Life lately!

So a little back story for you... Growing up, I had this friend that I met when I was 3 years old at Ms. Dixie's School of dance. We quickly became great friends and this continued on throughout high school and on into college. She was in my wedding and she was one of the first people I called when we started telling people that we were expecting. Unfortunately for me (and lucky for her), she is ALL the way in Montana working on her PhD right now. I haven't seen her in a while so, Amy G., you'd better be down for Thanksgiving AND Christmas this year! =) Needless to say, I went to my mailbox and I had the biggest surprise today! The CUTEST little outfit for Baby E (name to be announced tomorrow after our gender confirmation ultrasound!). Now, I don't really want to think about college yet... be still my heart... but if she wants to go to Montana State one day, she will have already had an introduction into their school spirit. :)

Thanks so much Amy G (a link to her cute blog)! Can't wait to see it on the little one! I'll be sure and take a picture of her in it and send it to you!

In other news, I had my second appointment with my OB yesterday. It went great! She found Baby E's heartbeat right away and it was in the 150s. Can't wait till tomorrow so we can see her on the screen and confirm that she is, in fact, a girl.

I told myself that I wasn't going to post any pictures of the bedding until we had the room set up, but I can't resist posting the picture from Pot.tery Ba.rn's website. Our crib isn't white, but the scheme of the room is definitely what we're going for. We picked up a sample of yellow paint over the weekend to test (we're notorious for painting a room and then deciding we hate the color, so we decided to play it safe this time), and it matches perfectly! Now we just need to go back and get the full gallon so Alan can get started! Without further ado, here it is...

What do you guys think? And if you hate it, don't tell me, please. Haha. 

Stay tuned for the name reveal for Baby E and a potential reveal of a new hairstyle. I'm debating on whether or not to cut my hair... It's been two years since I've had more than a trim and I'm more than ready for a change! I just don't know if I can go through with it.

16 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights







How far along? 16 weeks and 2 days






Baby's size? Baby E is the size of an turnip - 5 inches and 5 ounces

 

Weight Gain? Down 4 still



Maternity clothes? Definitely in pants, I've worn some tops for fun, but it isn't necessary yet. Dresses and everything else still in normal clothes

 

Stretch marks? Nope






Belly button in or out? In, and I doubt it pops, but I could be wrong.






Sleep? Sleeping is ok. I wake up a lot to either go to the bathroom or change positions. Even though I have a hard time going to sleep, when I wake up, I can go back to sleep almost instantaneously.






Foods I am loving? Pizza! Cereal, still. McAllister's potato soup in a bread bowl






Foods I am hating? Nothing really, but lately I haven't been liking reheated meat. It has a funny texture that I haven't noticed before, even when it is smothered in cheese, sauce, and noodles like lasagna.






Best moment this week? Finding out it's a girl and buying bedding and paint!! And traveling to see family over the weekend.






Movement? Not yet.






Symptoms? The occasional bout of nausea (every 3-5 days, still), still really sleepy, going to the bathroom a TON more than normal






Gender? GIRL!!






What I miss? What I miss is nothing in comparison to being pregnant. :)






What I'm looking forward to? Alan painting the nursery and then getting the crib and dresser from T-town in October so we can get the room set up.






Weekly Wisdom: Never ever leave the house without snacks and water.






Milestone: Past the 4 month mark!






Emotions: Nothing major, just weepy over silly things, like TV shows.

It's a...

Well, I'm sure that the few people that read this blog have already seen the news on face.book, but if there is a chance that one of you hasn't, I figured I'd better clue you in on the GREAT news!!
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GIRL!!!

We are beyond thrilled, and Alan, my mom, and my sister all said... "I told you so!" They all 'knew' this baby was a girl, and while I was hoping for a girl, I honestly had NO clue! We had already decided on names for both a boy and girl, so now I've just got to figure out how to spell it. Once that is set in stone, I'll let the whole world know the name of our precious baby girl! 

