10 Things Tuesday

A couple of friends regularly do a "10 Things Tuesday"post in which they list 10 things they are thankful for that week. I thought it especially pertinent this week, as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving.

1. My husband. As much as he has been known to annoy and lo, even frustrate and irritate me, there is still no one else I would rather spend my life with. He loves me, and I have never once doubted or questioned that. Plus, he's pretty cute!

2. Friends. I have the best friends anyone could ever ask for. We are quite a diverse group of folks, which makes for fun times and great memories. Even the friends that I don't get to see as much, you'd never know that time has passed when we do get to visit.

3. Baby showers! I had my first shower last week, given by my UCA co-workers. It was a great shower, and I got lots of good stuff to get us started. My super terrific Grad Assisistant gave us a diaper bag and made us a too cute fleece blanket.

4. Pumpkin. I love all things pumpkin, and I really love that fall is the time when everyone else realizes how great pumpkin is and makes more desserts and puts it on sale (10 for $10 at Kroger!). Plus, Vitamin A is good for me, so I can eat as much of pumpkin as I want!

5. My nieces and nephews. What a sweet group of kiddos! They are growing up way too fast, and I can only hope they know how much Aunt Dawn loves them.

6. Being pregnant. I am privileged to be a part of the creation of life, and am humbled to think that God chose us to partner with him in bringing this amazing boy into the world.

7. Chocolate. I can't mention pumpkin and forget about chocolate! It makes me happy.

8. Exercise. I am very thankful for the fact that I have been able to keep up the same exercise schedule, because I know that is helping me keep my weight under control, and is why I still feel so good. Plus, our instructor 2 days per week was pregnant this time last year, and brings me a little something every week as her baby outgrows things.

9. My parents. I couldn't ask for better. They love me, they love Chad, they have raised me in the church and are great examples of marriage and parenting for us.

10. Smiles. I love that I walk into work every morning and am greeted with multiple smiles and "Good Morning!"s. I'm thankful that I can give a smile to someone and feel better for it.

Belly shot below! This was taken 2 weeks ago, at 22 weeks. I'm a little slow getting them uploaded, so they'll probably always be late. I go for my 24 week appointment this afternoon. So far everything is great! Andrew is turning into quite the wiggleworm lately, and prefers to use my bladder as a trampoline. It's such a comforting feeling to be able to experience his movements as he grows!

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made"

Sorry this is so small, it was hard to get it to upload right. Ain't he purty?

Below is the belly shot I promised (and warned you about). This was taken at 18 weeks, so I'm about 2 weeks bigger now.

Blessed

For those of you who don't know already, the little angel that chose us to be his parents just happens to be a little boy! A dirt and bugs, rough and tumble, sports and cars boy! As my friend Dawn said when she found out her little one was a boy, "What am I doing to do with a BOY?" Luckily, I've had two precious nephews and a host of other little boy buddies to give me plenty of practice. There's nothing like a momma's boy! I should know, I married one. And when they have a good momma, you can't ask for anything better. I just hope and pray my angel turns out half as great as his daddy, quirks and all.

After we opened the "envelope" (aka napkin note) on Thursday and started calling people to tell them our news, it hit me just how blessed we really are. Between the four of us, we made 10 calls in the first 5 minutes. My phone went dead from making calls, because there were so many people waiting to hear our news. Later that evening we viewed the ultrasound video with some friends, and almost got teary seeing them be excited over it. This sweet boy already has so many people that love him and are as anxious to meet him as we are. Our "family" continues to grow, and for that I am truly thankful.

This weekend we visited my brother and sister in law and the kiddos. Both of my nephews have a birthday in October, so this was a combo visit. We had a lot of fun, and even decorated some pumpkins (or "punks", as Hannah calls them). Of course, forgetful Aunt Dawn didn't remember to bring her camera, so I can't share with you their interesting creations. I also got to visit with my friend Ashley, and her daughter Ella, who is so much fun!

I hit the halfway mark tomorrow, 20 weeks! I'm showing now, and finding it even more difficult for clothes to fit. It's weird to think my belly will get so much bigger, because its hard as a rock and seems at its limit now. Amazing how our bodies know just how to handle all these changes.
The baby's room is cleaned out now, and will soon get a fresh coat of paint and shiny new furniture. We make all these preparations, but can we ever really be "ready" for this? I'm praying we're up to the challenge, because I know this darlin' will turn our world upside down in the best way possible!

Oh My Word, I am Cranky!

Wow, hormones have definitely set in full force! So far today, I have snapped at several people (some for good reason, some just because I was annoyed, one was my boss), had my feelings hurt by something that should have rolled off, and nearly been in tears multiple times. NOT myself, by any stretch of the imagination. Oh what a lucky man I get to go home to tonight!

Other than the highly volatile and increasingly unmanageable emotional state, I feel great! My belly seems to have just popped right out there, so I am officially down to 2 pairs of pants for work. Even the safety pinning does me no good anymore, as the zipper won't go up enough to be decent under my shirts. You'd think I'd be excited about the fact that I am forced to spend money on clothing, but I am still at a weird point where nothing fits quite like it should. My sweet friend Mary did buy me a few new tops to wear, so I don't feel quite as repetitive with my wardrobe.

