Happy New Year!

Well it has been pretty crazy around here lately, so it obviously has been awhile since I have posted. Anyway, Christmas was wonderful! We got to spend Friday night and Saturday with my family in Tulsa. And then Brian's family came to us on Sunday. I love spending time with family. Even though we don't live that far I still miss them all very much and wish we could see them more often. Anyway, we got to open presents for our little girl! It made all this so much more real. Here are a few things she got this Christmas. And people have been so generous to us in giving us things we need and handmedown clothes as well. :)

My Dad bought her this cute little giraffe!! I can't wait for her to hold it...

My Mom got me this cute frame! I put a picture from my second ultrasound in there. Of course it was love at first sight when she looked like a little blob/peanut in there at my 8 week ultrasound. The frame is white and pink which will look perfect in her nursery!

Her first pair of shoes! Brian's parents got her these cute little sandals. 

Brian's parents gave her a little doll rattle and a couple little cute outfits too! 

My friend and former co-worker gave us this. It is "baby's first keepsake ornament." It is white and light pink also, which is why I think I will hang it up on the wall in her nursery! I am looking forward to being able to write her name and DOB on there! :)

Here is a picture of my sweet Marlon with one of his new toys from Brian's sister! He had a good time opening presents as well! He got quite a few new toys and some more doggy treats which he loves. I love this little dog and I think he is going to love our little girl too. Even though I am sure he will be slightly jealous I think he will be quite protective of her as well. 

I really want to be more crafty. I have a few projects I want to do for the nursery! But here is an 'H' I deco podged to hang up in our kitchen. It is still a work in progress - a few places I need to patch up. 

Also the Tuesday before Christmas I hit the half way mark of pregnancy!! Can you believe it? Already half way there. How time flies. There is still so much to do to get ready. We have been working on clearing out the nursery again this weekend. It is getting pretty bare in there now. We plan to get paint real soon and get it all painted and ready to move furniture in there. We just need to get the furniture to put in there now...

I mention this below in my questionnaire, but I got to see her move on the outside for the first time this morning. She was moving around a ton, so I wawatching and trying to feel her and my stomach moved - it was pretty noticeable. Unfortunately Brian was still in bed, so he did not get to see it this time, but there will be more time to come! Brian did get to feel her earlier today though - it is getting a lot stronger and more noticeable now. Loving it!!

Here is the weekly questionnaire:

How far along? 22 weeks tomorrow

Total weight gain: 16 pounds...

Maternity clothes? Yep! 

Stretch marks? Not that I can tell so far...just my veins are really noticeable still. 

Sleep: It is getting better at times. I had major heartburn the other night that lasted 2 full days. It was rough and made it very difficult to sleep, but I made it through!

Best moment this week: I saw her move this morning!! First time that I have been able to actually see her movement from the outside. It was so amazing!

Miss Anything? Still want to go running - looking forward to doing this after I have her to help shed the baby weight!

Movement: Yes! Brian really felt her this morning - she has been moving around lots already today. 

Food cravings: Still craving sweet stuff. Other than that nothing specific. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing in particular. Usually I feel this way if I eat too much at one time. 

Gender: Girl!

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: Just heartburn that time. 

Belly Button in or out? It is pretty much flat right now. 

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: HAPPY!  

Looking forward to: Getting the nursery painted!

Well I will leave you with my 'almost 22 weeks' picture!

Happy New Year everyone!! Here's to a new year that will be full of wonderful changes and new adventures!

19 weeks

It has been a pretty good week so far. Saturday I met a friend at PetsMart and we got our dogs pictures with Santa! I forgot to scan the picture to myself so that I could upload it. I will post the picture later though. It was fun! Poor Marlon was scared though, so he sat on my lap while I sat next to Santa. In the meantime, here is a picture of him all snuggled up in the blanket. 

Not too much to update on this week. I have my next appointment Thursday, so I am looking forward to that. This should be the appointment when she begins to measure my belly and all that fun stuff. And as always I get to hear the heartbeat - always love that moment. She just moved! :) Feeling movement is so cool. It is really weird though at the same time. Every once in a while I jump because it startles me so much. Feeling the movement makes it all the more real - that this is really happening. I am really pregnant. Honestly, sometimes it scares me too. I begin to worry about labor and delivery and I wonder about what kinds of pains will I endure in the weeks to come. I have read that a lot of women start to have mixed emotions during this point. And I am still just as excited, just nervous about how I am going to handle the labor part of it. But with the Lord's help I will get through it. I am still just so thankful that the Lord has blessed us in this way - truly a miracle and that miracle is growing inside of me. How crazy is that?! Pregnancy is one of those things that you just can't fathom (How is it hat I have a human growing in side of me?!). Like trying to figure out the concept of eternity... 

I found a crib online at Target that I like!! It is crib/changing table/drawers all in one!! Then one side of the crib can be removed and it turns into a toddler bed. Then you can take it apart and it is a twin bed with a night stand/drawers. Anyway, I like the idea and look of it from just looking at the website. Still need to shop around though and make sure I find one that will work best and for the best deal! But having a crib, drawers, and changing table all in one would save so much space in her room. That room is not that big, and I was afraid we wouldn't have room for all that plus the glider that I will eventually put in there. So with something like this, it would leave lots more room for other things. 

Here is the weekly questionnaire:

How far along? 19 Weeks

Total weight gain: Not sure...will find out Thursday. I don't think I want to know though.  :)

Maternity clothes? Yes!

Stretch marks? Not that I can tell so far...just my veins are really noticeable. 