Now on to the story about the genetics center... They said we'd know the results in 7-10 days, well since day 6 (impatient a little?) I've been calling a couple of times a day. Now, to show you how crazy this is, you dial the 1-800 number, then enter an ID number, press *,1, and then entire your "designated number," which they told me was MY cell phone number (they even wrote in the last 4 digits). Yesterday was day 10, and I was not in a good mood all day because I just wanted to know the results of the genetics tests, not to mention the sex of our baby. So when Alan arrived home, I had him call just to make sure that I wasn't messing anything up. Well, the same happens to him - it tells him the results aren't available yet. In a stroke of genius, he decided to call again, using HIS cell phone number instead. Lo and behold, it worked! So our message had probably been ready for days, they just told me the wrong number to use... Haha.

Well, you know the results of the "Jack or Jill?" gender determination (a girl!!!), but the other results were great, as well! We have less than a 1 in 10,000 chance of having a baby with Down's Syndrome, Trisomy 13, and Trisomy 18. Also, I am not a carrier for Cystic Fibrosis, which is another blessing! All in all, great results!

Now, you know the whole story on how we figured out that "it" is actually a "she!" Stay tuned for the announcement of the name!! Can't wait to let the whole world know!!

15 weeks, gardening, and baking!

Well, as of Saturday, I am 15 weeks! It's crazy to think that in 25 weeks we will have a baby in the house! About a month until we actually get the crib transported from my parents house to our house! And, pending the cost, about a month until we get to go pick out the fabrics for our bedding. If it's way to expensive, we'll be getting something from Pottery Barn... I think... I already have two sets picked out that I like. :)

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 15 weeks and 2 days

Baby's size? Baby L is the size of an avocado - 4 to 5 inches and 3 to 5 ounces


Weight Gain? Down 4, but up one from last week

Maternity clothes? Definitely in pants, I've worn some tops for fun, but it isn't necessary yet. Dresses and everything else still in normal clothes

Stretch marks? Nope 

Belly button in or out? In, and I doubt it pops, but I could be wrong.

Sleep? Sleeping is ok. I wake up a lot to either go to the bathroom or change positions. Even though I have a hard time going to sleep, when I wake up, I can go back to sleep almost instantaneously. 

Foods I am loving? Cereal, which is totally not me! Honeycrisp apples, pears, really any fruit, Mike and Ike (the tropical and berry are my favorites), Cherry Coke (but I don't drink those too often), the Halloween pumpkins that are pure sugar

Foods I am hating? Nothing really, but lately I haven't been liking reheated meat. It has a funny texture that I haven't noticed before, even when it is smothered in cheese, sauce, and noodles like lasagna. 

Best moment this week? Seeing and feeling Brayden move like crazy and seeing the Hubby's face light up as he too saw and felt the baby.

Movement? Not yet. 

Symptoms? The occasional bout of nausea, still really sleepy, going to the bathroom a TON more than normal 

Gender? Should know by TOMORROW!!!

What I miss? What I miss is nothing in comparison to being pregnant. :) 

What I'm looking forward to? Finding out if it's Baby E (girl name) or Baby D (boy  name), getting the nursery set up, and picking out the bedding. This is totally not pregnancy related, but I am also looking forward to going to my niece's birthday party this weekend!!

Weekly Wisdom: Never ever leave the house without snacks and water.

Milestone: Will be 4 months next week!!

Emotions: This week has been pretty tame, emotion wise. I have gotten really frustrated with the people that should be telling us it's a boy or girl. They said 7-10 business days, and we're at day 9 right now... They should just say 10 days, because this pregnant woman is getting ticked... haha

15 weeks 2 days!

Excuse the double chin... I got a sling in the mail and had to test it out on Gracie. 

She actually felt really snug! Now we just need to wash it and wait on 

Baby L to make his/her appearance!

Our Fall garden! Alan has expanded it since summer!

Cherry Tomato!

Bell Pepper plant

Zucchini plants

Row of Broccoli

Row of Romaine lettuce

Squash! It's already blooming!!!

Brussels sprout (we have 6 of these plants!)

Our pepper plant... Still doing good!

Alan is going to shoot me for posting this, but I know our friends in small group would just LOVE to see him baking a cake. It turned out soo yummy and all I had to do was the icing! :)

Stay tuned for the announcement of whether Baby L is a boy or girl!! We can't wait to find out!!!

