We spent Sunday afternoon watching the Atlanta Braves play baseball at Bark in the Park. Bark in the Park is a fun event that is held a few times a season at Turner Field. We found out about it too late last year, so were thrilled to go last weekend. 

We assumed that Tucker would either have a great time or be scared of everything in sight and cry the whole time. I think I can safely say that he enjoyed himself!

The game was at 1:30 so it was pretty hot when we arrived. Tucker found some shade under our seats and made himself quite comfortable. There were lots of other dogs in our area but they didn't bother our guy at all. He was so content to sit in the shade and pop up every few innings to check on the game.

We're pretty strict about never giving Tucker human food. We don't want him begging in the kitchen or when we are eating dinner. We made an exception for this special day and let him enjoy a hot dog. What is a baseball game without a stadium dog? He loved every bit of it!

We knew it was about time to go when I looked under my seat and saw this. Sweet pup had fallen asleep next to his water dish and the new stuffed toy that he got at the stadium (it was free... we'll buy him a hot dog but not a baseball game souvenir)

Tucker slept the whole way home and was sound asleep again about two minutes after we walked into the apartment. He wasn't the only one who was worn out after the game. This little pregnant gal was exhausted and may have taken a little post-game nap as well. 

Before the game Kyle and I had talked about how much fun it would be to go to the event next year, with Tucker and our little six month old baby. We did have a wonderful time, but after going through the whole ordeal, I'm not entirely sure we'll want to go back with a dog and a baby. We may need to bring a few more friends for back-up if we want to make that happen!

It was such a fun day and a great event! I would highly recommend seeing if a stadium near you does anything similar!