*This post was written on May 2nd*

Howdyyy! Continuing on recapping the end of April into May. Usually this time of year is known as something called Spring, but Ohio doesn’t play by the rules, and our winter continued with some serious snowfall on April 19th. Can ya believe it?

April 20th, baby girl really kicked out her foot & I was able to capture it in a photo! Isn’t that wild to see?!

April 22nd, I met up with Clair at The Town Tavern in Fairlawn. Neither of us had been before, so we figured it be fun to try out somewhere new together.

We started out with their soft pretzel to share as an appetizer.

For my main meal, I got a build your own bowl, with just about every ingredient option listed. Tons of veggies, corn, shrimp, etc. Oh man oh man was it good. I did not leave a bite behind. 

It was so good to see her & catch up. We talk on the phone pretty much every day, if not every other, but it is just is the best when we can find time to meet in person.

April 23rd, we took Moose out to Oak Hill again. It’s a little further of a drive than the usual bike & hike trail, but it’s usually less crowded, and we don’t have to worry about bikers sneaking up on us.

After our walk, we took Moose for the first time to Bow Wow Beach. This is easily our new favorite place to take him! It’s a beach strictly for dogs. Moose had the absolute time of his life, and it was his first time in the water (besides baths, which he HATES). Running around in the open water was a different story- he was loving every second. It was fun for us too because we don’t actually get to see him interact much with the dogs when he is at his dog daycare, besides the photos we get from Marie & the video stream from Camp Bow Wow. He was so good with all the other pups! Also, it was adorable- he’d play for a while then come running back to us to make sure we were still there and then run back to his friends. Melted my heart! This place is great.

When we got home, I made us some caprese & egg toasts for lunch. I have been on a caprese kick lately- I will make caprese avocado toast or caprese over eggs on toast most days of the week!

Moose was a sleepy sleepy boy that whole afternoon. Bow Wow Beach wore. him. out. He also has been snuggling up to my bump more often & has been even more cuddly in general (which I didn’t know was possible!)- I really think he knows she’s in there!

That afternoon, we knocked out assembling the stroller & getting the car seat bases installed. I was having no patience with the stroller assembly- but thankfully DJ figured it out. It was a relief to have all that done!

We went on a second walk that evening and pretty much had the hike and bike trail to ourselves which was peaceful.

We stopped by Culver’s after- I had some cheese curds & DJ had one of their mixers. Their mixers are amazing!

On April 24th, I met with Rachel at Creekside Restaurant for brunch. I think my taste buds have morphed into DJ’s through this pregnancy- I ordered chicken & waffles for my main meal, and it was HEAVENLY.

Rachel ordered their avocado spud- a stuffed potato with all kinds of delicious fixin’s and eggs!

We have to go back here because there is so much on the menu I want to try.

Last get together before the baby arrives! It was so stinkin’ good to see Rach. We have been both extra busy lately, it’s been tough to find a time to meet, so this worked out beautifully.

Clearly I need some sunshine 😂.

We took Moose back to Bow Wow that afternoon for round 2!

Also, want to see something funny? We noticed once all the snow melted, our grass was so much greener than our neighbors’. I think Moose may have been fertilizing our yard all winter without us realizing, lol. Maybe our neighbor will be asking him to come back over! 😜

April 25th I took Moosey out on another walk. Don’t let his cuteness fool ya- he was a rascal this day! His Dad was getting a play-by-play at work about all his shenanigans.

In all seriousness, people have said how a puppy is great training for a baby, and I totally understand why. I am so grateful to Moose for all he has taught me about myself in such a short period of time. I have identified things I will need to work on as a mom just through raising him. He’s taught me to be more flexible, more patient, to be more in the moment and to treasure each day we have together. I have times where I wish I had been a bit more relaxed and slow to frustration during his early puppy days- as it was only a phase. I look at pictures of him so little, and feel like I blinked and he grew up. I know in some sense it may feel that way with our baby. So because of Moose, I want to be super present and not miss a beat of my baby being a baby, even if that means not checking things off on my to-do list or letting the laundry pile up for a few days. I understand the hard days are going to go by fast, and to cherish each one of them no matter how hard they are. I realize he feeds off my energy, and how important it is to check myself so a bad day doesn’t wear off on those around me, most of all my child. He’s also taught me what it is to have pure joy through caring, nurturing and loving someone totally dependent on you. Seeing him happy makes me so darn happy- I can only imagine that will be magnified with our baby <3. I don’t know that I would have this perspective without Moose. We love that little, not so little, guy so much & are very thankful for him! I know he’ll be the best big brother.

Ok wiping away my dramatic pregnancy tears as I get back to the recapping..

I have started a new breakfast kick with oatmeal, PB & dates. Dates are rumored to have some benefits for labor. I figured why the heck not give it a go, especially because I do find them tasty.