Almost 14 weeks!

Well, I have to admit that I've had a hard time motivating myself to get dressed this week. Most of the time has been spent in comfy clothes reading books this week. Today, however, I decided that I needed to at least look half-way decent. :) So even though I haven't done my hair or put on make-up, at least I look like a normal person today.  Since this is the case, I decided to start the pregnancy highlights today instead of waiting to start at 14 weeks. Who knows when I'll be dressed again... haha. 

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 13 weeks 6 days

Size of baby: Baby L is the size of a lemon (about 3 inches and 1.5 oz)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Lost 5 pounds, but definitely getting somewhat of a belly :)

Maternity Clothes: I'm in maternity pants, but shirts and dresses are still normal

Gender: We find out sometime around next Thursday

Movement: Not yet

Sleep: I'm sleeping okay, just waking up several times (i.e. every other hour) to go to the bathroom or to move positions

What I miss: I don't really miss anything, but since I know I can't have much, I'm constantly thinking about caffeinated beverages (mainly sweet tea!!)

What I'm looking forward to: Some of  you might think I'm crazy, but I can't wait to actually look pregnant instead of fat in the stomach! I want to fill out my maternity tops... haha. Oh, and I can't WAIT to find out if we're having a girl or boy!!!

Cravings: It's more like what I'm not craving... Some recent cravings are Wings N' More fried pickles, french fries, and chicken tenders, Jason's Deli broccoli cheddar soup, Schlotzsky's original sandwich on jalapeño cheddar bread (anything and everything that we don't have at home...)

Symptoms: The occasional nausea, food aversions/cravings, moodiness (i.e. I'll cry over just about anything)

Best Moment this week: Going clothes shopping with my mom (even though that was last Friday I'm still going to count it), our first ultrasound and hearing the heartbeat (167 bpm)!

I hope that everyone has a great weekend! I know I'm looking forward to hanging out with the hubs for a while! :)

Furniture and more!

Well, I don't have photos of the furniture in the room, but I figured I'd left the few people that read this blog hanging for too long, so I searched for pictures online to show.

The first item of furniture that we bought was a new dresser! It is beautiful and made of solid wood and stained a rustic cherry color. Absolutely gorgeous!


And the piece of furniture that most people will be interested in is...






















wait for it......




























A CRIB! We're excited to share with you that we are expecting a little bundle of joy sometime around March 12, 2010.

To say that Alan and I were shocked would be an understatement. With thinking that I had PCOS we did not think that we would be pregnant anytime in the near future. God had other plans, though. I am currently 12 weeks along, if not a little further than that, and had my first appointment yesterday. We heard the heartbeat *thankfully there was only ONE in there!!* and my doctor said my chance of having a miscarriage have "significantly decreased." We will be scheduling our first trimester screening sometime in the next week and should actually find out the gender then, as well. The miracles of modern science, known as the "Jack or Jill?" test (more details to follow regarding the test). The ultrasound that they do will also help "firm up" our due date as my cycles have been crazy lately.

How have I been doing you ask? Well, from about week 6 to week 12 I definitely had morning sickness. It wasn't very bad until probably around week 10 when I began having a difficult time holding down food (sorry if TMI). However, week 12 has been the magic week for me because as soon as I hit it, the morning sickness has pretty much evaporated, thank the Lord! I lost 5 additional pounds, but I'm sure that now I'm on the road to gaining them back, because I'm ALWAYS hungry!

Jack or Jill?
Recently, various genetic research labs have found that the DNA of the baby floats in the mother's bloodstream. (How crazy is that?) This allows lab technicians to screen for certain conditions, as well as gender, as early as 11 weeks. It's apparently 99% accurate in regards to gender determination, so it looks like Alan and I will be lucky enough to find out what we're having in the next week or so! I just can't believe it!

Well, I think this about sums it all up. We would covet any and all prayers that you might want to say as we are embarking on this new journey. Once I can make myself look presentable enough for a photo, I'll download one and post it. :)