34 weeks

34 weeks-Baby #2

34 weeks-Owen

Another week has passed and I am still in shock at how fast this is going. I can't believe that full term is only 3 weeks away! That is exciting and scary all at the same time. I have a to-do list going of things that need to be done before this baby arrives. Unfortunately, it just keeps growing instead of items being marked off. Perhaps this coming weekend we will begin to tackle the items on our list?!

I am a little discouraged this week at the realization that my carpal tunnel syndrome is flaring up in my left hand/arm. I have been in denial over the last couple of weeks that it was returning. I have woken up almost every morning with a tingly hand and just wanted so badly to believe it was just "asleep" from me laying on that arm. But, in the last few days, I have had more trouble every morning, waking up with the tingling, along with pain and trouble grasping items. I have also been woken up a few times throughout the night with the tingling, most of the time going all the way up to my elbow. At this point, it seems to only bother me during the night and when I first wake up in the morning. Once I get myself going and take a shower, it seems to fade away and not give me any trouble during the day. So, that is good news. It is also very good news that my right hand is not giving me any trouble. That is the hand I have already had the surgery on, so I would be very upset if it was hurting. My left hand got pretty bad during my pregnancy with Owen, but never quite as bad as my right. And, even though the carpal tunnel syndrome was still present in my left when I had my surgery, it wasn't bothering me at all. So, I opted not to have it done on that hand. I am just hoping that this doesn't get too bad and that it will go away after the baby comes, as it did in that hand after Owen was born (it did not go away in my right, hence the reason I had the surgery). I do have the option, if it gets too bad, to get a cortisone shot. But, I really don't think I feel comfortable putting that kind of chemical in my body while I am pregnant, even though the doctor told me it is safe in the 3rd trimester. It isn't worth it to me at this point. I will say that this is much later in my pregnancy than when it started with Owen. At 34 weeks with him, I was in a ton of pain already and just about in tears every day, so it is encouraging that it is just starting and no where near as bad. I am praying it won't get much worse...that is all I can do!

Congratulations!

...to 2 of our best friends in the whole wide world who are expecting babies!! Now that their news has become 'Facebook official', I can finally say it out loud!! I found out about both of these pregnancies within days of each other and I have been busting at the seams ever since, trying to hold in the news!!

First, my friend, Amy, is expecting twins late August/early September! Yes, TWINS! Complete shock...completely natural! Ever since the day she found out it is twins and called me, I have been dying to let the cat out of the bag. Well, it is out now, so I am safe ;) We are so happy for the Coopers! Oh, what fun this will be!!

Second, my friend, Mindy, is expecting a baby late September! She and David are so excited and we are, too! Ever since I have known Mindy, I knew she wanted nothing more than to be a mother and I am so happy that it is finally a reality! When Mindy found out and called me, I could hear it in her voice before she ever even said why she was calling! She was just giddy with happiness!

We can't wait to meet all 3 of these babies! In just a few short weeks, both will have their ultrasounds to find out what they are having! So exciting! We are sending lots and lots of prayers and well wishes down to Eastern NC for 2 very healthy pregnancies and 3 very healthy babies! So much to look forward to at the end of the summer!!! We Love you all!!

33 weeks

The weeks just keep flying by and now I am starting to feel the time crunch and the weight of all the things that need to be done! But, I just need to rest assured that it will all get done and whether it does or not, this baby is coming and will not care ;)

Good news...I had my liver bloodwork done this week and everything came back completely normal! So, this means, as of this time, my liver is functioning as it should and I am not in any current danger of what happened before. Since we aren't exactly sure at what point everything began with Owen, I guess it could all still happen again. But, it is good that there has been no change with my enzymes up to now. I will have the bloodwork repeated again in 2 or 3 weeks to make sure that my liver counts are still normal. I am remaining positive that my liver will stay healthy this pregnancy! So far so good!

I cannot get over the difference in the way my belly looks this pregnancy compared to my pregnacy with Owen. It becomes more and more significant of a difference each week. It's crazy that I can carry so different from one pregnancy to another! And, I really don't think my belly has changed much over the last few weeks. It just seems to be at a stand still as far as the way it looks. I assume it is growing, though, because the doctors haven't said anything about not measuring where I should.

