Life Lately...

With 7 weeks to go, sleeping is getting a bit uncomfortable. I can't seem to get comfortable as the belly is gets bigger! My clothes are becoming tighter also. I hate to get dressed or even look through my closet where my cute "skinny" clothes still hang. My wardrobe is definitely limited at this point. My feet, ankles, and fingers are starting to swell at times. I think at this point we have prepared pretty well. We have our carrier and stroller, blankets, diapers, clothes, diaper bags, etc. I have 3 more showers and hope they get here before the baby does. SO many people have told me that their babies have been 7-2 weeks early. This freaks me out!! We have talked about starting our hospital bag but havent at this point. Some say its too early but others keep asking me if I am packed so I guess I better start putting some stuff together. We had the nursery painted on Thursday night and we love it!

Our 4-D Ultrasound was a success. We got to see our beautiful baby girl and we got so many great photos and video.

We also received our bedding a couple weeks ago and I should get the monogrammed pillow this week with the babies name on it....FINLEY KATE!

31 weeks...

Our maturnity pictures are coming up on October 9th and I cannot wait! It will be fun to document this time in our lives. I have been so blessed with such an easy pregnancy. I was never sick in the beginning and my biggest complaint now is minor backpain, sore ribs, some mild cramps at times, and absolutely no way to get comfortable at night. I am extremely tired at the end of each school day. Other than that...I am good! 7 more weeks...wow how the time has FLOWN!!

21 weeks

19 Weeks

Movin' All Around!

I am definitely feeling the baby move every single day. I feel her more when I am still or lying down. Austin was able to feel her move while we were on our last beach vacation. I had just had a frappachino and I was laying down to rest. She was moving all around so I called for Austin to come and see if he could feel it. He layed his head on my belly and I kind of told him what to expect. When I felt her, I didnt tell him just to see if he could feel her without me telling him. He looked at me and said "Was that it!?" I was like YES! I go back to the doctor next Wednesday for a check up. I am feeling pretty good. I really cant complain. I can feel when my body tells me that I have done too much and I need to lay down for alittle while.

We have had so many people ask us about the babies name or if the nursery is started. We do not have a name and we need some help moving guest furniture out of the baby's room before we can even start. We are working on both so bare with us! Believe me...we are ready to choose a name and stick with it.

Its a GIRL!

We went to the doctor Thursday June 10th to hear the results...boy or girl? We were going to start our day with an early breakfast at Cracker Barrel, but after getting a call from the doctors office the day before confirming my 8:00 appointment (it was actually 8:30), we decided to head on down to Birmingham and eat somewhere closer. We were running a bit late so we stopped at McDonalds (ha!), filled up on food and CAFFEINE, and headed to the doctor. After arriving at 8:00 and waiting until 8:30, we were called back. The nurse went through all the parts of the babys body saying PERFECT after every inspection. She moves from head to toe checking the baby. As we get closer to the legs, I can tell we are both getting anxious. We see the "area" on the screen and the nurse mentions that she sees 3 white lines. OK?? That meant nothing to us! As she types in GIRLLLLL, we say are you sure its a girl? We need you to be sure! She said Yes! And added there would be more between the legs if it were a boy. She said she was "showin' it off this morning"! Haha! We were excited! Right when we left we began texting and calling people like CRAZY! It was a fun day! Now since we dont have a name yet, we can atleast call her SHE instead of IT! :)

My Journey

I am into week 16. I have noticed a small change in my body and I thought I would post some pictures. I am out of school for summer break and I have so much on my Baby To Do List. I have to clean out closets and get rid of clothes that we dont wear. This week our goal is to get the baby room cleaned out as well as the closet and be ready to decorate when we find out the sex next Thursday. Also DEEP cleaning this house is on my list. It needs it! I have been so tired these past few weeks when I get home from work that I have let our house go. I have also started my summer classes (the last 3 of my masters degree) and I know I will be busy busy with that and making sure things are in line for graduation. What a year 2010 has already been! I cant wait to see what the rest of this year has in store for us.