I've been in the mood to cook a lot lately (when I can actually remember the names of the recipes), but am having some trouble with my leg going to sleep when I stand too long. A weird and annoying feeling, but I am trying to manage it with the help of my chiropractor aka sister-in-law. Speaking of the memory thing (wasn't I?), I sat down to plan menus for Chad for the next couple of weeks, and couldn' t for the life of me remember what I cook or what he likes to eat! Names of recipes simply were lost in the fog that has become my pregnancy brain. Poor thing, he may be stuck eating nachos for the next 5 months.

I still haven't gained a lot of weight, which is good for my super sensitive-I know I'm getting some eye rolls-afraid of gaining weight-self, but I have read that I should gain 10-14 pounds in my second trimester, which freaks me out tremendously. I know I know, I'm growing another human inside me, but it's still hard for a weirdo like me who has never had to "worry" about it. It's hard this week to eat as much as I need or as much as I want to though. I'm strangely full a lot of the time, and just don't want much.

For my good friend and new mommy Dawn, I promise I will post belly shots soon! For the rest of you, be warned! I am posting belly shots soon!

17 weeks and counting!

It's Been Too Long

I shouldn't have waited this long to do another post because now I can't remember anything I was going to talk about!

We are still slowly but surely cleaning out the house to make room for the baby. It seems that we are selling everything we own, but we are replacing most of the items with smaller, similar stuff. We are almost to the point where we can get everything out of Chad's office, which means then we can go pick out furniture!

I still don't "feel" pregnant yet, though I don't really know what that is supposed to feel like. My belly is growing and making it difficult to wear regular clothes without the assistance of a safety pin, but maternity clothes are still too big.

I had my second doctor's appointment last week, and everything is perfect. I even got to hear the heartbeat, which was very surreal. I wish I had thought to call Chad so he could have heard it, but I wasn't quite thinking straight. We decided (okay, I caved) to find out the sex of the baby when we go to the hospital for our big ultrasound. We have both invited our moms to come along, and we plan to have them write it down and put it in an envelope, for us to share later. I really don't have a feeling as to what Peanut is one way or the other. I do hope I am able to feel the baby move by then.

It hit me the other day that God chose us specifically to be the parents to this angel. It's a very humbling thought to be reminded that He knows our child already and that He is preparing us to be the parents that He calls us to be. It's an amazingly scary thing to think of us as being responsible for another human life, but we already love this baby so much that it makes it a little less scary. We were watching a movie the other night with a story line involving a very smart mouthed teenage girl, and we both looked at each other and said "What have we done? Please don't ever come out and be like that, Peanut!".

It's an amazing journey! Pray for us!

13 Weeks

I'm starting to feel like a real person again! The nausea is pretty much all gone, except for a few foods and smells that still set me off. But, in its place, I have developed a pretty mean head cold. Sunday was lovely, complete with nose bleeds, zero air flow through my nose, and that yucky tunnel feeling in my ears. I am much better today, still with symptoms and a weird voice, but feeling good.
We are in the process of cleaning our and rearranging closets in order to then pack up some things to go to the attic and clean everything out of what is now the office to make way for baby. You never realize how small your house is, until you need an empty room! We're working on downsizing a few things, but it's just a long tedious process that required too much decision making! I'm trying to not buy anything until the room is clear, but I'm going to a Rhea Lana presale tonight, so we'll see if I stick to that!

Pregnancy so far...

As of yesterday, I am 12 weeks pregnant. So far, I have had what I assume to be a fairly normal pregnancy. I started experiencing extreme and constant nausea around week 6, and it seems to be (knock on wood) pretty much over now. I never knew that my favorite thing, food and cooking, could become so uninteresting and just plain sickening to me. I'm still not really able to sit down and look through my cookbooks to plan menus just yet, which has resulted in my poor husband having to fend for himself more than I would like.

I had my first doctor's appointment last week, and everything looked perfect! A good, strong heartbeat, per the MD. We only did the ultrasound this visit; the next one will be an exam and some tests, I think. I've only gained 1-2 pounds so far, but I have more "pooch" than I thought I would at this point. My pants are feeling a little tighter than I would like, especially since I have nothing else to wear at this point! I cut down my workout schedule a little at the beginning just because I didn't feel good, but now I'm back up to 3-4 days per week, doing the same stuff as I was before. Hopefully this will help me not gain too much weight and keep me nice and healthy for the delivery. It's still a really strange and wonderful feeling to know that there is a little person inside of me, growing and getting bigger everyday, when I still can't feel it.

I've had an amazing reaction from everyone we have told so far. We caused quite a scene at church, and the ladies at work keep calling me "little momma" and check everything I am eating. We're truly so blessed!

Are We Really All That Interesting??

My sweet friend, Ashley, has talked me into starting a blog. Chad and I are expecting our first child, thus far known simply as "Peanut" in March, so mostly this blog will be about my pregnancy and our experiences over the next several months as we prepare for our new arrival. Who knows, maybe we'll even do something fun that someone else will care to read about! This is our first picture of Peanut, taken at our first doctor's visit last week. I am about 11 weeks pregnant, with a due date of March 17.