April 26th I got a prenatal massage! I have been saving a birthday gift for the third trimester massage, and it was a great treat :). That evening was an OB appt. But after I NEEDED a burger instead of Corelife. I was so ravenous I didn’t even get a picture- but we got them from BurgerFi. D-E-lish!

Marie sent us this adorable picture of Moose and Captain (her dog) on April 27th. I love that Moose gets so much exposure to little dogs at her place, especially given how big he is (and he’s still growing)- he’s sooo good & knows to be more gentle with small pups. We got to see that at Bow Wow Beach!

That evening we got our car seat bases inspected! All good to go!

April 28th I had a serious craving for Jet’s pizza. Pizza is one of those things I would have thought I’d crave a lot in pregnancy, but I really have only craved it once or twice. I ordered mushroom & pineapple (which again, sounds so gross- but something about this third trimester is making me want all the savory and sweet combinations) & DJ had a meat lovers. I ordered their turbo crust for the first time with garlic, romano cheese and butter- and I don’t think I’ll ever go back to regular! It was a game changer.

That evening, we received a book in the mail from where we stayed for our Babymoon. As part of the Babymoon package, you get the book Good Night Charleston for your baby- but they had them backordered when we were there. We were so excited when this came in & we were surprised how closely the book mirrored everything we did while we were there! Very special.

And here’s a pic of Moose being a cuddle bug with my stomach again.

On Friday, April 29th, I stopped by Krieger’s, a local market, for groceries for the first time. I had never been here before even though it’s super close to where we live. Well, I am kicking myself for not coming here sooner, because I’m obsessed! It has amazing options & great healthy finds that you can’t always find elsewhere. I will be back!

That evening was a wild one! I started having contractions late in the evening as I was falling asleep. I thought they were just intense Braxton Hicks at first, but they started getting closer and closer together and more intense, eventually I couldn’t sleep because of them. I woke DJ up to let him know I thought I may be going into labor. We started timing them, and they were about 10 mins apart, each about 50 seconds to a minute and more intense than the usual Braxton Hicks. A couple hours passed, and baby was not being active at all. I also started shaking- more than usual from just being cold. To be safe, we called my OB and drove to L & D triage around 2 AM. When we got in, and I was hooked up to the monitor, she finally started moving again & the shaking subsided. My contractions continued to get closer together and the resident said on the monitor they were 4-5 mins apart. She said she would monitor me for an hour, and if I didn’t continue to dilate then we would head home, but there was a chance this was the real deal. Woah. The contractions did start subsiding about 30 mins in, and by the hour mark I hadn’t dilated anymore, so we were heading out the door. Basically, they said it was latent labor. They estimated she will be coming earlier than her due date (May 17th), and that she could make her arrival any time in the next couple days to week(s). They advised these types of contractions may continue on and off until then. Thankfully, the contractions continued to subside over the next few days- and writing this now on Monday the 2nd, I haven’t had any since last evening. I just hope I don’t have them when I work this week, because that would be awfully distracting for me and the patients, lol!  Anyway, the whole ordeal was exhausting, a bit nerve-wracking and surprising given I was 37 weeks- but at the end of it, it made me all the more excited to meet our girl. I cannot WAIT!

This picture was after the night in L & D triage. I think Moose could tell we were pretty exhausted. He cuddled right up to me and my stomach <3.

That Saturday, April 30th, we took it super easy. I just lounged on the couch while working on blog posts and did light chores around the house. We did have an electric fence training session in the afternoon. We can’t install an actual fence, so this seemed like the best alternative. So far Moose is doing very well with the training! I love the company we are going with too. This will be great because it’ll give Moose way more space to roam depth wise in our yard while preventing him from going sideways into our neighbors’ yards. One more training to go next week!

I was so extra hungry that day, and for dinner I ordered a feast from Aladdin’s. Eventually I gotta cool it with the Door Dash, but I’m soaking up the pregnancy excuse for now, haha.

On Sunday, May 1st, I was having far fewer contractions and decided to see if I could do a walk with DJ and Moose. I made it 3.5 miles without any contractions, and it felt amazing. We also took Moose to Bow Wow Beach. It was a productive day & now we are really just waiting for baby girl to make her grand entrance!

And I want to leave you with just some things that Moose has been doing that crack us up.

First up, he has decided he wants to face the opposite direction while riding in the car now. To each their own.

He also was walking around our townhouse with his bone like this. That can’t be comfortable how high up in his mouth he has it?! 😂

Like, why? I do not understand. Hahah.

Him and his sleeping also make us laugh so much.

Last, we find it so funny when we give him a bone how wide his eyes always get 😂

Thanks for listening to my rambles! I was definitely in my feels for this one. Maybe next time I write a recap it will be with our baby girl in our arms! Time will tell!

Question for you: 

• What’s your favorite grocery store?

<3,

Mackenzie