7 weeks

10 weeks

14 weeks

16 weeks

June 10th- Big Day!

After going to the doctor for my 12 week appointment on Thursday, they told me to come back at 17 weeks and we will find out what we're having! We will be heading back to the doctor June 10th to find out if it is a boy or girl! Hopefully we will be successful at this appointment (no legs crossed!). I will let everyone know immediately what we find out. I think this will be the most exciting day for us. You have your ideas and predictions of what you think it may be but only God knows at this point. I definitely WILL NOT be able to sleep on the 9th! Pray for a successful appointment.

Teacher Appreciation Week!

What a great week of appreciation it has been at Cullman City Primary School!! I have received the most wonderful gifts.

Monday was Treat Day- Students brought all of my favorite snacks and drinks!

Tuesday was Stock the Classroom Day- Students brought school supplies and much needed classroom must haves!

Wednesday was Flower Day- Students brought flowers and plants! My class also made me a vase with painted flowers on it made out of their thumbprints.

Thursday was Baby Day- Students brought all kinds of baby items! My students also made me a "Baby Talk" book. It was filled with interviews from each child describing in their own words MY new little baby...such as its hair color, weight, length, who it will look like, names if its a boy or if it is a girl, their predictions-boy or girl, warnings to the child of what things make me mad (such as not walking in a straight line or talking while I am talking) and happy (such as listening, not crying, using their best handwriting,etc.) It will be a book our family will treasure for years to come! :)

Friday was Surprise Day- Students brought in a "surprise me"gift!

Today we will end our appreciation week with a teacher luncheon (NO KIDS!). I have really enjoyed this group of parents and I appreciate them a million times more than they will ever know.

Partners in Pregnancy

So a few weeks ago, Austin and I learned that Matt and Jamie Dellinger are also expecting their first baby a few weeks after ours will be due. We are so excited to be going through this with such close friends. This was such exciting news!! It was extremely exciting news for Austin. Austin and Matt have been friends forever and it is really a friendship that he respects and cherishes. When he found out, all he could say was "This is great...this is great!!" Jamie and I have had the opportunity to share stories (good and bad!) We have been able to relate to each other and ask questions. It has been wonderful! We are so excited to be on this journey with such wonderful friends!!

11 weeks and the word is out!

So this is my 11th week and my back is killing me (Already??)! It is so painful that it takes my breath away at times. I'm going to the doctor next week and I am going to ask them what the deal is. Some people I tell say it happened to them but it was WAY later and others are like you need to call your doctor NOW! If you know me well, you know I am NOT a doctor goer. Its not the doctor part or what they might do it's just the taking time out of my day to see someone for 15 mins or I could be there for hours. Just hate going to the doctor! But if my back is the only thing I have to complain about I guess I'm doing pretty good. I haven't been sick at all so I guess Ill take the severe back pain over vomiting anyday!

I decided to tell my Kindergarten students the news on Monday the 26th. They were SO excited! I gave them the honor of sharing it with their parents. So basically...the news it OUT!

Auburn Goodies

We did find some Auburn goodies for the baby so I thought I would share.

Heading to the Plains

Well, we have planned a quick trip to Auburn tomorrow for the A-Day game. Should be a fun day. We need it! Austin's been gone and so have I. It will be nice to be back in Auburn. We spent 3 LONG years there and to be honest I was ready to come home WAY before the day I graduated. However, I do miss it sometimes and we like to look back on our time that we were able to spend there. I miss the newlywed memories (good and bad), our cute little first home, our fun neighbors, the lifelong friends we each met, the football games, tailgating, my horrible daycare job that paid $75.00 a week, barely getting by, long night walks around campus with coffee in hand, and so much more! God was so gracious to us when we lived in Auburn. He was present in our lives then and looking back we see the blessings he laid upon our lives for that short time in Auburn. He is present in our lives daily and I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family that love me just as much as I love them. I'm excited to go back...and possibly most definitely get our little War Eagle some orange and blue while we're there!

