30 Weeks!!! Only 10 (give or take) Weeks to Go!

After my lovely baby shower last Saturday, which you can read about here, I had the opportunity to attend one more fun and exciting event before heading home and having all my free time filled with work and other such necessities of life.  Sunday, I got to take my 5-year-old niece, Karly, to see the Nutcracker in Richmond.  We went with my best friend, Jen, and her 4-year-old niece, Raelynn.  It was so much fun and just as magical as I remembered.  I love the Nutcracker!  I think my niece enjoyed it, as well.  I can't afford to take her every year but I'm hoping to make this some kind of tradition.  I just hope she gets to go again before she's a teenager (that's how long I had to wait when I was little).  Here are a few grainy pictures I snapped (they're from my phone and the lighting wasn't very conducive to good picture-taking).

The set was gorgeous!

Karly & I excited for the show to begin.

Karly looked so pretty all dressed up!

We wore our matching grey boots! :)

These silly girls sure do love each other!

Karly & I posing in front of the beautiful Christmas tree in the lobby. 

We went to grab a bite to eat at Wendy's afterwards and these goofballs had a blast!

 Now, I have to cut right to the chase because I have about a thousand things on my to-do list to get ready to leave and go to New Jersey to celebrate Christmas with Jeff's family this weekend.  We're leaving in about 6 hours and I have to bake, wrap presents, finish laundry, pack, figure out what to eat for dinner, etc., etc., etc.!!!  Here is my ever-growing belly with stats below...

How far along?  30 Weeks

Baby is the size of a: large head of cabbage

Maternity clothes?  Obviously, I can only wear maternity pants but I'm still about half and half with the shirts (the one I'm wearing in the pic above is not maternity).  I also bought some leggings the other day that aren't maternity. 

Symptoms:  First and foremost, I would like to say that I have not really had much swelling since last week when I was devastated by it!  Yipeee!  Hoping it stays that way for a while!  Otherwise, it's all the same old stuff with the addition of Braxton-Hicks contractions (I think). 

Sleep:  Still pretty good with the exception of being super stiff when I wake up (which inevitably equals getting up to pee).  It's actually quite painful.  I think it's because it's so difficult for me to roll over when I'm sleeping, so I lay on one side for hours and get stiff.

Number of times I get up to pee each night:  On average, 2.

Best moment this week:  Baby shower and Nutcracker! 

Miss anything?  Being able to turn over easily while sleeping, hehe. 

Food cravings:  Nothing too crazy this week:  sweet potato, pizza, milkshake/ice cream...

Anything making you queasy or sick?  Nope!

Movement:  Almost constantly!  I have a love/hate relationship with the moving currently.  A lot of the time, it's awesome because I can see her moving and jumping around in there and I can feel specific body parts pressed up against my belly...but, it also hurts sometimes!  I am having to ask her quite frequently to please stop using my bladder as a trampoline and to please stop poking me in weird places!

Stretch marks?  Nope!  (Itchy belly, yes, but no stretch marks)

Belly button - in or out?  Is it sad that I had to look?  It's still in...kinda flat right now.

Wedding rings - on or off?  On, yay!

Gender:  It sure better be a girl because if it's a boy, he's going to be wearing some really pretty clothes and be nameless for a few days.  Hehe.

Mood:  I've been tired this week which equals cranky at times but overall, I'm feeling pretty good!

Looking forward to:  Jeff having two weeks off of work (he's a teacher) starting this afternoon, yay!  We have lots of traveling planned, I have to work Christmas this year (yuck) and we have lots to do on the nursery but it will still be a welcome break!

Baby preparations:  I bought a used glider last week while I was at my Parents' and I bought a used dresser for the nursery last night.  I'm looking forward to things coming together as I make some improvements and such.  

What the baby is up to this week according to Babycenter.com:  Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now and weighs almost 3 pounds (about the size of a large cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will shrink as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)