Week 17 - we are into Month 5!!!

Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing great!! I had a doctor's appt this AM. The good news is that the heartbeat was good and strong and the doctor said he thought the baby was doing good. The bad news is that I have gained about 10 lbs so far, and apparently I should have gained less than 4 lbs at this point! So I was told I am not allowed to gain any weight between now and my next appt (in 4 weeks)!!! He went on and on about how I am putting myself at risk for gestational diabetes (which I am already at high risk for given my family history) And here I was thinking that I was doing good with my eating habits/weight gain! BUT, the good news is that everything is going well! We return in 4 weeks to find out if it is a boy or girl!! We can't wait to find out! Unfortunately the morning sickness is still hanging around, but now I am just used to it and it is part of my daily routine!!!


PaJoe just turned 85!!! I spent a nice weekend up in NC with mom, dad and pajoe to celebrate his birthday. He is recovering well from surgery and seems to be doing as good as ever!

Hope you all have a great rest of the week!!! We can't wait to hear from you all!!

Time to Cook!!!

All of a sudden I have decided I love to cook!!! I never hated cooking before, but I only would cook when people were coming over (for instance, I enjoyed cooking when Mom, Dad, Joey and PaJoe came for Christmas) But as for the day-to-day cooking for me and Adam, no thank you! That has all recently changed! Now I love to make Mom's recipes! (and you all know what a great cook she is - her food is AWESOME!) Adam and I have been enjoying some good food! Adam sure hopes that this continues!

We are now in week 16!! At the end of this week I will officially be 4 months pregnant! Adam and I are patiently/anxiously awaiting to find out if it is a boy or girl. We have been busy cleaning out the room that will be the nursery. One thing is for sure - do NOT let me go into a store that sells baby items, I ALWAYS buy something! The other day at Target I told myself before walking in not to buy anything, but sure enough, I walked out with something! I just can't help myself! Adam and I are having a great time looking at bedding/cribs/strollers, etc. I did include a pic of my belly. It continues to grow! Oh, and as for the morning sickness - let's just say it is definitely NOT gone! The morning time is still the worst, and recently the all-day nausea has returned! But I am hanging in there (I know Adam is ready for that part to be over!!) It will all be worth it in the end!

Bailey and Peyton hanging out on the floor
My "bump"

Hope this finds you all doing well! One special request: please keep PaJoe in your thoughts and prayers for me - he is having surgery tomorrow (and his 85th birthday is right around the corner!!!) Have a great week!

Week 15!!!

Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing fabulously!!! So we are currently in the middle of week 15!!! To be exact, today is day 102 - which means 164 days to go! One thing Adam and I enjoy doing is reading our books to keep up with what is going on with the fetus. Mom gave us a GREAT book that tells you each day what is happening (we read it every night!) and Mandy gave us a week by week book that we enjoy. We know Mom enjoys us telling her what is happening, so we thought we would share some things with everyone today. So here goes:
- the fetus is about the size of a softball
- lanugo hair covers the baby's body
- ears continue to develop externally
- during week 15 the baby grows rapidly
- the baby has it's own circulation, pumped by the heart
- the placenta helps with protection, digestion, respiration, waste removal and hormone
production
- the baby is developing reflex behaviors, such as blinking, sucking and swallowing
- this week the baby's kidneys will reach their final mature position

Here we are before leaving for church on Sunday - as you can see I have a belly! I have now graduated into maternity clothes!!

Me playing on the floor with Bailey and Peyton

Me lounging in the hammock reading a book while Peyton lounges at my feet

As for me, things are going pretty good. My next MD appt isn't for another two weeks. Unfortunately the nausea is still hanging around- the morning time continues to be the worst. The good news is that I haven't dry heaved on any patients in over a week!! For those of you who gave your guess of what the sex of the baby would be - thank you! And if anybody else would like to guess, please leave us a comment! We would love to hear from all of you!

Our trip back to IN

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend. Adam and I spent three days back up in IN. The drive was horrible (it rained the WHOLE way there, and the trip back had some excitement we could have done without!) but it was nice to see friends and family again. I was fortunate enough to be able to see both of my best friends from high school (Summer and Angel). Adam and I had a wonderful dinner at Eagle's Nest with my parents and Joey - I think we spent the entire dinner laughing! We always have such a great time when we all get together. We also got the chance to see Adam's parents, brother and sister-in-law, and aunt and uncle. As always the trip flew by and it was time to leave before we knew it!

The family at Eagle's Nest!
Peyton and Bailey playing with one of their many ropes!

This was us before leaving to go drive at the Darlington track

Peyton playing in the back yard - when he sees the camera he comes running!

As for an update on me: things are going well. Unfortunately I am still sick - esp first thing in the morning and late at night when I am tired and ready to go to bed! Adam and I received a memory/keepsake baby book from my mom and one of the pages is getting family and friends to guess whether it will be a boy or girl. For those who have already told us - thank you! And for those of you haven't, we would love a comment with your guess so we can add you in the book! We will continue to keep you all updated! Have a great rest of the week!

We Are Having A Baby!!!!

Adam and I are soo excited to share with you all our big news: We are having a baby!!! We have been praying for this for months (it feels like years!) and we can finally share the good news!!! I am due on Oct 11!!! So far things have been going good. I got to hear the heartbeat yesterday!! (Adam was soo bummed that he couldn't be there - but he was at the last appt and got to see the ultrasound - it was soo cool to see the fetus and see the heartbeat) I would love to be able to report that I haven't had any morning sickness, but that would be lying! Some days I have constant nausea. But it will all be worth it in the end!!!

I need to say a special thanks to a few people. First, thank you soo much to all of my friends who have supported Adam and I along this journey and helped keep us optimistic that our time would come and we would be blessed with this miracle. Our friends kept us going!

I also have to say a big special thanks to my two friends who have known I was pregnant and have given me more support than they know - Angel and Mandy. Angel and I have been best friends forever - she is going to have a little boy in May!! Angel, all the calls (and the gift) have meant so much to me - I sure wish we lived closer to each other, but no matter the distance I know you are always there for me! And Mandy, we have only known each other for 6 months, but you have been such a great friend. Thanks for the advice, all the talks, all the support, telling Adam I am not crazy for feeling so sick so often!, the Sprite (that day you saved me - I couldn't have finished work without it!), the gifts, and of course you and Dave just being there for me and Adam. We couldn't have picked better neighbors!

And certainly I have to give a great big thank you to mom. You have always supported Adam and I through everything, and this has been no exception! We appreciate you keeping our secret for us all this time!! Thank you for letting us call at crazy hours about random things! Your advice and support has meant soo much these last couple of months. And a big thanks to you and dad for putting up with my late night breadstick cravings at the beach!!! Adam and I have loved being able to talk to you about things. And dad, can't wait for you to come paint the nursery and fix up the closet! We can't wait to see you both this weekend!

And last but not least, I definitely have to thank Adam. He has been such a great husband (he has always been great, but he has been exceptionally wonderful recently) I know it has been hard on him days that I have been too sick to do much around the house. He is great at laundry, dishes, vaccuming, dinner, etc. And I appreciate the times he has gone out to pick me up something I was craving! Not to say that at times he has wanted to let me fend for myself (his famous line became: are your legs broken??!!!), but he has done soo much for me. And it has been soo fun that he is just as excited about this baby as I am. Thank you for everthing Adam!!!

Ok, enough of me rambling! We will definitely continue to post updates!
Hope you all have a great week!!!