I LOVE Papayas...PAPAYAS!!! (Week 22)

Now that I'm officially halfway through this pregnancy...the weeks are truly flying by!  I can't believe that I'm into week 22 of being pregnant.  But...I am absolutely loving every second!  I feel so amazing and am truly blessed everyday that God has given me such an easy and wonderful pregnancy thus far.  I am still able to do all the things that I did pre-pregnancy, which is so wonderful.  The only thing that's different is the intensity of my workouts...which has been the case since day 1.  So, I've gotten used to taking it a little slower and paying close attention to my breathing and heart rate.  Other than that, my life is completely normal with the exception of this adorable growing bump with our precious daughter growing inside!

This week, we were all pretty busy.  Cody was able to come home from Amarillo from Thursday-Sunday.  So that was a treat for sure!  He was able to come home so early because of it being the July 4th holiday.  We spent a lot of time together as well as a lot of time with friends and family.  On Thursday night, we went over to Josh and Abbie's new house for the 4th.  They have an amazing home on 25 acres and it was the perfect place to grill out, chow down, spend time with precious friends, and shoot off fireworks.  It was such a fun night and we had so much fun spending time with our precious friends.  We also had some little chores to do...and we finally had time to register this weekend!!!  We spend Friday afternoon going to Kid's Village, Surprises, and Target picking out things that our precious Seiden Grace will need...and then just some things that were so adorable we couldn't not put them on the lists!!! We had so much fun doing it together and picking out things for our sweet daughter...it was definitely a time that will be truly cherished.  We also had a garage sale on Saturday.  Our guest bedroom is now the nursery.  So, we had all the furniture from there as well as some other decorative items and jewelry that we needed to get rid of and just do some summer cleaning.  It was a pretty successful garage sale and we got rid of all the furniture, several decorative items, and a few pieces of jewelry.  My mom and Mimi also got rid of some stuff that they had been needing to clean out for awhile...so we were all pretty happy!  Less clutter and more room...you can't beat that!!!  After that was over, we helped some dear friends move into a new house, ate burgers and swam at my parents, and vegged out in front of the TV with two good movies and just relaxed. It was a busy weekend...but we got lots done, spent lots of time together, and did some much needed resting!

Two other things that were absolute highlights of the weekend...Cody got a brand new truck and he finally got to feel Seiden wiggling around in my tummy!!!  His previous truck was amazing and so nice, but it would have been out of warranty in another 900 miles and he was feeling like the transmission was possibly starting to give him some problems.  He bought his truck, a Lariat Super Duty F250, brand new almost 3 years ago.  But, when you drive as much as he does, it doesn't take long for little things to start going wrong here and there.  Especially with him being in Amarillo and the truck almost being out of warranty, it was a smart decision to get something new that is under warranty.  He won't be stressing when he's driving around town or when he's on the 4 hour trip to and from Amarillo to Abilene.  His new truck is absolutely gorgeous and I love it and am so happy for him to have been able to get it!  He deserves it more than anyone I know.  He works so hard and makes so many sacrifices...there is no one more deserving!  Now, he is driving a F150 King Ranch truck!  It is black with a beige lower panel accent color with the King Ranch premium leather.  It is absolutely gorgeous and it will be perfect for him and our little growing family!!!  And to top off the entire weekend...little Seiden is quite the wiggle worm!  I've been feeling her for awhile now.  It's like little thumps from the inside and mostly when I'm sitting or laying down.  I'm so active 90% of the time, so it's been hard for me to even feel her because I'm not still enough for long enough to feel her!  What I've been feeling the most of, is when she pushes or stretches and where she is becomes hard as a rock and there is lots of pressure coming from the inside.  Whenever she moves, that part of my stomach gets a little softer and I can feel her moving away from wherever she had been.  So, on Sunday during church, we were sitting down listening to the sermon.  I had my legs crossed and Cody had his arm resting over my tummy and his hand on the opposite side of my leg.  All of a sudden, I knew she was moving and could feel that slight pressure coming from the inside.  She's usually always on the right side or right in the center...but her favorite place is anywhere on the right side...which is where Cody's arm was laying over my tummy.  I knew right when he could feel her because I saw him turning to me from the corner of my eye and when I looked at him, the look on his face was of pure joy and one of the most precious things I've ever seen in my life.  He had the biggest smile on his face and immediately starting feeling around to see how much more of her he could feel.  He also felt her when she moved away from where she was and was just in absolute amazement at how our sweet daughter felt inside of me.  She continued to do that off and on during church and he felt it every time she moved.  I'm SO glad that he was finally able to feel her precious little self moving all around inside of me!  It's been an amazing feeling for me to have felt if for some time now, but nothing will ever compare to the joy that was on his face when he was finally able to feel her moving too.  Seiden Grace...you have completely overwhelmed us with love and we just keep falling more and more in love with you everyday!!!

Seiden Grace at 22 Weeks:

• You are 9 inches long and weigh 1.2 pounds!!!
• You are the size of a papaya...and I know you are even sweeter!
• You are also the size of a small doll...which is so much more life size than I have ever imagined you!
• You will start to have some serious growth spurts from now through the next four weeks...doubling in size as well as weight.
• Your blood vessels are continuing to develop.
• Your lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more and more distinct.
• Your tiny tooth buds are also beginning to develop beneath your gums.
• Your beautiful irises have also formed, but still lack pigment.
• You have absolutely captivated us in every way and we cannot wait to meet you, hold you, and love you for the rest of our lives!!!

Only 18 More Weeks To Go!!!

Red, White, and Blue!!!  Me and Seiden at 22 weeks, Bria and Jenner at 31 weeks, and Britain and Quinn at 17 weeks!!!

Belly pic at the gym!!!

I took a pic of my belly when I was laying down and Seiden was pushing or stretching on my right side.  If you look really close, you can see that the right side of my belly is higher than the left!  Sweet girl!!!

Cody's new truck!!!