33 weeks-Baby #2

33 weeks-Owen

Maternity Pictures

She's at it again!! My best friend, Steph, is just amazing! In her short career as a photographer, she has become quite the artist and does unbelievable work! I am just speechless (well, almost...when have I ever been truly speechless?!?!) when I look at her work! This past weekend, Owen and I flew to NC to visit family and friends as a last trip down before the baby comes. Randy wasn't able to join us because he was at the Pittsburgh Pirates spring training in Florida. On Saturday, we headed to Steph's studio for maternity pictures! I love the work she did and I can tell you that I will have a really tough time deciding on which ones to order! We had so much fun and Owen was quite the little ham. I have to say that the whole experience was so special because Steph was the one taking the pictures! There is something so different about having your best friend take your pictures! I am very much looking forward to her visit shortly after the baby is born and to the newborn pictures she will take!! HERE is the link to the pictures...password is 'voelp11'

More from our awesome weekend in NC to come! Gotta get that post together. It was a wonderful weekend to say the least!

Our weekend getaway

Thanks to our parents, Randy and I were so lucky to be able to have a getaway weekend...just the 2 of us!! My parents were so sweet and got us a placeto stay, through their vacation club, in Hershey, PA and Randy's parents kept Owen for us for the weekend! Yes, they unleashed a pregnant girl in Chocolate Town (and I didn't over endulge!!) We had an absolute blast and it was so wonderful to spend some alone time together before the new baby arrives. The last time we spent a weekend alone was our getaway weekend trip to Myrtle Beach when I was pregnant with Owen. So, needless to say, it was long overdue.

On Friday, when we arrived, we checked in and got settled before heading out for dinner. Randy took me to the Melting Pot for dinner (finally, after 10 years of me begging him, he gave in!!). And, let me just tell you, the dessert alone was well worth the wait! The dinner was delicious as well and we had so much fun during our 2.5 hour ordeal! The whole process from appetizer cheese fondue to salad to meats and veggies and finally, dessert took a long time. But we had so much fun with the whole thing and we haven't spent that kind of quality time together in a very long time! All of that begging finally paid off and to my surprise, Randy was singing the praises of the Melting Pot when we left, too! He enjoyed it just as much as I did! I could seriously eat that dessert every day of my life and never get tired of it. My favorite thing to eat on the face of this earth is chocolate covered strawberries! So, the chocolate fondue with the strawberries was like heaven on earth for me! I didn't even want the cake, brownies, or cheesecake, just the chocolate and strawberries and bananas!! It was by far our favorite meal in a LONG time!

On Saturday morning, we got up and went to the fitness room at the place we stayed for a quick workout. After that, we got ourselves ready and went to an early lunch, since we skipped breakfast! We tried a restaurant called, Your Place, at the recommendation of Randy's parents, who lived in Hershey when they first got married. Your Place is known for their stromboli, so we decided to get that and share it! We were definitely not disappointed...it was delicious. Apparently, the original Your Place burned down, so this was a new building. But, it was still the same restaurant! It was pretty cool to try a place the Voelps went to often before any of the Voelp kids came along :) After lunch, we headed to Hershey's Chocolate World!! We got to make our own chocolate candy bars and we rode a ride that took us through the process of how the chocolate is made. It was a pretty cool place! The amount of chocolate there is insane! I could have gone crazy, but I think I was just too overwhelmed with the selection. That night, we went to a Hershey Bears hockey game. The Bears are back to back Calder Cup champions, which is the AHL equivalent to the Stanley Cup. It was a great game and of course, these hockey fans loved it!! Sunday morning, we got up early and headed back to Cranberry. We really didn't want to miss church and we were ready to see our little man! It's funny how as much as we needed the break, we couldn't stay away too long! And, a lot of our conversions were focused on Owen as well! We were constantly saying how much he would love all of the fun things that Hershey has to offer. We can't wait to take him sometime!! A few pics from our weekend...

The master suite in the place we stayed...the whole thing was like an apartment, but of course, I didn't take any pictures of the rest of it.

Happy me!!!

Us after our delicious dinner at the Melting Pot!

Lunch at Your Place (not sure why I look so underwhelmed...I swear it was delicious!)