Sleep: Still a hit or miss on this one. Just depends on the night.

Best moment this week: Sunday night she moved a TON and I really enjoyed it. And today at work, I felt her moving, so I put my hand on my belly to see if I could feel it, and I did! It felt like a little wave. 

Miss Anything? Still want to go running

Movement: Here and there. Getting a little stronger though when I do feel it. 

Food cravings: Cuties (I eat a couple a day) and chocolate. I constantly want something sweet.

Anything making you queasy or sick: The sewage smell that was wafting in the bathroom at work on Monday

Gender: Girl!

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: I am having what they call Round Ligament Pain. A sign of my uterus growing even more. 

Belly Button in or out? In 

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: HAPPY! Only moody when I am driving. 

Looking forward to: Doctor appointment Thursday. I will get to hear the heartbeat again and this is the week my doctor will start measuring my uterus and all that fun stuff! 

19 week picture:

Random Pregnancy Questionnaire

I actually saw this on Pintrest (it is someone's blog I guess) and thought it would be kind of fun! I will just answer this one up until this point, then I think I will answer them accordingly for each weekly update!

How far along? 18 Weeks

Total weight gain: 10lbs (I don't think I have ever weighed this much in my life...it is tiring!)

Maternity clothes? Just bought some last Friday! I have stretchy black dress pants (not maternity, but work perfect). I did buy a few maternity tops as well because a lot of my tops are getting too small!

Stretch marks? Not that I can tell so far...

Sleep: It's a hit or miss. Some nights I sleep great. Other nights I wake up and my hips and back hurt, so I end up sleeping the rest of the night propped/sitting up on my pillows. And I usually have to pee at least once during the night.

Best moment this week: Brian thinks he felt her move in there this week. And we decided on colors for the nursery and possibly a name...

Miss Anything? Sometime I miss going for a run

Movement: Here and there. I love it!!

Food cravings: sweets for sure! Up until this point, I have craved pizza, hot dogs, and apples. And sometimes I just randomly get in the mood for whatever I may have seen that day. But lately I want chocolate quite a bit...not a good craving to have!

Anything making you queasy or sick: The smell of cigarette smoke and egg nog. Yuck!

Gender: Girl!!!!!

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: Headaches here lately, but they are getting much better. I feel pain in my rib sometimes too, but sitting up nice and straight helps that.

Belly Button in or out? in still - but starting to get tighter.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: HAPPY!

Looking forward to: Christmas! So excited to see and spend time with family and by that time I will be half way through my pregnancy and of course more things to look forward to by then!! :)

Preparations

Well I am 18 weeks along - almost half way already! Oh how time flies...

I have begun getting the nursery room cleared. I removed everything from the closet and bought cute little hangers to hang her clothes on as she gets them. Speaking of clothes, I bought a couple onsies for her the other day! They are too cute and I cannot wait to hold her in these. Also speaking of clothes, I am going to have a serious problem. I knew this would happen when I had a baby especially if it was a girl. Everything is just so darn cute - I want to buy it all!! Must. Learn. Discipline.

So cute!!

Here is a closer look. The one has a green butterfly and the other has an adorable baby elephant. 

Anyway, so the closet is cleared out, now to just get rid of all the furniture and everything else in that room since we won't have any room for it anywhere else. I believe we have also decided on colors for the nursery - which makes me even more anxious to clear the room so we can paint and buy furniture to put in there. I am thinking white furniture would go really well with our colors...We plan to do the walls in a minty green color and then do light pink and white accents. I plan to sew the curtains, probably pink. Brian wants to paint a mural or some kind of design on the wall, so now we just need to figure out what designs we want to incorporate with these colors. I am so excited though!!
And I think we have settled on a name. However, this name will be revealed at a later date...

I finally bought some maternity clothes. I was getting annoyed that I had one pair of pants to wear to work and one pair of jeans. And many of my tops are getting too small as well. I went to a consignment shop by my work on Friday and bought a pair of work pants, pair of jeans (yes with the maternity belly cloth covering and all), and 2 tops. Maternity clothes are awesome by the way! So comfortable - I will be sad when I can't wear them anymore! It's so great to not have to worry about buttons and zippers.

On another note - We got a new roof last Thursday. Ours got messed up in the hail storm a few months ago and we finally got it all fixed. I had to take the day off to be home - it was nice to have a day off form work to just relax at home. It was loud most of the day, but I was able to tune it out every once in a while. Poor Marlon was not a fan of the new roof though. Another reason I am glad I was home, I would have felt bad if he was this scared and home all by himself. He kept his ears back and shivered for a while, then he decided to go sit in his crate (which he only does if he thinks he is in trouble or if he is nervous or scared). He switched off from hiding in his crate to curling up in the corner of the living room. Here is a picture:

So sad. 

We got all of our Christmas decorations up!! I love decorating for Christmas. Brian did such a great job on the tree too! I let him take on the task of putting the tree up and decorating it. 

Well, here is a picture of my growing belly at 18 weeks 1 day. My t-shirts are having to stretch a little more each day! Oh and ignore the 'OU' on my shirt - this is just a sleep shirt. Figure I should have at least one OU shirt since I do live in Norman. I am an OSU fan! Go pokes! I did enjoy a pretty amazing game this last Saturday too! I just wish they could have made it to the BCS Championship game, but that's okay..maybe next time!

Keep growing and moving around in there baby!! Can't wait until your movements are more noticeable and your Daddy can feel you moving around too. So thankful for you - you are truly a blessing from the Lord!

Love you baby girl!!