SO T-I-R-E-D and Groceries

I have been so tired these past few weeks! Growing a baby is hardwork and my body is feeling it! My back hurts by the end of the day and my comfy clothes have never felt more comfy! This week is my 9th week and today was the first day I havent been wiped out! I cleaned the house and did some intensive grocery shopping. Austin has been buying groceries because going to the grocery store is like a nightmare to me. I either want nothing or I want it ALL! I had a very productive trip today. I got lots of goodies for those strange pregnant cravings that I get! However, I think I put every yummy thing into my shopping cart. It was like the items on the shelves were shouting at me! The fridge is stocked with fruit, veggies, and 4 different types of juice. The pantry is full of the best snacks this house has ever seen. Even better, I had brownies for dessert tonight(which I have been craving for days). Makes me hungry just thinking about it! :) Yummo!

8 Week Checkup

My 8 week appointment went very well. The heartbeat was at 185! The nurse said that will probably be the highest it will ever be. We have arms and legs! :)

Ut Oh! We have a heartbeat!

5 weeks-
After spotting a small amount in my 5th week, my doctor wanted to see me immediately. Austin met me at the doctor's office that day and they did an ultrasound. We had no clue what to expect. Had I had a miscarriage? Or was everything perfectly fine? Well, we saw the perfect little baby squirming around in there. It looked like a firefly with the brightest little heartbeat! Though it was difficult for us to hear, the nurse said it sounded perfect. To us it sounded like a low muffled sound (not a thump, thump, thump like a normal heartbeat)



6 weeks-
They wanted to see me the next week to make sure things were going as planned. After another ultrasound, we saw that our baby now had a very very very small head and body. We actually heard the heartbeat this time and it was amazing. I left the doctor's office that day astonished at God's awesome hand in the growth of a baby. He has chosen me to carry this baby! What a blessing!

Surprise!

On Friday, March 5th we got the surprise of our lives. We found out we were going to have a baby!! The story is priceless so I must share...it all started on Wednesday, March 3rd. I visited my family doctor because I had lost about 17 lbs. in 5-6 months. This worried us so I scheduled the appointment. They did blood work and I was scheduled to have an outpatient procedure accompanied by an xray on Monday, March 8th. Everytime an xray is given girls are always asked "Are you or is there a chance you could be pregnant?" I have always replied "No". Call it woman's intuition, baby intuition, whatever but I thought just to be sure I wasn't pregnant I would go after school on Friday and buy a pregnancy test so I could tell the nurse at the hospital on Monday that for sure I WAS NOT PREGNANT. After taking the first test (which seemed to have messed up because I saw two pink lines), I took the other test that was in the box. After waiting 3-5 long minutes, I see two more pink lines. I immediately text Austin and say "Hey where are you?" He says he's getting off the interstate from work...why? I said "we just have a small problem but Ill tell you all about it when you get home." He immediately calls me and begins to ask questions about the "problem". I was giving him zero information which made him livid at me. By the time he arrived home, he was fuming. I on the other hand was laughing hysterically! He says "WHERE'S THE PROBLEM?" Later, I found out that he assumed the problem was a small water leak or a tile had fallen out of our newly remodeled shower. I tell him its in the bathroom. He walks to our bathroom and discovers the postive tests. He says "What is this?" I'm like "I dont know"?? He is just as confused as I was! I meet him in the bathroom to explain the reason I had even bought the tests in the first place (Remember the reason: To reassure myself that I was NOT pregnant!) We went that night and bought more tests and in the end I took 4 tests which were ALL positive. I cancelled my appointment at the hospital on Monday and made an appointment with my OBGYN instead. On Monday, March 8th the nurse called to confirm a positive blood test and she let me know I was in my 4th week of pregnancy! WHAT A SURPRISE! :)