The first step in the process of one of our candy bars being made

This is Owen's chocolate bar after getting the "crisp rice" added, heading in to get the chocolate covering

Yummy!!

Sprinkle time!

After cooling, getting ready to be packaged

Going into the carton

Us in our pretty "chocolate making" attire...aren't we cute!?

The Candy Bar making station

Randy with our finished products

We got to design our own wrappers

Holy moly...that's a lot of chocolate in one day! They have the capacity to produce up to 60 million Hershey Kisses in one day...WOW!!!

Hershey Bears vs. Norfolk Admirals

Showing Owen one of his souveniers from our trip...his candy bar!

He was so excited that it had his name on it!

Of course, he couldn't wait to eat it!!

His first taste!

And, I think he enjoyed it :)

32 weeks

32 weeks - Baby #2

32 weeks - Owen

Owen's 1st Ice Skating Lesson

Last Friday, Owen had his first ice skating lesson! He had sooooo much fun and it was so exciting to watch him out there learning and having a blast! He couldn't wait to go back today. Of course, I didn't take any pictures or video today, but it was interesting to see how he had listened last week and actually learned some things. He had gotten quicker on his skates, knew a better way to fall to avoid hurting himself, and was much faster at getting up after he did fall. He has 6 more weeks of classes, so it will be interesting to see how much he has learned by the end of his session. One thing is for sure, he definitely loves hockey and loves learning to skate! Check out the pictures and the video from his first lesson last week!!

The beginning of class...listening like a big boy ;)

Hands up high in the air!!

The teachers were trying to get him to "fall down" properly...he wanted no part of it. Really? Who wants to willingly fall? Hehe!

He finally did "fall" and this is learning how to get up the right way

Bending over and touching his toes

Catch up post

This is a catch-all post of some things we have done over the past few weeks that I wanted to make sure got in the blog. Enjoy :)

Natural History Museum (or, as Owen calls it, the "Dinosaur Museum")

A few weeks ago, we joined Aunt Shawnee and Drew and Ryland at the Natural History Museum to check out the dinosaurs. Owen had a blast...especially considering he is VERY into dinosaurs right now!

The boys...extremely excited about the T-Rex exhibit

Digging for dinosaur bones

My little archaeologist

Another Snow Day

We have had a ton of snow days this winter! It hasn't been quite as bad as last winter, as far as amounts go. But it just seems like every time we get rid of the snow, more comes! Owen's favorite person to play with on snow days is our neighbor, Elizabeth!

A sled ride down the stairs...this was the hit of the day!

A picture op in the tree!!

Digging a "volcano", as he called it!

Having a little chat with Elizabeth in the "volcano"

Pittsburgh Piratefest

We spent one Saturday a few weeks ago at Piratefest for the Pittsburgh Pirates! Owen had a blast, going in the batting cages, playing games, seeing some of the players, and having his picture drawn. It was fun to take him down town to get him pumped up about the upcoming MLB season. His Daddy has faith every year that the Pirates will have a better team. He is even heading to Bradenton, Florida next week for Pirate Spring Training with his Dad and brother. I, on the other hand, tend to offend him by laughing at his optimism...I mean, 17 losing seasons in a row makes it hard to be a believer :) But, I am still a fan and I definitely hope for a great season ahead!!

Excited for his turn in the batting cage

Next up to bat, "The Electric O"

Playing one of the games...I believe he won a bobble head at this game

Silly boy!! Making faces at Mommy instead of smiling for the nice man who was drawing his caricature! You gotta love this boy!!

And, now, so serious :)

Street Hockey

2 weeks ago, we had a few beautiful days in a row and we were able to actually get outside and enjoy the weather! Owen was thrilled to get to play a little street hockey in with Daddy and Elizabeth!

Fun times!

Lovin' the weather!!

31 weeks

31 weeks-Baby #2

31 weeks-Owen

Happy Birthday Aubrey!!

Today is our sweet niece, Aubrey's, 1st Birthday!!! Wow! I just cannot believe she is already ONE!! I truly feel like she was just born. This year has really flown by. We Love You Sweet Girl! And, Owen and I can't wait to see you in 2 weeks!!

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY!

(by the way, her Birthday Party dress and hat are compliments of Miamy Clothing and Accessories...my very talented friend, Amy!!)